Copy

Good artists copy.  Great artists steal.

~ Pablo Picasso

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Last year on New Year's Eve I posted something on Facebook about my year.  I ended it saying "There are years that give and years that take."  I looked and looked and looked to see where I had heard that quote.  I couldn't find it.  I didn't think I made it up.  I kind of hoped I had since it seemed rather deep and reflective.  

As I was working on a post for the blog, I came across this quotation: 

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."

It was written by Zora Neale Hurston.

So I was close.  I was close to getting the quote right.  I was close in thinking I had heard it before.

And if I have to draw from some source of inspiration...  I don't mind drawing from Zora.  I really like her.

It wasn't plagiarism, though.  What I wrote was different.  Close, but different.

It was more like playgiarism.

Handma

To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour

~ William Blake

- - - - -

Me: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Leslie: That's why I'm always saying Aurora is so beautiful.

Radio

I wrote a song, but I can't read music.  Every time I hear a new song on the radio I think, "Hey, maybe I wrote that."

~ Steven Wright

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I picked this up when Leslie and I went to Toccoa Falls at Toccoa Falls College.

I like to think that their tagline is something like "We are the WRAF of God!"

I like to think that, but I imagine it is not the case.

Kipp



Just build your brand from day one, man. Your brand is your name, basically. A lot of people don't know that they need to build their brand, your brand is what keeps you moving.

~ Meek Mill

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"Kip" has lots of definitions, but a "Kipp" is beyond definition.

My friend Kipp has some kids.  I wish I had thought to refer to them as "Kipplings" when I lived where they all live.  But I failed to do that.  Now I can do it from a distance, but it's not quite the same. 

I could tell him he needs to get out and mow his rudyard with the Kipplings. 
I could give him a mongoose for a present.  Or a pair of mating cobras.
Or a book about jungles.

I guess I could still do that stuff.

I don't want to annoy him too much, though.  He has access to strange things.  And strange people.  I think he'd be good at revenge.

But why all the revenge for just a few jokes?!  Sheesh, Kipp!

Surprises

Engage people with what they expect; it is what they

are able to discern and confirms their projections.  It settles

them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their

minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment --

that which they cannot anticipate.

~  Sun Tzu

- - - - -

I like surprises.  Well, I don't know if I like to be surprised, but I like to surprise other people.  And I believe that the key to buying someone a good gift - something that will surprise and please them - is simply to pay attention.  I'm a pretty good attention-payer when it comes to gift-giving.  I'm not always a pretty good attention-payer when it comes to administrative details.  But that should surprise no one.

Anyway, last year for Kirk's birthday we ordered something and had it shipped to his house.  I think it was penguin glasses.  I don't remember.  That's not important.  What's important is that this is the exchange I had with Jared about it...

Me:  Hey.  Am having Kirk's birthday gift from Leslie and me shipped to you.  Don't let him open it.  If he begs too much, put a Snoopy show on TV to distract him.  Deal?

Jared:  Deal.

Me:  You're the best.

Jared:  I know.  And I'm taking a screenshot of this to prove it, in case you deny it later.

Me: Okay.  I'm drunk and this is Leslie.

Me:  Just kidding.

Me:  Leslie's not drunk.

Me:  She's mad.

Boots

When the itch is inside the boot, scratching the outside provides little consolation.

~ Chinese Proverb

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One of the last years I believed in Santa Claus (it has to be at least four or five years ago now), I remember being in my room and waiting for  him to come and bring presents.  My parents told me earlier that evening that if I didn't go to sleep - if I was still awake when Santa got here - he wouldn't leave any presents.

I was in my room trying to sleep and then I heard heavy boots walking around the house.  I was sure it was Santa.  I was also sure I was completely busted.  I mean, if "he knows if you you've been bad or good, he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake" all of that stuff...  Well, I figured he must know that I was faking being asleep.  He was Santa for goodness sake.

Well, either he didn't know I was faking OR he let me off the hook. I'm not sure which. Or maybe there wasn't any such thing as Santa after all.

We will never know.  

