im gonna live like im dying...

before the grizzly attack on grizzly, the game plan was for me, the boys and bdh to camp at laura m’s house… bdh in the driveway, the rest of us inside… we tried it for 2 days… keeping track of 4 small active dogs in a 2 story house is not something im trained for… for the sanity of all involved, i made the move to st cloud rv park located right outside of the thriving metropolis of st cloud, minnesota…

ok so its not a metropolis… not just yet anyway… its a cool little town… a college town with tons of character… ive been to st cloud a few times in the past although the big city gal in me found little to appreciate in small town america… on the rare occasions id visit the sticks id find consolation knowing that even liberace had to play boise… but did liberace have to drink wine out of a box… yeah i dont think so…

my appreciation for the quaintness of a small town has increased drastically over the past two years… maybe my last dose of los angeles tipped me over the edge… who knows… im no going all mayberry rfd or anything like that… it’s just ive lowered my nose regarding the cities of 100,000 and under…

not that i dont love and appreciate a walmart, best buy, costco, albertsons or mcdonalds… i am an american… it’s the places that are small enough to understand and appreciate community that have grabbed my attention…the cities that are just big enough to have a target located right off the freeway in the new multi-complex yet is 6 mile from main street… everyone may not know everyone but enough that its important to be compassionate, no one wants their business in the next days newspaper but they keep their yards clean just in case, a place that appreciates art, ingenuity,creativity… a place that recognizes how important education is to the well being of society… a place that demands and recompenses excellence in the school’s curriculum and teaching staff… a forward thinking community with old fashioned mores…

lo and i hung out with maryann at a the theatre/bar/hangout in downtown st cloud… great spot… two days later we went to a volleyball game held in the back yard of bailey rays roadhouse in the teeny town of santiago… funny thing about this roadhouse… a couple years back the place was destroyed by fire… then two years ago it flooded… its back up and running although from maryann told us during that whole time everybody kept coming even when there was no building… talk about community support… the sign outside reads, bailey rays roadhouse… good food,good drink… come hell or high water… cracks me up…

last stop willoughby… the train conductor yells out alerting the remaining train riders… this is the last stop at willoughby…

omg, thats me… im the guy in the twilight episode where he gets so burnt out on city life that he dreams he could go back to a simpler life… a time way back when where people only have sex 2.5 times, eat peppermint ice cream cones all day, never heard of google, listen to merry go round music all day long, and say gee whiz and stuff like that…

st cloud on a scale between los angeles and willoughby is about a 3 and an half to a four… with the internet and all, smaller towns are catching on to the importance of bottled wine, valet parking and the inhalation of the mullet… id say now days it’s pretty safe to roam freely in these united states…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

click here to get on board “a stop at willoughby”…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Stop_at_Willoughby

the best memories i have of my life are the ones where ive shared laughter with another human being… could be with a random shopper behind me in line at ralphs who happens to have the same take on a story in one of the ridiculous inquirer rags, or with a family member over a lovingly remembered guffaw of another family member, or with a scene partner after a nailed comedic scene that sent the audience into hysterics… these are memories that i hold dear…

i consider myself extremely fortunate to have funny friends, meaning friends who make me laugh… i value a sense of humor above almost all else… any and everyone who is in my life, is in my life because they bring joy and laughter to the table… joyous, uplifting, inclusionary laughter is the most positive expression of life as far as im concerned…

the memories that absolutely/ positively/ one million percent make up who i am as a human being are the ones that have turned me and those involved into rolling, gooey, uncontrollably joyous, laughter… thats the only way to describe it… we just become laughter, thats how absolute it is…

lucky for me today i had another funny as sh8t moment to add to my collection… lo and i were sitting around bragging to each other about what tricks our dogs could do… wolf is always eager to show his stuff so i ran through his routine finishing with his hand shake… lo was impressed and said yeah, mickey can shake as well but it looks more like a “heil hitler” … she was referencing the infamous german nazi salute from WWI and WWII… oh okay i said, then stood up and without a thought in my mind other then to get mickey to shake i faced lo’s little dog, looked him right in the face and said heil hitler… lo not a thought in her mind, other then to give me positive guidance immediately said oh no, you say shake like normal but then he gives a heil hilter…

omg when the hilarity of both of our innocence hit us i thought i was gonna turn to permanent jelly… i could not control my body i was laughing so completely… the absurdity in our interpretation of the whole event was priceless… it was a perfect piece of comedy… recreating that moment immediately sends my body into surrender mode… who knows if any one else will ever find it as thoroughly entertaining as we do…

i have no idea what comes after this life… or if there is an after, but if there is, these are the moments i will burn into my soul in hopes they will follow me wherever…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

click here to read about the positives of busting a gut…

http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm

lo went all out this time around… coors lite, kendall jackson chardonnay, cheezits, tons of dips… my laura m takes good care of me… she even contacted the minnesotta weather bureau and ordered up some extremely pleasant weather… she knows how i abhor the cold… bobbie whipped up some tasty treats and peg was in charge of grilling up some scrumptious chicken venadaloo for our after jacuzzi din din… we spent the day lazying around, chatting about shades of grey… the latest best seller everyones read except for me… i have abstained from reading practically anything as not to influence my writing in any manner… i want my writing/book to stand out on its own…

not much to worry about there… bobbie filled us in on a few key chapters… yeah im pretty no one will accuse me of plagiarism… i did however, find one aspect of the book interesting… bobbie mentioned something about butt plugs… butt plugs huh… id never heard of them and obviously do not own one… the idea of butt plugs intrigued me to where i found a way to incorporate them in practically every sentence… much to the annoyance of my companions…

lo asked me where the cork to the chardonnay bottle was to which id stick my posterior up in the air and say its in my butt… later peg asked me where the knife was and i said i used it to dig out my butt plug… bobbie asked for the salt and i said here sprinkle some butt juice on it… and id say it in a exaggerated obnoxious manner… of course i find myself highly amusing and crack up every time i get the chance to throw butt plug in any sentence… later that nite i texted lo that id lost my butt plug and did she find it…

