Let me explain a little...I've been getting some emails regarding my brothers blog and haven't known what to say...something like kiss my ass comes to mind, but then it came to me...what to people in the south say? Bless your heart! And of course I have a card that says that, so I pumped out 30 and got it off my chest.



But it gets better...After I finished painting I took a break to check emails and found this from my cousin...

There comes a point in your life when you realize

who matters,

who never did,

who won't anymore...

and who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past,

there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Give this heart to everyone you don't want to lose in 2008,

including me, if you care.

Try to collect 12; it's not easy!

Yeah, I'm not perfect and do yoga naked, and if that or me being gay or my brother being a street preacher hurts sales, then sooooooo be it...not enough hours in the day to sweat the small stuff and yes, those emails are small stuff...hey someone in India is reading my blog.

Oh yeah and I now have some ideas for new paintings...and kiss my flat ass!!!

Tough times don't last, tough people do.



This painting is new and untitled, any ideas?

First of all, congrats to Pop for selling a photo...it still amazes me about putting a price on something and what people say when you're not around about what you've done and what their impression of it is...at some point you have to let it go...both your creation and the perceptions...then when someone likes it enough, they want it to be a part of their home, it's the coolest feeling...I don't think you can even explain it. I remember someone saying did I mind that my painting was in their bathroom, I smiled and said shit no without thinking!!! The bathroom is the one place in the home where you have to sit or stand for any length of time with only one thing to do and finding something else to do like looking at my painting is just what the doctor ordered...I'm right up there with reading a book or magazine...bring it on!!! I also had my art in a resteruant in Dallas at one point and the only place they had available was right next to the bathrooms...I took it and sold over 5 pieces in a little over a year with lot's of emails and calls from people who saw my business card and wanted to see more, again, BRING IT ON!!!

Sooo, on to other things....um, I'm teaching art therapy now in the assisted living home where I'm getting my P.T. and O.T.

I'm officially a low risk candidate for falling now and yes, there is a test. I walked in a very uneven grass area at the facility, more trampoline, walking on the treadmill backwards again and again, stairs, wii fitness age is now 47, down from 70, which was no fun...doing yoga on the floor, tai chi, yoga ball sit-ups and other weird crazy things, I'm actually in a routine of all of this and fighting the painting, but, I'm winning.

And that brings us to today...a fellow rehabber named Sandy, I call her Flipper, was her birthday today...she started with a wheelchair when she came in and I'll never forget her look when Anita, a.k.a. psycho told her she wouldn't be coming in with that anymore...I knew then, she was someone I had to get to know..now she walks in with a quad cane with the help of her husband...I'm there first, then she comes in! She would cheer me on with the hoola-hoop, laugh at the ski jump when I turned into a snow ball, the soccer ballas and shoes and of course the bowling...and laughing is pretty much how you get thru all of this.

She told me today, that she becomes sad at times, remembering how things were how things are and what will happen down the road. I can relate, doing 100 cards a day, doing 4 paintings at a time and still having time for an afternoon movie with a friend....dinner at 8 or 9pm coffe after that, then starting all over again...or singing in a men's chorus, playing volleybal, while doing all the above. I was a crew trainer, rider rep, trainer for the ride...helped to keep a 40 mile ride going every sunday morning in the heat of the summer in dallas...I did all those things every day without thinking...now I think about them almost everyday...it's tough to think about at times, but, now, I have victories like bending my knee, or getting down on the floor and getting back up, all by myself. Little things now are huge...and huge is good...I may not be doing what I used to do, but, I'm here...and that's pretty cool.

So Sandys birthday for me was a reminder thatbig things come in small packages..All the people in the world from India to Chicago can't change what you have and what you have is all you need!!!

More to come, but for now, go out and get out of your comfort zone...as one of my v=cards reads...A ship in the harbor is safe, but, that's not what ships are built for...no fear!!! Oh and jewel quest rocks as does toem destroyer and scrabble on line...not much of a solitaire man like Pop.

Tough times don't last, tough people do.

I'm painting, slow, but sure I'm painting.

Another week has started. After a great weekend on the boat and also on the river front in Washington...hot, but cool. Biggest thing this month and here on out is stop walking like Frankenstein....when I walk, my left leg is straight legged, I tell my brain to follow thru and walk normally, I swear my brain says no thanks, this is working fine. I'm getting around, but, walking straight legged is really taxing to my energy, ok imagine trying to walk all day with one leg straight at all times....just telling yourself to keep that one leg straight the entire day, while doing day to day stuff, you forget and you bend...that's me in reverse...trying to do everyday things while simply walking like everyone else...I'm doing it slow, but sure, but, it's really frustrating.

Today after rehab, Mom and I went to Super Walmart and went grocery shopping...I haven't been in a store for almost one year and haven't pushed a cart in almost two...it was a little victory, but was so cool....it reminds me of when Pop let us start to drive the lawn mower to cut the grass....it was an everyday thing that needed to be done, but that little bit of responsibility of riding that lawnmower seemed huge, didn't last long because of the heat, but it was there



This weekend, like today I guess represented hope for me....not only can I get around, but, I'm starting to do those everyday things like everyone else, even if it's like Frankenstein, I'm still doing it...slowly but surely.

With all that said some people are wondering what's up in my head....I haven't written a mush gush in a while, but, have been thinking it. After watching Ever After, the movie, this weekend it sparked this....

We must live with hope, yet we cannot live by hope. It is fine to hope for the best. Yet, that is not enough. We cannot just hope, we must take action.

It is sad how many things are tolerated in the hope that they will improve. Hoping for the best won't do anything. Working and taking action, with hope in your heart, will bring about results. That's a powerful combination. Hope works in your favor only as long as it is accompanied by action and commitment.

Hope cannot replace action. Do what needs to be done, hope or no hope. Hope for the best, and do everything in your power to make it happen. To me this is hope. Things will get better -- when you make them better.

Start each day with hope and maybe some coffee, then get busy working. Let your hope inspire you, rather than console you. Hope for the best, and then do whatever it takes.

Another inspiration was from a movie my brother in North Carolina left behind, in the movie, one of the characters said he would do his best and let God lead the rest.

Think, rethink, then do...just do it already!

Tough times don't last, tough people do.

Not tonight...not busy, just don't want to blog....wait...question....who's Flipper, Worry Wort, Psycho, Trouble Maker, Drama Queen and Boss? No big panties there!!! And bite me!!!

Tough times don't last, tough people do.

Just found out that Team tough as Jim, a team riding n this years Lone Star Ride is almost at $1,000.00.

Our goal is $10,000.00, but, I think we'll do more, with things planned and Armando bringing in some big money...go Miss Puerto Rico, forget the rash! We need more riders and more money do both if you can!!! You can go the the front page of my website to go directly to the team page! Go now!