Oi... so here we are... all 'Steely Dan' and "Reelin in the Years". I won't go into detail but... it's pretty simple. Mom is old. And everything that comes with that has had me as busy as a one legged man in an ass kickin contest. And so, my "life" on the web mostly disappeared. Here... Tapestries... everywhere. Now, although it's still hectic, it seems to have stabilzed a bit. Especially since my own health issues have been addressed and sent packing. (Destination unknown).

It's gonna be a while before I catch up here though. 1,300+ submissions... 170+ journals... I managed to reply to all the ones I'd already replied to so that helps a little. Oh... and 1 trouble ticket. (Resolved)
I took several hours and whittled down the submissions to just over 550... for now. I have a LOT or reading to do to catch up. Patience mates and sheilas. I'm not as young as I use to be. :-P

So, for all my friends and watchers and such, yeah... been a while. Logged in today to find 447 submissions to go through... 112 journals... and plenty of extra stuff too. I'll get to grinding on it and see if I can catch up.
In answers to any curiosity kittens out there, my health is stable and has been for some time. Plenty needs fixin... but I'm still among the breathin population. So... why so long gone have I been? In a nutshell;

2 months ago the health of me mother (still going and closing on 98) started taking a turn south. Several doctor trips and many, many, many questions and tests reckoned out the gist of the troubles and they've been addressed as much as one can for such as we become at ages beyond our ability to ken.
As well as that, my neighbor-friend-co-worker-boss-all around good egg also began to have difficulties and required help quite often. Sadly that took a dour turn roughly 6 weeks ago when I got a panicked phone call asking to please take him to the ER. It turned out he was having a heart attack. Despite valiant efforts, the years and time and previous damages had taken their terrible toll. He passed away peacefully with family after being in the hospital for a little over a week. Since that time I have worked with his family to help with things down here because they still have another family member in the hospital up north (next state up) and none of them are spring chickens anymore either. Plus there were 3 dogs to be cared for daily... now down to two as the oldest dog has been taken to the family farm to live out her days. The two pups remain but will become my sister's newest additions to her family by the end of the 4th of July weekend.
Anyone that has had to deal with the aftermath of a relative/extended family member's passing knows just how much there is to doing clean up, inventory, paperwork, ect, ect, ect. So that has kept me very busy for quite some time... hence my lack of time here. Or anywhere, for that matter. Time will pass... things will return to whatever 'new order' this might be... and I'll be back.
Hugs to all of you and thanks for being long distance friends/mates/pals/acquaintances. In the immortal words of Kenny Loggins... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmPckNvD3E

=^-.o^=

Disclaimer: Before you read further, understand I WILL be talking about stuff you likely don't wanna hear. Reality sucks.


So... watching the days go by and the slow and steady decline of all things;

My mom's health... crikey, she's 97 yaw'll. There IS an end to it all eventually.

The planet: Have ya ever heard of the Remora? It's a parasite fish that attaches itself to it's host and slowly sucks the life out of it. Unlike the tick or a leach, it doesn't fill itself and swim away to let its host live for another day... digest its meal and look for new prey. No. It stays attached until its meal ticket dies. Stupid fish. Humans are the same. We've attached ourselves to the planet and are sucking out all of its life we can, as fast as we can. As if all the shit we rip out of the ground... all the water we casually pollute... and the air we poison... as if it'll magically replace those resources FASTER than we are using them... or fix what we abuse so callously.
Long back, in avation, there was a term pilot's used... called 'P.O.N.(a)R.'... meaning the Point Of No Return. When fully calculated... load vs power vs lift vs runway length, it literally means that invisible line where, if the brakes were NOT applied at (or before) that point, then there was no way to avoid a crash if you did NOT lift off. I have a pretty good feeling there's a PON(a)R for our planet. And she's hit it a few times before. Ice age anyone? I think we forget we exist here at HER blessing for if she gets to the point where she's had enough, there is NOTHING you pitiful humans can do about it. Maybe we don't go extinct like the Dinos... but, be sure, there won't be half of us remaining. More like 10%.

