Rolling along the rocky road of life

Posted on 05/September/2021 by John McCrarey

Well, I guess my life isn’t all that rocky, but from the begging requests I’ve been receiving this weekend, these must be tough times for lots of other folks. Sick kids seem to be a popular raison d’être for moms pulling at my heartstrings lately. I accommodated two–Jonalyn for the first time and Rose Ann for the last time. I think Rose Ann might be pushing me towards a violation of Rule #1 (don’t be a sucker) so I’ll be blocking her to prevent future requests. Jonalyn was a bit of a surprise, but I’ve had a bit of a crush on her so I didn’t have much heartburn about helping her out. My hopes that this act of generosity might open the door to a potential girlfriend experience were dashed almost immediately. I told Jonalyn that I hope I find a woman who will love and care for me like she does her children. She responded, “You are a nice and kind man, I’m sure you’ll meet someone like that someday,” Ouch.

So, the married woman who can’t spell my name and sent me loving messages and sexy photographs had really been upping the intensity and frequency of her communications. Wake up messages, “how are yous/what are you doing now” throughout the day, and goodnight/sleep well at bedtime. All seasoned with “I love you” and “I can’t stop thinking of you” and other pledges of undying affection. Alright, it was admittedly over the top, but damn, it was nice to have a woman express those sentiments to me. Of course, I reminded myself that she is not available and likely never would be given that divorce is not permitted in the Philippines. So, I took her words with much more than just a grain of salt. And then she started hinting around about us having an in-person rendevous. I considered it and was somewhat tempted by the offer, especially after gazing at the panty shots she sent me. But then the big head chimed in and reminded me that adultery is a criminal offense in my adopted homeland. I also knew that as bad as her home life was, this woman would be much worse off if caught having a physical relationship. I had understood that I was just a fantasy to escape the reality of her loveless life, and although I do care for her, I wasn’t going to be her Plan B. So, I told her I wasn’t going to endanger her by having an affair. This was her response:

You to take care always to… i just figure it out that maybe i didnt pay my attentions quite good in my life that’s why I have a bad life…but anyway I can stand strong and face it….nice to know and meet a man like you…thank you thank you….and I’m so sorry if almost I involve you about my miserable life I’m so sorry….but thank you really….thanks for everything…you are good and kind person….thanks a lot…bye….bye…No need to reply and always GOD BLESS YOU…

And I haven’t heard from her since. Love is so fleeting, isn’t it? Anyway, it’s kind of a relief. I don’t need the drama and I can get the sex elsewhere if I so desire. Still, I’m not sure I would have taken the safe and sane path in the past, so I’ll consider this turn of events progress.

Digging through the freezer the other day I found a package of Australian ribeye steaks I’d bought a couple of months ago when I last visited the S&R (think Costco) store in San Fernando. Thawed them out and then threw them on the grill this morning for breakfast.

***Well, I’ve had worse. Thin and not as tender as I like, but chewable. I need to get back to The Pub and buy myself some American beef.***

Speaking of food and charity, my homeless friend “mama” is a daily visitor to the Kitchenette where she dines for free.

***Sometimes the small things make a big difference.***

Let’s take a stroll out on the balcony and see what’s up, shall we?

Am I a lucky bastard, or what? It is so easy to get distracted by the disappointments of life or thinking too much about what you don’t have. So yeah, I don’t have love but I’ve got a nice view. I know which one of those will likely last the longest.

I also got off my lazy ass this morning and did a long (for me) hike amounting to almost 11K. Kind of my standard Sunday walk with an extra loop to add some distance to make up for the previous couple of days. I did one of those “take a picture every kilometer” things some of y’all like. Here’s how it turned out:

***The start. Fuckiing stray dogs are always knocking over the neighbor’s trash can. I keep mine inside the fence until trash day. I wish he would too.***

***1 kilometer. I don’t even like Divimart and rarely go there. But turns out it is 1K from my house.***

***2 kilometers. This flower was the most interesting thing to photograph when I reached this milestone (kilostone?).***

***3 kilometers. Still on the National Highway in Calapacuan.***

***4 kilometers. Looking at Black Rock mountain from a distance.***

***5 kilometers. Walking the Govic highway.***

***6 kilometers. On the backstreets of some barangay–maybe San Isidro.***

***8 kilometers. Heading towards home.***

***9 kilometers. The backway to Marian Hills.***

***10 kilometers. A look back at Easter mountain.***

***Almost 11 kilometers. Home again. And look, someone cleaned up the trash.***

The stats. When I first started out I was doing a tad over twelve-minute kilometers. That slowed considerably as the hike went on. Now, I was stopping to take the photos and I also handed out four bags of cookies, but truth is, I get tired around 8K and can almost feel my feet dragging. I don’t really care about the speed factor that much though.

That’s about it from here. Stay safe. Or live free. Your choice.

I don’t have a nap sack…

Posted on 04/September/2021 by John McCrarey

…so I just used the couch.

Yep, another low-energy day. I had a 10:00 a.m. doctor appointment to attend to, so that forced me to get my lazy ass off the couch and out the door. Looks like the eye surgery is going to take place next Saturday. Oh, and prior to the operation, I’ve got to get the dreaded COVID swab test. That means another trip to Baypointe hospital on Wednesday. Oh well, I really need to get these eyes of mine working again. Doc says I might even be able to function without eyeglasses. That would be a treat, I’ve been wearing glasses for over 20 years now. But I’ll settle for just being able to see clearly enough to read with both eyes open and without getting fatigued. I can’t say for sure, but I’m thinking my recent laziness bout might be related to my declining eyesight. Thirty minutes on the computer and I need to take a nap it seems. One more week.

After completing my office visit, I decided to push myself a little by walking home. It’s only around 6K and mostly on the highway, but it was at least several thousand steps in the right direction.

***I’ll be back here soon…Now that Lourdes in Barretto has closed, Baypointe is the closest hospital I can access.***

***The entrance to what used to be the Navy base.***

***The old bridge across what the Navy guys called “shit river”.***

***On the National highway headed for Barretto.***

*…and on the right, I see dead people. Well, where the dead reside anyway.*

I guess the silver lining would be easy access to the highway, but even that factor sucks. Must be noisy as hell and I did see an accident once where a car crashed into one of these roadside shanties. It wasn’t pretty.

