Hi, teens!
It's gotten to be that time when I do the best I can with my Mad Cow-addled brain, to recall the year that is about to come to a close, and amuse you with my crazy memories of time, people, places and things gone by. Strap in...curves ahead...and thank god for ginko-biloba pills!! Believe me, I'm STARTING this thing in an attempt at chronology, but I'll bet you all a nice, shiny quarter that ain't gonna last too long...
2010 was a year that on many levels is one I'd LOVE to forget, but at the same time was filled with events that I'll ALWAYS remember...and many of them fall into both categories. So I'll have to pick things apart here and there to try and make some sense of things. I rewound my memory tapes to the beginning of the year, and one of the first things that comes to mind is my pal, Sammy. Not the former Van Halen and current Chickenfoot frontman, mind you...but my dog. I had gotten Sammy towards the end of 2009. He was a Yorkie, and a lot of fun to hang out with. He wasn't the best dog on the block for learning where to pee, but then again, neither am I.
I have a work schedule that isn't the most conducive for consistent training ability, so that suffered while I was at work, and was only able to stop by to play with him a few short visits during each shift. Ultimately, it proved to be an unwinnable situation, and in his best interest, I decided after some thought that he needed a better home than what I currently was able to provide for him. He went to stay with a co-worker who has other pets, kids, a house with a yard, and most importantly, ongoing interaction that will allow him to grow and learn in a way that suits HIM best. I needed to make that choice for him, even if it made me or others sad, and believe me, it did. However, I also look back very fondly because, as I told people at the time I had to say adios to him, that he was in fact, my strange angel as well, and had a purpose to coming into my life when he did.
Thanks to Sammy, I wound up meeting someone who...at least for a short period of very intense time...turned my world upside down. I thought that it was something that only happened on TV shows or in chesseball movies, but when you literally meet someone outside of where you live as a result of YOUR dog being friendly with THEIR dog, and form a relationship soon after, you start giving credence to cliches you once thought were just retarded.
Not long after my relationship with this person began to take shape, that unfortunate decision to give Sammy to my co-worker was made, but like I said...in the shadow of feeling like shit about that, I was also kind of happy, since I attributed my new wonderful relationship to Sammy's ability to just be a friendly and cute little pal...his work was done, and he needed to go help someone else was my thinking.
My girlfriend at the time also had a dog, a big Golden Retriever who was always really tolerant of Sammy...even when he was flinging him around playfully. Sammy always thought he was as big and tough as a Pitbull, and carried himself as such. It was always fun to watch him go up against CM's dog.
Well, my relationship with CM ended after not too long, and it was a heartbreak. Really and truly. Some people in my Fourth Perimeter know exactly how that went down for and with me, and they were there to make sure I didn't lose my sense of stability to the point of not getting it back. I sure as hell miss Sammy a lot still, and just yesterday, I saw CM's dog in the hall of my building (she shares custody of him with someone who lives here), and I could swear the dog looked at me like "HEY! You're my buddy! I remember you...let's go play!!". He took a few steps toward me, but I had to ignore it and keep walking down my hallway, as much as I wanted to pet him. One day, I'll have another dog, but not just yet. I know now that I have to do things a bit different next time around with a dog, so I have my ideas forming, and in time there'll be another four-legged friend hanging out here with me in JonnyLand.
SammySo...the first chunk of 2010 started great, but turned devastating. By the end of May, I was on my own again, and now, 7 months later, I'm a better guy for having had both those relationships come and go. I think about Sammy, and wonder how he's doing and if he'd remember me if I ever saw him again, knowing I probably never will. I think about CM sometimes as well. It's kind of hard not to, given the intensity of my relationship with her. Man, I'll tell ya...I thought "love" wasn't a strong enough word for what was going on between us. That alone made the realization that it's wasn't "love" at all really, even more of a caustic burn when it came to a screeching and sudden halt. Made me think, though. Made me realize how I have to govern and protect myself a little bit more when I take steps towards another relationship of substance...
Maybe one of these days, our paths will cross again. Doubtful, but never say never...except if it's in response to her asking to ever get back together. Won't do THAT again....if for the only reason that I'd get my ass kicked by a few people whose job it is to keep me safe...lol...even if it's from MYSELF!!