My nation: Gonna get grief here but I am NOT blaming Trump. Trump is just another symptom of the disease. For a long time we've been walkin down this road... to our end. And, strewth, it's not like it was NEVER gonna happen. Name ONE civilization that HAS NEVER blown itself up and rebirthed out of the ashes? China has done it so many times I think they should know the way by now. You would think... with the history of humanity... that we'd see our past with knowing eyes and say, "Hmmmm... that sucked.... let's not do that again." But, nope... we forget and we refuse to learn. We have wonderful sayings for it all too! "That only happens to other nations." "We're smarter now so that won't happen." "Oh, the world has changed so those things won't happen again." Ain't life grand?
America has been on a long slow walk off the cliff for most of my life. Our attitude sucks... "We're the greatest nation on earth!"... our egos are so over-inflated it's a wonder any of us can walk through a door. We're spoiled... entitled... arrogant... ignorant.... I could go on and on but I can offer a comparison. France. When the aristocracy was SO bloated and full of itself that (falsely) Marie Antoinette was credited with saying 'let them eat cake'. While not true, it does point out the gianormous divide between the classes and the masses and we all know the end result of such blind ignorance of self that brought about the revolution and the demise of that nation... then reborn from the ashes.
So, yes. If you study history long enough you see the patterns of self destruction of past nations, great and small... and we're solidly, and steadily, walking right down the middle of that road. Will it happen before my time expires? (shrug) Who knows. And he ain't talkin.... even if Horton says he heard him.

My health; I called up H.G.Wells about his time machine... but he ain't talkin. I did a google search for the fountain of youth... Siri died laughing. I got the miles, many far too rough... and the warranty is expired some time ago... and the repair shop wants more than I've made in my entire life. Aches, pains, a thyroid that has a split personality disorder, a lump that comes and goes... as does my hips and knees... and I ain't growin younger.

I don't mind. Like mom, the end ain't something you can avoid forever. Whether it's your end, someone you love, or your nation... there are no breaks on this ride. And the ride doesn't stop to let you off either. When it's your time, you just get violently ejected into the abyss. Maybe I can rise from my ashes? Or... maybe it's time to find a new existence... somewhere not here. And no, I ain't checkin out early... so chuck that dingo vomit into the trash where it belongs. When this ride gets to my stop, I'm grabbin my body pillow and a parachute and hope like heck I have a soft landing.

In the womb, what do we know? Sure seemed like forever before the light hit the eyes, oi? Waiting... and waiting....

When we're born, our lives are so simple. We sleep (a LOT)... we eat... we poop and pee.
Our mobility is pretty restricted for a while... until we learn to crawl.
Before long we start to talk and walk and then it's a rocket ride. Look out world... here I come.

School begins the time of remembering. I cannot remember things from before school... at least not in any super clear detail... just bits and pieces.
It's also the time to get those hormones burning. You go from teasing the girls to wooing the ladies.

School's out and now comes the responsible road. Bills to pay... family to raise... life to live.
While this seems to last forever... it also seems rather short. Before long you're planning retirement and looking ahead to the exit ramp from the rat race.

Finally... all that work has paid off and you get to go back to enjoying life again... just like when you were a kid. Sure, you still have that "adult feelings of responsibility" that came along later... but, for sure, it's your time again. No clocks to punch... the kids are grown and doing their own thing... it's party time!

But it's a short party. The years just keep coming and coming and, before long...

...we're not walking quite as good. And you're sleeping (a LOT)... and eating... and pooping and peeing.

And waiting.

Well.. the meme's are abundant for this one. Here's a list of appropriate music to punctuate the story;


It started with a sudden feeling; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMp6Mvet3Kk

Basically I blacked out after trying to lift up something a bit heavy. Next thing I know I'm headed to the ER; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euXtj2a8oiM

I reckoned it was my time; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scpqae3P7Dg

Seems my heart had a pretty serious arrhythmia and they had to do some drastic stuff to fix it; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybcxIpb-R_0

Yup... I got the big 'jumpstart' with battery cables and all that jazz. So... I'm... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX8GG3dnsp8

Sorry I missed ya'll for so long; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQUlA8Hcv4s

But I'm not that easy to kill.

