Ramblin' with Roger

It’s a Story Virus

Until I was recently infected, I was blissfully ignorant of the story virus. To wit:

Here’s what I would like to do. I want to create a story that branches out in a variety of different, unexpected ways. I don’t know how realistic it is, but that’s what I’m aiming for. Hopefully, at least one thread of the story can make a decent number of hops before it dies out.

If you are one of the carriers of this story virus (i.e. you have been tagged and choose to contribute to it), you will have one responsibility, in addition to contributing your own piece of the story: you will have to tag at least one person that continues your story thread. So, say you tag five people. If four people decide to not participate, it’s okay, as long as the fifth one does. And if all five participate, well that’s five interesting threads the story spins off into.

Not a requirement, but something your readers would appreciate: to help people trace your own particular thread of the narrative, it will be helpful if you include links to the chapters preceding yours.

The bus was more crowded than usual. It was bitterly cold outside, and I hadn’t prepared for it. I noticed that a fair number of the riders were dressed curiously. As I glanced around, I stretched my feet and kicked up against a large, heavy cardboard box laying under the seat in front of me. (Splotchy)

Its owner, a fat shifty-looking hillbilly, slouched uncomfortably under the weight of his Bulgarian army surplus wool coat and cap. I could tell he wasn’t cut out for this weather. He jerked around, almost spastic, when he felt the box tap against his feet. He gulped and stared at me bug-eyed, one obscene rivulet of sweat running down his temple, down along his jaw, finally disappearing somewhere between his second chin and the fake fur collar of his coat.

Right away, and for no good reason, he pissed me off. Bubs)

He would not stop staring at me. I could hear his wheezing breath. I could smell every stinking minute of his sputtering life. My muscles tensed.

We were a little isolated from the rest of the riders. I looked around. Apart from a couple greasy-looking hippies stealing glances in my direction, everyone was in their own dazed world. Another rivulet of sweat began the long journey down the hillbilly’s fat face. He licked his lips.

Enough was enough. I shot my arm up and popped him right between the eyes, snapping his head back. He slumped forward. I felt my anger slowly recede. I reached over him, took the cap off his head and placed it on my own. It smelled like a slaughterhouse, but it would keep me warm.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the hippies making their way over to me. The man, wearing a dirty poncho and sporting a handlebar mustache, sat down in my seat. I reflexively scooted over to not have him in my lap. The girl, a smallish brunette wearing heavy black eyeliner and a shapeless green coat, sat behind me.

“You see, Snow?” the man said. “I knew he was the one. Did you see that jab?”

“Whatever,” Snow said.

“That was great, man. Snow thought the guy in front of you was the one.”

He must have spotted confusion in my eyes. “We saw the box, but we didn’t know if it was yours.” The man smiled broadly. “I’m Rain. You’re Leaf, right?”

I looked at him more closely. He was wearing a shoulder holster under his poncho. He had deep green eyes that were sharp and serious. The smile left his face as abruptly as it had appeared. “You better get the box ready.” ( Splotchy)

I looked him deep in the eyes. There was something familiar there. Something from…

It hit me.

“Dad?” SamuraiFrog.

“What you talkin’ about, punk?”

“You’re…my Dad. I’ve seen the pictures.”

“The pictures. WHAT pictures?”

“the pictures of you and my Mom, Sally Swinton.”

“Sally! I remember Sally. She was a good one, she was. Whatever happened with her?”

Now, here’s where I’m supposed to make other people’s lives miserable by tagging them. I’ll take no offense if you opt out, but I’m thinking:
Kelly who did one of those November novels
Uthaclena who likes to write
Splotchy who essentially got me into this mess
Jacquandor who’s written a lot of stuff
If anyone else feels like it, PLEASE do it.

V is for Vitiligo

Since the last time I wrote about having vitiligo, I’ve gotten perhaps marginally less bothered by it. This is probably a good, even necessary thing, because, earlier this year, this woman I met at some library function said to me, “Oh, you have vitiligo, don’t you?” very matter-of-factly. Six months earlier, I probably would have cringed, but I tried to respond in the spirit in which the question was asked.

