Paddy's Wanderings

Dragon Paddy

Quite a few years ago, I received an extraordinary gift from my mother-in-law, the Sheeple Gammie. She does all kinds of crafts and one of her talents is cross-stich. So one day she said look at all the cool patterns I just got. So I did. I really liked the dragon and said so. Little did I realize I was picking out the cover for a notebook she was making for me to hold my scribblings. And here he is in all his glory.

So my new found familiar has guarded my notes and poems ever since. He has to had to fend off a series of cats over the years and has done a remarkable job scarring the wee beasties away. The toddler is fascinated by him and often wants to take him out for a walk around the house. But day in and day out, he stands fast, guarding the domain of Paddy's Scribblings.

Today he agreed to pose for the blog and is now a part of the legend of Paddy's Wanderings.

I call him, Paddy the Elder.

Birthday Cookout

BirthdayCookout, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

This spring we bought a new grill and have been breaking it in on all sorts of good stuff. Veggies, ka-bobs, tatoes and corn, s'mores and tonka toasters, all kinds of good stuff. Yesterday it was gammy sheeple's birthday, so we roasted some doggers and burgers.

We were all prepared, gifties for the gammy, burgers, doggers, and chips. Ice cream and root beer for floats and a big B-Day cake. We loaded the Jeeple up and took the short trip to gammies house. Please note; no hill was crossed nor no woods traversed in the telling of this story. We often walk to gammies, she lives just two streets away, but we could not carry it all.

At this point when we took a pic, the better 1/2 was off to the store to get dogger buns as we had over looked that one small detail. So she got to play everyone's favorite customer and rush into the grocery store for that last minute purchase. No harm, no foul.

The boyos and the girls were there, the toddler was running amok, well actually hooping(he hoops, does not hop) and it was a ton of fun. One minor no bun detail was no big deal. The toddler sheeple did dump his float on the driveway, just tipped right out of his hand. I really had to try not to laugh because we got the oh, oh, then the splat, then the shaking of the head and he says, 'float broke'. No big deal, we had plenty more and he was soon slurping away on a new float.

So after much slurping and eating and cake devouring, and gammy oohhh-ing over her presents, we packed up and headed home. It was a good day, we all had a bunch of fun. Now if I could just get everyone to pose for pics, they are all just so shy...sigh.

Flashback to the 80's

ConcertTicket, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

So last night I went down to the Bay City River Roar Concert that featured White Snake. Yep, a real blast from the past. My good friend Lumpy got a bunch of tickets and invited me along. So off I went to a mini class reunion of sorts with a bunch of fellas I went to high school with back in the Hazy Eighties.

Yep, good ole long hair band days revisited. Small problem for us concert goers, none of us have long hair anymore, some don't even have hair! That's cool, the band still has the big hair. What I saw of the show, it was pretty good. Yeah, I didn't see the whole shebang. This time it was not Lumpy's fault.

Okay let me explain. Lumpy, yeah that's his name, heck even his mom called him Lumpy(real name Larry); I didn't even know his real name until we were in high school! I met Lumpy and his brother Bill one day in elementary school. They saved me from the older kids who had been pelting me with ice balls, yeah ice, not snow. They took me to their house, their mom cleaned up the blood, and we have been friends ever since.

The only fly in the ointment? Sometimes Lumpy would get us all in trouble. Oh sure not on purpose like, but Lumpy had a tendency to do just about anything. So I asked him last night, 'Your not gonna get me in trouble are you?' He says not to worry, he promises I wont get kicked in the nuts. I didn't believe him but that's okay, I was just glad to see the Lumpster, whom I had not seen in a few years, but had kept in touch with through email.

Well Lumpy went off with a friend of ours and the proverbial poo hit the fan. This...person..had been harassing the wife of a friend of ours, but we just blew her off. Hey we were there for the concert, just gonna have a good time. Right? Well said person started a fight with our friend's wife and got a knuckle sandwich for her trouble. Alas a small donnybrook broke out. In the end, the kind officers escorted a few out and told us to break it up and go home.

