Gold On The Inside

Thats how hot it was today. Brutal. So bad, that I finally pulled the A/C unit out of storage and set it up in the bedroom. It's still hot tonight, which for a dessert climate is strange, usually there is a nightly 20-30 degree reprieve at night from the swelter. That is not the case tonight. Our apartment is usually cool, with a great cross breeze because of our front and back door. September always kicks our ass a little. On the real, we have had a BEAUTIFUL summer, much cooler than average. So, you gotta suck it up when the heat drops by.

I was getting Herc's diner ready tonight, watching him move across the floor and keeping an eye out on him. He just started crawling, its crazy to watch him get after it! Of course he crawled right up to my stereo and started playin with it. Now, my Hi-Fi is special to me. Its vintage, and stronger than anyone would ever need, I bought it when I lived in a loft in Chicago, from Decibel Audio. I was super proud of it,and by chance found the matching analog tuner a couple years later at Saturday Audio Exchange, where I picked up my speakers(Paradigm Mark II 9se). I love this stereo. It has traveled with me, and been lovingly repaired and kept. It's so beautiful, and simple. Just knobs and buttons, nothing fancy. It's powerful, rated at 150 watts per channel. SO loud, that when I lived above a Salon on Chicago Avenue, the stylists would ask who that last song was. I play it loud, whenever I can.

I got some history with this piece, and watching my little boy play with it kind of blew my mind. The first thought in my head was "Vintage Audio for a bachelor=Cool. Vintage Audio within reach of a crawling infant=Not Cool." the thought that won out was " Who Cares? Its a stereo, and almost 25 years old. If it can't take the heat, it ass need to get out the kitchen. Its built solid, and it does get broken, I'll fix it or get something else." What if he breaks it? Well, I broke my dads fly rod when I was a boy because I needed an awesome sword to play with. I realized much later in life that I pulled a dick move. But, my Dad took me trout fishing a lot while growing up. And I reintroduced him to his love for fly fishing, and now he has a a hobby that he loves and is passionate about. We talk about fishing and his latest fly designs and attempts whenever we speak, and its something very important and special that we share a passion for. His latest attempt was tying a fly with a piece of pink of condom. Imagining my father going from pharmacy to pharmacy looking for a particular brand and color of condom makes me chuckle. He finally got them form a condom website, which opened his eyes to the strange depths of the new world of e-commerce. I feel responsible for his new found enthusaism, and hope he forgave me for that asshole move. Well, his rod and reel are epic, and his flies are amazing. So, Go a head Herc, tear the input selection knob off. We'll laugh about it later. Who knows where it might take the both of us.