My heart and soul are like a pair of black holes slowly merging together towards that ultimate destiny known as death. One pumps and one spins and together they form the internal vibration that I have lived with for years which only grows stronger with time. The formula is: (H+S)*(P+S)/T = D.

Spotted a strange thing in the park today...

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I've turned my new web card format into a template. It's dynamically configurable internally and can be brought up to speed quickly. My grand-daughter Shelby expressed an interest in having her own so we quickly agreed upon aboutshelby.com, I grabbed the domain, and ported the template over.

I've plugged in a few things but now it's in her corner to decide what she wants to say about herself and what she wishes to share with the world. She told me a new additional business is on the horizon and the template can handle it easily.

It's in very raw format at the moment but you can click that pretty face below to try it out!

btw: She inherited that lazy eye from me :-)

I went for my normal walk down by the creek this morning and four adorable little kittens came running out of the bushes and right up to my feet. I knew instantly that whatever I had planned for the day was out the window. As I walked back to the house they followed me and cried as I went into the house for food, water and milk.

I called the local animal control officer and she told me the shelter only takes dogs. She thanked me for stepping up and suggested social media, the local radio station and Walmart as the only viable means of finding them a home.

My neighbor Daniel got me a large box and supplies to make a sign which read: Abandoned Kittens, Please Help! and I started to head to Walmart when Crissinda showed up and snatched the grey one. I had reached out to her for help earlier and it was great to see her.

Me and the kittens were popular at Walmart. I plopped the box down right by the front entrance and met a ton of nice people. One lady worked at some animal place and identified all three as males, six to seven weeks old. I found homes for each of them!

I am now hoping that my kitty karma is high so I can find some nice person to house sit Piper, who never even knew the drama that unfolded on her porch today.

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btw: Here's the Piper:

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It's interesting how two islands so close to each other can be so different. You've seen the mellowness of Caye Caulker, welcome to San Pedro.

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These days a simple and easy to remember website is like a virtual business card. Recently I was talking to a couple on a plane and I said in parting, drop by my blog! Later on if they remember the Old Man named Jim on the plane, they will remember my blog.

From the site they can learn a lot about me and extract my email address if they wished to connect. If I had a business and was promoting something I would have my phone number and address there also, but I am not.

I believe my assessment that the Covid vaccine affected my ability to concentrate, thus unable to write code since, was correct. Fortunately, it's effect is declining and my code writing is returning.

Yesterday I woke up with an idea to strip my RideQue app down into a simple vanity page, and since my friend Crissinda is helping me find a cat sitter, and she has a small business, I chose her for the first implementation. The first step was to find a cool domain name with a .com extension. Gee, guess what I found, and bought for $10: crissinda.com. How cool is that!

I trust your getting the concept here. Now, when she meets a new contact, instead of handing them a business card she simply says go to crissinda.com. I guarantee you, they will be impressed!

So how did it turn out after a major coding session? Here you go: crissinda.com. It's still under development, but ready for a look.

btw: Shelby and Brian, you're next if you would like.

I'm in a dark place but all I have to do is remember the taste of a fresh cut coconut on the deck of a beachfront condo on a tropical island to lighten things up.

Various signs around Caye Caulker and San Pedro, Belize.

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I spent Fathers Day 2021 drinking alone up at David Crockett State Park in southern Tennessee doing a deep dive into how the fuck I got here.

I kept looking for starting points. What were the key events that formed me as a man. Was it at the age of seven when my stepdad bailed on my brother and I when we discovered he wasn't our real dad, and the beatings began? Was it when I hitch-hiked out of Paradise, CA at 16 to explore the world and nobody gave a shit. Was it the honorable discharge from the Navy because I scored the highest GCT test they had seen and didn't want to mess up my life. Was it the Haight Ashbury and all those drugs?

What the hell brought me to that point in life where I failed totally as a father and bailed on my daughter Becky when she was a teenager. It fucked her up badly and she went on to a life of drugs, multiple partners, and many children. It is the biggest regret of my life.

After bottoming out so many times I arose from the ashes to become a good father to Riley. Most of the cycles were finally broken and all I could focus on was being a good dad and role model to him. It actually helped me become a better man.

