Return To Reality

Cool, sounds like a heavy metal album title, doesn't it? Evokes Black Sabbath's Masters of Reality, too close maybe.

Anyway, I'm happy to report OC MD is still on the map. As of 8 pm last night anyway. I hate to leave that late because it's a four hour drive, give or take, and my eyeglass Rx still needs renewing so driving in the dark is no picnic. Driving isn't really a problem but reading the road signs sure is! But it was a pretty smooth trip, no snafus or holdups, no rain, one pit stop at the halfway point at McDonald's and two or three radio station changes and it was back to hometown York PA. Still, couldn't drop off and ended up watching the telly until almost 2 am. Didn't really impact my workday as I expected it would.

Nice weather for the weekend, 80s, breezy and sunny. Excellent. I got in the water Saturday which always delights the rest of the family. They like to take turns swimming around pinching me under the water and then surface yelling "Shark! Shark!" Hilarious the first hundred times. After that, not so much. Saw a pod of dolphins swimming by out beyond the surf, always intriguing. Went eating comidas de Mexicano Saturday night, place called Tequila Mockingbird. Get it? I said the menu should feature some other literary puns i.e., 'For Whom The Taco Bell Tolls'. But that was the only one I could come up with and nobody else would play along, the slackers. Besides, they'd most likely get a 'cease and desist' letter from PepsiCo if they went with that first suggestion and who needs that?

Otherwise a nice, relaxing day or two including some quality cable TV viewing- mostly just surfing the hundred channels with nothing on -strumming the guitar quietly on the porch, nursing a handful of Beck's Lights, nice green bottles, crisp, almost snappy flavor and low, low carbs to boot. I heard a funny radio ad the other week that touted beer as 'liquid bread'. Very funny! And true, hahaha. I don't generally pay too much attention to that sort of thing- and it shows -but my brudder-in-law, Terry the doctor, has taken up a more or less healthy lifestyle and it's his current beverage of choice. When he's not mixing up serious vodka drinks or uncorking some esoteric vintage wine, that is. Not my speed but the little woman and udder-brudder-in-law, Bob, join in with enthusiasm.

As usual, took the lead in crafting the daily breakfast buffet, always great fun. Though Sunday morning I definitely miscalculatedthe kids' appetites; they decimated the bowls of eggs, potatoes, corned beef hash and the first loaf and a half of Italian bread masquerading as Fench toast. Wow. It was scary, really. Usually they're in a hurry to snarf only as much as they're forced to eat and get back to the video games or head out to the beach. This time it was like the whole eight of 'em were replaced by lifelike doppelgangers inhabited by living stomachs from another planet.

That was my weekend. Oh, and my fourteen year old niece took me out in game of touch football on the street. I mean, way out. I caught the ball and >BAM!< next thing I knew I was rolling on the pavement! Got a nice road rash elbow and a bruised hip to show for it, cool. Enough sportsmanlike conduct for me, I retired to the porch and had another beer... I could go on but the juice keeps going off with the thunderstorms passing through so... zzzzz...