Jimmy

I ran into a friend from my law school small section, whom I hadn't seen in years. He was the glue, along with one or two others who were slightly older, that bridged the divide between the less-than-worldly 22 year-olds in the section and the more experienced types like me, in my mid-30s with children and a decade in law enforcement already.

He asked how my 3 boys were, the same ones who used to be underfoot at softball games and parties during those 3 years, and I regretfully told him they had all grown up in the image of their mother and I hadn't spoken to any of them for years. I said I knew that two had gone to college because I could tell that from receiving receipts for the eight semesters of full payment for each of them drawn from two of the three fully-paid tuition plans I owned, to be used for their college education.

Regretfully, the oldest had never attended college, something that was important to me and my family but apparently not important to their mother or her line of their family. My friend looked concerned and he said he would pray for him.

I know he will, that's the kind of guy he is. Thanks Jimmy.

Band or Bracelet, or NASCAR

Is it a bracelet or a giant rubber band?  Occasionally I wear a colored rubber strip with a message around my left wrist for awhile to express myself.

The first time I wore a yellow and blood red band that said USMC in black letters, which I picked up for free at a Marine recruiting booth at a fair, when I went down the Grand Canyon on a week-long trip for my first Bucket Trip in 2008.  I never served but my father and brother did and I intended to give it to my oldest son as a memento when I returned.

Then last year around Thanksgiving I picked up a blue band for a $2 donation that said in yellow lettering Occupy, We Are The 99% when I visited the Columbus (OH) occupy camp in support of those committed young people.  That band was a great hit in Dallas where I went to work at a regional office for most of December, where my mostly conservative co-workers would point out any gathering whatsoever that we encountered, be it a union line or a health care demonstration or even a concentration of homeless people and say, "Peter, there are your friends."

I took that band off on New Year's day, figuring I'd shown sufficient support.  A few weeks ago I picked up my current bracelet for $1 in a store discount bin, a light blue band that says, NASCAR Unites 2011.  (Below: I'm on the left standing next to my running buddy John, about to go out for a run on the Mall while wearing my powder blue NASCAR band on my left wrist.)

No one who knows me can figure out why I'm wearing a NASCAR band but I tell people who ask that it's me getting in touch with my redneck side.  You know, the liberal who was a cop for nine years, the NRA opponent who keeps a weapon in the house, and besides, I've been to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Museum in Dawsonville, Georgia, which features lots of NASCAR memorabilia.

I was in a quandary when to take off my showy NASCAR bracelet but today, America's Independence day, is perfect.  An American having celebrated being a good American for weeks with a NASCAR band will retire the bauble to a drawer on July 4th.

As for the USMC band that started it all, that's in a drawer where I threw it when I returned from the Grand Canyon since I don't know where my oldest child is.  He hasn't communicated with me since 2007 (he so loves his Mother, my ex-wife who won't tell me his address or phone number, or even if he is well or not).

Hey Jimmy Rogers, contact me if you intend to use the pre-paid Virginia tuition plan I purchased for your educational benefit two decades ago because the administering board insists it's going to foreclose the plan soon and return my money to me (and require me to pay tax penalties) unless I can demonstrate to them that it will soon be used for its intended purposes.  I have protested the board's attitude to no avail, as I can advance to them no information as to why the plan should remain in place beyond its ten-year limitation, per IRS rules, aside from the divorce court decree which the board claims lacks force over them.

Down it came

It was time. I finally took down my Christmas tree. This year I set the artificial tree up in the bedroom of my 18-year old who attends college in Richmond. (Left: The 2007 Christmas tree as seen from the bedroom across the hall.)

I live in a little one and a half storey workman's home built in the 1930s. When I sell it, they'll tear it down and McMansion the lot with a million-plus dollar house. The mansion being built across the street from me, replacing a little one-level ranch, is so big it practically blots out the sun. This is the way of the neighborhood because it is within walking distance of Metro and is in the village of Falls Church with its reportedly superior public school system.

The 2d floor of my cottage has low ceilings so the tree couldn't be fully set up because it's too tall. I left the middle pole out and balanced the upper part on the lower part. It worked. (Right: The tree took up practically the entire bedroom.)

I try to never set up the tree in the same spot as the prior Christmas. Last year the tree was in the 19-year old's bedroom across the hall. (Below: My stocking was hung by the chimney with care.)

He attends the same college in Richmond as my youngest son. I know this because I recently received a statement from the institution indicating how much of their tuition has been paid (I provide for both boys' full tuition and all fees). My oldest boy hasn't ever asked for me to provide for his tuition and fees so I don't think he has ever attended college.

I ran a race down in Richmond awhile back and poked around their campus a little. It looked like a nice place. I hope those two are happy there. (Right: The most famous tourist spot in Falls Church, the farmer feeding slop to his hogs outside Don Beyer Volvo on Route 7. Look at the winter sky that sometimes greets me on early morning runs.)