Tag Archives: The BCPF

Dads or: A Good Day

19 Monday Jun 2017

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Salutations™!!2015-11-27 10.17.33

So, yesterday was Father’s Day. I had a great one. Started with brunch with my baby, The BCPF, at the brand new Sweet Potatoes restaurant. Then we went to grab 3B. Went to my folks’ place to see my own Pops and then we came back home, set up our event tent, put a fan outside, our Bluetooth-enabled speaker, some Top 40 Countdown for this week in 1986 on SiriusXM, drank a little brew and just had a fantastic time with my family. We had about 5 hours out there. 3B hung out with us, talked with us.

Combined that with the awesome Saturday I had with my girl and it was an amazing weekend. Underdog Records, Mary’s Gourmet Diner, Old Nick Williams Spirits, Willows… it was just too cool. Thank you to The BCPF and 3B for making my Father’s Day so great. Happy Dad’s Day to Ma Père and all the dads that are my friends, colleagues, readers, listeners, and followers. You are so very important to me, mean the world to me. Yeah, I know I use the picture a lot, but it’s a good one with my dad.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that’s why I call you dad, [sic] because you are so special to me. You taught me the game and you taught me how to play it right.” – Wade Boggs

Logging It In or: Sharing the Collection

12 Monday Jun 2017

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Salutations™!!Discogs_logo.svg

I have been talking a lot about vinyl and the joys of collecting that The BCPF and I have been into. We really, really are into that and we’ve amassed a lot of $1 albums. We have a lot of the others, too, but it’s easy to get the $1 ones. Our collection has grown. Thank you Underdog Records!

But, I’ll admit that I am constantly paranoid that something will happen, some disaster or other badness and I’ll lose what I have. Not only with vinyl, but the films, DVD/Blu-Ray, CDs and The BCPF’s book collection. I have dealt with some cataloging software in the past and still have access, I believe, to the DVD/Blu-Ray/CD stuff that I put in a few years back. But, when it comes to vinyl, I have to say that I love Discogs.

Discogs is another site/service that I taut on the Sunday blogs. And, let me be clear, I am not paid or endorsed in anyway from Discogs. This is not an advertisement, just me telling my joys and love for a service that is more than just a cataloging platform. It’s, in a way, a social network and marketplace, as well. It’s easy to use and for the most part you’ll always find what you have on there. Or, what you want.

What I mean by that is, there’s a marketplace where you can buy or sell the records you want or are looking to unload. It’s no eBay or Craig’s List, but it’s easy to do. It’s easy to do if you’re able to let stuff go. I’m not able to, so I don’t know how much selling I could do on there. I’d buy, though.

Back to the disaster thing. If that disaster happens, I can easily show insurance or whomever what was in my collection, Discogs dives you an approximate value for your collection (minimum, median and maximum values based on its own market numbers) to help the appraisers in their work.

Another feature that Discogs has is it’s randomizing capabilities. If you have 20 records, that’s one thing. You have 100 records or more, then you have a lot to go through. If you’re OCD like The BCPF and me and have to have everything in alphabetical order, then the random grab method is moot. You can hit random on the app and it will randomly pick an album. Don’t like that? Hit it again. It’s just a cool feature. Oh, and it’s on app on your smart phone and on your interwebs, as well. There are advantages of each.

The last part I want to talk about Discogs’ features is the friends list. Right now, I only have two people on my friends list. Each of them, or anyone who allows me to know their user name, I can see their collection. I’ll say that one of them is Clay Howard. I have bartered a trade of started a conversation about purchasing some of his collection (he has multiples of some titles) because I can go on and see what he has. Same with him on my end. That’s where the social aspect comes in.

So, yeah, again, I’m not paid by Discogs to talk about them, I just love the service and get a lot of mileage from it. Especially when The BCPF and I are in buying mode and we can’t figure out which ones we have, especially in a serial collection like Chicago’s discography. It’s just good, clean fun. It also does CDs, but I don’t want to mix my mediums on that list. If you’re a collector of either vinyl or CDs, Discogs is my recommendation for archiving, sharing and enjoying them.

