Mr. Schmidt... I just don't get you...

So said a student to my friend Schmidty on his first day teaching in Milwaukee. This made me laugh really, really hard and also made me feel old. When your peers assume positions of responsibility, it's a sign you're growing up.

I'll resist the push to grow up for as long as possible...

I know, I know -- It's been far too long since an update.

I've been doing generally well, tired from so many months of chemo, and trying to put all of my energy toward work.

Highlights/Notable events over the past few weeks include:

-Getting back to the office quite a bit (My favorite place to be right behind on the water...)

-A Sunday spent in the ER with vomiting and intense shoulder pain and a mystery diagnosis...

-A great weekend up north with Mum, Dad, Katie and my friends Pete and Annie.

Because there's a growing demand for more frequent updates, I'm going to begin posting random creative jibberish that I have no other use for. In this spirit, I present to you a poem written this evening:

The Sweet Smells of a Summer Stroll

It takes a cold heart
to not derive great pleasure
from the smells found
on a late summer stroll
through the outskirts of a city.

The strangely sweet smell
of freshly-mowed grass
mixes with the intoxicating scent
of freshly ground beef seasoned
heavily with lemon pepper
broiling over a bed of hot charcoal;
together, these scents warm my soul.

I suppose it is not the smells alone
that bring such great pleasure,
but more so the memories that they conjure.

In the careless years of childhood
spending hours playing catch barefoot
in the cool, soft grass
of a newly-mowed lawn
on a lazy summer Sunday.

In the careless years of college,
the festive impromptu backyard barbecues
where we’d grill beef and sweetcorn
while imbibing whatever libations we had on hand
filling the night with food, drink and merriment.

Remembering the many good days gone by
and the many more to come
I am filled with great cheer
as I walk among the quaint homes on Oakridge
and enjoy the sweet smells of a late summer stroll.