Friday!

Just thought I would wrap the week up with a general post of good feelings.

Yesterday was quite surprisingly cool.  And not just the temperature outside.  After getting phlebotomized, I found I had about an hour to kill before picking up my son.  Not enough to go back to the office for any appreciable reason.  So, I did what comes naturally, and hit up Half Price Books.  After about a half-hour of wandering and debating on some purchases (do I really need a 2nd Ed. copy of Changeling: The Dreaming?  Even if it's only $8?), I had decided I probably wasn't going to buy anything.  So, as is my wont, I made my way to the door via the Men's Adventure section, just to see what they had.  I was a little surprised to see that all of the older issues of The Executioner were gone from the shelf.  Then I looked up.

On top of the shelf were three large book bundles of Executioners.  Now, in the past, this store would wrap 8-10 books in plastic and sell the bundle for $3.  I never bought one, but always thought about it.  (I later found out that these bundles, if they don't sell after a while, are simply thrown in the trash.  I almost cried.)  Anyways, the three bundles I was looking at included The Executioner #'s 1-29, 30-55, and 56-87 respectively.  And each was priced at $5.  I immediately texted my wife and made sure $15 was ok for me blow, and she said "Go for it!"  So, for just under $16, I walked out with the first 87 Executioners.  SCORE!

When I got home, I started thinking about these books, and remembered that I had recently got a copy of the very first Executioner I had ever read, #59, Crude Kill.  And I had an idea.  I checked macbolan.com, and found the author of Crude Kill was Chet Cunningham.  A quick Google search found his website, and through that I emailed him and asked what it would take to get an autograph on my copy of the book.  He responded this morning, saying all I had to do was mail the book to him (in San Diego), and he would gladly autograph it and send it back.  How cool is that?

So, yeah, I'm pretty happy Mack Bolan geek today.

Tonight is the continuation of our D&D game, and I am really looking forward to that.  Next week, the wife and I hit the road for our first Mommy & Daddy vacation.  We're driving down to Alabama to hang out with Scott Oden and his wife Shannon.  I'm really looking forward to meeting them, and seeing the area.  And I'm really looking forward to getting away on a long road trip with my wife.  Just me and her in a car.  No whiny children, no dealing with the stresses of having a family.

I love being a dad, and I know I will miss my kids.  But, sometimes, parents need a break too.

Anyways, have a good weekend, folks!