I’ve gotten 2012 off to a good start – I’m eating healthier and am feeling fabulous.  That old saying “you are what you eat” is so true.   I’m eating a lot of fruits and veggies and whole grains.  Today alone, I’ve had blueberries, cherries, and grapes.  YUM!  The grapes were actually more delicious than a handful of m&m’s.  Better for me, too.

My next focus is to exercise at least 3-4 times a week.  Challenging, yes, but not impossible.  I’ve done it before so I know I can do it again.  It’ll be harder now that I’m not bowling anymore, but it will all work out.  I’m just not the gym-rat type.  Gyms have a weird smell.

I’m hoping that once I get in better shape other things will fall into place.  I’d like to find someone to share my life with.  We all want to find that person.  I don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet for me, but it is what it is.  The last guy I met turned out to be a freakazoid so I don’t want to make that mistake again.  Just so hard to find someone you like AND that likes you back.  I know he’s out there somewhere.

The tourist moved and those on the left side were able to continue walking down the escalator.  The woman who was behind me thanked me.  The man who was in front of me informed me that asking people to move doesn’t always work for him.  I should add that he is Black.  I told him I thought that was unfortunate, but was glad I could help him out.

Tonight after work I decided to have dinner out.  Towards the end of my meal I had a klutzy moment and knocked over my almost empty glass of sangria.  When the bartender worked his way back to my end of the bar, I told him what had happened and apologized.  When he finished cleaning up, he gave me another glass of sangria – FREE.  So, 2 for the price of 1 at Happy Hour prices – I wasn’t complaining.

When I asked him for my bill, he inadvertently gave me the wrong one and was one that was less than half of what I expected mine to total up to.  I called his attention to the oversight and he gave me my correct bill.  After adding a generous tip for the extra, free glass of sangria, I headed across the street to the Hagen Daaz for a chocolate milkshake before heading into the Bed Bath & Beyond.

I’m in Hagen Daaz for all of 5 seconds when a man walks in after me.  He was none other than the man from the escalator last night.  He saw me, came over and asked if I was the woman he met on the escalator.  I told him I was and asked how he was doing.  Since he had an extra, he gave me a coupon for “buy one get one” milkshake free that I can use on my next visit [since I wasn't buying 2 milkshakes tonight].  He was buying 2 – one for him and one for his brother.  I told him he was a good brother.   I thanked him and wished him a good evening.

I found it amusing that I was getting a chocolate milkshake and he was getting a vanilla milkshake; there’s a certain poetry to that.  A kind of ebony-ivory as performed by Joe Piscapo AKA Frank Sinatra and Eddie Murphy AKA Stevie Wonder on SNL back in 1982.  Here’s a link if you aren’t familiar . . .  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78FATeTMDaA.

I met John about 7 years ago when I made a go of it with on-line dating.  John was about 10 years older than me, but we really connected in a way I hadn’t with anyone else before.  We had great conversations – a lot of laughs  - and a lot of great fun.  He was a terrific writer and had written a piece about his experiences at Woodstock.  I hope I still have it here somewhere. . .

He was such fun to be around – you hardly noticed he was a quadriplegic.  Yes, I had to feed him  every time we went out to eat.  He was surprisingly independent despite the constant care he needed.  He had an amazing attitude about it all.  What were his choices?  The first time we discussed his paralysis and the accident that lead to his spinal injury, I asked him if he still walked in his dreams.  He told me that he did.

What broke us up was his illegal drug use and lying to cover it up.  I definitely understood his need to escape from his reality, but it wasn’t a trip (ha ha pun intended) that I wanted to take with him.   So we mutually agreed to part ways.

From time to time I would get emails from him.  Shortly after I joined Facebook, I received a ‘friend request’ from him – one I ignored.   I really didn’t want to get sucked back into his life – his drug use – his lies.

Tonight I learned that he died back in December.  The obit did not mention what he died from, but I’m guessing it had to do with his physical condition.  I am sad at the loss of his life.  He was only 55 years old.  Life is so short and precious, yet few of us really take the time to appreciate what we have.

John, I hope you’re dancing the night away, my friend.  You certainly deserve it.

The rally was scheduled for Noon – 3:00.  My sister and brother-in-law wanted to be downtown well in advance to assure a good spot on the Mall.  We left my surburban home at 9:30 or so and hopped on the subway.  There were already long lines and crowds at the station.  Our ride into town was packed but uneventful.

When we arrived on the Mall, one of the first things we saw was the Fox News truck – which surprised many people.  Fox News was the last news organization we had expected to see at the Stewart/Colbert rally.  Not surprisingly, quite a few people were taking pictures of their friends standing beside the truck – with a ‘thumbs down’ gesture.  A few raised their middle finger while posing.  All quite amusing, to be sure.

Once we got to the Mall proper, there were a lot of people EVERYWHERE.  It was already packed and we still had almost 2 hours to show time.  But the mood was definitely festive and the organizers were playing video clips from Stephen’s and Jon’s shows to keep us entertained.  We managed to find a spot from which to watch the rally on one of the many screens that had been set up.

We didn’t move from that spot for almost 5 hours.  I had the same 18″-sq. spot of land for almost 5 hours.  I didn’t move from that spot.  Had I, I wouldn’t have been able to find my sister again.  It was that crowded.  Seriously.

Once the rally got started, the 3 hours went by amazingly fast.  Jon and Stephen were entertaining and funny.  Stephen made his appearance like a Chilean miner – he came up from under the stage in a capsule fashioned after the one that saved the miners.  He wore an Evel Kenieval suit (cape included) and was just hilarious.  Performers included The Roots (never heard of them before but I like their sound), Ozzy Osbourne, Yousef Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens), O-Jay’s, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, and John Legend.  All were terrific.

Also for our enjoyment were Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters.  They were great.  They conducted a few experiments – one of which was ‘the wave’.  Starting in the first row, the had all of us do ‘the wave’ that all sports fans are familiar with.  The wave lasted a minute as it worked its way down the Mall.  It took a good 10 seconds for the wave to reach where I was.  [I later watched this online - it was just totally cool to see a 'wave' last for so long and go so far.]

So, in spite of standing in one small spot for nearly 5 hours with a backache, a headache, legs aching, dehydrated, hungry, and thirsty – I had a good time.  It was a cool event to go to and to be a part of.  The turnout was far higher than anyone expected.  Current estimates have the crowds at 215,000.  I know plenty of people who attended, but I never saw them.  The mass of humanity was impressive and overwhelming.

But I will never go downtown to be a part of something so huge again in my life!