***On the other hand, I’ve walked through that bayside village down there and fantasized about what life would be like living amongst the locals in tranquility.***

***Well, hello there! Turns out my eye doctor owns a lot in Alta Vista near me.***

***It’s not all shanties along the highway. Those are some fine-looking homes up on the hill.***

***Carefree highway, let me slip away on you…***

I popped into the Kitchenette to say hello. Seems things are going pretty well. Was told they sold 5000 pesos worth of food yesterday. That’s pretty impressive given that most of the meals sell for less than 100 pesos.

***The backway home…down La Union street…***

***The back path leading to my place…***

Relive it here if you please.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vZqNYEy4DG6

For lunch, I had some leftover spaghetti and meatballs I made last night. Then took yet another nap. This post took a goodly portion of my remaining energy, but it is Saturday night and I must persevere!

How about some funny shit before I go?

***Eh, maybe that’s not so funny after all.***

How about this?

Alright, this is an old school, non-political, funny story:

VOTED BEST JOKE IN IRELAND

John O’Reilly hoisted his beer and said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me Life, between the legs of me wife!” That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night!

He went home and told his wife, Mary, “I won the prize for the Best toast of the night.” She said, “Aye, did ye now. And what was your toast?” John said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife.” “Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!” Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John’s drinking buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, “John won the prize the other night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary.” She said, “Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised myself. You know, he’s only been in there twice in the last four years. Once I had to pull him by the ears to make him come, and the other time he fell asleep”.

You are welcome! Back with more soon.

Rest in Place

Posted on 03/September/2021 by John McCrarey

One of those kinds of days. Bailed on the Friday walking group because I wasn’t up for a strenuous hike. I had planned to do one of my routine solo walks but took a nap instead. I don’t feel bad or anything, just being lazy I suppose. It happens.

I guess I’ll be meeting with the eye doctor tomorrow morning to discuss the details of my upcoming surgery. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get it done next week. It is hard to believe how quickly my vision has deteriorated. Everything is always blurry and it is really getting difficult to read.

I did my beer consumption ritual at Marick’s place last night. I’ve been crushing on her for a long time, but lately, she seems to be more receptive to my flirtations. I was a little taken aback when she asked if she could trim my eyebrows. I guess their bushiness was distracting or something. She cleaned them up with her scissors and then told me to come back today and she’d have a razor to eliminate my unibrow. I’m planning to take her up on that. Anyway, I’m going to take things slow and see where, if anywhere, this might lead. Her only day off is Monday, so unless she starts Hashing again I’m not sure how I’d see her outside of work.

***I’m not getting my hopes up, but you never know what might happen.***

Love is blind. And so am I.

On and on it goes…

Posted on 02/September/2021 by John McCrarey

…where it stops, nobody knows. And just to be clear, I’m not in any hurry to find out. It may not be much of a life, but it’s the best one I’ve got. I actually kinda like it, and for me, that’s saying a lot. Here’s a sample:

You can’t see where you are going by looking backward. And I have gotten a lot better at living in the moment. But Facebook likes to remind me of moments I’ve lived in the past and the people I’ve shared them with.

***Like Eun Oke. This is from five years ago when I brought her with me to visit the Philippines.***

Funny story behind that picture. It was our first night in Angeles City. We went into this bar and we were the only customers. All the girls came down off the stage and surrounded Eun Oke like she was a movie star. I guess they’d never seen a Korean female before. They were stroking her arms and touching her hair, talking K-pop and K-dramas, and Eun Oke was loving the attention. “Buy them all a drink!” she announced. I leaned over and advised, “you should pick one and buy her a drink.” She wasn’t having it. “Nope, drinks for everyone!” The next morning she says “so, how much did we spend last night?”. Around a hundred dollars, I told her. “How much do we spend when just me and you go out in Seoul?” she asked. I smiled and said around a hundred dollars. Anyway, it was a fun trip and she had a blast. On our last night there she broke up with me, but that’s a different story.

Last night, I did my weekly trip out to It Doesn’t Matter bar and spent some time in the company of my current favorite bargirl, Roan. Great sense of humor and she can hold up her end of a conversation. I like that! I told her last night I was going to take her to Seoul. For dinner on her day off. At the Korean restaurant named Seoul on the old Navy base. Should be fun!

I heard from Judy today. She’s currently the only remaining friend with benefits in my stable. Unlike the recently fired Joy, Judy didn’t beg me for money. She begged me to let her give me a massage. Yeah, it may be a subtle difference, but that’s the way the FWB program is supposed to work–I help you, you help me. I wasn’t really in the mood for a massage but I let her come over anyway. After we were done, we cuddled some on the bed. I liked that.

Here’s a good example of why Judy is not girlfriend material, despite being very attractive, sweet, and kind. When I agreed to the massage I asked if she could come at noon. She said yes. And then she asked me “what time is noon?”. Seriously, that had me shaking my head. The Philippines has a reputation of being an English-speaking nation, but there are very few Filipinas that I’ve met who can actually engage in any semblance of a meaningful conversation. And yeah, I know it likely has as much to do with the type of women I meet in the places I tend to frequent, but still, I had better conversations with the Korean bargirls I met over the years. I think the quality of education in the Philippines has really deteriorated. The sex is good here though, so there’s that.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that we have officially entered the holiday season here. I came across this article today that sheds a little more light on that unique cultural aspect of life in the Philippines. Read it if you care.

So, that leaves the Wednesday Walkers group hike to talk about. It was kind of like deja vu all over again. And a little ironic I suppose. One of the reasons I hadn’t done the Monday Hash trail was not wanting to take the uncomfortable ride out to Olongapo. So, of course, that’s what we did yesterday. Not as far out as Monday, and no need to make a transfer to another Jeepney, but still. We also climbed up a steep-ass hill to Kalaklan ridge. Not as long and hard as the climb up on Monday’s Hash, but plenty challenging for this old fart. And once we reached the top of that climb, I found myself back on the ridgeline road that I had hiked as my alternative trail on Monday. And there was still a good bit of uphill to complete. Anyway, it was still good to be out and about. Here are the photos:

***The path we walked. Right around 7K.***

***We couldn’t all get into the same Jeepney, so the first of us to arrive had to wait for the rest of the group to get there.***

***As usual, we started the climb on steps.***

***But soon enough we were in the dirt/mud.***

***And it got steeper and steeper as we went.***

Stopping for a group photo upon reaching the ridgeline. — ***Stopping for a group photo upon achieving the ridgeline.***

***Excuse us, please. Just passing through…***

Another hazy day, told it is dust from the Taal volcano rumblings 80 kilometers south of here. Sadly, that’s pretty much how everything looks to me these days. Gotta get these eyes of mine fixed soon.

