When you just want to cry a river and then a lake and then an ocean

A dear, dear friend of mine--Sam Johnson--has passed away.

I think you have seen the link to his blog under "Cool Visits". I hope you click over there and read some of his material. It's very good. With a professor's encouragement, he was consolidating some of the best pieces for publication. Find his post about Thanksgiving dinners or the one about weak-ass fake chili. You'll laugh out loud and click for more.

Speaking of clicking, did you see the link to something called "Donate for Sam's Sake"? It's been there for a reason. You see, Sam needed a kidney transplant and in our country, you have to have a giant bank account for after-care as one of the preconditions. Yep, you need to have $100K or more before serious consideration unless you have the Rolls Royce of insurance that will cover 100% of all your costs with no caps and low co-pays. I'll save the insurance rant for later this week...

Anyway, that means Larry Hagman was able to afford getting a new liver (to perhaps destroy with more drinking) and that Natalie Cole will get HER kidney before the end of the year. Did you SEE how many people called/emailed Larry King with offers to give one up to her?!? Meanwhile, click on that link, too, so someone will get closer to THEIR future and say "Sam's friend sent you".

Some very good people did their best to help Sam with raising money, but times are hard and people don't give to causes that aren't "sexy" in terms of garnering headlines. But his friends still did what they could. If nothing else, we clicked the Paypal button to made sure he had pizza and comic book money.

He was working out to build up his body for that ever-pending call to haul butt to the hospital, he went back to college and had a career planned, he was working on the book... He never gave up although I know he had "those" days. I just hope someone got him those "preview" copies of certain films he was wanting to see.

I hope his transition was peaceful, slipping from slumber to slipping earthly bonds. I am confident, no matter what, he went knowing that he had friends who loved him and will miss him madly.

This is Sam during one of the fund-raisers; it was the picture he used for his profile.





This picture is one from his blog, taken at DragonCon, I think. Do ya think he had a good time?




This is an oldie from the local access TV show (UGS) we did in Savannah, a great ensemble cast and a lot of comedy that was like working-class MadTV or early SNL. In other words--no budget, a lot of hilarious ideas and a cable access station that was willing to overlook a lot of things. Soon after this, the first head-shaving occurred.





I'd post the Tom Jones video he did for the UGS New Year's show in 1995, but he would come back and jerk me around... And then laugh his ass off as he chased some kids off MY lawn!

OK--to sum up the fall

Yes, I really have been that busy.

Since I am the only one doing the job I do where I am, I am knee-deep in all the hoopla. I had three new facilities to get networked and the IT equipment in and am getting another one ready to open.

The Diva decided to change dance schools because she never had the same teachers two sessions in a row and the training was inconsistent. She's also had a few auditions and done some fashion shows. School is much the same. They don't know what to do with her because she is so smart, but the wiring in her brain doesn't work the way they want it to and so they are willing to let her slip through the cracks. Sadly, with the outrageous budget cuts, the little money there is will be even less for the rest of the year. No tutoring help, no special equipment, no monitors... I would homeschool, but I work and I know The Diva would not do the assignments on her own.

I also have spent most of the last month with pneumonia, followed by bronchitis. Codeine has become my best friend at night because I have at times sounded like I was trying to cough up Cleveland.

Other than that:

•Work sucks, but it is a job and I really am happy that I have a crappy job at all. I also can say that I can see the light of early retirement finally so I can pursue a different career.

•My family makes me happy I live on the other side of the Continental Divide.

•December is a good month for potlucks at work. We have at least five coming up in the next two weeks. I never have time to cook, so I donate my lunch money for the privilege of eating all the lumpia I want. Oh, I cannot forget to mention Nina's homemade corn chips, salsa and bean dip!

•Christmas is coming and I am actually close to being done with my shopping/designing/creating. I just have a few things to finish up and I can wrap everything and be done with it.

•My dad is supposed to come out so we can go see my 92+ y/o grandfather in San Jose. It will be nice if he does come--without the annoying GF. See what I said about living on the other side of the Continental Divide...

•SJ better publish that book or I will never go bowling with him again!

http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=17884

•Like I said before: they fired Victoria Stocki-Kim (VSK)from NBT, even though it really was too late to save the Academy which is faltering badly now with half the students decamping to other schools. She applied to Fern Adair, which is part of the reason I think The Diva was having issues--the threat was that the beotch was going to be teaching pointe there. Fern had already said no, but it still affected her thinking.

I heard ol' Vicky, along with some of the NBT cast-offs, was going to try to establish her own school in Summerlin. Considering what happened in Michigan with that company she and her hubby tried to start (the corporation they set up went bankrupt), I am amazed she could even get a dime to start anything up.

Well, we shall see and hear about it along the dancers' grapevine...