My Most Influential Books #61 (Outlines of Shakespeare's Plays)

 

https://archive.org/details/outlinesofshakes00watt

This is a great little resource.

This year Izzy and I will have been married for 20 years.

 

Reaching the 20-year mark in a marriage—the Platinum anniversary—is a massive milestone, both statistically and symbolically. In a world where the average marriage that ends in divorce lasts about eight years, hitting two decades puts you in an elite category of "long-term" success.

Here is a breakdown of why this milestone carries so much weight:

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1. The "Statistical Clearing"

By year 20, a couple has typically navigated the most common "breakup zones."

• The Seven-Year Itch: Long passed.

• The Child-Rearing Strain: Many 20-year couples are transitioning from the "survival mode" of young children to the "launching mode" of teenagers or young adults.

• The Stability Phase: Statistically, if a marriage makes it to 20 years, the likelihood of it lasting for life increases significantly.

2. The Shift from Contract to Covenant

A 20-year marriage has usually moved past the "quid pro quo" phase. You have likely seen each other through:

• Physical changes: The aging process is starting to show.

• Career shifts: Highs and lows of professional life.

• Grief: Loss of parents or friends.

  At this stage, the marriage is no longer based on who did the dishes or paid the bill; it's a shared history and a woven identity.

3. The "Second Beginning"

Twenty years often marks the start of a "new" marriage with the same person. With kids potentially leaving the house or careers stabilizing, couples have to rediscover who they are as a duo. It is a milestone of rediscovery.

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The Anniversary Symbols

Symbol	Meaning
Traditional: China	Elegant and beautiful, but also a reminder that even something strong can be fragile if not handled with care.
Modern: Platinum	One of the rarest and strongest metals on earth; it does not tarnish and represents a love that is enduring and high-value.
Flower: Daylily	Symbolizes "coquetry" or lightheartedness—a reminder to keep the spark alive even after two decades.

Halloween Memory #9: Mom's Homemade Pirate Costume

 

(The above is not a picture of me, but it's an AI rendering of a close approximation of what I sort of kind of looked like)

As time goes on the details fade. Anyway, it was when I was probably about 7 or 8. Obviously Halloween was a big deal at that time at that age. FREE CANDY! 

Well, I'm not quite sure why, but on this particular evening I didn't have a store-bought costume to wear. It may be the one year that I had to return the devil costume. Nevertheless, I did not have a costume to wear. 

Mom sprung into action and put together a great last minute costume. She said "You can go as a pirate!" (I can't believe we didn't snap a photo). So she grabbed a bunch of old clothes and arranged them in such a way that I looked very passable as a quote unquote "pirate". Complete with eye patch. It actually looked great. She even daubed some makeup on my face to make it look like I had a beard. 

Anyway, some people across the street were having a Halloween block party for the kids and this included a Halloween costume contest. Maybe 10 kids showed up. Boy it was a great time. Games and fun things going on. Anyway the costume contest was a fierce competition. Guess who won first place? Me! 

So, good job Mom! Your last minute costume idea got me an extra bag of candy. When I won she got a good laugh and looked at me so proudly. That was a great memory! 

My Most Influential Books #60 (Urban Legends)

 

 

"The Vanishing Hitchhiker" by Jan Harold Brunvand 

 

My Most Influential Books #59 (The Manly Handbook)

 

This book is funny and informative. In a strange way, it helps you understand masculinity. After reading it I had a new perspective on things.

My Own Paranormal Experiences #7

 

This one is brief. After our cat died (when I was young) I could've sworn he visited me in the night.

So, Samson died. We'd had him for 18 years. Yes, he was an old cat. Anyway when he died it was of course a very sad occasion. We buried him in the side yard area of my dad's house (there are many pets buried on that property). Anyway, that night as I was asleep in my dark room (I slept in total darkness), when I felt something walk past me on the bed. The same way Samson used to do. It woke me up. In my drowsy stupor I recognized that a cat had just walked up the mattress at my back (I was on my side). I said "Hey Samson." and then suddenly realized... hang on. It can't be Samson. We buried him in the side yard. At that moment I was fully awake. Something walked on my bed. I turned the light on fully expecting to see another cat (had one gotten into the house?), or a possum, or something. But there was no animal in the room. I searched. There was no animal. No cat. Nothing. So was it my imagination? Was it a cat ghost? Who knows? To this day I think it was remarkably weird.

My Own Paranormal Experiences #6

 

(The image above is a rough approximation of what it kind of looked like)

Me, Izzy, and Blaine were looking at the TV shortly after Carol died. By the way, her ashes were (and still are) sitting on the mantle in my living room.

The TV was off. We were all standing there and our conversation turned to Carol. I said (half-jokingly) Carol if you can hear us give us a sign.

Right at that moment, the TV sort of turned on, I say sort of cuz it was still black. But suddenly there were 3 circular, wheel-like objects on the TV. They were turning. Like wheels. Kind of like those circular things on a computer that pop up while it is working.

I never have seen anything like that before or since on that or any other TV. 

Me and Izzy and Blaine all looked at the image. Then looked at each other in shock. It really was like she had somehow communicated with us using the TV. It remains a pretty strange thing that happened.

-Mike

My Most Influential Books - Vol. 58 (Life After Death)

 

This book rocked me. It's called...

It is by a professing Christian. The good Doctor started off not believing in God, but became a Christian after experiencing several (many) near-death experiences, and talking to the person. In this book he collects his findings. It is fascinating to say the least.

