:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

:: Happy Mother's Day ::

My mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day

Take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
Go find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget that there is someone up above

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Won't you do this for me son if you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this if you try
All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Won't you do this for me son if you can?

Boy don't you worry, you'll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this if you try
All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Won't you do this for me son if you can?
- "Simple Man" Lynyrd Skynyrd

That's one of my favorite songs, and Skynyrd's best song not named "Freebird" (actually, I think it's their best song, period, which I know is heretical to say but, whatever). I believe any parent that has a son should play that song for him the moment he's able to comprehend music and lyrics. If my mama ever told me such things, life might have been different.

I rarely blog about my parents for reasons I won't get too specific about here. Even before I hit my teens our relationship has been anywhere from indifferent to acrimonious. Moving away helped our relationship considerably. Age and some degree of maturity helped me change my perspective since I stopped seeing them as The Worst Parents Ever to just being able to see them for the people they are.

Trying to be a good son I called my mother to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and I was treated to, for the first time in God knows how long, a pleasant surprise.

Like usual, she questioned (she used to nag) why I don't have a girlfriend (because you did your best to sap me of any self-confidence whatsoever during my formative years you megalomaniacal bitch, which I refrained from saying). Every time she does this, I always remember how she was never exactly open-minded about the ethnicities I can or can't date.

(I don't write about my ethnicity any more on this blog for reasons of anonymity and I've removed any previous mention of it. Other than the few people who know me in real life, I prefer to keep it private, though it probably isn't hard to figure out. Anyway, because I was raised in California my personality is that of your average West Coast White Guy. If you talked to me over the phone, you'd think exactly that.)

Instead I just told her I've been on some dates lately and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like any of them because of their ethnicities. She then threw me this curveball: (Paraphrasing) "I don't care what she is. If she's a good woman and you love her, then I'll accept her, regardless of what she might be. Do you hear me? If she's a good woman and she makes you happy, that's all I care about."

[Surprised at the response.] Really.

"Absolutely. Your father feels the same way. All we care about is that she's a good woman and she makes you happy."

[I'm now wondering who this woman is and what she's done with my real mother.] That's good to know. I appreciate that.

"Yeah yeah, now tell me, have you met anyone or what?" [Oh hey mom, there you are.]

Yeah, I had a date last week. It was nice, nothing special.

"What is she?"

[Here it goes.] She's Dominican/Black. [Waiting for the tirade.]

(And I didn't say that just to bait my mother. My date is in fact, Dominican/Black. My days of doing things out of spite are behind me.)

She lets out a sigh. "Is she nice? Did you have fun?" Yeah mom, she's nice. And it was one date. Nothing more. "Listen, I meant what i said. As long as she makes you happy, that's all I care about. I just want you to be happy."

[This being the first concession she made for me, in quite possibly, my entire life I simply go along with it.] I'm glad you're opening up Mom. I appreciate it.

We talked a little more before I had to go. I worked that night but I spent the rest of the evening thinking about our talk. Before this, when I thought about her all I could remember was the negativity, the overprotective nature, and her inability to grasp how wildly different my perspective was from hers. But while I'd like to thinkI've grown and matured in the last five years, it's now apparent she's also made some progress.

I've always done my own thing without consideration for my parents feelings, and I'll be the first to admit that some of it was motivated by rebellion. Whatever I may think of her as a mother, as a person she's beyond reproach. Always generous, outgoing, caring to a fault and she could cook a killer plate of spaghetti from scratch. Whatever, it's good to know that my parents are now willing to meet me halfway on something.

Getting them to accept the fact that my hair is almost down to my butt, that might be more challenging.

Labels: dating, hair, introspective, parents

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 5:19 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: I Just Died a Little ::

I remember the Manny trade when it happened. Quite clearly in fact because I was writing an anti-Manny rant on my blog. It surprised me. I didn't care for it.

Some of my misgivings were allayed as we squeaked into the playoff and upset the hugely favored Cubs. Literally every story I read out of Los Angeles extolled his positive influence in the clubhouse, especially the younger players who saw him as Yoda with a bat.

Then came the offseason speculation of which team he would sign with. Dodger players openly lobbied for his signing. I couldn't argue. He's as good a role model as any - as long as we're only talking about hitting, and in an idiot-savant kind of way - for baseball prospects to emulate. I wasn't thrilled when he eventually signed but it was only two years, and the second year was an option anyway.

Like with so many things, my optimism was cautious. The kids' stats (seriously, look at the jumps in OPS) were noticeably better. There was a buzz permeating Dodger Stadium. We just won 13 home games in a row. Yeah, it was against a soft schedule but this was a promising start.

And then this happened.

That editorial articulates my feelings better than I ever could. I knew, I just knew that given his acrimonious departure Boston that there was too much potential for unnecessary drama looming. But I couldn't foresee anything like this. we went from "this is going to be a good season" to "I just hope we don't implode." I'm gonna go beat myself into a pulp with a fungo bat.

Labels: baseball, frustration, wtf

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 6:35 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Could Have... ::

It could have been something good.

But it wasn't.

I could have shown more interest. She could have been more relaxed.

It could have been a lot of fun if she stuck to our original plan for Tuesday afternoon when we both had the day off. Instead, it was a hastily rescheduled Thursday night, and we were both tired from work.

It could have ended as well as it started but it just fizzled, and I'm still at a loss as to what exactly happened.

The conversation flowed easily, but... what could have been there just wasn't.

She asked for White Zinfandel; I prefer good drinks. That could have colored my opinion of her, but we had other common interests and it's not like she's a Giants fan.

I could have been me. Or her. I still don't know.

It could have been something good.

Labels: dating, frustration

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 2:52 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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