Current mood:	accomplished
Current music:	Donovan - Sunshine Superman

Thanksgiving
Wow, so I haven't cared about this thing since August? For shame on me! But I have been really hyper busy and haven't had the time or, for that matter, the ambition to update.

Things are pretty crazy these days. Because of the storm any old shack on The Coast is for rent to the highest bidder and if you have a spare room, someone is sure to want to live with you. Enter The Chief.

The Chief is our new roommate who, for a relative pittance, gets to camp out in our back bedroom all he wants. He is quite a dude, and quite different from me. Having served 16 apparently stellar years in the Navy, his dress uniform is festooned with an impressive array of ribbons, and he strikes quite an imposing figure when he is wearing them. Believe it or not, despite the differences we all get along well, although he is a much bigger football fan than we are. Of course, as well as the Saints are performing this year, I may be a convert yet.

We have been working on The New Room as much as we can stand. I have now cut and fit all of the pre-stained window frames, and the urethane is on the (insert expletive) bay window. I have to admit, the bay is looking better than I thought it would. How I measured and cut that windowsill, and got it right the first time, is beyond my scope of understanding. Of course it has been two years in the making, so it should be the greatest window ever to grace a southern home.

I got a complement from my mom the other day. She told me she was proud of the way that I rented for a while, but then went out and bought a home as soon as I could possibly afford one. She went on to say that she liked how I kept at it and continually worked to make it better. I quote these things because compliments from my mom do not come often or lightly. I appreciate her kind words and hereby pass them along to everyone who has ever helped me with this dump.

Thanksgiving passed with nary a word from me on these pages. I would like to make up for that oversight by giving my belated thanks to my greatest treasure, my friends who have helped me achieve all of the things my mom was praising me for. I consider our finest hour (so far) to have been the building of the Garage Majal. Begun in the summer of 2000 and taking 15 months to complete, the structure which now dominates my back yard was constructed primarily by a Librarian, a Television Technician, and a retired SeeBee turned Professional Clown. Although that is a dubious team to assemble to construct a building, the product of our labors went on to withstand what has been called the worst storm ever to strike the continental United States. My hat is also off to Mr Bill Parvin, who engineered the roof system while I handed him tools and did what he told me to do. That was the part that really took the thrashing, and it held fast. Some other homes he had built in this area did not make it, and I am very glad my shop was one of the survivors.

I would also like to give belated thanks that we did not have any nasty storms this past season. I was holding my breath through the entire summer, waiting for us to catch a dreaded double-whammy follow up to The Demon Storm, turning all of the FEMA trailers in the area to rubble and finishing The Coast altogether. Mercifully, it never came. We got lucky. Even though we have stopped noting it, things are still ugly here. One more of those and we would have been fuck-toast.

Finally, I would like to give thanks for another healthy and happy year with petalbreeze. Where do I begin? Was it the turkey? Or perhaps the two egg custard pies that she baked? Did I mention she makes the best freakin' pies on the planet? Even her pumpkin is good. She and her cat turned out to be perfect for my experiments! Evil laugh Happy tenth, baby.

A couple of news notes. Oreck, the makers of the supposedly popular and expensive 8 pound vacuum cleaner, has decided to move their factory from here on The Coast to a slightly smaller facility in Cookeville, Tennessee. This is not good news for the city of Long Beach, in whose industrial park the facility is headquartered. Oreck also operated a call center from the same city. I had heard that it had shut down altogether, but last week someone was telling me that it was still at least partially open. When Oreck moved their operation into the Long Beach facility they did so with the enticement of a ten year county tax exemption. Perhaps coincidentally, that agreement was set to expire soon. USM Gulf Park Campus is still closed from The Demon Storm, and now this follow up blow to the Long Beach economy does not paint a pretty picture for 2007.

If that were not enough uncertainty, just today it was announced that Harrah's, the parent company of the Grand Casino, Biloxi, was being bought out by a partnership of financial companies. What are we to make of this? In the short term, we are told it will make little difference, but what about in the long run? Harrah's is a big company. Why are they selling out like this?

Probably taxes, right?

Anyway, that is enough for now. Next week is the long awaited biannual journey to Frozen Waste, New York, so there might actually be some updates.

And with my schedule, look for my Christmas Wrap-Up post sometime around Mardi Gras.