My son Riley and Jessica are in Phoenix trying to expand their family. Ain't they cute :-)

Catfish, onion rings, hush puppies and coleslaw. In a roadside diner in southern Tennessee. The waitresses were dressed up as catsup and mustard and my lunch partner Daniel was cracking sexual innuendo jokes to them and they just dripped all over the table.

Then we went north of town into amish country where I bought some local grown goat cheese, pickles and honey from a couple different small farms. The taste combination was amazing and I need to introduce the local honey into the mix. Oh, and we stopped by the drag strip and a couple antique stores.

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No description needed here...

Back in 1974 I lived in Oakland, CA with my Japanese wife Marci. Our best friends were Dave and Pam, Dave and I went to high school together and Pam was his Chinese girlfriend from Sacramento.

One night they headed across the Bay so Pam could participate in the Miss Chinatown USA beauty pageant. Marci and I both had early mornings so we didn't go but at 0200 in the morning Dave called and said she had won!

He also said he had to go somewhere and asked me to be her escort in the upcoming week of festivities in Chinatown and I said hell ya! We did lots of great dinners with San Francisco city big shots, and had a blast.

Later that year I landed in Sacramento, coming back from a Greyhound bus trip. I had bonded with a bunch of good old boys on the bus and we were hanging out in front of the station when Pam pulled up in her convertible, jumped out wearing a halter top and shorts and ran up and embraced me. As we drove off, the boys were scraping their jaws off the sidewalk.

Years later she was working as a model in L.A. and I got to hang out with her backstage at a show. It was my turn to scrape my jaw off the carpet from hanging out with a bunch of beautiful naked women. Anyway, life moved on, we all lost touch and all I have is memories, which I have just shared with you.

It really pays to do your civic duty, I got a free pen!

If Biden somehow pulls this off, which I strongly believe he won't, I'm going to bail on this country and drag my sad old Parkinsons ridden body down to Roatan Honduras and die on a beach as a happy, fucked up, maybe well fucked, gringo.

Hey wait, that doesn't sound so bad, can I change my vote?

Amazon/USPS shipping is falling apart in my neck of the woods. After the debacle with my watch where I had to cancel and reorder because it got lost, I ordered a couple of things on Sunday (watch band, key chain light) and it should have arrived Monday morning. Here you go!

Sunday, October 25

*** order placed, package has shipped

 • 11:44 PM arrived at Nashville, TN

*** at this point, ready for early morning USPS ship down to Lawrenceburg.

Monday, October 26

*** but for some reason, it went to Kentucky

 • 10:05 AM arrived at Horse Cave, KY US

*** and by the end of the day, at a different Kentucky location

 • 10:03 PM arrived at Louisville Ky

*** twice

 • 11:03 PM arrived at Louisville Ky

*** finally left Kentucky

 • 11:57 PM left Louisville, KY

Tuesday, October 27

*** ooops, now it really left Kentucky

 • 4:41 AM left Louisville, KY

*** and arrived back in Nashville

 • 7:45 AM arrived at Nashville, TN

*** yey! left Nashville, again

 • 8:29 AM left Nashville, TN

*** and left again

 • 8:44 AM left Nashville, TN

*** and back again

 • 9:57 AM arrived at Nashville, TN

*** spent the morning in Nashville, left again

 • 1:31 PM left Nashville TN

Wednesday, October 28

*** no idea where it's at!

Update: (0730)

 • 3:34 AM really left Nashville TN

 • 5:14 AM arrived at Pulaski, TN

*** why 20 miles down the road?

 • 6:51 AM arrived at Lawrenceburg, TN

*** maybe it will make the truck this morning?

Update: (0930)

 • 9:30 AM arrived at my house

I'm a fan of Amazon and I really think the issue is with the USPS. I was in text contact with an Amazon rep early this morning who apologized for the delay, gave me a $30 credit towards my next order and suddenly the shipment accelerated, landing in my box an hour earlier than everyday normal delivery.

The Place app I wrote for this blog has more than a million hits. Each hit represents someone around the world looking at it, and since the app itself is only presented within the blog, they are all visiting oldmanjim.com. Along with the other apps, that's over two million visits since I created it two years ago.

I sometimes tend to dump my heart into a post for the world to see and it feels good! Later on I may wake up in the middle of the night and trash it. I have 25 such posts currently tucked away.

OMG Yes! Don't you just love those moments in your life when that phrase explodes from your soul like an orgasm?

I just had that happen as I watched a YouTube video on Parkinsons, which I have never done before. I plugged it into the search box and a wonderful woman neurologist came on who proceeded to describe my life.

As the vibrations have increased daily, even while taking dopamine, I have fallen victim to depression, substance abuse and a general don't give a shit attitude about life. Meanwhile, my exercise regime has totally jumped the shark.

The answer is: Parkinsons and exercise are joined at the hip! Early this last summer I was in great shape, tossing float tubes around, and substance free. I felt terrific as I headed off for a road trip and multiple adventures, and along the way I forgot to work out, started drinking a lot and smoking pot. WTF!