In the midst of all that chaos, I also realized that I had a best friend in another person I had been involved with for over three years now. It takes a special breed of caring for someone to be able to be by my side when I'm in misery over a breakup, when not all that long before then, it was US that was in the same situation. JV and I have been each other's friend, lover, confidante and now best friend since 2007 when we first met. Peaks and valleys later, we still always seem to gravitate towards one another. A slice of pizza at Nicky's, a movie, a drive to Six Flags...we would just find that enjoying time together was more important than losing one another from our lives.
So many major things in my life happened while I was with her...not by any planning, but just because we were so inseparable. My new apartment...she was with me when I first saw it and knew it was my home. My new car...she was with me to hop in shotgun and go for the first ride with me. Getting Sammy down in Asbury Park, New Jersey...she held him in her lap, as afraid of dogs as she had always been, but she quickly fell in love with him and overcame her fear. My breakup with another woman...JV was there, even though it must have bothered or hurt her some to be consoling me over the loss of another woman, she did it unflinchingly. She changed a lot of minds in acting that way. Some of my friends hadn't been real fans of hers after the way she ended our relationship some time before, but when they saw how caring and supportive she was of me during a hellacious period of time, they changed their tune, and realized, as did I, that JV was a very special person in my life, as she continues to be, even though now she has moved on with several aspects of her life, most notably, that she lives out in Colorado now, and I feel a huge sense of emptiness sometimes when it was always so easy to walk 4 blocks to her house or have her swing by here to go out for some food. Anyway, being someone's best friend isn't about distance, it's about the quality of the relationship...and that's why I know she and I will be best friends forever now.
As I sit here thinking about things that comprised the past year, it's a little hard to believe that so many things went on in what FELT like a short period of time....
In March, I also had the immense pleasure of becoming "Uncle Jonny" to my brother's daughter, Sydney. Named after our grandfather Sidney, which I know he would be flattered as hell about, Sydney is now approaching 9 months, and whether she likes it or not, is going to have a brother or sister in July. Boy am I glad I live here in NY. No changing double poopyass diapers for me!! Sydney is adorable, funny and is moments away from learning to crawl on her own. She has personality times 100, and I still can't believe they allowed my brother to procreate!! I just hope the next baby is a boy so I can inundate him with the proper boy things: Superman, rock n roll, action movies, Maxim magazine and muscle cars! :) They are all bringing in the New Year in Maui right now, and I bet Sydney will be dancing the hula in no time....
"No pictures!!"The year progressed, and things were fairly status quo on most fronts. I was still enjoying my job, and trying my best to do the best I could. As an EMT, I would be seeing people on what has just turned into a fairly shitty day for them, and "taking care" of people isn't always just about splinting an arm or bandaging a cut. There's emotional investment as well, and I hope I can continue to do a good job caring for my patients on the levels they need me to. One of the most surprising moments of my work-related year came in being notified I had been nominated to receive my first ever "Lifesaving" award for a job I had been on with my partner several months earlier, where a man had been outside shoveling snow...you know where this is going, huh?
Well, he had dropped in his bedroom, and by the time we had gotten there, he had been down a few minutes, and we immediately started CPR, and my paramedic partner began to push drugs in an attempt to get his heartbeat back. We got pulses back, and were able to transport him to the ER. So many people were hands-on for that job, and helped us out with the patient, and when I got the word that my partner and I were going be awarded for saving his life, I thought immediately of everyone else involved, and if they were being recognized as well. I am not one for praise or recognition...at least in public. I am a shy person (stop laughing...what you all see on a daily basis is the "job costume" of being outward and such...) and would always be more comfortable with a subtle handshake or wink off on the side somewhere. I always said that two things I want to do before I ever have to leave this job for one reason or another were to save a life and deliver a baby. Hang on though...just because I'm halfway to my goal doesn't mean I'm thinking of getting out of the job! I'm just saying...it's time for someone to pop out a baby in the back of my ambulance so I can reach my goal :)
I felt very good about helping this person, and I was even more happy to be able to present my 96 year old grandmother with my Lifesaving certificate from the ceremony. It is because of my grandfather, who passed away in 2005, and an uncle's one-sentence inspirational remark to me, that I went and recertified my EMT card and am able to help others today. I told my grandmother that I wanted her to have my certificate and that I hoped my grandfather somehow would know I am doing my best for others. I think he knows.
