road work

Posted on by August 6, 2014

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My neighbor is coming to fix the road in to the new property sometime next week.

It rains a lot here….and the gravel washes away…so “road work” is a necessity and a constant thing.

You fix it to stabilize it as much as possible….maybe throw some more gravel up on it when necessary….and then drive on it for the rest of your life and take it all for granted until the next rut appears and you start the process all over again.

It surely makes for some easy traveling when I maintain my roads a little.

Now, metaphorically, I don’t always do a good job of maintaining my “roads”…

I drive over them and ignore the ruts as well as I can….each new bump and hole in the road is just another place that I have to grip the steering wheel a little harder so I don’t get jolted out of the vehicle…each new jolt just another example of “just the way it is” that I grow complacent about.

I dig these holes….dance for the rain….ruin the day….and complain if I wake up some bumpy ride and notice that the roads I’ve built for myself are really getting kind of unpleasant to travel on.

That’s usually when I blame my “travelling companions” for the discomfort.

I “bump it up” and then blame the people around me for the rough ride.

I was probably the one who left the drawer out this morning that I racked my shin on in the dark.

That was probably me.

I didn’t blame anyone else…..I just cursed and hobbled out to the living room.

I didn’t even curse loudly enough to wake anyone else up, either.

It was just me….banging around.

So…the metaphoric part of it all is that I build the roads I travel, sometimes.

I build them and I tear them up….and then I drive on them and pretend that nothing is wrong.

That’s the “metaphoric” part.

The real here and now is that the road over at the property is easy to fix.

I don’t have to struggle to make it through the muck and the ruts my whole life.

A little dozer work….some gravel…and I’m back on it….cruising the short distance up to the old house and the fields without worry or discomfort.

That’s reality…some of these problems are fixable if you just ask someone who knows what to do.

It’s not hard if you just ask for help every once in a while.

I’d fix every road if I knew how….

Here’s a nice video….just “because”….

The picture is of a “good section” of the road….he’s fixing the “bad section”. I’m not that much of a “weeny”….there is a bad section.

 

 

monkey with a chainsaw

Posted on by August 5, 2014

I bought a hat the other day at the thrift store that says “Treehugger” on it.

Jenny said that I couldn’t wear it while I was using the chainsaw.

I thought that would be the best time to wear it….kind of funny and ironic (to me).

Minolta DSC

I’ve been cutting down some trees lately on that property that we bought.

I don’t use a horse….just cut them up small enough that Isaac and I can carry them back up out of the woods.

A lot of years of little trees growing can really cover up a property quick.

It can happen quickly….even if it takes a bunch of years.

Today, I’m going to go over there and cut a path down to the pond….take the weedeater and chop through all the poison ivy and then go to town on the little trees.

I think the part where I chop up the poison ivy with the weedeater is pretty stupid…but I’m going to do it anyway.

It looks better thinning out some of the undergrowth….it’s nice to be able to move around.

“Treehugger” hat notwithstanding….I like to thin it out some.

We heat with wood and have for a bunch of years….so cutting firewood is kind of a necessity.

You get over the “treehugger” mentality pretty quickly when the tree is part of the process of staying warm.

I love trees, though.

There’s not much that is as pretty as a tree.

I don’t always imagine how many board feet of lumber I could get out of a huge tree when I look at it, though.

A tree isn’t a product.

It’s not here only for my use.

I don’t think that “dominion” means that I can screw with whatever I choose….mess up the environment because I’m the boss of the world.

I don’t think anyone gave me that authority.

That property does look better with some trees cut down.

I really do appreciate the wood that I can put into the woodstove on a cold day.

And I like building with wood…taking a bunch of 2×4’s and using them to build something.

I use the “product”…like I like to go to the store and buy some shrink wrapped chicken.

Maybe if I get far enough away from the process, and the product is shrink wrapped or stacked, I can forget the big machines that helped get the two by four to me….or chopped that bird up so that I can put her on my grill.

That takes some of the sting and responsibility out of it all….

I use the product….and wear my “treehugger” hat while I’m doing it.

We have a lot of trees where we live.

I tend to gravitate towards places with a lot of trees.

If I have my choice, I’ll live somewhere with some water and some trees.

Always.

And I’ll cut one or two (or 30) down if I have to.

I’ll hug them before I cut them.

Maybe that’s a good compromise.

 

 

if you don’t have anything good to say….

Posted on by August 4, 2014

bill-gates-house-medina

If you don’t have anything good to say….don’t say anything.