Well I lost track of the Lump, and it was getting pretty weird and I didn't feel like calling the better 1/2 from..ahem..jail, so I went home. It was strange to say the least. We didn't do anything, but apparently the young lady was looking for trouble and got all of us the boot. My friends and I are a little to old for that kind of shenanigans.

But hey, we had fun, got to hang out and just be together. Sure you can never go back, but you can still hang and have fun, even if some...ahem..excitement happens now and then. What a night. Good news is,this time it was not Lumpy's fault and I didn't get kicked in the nuts.

A long, long time ago...

riverjunctionpoetsflyer, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

For as long as I can remember, I have written stories, song lyrics and poetry; what ever comes to mind. I have this itch, this craving to do this. The way I scratch that itch has taken a lot of different forms over the years. I don't know why, I just do.

So round about 1990 I came across a notice on a bulletin board at of all places, Meijer. It was an add for publishing poetry chapbooks and for a group of poets meeting in a library in Saginaw. I was...
interested, so I grabbed the little cut out tag for a phone number and called. The very nice lady sent me a flyer for the Saginaw Poets group. They were meeting next wednesday, bring a poem to read, join the fun.

So I thought about it, dug through a morass of poems and said, well why not. I went to that meeting, I knew no one there, had no idea what to expect. It was a leap into the local poetry world. I was just a kid writing poems. No really, I was about twenty years younger then most of the folks there. But you know what? I fit in and was accepted.

Those folks were just plain ol' good people. They loved writing poetry and anyone who shared their passion was welcomed. I admit I wasn't to sure about the whole thing, I felt like an outsider, but that was just me thinking again. These folks took me in, inspired me, helped me write better, challenged me. All with a cup of tea and cookie and how was your day attitude that was just awesome.

They wrote of the joys and sorrows of life with humor and honor and dignity; they loved to rhyme. There wasn't any angst, or protest or vehement statements of the inequities of life. No free form in your face kind of poetry, but pure, honest emotion that made sense. For a couple of years, it was just what I needed.

The Saginaw Poets of Now became the River Junction Poets. Everyone submitted a name and we chose my idea, river junction. I was honored. It is where the valley rivers meet, where the poets meet, where the ideas and hopes and dreams meet, at the junction.

The poets do all sorts of cool things within the community. They sponsor writing contests in the local schools and support art all across the valley. And on occasion, they gather someplace cool and do a poetry reading. I got to read a couple poems at this gathering, sold a few chapbooks of a collection of poems I had done, and had a great time.

You know, I have not really thought about that for a long, long time. I was digging through my mounds of scraps of paper, digging digitally through the old mac, and found a bunch of stuff from that time. I had continued to write poetry, but was trying my hand at short stories and forever working on a novel idea and kinda lost track of the time.

Those folks still meet up one night a month. Maybe it is time for me to go see some old friends, have a cup of tea, a cookie, and share in the joy of writing. Next meeting is in July . I think it is time.

Space:Ten Years Later

One of the TV shows I watched as a kid was Space:1999 . It was a cool show you could catch at odd times, sometimes after midnight on the weekends. It was a show I hunted down to watch. It was space! and had cool spaceships and aliens and everything I love about science fiction.

Sure, the premise is hokey, the moon suffering a nuclear explosion and being hurtled through space to meet strange alien bad guys. The 'science' of the show is circumspect, but hey it is fiction and for a ten year old, it was all about the good guys versus the bad guys and ray guns and space ships.

In the fashioned challenged seventies, wearing my plaid pants and being just generally dorky anyway, I got into the show. My biggest prize was the acquisition of the Eagle, the spaceship in the show. It had action figs and had this way out, cool design. That sold the show, sealed the deal, made me want to catch it in syndication as much as I could, and I did.

Another television show that just did not last long, about 40 or so episodes, but what was there, was cool for the young space nut.(Note:The old space nut still likes the show, go fig)

June Kitchen Sink

When I started this blog a couple months back, I had no idea what I was going to do with it, or where I was going. I still don't. Really, I am just paddling along, doing my thing, posting whatever comes to mind. So there is really no continuity except their is just one author. I am not joking when I say a little of everything, and then some.