***Watch out for the barbed wire, Scott! Actually, there is a strand at the bottom too. That’s the one that will trip you up, literally, when you are focused on the strand at eye level.***

***Time to head back down to Barretto…***

***These are some of my regular cookie recipients. I think they can smell me coming.***

***The worst of the descent is behind us now.***

***Liquid refreshment at Dynamite Dick’s. That’s Dick on the right.***

***Just another useless Walker’s post.***

That’s the way it is around here. And it suits me just fine, thank you!

Baby, it’s BER outside

Posted on 01/September/2021 by John McCrarey

***And here it is the first day of SeptemBER.***

Yeah, that’s really a thing here in the Philippines. The BER months (September, October, November, and December) are celebrated as the holiday season. Last night I heard someone playing Jingle Bells. And this morning I got a message from a friend wishing me a Merry Christmas. I shit you not.

***Here’s Buddy and Lucky enjoying their BEReakfast this morning.***

Yesterday morning found me at Baypointe Hospital having the required tests administered so that I might be able to schedule my much-needed cataract surgery. An electrocardiogram, blood work, and a chest x-ray are apparently necessary to ensure I won’t die during what the eye doctor described as a fifteen-minute procedure under local anesthesia. I’m sending my helper to pick up the results and provide them to the cardiologist on Friday. Hopefully, I can get the operation next week. It really sucks not being able to see clearly.

I played darts for the first time in a week last night and didn’t lose a leg–defeating all of my opponents in the winner’s bracket 2-0. I wore my old Seoul International Dart League shirt and I guess it still had some of that old good luck in it.

***…and last night. Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed. Much.***

I was very surprised to see that Jessel is once again working at Alley Cats. She told me she resigned from her position at the hotel. I was friendly and bought her a welcome back lady drink, but I didn’t feel a thing. Well, that’s not entirely true. I felt sorry for her not getting to experience the life I had fantasized about us sharing. I felt lucky for myself that she proved her unworthiness before I took things to the next level. I still can’t figure her out, but I realized last night she is just not who or what I thought she was. Her ability to communicate, at least in English, seems to be close to nil. Not sure why I didn’t realize that before, but I guess in my heart I was making excuses for her. I am happy to report my brain is once again in full control and I have let go of any and all emotions I recently felt for her. It was definitely a winning night!

I guess we’ll see what happens next in my so-called life. Stick around!

My personal Hash

Posted on 31/August/2021 by John McCrarey

As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to forego the sanctioned Hash trail and make a hike more in keeping with my preferences. The “sane” group I normally shortcut with made the trip out to Olongapo and did the first portion of the Hare’s trail. I opted out of doing that as well. I wasn’t alone out in the wild though–two of the female Hashers followed my lead and joined me. “Followed” might be an overstatement since both of them walk faster than I do, but they paused at intersections and stayed within earshot, so it worked out fine. You know, I also use the term “shortcut” loosely. For example, my trail was considerably longer than the official trail. When I shortcut I’m avoiding climbs and descents that I consider too difficult and dangerous. Although yesterday I was never on any portion of Guenter’s trail, I also climbed up Kalaklan ridge, just from a different location. Came down my own way too. I was in the general vicinity though.

***Almost 10K, including a long climb up to the ridgeline.***

No thank you, neighbor. I won't be riding in the Hashmobile today. — ***No thank you, neighbor. I won’t be riding in the Hashmobile today.***

***The first 3K or so were along the National highway.***

***Then we turned off the highway onto this “road” and began our slow, but steady, climb to the top.***

***Oh, and when I say we, I’m referring to my fellow hikers, Salty Cum, and Cum In My Basement.***

***It’s not so steep, but a long journey up. There is no easy way to the top of Kalaklan, but this way is perhaps the least difficult.***

***There were some really bad places on the road, but mostly it was like this.***

***Leaving the road and heading for the way back down to Barretto.***

***An action shot. Hiking is pretty damn exciting, isn’t it?***

A creek in the woods. Just upstream from here the locals get their water. Saw several carrying 2 large-capacity containers tied to the ends of a board and bringing them down the trail on their shoulders. Damn, what a life!

***Our destination, Barrio Barretto, is in sight!***

***Cookie stop.*** ***Oh, and in the background are the type of water containers I was talking about.***

***A final descent through this village.***

***Then back on the mean streets of Barretto.***

***On Home was at Queen Victoria, but they don’t have a kitchen. I satiated my hunger with some take-out fish and chips from this shop across the street.***

Some beer refreshments and then the Hash circle commenced. I wasn’t surprised when I was called down to sit on the ice and enjoy some birthday cake in the Hash tradition.

***It is not as pleasant as it looks.***

Relive the hike here if you like:

Anyway, I missed the camaraderie of the Hash trail, but have no regrets about exercising prudence and doing it my way.

Strike that

Posted on 30/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Today is once again Hash Monday. I’m not going to do the trail though. Not even going to try. I have my reasons.

Strike One–It’s a long-ass ride to Olongapo in the uncomfortable and unsafe Hashmobile. Alternatively, you can take a Jeepney, but that involves a transfer to a different Jeep in Olongapo. Too much of a pain in the ass for me.

Strike two–Vienna Sausage (Guenter) is the Hare. His trails are not conducive to my continued good health. I’m not being critical, the Hare has the discretion to make the Hash trail as difficult or as easy as he chooses. Just as I have the right to decline to participate in a Hash that puts me in danger. I’ve not totally boycotted Vienna’s trails–I’ll generally do the sane parts and shortcut the rest. The start in Olongapo makes shortcutting more difficult because it is unfamiliar territory.

***Strike three–Vienna posted this picture of the scouting expedition for the trail. Climbing that hill is not in my future.***

Three strikes and I’m out. I’ll be doing my own hike this afternoon and will attend the On-Home activities afterward at Queen Victoria.

Not sure where I’ll hike today, but yesterday I took a Jeepney to Subic town and did a 9K walk back home from there.

