Chicken Soup for Leftcoastlove's Soul

Spider-Man:

It was last Friday afternoon when I was greeted by a large envelope with Snowy Forest's office as a return address. What I found inside warmed my travel weary heart. Since I moved to the city and Snowy moved to the beach we spend far too little time with each other. We used to hang at least few times a week and now months go by without a visit. Sniff Sniff Anywho, I pulled from that mysterious envelope a custom printed Spider-Man book. Apparently Snowy had come across a company that printed these books, just submit the name of your friend and three other friends and a few weeks later the book arrives. The names Leftcoast Love , Andy Bear, Snowy Forest and Alextacy were woven into the story of an epic battle between Spider-Man and Doc Ock. I help Spidey bring the villain to justice and my friends get to watch. Woo Hoo! The thought that went into this made me think of Snowy and reminded me that we are still connected even though we are often apart. I think what's important here is to keep the spirit and memory alive during the in between, you know, those gaps between visits. Then friendships can stand up over time. It wasn't a holiday or birthday, it was just because. Snowy did her part to fill the gap. Hey next weekend Snowy, Kevin, Alexis, Traci, and I are all working the Howie Day show in San Francisco. I guess the Chicken Soup lesson here is to do something the next time you miss somebody. Take your sadness and make it gladness. Awww how tender. Thanks again to Snowy for reminding us of a lesson we may have forgotten. Action gets action.

http://www.bestpersonalizedbooks.com/html/personalized_books.html

Ron Jeremy:

The internet and video/dvd have brought the once taboo subject of porn into the mainstream. Hmmm. Well sort of. The undisputed king of porn is Ron Jeremy. Lately he has been seen on the WB's reality show "Surreal Life". Locked in house with Tammy Fay Baker, Vanilla Ice, Eric Estrada, the MTV Real World Las Vegas slut, and some Bay Watch bimbo, Ron ads a charm seldom seen on reality TV. He is just a plain schlub with a low self esteem and a humongous hammer (so I've been told). Last summer Alexis and I watched another Sundance film. It was a documentary on the life of Ron Jeremy. Reality of his reality. We learned that he is a workaholic. Personal appearances and video production keep him and his grocery bag luggage on the road most of the year. Even if you have never seen him in a porn you had to to have seen him on Ricki Lake, Maury, Geraldo, The Today Show, etc. He is always ready to make a buck and his most recent venture brought him to San Francisco.

Apparently what has been missing in the world of porn is the Travelogue Porn combination. Sort of the Travel Channel meets the Spice Channel. This was news to me but since Alexis and had watched the dvd about his life and with him appearing just two blocks away it seemed like a natural. We added Andy and a visiting college chum to the mix and it became the perfect warm up for a Friday night. Ron was available from 6-9 pm to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Now we aren't huge fans and we didn't even pony up the $17.99 to buy a dvd and secure a meeting but it was still a hoot. We ended up having a brush with Ron anyways, so it turned out to be a cheap way to laugh and hang with some friends. Andy bought some new DJ magazines and Alexis bought a Dave Matthews Band dvd and I soaked it all in. I looked at the new World Beats releases and as Alexis and I rode the down escalator we spied Ron coming up the opposite side. Alexis said "Hi Ron!" with a toothy grin and he return a smarmy "Hi...honey". There it was and that was it. Everyone left happy.

The chicken soup lesson here is two fold. First lesson is that many of the best things in life are free. Ron and his promotion was a free event we used to bring some friends together. We could have paid for a closer look or better pictures but it wasn't necessary for us. We just made a great memory and shared a common goof that we can add to our language of friendship. Come on you know this one. Don't you? If not take notes.

The language of friends - the inside jokes and shared experiences that make the fabric of our friendships deeper and more colorful as the years go by.

The second lesson we present is that nothing is as it may seem. King of Porno? Nope a guy scared people won't like him and a guy scared he will not be able to retire. A guy that falls asleep anywhere (yes, he is narcoleptic) and a guy that uses a tattered binder and notebook to organize his life. A guy that will sign his name and pose for a picture if you just please buy his new dvd. Pencils down.

Gay Marriage:

San Francisco is in the headlines again. It seems our new mayor had decided that the city will accept same sex applications for marriage. This basically makes it legal for same sex couples to get married. Married. Married. It's the word that is causing all the trouble. Protestors have set up camp next to never ending line of applicants. Media trucks have rolled in and now we have a wonderful carnival downtown. When the porta-johns get set up you know it's an event. The city workers have worked extra hours and donated music and their personal time to act as witnesses. The city has also taken in $250,000 in application fee alone and nearby florists and restaurants have reported huge increases in sales. So what's the problem? The word marriage freaks people out. That's what it has to be. The city of San Francisco has a had a fairly liberal domestic partner law that provides for benefits and other marriage-like recognition for same sex partners or opposite sex couples that complete the registration process and one of the partners is employed by a business that does any business with San Francisco.

Thanks to Willie Brown (our previous mayor) for making sure that the city of San Francisco does business with every business within a 100 mile radius of the city limits. Oh yeah the airport counts too since it called the San Francisco Airport although it is technically in San Mateo. We can haggle the chalk lines but you get the idea. Also if a business that does business with business that does business with the city that business also counts. Voter's passed that one long ago and no one had a coronary or painted signs and screamed for hours at people they don't know. Aren't there enough people who don't like each other in this world? Why do we confront people who are already getting along? We do it because they want to use the word marriage. Lawsuits have been filed and even the governor has stepped in. Our new mayor has managed to thrust San Francisco into the forefront of just letting it go. My co-workers joke about my home but I love the fact that we are pushing for a world where it doesn't matter who you share your life with as long as you are good to them. Love who you want and get on with the business of living.

