rustypants speaks

There he is! He’s taking issue with this billboard he found by the side of I-65 in Alabama!

Silly Satan! You’re going to upset some Christians out there!

After having been bit by a dog (no collar / no license) this afternoon while riding my bike, having confronted the owner and gotten some BS from her, I got the number for Animal Control and the following conversation took place:

“Can I help you?”
“Yes, I was bit by a dog and…”
“OK. This is not animal control. That number changed back in November.”
“Ok. You have the new number?”
“That office isn’t open until Tuesday.”
“Uh…”
“Here, I’ll transfer you to the Sheriff’s dept.”
*click*

“Officer so-and-so, can I help you?”
“Dog bite, etc. etc.”
“Uh. OK. Do you want an officer to contact you?”
“No, but the bite broke the skin, blood, swelling, etc.”
“Um. Well, Animal Control is who you want to call, then.”
“Wha? They don’t open til Tuesday.”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Let me transfer you…”
*click*

“Officer so-and-so, blah blah blah”
“Dog. Bite. Blood. Swelling. Etc.”
“Animal Control, yada yada, blah blah blah”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“Sir, I don’t know what you want us to do…”
“I’d kinda like to know if the unlicensed, uncollared dog that BIT ME is rabid, sick, etc.”
“Well, sir, you’ll need to call Animal Control on Tuesday morning…”
“What in the Hell…?”
*click*

It was an incredible evening out on Pensacola Beach.

Dark black clouds. White fluffy clouds. The sky was black. The sky was blue. It rained. It didn’t rain. The surf was flat and the beach was clear of people.

We brought Dolby, our black lab, out with us. The oil spill was on its way to Pensacola and we didn’t know when the next time was we’d be able to bring him.

As we walked out to the beach, the rain started sprinkling, and a rainbow popped out to the East. We got ourselves settled on a blanket, Dolby obviously unhappy. He and rain don’t mix. He loves getting wet and swimming, but if the moisture comes out of the sky, this displeases him. Lise went to hunt for seashells and the dog and I stayed behind.

I sat marveling at the rainbow, the dichotomy of light and dark in the sky, at the beach that we so love, how the light reflected off the water, and how we might be losing it all to the oil spill, slowly gushing its way to us.

That’s when I saw him.

Off to the East. A Great Blue Heron.

He was a good 50 yards away from where Dolby and I sat. He was framed against a beautiful backdrop of those mixed clouds, the rainbow, the shimmering water, and the sugar-white sand.

The photographer in me instantly started calculating how close I would need to get, at what point I would need to stand, what settings I would need to put into the camera, in order to get a shot of those clouds, the rainbow, the heron, the reflection, all into one frame.

The one thing I didn’t calculate was what it would take to get Dolby to stay on the blanket and not scare the heron away.

Dolby’s a good boy. We’ve been very lucky to have a big dog who stays close when off his leash, and almost always comes back when called. Almost always.

As I started changing my camera settings to take into account the distance, the lighting, my subject, and walking slowly towards the heron, I realized that Dolby was with me. What’s more, his ears had perked up and his tail was straight out. He started moving faster and next thing I know, he’s 5 yards in front of me.

What to do!? If I yell, Dolby would come back, but the heron might take off!

I risked it. “Dolby! COME!” and he did. And the heron stayed in his spot.

I continued walking, started taking some preliminary shots to see how things were looking, but knowing I needed to get much closer than I was to get the heron big enough to make it all worthwhile.

I forgot about Dolby again as I shot and made adjustments, walking quickly and, hopefully, stealthily towards the shoreline and my quarry.

The next thing I see in my camera viewfinder?

Dolby has taken off. Not a full gallop (yet), but the Labrador Retriever Hunting trot.

I called again in the most commanding voice I have, “Dolby! COME!” knowing it was futile. Once he’s locked himself into this mode, there’s nothing I can do to stop him. I had two choices: Chase after him and hope I could catch up to him, and grab him by his harness, or…

Or, I could get the camera ready and shoot what was sure to be an interesting, if not funny, scene.

Dolby has chased after pelicans in the past, to much disappointment. He has chased after black skimmers and come away shame-faced. He goes after slow, bumbling pigeons, but the results are always the same no matter what he chases: they get away.

This night was no different. As he got closer, the Great Blue shifted slightly. I could see him eyeing this big galoot who was now coming at him at a gallop. I could also see that the heron was going to shame my dog by letting him get close, closer, closer…

And it was a fantastic shaming. That Great Blue waited until the last minute to unfold his large wings and gracefully take flight against my goofy dog. He flew perhaps 50 yards to the West, landed in the water, and resumed his search for dinner, keeping a wary eye in our direction.

My big dog got this shameful, silly look on his face as he trotted back, almost as if to say, “Dang it! I knew that was gonna happen, but shucks, I just had to give it a try!”

As the oil slick continues to grow, and as we find more and more oil out on the beach, this is just one of the many things we are growing sad about losing.

During our Saturday trip to Pensacola Beach today, we got our first glimpse of what’s here, and what’s to come with the oil spill in the Gulf.

Using some of their product, I have tried to articulate how we and many of our friends here in Pensacola feel about BP and the oil spill / death of millions of animals / destruction of habitats / screwing over of lives:

To be certain, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The blobs of oil we saw / stepped in / couldn’t avoid today were nothing compared to what’s a couple miles off shore, and even that is nothing compared to what’s slowly moving our way.

To say that we’re heartbroken doesn’t even begin to cover it.

We’re heartbroken for the wildlife that is being killed by this tragedy. We’re heartbroken for the lives ruined (those killed on the rig; the families left behind; those whose businesses and dreams are shattered; those of us who live on the Gulf coast who will be directly and indirectly affected financially for many years to come).

And we’re heartbroken for selfish reasons, too. When Lise and I moved here back in 2007, we did so for mental health reasons and because we had fallen in love with Pensacola Beach. Many long-time residents we’ve friended here think we’re somewhat crazy – coming to the beach three, four, even five times a week is not unusual for us. We watch the sunset. We collect shells. We sit together and dream dreams. We watch pelicans, terns, and other seabirds fly and live. We watch dolphins, schools of fish, sharks, cownose stingrays, and a vast number of other sealife swim with what seems to us like carefree abandon. We swim. We love. We are still in awe of the incredible diversity that the seasons bring to the shoreline. The peace and comfort we receive just being in the presence of the Gulf shore is indescribable.