***I must be feeling my age. That’s only 4.5 kilometers per hour on mostly flat ground. I did take a few pics along the way, but still, that’s slow.***

You can Relive the hike here:

https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qVp35de7O

***The name of this place had an oddly familiar ring to it in a not quite right kinda way…***

I’ll probably go in the opposite direction today and see what there is to see.

A hard truth about dating, although I guess it cuts both ways.

Of course, the woman currently professing her love for me is NOT single. Should I change my luck?

***Well, damn. So much for that idea.***

I’m sure there will be new and better adventures to come. Or should I say train wrecks?

Hanging out in the kitchen

Posted on 29/August/2021 by John McCrarey

That’s one way to spend a Saturday night anyway. I had really just intended to drop by the new Kitchenette to see how things were going. Hard my darts with me planning on playing the tourney. But once I’d settled in, inertia took over and I kept my ass on the stool until closing time.

The place is not a bar, in fact, they are not allowed to sell beer. Beer has to be purchased from the Beach Please bar out back by the water. The owner there is the landlord for the Kitchenette. No big deal, I just walk down and order a bucket of 6 beers for 400 pesos and take them back to the kitchen. It’s comfortable enough there, open-air and a nice highway view. It certainly won’t be my hangout place, but I’ll not mind dropping by now and then.

You can’t make a judgment on how well things are going based on one night of observations, especially when it is only the second day of operations. With that caveat in mind, I’d say things are going reasonably well so far. Apparently, the lunchtime business was enough to stress out the proprietor/cook. She’s going to definitely need to hire at least one person who can cook to assist her. During the time I was there I saw a pretty steady stream of customers, mostly girls from the nearby bars, stopping in for some food to take back with them. After the lunch rush, the available menu offerings were quite limited. I chided the owner about that, telling her to keep enough food in stock or reduce the number of dishes you serve. People get frustrated when they can’t get what they want and that’s something that will make it less likely for them to return in the future. I got the “shut up and mind your own business” look, so I just drank my beer and watched.

Turns out not enough people showed up at Alley Cats to have a tourney, but a couple of them came by the Kitchenette to eat. Troy brought one of the prettiest gals I’ve seen in a long time with him. She sat next to me and I had a hard time keeping my eyes to myself. She’s 22 years old which is 1/3 my age. How’s that for symmetry? Anyway, she isn’t on the menu so the feast was only eye candy.

I got a laugh when Mango’s, which is only a couple of doors down, called in an order for eight servings of rice. Apparently, they ran out of rice and had a big group to serve. It’s a start, and if the Kitchenette can fill a niche market of bargirls, trike drivers, and restaurant gaps, it might work out. I’d give them a 50-50 shot at this point.

***I printed out some paper menus that can be given to the bars so their staff can order takeout.***

So, after all this time I finally have a woman sending me messages like this one:

Jonh….im so really happy this morning wen i see you…you makes my heart happy everytime i see your smile… you are so amazing person….and i always feel your presense..Enter
You are so different person jonh…..you have no idea how happy i am since i met and know you….you are so great…person…theres is none like you…in my life…

That’s the latest in a series of similar thoughts. Now, to be clear, I have no current contact at all with this woman, other than on messenger. When I met her in the past in person, it was completely platonic. I mean, I was willing, but she wasn’t. And that’s where we left if for several months until she started with the loving messages again. So, when she says she “saw me” today, it was literally a case of me walking by on the road. She sent me some sexy pics too, but I’m too much of gentleman to share those. Plus, I promised I wouldn’t. So, what’s the problem? Well, I am cursed after all. This one is already married.

Anyway, I’ve told her I’m not interested in adultery. That hasn’t slowed down her messages (the photos are a new tactic though). I guess I haven’t blocked her (yet) because she says the things I’ve always wanted to hear. Damn, it would be great to have someone who felt that way about me in my life. Still, I don’t really encourage her and I constantly remind her that she is not free. I can’t tell her what to feel, but there is nothing I can or will do about it.

I will look at those pictures some more though.

A good beginning…

Posted on 28/August/2021 by John McCrarey

…as a 66-year-old man about town.

So, the party was at a place called Maris’ Kitchenette. Now, whether the party was a grand opening event or for my birthday is a matter of perspective. There was a cake with candles and my name on it, and I paid for the beer. The food was given away for free too (and technically, I paid for that too) I got there about 1:00 and there were already quite a few people in attendance, and more came and went throughout the day. I knew most everyone there and received the customary birthday greetings and songs. I enjoyed myself and that’s as it should be, right?

***…but two. Both were consumed by the end of the day.***

***The kitchen crew were friends of the owner who volunteered to help out for the big event.***

***I contributed the stove, freezer, and refrigerator.***

I’m sorry, but I didn’t pay much attention to the food. I know there was a pancit noodle dish, chicken wings, shanghai lumpia, and a few other offerings. Not the full menu, but lots of volume. Also all gone by closing time.

***It’s actually a pretty comfortable venue. Right on the National Highway. The kitchen is large and there is counter eating on the outside perimeter.***

Greetings to you, Joanna (who lives upstairs from me) and Kate, who is a real cutie. I told her one time after she had taken off her glasses, “you know, you look better without the glasses”. She didn’t miss a beat in responding, “you look better without my glasses too.”

***The Alley Cats crew also showed up, leaving one girl behind to man the bar.***

***More guests and some of the food on offer. Sorry I didn’t get more food shots…***

***We had a rain squall mid-afternoon. Only lasted 15 minutes or so, but it flooded the highway out front.***

***This is AFTER the major road construction/drainage installation project. Only in the Philippines!***

***…performing the traditional COVID spreading ritual…***

Once the party wound down and the kitchenette closed up, we moved next door to Mango’s where I treated the hard-working staff to a roast chicken dinner.

***Thanks for helping make my day special.***

Sexy-sex!

Posted on 27/August/2021 by John McCrarey

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
–Joni Mitchell

Well, I’ll be damned, I lived to see another birthday. 66 times around the sun and I’m still going strong. Eh, maybe more like blindly stumbling along, but it sure does beat the alternative of NOT having a birthday.

Was out late last night while the work crew finished doing a half-assed job on putting up some wire fencing to keep Maris’ Kitchenette slightly more secure at night. Naturally, that required more than my usual beer intake and I’m feeling the effects this morning. Bailed on the Friday hike and I’m conserving my energy for an afternoon gathering of friends and acquaintances at the grand opening of the canteen. I’m sure that will involve beer drinking too.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vQvydo88DKq

I did manage a wet but pleasant solo hike yesterday though.

