"Not the moneymaker!"

That's A.'s rule, when throwing something at someone: not the face, "the moneymaker". Or, as he put it, "if they're pretty, don't hit them in the face".

I learned this rule last night at Mac's Tavern, when I made a smartass comment that got his girlfriend to (lightly) throw a hacky sack at my face. My response was "Well, I'm not one of the pretty folks, so no worries!"... A. had to agree to disagree.

Last night was a lot of fun. It was good to see A., a friend I've known since I was eight or nine years old, before he leaves town for a few months. He works on boats, and is going to be fishing up in Alaska this year -- I am a little worried for his safety, but know that he can handle himself. I think what I'm most worried about is his emotional well-being.

"Last time we were up there, I had to save the captain's life," he told me last night. The captain fell off of part of the ship during some heavy weather, and A. grabbed him out of the air as he was falling, and dragged him back on to the ship. It was weighing on him considerably, it seemed, but he was trying to soothe his mind, and his anxieties regarding his upcoming departure.

"You are the only one who can control your own happiness."