Wandom Thoughts

My brother used to have this friend [most of my brother's friends are "used to haves", he is not good at staying in touch with people. He's democratic that way. Today's friend is just as good as yesterday's friend. And tomorrow's friend? Who knows!]

So, to not digress, this friend, whom I'll call "M", was this short guy from ... Philly? I can't remember. But he was this short guy who liked to lift weights, claimed that the Mob was going to pay him to go to accounting school so he could be their made guy, but instead was in the post doc program at Irvine, where my brother was a lab rat.

M had this speech defect, and it was somewhat exagerrated as he liked to say the word "random" a lot. Like "Your argument is totally wandom!" He loved to talk and talk and talk about all manner of things, and he was one of those smart guys who thought that since he was smart at one thing [molecular biology], he was smart at all things. And he was pretty manipulative, especially in his relationship with my brother, who at the time was a real pushover. I grew weary of his "smart smartness" and dubbed him "the thinking man's a**hole" back in the mid-80s.

Compare that to the cool sensitive guy who my brother knew at the lab. That guy, Dan, got a brain tumor and died.

And yet, I still live.

Irony. My sister has strived for a life where she could meet a doctor, get married and live in genteel semi-retirement for pretty much her entire adult life. My brother has always been a worker bee, not really after the golden ring. So he marries the doctor and gets the genteel semi-retirement, and she is the worker bee living paycheck to paycheck.

If anyone approaches you and wants to play a game called "Mexican Train" run, don't walk, as fast as possible in the opposite direction. I'll explain later. Or maybe never.

The rash of celebrity divorces is staggering. How can Ellen Barkin, Reese Witherspoon, Britney Spears, Kirstie Alley and Jennifer Aniston all be on the market at the same time?

Speaking of which, a friend just got divorced. His 2nd. I still haven't entered into marriage #1. People are lapping me like I'm standing still.

Every family should have a designated historian. Someone handy with a camera and trained in its use. Without that skill, the archives will be pretty shoddy my friends. My family was lucky enough to have my dad be that person. He has native artistic sense. I have none, absolutely none.

If you haven't checked out the clip for Ricky Gervais's new comedy - the clip with David Bowie - please check it out. It is downright hilarious. RG is the best straight man since Benny [that's Jack Benny, not Benny Hill.]