Until tomorrow, happy spinning…
Scorp out!

—
“The discogs.com domain name was registered on 30 August 2000, and Discogs itself was launched in November 2000 by programmer, DJ, and music fan Kevin Lewandowski originally as a database of electronic music.” – Wikipedia page for Discogs

Silent Sunday or: The Haul 6/10/17

11 Sunday Jun 2017

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Salutations™!!

The BCPF’s and my journey to Underdog Records yesterday was a successful and fruitful one. We got some good stuff and since you’re reading, let’s just jump to it, eh?

Gene_Simmons_(album)_cover

©Casablanca Records/Universal Music Group

 

We listened to several of them yesterday and excluding the Gene Simmons album – because it’s Gene Simmons – and the Queen album, I was really, really impressed and happy with the Michael McDonald album. Great musicianship and production. But, Underdog was jumping yesterday and we had fun. If you’re into vinyl and haven’t been to Underdog Records, then shame on you. “I don’t have a turntable,” you say? Well, Underdog has you covered. They have turntables, receivers, and speakers for sale. Pick one and find a whole new joy in music. And, if you’re not using Discogs to curate your LP collection, then you’re also missing out. If (goodness forbid) something happens, you need to know what you had to turn in to insurance and to recollect if you are so inclined.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Happy listening!

—
“I keep forgettin’ we’re not in love anymore. I keep forgettin’ things will never be the same again. I keep forgettin’ how you made that so clear. I keep forgettin’.” – “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” (McDonald, Sanford, Leiber, Stoller)

Say Anything… or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

10 Saturday Jun 2017

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Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movie of the Week, Say Anything… (1989), starring John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney.

Say_Anything

©20th Century Fox

 

Per IMDb: “A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.”

Lloyd Dobler (Cusack) starts obsessing over Diane Court (Skye) at their high school graduation. She’s the valedictorian, and most assume she’s “out of his league.” She has won a fellowship to attend school in England and her father, Jim (Mahoney), couldn’t be happier. Jim is the owner of a retirement home and is his daughter’s best friend, after the divorce from her mother. They have a good bit of money and that adds to the ways that Diane and Lloyd are different, although neither of them cares.

Jim is worried that Lloyd may be a detriment to Diane’s upcoming matriculation in England; afraid that she’ll want to stay home instead of going. The more the two teens get involved, the more Jim becomes less tolerant of Diane’s “freedoms.” It doesn’t help that the IRS is investigating Jim on fraud charges through the retirement home.  Do the crazy kids stay together? Do they break up? What happens with the IRS? You’ll have to watch to find out.

As usual, Joan Cusack plays in the film with her brother, John. She doesn’t give any Oscar-winning performances but that wasn’t what she set out to do, in this film. It was so strange seeing John Mahoney with dark hair and playing a role outside of Martin Crane, Frasier’s father in the television series. There are times when you don’t like him and I’m not used to that with him, either. There are times when you certainly do like him, though.

The BCPF thinks Ione Skye got the part because she’s pretty while I think she is an awful actress and looks like a horse. As the film went on it was like she learned to act. The acting was less atrocious from her the deeper the film went. Beyond that, I think that she and Cusack (who can act) actually had good screen chemistry.

Another Frasier cast member, Bebe Neuwirth (she played Frasier’s ex-wife, Lillith), made an appearance here, as well. Other cameos include Jeremy Piven, Chynna Phillips, Eric Stoltz and Lili Taylor.

Probably the most notable thing about this film is its soundtrack. One of the most famous scenes of teen-driven dramedies happens in this film: the iconic holding of the boombox playing “In Your Eyes” from Peter Gabriel (off my favorite album of all-time). Cusack reenacted that onstage at a Peter Gabriel show a few years ago. In addition to PG, the soundtrack included Nancy Wilson of Heart (her husband, Cameron Crowe wrote the film), Depeche Mode, The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour and Joe Satriani. It’s a great soundtrack and the songs fit well in the film.

