Last night I went to the opening of a martini bar; the proceeds were going to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, of which I am a board member and a former Big, so it was a good cause. There was a good jazz band and I ended up seeing a ton of people I know. I saw a guy from high school who is now running for political office. My first paying job in video production was getting paid to tape wrestling matches at the high school, and in the first match I taped, this kid broke somebody's arm. I saw a girl who used to be in some of my old high school movies, moving back home and going through a divorce. Somebody came up and told me they had enjoyed some of my homemade wine at a reception. Somebody came up and asked me about my old comic book collecting cable access show. Not a day goes by that somebody doesn't ask me about it. It's like writing this blog; you shout through a doorway, and you don't know if someone is on the other side, or if it's an empty room.

I'm going to my wife's cousin's wedding tomorrow, a big ol' Southern Indiana hootenanny, and always a fun time. She has lots of "kin," and there have been plenty of weddings before, and quite a few more to go.

I've started making a few moves on GIZZARD GUTS. I reread it; it came to me handwritten in a notebook from John Polonia. Then I started piecing together a few ideas and starting the first tentative clack-clacks on the keyboard. I'll start going full blast next week, my self-imposed respite pretty much over.

You can give me a shout at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.