So... my friend Vixyyfox recently did one of his stories and I was about to reply when I got to thinkin 'bout just how often, and how easy, people confuse these two states of being; Pessimist and Realist. Quite often the words each uses are so similar that most just assume it's the same thing and there's no real difference. Politicians use this tactic a lot... speaking in one direction with enough ambiguity to allow themselves to say, "But that's not what I meant. You're twisting my words." So... what IS the difference between a Pessimist and a Realist?

To start with, actual hope, not wishful thinking. Yup... there's a difference. Actual hope is just that... you really DO hope for the best (or something better, at least). Wishful thinking is when you put one hand behind your back and cross your fingers. Your words say you're hopeful but your heart says, "yeah... not gonna happen." Reactions to the end result will show you the difference. Actual hope gets a big smile, maybe even a tear, as their hope comes to fruition and becomes real. Maybe they didn't expect it to really happen but that doesn't make it wishful thinking... that makes them a Realist. A Pessimist is the wishful thinker. They might even SAY they think it might happen but their hearts are laughing their ass off inside. Fingers crossed behind their backs... they don't believe it will happen. So when it does, their faces always have an 'astonished' look about them... not exactly tears of joy here... just a collective "say WHAT?"

For as long as I've known the fact (which is a damn long time), I have said that mankind is a doomed species. The general reply is "You're a pessimist." My reply is, "No... I'm a realist." I have science and history to back me up but we all know when it comes to history, mankind is doomed to repeat it because they don't learn from it. Decades... nay, Centuries... nay, Millennia(s) have passed by and we still continue to do the same stupid we've always done. The definition of evolution is "to evolve"! Something we seem to have decided it's not our thing. Here's where the 'Realist' part comes into play. A Pessimist would say "Mankind is doomed." and mean it in their hearts. Fingers crossed behind their backs. Totally believing that "it'll never happen (evolution)" even if they make side arguments that it might happen. This is for show, ya know? Pessimists generally hate being labeled "Pessimists" and most will argue against such a label. But if you could see, and listen, to their hearts, those hearts would be laughing their asses off and saying, "Hell no it's never gonna happen!"
The Realist says it's not gonna happen... but hopes (very hard) that it will. We live to be proven wrong and enjoy it when we are. We hope like hell but... we've also walked the miles and lived the road and know every pothole and stone. We'd love to be an Optimist... to smile and say, "Of course it'll happen! You just have to have faith." But we can write a book bigger than War And Peace and not cover half of what we've seen in rebuttal. Life is brutally honest. An Optimist walks naked through it. A Pessimist sits down by the roadside and says, "Why keep walking? It's just gonna get worse." A Realist buys the best shoes and a good shield and starts walking behind the Optimist.

I actually had no idea this was a road. Never crossed my mind that someone capable of one thing could end up on the opposite side. It's happened to me this month. How did it happen? A persistent and continuous piling on of "bad things" until you become numb.
Since the start of December it has been this way. 2 cats ill, 2 huge vet bills, 2 people very close to me both dealing with cancer, and aging parent seeming to be on their way out as well. When I found one of my cats (Mr. Mittens) under the bed... passed roughly 12-24 hours ago... I should have felt something. Anything. A tear... a lil' bit of choking or tightness in the throat... sad feelings... ANYTHING. Instead, I simply sighed and prepped for burial and then put in freezer because it's cold and pouring rain for the next 24-48 hours. I'll deal with it when I can.
Now it's tomorrow and still I simply have a few passing memories of him float by every now and then... with still no more feeling than a rock. Sis's hubby is back in the hospital again... trouble with the chemo... 6 different cancers and several are stage 4. Las Vegas is giving him a million to one odds. Other close friend just had his spleen removed and a big ol' tumor as well. At least he's home resting with a good(?) prognosis. Why the (?) ? Because this is his 4th cancer fight to go along with 3 heart surgeries and various other ailments and surgeries. You get the feeling Death is on speed dial? And me? I just keep on rolling along. One foot in the grave and one on my skateboard. Mom now has 3 more sets of pills to enjoy for breakfast and dinner.
And I sit here typing this... numb to the core. If this keeps up I'll need to whack myself with a hammer to feel anything. :-/

