Hello. Christmas is over. The biggest snowstorm in recent memory is over. Life goes on. With all of the snow, we were fortunate to have our son and his family living with us. We had everything we needed, including our three grand babies, to make for a wonderful holiday. Being alone in church on Christmas Eve was weird. Well, not alone, but none of my family was there. It gave me time to think...and leak a tear or two.

The Duhks music makes me feel good. Give them a listen if you get a chance. My first experience of the Paint Room live was fantastic. I felt like I'd slipped into another world. We walked down a narrow alley, into a back door, down a terrazzo staircase, through winding hallways past an old-school workshop and there in a dimly light room was music...grand music! It was awesome!

Snow will be here until April now. There are mountains of snow everywhere. I don't like the snow, but it doesn't care. It just lies there with a smirk on it's face as if to say, "I'm here to stay, bitch". Some people have no business driving in it. I see them stuck in deep snow and wonder if they are blind. Maybe just bad at judging things. The Somalians that have moved into the area seem quite confused. Take note of vehicles driven by these new strangers. By my count, almost half of them are damaged. Must not have cars in Somalia.

Priorities are odd fellows. A priority for one person is meaningless to another. So is it really a priority? Can you make your priority important to another? Maybe it wasn't a priority after all.

Hello. It's time to change Christmas. It needs to be about sharing with others, not lining big retailers pockets. There is guilt laid on everyone to buy the right gift...or just to buy a gift. It's BULLSHIT! I was out yesterday for a bit, buying gifts for the Boys & Girls homes. Gifts for children who can't be at home for the holidays makes some sense...but Wii games?!? I parked my 1999 2-door Pontiac and as I dragged my fat ass out, the large door tapped the car next to me. I looked at the foreign SUV and couldn't see a mark in the dirt. As I walked towards the store, a woman swung her door open and hollered, "I put enough dents in this thing, I don't need your help!" I hadn't notice there was someone in the car. I stopped... smiled... and said, "I don't think I dented anything." I took a second look and still didn't see any "dent". She snarled some more and drove off. Ahh, the spirit of Christmas.

Not drinking is weird. People think there is something wrong with you. Can't a guy just lay off the booze for a few days? It does feel odd to sit in a bar with my buddies and drink Sprite. I sure do like it the next day. I'm not quitting, I'm just taking a break. If someone chooses to drink less, we should be supportive. Maybe more of us should have pushed George to take a break. I think people can do whatever they like...even if it's committing vodka-suicide. It's not my place to tell them what to do. Or is it?

Hugs are great. I'm not talking about putting your arms around someone like you're afraid you'll catch a disease from them. I'm talking about wrapping your arms around a person and holding them tight, feeling their spirit, taking a deep breath and becoming one. Try it sometime. It can be unforgettable.

Hello. I'm back. You thought I'd disappear for a few weeks didn't you?

Money sucks. There is never enough. Well, there is always enough, there just isn't any extra. We make sure of that. Oh what fools we are. I saw today that the Feds had set a limit of $12.1 trillion for the deficit. Well we reached that already. Now what? The barter system looks better and better all the time.

I've been getting to work a little earlier lately...9:00 am. They say the early bird gets the worm. The worm should have slept in. Life crawls along in Sioux Town. There are little sparks once in a while, but they fizzle out quickly. The town needs a new business to locate here...or at least the rumor of one. The leaders don't do a good job leading. Leaders should cause their followers to think and act. The leaders around here expect the followers to...well follow them, exactly. Don't have an original thought. No, no, no! "We might have to change!" Most people don't understand change. It's tough, but necessary to survive. I need to change. Yep, I need deep change. It makes me tingle just to say that. YAY!

Hello. I'm going crazy...two blogs in one week! Whoopee Doopee!

I stumbled into an interesting little twilight zone last night. I shot pool with the Eagles team at a neighborhood bar on the west side of Sioux Town. It was so foreign to me, I might as well have been on another planet. Being in the bar business and considering how small this town is, I assumed the crowd would be familiar. There were a couple of regulars that I know, but for the most part I was the stranger.

I do enjoy shooting pool on a bar table after playing on the RATSO snooker table. Everything is so close...and BIG! I still only won one game. I'm a clean freak. This place was not clean. It's hard for me to get comfortable. I had to wonder, "Why would anyone choose to drink in this place?" We had no choice because it was the designated pool stop. Apparently some people don't mind slopping around in other people's 'stuff' while they get a buzz on. Drinks were cheap, but the smell of cat piss took its toll.

I have to take my 80-year-old mother to a doctor today. She fell. Life is odd. When we're young our parents take us to the doctor. When we get older, we return the favor. Maybe I should take her out for a treat afterwards... that's what she did for me. I'm not sure I'll make it to 80. I burn up the days like they are endless. You've heard of dog years, 1 year is like 7 years for a dog. I'm thinking about changing my name to Fido. Question for next time, "Do you know a dog named Fido?"

Hello, hello. Is anyone paying attention? Has my audience given up on me in my absence? Let's start over.

Here I sit listening to some cool music, sniffling and waiting out the clock. In 30 minutes PJ is done working and we try to navigate the first big snow of the season. Big deal. Writing stuff feels good. The music is Jackie Greene...I like it. We hosted Chuck Prophet on Saturday night. What a killer show! Do you like my use of exclamation points? My head is full. Oh yeah, Prophet. What a weird guy. Just when I thought he was cool, he showed a not-so-cool side. The guitar play between him and Andy (or whatever the guitar players name was), was incredible! "Giving up the Ghost" is the album from Jackie Greene. He was with Phil Lesh and Friends a couple of years ago at SITP. He stole the show. I guess he is Phil's friend. The evening just became more interesting...an invitation for whisky has been added to the agenda. That makes the snow more challenging. Me and a couple of my buds tripped over to Byron's in Pomeroy on a Sunday afternoon. Men in bib overalls, women dressed in Goodwill clothing, tie-dye stuff everywhere and a 6-year-old dancing girl made the evening quite memorable. Please don't be disturbed by the 6-year-old dancing girl comment. Time to go. Peace my friends.