He is now 34 and I am 74. His life is solid, he has a good woman, and a baby on the way. He's landed much better than me. That's alright, I've accepted all of the most recent stuff that has put me here alone. I am a grown old man with a good truck, a little travel money, and an urge to hit some music venues this summer. And I can still dance...

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Happy Fathers Day son.

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It was a beautiful sunny afternoon on Secret Beach, San Pedro Belize when a few storm clouds rolled in and I thought, hmmm. The next morning when I got up it was raining and coming down pretty good but it was warm and refreshing so I walked through it up to the main street where a vendor made me some fresh coffee in a pan. We were flying out shortly so I didn't care if it was raining.

As I watch the weather now I see that tropical storm moving up across the gulf towards the states and realize I was right there when it formed. Small world. The temp here in Tennessee is a balmy eighty with low humidity and I can only imagine the hell Arizona is in now.

I remember well a road trip few years back where I scooted along the Death Valley border with Arizona in my truck in the summer with no a/c and the thermometer read 119. No thanks, once is enough.

It looks like this storm is going to veer to the south of us, which is just fine. Now if I can just find a cat sitter I can get a few road trips in this summer.

Cuckoo bird at the Belize zoo.

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Threw some stuff together here, from San Pedro island:

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Here's a cruise around Caye Caulker island from the reverse perspective of the back of a golf cart:

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Here's a little video of the ride back to Caye Caulker in the water taxi after the Cave Tubing day. Sit back and smell the salt air from the front of the boat.

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And this is some really long hair on a Caulker girl, from the bar above the street:

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Local bar across from our hotels on Caye Caulker.

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Here's that encounter with the boys from the U.K. at Secret Beach.

Update: Created a high-res version (still experimenting).

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Also, here's the hot sauce we used for meals non-stop down there, amazing:

Just bought a couple bottles from Amazon (read the reviews) :-)

I shot 145 videos on this trip in 4K at 64M with my amazing little DJI Pocket 2. It's so easy to shoot I would just hand it off to people to have fun with. It's going to take weeks to wade through, convert down, and edit them all but here's one I just grabbed for a YouTube test, uploaded full res and raw, just to see it.

This was shot coming back from a day on Secret Beach on San Pedro island, Belize, rocking out to my new sweetheart, Miley Cyrus.

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Between Customs and passports, it was difficult getting into Belize and it was downright comical getting out. How many times do you need to drop your mask, remove your shades and hat, just so they can verify you are who you are, again and again!

Then you put women behind the flight carrier microphones that barely speak English and they're doing it through a heavy tight mask, and you have no idea what they are saying. In Miami we were herded through lines that felt like a cows last walk down the chute to slaughter.

I decided to buy a drink at the Miami Airport (just one because I was driving home from Nashville) and they served my Vodka Water as a plastic cup with water and ice along with a shot glass of their house vodka (Absolute). The $14.65 tab would have covered an evening of drinking in Belize. Never again.

Just got home after a drive south and all is well. Brian and Nadia on the other hand missed their flight to Jackson, Wy because of the Customs, Covid re-entry crap.

Ok, this adventure is over for me, and I can't wait to get my baby Piper out of Vet boarding hell tomorrow.

Man, what is it about me, why do I attract men who want to get me stoned? Today we're having an amazing time at Secret Beach, I'm dancing in the sand to some fine rhythm coming from the nearby bar when this Rastafarian dude walks up with a superbly rolled joint of local shit and passes it smoothly into my hand while introducing himself as the King.

He flashed on Brian's "Dive Bar" tee shirt and said if we hit that place tonight, to mention we hung with the King. Works for me!

Speaking of men, a bunch of gay guys from the U.K. hit on me when I passed their table in the ocean (yea...), it was fun, but not quite as much fun as marveling how a string can completely disappear from a bikini on a bubble butt.

We took care of business this morning, bought our tickets for a short hop to the Belize airport tomorrow and then took a negative Covid test, heading out for dinner now...

