One last word before I retire for the evening.  I wanted to say how proud I am of my son, Kenny, who turned 36 while riding a rented Harley in the Southern California mountains. I love you, son.

Now, my son is a man of many, many talents. Those of you who enjoy this blog and my aimless ramblings would be well served to do the following:

Point your browser to Poetry.com then search for my son's work. His name is Kenneth P. Petronis II and he is one of the finest men on this planet. He's in the top two, along with his grandfather, the original Kenneth P. Petronis.

He also happens to be a gifted and passionate poet. If my writing is aimless, his takes dead aim.


I'm very proud of you, son. I love and respect you deeply.

Looks like this will be my last chance to post before surgery next Tuesday. It has seemed so far off for so long, I have been able to shove it to the back of my cranium - up until tonight, that is...

Yes, I'm scared. The biggest disappointment in that statement? It means I'm normal. I've bragged my entire life of my uniqueness. Nobody has done nothin' quite like I done somethin' - or something like that...

When words fail me (stop rolling your eyes out there!), I simply quote some of my favorite philosophers, including Popeye, who so famously said, "I yam what I yam." I couldn't have said it better myself. The irony in my operation is that I've finally learned to really love the man I am, instead of obsessing over what I should have or could have or...  Whatever. Whatever I could have been, I am so proud of the man I have become.  happy being me.

Thank you, everyone, for the good wishes, prayers, positive thoughts, affirmations, energy, and time. I will rely on that positivity in my recovery.

Be well, one and all.

Carpe Diem

PS - Special thanks to all that hung out last weekend at My Little House in the Desert, especially April, Grant, Stella, Kenny, and Charley. Charley, thank you for everything. You are just the right kind of crazy.

I've had people tell me - and I'd say fairly frequently - that I think too much. I've heard it again recently, and I suppose I'm trying to process that. The challenge for me is how do I write a 'compelling' blog unless I occasionally wallow in my thoughts?

The message I hear is "Live your life. Don't ruminate on every decision, rue missed opportunities, or over-analyze every relationship..."

And that's what I've been trying to do. Live. The end of the school year is hard upon me, and the pressure is starting to affect me. Yesterday, in fact, I produced a truculent display worthy of a two-year old during our regular morning meeting at work. Thankfully, an engaging and productive Statistics class - followed by a low-key visit with Charlie - returned the bounce in my step. In fact, when I walked into work this morning, I heard, "That's the smile we missed yesterday!" and my co-workers joked with me mid-morning that they should have slipped me a Snickers bar and reminded me that I wasn't 'being myself.' Touche.

At any rate, I felt stressed, yet productive today.

And now? Now is time for me to do hit the hay. In the morning, I'll be juicing.

And hopefully smiling.

PS - The cause of my rash was the daily dose of Cialis my urologist had prescribed. We are going to try other forms of ED treatment. We shall see. Just goes to show you that no one course of treatment is best for all.

The surgery is in less than 3 weeks now. I've started prepping in earnest and I'm revisiting my support network of friends who have already been through the experience. The questions now are focused on surgery prep and recovery. Stay tuned...

Addendum:  The hot and cold flashes are real. That's all the attention I want to give them...  This, too, shall pass.