"Inspired by Robin..."

Robin, over at "Your Daily Dose" had such a memory-jolting post the other day... She is quite the writer, and after reading her blogs, as well as some of yours, I feel quite inadequate.  When you have some time, please do go check out her blog.


Anyway... her post brought back memories from high school, and even as far back as grade school, about this one particular guy.  Her post is from the standpoint of what effect attending one particular school had on her; mine is going to be about the memories of this one particular guy...


I will call him Ronny, because that is the fucker's name... I am not sure what I ever did to this guy, but whatever it was, it was good for an extended time of abuse.  My first recollection is that I was invited to a birthday party for this guy (early grades)... someone threw his jacket into the swimming pool, and I was using some kind of pole to get it out.  When I do retrieve the jacket, he comes up and hits me really hard... I recall asking him, 'Why did you do that? I was just getting your coat for you!' 


Of course, he didn't reply...


In junior high and high school, it was just nonsense like walking by and shoving me into the lockers... or tripping me... or even the occasional nut-bop...  in high school, he was the star half-back... I was the full back who more often than not, blocked for this asshole...


Bastard...


I was a late-bloomer... a VERY late bloomer...  Hell, I didn't have my first date until towards the end of my senior year in high school... I was shy... I felt awkward around girls... and even at that point in Life, I was nervous and fearful of rejection.  That fear alone has done much as anything to have kept me single all of these years since my divorce...  In elementary school, and on, I was the 'ugly duckling'...

I like this image of 'Gobbles' better than

any other image I could find to illustrate my awkwardness

Anyway, Once a year, we had 'TWIRP (The Woman Is Required to Pay)  Week' at our school, and some poor girl asked ME out!!!  Needless to say, I was so goofy!!!   Linnnn, over at 'The Chronicle of Linnnn', wrote about a time they had at their school when the girls could ask the boys out... 'Sadie Hawkins Day'  I recommend your reading this post, as well as her blog.  She always seems to have some unexpected twist in her writings.  This one was no different...  However, I digress from my topic.


Some years later, I had somewhat 'matured'... I developed a degree of confidence about myself... and even became a fairly decent looking guy.  I would be one of the people at the class reunions where people would ask, 'Who is THAT?!?'


Anyhoo... This one class reunion. who do I run into among a group of people, but Ronny...  I noticed so many different things about him...  and not in any particular order, he was bald, obese, and was on crutches due to needing hip replacements.


'Shoes! I am SO glad to SEE you AGAIN!!!!!!!'


... and I was just shocked... and without thinking I said...


'I can't imagine why you are glad to see me!  The only memories I have of you are bad ones... always being mean to me... always being ugly to me... I can NOT imagine your being glad to see me!!!'  ... and as I turned to walk away, he plead, 'Don't be like that!!'


I tend to be a VERY forgiving person... very much a 'turn the other cheek' kind of person... but on this day, I just couldn't.   I don't care if I ever see Ronny again.


I'm not sure why, but during my search for a photo of 'Gobbles' the turkey, this photo came up... maybe 'gobbles' refers to a skill set she must have...

????

Anyhoo... do go by and visit Robin and Linnnn... in the time it took you to read my nonsense, you could have read something really interesting...

~shoes~

'Locks Of Love...'

This is a text exchange that took place just moments ago between my son, BoyShoes...


BoyShoes  1:44:43 PM:  Cut off all my hair!

DadShoes  1:45:02PM:   WHAT?!?!?!?!    WHEN?!?!?!?!  WHY?!?!?!?!?

BoyShoes   1:45:49PM:   Donated it to 'Locks Of Love!'

DadShoes   1:46:14 PM:  I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

BoyShoes    1:52:37 PM:  I love you too!

_________________

Lil BoyShoes

He is SUCh a sweet boy... if a Dad can be allowed to say such things about his son!!

He has always had such a warm, soft heart... so caring... so considerate of others... and he had this marvelous shoulder-length blonde wavy hair that the girls just adore!!

Older, longer, haired version of BoyShoes

If you aren't familiar with 'Locks Of Love,' you can read HERE about the organization...  I will say this... from what I know, they are a VERY WORTHWHILE organization...

I am not sure if I could be more proud of him than I am right now...

I LOVE you, BoyShoes!!!!

~DaddyShoes~

"Nuts..."

One would think... that as long as I've been a professor, I would be a bit more direct and in control of questions I ask my classes...


We are getting the new academic year off to a start here at Alluvial Flood Plain State University... I'm still establishing the ground rules for this one class.  I am not sure if it's going to be a "project-driven" class or a "case-driven" class.  Anyway, after class this morning, I asked, "Do you have any questions?"


This young fellow replied... "yes, I do..."

"Why does Doctor X play with his nuts in class?"

