Tuesday, January 06, 2004



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6:26 PM<br> 
The following posts are e-mails I've received from readers of my Herald News columns.  I thank all who read my columns and look forward to writing them as often as possible.  I appreciate any and all feedback at it lets me know my efforts and skills are also appreciated. These particular e-mails are in reference to my deceased four-legged friend, Pepper, and my 82-year-old-friend, Ray.  If you've yet to read about them, please click <a href="http://www.shaveyourhead.com/newSHYDColumn.htm">here.</a><br /><br /><br />Date:  	6 Jan 13:58 (PST)<br /><br />Scott,<br /><br />I had to drop you a note....fantastic column dedicated to Pepper!  <br /><br />My husband and I became the proud "parents" of Jasmine,  our 10 year old Dalmatian, when she was just 8 weeks old and we had just begun dating.  We could relate to everything you expressed in the article...it's so true how pets become such a huge part of your life.  We've often told people that we've put off starting a family because Jas is use to being an only child. Our "family" bond is displayed in our yearly holiday cards with a picture of, you guessed it...Jasmine.  Though we know Jas won't live forever, the thought of "that" day is unbearable to me.  Thanks for approaching your family's loss the way you did.  Undoubtedly, it struck a nerve with many pet owners.<br /><br />Keep writing the articles you do....I've enjoyed every one of them. <br /><br />Michelle <br /><br /><br />*********************<br /><br /><br />Date:  	6 Jan 06:53 (PST)<br /><br />Hi Scott,<br /><br />I love reading your Herald News Articles they are just to funny. You probably<br />would have never guess that I would be e-mailing you. I just wanted to say hi and<br />Happy New Year. How is your mom tell her I said hi. Keep in touch and keep those<br />articles coming.<br /><br />Mary Ellen, Bobby's sister.<br /><br /><br /><br />********************<br /><br /><br />Date: 28 Dec 16:04 (PST) 	<br /><br /><br />Dear Scott:<br /><br />I just wanted to let you know that the article in Sundays paper on your friend<br />Ray is just wonderful.  I enjoyed reading it.  It really is great when there are<br />such strong relationships between young people and seniors.   <br /><br />Thank you for sharing this relationship with us.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Gayle <br /><br /><br /><br />***************<br /><br /><br />Date:  	28 Dec 10:51 (PST)<br /><br />Dear Scott:<br /><br />  I read your article in today's Herald News about your friend Ray. What an enlightening and humorous joy to read!<br /><br />  You mentioned Don Kesich in the story. He really was a remarkable man. He was also my husbands uncle. We called him "Uncle Kes," and lovingly still refer to him as such.<br /><br />  When he passed away in March, we were stunned, and heartbroken. His beloved, wife was, and still is, absolutely crushed to have lost him. As a matter of fact, Uncle Kes passed away only 4 weeks after his brother-in-law, (my husband's father). I also lost my grandmother the first week of February.<br /><br />  Needless to say, this year did not begin well. We lost many too many loved ones in a short amount of time.   <br /><br />  The purpose I am writing you is to thank you for the honor you give Uncle Kes every time you mention his name in one of your articles. Auntie Mae, and all the rest of our family know what a wonderful man he was.  With your articles, now every one else will know too.<br /><br />  With my deepest gratitude,<br /><br />  Susie<br />
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Monday, January 05, 2004



<br>
5:44 PM<br> 
The following posts are from my <strong><em>Daily Derenger</em></strong>. I and the technical brass at <strong>ShaveYourHead.com</strong> don't know what the problem is in the Daily archives. So hard to find good help these days, especially with what I pay.  Please read on and enjoy. <br /><br /><br />[ Mon Jan 05, 05:27:00 PM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />I've made it to Phoenix. I hear they have some snow back home. Sorry. It's unseasonably cool here at around 60 degrees. California should be more of the same. Good to be me for a change. <br /><br />I stayed the last two nights in two of the shadiest hotels ever. Usually I stay in nice rooms since the club or bar pays for them. However, having no shows lined-up, I footed the bills. You know those bright, neon signs with $17.99 single rate hotel in a less than disireable part of town? That's where I've stayed. Yuck, but affordable. I had to place a deposit for the room key and the TV remote even. <br /><br />Off to take a nap and enjoy the sights of horses grazing. My buddy and his girlfriend live beside a stable and the horses are in plain view from their couch. Now let's hope the wind is blowing away from the couch.<br /><br /><br />[ Sat Jan 03, 06:50:38 AM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />Well kids, the Prizm is all packed. I'm ready to embark on a nearly three-month trip that's not really planned out. I'll end out in California for most of it, with stops in Vegas, Denver, Tucson and Phoenix along the way. <br /><br />I have some of the greatest musical collections ranging from Billy Joel to John Cougar to Hootie. Okay, so maybe Hootie's hits are far fewer, but good listening nonetheless. <br /><br />Gimme a call to see if I'm alive and well - 815.557.5233. Happy New Year and have a great 2004!