Too much energy and money is going towards this no brainer. I guess it has to start somewhere though. Somebody has to step up and say this is just too trivial of an issue, to mandate the use of a word. San Francisco jewelers would agree as they have also voiced their support for the city's recognition of any marriage. What is marriage anyways? I doubt I have time to peel that entire onion now but if two people feel strongly enough to proclaim their union in a public and legal manner then let them. Opposite sex marriages end in divorce 51% of the time. Maybe we can better our batting average if we widen the marriage team. I seem to remember from history class that France has historically "owned words" and mandated it's language and it's use. It has made them somewhat of a laughing stock within literary world circles. Terms we have absorbed into our lexicon many years ago still remain parked outside the officially recognized French. The French do this to prevent the watering down of it's language by slang or worse, American words. Protecting what is going to change anyways. Trying to sweep out the incoming tide.

If you must "own" a word then be more creative. It's obvious that "marriage" is already over-owned. Watch the news. Protesters have bussed themselves in from all points to heckle and harangue the couples who have lined up to get marriage licenses. Pick a word that distinguishes you from the rabble. It kind of reminded me the short story "The Lottery". Come on you remember. It the story where the winner gets stoned by town. Let's stopping throwing rocks at people who have love in their hearts.

So faced with this current major culture decision I am going to side with those who don't care who loves who. It's the ones who can't love that scare me. I will protest those people but they never get together in one place. They mingle in with the rest of us and keep things blurred. It's just word, marriage. Maybe the effort should be in preserving the ideals of marriage and not the mechanics. There's your Chicken Soup on Gay Marriage. As Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, once said over and over "'Nuff Said!!!".

Body Work:

The first floor of my building now houses a Whole Food's Market. If you don't know then ask. The market required additional parking so the once private lot within my apartment building was opened up for the public. Residents utilize a valet service and the entire garage was repainted white. Top to bottom white. Every floor, every wall, every pillar, every barrier was now the same color. It's a giant white room. During the holiday break I was confronted with a shopper in an Audi head on. I pulled to the right to avoid the collision and scraped the passenger side of my car along one of the new pillars. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! The shopper continued on and I was left with a big crunch.

I filed against my insurance and off my car went to the body shop. Week after week I called and week after week I was told it would be done the following week. This went on for a month and for the entire time I kept calm and went about my business. Dennis at the body shop seemed nice enough and I really don't use the car much in the city. The past month has actually taught me how to use public transportation in my fair city. The damage to my car was on the doors and panels but since the car was in the shop I had asked if I could get an estimate on repainting the hood. My Infiniti has worn a bra since the day I brought her home. The original owner had damaged the hood and it never seemed worth the effort or cost to repair it. Instead I covered the damage with a car bra and went on. Other than the hood the car's body and finish were near perfect. Anywho Dennis never really addressed the hood and I had forgotten about until I picked up the car last Friday.

To my wonder and surprise Dennis had the boys repaint my hood and touch up the rest of the body and paint. My car looked new again. It was so pretty, all detailed up and ready to come home. I looked at Dennis and we had a moment. He said that since I was so patient and calm about the amount time my car was in the shop he decide to do the hood as a thank you to me. Together we had small dumpster ceremony to dispose of the tattered bra. Sniff Sniff Bye bye bra. My car now strides free and proud with her new chest naked for the world to see.

The Chicken Soup here is that sometimes good customers get great service. Shit happens. We all miss deadlines and unforeseen shipping issues have touched all of us at one time or another. We should extend the same understanding for these problems to situations when we are the customers and our level of service is imperil. Most people who work in customer facing jobs want to give good service. We just need to let them. In my case my understanding was rewarded ten fold. The shop was only obligated to repair the damage caused by my brush with cement . Dennis was proud of his work and he delighted in watching me "discover" the new shine on my once dull and faded hood. I was so happy. Instead of frustration and angst I just let Dennis and his staff figure out the best way to keep me happy given the circumstances. Makes me believe people are basically nice and want to help. Try some trust and you might be surprised by what you get.

What Is Enlightenment?

I noticed a magazine in the rack near the check out this morning. "what is enlightenment?" offers a combination of views and advice on trying to get a deeper understanding of life and our experiences. Ethics and Karma discussed in the same publication. Interesting and dare I say, enlightening? Their website is pretty cool too. The Chicken Soup here to look for Chicken Soup in new places and be open to Chicken Soup in all it's forms. Rice or stars, big fat egg noodles or skinny little noodles, it's all still Chicken Soup and it can cure what ails you.

Ouchy the Clown

This is just another chapter in the "Truth is Stranger than Fiction" section of the world we all live in. Ouchy the Clown is a clown but he is also a S&M Dominant and DJ. Premier Provider of Adult Clown Services is how Ouchy markets himself. Available for parties or what ever else you might need a clown in leather with a whip and turntable for. His website is pretty tame considering his line of work so check it out. I can't take responsibility if you decide to surf past the first few layers of Ouchy's site. I guess the Chicken Soup here is that there really is place for everyone if you follow your dream and believe in yourself. Lessons from Ouchy, who knew?