This year also marked the single worst job I have ever done in all the years of being an EMT. Too long and graphic of a story to go into right now, but it was the single most bloody scene I have ever encountered, and unfortunately the victim didn't survive, it sure as hell confirmed that I can do this job no matter what I see. I had a partner with me that day who was new to the 911 system, and he had never done a cardiac arrest before. I popped his cherry that day...bigtime. He later told me that he wouldn't have wanted to work an arrest with anyone else but me. I felt pretty good about that. We did everything we were supposed to, the way we were taught, and although it wasn't enough to save this lady, I felt comfortable with my work, and the work of my partner. The next week, we went back to the scene (it was a doctor's office) to see how the other office workers were doing after such a horrific incident. It turns out that the funeral for that lady, the office receptionist, was that day, and the doctor was there giving a eulogy. It was heartening to know that he felt close to someone who worked for him that he would go to her funeral and deliver a speech that I'm sure only painted a wonderful picture of this woman who so suddenly lost her life. The other ladies in the office were sad, but they told my partner and I how great their friend was, and how everyone there was taking care of one another. They thanked us for stopping back in to see how they were doing...and that was the first and only time I have ever returned to the scene of one of my jobs with the express purpose to follow up and see how people were doing after going through something as traumatic as this was. I think that kind of "caring" is just as important for people in my line of work as the type we show when we respond to the job itself. I never EVER want to be "the best" EMT. I want to DO my best, and try to learn something each day, good or bad, and I think I do. I want people to feel that they were taken care of by me, and that I did the best I could to make them feel better. This is the only job I've ever given a shit about, and I think it's one of the only ones I've done with any measure of success.
I text a lot....Part of this job as an EMT, is that we work in very close harmony with police and fire here in the city. Police officers are usually on our jobs with us to take care of any aspect of things that would fall into their department, including our safety. I am friends with countless officers on this job, and off the job as well. We are a family, and we are there to help and look out for one another. This was never more solidly instilled in me than on June 12th when "one of our own" was lost in the line of duty.
Mike Perry was one of the police department's best officers, and he was one of the first I ever met when I came on the job in 2005. Always friendly as hell, wearing baseball batting gloves as his version of "skel gloves" so he wouldn't get any crap on his hands...literally or figuratively! Always meeting my partner and I at our ambulance with "Hey bro!" or "What's goin' on, bro!", Mike was awesome to have on jobs, and eventually, he and I started to have these little chats on the jobs we would go on together. We would talk a moment or two before loading the patient in the bus, or while we are waiting to get into a building or home. We became pretty good buddies, and very adept at having snippits of conversations before we actually had to then focus on our respective jobs. One day I got a friend request from him on Facebook, and I thought to myself "holy shit...he knows my name???"...see, as I mentioned, on jobs, it was always "dude" or "bro" from Mike, accompanied by the requisite knuckle bump...or "pound"...whatever that thing is called. I was really happy that he had friended me, and we began to continue our abbreviated conversations on FB with a bit more detail. On jobs though, he would call me "bro" more than "Jon", and that was just fine by me. It was what I was to him. "Bro".
I'm probably gonna go into the details of that day in June a bit too much, and I'll cry, but I don't want to.
Mike had a heart attack, and could not be saved. I wasn't working that day, but the medics and EMTs on the ambulance did the best job to fight for Mike's life, and the docs and nurses at the ER pulled out all the stops to work Mike up in the hopes that he would come back, but he didn't. I actually was at the ER for something totally unrelated...and seemingly unimportant by comparison. My friend's sister had been ever so slightly clipped by the sideview mirror of a car in motion, and was in the ER for evaluation. My friend asked me to go to the ER to help her sister and her brother take care of situating themselves, which of course, was no big deal for me to do...I knew just about everyone in the ER so I knew I could get them whatever they needed.
Anyway, as soon as I got there, I was told what was going on with Mike, and my attention immediately turned towards the growing number of police officers that were turning up at the ER with stunned looks on their faces.