 

 

 

 

I’m kidding. I always can find something good to say.

Always.

Usually.

Of course, I can find a lot of things to say that aren’t good, too. I can find a lot of things that I think are funny that fall flat and hurt peoples feelings.

That just comes natural, I guess.

I’m good at that….sometimes.

I don’t know about that “don’t say anything” part of the old statement, though.

You don’t even get close to “right” if you don’t try….and the habit of clamming up if you can’t figure out the right thing to say is a bad one.

How much of “almost right” never gets said because it’s….almost right?

I’d say 95% less if I always waited until I knew that was I was saying was “right”.

I’d be afraid to open my mouth if I had to verify everything before I let it leak out.

That’s the beauty of people only really listening to 15% of what I say….the ratio isn’t as important as I think it is.

“Good” is kind of subjective, anyway.

I’m sure that Hitler thought he was doing a bang-up job.

I’m sure that. at the time, he thought that he was really in the groove.

What the heck….just talk.

Just talk.

We rode around the lake yesterday on our bikes….and this is changing the subject pretty abruptly but I’m tired of talking about talking.

How does that happen to people that they get a house on the lake?

That’s not the height of luxury in my eyes…the local lake is small potatoes,really….it’s not very glamorous….but how does it happen that people arrive at a place in their life where they get to sit on the porch of a million dollar property on the water and let the sun hit their face from that vantage point?

Now, of course, it’s the same sun that hits my face when I’m sitting on the seat of a thrift store bike.

I don’t have to pay taxes on my movable perch, either.

I can look at the people on their lake house porch as I zoom by slowly….see them whooping and hollering…and wonder what their lives are like that they get to hang out in an expensive house like that….and the exact same sun that they are enjoying is hitting me in the same way….even if it’s in a slightly different place.

And….I DON’T HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON AN OLD BICYCLE SEAT.

WHO’S THE WINNER?!! I DON’T PAY THOSE TAXES!! WHO’S THE WINNER NOW, HUH?!!

I still wonder how that happens….that “rich folk” stuff….private planes and houses in pretty areas….fancy cars….really expensive loafers (shoes).

I don’t care about loafers….I need boots.

But….I have a little house in a beautiful area….and, right now, I can’t think of anyplace I need to fly off to….so what do I need all of that stuff for?

I’m wondering about it all, though….I must think that I need it on some deep (or really shallow) level.

Those people are all so nice. They whoop on the rich people porch like really nice people.

See….I could justify saying something after all….something good.

fading west

Posted on by August 3, 2014

I watched this film yesterday and really enjoyed it.

Switchfoot is the band. I’d heard some of their music.

Surfing….I’ve had a long standing interest in it and beach culture.

The movie was a nice combination of the two….part travelogue/surf documentary….and part concert tour documentary.

Switchfoot started out as a Christian band. They were marketed as a Christian band when their record label was bought out by Sparrow Records.

Now…they’re a band of Christians.

In the movie, they talk about the importance of faith and hope….but they don’t slam you over the head with their expression of their faith.

I liked this movie a lot….and I really appreciated what this band was doing.

There are a lot of ways to share faith.

I’m a fan of the quiet ones.

The movie streams on Netflix.

“Meant to Live” Switchfoot

these brakes sound funny

Posted on by August 2, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUfRzpvTs7A

I guess that “funny” is relative.

I spend my driving life listening for strange sounds….sniffing the air for strange smells…looking for any of the signs that forecast breakdown and big trouble.

My brakes sound funny.

I stop at least 525 times during the day….come to a full stop and put something in people’s mailboxes…and then drive on to the next mailbox and repeat the process.

Over and over….and over.

So….my brakes get a workout.

Lately, they sound like they’re grabbing in a weird way when they get hot.

Grab….and drag.

The dragging part must really do a number on my fuel consumption.

It can’t be efficient to have something that’s trying to hold you back when you’re raring to go.

“LET GO!!!” I feel like yelling at my brakes “I HEAR YOU TRYING TO DRAG ME DOWN!!! LET GO!!!”

The thing about my brakes is that they aren’t so bad that they really hinder me all that much….I can hear them rubbing against the drums and it bugs me some….that’s all.

Every day I drive this old Jeep Cherokee on the mail route….and everyday, I hear something that sounds…different…than what I’d expect.

But….I’m used to it. I’m used to the quirks and weird slight shudders….to the smells and sights that an old car…pushed too hard to do a job that no vehicle should be made to do….makes.