Since I've settled in for the winter the tremors have grown stronger. I joined a gym a while ago but haven't been back there once, just couldn't get motivated, and now I'm at a turning point!

Do I take the easy decadent way out and just let my life, brain and testicles explode into a vibrating old depressed drunk and move down to Roatan Honduras, or do I get my ass back in shape and give this thing the best shot I've got?

P.S. I took this shot, source here.

I have two wifi connections sitting by my living room TV. One controls the house and one controls my devices. If you walk in my place all you have to do is scan the code on my wall to hook up to devices.

btw: This is what I was doing four years ago.

A1C is a fraud of big pharma and there is nothing to lower. I'm in the B&P with dopamine corner and there is plenty to lower.

No human contact today, good football, sweet pussy and life vibes on...

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This teddy bear was a gift to me when I was born prematurely and placed into an iron lung for a week down in southern California more than 74 years ago.

How it has remained in my life despite losing all of my possessions multiple times over, is a magical mystery.

I did a good thing today. Faced with 50 days before I can see a specialist to deal with the genetic Parkinsons that's kicking my ass, I stopped by my local clinic and walked out with a prescription for dopamine. I told the doctor straight up that I take no meds and proud of it, but I need this one.

He initially said that taking it could skew the official diagnosis but I told him that if it worked, it would validate it. He smiled, and agreed. Doctor visit with my medicare advantage: $10.

I had them send the script to my local Walgreens and I went home for a bit so they could fill it and found Steph waiting, so we drove down to Alabama for lunch. When we got back they didn't have the drug in stock, not until tomorrow, and it costs $85 for a sixty day supply. I gave them my medicare advantage card and, $10.

This is the lowest level of dopamine dispensed. I'll take it and I would be thrilled if the tremors settled down in the slightest. Armed with 49 days of dopamine consumption history I will see the neurologist on Dec 11, and we can tweak the dosage from there.

My neighbor brought over a piece of wire from a new grain silo he's wiring. Then he drove me to the site and let me climb inside to shoot a video.

The wire is the diameter of a dime and it's a bitch to bend.

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All of my latest toys have arrived, they've been installed and connected, and everything works great.

I've placed two wifi hubs behind my main tv in the living room driven by ethernet from my office, where I sleep, and wifi no longer emanates from there because it's off.

One hub drives my Echo (pre-original) along with the house smart devices like lights and coffee. The other hub provides internet to my phone, tablets, smart watch and the Ring camera mounted outside facing the street.

When I walk outside now my screens start buzzing and my wrist starts a knocking. I am so glad to have made it to 2020 and still have the smarts to pull this off!

I've developed a technique of breaking down my day into simple words or catch phrases:

Lewisburg: The name of the small town to the east that received the Amazon package destined for me in Lawrenceburg. I called that post office today and spoke to a great guy who confirmed that my new Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 that should have been in my hands Sunday was totally out floating around the universe.

Ashley: The Amazon rep I contacted who called me back from a Seattle prefix but was actually in Uruguay. Sweet voice, great English, it felt like a date and then she ordered me a new watch, be here tomorrow.

MonarchC: Riley and Brian's website https://monarchc.com is now on security steroids and the url is ready for business cards. Brian's wife is working on content.

Fifty Two: The number of days before I can see the neurologist. Tremors are worsening, quality of life is going to hell and I need drugs now. I'll be melting on the sidewalk as a quivering blob of mush before Dec 11.

My neighbor Daniel drops by on occasion to get his Piper Time.

There was a time when my programming skills were in very high demand, right out of college in 1971 thru 1992 actually. I made and spent a ton of money, helped form several startup companies and it was quite a ride.

Then I got into transportation up in Seattle and code went dormant for 15 years. As I was leaving town to Idaho with Steph I had started writing code again and I never stopped.

Isn't life funny? I never thought I would end up alone on a little dead-end street in a small town in southern Tennessee. Still creating, occasionally on the cutting edge, and it all means very little in the broad scope of the world.

I'm also old enough and wise enough to know that life is where you land, either live and enjoy it or suffer and die.

Sometimes you need to walk down to the creek and take a deep breath. Of whatever you have in hand.

I expect the stuff I buy online to arrive when promised and because I'm an old impatient man I get pissed when it don't. I bought that smart watch from Amazon on Saturday for a Sunday delivery and according to the USPS site it was dropped at their facility in Lewisburg, TN at 0520 Sunday morning and it's still there now on Monday morning.

Amazon tells me sorry and if it doesn't arrive in a couple of days, to ask for a refund. Screw that, if my buddy the postman Richard doesn't put it my hands by 1100 this morning I may just slam the brakes on it now.

Then I called the local neurologists office to make an appointment and she told me December 2 is the soonest. I'm sure she detected the shock in my voice as I asked huh? and it turns out several nearby neurologists have recently gone under, and they absorbed all the patients.

Oh well, another Monday morning in Tennessee in 2020 and I'm just glad to be alive!

Update: Nope, so I contacted a customer service rep at Amazon and got this:

I am escalating the issue to the concerned team. We will try to deliver it as soon as possible. The new deadline for its delivery is Tuesday, October 20, 2020 12:00 AM (PDT). In an unlikely event, if you don't get it by the deadline then you can contact us and we will help you with a full refund or a replacement.