If you love in your life, you will lose things through time.
They come and go... in various ways.
Some slip silently aside as two paths simply drift apart.
Some end abruptly... violently... suddenly... whether you wish it to or not.
In those times you realize just how little power you have and how much life has over you.

Loved ones... humans and pets... form the ever changing "family" of your time.
If you live long enough, you shall know much loss.
Not all things remain.
Not all things stay.
Not all things but some.
Some even outlive you.

Today I sit with the vultures... waiting... waiting for something to die.
Unlike them, I am not unmoved for such a death, to me, means the loss of yet another.
I have watched as time passes... like a vulture.
My own time passing by just as those around me do as well.

Tomorrow (highly likely) I shall rise and dig another grave.
Some distant tomorrow, someone shall rise and dig mine.
The irony is not lost. It only gives me melancholy smiles.
Goodbye Dusty Cat. Thank you for being part of my family.

Since the 1st days since it's arrival onto our universe, I have lived my life intelligently and carefully. I have avoided crowds... shunned human contact (physical kind)... and prepared my immune system just in case because I knew this day would come. Friday morning I woke up with the flu... so I thought. Saturday I could not hardly move. Every bone hurt. Every joint swollen. My head threatened to explode. My sinuses filled to overflowing and I could not breathe through my nose. My lungs ached as they began to fill with fluid. I fought. Sunday I did the same. It got worse. Yes... worse. No kidding. On Monday I managed to drag myself to town and the hospital where they threw me into quarantine and started me on fluids and whatever that machine is that you have to breathe through to get the shit broken up and out of the lungs. I came home Monday night. Today I'm better... slowly healing.

Make NO mistake. Covid can be nothing to one person and deadly to another. Doc said if I hadn't gotten the shots and done what I'd done to boost my system's immunity, I likely would be just another statistic. Pushin up daisies. I'm glad to be op top of the soil and lookin forward to a nice long life. That's my 4th 'near death' encounter. Cat's aren't the only one's with 9 lives. This coyote has plenty. But don't tempt fate. Don't be a fool and listen to the fear mongers and the nay-sayers. You wanna live? Do the work. You wanna take your chance... play a little Russian Roulette? Then don't do anything. It's your life. Your choice. All I ask is don't just take a bunch of internet idiots word for it all. Do the work. Learn something. Study masks... not someone else's work... YOU do it. Learn about the shots... not someone else's take on it... YOU learn. I did. And I'm here today because I did. Don't think I wasn't skeptical about a lot of shit posted and said and demanded... but I took the time and I LEARNED. Then I acted. I got my shots. I wear my mask now because I'm contagious. I don't when I'm not. I get checked regularly enough. It still slipped through my defenses and got me. But I live because I was ready. I hope you never go through this. It sucked balls and not in a good way. Be kind. Be smart. Be well.

Theo Wizzago, 'The' Coyote of Legend.

I mark this day with great sorrow for the golden fingered one has left this realm. A more beautiful sound has never be created so masterfully and for so long. Rest in Peace, Jeff Beck.