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This morning I staggered over to the main drag for some hot instant coffee and the special, a plate of good stuff with orange juice. The kids are still crashed but today we take the rented golf cart to Secret Beach, for some fun in the sun.

Last full day and tomorrow we charter a small plane to take us directly to the Belize airport. Oh, and somewhere along the way we need to get fresh negative Covid tests or they won't let us leave for 14 days.

I'll update this post when the day is done...

Our digs, The Hotel Del Rio:

What an amazing evening on San Pedro island, off the coast of Belize. We hit the bar across the street from our sweet hotel on the beach, and smacked happy hour down. Then as I was leaving, a couple of good old boys hanging out in a boat tied to the dock flagged me over and shared a blunt with me.

Freshly stoned, I was standing outside our hotel digs waiting for the kids to continue the adventure down the strip, when I met Jim. He was my age, owned the place we were staying at, and has lived here off and on for the last twenty three years.

We ended up at the locals bar down the road where Nadia played their trivia game and Brian and Jim and I bonded...

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We left Caye Caulker early this morning so the kids could dive the great barrier reef out of San Pedro. We pulled up to the island around 0900 but unfortunately our bags didn't make it on our boat, they were headed back to Belize City. Major screw-up on their part but they were finally brought to our new hotel here around 1pm, just barely enough time for Brian and Nadia to get to their dive shop on the other end of the island.

So I'm free for a bit and craving a fry jack but the shops stop making them after breakfast, except one little old lady that whipped me up a beauty.

I visualized today several times during the last few weeks. Standing at the top of the stairs leading down from my deck to the street. Nothing but shorts on, warm sun tanning my body while I watch the very brown natives and bikini clad tourists walk by.

It's just as imagined, with the bonus of soft rock reggae with a beat floating constantly across the sand from the nearby bar where I had great pork tacos for dinner last night.

Today we chill. Brian and I had the comp breakfast at his place this morning and then walked the island. I got some great shots with my Sony and now he's off feeding Nadia and I'm loving it on the porch.

I think we're going to swim, and some chick from Canada, been here 22 years, invited us into her Mango Restoration house for a tour, so who knows...

Tomorrow we water taxi to San Pedro island for two days, then done.

We got half the agenda done yesterday and still made the 3pm ferry back, which is fine considering we're on island time. Our guide Skinny showed up on the morning ferry to Belize City, coming from San Pedro island. We rode over to the mainland together, rented a car, and drove to the zoo.

The place was as much about local plants and trees as it was about the animals native to Belize and I grabbed some great video which I'll stitch together when I get home.

Next up was cave tubing. I didn't research this one because Brian had asked me not to, so I had no idea what to expect. We were met at the caves by our next guide who was a friend of Skinnys and one of the few people in the world allowed to take people into this national park and explore beyond just a float through the cave.

He knew every inch of this huge place and was the point man for National Geographic when they came to town. In other words, we weren't confined to tubes, we were going spelunking!

With life vests on and helmets with lights strapped to our heads, we floated into the cave. I made the choice to leave my camera behind, which was wise, I probably would have lost it.

To say that the place was incredible and truly mind blowing is an understatement. We floated through huge chambers and then down into pitch black side caverns where we got out and hiked into. These caves were a worshiping place for the Mayan Indians in 2500 BC and I got to hold their pottery remnants in my hand. The normal tourists just floated through, but we had the guide.

We stayed in there way too long, missed out on our other agendas and barely made the 3pm ferry back.

To sum it up, I've been on this earth a long time and seen some amazing things, but this just may be my most profound experience. At one point we were standing deep inside a cavern and I was moved to tears by the sheer beauty around me...

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I had a great evening with Brian and Nadia, good food, drink and amazing ocean water. We headed to our respective hotels (which are next door) relatively early due to the insane day they have planned out for today.

They hired a private guide to take us to the mainland to visit the zoo, pet the iguanas, ride float tubes through caves, topped off with an insane zip ride. As long as we make the last ferry of the evening from Belize, we're good, otherwise...

