A.G.E's Joint

  This river has been part of my life since I was in sixth grade. I've floated it, jumped off its rocks, and hiked all of its trails from Buford Dam to almost West Point. I've had deer snort at me, watched hawks screech as they got squirrels, and listened to immense bird life that exists along the stream bank.  This is Morgan Falls Dam. Where I live now is to the left of the picture. Where I grew up is to the right. Some of the best days of my life happened here. It was where  this story  happened. Many nights (and a few breakfasts) were forgotten in the parking lot.   There are peaceful nooks everywhere you go.  And I hope to keep enjoying it forever. 

 I had just gotten in from work when the phone rang. 'Hey, Hoser!'" Jim was as close to being Doug McKenzie without being from Canada.  "Yeah, Jim?" "Want some strange brew at Good Ol' Days?" My favorite converted Dairy Queen. It was Friday and I didn't have overtime tomorrow. Easy answer.  "What time?"  "About 8. Carol's coming." I had forgotten he was dating her. That woman can't hold her liquor to save her life. I wonder how long it will be before table dance? I think for a minute "I'll be there." It's better than watching the game. In ten minutes I've changed shirts and ready to go. Traffic was light for once. I get to the bar early and get a table outside. Molly, my regular waitress, comes up.  "Hey, Chirs. What will it be?" "A pitcher and three glasses, Jim and Carol are on their way." Her face fell. She knew it wasn't going to be Patty Cake.  "Tab or separate c...

 "Recommend this obituary to your friends." The line startled me when I read it. Was this hard-coded into the website or did some bored secretary stick it in the frame header?   The news wasn't unexpected. She'd been doing poorly for years. But it was a life worth celebrating and recommending. A 1970s-era housewife who roared. She set up a community services center for the disadvantaged and ran it through its first decade. She then handed the reins to capable management. She was a person you either adored or despised. Headstrong and used to getting her own way,. She stepped on many toes. But things did get done. The dissolution of a 30-year marriage after several kids was quite the bangarang for her friends. It seemed every week the Coconut Telegraph had something about her. The response was typical, go to seminary and spend the next 25 years in hospital chaplaincy, taking three of her friends with her.  I look around the room. People who had known her way back when ...

Short cuts Cheat sheets Funicular railways Built into mountainsides To get to the top Before Superman Only in America Is speed valued  Over quality.

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