Ok. Everyone else was havin fun with dankedonuts (https://www.furaffinity.net/user/dankedonuts/) post (https://www.furaffinity.net/view/49026316/) so I just couldn't help but get on board (snerk). Although it won't be anything original. Sorry. However... several songs came to mind as I watched the clip. Love and Rockets 'Hellbound Train" for one. "City of New Orleans: by Arlo Guthrie would be another. But the song I couldn't stop singing to myself I think fits this perfectly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcXpKiY2MXE


No. The music is not mine. And no... this is simply a share, not pirating. Sheesh. :eyeroll:

Being a pet owner (or, more appropriately, being adopted by them) I cannot help but sympathize with https://www.furaffinity.net/user/mitsene/ As someone who follows her, I feel compelled and inclined to assist in this, the only way I can currently help. You can check my own page to confirm I very rarely do 'shout outs' like this... but when I do I do it with my full heart involved. If you can help, please consider doing so. If not, at least drop her a line to show the world still cares for such small things... that are so huge to those directly involved. All of us pet lovers have all experienced something similar to this... in this we are bonded at the hearts. Peace be with you all.

(link to journal) https://www.furaffinity.net/journal...../#cid:59275632

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTIXbxvyNVE


Yes... why? =^o.O^=

Hmmm, yes. I was here.
Before cell phones and home computers.
Before the internet.
Before television.
Before radio.
Before automobiles.
Before roads and paths.
Before wars.
Before the burn.
Before the ice.
Before man.
Before it all but the one.
Long before.
I am old and I am forever young and I shall leave when it is time... and it is not time.
Great Grandfather, time, and I.
When it is all gone we shall remain.
Some day we'll get bored and do it all over again.
Maybe this time we'll get it right.
But I doubt it.

Ha! And you thought this was just another Marvel promo. (thbpttttt!!!!) Anyways, my friend Gabi https://www.furaffinity.net/user/gabriellavedier/ did this after he got it from someone else. Seems like harmless fun so let's give 'er a go, ay?

Furry Quiz
With answers by me


1) Been in the fandom for... Longer than I even knew. Grew up immersed fully in cartoons (hey! normal kid!) that grew into me making costumes of my favorites for special occasions (yes, Halloween was, and still is, my favorite time of the year). My first 'fursuit' was Snoopy. Used a styrofoam cup for the nose mold and layers of felt for effect. It was awesome and perfect and I got a lot of compliments on it. That was in the 60's folks. I never gre (up?) out of that either. I still love cartoons and anime and the Muppets and movies like the Dark Crystal and Watership Down (my 2nd furry book growing up... my first was Perloo the Bold. You should find it for a good read sometime). I got into the Metal Hurlant (later Heavy Metal) magazine when it 1st came out. I bought every 1st edition D&D thing there was when it 1st appeared. Geek to the core. Furry heart and soul. But didn't know there was a 'furry world' out there until I was much older. Imagine my surprise.


2) Found the fandom how? - My best friend Gary (more family than friend). Who, BTW, also introduced me to Tapestries and this place. At the time I was playing Dhalgren (another morpg based off the book by the same name... and a great book too).

3) Chose your species cuz... Coyote. It speaks to my Apache heritage and to me.


4) Why/how did you choose your name? You'll love this. Theo is... well... sorta me. Sorta. Wizzago is a name I took for an online avatar/persona when I was trying to find a catchy way to say 'smart ass' or something along those lines. So I have this VERY old dictionary that weighs about 30 pounds and could be used as a lethal weapon... and I, on a whim, looked up the term 'wiseacre'. There, in the definition, it said the original term came from the name of a German Saint known for his practical jokes... Wizzago. So, yes... the name is stolen. (thbptttt!)


5) If you had to change your species, what would you choose? - Hmmm... Cat most likely.

6) What percentage of your friends are furries? - Online? Most of them. In the real world? Not many. I live in the buckle of the bible belt. I catch hell for dressing up like King Diamond on Halloween... can you imagine how they'd react to a furry??? I have some long distance friends but nothing local.

7) If you've been, favorite furry con, and why? - Just Vision Con and that was back when Gary was alive.


8) Got a fursuit? If no, why? - Did... it died. Now the fursuit I want is far more complicated than what's out there so it's gonna take a while to make/get made. Some things I'll have to outsource... most I can do myself. And, again, until I'm back on the road again far more often than I can be now, then there's no urgency to start/finish.

