Nearing eleven, late Friday night. 62F (about 17C) with an audible breeze off the lake, skewing a bit to the north. The skies are mostly clear but dotted with night-clouds, white against the sky's dark blue. Beautiful. I went for a drive just to take it all in, and I don't want to die, ever, on nights like tonight.

I’ve been thinking about death lately. I suppose most middle-aged guys start thinking about death, so I doubt I’m onto something new and exciting. My thoughts can be summarized in two bullets:

1) I am happier and more content in my life on a daily basis than ever before. I’ll be out on a ride, like tonight, or out watching my kids skateboard in the cemetery, and my heart will about burst from wanting to grab hold of the moment and hold it as close as I can.

2) Someday I am going to die.

I hope that makes sense. More on this as I think through the context. Tonight, though, I can hear the wind set off the neighborhood’s wind chimes, and all is good and right in the world.

I skipped hoops this morning and managed twelve hours of sleep. No wonder I’m up late tonight, eh? Not long after waking I called the Craigslist guy about the drums. He seemed older, and I tried to talk price on the phone, but he said I should wait until I see the set before I say anything. I drove down to Mequon, expecting some old guy in overalls or something, but the guy was actually just a little older than me. He was really cool, and the set was in great shape. He said his son was getting ready to ship out to Iraq and wanted to get rid of the set. Wow. I don’t know how to process that sort of karma. He also said he would use the money to buy his other son a new cello. Now, the guy was far from broke (this was Mequon, an affluent suburb), but the deal seemed fair, so I gave him $250 and called it a day. Score one for Craigslist. We loaded up the drums in my van and I drove home. M and I set up the drums in our bedroom and let the kids go crazy. T actually seems to have some sense of rhythm. Maybe we’ll get him lessons or teach him how to play along to The Ramones. I guess drummers are always needed, as there aren't a ton around, but I don’t think they get the chicks. Hopefully one of the boys will stick with the drums, and the other two can pick up guitar and/or bass or keyboards or something else, and they can form a band. They can practice here. I don’t mind, and the sound doesn't travel much outside. I checked.

I couldn’t get into much of a groove the rest of the day. S tried to teach me how to play Madden football, and I said “goddamn” and “fuck” in front of my seven year old son because I couldn’t figure out how to get my quarterback to pass. Great parenting! S actually told me to calm down as it was only a game. Well, that’s progress, anyway. I cleaned for a while and uploaded a video of T skateboarding through the cemetery. Here’s the link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FYWWih0kpno

Later I figured out the passing and beat the computer-Bears (I was the Steelers) 35-3. M left for a party early in the evening. The boys and a friend watched High School Musical 2. I wasn’t in the mood to watch the movie, so I talked on the phone with Dan, back from Branson, but N kept interrupting me (apparently he wasn’t into HS Musical 2 either) so we cut the conversation short. N and I played with clay for a while. I programmed a mix CD for someone from the eels board. I’ll post the songs tomorrow. The computer was giving me a hard time, and I fucked up the mix once, so I got frustrated. S was also sneaking into the kitchen for brownies every ten seconds. I had to breathe deep and wait for M’s return. After the kids were asleep I went for the ride mentioned above. Oh, my passport arrived today, too, and I look nothing short of a terrorist in the picture. I might not reach Italy.

Tomorrow…farmer’s market, hopefully a walk with Shadow, and some lawn care before the rain. Good night. Great sleeping weather ahead. I’m looking forward to fall.