Notice to Readers

I had an email comment from a friend about the content of the blog. This installment will talk about that comment and maybe help some of the readers who don't know me.
 The comment ( paraphrased ) I notice that you always write about how good and fantastic you are  ( were )...that seems a little worrying.

So...here's the deal.
1. The stories are true as I remember them, they represent a small cross section of my life.

2. They were fantastic times, and I was surrounded by fantastic people.

3. These stories and adventures would have been impossible without the help, assistance and encouragement of others,

4. In those times and those places, we were fantastic. Those days are gone forever, and these are the stories..

5. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't take those risks, either personal or financial. I thought ( wrongly ) that going out on the razors edge of possibility would bring respect and love...and lead to constantly bigger and better things ( bigger and better love and respect ) ...in some cases that might work...in mine, I found that it really wasn't worth it in the long run.
 I fought so hard against my dear old dad's advice to settle into mediocrity and behave myself, that I found myself way out on the pointy end of things with no one else there. To quote from Valdy's song..."I should have stayed home with a big case of beer."

6. I made a promise to myself to not tell horror stories and bleed all over the page ( screen ). Missing from these entries are epic tales of broken hearts and busted dreams. Two marriages, one phenomenally shitty divorce and 15 yrs of resulting grief, the death of parents, and the shit storm that resulted from that. Business partner problems, business financial struggles. Car crashes, motorcycle crashes. Heartbreaking issues with kids. Injuries...up to and including tearing my pec muscle right off the bone in a work related incident, accidental radiation overdose (equivalent of 400 chest x-rays). Fights and arguments over huge amounts of money in the blasting business and the sons of bitches that wouldn't pay. Fights with Kiewit managers over some of the decisions on cost, schedule and techniques, that likely took ten years of my life. Working with and around some truly unbelievable bastards...  (I intend to go and piss on their graves when they kick off.)
Stories of deceptions, betrayals, thefts, scams, fraud and many other ugly slices of life are missing here, and those details will stay missing, because they don't represent what I want to say.


7. I want to get these stories down for the record and then move on to whatever is next. On some days I feel like most of my life was just one long drawn out beating, with a few shiny spots to give me hope. The stories you read about here are those shiny spots...and like the sun reflected off the ocean waves, they were fleeting and temporary.

Just to finish off in good style, here is Valdy talking about how his famous song came about. I saw him at the Yale blues bar a couple of weeks ago...he is a great performer.!