9) RP'ing is: Fun; Not my thing; A good way to "blow off steam." - A way of life. As kids we 'RP'd' all the time (I'll be the Tonto, you can be the Lone Ranger). When I got older it was Theater. Older still it was D&D. Even older still I worked as an entertainer in costume and character at a theme park. Then I went back to College and got into Theater again, preforming as Puck (perfect fit for me) in Midsummer Night's Dream. It was glorious.

10) Are you open about being a furry, i.e., if it comes up in conversation? - Yup.


11) Gay, straight or bi? - Straight. It's not like chances haven't happened for something else but I have never had any interest in anything else but girls (well... ladies now).

12) Ever kissed another furry? - Yup! On the park in costume. (She was my girlfriend at the time.)

13) Do you have adult art of your fursona? Not at this time and likely only as a nude. I'm not a prude but I like my romance.

14) Ever hooked up with another fur? Well... I'd have to say not really? I mean yes we both wore suits but, to her, it was part of her job (wearing the suit). To me it was paradise.

15) Opinion about murrsuits? - ??? Rought row raggy! This one I do not know about yet. Now I gotta go find out. =^O.o^=

16) Do you have a kink related to the fandom? Don't think so but would be open to try it. Except for the tail. Kinks in the tail hurt. =^@.@^=

17) Are you in any 18+ Telegram groups? No.


Th-th-th-th-that's all folks!!! (WB)

So I usually don't promote someone else's stuff unless I really, really, really, like it. I stumbled across this bit from one of the many FA musicians out there and gave it a listen... 10 times so far. It hits pretty hard IMHO. Brings back thoughts and memories. It's worth a listen if you have the time. And a share if you feel like I do about it. Thank you.

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45376433/

Sorry for the bad link. Fixed thanks to ursusarctos
UrsusArctos. Thanks brother bear.

I speak to all humanity...
What happened to our sanity?
When did we seem to lose...
our collective minds?
When we gather in mass...
we seem to lose class...
and to any intelligence...
we become blind.
I've found much good alone...
in the souls I know and have known.
Yet still I find myself surrounded...
by closed hearts and minds.
Perhaps it simply hides from me...
humanity's united sanity.
When did we seem to lose...
our collective minds.

Hate. Fear. Selfishness. These lead also to the dark side of the force.

Yup. You got it. First time ever for me to do a 'shout out' all by myself. I've passed along a few from my friends here but never done one by myself. 1st of all, a quick FYI, I've been a cartoonist affectionado for as long as I can remember. Even had a short lived strip of my own published WAY back when in Easy Riders magazine. I can draw almost any cartoon out there.. or, at least, I use to. Anyways, I stumbled across this fella's work today and spent hours reading and enjoying his stuff. If you like a good laugh and a good cartoon/comic, give him a look-see and maybe even a bit of support.

Thanks.

The Coyote of Legend. (That's me... ya know?)

https://www.furaffinity.net/user/rhjunior/

All props to Steven Tyler because I know how he feels. As long as I'd been in this internet hell hole, I'd scream like that too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIPS4LyveJs
Anyways, it's good to be free of the chains of internet tyranny. Hell... things are so good now I might just post stuff here finally! Something I couldn't do before. New computer... new ISP... new connection ability... I feel like I just stepped out of a clown car with only one working cylinder and into a Porsche 911 turbo. VaaaaROOOOOOOM baaaybe! Funny that around the same time Covid was shutting down everything that it would hit my internet too. A whole new meaning to 'computer virus'. =^o.O^=
Well, to all who have been (and still are) friends here, it's good to see ya again. I'll try and pop in to say hi in the coming weeks. Once again "The Coyote of Legend' roams the forums. (owwwwOOOOOoooooooooo!)