Overall, I think it was a decent film. Not my favorite of teen films but it was pretty good. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 98% Fresh with an Audience Score of 85%. IMDb has it at 7.4 stars out of 10. We rented it from Amazon Prime and I will rate it 4 stars out of 5. Have you seen it? What would you like to hear/read me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“One question: are you here ’cause you need someone, or ’cause you need me?… Forget it, I don’t care.” – Lloyd Dobler

Dot Dot Dot or: Alexa, Good Morning

09 Friday Jun 2017

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I got one of the new Amazon Echo Dot things this week and I think The BCPF is worried about me. I think they made a movie about this kind of thing (Her (2013))? Anyway, from Alexa I get my “good morning” briefing, listen to whatever albums or songs that I want, I can play games, ask questions, access Wikipedia and have Alexa pull up podcasts.

That’s what I’m going to talk about right now, I suppose. Being as that’s what I do for a living, I check to see if my podcasts are available to people on any platform I can find. Alexa has internal apps that are called “skills” that dictate what she knows, how she interacts and so on. So, there’s a skill she has called AnyPod (there’s also TryPod and PodBuddy) that I emailed the developer to check the shows from The Less Desirables Network‘s availability. The Beer Dads and Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking both showed up but she was having trouble with The Less Desirables, The Man Who Ate the Town and Fan Interference podcasts.

Apparently, Alexa (and her “skills”) wanted to look for Les Diserables (as in Les Miserables) and Fan Interference went to a dozen other places when I asked for it. After getting AnyPod to check into it for me, the skill then picked up the right podcasts. Now, I have to play with it a bit and just say “less desirables” and “ate the town” to get it to work right, but they’re at least recognized.

So, if you have an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, you can now find all your favorite The Less Desirables Network podcasts to listen there. So, if you enable the AnyPod skill, use some of the following phrases: “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play The Less Desirables,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Fan Interference,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play The Beer Dads,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play The Man Who Ate the Town,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Sipping NC: The Art of  Drinking.”

You may have to modify some of those phrases. Instead, ask “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Less Desirables,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Ate the Town,” and so on. You can play around with different ways to ask for it. Also, the AnyPod skill is great for playing other podcasts, as well. If you don’t have an Echo or Echo Dot, well, you need to have one. Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“The device is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic [sic] and other real time [sic] information. It can also control several smart devices using itself as a home automation hub.” – Wikipedia page Amazon Echo Dot

Belated or: Ma Mère

16 Tuesday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

I was posting about our haul on Sunday and yesterday was my boy’s birthday, so I’m taking today to say Happy (belated) Mother’s Day to all of you mothers. There are two in particular that I want to mention. One is my own mother who has always been my biggest fan and my biggest critic. She’s always there when I need her. I can’t thank her enough for all she’s been for and to me. I love you, Mom.

Ma Mère and My Sister
The BCPF

The other is my wife, The BCPF (Stephanie). She didn’t have any children of her own but she is certainly a parent. 3B calls her his Steph-Mom. She is right there with me when I make parenting decisions. She works with me on “the team” of parental figures in the decisions made about and with 3B. She goes above and beyond the stepparent duties and I really don’t think I could make it without her help. I love her so much for what she does for him. She loves him dearly.

Thank you, both for everything you are. I love you both with all my heart.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.” – Erich Fromm

What Comes After Retrograde? or: TGIF

05 Friday May 2017

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Salutations™!!6360426752615607441908651389_Dont-let-a-bad-day-make-you-used

Phew! Today started off a big o’turd. Not at home, all that was groovy. Took The Boy, 3B to school and then I had to go to Hades, or as it’s more commonly known, Wal-Mart. I really believe that you can find the absolute saddest block of society – and in some cases all life forms – in Wal-Mart. Now, don’t hear me wrong, not everyone that goes to Wally World is scum, not by any means. But, there’s always many reasons to hate it. I do think it’s the Grand Evil Empire, kind of like the local Death Star, but when you’re broke and need stuff, sometimes you just gotta go, want or not.

