Thunderbolt

So, my freshman year of high school, my dad went out and bought a 1978 Delta 88 to use as his "get around town" car. The thing was a tank. Had a vinyl roof, plush seats, and a trunk that could fit two bodies, at least. Problem was, the car leaked. When it rained, you had to place paper down on the seat to make sure your ass didn't get wet (especially on the way to school every day). It was even more difficult to stay dry in the winter because, growing up in Cleveland, it snowed 5-6 months out of the year. And, if you had a father like mine, clearing the snow off of the car was done using the windshield wipers...nothing else. So, the back window rarely got cleaned, and he drove the car around town with three to four inches of snow on the roof. Snow that melted and leaked into the car. When it came time to get my driver's license, do you think my dad went out of his way to help me with my exam by borrowing someone else's smaller, compact car (like he did with...

From: Scott Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2006 To: Steve Okay, I'm a couple days late, but cut me some slack, I have killer clones to write about, which, for some reason, ties in with this week's selection. If there is one band that has been denied entry to the Hall of Fame for too long and truly deserves to be there, it is Black Sabbath. Am I fan? Not really. Honestly, I know 2, maybe 3 of their songs. Some musicologist I am, huh? To me, Sabbath will always be one of those bands whose name was written in black marker on the jeans jackets of countless burn outs at our school You remember those kids, the ones who stood one foot off of school grounds to smoke their cigarettes in the dead of winter (wearing only those same jeans jackets, mind you). Now, I'm sure most of those kids are managing large companies and making decent livings while I toil away at being an "artist". Despite my limited knowledge about Sabbath, I do know that the original line up came to fame in t...

Back again. I've been overdoing it with this script I'm writing and haven't found the time to write on the blog. A drag, I know. Had a chance to watch "Brokeback Mountain" the other night and it was a wonderful movie. Heath Ledger is a revelation in his role. The rest of the cast is also outstanding, but is really Ledger that shows something I have never seen in any of his previous performances. I think this is my second favorite Ang Lee film, behind "Sense and Sensibility". As I watched the movie, I was unprepared to get sucked into it emotionally like I did. I had read the short story last year and that really stuck with me. But this film has really kept me thinking since I watched the credits. What I really came away from it thinking, though, is how I wish I could have been the first person to read the story, or to be the first person, unaware, to see the movie. What a marvelous experience that must have been for those unsuspecting people. W...

I haven't posted on this site in some time. My knee problems have prevented me from running any more and I have decided to give up the marathons. What will I do next? Not sure. Right now I'm waist deep in a couple of writing projects that seem to be sucking up any spare time I have. I have decided to keep a new blog for a year. It's a little experiment in trying to document my year. That web address is:www.augustone.blogspot.com Thanks for checking in. Aloha

One last thing. My buddy Geoff is featured in the new Jennifer Anniston/Vince Vaughn movie that opens this summer. Geoff starred in "King's Highway", and he's highlighted in the trailer. Here is a link to it: http://movies.aol.com/movie_exclusive_the_breakup_trailer

From: Scott Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 To: Steve Steve- So, I thought I'd take the next four weeks to highlight the four rock' roll artists being inducted to the Rock Hall this year. You know I am a big fan of the Hall of Fame, though I don't always agree with their selections (ZZ Top? Bob Seger? Really?) or with their omissions (The Stooges, Patti Smith, Gram Parsons, Chic... To name a few). This year's class should prove to be one of the most interesting, what with spacey NY punkers (Blondie); Bloated southern boys (Skynyrd); brain dead headbangers (Sabbath) and a group whose whole purpose was to be a spit in the mainstream (the Pistols). (Miles Davis is being inducted...HUH? And so are the Herb Albert and Jerry Moss, the guys who created A&M Records...thanks for Joe Jackson, guys-- but I'm not going to feature them). Anyway, with such an eclectic group. This is the first year in many in which VH1 must be seating. Who is really going to watch this year'...