we spent the majority of our time in the hot tub chatting about old times, butt plugs and hummingbugs… a beautiful, lilac bush was in full bloom and right next to the hot tub… we watched butterflies flitting in and out all afternoon when i happen to notice a very bizarre looking hummingbird or wait is that a locust… what is that i ask the girls… it was driving us all crazy… is it a bug or is it a bird… it had to be a hummingbug i declared… cept nobody had ever heard of a hummingbug… i dont know what that had to do with anything… id never heard of a butt plug…

as the day progressed, the drink prevailed… before too long we were all skinny dipping in the jacuzzi… must have been all that erotica talk cuz never in my lifetime have lo or bobbie seen me naked or i them… lo used to be so painfully shy, i never saw her anything other than fully dressed… before the day ended we were sending naked photos of ourselves to all her relatives… may wonders never cease…

by the time peg got out of the hot tub to start dinner, i was waterlogged… the day couldnt have been more perfect… the four of us had a ball.. we laughed hard enough to pee but i didnt… i swear it wasnt me… lo had gone up to get us another round and when she came back she was butt naked with a tin foil sash covering the left part of her body, leaving all the rest exposed and waving at us in perfect miss america… i thought i was gonna bust a gut… bobbie looked shell shocked, and peg was hysterical… i jumped up and immediately started snapping pics… omg omg omg… forget about butt plugs, hummingbugs… my dear buddy and pal, laura m, parading around in nothing but her “never before seen the sun” birthday suit, tin foil to accentuate the positive, a beauty queen smile and a matching beauty queen wave, basking in her glorious nakedness… now this truly was a sight to see…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

click here to read all about the sphinx moth…

http://insects.about.com/od/photography/ig/Sphinx-Moths/

thursday eve… there were still open boxes available in the betting pool predicting my arrival time… im guessing there were those non believers who had doubts that id reach my buddy laura m’s house by miller time that friday… technically, it was laura m’s exes lake house with coors light being the happy hour brew… tomato, clamata, potato, vodka… same diff… how quickly my compadres forget… they should know for sure i would land on time… lary kennedy is not one to miss happy hour…

it was game day, friday am… i was a little over 250 miles away from touchdown, at least according to my soon to be destroyed gps box… dad, i said i swear im gonna throw this thing out the window right now… do it,my dad says, do it right now… i almost did… just cuz its so rare my dad encourages rebellious behavior… when i checked in, neither lo nor my dad had a clue where i was again today… i assured them both that i checked and rechecked gps’s settings for the third time the nite before… the damn thing was set at get there in the fastest time which is where it was/had/always had been… regardless, once again, here i am, on a one lane highway in the middle of bum f*** where ever… bdh bumping her as all over the place… poor element jostled around so much, getting dinged, banged, scraped all over tarnation…

lo was trying to determine my whereabouts, then scared the poop out of me when she exclaims omg lary your going in the wrong direction… which direction are you headed she asks me… for real, i say back, for real… you are seriously asking me what direction im going… oh wait i see you now she says… groovy i say… do you also see my flipping you the bird i wanted to say but instead say well how bout the upcoming construction blockade due to road work… do you see that as well… lo says well of course lary… everybody knows there are two seasons in minnesota… winter and road construction… oh and speaking of birds, the state bird of minnesota would be the mosquito…

damn, damn damn… how is it, that girl, knows everything im thinking… sometimes before i do… she torments me like an older, much, much older sibling would… making funny faces at me at midnight mass while i fall into fits of uncontrollable laughter, imitating japanese tourists in perfect pitch so i fall into fits of uncontrollable laughter, forcing me to drink cakebread chardonnay, reserve label, till i fall into fits of uncontrollable laughter… yeah that would be her… laura m… i guess it can be said that if im oprah, she’s my gayle… if i were lucy she’d be my ethel… and if i was j-lo she would be my butt… yep, laura m, aka lo, is my bff to infinity and beyond… has, is, and always will be… she’ll be there for me no matter what… i know this because shes already been there for me through at least two no matter whats…

the weather in minnesota was spectacular… spring had sprung earlier than past years due to the unusually mild winter… the humidity wasnt awake yet, the trees/bushes/flowers were in bloom, the waters were calm and the state birds of minnesota were visiting relatives in the south… the hot tub was hot, the beers were cold, and our spirits were high… lo, bobbie, peg and i started were we left off last time we saw each other… hanging out, drinking beer, playing cards, bull sh88ng, and falling into fits of uncontrollable laughter…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

hiccup, er i mean, click here for some fun alcohol trivia…

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/funfacts/alcoholtrivia.html

i must backtrack cuz helen and i were still having a very delightful adventure in santa barbara… ocean mesa rv resort is on the top of my list for favorite rv parks… ive been in quite a few now so i feel secure in saying so… it is immaculate in every way… its pricey but worth it… the weather wasnt the best the 3 days we were there but it was irrelevant… the staff is welcoming and always greet you with a smile on their face… unlike the last joint i was stuck at…

scouts honor, i try really really hard to see the positive in everything… sometimes it takes some work… as was the case when residing of sorts at malibu beach rv resort… the beautiful surroundings could not compensate for the surly staff… i swear im traumatized by most of those  employees… the two young sisters were very nice as were the late nite couple jewel and her husband… the others were always on the look out to catch me at something… very odd… i imagine they were all abused as children… that would explain their need to make everyone else around them feel miserable… this is a first for me… actually warning people to stay away from this park… its just the whole idea of rving is for enjoyment… my business was not appreciated… i contacted the owner numerous times regarding some of the behavior i witnessed/experienced however seeing as hes the only game in town i dont think he really cared what lil ole me had to say…

in general, the rv parks ive had the privilege of staying have been thoroughly enjoyable… my business was always welcome and ive never received a complaint from management ever… well exception being malibu beach rv park… i believe the rv industry is appealing to people of all ages more now then ever… I have certainly enjoyed seeing life in my rv… it is my wish that this industry remains thriving… one way to assure a continued positive upswing is to provide a pleasant experience for all those concerned…

hel and i are fine wine drinkers… at least when we can get it… naturally we had to go to solvang ca one of the main settings in the movie sideways… its a cool town… you feel like youre in danishville… or is it denmark… not sure but i tried danish food for the first time… gotta say ive become more adventuresome since living like im dying… i have to try everything at least once with a few exceptions… like swallowing a live eel, chopping off an extremity with an ax or any other sharp object, shooting up heroin, robbing a bank, or swinging naked from a chandelier… well the first four for sure i wont do… to be honest, eating danish food was hardly a chore… it was tasty… i got a smorgasbord of danish delights…. damn if i can remember the names of any of em but it was a traditional sampler of danish fare…