Taking pictures today of Pensacola Beach littered with the first wave of tar balls / oil blobs hurt. Picking up a small amount of the oil and seeing how difficult it is to get that shit off of my hands was shocking. I still have oil stuck under / around my fingernails after washing my hands several times.

We’ve both cried. I’m sure we’ll be crying more. The pictures coming out of Louisiana are so painful that I’ve had to stop looking at them. The ramifications for our future here (mental health, financial, job-wise, etc.) are so shocking that we’ve not been able to have a coherent conversation about it yet. But we’re going to have to face this soon.  I don’t know how we’re going to be able to stay here.

And for that: Fuck you, BP.

It’s been many, many years.

the latest excitement:

• i’m down 41lbs from last june to 244lbs
• i continue to run 5x / week, lift weights 3x / week, bike infrequently, watch my calories, do some circuit training a couple times a week, drink lots of water, and juggle daily.
• i started doing yoga 3 weeks ago and am enjoying it quite a bit – very relaxing, yet also a workout. i frequently do it at night before heading to bed and it helps the insomniac in me fall asleep.
• this pic was taken this afternoon while hamming for the camera:
  
• the picture drives me to ask the question: if you had a high school teacher with guns like that, would you be messing around with him? no? then why the heck do my students mess with me? is it the shoes? is it the smile? maybe i don’t flash the guns around enough?
• i’m neck-deep in IEP writing, with somewhere around 18 IEP’s due in the next 2 months. oy vey.
• add to this that i’m taking a course on educational assessments at UWF and it’s a double oy vey.
• stephen king’s Under the Dome was a great read until the last 30 pages. he really is a master of plot development, but his endings are so frequently just blah.
• i’ve now worn my Vibram Five Fingers every day for three months and i’m telling ya: these things are absolutely awesome. i did acquire a second pair of them (seen in above picture) and do all my teaching, workouts, running, etc. in them. my feet / legs / knees / back have never felt better. i realize i have a followup i need to do on my previous post – it’ll happen, promise!
• spring break is the last week in march – i’m planning on being in Cincinnati for a couple days. am thinking of arranging some kind of party for a couple hours one night and see if we can’t get everyone together in one room to visit and catch up!
• there’s more to tell, but this was unplanned and as such, my brain is mush.

thanks to kate for the kick in the ass.

after 3 weeks of wearing the Vibram FiveFinger KSO’s, it’s time to write a review and recap some highlights – but first, some history:

i started running back in august of this year (‘09). i was nervous about running for several reasons:

• i’ve not done any kind of running in the past 25 years (and i’m 41 now)
• the few times this past summer that i’d tried to run, my knees / back would stop me
• i’ve lost 40lbs since may but am still overweight – i didn’t want this to end up being a failure and get discouraged with the other things i’m doing to improve my health (at 245 right now, i’m shooting for another 25-30lbs to go)
• i have a form of arthritis that can flare up unexpectedly, and has put me out of commission for days or weeks in years past when it hits my knees or ankles (in a physical mobility sense)
• for most practical purposes, without my hearing aids, i hear nothing but extremely loud noises, and cannot wear them when i’m sweating (how to sense cars coming behind, etc)
• it was something new and i wasn’t sure i really wanted to do it

but i realized that most of these were excuses. like with all the other changes i’ve made this past year, i did some extensive research on running, spoke to several people who are runners, plotted out my strategy, and went with it. i went and bought a pair of New Balance running shoes, took it slow (walking, then running, then more running and less walking, finally running 3 miles a night without walking), and really came to enjoy it.

well, kinda.

i was doing well with the act of running itself, but my ankles, knees, hips, and back were just exhausted after each run. i mean, i was wiped! and the next day these joints were hollering more than just soreness. i figured this came with the territory and decided to just run my way through it.

and finally i had to stop running for a couple weeks because it just hurt too much. my knees were killing me and i was losing sleep from the pain at night.

i did what i normally do: i brooded a couple days, then started researching what went wrong.

and the only answer i could come up with is that i was slamming down on my heels with each stride – it’s what i remember doing when i was playing sports, right? heel-to-toe? and all that weight slamming down, jolting the rest of me on the way back up.

now let me say this: i’m not here to argue proper form (and thank God for that – others more qualified can do that and actually give a damn). for me, it’s the only thing i could figure.

so i started looking into barefoot running – it seemed natural for me, both in form and comfort (i’ve worn only Birkenstocks for 12+ years now and when i’m not wearing my birks, i’m wearing nothing).

and this led me to Vibram FiveFinger KSO’s.

part two is coming right up!

i took the plunge and bought a pair of Vibram FiveFinger KSO’s this past week!

my initial reaction?

• running is easier and less painful on the knees
• running is more fun and less exhausting
• the KSO’s are crazy comfortable

gimme a couple more days and i’ll post a more detailed assessment as well as my rationale for getting into barefoot running. for now, here’s some info to look into:

• Vibram’s FiveFinger KSO website
• Wired Magazine’s article on barefoot running
• www.birthdayshoes.com – a vff community site

i made the mistake of trying on a pair of these ugly things tonight

and now i need a pair.

check them out.

in the month or so since the contest ended:

• i’m down to 251lbs – 34lbs less than when i started back at the end of May
• the weight training has really been paying off:

• i’ve added running to my daily exercise and am up to 3 miles every night. it kicked my ass at first, but the more i do it, the easier / better it gets.
• my fears of being too busy with work were unfounded. i LIKE working out, biking, running, exercising, etc. and making the time for it isn’t as difficult as i thought it might be.
• i almost entered a 5k a couple weeks ago but chickened out. it’ll happen…
• finally had the physical that i probably should have had before i started this – the good news? everything’s kosher! doc was impressed with weight loss and the way i’ve gone about it. offered a few suggestions and answered a half dozen questions i had about various exercise / weight related things.

i still have a good bit of work ahead of me – i’ve got a lot more gut to get rid of, but what a difference from may of this year (and a 70lb difference since 2005)!