To which I promptly responded...

AIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of  course, at that point, the stupid side of me kicked in, and I asked....

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

... and he repeated his question....   "Why does Dr. X play with his nuts in class?"

It reminded me of a "South Park" Episode...

I just stood there stunned... kinda like this...

Well... not exactly like this...

I motioned over to this young lady and reminded the guy that there are ladies in the class room... and I made eye contact with this young lady... and she said, 'but he does!'

Granted... they do shift around... they move throughout the course of the day... maybe not quite so much when one goes commando... but when things need to be shifted, I do it in the privacy of my office... or the rest room... but NOT in CLASS!!!!!

The young fellow said, 'he just leans up against the wall and plays with himself...'

I was just stunned... I guess I would be too self-conscious... too aware... and probably too private of a person to do that in class...

I do recall going to class once with my pants unzipped... I was SO embarassed... it's become part of my routine to do a 'finger check' of the zipper tab before I go to class...

I asked... but what about the rap videos... the hip hop videos... they all claimed it was different... but playing with yer balls is playing with yer balls... 

I remember this one fellow that used to work here... you would see him in the hallway talking to coeds... and he would be constantly shifting his junk around...

Hell... when GirlShoes would come to visit with me, he would catch her in the hallway... talk to her... and then she would come to my office and ask me why this fellow would 'adjust himself'...  

Equal Opportunity Nuts...

I mean... if a guy is wearing jeans... one is going to see the package...  unless...

Ouch!!!  However, I've never had dreams about losing my balls...

She seems happy that her husband has big balls...

I wonder if she plays with them...

However, I do think I've had a dream or two about vaginas with teeth... how scary wold THAT be?!?!?!? And what does THAT say about ME!?!?!?!?

Now THAT shiznit is SCARY!!!!!!!

And I wasn't aware it had a formal name?!?!?!

I am also reminded of this "South Park" episode... since I'm in the Nuts/Balls frame of mind...

I guess I am reminded of the time a colleague was writing a formula on the board in his class and farted... I bet I could write a bunch of stuff on THAT one!!!!

~shoes~

"Black Shoes and other colors..."

O.K...  With that past post, I'm no longer going to be on some kind of downer... either around here or in my Life...  I AM in charge of things... maybe not EVERYTHING... but things as they affect my Life and my Happiness...


I am ON a tear around here today!!! I knew it was going to be that kind of day when the Red Shoes stayed in the closet and I broke the Black ones out!!!!   Hmmm... rethinking that last sentence, do NOT interpret that as Shoes being in the closet!!


So... Black Chucks... Khaki pants, a Black Linen shirt... I am on a tear!!! I've already had several people ask about my Red Shoes... they will be back... but I think it's time for the more assertive... more aggressive side of me to come out...  Hell, it may have come out this past weekend!!!!! *whistles innocently*


Anyway... colors say a lot about us... and by selecting Black today, I am sending a message of no nonsense...  to my students... to the administrators... or to anyone that tries to get in my way around here...


This university... the administrators... will not affect my well being in the long run. I may have a day where they get me down, but I will honor those feelings... pick up the pieces... and continue to move forward...

Live IS good!

_______________

When I was on my road trip, I met this very attractive young woman in Oklahoma City. She took the most wonderful photos of the OKC Memorial... I was even able to get her to agree to go to dinner with me...

She later told me in an email that she saw 'colors' around me... an aura... she said she saw  Purple and Blue... she later emailed me and told me this...

I had to look and see why I "see" these 2 colors with you...

Purple: indicates spiritual thoughts. Purple is never a strong point in the Aura. It appears only as temporary "clouds" and "flames", indicating truly spiritual thoughts.

Blue: Balanced existence, sustaining life, eased nerve system, transmitting forces and energy. People with blue strong point in their Aura are relaxed, balanced and feel ready to live in a cave and survive. They are born survivors. Blue thought is a thought about relaxing the nerve system to achieve the balance of the mind or a thought about surviving. Electric blue can override any other color in the Aura, when the person is receiving and/or transmitting information in a telepathic communication. 

I think those colors define who I am fairly accurately...  and my "Oh Fuck!" post indicated that I was letting others win... when they had no business winning...  I let them alter my sense of balance... my sense of well-being...

I can't say that there won't be more times like that, but I will make it a point where it's only a momentary setback... and not move from my position where I am ultimately in charge of what happens to me... for the most part...

Now THAT looks like some kind of Astral Projection...

Just sayin'...

Well... time for my first class...

Let's go see what happens!!!!!!!

Life IS good, you know...

It really is...
___________________


There is a most obvious emptiness around here today...
My friend, Robert, is deeply missed...

~shoes~

"Oh Fuck..."

Rhut Rho...

Today was our first day back at the University...