dessert was right around the corner… hel said we had to have aebleskiver topped with powdered sugar… i dont dare disagree with miss helen when it comes to sweets… i did it once… i dont ever want to experience it again… its a damn good thing we both have a high metabolism… it was yummmmeeeeeeeeeee… we still had a little left so hel went inside to get a to go box… i see a couple coming out the same door hel went in… they were looking at me excitedly… add no threesomes to my not to do list… i relaxed after they called me by name… omg its mike and debbie… mike and debbie are neighbors of me ex rob… i hadnt seen them for at least 3 years… mike says we saw wolf first, then grizz so we knew it had to be you… what is so funny is they have never met wolf or grizz… they only know them from my blog…

i introduced them to helen, although the last time i saw jim and debbie was at a christmas party that i took hel to… mikes looking at her saying i know you too… it was wild… we sat an discussed my past year and 10 months on the road though they told me things id forgotten about since they both are avid readers of my blog… they knew my life better than i did… it was kinda surreal when mike would say wow that sure was wild about the sewer always breaking down, and man how bout when wolf got sick and oh yeah and that whole thing with cole… whatever happened with him… mike said his favorite blogs or when something catastrophic would occur with bdh… i like those stories the best… i assured him id write more of those kind but kept my fingers crossed behind my back…. sure they were entertaining to him… sux for me…

they told us about a dog beach not far from where we were so hel and i made our way to the doggie beach… grizz had never been on sand and wolf loves to romp in the cold ocean waves… spending the day on the beach with my boys sounded perfect…  hels kids enjoyed it too… hel and i used to say that one day we would romp along the california beaches with our kids in tow… looks like we actually made it…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

please click here to read this interesting article on 8 rules for good customer service…

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/customerservice/a/custservrules.htm

my addiction to words with friends is drastically improving my vocabulary, providing  adequate distractions from all im avoiding, creating closer bonds with hardly/never ever seen relatives and has me wondering how in the hell someone, whos name i wont spell, considered quasi illiterate by the majority of my peers, manages to come up with the word qat… qat… wtf… giving him/her/it a sizable/frustrating/annoying/qat/qat/qat/qat/ lead over me… by 63 points… seriously… wtf…
 
 
 
the urge to play potentially obscene swear word letters to express my displeasure is overwhelming…  
 
 
traditionally, retaliation backfires on me… for sure my opponent will find a way to parlay my venom barbed f’s and u’s and k’s into some sort of triple letter triple
word double mocha expresso word scoring 156 points… then id be totally screwed…
 
 
 
i invited carmell and her 6 year old son hudson over to my site for a cookout the other day… i met them both at the rv park.. hudson and i struck up a conversation about wolf… having a cute dog is the ideal icebreaker… couple days later his mom and i were fast friends…
 
 
carmell is a kindred gypsy spirit… hudsons home room is in moms kitchen… over a healthy din din hudson gave me a rundown on charlie chaplin his latest study subject… i thought back on some of the stuff i learned in school… yeah right like i can even remember… not bashing school but for me im pretty sure most of whats stuck in my noggin is based on life experience… hell it wasnt until my jaunt through the south that i actually figured out what the civil war was all about…
 
 
 
while we were cleaning up i spilt a glass of wine then i dropped the f bomb…. oh s**t i double expletived… sorry carmell… she laughed and told me not to worry about it… she said those arent bad words in our house… fat, stupid, retarded… stuff like that… those are the bad words in our house… wow… how true is that i said… those really are bad words when using them in a hurtful context…
 
 
 
im an easy sell when it comes to justifying my swearing habits… yet i have to admit that when those conventional bad words come out of my mouth its usually because ive done something that frustrates me… yeah ok… and lately during words with friends…  my favorite four letter words are banned from words with friends… good for me cuz i dont think words with enemies exists…
 
 
 
 
today’s “must have” fun facts…
 
 
Fun Facts About Words with Friends
 
 
And here are the most-played Words With Friends words — they sound a lot like a
 
Skyrim shout when said in a row:
 
 
Qi
 
To
 
Re
 
It
 
He
 
The problem with Qi, in particular, is that once you use it on someone, they’ll start using
it too, even though they have no idea what it means.
 
 
According to Record Setter, the highest scoring Words With Friends word of all-time is
 
“oxyphenbutazone,” which racked up 1,672 points in a single move. It’s an
 
anti-inflammatory drug used to treat arthritis. Duh.

who knows how long it will be before i have access to my mac book pro which is where my entire, whats left of my entire, collection of photos are currently housed…  therefore im going to add another detour to the mix…

ive decided to post short snippets of my musings until i can get back on track… or intersperse them between the big daddies… well see… im tired of having to work around my computers fickle moods… this should please mr parker…

it is valentines day… im in bed sick, listening to wolf whining… he wants me to play with him… the thing is even if i werent coughing my esophagus to bits, i wouldnt be playing with him in the manner he wants /needs to play…

as if mine werent busted up enough now i gotta feel the pain, loneliness, and heartache of my baby wolf… the guilt is seriously overwhelming…  he needs a companion… he needs a buddy… he needs a playmate… he needs a valentine… of sorts… he is after all neutered… the time has come for wolf to get a lifetime companion…

wolf is the main male in my life… i love him with all of whats left of my war torn heart… it is for that reason i have made the decision to give him what his little heart desires… his very own puppy… happy valentines day wolf… i love you… oh dear lord what have i gotten myself into…

today’s ” must have” snippet of information…

love:

feb 14, 2012 urban word of the day…

natures way of tricking people into reproducing…

there is almost nothing i appreciate more than a shortcut… especially since i can no longer utilize that shortcut… once again i am without my mac book pro which holds all the secrets of the universe…as well as my latest blog entry…

now you are stuck with just me… without pictures…

the stripped down version of what life is really like for me… in the rawest form… at my most vulnerable… naked, metaphorically speaking… without pictures…

