BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

February 20th is one of those really, really momentous days in history…

Some of you may remember, and by the same token, some of you may simply be too young to remember. You may have read about it in history books, but that would be as close as you came to touching it…

So, what am I rambling about?

47 years ago, on February 20, 1962, Astronaut John Glenn left this earth, and returned safely,  aboard a Mercury Space Capsule, dubbed Friendship 7. In doing so, he became the first American to orbit the earth.

Just for the record, Alan Shepard was the first American Astronaut in space, aboard the Mercury Capsule Freedom 7, in May 1961. The distinction of first human being in space was earned by Russian Cosmonaut, Yuri Gegarin aboard Vostok 3KA-2 in April 1961, beating out the US by nearly a month.

Those of you who know me, or have been following my blog for some time already know of my fascination with the space program. Even those of you who became readers of Brainpan Leakage only recently, are probably aware of this fact if you have been following the Mahwage series of entries. So, my apologies for spewing space trivia at you… It’s just one of those things.

Still, taking all of the above, and more, into account, I suppose NASA and our space program have been major landmarks for some of the most important events in my life…

• The Challenger Disaster and that fateful job interview that led me to meet, and eventually marry the love of my life, E K.
• Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the moon. This would be when my teachers in elementary school suddenly realized I was academically way ahead of the curve. I believe what tipped them off was me walking into class with a detailed scale model of a Saturn V rocket I had built from scratch out of things I found around the house… (As in, I had no plastic modeling kit, just junk, pictures, and my imagination.)
• And, yes, among other things, February 20, 1962…

You see, I have to admit I don’t clearly recall Astronaut Glenn’s historic orbits around the earth. At the time, I was in a small town called Fulton, Kentucky, and I  was somewhat preoccupied with being slapped around by a doctor, as I ventured naked,  screaming, and kicking into this world.

Yeah, today is my birthday. I awoke this morning to a Friday  just like any other Friday. Cleaning litterboxes, taking out the trash, getting my wife off to work, my daughter off to school, starting laundry, making calls to order parts for the kitchen faucet that elected to break at an inopportune moment, and even sitting down with a cup of coffee to get some other work done.

But, today, in addition to that work, as  gift to myself I have spent my time piddling around on the Internet instead of tossing words at an upcoming novel… I mean, after all, it’s my birthday. I should have a little fun, right?

Ever since last evening I’ve been receiving numerous emails from folks, countless postings on my Facebook wall, and even on my Myspace comments, all wishing me the best for the day and the year to come. I thank each and every one of you for those kind thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to send me those notes, because I am the first one to admit that I am terrible about doing so myself. I get a bit preoccupied and often forget about such things, especially since we didn’t really make a big deal about birthdays in my family. Still, I want you all to know that I appreciate it.

Late this morning, I was even rousted from my comfortable chair here at my desk by someone pounding on my front door. To my surprise, when I answered it a lady presented me with the flowers pictured above… A gift from Samantha Beaty and 13 Magickal Moons, my favorite bookstore, (and bookstore owner), for signings, workshops, and even just plain visiting. I have a ton of friends there. Too bad they are in Virginia and I’m here in Missouri or I’d drop by and have a few drinks with the crew.

A few days ago, I received a delivery from my touring buddy, Dorothy Morrison. She sent me a bottle of booze, go figure.

But, seriously, she knows I happen to be a big fan of Maker’s Mark, so she and her husband sent me a “patriotic” bottle of the fine Bourbon.

She also made me promise I would open it and drink it… I said I would, but I’m not going to get in a hurry about it. I already have some Bourbon open, and besides, the red, white, and blue bottle looks pretty good up there on the shelf.

Knowing my penchant for  odd T-Shirts as well, the box included one of those too. It is emblazoned with a furry critter and labeled with an easily recognizable stylized script, proclaiming him to be “Hairy Otter.” You can expect to see me wearing it at an upcoming gig this spring / summer / fall…

…And who knows what’s in store for this evening. I couldn’t help but notice that E K laid out a bunch of leather items, stiletto heels, and such like before she left  for work this morning… Just kidding… Fact of the matter is, the poor woman had a horrid tension headache when she headed out, so I figure she will be the one on the receiving end of  the attention this evening. She’ll have to get all “Evil” on me some other time… And besides, like I said, birthday’s aren’t that big a deal on my side of the family, so we usually just have a quiet celebration with a few close friends, some stir-fry, and a whole mess of Sushi. I’m afraid that won’t be happening tonight, due to schedules and such, but we’ll be taking care of it in the near future… Tonight we’ll probably just sit around and watch Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, and Numbers… Maybe I’ll even toss back a quiet Bourbon or two to celebrate…

And, so, here I am… This old farm boy is another year older, officially and everything. Whether or not I am any wiser remains to be seen…

On that note, Tammy Jean, a good friend of mine sent me an email a bit earlier, wishing me well on this day… In my response to her I discovered an interesting mathematical anomaly. I mentioned that my brain still felt 25, but that when I get up in the morning my body feels every bit of 72.

Those were just the numbers than happened to roll out of my brain, for whatever reason… It wasn’t until I did the math that it made an odd sort of sense…

You know, what with 72 minus 25 being equal to 47…

I wonder if there is a similar calculation for that elusive wisdom?

More to come…

Murv

Some of you may have noticed a bit of a change in the footer section of Brainpan Leakage. If you haven’t just yet, feel free to scroll down, have a look, then scroll back up… I’ll be happy to wait…

Okay, done looking? Good deal…

Well, here’s a bit of an explanation for the changes…

Everyone knows that extra special stuff for your blog, AKA – Blog Bling, is important. That’s why there are all manner of plug-ins for displaying pictures and the like, or even stuff that is related to various causes, such as the pink ribbon for October, etc.

Well, in the interest of causes, awards, blog endorsements, and just general silliness, my brain elected to leak out some stuff for other bloggers to grab in case they wanted some Brainpan Leakage specific Blog Bling…

If desired, bloggers can simply download the image desired, then upload it to their own site. Then insert the provided html snippet, (being sure to change the www.yourdomain.com to the location of the graphic on their server, of course), into their page wherever they wish to display the bling. I ask only that the graphics remain unaltered and that the link to Brainpan Leakage remain intact.

If you decide to display any of this bling, let me know and I’ll add you to the appropriate rolls!

CAUSES NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART

Show the world you are a caring blogger. Let everyone know that no monkeys were harmed by your blog, and that your content is Certified Simian Safe!

<a href="http://www.mrsellars.com/mrblog">
<img src="http://www.yourdomain.com/simian_safe_trans.png"
 alt="Certified Simian Safe"></a>

<a href="http://www.mrsellars.com/mrblog">
<img src="http://www.yourdomain.com/simian_safe_001.png"
alt="Certified Simian Safe"></a>

BLOG ENDORSEMENTS

Endorsements for your blog are ever important. What better recommendation could you have than that of the Evil Redhead herself, E K! New visitors will be compelled to read your blog, because if they don’t, E K will hunt them down and hurt them! (Trust me, she’s evil like that…)

<a href="http://www.mrsellars.com/mrblog">
<img src="http://www.yourdomain.com/ek_approved_trans.png"
alt="Evil Kat Approved"></a>

<a href="http://www.mrsellars.com/mrblog">
<img src="http://www.yourdomain.com/ek_approved_001.png"
alt="Evil Kat Approved"></a>

A permanent link to this information can be found in the sidebar menu, under “Blog Bling”…

Yes.  I’m a silly bastage, but you already knew this… That fact, however,  shouldn’t keep you from tagging your blogs with the above displayed, most excellent Bling…

More to come…

Murv