woo-hoo!

dunno what kind of spider this big thing is

but it just about got me while i was cutting the grass.

thick, sticky, huge web from the magnolia tree to the ground. thought i was a goner. figured lise would look out the window hours later wondering where i was and see this monster sucking away at my juices.

bleah.

i was surprised at how little reading i got done this summer, but of what i did finish, here’s the list and the ratings:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri was up first. lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with this book back in 2000. it’s a small volume of large stories focusing on, among other things, Indian-American experiences both here and in India – identity crises of sorts, and the interaction of the characters within American culture, or naturalized Indian-Americans interacting within a “foreign” Indian culture. Lahiri’s writing is excellent and her stories are short but loaded with detail. i very much enjoyed this and went right into her second book…

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. This is a novel that takes many of the themes found in her volume of short stories and plays them out over a generation. also well-written, i liked her novel as well! (as an aside: we rented the movie – it was also good, but not as good as the book)

The Gathering by Ann Enright had me scratching my head. and in the end, i’m not sure why i finished it. it’s a story of repressed memories, mourning, becoming, understanding who you are – but i just didn’t identify with anyone or anything in the story. this was a Man Booker Prize winner a few years ago, the main reason i bought it, and it should have taught me a lesson…

but  it didn’t.  Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss was another one that i was left puzzed by in the end. i understand the historical and cultural significance of the setting, and vaguely understand the societal / class struggle, but the book just didn’t satisfy me. another Man Booker winner, and another thumbs down.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was up next. dad gave this one to me as an answer to getting away from all the “heady shit” of the previous four books. it was fun. it was interesting. it was entertaining. it comes to you recommended as simply a story – no moral, no point, no frills. i liked it and it helped me get my literary head back on straight. cleansed the palate, i guess.

Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje was a winner. the first book of his i’d read, The English Patient, was my introduction to Ondaatje’s writing. set in sri lanka in the 80’s and 90’s, it’s another story of cultural and class differences (and warfare), loyalty, and mystery (ending in discovery). a definite thumbs up for this one – it wasn’t particularly “moving” but it was well-written (and frankly, “moving” stories don’t always make for “good” stories).

speaking of which, The Soloist by Steve Lopez was one of those “moving” but not “good” books. i get it. i understand the significance of what nathanael ayers represents as a mentally ill individual with incredible talent, the support system (or lack of it) around him, lopez’ struggles and the resulting good that came of this series of articles… i just wasn’t that impressed with the writing or the amount of time lopez devotes to himself. (in another movie aside: the film of this book was even less stellar)

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri is her latest. another collection of short stories + 1 novella, i had a recurring sense of deja vu while reading it. like her previous two, it’s very well written, and you get attached to the characters (she fleshes them out just right), but the themes are the same or similar to what we’ve already read from her. i felt like i was treading water and could almost predict what was going to happen next. Â do i recommend it? yes, but… only if you want more of the same.

The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery was supposed to be another break from heady reading. it sucked. i didn’t want it to. i tried, i promise. but. it sucked. too apologetic. too much time trying to convince me of the worth of the pig as a pet / friend / savior / ?? and not enough story. choppy, mired in slop, and all together unsatisfying, i put it down, picked it back up, and finally put it back down for good less than 1/3 of the way through. don’t waste your time or money. you can have my copy. burn it. want a feel-good pet story? buy Marley & Me.

Children of Men by PD James – thumb up and thumb down. it struck me as similar to The Road by McCarthy in the sense that the story was good up to the ending. then it… dived. it left too many questions, and was too easy. the idea was good but suffered from a lack of knowing where to take it? or maybe i just missed the point.

and finally:

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. recommended to me by two folks independent of each other, i took it as a sign and grabbed it from Amazon. it’s a Columbine-like story told from the perspective of the shooter / child. it sheds light on bullying and self-esteem issues, and as a teacher there was definite benefit from reading it when i go in and work with my students, and as a novel, it’s decent. it’s not written specifically to convince you of anything (it’s a bit of a mystery / love story / suspense put together), and it’ll never be a favorite, but it was worth reading.

this concludes our rambling take on summer reading.

and while i’m not sure yet whether i’ve won the month of august or not (and i’m almost certain i didn’t win the contest overall), i did manage to drop 24lbs this summer, and have added crazy amounts of muscle mass in my legs, arms, shoulders, and chest. this picture was taken earlier today out on pensacola beach @ 261lbs:

as i mentioned in previous posts, i’ve a long way to go still, but what a difference in body, mind, and spirit having worked so hard the last 3+ months to change 20 years of poor eating habits and virtually no exercise. the daily exercise (weight-lifting, circuit training, and biking) has really jacked up my metabolism. the healthy eating (more fruit, veggies; less meat and processed foods; calorie counting; normal portions; LOTS of water) has helped me feel better, and fuels the workouts. seeing and feeling the results is its own reward.

i’m thankful to Tim for agreeing to do this contest with me – we both needed some motivation to get started, and this was just right. Tim, i’m glad you probably won this contest, and the check is in the mail. truthfully, i can’t put a price on how much better i feel, but i’m glad we didn’t bet more than we did. :-)

and a final note: for all my silliness about how tough jillian michaels is, i met her daddy this past week. billy blanks is beating me far worse than jillian ever has. how do i respond? i say, “thank you mr. blanks, please can you hurt me some more!?”

dunno about you, but if i were looking for an online college and ran across the following ad, i’d run quickly in the opposite direction.

doesn’t anyone proof these before they’re put out, or is it just that no one notices except folks with grammar fetishes?

where’s my red ink Internet pen when i need it??

anyone who can not only point out the error but also:

• explain why it’s incorrect and
• fix the error

will have their name put in a hat and i will draw one name for the following prizes:

• a sheet of sparkly star stickers to show your friends how smart you are!
• a Santa hat viciously ripped off the top of a dog toy by my dog!
• a couple of beautiful seashells pulled straight out of the Gulf of Mexico!
• an autographed picture of my shrinking manboobs!

to be eligible to win said prizes, you must live in the continental US.

