now that we got that taken care of...
It's been a while, I know. partly because I really can't think of what to write here, and partly because my life has been quite messy these past months.

Primarily with my mom, whose dementia is getting her evicted from the second nursing home as we speak--or rather her personality is. Now that the patina of civilization has worn off, her natural mean-spirited self is shining through. She's a born-again who has no tolerance for pagans--which includes Lutherans, Catholics and Santa (note the anagram for you-know-who)... when I was 11 my grandma (the one who lived in that wonderful house) wrote me a letter apologizing for my mom's views. The rest of the family are pretty cool, actually, accepting various faiths, psychic phenomena and whiskey, as all good Scots (well maybe not the faith part) should. On another night I'll write about my uncle and his experiences in the desert, or my grandpa's poker skills (he won a factory from Henry Ford on a busted flush).

Meanwhile I have been fielding phone calls from the police, the fire department and anyone else mom thinks owns and operates taxis. Funny, but not 14 times in the middle of the night. We've had to give her a toy phone and have the staff call out on a cell. Finally found a "future phone" which only lets her dial specific people. If you have a foggy relation, get this for them. And be damned sure you get and read the POA (power of attorney) carefully! Mom put many loopholes in hers, so we can't pay her taxes until we prove she's nuts, and she's so nuts she won't tolerate taking the tests, so she wasn't considered non-compos until she finished a test, which took a lot of guile.

I did manage to find a nice place to stay in Estes whilst visiting said mom and got some fine hikes in amidst all her shenanigans. Now I'll be back there for some skiing perhaps.

thinking of the christmas season: i have very mixed feelings about this season: there are moments, perhaps every year, when something resonates for me, but so much of it is like the "money shot" in porn--the main feature turns out to be something you can barely stand to look at. much less look at repeatedly. or hear repeatedly.

but there are moments -- sometimes in the midnight mass pumped in from Rome, or sitting in the Catholic cathedral in Santa Fe - twice as old as the USA, or in Westminster... or in our little tiny homespun local church (where my Jewish wife is the choirmistress and the only reason to show up). or from a gift or a card, or the relieved eyes of a homeless person in the food line as we serve them... like I said, mixed. I think the purest moments have been with the Salvation Army. In spite of their unhealthy attitude towards gays (take a wild guess), they are acutely aware of who really has been naughty and nice amongst the needy in the community. Delivering Christmas food packages with a few gifts and clothes to these homes is perhaps the best way to spend the day that I know of. Any charity that helps folks is corrupt and imbalanced, but I am no angel either (or even Christian for that matter), but help is help, and tainted help is still largely help. so with that I'll go back to listening to my favorite seasonal music:




so Merry Christmas and to all a good night