I’ll never forget the advice my world-class running coach Thom Hunt gave me years ago, “When you’re in a race, and you feel pain, stop because it could lead to a serious injury.
However,” he then went on to say, “If you can see the finish line, fuck the pain, hit it!”

Now that my Doctors have discovered that I have a heart murmur, and they have me on blood thinners and blood pressure pills, I’m taking Thom’s advice because I really do believe that I can see the finish line.

It all started last July when I decided that a “Bucket-List” trip was in order, but unfortunately, we were in the middle of the pandemic, so I waited.
Finally, at the end of September, I said the hell with it, and after visiting my family near Burbank, I boarded a train and headed out across America.

What a great trip, I got off in San Jose and visited with bast friends Jim and Barb Hilliard, then dinner with Craig Walker and John Erickson in Portland, drinks with John Gehron in Chicago, 7 bars with Bob Thomas in Sayre, and a side trip to Tampa for some gambling my Nephew, Jamie Boychuk.

Since then, I’ve made a secret bucket list trip that I can’t talk about other than to say that it was the best trip of my life and it had nothing to do with the Beatles. 🙂

As you read this, I’ve just arrived back in Burbank, where me and my Grandson Nathaniel who is going to be a junior next year at Polytechnic, are getting ready to board the train to go college shopping all up the west coast. (see a photo of us above)

Our first stop is San Jose, where we’ll hook up with the Hilliard’s to see Stanford and Berkley (see the Hilliards just below), then lunch with retired Marine Colonel Bill Peacock who wants to talk to Nathaniel about going to Princeton.
Oh, and his best friend who is a retired General wants to recruit him for West Point. How cool is all that? Next, it’s back on the train for Seattle, where good friend Ivan Breaker is nice enough to squire us around to a couple of colleges that Nathaniel is interested in seeing. (see Ivan just below)
Hey, and if time permits, we also may get to see old friends Delilah and Bruce Murdock. When we get back to Burbank, Nathaniel is going on vacation with his Dad to Cleveland, and I’m getting back on the train again with his Mother.
Candis loves trains even more than I do, so we’re headed back to Seattle, but this time there will be no stops; we’re just gonna turn right back around again and return to Burbank. Once back in Burbank, I’ll head a few miles north, to Camarillo, to spend a couple of days with Bob Christy and Jan Hall, where I’ll try to handle Bob’s enormous Martinis and check out Jan’s new flower arrangements. (see Jan and Bob above)Then it’ll be time to head home again and get ready to jump on a plane and visit my friend Jim Daniel who lives near St. Louis. )see Jim above)
Jim has a lakeside cottage where we’ll do a little drinkin’, and when we’re well lubed, we’ll go and see old friends Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings in concert.

I’ll arrive back in West Palm again just in time to start packing again because I’ll be taking my Daughter Cami to New York for a photoshoot.
Whew! Just writing this is exhausting me, but it’s like Thom Hunt said, “If you can see the finish line, fuck the pain, hit it!

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

When you add up the money the middle class earns, it dwarfs the rich. Unfortunately, the government is well aware, so when they claim, “We’re only going to chase the rich for more tax dollars.” They’re lying!

The more time you spend with great people, the greater you become.

When you give a good singer a great song, they’re set for life.

<If you want to be successful, you need to hang out with someone successful. They’ll tell you what not to do.

Speaking of success, Brent Farris of KZST recently reminded me, “Success is a team sport, but failure sure ain’t!”

COMMENTS

Larry Macinnis: George, you are so right about “The fewer the words, the greater the impact.” All good comedy writers know that. So did Lincoln. So did Churchill. It was the first and best lesson by my first boss at CHUM, Mike Kornfeld. (Under Construction)
Geo: Ahh, watching me while I work, Larry. 🙂