Still, it bothers me somewhat. There was a picture taken of an event during Black History Month that I was leading. It was a black and white photo that ended up in my church’s April 2008 newsletter. I recognized everyone in the picture except one person. That of course, was me.

It’s still also damn inconvenient. Those of you in the colder climes will appreciate wanting to be out in the sun after several gray, morose days. Inevitably, though, I get burned, on any exposed skin, especially the top of my head and the back of my neck. I’ve become, quite literally, a redneck. Ironically, it’s easier to protect myself in summer because the cues (the heat, the bright sun) triggers the use of the sunscreen, hat, and other accouterments.

One of the people who talked to me after the first time I wrote about my vitiligo said that she’d love me anyway, regardless of how I looked. But recently, she saw me and asked if my skin were getting gray. No, I replied patiently, it’s the vitiligo. OH, she said.

ROG

December Ramblin’

I must say that these Bush midnight regulations have made me so annoyed I want to throw a shoe. Wait, it’s already been done. Some pundit is suggesting sending shoes to the White House, the smellier the better. I would never suggest that; 20500; no, not me.
***
100 Web Tools to Plan the Party of the Year From Your Cube
***
Specialized’s Christmas card
***
You may have seen this video last Christmastime:or LINK.
About 8 million people saw it on YouTube and as this ABC News story shows, brought forth a reunion of Straight No Chaser.
***
AdFlip bills itself as “The worlds largest archive of classic print ads.” the fact that it doesn’t know how to use an apostrophe does not negate the fact that it’s a fun site. Some stuff is free, but a lot more can be accessed for a fee.
***
The Third Annual Orgasm for Peace Sunday, December 21, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Greenwich Mean Time.
“The theory is that if enough people can experience orgasm in the same time frame while projecting a conscious intention for peace and harmony on the planet, a surge of physical and spiritual positivity will infuse the Earth’s energy field.”
That would be 6-8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time
12 midnight to 2 am on December 22 in New Zealand, if I’m calculating this correctly.
I’m reminded of my old antiwar days:
“What Do We Want?”
“Peace!”
“When Do We Want It?”
“December 21, around noon, GMT!”

ROG

Yet another purloined meme

SamauraiFrog strikes again:

1. Started my own blog
Hmm. I started about five of them.

2. Slept under the stars
A lot as a kid. We used to go camping. I never much liked camping because of the bugs, but being under the stars was nice.
Actually, my favorite “under the stars” story involves my father driving us, just the two of us, from Binghamton, NY to Lake George. We hit a wrong turn and ended up out of gas near a place called Speculator. My father went to someone’s house and got us enough gas to get to the next town. But before we drove off, we just sat on the car looking at the stars, which seemed HUGE in this rural area.

3. Played in a band
Technically yes, but only once or twice in junior high. I was playing percussion. I haven’t the patience for it. You wait 72 measures then hit the gong or the triangle.

4. Visited Hawaii
No, and it’s probably a contributing factor to my breakup with my now wife in the mid 1990s. She’d gotten some important insurance designation and it was going to be awarded in Hawaii. She wanted me to go. I wanted to go. But I had a boss that wasn’t even going to let me go to the ASBDC (work) conference in New Orleans at the very same time because there’d be too many of us (3 of 7) out of the office. At the very last moment, boss let me go to N.O., mostly so I could help schlep the equipment for boss’s presentation. Girlfriend thinks that if I had petitioned to go to Hawaii, I would have been as successful; I knew boss well enough to know that was not the case.

5. Watched a meteor shower
Yes

6. Given more than I can afford to charity
Occasionally

7. Been to Disneyland/world
No, and I’ve been to Orlando.

8. Climbed a mountain
1994, in Utah, on the spur of the moment, unprepared. Got to the top, literally almost died. Came down, tore the meniscus in my left knee about halfway down. Practically crawled back to the hotel.

9. Held a praying mantis
No.

10. Sung a solo
Often as a child. I sang “I Love You Truly” at more than one wedding at the church I grew up in. But I’d prefer singing harmony – singing harmony by oneself seems to make some people uncomfortable.