Anyway, no real birthday insights or reflections. I’m getting much better at maintaining my one-day-at-a-time attitude. That keeps me from fretting over things I’ve had and lost and thinking of the things I want and don’t have. It is what it is, and on balance, I’d say I’m pretty damn lucky.

Thanks to all of you who regularly drop by to read my drivel. It gives me some daily purpose to share my life story, such as it is, with y’all. I’ll be back with more tomorrow. Assuming I survive the night.

My guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

Rock on!

Posted on 26/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Drinks at It Doesn’t Matter with Roan, then some takeout Korean-style chicken wings from The Pub; that’s the way I roll on Wednesday evenings. Last night was no exception and Roan was particularly delightful.

Wednesday might just be my favorite day of the week because it also features our walking group hike. Scott wasn’t available, so folks looked to me to come up with a trail. For some reason, I was feeling particularly energetic so I suggested we climb Black Rock Mountain. No one objected but some thought it odd no doubt seeing as how on past hikes to Black Rock I’ve shortcutted to avoid the climb. Actually, I don’t mind the climb up, but the descent down the other side is a little unnerving. Regardless, it had been too long since I’ve enjoyed the unique views Black Rock affords, so off we went.

***The actual hike was a bit longer than this indicates–I forgot to turn on my tracker until we were up the highway a piece.***

***Our group on the way up the mountain.***

***A view from atop Black Rock. The hazy air was disappointing.***

***Now, to get back down without falling off the mountain…***

You can Relive it here if you are so inclined:

Popped in to see how the new business is shaping up. Appliances and chairs have arrived and the signage is up.

I went to Sit-n-Bull after the hike and the owner, Ron, joined me at the table for a nice chat. Told him about the new place opening and he agreed these are challenging times in the food and beverage business. He also thought targeting a niche market like the Filipino working folks was a good plan, provided the low price point required wouldn’t undermine the quality of the meals being offered. Yep, that will be a challenge. Not my business though. I’m just the ~~sucker~~ investor financing the start-up.

As far as days go, I had a good one. Now let’s see what I can do with this one!

Eyes wide shut

Posted on 25/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Well, the right eye anyway. It’s getting worse. Everything is blurry when it is open. Reading is starting to be an ordeal. I need the cataract removal surgery and I have no choice but to jump through the hoops and overcome the bureaucratic hurdles to make that happen. I’ve seen the eye doctor already. Now I need “clearance” for the surgery he recommends. And that clearance must come from a cardiologist. The one who works at the local hospital only has office hours on Tuesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. until noon. And she doesn’t take appointments. You have to sign in and wait your turn. Which is bullshit.

My workaround was to drop my helper at the hospital Tuesday morning while I did the grocery shopping. After completing my supermarket duties, I went back to the hospital and sent her home to put away the groceries. Taking my seat in the waiting room I was pleased to learn my strategy had worked–I was first on the list! The doctor called me at around 10:15, asked me a series of questions, told me I’d need to get an ECG and chest x-ray. After she reviewed the results I could get the surgery clearance if everything checked out. She must have seen the look on my face, even through the mask AND face shield I was required to wear in her presence, because she told me I didn’t have to return, my helper could bring the test results to her. So, I guess I’ll make another trip to the hospital tomorrow for the required procedures. Ten minutes with the doctor, a $40. charge. I think I paid the skin tax on that one.

After my doctor’s visit, I sent Roan/Rochelle a message asking if she were ready for our lunch date. It was not quite 11:00 yet and I didn’t get a response. I caught a Jeepney to Barretto and got out at Arizona Resort, our agreed-upon meeting place for lunch (we’d left the time unspecified because of the uncertainty of when I’d been done with the doc), but still no response to my message so I hoofed it on home, arriving just before noon. Then I got a response from Roan (she prefers that moniker because it is not as common as Rochelle) and we agreed to meet to eat at 1:00. I changed clothes (the walk home had made me a sweaty mess) and headed back to Arizona for my lunch date. I arrived about ten minutes early, so I ordered a beer and chilled. At 1:00, Roan messaged that she’d be a “little late”. At 1:30 I sent a message asking if she wanted to reschedule. A few minutes later she texted that she was on her way, arriving just before 2:00. I guess you could say we got off to a slow start.

I was starving by now and ordered up some chicken enchiladas. Roan had the spaghetti. Over the course of our meal Roan explained that she was late because she had to prepare a meal for her “grandmother”, a chore her mother normally handles, but mom was unexpectantly not home. Okay, well at least this wasn’t a case of “Filipina time” causing the tardiness.

This led us into a fascinating conversation about her family. I was surprised to learn that Roan’s stepfather is an American. Sixty-two years old, which makes him younger than me. That felt a little weird. This was mom’s first marriage, but Roan’s siblings are from three different fathers. Roan never knew her father, but they wound up living next door to each other. Dad never acknowledged or spoke to her though. That was mind-boggling to me. The strangest and saddest story of all was where one of her half brothers killed the other brother by stabbing him to death. Roan was five at the time and witnessed it. That left me shaking my head. The surviving family members all seem to be doing relatively well at least. I told Roan her family history would make for a real blockbuster movie. Not sure anyone would believe it though.

I think I mentioned that Roan has two children of her own, nine and three years old, if I recall correctly. They’ve been staying with their father for a couple of weeks and after lunch, she was going to go to his house to visit them. I told her I thought it was fantastic that the dad was still involved with the kids, which seems rare in this country. I asked if her ex was in a relationship and she said, “yes, with another man.” No judgment on her part, they apparently all get along fine. She’s a fascinating woman and I hope we become good friends. If nothing else, she could entertain me with stories from her life!

I paid the tab and shared a trike with her as far as the turnoff for Alta Vista, where we said our goodbyes. I walked up the hill and grabbed my darts, then headed back down to Alley Cats for the dart tournament. Another singles tourney and both of my opponents threw exceptionally good darts, the best I’ve ever seen them play in fact, while I had one of my worst nights in memory. I didn’t win a leg at all and was the first one eliminated from the tourney. Embarrassing.

Feeling hungry again, I went next door to The Pub for some grub.

