the welcome home.

a little birthday goodness.
mitch, holly, the kids, and jess.
my peoples, ya'll.
the best part.


that's what's up.
the woods can't compete with that kind of hot fire.


jess' dad, tom, gets it goin' on with the woodworks.
he had his spot ready for us to arrive, as always
he also took us out to eat some special italian treats.
he is very kind, generous, and inviting, as is his lovely wife, miss betty.
big props to their open arms and great vibes.

check it;
multiple woods, cross grains and a natural woodknot for an eye.
like i said- he has got it goin' on.
he also has the biggest t.v. i've viewed at in years....
i get sucked in every time.
especially when it's a billboard-sized beacon of high-definition stereo-surround high-tech imax entertainment.
that is a sure sign of epic manliness i'm told.
really.
it's a big 'un.


can you spot the a.d.d.?
relax, it's a joke.
yeah,
the girls' cousin, cash, gets busy, son.
a veritable blur of eleventh-level youthful exuberance.
berserker barbarism runs in the family.
my sister mary came out with us for pizza the first night.
we munched up pretty hard.

the spot.
that's where we ate our power-packed pile of pizza.
all while label whores waited in line at pepe's.
same pizza, dumbasses, but with no lines...

mitch came out with us to pepe's a few days later.
(the spot was closed)
my new haven pizza count was low,
so a double dose of onion awesomeness was certainly in order.
straight-up stankin'.
that's how my breath was breathin' out.
i even hit up a slice or two of broccoli and garlic, too;
just to fully choose the wrench.
it was super great to see my homie.
hopefully it won't be so long between visits from now on.

by the way,
based on this posed portrait,
i'm gay now.
obviously.
what about it?


new dresses!
we hit up some serious shopping with my kids on monday.
which was fun for them, i'm sure.
we also got boba tea at the vietnamese restaurant, pot au pho;
and incredible edibles at a fancy all-vegan place called ahimsa,
that holly introduced us to.


what's really really 'hood?
my youngest sister, anna.
keepin' it real, and bringing birthday presents, ya'll.
she always makes time for her big brother.
and,
on the way to pick her up that afternoon,
i witnessed a fleeting, yet ferocious glimpse of inner city domestic violence.
out of the car window,
i watched some baby-daddy completely k.o a big, fat, bleached-blonde mama!
no foolin'.
real ninjas do real sh!t, i'm so sayin'....
she was yellin' at him inside their van,
and the handicapped parkin' sticker was swayin' with the savagery.
she had her fingers in his face, and was red with rage-
so he threw it in park,
turned,
grabbed one arm onto the roof out of the window for leverage,
and knocked her right out...
like on some mike tyson and king hippo-type sh!t.
mutha-flippin' punch out!
'hood, son.
by the time we turned around, they were gone...
connecticut is not all fairfield county, folk festivals, and tevas-with-socks liberals, yo.
wu-TANG, an' that, beeyotch.

we hung out a lot at my folks' house.
takin' it easy, and remembering the old times, too.
my farnsworth st. address was home to innumerable good days.
seriously. 
having all my friends and family congregate there,
at the old hamden warrior command center,
was pretty flippin' excellent...
not that all accounts of events ever add up exactly.
nevertheless,
real-life was documented and discussed from many divergent directions.


harvest only ever makes this face when she knows i'm snappin' shots.
pictures are meant to be wrecked, i guess.
this was taken in the acropolis diner, in hamden.
(during our school-skippin' pre-b-day hangout time)

and again.
this time at mamoun's.


and speaking of mamoun's, mutha-uckas.
falafel an' that.
c'mon.
i can't not represent on some syrian-style chick pea tastiness.
and the warbat, ya'll.
the warbat is what's poppin'.


miss maple is slightly more inclined to smile with her eyes open.
nice.


hey, now.
how about some terrible tap water?
and traffic?
what about noise, light, and soil pollution?
don't forget left hand highway exits.
or omnipresent road work.
and non-stop expansion, construction, destruction, and reproduction.

that said:
new hampshire,
my lovely true story of woodsly goodness,
i missed you.
never quiet, never soft...