We All Need Reminders

After four years of chattering about it, some close calls, some flip-flopping, I did it,I got my first tattoo during this weekend's trip with my dear Ashley Ford to visit our Akron Family (not that Akron Family). All our Akron people said GOOD LIFE IS THE PLACE. Brian there hooked us up really nice. Ashley got "Anything Beautiful" on her shoulder, that being a nod at our pal Nick Sturm's massiveheart poem "I FEEL YES" (you'll see it soon in Forklift SO GET STOKED NOW). It looks good on her, so goooood! And I got the only first tattoo I could really see stamped on my bod, the only thing that I need on me right now. "We are clouds and terrible things happen in clouds." Dean Young said that. He says lots of beautiful and thumping things. That's from his poem, "Frottage," wowwow poem. This thing means YOU KNOW THIS DEAL WITH IT. This thing means MOVE FORWARD. This thing means WATCH OUT. This thing means I FEEL A RUMBLE YET IM BEAUTIFUL. I woke up this morning and couldn't believe it, this thing exists, I exist, the terrible exist. Let's rumble on, alright?

Matt Hart, pal of DY, got a big kick out of my tattoo, sent it to Dean, very nice.

Big Silly Summer Shoulder

Everything you've heard is true, if everything you've heard is that I redislocated my right shoulder. It happened. Last Wednesday, it was the Field Day at the elementary school I work at and we'd just finished the water games and we were moving on to the obstacle course. I was running, playing, laughing, and I think everyone was having a fun time. I slipped and it just popped out, my shoulder, but also the fun time.

It's weird: the first time this happened I was being a total idiotjerksadguy; this time I was being a good human being. HMMMMMM

The last five days have been a fog of GEESH NO DISC GOLF and BOOOO this flops atop the summer road trip and GAHHH Layne moved to North Carolina! and the kids are at the pool and not learning from me, not drawing pictures of bananas and monsters for me.

I can be the most selfish person I know.

Yet, the trip must go on as I must go on. June is gonna get smooshed up a bit. July is gonna stay the same hopefully.

I've been chat-chattering lots with the poet and my dear friend Kat Dixon and we say things like NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO ADVENTURE TOGETHER. I wanna see if we are mistaken or maybe we are perfectly right. I bought two bus tickets and I'm going to see her in Atlanta on Wednesday. I've never done anything like that before.

Then, my dear WOLF Ashley and I are gonna go to Akron to see our dear Akron pals. I'm gonna make them talk to me about their city for the Vouched blog. I'm reading in Akron on June 8th and in Cleveland on June 9th. I'll probably still be wearing a sling. Still, I want hugs.

Then then, it's back on a Megabus (I hope they are like 25 feet tall!) to head to Chicago for a reading (THXXXXX Russ Woods for helping with that) and to see Japandroids and to hang out with Tadd Adcox for the Vouched Series.

THXXXXX to Joshua Kleinburg for getting me these readings!

Yesterday was like the worst emotional day I've had since January, which is both good and bad, you know?

It's an overwhelming feeling when people want to hang out and let you in their house and show you their city. It's an overwhelming feeling when someone you like wants none of this.

If you've ordered a poem postcard, you'll get it OH YES YOU'LL GET IT. Mondo thxxxxxxxxxxx to everyone who has supported that project. It's unreal coooool of you.

Wow, who even talks like this anymore?