<br /><br /><br />[ Fri Jan 02, 05:18:48 PM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />By this time tomorrow I hope to be in or past Tulsa,Oklahoma en route to Amarillo, Texas. Perhpas I will get a set at the Texas club, depending on the weather and how my driving goes. It may take longer than I have planned. In the end, I hope to be in sunny southern California next Tuesday. Feel free to gimme a call as I drive - weekends are free on the cell. I'll need help staying awake once the football games end. <br /><br />Now if I should happen to drive off a cliff and not make it (because there are so many cliffs in Missouri and northern Texas mind you), promise me this, you loyal readers of ShaveYourHead.com will get these Daily Derenger's published along with my newspaper columns and Wrigley Field journal. Please keep the title "Waiting at Wrigley," even though I won't be coming back to wait ... for anything. <br /><br />Take the proceeds and donate them to the homeless and hungry kids in Joliet. Kids, not the crack whores or lazy bums, kids. Well, take some of the cash and help mom and dad put me in a decent outfit and casket. Not in a suit, though. I rarely wore one and don't wanna be last scene in one. Make it something funny, something that says, "Scott loved to laugh and hoped that everyone he met laughed, too. Either with him or at him."<br /><br /><br />[ Thu Jan 01, 05:05:56 PM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />Happy 2004! <br /><br />What a NYEve it was. Well, it was nothing all that special. I did meet a girl with a beard, though. Not a full-on ZZ Top beard, but the fuzzy female kind. Had it been at night with the lights dimmed, I may not have noticed. However, it was in broad daylight and the broad had a beard, accentuated by the sunlight. She also was a drag, lacking charisma and spunk, not that spunk is a key ingredient in a person's character. But when you're a chick with a beard, you best make up for it in personality and maybe I won't notice your fuzz as much. I could see descibing a fuzzy, but really nice girl like this, "She's a great gal ... in a 5 o'clock shadow sorta way."<br /><br /><br />[ Wed Dec 31, 12:19:43 AM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />The front driver’s seat of the Prizm has ripped. Instead of trading her in for a 2004 Escalade or Hum-V, I bought a seat cover. An economical move and really a no-brainer. I just lost my dog two weeks ago; I’m not ready to lose the Prizm. <br /><br />My first attempt was an all black one cushioned for extra comfort. It was too bulky, though, and I returned it. Next was a cover costing twice as much but looking better without the bulkiness. However, it came undone every time I got in the car. That one stayed on through an oil change and the planting of a solid fart. It felt good to unload one and then get my money back. The third one was a black beaded one that made me feel like an old woman, plus it didn’t cover much of the seat and served more for comfort. Again, I took it back and opted for a fourth selection, this time a cover that went completely over the seat, headrest and all, and fit securely under the front of the seat, too. It’s black and red and features a dragon and some Chinese letters. I think they say, “How in the hell did you spend 90 minutes trying out seat covers for a car with 162 thousand miles on it that has yet to be paid off?” At least that’s what the cashier told me it said. <br /><br /><br />[ Tue Dec 30, 12:48:43 AM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />I bought a new hat the other day. It's a black, leather fisherman-like hat. I really like its look and think it looks good on me. The only thing is that I'm not black. It's a hat that LL Cool J would wear or maybe a football star, not a bald, small white guy. I don't care, though, I'm gonna wear it whenever I can and even on stage. We'll see if a new look can get me on TV. Perhaps as the poster child of what white men should not wear in public.<br /><br /><br />[ Mon Dec 29, 11:03:19 AM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />“Deaf or blind. If you had the choice, would you take a blind lover or a deaf one?” This question was posed to me by Sue over some cocktails. After some thought, I opted for deaf. She concurred, actually saying, “deafinitely.” <br /><br />Think about it, the deaf can still see, which I value more than hearing. In some cases. Sex is about the visual, at least for men. Life in the bedroom would be solid I imagine, aside from not being able to talk dirty. Although sultry sign language might be very erotic. Plus she wouldn’t be able to hear the embarrassing bodies-rubbing-together noises. And I could also fart. A lot. But wait, when you lose one sense, another is enhanced. With my luck it would be her sense of smell. She’d be able to detect one brewing in me moments before it was unleashed. There’s no way it could work with us. I’m breaking up. <br /><br /><br />[ Thu Dec 25, 05:08:45 PM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />I've managed to sneak away from the family Christmas gathering long enough to write this. However, I don't think they'll miss me. There's too much food to be eaten and stories, albeit recycled ones, to be shared. Then there's my step-cousin, Kenny, who just returned from a 9-month stint in Iraq. His work there trumps any of my funny happenings or meaningless trips through the midwest. We can't even watch a good movie with my step-dad contolling the clicker. He's watching James Bond flicks while "A Christmas Story" and other comedy classics pass by. I'm off to visit friends with some function in their family, not to dys mine at all, of course.<br /><br /><br />[ Wed Dec 24, 03:40:12 PM | Scott Derenger | edit ]<br /><br />Merry Christmas 2003!!! I bought many more gifts than I had planned, but it felt really good to do so. Then came the wrapping. Not having a girlfriend this year made the wrapping more of a chore than I ever imagined. Luckily there's a dollar store nearby where gift bags hung freely. That cut my wrapping time in half. Of course I had to wrap the gifts for the kids as tons of fun is had in savagely tearing open boxes, ribbons and paper. My adult friends will be more than okay with a book in a bag, though. <br /><br />Check out the journal for the re-posting of my Daily Derenger's. Also, if you've yet to do so, please stop by the pictures link to see Wrigley Field like never before. <br /><br />Happy Holidays!!!
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