Quote of the day

"In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing".

Mignon McLaughlin

A reset button for the weekend

Well now, this weekend was perhaps one of the worst weekends I have had in years...two friends in hospital, a friend (now ex-friend) ripped me off a couple hundred dollars that I loaned her trying to be helpful, a big misunderstanding at the home due to total miss-communication and a new friend that I really enjoy talking to seems to have an issue with me I don't even understand.

So I don't know why the thing I am writing about this weekend that is a very strange lunch with a lady.

We have gone out a couple times, we seemed to get along...in fact she called to go out the second time so I know she enjoyed my company. So here we are having a nice lunch when the conversation turned to motorcycles. As a man we know there are subjects that one must be careful around but I discovered motorcycles is one too.

Who would have thunk???

As with most of the weekend I seemed to miss the transition from “going good” to “fire and hell”. As best I can see it went something like...

“I thought you owned a motorcycle”
“I don't, haven't in many years, haven't been on one in years” (This is me by the way)
“I thought you owned a motorcycle”
“No, I don't”
“I only date men with motorcycles”

Now, I would like to say at this point...if I had a brain I would have gotten up and left then...once you see a plane crashing you don't get under it and try to stop it...I tried....

“I don't have any issue with motorcycles”
“I thought you owned a motorcycle”

I had to ask

“What do you want to do now?”
“I don't know”

We pick at our food for a couple of seconds and then I just took her home. I don't even need to wait till the end of the year to delete her number from my phone.

What is it with motorcycles?? What is it with this weekend or....what is it with me.

I fear before this day is done I will be deleting more numbers than I would care to.

Somehow I must have pissed off the gods.

I really wish there was a reset button for the weekend.

A Valentine I can not send

I saw a candid picture of her.
She looks beautiful.
There would be disagreement, she would go on about her hair is a mess and this and...

That is the point.
Beautiful never needs to comb its hair.

It just is...

A Simple Wish

I have been communicating with an interesting gentleman about magic and his approach. Never had a chance to meet the fellow but the internet helps us exchange ideas on magic.

He also writes.
He told me that he promised his lady that he would write her 100 poems that year.

I told a friend about this and she thought it would be wonderful to have someone care so much to write 100 poems to them.
I thought it must be wonderful to have someone so important that I would write 100 poems.

I think that will be my Valentine wish this year...someone I feel worth writing to...someone that will put up with all the bad poems.

Subversive Activities Registration Act

Hey boys and girls, this is one for you.
Lets just say you are a terrorist going to South Carolina, you will need to drop by the closest state building before getting your gang together. You need to fill out paper work. The fine political brain trust has made laws about subversive organizations. It is called the....drum roll please....Subversive Activities Registration Act.
That's right. Lets take a look shall we.

Section 23-29-50 states

“Every subversive organization and organization subject to foreign control shall register with the Secretary of State on forms prescribed by him within thirty days after coming into existence in this State.”

Good stuff, heck,to get the paperwork through the government mill will certainly slow down those subversives. Good thinking!!

Look, here is more.
Section 23-29-60
“Every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States, of this State or of any political subdivision thereof by force or violence or other unlawful means, who resides, transacts any business or attempts to influence political action in this State, shall register with the Secretary of State on the forms and at the times prescribed by him."


Yea...that should do it! Good job South Carolina!!! Why didn't the President think of that??

House Cleaning...sort of....

Technology has been zooming right along creating new ways to express ourselves with little smiley faces in our e-mail, short hand in texts and various new ways to get, sort and store information. I use to remember all my close friends phone numbers and would keep a little address book for business and other important information. Now everything can be contained in a pocket unit.

Between my cellphone and my computer I have the information for contacting who I need. The sad truth is I don't remember anyone's number anymore. I couldn't remember my sisters phone number to save my life. I do keep a notebook for information I may or may not use. If I find I am calling or e-mailing I add the address or number. I also go and clear out the clutter about once a year. I don't know if anyone else does this but it is becoming a tradition of sorts for me.

Start of the year I clear phone numbers out of the cell and addresses out of my e-mail account. I sort of go over things and see who is new and who is getting deleted. I hate to say that this year had more deleting than adding. Some are expected, ex-girlfriends, short term co-workers, companies I worked with for a short time. These we expect.
Then there are those we didn't expect or with we were not deleting.
This year seemed to have its more than it's share.
There are a few “friends” I am happy to delete but I have 3 that I am sad to say I am deleting because I feel I have tried to stay in touch and my effort is...well...it don't get results. This is the way things go, sad but true.

Then there are those who have pasted away. If feels strange to delete someones contact information when they have past. Sort of a final statement of loss. Of the ones that really hit me nothing hit me like the realization that I will not see Jim Cellini again. I had forgotten his e-mail address was stored on my computer.

Jim Cellini is considered to be one of the greatest street magicians of the past century, certainly of the last half of the 1900's. I had a chance to get to know him around the year 2000 when he was in New Orleans filming his DVD's about street performing. I know I wasn't his greatest friend and certainly I was not his student. At the time we became friends I was working on a very different style of magic. We did talk about performance and the nature of magic though and I did have a couple Christmas cards from him.
The last time I wrote to him via e-mail I had plans to visit Europe and wanted to go to Switzerland to see him. He told me his door would be open for me to stay with him. Last year he was going to be teaching in Cardiff Wales and I was going to try to get to the event. He had a stroke before he could go to Cardiff.
The whole magic community got together doing benefits, sending money and praying. He lived a few months but the stroke got the best of him. I think as a performer since he could no longer work he more or less gave up.
I had forgotten I had his e-mail on file.

I didn't delete it...not yet. I don't know why. I know I will but I can't do it...not today, not this week...I don't know when.

There seems to be something strange about deleting living humans and not the dead ones. Something lonely about keeping the dead contact info.

I wonder how Houdini's wife felt when she did his seance for the last time.

Maybe I want to get one last e-mail from Cellini...”Rosabelle, believe”.

Here is a video of Jim Cellini, one of the greatest magicians of our time...and a friend.

A quote

I overheard this a couple weeks ago..."I don't know if it was the Everclear or the Whiskey....."


Ouch!!