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blog. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I've had a lot of thinking to do about the blog and what it's supposed to represent. I also have been working on several projects at once and the blog kind of falls by the wayside. That said, I'm going to do my best to set aside some time at lunch every day to just post some thoughts and keep this updated. In the mean time, here is the next email I sent to my buddy Steve. S

To: Steve Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2006 From: Scott Steve- I waited all day for the user on my floor who had the John Legend album on his iTunes to get on the server just so I could send you this week's song. Dude, I hear this a couple of months ago and I really dug the entire album. But I saw John Legend perform last night on the Grammys and was not only impressed, but inspired. It's one of just two performances at that awards show that actually moved me (and caused me to rewind my TiVo to watch the performance again). What I find so wonderful about this song is its take on love... A mature love between a couple that they have grown into. It's not about infatuation, it's not about that "I just got married and I'm on top of the world" love. It's abou7t the "we've had our troubles and worked through them and you're still the love of my life and the one and ONLY person I want to spend the rest of my life with" love. Nothing more inspiring...

A quick post before I call it a night. Got through most of the day without any disruptions. But the weight of Matt's death was suddenly upon me as the day came to an end. Thought I was handling it. The worse part is that I projected some of this anxiety out to the family and every little thing I did that was wrong only grew in size. I forgot Jake's enzymes and didn't realize it until we were in the Target parking lot. Instead of trying to laugh it off, I got so damn pissed at myself. Why can't I remember? God bless Sophie who tries to make me feel better. And I know I was wearing the Budd, Sr. face the whole time. This isn't who I want my kids to think I am. This isn't the kind of man I want to be. Is there something more going on here? Is this whole anniversary just a reason for me to be sad? What am I missing? I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Aloha

As I was putting Jake down to bed tonight, I couldn’t close my eyes, which is unusual. I typically fall asleep with him and wake up an hour later, or when Julie gets home from work. But tonight, I just lay there, staring into the darkness, my eyes slowly adjusting. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of Matt’s death and all I can think about is the last time we spoke and the gulf that formed between us in the two years between that phone call and his passing. The last time I saw Matt was Labor Day, 2001. We were home in Cleveland visiting because we weren’t going to be flying back for Christmas that year (as Jake was due in the winter). He came over to the Flynn’s and reeked of alcohol. This put almost everyone off, even though he was in very good spirits (and with Matt and alcohol, it was hit or miss). After that night, we spoke again about him coming out to visit and whether he would be moving out west again. Before we knew it, the night was over and he was gone. After we...

From: Steve Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 14:39:05 -0500 To: Scott Scott, As always, this is gem of a message. Matt was very fortunate in his friendships. I can't match the tone of this message, but the air guitar scene reminded me of something I saw not long ago. It's attached. Thanks again for the tune. I love it. Steve From: Scott Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2006 To: Steve This picture is freakin' awesome. Thanks. S From: Steve Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 To: Scott I thought you'd like it. Feel free to send to Budd and Dave Lamb. I bet they'd get a kick out of it, too. From:Scott Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2006 To: Steve Yeah, I bet they will. You know, I took your advice and Googled myself the other day... Then I Googled you. Nice picture on the company website, Steve. So professional looking. From: Steve Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 To: Scott OK, that's just mean. But: A buddy Googled me about a year ago and somehow found some cross country results from 1986. It took me two hours to g...

From: Scott Date: Wed, 01 Feb 2006 To: Steve Hey Steve, I've been reflecting on Matt all this week. I've found it to be very healthy, trying to remember who he was and what he was capable of as a good man, friend, and brother. Is it strange to be going through this type of looking back a year after he passed away? I don't think I'll do it again next year. In fact, I'll try to recall his birthday from now on and have a toast to him then. Like I said, I spoke with Elliott last Saturday and it was just a nice, good conversation. A lot of reminiscing and, surprisingly, a lot of laughter. I believe Matt would have liked us to remember him for being able to make us laugh. Despite his air of superiority and the way he could make you feel small, he was also full of a lot of warmth and humor. For this week's song. I wanted to pick something that reminded me of him. I could have been obvious and chosen Dylan or Tom Waits. I avoided his latter day loves like Nick...