I go in to get my rolls of cheap paper towels, ant killer, a cheap wine bottle opener, toilet cleaner and check out. I can stay to myself and just get what I have to have and leave. Self-checkout so I don’t have to interact with anyone; not that I’m opposed to that, just wanted in and out of there as quick as possible. As I’m leaving, I am watching two Walmartians (that’s the really deplorable ones), standing no more than 15 yards from the actual front door, put their cart up on the curb and into the brick chips beside their car. You’re 45 feet from the %&$#ing cart farm!!!! I didn’t stay quiet as I walked by. No, I didn’t directly say anything to them as much as I did at them. How lazy that is and all that.

Okay, what business is that of mine? Because, that’s what’s wrong with this world, people “too good” or self-involved to do the proper, or even right thing. That creates more work for the already minimum wage workers who have to go out and collect those things. And, if one comes loose, rolls in front of a car and they make a claim, that makes costs go up. Yeah, it’s a drop in the bucket for the Waltons but still, it’s just good human behavior to be excellent to each other and that’s definitely not excellent.

So, I get in my car and get behind an elderly driver who is going about 2 miles per hour. Be diligent and watch for people, but go at least 10 mph. My speedometer wasn’t even registering speed at all, but we were moving. They get up to the stop sign and there’s nothing immediately coming. There’s a truck that is coming up the car aisle three lanes away and this dude waited on that truck. It wasn’t even in the traffic path, yet! So, he pulls out and stops at the next stop sign (about 20 feet) and sits there. Nothing is coming. He sits there. He finally pulls out and gets to the stop light to turn onto the road. The light is green but he stops and looks both ways. When he pulls out, I dart around him to the next red light. Then, I’m behind the “Carolina Dad” minivan, who, when the light turns green, decides he’s in the wrong lane (even though he was still turning left) and drives slow until the other slow fella has passed him. He gets over and without breaking the speed limit, I pass both of them like I was Dale Jr. and they were sitting in the parking lot. Again, I detest Wal-Mart and its Walmartians.

After I’m down the road a bit, I end up at another traffic light. Three lanes wide, and people are in no hurry.  I’m not looking to break land speed records and if anyone has ridden with me, they know I don’t do a lot of speeding, but I do, and expect others to, respect the speed limit from the front and back end. Meaning, go the %&$# on!!!!!! I get downtown and have to go around several other terribly slow mother shuckers and get to the studio.

I had to go have some breakfast and relax for a minute. I could actually feel my blood pressure rising. I was getting flipped and wanted to “breathe.” I went to Mary’s Gourmet Diner, of course. It helped. Mary has a way of settling you down, even when she’s not trying to. With her personality and her food. All was well, but man, I was worked up first thing. I came to the studio and straightened it up. It was getting a bit out of hand. I feel better being in here, listening to podcasts (that aren’t mine), with it less of a disaster zone and more of a working space.

I’m pretty much over today already, but I can’t wait until I pick up The Boy and spend some time with him and then tonight when The BCPF and I go have dinner and I get an adult beverage. I hope your day has been great and your night even better.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“One of my favorite things to do is to play music really loud and dance my butt off in the morning. I’ll do it alone in my apartment. You can’t have a bad day after that.” – Allison Williams

What!? Whatta You Want? or: Special Forces (Eugeology Entry 16)

27 Thursday Apr 2017

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Salutations™!!

Acforces

©Warner Bros.

Note: I had gotten off on my sequential order. I fixed it. Just so you know. So… Another great one last week, Starz. I gotta be on the lookout for that on vinyl, really. Jon and Eugene are playing catch up. We’ll get their reviews soon. But for now, let’s get to probably the most head-scratching entry we have had on this list yet.

#16 – Special Forces by Alice Cooper.