It looks like I got the better room deal, it's bigger, ground floor, (Apt 1) and has a balcony facing the ocean right above the street. And, I woke up this morning to discover a coffee pot, fresh water and ground coffee. It's 0445, I'm on my second pot, and we take off for the ferry at 0600.

Life is good!

Tiny little black bugs were drawing blood from my legs as I lounged behind my truck at the travel place in Franklin. Turns out it was free parking after all and they refunded my $20. I went in the store and asked the cute cashier with the great ass if they had any bug spray, and she said follow me, which I gladly did.

No bug spray but she sold me a jug of Clorox bleach, gave me a cup to mix it with water, and said this should work. It actually did and as I sit here in the Miami airport people are social distancing because I smell like a laundry room.

Now high over the Gulf of Mexico using Airbus A319 wifi to send this post. Click!

Yea, I'd never heard that phrase before either, but apparently they are a staple breakfast item in Belize, savory fried dough stuffed with a combination of beans, meat, eggs and cheese.

Amazing coffee with a fry jack for breakfast, and lobster every night for dinner, I think I have my food planned out.

Man I am so ready to be out of here...

I wonder if you can get them stuffed with lobster?

My real family is having a baby! Son Riley and his wife Jess are throwing a gender reveal party today for family and friends at their beautiful home in the hills outside Orting, WA.

They wanted to stream it live but poor internet comes with seclusion, so a friend is recording it. I will upload it to YouTube when it arrives in my inbox, and post it here!

Here you go:

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My Urophylla arrived today, just in time for my trip!

Perhaps you might get a kick out of how a wired dude such as myself plans a trip to Belize:

The day before my flight from Nashville to Miami I'll log in to American Airlines and print my boarding pass for the 6:15am flight.

I'll leave the house at 3:45pm and drop Piper off at the Northside Vet at 4pm for six days of boarding at $25 a day, reservation is made.

Then I'll drive 60 miles to the big T/A Travel Center off Hwy 65, Exit 61, where I have booked and paid for a $20 parking spot for the evening. I just call a number when I'm almost there and someone will guide me to my spot. These are big truck parking areas where I'll pull out my folding chair, grab a bite at the store and kick back and relax.

After a good nights sleep inside my canopy I'll grab some coffee at the travel center store about 2:30am and then mosey 30 miles up the road to Fly Away Parking where they're expecting me at 3:30am. My reservation both ways to the airport nearby is paid for ($62), and I just scan my code to get in, park my truck, and they drive me straight to the A/A airport entrance.

After a two hour layover in Miami (been there, done that) I'll fly to Belize. I'm going to miss the 1200 ferry over to the island we're staying at so I'll have to spend a couple hours in Belize City until the 3pm ferry. Darn, what am I going to do. :-)

The ferry ride is 45 minutes and I'll check into the Caye Caulker Condos, where my room is booked for three nights. Brian and Nadia should already be checked into the Seadreams Hotel next door, we'll hook up, and let the party begin!

I recently stated in a post (which I took down) that it was a mistake to move here, and I am now rethinking that position.

My friend Crissinda told me it can't be chalked up to a mistake or bad decision if it has left any good memories, adventures, experiences, or new people. She's right of course, since I've had some great adventures (eleven day cruise to the Caribbean, road trips all over the south and midwest, reconnecting with my grand-daughter Shelby down in Pensacola, a great cross country road trip back west last summer, and now on to Belize) along with good experiences and nice people along the way.

My life has stabilized economically with cheap rent, low monthly bills, $300 a year vehicle insurance and a great Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plan. Today I drove sixty miles to Franklin, TN and got my tires rotated for free at Discount Tire, then I had half the teeth in my head pulled out (only had eight) at a top rated dentist down the road from there with zero deductible, and then paid five bucks for pain pills.

I have a passport and I'm double vaxed. I have a gym membership at Workout Anytime that doesn't cost me a dime. What the hell am I bitching about!

None of this would have occurred if I had stayed in the Idaho log home, so allow me to stand corrected.

p.s. I was in the waiting room on the third floor of the fancy dentist waiting room, looking out over beautiful Franklin, TN, and I told the receptionist "I haven't been this high since traveling through Colorado last summer!" Cracked her up :-)