I took a week off---there are times when after 44 years of working officially, i just can't stand it anymore--literally--can't stand it. So i took a week off--in order to keep myself working---i had to take time off...of curse i had a to do list..and part of that list was---

Shoveling horse shit for the gardens--for two full days--I'm from New Jersey--sometimes cops are on horses--that's about my horse experience--shoveling two trailer loads of horse crap has been an interesting new experience to say the least...the thing about New Mexico is that a shovel full of anything usually blows away, usually on you (because of the wind) usually before you can blink---so I've spent the past few days literally covered in shit. I guess that means that i am now an organic old dude.

My huge,new gel battery for the solar panels came in and the next step is trying to hook things up so that everything works properly...and so on and so forth...I'm just enjoying owning my own self for 5 days and getting stuff done..

We as a nation are finally cool---we had an all too brief cool segment with President Kennedy and Jackie but it was a small island of cool----surrounded by 58 years of gray suited old guy, with squinty eyed, cheated on wifey, in power because they were "safe". I am so hoping we perhaps have grown up.
Things can have such an unacknowledged impact on me....

50 years ago next week---Fidel Castro, and some of his crew came to New York City---(Che wasn't allowed in)--for meetings and to speak at the UN...yes they did--

I've just never been right and my 8 year old reaction to their visit proves it.

---i was living just outside of New York... surrounded by ultra conservative, know-nothing adults---who instantly despised anything that could possibly upset their version of the world which meant they especially hated these guys---I was alone in my 8 year old world being simply awestruck at the news reports of the Revolutionaries...they were beyond cool...to me they were rock stars--I remember seeing pictures of them in the NYC papers. They were long-haired, bearded, (unbelievable!) dressed in green combat fatigues with black berets, wearing pistol belts and combat boots--smoking cigars---not only smoking cigars but....smoking cigars with their combat boots up on the furniture at the Plaza Hotel---THE PLAZA!! They were so different from anything i had every seen or known--these guys just seemed to have their own way, their own thing happening---plus from what i could tell in my little brain, they owned their own county? I did have this child brainpan vapor lock thing going on---guys who owned countries didn't look or act like these guys---the guys who owned our country were fat--had no hair at all--and wore plain gray suits with ties--

50 years later and i still remember this visit and I'm still different..

It is so strange that at this late stage in my life that I've gotten into action figures. Go figure---3rd childhood maybe? Action Figures, Robots, Anime

But so far I've developed a bizarre collection based only on characters which I'm focused on as within my weirdness---Hellboy--Einstein---Batman--and Ghandi----to add to this weirdness i recently ordered a Predator--so it's Einstein vs. Predator...E.v.P...so to say----at any rate I've discovered that ordering the odd action figure and having my favorite characters hanging about my nerd cave pleases me...and sometime that's enough...