Y'all Hang in There

COVID-19. We are all sick and tired of hearing, reading, and talking about it. The stark reality is it will impact every single person in the United States, and probably around the world, at some point. That doesn't mean our way of life is forever altered; on the contrary, it simply means we have to adjust until we develop an immunity to the virus.

Yes, I believe we'll be dealing with this virus for the remainder of our days. It will mutate, and it will continue being highly contagious. The proverbial genie is out of the lab...er, bottle. The numbers we are seeing relative to confirmed cases, recoveries, and deaths are staggering. More importantly than all that are two things: 1.) recent models estimate that upwards of thirty-five to fifty percent more people than anticipated have had the virus and showed now symptoms, or dealt with the mild to moderate problems it posed; and 2.) We've proven as a species that we can be good and wholesome to one another (and I had my doubts at times).

I try to make a habit of checking on my family and neighbors to make sure they are okay and they have everything they need. I call many of my friends to do a check-in. Many return the favor. You see, we are creatures who innately desire for our species to survive--in the most scientific reasoning. On the human level, we want our fellow man and woman to be okay. As such, it is important that we check up on one another and help each other out when we can.

When you stop to think about things, we have it much better than most. Yes, we can argue about our civil liberties being taken at the expense of a little safety, but when I think about my global travels, most especially to third world countries, I realize how absolutely awesome this country is. I also know that my blog is read globally, so I want others to understand that as Americans we know we have it good and if you are an ally, we will stand to help you, as we always do when times are tough.

All that said, my friends, let's hang in there and keep being good to one another. Yeah, there are tools in this world, and it's important to let them continue being tools. I erase the negative from my life and focus on the positive. Help those who need it if you can...in any way possible, and know if you need help, just holler. If I'm in a position to do something for you, I will.

Lastly, y'all hang in there. We'll get through this.

Peace,

~h

Rex Talks COVID-19

My miniature greyhound is confused and proceeded to ask me a few questions about the Coronavirus. Naturally, our discussions devolved into the obligatory verbose abyss.

Rex: What's up with the rush on toilet paper?
Me: I don't know, son...people get weird when things they can't control happen. It's a built-in human reaction.
Rex: I'm human, but let me show you how I manage this problem.
Me: Okay.
Rex: Open the backdoor.
Me: *opens backdoor*
Rex: *drops a deuce in the back yard* Also Rex: *runs back in the house* Also Rex: *drags butt across our carpet*
Me: Stop it, you nasty little bastard!
Rex: Daddy, I'm trying to save the world and you're cursing me.

Rex: Daddy, what is 'social distancing?'
Me: We have to maintain a one to two meter distance between two people to keep from getting one another sick.
Rex: Scratch my back. Yeah, yeah...right there...you know what Rexy likes.

Rex: I don't have hands so I am exempt from hand washing.
Me: Shut up.

Rex: You've made sure I don't bring home any sexually transmitted diseases because I don't have testicles.
Me: Dude, I've already told you I had nothing to do with that.
Rex: Whatever, Daddy.

Rex: Will this Corona-thing interfere with my wet food supply?
Me: So far, no, but I have no idea what the future may hold.
Rex: Give me "futures" address. I'll bite his penis.
Me: Dude, what is wrong with you?
Rex: A man has to eat!

Rex: Can we eat T-bone if food supplies get low?
Me: I can't believe you would consider eating your brother!
Rex: We ain't blood kin!
Me: Your backstraps are looking tasty.
Rex: Don't make me get the .380 and cap yo' ass.
Me: Boy, watch your mouth!

Take a Deep Breath--Away From People

Yeah, I get it...COVID-19 is here. Wash your hands, shave your face (guys and gals), shave your arms (Ibid), and keep the virus at bay. Folks, this is not the first time our country has battled an unseen enemy, but it is the first time we have seen it in our lifetime.

What can you do to help? Stay away from people. Wash your hands and arms frequently. Wear gloves to cut down on cross-contamination. Don't be a douche-hoarder. Yeah, that's important. Our elders and medical brothers/sisters need our support, not our ebay/Amazon has-beens.

Check on your neighbors--this is critical. Be leaders, not sheep like most I know. The flock is heavy today, but it struggles to find the cream that rises to the top. Don't be the assberry that hangs behind hoping for a solid wipe and promising prayer.

I love you all. I don't want to attend your funeral. I don't want to contribute to your chosen charitable organization because you are on your deathbed. Don't put me in that position. No...I prefer to see your political posts that are contrary to mine, your manbun that I laugh at, and your skinny jeans that I wished I fit into.

Guys, I want you to be here because I hate your point of view, and because this world needs your perspective and mine.

Much love to you all.

