Wrapping things up...

Closing out Firebaugh house is still a very bittersweet process for me. The Lovely Mrs. Shoehead has been here all week to help pack up our house, our things, our memories...
I've also been working at my new digs, doing some yardwork for my new landlord, Sgt. Becca USMC. So far so good, and she seems pretty cool. (She's read my blog, how can she not be cool!) All I can say is... swimming pool, and internet! YAY!!!
To paraphrase Billy Joel: "Say goodbye to Firebaugh, say goodbye my baaaaaaaaaby!"

It often surprises me who actually reads my blog...

My phone rang the other day with my landlord's caller ID on it. I picked it up, and he said,"This is the Nefarious Uncle Nemo!" I about fell on the floor laughing. Obviously that's not his real name, and for the sake of a good story, plus to keep his privacy I made up a name which I thought sounded like a cool comic-book bad guy name. It was hysterical! I told the Lovely Mrs. Shoehead (who I know does read my blog) about it, and she was amazed; she didn't even think he had internet!
It just goes to show you...

That's gonna be one expensive croissant!

Yesterday, I got lazy and decided to drive to the donut shop (5 blocks). I loaded up my 3 dogs into the Shooey-mobile, and off I went. Upon returning, I got pulled over right in front of my house--much to the chagrin of my neighbors. I knew the Shooey-mobile had a myriad of violations (the Lovely Mrs Shoehead's plates on it being one of them) but by the grace and favor of God (or luck, for my non-believing friends) the cop didn't impound my car! I got off with a "fix-it"! As I glanced over at my car, I could swear the dogs were in the car laughing at me!
So this morning I did go and register the car properly. *sigh* You can't fight the system. Well, you can, but you won't win!

My Twitter style is BFF!

My Result: B.F.F. on quiz: Learn Which Type of Twitter User You Are You are everyone's best friend! Everyone loves you because you are always ready to help: you Retweet at the drop of a hat. You are the life of the Twitter party! How the hell do you do that? Quiz School Take this quiz & get your result

Learn Which Type of Twitter User You Are » funny quizzes

Countdown to blast-off...

I'm trying to leave the nefarious Uncle Nemo's house by the 15th. It's getting close. I still don't have a place to go yet, but alot of people have been very kind and offering me temporary places to stay. If I didn't have my dogs, it would be so much easier. I'd walk the Earth, like Cain from "Kung Fu". But I love my dogs, so I must figure something out. Jehovah-Jirah (God is my provider)

Kent State 1970

I wanted to show recognition to the 40 anniversary of the Kent State incident. I had several ideas of where I wanted to go with my commentary—the relation to current events, the principles of government force against an unarmed populace, the climate of societal division on the American landscape, the consequences of rioting on a college campus—I thought about every angle I could examine this. Instead, I decided to just mark the tragic occasion without commentary.

I love my country. I pray for, and worry about America every day. We as a people, as a nation, have seen difficult and tearful times. Undoubtedly, we will see more. But we are also a resilient people, and we survive Kent States, and 9/11s, and whatever else tests our nation’s resolve. God bless and protect this great nation, and let not those four Kent State students be forgotten.

Allison Krause (April 23, 1951-May 4, 1970)


Jeffrey Glenn Miller (March 28, 1950-May 4, 1970)


Sandy Scheuer (August 11, 1949-May 4 1970)


William Knox Scroeder (July 20, 1950-May 4, 1970)

Packing up Camp Shoehead

Since I got notice that the Nefarious Uncle Nemo sold the house, and I have a limited time to vacate, I’ve begun the process of cleaning, throwing out, and packing up the clothes, books, papers, and belongings that make up a part of who I am. It’s been particularly painful for me, since I’m constantly reminded of my early days with the Lovely Mrs. Shoehead; finding pictures and other mementos from our happier times. Add that to the stress of moving, as well as not really having any place to go, and it has been quite an experience these last couple of weeks.
I really do love my wife. It makes me sad that we have such massive incompatibilities that neither of us would be happy together. Moving out of this house is definitely the closing of a huge chapter in my life. At the onset of moving to Firebaugh, we were (or at least I was) planning to buy the house from Uncle Nemo, and live a nice, quiet small-town existence with Mrs. Shoehead and sundry pets. I would concentrate on my writing, finish and produce my screenplays, and a few times a year travel to L.A. or other locations to work on film projects. But it was not to be so. The fates had a different plan for the Family Shoehead.
I’m leaving behind the graves of two beloved cats, Starva and Vanilla Bean (“Beansie”). I never even got around to construct the little heart-shaped grave markers I planned to place over them. Maybe it’s just as well—they sleep peacefully under two little piles of rocks.
Though this process is very painful, I also see a bright side to it as well. I liken it to childbirth—intense pain, followed by a joy; a new beginning. A new life.
Firebaugh—while a quaint little town that I really did try to adapt to—was never really a comfortable fit for me. It lacked certain amenities, and conveniences that I prefer to have in my life. My only comfort was taken in this house—Casa Shoehead. It at first provided me with a secure refuge, but over time it slowly became a prison for me. When I worked at C.C.W.F., I literally left one prison, and came home to another. Now it’s been just about a year since the Lovely Mrs. Shoehead left me; sometime in mid-May 2009. The 5-bedroom house filled with reminders of her and us fill me with such a loneliness that even my three precious dogs and two sweet little cats can’t quite ameliorate. Packing up Camp Shoehead and leaving Firebaugh and Uncle Nemo’s is going to be a good move for me, however painful the actual move turns out to be.
As the chapter ends, a new one unfolds…