Welcome to PasoMarlon

I'm a recreational writer and painter. I write and paint for the fun of it. I have a self-published book on amazon.

I have been fortunate to paint a few wine barrels that are on display in the downtown area. I've done a couple barrels for friends, too.

Click on any image to get a bigger version.

This is the first barrel I painted. It's in front of Fish Gaucho.

Fish Gaucho1 Fish Gaucho2 Fish Gaucho3 Fish Gaucho4

Bits of Nonsense

I am a fan of sci-fi movies, especially campy ones. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, The Thing, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Godzilla and many more pull me in whenever they are broadcast. I love their crazy possibilities. Not only that, but they've taught me to dilligently watch the sky, both at twilight and later in the evening. Whenever I'm out. On my walk tonight I saw ... an object ... in the sky. It had a contrail tail and a bright, circular light at the front. UFO! Its trajectory was slightly downward, towards earth. I was mesmerized by its flight. I watched it until it went too low for me to follow. Who knows what unpredictable consequences will come from its crash landing. Once it was out of sight I continued my walk. As I walked home I realized the thing I'd seen was headed right towards my ex girlfriend's neighborhood. What are the odds, right? As I'm unlocking my front door I get a call from her. I know it's her, but she sounds different. I don't know exactly how to explain this but she sounds much taller and angrier. She sounds large and ready to attack. She says the UFO smashed into her new car and then the alien raygunned her! I patiently listen as this 50 foot woman attacks the stupid alien ship, using her still dainty feet to flatten the ufo that caused damage to her car and made her just a bit too big to fit into it. Clearly, she's got a lot of steam to let off. The smashing goes on for a minute, then stops. There's a quiet pause, with just some quick breathing, then I hear a scream. A scream forceful enough to cause my phone to vibrate like its just been tasered. It's followed by a loud sigh, a pause, then in a nearly normal voice, she says "Sorry about that." I can tell she's still big, but not so angry. I ask if she wants to go to Wendy's for a frosty. She says yes..and that she'll come by and "pick me up". She hangs up before I can reply. Now I'm a little scared about what she means by "pick me up".
Pistachios

Yesterday was an interesting day. My old whole-house water softener started leaking a couple days ago. Since it’s over 20 years old I decided to replace it. Yesterday I started installing the new one and things were going fine until I somehow cross-threaded a water line connection to the bypass valve. It got me talking to myself. 

Me: "How did you cross-thread that?"
Me: "I don't know. I guess I wasn't paying attention."
Me: "Ya think!"
Me: "Nobody around here is going to have a replacement part in stock."
I checked around anyway. No luck so I ordered the part from Amazon.
Me: "Okay, I ordered the part, but it won't get here until Thursday."
Me: "So no household water for three days? That sucks."
Me: "Let's take a break from this drama. Have some pistachios."
I have a handful of the jalapeño and lime flavorted nuts and some cranberry juice while I stare 
at the good old softener. After a few chews I realize the old bypass valve may work on the new unit. 
I remove it from the old and replace the new one with it.
Me: "Brilliant!"
Me: "That might be a little overstated, buddy ... but we will have water in the house now."
Me: "I think we should celebrate."
Me: "Okay, but don't go overboard."
I had some more juice and nuts and watched an episode of Monk.
Oh, To Know What You Want

I sometimes drop by my local convenience store. I typically do commando shopping there. Not that commando. Don't get excited. I mean I go in, get my stuff, and get out. Last time I stopped by, it was unusually busy and hectic. I got in line quickly. The guy in front of me was shoeless and shirtless (was he from Oildale? lol) and he had a giant dog, maybe a Great Dane or Wolfhound, on a rope leash. So a typical customer. The thing that made him unique was he had nothing to purchase. He was empty handed. He steps up to the register and has a short conversation with the young lady behind the counter. Afterwards he walks away like his debit card was rejected. I step to the counter with my Junior Mints. As she rings up my purchase she says "The nerve of that guy. Asking me what time I get off. He's not even wearing a shirt! I want a guy with a nice car, a camero or mustang, and a good job." I tell her I've got a minivan and I'm retired. She says "That'll be 2.19" Ding. I got what I wanted. I hope she gets what she wants.

One of the funny things about Amazing Race is when teams are in a foreign place and they try to speak a foreign language ... any foreign language. I watched an episode where they were in India and one of the contestants spoke in Spanish to a local. She said "Gracias, amigo." I guess it goes through their mind that they are in a foreign country and if they speak a foreign language, any non-English expression, all will be good and understood. I found it even funnier when a couple friends made this non-coffee drinker go to a local Starbucks. My friends ordered these three paragraph long drinks in a language I didn't understand. I felt like I was in a foreign land so when it was my turn naturally I asked for a Tequila Sunrise, por favor. The cashier just laughed, took my ten dollars and gave me a six ounce bottle of orange juice. Man, traveling abroad really can be rough.