Deadline: Midnight (Central time) on Tuesday August 25, 2009. NO CHEATING! don’t read the other comments until you’ve made your own!

baker college online? you’ll never have me as a student.

or, Goals and Reflections

this is the final post (for now) that started with Part I, Part II, and Part III. check those out for the history.

at this point, 11 weeks into this lifestyle change, i’ve:

• lost 21lbs
• gained crazy muscle mass
• started drinking mass water
• dumped junk food and bad eating habits
• become jillian michaels’ circuit-training bitch
• been biking daily
• started weight training
• begun eating lots of fruit and veggies througout the day
• felt better than i have in 20+ years

i’ve still got a long way to go. i’m currently 264lbs, which, at 6′ tall, still puts me way out of healthy range. much of what i’ve read suggests having a target or a goal, but i’ve resisted this because i don’t want this to become something i HATE doing because i’ve not lost this or that amount of weight, etc.

what i WANT my motivation to be is to simply continue eating healthy, feeling healthy, using exercise and eating right to accomplish this.

if i were going to set a target weight, i’d probably shoot for 220lbs (in the back of my mind it sounds like a good, attainable, healthy number).

things i’m noticing

• i’m insanely aware of my body now – this never used to be the case.
• my skin is getting tight
• my feet are shrinking (took my birkenstocks in a notch last month, and having to do it again now!)
• my breathing is much more… full? easy?
• muscles are getting bigger and tighter (a strange sensation)
• my stomach is shrinking (but still has a lot more shrinking to do)
• my arms don’t jiggle
• my face has gotten lean (and the wrinkles that have been poofed out by all the fat – they’re shining through now, and i don’t care!)
• i’m very aware of the foods i’m eating, how MUCH food i’m eating, and the choices i’m making
• it’s taking a lot more work to get my heart rate up, pushing me to do longer and harder sprints on the bike, and add more weight to the barbells
• my clothes are getting too loose (can anyone contribute to my Scott Needs New Clothes Fund?)
• there’s almost a “high” that lasts for hours after a good workout – that alone is motivation to push it and work hard! but the increased stamina is also huge!

as i explained in Part I, this started out as a bet with my friend Tim. Tim has won both june and july, and i told him a few weeks ago: i feel so damn good, i’d rather lose the whole kit and kaboodle and continue this lifestyle beyond the contest rather than win and have gained nothing in a healthy lifestyle sense. i’m loving these changes!

now, in the interest of full disclosure, i need to admit that i started this journey during my summer off. being a high school teacher has been beneficial in the sense that i needed to work on getting these changes integrated when i was able to be incredibly flexible. school starts back next week, so the journey continues, but now under “real life(?)” circumstances. i’m going to be struggling with getting up early to get the first half of my workout done, then finishing up the second half after teaching high school juniors and seniors all day.

a final observation:

i’m very thankful that at age 40 and after 19 years of marriage, with some exercise and weight training, i can still make hott chicks swoon. here’s to the hottest chick in my life!

or, Addition and Subtraction

so, a quick re-cap: Part I explained the bet, the biking, building muscle mass, and the lack of weight loss. Part II explained my dawning realization in regards to needing more than just biking, and how i became Jillian Michaels slave at the end of june, beginning of july.

Part III deals with the additions and subtractions i had to make once i realized that physical activity wasn’t the only factor in weight loss.

The Additions:

• in mid-july i started a second DVD workout from JM in which she uses weights – a completely different type of exercise! i quickly left 5lb free weights behind and am up to 12 and 17lbs (depending on the exercise) and have started using the weights with and without the DVD, adding some and ditching others. this has made a HUGE impact! i’m floored at the difference in my muscles, my skin, and the further increased stamina. (my next addition needs to be a weight bench!)

• i had been doing really well in june and july about not drinking any regular pop, only diet… but the diet pop had to go, too. Adding significant quantities of water was important. i started drinking at least 3-4 liters a day starting mid-july and have quit the pop. another big difference! (don’t covet my Life is Good water bottle! i’m not sharing!!)

• one of my conditions when starting all this was that i would NOT start a fad diet or begin consuming things that i hate eating (cottage cheese, tuna, & rice cakes all come to mind). i would eat things that i liked and loved, but would start paying attention to how MUCH of those things i ate. now, i love fruits and veggies, but for years i would simply snack on the things that i felt were easier (and cheaper) to grab: pop, chips, little debbies, a big-ass bowl of frosted flakes. we added a lot of those fruits and veggies to our lives, and now we’re eating a lot healthier during both our main meals AND snacking. (little debbie called my cell the other day and was cussing like a sailor over the drop in profits)
• i’ve also never counted calories before, but had to add this to my regimen, too. i didn’t realize just how much i had been eating before this! amazing, the difference when you start to pay attention! i was easily eating 3000+ calories a day prior to june, and probably still eating 2000-2500/day until july. once i started adjusting, i was hungrier for a while, but that’s where the apples, granola bars, yogurt, and clementines come in! now i’m down to 1500/day give or take 100, and have learned to pack fruit when leaving the house. i’m not counting religiously, but i’m eating serving sizes instead of whatever can fit on my plate and mentally keeping loose track so as not to go over 1500 calories a day.

The Subtractions:

these are some of the things that had to go -

• eating out – no more drive-thru’s, no more chinese buffets – i thought i would really miss this and get cravings, but it hasn’t happened (yet). we’ve saved BOATLOADS of money eliminating this, and eating a lot healthier and more responsibly, too! (the portions are so ridiculous, then factoring in all the junk that’s in the food… lise and i started going to the fast food restaurants’ websites for the nutritional info and were STUNNED – a Wendy’s chicken go wrap, medium fry, medium frosty = 1150 calories?? HOLY CRAP!! need more convincing? watch the movie SuperSize Me)
• junk food – little debbie is pissed. willy wonka is turning violet. coca-cola, frito-lay, and mars candy put together an incentive package flush with cash for us to come back – we declined. their stock declined, too.
• pop – even diet. now, i still have a coke zero every so often, but it’s not my main fluid like it was before.
• HUGE portions – this took a while to get used to, and getting the stomach shrunk to where i wasn’t hungry when just finishing a meal, and learning to snack on fruit and healthy stuff in between meals – it’s all been very worthwhile.
• processed foods – meals in a box, veggies in cans, junk with lots of sodium and preservatives. we’ve not eliminated everything here, but have made significant gains.
• excuses – i’ve spent years making excuses for not being more physically active, for not eating healthier, for not taking care of myself. those had to go.

the addition of the weight training, water consumption, healthy foods, and counting calories has made a significant change in my body and the weight loss.

now, i did lose the month of july to Tim by 1/1000 of a percentage point, but i’m hopeful that the month of august will be mine!