Forget Coronavirus For Just a Minute

As the virus gained momentum in the United States, and was no longer an Asian or European phenomenon, I was on a series of airplanes traveling up the east coast with stops in Charlotte, NC, Baltimore, MD, Philadelphia, PA, and Boston, MA (oh, and I started my journey in Atlanta, GA). Each of these airports are major hubs, and home to a vast number of international flights. To say that travelers buttholes were puckered tighter than a baby's mouth after sucking a lemon would be an understatement. The Coronavirus seems to have us all rather distraught at the moment!

People are nervous, and for good reason. We are being bombarded with growing death rates without valid testing and recovery data. Most understand that the virus is more hype than dangerous, but there is still a significant amount of concern to be given to this twenty-first century plague. Before I move on, allow me to say this: I have never seen passengers so courteous, aware, and cognizant of their surroundings. At no time in all my years of air travel have I seen airports and airplanes so clean and sanitary. It is truly a shame it took a global pandemic to get us to this point, but as the saying goes, "It is what it is."

The reason for this entry, however, is one that has remained with me the past thirty-six hours. On my return flight from Boston to Atlanta, I had a layover in Philadelphia. I noticed an older woman whose head was held high; her face a haughty facade. I notice these things about people and make mental notes of them as I move about public places.

As luck would have it, the lady sat across the aisle from me once we boarded our flight from Philly to Atlanta. She quickly ordered a Bloody Mary (it was bloody 10:30 AM and I was astounded!) and drank it down before boarding group six was seated. She and I were seated in first class (upgrades were available for forty dollars, and I could not pass that deal up), and were in boarding group one. American Airlines has made remarkable progress in the expediency of seating airline passengers--thank you, Southwest Airlines for the model!

I was battling a cold and cough and attempting, rather feebly, to mask my cough as the hypersensitivity of winter sickness ran amuck through the plane. If you dared cough or sneeze, the consensus was you were infected with Covid-19, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. I am currently on the mend if you are wondering. :)

About forty-five minutes into the flight, and three or four Bloody Mary's later, I noticed the haughty woman crying. I watched tears roll down her face as she stared blankly out her window, the bright morning sky reflecting on her shiny face. Not wanting to touch her, or anyone since I was sick, I leaned closer to her and asked if she was alright. The next few minutes rocked me to my core.

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied. She then followed with, "No, I'm not."

"Well, whatever is bothering you, I hope it turns out okay," I responded.

The tears really began flowing after our exchange, and I noticed her hand as it shook the empty cup that formerly held her drink. She spun the ice clockwise then counter-clockwise, her mind lost in thought. After a few minutes she looked at me and said, "I bought a one-way ticket to Atlanta. My daughter has cancer, and I'm trying to get all these tears out of me before I see her. I've never dealt with anything like this before."

Whew! I thought back to my original impression of her and realized how wrong I was. This poor lady was trying to maintain her composure in a chaotic environment.

"Where are you from," I inquired?

"Central Jersey," she replied.

For a few minutes, this glorious lady went on to tell me that her daughter and her daughter's husband had moved to Atlanta less than a year earlier. It was then that she was diagnosed with cancer in her adenoid and tongue. She showed me a picture of her smiling daughter lying in her hospital bed, a smile on her face, but beneath her chin a cut in her neck from her right ear to just past the midway point of her throat.

"How old is your daughter," I asked?

"Thirty-one," she said.

"I'm so sorry," I told her. "That's way too young for these kind of problems."

The lady wiped another tear away from her cheek, as she told me about how strong and wilful her daughter is. She was obviously a distraught mom going to a new city to provide something only a mom can give.

She and I talked for the remainder of the flight, and I helped her to baggage claim and to the location where her ride would find her. I let her know that she and her daughter would be in my prayers. It dawned on me after we parted that I never asked her name, nor she mine. But what she did do was thank me for letting her cry on my shoulder.

For that I am forever grateful.

Be good to one another, y'all.

~h

Time Marches On

Another year, another Christmas, another birthday has passed, and here I am still hanging in there like a rusty nail. I took a month off work at the beginning of December, and spent a week in San Francisco...the time focused on reflecting on 2019, the additions to my life, the good friends I have made, the laughs, anguish, the victories, and the failures.

Like everyone else, life stops for no one, and we all have to deal with what life throws at us on a regular basis. In most cases I try to remain positive, but when things get truly difficult, I sometimes get angry or wallow in misery. Hey, I am human. What can I say? Yeah, 2019 threw me a few curve balls, but I soldiered through it.

All that said, 2020 promises to be even more exciting than 2019. More changes are around the corner. Some of them make me very nervous, but life, as I said, waits on no one, so onward I will charge. It's not that I fear failure, it's that I fear not being successful. Does that make sense? I want nothing more than to build something from scratch that is profitable, sustainable, and more than value added.