11. Bungee jumped
Not gonna happen.

12. Visited Paris
I’d like to.

13. Watched lightning at sea
I was on the shore in Galveston, TX but yes.

14. Taught myself an art from scratch
Almost certainly not

15. Adopted a child
No, though when we were “trying” and it wasn’t happening, we talked seriously about it, and in fact even went to some event. I STILL get their e-mails.

16. Had food poisoning
Oh, yeah.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Never been there, though I’ve been by it on the Staten Island Ferry.

18. Grown my own vegetables
Yes, mostly tomatoes, though not recently. I used to help my grandparents with their extensive garden.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Only online.

20. Slept on an overnight train
I’ve been on a train that gets to Charlotte, NC about 4:30 a.m. I slept, but not in a sleeping car. I love trains.

21. Had a pillow fight
With the daughter.

22. Hitchhiked
It was my primary form of transportation from 1971 to 1978. The stories I could tell…

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Well, I have 139 sick days available. So, evidently not too often, or not often enough. I have taken off a day when I wasn’t ill, but was just dragged out, but not so I could go play instead.

24. Built a snow fort
Must have

25. Held a lamb
Think so

26. Gone skinny dipping
Yeah and almost got arrested once.

27. Run a Marathon
No, just a 5K.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Never been to Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse
Of the moon, yes.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
Often. The one benefit of my current office is if there is a visible sunset (as opposed to just gray clouds), i see it.

31. Hit a home run
Yup.

32. Been on a cruise
No.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
Yes, more than once, the first time with my parents and sisters. then we went to see this floral clock.

34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
If by my ancestors, you mean my great-great-grandmother, then yes. My grandmother lived in that house when I was growing up in Binghamton, NY.

35. Seen an Amish community
Yes, mostly in Pennsylvania.

36. Taught myself a new language
My high school French is awful.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
The question presupposes that money is the root of satisfaction. I’m not as poor as I was, when I had no health insurance, so, sure.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
No.

39. Gone rock climbing
Yes.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
In pictures, yes.

41. Sung karaoke
No.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Only on video.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Well, pizza and sandwiches, yes.

44. Visited Africa
No.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
Yes.

46. Been transported in an ambulance
Yes, when I was 19.

47. Had my portrait painted
No, but a caricaturist has drawn me.

48. Gone deep sea fishing
No.

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
No.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Only in my dreams.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Snorkeling once, in Barbados, on our honeymoon.

52. Kissed in the rain
Yes.

53. Played in the mud
As a kid.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
A LOT as a kid.

55. Been in a movie
Not the kind you see in the theater.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China
Only by watching TV.

57. Started a business
Well, technically, yes. I sold my comics but never really did anything else and dissolved it.

58. Taken a martial arts class
No.

59. Visited Russia
No, but my wife’s been to Ukraine.

60. Served at a soup kitchen
Yes, years ago.

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Yes, got suckered by some niece or girlfriend’s daughter.

62. Gone whale watching
Yes, and saw a whale.

63. Got flowers for no reason
Yes.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Yes, I’ve had my blood drawn so many times now (16-gallon pin last month) that I’ve actually developed scar tissue. I do it for the need. I never watch, though. And I do it despite the bigotry that bans gay men from donated, as I discussed at length a couple years ago.

65. Gone sky diving
It never made sense to me to jump out of a perfectly working airplane.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
No.

67. Bounced a check
Yes, not intentionally, and not lately. I keep too much in my checking account as a paranoid response to this.

68. Flown in a helicopter
No.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
No.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Yes, more than once. More impressive in person than I imagined.

71. Eaten Caviar
Yes. Don’t like it.

72. Pieced a quilt
No.

73. Stood in Times Square
I lived in NYC for four months in 1977, so yes.

74. Toured the Everglades
No.

75. Been fired from a job
No.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
No.

77. Broken a bone
2008- rib on the middle of my left side.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
No. A slow motorcycle, yes.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
No.

80. Published a book
I worked for a company (FantaCo) that published several books.

81. Visited the Vatican
No.

82. Bought a brand new car
No, but Carol’s last car (not the current one) was new; she bought it from the company after she left her job.

83. Walked in Jerusalem
Yes.

84. Had my picture in the newspaper
When I was 5 or 6, I was singing “O Come All Ye Faithful”. When I was 8, I was marginally involved in some worthy case. More recently, the Times Union sometimes excerpts my blog in the print paper and that comes with a picture.