Maybe “getting used to it” is the problem.

They always stop me….they always slow me down on the big hills.

I thank them for doing that.

It’s important that they do that.

I need to stop.

Maybe you don’t notice the rock in your shoe if you walk on it for a year?

Maybe getting used to anything to the point where you accept it without trying to fix it is a bad thing.

My brakes are safe….but irritating.

I’ll have to check that out sometime soon.

apocalypse love

Posted on by August 1, 2014

duvall apocalypse

End of the world….and I’ve arrived at the conclusion that among the many responses to the apocalypse (if we even had time to respond to anything…like we’d have a moment to think about what to do) are two that are swirling in my head this morning….

  1. I could hunker down in my “hidey-hole” with my storage food and my water purification supplies, get ready to shoot it out with whoever (or whatever) comes scratching at my door after the thing that destroyed or mutated most of the rest of the population has passed and left the prepared alone with their supplies….I could boil some water and reconstitute another freeze-dried meal….frantically search the shortwave dial for news from Australia with the latest information about the zombie invasion…imagine a world without pain or loneliness. I could do that…
  2. Or…I could do what this song suggests……”love….like the end of the world”.

“End of the World” Mingo Fishtrap

I think that the second option is the one that sounds quite a bit more appealing.

Now, I’m no stranger to the survivalist mentality.

I’ve actually heard a man say, on the shortwave radio, “Death to the New World Order!”.

You haven’t really lived until you hear a man say, over live radio, “Death to the New World Order!”

That’s pretty darn weird.

When it’s survival that people are talking about, they tend to take it pretty seriously.

It’s “us vs. them”….all the time.

24 hours a day, people are able to perceive “the threat”….whether it’s the Ebola that’s creeping or the zombie invasion that could happen (!!!)….and prepare accordingly….with cases of duct tape and a strong supply of Tamiflu.

I guess that in the end, you don’t really prepare for anything.

The real emergencies are going to be “emergencies”….no matter how much preparation you’ve made.

All you’re doing is making the present something less than what it could be.

You can’t forecast the apocalypse every day of your life…and expect “every day of your life” to be anything more than some weird pre-apocalyptic disappointment.

What kind of victory is it to arrive at the “end”….and feel a sorry sense of accomplishment that, after years of preparation for just this moment in the end of time, you’re a little better off for a while than the ones who fiddled their lives away?

Maybe the apocalypse is just a really strong reason to “accessorize”?

We need the “stuff” to survive the “thing”.

We need to feel the pride that comes with hyper-vigilance…that comes with investing ourselves in the potential for the bad to come…and figuring out a way to survive anything that comes along.

I guess that I would feel pretty accomplished if I was the one with the bullets when the zombies charged the hill.

Maybe that would make it all worthwhile?

I loved this song.

I loved the line “run like you did when we were just kids….singing just as loud as you can…”

There are responses to emergency that seem more appropriate to me than hunkering down and shooting anybody who wants to take what’s mine.

I’m figuring out that “love” might be the more fitting response than a thousand pound pile of bullets.

It’s a lot more funky than shooting all the zombies that might come around.

Maybe “funk” is the apocalypse killer?

still cute

Posted on by July 31, 2014

I listened to this video on the radio yesterday….and when I got home, my family had already watched it.

I didn’t call them to tell them about it….they just discovered it on their own.

That’s what they call “viral”, I guess.

How about this little girl?

She speaks for a lot of us when she says “I don’t want him to grow up….HE’S SO CUTE!!”

Who’d want to grow up if you knew what might be coming down the road?

Or….maybe….who could wait to grow up if they could see all the great stuff to come on down the line a little ways?

“Forever Young” Bob Dylan

barry white

Posted on by July 29, 2014

barry-white-01

What was it like to be Barry White?

You know, when I “wiki’d” him, I found out that he’s one of the world’s bestselling artists of all time….that he sold in excess of 100 million albums…that he had 20 gold and 10 platinum singles.

WOW.

I did not know that.

And he sang songs like this….

“Can’t Get Enough of Your Love” Barry White

I think that Barry White was a very lonely man.

If only he’d been able to find love.

Nah…..I’M KIDDING!!!

CHICKS DIG BARRY WHITE!!!

What was that like for him….doing something simple like going to the grocery store….asking the checkout lady, “Oh, darling….could you please put my eggs on top? Yeah, baby….that’s the way….don’t you ever stop….”

What was that like for Barry White?

Of course, I never heard his speaking voice.

