A.G.E's Joint

 They say there is safety in numbers Not anymore Crowds press in Gobbling air. Leaving me  Spellbound At the noise.

It's a writer's choice week and I'm going with a rant.  In the last several weeks the news has been filled with rioting and what not. Many of the aggrieved folks... Nah. We don't need to hear my blathering about statues being graven images and false idols. There's already way too much of that out there.  Instead ow about another story from my work past.  For several years in the 90s, I worked for the agency that provided mental health services for the state of Georgia as a payroll supervisor. It was a fast-paced, challenge with an employee base ranging from janitors to doctors. Among the places we serviced were full-time mental hospitals. One of the facilities I worked with was called The Georgia Mental Health Institute or GMHI, located a few miles from my office in Atlanta. You'll recognize the campus if you are a fan of the series " Stranger Things ". This is the set. At the time I was working, it was one of the smaller units in the system, with 600 ...

Holly came from Miami, F.L.A. Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way Shaved her legs and then he was a she She says, "Hey, babe Take a walk on the wild side" She said, "Hey, honey Take a walk on the wild side"   Lou Reed, 1972 Before I was married, I was club kid.  From the mid 1970's through most of the 1980's, I could be found at various music venues in Atlanta and Athens. 40 Watt, Little Five Points Pub and Agora Ballroom dictated my schedule with both up and coming and national acts. I was always looking for the next best sound.   Because I was also fooling around on College radio, I occasionally got to meet the musicians and get a feel for where they were coming from and where they were going.   During this time I had a friend, Steven.  A gentle soul, he was the first truly Gay person I spent any significant time with. He was the brother of a girl a bunch of us used to date.  We accepted hi...