Mike's Hikes draws good crowd on this beautiful autumn Sunday

These boots are made for hiking! Especially over the rocky trails of Lorimer Park. The photo below I found on the Internet barely does justice of the blue-sky day, hordes of park-goers, and raw beauty of the gigantic rocks that greeted us.

After walking nearly an hour, a rigorous walk up hills and down hills, we came to the tallest point in the park - Council Rock - where Indian tribes would meet to discuss important matters, such as, after the mass genocide of their people, Would they like to be remembered on the the nickel?

The 8 of us - Mike, Ethan, Ann, Andrew, Ellen, Ron, Eddie, Ruth - each found a nice comfortable rock to sit on at the summit. Another group of guys, a few smoking cigarettes, had gotten there first and had the best seats in the house....closer to the edge and the canyon.

They were orig from Tajikistan in eastern Asia but now lived in the Northeast.

Gosh, it was really neat sitting next to them. They were very interesting looking. Our Andrew, who is half-Korean, tried to guess their nationality but I don't think he could. So many different peoples all on this planet we share.

Ron was taking photos with his digital Nikon. He's a great photographer. A wall of his condo is filled with his work.

As we walked back to the car, I saw a woman picking a floral arrangement. It was the very same beautiful white weeds I let grow in my own garden. The bare patches are where my 'gardener' weed-wacked' my ground cover to death. Oh, I'm so glad I got to share that!

Don't worry, we all had time to share how we were feeling, what meds we were taking, new psychiatrists we switched to - two people switched and are happy. You certainly would never know we're all from New Directions!

Afterward we drove to Lam's Chinese restaurant in Bethayres, aptly named b/c some of us are taking the drug Lamictal.

Andrew, the Korean guy, said it was nice being w/other Asians (the owners of the restaurant).

Interesting observation! What if we caucasians were in a sea of Asians or Tajikis? We'd feel the same way.

The food was delicious. I had scallops and vegetables, with a preponderance of broccoli. I took my blood sugar in the car - it was quite low - 77 - so I wanted to eat quickly and gobbled down one of my glucose tabs I keep w/me at all times.

Afterward I took a drive to get my 35-year-old son a birthday gift - he was born 10/9/76 at Abington Memorial Hospital. Having split from his dad - we'd lived in Married Student Housing at UT Austin - my father drove me to the hospital.

Dad, I said, after I gave birth, did you hear me screaming?

No, he said.

I'd had natural childbirth. Ouch!

As a consolation prize to his then- 2-year old sister Sarah, I bot her a green stuffed turtle.

My boyfriend Scott provided me with Dan's birthday card. He opened a drawer in his bureau and it was absolutely stuffed with cards and envelopes he gets from the various nature organizations he supports.

He told me to write a poem for Dan but instead I wrote something I consider very creative.

That morning I stopped at my mom's. We sat in the living room and talked quite a while. After I got tired of listening to her health problems, I changed the subject and asked her about my dad.

Specifically, why did he join the Marines?

Times were different, she said. During WWII people were very patriotic. Everyone wanted to go into the service.

You had two choices - wait to be drafted - or enlist.

My dad enlisted. Mom remembers the whole family driving him to the train to leave for Parris Island. My parents were dating one another. This was in Cleveland.

After they kissed goodbye, they all drove home to 2128 Marlindale Road. Mom lay down on her bed and cried.
Now that's a story I did not know. Imperative that we get our family's oral history now! Mom is 89 but every time I see her I think: she's strong as a horse.

At 10 pm I've gotta go downstairs and watch TV. My new favorite channel is ME TV. They play old classics from the 60s on. On Monday, is The Fugitive with David "I didn't kill my wife" Janssen, loosely based on the murder of Marilyn Shepherd, in Bay Village, OH. My mom went to school w/her but didn't really know her.

Her doctor-husband, the infamous Sam Shepherd, was found guilty but was then released. The man was a true sociopath. Read about it here.