#286

I know this is about M 'n' m, and not me, but... I'm on Chicago's Metra (commuter train) and all I see is hair. It's everywhere. I'm not talking about women; I'm talking about dudes, all around me, with coiffures as dark and perfect as Darth Vader's helmet, gleaming in the places they fashionably curve and flourish. I wanna lightsaber that shit. Or Edward Scissorhands it. Sweeney Todd? (No, not that one; I haven't seen it but I think he murders people). This is jealousy and I hope it stays away from M 'n' m. It probably won't. It tastes like a rusty knife. Actually, John Cheever said, "Fear tastes like a rusty knife, and do not let her into your house" but I know that jealousy is fear. And so, apparently, I'm scared shitless of all the salt-n-pepper hair on this train also, thick, even, stylish. Bastards. Jason Stathem. Vin Diesel. Real men. I hope Michael lives to be two-hundred, outlived by a beautiful family and a plush, full, fabulous hairdo.

I recently heard a Navy SEAL – in a podcast interview – say that oversharing is a major dysfunction in modern society. Maybe so. The good news is I don't think SEALs hunt and kill people for it. Or I'd be hiding. Which doesn't work against those guys anyway. But even SEALs aren't unanimous on this. Several have shared; they've opened up, written. I've read their books. Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko, Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens, No Easy Day by Mark Owen, American Sniper by Chris Kyle, First SEAL by Roy Boehm, Good to Go by Harry Constance, and – perhaps my favorite, with many contributors – Hunters & Shooters: An Oral History of the U.S. Navy SEALs in Vietnam.

Megan slipped on a pair of my ratty sandals yesterday and said, "Geez Dad, how long have you had these flip-flops?" I said, "A long time Honey, longer than I've had you."

I learned something today: Pee-wee Herman's dad was a founding pilot in the Israeli Air Force and took part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Interesting. M 'n' m don't know who Pee-wee is. I have mixed feelings about this. Scandalized? Yes. Unique and really funny? Also yes.

It's a bittersweet symphony, this life.... I let the melody shine, let it cleanse mind, I feel free now. – The Verve