Uncle Joe

My Uncle Joe went in for heart surgery yesterday, a septuple bypass!...He's the last living uncle I have, and the last bastion of an era... I'm sure Uncle Joe will be fine..he's one of those 'tough guys' you may have known...cocky and with a swagger...but deep down, very caring and generous.

When I was little, I would stay over at Aunt Carmen and Uncle Joe's during summer months, with my cousins, little Joe and Joanne, it was almost like a second family...Uncle Joe ruled the roost...and aunt Carmen wasn't far behind...He and my dad were brothers-in-law, and they were fast friends from the beginning, back in the 50's...it was HE who went with my dad to get hamburgers the morning I was born. I'm almost confused about what to write here.... obviously I hope and pray for his recovery...but I must admit, I was always intimidated and a little afraid of him when I was a kid...he was a stern disciplinarian...as some parents were, my dad included...

He has always been a hard worker, and again, back in the 60's when the G.I. Joe toys came out, me and my cousin, little Joe had a blast...playing war with those things...
"Hi Girls! playing with dolls again?" Uncle Joe would say....
The toughest part came around 1980, when I had kinda long hair and he couldn't help but comment, "hello hippie!" when I arrived, much to the consteration of myself and others.

But here is the dichotomy, after I graduated from college, he went out of his way to get me a job...he took me on a personal tour of FMC in San Jose, where he was a plant manager... and he spoke to me on personal terms, which he never had before. Uncle Joe is what you would call a 'conservative'....a staunch Republican...and...sometimes quite frankly an ol' redneck...but right now, all I know is that he's in bed. recovering....

Here's the cool thing about uncle Joe....he has an intelligence, or a self-awareness at least, to the point where he recognizes his current situation and will have the mind-set to heal quickly....he's that tough...

Me and My Arrow

There's a really fun song by Harry Nillson, about a boy and his dog, and the words go...

"Me and my Arrow
takin' the high road
where ever we go
everyone knows
it's Me and my Arrow"

It's rather obscure, but I was humming that tune the other night while driving home, at the same time looking at the voltage meter. My truck needs a new alternator, so until I have enough cash to get it serviced, I have to swap out batteries and recharge them to just keep it running...

I apologize to my truck, as I do every day when I get in it, to go to work. I began to associate that song with my truck, like a faithful companion, like a faithful old dog. Then something amazing happened, "Me and My Arrow" came on the radio! What are the odds?! It was a 'God is in your radio' moment... and my truck seemed happy, as if it was saying, "don't worry, I know you'll fix me, and I'll always get you where you need to go...if I can."

Me and my truck go way back. I bought it brand new back in 1984, when it had only 6 miles on it. A 1984 Toyota 4x4... It came in sooo handy! (and still does). I remember about a couple weeks after I bought it, my buddy Mike and his girlfriend Berta came to visit, and Mike insisted on riding in the back... that was back when it was legal to do so...as I looked in the mirror as we went down the freeway, his eyes were sooooo wide, like he was on a roller coaster... I don't think he realized that this was a 'light' truck, not a full-sized bed like the Ford trucks... but he was cool... he's kind of a 'tough guy' but I'll never forget his face on his roller coaster ride.

I cannot count how many times I've helped people move... and I know what a pain in the butt is to move... but as long as it's not myself moving, I actually enjoy helping people move, it's like a fun outing, and it's always nice to feel 'useful'...

Back then, my friend Patty who I worked with would move about once or twice a year, so...I was naturally enlisted to help her. In 1987, my roommates' twin brother in Pleasant Hill was moving into a new house, and it seemed only natural... and a year later a buddy from Spectrum Holobyte needed moving. 'Me and My Arrow' again... and this was still back in the 80's!

There was only ONE time when the truck cut out on me, just the one time... on Christmas Eve no less! It was Christmas Eve 1987 and I was driving down to Tulare, CA where my parents live... but on hiway 99 the engine started cutting out, but would still rev on lower speeds... I called my parents' house, and like Knights, my dad and uncle Toody came to look for me... and searched up and down 99 until they found me on the shoulder, limping along ...they towed my poor little truck to the house.

The next day... my uncle tore the engine apart...he was an aircraft mechanic so he totally knew what he was doing, and seemed to relish in it. After cleaning the fuel lines and carburator, the three of us put it all back together, "okay, let's take it for a test ride."

So me and my uncle drove off... "pull onto the freeway.." so we did, and the truck seemed to run fine.

A car passed us at a much faster rate, like around 80 or 90.
"okay follow that guy"
"are you sure?"
"yeahhh, let's go."
"but the speedometer only goes to 85."
"don't worry about it, it'll go faster, let's go, floor it!"
So I did, silently saying 'sorry, truck' but at the same time admiring my uncle, not a sentimental man, but I admired his confidence in mechanics, and how machines can, and should work.

I didn't have my truck this whole time, but it stayed in the family. In 1990 I bought a sporty little convertible, and at that time, my dad was in the market for a truck, so he bought it, and he had it for 11 years... and took good care of it. That's just one of many things I learned from him (and uncle Toody!)...to always take care of your cars. Change the oil, that's the big thing.

Unfortunately my dad passed away in 2001, later my mom said, "why don't you just take your truck back? it just sits here." So I drove it back, and now here we are again, Me and my Arrow...to this day it comes in handy hauling stuff, still helping with moves, even myself!

And numerous times, I get people who say, "hey! you wanna sell your truck?"
It appears the Toyota trucks from '78 to '86 were a good batch...in demand, because they were just built good... I get waves from other guys in Toyota trucks of that era on the road...

I'll fix it as soon as I can...I owe it that much. Me and My Arrow.

Storm Clouds

There's clouds overhead.... Thunderhead clouds that block the light of day. Not only for me, but everyone around me, and in the world. They seem to be gathering in an endless overture. The other day I saw one of the bright lights of hope and democracy in the middle east get assassinated...like John and Bobby Kennedy,a figure of hope and promise just cut down, but this time in a volatile country that has nuclear weapons. This is the state of the world these days, and I worry about these things...

I worry about the ice on the North Pole, melting at an alarming rate, 'The Arctic is screaming' say most environmental scientists.Polar bears may become extinct in the wild soon. I think global warming is here...

I worry that the top 1 percent of Americans make billions,meanwhile the middle class is squeezed more and more just to make ends meet.

I worry that that the near 400 BILLION dollars spent (so far) on the war in Iraq is mostly borrowed from China...no war bonds like in World War 2, most Americans can't or wouldn't buy those things for this war... a war without end, based on lies, it's a quagmire...

But mostly I worry about people I'm connected to... people who I'm close to who are sick, and I've been praying for them...and, yes well myself too... I'm not physically sick, but I'm soul-sick....I have been for some time now.... just, diminished. I find myself praying alot lately, and try to feel what it means,not just recite words... In some ways I think they're answered to some measure, but I think biggest answer is Hope... As these storm clouds gather...all around the world and in our lives... I have Hope it's gonna be okay... and I THINK it will! And in the new year instead of wanting to get back to better days, or wishing to... it's better to INTEND to.