One "R" in Lary is right

My name is spelled with just ONE 'R' in Lary. 

It's BurgLARY minus the Burg or 

CodicilLARY without the Codicil. 

It's also SaLARY without the Sa. 

TuteLARY minus the Tute.

Most important: It is VocabuLARY without the Vocabu!

Learned on my own

I couldn't go to college, so I learned everything on my own: folk guitar, bass guitar, djembe, bongos, broadcasting, journalism, acting, novel-writing, instruction, and loving. (That last one took a long time.)

I'm 77, active, and alive. 

No one knows why.

My beautiful Danish wife

I am the luckiest man in the world. 

I have been happily married to a beautiful Danish woman who is my caretaker, my best friend, and my sweetheart since December 1998.

Our meeting was karma before either of us thought much about it. She lived in Los Angeles teaching English. I lived in Sarasota, and I taught people how to draft novels on America Online.

She took my Writing the Novel course and aced it. She took my advanced WTN course and aced it.

We emailed every day for a year and discovered over time that we were both in dead-end marriages. 

Finally, we met and ended up married six months later.

Coming up on 25 years in December. 

I love you, Lori Dagmar Crews.

Walker for walking

Since I am 77 years old, no one is more surprised than me that I am still alive. Frankly, the Veteran's Administration is the reason I am still around.

I am on eleven medications which take care of my type 2 diabetes, my congestive heart failure, and various other things. Although I was overweight for much of my life, (275 at one time) I currently weigh just 200 pounds (5'10").

Because I have slightly bad knees from all the heaviness before, I really wanted to stay out of a wheelchair. 

The VA gave me an expensive walker which I use every time we go out. We walk a few blocks most days and the "walker" allows me to walk without falling and gives me a seat to rest in when necessary.

The US Navy did two wonderful things for me back in 1969: taught me to write for publication and the Honorable Discharge gave me medical care in my old age. Thanks, Navy!

Love of my life: Lori Dagmar Crews

The love of my life and my caregiver and my sweetheart and my favorite person in the world.

Lori Dagmar took a chance on me back in 1997 and married me on December 13, 1998.

We met on the Internet. 

She lived in Los Angeles, and I lived in Sarasota, Florida. 

We emailed every day for a year and then finally met and ended up married six months later.

Today, I am 77 years old. Lori is seventy-five.

Coming up on 25 years in December. I love you, Lori.

65 by 65 foot screen at J Resort

Reno's newest casino and resort, J Resort, is in the heart of the Reno Neon Line District® area in downtown Reno. (It was once the Sands Casino. We've been able to see the progress over the last six months and have watched the workers do their jobs.)

We live right across the street from it at Renova Flats. 

A digital video display, measuring 65 by 65 ft was added to the hotel tower's north side. 

Above left you can see the workers creating what will be the giant video screen. 

On the right, is what looked like 25 minutes ago. 

The screen will display content by artists. 

The J Resort will have new restaurants, hotel rooms, casino floor and new entertainment throughout the year.

More about the J Resort.

Reno Buddhist Center multiple Sundays

We went to the Reno Buddhist Center on Sunday, May 28, June 11, and June 25. It was everything we had hoped it would be. 

We've been searching for a non-theist faith for 40 years and Buddhism has ended our search.

We participated in Beginner's Meditation at 9am. The person teaching the class was named Victoria. (As it turns out Victoria is the name of Lori's late cousin, who was - in fact - Buddhist.)

Buddhism teaches people to lead a moral life and be aware of what they think and how they behave. Buddhists thank Buddha for his teachings. 

One takes a vow to uphold the Five Precepts: Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not commit sexual misconduct. Refrain from false speech, and not to take intoxicants that lessens your awareness.

J Resort opens in Neon Line District

June 2023, Reno's newest casino and resort, J Resort, opened.

It is in the heart of the Reno Neon Line District® in downtown Reno. We live right across the street from it at Renova Flats. 

It was once the Sands Casino. We've been able to see the progress over the last six months and have watched the workers do their jobs.)

A digital video display, measuring 65 by 65 ft was added to the hotel tower's north side. Now that it is completed it displays content by artists. 

The J Resort has new restaurants, hotel rooms, casino floor and new entertainment throughout the year.

More about the J Resort.

Writing to music on my phone

While writing, I listen to music from Amazon's Music Unlimited through earbuds. 

Usually, I play Cool Jazz, classical music, or instrumental movie soundtracks. 

No Vocals. I cannot write with words being sung to me.

 

The joy of Buddhism for Lary & Lori

For more than fifty years I have been confident of certain facts about religion. First, an all-seeing god did not create the earth. God does not watch over you. God does not “speak” to Priests, televangelists, or anyone. There is no heaven. What happens when you die is your spirit lives on and it may return as someone else in the future. 

Unlike Christians, I am not trying to convince you of what I believe. And that’s fine. Believe what you want to.

