Happy New Year

Howdy Folks, and Happy New Year. Sorry I haven't written. I can't guarantee that "I'm back", or that I'll be blogging even as much as I did last year (which was very little compared to years past), but I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still here, still alive, hanging in there, etc....and I trust you are, too. I hope you had a nice holiday season. I very much enjoyed seeing the Christmas lights on my nightly walks. I sure do miss Christmastime with Pearl, and before that, with my parents, but I can feel them in my heart and know they are with me always. New Year's Day was always a big one for me and Pearl. She loved the Rose Parade (so do I) and because KTLA re-ran it all day long, I'd just leave the TV on that station and let it play...

I'm finalizing my second book, which I hope to have out by my birthday (or July at the latest). As with "Pearl the Wonder Girl", it will also feature me and Pearl, but this time it's the story of my years as her caregiver. I can't give you the title just yet, but you'll know it in a few months.

I went to a concert a couple weeks ago : Sixpence None the Richer at The Troubadour on December 15. Do you guys like them? I became a fan pretty much from the get-go, way back around the turn of the milliennium when "Kiss Me" was constantly on the radio. They also had a huge hit with "There She Goes." I love Leigh Nash's voice, and the clean sound of the guitar melodies. But they are more than those two hit singles. They have a ton of longer, deeper songs on their first three albums. They were billed as an alternative Christian band, which is a label just like any other label (King's X was called a Christian hard rock band), and I don't know if that had a detrimental effect on their career, or what happened, but the thing was...they should've been huge. Maybe it was because they arrived at the end of the '90s rather than at the beginning or midway through, when '90s music was on the way out and Rap & Electronic "music" was on the way in (and hasn't left and seems like it won't ever go away).

They broke up in 2004, and though they've made music intermittently since then, they never toured and it felt like "what should've been" for Sixpence never reached fruition. But now they're back, with a great new EP called "Rosemary Hill" (you'll know why I love that title), and if the Troubadour show was any indication, they've got a second chance ahead of them if they stay together. They may not ever play The Forum, but they've got a rabid cult of fans who hollered and applauded after every song like you'd see at a heavy metal concert. I was right in the middle, about 12 feet from Leigh Nash. It was like getting to see Linda Ronstadt or (name any great singer you can think of)...

Anyway, I love The Troubadour. It's like The Whisky - you just walk in and there's the stage. I took the bus there again, like I did for David Gilmour at the Hollywood Bowl in October. No subway this time. Four buses from my apt. to The Troub. Not as complicated (or as bad) as it sounds. Smooth connections, minimal waiting. I didn't take my car because it's got some issues (overheating, gotta get it repaired so I can go to Disneyland).

I ask you: is there anything more important than Disneyland? The answer is no. Thanks for playing.

My life remains off-the-charts. If I (or you) thought it was weird the last time I wrote you, well...

It's long since left the Solar System. Thank goodness the (potential) emergency situation I referred to in my last blog has been eliminated. It was like a prayer being answered. Thank You, Lord.

I wanna get back to hiking this year. Would you believe I haven't been out on the trail since June? Yep, and that's no good. I do have a new, six-mile mega walk (featuring many Important Landmarks!) that I've been going on every night since late November, so I'm definitely getting my exercise, but man I miss my parks. Such is life when you decide you want to write books...because it's not just writing...you also have to do research (which takes a lot of time), then you have to compile and organise everything, and edit...and when you're in the process of learning everything you never knew about your life...it's hard to "do all the other stuff you used to do" before you decided to write books.

I miss singing, too. I'd love to sing in choir again. Maybe somehow I can make that happen. I love all my friends at the church.

I miss taking pictures....("But Ad, it was your decision to write books") ("Yeah, but I didn't know it would be so time-consuming") ("Yeah, but look at all the stories you have in the works") ("That's true") ("Okay stop talking to yourself") ("Okay")

I can't even believe I didn't go to Disneyland last year. There ought to be a penalty for that. I should castigate myself in some way...

Maybe if I go twice this year (or four times) I can let myself off the hook.

Are there any fellow Disneylanders out there who'd like to go with me?

Well anyhow, Happy New Year and I'll try to write more often. But even when I don't, please know that you're always on my mind.