I gravitated towards one officer in particular, who has been my friend for a while, and I stood by with him as the ER staff kept going at it to save Mike. I felt slightly out of place, as I wasn't a cop, so I was trying to be as "small" and unnoticable as possible, but every time I glanced towards one of the guys I knew, our eyes would meet and there would be an instant but silent statement from that person that said "Thank you for being here with us". I would just very subtly acknowledge the "greeting", and go back to standing against a wall or something, as we all waited to hear what was going on.
I saw guys show up in street clothes, shorts, flip flops, and of course in uniform. It was terrifyingly sad, just thinking of what might happen.
Then it happened.
Dr. DeRobertis drew that curtain aside and approached the Chief of Police. I didn't hear what was said, but I knew what was said.
The officer I was standing next to reached out and grabbed my arm, and I saw and felt him tense up like he had just bit hit in the face. There's a karmic twist to that piece of the story with that particular officer, and maybe if you ask me another time I'll get into it.
I was so stunned, and incredibly sad. I saw guys I have been working side by side with for years, tears streaming down their faces, and I turned away from their gaze before I lost it as well. It was around that time I went to another section of the ER where my friend and her sister were, and I don't know...as soon as I got around a corner, I did lose it. I brought my hands to my face, and felt hot, wet tears pooling under my eyes. I barely managed to tell my friend what was going on just around the corner, and that she'd have to be patient to see a doctor...something horrible just happened, and her sister was, with all due respect, just not a priority patient right now. I was crying pretty well by now (fuck...as I am now again, too...) and I noticed nurses and other ER staff who knew me were looking at me, knowing what just happened, and it looked like they were about to cry as well.
Next thing I knew, one of the ER docs who I had never really had much of a rapport with, suddenly appeared next to me with a box of tissues. He put his arm around me and said quietly to me "There's no way to ever know when something like this will ever happen...and it sucks. If you need anything, you come see ME."
I was really rather surprised at this doc's gentleness and concern. It was just nothing I had ever experienced before, let alone from him specifically. It was so kind, and all I could do was look at him and nod.
I went back to where what seemed like the entire police department had gathered in the main hallways of the ER, and found a few other officers who were also good friends, and I stood with them. I went over to one of the sergeants I recognized, who was in uniform, and I told him I'd really like to go pay my respects to Mike in the room they were working on him in. All the other officers were filing in and out doing the same thing. My problem was I felt I didn't belong there, and I told the sarge that. I wasn't a cop. I felt that this was something I shouldn't be doing, but at the same time, Mike was my FRIEND, too...
The sarge immediately said "Absolutely....you're with US, you go on in...I'll get someone to take you in."
And he did. Another officer stepped up and walked in behind the curtain with me.
Mike was laying on the bed, covered to his shoulders with a white sheet. A few other guys were there, like sentries, just staying with Mike. One of them, Patrick, had been with Mike from the onset of his chest pain at police HQ, to right now, and he looked like he was going to collapse. I took Patrick's hand in mine and held it there for a moment, grasping his forearm with my other hand, and I then turned to face Mike.
All I could softly muster was "Mike....jesus christ...." as the tears just fell and fell and fell....
Things became more hectic but somewhat organized at the same time. The officers formed two lines outside the ER in the ambulance bay, facing one another, and the lines stretched almost the entire length of the parking lot. The medical examiner van was prepping to take Mike away, and his brothers and sisters wanted to give him a proper salute as he left. I stood on the side, away from the others, just silently watching. I even noticed some civilians who had been walking by the ER and saw the lineup. They too, stopped to salute or place their hand over their heart when they found out what had happened. I thought that was incredibly decent.