But for those who want to know why I am happier at 76 than I have been for much of my life. Here’s the truth: I have been searching for a non-theist faith for 40 years and Buddhism has ended my search. Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or God.

Buddhism is one of the world's largest religions and originated 2,500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that human life is one of suffering, but that meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana.

(Nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and we are released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.)

Buddhism teaches people to lead a moral life and be aware of what they think and how they behave. Buddhists thank Buddha (who was a human and not a god) for his teachings. 

As a Buddhist, one strives to uphold the Five Precepts:

1. Do not kill.
2. Do not steal.
3. Do not commit sexual misconduct.
4. Refrain from false speech.
5. Do not take intoxicants that lessen your awareness.

Buddhists try to remain mindful of how we're acting, speaking, thinking, and feeling. We especially try to notice if disturbing emotions like anger, greed, jealousy, and arrogance try to creep in. We take note when we're acting selfishly or insensitively, or with self-pity and prejudice.

In Buddhism, there is no single holy book. Because of its emphasis on meditation and mindfulness, Buddhism is often considered to be a form of psychology rather than a religion.

For Lori and me, this is the happiest we have ever been.

Stanford inspects modern furniture

 Early in 2023, I installed a kitchen cabinet from copious instructions.

The 20-year-old girl who did it on YouTube got it together in just two hours.

Naturally, it took me five hours. 

As soon as I put it up, Stanford decided to inspect it to see if I did it correctly.

Truckee River Walk

Truckee River Walk is a two-mile heavily trafficked loop trail in downtown Reno that features the Truckee River and is good for all skill levels. 

The trail offers several activity options and is accessible year-round.

The ""side signs" at the new J Resort

 On the main building there is a 65FT-by-65FT video screen on the New J Resort. We could sit in front of our apartment in a folding chair and watch it all day long because it's directly across the street from Renova Flats.

However, on the east side of the J Resort are smaller video signs promoting things at the new casino.

another big screen at the J Resort

Just another big screen at the J Resort in Reno, Nevada. 

June 19, 2023

Living on West 4th Street in Reno 4 times

June 2023, the new J Resort and Casino opened on West 4th Street across from our home in Renova Flats.

Oddly, since we arrived in Reno in 2013, we have lived somewhere on West 4th Street four times.

• In Feb 2013 we spent a few weeks at Desert Rose Inn on 4th Street.
• March 2013, we moved to Ross Manor by the river. 
• Dec 2013 to Oct 2017 we lived at Regina Marie apartments on the west side of Reno.
• From Oct 2017-April 2018 we lived back on 4th Street at Rancho Sahara.
• We spent April-June 2018 in Tacoma.
• June-Nov 2018 in Las Vegas.
• From Nov 2018 to Dec 2019, we lived at Courtyard Inn on 4th Street.
• And from Dec 2019 to now we've lived at Renova Flats on West 4th Street

Karma sandals first in a while

Karma is unbelievable. 

Since we take our shoes off at certain times at the Buddhist Center and I have trouble tying and untying my shoes because of my bad knees, we were looking for shoes that I could wear on the bus and on our three-block walk to the Center but take off easily. 

Ideally, we needed something I did not have to tie. However, I have not worn sandals since the Sixties.

We went to the Catholic thrift store where Lori immediately found brand new Merrell brown sandals with a Velcro closure in MY size, which sell for $90 on Amazon. They were $10.00. 

I'm wearing brown socks instead of my old white ones.

I can walk to the center, take off my sandals for the 9am mediation service and then put on my sandals to go home.

My head's not on straight.

The operation that healed my cancer in 1983 was a radical neck dissection. 

It left me with a 15-inch scar on my neck's left side which makes me look like my head is not on straight. 

I also have numbness in my left ear, shoulder, and arm.

But getting to live forty additional years was worth it.

Checking out the Buddhists

Lori and I decided to check out the Buddhist Center in Reno on May 21, 2023. 

We took the #6 bus and walked 5 blocks to the center on a Sunday. 

As it turned out we were there on one of the Sundays when they do not have services.

However, we encountered Rev. Shelley Fisher, a Resident Priest, and she was nice enough to answer all our questions and invite us to the service on the 28th.

Buddhism teaches people to lead a moral life and to be aware of what we think and how we behave. Buddhists thank Buddha for his teachings. They believe he is perfectly enlightened without anger or hatred, and he is the wisest and most kind-hearted person in this world who spent his life teaching.

Too few to mention.

 

Regrets. I have a few but then again too few to mention.

I regret not going to college, my first three marriages, and not having children. 

But my great affection for wife Lori Crews lets me forgive myself and accept my life as it is and it's beautifully glorious.

Lori's beautiful feet. Seriously.

 Among the reasons I love my wife, Lori Dagmar Crews, is that she has what I consider beautiful feet. (See Above) She wears size 6 shoes.

A new study by evolutionary psychologists Jeremy Atkinson and Michelle Rowe from the University at Albany in New York suggests that presented just with pictures of women, most men subconsciously choose those who have small feet as being prettier.