***Went with the roast beef and cheese sandwich. Most excellent. And damn, those fries were pretty much perfect as well. Reminded me of the way McDonald’s fries USED to be–hot and firm.***

So, it was a full and busy day. Missed my nap and couldn’t find time to blog. I did share this on Facebook though:

***That seems to be true in my case at least.***

This morning my old friend Jeremy posted that the image above reminded him of something he wrote while serving time in a Korean prison:

With Open Arms

Of house and home, love and loss, kith and kin,
Having which of them is a sin?
Only one remains true
While the rest eventually depart.
It stays when the others are through,
Unwittingly tormenting your lonely heart.
It is a faithful companion by your side
Telling you that all else is a lie.It reminds you of what you want and had before,
Unconsciously mocking you for what is no more.
Ignored when times are great.
In others, it provides something to hate.
Truly, it has done nothing wrong.
Only tried to comfort with a sad song.
Though you try your best to deny it as your friend,
Only it will be with you in the end.

And that’s the way it goes.

Time fades away

Posted on 25/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Welp, yesterday got away from me, that’s for sure. What is normally my “lazy Tuesday” was so full I didn’t have time for a nap or a post here. Sorry about that. I’ll do a post later this afternoon about what was keeping me so busy.

I did want to slap up the photos from Monday’s Hash for those of you who enjoy the scenery in these parts. It was actually a very nice trail, at least the part I did. Familiar territory, but an area I enjoy hiking. Here you go:

***Our Hares, Anal Receptive, and his gal, Anal Intruder.***

***Another month or two and this will be tough going…***

***Getting passed by the runners. We had a 30-minute headstart…***

***In fact, Leech My Nuggets passed us twice…once before and once after our shortcut.***

***The gash waiting for the circle to commence…***

***And the menfolk shooting the bull…***

***Two of our newly named Hashers (you get a Hash moniker after completing five runs). On the left is Boom Boom Everyday and on the right is Dickens Cider.***

***Props to Pubic Head on creating these logos for the girls…***

I’ll be back with more after my Wednesday Walkers hike. See you then!

Just another manic Monday

Posted on 23/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Actually, it’s a Hash Monday–how manic can that be?

Changed things up a bit and took the dogs for a walk on the beach at Baloy this morning. Probably won’t do that again any time soon. Too many strays to fend off. My secondary purpose was breakfast at Treasure Island, which was fine once it was served. It took WAY too long though. Ah well, how bad can things be when that’s all I’ve got to complain about?

Started my evening yesterday at It Doesn’t Matter. Enjoyed some more laughs with Roan. I like her company so much I decided to ask her out for lunch on her day off tomorrow. She accepted. So, I guess it’s a date. We even discovered something we have in common last night. Her “real” name is Rochelle and that’s the name she went by in school. But at home, everyone knows her as Roan. So, when friends from school came to visit and asked for Rochelle, confusion ensued. When I was growing up, I was John at school and went by Mark in the neighborhood. Long story, but my parents couldn’t agree on my name so dad called me John and mom and my brothers called me Mark. It’s no wonder I’m borderline schizophrenic.

Anyway, I don’t think of Roan as a potential girlfriend. She’s fun to be around, that’s enough for me. We are going to eat at Arizona. It’s on her side of town and she’s never been there for a meal, so it will be a new, and hopefully nice, experience for her.

Anal Receptive (my neighbor Ed) is the Hare today. I ran into him at Mango’s Saturday night and he described the trail that he’s plotting. I expect I’ll be shortcutting again.

***Today’s inflictor of pain and suffering.***

I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Planning makes prefect

Posted on 22/August/2021 by John McCrarey

What? No, perfect is not misspelled. It’s just the way we do things around here. Planning and coordination are overrated anyway. Take the road widening project currently underway on Abra street for example. Yes, we tore down a bunch of houses to make way for the concrete. The families that were displaced were squatters anyway. Besides, you can’t stop progress. A wider Abra street will be safer, and also benefits residents and commuters. See for yourself:

***What? No one contacted the electric company to relocate the power lines? Oh well. Not my problem. Proceed. That concrete ain’t gonna pour itself.***

Only in the Philippines!

I wasn’t perfect at darts either. But I played good enough to win. Heh, even Grammarly says I played well. That’s good! (the app underlines what it considers bad grammar, spelling, and punctuation; like saying “good” enough instead of “well”).

Anyway, low turnout again, so we played singles. I actually prefer playing without a partner. No one to let down that way. During warmups, I was throwing so poorly I considered not playing at all and maybe even giving up the game for good since I can’t seem to find the motivation to practice. Once the games started though some of the old magic came back and I wound up winning all my matches on the night and took home the 500 peso prize money.

Actually, I didn’t take it home. I gave it to my waitress, Jerlyn. A sweet (and very cute) 23-year-old. Yeah, way too young. Rumor has it she’s still a virgin too. Not that I care one way or the other. She’s really into Korean pop culture, even has learned a little of the language. I’ve taught her some new words as well, like pajee bosoyo. Anyway, since Jerlyn is too young to be girlfriend material, I told her she could be my sugar baby. Now, instead of kuya (older brother), she has to call me daddy John. That’s as far as I’m going to take it. Unless she really wants a Sugar Daddy. I do have a vacancy in my FWB program.

***I beat my nemesis, Billy, twice on the night, including the finals.***

In other news, my friend is making slow but steady progress on opening her canteen. Her target date is now Friday, the 27th. I am her financier, so yesterday I purchased some equipment she’ll need.

I gave her another hundred bucks for some renovation work. I expect she’ll need help with her initial food material purchases as well. Still, I should only be out a thousand dollars or so all in. If that investment sets her up to have a successful business and financial independence, it is well worth it. It’s going to be challenging, but what isn’t these days?

I had a pleasant enough Sunday stroll this morning, at just over 8K.

***Weather has been good in the mornings. Some big afternoon thunderboomers the last couple of days though.***

Oh yeah, the Hash published everyone’s birthday. I did the math and the median age of the listed Hashers was 66. And I’ll be 66 on Friday!

And that’s all he wrote. For today anyway.

The stairway to heaven

Posted on 21/August/2021 by John McCrarey

I’m not sure what got into us, but our Friday hiking group voluntarily decided to climb up to Kalaklan ridge from the Olongapo side via what has been dubbed “the stairway to heaven”. A lot of climbs begin with some form of stairsteps which eventually turn into dirt paths before you reach the top. The stairway to heaven goes all the way up to the ridge–some 200 meters, or 60 floors if the conversion calculator I used is accurate. It’s an ass-kicker, that’s for sure.

