response to a thank you

from an old friend, childhood classmate, who published a book that i have been cheering and sharing all over the internet and life too... this may be the first evidence of life amidst the brain cells (babble-life, that is) in more than a year, or longer or shorter depending on perspective... it's a good sign, we hope, whomever we are... the inquiry in the thank you note for applauding her book was about life, the usual, marriage, kids, relationships, and of course, etc... here's your chance to get to know a bit about the life i've led, or lead, depending upon language...

ah, family and all... I have not married, had two long (more than a few years) term relationships (1981-91, 1993-99), the first was live-in for nine of those years, the second was live-in for two of those years)... i love my independence as much as i love sharing (have a roommate at the moment)... created no kids, sort of (financially and emotionally, not legally) adopted a few along the way, mostly short-term, two for the duration (life)... they are grown, one (28y/o) calls me daddy, another (21y/o) is still on my phone bill for her phone... ironically, i was platonic friends with both of their parents... currently single and not looking (much), but not opposed to adventure either... I tend to be smiling (or smirking, even, as I play with words {write, that is}, but it is my head I play with and me I mock most, which is good cuz I’m usually the only one who gets all the jokes… questions get answered and actual meaningful information finds it’s way into the missives between parentheses and babble) as I write, though if I included smiley faces every time I smiled or laughed at myself or references, the page (box) would be spotted with smiley faces and lols (or lams, which would be laughing at myself)… I apparently have picked up a bit of the online computer lingo… as you are bound to see if we exchange more than a message or few, words are my silly (some might say childish) sanctuary from the seriousness of the life we live as ‘grown-ups’, especially since I work a lot and my work can be considered too serious to be much fun…

back to the questions… I lived in California for a couple of years in the 70s and roamed around until '78 when I returned to Brooklyn to replenish the bank account... worked for the state (with institutionalized MR/DD kids) until 1990 when i moved to Florida, semi-retired until 1999… lived in Toronto and Buffalo 95-97, the things we do for love (gave up a house and, well, everything except what is still in storage just north of Niagara Falls, which reminds me of an old Abbott and Costello or Three Stooges bit, but that’s a distraction and I won’t babble on too much in a facebook note as they have character limits and it can get quite challenging to follow the threads of thought-paths spiraling through my head… though as I may have mentioned in a previous parenthetic aside, it amuses me and as a side benefit, let’s me know who my friends are)… Toronto was beautiful, but it is another country so I had to keep a US address… returned to Orlando to start over (nothing like the John Lennon song, I think), working at a psychiatric hospital for kids since 2/2001 in a few different capacities, currently their risk manager and quality director (high falooting title aside, I love the work)…

what else counts as etc? :)

you are very welcome for my cheers, I love the written word, having poured many millions on to paper and computer screens in this life (never formally for publishing… writing remains one of my favorite forms of communication, though I’ve been away for a while and mostly communicator {or is it pandering} in one-liner comments that is all in vogue these days)… so cheering on your writing endeavors is fun for me and your appreciation is icing on the cake :)

I received a copy of your book a week or so ago and have not found time to read yet, but it sits on my coffee table baiting me to dive in… when I do, I’ll let you know (and I apologize for the delay, I just don’t want to skim and have not been in the habit of fitting in time for savoring reading in recent years… like an old friend, I miss reading… and on that potentially profoundly emo-note, I shall wish you much success and wellness and happiness and thank you for including me in your celebration if only in this thank you note…

what else have you written (for yourself, others, as a pro or not) and what about your life, relationships, travels, work, and etc… if you have a bit of time, i’d like to know :)