At The Top Of The Control Tower

Easter, in the control tower.
Last stool on the right at the front of the patio vessel.
Overseeing the horseshoe parking lot, where demand for real estate customarily exceeds supply.
At the top of the control tower.
Overseeing entries into carefully curated records, quaint succulents, members-only vintage envy or a cultural institution that charges coffee as the admission price.
The responsibility at the top of the control tower.
The well-manicured grounds of a cemetery dead ahead.
The hill it resides upon rolls upward, gently.
A reminder to keep it breezy, because the inevitable awaits everyone.
Regardless of air-traffic control proficiency.
Keeping it breezy at the top of the control tower.
The control tower of the social information-passing vortex, which envelops this patio institution.
In the crossfire by default at the tops of the control tower.
Fielding and overhearing war stories, social badge ceremonies, over-corrected self-reassurances. Easter brunch shifts completed is proportionate to dragons slain.
The moderator, at the top of the control tower.
Cars ferrying in, out, around, between inside the horseshoe.
A hard veer right is resignation, the front lines are all accounted for.
Still circle back, complete the figure eight, imply infinite ferrying purgatory.
At the top of the control tower you must be on-guard, you are on stage.
The most volatile seat of this patio institution.
The control tower demands a level of mastery in keeping cool.
Sunglasses disguise your intentions but invite curiosity.
Keeper of the succulents.
Their purity creates complimentary social opportunities.
Remain ready, stay on guard.
Free opportunities do not imply gainful opportunities.
Strung along for the prime real estate.
The philanthropic keeper of the lighter.
The lighter itself a social lubricant/
Adult parents patrol toddlers from the back of the vessel.
Scratching to maintain ownership of their small, nomadic kingdom.
Unable to surrender this struggle at the foot of the control tower.
We're keeping it breezy at the top of the control tower.
We're shielding our children from the breeze, denying them an opportunity for a taste.

part 1

Getting back into Green Day.

If you live easier without it, why do you possess it? Why does it consume your existence? 

I am everything I am not. 

What are you fighting for? Fighting for five hundred more rematches? 

Weeknights down at the gym. 

Every lazy musing thought becomes a harrowing lightning bolt of an explanation. 

Soon as I see the light I know the dark is coming. 

Your public persona presents problematic projected pity. 

You never stop to think before you open up your mouth. 

If you live to brag and belittle, when are you actually stopping and smelling the roses? 

Sometimes I can't get it out. 

Chase and hunt down a wandering thought. Don't revert to scheduled existence. 

NFL 2015

Hello and welcome back to I've Been Gone a Long Time. I appreciate you checking back for new posts every day since the last time we spoke. Today is when that relentless disappointment ends. Except that it will certainly be continuing, in all likelihood, since this post has required 0% of my time & efforts. I am sorry for your myriad of disappointments, and better luck tomorrow. 

P.S. The NOT GUILTY "deflategate" verdict has been in since the conclusion of January's AFC title game. The NFL has just publicly dragged this non-story out throughout the entire FUCKING offseason in an effort steal headlines and consequently remain at the forefront of every sports fan's brain, every day all year long. Mission accomplished; the NFL has perfected the art of stealing candy from babies. The babies are the media and media consumers. The most transparent conspiracy of my experienced adult life has finally concluded. The fix is in: the NFL rules the world. 

My educated picks for the 2015 NFL Season, now that Week 1 is complete: 

(GO BILLZ!!! My biased foreshadowing, post-Week 1, tells me that Buffalo's newly anointed starting QB Tyrod Taylor, former career backup of Joe Flacco, will be a monster. Which is exactly what I envisioned prior to seeing highlights of his first start. So I will be basing all predictions off this knowledge.) 

(Last year's crystal ball)

AFC EAST 

1. Patriots 

2. Bills- Wild Card

3. Dolfins

4. Jets 

AFC NORTH 
1. Ravens
2. Steelers- Wild Card
3. Bengals
4. Browns

AFC SOUTH
1. Colts
2. Texans
3. Titans
4. Jagz 

AFC WEST 
1. Chargers
2. Broncos 
3. Chiefs 
4. Raiders

NFC EAST
1. Eagles 
2. Cowboys
3. Giants
4. Redskins

NFC NORTH
1. Packers 
2. Lions- Wild Card
3. Vikings
4. Bears

NFC SOUTH
1. Saints
2. Falcons- Wild Card
3. Panthers
4. Bucs

NFC WEST 
1. Seahawks 
2. Cardinals
3. Rams
4. 49ers

PLAYOFFS
Wild Card: Bills over Chargers, Steelers over Ravens; Eagles over Lions, Saints over Falcons.
Divisional: Bills over Colts (unbiased), Patriots over Steelers; Packers over Eagles, Seahawks over Saints. 
Conference: Patriots over Bills; Seahawks over Packers. 
Super Bowl 50: Seahawks over Patriots. 

Peyton Manning retires, Tom Brady nearly retires. The best conference championship Sunday of all time. Please check back soon for another blog. Thank you for reading.