Sorry Pete, it was only a joke. Well you certainly got my attention with that opening line in your latest letter. The post office did the speedy service, maybe the delays on some of the other letters is here at my end. I first noticed the "Frederick" stamp and told myself it can not be bad news enclosed. But then I start to read the letter and I finally got to the third sentence before I realized that you were kidding.

I am in such a fragile state lately, that to be frank I still think you might find some reason to toss me by the side of the road. It is not that you can not express your concerns or fears of being my friend, that is something that I encourage you to do, and no, you do not have to watch how you start off your letters, I am just letting you know the "reader's response."

Now that I have sufficiently calmed down, but still on a serious note, it would certainly have been great to be at that Mets game with you. There are certainly many other times that one or both of us have said 'if only.' As I said in one of my recent letters, I feel we are both guilty of dropping the ball and I am committed to not letting it happen again. Our correspondence over these last few years has certainly giving us a renewed friendship and I look forward to many years of having you as a close friend.

As far as the Mets tickets, my ex wife was a die hard Mets fan, and for her birthday I purchased "weekend" season tickets. Part of the deal was that we were able to get an equivalent number of any playoff tickets on an every other game basis. The seats we had were way up under the top tier, which was a real problem for the Fourth of July fireworks, but good to be out of any sun and rain. Since regular season ticket holders get additional tickets in playoffs, our playoff tickets were in the top tier way out in right field. Anyway that is the story. I am sorry I did not take you to the game, although she did consider them her tickets and she got to keep them after the divorce.

While I also said that the cool part of being in business for yourself were all the perks you could get and write them off as business expenses, but alas that was just another of those dreams that never happened. I am a damn good programmer and problem solver, inventor, creative genius, but one lousy business person and also in the past (I hope not the future) not all that good at personal relationships. This even goes for Karen, although she always hoped I would become the person she saw I could be. Her love for me all those years has certainly become the bedrock that keeps me going now.

Like the song says, "Regrets, I have had a few."  ¶ 12:56 PM