Well, it’s been ages since I last wrote a diary. I can not say if it’s due to my extremely busy schedule or if my priorities have changed. Maybe it’s a combination of both. My good mate, Scot Keith, was down in LA and I only got to see him for 10 minutes. On a different note, my relationship with my son, Julian, couldn’t be better. It has, in turn, made me a much better person. I also cemented a very important area in my life; I proposed to my girlfriend, Hannah!

I took her to dinner Thursday night at Cafe Montona in Santa Monica, and then we went to the local pub, 14 BELOW, where I popped the question. And she said YES! And that made me very, very happy. Her visa is due in the spring so while she has now returned to the UK, I’ll visit her just after Xmas. And next summer we’ll make things official. I’d call that a very happy ending!

On a different note, I think I owe LOVE fans an apology. Regardless of how truthful my words were, I would have been better served to not say any of them. I feel my actions divided fans and turned them into mini versions of what the band was going through with Arthur. For this I apologize with extreme regret and hope that everyone can forgive me.

I’ve always tried to bring some sort of entertainment from writing and I would like to continue. One of the reasons I stopped was that I really do not have the time to answer emails anymore. So I have (approx.) 700 unanswered emails. So please let me take the time to say THANK YOU to anyone and everyone who has given us the pleasure of being a part of your LOVE with Arthur Lee world. I know ‘ol Artie is in Memphis and I wish him well. I wish him the best. Through a friend I hear he wishes us the same. As it should be.

On a different plane (but same subject), the 24 track tapes from the German festival we did this past july has been aquired by the band. My David Chapple has been in his studio mixing them and so far i’ve heard 3 songs and they sound absolutely fabulous. More on this as we get closer to it’s completion. Already, a label in Spain has expressed interest in releasing it. I was very proud when I heard it, as i don’t think (with the acception of people who saw that tour) I’d heard that music sound THAT good before. That’s not a cocky stance either. i think people will be perfectly shocked by how good it is. And possibly saddened when it reminds them of what went down. And I can’t see around corners; I don’t know what the future holds. But I know that I took part in something so special, so cosmically amazing, that words in a diary could never do them justice.

What transpired in my life from June 25 (that first S.F. show) till mid August, tested and challenged me beyond description. Yet, this is a drop in the bucket compared to what other people have to endure in their lives. So in some ways, I was spoiled. I have been oh-so-fortunate and to be blessed with an incredibly supportive family, as well as friends who have been there for me when I needed them most. They continue to be as well. Mired in debt and stretched to the limit, I still feel completely like the luckiest man on the planet. I am trying to be a much better person than I was yesterday. That’s my goal each day. It’s not to make it to through the day so I can watch my favorite football game or tv show. it’s not so i can be alone and not interact with other people. it’s not to blame someone for something. My goal is to influence people to be better themselves and so, it starts with me. I shouldn’t have to speak one word. All i have to do is do the right thing. If people see the results from that around me, then I think, I HOPE, I make this a better place than it was the day before.

On a much funnier note, Warren Beatty left a phone message on my machine encouraging me to vote against anything Governor Arnold wants me to vote for. Is this a sign of the times? One actor trying to outdo another actor but not for your entertainment dollar. It’s for your political dollar! This is the new way forward, I suppose. But I did vote this morning. I was the only one in the whole building too so it could be a low voter turnout. California can legislate anything. You got a crick in your neck that won’t go away? My state can pass an innititive to outlaw all neck pain. If outlawing it doesn’t work, we’ll simply LITIGATE. That’s how things get done round these here parts.

On the sports front, I am hoping for a USC – TEXAS showdown for the National Championship at the Rosebowl, come January. Both me and Hannah have half our families in Texas (hers in Dallas, mine in San Antonio, Corpus Cristi & Galveston) so this could be a really neat rivalry. Hannah and me have ruled out naming our first child “Scooter.” Everyone, be well.

all the best,

Mike Randle