As hurricanes go, this was a mild one. But for me, a newly relocated citizen of Wilmington, NC, it was a baptism of sorts. Up until July of this year, i lived my entire life first in the Bronx, NY, then in the northern suburbs in Westchester County. Sure, we had plenty of bad weather. Sleet, hail, snow, heat, humidity, rain, all the good stuff. Sometimes we would even get the leftovers from some tropical storm or hurricane. But i always witnessed such events from afar.
Monday afternoon it hit home. I was told that my place of business was to be closed Tuesday and possibly Wednesday, due to the effects of Hurricane Ophelia. All day Tuesday, it was gloomy, windy, rainy, nothing too bad. Late Tuesday it started to rain hard, the wind picked up intensity, and things began to get scary. The storm was relatively small in power, but it was very slow moving. All day Wednesday, I followed it on the Weather Channel. It was hard to predict where landfall ...


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well, family, it's been almost 2 years that i have been on hiatus. events not under my control forced me off the internet for a while. i used to be a regular in all the kool forums, and i am glad i am able, once again, to be a part of the RP family. a lot has happened to RP, i will need some time to catch up on things. i hope all the regulars are still here. i intend to look up all my old pals, so be forewarned!!
peace and hugs
Danny

when people find out i am a vegetarian, especially this time of year, i get asked a lot about what i eat on Thanksgiving day. it's real easy. i eat everything except the poor turkey. i make a mean stuffing without the bird, i cook all the trimmings, and to tell the truth, i don't miss the meat at all. i have been a vegetarian since 1977. i became one because i was constantly upset with the treatment i felt animals were given, especially cattle, swine, and fowl. but now i realize the health benefits of a diet without potentially carcinogenic and artificial ingredients. i love to make my own fresh vegetable and fruit juice, i use organic products whenever i can. this type of diet is so easy to get into, i wonder why more people aren't into it. i was raised in a "meat-n-potatoes" family, and i was able to give it up. the more i read about toxins, antibiotics, and chemicals imbedded in the food supply, the more i am glad i gave that up.

i hope i ...


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my father passed away in august of 2002. it took me a few months to get over it. me and him were really like brothers, since my mother abandoned us when i was 14. he lost the use of his legs back then, but he never lost his spirit. he put me through college, kept house, cooked, and did everything else for me.

what we had in common the most was sports, especially baseball. we used to go to many Yankees games each year, up until about 6 years ago. that's when he began to get weak and frail. be he still had a mind as sharp as a razor.

about 4 years ago, his health got so poor, i had to put him into a nursing facility. it broke my heart to do that, but i just couldn't give him the proper care any longer. up until that point, he did all his own cooking, cleaning, bathing, and personal needs. but after a serious urinary infection left him even more weak, it came time to place him in care.

luckily, there is a facility about 5 minutes from ...


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People seem to be in a good mood today, so i thought i'd chip in my 2 cents. the weather here in NY has been so nice lately. cool and dry, sunny, little wind. i love this time of year. the leaves are ready to turn into spectacular hues of red and gold, the pumpkins are ripe, fireplaces are bellowing out delicious smelling fragrences as the various woods are burned. the baseball playoffs are great, NFL football makes a great sunday afternoon diversion, soon hockey and basketball will be happening.
but for me, what i like to do best this time of year is go hiking. there is a county park nearby with 50 miles of hiking trails. i know a trail that leads to a cave that was once used by an itinerant hobo who wandered from Yonkers, NY to Stamford, CT, and back, on a regular basis in the last years of the 19th Century. he was known as the Leatherman by local farmers, who would often leave him scraps of food, or a pile of hay in the barn to sleep in in very ...


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the more i become involved with all my fellow RPer's, the more i like it. i have never been one to make friends too easily. i was socially awkward as a boy, and since i went to an all boys CATHOLIC high school, my social skills were never honed too well. college brought me out of my shell, and i enjoyed that period of my life. since then, i have met so many people, mostly through business. none of them i can say turned out to be friends. here at my present job, i have my co-workers. they are nice to spend the workday with, but other than that, i don't socialize with them. and i never go out to bars, i hate that whole scene.
when the internet came around, i become hooked on being in chat rooms and meeting people. that of course is so bogus, i hate to admit i ever fell for much of that crap. no one i ever met on line was anything like they said they were. i had a relationship with someone for years before i found out the pictures she ...


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I don't know what has happened lately, but since i have started reading the journals, i feel like i have found some long lost friends. remember when we were kids?? you met another kid....there was a brief pause, you smiled, they smiled, and BANG instant friendship. that's the way i feel here with all you people. we may be separated by the miles, but the miracle of technology has brought us closer together than ever.

there is a core group of us that write these journals, read them, rate the songs, exchange ideas in the forums. when i discovered RP, i never figured it would be something that could change my life. and i am not using hyperbole, either. i really do feel different lately.

it's an emotional change. when i read about what others have gone though, it breaks my heart. i want to reach out and HUG all of you in need. but by writing all this down for you to see, is it really doing good?? i know that sharing ...


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it's friday afternoon, about 5:30 EDT. i thought my work week was almost over, but i just found out i have to work tomorrow, SATURDAY, for half a day. it seems the people who run my company are so greedy, and so bereft of any private life, that they have to ruin my weekend.
now they tell me that, instead of working one saturday, then having the next 2 saturdays off, i have to work a full saturday, then the following week i have to work a half day. that sucks bigtime. now i only get to have one saturday off out of every three. makes it hard to plan on anything. i love to just do things on the weekend. sometimes i get in my car and drive for hours, enjoying the scenery. now that fall has just about arrived, the scenery is even better. now iave to drag my sorry butt into work again tomorrow morning. i'll have to deal with the idiots and cretins for a few hours, then i get to leave. Woo Hoo. i'll be so drained that i won't have the OOmph to do ...


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it's saturday, and i am forced to have to be here. i take turns with 2 other guys to work on saturdays. i work in a car dealership parts department. during the week, my job is kool. i do shipping and receiving, dispatch drivers, and put out fires started by the inept. but on saturday, i work "up front", dealing with the technicians and other swine. it's way too fast paced for a mellow guy like me. i get frazzled. luckily, i have RP to listen to. and, reading what all youse guys and gals write is a pisser, too. i laught a lot aloud, causing others to peer at me warily.
the whole banana thing is hilarious. its comforting to know others share my sick sense of humor. why are the people on line so much cooler than people i meet in real life?? i love to read the stuff kelli posts...she is my hero!!
well, gotta go....the hordes are beckoning.......see ya laterz!!
Caio

ok, i better begin......
it's Weds morning, August the 6th. overcast, hot, humid, no wind.
thank God for Radio Paradise. for years i drifted in the dank world of commercial radio. TOP40...yuck!! even the local college stations (once my only source for music) went over to either pop or hard-core Rap and House. i happen to like all kinds of music (except Barry Manilow), but i do crave VARIETY. something i get every moment i listen to RP.
let's see...great music, cool website, a DJ with a god-like voice, the best emoticons.....isn't that worth a few bucks a month?? that's a no-brainer!
bladerunner