Part IV Finale Preview: Reflections and Goals

or, I Am Jillian Michaels’ Bitch.

after the first month of this weight loss contest with Tim (see Part I), when i had lost only 1lb (due to muscle mass buildup, and my not paying attention to any other area of my life in regards to this), i did my homework and realized, among other things, that i needed to do more than just exercise my legs.

honestly, i had no idea who jillian michaels was when i got the first workout DVD – Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism. she looked tough and there were a LOT of fantastic reviews on amazon.com – what more did i need?

holy. crap.

again, i stress that at this point, besides a month of biking, i had not exercised since high school sports (20+ years ago).

when i attempted the 55 minute workout that jillian michaels puts you through – well, let’s just say that i made it to about the 20 minute point, stopping three times, and thinking my lungs were going to explode and send my lifeless body down the river of sweat coursing through the room.

it was CRAZY!! jillian michaels is CRAZY!! i was talking with lise later in the day and mentioned offhandedly this observation. lise said, “oh, yeah. she’s tough!” i looked at her bug-eyed and said, “how do you know jillian michaels??” and it was her turn to look at me like i was nuts. she said, “she’s the trainer on The Biggest Loser, dumbass! she’s the one who takes the worst of them and wins!” oy vey! no wonder i’m getting my butt kicked!!

it took me 10+ days before i could get through the entire workout in one session (and i still had to stop 2-3 times).

but then something clicked. i don’t know if it was the rhythm, my body adapting, finding my pace – not sure, but i started being able to push it through the whole routine without stopping.

and wow – talk about an endorphin rush! i AM jillian michaels’ bitch!

the cardio, the ab workout, the stretching, the planks – i felt great afterwards and for the entire day! not to mention that it seems to be a natural appetite suppressant (at least it is for me). i started noticing things like my ability to breathe easier, more muscles getting toned, a huge increase in stamina, increased flexibility in my arms and legs, and an overall healthy “high” feeling.

so at this point, i was still biking once a day, plus now working out to jillian.

other things needed to change, too! and other things had to be added. tomorrow i’ll tell you my next step…

Part III Preview: The Addition and The Subtraction

or, How I Roll.

several months ago, i challenged my friend Tim to a weight loss contest. i knew i needed to get serious about it, and i knew he felt the same way. we started off at the very end of May and the contest is set to run through the end of August. i won’t release details, but the stakes are cold, hard cash – something i figured we’d both need as an incentive.

i waited to talk about this with many folks because i wanted to make sure it would stick. as of yesterday, i’ve lost 20lbs, have built up some sweet muscle mass, and haven’t felt this good since high school (if even then).

i’m a bit ashamed to admit that i’ve not seen my weight south of 270 in well over a decade. about 4-5 years ago, i hit 320 and got a bit weirded out. the picture above is still shocking to look at and think how incredibly overweight i was. i lost 30+ lbs over the next 2 years by changing eating habits (exercise? aw, hell no!), but got stuck in the 280’s, give or take 5-10lbs. when the scale showed 265 on Sunday? wowza!

so, back in may i figured i was gonna have to get off my rear and do some physical activity. i dusted off my bike and started riding. and thought i was gonna die after only 3 miles. i mean, seriously. my head hurt, my lungs were exploding, my legs were shaky, my knees were killing me! Â i could do little more than shuffle into the house and lay on the kitchen floor for a half hour when i finished.

insane.

but i kept at it. slowly over the next several weeks i worked up to 8-10 miles, increasing speed, duration, and finally biking twice a day, riding up to 20 miles a day.

now, i was getting a bit frustrated at the beginning, too. for the first 3-4 weeks, i actually GAINED weight. i was feeling good, but wasn’t seeing the change on the scale.

so i started to do some homework on exercise, on biking, on weight loss – i never even thought about muscle mass! i never considered that, after years of being only moderately active and no exercise since high school, i would be regaining muscle that would weigh more than the fat it was replacing!

at the end of our first month, i eventually had a net loss of only 1lb.

i also started to realize that simply biking wasn’t going to be enough. it was exercising and strengthening only one part of my body. i hadn’t made any big changes in my eating (besides getting away from what i would have called “the REALLY bad junk food”) or portion sizes, wasn’t looking at calories or what i was drinking.

these things were going to have to change if i was going to win this contest! Tim took the first month’s prize, but i was determined to modify my attack and take him down!

part two preview: scott gets schooled by a sassy chick in tights

every summer the Navy’s crack Flight Demonstration Squadron, aka the Blue Angels, put on an incredible show at Pensacola Beach. the performance is legendary, as are the crowds and the noise. we wanted to go, but the thought of having to be at the beach by 7am for a show that doesn’t start until 2pm… it was a bit much for us.

so when we heard that they do 2 full dress rehersals the two days prior to the actual show, we were totally game! we packed lunch, books, lots of water, and hit the beach late morning. at 2pm, the first plane came overhead, and a few short minutes later, the Blue Angels screamed across the beach from behind us. for the next 50 minutes, we were absolutely floored at their ability, speed, and execution. it was incredible!

each of the thumbnails below blows up to a bigger shot.

where is satan sockpuppet?

there he is! he’s trying to get a toke off scott’s great-grandpa’s meerschaum pipe!

silly satan! nevermind that it reminds you of the sweet fires of home! don’t you know that smoking will kill you?

no matter how awesome of a tan i get

i will always be a pasty white-boy from ohio somewhere.

no nude beaches in the area. :-(

back in december of  ‘05, lise & i came to pensacola for a week of relaxing, vacation, shell hunting, and catching our collective breaths.

the average daytime temp in december is around 65° – water temp in the Gulf is pretty close to that, too.

now, when we pulled out of cincinnati, the temperature was 22° and snow was on the ground. we know cold, right? coming to pensacola was like driving into summer – incredible! 43° difference – we may as well have been on another planet!

