Baby, It’s Been So Long
1. Sickness, Despair – It’s been a long time since I’ve hung around these proverbial bar stools. Apologies to my few readers who give a damn and to those I left hanging as far as interviews go. The delay simply came from two fronts: I became ill for an extended time (What? For the sixth time since November, I think?) and I had to focus on some serious personal issues that eventually led to an extremely tough decision to not come home to Detroit. Now that the illness has subsided and my despair is lessened a bit – although I am still antsy as hell being here – it’s time to get back to blogging and communicating to the virtual world of echoes. And to those three of you that I contacted whilst I came down with said illness, I shall be recontacting you soon.
2. Lessons in Walking the Talk – Yeah, I’m targeting you, Henry’s. Yes, again. Can someone forward this video from a store that has a clue to Henry’s and any other establishment in the whole of San Diego that acts like they give a shit about food? Maybe in a decade they’ll be half as cool as New Seasons after watching it.
3. No England! - Euro 2008 is upon us and the world won’t see the English on the pitch this time around. Their failure to merely qualify for Euro is sign enough of the declining state of football across the U.K. I think it’s good, actually. It’ll be nice to see all the other teams get some spotlight for a change – like Portugal! Or Spain! Both of whom I am rooting for to take the tourney. However, I think the end will fall into either France‘s or Italy‘s hands once again. I love entire months devoted to football. Hell yeah.
4. Mommy – For those of you that may not know, much of my family is Deaf. I am a part of the Deaf culture as much as I am a part of the hearing world, as the Deaf tend to call it. While I live in Southern California now, my mom still remains in Portland. Ever since her move to the Pacific Northwest on our tails from Michigan some years ago, she has become quite the popular lady at Chestnut Lane – an assisted living facility geared toward the deaf and deaf blind. In this promotional video, she and her “boy” friend, Harold, make an extended appearance (at the 5:40 mark) as the facility’s first “true lovebirds” as well as being the most avid users of Portland’s awesome public transportation system (which, to this man, is reason enough to move back there). I know that in riding the commuter train across town, she recalls in the back of her head in stark black and white film the days when trolleys criss-crossed Detroit – and, posthumously, she relives those days 60 years later.
5. Heroes – You never really know if you’re raising an exceptional child until they come out of the blue and surprise the shit out of you. Last week, Delphina was hanging out after school with some chums while waiting to be picked up. A group of kids – members of the FDA (Future Douchebags of America) as Fina and I like to call them – flocked around one girl and picked on her. Why? Well, because, first off, she’s out. And, second of all, she was in a state of elation because she has a new girlfriend. How cute is that? Of course, the FDA cadre descended upon her as if she were carrion and decided to feast on her remains. Delphina not only stood by her friend but vocally came to her defense and told the douche-baggers off. This is one of those moments that makes me want to cry because I know she’s on the right track. Somehow, some way, she got it and gets it – and she’s my hero for staying true to it.
Sad to hear you will not be coming back to Detroit. :( I am glad you are feeling better and are blogging again. Delphina’s actions do not surprise me because she has two of the most awesome parents on the planet. Kudos to you on a fine parenting job. Talk to you later.
Thanks, Nick! Yeah, we’re bummed about not returning, too.
An interesting addendum: Today, we picked up Delphina and these same kids harassed her this afternoon and sprayed Axe cologne on her and her things. Of course they laughed and made fun of her. Delphina didn’t want me to say anything for fear of retaliation (she has 3 days left of school) but I had to stand up for her. I talked to one of the kids from our car so as to not seem like I was going to wring his neck. I think I might’ve made him make some poopies in his panties, though. This was the point, of course.
Finally! I thought we were going into another dark period. Sad news about Detroit, but understandable. Why don’t you guys just move back to Portland already?
he’s back!
i’m quite sad that there’s no england…b/c there’s no team in the thing i care about. i’m pulling for france, cause what the hell, right? i go ireland first, cause i was there for the world cup qualifying in 2001 and that was incredibly special, and if they don’t make it (which they usually don’t) england is on stand-by. no england. craziness. what happened to michael owen?!?! he was my boy! i’m telling you, the champions league is cursed. owen & beckham go to real madrid and now what? my boy henrik larsson (MON THE HOOPS!) goes to barcelona and now what? stupid spaniards.
and as far as your daughter, that’s wicked pissah budday :) i know when i heard my ma tell me that there was a boy in noah’s kindergarden class who all the other kids made fun of, and noah went to be his friend and told the others to stop i almost cried from joy. f the db’s, dude. f ‘em in the a!
I passed along the “wicked pissah” to Fina. She thought it might’ve been an insult until I filled her in on New England speak.
Another addendum: The boy who I scared the shit out of? He approached Delphina this morning and apologized. At the very least he learned something. So did I – I really didn’t like yelling at the kid. It actually made me upset to do it. But as a dad, I had to bring the guard dog out – woof woof woof! So, all things said, everything seems to have turned out well.
And Randy: hmmmmmmmm…..
Also, I need to clarify something. Apparently my wife thinks I misled everyone into thinking I was on a deathbed for a few weeks, which I was not. I got my seventh cold/flu related illness and was sick for about a week. When this happens while I work overnights, which on its own puts me on my deathbed anyway, it becomes very difficult to get rid of an illness and even when it does go away, the exhaustion lingers on forever. So….the hiatus came from a simple cold and not a deathly illness.
Clear?