Once upon a time, in days of old, wide eyed gamers gathered around the tables in the basement dungeons around the world and prepared to kill dragons, become famous, and live the stories they once read about as small children. There were Legions of Knights... Archers fine... Sorcerers and Conjurers... Bards... Monks... Druids and always the Thief (good Thief of course). But someone... someone always got stuck with being the Paladin... the healer... for without which the party was truly doomed to suffer mightily. Ol' Lawful Good problem child of the realms of D&D (1st edition, of course).

Today, in a basement far removed from those days, a young Coyote... rebel scum... Chaotic Good Ranger Thief... scoundrel he... and his elderly Mage mother scurried about busy with those things of spring. Flowers and plants brought in for the harsh winter were being brought back out into the sun to frolic and bathe naked in the rain. A ritual of generations.

A crash. A cry for help. The ancient matronly magic mother had fallen... hard. Her arm had two elbows. That's not right. No panic in the young Coyote for he was wise with the centuries of his legendary being. A sigh... a breath or two. A call made. Preparations. Realization. Fear. The evil Dragon... the scourge of all that is good and right and fair was hard about the realm outside his door and bodies littered the airwaves daily. Tolling the numbers. Fear was palpable. Tangible. Real for far too many. No... panic he did not... but fear... oh yes. For he had good reason. You see, all this time... given guardianship of this bastion of grace and love and laughter... he had taken every precaution to protect and serve his parent her. No dragon was going to slay his loved ones! For I am mighty in my spirit and thou shall not pass!!!... my damn door. Nor would I ever ineptly take her out to face the dragon. But now... now... not only must I endanger her in such a way... but worse my fate! I must take her into the dragon's lair! Right into it's mouth. One breath... possible death. There was no other choice. And nothing beyond my meager skills could I do to better the situation.

However... at the entrance to the cave... the mountain... the home of the dragon and all it's kin... I found Paladins. No dragon did I see... nor did she. Such magnificent Paladins... healers... nurses and doctors and all armed to the teeth to slay the dragon. It shall not pass, they say with a smile and a "How can I help you?" My fears die away. Not today you dragon... not today.

The arm is repaired and we have returned to our humble home. My work is only beginning for a while now. But I shall never not respect the Paladins again. Every party should have at least one.

There's always this one battle we all wage from our very first breath... a battle we can never win but one we fight anyways because to lose is to truly lose everything. The war against time. It's a sucker's war and we're all born suckers. A clock we cannot see... a calendar beyond our vision and imagination... sands in an hourglass that is forever hidden until the last grain falls. Industries are born from it. Cultures change because of it.
We're born ignorant. Stupid of the battle we already face. Time is a bastard of a headmaster and school is always in session. Some of us never do know the war happened. Taken before we could learn. Casualty of the fates. Most of us learn as we go along though. The longer we fight the war, the more we wish we didn't know what we learned so far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGKNaIXtBZQ

I rarely admit self sorrow but today wasn't the kindest day of the calendar of my lifetime. Today I told my friends of years that I wasn't going to be able to continue on as a regular member of the weekend circuit. Time has taken it's toll. The miles have rendered me worn and tired. My fingers are bent and bloated and sore with arthritis... I have a tumor (benign but coming out soon, I hope) half the size of a football in my abdomen... the cartilage in my neck is nearly gone form a long ago accident and the bones grind on each other like stones... my shoulders hang on loosely in their sockets and ache... the tendons in my elbows are almost fried beyond measure and make it so hard to lift things, much less play music for hours. I hurt 24/7.
I have had a most wonderful and full life. But music is my passion... my love... my breath and my heartbeat... my soul. What I'll do next, I do not know... but after this weekend I shall hang up my bass guitar strap and only enjoy it when I feel I can. A casualty of war. I won't go quietly into that good night. I'll kick death's ass if he so much as pokes his ugly head in my door. I know I'll lose the fight someday. I hate knowing that. Until that day, I'll figure out a way to fight another year... another month... another day... another breath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dK6vb5-Pac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keslrXmghyc

