space coast

live from the public library, patrick afb, fl.

a wonderful time was had with j and her recently-returned-from-parts-east hubby, c. i drank a wee bit too much, but then, it just wouldn't be a hang-out with j if i didn't, right? my wife and j and c got along famously, which pleased me to no end.

we left keller, and had a nice, though humid and hot, jaunt down to san antonio to visit a few friends before trying to press on and make up a little lost ground.

the visit with friends of ours from our time in new mexico was great, but hard.

c.w. and j.w. were good friends of ours, and then, after we moved, j.w. suffered a loss of oxygen after a routine surgery, and as a result, he is a quadrapalegic and the mental capacity of a small child.

i can remember when he was vibrant and alive and fun and could quip a quick remark that would make everyone laugh in the time it takes to think it.

i was scared to see him. i was afraid i would act strange. i was worried i would act stand-offish, and that he would, despite the loss of a greater understanding of things, would pick up on it.

but then when he saw us, and the children, his eyebrow went up, he made laughing noises (he is unable to verbalize anything other than a "hey" which he manages to use to convey all manner of wants and needs and emotions), and there was a glimmer of the old j.w., and i smiled and felt more relaxed and at ease.

we pushed on, attempting to get as close to houston as possible before i was too tired to carry on.

which is what we would have done if we hadn't left no. 2's medicine in c.w. and j.w.'s fridge.

so a quick u-turn, negotiating the highways, and popping in for our meds before heading back out. we ended up spending the night in a small town outside of san antonio named seguin.

then mad as hell and not sparing the horses across the remainder of texas, mississippi (a tangent, that may possibly offend some, but then, so might my language, some of my subject matter at any given moment, and even possibly my attitude, so here goes: like many, i am sure, we have preconcieved notions of mississippi. due, mostly, to a couple of movies: mississippi burning and ghosts of mississippi. and it seems to me that mississippi has done little to change our minds on this count. they might make a stab at coming up with a slogan for tourism: something like, "mississippi, we no longer lynch darkies" or something along those lines. (the wife and i had a good laugh over several miles as we discussed this, my initial offering was "mississippi, we no longer kill blacks" to which she replied, "it should be 'lynch' instead of 'kill'" and i said, "well i was thinking the 'n' word instead of blacks, but i just don't use that word ever." the final result was the line above.) it should be noted here that, despite our sick senses of humor, we are not advocators of hate nor of the killing of anyone based on race, religion, or creed, and are simply making an editorial comment on the lack of interest on the parts of the tourist board and governor of mississippi to change the stereotype that the rest of us have that the state is filled with white supremacists. please feel free to leave me scathing comments telling me what a prick i am.), alabama, and deep into florida.

the long and the short, o my beloved non-existants, is that we are here. still living in a suite for about a week longer, without anything but the things that we packed into our (horribly abused and mistreated, but oh, so tough) honda passport, but here.

more news soon, as my kids are beginning to be disruptive here in the library and the cute librarian (what the hell is it about librarians?!? is there some kind of requirement on the application? must be hot with cool little glasses that make you seem approachable...?) is shooting me dirty looks.

darth sardonic