If you look to the left side of the plane...

...you will see the beautiful skyline of the Las Vegas Strip. Just to the left of that, there's a little tiny speck, shining in the darkness. In the Grand Scheme of things, it's just one little speck of light, but now that I've pointed it out to you, you notice it more. Look at it and it seems to grow in intensity and now it's noticeable amidst the beautiful backdrop of the Strip. You can't help but see it, now.

THREE YEARS CLEAN & SOBER ! 100%. Not a slip or anything. If you had asked me three years ago, I would have said it was an eternity away. Now that I'm here, damn if it didn't take exactly that long to get here. And you know what? It's not any easier now than it was when I started. Granted, I went through withdrawals in a Coma, so I got to skip that part, and it was 6 months before I could even leave the house by myself, physically, so the temptation wasn't as "In My Face" as most people have. Still, it's the fact that it's a life or death choice for me. I can't afford to take the chance that I have "One Last Drunk" in me. I won't play the Russian Roulette game with that bottle in my hand. But by the Grace of God, I was given a Second Chance on Life, and I'll be Damned if I waste that. With that in my head and in my heart, it's just 362 days till I get another chip... I can wait.

'Tis the Season... Fa-La-La...

(Oh, CRAP ! He's gonna Sing !)

Frosted windowpanes Candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree
Santa's on his way He's filled his sleigh with things Things for you and me

It's that time of year, when the world falls in Love
Every Song you hear seems to say,
Merry Christmas, May your New Years Dreams come true
And this song of mine, in three quarter time, wishes you and yours the same thing, too.

It's Christmas time (for Rehearsal Purposes) and my FAVORITE Time of the year. O.K., Call me sappy, but I have always liked Christmas and it's multi-layered message. Aside from it's Liturgical, Religious meanings, which are slightly off in the time of year that they occurred, there's the traditional, Santa, Frosty, Rudolph and the like that the corporate world stuffed down our throats in the 50's, 60's and 70's TV shows. But there's an up-side to that.

We, in America, are suckers for anything with a jingle or catchy tune and even worse when it comes to the feel-good messages and happy endings. Rudolph, Frosty, even the Grinch have that "warm your heart" and "love your fellow man" overtone. Performers like Gene Autry, Burl Ives, Fred Astaire and the unlikely Boris Karloff have become entrenched with their naration of our favorite christmas cartoons, and Natalie Woods in Miracle on 34th Street, and Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life embody the goodness in Christmas... and those are just the Classics.

The religious part of Christmas, contraversal as it is, all follows the almost same theme, be it Jewish, Christian, or the other religions, regardless of which time of year they are celebrated or what they're called. At some point, our Maker, in is goodness, chose to send physical form to earth, from the heavens, to show us the path back to the heavens. And, regardless, this is a good thing.

So, Celebrate, as you see fit, but Celebrate, for the Time is New, The New Life Begins, and "... Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night !"

A Man had Fallen into a Hole

A man had fallen into a hole, off the beaten path, in the park. Try as he might, he couldn't climb out of the hole. Eventually, someone appeared at the top of the hole. The man was dressed like a Doctor. The man in the hole asked him for help, so the Doctor wrote him a prescription for some Valium, threw it down the hole and left. Later, another man appeared at the top of the hole. This man was dressed as a Clergyman. The man in the hole asked him for help, so the Clergyman wrote some prayers on a slip of paper, threw it down the hole and left. Then another man appeared at the top of the hole. He was holding the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and a Pocket Bible. The man in the hole asked him for help, so the Alcoholic jumped into the hole. "Why did you jump in the hole. Now how are we going to get out." Without hesitation, the Alcoholic said "Between You, Me, God and these Books, we'll figure something out."

Summer Time in Vegas

This is the Sun. It's surface is called the photosphere. The temperature of the photosphere is about 10,000° Fahrenheit. It's core is under its atmosphere. The temperature at the core, or very middle, of the Sun, is about 27 million° Fahrenheit. That’s pretty hot!

Only slightly less hot is the temperature of the inside of my car, when it's 114˚. Trying to turn on the Air Conditioner in my car, has the effect of trying to cool a Hot Tub with an Ice Cube. Don't get me wrong, It makes a valiant effort, but alas, there's little hope. I guess it's time to get the system serviced. If I'm lucky, my brother still has the gauge/hose assembly to do the job. If not, I fear that I will suffer the fate this summer has in store for me and be Medium Rare by September.!