i do not have any pictures of ucla… i do not have any pictures of my classroom at ucla… i do not have a photograph of me sitting at my desk at ucla… you will just have to trust me… btw my sony camera is broken as well… im not making any of this up…

i am at a loss for words… the one thing ive learned in my writing classes is that i am not a good writer… thats based on my observation and also because my instructors told me i suck… i admire all my classmates… i think they like me ok… no one has come up to me and thrown a tomato in my face or anything like that… although isreal, a guy in my class offererd me a piece of gum… i know what that means… actions speak louder than words… that or he had a surplus of trident lime he needed to dispose of…

for the most part the intellectuals im surrounded by treat me like anyone else who acts like they are really nice people when they meet their fellow man who walks 50 feet behind… in cowboy boots… yeah you know what im talking about…

im pretty sure i will be voted the least likely to succeed in either of my classes…

i dont care if ill ever be a great writer or if i publish a book although that would be pretty cool, in this moment i just want to communicate with people… most importantly i want to have as much fun as possible doing it… ok so being nominated for most imaginative use of the f word by my colleagues would rank high in llife accomplishments… then for sure its have as much fun as possible… fing fun… ok u get the idea….

ps… this is not an invite for anyone to all of a sudden tell me what a great writer i am because you feel sorry for me…
or if you dont feel sorry for me…

today’s ” must have” fun fact…

for shits and giggles take a class in anything… preferably something you feel passionate about and dont give a shit how stupid smart funny ridiculous you think you may feel doing it… everybody else feels the exact same way… even the teacher…

finding the unique and diverse in los angeles is hardly a task… where the challenge lies is keeping myself from falling back into my routine before living like im dying… learning/ hanging in a new area of this vast city is a good start… im not tempted to revisit all that i know too well… this go around ive made some new friends as well as reconnected with others… but i must admit it is a struggle some days, especially now that i have cable… i realize my tv addiction is a lifelong battle… i take it day by day…

one of my new compadres is shorter and smaller than i am… her name is janice… its extremely disconcerting to me when i have to look down on any person over the age of 17… janice lives on the rose bowl parade route in pasadena… its a great place to live especially on jan 1, or as was the case this year january 2… once a year the homeowners are given tickets to all the rose bowl events in appreciation for having the world trample over their front yards… janice invited me to check out the floats from the early am tournament of roses parade which were now parked in her front yard… aware of my disdain for sunrise she didnt bother inviting me to the parade… this for sure fit into the category of things ive never done before… i was all over it…

the only time ive ever been to a parade was more than a couple years ago… my friend felicia invited me to go to the thanksgiving macy day parade in nyc with her and her family… i spent the nite at flees house… to this day i remember how excruciating it was to get up before dawn then make our way in the zero degree temps to find an inch of terra firma to plant our feets on or near 34th street… i dont think i became completely cognizant till the dumbo ballon floated by ending the 3 hour event… in essence i didnt really even experience that parade… the positive however is that i will forever remember that i went to a macy day parade with my good bud felicia… i have a few other unforgettable moments with flee… which you will never hear about once that pay pal payment hits my account… isnt that right felicia…

wolf and i eventually arrived at janices house around 1 pm… what a mad house the whole of pasadena was… traffic everywhere and parking permits mandatory… i was held at gun point until a friend of janices showed up with my entry pass proving to the sherrifs deputy i was authorized to enter the parameters of the complex… janice greeted me at her door with a very spicy and very bloody mary… man i needed it after the broohaha of the past hour and a half… can i bring wolf in i asked janice… she hemmed and hawed… you know lar my two english bulldogs are pretty territorial probably best not to… no biggie i said… i wondered what the big deal was cuz ive met janices dogs… ophelia and winthorp are about as ancient as they come… im amazed the hefty duo can even make three steps in any direction without passing out from exhaustion… its her home its her rules and i respect she knows best… jans house was filled with friends and food… food that looked smelled and im assuming tasted good… i decided to check out the floats first… it was a typical california january day… 80 degrees… i couldnt leave wolf in the car… janice informed me dogs were not allowed in the main event… my rebellious nature took over as wolf and i made our way into the crowds…

wow… wow… wow… the creativity of the human mind… all surfaces of every one of these floats, per tournament rules, must be covered in natural materials such as flowers plants seaweed seeds bark vegetables or nuts… no artificial flowers or plant material are allowed nor can the materials be artificially colored… every single flower, etc comprising these amazing floats where painstakingly added by volunteers days before the parade… it was far better/ easier for me to see the intricacies of each float up close… had my only opportunity to view such extraordinary beauty been in bleachers along a crowded parade route i would have missed out big time… this truly was a once in a lifetime experience… thank you miss janice for the invite…

we made our way back to jans… jan had talked up wolf big time to her guests so i held wolf up in the front window for the others to see… two of the women came out excited to pet wolf meanwhile leaving the front door open… things went really fast after that but from what we pieced together later ophelia came out the front door, thinking that perhaps wolf and ophelia might spark a friendship i think i put wolf down while at the same time janice screamed no do not get them together then before any of us knew what happened wolf was screaming bloody murder 50 feet from me trapped in the corner with ophelias teeth clamped somewhere on wolfs body… janice had a grip on ophelia trying to get ophelias jaws out of wolfs flesh… the area we were in was so small that janices tiny body was preventing me from getting to wolf… i flew over janice, ophelia and the rosebushes to grab wolf and put my body between wolf and everything else… janice was very upset yelling out that i needed to get wolf to the vet immediately… i remember her saying that bulldog bites are very serious… jan was clearly shaken up… i was numb… i ran my hands over wolf looking for the blood that had moistened wolfs massive amount of fur… ophelias steel trap jaws worked perfectly and locked themsleves onto a chunk of wolfs silky hair… once it became obvious wolf was not bitten, just shaken up, the pain from slamming my body against fences, rose thorns and concrete slowly made its way to my brain…

after things calmed down, thanks to a few more bloody marys, those involved in the near tragic fiasco ran and re ran the tape of what had just happened… what amazed every one of us was the speed at which ophelia, the 8 year old, overweight, normally docile old english bulldog took action… id never place a money bet on miss o hauling ass like she did thats for sure… wolf was shook up a bit but minutes later back to his same old rowdy self… my heart went out to miss ophelia old english bulldog… poor thing was reacting on instinct and didnt even comprehend what had happened… you could tell she was so shook up over the recent events… i could see how shaken up janice was as well… ophelia was walking around with her duck, her security blanket with such a guilty look on her face… janice was trying her best to let ophelia know she wasnt in trouble… its not easy being a dog…

i filled my tummy with some yummy homemade white bean chili and a scoop the traditional good luck black eyed pea soup… i swallowed it down with another of janices divine bloody marys… thank god that was the only blood we had to deal with that second day of the brand new year… with no thoughts about anything i instinctually came to the aide of my dog, my child, wolf… i willingly dove into danger to protect my baby… … thats when it hit me… i am a parent… and i knew at that moment i was a damn good one…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

