Hide Tide = Happy Clams

Hey everybody,

thanks for finding me here, I hope you are all well, and as happy as a clam. I guess clams are the happiest thing out there,

The derivation is more likely to come from the fuller version of the phrase, now rarely heard - 'as happy as a clam at high water'. Hide tide is when clams are free from the attentions of predators; surely the happiest of times in the bivalve mollusc world.

OK, So I hope you are as happy as a clam at high tide!

I've been Working at Sheltercare today!

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Its sunday. I worked a short shift (6 hours is short for me) at shelter care medical recuperation program (SMR). SMR is the latest incarnation of the former motel owned by SHeltercare, when I first worked there, almost 9 years ago (jesus I'm old) it used to be the Royal Avenue Program, a kind of catch-all temporary housing for people in crisis. so the Royal Avenue Program used to have a very wide variety in their clients, and it was like the wild west. Client/residents were homeless, and in some type of crisis, be it related to mental illness, substance abuse, medical, or fleeing domestic abuse, and pretty much everything in between, but with most clients presenting with three or more of the above.

Royal was run by Program Manager Dean Schlecht, who was something of a celebrity in mental health circles at the time.Some of the staff were acolytes, and fans of his book, Embracing the Self: Finding Your Center and Learning to Live Authenticlly

I don't want to smack talk on Sheltercare , but the organization kind of sucks in some ways. Mostly in the way that they don't treat their workers very well, and though they promote from within, they have tended to promote people who suck. So I'm talking some trash here, but the programs also tend to exist and thrive best when they are not tied so closely with the administration part. Whether the programs are always turning a profit is maybe a different matter, but Dean's time at Royal Avenue Program was kind of a magical entry into this realm for me.

So its kind of good to be back in that building, even though its glory days are probably long gone.

I was the cook, and did some janitorial jobs, hung around with the homeys, and chatted with the one other employee, filling her head with tales of what RAP was like in its heyday.

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I'll be taking my daughter down to Los Angeles area Tuesday, and visiting with my family for a few days, over thanksgiving. Her seizure medication has been increased since she had a seizure at the beginning of this month. But I will be with her the whole trip, and probably won't be able to tear off and hang out with my friends the way I often do...

We will be watching a final cut of Arnie's film, Lorelei, on tuesday night.

I've used up most of my paid time off from Sheltercare, and plan on working at the broom shop through the winter, hopefully saving up some $

Pirate Radio recorded 7 songs with Jake LaRoche on Wednesday. I won't have much input on the mix, but I'm the bass player, so it aint no big thing.

I'm off to finally see Jojo Rabbit.

Leave, Love, Rise Above

"Black Flag - Rise Above" (Watch on YouTube)