Hey hey, my friends! Hope the week’s been kind to you. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Five Friday operation here at Roads Lesser Traveled, but I’m in the mood since there’s been a lot tumbling around in my head, most of it good, some…well, we’ll leave that mess all on the back burner where it belongs. So here are five things at the front that are worth mentioning:
One: I have had the best traffic stats here on the ol’ blog this week in a long time. By my count, this was my second-best week ever. I know a lot of it comes down to consistency and interaction and hopefully dropping content y’all are enjoying. My spare time between family and work is pretty slim, but it was a productive content and other blog visitation week. I want to thank all of you for amping my visits. Thank you to all of my new followers who came aboard this week (definitely a record number of newbies in a week for RLT, woot!) and simply, thanks for your support. Virtual huggies, fist bumps, low hand slides, all that jive.
Two: Iron Man may have had a dramatic exit out of the MCU in the movies ala Avengers: Endgame, however, Tony Stark is alive and well in the comics and, of all things, he’s getting hitched! No, not to Pepper. No, he’s not stealing Peter Parker’s eternal flame, MJ. Not even Hellcat, with whom he had a fling in the last volume of Iron Man the comic. No, Stark has lost everything in this current run of the title, penned by Gerry Duggan, and he’s out for vengeance against the anti-mutant crusader who usurped his fortune and tech, Feilong.
What does Stark have left after his pal Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes gets framed and arrested for a murder he didn’t commit while helping Tony shell out (yeah, pun intended) his armament buildings controlled by Feilong? A generation-passed membership into the Hellfire Club and what is being set up a future marriage to X-Men supreme Omega, Emma Frost! This whole plot seems wackier than an eight appendaged Spiderman (yeah, that really happened), but Duggan, who is also writing a hefty load of X-Men and prime engineer of the dramatic “Fall of X” storyline now in full motion, has been aces with The Invincible Iron Man. Consider that my current drug comic right now. Gimmick or not, the nuptials between Stark and Frost is a must-read! Bring tha noise!
Three: My son is getting close to driving age, which means he’s growing up and has been much faster than I wanted him to. Sounds like familiar vernacular to any parent, I’m sure. Over the years, I’ve had a tough time navigating what media is appropriate for him to consume, whether it’s video games, music, movies, all of it. Every teenager growing up has to push the envelope with his or her parent(s). What gets considered taboo becomes the ultimate sneak spree. I know all about it, considering the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was on my mom’s no-no list while I was growing up. This was at the dawn of VCRs and video tapes. My old buddy, Shawn, and I had an “in” at a local video store and being hungry horror hounds, we were able to get Chainsaw on the down low, and, as it turned out, far worse, considering the original Texas romp was tame in the gore department.
I think of that all the time when I figure how much my kid snuck behind my back and how we’re now well past it. Where I was hardline conservative in parenting, more liberal in my politics, sociology and overall thought process, I’ve softened up over time with my kid. He’s seen it all, done some choice things I had to take him to the mat over, but in a summer of healing for all of us a family, enter the old Showtime series, the American version of Shameless, running on Netflix. Two years ago, I would’ve ripped all access to any media from my kid if he’d tried to pawn this. Now, here we are, almost done with Season 2 (he already binged the entire run once since it’s summer break for him) and I love the fearlessness of this show. It reminds me of HBO’s Six Feet Under, my second all-time favorite show in the way that anything goes, no filter or border is safe, and yet all of the insane shenanigans of Shameless is so well-executed, such a flippin’ riot, I keep studying it for my own work.
Funny how parents and their kids can sometimes come to an awkward, if harmonious meeting at the generation gap.
Four: Tomorrow, my cousin Shawn (a different Shawn than Texas Chainsaw Shawn, lol) who will be my “best mensch” at our wedding, and I are going to the Baltimore Orioles game, my first since COVID. I used to take my family to Orioles and Washington Nationals games a lot before the outbreak, because we had limited entertainment funds and we were either at a library, a park, the movies or a baseball stadium. My son got the shits of baseball, unfortunately, to the point he likes to do what teenagers do and give me grief saying the Orioles “suck.” Just because.
