One Perfect Eye

Unfortunate mystery is solved. Fortunately. A while back as I was replacing my social security card, I was handed several forms to sign. I'm one of those obnoxious people who takes the time to at least scan before signing anything. Usually. My eyes froze on the name of my biological father. It was replaced by the name of the man who assaulted me when I was 14 and pounded my ears with his fists at 2 AM months earlier. Immediately, I became nauseated, trembling as I handed the forms back to the woman behind the glass.  Slowly, with emphasis on each word "This. Man. Is. NOT. My. Father." It was able to be corrected right there because I had my original birth certificate with me. Still, I needed to know who was involved in this  and they didn't know. Setting out to find out how this happened, I started with social security, then the credit bureaus, then legal advice. You cannot just walk in or pick up the phone and change a parent's name on SOMEONE ELSE'S    birth...

    “He who was not legalist at any other point, and who was ready without hesitation to pardon prostitutes and disreputable people, was nonetheless extremely strict upon one point: “ only one who practices grace can receive grace.” ― John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster   Hoping you have a Merry Christmas🎄🎅  

For seven years I lived in a tiny apartment on what was a quiet street in a decent neighborhood. It was cheap, they welcomed cats, and I'd rented from the owners the first year I was here. There was a front yard with trees and flowers, I was happy.  A very old two story, light tan peeling paint on the stucco and wood trim. There's a non-locking entry door to a tiny mail "room" and then an entry door into the apartments. My apt was the first one as you came into the building. At first most of the tenants were responsible but as time went on and people would move out, who moved in were caricatures that could've been  found in Mad magazine.  Living in that building was quite an experience. There was a "lovely" couple from Ecuador who had just welcomed a baby; one worked as a guard, the other in construction. Lots of fighting, and the man threatened another tenant with a knife because he thought the man had backed into his (horribly parked) car. Their favor...

I like a clean, functional web site. The bells & whistles aren't important. Years ago when I was meeting with a printer he made a comment about the clean design and efficiency of the new site.  I didn't disclose that I was sleeping with the designer. A couple of decades later & I'm sleeping with the designer, who's now working on my web site. Launching in January Two cases of E.coli last month. "Let's go to Shake Shack" is all that's heard when we head out. We rarely eat out...not in the budget. Plus, home cooked food just tastes better, especially in your pj's in your comfy chair. Walked into Shake Shack, walked out a half hour later poorer and a fresh batch of bad bacteria rumbling inside.Mine was a mild case, my other half had an absolutely horrible case. Charlie talks more than ever and he thinks that we understand him. I don't know how to tell him that we're just not that smart, but somehow I think that he already figured it ou...

Took a tour of the neighborhood where we "ooohed" & "ahhhed" at the new graffiti on the back entrances of stores. Never heard a thing. Major road construction finished nearby. The streets were totally dug up, barricades all around as there was no traffic allowed. It's been pretty cool to watch. There's still a bit of the landscaping to finish in the spring, but the process has been awesome to watch. Now that the construction is over, the hangers out have had to move along. And sadly, there are no more mazes on our main streets; they made treks to the stores and banks interesting. Imagine being able to cross a normally busy city street anywhere along the way, traffic lights having become irrelevant. It's been a great adventure for the past several months.  

 28 years ago I sat in a small courtroom a couple of rows in front of a former student. Apparently his lifelong marriage contract was ending on the same day that mine was. That was a very strange feeling. Life hasn't been rainbows and unicorns, nor did I expect it to be. But it has been real. It has been on my terms. There were no longer people going through my things.  Or cluck-clucking over my children. All the knives were gone from my back. "To sleep: Perchance to dream...." There was nothing, and I mean nothing, as wonderful as laying my head down on that puffy pillow & closing my eyes that night, knowing that my life finally belonged to me. I'm sure that's what Shakespeare was referencing.