shorts, sandals, t-shirts all around. sure, we packed pants and pullovers for evening, but during the day? psh!

half way through the week we’re in our swimtrunks, out in the water, hunting for shells, amazed that we’re the only ones on the beach a mile in either direction. we’re drenched and loving every minute of it. pure heaven!

a lone figure appeared, shuffling across the sand in our direction. we didn’t think anything of it until the figure came closer: it was an older woman, dressed in multiple pairs of pants, a pair of winter boots, and a long winter coat with a fur lined cap pulled tightly over her head. on her hands were a thick, warm pair of gloves. it was obvious that she was quite cold.

it’s like the Far Side cartoon with the dinosaur and the walnut-sized brain somehow able to walk through an open field and bonk its head against the only tree visible in any direction – she was heading right for us. to be polite, i got out of the water and lise and i were ready for whatever she might be asking.

she approached us, looked us up and down, and stated in no uncertain terms, “Y’all Yankees.”

well, what could we do? lise and i looked at each other and got the giggles – not the rude kind, but the oh-darn-we-been-caught kind.

she looked us over again, shook her head and said, “Ain’t nobody here in Pensacola that’d be caught in the water this time o’ year. Y’all Yankees.”

and i turned to the woman and said, “well, i reckon so.”

stupid in a really funny kinda way.

wouldn’t the money being spent on these ridiculous t-shirts be put to better use to help his victims?

thank goodness we americans have our priorities straight.

few things satisfy that need for a manly testosterone-fueled adrenaline rush like firing up the old chainsaw and hacking away at poor defenseless trees.

dolby had a rough day today. up early with an appointment at the vet for x-rays on his hips, sedation, grogginess, and general poking and prodding made for a dog of a day.

tonight we thought we’d take him for some fun on the beach.

black skimmers are out and tonight was no exception.

you can see that dolby thought it’d be fun to try and catch this big boy.

sadly, his reflexes were still a bit stunted and the skimmer got away. the look on his face in this picture: shame? guilt? disappointment?

guess we’ll have to try again tomorrow. better luck then, dolbs!

thunderstorms. playing cards. reading. nature. driving.

these are only a few of the things my dad loves that i also love. these are things that he introduced to me when i was a little kid, and i am a much better man because of them. some of  my earliest memories include:

• watching thunderstorms roll in while sitting on the back porch together and jumping at the lightning and thunder.
• being read to at night (by mom, too!) – this was a nightly occurrance – at least one story before bedtime in my room or in jason’s.
• being read to, having a thunderstorm roll in, STOP reading, turn out the lights, and watch the storm together.
• learning how to play gin rummy & chess and spending time playing both (or should i say losing both – i doubt that i’ve beat him at either).
• camping trips to Heuston Woods & Miami Whitewater, building fires, hiking, swimming.
• drives, sometimes just to drive. other times, 3 weeks worth of driving (remember the RV trip from cincy to wisconsin to california to mexico to tennessee to ohio?).
• raiding his bookshelves for good reading material. dad loves to read – being read to every night as a youngster was pivotal. being grounded from TV for five years in my later years didn’t hurt, either. i was introduced to Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, JRR Tolkien, and John Steinbeck, among others, in those junior high years.

now, to be sure, we have our differences. we have very different personalities. we have different likes and dislikes. we disagree about things.

but dad is level-headed. intelligent. loving. kind. analytical.

he is still the first person i call when i’m trying to make a decision about this or that and need someone to see more sides of the situation than i can figure.

he still loves me and lets me know it frequently.

he still lets me raid his bookshelves and “forget” to return the books to him.

he’s the first person i think of when lise and i are sitting on the beach or on the front porch watching a big thunderstorm move through.

i’m a better man because of my dad.

thanks, dad! happy fathers day! i love you!

one of my YG guys from years past (dusty) is to blame for the following variation on the ABC game:

take a well-known topic / book / movie and, in round-robin fashion, start with one person who has to think of a character or main feature starting with A, then go to the next person who has to do the same for B, then the next person for C, etc. – keep this going until someone gets stuck, is eliminated, and play goes to the next person. the winner is obvioiusly the last person left standing.

the first time i remember him initiating this game, we tackled Harry Potter. A was Albus, B was Beasley, C was… well, you get the picture.

this could be done with that ghastly “Twilight” series and/or the movie, or a TV show, etc.

just another great time-killer for long drives.

so the long drive from cincy back to pensacola drove us to playing the ABC game, much as we used to do with youth groups on the way to camps, retreats, concerts, etc.

“yes, yes, but how does one play?” you may be wondering.

it’s simple.

each individual starts with the letter A and, using anything OUTSIDE of the car, van, or bus you’re riding in, finds a word that begins with that letter before moving on to the next letter in the alphabet. each word can only be used once, so the trick is to be the first to say the word and the letter. the person that gets through the entire alphabet first wins!

so, for example: lise and i are driving down the road and she sees a car with an Alabama license plate. she says, “Alabama, A.” and then moves on to B. because i didn’t say it first, she gets the A. i might see a street name “Anandale St.” and a Buick with California plates and if i can say them all fast enough, “Anandale, A; Buick, B; California, C” then i get the three of them. but if lise needs the C and she calls california first, she gets it and i’m still stuck on C.

other rules:

• INFERRED words don’t count. if i see an Audi and know it’s an Audi but don’t see the word “Audi” on the car? can’t use it.
• Initials don’t count (unless you agree to it at the beginning – CDL Trucking can’t be used for C).
• Distracting an opponent in the hopes that they won’t see a letter / word they are looking for is perfectly acceptable.
• X is a somewhat difficult word – in the past we have allowed that as long as the letter X is IN the word somewhere, it counts. Z can also be included in this rule.
• Petty bickering over who said it first is counterproductive, as the point of the game is to a) have fun and b) kill time. the bigger the group, the more difficult it is to avoid petty bickering, but appoint a referree just in case.
• Restroom breaks generally bring a time-out in the game.
• Writing a word on a piece of paper and sticking the paper out the window probably warrants a penalty of some sort. it’s not acceptable, at any rate.

because we didn’t make the X or Z exception, our game went on for hours, with my winning at approximately 11:30pm in Century, FL as we drove through a School Zone. lise was napping.

