For the second Sunday in a row, I reconnected with an old friend. Like most reconnections, it was done over beer. Seeing good friends after years apart is like jumping on a bike again. The conversations seemed seamless from the ones we had aside a burn barrel in the woods in high school. Last Sunday, I stayed up drinking until four in the morning catching up on old times. I didn't want to go to sleep; the next night, I couldn't go to sleep. Leaving Boston for Washington, DC when I was twenty, there was a lot of catching up to do. I am 34. I missed out on much, not all of it good. There's a twelve year void in there when schoolmates married and divorced, delved into bad chemical habits, and drifted from the course that life had meant for them. I spent a sobering Monday night with these thoughts in mind until Tuesday invaded. With all that in mind, my mind is not on politics (the presidential candidates' unaniminity on last week's socialism-for-bankers bill has a lot to do with this). But it's on life, which, I should add before sounding like a sob sister, is pretty good for me and so many of my old friends. One can always pray for better, though.

This is true. I have a headache from Obama, McCain and the combined Bail Outitis featuring a gaggle of crooked pols when I should have a headache from indulging too much with friends.

Dan its good to see you jammin out at 34. i know 34 aint old but trust me, a couple more yrs. and the hard rockin will take its toll. IM 43 and my last rock show was Ozz fest. I felt like i was rolled by a bunch of crazy libs. so its been county shows for me. and before you rip on me, have you ever seen miranda lambert live? Mm Mmm goooooood!