Trust is the issue at hand. A tricky thing; hard to earn, and easily pissed away.

First, from The Cure...




And now, Megadeath...




Love the Cure. One of the best bands from their time in the late 80s. And that particular tune is my favorite thing Megadeath ever did. Not much for the thrash metal stuff, but the guitar and lyrics hit me with this one. Only thing wrong with these clips is that I can't crank them. Sound turned down I guess. That second tune sounds MUCH better cranked in my car, trust me. Hope you liked at least one of these.

Ok, I'm posting this from my classroom Tuesday night as the last stragglers take their finals. I'm gonna have the grades posted and drop slips turned in before I get out of here, and then I'll go home, finish up a few odds and ends, and pack the car. Hope to be in the road by midnight or soon thereafter, and be in Harriman by dinner time. It'll be a 16 or 18 hour drive, or so I'm told. The squeeze isn't happy about it, but what are ya gonna do. Much of her family flew in from England a few weeks ago and just left, and now I'm leaving. The withdrawals are gonna be severe, but the homecoming will be that much sweeter in the end.

Denise and I have hit it off really well in the last month or so. She works for the evaluations department, counseling students enrolled in online classes around the world. Very sharp cookie. British lass, from Bradford, in Yorkshire. Ex army wife with two grown daughters in Kentucky, and has two grandsons. Her English family is hilarious, and we hit it off like crazy. I took them around Salado while Denise was working, and then she took them to San Antonio while I rested and got some work done. I drank and played a lot of pool with her younger brother, who is one year older than me, and a hell of a good pool player. A hell of a nice guy.

She tells me that if I weren't "so bloody great", they wouldn't have had me around. Now they call and ask her "Is Jeff coming over? What's Jeff doing? Is he there?" Feels really great! The last time I hit it off like this with folks was when I went to Pennsylvania the first time to meet my cousin Bob's family in 1995. They treated me just like one of the family, like I'd been there all along. Most of my other cousins down here in Bell County treat me like I have a disease, so it's cool to find another bunch that knows a good thing when they see it.

At one point they were asking me about the time when I lived in England in the late '60s, and I told them there had been a great show called Jackanory that I loved (kids show) and the Thunderbirds, and a guy on TV, a female impersonator, who we'd all loved, but I couldn't remember his name. I did a classic line from the show, and they all chimed up in unison, "Dick Emory!" I then went over to her computer and sure enough, found a slew of clips on YouTube. Here's a taste.



So, who knows where everything will go with Denise from here, but considering what a total looser I was only 5 short weeks ago, I can't complain about anything and keep a strait face. We're having a great time, learning to trust one another and get along, and enjoying one anothers company tremendously. Christ, she can't keep her hands off me, and I'm loving it.

Anyway, after I have a chance to slap ol' Mushy around a bit Wednesday night (or morning), and get a good nights sleep at the Holiday Inn, I'm driving to Williamsport PA. to spend three days with my cousin Bob and his family. At least two of those days we'll be in a boat, with fishing tackle in hand. Then, early Monday, when they all have to go back to work, I'll drive back down to Harriman and hang with Mushy and his bunch for four days.

Weather permitting, we should do some hiking, shooting, or whatever they want to do. I told them not to make much of a fuss. I'm easily entertained. I'm just looking forward to getting to know this guy a little better. I've been reading and learning to like and respect him for about a year now, since I started blogging, and he's recently been a huge help to me, helping to set me strait of a few things. I owe him a lot, and look forward to the chance to pay him back a little.

I'll drive home to Killeen on the Saturday, and I'll start teaching again on the 6th of August. So, it should be a hell of a time. I'll be beat when I get back, but it should be a fun trip and a wonderful homecoming. Well, It's late, and I need to pack and get the hell out of here. You guys take care. I may post something along the way, but who knows. Have a great two weeks. I know I will. Cheers.