20 years

I was 19 when I got married. I was working part time at a Safeway
carrying out groceries. Kim worked part time at a drug store; she was
17, but just a couple of weeks away from being 18. (No, she wasn’t
pregnant.) I gotta say this 20th wedding anniversary was harder than
the 20-year high school reunion from last year. At least I had a job
then. As our weekend away from home and kids wound down today I got to
thinking back to when we were first married compared to where we are
now. Of course there’s a lot of good stuff in there, but I kept coming
back to, “I don’t have a job.” At least, back then, I was carrying out
groceries, working for a manager who screwed me out of a promotion so
he could hire another pretty girl (and the union did jack shit to help
me when I filed a grievance, I might add). Yeah, I’ve always had crap
luck with jobs; I either hate my job or it ends. Or, in the case of
OCU, I came to hate it late and then it ended.

Back to the anniversary thing. Mostly it was fun. All of us, kids
included, were having cold-like symptoms on Thursday. We attributed it
to the AC being out and having the windows open to the pollen and
stuff. On Friday I was messed up with a head cold. We watched Land of the Dead, ate dinner, then went to Batman Begins. By the time the Batman flick was over I felt all kinds of strung out. I
had to keep a napkin to my nose half the movie to catch the snot.
Seemed like a good picture, though maybe a bit long.

OKC’s Bricktown area was sorta modeled on the Riverwalk of San Antonio.
I double-dog dare ya to ask me what I think of San Antonio’s Riverwalk.
Satan will be cutting figure 8s on ice before I ever go back there.
Anyway, OKC did a little better job. At least the canal they built here
isn’t sunken between buildings; the wind can get to the water and blow
the stink away. But, the place is filled with eateries and some of the
worst gift shops I’ve ever seen. Maybe I say that because I live here
and see the same stuff sold in Wal-Mart and flea markets all the time.
I dunno.

No, we did not go to Toby Keith’s new restaurant. We walked past it,
rode a boat past it and I gave some guy directions on how to get there,
but we did not go. I got nothing against Toby. I bet he’s a helluva fun
guy. But no way will I sit through a meal listening to country music
… although it would beat the dance crap blaring out of the Skky Bar.
Speaking of country, Loretta Lynn was in the same hotel we were. Nope,
didn’t see her … probably wouldn’t have recognized her if I had.
What else? Oh … again this could be due to my employment situation,
but … I became increasingly disgusted with certain families. Many of
the same people courted as donors by OCU have their names all over crap
they’ve paid for in Bricktown. Just made me think more about the haves
and the have-nots. I won’t mention the names. Maybe they do it for
good. Or maybe it is just to avoid some tax.

Our hotel room cost $219 per night. Then you add on all the taxes.
Then, get this, they charge $8 a day for parking, 75 cents for local
calls … it’s unreal. I bet I could go to the sleazy-as-hell Swank
Motel on S. Shields Blvd. and get free local calls.

That’s enough. I was gonna comment on the Stoker Awards, but that’ll
have to wait. This entry is already too long.