The Rose Parade: Fun Facts
Samantha GreenWednesday, December 28, 2011

Every year, the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, takes place around New Year’s Day as part of the Tournament of Roses. This year marks the 123rd annual event, making it one of America’s most beloved traditional holiday festivals. With beautiful designer flowers adorning a variety of magnificent floats, it’s truly a spectacle worth watching. To gear up for this year’s festivities, here are a few fun facts about the Tournament of Roses and the Rose Parade.

1. Every year comes with a new President of the Tournament of Roses, and it’s this person who gets to choose the theme of the year, which is meant to inspire the float designs for the parade. For 2012, the theme is “Just Imagine.” We can only do just that as we wait in anticipation.

2. According to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, 80,000 hours of combined manpower are put into the floats and planning each year. The Tournament of Roses Association has 935 members to help out, but plenty of other volunteers, businesses and individuals put in a lot of effort to make the event a success.

3. The parade and Rose Bowl game have a “Never on Sunday” rule. Every year, the events are meant to be held on January 1st, but if the date falls on a Sunday, it’s moved to compensate. That’s why this year’s event is taking place on Monday, January 2. This policy was put into place in 1893, according to RoseBowlHistory.org. Their goal was originally to avoid frightening horses tethered outside local churches, which would have been disruptive.

4. The Rose Parade follows the same route every year. It’s a five-and-a-half-mile stretch that takes about two hours to complete. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses website specifies that the floats, equestrians and marching bands travel at a pace of about two and a half miles per hour, which is quite leisurely - giving viewers ample time to view the roses, tropical flowers and natural displays.

5. The Tournament of Roses has a huge worldwide audience. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses anticipates that around 47 million Americans will tune in to watch the Parade of Roses this year on TV, while around 700,000 are expected to line the parade route on January 2. In addition, viewers from 220 territories around the world will be tuned in, bringing the total TV audience to around 14.3 million households. That’s only slightly more than the amount of people who will be watching the Rose Bowl game.

If you’re ready to see months of dedicated planning, hard work and creativity pay off, tune in to the Rose Parade on January 2 to catch a view of the great floral displays.

parker and i have been comrades for a decent amount of time… there was a 5 year stretch where we didnt communicate at all… not for any particular reason… just living on the opposite sides of life… we know each others playbook bios but rarely does our conversation head into the before we knew each other realm… debbie knows nothing about parker other than what shes read from me… it was quite the kick in the pants to garner info about parkers past off debbies getting to know you questions…

so how did you meet lary started the q and a … me being the common denominator… where did you grow up, what school did you attend and whos your favorite football/basketball/baseball/ soccer/ hockey and jai alai teams were the follow up queries… debbie is quite the sports fanatic… shes a die hard season ticket holding lakers fan, roots for the broncos, loves the dodgers and on occasion attends a king game… shes run at least 10 full marathons and just as many halfs… when parker revealed he attended t.c. williams high school in alexandria virginia debbie knew immediately that was the school herman boone once coached… herman boone is the teacher/football coach the movie remember the titans is based on… denzel washington played the lead… parker was quick to point out coach boone was no denzel…

back when physical education was still mandatory in junior high and high schools
herman boone was parkers pe teacher… there was no movie then, no denzel and no love lost for coach boone as far as parker was concerned… parker told us he was a mean old football coach who made his life hell… sensing parker didnt have aspirations for becoming a starting fullback nor a running back, quarter back, halfback or punter for that matter he decided to ride parker for his seemingly interest in trying out for head cheerleader… coach boone had no problem letting parker know his feelings about parkers lack of interest in his beloved game… one time boone had caught parker giggling about something and stood face to face with parker… you listen here john brown boone would yell at him… boone would be pushing up his glasses frantically with his third finger over and over while continuing to brow beat parker… listen here john brown you need to stop rolling your eyes and key keying like a little girl… you should be out there trying out for football… doing something useful john brown… parker just stood there mortified not making a sound… coach boone had humiliated him in front of his class… not only singling him out but in essence outing him… he may as well have called parker an f-a-g in front of the whole school… why does hearing about one of my best friends most embarrassing moments give me such delight… debbie and i found it quite entertaining…

the next day was new years eve… parker did not win the lottery but i got my caviar anyway… parker nibbled on some low cal mozzarella sticks… the rv park was having a shin dig to ring in the new year… parker and i danced our way into 2012… what a better way to bring in what i know will be the best year yet…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

Reel Life: ‘Remember the Titans’

By Jeff Merron

“Remember the Titans,” viewers are told as the opening credits roll, is “Based on a True Story.” This is an intentionally vague phrase, meant to suggest that most of what follows is factual. But is it?