i was so proud of myself! the dog and i were up @ 3am and out the door by 3:30am for our drive to cincinnati.

we were bookin’ on through and i started making a mental list of all the things i had needed to get together and put in the car before we left. things were going along just fine until i thought to myself, “hey, something doesn’t feel right here…” i looked down and said,

“hey! where the hell are my shoes??”

the trouble with living by the beach? being too comfortable with being barefoot all the time.

besides this minor snafu, the trip to cincy has been a good one.

it’s @bhalpin’s fault.

about a month ago, he wrote about his top 100 novels, a response to someone’s response to NPR’s list. i’ve looked over others’ lists (including the Modern Library’s and the BBC’s from several years ago) and thought, “well, if they’re doing it, and Halpin’s doing it, i ought to do it, too.”

my list, in no particular order, includes books (not just novels) that have had an impact on me over the last 25+ years, whether because of subject matter, writing style, the time at which i read it, or the chemical that is released by the brain associating pleasure with certain things.

1. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
2. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
3. Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen
4. The Stand by Stephen King
5. Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
6. Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
7. An American Tragedy by Ted Dreiser
8. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
9. The Inferno by Dante (Ciardi)
10. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
11. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
12. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
13. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
14. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
15. The Talisman by Peter Straub & Stephen King
16. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
17. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
18. Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
19. Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
20. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
21. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
22. Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
23. Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
24. Maus by Art Spiegelman
25. John Adams by David McCullough
26. Truman by David McCullough
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell
28. Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
29. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
30. angela’s ashes by Frank McCourt
31. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
32. A Series of Unfortunate Events by lemony snicket
33. Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
34. Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
35. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
36. The Traveler by john twelve hawks
37. The Bible
38. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
39. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gunderson
40. Contact by Carl Sagan
41. What is the What byDave Eggars
42. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
43. Calvin and Hobbes – Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat by Bill Watterson
44. A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian Mclaren
45. Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
46. night by Elie Wiesel
47. extremely loud and incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer
48. Candide by Voltaire
49. The Unabridged Edgar Allen Poe
50. The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury
51. A Bright Red Scream by Marilee Strong
52. The Search to Belong by Joseph Meyers
53. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll
54. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
55. Timeline by Michael Crichton
56. The Big Book of Hell by Matt Groening

fifty-six. it was the best i could do. i wanted to BS a few more classics just to look more cultured and civilized, but then i realized, “hey! this is MY LIST! if someone thinks i’m not all that intelligent because i like dr. seuss, well pbbbbthhhh!”

do you have a list? how about a top three?

i should clarify what i meant in the last post concerning twitter and excessive self-aggrandizing and the like:

• i realize that twitter is, for the most part, a social networking tool / micro-blogging site – as such, personal posts will be the norm
• HOWEVER: when i’m following 80 people and ONE person posts 25+ posts a day, most of which seem like text messages to only a few people who will “get it” (or give a damn), this is a waste of my time.
• and the same goes for folks who ONLY use Twitter to toot their own horn (such as: “hey, i just blogged about blah blah blah and you know you need to read it!” or “hey, why aren’t you reading my blog?” or (insert tinyurl misleading me to something i don’t care about HERE).
• there are no “rules” for twitter, despite what some of these so-called “social-media experts” and others would have you believe. and “Netiquette” as we used to know it is out the window.

i love reading the personal posts! seriously! but i hate excessive monopolization by a few people. i’ve even ditched a couple professional groups because of this same thing. if you’ve got that much time on your hands as to be a “professional twitterer” (thanks, @duebber), more power to ya. there’s obviously an audience out there for you, it’s simply not me.

and again: i’m not bitching here about Twitter or specific Twitterers – but the nature of Twitter grates on me as it is (sometimes) and this type of behavior only serves to make it worse.

the solutions are obvious:

• un-follow folks who tweet mindlessly
• block those who shamelessly self-aggrandize
• get the hell out of twitter all together

i love technology. i love that we’re struggling to figure out how to continue to integrate technology into our personal and professional lives even as the pace of technological growth far outpaces our ability to keep up with it. i’ve even set up a second twitter account and am trying to figure out how to incorporate it into my classes next year.

fear not, friends! i’m not weeding my twitter following list because you mention the fact that your dog likes to eat its own poop, or that you love The Bachelor.

just don’t mention it 25+ times a day, eh? :-)

lots going on, lots coming up – time for another stream of consciousness, eh?

• finished reading two good books in a row -Â The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon;Â Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. the first is a story told from the viewpoint of a fifteen year old with autism – fascinating to me after working with profoundly autistic students for many years in DC and Maryland. the second won the Pulitzer for fiction back in 2000 – it’s a series of short stories and very enjoyable.
• i’m currently reading Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost and Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. both are good so far.
• my contract was renewed at PFHS for next year – this was FANTASTIC news, both because having a job = good, and because i have come to love working at this school! very excited for what next year will bring.
• as school finished up last week, i’ve been searching for things to keep me busy this summer. too much time off is dreadfully boring. have a meeting with a department at my district tomorrow to discuss my developing Moodle pages for this dept’s training sessions, and helping with other technology related things. couple days a week, couple hours a day, maybe.
• our beloved Canon S2 IS bit the dust a couple months ago. a stunning blow, as we rarely leave the house without a camera in tow. we knew we wanted to move up in the digital camera arena, but didn’t have the money to do so. after some scraping and a lot of research, we ended up getting a killer deal on a Canon SX10 IS and we’re having a blast with it. the pictures are crisp, the response time on the camera is quick, the 20x optical zoom is over the top, and the flexibility is great. we’re still learning the nuances of this camera, and i have difficulty in a couple areas that are probably lack of photography knowledge, but we’re working on that!
• i’m enjoying Twitter more as i’m finding professional uses for it (mostly networking and idea-sharing), but i have to admit: i’m getting very annoyed at folks who use twitter like text messaging and/or simply to show off. now, the beauty of twitter is: even though everyone and their mothers have a “how to use twitter” tutorial, the truth is, there are no rules. and my bitching about folks who use twitter one way or another – it comes down to this – i stop following them so i don’t have to partake in their pointless and excessive self-aggrandizing or all the silly personal chatter they produce. it’s been bothering me a bit – thanks for letting me blow off some steam about it (and no offense meant to anyone who has been un-followed or recognizes themselves in this description – i still love you, just not that much).
• and in the interest of full-disclosure: i don’t frequently have a lot of intelligent things to say on twitter – but i do keep the meaningless posts to a minimum.
• the juan sebastian elcano is docked at pensacola pier – we went down and took a stroll around – pretty impressive ship!

