Yesterday

Above, the left front tire blew out yesterday. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of my 39th birthday. 

It is a weird feeling that I am now at the same age my dad was when he passed away 25 years ago. 

It was a good birthday, but it could have been better. 

First off, on the way home from the Flying J's Denny's restaurant where we had our usual Tuesday coffee gathering, the left front tire on the Jeep blew out. Now I have to deal with that. I have to go into Gallup and pay a deposit for a replacement tire (Cooper Discoverer). When the dealer gets it in, I'll have to bring the wheel into town for it to be mounted on the rim. It was a couple of blocks from home when it happened, so I managed to get the Jeep into the garage. 

Above, Richard Pusateri at the Big Pool at Toho Studios in 2001. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Then, in the afternoon, I learned that Richard Pusateri, one of the gang of kaiju enthusiasts (formerly from L.A.), passed away after a 2-3 year battle with cancer. Richard was the one who coined the name "GINO" (Godzilla In Name Only) for the Tri-Star Godzilla of 1998. We met at G-FEST 1999 in Burbank. We went to the premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack at the 2001 Tokyo International Film Festival and toured Toho Studios with Koichi Kawakita and Shogo Tomiyama. We attended many screenings in Hollywood and at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Some used to refer to us as the "Mario Brothers". He will be missed. 

As we get older, it seems that more often life throws curve balls at us.