I like where I am heading with pic stories surrounding gaming. I expect there will be many more stories and pics and what not from that area. It has just been a big part of my life for so many years that it can't help but be included.

I love the Sheeple stories, and no, I don't know where that came from. Sheeple is a term I use to describe the folks heading north every weekend. They are on vacation, holiday, going to the cabin, whatever it is that they do, but they herd north. It's okay too, I am a sheeple, I head north for weekends, holidays, you name it. Heck I have had the good fortune to have sheepled a lot of places and buckle in, your gonna go for a ride.

I read a lot, as if anyone did not already know that. So I will bring my take on books I am reading, why not? I like music too, so I will occasionally have some sort of music thing going as well. And movies, why not, I love movies and for that matter television, so your gonna get that as well.

I write, therefore I am. So in that vein, you blog reader you, will get some updates and stuff regarding my writing. Yep, I am still working on that novel, actually two currently, but that is a whole blog in itself. Not to mention the short story, occasional poem, ficly story and assorted other stuff I am doing.

And I may just do some podcasts and videos, I just don't know yet, but probably, cause it looks like fun and why not. I use twitter and facebook as well. I will be adding links as they grow, stuff I really dig. I have every intention of self publishing some work. I have the burning desire to publish short stories.

Hard to say where all of that will lead. But the journey has started, the train has picked up steam, it is full bore ahead and damn the torpedoes.

The Mitten Wedding Band

mightymac, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

For as long as I can remember, the Mackinac Bridge has spanned the Straits, bridging the Upper and Lower Peninsula. With construction finished in 1957, the good folks of both mittens of Michigan could now easily drive across the state. The car ferries are long gone from the straits, and in their place is a true engineering wonder.

As you drive north along the Great Road nearing the straits, you can see the bridge from many miles away. One of my fondest sites is as you drive toward the approach, the spans are hidden by a small hill, and as you crest the hill the true beauty of the mighty towers is revealed. On a clear day, the sun accents the steel and concrete arching over the deep blue water.

It is truly an amazing place. On either side, the land is filled with trees and is very sparsely populated. The straits where the two lakes meet is clear and pristine. As a kid in the Fashion Challenged Seventies, the area was a step back in time with few signs of civilization. Oh sure, there was and still is Sheeple Bait Piles, but one would think with such an astounding structure right on the door step that both Mackinac City and St Ignace would be booming metropolises. To this day, it is not so and I am delighted.

I have a personal connection to the bridge through my grandfather. Grandpa Joe drove truck, hauling cement all over the state after WWII and one of the cool places he trucked cement to, was the building site of the bridge.

It is hard to imagine those old GMC trucks hauling an 80,000 lb trailer load of cement from Essexville to the straits where they would drive onto a barge and then be taken out to the caissons where the load would be dumped. Those folks just did the job, an amazing job from the finance and design, to the guy pouring cement to the fella dangling 200 feet above the water, stringing cable.

So yeah, I am fascinated by the bridge and the history of it's construction. And two thoughts to ponder.

My bridge is bigger then your bridge, check the stats, the Mighty Mac is bigger than even that bridge in San Fran. And I am a 'timmy', which means, I am terribly frightened to drive across the bridge. Oh sure I walked across it to try conquering the fear, I have ridden across it in various vehicles and even in a raging snow storm. And yes I have driven across it, white knuckle, sweating and gasping for breath. But I am still afraid and awestruck and filled with wonder.

In the Stone Circle

stonecircleflyer, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

Way back in the early part of the Nifty Nineties I discovered the Stone Circle, a place where poets and performers gathered under the stars and did their thing at a roaring campfire at the center of a big circle of stones. Once again, it was pure happenstance being in the right place at the right time and posting a request for more info and receiving this flyer in the mail that led me there. Terry Wooten hosts this magical place during the summer months.

