nightsofnakedmannequins

One of my first photos of Sydney. Taken from the ferry that chugged us across Sydney harbor every day. We were truly fortunate and grateful to be able to reside in a snug two bedroom flat in an area of Sydney on the northern part of the harbor called Cremorne. Friend Vickie on the left, wife (blonde hair right) and two wonderful Aussies tucked away to the far right. They made the trip extraordinary. Strange building between friend V. and Wife.

Ok, so maybe not. But an old friend called me recently and said that he saw a story about James and his voracious reading. He was surprised. Said he didn’t even know that professional athletes could read. I have to admit that I was surprised too. At first even skeptical. But I Googled the story and there was Lebron reading all sorts of books. !!!!!!!!!

Amazing and wonderful!

Of course, in a perfect world Lebron would eventually get around to poetry and, naturally, find Nights of Naked Mannequins.

But the world isn’t perfect yet. So maybe a couple of suggestions are in order.

My first suggestion for Lebron would be the poem on p. 57, “The Gym for Settling Old Scores.” Any guy who ever suited up in any gym anywhere in the good old USA to play hoops for his high school should identify with that one.

I still like that title. I almost used it for the title of the book.

As soon as I read and watched the stories about Lebron and his reading, I knew that the Heat were going to win the championship. Guaranteed. Trust me. I could see the difference in James’ eyes. There was a focus and depth that I never noticed before. It’s the power of reading!

This is the year that Lebron James settles all the old scores that have haunted him for a long time.

This is the world-famous “OZ House,” in Ridgecrest, CA. Every Halloween through January first, the house is decorated in a “Wizard of Oz” theme, and the lights are usually turned on every night (weather permitting) for the enjoyment of people driving by.  A considerable amount of work goes into creating the effects. This year, Domi helped with some of the construction, and he turns on the lights when the owner of the house is busy.

So far Domi and Zainab have traveled with their Love Bug through 46 countries. One of those countries was Iran, which was a fascinating experience. They were provided with a military/police style escort for the duration of their Iranian travels. Without any doubts, they became the first couple to drive across that country in a Love Bug pulling a trusty DDR trailer. The above picture was not taken in Iran. The photo was taken in what is locally known as “poison canyon,” due to the brackish taste of the water which seldom flows through the desert canyon. Herbie is posed here in front of The Trona Fish Rocks, which were first painted sometime in the late 1930’s. The Fish Rocks may be observed usually in the early mornings when they rise out of the sand looking for worms. To find the Fish Rocks, you must take Highway 178 east from either Highway 395 or Highway 14 in Ridgecrest, CA. You will see them on the left as you exit poison canyon, a couple of miles before the turn off for the Trona Pinnacles.

Herbie spent a couple of weeks at the Burroughs High School auto shop facility having the engine nearly rebuilt by Domi and Randy Hannah, the auto shop teacher. That’s Domi on the left and Randy on the right during a crucial time in the repairs. At one time, Domi and Randy feared that Domi would have to buy a completely new remanufactured engine to replace the one in Herbie.

Randy grinding down a bolt or piston rod or maybe one of Domi’s fingers to put in the engine.

Herbie at night.