my inflateable leopard print chair...

Yes, I do own one. Maybe I should take a second and let that soak in...

An item such as that doesn't really fit into my personality, furniture decor, nor perferred seating. Plush, stretch out, and feet up are all words I like to describe my furniture wants. But, yes, an inflateable, leopard print chair is within my possession. This ownership came to be a few years back, thanks for a neighbor family friend back home in San Diego. It greeted me one Christmas and has remained unopened since then.

As somewhate of a rare experience, I grew up on the same street, same house, with nearly the same exact neighbors for over 20 years. Out of the houses around us with whom we could call friends, only one changed in my 20 years. This kind of situation lets you get to know, trust, and love ones in the walls outside your own home.

One of these neighbors were a married couple of many years - Bob and Marcella. To give you a little history, Bob is the man that fed me a pigeon sandwhich one day, only explaining to me, "Just eat it... you should like it!" Just incase you're curious, yes it did taste like chicken, and I'm pretty sure he killed it in his own hands.

Bob was also the man that my father would drink morning cups of coffee with, stand out in the rain to enjoy a conversation, or head out into the street together when a strange noise was heard in the neighborhood.

Marcella, his wife, was a woman who absolutely loved God's creation. Her yard, front and back (of which included a large canyon) contained the most gorgeous and exotic plants, and many aviaries of some of the most lovely birds. It definately felt like a trek through the jungle when you were down there - which is what gave so much appeal to me playing down there with her nephew Justin during my early days of youth.

Sadly, Bob passed away a few years back. Without knowing what the love of a marriage is, I can only assume her heart was broken into the most millions of pieces. As the years went by, it seemed noone, not even family, could help those pieces to fit once again. Sadly, she turned to years of continued smoking and an alcohol addiction.

My parents saw the most of this beautiful woman, once filled with jubilee then become a dazed and dillusion woman aged by her daily health destruction. Sadly, Marcella passed away this weekend. Thankfully her body has been released of pain, and been given new life beside Christ.

Besides childhood memories of exploration, and a life lesson in dealing constructively with life's sadness, I will remember fondly this gift she gave me - the leopard print, inflateable chair. It only seems appropriate, whether it suits my relaxing needs or not, this chair needs to make an appearance in my home.

walking home...

It takes less than a minute to lace up my Vans, and it took even less than that for me to decide to take a walk - but not just any walk.

As part of enjoying my time back home in San Diego, I made an impromptu decision to take a stroll down memory lane, literally. You see, a large part of my childhood, teenage years, and eventual adulthood has had The Living Room, an intimate coffee shop, as part of my maturation.

From days as a youth, my family would take evening walks nearly every night. Usually this gave the chance for all of us to get some exercise, walk the dog, and drop off some mail my father had to get sent that evening. On the return of this trip, The Living Room awaited us on the corner.

The history of this shop takes roots in it being an old house that someone looked at, knocked down some walls, threw some vintage furniture in, hired eclectic employees, and has been welcoming in various crowds for years. As their logo shows, young to old, rebellious to right wing, all find themselves sampling the delights of eats and drinks there.

This evening found me doing the same. A walk from my house took my thoughts to days of sitting there as a family and sipping strawberry Italian sodas, to morning stops on the way to high school snagging my white hot chocolate, and to now an adult finding solitude in reading a local music/culture newspaper with his chai latte.

What does it come down to? Simply, The Living Room just feels right... and I hope I never tire of walking home.

one more employee needed...

So I love my school, let me start off by saying that. Yet, there seems to be a need for a new employee, possibly a resource teacher that can help the junior high staff in this frustrating time of year. Many students' hormones are going more out of control than a 57 car freeway pile up, and many if not all of our teaching strategies are as effective as an Easy Bake oven in the frozen Alaskan tundra.

With that, we need one of these to help "encourage" our junior highers onto paths of good choices.