So tomorrow by noon. Do you really think this person has a "concerned team" that's going to strike fear in USPS and demand they find their customers package and get it in his mailbox quickly at any cost?

It's just a carefully crafted phrase that plugs in current date and order data generated by possibly the press of a human finger, or perhaps not.... It was followed by the leading question: Sound good?

God help me, I just want the damned watch!

Go big or go home. My new Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is arriving today and I can't wait to introduce her to my Samsung S20+. The FDA has approved the companies EKG and blood pressure apps so it's like having a doctors office on your wrist.

I went with the bigger one: 45mm, GPS, Bluetooth, black and I've got a new band here waiting.

It's really amazing how life fluctuates over a lifetime, and most of my 74 year memories are still at my disposal. Thank you god.

I've been dumping my daily life out to the internet with two blogs since June 6, 2011. I was down in Vegas hanging with Riley and Jess when I created BusDriverJim. That wonderful blog spanned 7+ years of my life in Teton Valley, ID and then I moved here to Lawrenceburg, TN and started this blog which is now into it's third year.

I've also written a huge amount of code while hunkered down here in Tennessee. Creativity has erupted in the last couple of years and I am proud of the work.

I never thought I'd say this but half of the photos I shoot these days are on my phone. My smart S20+ does great in a lot of situations but sometimes I just need to take my digital out for a walk strapped into my 16m Sigma lens with the f-stop pumped to max while the ISO kisses 100. Know what I mean?

One of my most treasured sources of pride is the fact that I don't take medicine of any kind, haven't for years. That means no pills, no stuff out a bottle, no injections, nuttun. That's not to say that I don't put bad shit inside me, just nothing pharmaceutical :-)

Sadly, this stretch may be coming to an end. The constant internal vibration from Parkinsons is wearing me down and I need to address it. There's a neurologist in the hospital complex just down the road from me so I'll make an appointment for a little L-Dopa, and go from there.

I sent this photo out last night to a few, and grand-daughter Taylor wanted to know if I was naked. Considering this is a dog walking area of a large rest area off a major interstate, the answer is: ...

As I rolled through southern Indiana towns early this morning where every second was a new adventure I realized that despite being flat broke a few times and no roof over my head a couple of times, I've had a pretty good 74 years.

As the sun rose over Kentucky I knew that the good life is continuing, and I'm very grateful.

I keep asking my phone Where Am I? Just now she said I was at a rest area off I70/40 just West of Terre Haute, Indiana, called the Sugar Creek Complex.

Well, aint that slick, I'm going to hang out here for a while, drop on by!

Alright, maybe I am just an old hippie...

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Regular readers of this blog have undoubtedly noticed me bitching about Parkinsons so let me elaborate. I first noticed it about 12 years ago lying in bed in the quiet of the Idaho mountains. It was a very small vibration inside my body and I said to myself "what the hell is that?". Over the years it has continued to grow stronger and now it's like a large nuclear powered 24/7 vibrator has been shoved up my ass and taken residence in the middle of my body. It's always there and it never stops.

Sometimes, when I'm buzzed and stoned, I don't notice it as much. Medical marijuana is a proven therapy for Parkinsons and is legal in 33 states. Unfortunately, Tennessee ain't one of them. So now when I travel into a legal state I pick some up, which ultimately has my friends and family thinking I'm just an old stoner. So be it.

The gene comes from my dad's side, and my brother in the nursing home had it full blown when I saw him about six years ago. I'm lucky I don't have the external tremors but I notice my hands often times don't do what I ask. The disability is inevitable.

I ran out of Colorado shit weeks ago and my body is now a vibrating fucking mess. I'll stop bitching now, thanks for reading.

The leaves in my yard are starting to hit the ground and soon it will be solid yellow. Back in Idaho Steph would spend days raking and bagging the leaves, which I always thought should have stayed put.

Hey Steph, want to tackle this? You can gather walnuts while you're at it!

Life is dangerous. Live it fully and without fear while you still have a pulse, even if you end up going down the drain.

Every afternoon I walk down to my fade away spot, sit on the rocks with the sun to my back, and reflect on the many chapters of my life. Now I wonder if some day I'll look back and think then there was Tennessee, or is this the final chapter...

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Piper always pretends to have no interest in TV but some 4K flyovers last night got her attention.

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When I get thrown under someone's bus, I never crawl out, I just move on. It's a fact I've learned about myself, it is what it is, even if it means losing love.

When I touch my cheek I used to say "I should shave today", now I say "maybe I'll shave today".

The tremors only stop when I numb my brain and control of my hands is heading south. It's very depressing.

My new smart home routine starts the coffee, turns on the living room and kitchen lights at 50%, sets the volume on my Echo down to 30% (in case I was blasting music the night before) and then she say's "Good morning Jim", tells me the weather and checks my messages, whenever I say Computer, good morning from my bed.

I think I'm done taking cross-country trips in my old truck, she needs a break.

Thank god I've got my cat...

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