“Remember the Titans” is based on the true story of the 1971 Virginia state football champions from T.C. Williams High School.
Should a librarian file “Remember the Titans” under fiction or non-fiction? You decide.

click here for the rest of the article…

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020808.html

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please feel free to friend me on facebook… larykennedy@facebook starting next week i will have a dedicated page to my blog… hopefully anyway… not 100 percent sure which blog format i want to commit to… too much to think about at the moment…

thanks for reading… to catch up on all the shenannigans please ck out the archives… lk

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parker and i had just enough time to breathe before it was time to start planning our new years eve extravaganza… the two of us are known for our vueve cliquot champagne, duck liver pate, and belugia caviar taste buds… collectively we might be able to scrounge together enough pesos to purchase a 6 pack of coors lite, a small can of cheez whiz and a medium sized bag of beer nuts… we sat around my dining room table brainstorming in hopes of finding a way to make our entry in 2012 a memorable one… parker had been playing the lottery religiously… he promised me a first class roundtrip ticket to russia to personally pick out my 5 ounce crystal jar of fish eggs fresh from the sea immediately after he collected his 12.5 million quick pick win…whew what a relief… i can now cross caviar off my to do list…

thinking about stuffing my face yet again was starting to make me ill… parker had a bunch of errands to run… i had hills to climb… valentina, francescos widow, and i
took a long hike in the santa monica mountains… she shared with me one of her and frankies favorite trails… holidays are a bitch without the one you love… i miss francesco… she aches for francesco… its nice to talk about him with his love… to remember the good the bad… the ugly… frankie had such a love for the outside, for natures gym, for communing with the universe… his e mail till the day he died was fqonbike… francesco quinn on a bike… any bike… motorcycles, road bikes, mountain bikes… he loved them all… he loved valentina… he loved his children with all that he was… i was fortunate to witness his passion… i was elated to be included in his passion… i will always remember his passion… when the time is right i will share the man i knew with the children he so loved…

the sun was setting when i arrived back home… no sign of parker… i chopped the veggies for our steak dinner… finally the santa ana winds had died down… time to grill… parker had been salivating since gettysburg… amazing how a perfect sear sticks in ones mind… weve had numerous discussions about this particular meal… today was the day to recreate perfection… i set the three ny strip steaks from the fridge on the kitchen counter to acclimate to room temperature… meanwhile i shook out my entry way rug and hung it over the picnic table to air out… parker walks up the stairs enters bdh and sees the steaks… oh man those look good… i shook my head in agreement… omg parker these are gonna be sooooo delicious… i can hardly wait… i jumped up and down in excitement… ill probably start the grill in about an hour or so… is that cool with you i asked… sure whenever parker agreed… parker then asks me where is the rug… i said oh its outside…he looks at me questionably … outside he asks… yeah i answer its outside… oh ok he says… then i ask him if he wouldnt mind bringing it back inside… he says now… yeah please… ok where is it… right outside on the picnic table i said… wtf im thinking it wasnt that dark yet… how could he not see the rug right in front of him… parker was looking confused… i dont see it… parker i said slightly exasperated as i walk outside and grab the rug… here is the rug as i place it in the entry way… he says i was asking about the rub… the steak rub you use to flavor the meat, not the rug… of course that sent us into uncontrollable fits of laughter…

the same kind of thing had happened a couple days prior when parker asked me if he could have the rest of the chicken in the fridge… sure i said go for it then i got in the shower… 20 minutes later i said lets go to the store… he says arent u gonna eat your chicken… what chicken i said confused… the chicken in the microwave he says… what chicken in the microwave i ask… the chicken i heated up for you after i asked u if u wanted me to heat it up for you… i thought you asked me if you could eat it i replied… no i asked if you wanted me to heat it he says… we found that highly hysterical…

the only movie parker expressed a huge desire for the two of us to see together was young adult… our time was running out… wed made plans to go to debbies my ex neighbor for dinner then the next nite was new years then parker had to board a plane and head back to connecticut… it was now or never… as i was making my way through traffic to secure a parking space parker tells me he has to go wee… parker actually says he has to go wee… cant you wait i ask him… ive waited till the end to tell you he said… ok i dropped him off at a corner coffee bean… i asked him to get me a vanilla blended no sugar no whip then headed towards parking… luckily i found a spot in no time then made my way to coffee bean in less than 7 minutes… there was a long line but no sign of parker… i figured he must be in the loo so i stood around for a few minutes… it was apparent parker was not in the building… i headed towards the theatre as i called him on his cell… we had a bad connection so i had to call back numerous times but i managed to extract that he was in the theatre… he was practically whispering so i assumed he was already seated… i thought it was kinda odd he didnt wait for me but i shrugged it off… i paid for my ticket then in pavlovian fashion i ordered my popcorn and diet coke… while i was waiting for new corn to pop parker rings me… where are you he asks… im at the snack area… ill be right there he says…

the theatre our movie was playing was downstairs… i kept looking to see if he was coming up the stairs but after 6 minutes i headed down to look for him… the movie had started… i was sooo bummed id missed the previews… it was extremely dark so i stood in the isle waiting for my eyes to acclimate… i searched the theatre to see if parker was waving his hands to guide me to the seat… didnt see a thing… weird i think to myself maybe parker and i somehow missed each other and hes at the snack stand… i walk back up… no parker… i stood in the isle again only this time i munched on my popcorn as loud as i could… for sure if parker were in the theatre he would hear me… still nothing… i bet he went to the wrong theatre again i laugh to myself… i decided to sit down knowing parker would show up eventually… not much later parker sneaks in beside me… i started to whisper to him then he shushes me… he seemed annoyed… i waited till each piece of popcorn was over-saturated with tons of spit to chew as to not make any more noise further upsetting mister p… young adult was well worth the 13.50… parker and i both gave it an enthusiastic 4 thumbs up…

on the drive home parker seemed distant… everything ok i asked… then he spills it… how could you enter the theatre without me… parker how could you enter without me… i started laughing… our latest adventure was filled with one mix up after another… we talked it out… neither of us purposely left the other one out in the cold so to speak… it was a series of misunderstandings and assumptions… happens all the time… what doesnt happen all the time is actually being able to have the guts to talk it out… we both took a risk at harming our friendship by making an issue out of it… i realized after hearing each others interpretation that neither of us meant to be insensitive… however i could only imagine how harmful it may have been had we not had the guts to talk it out… had each of us kept our feelings inside and taken our assumptions as truth we may have built up resentment towards each other… for absolutely no reason…

its not an easy thing to talk about things that upset me to friends… i dont know why or when or how i became so afraid of saying anything that could be considered anything other than complimentary… ive made a career of avoiding confrontation to the point of allowing things to build and build and build until the proverbial straw breaks and my emotions come flooding out… its not healthy… not for me not for my friends/family and not for forming new relationships… im so grateful parker talked it out with me… we both understand how miscommunication and avoidance can reek havoc in relationships… parker and i will have many more adventures as well as many more mis understandings… its good to know we both care enough about our friendship to speak up… no matter how uncomfortable it makes us…

todays “must have” fun fact….

