Guy of the Month: Raymond Turnbull, Jr.

Name: Ray T.
Age: Ageless
Occupation: Retired police detective, unofficial gardener of other people’s lawns
Likes: Coors Light, the NY Rangers and thinking about dinner at breakfast
Dislikes: His niece Kelly (so he says)

In college I wrote a short story called “Jeanie’s Day Off.” It was (loosely) based on a story my mom used to tell me when I was little, about how her brothers, Uncle Ray included, threw her into a puddle one day on the way to school, the basic reasoning being that they would have to bring her home and could miss going to school that day.

For some reason I still can’t comprehend, Uncle Ray felt that I portrayed his character as gay. Now, I want readers to remember, these characters were children. And Uncle Ray had very little lines. So where he got the idea that his portion of the story was more Brokeback Mountain than it was a nice little parable about trying to cut corners and getting in trouble, I’ll never know.

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Dad’s Second Annual 60th Birthday Extravaganza: A Camera Phone Diary

A lot went on at Denny Carroll’s Second Annual 60th Birthday Party last week in North Carolina, and a lot of it I can’t discuss. I’d say “what happens in North Carolina stays in North Carolina,” but it’s more like “I can’t remember what happened in North Carolina.” So I guess I have to let the pictures speak for themselves.

P.S. – The one thing I do remember is my kick-ass birdie putt on the 18th hole of the Denny Carroll Second Annual 60th Birthday Golf Outing. Apparently I won a trip to the Bahamas. Second place was a sleeve of used golf balls, so I’m not planning my trip just yet.

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Filed under About Me, BEST Things Ever, It's All Going In The Book, The Funny Thing About Family Is That You'll Always Be Related

Thank God for Friends In Long Distance Relationships

Good idea.

So there’s good ideas and there’s bad ideas.

Good idea: meeting up with childhood friends you haven’t seen since Christmas. Bad idea: several pomegranate margaritas on an empty stomach.

The good idea brought me to drinks with one of my oldest friends, Theresa, and a good three hours of serious gossip. The bad idea left me eating three bowls of ravioli at 9pm, texting/bbm-ing everyone in my phonebook and passing out watching the Rachel Zoe Project (coincidentally, RZP had its best episode of all time last night, I. Die.).

Even with a pounding headache, I can see the silver lining this morning. Good times with great friends are priceless. Gallons of water and carbs can cure anything. And I didn’t wake up covered in Cheet (that’s what we call Cheeto dust – don’t steal it, it’s trademarked).

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Filed under BEST Things Ever, The Crazy People I Call My Own