Well, yeah, they fell like a brick on hard times in the past few years, but if you’re paying attention to baseball, the Orioles are currently flying high. Way high. I won’t quote the stats, because I’m a firm believer in sports jinx, but anywho, tomorrow, the Orioles will be honoring the 1983 team which last won a World Series for Baltimore. 40 years ago. We’re talking Cal Ripkin, Jim Palmer, Rick Dempsey, a ton of O’s legends including my man, Eddie Murray. The team is not only bringing back much of that wonderful Class of ’83, there’s an Eddie Murray bobblehead giveaway! I had to go. I just had to. It’ll be a blast just to call out the chant when Eddie steps out on the field tomorrow, just like we did at the height of Orioles Magic back in the day: “Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die!”
Five: A hijack of a post I did at Facebook last week:
“Happy stat of the week. A couple weeks ago, I went to the doctor for a routine and TJ asked me to have them draw blood for a cholesterol check. Turns out that registered high and I was also told I have a pre-diabetic condition. I came in at 192 pounds which isn’t bad, but definitely a result of nursing my third back pull of the year and heavy intakes. My vest for my wedding suit was too tight, a wakeup call of its own.
Doing my research, I knocked out excess carbs due to a lazier than usual diet, quit stress snacking at work, restricted myself to 4 alcoholic drinks only in a week and got back to basics with healthier eating. My sugar intake spiked as it will living with a teenager, but I refuse to use that excuse any longer. With my chiropractor’s help, I have been running 2-3 miles 3 times a week on mixed elevations, 4-5 miles on a track as I prepare for 5K and 10K races in September. Intensive lifting days as I feel froggy. Two weeks later, I came in this morning weighing 182.5 pounds. Nearly 10 burned off in that duration.
Do yourselves a favor, especially as you get older; keep on top of your health and keep a close eye on cholesterol and sugar levels.”
I’m happy to report that my weigh-in this morning showed only a .5 pound gain for a lean and stealthy 183. Hopefully I can maintain this momentum.
–Ray Van Horn, Jr.
Roads Lesser Traveled 
Kids and driving. I fear for the day my teen decides she really need to get her license. She couldn’t find her way to school and that’s basically a straight shot down the artery two blocks away. I can’t image her being a very good driver when she can’t navigate worth sh*t.
Don’t worry, I’ll warn you if she changes her mind so you can stay off the road. Yes, I know… we don’t live in the same region of the country. See above with respect to her navigation abilities.
I was going to do my own bonding with the three kids and take them to RenFest, but it turns out the eldest wants daughter/dad alone time, so I’ll probably take just her before she decides her old man is too yucky to hang with (surprising it hasn’t happened already now that she’s 16).
Have a good weekend, man.
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LOL! Caveat taken, brother! My kid doesn’t really want to drive, he says, since his plan is to enter the military after high school, but you and I both know there comes that word “freedom” which compels a teenager who doesn’t want his or her parents taking them everywhere they want to be to get AWAY from his or her parents.
Kiddo picks and chooses when he wants to come with TJ and I on our outings. He wants her watching him play video games and talking to her about women advice. He wants me for b.s. chat, man advice, music consumption and certain t.v. shows or movies. I figured out in a hurry now that we have finished 2 seasons of Shameless he is using the show to talk to me about his feelings on what he has experienced and felt in his life. That would have to be saved for bar talk sometime to give you the full picture, lol…
I took him to the Renfest once when TJ was doing a book signing there. I bought a flower from one of the Rennies for him to give to her. He took that duty of delivery soooo serious, protecting it until he could give it to her and he so frigging proud. Then he got bored of the Renfest after she had to get back to signing, lol. He doesn’t go with us anymore, but it’s fine. I think he will change in time. He used to go on hikes with me when he was small, and the both of us now and then when he’s felt like it. The big thing is that TJ has treated him like gold, like her own and this before we get married in October. He has been through a lot and took his mess out on her for a while. They butt heads sometimes, but they love each other. He knows she has his back as much as I do. Blessed in that way.
