A DIFFERENT KIND OF MILE HIGH CLUB

"Hey, daddy, I need to go potty."

I promise I have been thinking about the blog. You are not being neglected. You will neither hear me whine nor complain about why there hasn't been a blog in over two weeks. Since I looked back on the holidays and the new year a lot has happened! 

Where to begin...?

   BUSINESS: First of all as far as the "waiting game" for agents and publishers, it continues. No new news from Gary Gnu. 

HOMEFRONT: We decided to leave the negative degree weather and worst air in the country and headed to Orlando after Christmas. What could be better than that? I'll tell ya! making your sisters and families come too along with sending your parents off to Ghana! Yes Ghana. They are on a medical mission establishing programs to help train Audiologists and increase the medical help to a country in need. We already miss them but had a blast as my mother, sufferer of motion sickness rode the Harry Potter ride! 

In retrospect it was a blast. However I have to shoulder the responsibility for creating the 3 yr old Frankenstein. It wasn't his fault he spent almost a week with who we refer to as "the other person", coming home post Christmas chaos, having a cold, flying him 5 hours and changing two time zones, then throwing him into the over stimulating Universal Studios for three days, playing/ swimming with cousins, walking miles everyday, flying back home and then asking "Why are you acting this way?"

whew. (catching my breath)

Needless to say this is how you chemically create a very tired/ ornery child. Like I said I don't blame him at all. He was wide eyed for days as we turned corner after corner and met Dora, the Cat in the Hat, Wolverine, and of course Spiderman. When Cyclops said he would "See ya later." I say the facial equivalent of a tween meeting Justin Beiber. "Mommy. Mommy. He said he would see me later!!"

Having a freakishly tall 3 yr old we were able to take him on more rides and as Diana and I closed our eyes, flinched or screamed, Simon just smiled. 

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the people you love having a wonderful time together in spite of the ehaustion. Diana was made for Hogwarts.

P.S. The only way to se Harry Potter world is to get there super early, visit the rides, go see the rest of the park the go back to the hotel and enjoy the quiet afternoon while the throngs of the walking dead moan and and and wander aimlessly through the parks with glazed over eyes.

On our flight home Simon continued to ask to use the restroom so, being the kind hearted parent that I self-proclaim to be, or in other words...the one in the aisle seat, I took him. 

Now hundreds of comics have done bits about airlines but I haven't heard anyone speak of the challenge, no, the pure logistics of fitting two people into an airplane stall. The following isn't inappropriate, just dirty, but not the dirty you're mind is thinking...shame on you.

First of all I realized that the aisle in the airplane should be called the unforgiving catwalk as I noticed I walked like the beanpole models swinging my hips like pendulums trying to maneuver sleeping heads and outstretched elbows all the while trying to not make eye contact with everyone facing forward with nowhere else to look as well.

Simon and I make it to the stall and as I opened it we shuffled in. Simon looked at me as if to say, "There's not enough room in this here town for the both of us." but the tiny bladder won out over his need for space and took a seat on the ever cold toilet seat. Meanwhile, I was hitting my head on the low ceilings trying to get wipes and getting kicked in the shin by a 3 yr old bearing down regretting his food choices over the last few days.

Needless to say we started a new mile high club. one that only parents will know about. 

So a new year began and as I look back on 2012 I can only see it with happy tear filled eyes. I am blessed. I am happy. I am loved. Even with saying that my life is wonderful, we were allowed another blessing into our lives. A little over two years ago I was an old grumpy single artist happy with my life. NOW, I am a happy artist who has an amazing wife, a step-son who is the best person i know, two wonderful dogs and now we add temporarily (and hopefully permanent soon) our foster son named Sammy. My life has caught me up where I needed to be.
                                               I love life.