Now that we have officially entered the new year, my wife and I have planned our first ever cruise. Yes, we have traveled all over the world, but I have never been on a cruise ship. I am super excited to do this! On top of that, the cruise is the second ever launched Crimson Cruise--a ship full of former Alabama football players and coaches. Roll Tide Roll!!!

We have also been busy booking flights to Orlando where we will bring a lot of our family together to hang out for a few days. In May, we will host our annual family reunion at Green Acres, and in June, we are having good friends in from Pittsburgh.

On top of getting to see grandchildren and play with them, I really plan on doing some hiking and a lot of fishing this year. In fact, I want to get my scooter ready for some serious road trips. I have done any real riding in some time.

There are also events planned with respect to my martial arts. Indiana, Washington D.C., and Pittsburgh on my to travel to list this year. I do hope 2020 works out as planned. Like I said, life always throws us curve balls...we just have to keep swinging away.

Mr. Glass

When I was a kid...maybe ten or eleven years old, I was asked by one of our neighbors to come and "sit" with her father, Mr. Glass, while she ran to complete her errands. I remember that he was in his early 90's, was hard of hearing, and his vision was failing. Mr. Glass would rock back and forth as he sat on his chair and he told me about growing up in rural Alabama. We would sit for hours under his carport (that's a garage without the enclosure for my northern friends) and he would talk to me.

His daughter, probably in her 60's back then, would come to my house and ask my mom if I could sit with him (it was elderly sitting, I reckon, but I loved spending time with him), and I would always say "yes." Even back then I recognized personality and the ability to weave a brilliant story. Mr. Glass had a way of speaking that even a ten year old would appreciate.

Mr. Glass loved to "whittle," and especially he made "walking sticks," or canes. He would charge me twenty-five cents for each one, and I saved my money to purchase one from him--they were masterpieces after all, especially for a ten year old.

I recall a story he told me about walking along the train tracks back in the thirties and finding a matchbook with a hundred dollar bill in it. He gave it to his dad...not realizing what he had found or why anyone would keep that kind of money in a matchbook. That cash fed his family for the remainder of the year.

He always had this distant look to him...like he was peering into the past. He spat as though some unseen hair was stuck to his lip and he wanted to be rid of it. And still he rocked when he realized I came to sit with him. His face would light up knowing I was there to hear his stories.

I haven't thought about Mr. Glass in a long time, but something triggered this memory...although I'm not sure what.

I remember my mom picking me up from school. I was in fifth grade. On the way home she told me Mr. Glass had died. My initial feeling was selfish..."how would I hear his stories?" When I got home, I went to my room and cried...in private. I missed my friend, and I would miss his stories. Most importantly, although I didn't realize it then, I would miss his life lessons. What a sweet old man he was.

What does all this mean? I'm not really sure, but I think it is imperative that we learn from those with life experiences...and love without compulsion. I miss that old man...and would love to have another hour with him to record our conversations, and give him one final hug.

This video hit home after I wrote this--I Believe

Have a glorious Thanksgiving, y'all. Love your family and friends...and be thankful for everything you have.

A summer I won't forget

I haven't updated my blog since July. To be honest, I've dealt with trials, tribulations, and exquisite happiness--and all of it has pulled me away from my writing. My fourth book, Your Story: Tales of Love, Tragedy, Despair, and Healing hit the market in the early months of this excessively hot summer. A crazy and upside down experience at work (yes, I have a real job...believe it or not) reeked of havoc and lunacy for some time. But most incredibly, Cathy and I were blessed with grandchild number two...followed shortly by grandchild number three--obviously, our kids were bored out of their collective minds having conceived in such a short period of time.

Yes, my plans for book five and six were derailed, but I ain't mad. Life is good, as they say, and life with our grandbabies is phenomenal. Maya, Maverick, and Ellie light up every fiber of my being. I could not be happier than I am to have these young 'un's in my life. We had them all together not so long ago. Okay, I can only take a limited number grands at once, but I don't love them any less. :)

There's nothing better than the smell of a baby. When they look up at you with their trusting eyes and coo, my heart melts. Jesus...have I become an old softy? I want to help teach them the ways of the world...to show them all how to fish, hunt, take care of themselves, and show them a love of academia. Yes, I know they have parents who will mold them, but I do want to influence their lives in a positive way.

Anyway, the work thing is what it is. When a door closes, another will open. Like old Stephen King pointed out in his Gunslinger series, the door you choose doesn't have to dictate your life, but it will influence your here and now. So, now I am faced with a new door that I long to open...and we shall see what the here and now presents.

So, to everyone wondering what is in store for my writing--yes, book five and six are in the works. The political book I promised is coming along (slowly), and the next Bill Evers book will finally emerge (slowly). I am working, and I am writing, but at a pace that doesn't suit me, but it's a pace that God has dealt, so who am I to argue?

Peace and love, y'all.

~h