For the most part, I didn't enjoy high school all that much until the last year or so. But I had one moment that was one of the greatest in my life. I think it was probably the Spring semester of my junior year. and it involved a sports moment in gym class. There was a park across the street from my school, and the gym teacher took us there to a concrete softball court. We chose teams, and being skinny and probably not considered athletic, I was chosen near the end to play second base. Actually though, for the last year or two, I practiced catching balls in my basement for hours many days. My basement at the time was roomy and had concrete walls so I would throw a ball against the wall and practice catching them.

Anyway, I am standing near second base, and a kid named Paul Nowak came up to bat. He smashes the ball deep to centerfield, so deep that it hits high off the chain link fence. Now the guy playing centerfield just happened to be Rich Stuart, the varsity shot-putter at my school, probably the guy with the strongest arm in the whole school. I knew a play was going to come my way. So Rich fields the ball off the fence, and throws it directly to me standing next to second base. My only thought was that I was hoping it would come in on a bounce, as that is how I practiced catching most of the time. Sure enough the ball comes in on a short hop to me at second base. I caught the bounce and turned around with the ball in my hand at the exact moment that the batter was arriving at second base and tagged him out. The following moment or two was surreal. I knew I had participated in a great play, but the reaction by everyone on the field was like nothing I have ever seen. For the next minute or two, everyone was stunned and it seemed like time stopped. Even the gym teacher paused for what seemed like a minute before he got the game going again. I was trying to act nonchalant like I did that everyday, but it took a few moments for the game to resume. The only other moment that seemed that surreal involved a girl, but I won't get into that now. :)

So that was my greatest moment in high school, and it involved a sports moment. It was sort of a perfect storm, with a guy hitting a ball off the fence, the centerfielder happening to be a shot putter, throwing a strike to me at second base, and me fielding the throw cleanly and tagging the guy out the second he arrived at the base. Probably not unrelated, the rest of my high school time seemed to be much more enjoyable.

Happy 65th birthday to Van Morrison.

Youtube - Video

It's been about 2 months since I started putting music and videos on youtube, and my channel now has over 10,000 views. I have to admit that I like getting a lot of views. This is my latest one set to the Beach Boys' "California Girls".

Youtube - Video

This is from Rhonda Byrne's new book, "The Power":

"When you fall in love with life, every limitation disappears. You break the limitations on money, health, happiness, and the limits of joy in your relationships. When you fall in love with life, you have no resistance, and whatever you love appears in your life almost instantaneously. Your presence will be felt when you walk into a room. Opportunities will pour into your life, and your slightest touch will dissolve negativity. You will feel better than you thought it was possible to feel. You will be filled with unlimited energy, excitement, and an unquenchable zest for life. You will feel light as a feather, like you're floating on air, and everything you love will just seem to fall at your feet, Fall in love with life, unleash the power within you, and you will become unlimited and invincible!"

Youtube - Video

There are some kisses that you never forget. Not that they were necessarily so great, but sometimes unexpected and the surprise factor makes them even more memorable. This is a story of two such kisses.

When I was in my early 20s, I was working for a company on Long Island. It was a small company, and a few people liked to go out for a drink after work, or sometimes even spend the whole evening out at a bar or restaurant. I was working for a woman named Barbara at the time, who was only a year or so older than me. We didn't get along at first but then the VP of the group I was in cleared things up and we got along great after that. This girl was in the group of people that liked to go out, and she would always invite me to go out with them.

One of our main hangouts was a bar, now gone, called "North Landing". At the end of the evening, we would usually leave the bar together and get in our own cars and leave. Of course, the proper etiquette is to give the females a goodbye kiss. So there I was, giving my female boss a long embrace and goodnight kiss outside the bar. It seemed a bit strange to have that level of intimacy with my boss, but that was her personality. That situation made those goodnight kisses with Barbara even more memorable.

A second memorable kiss was outside the same bar one night. There was a group of people out that night, and I ended up sitting in someone's car next to a woman named Christine from the company who I didn't know and had not spoken to that evening. We were leaving and saying our goodbyes, and suprise, this woman who I didn't know, leans over to my and kisses me goodnight. It was a total surprise and a very welcome one. Getting a kiss from a stranger was a delight, and I think of it still today.

I think of those kisses sometimes when I drive by the location of that bar, and I took a picture of it today. These kisses happened on the corner of this intersection, where the old bar was then located.

It is called "The Power" by Rhonda Byrne and I am reading it now.

This is from the introduction of the book:

"When you wake up each day, you should be filled with excitement because you know the day is going to be full of great things. You are meant to be laughing and full of joy. You are meant to feel strong and safe. You are meant to feel good about yourself and know you're invaluable. Of course there will be challenges in your life, and you are meant to have them too, because they help you to grow, but you are meant to know how to overcome problems and challenges. You are meant to be victorious! You are meant to be happy! You are meant to have an amazing life!

You were not born to struggle. You were not born to live a life where the moments of joy are few and far between. You were not born to toil in your work five days a week, with fleeting moments of happiness on weekends. You were not born to live with limited energy, feeling exhausted at the end of each day. You were not born to worry or be afraid. You were not born to suffer. What would be the point of your life? You are meant to experience life to its fullest and have everything you want and, at the same time, be filled with joy, health, vitality, excitement, and love, because that is an amazing life!"

Let us not weary in doing good,
for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up.