As much as I dislike getting up there, I really enjoy the scenery and views on Kalaklan ridge. Let me show you what I mean:

***Up, over, and down again… That’s Olongapo on right, Barretto on the left.***

***The Jeepneys were all full, so we caught a bus to Olongapo City.***

***After exiting the bus, we walked a kilometer or so to Gordon Heights.***

***Heading for the stairs…uphill of course.***

***Lightening my load by dispensing with some cookies…***

***Taking a picture while I catch my breath.***

***Damn, this doesn’t feel like heaven to me…***

***Can you imagine the commute if you lived up here? Damn. What a pain in the ass!***

***At the top sits this abandoned house. I guess getting up and down wasn’t worth it…***

***I am happy to report that everyone who started the climb survived it.***

***Let’s head over to the other side of the mountain…***

***Off in the distance, Easter mountain pokes her head through the haze.***

***Every time I see this view of my little town I feel happy that I live here. I truly am blessed.***

***Jim standing tall and proud on the Great Wall of Barretto.***

This is the first time I’ve encountered an aggressive carabao. Scary! He actually almost got his horns into the little boy who was with us. I was as quick on my feet as possible when I hustled by him.

***Watch your step, Scott. It’s slippery!***

***The gals got some refreshments at the sari-sari store..***.

***The menfolk headed over to Dynamite Dick’s.*** ***That’s Dick on the right front.***

Let me try and leave you with a smile:

Stupidity reigns

Posted on 20/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Well, the powers that be are beginning to demonstrate their ignorance once again. The governor of Zambales is implementing a new lockdown/liquor ban/curfew effective tomorrow. Luckily, the Mayor of Olongapo has not seen fit to follow suit, Yet. Our barangay captain has done this again though:

***He has blocked access to most of the side streets in Barretto. How that stops COVID nobody knows. Just makes life harder for everyone for no purpose as far as I can tell.***

Oh, and they closed the gate to my subdivision advising that visitors are no longer allowed. That pissed me off. I told the guards, “so, the construction workers can come in by the truckload but I can’t have company?” I just got the blank stare and “following orders from barangay” response. Jesus.

Today we took the bus to Olongapo to start our hike. As we drove down the highway, I thought of all these bullshit COVID prevention measures being implemented.

***Nothing to worry about while riding on a standing-room-only bus at least.***

I mentioned firing Joy from the FWB program for incessant begging. Now it seems Judy might be heading down that road. She’s more polite about it at least. School is starting and there are fees and supplies to be paid for. She did at least send me copies of the invoice. I told her no, we’ll see if that works. I have no intention of violating Rule #1 (Don’t be stupid). Well, at least I hope I can find new ways to be stupid at least.

And while we are on the subject of stupid, I’ll offer this for your amusement:

pic.twitter.com/FkIIziOtU8
— Dr. James Washington (@JamesWashngton) August 19, 2021

Anyway, time for darts. I hope I bring my smart game tonight.

Ain’t that the shits?

Posted on 19/August/2021 by John McCrarey

The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those which blissfully and unawaredly enslave themselves. – Dresden James

I posted that quote on Facebook EIGHT years ago. Talk about predicting the future!

Speaking of the Facebook memories feature, they also shared these gems from the past:

***Kevin Kim and nephew Justin at the Brazilian steakhouse in Itaewon circa 2019. Hey, there’s an option for one of your cheat days, Kevin.***

***I met Eun Oke five years ago. When I posted this I speculated on what the future might bring. I was wrong. Again.***

***Our first date was an Itaewon pub crawl. What could go wrong?***

***That’s me and my high school sweetheart back in 1973. That ended in failure too, but at least we are still friends on Facebook. We hooked up at our 20th-year high school reunion.*** ***That’s my truck, Redford, in the background.***

Oh, and get a load of what Facebook put over one of the memes I posted today:

***I think that might be a first for me. But wait until you see what it was they fact-checked.***

***Seriously Facebook? You are fact-checking this obvious joke?***

It actually gets worse. The fact-check states that “No, Jill Biden wasn’t a teenage babysitter for Joe Biden’s family.” Okay then, so everything else stated in the meme must be true. Got it!

***I was 29 years old in 1984. Never thought I’d be living in 1984 at this stage of my life***.

Anyway, here’s another grenade I threw up on Facebook this morning. And yes, liberal heads are already exploding.

***Good luck with the fact-check that one, Facebook!***

Alright, let’s change the subject and talk about meat.

***No, no, no! Not that kind of meat.***

***That fine bottom belongs to my friend Marick who recently opened a VERY small bar (seats 3)***.

***This is the meat I’m talking about. Get a load of those John Kim ribeyes. So thick!***

***First time I fired up the new grill…***

***Getting a nice even fire from both burners…***

They came out just the way I like them. I cut those big steaks in half to get a “normal” sized ribeye. The Filipina helper put hers on the stove to make it well-done. Sad but true, that’s how the locals do it here.

***Speaking of thick, check out this pecan pie, Ron, the owner of Sit-n-Bull baked. I popped in there this morning after my walk and grabbed one to bring home with me.***

***A bit pricey at 350 pesos ($7.) but I can’t even find pecans in this country.***

***The insides were moist, tender, and sweet–just the way I like it! I ate half after lunch and will have the rest after my evening on the town.***

Alright, so that leaves us with yesterday’s Wednesday Walkers hike. We collectively decided to do the half of the Hash trail we had shortcut on Monday. But we did it in reverse. That involved a long, hard climb up the big mountain from Abra street. Once we were up though, it was actually quite pleasant. Going back down was a little tricky in places, but that’s normal.

There I was hiking and feeling fit.
Tried to fart, and it came out shit.

Yeah, that happened to me on the way to the meet-up location at VFW. I didn’t have time to turn around and go home to change, so I took my handkerchief and shoved it down my shorts hoping to capture whatever moisture my underwear didn’t. I was able to get into the restroom at the Dennito hotel to survey the damage. Yep, I had bleed-through in the crotch of my lightly colored shorts. Made it pretty obvious I had shit myself. Nothing to be done but to undertake an impromptu handwashing of the shorts and undies in the sink. So, I came out wearing soaking wet shorts, but no one asked me what happened. Thankfully. Oh, and I threw away my formerly white hankie.

