RNDM THOT PTRNS

Well, my first attempt at blogging was a utter failure, for the following reasons:

1. Lack of discipline to post every day...or once a week, month, etc.
2. Lack of anything interesting to post that wouldn't get me banished from friend/family/work functions.
3. Some schmuck hacking into my blog and filling it with porn links.

So, I start anew...

Anyway, I'll save my backstory for whenever it's relative to the story at hand. Here I go...

I had a long weekend, thanks to two and a half days vacation I had to burn through. Wednesday afternoon, I spent at the movies. All day Thursday was spent playing video games...mindless, I know, but its good for the soul sometimes.

Friday was a road trip back to my hometown. On the way, I stopped at the Cherokee Casino and won a bit of spending money for the weekend. Arriving back in Fort Smith, I immediately stopped to talk to my old buddy Fred. He and I were once part of the "Knights of the Round Table": a group of regulars at Harry's Hamburger Barn. Harry Schwartz, the owner, was our leader and he passed away a couple months ago. The funeral was the first time I had seen the other Knights in about ten years. They were my father figures growing up and having seen me now as a grown man, they were all swelling with paternal pride that this boy that they had all taken under their wing has done well with his life. Unfortunately, Fred kinda vanished after fulfilling his duties as pallbearer, so I was upset that I didn't get to talk to him at the time. He told me this visit that he had to talk to a bottle of tequila for a while, alone.

We chatted for a bit, caught up on each other's lives, and I was glad I stopped by. Afterwards, I cruized my old stomping grounds, and came to the sudden realization that the only places from my teenage years that still exist are the ones with all of the BAD memories. The Putt-Putt I got sick at that one time, the pawn shop I got where I got caught stealing, the park where I ALMOST lost my virginity if it weren't for a little joke about curfew turning into the girl's freak-out over the revalation that I was 16 and she was 22 (me and my stupid mouth).

That night, I had dinner with my grandmother, my aunts and uncles. I helped them get their next batch of homemade wine ready, and we all played Texas Hold 'Em, which as it turns out, I suck at it.

Saturday was my trip up to NW Arkansas to visit my old college friends. All but two of them are married or getting married, so the question naturally came up as to when I'm gonna marry my girlfriend Candy. I had to level with them. We're in no rush. Candy's unsure if she EVER wants to get married. I have to admit, it's a bit of a value shift between us. I would marry this woman in a heartbeat, and early on in the relationship, it seemed like the feeling was mutual. There are times that I wonder if it's the idea of marriage or the idea of marrying ME that's the trouble for her. I've tried to ask her, but all I get is a sarcastic "yes". I just try not to think about it too much. I figure that bridge will be crossed when we get there.

I loved hanging out with my friends. I would love to spend more time with them. I would love to move back to NW Arkansas, but that would take my career in a direction that I've tried to get away from (corporate marketing work), not to mention that I'd have to say goodbye to the life I've built for myself here in Tulsa. It's a quandary, but I'm good for now...stay the course.

I headed back today, stopping off in Roland to visit with my grandmother and my aunt at the Casino. I lost a moderate chunk of change, plus a bit that my grandmother gave me to play with. Oh well, I only gamble with what I can afford to lose, anyway. Besides, it was getting on in the day and I had to head back.

On the two-hour trip back, I had the stereo turned down so I could hear my own thoughts. I should get back to my writing, I thought. My only real obstacle is my short attention span. I need to do more to better myself financially, emotionally, physically, creatively and spiritually. I need to talk with those close to me and make sure we're all understanding one another.

All in all, this is the part of my life that will occupy the part of my A&E Biography right after the first commercial break. The throaty voiceover guy will start off with, "Things stayed the same for Dan Fritschie for a few years, but big changes were on their way..." Then they'd cut to an interview with one of my friends, saying "I wouldn't say he was lost, but rather he was on autopilot for a while..."

All I really know for sure, at this moment, that used copy of Girls Girls Girls by Elvis Costello (Greatest Hits 1976-1986), was a very wise decision.

Until tomorrow (I promise),
Fritschie

P.S. I saw a handwritten sign in the back window of a truck on the highway that read PACIFISTS ARE THE OBSTACLES OF FREEDOM, right next to a Marines bumper sticker. I have a response to that narrow-minded point of view:
1. Just because one chooses to oppose war and conflict doesn't make him/her just another one of your "enemies".
2. Just because they don't support a immoral and unethical war simply for the idea of killing other human beings does not mean they oppose freedom.
3. If your entire point of view can only be expressed on bumper stickers and handwritten signs, you are horribly unenlightened. Try reading something other than that "eye for an eye" part of the Bible over and over again. And do everyone a favor and skip Leviticus entirely. More hated has been spawned from that one section than any of the others.

This pic was one of the first taken with my digital camera. I'm drinking one of the best strawberry shakes in the world at Metro Diner in Tulsa.