I think it's time I get serious about writing again, although I'm not sure how I'm going to manage that since I'm still serious about fitness and intend to remain so, I still have two teenagers yet to raise and God knows that's serious business. And then there's that dead end job of mine, which is not that serious but it is time-consuming.
It seems to me that the first thing I need to do to get back into writing is to declutter my office and my hard drive. That may be an excuse to postpone writing, those things are sneaky, but it feels important. Here is a poem that I found amongst my Microsoft Word documents. It's by Samuel Hazo; I have no idea where I found it, but I can see why I kept it.

The Nearness That Is All
by Samuel Hazo

Love's what Shakespeare never
said by saying, "You have
bereft me of all words, lady."
Love is the man who siphoned
phlegm from his ill wife's throat
three times a day for seven
years.
Love's what the Arabs
mean when they bless those
with children: "May God keep them
for you."
Or why a mother
whispers to her suckling, "May you
bury me."
Love's how the ten-year
widow speaks of her buried
husband in the present tense.
Love lets the man with one leg
and seven children envy no man
living and none dead.
Love
leaves no one alone but, oh,
lonely, lonelier, loneliest
at midnight in another country.
Love is jealousy's mother
and father.
Love's how death
creates a different nearness
but kills nothing.
Love
makes lovers rise from each
loving wanting more.
Love
says impossibility's possible
always.
Love saddens glad
days for no bad reason.
Love gladdens sad days
for no good reason.
Love
mocks equivalence.
Love is.

Happy Anniversary

When Kim and I got married in 1993 between us we had four divorces, three kids (and another on the way), two student loans but only one job. We had only known each other for 11 months, not long enough to know that we were complete opposites in so many ways. And I had a mullet. So understandably there were people who thought it wouldn't last.
But it has not only lasted but flourished. Sometimes we wonder why it is that we have such a happy marriage. Is there one right person -- a soul mate -- and if you find him or her does everything fall into place? Or is it because we've learned from previous relationships and previous mistakes and patterns of behavior? Is it because at a certain point we both decided we would rather make each other laugh than be right and prove some point?
Or maybe it was because we picked a special day to get married. August 29th certainly seems like a magical date to me. People say that August is the only month without a holiday in it, but it doesn't seem that way to me. I have never understood how people can forget their anniversary. I start looking forward to mine in February.
So maybe that's it. Maybe August 29th is a magical marriage day. It's certainly a special day this year, more special than usual. It's our 15th anniversary -- which is the crystal anniversary. And we are celebrating tonight with a huge party for a couple hundred friends, it will be catered with gourmet food and lots of beer and wine. There will be a DJ and dancing and professional photographers there to document the event.
But this party is not for us. It's for my oldest daughter Leah who is getting married today. I have to admit when she first said she wanted to get married on our anniversary I wished she would have chosen another day. It was a selfish thought. I wanted that day to just always be about nothing but me and Kim. But now I realize what a compliment it is to us and I'm glad she chose this day to tie the knot. It's a magical day -- doubly so now. And Leah has found the right guy. As long as they remember it's better to laugh than win an argument I have no doubts that there's will be a long and happy union.
Happy anniversary, Kim. And thank you for 15 wonderful years.
And happy anniversary, Leah and John. Here's wishing you many more.

collecting

I've put my collecting on hiatus. I haven't bought any comic books for months. I'm using my postcards to enter Games World of Puzzles contests. And I haven't been sending off for any autographs either. But I haven't given wondering when a celebrity dies if I already have his or her signature. I went 1 for 2 lately. I didn't have Bernie Mac's but I did have Isaac Hayes.

The reason for my change of habits is the fact that my daughter is getting married in (OMG!) less than two weeks, and you would not believe how much that costs. I still collect stuff that doesn't cost anything like literary references to the song "MacArthur Park" (although I haven't seen any of those around lately either) and retronyms. A retronym for those of you who don't know is a new word for an old thing, a word that didn't need to exist until advances in technology mandated it. "Rotary phone" is a retronym. (Before push button phones they were just called telephones.) As are "push mower" and "manual transmission." I found one just the other day. Someone made reference to a "printzine" (as opposed to an e-zine.) Back in my day we just called them magazines.

We Have a Winner

Well, the Big Beer Belt Buckle giveaway is over and the Random Number Generator has spoken, our winner is Jenny. Congratulations and thanks to all who entered. I will definitely do this again.