• the sunsets continue to blow our minds here in pensacola. the temperatures have been very pleasant (mid-80’s the last couple weeks). tonight we saw a black skimmer fly by just as we were about to leave – very pretty and graceful – this was the best i could get of this one as it flew by:

• recent new music discoveries include: Rosie Thomas; Booker T; and Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s Dark Night of the Soul.

be well and take me to task on some of this stuff, ya hear?

the view

as of june 3

Click the pic. Why?

Pensacola – Spring 2009

Some places, people, and things from spring 2009.

can anyone really come up with something better to do on a saturday morning than this?

woke up around 7:15, took care of the dog, grabbed some cereal, packed a couple books, the cooler, and took off.

skies were clear, water was gorgeous, shells were plentiful, and the temps were perfect.

saw a very cool solar halo while out. we’ve seen them before, but not this big or clear.

we stayed until noon and took off. it was the perfect way to spend a saturday morning.

we’re in the season for big clouds and sunsets even more spectacular than usual. tonight we took big dog out for a 3 hour stroll on pensacola beach.

the way the sky changes so quickly and gives so many colors, shapes, hues, and focal points – it never ceases to amaze us.

there was a large cloud front moving in from the north – watching the sunset BEHIND that – it was multiple layer sunset goodness!

while we were sloshing around in the water, lise made a killer shell find – a large 3″ alphabet cone!

this is only the 2nd one we’ve found even close to the 3″ range – quite a find, let me tell you!

after a particularly strange day at school, this was a good way to end it: together, everyone happy, relaxed, and ready to come home and crash.

speaking of which…

for years, lise and i had coveted my mom’s doormat. we’ve laughed about it every time we visited her home, asked her to leave it to us in her will, hatched plots to steal it, and asked her to just plain give it to us.

so when she told me to take it with me when we moved to Florida 2 years ago, it was a bit of a shock. i mean, we had been joking about it for so long that now… well, we can just… take it?

i turned her down. thanks, but no thanks. why are you giving it up now? she tells me it’s time for her to grow up (to which i laughed – at age 61, to decide that this welcome mat is too “immature” for you… well, that’s my momma).

at any rate, every time i see it when i come home, i think about mom. she’s funny. i love her and miss her a lot.

still on a pulitzer / man booker / national book award kick.

Â

struggled with Life of Pi at the beginning. had to stop, start, stop, start before it finally caught (and just before i gave up). at the 3/4 point, it’s good but will never be a favorite.

the best book i’ve read in at least a year?

shadow country by peter matthiessen.

it’s simply a story.

but it’s the telling of the tale, the imagery, the myriad voices used in telling, the different perspectives, the character development, the conclusion of each sub-book (there are three) that make this such a fantastic read.

no exaggeration – this book is a masterpiece.

least interesting book i’ve read this past year? the brief wonderous life of oscar wao. how this thing won the pulitzer prize for fiction last year is beyond me.Â

next up: the white tiger.

there he is!

he’s cooling off with a scoop of Graeter’s ice cream! nothing says respite from eternal damnation like a bowl of Buckeye Blitz! enjoy it, you little devil, then get thee hence!

on my way home from school i called the pensacola surf advisory hotline & found out that the water was calm on the Gulf and the flag was green – this was great news! lise and i grabbed our stuff and headed out.

not long after we arrived, the wind picked up and some pretty chunky looking clouds appeared.

we got in the car to drive around and investigate.

in some spots, the sky was clear. in others it was pitch black. and still in others it was yellow / pink / purple-ish.

it came through like a snake. pitch black up the middle, clear or colorful on either side.

after we’d hung about for a bit longer, we started to head back to the house for some dinner and playtime with dolby. along the bay (the “scenic tour” way home), i saw a HUGE bird in a tree – too big for a hawk, wrong neck for a heron, and pelicans don’t roost in trees.

we pulled a u-turn and then another, got out the camera and shot what i thought might’ve been an eagle or falcon at first glance. it was an osprey! a big boy, too!

a spectacular sunset was brewing after we saw the falcon. we pulled off into a cemetary by the bay and snapped some pretty cool shots. also got some rainbow shots that i’m having difficulty manipulating in the newest WordPress release. if i’m able, will update with that later.

we love nights like tonight – the time together, the variety of weather, the awe of creation. it’s good to be reminded of the insignificance that our puny lives represent when cast against everything else. crummy days at school melt away in times like these.

lise subbed for me yesterday.

when she came home, she told me about one student who was continually disrespectful to her, then insulted her. he’s a new student in the class, but well known to the disciplinary officers.

today that student strolled into class all cool and whatnot. “whassup, mr. rust?” he asked.

“siddown and shut up.” was my reply.

“what’s wrong with you?”

“you dis my wife and insult her yesterday? wrong way to get on my good side. sit. shut it.”

*look of disbelief* “that was your wife?”

*rest of class laughs uproariously*

he sat and pouted the rest of the class.

i was 13 years old. 1982. jr. high.

the song came on the radio and i froze.

the smooth beat started. the whispered plea, the wailing voice.

nevermind that the subject matter is first and foremost on the minds of jr. high boys everywhere.

the music stays smooth and cool through the entire song, but the intensity of marvin gaye’s singing, the urgency of his needs grows as the song goes on.

holy cow, the man had pipes.

my first 7″ 45 single? sexual healing.

i remember walking up to globe records and tapes at western hills plaza and searching through the singles on the shelf. finding my prize, i bought it and zipped back.

when i got it home, i played it. and played it. and played it. it was my first serious exposure to gaye’s music and it was one i never forgot.

it still has a mesmerizing effect on me. i’ve listened to it four times as i’ve written this and had to force myself not to play it a fifth time. truly addictive.

and no one else can quite set the tone like he does.