i went over to her plush apartment and she was sitting there stretched out on the couch.

little pink fuzzy slippers on.

little shiny smile on. said, whaddya wanna do?

i said eat.

she said whaddya wanna eat?

and the problem with some babes is they really are too young. i think im starting to learn that. they havent figured out how to talk in a sexy way so they really shouldnt practice with a senior citizen.

its like trying to pull away from the curb in a little car that has stick shift and jumping from first gear to fourth. not only isnt it meant to go that way but you really should squeal before you moan.

said suzy q’s.

she was all, whats a suzy q?

poor girl wasnt schooled in the world of hostess baked goods?

this is whats wrong with america.

they dont tell you this but los angeles is a far more diverse place than pretty much anywhere other than new york, but in some cases even more diverse. this one was from a planet i cant even pronounce. but i’ll try.

iowa.

she wasnt as hot as miss iowa ’99, but close. but looks are the devils three card monte. you think you have the game won and all of a sudden life flips over the truth and youve lost. so the best idea is to look into their heart.

lemme see your heart baby, you say as you lean down to kiss her clavicle. she jerks away surprised cuz your stubble has grown in but hell its 12:30 at night. one of us hasnt shaved since 8am and the other one of us is probably too young to shave anywhere.

you root down in search of the heart and yes that sounds like second gear,

maybe i should release the clutch.

or whatever that is

as the shadows start speaking the international language of hi.

it was because one of our friends, Dino Scoppettone passed away last night.

in a very weird moment, i prayed for dino in the middle of the night. every night before i go to sleep i pray. but for some reason last night i forgot to include him. it was late, so technically he was already gone, but i didnt know that. so when i had been asleep for a few minutes something got into my head and said, i think you forgot to pray for dino. so i did.

this morning the Nexus email backchannel was circulating the emails that he had lost his fight to Sarcoma Cancer found in his liver and kidney.

because im an optimist, i want to believe that last night i was woken up when dino was at the pearly gates and st. peter said, hmmmm scoppettone, why does that name sound familiar? and dino said, i worked at EA sports? and dino said, no, no. and dino said, i went to UC Santa Barbara? and st. peter said, hmmmm, what else? and dino said i wrote at the Daily Nexus? and st. peter picked up the phone and called me in my sleep and said, can you vouch for one dino scoppettone? which is when i was glad to say – heck yeah st. peter!

Dino’s dad wrote this last night:

My son, Dino passed away this evening a little after 8PM. My heart hurts to say it and I know yours hurts to hear it. But this was Dino’s Journey. Over the months, on those nights when I thought about losing him, I stayed away from it by insisting on focusing on the present. For most of my life, I’ve been something of a rehearsed man, often planning things months in advance. No more. I told myself that I will know what to say if this day ever comes, and now this day is here.

My son was a beautiful man who belonged to all who knew him. No loner was he, but rather a blend of everyone he met and loved, interwoven with his buddies and their children and their parents and his workmates. Though he didn’t raise a family of his own, he belonged to many families, and over the past weeks and months, we’ve had the privilege to meet them, all wonderful people.

When I finished a novel some years ago, he read it, and re-read it, and re-read it again, each time adding a missing comma or suggesting another way to punch up a phrase. And each time I trusted him. He and I spoke the same language.

When it came time for him to move on tonight, his mother, Mary was rubbing his hair, and around his bed, everyone touched him gently; my wife, MiMi; my son, Nick with his fiance, Amber; Dean’s stepbrother, Chris and his girl Virginia; and his good friend, Andrew McGraw. Moments after he passed, Carlos arrived, as well as Dino’s special friend, Andi who had flown from Seattle.

Over the months, as we saw all the responses to his blogs, it became apparent that there were many people we had never met. Can I ask a favor of all of you? We really need to touch you, whether truly hand in hand or by e-mail. Here’s my e-mail address: dsco7545@comcast.net. If you knew my son or read his blog, would you e-mail me and tell me your thoughts? This journey of the last three months wasn’t done alone, it was done with all of you.

I will let you know of the funeral arrangements as soon as I know. For sure, the gathering will be in Santa Cruz. Hold us in your hearts. We love you all. And my boy continues on the grandest journey of them all.

when i was sports editor of the nexus, dino wrote about soccer (i believe) for me. always friendly, always boisterous. definitely a part of the team. this news makes me pretty sad because there was something about the nexus that made me think we were all indestructible. the truth of the matter, sadly, is we’re all mortal and we never know when this escalator to everywhere is gonna be over.

so kiss the girl you have a crush on, eat all your gelato, and hug yr friends extra hard.

glad to know youre in the good place, dino. you deserve it.