A great grilled steak begins with a great steak. But how do you tell a great steak from a regular steak? You go to the butcher whether it’s the corner meat market, supermarket or online store and find what can appear to be an unending row of steaks. There are a couple of things to look for when buying a steak. First there is the grade. The grade tells you about the quality of the meat based on marbling and age. The second factor is the cut. Different cuts have different qualities. Finding the right cut for what you want to grill is probably the most important part of an excellent steak.

click this link to see the rest of the article…

http://bbq.about.com/cs/steaks/a/aa091397a.htm

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please feel free to facebook me at larykennedy… just let me know you came from the blog… check out the archives for past adventures… thanks for reading… tell your friends if you think theyd like it…

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true to my word i made numerous attempts in creating the surprise angels reunion parker had so dreamed of… producing this episode was gonna take some cooperative planning… i gave it one last shot… i sent liz a fb message asking if we could hook up for lunch letting her know i would gladly head her way… she replied saying she and dave were in bend oregon till the monday after christmas… what is it about bend oregon… my exes brother just bought a house on a ton of property in bend… my dad had mentioned something about bend being the dream location of some of his friends… now liz and dave were considering picking up stakes and settling in granolaville… i made a mental note to stop over in bend when i decide to get back on the road… i gave parker the news then made an executive decision to let the cat out of the bag… just as i was about to seal the deal parker says wait… i have an idea… text her and say charlies called an emergency angel meeting… that’ll get her to call back right away…

meanwhile tracy and antoinette were super excited to meet parker… i was super excited for parker to meet the girls… what cracks me up is they only know each other by reading my blog… coincidentally enough the girls had planned to spend the 26th through the 28th at carpenteria state beach where dave and liz now lived… they invited us to join them at the campground… this was perfect… liz was due back home on the 26th so this just may work… we may have a surprise reveal after all…

parker and i were in the car headed to finally see the girl with the dragon tattoo when my phone rings.. omg parker its liz… parker in a split second decision grabs the phone and answers hello angel… a very long pause after which liz sputters huh, is this, what the, omg is it really you… we all laughed in unison… how much fun for us that we pulled off the surprise after 14 months of planning, plotting and preparation… liz was completely one hundred percent flummoxed… another successful angel mission accomplished… right before they got married liz and dave bought an airstream which they drove to bend… copy cats… listen kids i said parker and i are gonna be in carpateria come meet up with us… omg liz says we live 5 minutes from there… cool well see you in carpeteria… its car pen ta ria lary not carp e teria liz corrected me.. parker pointed out thats why liz is sabrina… shes the smart one…

the two of us were positively giddy as we entered the theatre… again with the plain popcorn for parker, carmel corn for me no matter we were stuffed from our dinner an hour earlier… we were chatting away as we walk into the dark room, got our seats and settled in to watch the previews… again parker points out the loud noises emitting out of my mouth… i just laugh and chomp louder… the theatre was small and was filling up… in walks a couple adults with about 6 kids… fairly young kids which we both found rather odd… id seen the swedish version of this film and id heard the english version was just as intense, graphic and brutal as the original… clearly not family fodder… parker and i became engrossed in the previews commenting on wether we would or wouldnt see each picture… jude law pops in the screen… i turn to parker and say omg he is sooo cute… parker gasps… i had no idea parker was that into him… lar he says theres robert downey junior we are in the wrong theatre… this is sherlock holmes… we tried as hard as we could to suppress our laughter and made our way to the theatre playing our movie… wed missed the first 15 minutes which gave parker a disadvantage… i tried to fill him in but got shushed…

i tried to fill parker in on what he missed when we got home… i love love loved that movie… parker liked it but wished the movie came with cliff notes… girl if i ever had a doubt that you had african american blood coursing through your veins i dont anymore… pray do tell me more mr parker i said… because of all that noise you make… i said i cant help it the carmel makes the popcorn crunchier… im not talking bout that child he said you were talking back to that screen like my aunt shirley… he pronounces aunt ahhhhhnt while i pronounce it ant… i used to have to go to my aunt shirleys after school… i dreaded it cuz i was forced to watch tv with her… wed be watching one of her shows where thered be a women on screen who was running away from the bad guy n aunt shirley would say dont do it girl dont you run into that shed… im telling you stay away from that shed… then after the girl runs into the shed aunt shirley would look over at me and say i told her not to run in that shed… parker would look at her incredulously ah yeah im sitting right here… i saw the same thing you did… did she listen to me shirley would go on… no she did not… i done told her to stay away from that shed… now look she done got herself kilt… oh if she’d only have listened to me she’d be alive right now… but she didnt so she got herself kilt… and child what did she have on her feet… high heels… that girl is not right in the head… cant be running from bad guys with heels… i tole her her to take off them heels… why you heard me… again parker would look at her dumbfounded… i flat out said take those heels off… did she listen.. nah unh… no… now shes dead… i was literally doubled over in hysterics… my stomach hurt so bad i was laughing sooo hard… its involuntary i say to parker i dont even now im doing it… thats right girl he said to me thats how i know…

time for parker and me to pack up and head towards santa barbara… we told the girls wed have plenty of leftovers… did we ever… after taking almost 4 hours to get to the beach it was almost dark… tracy and antoinette met us as we were checking in and led us to our spot which was directly across from them… they introduced us to the kids riley and lauren… parker and i agreed the family is absolutely adorable… wolf found refuge in laurens lap and pretty much stayed there the entire two days… we sat around the campfire swaping stories and getting to know the kids… we munched on our christmas feast so excited we could share our holiday meal with good friends… laurens really not a kid shes 15 and is much older in spirit… she plays guitar beautifully… riley showed me how to long board on his skateboard… it was fun even though i looked spastic… he is such a sweet guy… and cute… and cool… he didnt make me feel bad when i mistakenly called 10… hes 12…it was one big love fest.. it was such a blast meeting up with friends who have an rv then sitting around a campfire right on the beach… can hardly wait till liz and dave meet up with me in their airstream… its time to start a trend… getting the younger generation into the rv lifestyle… who says you have to be retired…