I’ve never had strong feelings about Alice Cooper, one way or another. There have been great things like Billion Dollar Babies and Welcome to My Nightmare, sure. But, this is not Alice Cooper. I mean, it is, but isn’t. It’s all a bit weird.

There are parts that sound like Alice and some parts that sound like some other person. Now, I know that he was severely f’ed up on cocaine and alcohol at this time. I mean, he does refer to this as his “blackout period” where he had three albums he doesn’t even remember recording from his substance addictions. I don’t know if the guys in his band (or at least the recording band) just went along with him because he’s the boss or were they participating with him, or what, but they complied.

Let me say, though, there’s nothing wrong with this album. I have really gotten into the First Wave/New Wave/Post Punk stuff that happened from about 1980-1983 or so. Stuff I wouldn’t have even listened to 2 seconds of it a mere 10 years ago. The BCPF is a huge fan of that and I’ve started to really get into it. So, this isn’t something I wouldn’t listen to regularly, but for one thing: it’s Alice Cooper. Not that that matters, a good album is a good album. But, is this a good album? I haven’t decided that, yet.

In “Who Do You Think We Are,” once I get past thinking “Turbo Lover” is about to play, I keep hearing Shawn Mullins doing “Lullaby.” Only for a bit, but still it’s there. The rest of that song is Alice, but he’s scattered throughout the album. It’s not a bad song.

I do like the Berlin/Missing Persons-esque sound of the Love cover, “Seven and Seven Is” (originally known as 7 and 7 is). I like that he keeps it synthed-up, too. Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip yeah. I like “Prettiest Cop on the Block.” He’s not 6’3″ though (laughs). This song is very much like Alice. The same with “Don’t Talk Old to Me.”

More of the odd (for Alice) synth-based instrumentation on “Skeletons in My Closet” and “You Want It, You Got It.” It reminds me of Robert Hazard or Nails. But, then he goes back to true Alice form with “You Look Good in Rags.” Adam Ant, or the Alice Cooper version, shows up for “You’re a Movie.” This, happens to be my favorite song on the album, by the way. I love his ad-libs. The album ends well with “Vicious Rumours.”

The instrumentation listing should just read “Duane Hitchings and some other folks” because it was mostly a keyboard-/synth-driven album. There were drum machines in lieu of a drummer for a good bit of the album; sucks for you Mr. Krampf. Guitars are present but background material for the better part of the album. Listening on big speakers and headphones and even my laptops’ Bang & Olufsen speakers, Eric Scott’s bass is like Jason Newstead on …And Justice For All, and we all know how that went. Actually, the non-synth songs, you can hear him doing some cool stuff, especially in “Don’t Talk Old to Me.”  It’s just all background to the synths, I think.

So, here’s the thing. I like this album. I think it’s fun, or maybe not fun. I would like this a lot more if it wasn’t Alice treading in his demons. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have made this album or blaming him for that. I do think it’s a cry for help, which he didn’t get for a while. So, the overall assessment is it’s a great new-wave/first-wave album. It’s not a great Alice Cooper album. But, I dig it for what it was at the time it was. It fit the time.

I want to hear Eug’s take on this and I predict that Jon will find it interesting but not necessarily like it. I could be wrong, I still have a time gauging his like/dislikes. But, it will be interesting, nonetheless.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Bullets repel off my metals. And, my men are in awe when I speak. All chaos my strategies settles. My mere presence gives strength to the weak. For me it seems really alarming. I’m really just only a man. With five million sheep in this army, I seem to be the only one fit to command.” – “You’re a Movie” (Cooper, Hitchings)

The Princess and the Pea or: The Bed of a Giant

25 Tuesday Apr 2017

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Salutations™!!

