Day 13

Here is a picture of my Alma Mada, besides Kemper. The University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

Another interest that got started at Kemper... yeah I know... what else is he going to talk about? Like I said, Kemper shaped me.

One of the rituals at graduation in May, was to clean out your room, so the room would be ready for the next fall with minimal mess. As a new boy my first year, of course more chores were bestowed upon us. This particular time I had trash duty. Which amounted to taking a big trash can around and seeing what people wanted to throw out. As I reached "Luscious's" room, he was ready for me. He started throwing things in, when two books caught my. Trust me when I say, that reading and writing were not developed or started at Kemper. And my love of this was developed by my mother.

Anyway, these two books I had never seen before. They were the "Executioner" series. At the time they were 38 books fiction books about a Viet Nam vet that comes home because of some deaths in his family due to the Mafia. He then wages war against them. Later on, they would be picked up, and he would fight the Mafia, Communism, Terrorists...etc. And it is still going on.

As I said, these were tow paperbacks that he was throwing out. I asked him if I could have them. He nodded and said sure. Thus began my love of the series. It is a series that would be considered dime store novels. It is basic good guys verses bad guys stuff, but love it. Unfortunately with my divorce and move that was a series I have to put on hold. But the good thing is this: when I was trying to get the initial 38, I loved heading for used book stores because that where I could find them. I have no problem if they are used.

Another hobby that has been put on hold is comic books. I know I sound like a big geek, nerd, etc. Don't care. :p Speaking of that (tangent here...) if yo haven't seen The Big Bang Theory on CBS on Monday night, catch it online at CBS or Hulu.com or some place. This is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time, because, as I told a friend, we know people like that. Hell we ARE people like that at times. Another series to check out, which is only on line, is something called The Guild at www.watchtheguild.com. But this deals with online gamers. But I have digressed. Back to comics.

At one time I collected a lot. Back in the days when comics were good. Now... I haven't seen a comic in years that I would consider any good. Of course my forte was a very particular genre, War Comics. And NO... Kemper didn't get me started on them. I remember very distinctly when I first was exposed to them.

I was getting my tonsils out in the 5th grade. A friend, whose dad owned the local drug store (and they are still in business in Glasgow, and I think he is the 6th or 7th generation to go into the pharmacy field; Henderson's Drug Store. Great memories and some of the nicest people I know)gave me a couple of comics. One of them was a Sgt Rock comic. Another life long love was born.

My problem as I see it, is that I am interested in many things. But, with the change in the last 10 years, many things have had to be put away; simplified if you will. One thing though, the memories I have will never be put away. And to a degree that's why I am writing. Like in the book and the movie, The Notebook, and yes I read the book and enjoyed the movie: by writing all this down-on the off chance that my memory starts to go (if it hasn't already) I can read what I wrote and try to remember.

Our Wow moment: Just because you may be playing a toon, there is a real person behind them. So watch what you say. Especially since out of 11 million playing, many are kids. So be nice.