A friend of mine is in the military. Part of his training involved this. He was put in a small black box, kind of like a coffin. They played loud music. He was also waterboarded on several occasions. It's basically part of your training to see if you can put up with the stress that might be involved. My life has been extremely stressful. I feel like my friend in the black box. You see, my daughter had an asthma attack. It was pretty bad. She had never had asthma before. Anyway, we got her to the hospital and got her medical care just in time. Luckily my aide is also a nurse. It was good luck. We probably saved her life. It could have happened anytime, anywhere. Anyway, I'm glad she's safe now. I'm supposed to avoid stress, ha ha ha ha. This is a pretty good test. My friend said when he got in the black box the worst part about it was they never told him how long he would be in there. That's how I feel right now. How long will all of this go on. Man, I need a vacation.

Remember I told you I'm painting with my father. Well, we got some pieces framed and it looks great. It's kind of almost modernist looking. It looks like a piece you would find in a modernist show. Very cool. Hey, that reminds me of something. I once lived in Paris. I was dating a girl who was the granddaughter of a great artist. A french impressionist. Anyway, while we were dating we would go to the cafe, get seated with all the locals, have a coffee, talk politics, art, you know, Parissien stuff. Anyway, we had a great time, but then one day we broke up. I went up to the same cafe, the same waiter looked at me and put me up front with the tourists. He served me an american coffee and over-charged me. I'll never forget that. Pretty funny though.

I'm pretty tired cause I just got back from the hospital. I was seeing my daughter. She's doing good. I'm going to sign off now. Here's some examples of some work I've been doing. See you next week. Love, B. Nice

P.S. I remember hearing this in a cafe in Paris. It is said, with heavy french accent, "Some people are more dangerous than a monkey with a box of razor blades." Pretty funny.

P.P.S. And that's an insult to the monkey!

The Past