Unless of course it’s pictures from our youth.

An old friend from back home was good enough to send me these, and sweet infant Jesus with a baby Einstein set and a thumb sucking issue, I didn’t even recognize myself.

I wish my hindsight had poorer vision.

I barely remember this kid, there’s a void in my memory banks where she should be. It’s no surprise the visions are foggy, it’s been twenty years since I’ve seen her. I have a vague recollection of a lot of Simon and Garfunkel, of the dog-tag necklace with “charms” on it attached via safety pins. Of learning that if I wear black pants and black shoes, I also had to wear black socks. Of hiding my body. Of kids still attached to their mothers apron strings in shopping malls asking “is that a boy or a girl?”. Of skateboarding and drinking underage and being caught and having my stomach pumped at Providence Hospital to “teach me a lesson”. Of nights spent wearing ourselves out dancing in clubs underage and the sun that didn’t set enough in the summer to warrant going to bed. Of afternoons at Denny’s “studying” over bottomless cups of coffee and steak fries with ranch. Of practicing sign language (our foreign language, no Spanish for us) with my friends/classmates on the city bus going to and coming from nowhere in particular. Of dying our hair in the ladies room at the mall and developing the bonds that don’t break.

I love(d) my friends and our great adventures together, but I wouldn’t go back for the world.

Last week we received word that my mom’s sister (and sometimes commenter on this site) had been admitted to the hospital after experiencing abdominal pain and a few other symptoms. They found a tumor on her kidney, which they removed laparoscopically and following a short recovery in a room with no view, she’s now at home, rockin’ and rollin’. That’s just the resilient, nothing-can-stop-me kind of lady she is, and I hope I’ve inherited at least a fraction of her DNA.

It was a subtle reminder to be conscious of what I have for breakfast, a feeding change I plan to continue feasting on.

Get well soon, Auntie Moie!

Mad ups to my girl Kelly who rocked the face off our office gaming competition, stomping the boys @ Pinball Thrillride (8,993,870) and Pitfall (66,554).

Way to represent the underestimated lady contingent, yo.

If there were an upside to working a 13 hour day, it would be the crystal clear view of my city and her in-town landmarks leaving the office. Nostalgia hopped in the passenger seat and made me stop the car to snap a picture of an old friend with my tires straddling a speed bump just outside of the parking deck. Not very ladylike.

There was a near endless string of nights I’d wait until the dark crept over the rooftops to strap on my running shoes and headphones in preparation for setting out on her streets. Nearly invisible as I thudded on the buckled sidewalks and ducked under overgrown tree limbs, I’d revel in the living that swooshed past/around/next to/nearly on top of me. Young couples in the early stages of what could be love, groups of men finding their identities and alcohol ingestion boundaries, the neighborhood character spottings and my personal game of BINGO that went with them. Noting the new graffiti or shops opening/closing or a broken fire hydrant or damage from a recent rain. The memorization of the lights and the ideal spot to cross the street to avoid being stuck at a red - all these things made her uniquely mine. No one else saw her exactly the same way I did.

I miss living in her belly.

Footnote/linkage love re BINGO: B and I, never wrote about NG or O

The flips I’m wearing today combined with the excessive heat produce an unwanted side effect: they make my feet fart.

They’ll be relegated to the back of the closet until the temperatures drop below surface-of-the-sun hot.

That is all.

I’m not entirely passionate about the choices, but it’s been three weeks and I suppose he might appreciate an identity.

Please vote for one of the following:
1) Captain (as in my BFF)
2) Grayson (a town in GA, as well as a concatenation of his color and my favorite artist)

Still baffled as to why I’m so uninspired about naming him.

So many overpriced (albeit enjoyable) tourist destinations within a few hours of Atlanta, so little time.

What’s not to love about a place with gnomes, sky bridges, a raptor show and a view of 7 states (on a non soupy day), especially when it shares a home (Lookout Mountain) with caves that bring you over 1000 feet into the earth to a glorious waterfall? Nothin’, that’s what. Loved it all so much that even the children getting tangled around my ankles were tolerable.

If you’ve got a day to burn and you’re within a few hours of Chattanooga, take the drive, cough up the scratch and enjoy. Hell, I liked it so much I intend to go back in October to play in the corn maze. Whee!