Not that I was advertising for such a thing. My local menagerie is already fairly populous what with several deer, a handful of raccoons, a plethora of squirrels and chipmunks, one groundhog, at least one skunk (that nobody bothers), a very large barn owl (or twoooooooooo [seriously... you wanna try to sex them?]), dozens of hummingbirds and various other fliers, a fox family, a coyote... and 8 house cats. Add one more to the family... although I'm unsure of how this one will work out as of yet.
Today I was walking down the road a bit and found I had company in the form of a nice black bear. At first it was quite the meeting. I simply stopped walking and the bear did the same. So... I asked her her name. Shy thing she was. Ran away. I've been here for a long time and this is the first bear I've seen. Informed my partners at the conservation agency about it. One more on the tote board. She wasn't wearing a collar (tracking) and looked fairly young. I reckon she hasn't had her first litter yet. That could get interesting. Neighbors are informed as well now. Helped explain a few trash can tip-overs they were pondering about lately. Looks like I'll need to get extra mineral blocks this winter. =^o.O^=

Nope... this isn't a little ditty about the old west, Clint Eastwood, and Lee Van Cleef... this is just a bit of insight into mountain living. In the past month we've had a doe and her two new fawns on our back porch. So cute.
I now have no hostas because the deer ate them. Lemme rethink that 'cute bit'.
Last week a young grey squirrel, having had more than enough of the summer heat, crawled into the water pan that sits under the big 'ol tomato bucket where I grow tomatoes on the upper deck of the back porch (where the deer cannot get to them). After a nice wet cooldown he sprawled out on the back deck in the shade and passed out. I think my cats will have knots on their noggins for a week from bonking the window trying to get to that squirrel The squirrel? Oblivious to the thunking going on nearby.
Today those same cats were obviously after a bug that had the misfortune of getting inside the house. I have two giant cats that have a bug fetish... they, along with the smart spiders that know enough to not get onto the floors and you can see I have very few bug issues. However, it wasn't a bug that the cats were after... it was a scorpion... under a rug... where I walk frequently. The Scorpion has a new home now... very far away from the house. I'll be jumpy for a while now checking every nook, cranny, and under all the rugs to be sure he was an only child.
And I thought the snakes in the basement were a bother.

I rarely do these kinds of journals but I felt this one needed to be done. I'm not a fan of Jon Stewart and the rest of the newer 'talk show host' gang. I kinda stopped watching that stuff when guys like Leno and Letterman retired. I still catch an occasional show when I'm not watching one of my many anime movies or some other thing I enjoy more than watching people yack themselves to death trying to be funny (and, sometimes, they are).
But what Jon Stewart did... shaming Congress publicly into finally doing THE RIGHT THING... thank you Jon. A nation that cannot take care of their own doesn't deserve to be. When money becomes more important than the lives of it's citizens... especially those that sacrificed themselves in the way the 1st responders did on that fateful day... then, as a nation, we should all be ashamed of ourselves. A citizen standing up for others in the halls of the government... reminding us of WHY we are who we are... that's all Jon did. And he did it well... and he did us proud. Thank you.

I've been a good cook for most of my life. Started young when both mom and dad worked and I cooked for the family on many a day. Later, I even worked as a cook for various places. While serving in the military, once they found out I could cook, it was hard to escape KP. Not too long ago I was head Chef at the ol' Route 66 Restaurant. We did some awesome B-B-Q and coleslaw and all kinds of goodies but the thing I got the most praise for was my baked beans.
I make damn good baked beans. Sweet or spicy or both. I can adjust how much or little mustard flavor comes through and, using different mustards, I can even get different flavors to shine through. I make DAMN good beans.
But, no matter how good they are, I cannot solve the aftermath of 'damn good beans'. No... I won't make them at home in the winter when I have the down blanket on top of the quilt and a couple of other blankets and a sheet because... should the aftermath of 'damn good beans' silently appear, under the covers, in the middle of the night... one could die from such a thing. I've seen cats get up and leave the room. I've had the dog beg at the front door to go outside... in a blinding snowstorm. I almost joined him. I make Damn Good Beans. It's too bad there isn't a cure for Damn Good Beans.