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Looking good my friend! Congrats on your good health momentum!
My sugar handling and cholesterol (and everything else) is good thanks to a healthy vegan diet. (Even with vegan treats, my bloodwork is great).
Thanks for reminding your readers to keep a check on health; my grandmother always said, “If you have your health, you have everything.” 🙂
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Thank you so much, amiga. I was doing a lot of fitness posts and short videos trying to inspire other people to get fit. I like sharing my love of fitness and the fact that age is nothing but a number if you have the will, the desire and the discipline. I know that’s not a rule of thumb since not all people are capable, but I do these types of things hoping someone gets excited to help themselves. I used to dump a fair amount of gym workouts and flexes out there, not for myself, since someone once close to me accused me of being a narcissist. It was to show others my age and close to it you can look and feel good about yourself.
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That’s wonderful. Don’t worry when people call you names, it’s because they don’t have the confidence to do it themselves. It happened to me big time. A so-called “friend” from when I was a teenager started a fight with me 8 years ago for promoting my book on Facebook. He called me a narcisssist too. In my opinion, those who call others names are really talking about themselves, because a true narcissist insults people. You encourage people! (And compliment people). So you’re definitely NOT a narcissist!
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Thank you, my friend. I really did worry when I was posting a lot of gym photos that I was being a clown and a narcissist and when my ex dropped that on me post-divorce, despite everything I did to set her up and make things right as possible, I know it was general spite, but at the same time, it gave me pause to think. Screw it. I’d rather try and lift people up when I can. I appreciate you, and keep on keeping on yourself!
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Kudos on your getting healthier journey! And have a blast at the baseball game.
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Thank you! I have been on a fitness train for more than a decade when I lost 32 pounds. I’ve been a gym rat for a long time, I know how to eat right and usually do. TJ and I eat healthy most of the time, but trying to balance that with a teenager who has a limited liking of foods…well, I push vegetables at some but not all meals, since I get a lot of pushback. I hold the line and make him eat them, but reward him later in the week with a dinner he likes. Unfortunately I got complacent from working a lot, nursing three back injuries, a recent move, all the excuses that derailed me just a little. The pre-diabetes diagnosis spurred me back.
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Keep up the good work!
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Awww, huggies!!
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Wow, things sure have changed in the Marvel comics world since I stopped collecting them back in the 90s … 🤔 Good news on the health front is always welcome!
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OMG, dude. I used to work in a comic book retail store in the early 1990s. Comics today are nothing like they used to be, but in many ways they’re better. There’s a comic book for anyone out there, it’s so broad and diverse. Marvel today is mostly really damned good with hit and miss periods on their key titles. The problem is expense and the cover prices on average, already an annoying $3.99, has already started moving to $4.99 at DC and Marvel plans on doing the same, both with their most popular titles.
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After reading this the other day I remembered I have Paramount+ with Showtime for another month so I started watching Shameless. By the end of the first episode I was hooked! I’ve just started on Season 3, so thanks. 😉 ❤
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For sure! I am also on Season 3 and ended up on a break since everyone in the house wants to watch different things around here and I’ll get into some of it and off we go, lol. Had to add Hulu for the bundle just so I could finally see Predator: Prey. Worth it. 🙂
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Yes! I loved that movie. I used to have Hulu and a bunch of other subscriptions I couldn’t really afford but I had to let almost all of them go. Now I re-sub only when my favorite shows get a new season. I’ll probably get Hulu again when the final season of Handmaid’s Tale drops. But that may have to wait if the final season of Stranger Things comes out on Netflix first!
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