Ode to Seasonal Allergies

French horn bellows from the orchestra... Violin tuning... Flutes and clarinets play a run.... and the drum section does a wicked solo that amazes the crowd (ok, so maybe that last part would never happen...)

Tap, tap, tap from the conductor that gathers the attention of everyone. He/She raises their hand and the instruments come to a ready position.

The Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel begins to play. (For those who might not know this classic, here's a reminder)



Hello seasonal allergies my old friend
It seems that we have met again
The pollen outside is just starting
The grass that once was yellow is now greening
And the sunflowers that are slowing growing in the grass
Soon will change
To the bane of my existence

In restless weather, my nose alone
cannot avoid the yellow storm
Neath the buds of the treetops
I turned my car to supermarket
Where my body and my cart dashed right to Kleenex aisle
Split the family
That blocked my Puffs without lotion

And let's not forget my aching head
Ten pounds of pressure, maybe more
Nose spray doesn't do the trick
Nose spray kinda makes me sick
It's the ache that Tylenol just won't cure
twice a year
In the spring and in the fall

Oh and I hear about that Neti-Pot
People left and right talk about it a lot
fill the pot with warm salt water
then one end goes in which ever nostril
Let me stop you right there because that just isn't natural
I could drown
from this contraption that's really a torture device

And then people thought I was crying
actually no they called it sobbing
all that pollen made all these tears?
Itching them was not helping
and the doctor said "Don't itch them cause you'll only make them worse"
what's he know
about the bane of my existence

Thanks for reading...

It's Been a While

No excuses for not posting other than not much to report. Things continue to go well with the family. My Dad is back to work. My Mom is diligently solving the world's problems. Chris is graduating in a few weeks from law school (and the lucky punk not only played Trump National but also picked the winner of the Masters Tourney). And Amy is still having fun out in Boston. No complaints.

But one update to pass along. Starting in Junior High, acting became a big part of my life. I did a few shows a year both at whatever school I was attending and in community theater. As life has continued to change recently, I found myself getting back into somethings that I sacrificed.

One day I hopped on Craigslist and ended up in the actors wanted section. As I looked through, a lot of jobs were asking for a headshot. I'm still at the point, and probably will be for many many years to come, when I think to myself, "Hmmm... Maybe I should go back to a cheaper hobby?" Headshots are expensive. So for a while, I put the thought in the back of my head.

Fast forward about a month and I'm sitting in a club meeting for a group I advise. At the end, I randomly pipe up with, "Anyone know of someone who takes headshots?" The only thing heard in the room was the "whoosh" of everyone's head as they turn towards a woman in the room who laughs, dramatic beat, then says, "Um, yea. Me?". Come to find out, she needs someone to model for her for a class project. So we agree that she takes the headshots, I'll do what's needed for the pictures she needs.

Now, side story, yes, the face did turn red (about a 2 on the Red-Face-O-Meter) as I said, "But you know, there's just some stuff I won't do...". To which she turned red and said, "No! It's not that type of project." Laughter, laughter, laughter, and Jeff's face getting even redder (bump it up to a 6)...

Below are some of the outtakes from the headshots and from the pictures for her project. Thanks to Katie Gio for her awesome photo taking abilities.


Thanks for reading...