How I Spent My Last Vacation of 2005...

As you can tell from the title, this is about how I spent my vacation last week. So, to quote Greg Lake, "from the beginning..."

On the first day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went downtown. To look for a job. Then I hung out in front of the drugstore. On the second day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went downtown. To look for a job. Then I hung out in front of the drugstore. On the third day of my vacation, I woke up. Then I went downtown. To look for a job. Then I got a job. Keeping people from hanging out in front of the drugstore. On the fourth day of my vacation...

(insert Sister Mary Elephant here... OK, everyone together now... SSSSSSSHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTT UUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!! thank you.)

OK, on the serious side, I had a lot of fun on my vacation. Last Saturday evening (12/3), I went with my 1st Assembly of God friends to the Fish Net restaurant on Lake DeGray, & then went to see the Christmas lights at Iron Mountain. A lot of houseboats had their Christmas lights up, & it was pretty cool. And no one shoe-polished my car this time!!! On Sunday (12/4), I went to Rod's Pizza Cellar for lunch, & then I spent the rest of the day playing the part of the couch potato. Watched football all day. Got up briefly for beer, and that was it. Killer day! On Monday (12/5), I met a friend of mine that I burned a ton of Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, & Tangerine Dream CDs for, and went to a sushi restaurant for lunch. This was my very first sushi experience, and you know what? It wasn't near as bad as I thought! I did meet my buddy Smitty & the gang at Rockie's for pizza, beer, & Monday Night Football. The Seattle Seahawks made one hell of a statement, totally pounding Philadelphia 42-0. On Tuesday (12/6), I spent the biggest part of the day doing yardwork. I raked all the leaves out of my yard, only to see leaves cover it up again no more than 24 hours later. I went to Colton's for dinner that evening, watch a movie, then called it a night.

On Wednesday (12/7), I put up Christmas lights on my house - first time I have ever put up Christmas lights since I reached adulthood. I also put up my Christmas tree - that was something else. I went through crates of stuff looking for ornaments to use, & I found one crate that had my ex-wife's wedding dress in it. I was so tempted to throw it out, but I held off on it. Hell, she'll probably wear it again when she goes down the aisle with the Ultimate Hot Springs Redneck. It will amaze me if she chooses to wear white for this wedding, but hey, she wore white at ours (when she gets married again, this will be her second... third... FOURTH time down the aisle. Liz Taylor, watch out - you have competition.). I also found a picture that made me very sad. It was a picture of me & my ex in happier times - Christmas 1994. She is sitting in a recliner, I am sitting on the floor. She leans over me, & we are holding hands. Both of us seemed very happy at the time, wearing matching sweaters that my wonderful grandmother got us. What happened?

Anyway, on Thursday (12/8), I tried to contact an old friend of mine, but had no luck. I tried to contact an old classmate of mine who was in charge of the 10-year class reunion, mainly because I figured that she would be in charge of the next major classmate function - yes, my friends, your humble servant typing this post has his 20-YEAR CLASS REUNION in 2006!! OH MY GOD!! Has it been this long? Moving on, I went to Memphis to seek out some vinyl. The record stores in Memphis are drying up big time. I did get some Clannad, John McLaughlin/Mahavishnu Orchestra, Ravi Shankar, and a rare LP by Peter Baumann, who used to play for Tangerine Dream. However, to sum up, those stores are drying up pretty quick. The selections leave a lot to be desired.

On Friday (12/9), I spent the morning packing my bags & paying the dreaded bills. I left at about 2 p.m. heading for Dallas. Brought a few CDs with me, especially Eric Burdon & the Animals (I especially cranked up "Sky Pilot"), Cheap Trick ("Voices" is one of my favorite CT songs), Enya's new one (could be her best...), Phish (the "Billy Breathes" CD is absolutely essential, as is their last one, "Undermind"), Sixpence None the Richer (laugh if you must, but their last CD, "Divine Discontent", is their best CD), & the great, great Captain Beefheart ("Trout Mask Replica" is that rare CD where it must be heard as a whole & not for individual cuts, of which there are 28 of them). I really enjoy how the Liberty handles the road - real sweet! I stopped in Greenville, Texas to fill up my gas tank, & I also went to Hastings, where I bought 2 more CDs - one by John McLaughlin & Al Dimeola, and one by Motorhead (isn't it strange how diverse my musical tastes are?). I made it to my father's ranch by about 10 p.m. Then I drove to Grandbury to see an old friend of mine (Princess A) & had dinner with her.

Saturday (12/10), I watched football with my father & met the Princess for dinner again. Watched as Reggie Bush wins the Heisman trophy. I still wished Vince Young had gotten it, but Reggie deserved it - he has been a dominant force all year long. So, congrats to Reggie. However, I was deeply saddened to hear of Richard Pryor's passing. Pryor's comedy brought me out of many a bad mood - you couldn't be sad listening to Pryor. I remember how happy I was the day his boxed set of his complete Warner Bros. recordings came out - I went & bought it immediately. The man made me laugh, he made me cry, & he made me think. His movies with Gene Wilder, especially "Silver Streak" & "Stir Crazy", are classics. He handled setbacks, self-inflicted they probably were, with humor & class. On his boxed set, there is a disc of leftover material & some new material, including a hilarious take on his multiple sclerosis. His "MS" ranks with his "Heart Attacks" as some of the funniest material I have ever heard. Richard will be tremendously missed, and when I return to Jonesboro, I will find my old buddy B.C., & we will have one hell of a toast to the funniest man I have ever heard - Richard Pryor. Farewell...

On Sunday (12/11), I got up & went to church with my dad & my stepmother, had lunch at Chili's in Grandbury with my stepsister, her husband, & their kids, and started on the long journey home, but not before I made my usual scenic route - Forever Young Records in Grand Prairie. Oh man! I bought some more McLaughlin as well as a bunch of Richard Thompson stuff. I passed on a Beau Brummels' boxed set that I may go back after (Beau Brummels' "Laugh Laugh" peaked at #15 back in 1964). I was looking for the new Allan Sherman boxed set, but they didn't have it, & it is only available via the Rhino Handmade label on the Internet. I may have to look up that website for it. I got home at about 10 p.m. & let everyone know that I was home.

On Monday (12/12), I watched TV most of the day, listened to my new stuff, went to Rockie's for the usual, & went to bed. It was a good way to rest up for my return to work, especially since I probably won't have another day off until Christmas Day. Bummer.

It was a pretty good vacation overall. However, since I had to take my vacation this late in the year, I did some thinking about my vacations for next year (I get 4 weeks paid). Since I have been with Kroger (March of 2006 makes it 17 years), I have never taken two weeks at one time. I may do it next year. Now - where do I want to go? South Padre Island, Texas? Coronado Beach in San Diego? Tallahasee, Florida to visit my cousin & her kids? The Carolinas to visit Nettiemac? Georgia to see the Glecks? Wow - since I will soon be a single man again, the list is endless. As usual, I am open to ideas.

Happy birthday to my sister, Kimbus Ambus, who turned 34 on the 3rd of December. Happy birthday, sis - I'll see you soon.

Love to all my family & friends. Take care.

Bolivar "Vacation, all I ever wanted..." Shagnasty