For my 500th Entry Celebration, I remembered to write this entry in SimpleText so that all the marks translate to D-land. This one should be easier than the 250th Entry Celebration, since that included archives entered at random dates and it was tougher to go through all the entries in order. This time, everything's done chronologically since June 21, 2001, so I was able to click forward from then. The hard part was not reading all the links I put into that 250th Entry Celebration.

And don't think that because I've posted the 500th Entry Celebration without your input that I don't want it. I've decided to make it a two-part effort. So here's my part; yours will come soon, though I've only heard from Heather and Megan. At 3 p.m. Tuesday I'm going to post what I have. Should I get more responses after that, those will go up to. Your selections can be e-mailed to dano[at]diaryland.com.

So for now, here are my choices for Best of Dano, Vol. 2: June 21, 2001 to July 31, 2002.

June 22, 2001
I was probably the only one who wasn't waving, standing next to the 16-year-old Girl Scouts from Virginia Beach, one of them with a mother in a green shirt who apparently was programed to yell, "GIRL SCOUTS RULE!" every seven minutes or so, or when it appeared a cameraman might be breathing.

June 28, 2001
But what Pennsylvania needs is a town called Road Work, because it must be the state's largest industry. I doubt there's a major highway not under construction in the entire state during the summer.

July 12, 2001
There is absolutely no reason why "Coconut Telegraph" by Jimmy Buffett should be in my head. But it is, and has been for about a day now.

July 29, 2001
Then I explain how it is tough to wake up and get ready for the day after a night out at Headliner, one of the Shore?s more popular night clubs � where all the women are nearly naked, all the men are scanning and scoping and all the children are left in the parking lot because their fake IDs are confiscated.

Aug. 8, 2001
And I found I still get upset about the time Caitlin mentioned how she'd gained a few pounds during freshman year of college, but no one noticed. Captain Morgan, speaking through my mouth, said, "Actually, we noticed, but we were too nice to say anything."

Aug. 15, 2001
This is the story of every summer for me: August comes around and I look at my pale-ass self in the shower and think, "I've got to get some color before the summer ends," and I get myself to the beach a few times and hope it makes a difference, but usually I just get red, then peel, and it's September.

Aug. 18, 2001
And as exciting as it was to have Skeletor�, as neat as it was to look at him there in the package as I sat in the car, as thrilling as it was to have a new toy and to open it and move its arms and play with him on the seat beside me, it just wasn't complete until I got it home and put it to use with the other accessories with which it was meant to go. That's when it was really cool.

Sept. 29, 2001
After taking showers, we head west to Pittsburgh, a 90-minute drive along two-lane highways through small towns past Sheetz gas stations and probably a dozen "adult book stores," including one strip club with "100% naked live nude girls" (opposed to the dead nude girls), a drive-thru, and a pool (for the girls, not the customers). We've not eaten anything, though we didn't leave until 12:30 p.m., choosing instead to save our appetites for the original Primanti Brothers restaurant in the Strip District (which has nothing to do with live nude girls and everything to do with the strips of stores lining the city streets).

Oct. 19, 2001
And I had one thought during the concert as I felt an uncontrolable smile cross my face during one song or another � If only they could see us now. If only the terrorists, those in the planes, those still alive who planned it, those hiding in their Afghan caves, if only they could see how strong we really are. It is completely like that scene in "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," where the people of Whoville gather around the tree to celebrate. We are now gathering and we are now celebrating our freedom and our patriotism.

Nov. 7, 2001
In the past year, I've succumbed to the pressure of instant gratification and the convenience of owning a cell phone. In the past year, I've been to three weddings, missed a fourth, and no funerals. In the past seconds, I've knocked on wood.

Nov. 15, 2001
While waiting for Lori to stop by, just so I can say hi, I chat with Mig, wander around the apartment, and see Betty for a few minutes while she moves the first of her things into the third bedroom. I feel slightly guilty looking at her small room and thinking about my large one � with the big closet space too. But I did see the apartment first, like two months before she did, and I do know Lori better, and longer. And Lori is on my side as well, agreeing that I saw it first, committed first, and deserve the larger one. It's not our fault if Betty has so much stuff it won't fit. I will feel slightly guilty about the closet, but I'll certainly make use of it all. Maybe not with clothes, but with stuff.

Nov. 18, 2001
I want to put up a sign along the side of the highway that says "The End is Near." It will be placed about 10 yards behind one of those road signs that says "RIGHT LANE ENDS - MERGE LEFT"

Dec. 5, 2001
So I heard on the radio today that Notre Dame has asked Stanford for permission to talk with their head football coach, Tyrone Willingham. He'd be a good fit at Notre Dame, considering he's in a similar situation at Stanford � a high-profile academic institution that's been able to put together a winning football tradition. He's not at the top of most fans' and alumni wish lists, but he'd be a good choice.

Jan. 2, 2001
And Casey called her mom, but got Tessa, who asked if I was drunk because I shouted "I AM LOUIS PASTEUR!" into the phone. Of course I was drunk. If I wasn't, I would've calmly said "I am Louis Pasteur."

Jan. 6, 2001
My aunt's surprise 60th birthday party for my uncle went off with just one hitch last night, that of the 6-foot-tall, sequined-dress-clad, penis-bearing Ann-Margret who, as part of his lip-synced act, got down on the dancefloor in front of Uncle Chic and proceeded to kick his legs in a scissor-like manner, exposing both his Anns and his Margrets to my cousin's wife, Kathleen. She immediately turned and covered her eyes in horror, but with a smile and a drunken laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Jan. 26, 2001
They say you should drink eight glasses of water a day. They say this from the bathroom, usually, because you can't drink eight glasses of water a day and not have to go to the bathroom every hour, at least.

Feb. 6, 2002
Super Bowl Sunday went by OK � it was not quite Hell working here, more like, I don't know, Dallas. You know, you don't want to be there, but since you're stuck there, at least there's good food.

March 9, 2002
So I sit here at work at 8:51 p.m. watching Connecticut and Pittsburgh in the Big East Championship game on the TV next to me. And Casey's there. Go figure � Casey's at a basketball game and I'm at work. But she's there with her father, Carol and Gary Shandling, who's not sitting with them but was just shown on ESPN.

April 16, 2001
Dusk driving in New Jersey suburbia and the smell of lilac as we cruise down a quiet street. The scent blows through the car and is gone in an instant, but it is enough to turn our heads to that unmistakable sweetness of the lavender flower and a springtime expectation.

April 21, 2002
I imagine we're like Kerouac and the Beats, driving into New York late at night for a party at an apartment, for kicks, staying up late. We talk about Jack and friends and Casey confuses Paris' Jack-bashing from a recent Gilmore Girls episode with a real conversation. "Who was it who was bashing Jack the other day," Casey asks. Kerry wonders too, until I say, "That wasn't us, that was Paris on Gilmore Girls!" and we all laugh. Ha ha!

June 3, 2002
Down in the bowels of a 78-year old stadium, a light-blue line runs parallel to the walls, painted a darker blue. There are countless pock marks and divots in the wall from years of coats of paint laid on top of last year's coat. The sign back at the junction from the stairway read, "Yankees clubhouse," with an arrow pointing right and "Visitors clubhouse" with an arrow pointing left.

July 27, 2002
JESUS LIVES! At Gino's East [This one represents the entire trip recap, which I rather enjoyed.]