The shitty part made the rest of the hike seem that much nicer. I’ve got pictures from the good part:

***The handrail was a nice feature on a particularly steep section.***

***Are you just going to lay there and watch, dog?***

***Summit achieved, time for a breather. We also secured evidence that we did, in fact, finally finish Monday’s Hash.***

***Ah, the kids I missed on Monday finally got their cookies. And Chris brought candy too!***

But before I go, let me share a joke I thought was pretty funny:

A 70-year-old billionaire walked into a pub with his 25-year-old girlfriend. His friend asked him how he managed to get a girl less than half his age. The billionaire replied, “I lied about my age on the dating site.” His friend retorted, “ That was a dreadful thing to do – how old did you say you were ……………. 35, 40, 45?””
No,” said the billionaire, “I told her I was 90!”

Even funnier, I told this to a bargirl the other night but forgot to mention the billionaire part. Once I delivered the punchline, she asked “oh, was he rich?” Maybe it is something in the genes here…

Speaking of jokes…

Shooting BBs…

Posted on 18/August/2021 by John McCrarey

Anyone up for a walk down Baloy Beach?

Right across the highway from the access road to Alta Vista is Baloy Beach road.

***On one side you’ve got the 7/11 convenience store, a “love shop” that is obviously of no use to me, and a money changer that I use occasionally.***

***And on the other side of the street, a handy trike stand…***

***The first resort you come to is Mangrove, one of the pricier places in town…I’ve personally never stayed nor eaten there.***

***Across the street is the Wild Orchid Inn. Never used their facilities either, although I’ve stayed at their Angeles City location.***

***Next up is Harley;s. I’ve eaten here occasionally. Just about the best water views in the area.***

***The Subiza resort. Only been once and had no desire to return. I guess that’s a pretty telling review.***

***The “official” entrance to Baloy Beach. Tourists not staying in one of the resorts have to pay an entrance fee…***

***The Blue Rock resort. I stayed here frequently back in my days as a tourist. Decent rooms at fair prices and good food.***

***Next door is this place. Don’t know a thing about it.***

***The Viking resort. Never been, but I hear they have good pizza.***

***That’s a one-bedroom apartment I wanted to rent when I first moved here. Alas, it wasn’t available. Great beach and mountain views from up there.***

***The Lagoon. Used to play darts there. Know people who actually live in their studio apartments. Food is average at best.***

***Da’ Kudos. Worst name ever, IMO. Owned by Mango’s and has good food. Also one of our Hash On-Home venues.***

***Kokomo’s. Almost stayed there once, but canceled when I cut my trip short. The beach bar is closed, but in season, the floating bar is nice.***

***Johan’s is a diving resort. I enjoy a beer at their bar now and then.***

***Another street view. No more foreigner-oriented resorts, but several more catering to the locals are up ahead.***

***An example of the nipa huts or “cottages” that Filipino families seem to enjoy while spending time at the beach.***

I would love to live in this beachfront house. Been vacant since I first started coming to Barretto. The owner “disappeared” a few years ago under mysterious circumstances. I didn’t want to live there THAT bad to get involved in those politics.

***Laharnz is a crappy little beachside bar. Been once. It could be better***.

***Treasure Island is my overall favorite place on Baloy/ Stayed there a couple of times but the rooms suck…***

***Great food and a wonderful poolside bar make up for it though.***

***These nipa huts didn’t fare well in the recent high tides…***

If I could find the right place I might consider living here. A nice expat community of its own and who wouldn’t want to live on the beach!

A sudden departure

Posted on 17/August/2021 by John McCrarey

The expat community here consists primarily of retired folk. Not surprisingly, that means most of us are well into our “golden” years. I’d estimate that at 65, I’m the median age amongst my peers. And with an older population, we are frequently reminded of the inevitability of death. I’ve heard of two foreigners that I didn’t know personally dying here this week. All we can do is keep on living as best as we are able until time runs out. That’s my plan anyway.

It appears that is exactly what Derek did. I met Derek (Derelick) through the Hash, and he was also well known in the bar community. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours drinking and chatting on the Kokomo’s floating bar earlier this year. Regular readers may recall that since the pandemic we have frequently used his palatial house on Rizal Extension as our Hash On-Home. In fact, we were just there three weeks ago. That turns out to have been the last time I saw Derek alive. HIs domestic helper posted this morning that Derek had a heart attack and died last night.

I don’t know the specifics of Derek’s story, but he always impressed me as a man who lived life on his own terms. He was a medical professional and spent most of his career working overseas. I understand he spent a lot of time in Thailand and I believe his last job before retiring a couple of years ago was in Dubai. His health has not been so good for several months, but he seemed resilient and was back to the life he loved between bouts of whatever it was that ailed him. I remember seeing his posts on Facebook this past Saturday about his barhop adventure, and another friend said they were together drinking and chatting on Sunday night. Well, Derek, you lived your life with gusto right up to the end. We should all be so lucky!

***Rest in Peace…no, the hell with that–party hardy at that big ON-ON in the sky!***

We had our usual Hash yesterday and Leech My Nuggets was the Hare. He laid down this challenge on the Subic Hash Facebook page:

Leech my Pussy and I are the hares; sign up at VFW from 2.00 PM; trail marked from VFW, starts 2.30 PM …… short (5.5 KM) and sweet, so surely the Sick, Lame & Insane can do it without to many short-cuts

That last reference was aimed at our “sane” group of Hashers. Call us what you will (and the “sick, lame, and insane” name is in jest, just Hash talk) but we far outnumber the hardcore group. Still, 5.5 is a short trail, especially for Leech. I started out with every intention of completing the entire path as he intended It may have been short, but it wasn’t easy. Two decent climbs on the first half left me gasping and thirsty. It was then that I discovered I had somehow forgotten to pack water. Prudence dictated that I forgo the final (and hardest) climb. But I really, really wanted to do it. Promise!

***The sane group with our traditional early 2:00 start is underway.***

The normally clear skies (when it is not raining I mean) have been absent for the past few days. I assumed it was just a hazy moisture effect. But I heard it is some residual dust from a volcano down south that might be waking up again.

***A picture stop before the next climb…***

***Sorry, kids. I shortcut the trail and couldn’t bring you your cookies this time. I’ll be back!***

***And that’s as far as this post is going.***

And life goes on. For some of us at least. We will all miss you, Derek.