Who Do I Think I Am??

This one's about the fifth.

THE PROMPT: "Basically, if you wish to talk about your misdeeds, talk about them. Should you wish to plead the Fifth, talk about your heroics. If you wish to plead the Fifth on that, just blog about your day. If you want to plead the Fifth on that... you're on your own."

Good evening everybody...this tired soul doesn't have a lot to say tonight, but I appreciate that BIG BAD WOLF Happy July 4th! has given us some options today.

Good lord, I could spend days talking about my misdeeds! And that could be good times, full of juicy stories and humiliating details. But I'm not going there. Sorry to disappoint (*notices the sounds of half of my viewers clicking on the red "X" button on the top right of their screens*). I'll take the fifth for that.

And I can brag and boast with the best of 'em, but I choose not to. I prefer to keep it humble that way. Let's just say I do some good things sometimes, but I am, by any stretch of the definition, no hero. Maybe in some small ways, people seem to think I am, for whatever reason. But I've never jumped into a burning building, leapt in front of a bus, or otherwise saved anyone's life. There's heroes out there for a reason. I'm not one, and I'll take the fifth for that too.

People, I'd blog about my day if it were worthy of the space I pay for to create things here, but naw man, can't even do that. Woke up way too early, unloaded a truck, taxed my body a lot (thank you, heart meds...not really), and came home to essentially a quiet house. And yes, I'll take another fifth for that.

So I'm on my own, literally and figuratively. I'm calling house rules and taking a fifth for that too. So the scorecard reads: four fifths. And since Crown Royal doesn't come in fifths, you all owe me a total of four fifths of Southern Comfort. And I'd bill ya for it, but I don't feel like walking to the liquor store. So I guess I'm peaced out on that thought. Which I don't mind anyway; can't do hard liquor quite the same as I could back in the day. Which I'm fine with.

Speaking of Crown Royal, I bumped into an old friend yesterday. I miss that cat. Our sisters were in the same grade, and close friends for awhile. But since my sister had a different mother, she lived with my father a village over, and I only got to hang out with him once in awhile. That is, until we grew up into hell-raising adults (see the above paragraph regarding misdeeds...we have plenty).

We hung out, well, I wouldn't say fairly often, but often enough. We were close enough that I'd invite him over to my apartment for a few beers, or just hit a bar, or just cause some trouble. He stole the girl I wanted to date; I hooked up with his sister (who turned out to be a great woman in her own right; another regret over someone I didn't hold on to). And through it all, we've remained amicable.

When I was in high school, I played pick-up football in the neighborhood with a bunch of kids. After we all graduated, I stayed in touch with a few, and we'd get together once in awhile. I had moved to a new neighborhood, met new people, played football with them, but this guy was the guy I brought back into my old 'hood. He was like me...fast, not a lot of size, but tenacious and reckless on the field. And we were rarely on the same team...we were usually the two fastest guys on the field. So we'd spend afternoons matching up with each other, basically cancelling each other out unless one of us got a step on the other. We were a long-distance show on the football field. And later on, we were the best guys to be around at the bar. Karaoke, shots, women, good times. They were all had.

And of course, time does change things. Life happens and you grow apart, but these small towns around here never let you fully detatch from anyone unless it's serious. And I mean serious. The names on the bars might change, the names of the girls will change, the beverage in your glass may change, but the good times...the memories, they're always there.

I barely recognized him when he came in to my store yesterday, but I knew the voice. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, but as he approached with his hand out to shake, I knew instantly who it was. And I'll rarely spend time on the salesfloor with friends, catching up (especially if my boss is around), but there was no way I was gonna let the moment slip without talkin' for a few minutes. And sure, we've got Facebook and all that shit, but nothing compares to talking to an old friend in person.

Like I said, we went though some shit over the years, but we've manned up to each other, and to be able to see past everything is one of life's greatest blessings. He's been diagnosed with MS, battling it like the champ he was when we'd battle on the football field. Unlike me, he's got a few grays now, but he's still the same chill kid I met almost 20 years ago, but with a kid. The same wit, the same passion for life, only now it's even better. We talked about our health, and changes we made...less beer, less shots of Crown, a healthier diet, etc. We talked about his family. I couldn't be happier for the guy.

I don't have many regrets in life. And I've done a lot of things I should regret, but don't. And I regret, at about 3:15pm yesterday (when my shift ended at 4), not asking him if he wanted to hang out and grab a beer or something. I really should've. I think we would've enjoyed that.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

This was a staple at the old Razzberries, one of the places we would hang. Mondays (because everyone goes drinking on a Monday ) was karaoke night. We'd request the original version of this song, and sing it like this. And for every person we pissed off on any given night, two more people loved it. And I doubt that he reads this, but this is for DJ Seanny at the Blu Grille. Good times, my man. You were the only one who could keep up with me, and I'm glad you stopped in the other day. Hopefully, another time soon.

VITAL STATS:

Yes, I just Limp Bizkit'd you. I apologize.

I need to catch up on blogs. Bigtime. Soooooo far behind.

And with that, I'mma get off this thing for a minute and catch my breath. Y'all are some good people out there! Do me a favor and tell someone you love them tonight, because they deserve it. They don't need a reason, and neither do you. So just do it. Peace, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!