Greetings





Welcome to my blog. This being the first entry, let me sum up my life to date:

I was born and raised in Santa Monica, California, attended Venice High (class of '81). Found my first job and lost my virginity, both the same year, both on Venice beach. After a short stint in the military (it was an unhealthy relationship for both of us), I decided I'd had enough of military mindsets, and started listening to borrowed 45s of bands like the Dead Kennedys, X, Dead Milkmen (lots of death in punk band names...), and Social Distortion (years later, when their tune 'Story of my Life' hit Guitar Hero 3, I introduced the band to my middle son. He now has the song on his IPOD.


I returned to Los Angeles, gave myself a Mohawk, and scored work at Madam Wong's West, THE Santa Monica Club, where I watched new bands come up, like the Chili Peppers and Fishbone, and old rockers get drunk and puke in the parking lot. Once, I saw Telly Savalas there (star of TVs' Kojak) and he autographed my head with a Magic Marker. It was a bald head thing, you wouldn't understand.

Ah, memories... Wong's West in no more. History eats everything.

The next several years were a blur - I studied Hinduism, married a beautiful immigrant from Columbia, got divorced when it became clear she was PSYCHOTIC and DANGEROUS, escaped to Waikiki where I sold pearl jewelry to anyone with a credit card in the International Marketplace, and chocolate chip cookies to busloads of Japanese tourists at Hanauma Bay.




This is Hanuama Bay
This is a Chocolate Chip Cookie



Delicious!




I also ran a "Party Cruise" business. This entailed talking many beautiful women into paying me to help them get drunk on a boat, in the middle of Waikiki bay, while we watched the sun go down.

Now I manage a Dell technical support center in icy cold Utah.

What the flip happened to my life?

Actually, I left out a big chuck of stuff that answers the above question - the most important stuff in my life, really - my family.

Party cruising became a little too much "life in the fast-lane" for a guy over 21, so I headed off to Denver, met a girl (not on the cruise - a NICE girl), settled down, finished college, and had three kids, all boys (Kevin - 19, Jacksen - 14, and Ian - 9). moved to Utah.

Which leads me to the reason I decided to create this blog, and unfortunately signals the point where the tone of the dialogue gets serious.

In May of 2008, my youngest son, Ian, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was operated on and removed, but the cancer spread through his nervous system. All the radiation treatments in the world will not stop this terminal disease from taking my son away, and god knows we've tried. All he has left are a warehouse worth of medications to stop the tortuous pain that comes with cancer of the CNS (Central Nervous System), and the love and support of his family.

This is my documentation of the events as they unfold over the remaining few days/weeks of his all too short life. It is my catharsis, my journal, and with luck, will play a small role in the eventual emotional recovery of the loved ones that Ian will soon leave behind.

In many of the world's mythologies, there is a story of the world tree, the Axis Mundi, the doorway between death, life, and the afterlife. In Norse mythology, the tree is an enormous, evergreen Ash. My son's ancestors were Norse, so I borrow their myth to help me understand our current journey through an unreal reality. I hope you find the trip interesting and inspiring.




May you walk in peace for all of time, and may you, your children, and your loved ones live long, fulfilling, and exciting lives.

There is a world tree, a sacred ash which spans heaven and hell, and it is ever green...

1 comment:

  1. I googled "When your cat dies on your dead sons birthday" You showed up, saying FUCK YOUR CAT, I agree! But, in this case, the cat I got after my 9 year old son died, died today, Dec. 27th 2009,On My dead son's would have been 18th birthday. Go figure...I'm a mess on so many crazy levels...your not alone

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