I've picked up a lot of new friends on Facebook recently, from many different segments of my life. Which, I guess, can be the odd part about it; one of those "can't tell the players without a scorecard" things. So here goes. As always, members of my family are on there, although not every single one of them, and outside of Martha, there's not many other Klobucars on there. My mom retook her maiden name, Loewenhardt, years ago, and of course, having been through more than one marraige already, there are Klobucars who probably would do just as well in life *not* owning up to knowing me. And then there are the Partlows, Davis-Partlows, and other maritally-induced amalgams. So it goes. Speaking of Martha, well, that's a story in itself. I told some of the details, and she actually tells the whole story better, but suffice to say she was hosting a Detroit Tip Toppers bar night, April 9, 2003, and said the magic word; blues. I'm a huge fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King and blues music in general, so hanging out in Westland though I was, with no real plans that night, I drove across town to the Blue Goose on Jefferson in St. Clair Shores, and faintly, almost unwittingly, the ground began to move beneath my feet. It was that kinda sensation. And it hasn't stopped since. But on to the players, as I said.

HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE FRIENDS Everyone from Linda Milhizer-Crabill and Kelly Dearth-Atkins, to Jeff Matheny, Tim Mchugh and Dennis Verbanic. We shall call all of these people, the "earliest" players here, because I knew all of them before I could map out a route to Las Vegas on the spider veins on my knees. Add to them the college friends, people like Teresa Kintner Gunderson and Jennifer Gahr from my days at the University of Missouri, attempting unsuccessfully to get a Journalism degree from said university. The degree I *do* have is from Michigan State. Now stop booing.

TIP TOPPERS FRIENDS People like "Tallchick Karen," Andrea Pierce, Nancy Brown, George and Opal Ferkovich and many others are from my affiliation with the Detroit Tip Toppers, a social club for tall adults. (men over 6'2", women over 5'10"; Martha is 6'3", about an inch taller than me.) If you think you meet the height requirement for membership, the Tip Toppers as a group are on fb as Detroit Talls. For other Tall Club International affiliates in other cities, you would do well to Google "Tall Clubs" in your particular city; we're all across the U.S., and pretty much world-wide, and we'd love to have you. It's all fun and games, and no one bites unless you invite them to.

MY KOREAN STUDENTS From my year spent teaching English as a Second Language in South Korea, I still do hear from a few of my students every once in a while, I think I constitute a continuing, low-cost English lesson. I've never gotten that close to any American students in almost 6 years of substitute teaching, but then again the risk of potential impropriety is higher, too. None the less, of course, some students walk in the room and see me, and it's either "Hi, Mr. K!," or as one student plainly put it, "Oh, this dude does NOT play!" Make what you will of that. If you peruse my friends list, you may see a group of (possibly, unless you're relatively fluent in Korean,) illegible characters. That's them; all wonderful, hard-working kids, who I've always been really proud of.

If you dig around in the older posts, you'll find a lot of stuff even I've probably forgotten about, but in the immortal words of Jerry Garcia, "what a long, strange trip it's been." And it ain't anywhere near over yet. I would go so far as to say the good parts of my life are pretty much just getting warmed up. Which is, perhaps, an odd thought at the age of 45, but so be it. Beyond that, of course, a few of my friends defy any attempt at categorization, which, frankly, suits me fine.

Anyway, if you're new to my Facebook page, it is, I suppose as it is with many; an experience where all the seemingly long-lost corners of your existence are reunited. As for me......yes, I do in fact speak Korean pretty well now, my teenage daughters are going through their phase of being teenage daughters, like it or not, and every so often I find myself hanging from Ecclesiastes 9:11. Go figure. Enjoy the experience of being my Facebook friend as much as you have ever enjoyed knowing me live and in person, and if you have a question.....someone here is BOUND to have the answer.