He might have had a real high-pitched speaking voice….really nasal and whiny.

I don’t know.

That thought completely humanizes him and negates his potency.

That guy was superhuman with that deep, seductive singing voice….and then I have to go and sully his image with the conjecture that maybe he wasn’t as seductive all the time as we’d like to think.

Maybe when he went to the grocery store, he’d squeal out in a horribly whiny sing-song voice, “MY EGGS!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!! DON’T YOU KNOW THAT THE EGGS NEVER GO ON THE BOTTOM?!! MY EGGS!! MY EGGS!!! MY EGGS!!!!”

Man…that thought is sure a mood buster.

I shouldn’t do that to Barry White.

It’s that Spiderman thing all over….”with great power comes great responsibility” ….you know the one….you know that line from the movie.

I imagine that Barry White only used his power for good.

He was good to the ladies….and the ladies were good to Barry White.

Check out this song….

“I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Babe” Barry White

oh.

Oh, Barry White! I am so sorry that I listened to that!

It sounded kind of…private.

That’s the thing about Barry White….he took us right into his world of seduction….and for about 4 or five minutes, let us stay there….until the next time we heard him on the radio.

He’s like a comet that only comes around every so often, though.

I couldn’t pull off that Barry White routine.

Jenny would laugh at me if I came at her with a deep “Ohhhhhhhh, baby….”.

I couldn’t pull it off.

I guess that’s what makes Barry White….”Barry White”.

I wonder how old he was when he figured out what he was going to do?

Did he go to his Momma and say, in his preternaturally deep child’s voice, “Momma….ohhhh, baby….you know, every time I think of this, it makes me think I’m gonna be, someone who loves and loves and loves, what else can I be?”

“Momma? Momma!! Did you hear me? Did you hear what I just moaned?”

It’s a different kind of career choice….to be one of the great seducers.

So….I’ll ask again because I’ll never know the answer:

What was it like to be Barry White?

dudes don’t empower

Posted on by July 28, 2014

Unless they figure out a way to do some strange gender DNA thing, and they strap me to a cold steel table somewhere and then a doctor comes in after finishing the experiment and looks at me….then looks at his chart….then looks at me again….then looks at the chart….then puts the chart down….then looks at me….and says….

“Dude….you a lady.”

Unless that happens….and until that weird day….I’m just a dude.

And dudes don’t have a really empowering song that is just for dudes.

Not like this one, at least….

“I am Woman” Helen Reddy

Maybe we have enough sense to know that the ladies would be upset if we went around singing anything that said, “I’m a Dude….I’ve got the power! I HAVE THE POWER!! THE POWER OF ….”

People don’t like swagger, sometimes.

We have all those Bad Company songs that swagger….the “I’M COMIN’ TA GITYA” kind of songs….big power chords and the warning of conquest.

We have those kind of “dude songs”….but we don’t have anything that says anything like, “I’ll cut down a tree all by myself and out earn any ten people in the room….I’M A DUDE, I’M A DUDE, I’M A DUDE!!”

We don’t have any songs like that.

We don’t have a song that I remember that says, “hear me roar.”

All the dude songs are more subdued than that.

Except for the Bad Company songs….and some Jimi Hendrix….some Zeppellin ….Uriah Heep….Kanye…Common….L’il Wayne….Weezy…Weezer…all the rest of them.

Except for those guys.

We don’t have a song like this….

“Roar” Katy Perry

I can’t picture a bunch of dudes on a framing crew singing that to each other….or a bunch of lumberjacks…or even The Village People.

Dudes wouldn’t sing that song to each other.

So….I think that we just don’t have any really empowering gender based songs for dudes.

We brag and we swagger…but deep down, there’s probably something missing.

Deep down….we’re missing that declaration of independence and power.

Nah…dudes don’t even need that….we don’t need no stinkin’ anthem!!

We got it going on….the DUDES!!

It’s funny, though….I’ll sing that “I Am Woman” song in the shower sometimes.

It just makes me feel good.

(I’m kidding. I AM KIDDING….)

I guess that we just need to take empowerment where we can find it.

We’re supported by the mainstream media.

We’re empowered everyday…whether we have a song that says that we are… or not.

Maybe this is our anthem and we never even knew it.

Maybe this is the song….forget “Roar”.

“All Right Now” Free

There’s an anthem out there somewhere for the dudes.

Maybe there’s too many?

Sometimes I can’t even see the forest for all the anthems floating around out there….

Surely, dudes gotta have an anthem….