So the better 1/2 and myself loaded a pair of Sheeple Poet Friends into the old escort and made a Sheeple Day Trip north. At Acme(don't look up) we turned right and headed up the north west coast of The Mitten and arrived at the circle in late afternoon. With the sun heading toward the horizon, we explored the boulders and unlit campfire and settled in for the night, frantically preparing our poems for recital.

With the moon and the stars growing brighter and the nearby forest growing darker, the fire was lit and the night began. Folks settled onto the ground, leaning against the stones as Terry recited a couple poems and told a humorous story. Then a folk singer performed a couple of songs that delighted the crowd. Terry did a couple more poems then opened the circle for other performers to do their thing. And they did.

There was original poems, and poems from the great poets, Shakespeare and Keats, and all points of the poetry universe. The crowd was really into the flow and the magic of the night took hold. Then the bard, Terry Wooten, took requests, and covered everything from Beowulf(done in middle english) to his own current material. After some more music by some talented artists, the circle was opened again.

My Poet friends recited their poetry and then it was my turn. Now remember dear sheeple, this was my first time reciting my poetry. Oh sure I was in a band and did theatre and what not, but this was my baby to perform for a crowd. So I stood up, placed a log on the fire, recited my two poems and sat down by my stone next to the better 1/2.

I had no idea what I just did. Total stage black out. I whispered to the better 1/2. hey did I do ok? She assured me I did and my poet friends gave me the big thumbs up. I looked across the fire, got a wink from the Bard, and started breathing again. The magic still flowed and the rest of the evening was...I have no words to describe the experience. To this day, that first time is hard to express. It was...great.

I have had the pleasure of doing that again, and in different venues, but that night was special. It was as if the top of my head was pried open and some kind of primal magic was poured into my brain. Stone Circle has that effect on folks, it is that kind of place. It can awaken those thoughts and emotions, the feeling of community and shared experience, of being entertained, and entertaining. It is a deeply felt shared experience that connects everyone.

To feel it, to know it, to share it, you have to be a part of it. And yes, folks should go and feel it for themselves, to hear and be heard, to feel and be felt, to share. That is the magic of Stone Circle.

Spring Fling 2002

SpringFlin02, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

After our first 40k tournament in the fall of '01 where we over filled our little store with 22 gamers having a great time, we decided to host another tournament in the spring. Needless to say, the response was overwhelming. We just could not fit the 30+ folks who preregistered into the little game store.

So, undaunted, we rented the hall across the road where we could fit about three times the people for the day. Then we said hey, we can handle up to sixty gamers, and they started registering, and calling, and we were looking at 50-60 within a couple of weeks. Well, we had terrain for about 12 tables, needed 18 tables more and had a month to prepare.

So the crew came through, led by the better 1/2, they turned out some awesome tables. We had 56 folks rolling dice and pushing minis and having a great time. The response from folks participating and the folks behind the scenes, building terrain, moving a ton of stuff, working the tournament, all of those folks make the Heroes what they are.

It was an awesome day and a huge success and so worth the effort that it became a tradition. This was part deux on the road to big tournaments and doin' it Paddy style.

On a beach in Maine

I am a voracious, eclectic reader, and the better 1/2 feeds that character trait with alarming regularity as you can tell by this latest entry. I just finished The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. No it is not a 'typical' Stephen King novel. This novel is 163 pages long and has the Kid and three newsman, well two newsman and their apprentice girl friday. It is a mystery story written for Hard Case Crime.

Hard Case Crime publishes good old fashioned hard boiled detective stories and reprints older works. Definitely a step up from it was a dark and stormy night type material, but hard as cement type stories. I tried this story out and did some research in to other titles because this story was just plain good.

The Colorado Kid was a fella who ended up on a beach, in Maine, dead, twenty five years before our story takes place. The two old local news papers guys tell the story to their apprentice girl friday. It is a mystery story about the who and the why and the what for, and it grips you from start to finish. It is a mystery that was never fully solved, a cold case that still baffles the two old fellas, and they share it with the new girl, as she is now one of them.

A worthy read by any measure if you like detective stories, crime stories, or just plain good stories.