liz and dave met up with us the second nite… parker admitted he was apprehensive about meeting dave… that is until liz sent us a text saying hed be bosley if we wanted him to be… parker knew then everything would be just peachy… the reunion went swimmingly… dave was exactly like i thought hed be… i felt i already knew dave just by looking at pictures of him… his voice was a little different but other than that this was the first time ive ever met someone whos persona i picked up on just from photos… hes prefect for liz… ive known liz for a long time… this is the happiest, most full filled, most comfortable in her skin that ive ever seen her… i couldnt be more thrilled… another change ive seen in liz is her enthusiasm in living life outside the box… she embraces life bigger than she did before… while dave is a great influence, another human being did not complete her or make her become a different person… liz opened herself up and made some amazing changes which attracted someone like dave… liz made herself happy… dave is just the icing on the cake…

for the first time in 10 years charlies angels were reunited… farrah (parker), sabrina (liz), kelly (me i think im always confused on which on i am) back to committing crimes, chasing after men, and reeking havoc where ever we go… damn i got that mixed up again… its supposed to be preventing crime, chasing bad guys and restoring civility for the sake of all mankind… just like in the old days cept now weve got a bosley… thats a good thing…

today’s “must have” fun fact…

Charlie’s Angels

What color was Sabrina’s car?

Orange.

How many times did Kelly get shot and seriously wounded?

2.

In one episode Timothy Dalton showed up as a jewel thief. Who was his partner?

Jill Munroe. She came back to work undercover for Charlie.

What network aired Charlie’s Angels?

ABC.

What was Bosley always worried about?

Money.

Did Kelly have parents living?

No.

What relation were Jill and Kris Monroe?

They were sisters.

When did it start?

September 22, 1976.

Who was the voice of Charlie?

John Forsythe.

What were the names of the original angels?

Kelly, Jill and Sabrina.

After she quit Charlie’s Angels, Farrah Fawcett appeared in how many additional episodes?

Six. Farrah Fawcett was court-ordered to appear in three episodes each for two seasons remaining of her contract. The episodes are “Mother Angel,” “Angel Come Home,” “The Prince and the Angel,” “Fallen Angel,” “An Angel’s Trail,” and “Angel in a Box.” In the final episode featuring Farrah Fawcett, she has no scenes with any of the other angels but Cheryl Ladd.

Only one angel’s father has been seen onscreen - whose?

Sabrina. Sabrina’s father appears in “Target: Angels” — he’s an ex-military colonel.

Which angel has an ex-husband?

Sabrina. Sabrina’s husband Bill appears in only two episodes, “Target: Angels” and “The Blue Angels.”

What’s the first episode in which all three angels appear in a bikini at the same time?

“Angels of the Deep”. Kelly, Kris, and Julie all don bikinis to swim in Hawaii’s warm surf.

What’s the first episode in which all three angels appear in a bathing suit at the same time?

“Love Boat Angels”. Kelly, Kris, and Tiffany go to the beach and stroll along the pool deck of the Love Boat in sexy swimsuits.

Tiffany’s mother practices what profession?

Latin teacher. In “Love Boat Angels,” Tiffany admits that her mother teaches Latin.

Which angel appeared in the fewest episodes?

Tanya Roberts. Tanya Roberts appeared in only the 16 episodes of the final season. Shelley Hack and Farrah Fawcett appeared in one full season each, while Kate Jackson lasted for three seasons.

How many episodes are there that are mainly made up of clips from other episodes?

Two. “Angels Remembered,” the final episode of season three, and “Let Our Angel Live,” the series’ final episode, are made up mostly of clips from previous shows.

Which episode was planned as a spinoff of “Charlie’s Angels”?

“Toni’s Boys”. “Toni’s Boys” featured a high class female boss (played by Barbara Stanwyk) with three hot, young, male operatives. It failed to wow anyone, and was never picked up as a series.

What episode features Bosley singing Gilbert and Sullivan with that week’s client?

“Three for the Money”. Bosley and the client indulge in a few lines of “A policeman’s lot is not a happy one” from “The Pirates of Penzance.”

What is Kris’ father’s substance-abuse problem?

Alcohol. In “Harrigan’s Angels,” Kris admits that her father is an alcoholic, but was a great guy once he sobered up. It’s why she had such a rapport with Harry Harrigan.

What is the only episode where an angel fights another angel?

“Attack Angel”.

Which episode features the angels as members of an all-girl football team?

“Angels in the Backfield”.

In which episode does Kelly appear as an alien?

“Unidentified Flying Angels”. You haven’t lived till you’ve seen Jaclyn Smith in a silver lame skirt!

How many episodes are set in Las Vegas?

Three. The episodes are “Angels in Vegas,” “The Vegas Connection,” and “Angel on a Roll.”

Five of the first six episodes of the 5th season are set where?

Hawaii. The Angels work out of Charlie’s Honolulu office in “Waikiki Angels,” “Angels of the Deep,” “Island Angels,” “Hula Angels,” and “To See an Angel Die.”

In the opening credits, there is a clip of each of the angels taken from the pilot. What is Jaclyn Smith seen doing?

Taking off a motorcycle helmet. In the pilot, at the start of the case, Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) rides a motorcycle to the front door of the vineyard mansion where the crime has taken place.

In the pilot movie, Kate Jackson is first seen doing what?

Riding a horse. In full equestrian habit, Kate Jackson is putting a horse through its paces when she gets a call from Charlie.

In the pilot, the angels and Bosley are assisted by Woodville, played by David Ogden Stiers — what is Woodville’s occupation?

Charlie’s lawyer. As Charlie’s lawyer, Stiers played in only the pilot episode and was never mentioned again. The producers opted for Bosley’s comic relief over Woodville’s erudition.

In the opening credits, Kate Jackson is shown driving a race car. What is the name of the episode the scene is from?

“Hellride”. “Hellride” was the first regular series episode aired, on September 22, 1976.

What does Sabrina do in “Circus of Terror”?

She is a clown. Kelly rides the motorcycles, Kris is the knife thrower’s assistant, and Bosley meets Tinkle Bell.

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feel free to friend me on facebook… larykennedy@facebook.com… im working on a system where anyone interested can be notified via e mail when i post a new blog… until then check in on my fb page or larykennedy.tumblr.com… check out the archives for past blogs… thanks for reading…

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