Frank Frazetta! My favorite painter.

 

My favorite artist, BAR NONE, is Frank Frazetta! Check out "The Executioner". Amazing.

When I was a kid, I only WISHED and DREAMED about creating art like him. Still my goal to this day. He is incredible. 

Here are some more of my favorite paintings by him.

There are many more that are amazing. But this gives you an idea. Check him out.

My High School Years (Lee year books)

(Me appearing in ROTC 1982. Awesome!)

Amazingly, a couple of year books from the 4 years I went to high school are online. I went to Robert E. Lee high school from 1982-1985.

Here's the one from 1982 (9th grade). My grade level is on pages 88-98. I'm on page 97 (beaming like I knew the score).

 https://archive.org/details/classmates-yearbook-60284-1982-robert-e-lee-high-school/mode/2up

Here's the me from 1983 (10th grade). My grade level is on pages 124-135. I appear on page 134 (looking like a 6th grader).

https://archive.org/details/classmates-yearbook-13585-1983-robert-e-lee-high-school

Yep, I am in both of these books. As are all the people I knew.

Flipping through them brought back a lot of memories. I really recall that things were simpler then. A lot of these kids are gone now. Already. Like James Valentine. He died a while ago. Like 2 years ago. Heck, I'm only 58 (as of this writing). I'm not exactly old. But dang, when you get into your 50's things get pretty wild when it comes to mortality. People start dying.

Anyway, looking at those yearbooks it is interesting that we were all so full of life, hope, self-doubt, and peer pressure. It was all about the peers. I remember. Not a smartphone in sight. No social media. Simpler times. You could make mistakes without the whole world knowing about it. Like I said, simpler times.

By now, age 58-59 all my classmates are getting to the ends of their respective careers. I myself should be able to retire by the time I'm 60, God willing. Most of us have kids, grandkids, and etc. Amazing. I look back at them (us) all there, looking like people oblivious to the triumphs, and devastation heading our way.

I looked at my teachers and honestly didn't recall many of them actually teaching me. I remember Mrs. Shade, Mrs. Fowler, Mr. Cherry, Mr. McCarty, Mr. Focht (pronounced Foaf), Mr. Johnson (Nam vet shop teacher), Coach Meller, Coach Doyle, Miss Richardson, and some others whose names elude me. They did their best I guess. Crazy stuff.

We were plowing through the 80's. The 80's were cool. Great movies, great music, great times.

And by the way, there there really was a kid named Terrell Bull ("Terrible"). I used to tell about that and people thought I was telling a whopper. But see for yourself. LOL!!

Also that 1982 ROTC group picture, shown above, appears on page 207.

The teachers that stand out to me...

Mr. McCarty. "Taught" biology. He was an eccentric old school "teacher". Lots of strange quirks and mannerisms. Lots of rumors about him. He had a really funny way of talking. One time in class he told me something and I said "It's cool." and he said "Boy, don't gimme any of that lingo!" Haha! He'd accuse us of "Dry labbin'!" haha! I felt sorry for him. He walked straight out of the 60's. The rumor is that he died while getting a haircut. Might've been true because he was suddenly gone. I was already out of his class. But he had been there at Lee for a while, I'm told. He used to mention his army experiences. He was an interesting guy.

Mr. Cherry. Taught government. I had him as a senior. He was a crusty old guy. This photo shows him smiling which I don't recall ever seeing him do in class. One time he said "See that bulletin board back there? My daughter decorated that. Don't touch it. If you do, I'll kill ya." He wasn't smiling. he had a gruff voice. And a gruffer demeanor. One time he came in and had shingles on his forehead. He explained that it "hurt like hell." I learned the value of taking notes in that class.

Here is Mr. Petri, assistant principal. They called them "disciplinarians". There was one for each grade level. This guy was mine. He walked around campus with a paddle in his hands. He was hated, but respected. I watched him like a mouse watches an owl. I knew better than to be "swatted" by him. Guys I knew that were said it hurt very badly. I made it through high school without getting "licks" as they were called. One time I got sent to him for repeatedly leaning back in my chair. Teacher had gotten fed up, apparently. Anyway, he read the "pink slip", casually thumped my forehead (quite solidly, as I recall), signed the paper, handed it to me and walked away, never uttering a word. I went back to class. Feeling blessed that I avoided "swats", I stopped leaning my chair back. He was like 6'4', and had clear blue eyes. And a unibrow. He really was an imposing fellow.

Mrs. Fowler, english teacher. She was very very nice. Very very patient. And she caused me to read entire books (novels). In her class I read "The Outsiders", "Of Mice and Men", "The Contender", and some other stuff too. She was cool. She would build a rapport. Good job Mrs. Fowler. Hers was a "special" recovery class. I had fallen behind in Mrs. Shade's class. So they put me in her class. In regular classes they said "We are reading such and such book." Most of the time it was something I resisted. But in her class it was different. She had a box of paperback books. She said look through the books and pick out one that interests you. I did that and it was "The Outsiders". Possibly the first ever novel I actually read cover to cover. Anyway, I thrived in her class.

 

Here's some pics from my High School years...

 

(Brian Munn, Mike Walk, and Patrick Hopkins circa 1985) 

 

(Mike Walk circa 1983) 

 

(Mike at home at his drawing desk. Circa 1984.)