Headvoice

Salt Air

I am sitting on my parent's front porch in Barnegat Light this morning with the laptop watching the joggers, walkers and cyclists parade by. There is a light breeze blowing off the bay and it is warm and humid with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. In other words a perfectly typical July morning on the Jersey shore.

Yesterday afternoon, after shedding my traveling clothes in exchange for shorts and flip-flops, my Dad, my nephew, and I spent a few hours casting for striped bass in the inlet, bobbing close to the jetties. Even though it has been years, the sea legs kicked in, and we soon had some bluefish on our lines. Since we don't eat them, it was a purely catch and release operation.

No matter how long I am away from this place, the sea air and the surf take me right back to my childhood.

No return address

This morning's mail brought this little gem.

My favorite four year old

Luigi's birthday is a day with a surfeit of treats.

The more you ignore me the closer I get...

Hey buddy at Bathurst and College today around 1PM...

Just because you are riding around in an absurdly painted mini-fucking-cooper I don't need to hear your complaint shouted across the intersection about my driving when the goddamn streetcar driver asked me to move there in the first place.

Context awareness please! Above all.

When you spoke I just felt the need for you to have an enema as soon as possible.

Let it go. For all of us.

Chutes and Ladders

I don't ever think I played an entire game of this, but it popped up in my youth more than a few times. Sure it was kind of girly; but the premise was, and still is, poetically true. Everybody gets that.

A life can be so succinctly described as a series of ups and downs, with chutes and ladder moving us across the big cardboard board game of life and that is why it was found in so many households. Next door to my grandparent's house, Lisa and I played in on rainy afternoons, when going to the beach was not an option.

Forty years later the same rules apply, but now the map is at least half full, with my accomplishments and failures on the white board for all to see. Last week there was a nice big ladder put in front of me, and yesterday an equally sized chute appeared. The whole two steps forward and three steps back...

Today's Horoscope:Leo- You have the confidence you need to overcome any obstacle today.

Mark and I are in a very similar situation now in our own specific ways. Anxiety and stress are all we seem to have this summer. Even Luigi is out of sorts.

So, let's bring on the power of positive thinking! Get out "The Secret" and read on! We've got nothing to lose...

Stereo Holidays

This is the first year I can say I am a citizen on Canada Day, which is celebrated on the first of July for our American readers. So that means I got to savor two patriotic events over one very long weekend. Lovely.

And the news is good on the new business side of things. Of course I am flirting with abject poverty but it seems when I don't let that or any other fear gnaw at me, if I just proceed along unaffected then the universe shows up with prompt results. Oh no. I sound like one of those people who read the "secret" or whatever it's real title is. I don't have to read those books to be impacted by them. Mark practically reads them to me...

Luigi is sullen. Our vet suggested some behavior modification steps and his reaction has been dramatic. He doesn't seem to be sickly, and the vet did say this would be an effect of the treatment.

Great, now every living creature I know is neurotic.