In the days that followed, a contingent of us from TransCare, including me, were designated as part of the funeral detail. We brought up our brand new ambulance from headquarters, and we drove it up to Yorktown for the ceremony. It was like nothing I've ever seen before...and hopefully something I won't see again. I was awestruck by the Sea Of Blue that turned out for Mike and his family. Officers from EVERYWHERE came. The thunderous sound of police motorcycles as they slowly appeared from around a corner, leading the procession to the church gave me goosebumps the likes I've never experienced before. Helicopter flyovers, 21 gun salutes, flag folding....everything I had only seen in a movie, was transpiring right before my eyes, and it was killing me. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I am honored to have been a part of it, and to have been Mike's friend. The racket that was thrown for him after the funeral was bittersweet but at the same time, it was a great gathering of friends, brothers and sisters. A few weeks went by and a "10-13" benefit was given for Mike's family here in White Plains. there was BOATLOAD of money raised for his twin boys, and even baseball great Bernie Williams came by to jam with the band, and donated $10,000! I was never more proud to be part of this family. Every EMT and medic who was at the funeral and benefits afterwards, were treated like they belonged there, like equals. I had cops coming up to me at the funeral thanking ME for being there for them...I thought that was crazy! It was MY honor to be asked to be there, and I would've been there come hell or high water. I miss Mike a lot, and the tribute bracelets, pins and shirts virtually ALL OF US wear DAILY are testament to Mike's friendship and loyalty to the ones he called his brothers. His personality was infectious and it was impossible NOT to smile whenever he was around and if he was talking to you, wearing those silly damn gloves! He won't be forgotten by any of us, that's for sure.
*WHEW*
Ok, let's lighten this thing up, shall we? Now I will list all the sex I had this year, for your amusement:
Got all that? Ok, now that I've thoroughly cataloged the sexual encounters of the past year, I will move on to something a bit more politically correct....LOL.....
Isn't that just like me, though? Using some cheap-o sex reference to counter a topic that is upsetting? Yeah...
There have been some other losses this year, and whereas all of them have made me sad, and wish there was something I could do to make it not true, of course, that's not up to me.
Some friends of mine lost people in their lives, and it affects me as well because I care about my friends.
My best friend Chris and his wife lost their son before he could be born safely and survive, and that just killed me inside...my friend Michelle lost her mom after a long illness, another friend, Sharina lost her grandfather and brother in-law. I lost two elderly relatives, just in the past couple of weeks, one of them being my grandmother's last surviving sister.
It's been a year for loss, I ain't gonna lie. On one level or another, it's just been feeling like a continuous cycle of bad news phone calls...
But now let's talk about this past summer and the months since then!! Holy meet n' greet, Batman!! I ran into a BUNCH of people who, regardless of whether it was 2 minutes, almost 4 hours, or something more consistent and ongoing, made this an AMAZING year for meeting people.....
I seemed to go through a little bit of "friend of a friend phase" for a while...just before the summer kicked in, Kathryn...a longtime friend of mine in Florida told me about me about a friend of hers up here in da Bronx who I would probably enjoy getting to know, soooo.....an easy Facebook friend request later, she's proven herself to be correct. It took a bit of time, to actually MEET, but it was worth it, and now Linda and I are becoming good friends. My cousin, Jennifer and four of her friends went to Martha's Vineyard this past July, and for SOME reason, she thought I would be someone to ask for some vacation tips about the island (lol...). As it turned out, I was in the process of making a decision about a visit there earlier than my normal end-of-July timeshare week, and decided that I could go in the beginning of July as well for a few days, see my best friend Chris and his wife Jen (different Jen!) as well as my COUSIN Jen, and meet HER friends as well! So I did, and I seemed to get along with one more than the others, as nice as they all were...so now, under penalty of death, I will place my now not-so-new friend Liz in her very own category: "The Coolest Girl To Ever Be Transplanted From Chicago To New York". Liz and I have a lot of fun hanging out when she isn't globetrotting to places like Israel, Italy and London, complete with a good supply of Ambien for those hard-to-sleep nights abroad...and lemme tell you about texting while on Ambien, kids....that shit is FUNNY!! ;-)
Some of the Rogue's Gallery....