Hi, Everybody. This is Phil, Doug's Liver, with an update on my condition. As you may know, I'm in charge of the filtering, enzymes, and cholesterol in Doug's blood. We had a visit a few weeks ago with the Gastro Dr., Nutritionist, and Dr. Doctor. Everyone wanted to know how well I'm doing my job.

You may have noticed from my picture at the beginning of this Blog, I look a LOT better than I did when we first started writing. We've been working on that for the past 2 and a half years. The latest report tells us the following information.

Overall, I got an A-. This is GREAT. Since I don't know all of the abbreviations (and neither do most of you), I'll touch on the terms I do know. First is my Diabetes. My A1C (Blood Sugar Index ?) went from 7.2 (Diabetic) to 6.4 (Pre, or in this case, Post-Diabetic). Next is my Cholesterol. I'm not even going to try to explain this... My "Bad Cholesterol" is Very Good. My "Good Cholesterol" is Bad (should be 60-ish, mine's 14) Bottom line... Bad Cholesterol is more important, "Eat some Wheat Germ a couple of times a week" Finally, My Liver Enzymes are low, like 15-20%, but considering my level of liver damage, they are within "Expected Levels" and not a Critical Issue.

So, overall, If Doug would just get off the couch and become a little more active, and gain a little more strength and stamina, All would be Right with the World and we could All Live "Happily Ever After."

To Robin, With Love

I have a myspace account and on it there is this girl I knew, named Robin. She used to live across the street from us in Rowland Heights. She used to be my Sister, Wanda's best friend before Wanda got married and moved. Some years later, we began hanging out together and became the Best of Friends. She eventually started dating my High School friend, Dave (That's a WHOLE OTHER STORY). Then we moved here to Las Vegas and Robin and I lost touch. She eventually moved to Indiana, met a guy and got married.

The point of this story takes an unfortunate turn at this point. A little over 2 years ago I got a call from her. My sister had given her my number and she had called me. We talked for almost two hours. We exchanged stories and e-mail addresses and vowed to keep in touch. I was newly out of the hospital from MY ordeal and still recovering so It was really GREAT to hear from her. I even got her Brother and Niece's e-mails so I could write them. It was kind of like "Old Times". Then came the news.

Her Brother called me one day. "Doug... Sit Down." he said. "Robin passed away last night. We don't know the details, but she hadn't been feeling well for a while." I had already been an emotional "train wreck' since my ordeal and now I felt as if I had just been run over by a bus ! Well it turns out that there were no more details... she had some kind of infection and ... just... Died. Needless to say I was numb for quite a while. I don't "DO" funerals. I Just Don't. (Hell, He's having a hard time writing THIS.) Well, I did, and I shouldn't have. I wept ALL DAY, literally. I'm sure I just made it harder for her family.

Now it gets strange. About 6 months ago, her myspace account appeared as "People You Might Know". I'm sure that I removed it from MY account, but it must still be on her Brother's and it's still active. When I saw her name, I did the only LOGICAL thing I could think of... I wrote her. I felt better and a little less sad when I was done.

It happened again 2 days ago and I wrote her again... just as if she were still here. I'm sure she still is, in some way, and reminds me of it occasionally. It's a good thing. In the hustle and bussel of daily life, we all to often forget those who have gone before us. At least I know she'll be there to greet me when I get there.

Dear when you smiled at me,

I heard a melody
It haunted me from the start
Something inside of me
started a symphony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart



'Twas like a breath of spring,
I heard a robin sing
About a nest set apart
All nature seemed to be
in perfect harmony
Zing! Went the strings of my heart.

Nurse Chapel is not on board the Enterprise

"Los Angeles, January 5: Friends, Family and some ‘Star Trek’ cast members gathered at the Forest Lawn Hollywood to bid a final farewell to actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry. The nurse Christine Chapel of the Star Trek television series died of leukemia at her home in Bel Air on Dec. 18. She was 76."

I must take a moment to say a fond Farewell to one of the most influential people in the world of Science Fiction. The wife of the Late Gene Roddenberry as gone to join the list of celebrities to have passed away this year. She was a very influential part of the creation of the Sci-Fi worlds of her husband, as well as the driving force to keep the franchise running after his passing. She was Nurse Chapel in the original "Star Trek" series, Lwaxana Trio, Mother of Deanna Troi in the "Next Generation" series, and, most memorably and least known, the Voice of the "Computer" in all of the variations of the series. Her Legacy in the Sci-Fi world will be forever burned into our memories. May she join her husband, Gene, in Sub-Space Forever!