So, for the first time since I was 15 years old (not counting a four month stint in an apartment waiting for squatters to move out of our house), my bed in my home is not a waterbed. Since day one of us moving to WSNC in 1986, I’ve had a waterbed. I’ve always loved waterbeds. Starting with a full-motion-rock-every-time-you-sneeze and then after several years of that, moving to one with better baffles, to one that is a one-second stop mattress. You move and within one second you stop. 18057978_10155076258680490_1392098438782706913_n

The first night that The BCPF stayed with me, I had to show her how to get in and out. We had a tutorial on that. Put your inside leg on the bed and roll in. To get out, roll over to put the inside leg out and it becomes your outside leg. Up and at ’em. Over the last 7 years I’ve neglected to put more water in it. That started to take its toll. Not only on the quality of the sleep but on my back, on her shoulders, everything.

I’ll admit that the appeal of the waterbed has been gone for a while but I’m a sentimental sap and I know few if any of my friends have a bed like mine. So, we decided it was time to switch from the bladder mattress to a more traditional mattress that we could pick out together, agree on and get some better sleep. We went to one of the 41 Mattress Firms over off Stratford Road and spent a few hours testing and lying around in various positions to see if we could handle any particular mattress. We did finally find one that was just right for us, not only in price but actually in comfort. We got a “pillow-top” Hampton and Rhodes model. We also decided to get the lift bases that allowed the head and legs to be raised. All good, right?

Well, here’s the catch. I was giving up the waterbed but didn’t want to give up the actual bed. We thought we could set the bases in the box my bed was in, and then put the mattress on top of that. Great. Well, not so great. Even though it’s a King size bed frame, the bases are a bit wider to accommodate the mattress. Um… okay. So, Ma Père came over and we devised a way to get the box off of the waterbed base and convert it a headboard support. Okay great. Well, since they had left the lift bases and the mattress (they couldn’t put it together, yet), we put the new mattress on top of the base of the waterbed to have a place to sleep until we could get them out to place the lift bases and synchronize them to raise together. And… just the mattress itself along with the bed base was like 30″ high. The BCPF is only 59″ high, so it already was a problem.

We decided to just get a step stool, everything will be okay… right? That was the plan until they came yesterday to put the lift bases down. They add another eight to nine inches to the height. You can look at the picture and see what the result of that was. Heck, even I, at around 6’1″-6’2″ have to actually climb up into the bed. The odd thing about me, though, is I’m actually as long in the torso as I am the legs so my legs are only 32″ even at the height I am. So, climbing, yes, but I still need a little hop to get up in there. We laughed for a good 45 minutes or so about that. But, it really is ridiculous. I’m having to face the reality that I am going to have to do without the base of my original waterbed. That saddens me, but it’s time to move on. I can possibly salvage the headboard which was what I really wanted anyway. We will have to find a way to create a stand for that. 17991844_10155076671500490_7540040454206530901_nOh, and we are using the utility step stool that we use in our house as her ladder onto the bed. I joked that I could build her a slide to come off of it.

On top of all that, we bought floor sample lift bases which were cheaper. However, the delivery people forgot to bring the remote so the lifts can’t be synced or even used. So, they have to come back, again, to do that. Third time’s a charm I guess. But, even then, we’ll have to take it apart and remove the bed base sometime in the next bit and put the legs under the lift bases to get it to work at a more reasonable (and less ridiculous) height. I will say, though, it is very comfortable. And, I got them to throw in some of the “black diamond” memory foam pillows, too. That’s pretty righteous, too. Just don’t know about being able to almost touch the ceiling whilst lying in bed; before using the lift features. Stay tuned for the next episode of Beds of Our Lives.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Mind over mattress.” – Stephen Covey

Fifth Second Birthday or: The Things We’ve Done

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

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Salutations™!!

It was five years ago today that I received my “zipper.” Being at the hospital before the sun came up, getting shaved from neck to (literally) toe, seeing my family, having my (then) fiance – The BCPF – standing holding my hand and trying to keep a happy face, having my parents pray over me as I get wheeled through some ominous doors, being moved onto a mostly comfortable operating table and telling stupid jokes to the operating staff before I just blacked out counting back from 100. That’s how I remember it.

