The Basis of this is Albright

The return of the great and powerful Joshua T Albright. Cast aside your worries, the man roles back into town soon, very soon. Albright will resume his command of the lower southwest state of Washington. If you want to pull any job in the southwest you best clear it with big Papa Albright. His reach extends fair and his profile casts a shadow that both Paul Bunyan and his Ox envy. Suddenly the balance feels a little more even, the scales a little less tipped in the favor of the stupid and careless and instead we lean dramatically on the side of bold intellectualism and stable clever resolve. Down with the tyrants who take our loved ones and place them in harms way! That said Albright roles heavy and jacked and I had little doubt the man would fear not the arrow that takes flight, but embrace the wind that protects the fearless. Now that same wind is at his back blowing him steadily back to us. He arrives a hero and a well missed brother/father.

My, my, what a week can do to a soul. Santa Barbara unfolds to me, its mysteries becoming less daunting and its options more varied with each visit. Three plus one came to greet me at the Chinese restaurant. Two Lauras, a Ray, and Shane kept me talking into the night, giving good advice and clear discussion of the future. They all did a fine job at two things, 1) keeping me dancing and jumping to keep up with their strong wit and clever thoughts, and 2) demonstrating what the success of the MFA can produce. They are shiny and bright and I can't wait to work with them further.


In the last moments of dark in the morning, the window sprung wide, its gap filled with a diligent box fan, I find myself unable to fully grasp my situation. I am broken and yet my horizon is full of the Promised Land. Nothing is free, not happiness, not love, not even pain, every part of life comes with a barcode these days. Mobility cuts deep into the wallet organ, and a day off requires a check written on the guilt account. Every moment awake is another moment of evaluation and decisions. I must place all of it in perspective and evaluate each component of my life from the balcony of calm. The morning brings with it the chance of a new day full of laughs and cheers, a day built on triumph and caddy confidence secured deep in previous plans set to motion. This is my story, it will be a success story, god-damn-to-it.

What I may want more than anything is the release from my friends questions. What will you do about your truck, when are you moving, how will you accomplish this next step, it seems like the odds are stacked against you, it seems like you don't have the right pieces in play to make this happen. But what I know inside me and have no way to articulate outwardly is my constant resolve. The only game piece I need to win, is already working. I have secret weapons stacked all over the board. My plan may seem problematic to all around me, but luckily its me who will be going through my life, others will have to settle for their own lives. I don't mind the concern, I know it is an act of love. I know that the people closest to me have the most vested in this next venture of mine. I will try to take each of their questions as a compliment that they would spend any of their valuable time worried for me. I struggle to find the polite way to let them know I cherish their involvement, but what I need most right now is cheerleaders not brainstorm/problem solvers. Trust this Melroy he's got his shit on lockdown.

Cadigan (The One and Only) reminds me I only have ten days left at this desk. I am not sure where to put this sensation. I want to feel I am standing on the tippy-toe edge of the diving board at my grandfather’s pool. Ready to spring up, and then down, launching up into the air flying, arms cast out, grinning, anticipating that next beautiful embrace of the cool water. I love that moment just on the edge of the board, how will I enter the water? Every time is different, from gross gangly splashing to perfect torpedo like velocity, every way is the right way. My spring board is ready, I stand hand held high, some people out of the pool watching, waiting to see which landing will happen, others already in the pool waiting on the splash and displacement of water, wondering what I will add to their party. Swimming, that’s really what I should be doing more of, Kermit (explained later) took me into the ocean and together we challenged that big ol’ bastard of a body of water to best us. That is a different kind of swimming, I think I liked how that water shoved back. The swimming pool is trustworthy, the ocean is a dance partner yet proven. Both have their place in my future. The trick is to know which is which and behave accordingly.




Josh Albright 6’4’ and full of muscles. He came from way back and still plays front and center in my life. Josh is, among other things, consistent. Which is no small feat. He has a courage and discipline that I have always respected. He is wrapping up his second tour of duty for this United States. Three children and a loyal loving stubborn tough wife named Sunja got him through. He and his family are some of my most favorite people, I can’t count the number of times I have arrived on their doorstep broken and battered, beat down by a girl or a job or a bank, and these angels fed me and listened to me and put band-aides on all my wounds. Not to mention some very decent booze in my gut. Josh is my best-friend every time, no doubt about it. I could only hope for ten dozen more years knowing him, that would almost be enough.