The Ocean in November

Surf fisherman casting off the Longport Jetty in November. This is so familiar and beautiful to me. I love when the fog obscures the horizon. Where does the ocean end and the sky begin?

I always considered Longport to be our beach.

Mom thought I would have my wedding on this jetty. I didn't. We threw Mom's ashes into the ocean here. It is a spiritual, transcendant kind of place.

My favorite time to visit the ocean is during the "off season".

I make it a point to make the three mile drive to Longport everytime I visit Dad. Longport is a quiet, residential beach town dangling on the edge of Absecon Island. Absecon Island is better known for it's top end, Atlantic City

The crowds are gone. The sun may or may not be shining.

It doesn't matter. I love the Atlantic without sun, beach blankets and lifeguards. She is beautiful in her monochromatic moodiness.

Thanksgiving Thursday was warm and foggy. We are walking along the Longport beach toward Atlantic City. You can see a few Margate high rises, but the casinos of Atlantic City are obscured by the fog. I like it much better this way.

We found Jake and Elwood jamming on someone's deck. They didn't know we were coming.

This is the view from the Longport jetty looking out across the inlet to Ocean City. The distant bridge takes you to that other shore resort. The place where I used to hang out when I was a teenager. I remember beach jams at the Ninth Street Pavilion. If we hung out long enough, someone would come by with a guitar, a fiddle, a set of bongos. We'd start out on the pavillion but when the crowd grew we'd end up on the beach. The rent-a-cops would try to kick us off. The ferris wheel is usually visible, but not today.

Perhaps a painting will come from these photos?

This might be more suitable for a graphite subtraction?

Not the Cone of Shame

Fiona is proudly displaying her war wounds.

Every Monday night, the family rolls the garbage cans out to the road. The dogs love this.

Fiona is one half border collie, one half golden retriever. The border collie personality is dominant.

She chases and herds everything. By everything I mean the garbage can on wheels, cars, the cat, the other dog, the children, wild animals, bugs, toads, frogs, and me.

She ran off barking after something on Monday. When she came back, she didn't look so good. We did not "see" anything on Monday. Black fur hides blood.

On Tuesday, we noticed she was a bit sluggish. When my daughter tried to hug her, she noticed that Fiona was a bit "cut".

Cut badly, to the muscle. She required overnight hospitalization, 12 large stitches and this lovely drain. She wears a T-Shirt instead of the Cone of Shame. The first day she wore an anti-bullying T-shirt. On this day, she wore "Refuse to Lose" on one side and "Go Ask George" on the other. My daughters both loved this shirt. We are not sure where it came from. Today she is wearing a girl scout Tee.

You can sortof see "Refuse to Lose" here. Those are my hobbit legs. I covered the hairy feet with sneakers. Note the Bitchen Red Honda Civic in the background behind the wood pile.

Fiona is one dignified dog.

Happy Happy, Joy, Joy!

I need happy thoughts and positive energy folks. My husband's best friend from Boston, "Michael", was diagnosed with Acute Lymphotic Leukemia a couple of weeks ago. Today I hear he has some sort of infection. I also heard he went into kidney failure 14 hours ago. Thoughts, prayers, Love, peace and happiness.... Think upon these things. I want to muster as much positive energy as possible.

Cancer Sucks

I'm sorry dear friends but I've been a bit preoccupied lately.

It seems that f**##ing cancer has been rearing its ugly head.

In the last two weeks, I've learned that my brother-in-law has been "revisited" by cancer. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer. "They" did the surgery and chemo. He was healthy for a year. "They" just found a new tumor near his esophagus. He went to Houston for surgery. Dr. Joe is 58. He is an Electrophysiologist. (He installs Pacemakers). He is now "recovering" in Virginia.

This past week was surreal. I was poking around on Facebook, playing Mafia Wars, icing people, stocking up on tommy guns, investing in my Strip Club, you know...basically minding my own business.

I received a Chat prompt from my husband's best friend. He said "Hi! I'm in the hospital with some strange undiagnosed illness." Turns out it was Acute Lymphotic Leukemia. His brother died of it when he was like "eleven". Michael is fifty. Michael is one of the most amazing, intelligent and inspired persons I have ever met. He and Doug (my husband) went to graduate school together. Michael went on to get his doctorate in education. He was a high school principal for a while. He had difficulty with the political B.S. in that environment. The district created a position for him. He became a liaison between the district and the community. He continues to inspire people.

Michael is a trooper. He started a "Care Pages" blog to write about his illness.

Some of you probably know that my mother died of lung cancer three years ago. My mother-in-law died almost exactly one year before that.

Some cynics might say that cancer is a disease caused by bad lifestyle choices (i.e.smoking). Okay Mom and Mrs. Williams smoked.

Dr. Joe doesn't smoke, rarely drinks. He is thin. In fact, he is one of the most health conscious, persons I have ever met.

Michael doesn't smoke, rarely drinks. He is the most optimistic, positive person I have ever met. Seriously. No exaggeration intended. I don't get it. None of these persons "deserved" this disease.

It is random. It sucks.

Sorry if I have not been in a funny blogging mood lately.

I don't get it.