RobZerrvations
Musings from a Meandering, Mischievous Mind
It’s All A Game.
A friend asked me a couple days ago about whether I liked to play games. And while there are many in my life who would say, "oh, yes, he likes to play games with others" that's not what I am talking about. I'm also not talking about being a gamer. My son is one of these, he and his Xbox are inseparable and whenever he visits me, there is non stop military campaigns, zombie hunts and car stealing in my living room. I truly marvel at these games. My first exposure to video games was a Sears...
Sometimes I Feel Like A Brotherless Child.
When my mother had a recent health scare, I thought it might be the end for us. When she passes away I will, in essence, be an orphan. At least that's the way I have chosen to view it. For though I have 3 1/2 siblings, all of them have abandoned ship on me over the years. Some with very good reason; another I still am not sure why. This isn't supposed to incur anyone's pity. This is just life. Since the estrangement of 2 1/2 and the death of one, I have had many of my readers and friends tell...
Getting My Drinking License.
It's amazing how many milestones you have when you're still in your youth. You learn to walk and talk, ride a bike, go on your first date, hopefully have sex the first time, and have your first legal drink. I know that others in my era had their first drink at 18 or 19, especially if they drove up to Canada. For me, I had not problem waiting until I was officially 21. That's not to say I didn't have a drink here or there - the incident with the two girls, a case of beer and Officer Beck has...
Man, That Sounds Pretty Fishy To Me.
As we know, I'm not much of a sportsman. When I was in the dating world a couple years ago I always marveled at all these photos of obviously very outdoorsy women holding up the day's catch, posing with a big marlin or out on a boat with a fish on. I always knew they could never be the woman for me. That is a good thing - it got easier and easier to edit the possibilities - holding small dog or have more photos of dogs than you - DELETE. Tons of travel photos and only one of you - DELETE....
Forget The Remodel. I Want It Restored.
Many years ago I came into possession of a lovely home. It was everything I had dreamed of, and it was all mine. To others, it may have not been worth a second look. But to me, it was the place I had always dreamed of. It wasn't fancy. Pretty basic really. A diamond in the rough, if you will, that with time, would become a marvel to behold, with lots of room to spread out, plenty of storage and a pretty decent facade. Of course, there were some rooms that I didn't have much use for and others...
Running On Empty.
Over the weekend I finally finished the draft of my memoirs. 137,000 some words covering the last 30 years of playing pirate - the good, the bad and the downright ugly. As I poured through the 435 pages this weekend, getting it ready to send off to be proofed, I marveled at the journey. Not the pirating one mind you, though it is quite the tale in itself. I think it will create a bit of an uproar in the pirate community, for I did not pull punches, especially ones that were aimed at me. But...
You Big Flirt.
For as long as I can remember I have been a bit of a flirt. OK, let's drop the bit part of that. I am a huge flirt. It's not like I ever learned how to be one. It just happened. Perhaps somewhere in the family DNA there is the mutant flirt gene. I know my father was a flirt, most of my uncles were and certainly my oldest brother Jon could have written the textbook on flirtation. For those who are a bit confused about what is flirtation and what is foreplay, I have done a bit of actual research...
I’m Having A Party, But You Can’t Come.
There have been many times in my life when I have found myself near rock bottom. Whatever I did didn't seem to be working, so I would continue to slip down the jagged sides of the precipice, bound for the chasm of doom that lay below. Some people would continue to claw at the side of the hill, trying not to bottom out. Me, I planned a party. I'm not the only was that has does this. I have known others who have been just like me. For you see, a Pity Party can be one of the most self-absorbing...
My Life As A Residential Travel Consultant.
Over the years, I have had many moving experiences. Nineteen to be exact. I moved out of my parent's house when I was 21 and over the last 32 years, it's been 19 moves. I'm sure at some point there will be another, and probably another. It's not that I like to live a gypsy lifestyle. Well, I do admit to some liking of it, as a new place to live is so invigorating. There are lots of bonuses to moving around so much, including the chance to rearrange your stuff and in my case, get rid of a bunch...
Way Off Course.
During the weekend I had time to reflect on past relationships. I'm not really sure how the subject came up, but I'm pretty sure that it was because of the song we do called Zombie Jamboree which asks the question, "Can you imagine me with a zombie wife?" Given my history of this, my friends in the audience like yell out "Hell Yes!". I think some people are amazed that I can have such a good sense of humor about my search for happily ever after and where it has led me over the years....
A Hairy Experience.
When I was a little kid, I came home one day with a crewcut. Well, all four of us boys did. My father took it upon himself to have our heads shaved and according to family legend, my mother gave my father one helluva tongue lashing, especially because he had also brought home horse meat, in lieu of cash, in payment for a TV he repaired. My mother has always allowed her children to wear their hair any way they liked. At one moment in time, it almost caused my oldest brother to have to live in...
The Sandbox Of Possibilities.
When I was a kid, my father built us a sandbox. As with almost every project my father undertook, it was overly grand. It had four seats, one on each corner, and a plexiglas covering that while it could be tilted to keep the sun out, also trapped the heat in, turning the sandbox into a furnace in summer. On really hot Northwest days, I'm surprised the sand didn't turn into glass. Since a picture is always worth a thousand words, here is my dad's monument to sand play. I am on the left, my...