Budget cuts and positions were primary topics at all meetings...

Way too many times, I heard...

"We are going to do the best we can, Shoes..."

And I do believe them...

That they will do the best that they can do...

However, they aren't the ones that will make the decisions...

This doesn't sound good...

This is NOT going to be a good year here at

Alluvial Flood Plain State University...

Well... I had to include one image that was somewhat upbeat...

No?

~shoes~

'Travelin' Shoes - Route 66...'

'Get your kicks... on Route 66...' 

Route 66 ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California... construction began in 1926, but due to the depression of 1929, the work wasn't completed until 1933...  At some point, Interstate 40 wound up duplicating a great deal of Route 66 from Oklahoma City westward...


The neat thing about my trip out to New Mexico was that from Oklahoma City westward, there were markers for Route 66... I didn't realize how much of the old Route 66 still existed until I was on my way back home...


I exited I-40E at Tucumcari, NM... there were road signs about a dinosaur museum being located there...  and I recalled a lame joke about dinosaur floats... so I thought it needed to be checked out.  About a mile or so east of I-40, I came upon... Route 66, and it was as if I had driven through a time warp and had entered the late 50's / early 60's.


There was an architecture associated with that time... buildings that looked like this...

Or this one...

Or even this one...

This is a slice of Americana that is almost all gone...

Thank God that a few die-hards have found this valuable enough to retain...

With the exception of the first photo, these structures are all found in Tucumcari...

this made me wish that I had spent more time in Albuquerque exploring Route 66 that

still winds through that city... I would love to go back just to see more of these types of structures!!

____________

I lamented about not being able to make it further West on my trip... about how beautiful and how spiritual I find the Mesas and the Canyons to be... While looking for the 'Route 66'  theme above, I found this haunting rendition of 'Deguello'...

This is based on the music that General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ordered to be played as a signal to the men inside of the Alamo... the meaning of the song, or of the bugle call was that of 'No Quarter'... no one would be spared... no one would survive.  True to that notion, the several soldiers captured after the Battle of the Alamo were summarily executed.

However, watch the video... only the opening scene is shot at the Grand Canyon... the rest of it was filmed in Monument Valley... just look at those wonderful rock structures... and maybe you can understand why I am drawn back to such beauty...

*sighs*

~shoes~

"Travelin' Shoes Returns..."

I finally made it back home... Man, what a trip! I left Mississippi last Sunday morning a bit later than I wanted to... and made it as far as Oklahoma City...


To say it was hot on that drive is an understatement. According to the NWS. parts of Eastern Oklahoma were 105F with Heat Indices of 115F+... It was all the air conditioner in my Mitsubishi SUV could do to keep up with the heat.  I had hoped to reach at least Amarillo, TX...


While in Oklahoma City, I did take advantage of the opportunity to go see the Oklahoma City Memorial... PeeDee over at 'Queen of the Dogs' posted about her visit to the Memorial...  I went at night... and was awed by it.  I don't think I was quite prepared for what I saw. I guess I can't comprehend someone being so angry that they would be responsible for the deaths of so many innocents...

this is not my photo...

By being there at night, I was able to observe the lighted 'chairs' that represented those who died in the cowardly bombing.  The adults are represented by 'adult-size' chairs while the children are represented by smaller chairs...  I was walking down the side of the reflecting pool... looking at the names on the chairs that were closer... and this one just seemed to jump out at me... the name was 'Miss Baylee Almon'... if you remember the photos in the days that followed, there was one of a fireman carrying this little girl.


Anyhoo...


Another hard day of driving got me to Sante Fe... one of my destinations... and I was so "driven out" that I decided to not drive any further...


So I didn't get to Bryce Canyon or to Arches... nor did I get to Sedona or to the Grand Canyon... or even back to Monument Valley...


I was asked if I found the spiritual release that I was seeking... and I had to answer, 'No...' Now, don't get me wrong... something really wonderful did happen on the trip... but I didn't find the release from the weight that has built up over time.


I did make it up to Taos, and there was some beautiful scenery there... I will post some of the photos when I download them... and I did see an unbelievable rainbow on the return drive... I have never seen a rainbow quite like this one...

the rainbow I saw looked nothing like this...

...nor did it look anything like this!!

I have said before that I would never try to go out to this part of the country during summer months... that the best time to go would be either in May or in October... but time was running out... and I wanted to try.  We start back to work this week... back-to-school meetings will be Thursday.  Quite a few professors don't know about Robert having passed yet... so that will be emotional... and hardly any of the students know yet... Next week, when the students return will be difficult... but time doesn't stop... doesn't wait... doesn't slow down...


It's good to be home... I have much reading of your blogs to do... and comments to  make... I'll be around to see you all shortly...

~shoes~