Ok, of course I don't have pictures of EVERYONE, but I've come into contact with many others for the first time this year, in one way or the other, mostly thanks to Facebook and what indeed IS a very large social network. It always seems like it might be odd to "make a friend" on FB, but if you cultivate the initial introduction, there are really a lot of people out there who you wind up being very glad you "met". Also, after living in my building for almost two years, I finally met someone else in here who I can hang out with! Stacy just actually moved in a few weeks ago, and the timing our meeting was just a fortunate coincidence. We were talking about movies, and it went from there...she's a cool new friend who I can geek out with about movie stuff, so I'm a happy guy (as long as we NEVER watch "Inception" again!! Oh my god, that was the hardest film to enjoy....but anyway...). I have to say that most recently, I have begun talking more in depth with a couple of people who have Vineyard and/or Jaws affections, and were put in touch with me one way or the other through others with the same likes, and I am really enjoying the hell out of that. Chandra and Dana to name a couple who I most definitely want to meet in person and get to know better.
Speaking of Martha's Vineyard and Jaws...by now now if you're reading this, you already know what went down with me on the island this summer at the Possible Dreams Auction...and the prior blog entries can refresh your memories if you need that assist. I'll simply say "I'm gonna need a bigger blog"...and call me with your thoughts.
Richard Dreyfuss spent virtually the entire afternoon with my friend Christian and I in NYC last month as a result of that auction, and it remains one of the most talked-about things I've done in a LOOOONG time. A handful of peeps helped make that day flawlessly perfect, and trust me when I tell you that they have been thanked profusely!!
The Dreyfuss DreamAnother GREAT friend of mine from the Vineyard who I finally got to meet is the awesome artist, Paul McPhee.
Paul's marine and other painted artwork is STUNNINGLY beautiful, realistic, and individual. His love of Jaws drove him to create 15 of the coolest prints you'll ever see, and some of his other aquatic art and abilities are just mesmerizing. I urge you ALL to friend him off my FB friend list, and enjoy the brilliance that is Paul. He and I have become fast friends, and I am proud to say I own one of his giclee prints...a #1 in a limited edition printing, no less, complete with a remarque. It hangs beautifully in my living room. Paul was introduced to me through my longtime friend on the island, Donna, who I have known for several years. She is a HUGE Jaws encyclopedia of knowledge, and my increased love of the film, and its behind the scenes stories, all started with her...she's got a GREAT behind-the-scenes/location tour book in her that I keep trying to compel her to put together...if only she'd listen.... ;-)
Paul McPhee
Menemsha Harbor
Menemsha HarborA smattering of other interesting folk I ran into or made friends with this year include:
US Secret Service agents Clint Hill and Jerry Blaine (yeah, read the blog for that, too!)...Lee Majors, the boys from the Brady Bunch, actor William McNamara, comedian Robert Kelly, and Jessica and Aliyah Schimmel, daughters of one of my favorite comedians of all time, the late, VERY great Robert Schimmel...
Seems like you never know who or when you're gonna meet n' greet with someone, so as I've always said: be prepared!
Clint Hill & Jerry BlaineA few shameless, but appropriate plugs:
My Amazon Kindle...the 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T Classic (oh my GOD is this a fucking amazing car!!)...the Keurig one cup coffee maker-thingy...KISS M&M's...The Walking Dead on AMC...the Best Buy Hubman USB multi-port device (thanks, Minion!!)...Snapple Trop-A-Rocka diet iced tea (oh, HELL yeah!)...Popcorners chips...the Dreyfuss Drink (Dr. Borwn's black cherry mixed with Stewart's root beer)...Netflix...the new Hawaii Five-O show on CBS...a few songs that REFUSE to get the hell outta my head, so I might as well mention 'em here in the hopes that it may send them on their way: "Firework" and "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry, "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk, "Radioactive" by Kings of Leon, just about anything by e.s. posthumus, and the riff from an old ZZ Top song called "Stages" (taken from another CLASSIC 80s comedy dvd called The Whoopee Boys)...unlimited text messaging...iTunes...www.stylinonline.com and of course, the two most important sites on the entire internet: http://thecabojonnyblog.blogspot.com and http://galley.me.com/jbassuk
...of course I did it, are you kidding me?? Self promotion, sillyasses!!!
It's 9-something in the morning on a partly cloudy Christmas Day, and I am up too early...seems like no matter if I have a day off or not, I'm just always waking up early nowadays anyway...why not make the time useful by wrapping up this already-too-long opus.