85. Read the entire Bible
In 1977, 1980-something, 1996. I’m overdue to do it again.

86. Visited the White House
No.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
No.

88. Had chickenpox
Yes.

89. Saved someone’s life
Performed a Heimlich on a woman choking on some meat. Ran out into traffic, scooped up some toddler and ran back. So maybe.

90. Sat on a jury
No, I went down to the courthouse but didn’t make the cut.

91. Met someone famous
Earl Warren, Rod Serling, Anita Baker. Briefly: Nelson Rockefeller, Randy Newman. Probably others. Been in the same room as Mike Tyson and Jack Nicholson at the same time. Is Alex Trebek famous?

92. Joined a book club
For a time, but I’m lousy with negative option (they send you the book/record unless you say no), so not anymore.

93. Lost a loved one
More than a few of them.

94. Had a baby
By “having a baby”, does this mean that I actually bore the child, then no. But I did see my daughter being born.

95. Seen the Alamo in person
No.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
No, but I have been to Salt Lake City.

97. Been involved in a law suit
Only those cool class action things. Once got a check for $4.

98. Owned a cell phone
Yes. But I don’t use it. I don’t give out the number. I don’t even KNOW the number without looking it up. It’s for emergencies or to tell the wife or work I’ll be late.

99. Been stung by a bee
More than once, and on one occasion, multiple times as a kid.

100. Ridden an elephant
No, but I would.

ROG

The power is off, on, off

The fact is that I often write a little bit here and there on my blog. Without any computer, though, that becomes tricky. If I don’t get to your site as usual, I will, I will, if/when the problem’s solved.

Yes, the lousy weather came. I decided to write the events of the last couple days in Twitter-sized bits; don’t know why.

I have stuff for tomorrow, but future postings may be disrupted by lack o’ access.

Th 6pm – Bible study xed by forecast, Indian food @ Shalimar. To corner; next walk so slick, need to grab lamppost to not slide into rd.

Th 8:30pm – short choir rehearsal. Friend Deb gives ride to store-rock salt- & home, inc. sleet. Take out trash. Read, sing to daughter.

F 3am – power out, then on. Wife up to reset clock. 2 min. later – power out, then on. Up c 5:30-computer won’t turn on, tho’ monitor is.

F 5:45am – can’t get school closings: computer, cable-attached TV whacked out. Use 7″ set. Most closed, not ALB, day care, wife’s school.

F 6am- ALB, day care closed, wife’s school not. I’ll stay w/Lydia. 6:20-wife’s school finally closed. She’ll stay with Lydia. To Y, work.

F 7:30am- no rball players @Y. Lock missing frm locker, buy new. Paged – wife calls. No power @ work, no one authorized to close office.

F 8:15am-call lib dir from Y @ his cell -no power means no phones. Call 9:15 on MY cell, it died, then pay phone. ALB lib open @ 11. Home.

F 1:15 pm- Go to ALB lib in midst of windstorm. W/ melting, brought down chunks of ice onto cars & people. Write this.
***
Well, that was going to have to be the post, but I went home, tried to figure out the computer again, and realized I could get it to work if I didn’t run it through the surge protector, but rather plugged it into the power strip directly. Good news – computer operates. Bad news – no less protection, which might fry the computer sometime.

The wife and daughter had taken a nap, but the wife got up. This would have been just the perfect time for us to watch together those programs we planned to watch together (Earl, Office, 30 Rock), except for one little thing: the cable was in this minimalist mode. We had no DVR service and had but five channels to watch : community access, some advertising channel, NASA, TV Guide Channel and, fortunately, the PBS affiliate. so I read and Carol did Christmas stuff.

This also meant I watched the news and JEOPARDY! in a way I’m unaccustomed – in real time, on the 7″ set. Did I mention it was in black & white? I prefer the time shifting.

All in all, a good day.

Could have been worse. Over 200,000 homes in the area were without power in my area, but we weren’t one of them – well, except for an hour around 6 p.m. last night, which seems to have fried (temporarily? permanently?) the DVR.
ROG