I groggily stirred with a breathing tube snaked through my gullet whilst hearing a nurse, whose name I believe was Sandy, talk to me and me nodding that I understood whatever it was she was saying to me. The BCPF came in to see me, touching me, stroking my hair (I still had a little bit). I’m not sure of the timeline, I was still very doped up on morphine at the time. Maybe some time passed, maybe it didn’t, but Ma Mère came into the recovery room and in a moment we will all talk about until we’re no longer here, she patted me on the left shoulder and said, “see, you really do have a heart.” At this point I pointed to “Sandy” and made a motion to bring me a writing utensil and something to write upon. In my continued, and glorious haze, I scribbled to my mother the following:

Leave the comedy to me!

I remember everyone laughing. My job was done, I went through another phase of “blacked out.” They had collapsed my lungs in order to get to my arteries and heart and whatever else they were doing with me and, as a lifelong asthmatic, my lungs and me have a long history of arguing. They weren’t wanting to cooperate and inflate so I could breathe on my own. So, recovery took a little longer than it should have. Then they wheeled me up to my own private room. I had to get up and sit in a chair. I asked for my phone and that’s when this selfie was taken:

Tim After Surgery

My son came in to see me, as did my family. I had put them all through a lot. They were tired, nervous, but happy that I was sitting there making stupid faces at them, I was alive. I had survived. Hand me my heart-shaped pillow and let me cough. There was no laying down for a while, that’s for sure. When I sat back, I could feel my chest shifting. After all, they did saw me in half. I didn’t lay down for about four weeks, actually. But, over time my strength came back and I was able to maneuver around like a real person.

On the way to that, though, I had people watching over me like a hawk. The BCPF made sure that someone was “on duty” with me the whole time, from my sister to my mother, her to her mother. Someone was always here. It got to where I had to fake needing to go to the bathroom just to go sit on the toilet lid and be by myself for a few minutes. I had some great friends bring me and my chaperones food. I can’t tell Chris and Ashley, Doug and Molly and Jerry and Jennifer how much I appreciate them doing that.

After this, though, The BCPF and I decided that we’re going to live. LIVE! And, that’s what we’ve done. We’ve been to Europe twice, the second a wedding/honeymoon expedition. We accompanied friends to Costa Rica. We went to Walt Disney World with my family. We have time with each other. We enjoy just about everything we do. We collect records, we eat really delicious food, we hang out with really terrific friends, we just love our lives.

I have to really thank The BCPF for everything, because if it
weren’t for her, making sure I take my meds regularly, eating right, doing what little exercise I’ll do, going to my doc appts, and just living the heck out of IMAG0150me, I wouldn’t be here today to write this. She didn’t sleep much that first week, when she did it was in my hospital bed. My boy is also a huge part of my life. He’s almost 15 so he’s testing my ticker a good bit, but I love that boy to no end. They together are truly my everything. To my family, thank you all for your support and being here for me. To my friends, you’re all my bedrocks. You’re my foundation that I build on. To The Beer Dads, Jon and Paul, thank you guys for traversing this weird ride with The BCPF and me in our quest for World Domination. To everyone. I love you. Just… I love you. To Dr. Bret Borchelt. Thank you for “fixing” me.

I was 41 when this happened. I’m 46 now. I have to at least make it to 82 for me to be satisfied with it. I have to say, in all sincerity, I would never want to go through this again. However, in the grand scheme of things, it was all worth it and really, for me, wasn’t all that terrible. I think my family and friends had it worse than I in this ordeal. I got taken care of, waited on and yes had to endure some pain, but it wasn’t too awful. I’m just glad we have hit the “magic number” (no not three in this case) of five. That’s when the docs stop looking so closely at the procedure. I’m still here and other than being ridiculously fat, I feel great. So, all is well on this side of the world. I hope all of you have as wonderful a time as I do. Happy fifth second birthday to me.

Until tomorrow, still kickin’…
Scorp out!

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“Open-heart surgery is now part of a typical life experience for many people. Folks talk casually about ‘having a stent put in,’ as if they had their tires rotated.” – Roger Ebert