My ex-brother-in-law had come back from NY, and it was now the three of us. It didn’t take long for things to change, however.

    I don’t want to get into details here because it is their lives, not mine, but it wasn’t long before they decided to split up. He was going back to NY, and I was going to be living with his wife. Separately, of course. Soon after, she decided to move out too. So now, after only a few months, I was living alone in this huge townhouse, with vaulted ceilings, fireplace, the works.

    The only thing was, now I was responsible for the entire rent. I had to get a roommate. So I put an ad in the paper. Not long after, I got a message on my answering machine. Turns out, he was a fellow ex-NYer. He came by, we hit it off, and he became one of my closest friends here. He was instrumental in not only this fork but the next one.

    In any event, he moved in shortly after, and life was pretty good. I had access to a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, BBQ area, two lighted tennis courts, two racquetball courts, man, I was loving it. I remember going back to New York to visit my family and saying I was “going home.” It was OK, but I already missed San Diego. When I got back on the plane to come back, I said to myself, "Now I’m going home." It’s been over 30 years now, and I still love it.

    Meanwhile, I had gotten adjusted to my new job, was making friends, enjoying the amazing climate, and having a wonderful time. The company I worked for had a lot of creative people, and we wound up making a few video parodies of our work environment. Then we would get together and have viewing parties. I participated in the videos and helped out some, but it was really a couple of other people who were mainly responsible. We scheduled one of these viewing parties at my place.

    It was a multimedia extravaganza! We had food, drink, people on multiple floors watching at once, and it was incredible. I wish we could somehow recreate those times, but I think that will never happen. I do, at least, have the videos. They were originally on VHS, but I had them transferred to digital. I watch them occasionally with a mixture of happiness and regret. Oh well--

    I haven’t spoken much in here about relationships. After I got divorced, there was a time when I “dated around”, and a couple of times I thought something might “happen.” I got myself hurt a couple of times too. I wound up only living in this place for two years, but there are some really fond memories of here. A couple of sad ones too.

    OK, I think I need to move on to the next fork--