Hey, Dreyfuss--would THIS then be Mr. Bassuk's Opus? Conduct THAT, you sonofagun!!! :)
I realized as I was writing this nonsense, that it's really hard to recall an entire YEAR of my life, and then try to whittle it down to a handful of moments that I think some of my friends would give a shit to read about...I mean, let's face it--what happens in my life is no better or worse than what might be going on in yours or anyone else's as well...I'm just forcing MY shit down YOUR throat...lol...
It just had been feeling lately like as this year winds down, I have found myself thinking back a lot to people, places and things that have come into or out of my life. On both fronts, it's bittersweet sometimes...as there are some of those things I wish never came in at all...or came in and stayed longer than they did, and of course, some things I wish never left. I know that for the most part, so much of that isn't up to me, it's just a matter of being in whatever place at whatever time I happen to be in when something happens...then it's up to me to find a shelf--mentally or otherwise--for it in JonnyLand. There are so many things that happen in a year, and that's why I know I'm forgetting a lot of stuff that I'll remember a day after I post this thing, and then I'll have go back and edit the hell out of it. Oh well, such is the way of things as the cerebral synapses begin to go dark in my advanced age...lol. Maybe it was all them Whippits back in the day....KIDDING!!!
I thought about posting some pictures in the blog here, and I have thrown a few in as "highlights" (from this year and one or two in the past...but who cares?), but for the most part, the coolest pics from the coolest moments are already either up on FB or on my MobileMe site (the gallery site I plugged a few paragraphs ago...), so if you wanted to get a visual dose of the craziness that is my life, some of that awaits you there...
There's a week left in 2010, and I'm left feeling more so that this year wasn't a good one for me than anything else. So many different things make me fee that way. It's not to say that this was an entirely bad year...that couldn't be further from the case, either. However, when I found myself performing mental rewinds for this blog, I kept saying to myself, "holy shit...THAT was this year too???"
It kinda opens your eyes a little.
I want 2011 to be better...not any of the bullshit "New Year's Resolution" stuff about losing weight, taking a class, meeting a girl, learning to fly...you know, the USUAL shit...
i want it to be a better year for EVERYTHING. This was year more of loss for me than gain, either directly or otherwise. It seems like for every tick mark in the "plus" column, there were two or three in the "minus" one...and that shit is just plain annoying.
Life is short. TOO short. I turned 40 this past September, and told myself (and some of you out there in You're Not Subscribing To Follow My Blog Land...) that I was going to do whatever I wanted, when, how and with whomever I wanted. I want to see a show or a concert? VIP, baby! I want to go on a cruise? Where the hell is Issac the bartender, and they BETTER serve Cabo Wabo tequila on board...I want to meet someone who will make me happy all the time, and fill me up with good feelings 9 days a week? Well.....ok, ok...settle down...everyone has limitations...heh-heh....
Everything, though, DOES happen in it's own time, in its own way, and right now I'm comfortable with who and what I am, and where I'm going. My job is good, the people I work with are, with very few exceptions, GREAT people, many of them also my friends...not just co-workers. I have my hobbies, my friends, my blu-ray dvd player, my drums and a pretty good sense of humor about just about anything that comes up and taps me on the shoulder to try and trip me up.
I think I'm doing pretty well for myself all things considered...and as much as I might long for certain days, people, places or things gone by, this year or others, RIGHT NOW is what's happening, and RIGHT NOW is all we got.
Alex Van Halen, one of inspirations for why I have been a drummer for over 20 years now, once said:
"Play every night as if it's your last night on stage..."
It's true. Treat each day like it's a gift. Treat the people in your life like THEY'RE a gift. Every...single...day.
When the show's over, you don't get a curtain call like the boys in the band always do. Make every day and every second count...don't miss an opportunity to tell someone you love them...or hate them if that's where your head is at. Speak your mind, say what you feel, and mean what you say. Don't sugarcoat it. Be honest, be true...to yourself as much as to others...and don't sweat it if your honesty hurts someone (shit, even if it hurts YOU)...at the end of the day, you'll be able to know your integrity and your karma are intact because you were honest about whatever it is. No one will be able to fault you for that...but if you hold back, if you don't let it all flow freely and say or do whatever you have to say or do, you'll never forgive yourself if you lose the chance or the window of opportunity to get it out.
