Hello friends,

 greetings from sunny, and boring Arizona! I hope all are well this day after the Superbowl. I apologize for the delay with my post, but I had intentionaly held back writing you, I figured, until the big game had ended last night. Unfortunately for me, my beloved Patriots lost the biggest game of the year in a wildly exciting game, with the now World Champions; the Philidelphia Eagels!

 My sister Angie, son Johnny, and cousins came over to watch it with me and Kalani, and eat some of my world famous babyback ribs. I worked most of the morning on my Gigs second edition novel, and cooked most of the afternoon, until kick-off! Johnny is a huge Patriots fan, cuz that's the way he was raised, of course, but the others just came for the beer and food! And that of course is fine too, since the Superbowl has become such a enormous event, that one does not even have to like football, to enjoy the event. The party atmosphere it creates in America and beyond, has made it like a national holiday, even if your team isn't playing. 

 The network, and the advertising and corporate world make out like a bandit with all the commercial spots costing millions per minute. Most of the spots are just so-so I think, but there are a few creative commercials that standout each year. This year my favorite one was the Dirty Dancing re-creation with the Giants players!I know there are folks who just tune in for the ads. As the long and boring halftime show went on, with some kid named Justin, we all slammed down ribs, ranch beans and pasta salad. We got so full with the snacks and dinner, my cousins fell asleep soon after.

 So as the game went on, the outcome was in question until the last minute, as all the New England superbowl games seem to go. Johnny, Kalani, and I were so nervous, I felt my dinnner come up to my throat a couple of times! Finally the football gods shined on the Eagles this year, and they won the contest in one of the most thrilling games in Superbowl history. Johnny went home sad and Kalani and I cleaned up the mess. I was so bummed out, I didn't have the desire or energy to sit behind the computer and post my story afterwards. I sure if the Pat's would have pulled off win, I might have had no problem writing a victory blog post! I guess there is always next year!

 Well friends, have a wonderful week. Stay safe, warm, or cool in this wacky weather, wherever you call home. I thank you for checking-in again; you are the reason I do what I do!

 Juanjohn

Good morning friends!

 Greetings from sunny Tucson this Wednesday at day break. I hope all are well and flu free wherever you call home. I finally went back to work yesterday, but still can't get rid of an annoying lingering cough. I suppose next year I will reconsider getting one of those goverment issued, mind controlling, flu shots they seem to want to inject everyone in the country with.

 Now that it's 2018 and I'm fully focused on completing my second edition, I wanted to take a day to remember my dear departed mother. Her birthday was this past weekend, and she would have been 78 years young. Her name was Maria Antonieta, named after some French queen from long ago, who I guess lost her head after eating too much cake or something! Fortunately for my momma, she wasn't too fond of sweets and didn't care much about cake either, so she was able to hold on to her head for the duration of her 74 years here on earth! She passed away in May of 2014, after losing her six year battle with a deadly autoimmune disease. If you have lost your mom, then you know the pain and hole it leaves in your soul, that only a loving, caring mother can fill. She died before I departed on my cross-country tour, and probably would have been worried sick everyday I was on the road. That was just her way, and not too brag friends, but the Johnny Man was her favorite. My six siblings can attest to that fact! She was too sick to see me get my wrting career off the ground,or read my books, but I think she would have been proud of my fifty-state journey.

 Mother had a difficult path in life, starting with losing her own mum when she was six. Her teens and married years were extremely challenging to say the least, only to find herself a single mother of seven at 33 years of age. Unschooled and unskilled, she worked herself to the bone for years at a laymans wage, to give us the best possible chance in life. She never dated or even considered another relationship, choosing to devote herself completley to her kids and grandkids until the day she died. Still, she was able to find some joy in life and share all her wisdom and love with those she met and helped throughout her time here with us. Her zeal for cooking and love of feeding others made her feel wanted and appreciated, and that is what I miss the most. If you haven't lost your mum, then never let a day go by that you don't let her know how much you appreciate her being a part of your life, for the day will come when she's not. No, she was not a perfect person, but she was a perfect mother, and that is what we all strive to be as parents.

 Until next week friends.

Juanjohn

Hello my dear friends at long last!

I hope all are warm and well wherever you call home on this M.L.K. Day. It's awfully cold in most of the country I see, except here in Tucson, where the winter is always warm and boring. The Flu is widespread throughtout the country, and unfortunatley it knocked on my door too, hence my absences lately.

 I left for California on the 31th of December, stopped to have dinner in Las Vegas with my daughter and proceeded forward to Union City, and arriving by daybreak the New Year. I spent six fabulous days meeting my new grandaughter, playing with boys, and hanging out with my son and his wife. I also got to see other extented family members and friends I had made during my tour. 

 Unfortunately for me, the second to the last day I was there, I seemed to develope some kind of rash or infection on my face, especially the area where I shave regularly. By the time I was packing the car to come home, the boils on my already rough complextion were something nasty and too gross to go into detail. Lets just say I had to walk around with a cleanex to sop up the dripping fluids from my face! I had no clue how or where I contracted the infection, no one there had any symptoms either, nor had I ever experianced anything like that before in my entire life. I had to let my bread grow out for a spell, just to hide the scabs a bit. I was scaring all the kids with my look!

 Once I got home, I took some antibiotics and did some research. It was probabaly caused by using a infected razor or some other strange way. Anyways, it took about seven days to subside and allow me to shave again, only then to come down with the flu immediately after. I felt the symptoms coming on, but I was powerless to fend off the onslaught. It floored me for days, hitting me even harder than it did last year in Wisconsin and Minnesota, when I was on tour. So why am I telling you all this?

 Well, I feel I haven't fully recovered completely from my journey in the physical sense. My immune system is weak or shot, and I've been catching everything in sight since I rolled into Arizona last spring. I have never been so sick, or felt so deficent in all my 55 years. I sleep good, eat good, and extercise often, and even began running again since my return. I don't smoke, drink often, or use any kind of legal or illegal drugs, yet knowing my body well, and being in good shape for years, I still don't feel myself yet. In the last 8 months I have contracted two lung infections, one Staph infection, the scabies in California or Hawaii, the flu, and just a general feeling of not being well. I think I wore myself out beyond my wildest dreams.

 In the meantime, I will try to keep my chin up and be positive, hoping things will eventually turn around soon in that department. I continue to write the second edition while they work on the first, and will post any updates on that as soon as things progress.

I wish you all a happy New Year, and hope you stick to your resolutions if you made any. Stay warm and dry and thanks for checking in with me, as I always appreciate your support and interest!

Juanjohn