My philosophy has long been one of "if I'm gonna do something, I wanna do it all the way. I don't wanna be IN the venue...I want backstage passes, dammit!"
Don't just LIVE your life. LOVE it.
Next year is gonna be a lot better. More gains than losses. More excitement than Mr. Holland can shake his conducting baton at. Hell...July is only a few months away, and there's a parcel of beach on an island just south of Cape Cod with my name on it waiting for me. I have another niece or nephew on the way, my dad will turn the big 7-0 in January, concerts, conventions, the Hot Toys DX Christopher Reeve Superman figure, a new version of the iPad, mountains of sex (well...i'm under contract with Blogspot to say it like that, although the likelihood for that in reality is more like an anthill instead of a mountain...)
...I remember my friend Wayne once told me earlier this year, that there's no telling what AMAZING shit is waiting for me around the corner...all I have to do is GET THERE to enjoy it. I told him at the time that while that may be true, it's a helluva long walk down the block to GET to that corner.
He simply said, "yeah...maybe so...but if you don't go forward and walk down the block, you'll never get to turn the corner...!"
2011 is right around the corner, and it looks like I made it down the block...with a bunch of new friends and new chapters in the book to take there with me.
I hope YOU all made it as well...I know the walk wasn't easy for a lot of the people I know...most of them, ironically, won't even read my damn blog to see how I try to bolster them up with my support and witty anecdotes...but thats ok...I'm against cruel and unusual treatment as well....
I wish I could sit here and wrap this up by quoting the immortal words of Rodney Dangerfield at the finale of CADDYSHACK: "HEY!! We're all gonna get LAID!!!", and have the whole crowd erupt into cheers....
....but I know that for the most part, if that were to happen, there'd have to be a ton of booze that needs to be drunk first, and a bunch of lawyers on standby with bail money...cuz I mean, let's face it, we're not all even NEARLY as talented as Rodney was...and some of us already have records...so.......
Rock it out!!....in absence of anything else crude or otherwise politically incorrect of me, all I guess there is left for me to say is HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY NEW YEAR. I love a few of you out there, I like a whole lot of you, and yeah, there are some I just just downright think suck ass (remember what I said about never missing an opportunity?)...but as the New Year drops its balls on us at the stroke of midnight (and here in White Plains, those balls are attached to a big DICK of a mayor who should cut his losses and just walk...the hell...away...) I urge you to take stock of what you have in your lives, good bad or otherwise, and cherish it ALL. We're not perfect, we make big mistakes sometimes (I call your attention to things like taking 9 years for First Responder Health Care legislation, the mayor of White Plains, and good friends living too far away from me), but mistakes can be fixed and positive changes can come from them...and they should. It's never too late to change, to forgive (well.....lemme get back to you on this one in some meth-head, drug-addled cases...), and to realize that we all get one punch of the ticket...MAKE IT COUNT...EVERY DAY.
Let 2011 rock out with its cock out...yeah, I said it...and let's all start the second decade with a big bang!
(You twisted folks out there in JonnyLand can interpret that one however you all want...but I think I'm with ya'!)
I challenge everyone who reads this blog to plant a nice big kiss on the lips of whoever they're standing, sitting...or laying...with at midnight next Friday, wish them a Happy New Year, and let them know that that first kiss, that first moment of the new year is a symbol of only good things to come...we all deserve that...some of us more than others, but I digest....
Man, I don't think there's been this much rambling, nonsensical, hard-to-follow one-sided conversation in a blog of mine since Mel Gibson's debut on TMZ.....but as always, thanks for hangin' in there til the end!! You are the three coolest blog readers on the information superhighway...where the JonnyLand Blog is but a brief Port-a-Potty stop off an exit somewhere near Hog's Nads Mississippi or a similar "Scenic Lookout" off the blacktop....
My best wishes to all of you for a wonderful New Year...i will do my best to continue to be entertaining for you, most certainly at my own expense...but shit...isn't that what you're LOOKING for when you read this thing anyway??
Until next time, this is your pal JonnyB reminding you, even as the Waterford Crystal ball descends on us, to RIDE THE BIG ONE...right into next year!!!