Ultimately, what I learned is that I was probably the most wonderful child during the most wonderful time of the year.  I got presents.  Santa didn't leave me coal.  Even if I was awake and wasn't supposed to be, he knew how special I was. I am.

Me too, Santa.  I know how special I am, too.  Ultimately we both learned a valuable lesson.  That I am wonderful.

(pause)

I guess that should be we both RE-learned a lesson.

Photography

Photographing cake can be art.

~ Irving Penn

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For everyone taking photos this holiday season, I suggest not worrying about getting the "perfect shot." That isn't reality.  that isn't what your life is like with shirts tucked in and hair combed and clean faces and shoes tied. 

The food isn't always perfect.  Sometimes the cupcake has a fingerprint in it.  And sometimes siblings are pinching each other when the photo gets taken.

No one remembers the kid smiling on Santa's lap.  But the ones who are crying their heads off...  Those are the great shots.

I'm not saying make your kids or family cry just to get a good photo.  I'm saying let that happen naturally.  It will.

Those perfect family photos on holiday cards or in portraits on the wall, they hide the real stories.  The interesting stories.  The tragedies and the comedies.  They are like photos of paper.  One dimensional.

So let your kid wear his Halloween costume in the Christmas family photo.  Or let Grandma wear a plaid that does not go with what Aunt Lois is wearing.  Or let Grandpa wear his favorite shirt, tie and jacket - none of which go together.

They'll make for better stories later on.  

Happy Holidays.

Bubbler

 If possible, avoid being a bubble; for a bubble, even the gentlest touch is fatal.

~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

- - - - -

This is a bubble light thing.  My Grandma Boettcher always had them on her tree at Christmas.  A few years ago my mom found some and now she puts them on her tree each year.  I like them.

My Grandma Boettcher - for most of my childhood - would give me some kind of clothing for Christmas. It usually was not my style.  Which is saying quite a bit since I don't have a style.  I was recently looking at one of our elementary school photo book things.  I saw that I was wearing the red and white turtleneck thing my Grandma Boettcher got me one year for Christmas.  As I recall, it was the only time I wore it.  As I recall, I did not like it.

So my advice to grandparents out there - don't buy your grandchildren presents.  Don't buy them ANYTHING. Instead, give them a list of chores in a nicely wrapped package.  Make sure there are at least 10 chores on the list.  Tell them their gift is that they can cross off any two of those chores and not have to do them.

That will teach them to complain about the clothes you were going to get them.

Also, I'm glad no one thought of this when I was a kid.  

Songs

 When we die, we will turn into songs, and we will hear each other and remember each other.
~ Rob Sheffield

- - - - -

I love this idea. It probably is true that there are some songs that remind me of people who have passed. I know there are songs that remind me of the past. It might be an interesting exercise to go through people who have died and come up with songs for each of them. Well, it might be interesting to me - maybe not to anyone else.

I don't know what song would remind people of me. Maybe I don't want to know for sure. 

I know what song would remind me of Leslie. It probably isn't one you would expect. It is "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent. I don't know why, but she randomly blurts it out occasionally.

Recently, she has taken to making a "mash-up" of it. The other day she started with "cat scratch" and then it morphed into "Fever" by Peggy Lee. I misunderstood her and thought she was singing, "Cat Scratch Viva" so she started with "cat scratch" and went into "Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis.

"Cat Scratch Fever."  Hm.  

I hope nothing happens to Leslie for long, long time.

Days

The days come and go like muffled and veiled figures sent from a distant party, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Today is the winter solstice. It is the start of winter and the shortest day of the year. That really isn't true. It has the same number of hours as any other day. I guess we think of days as "less than" when they have less sunlight. I'm not sure I agree. I think my darker days are sometimes more productive. Reflective. Instructive. 

As we move into winter, we move into more light. Cold and light. That is not a bad combination. You know what is a bad combination? Strawberry Crush and chocolate ice cream.  But that didn't stop Erik from eating it.

Bice

 

Truth is the ultimate power.  When truth comes around,

all the lies have to run and hide.

~ Ice Cube

- - - - -

I know I shouldn't have laughed at the kid who wiped out on his bike in the snow.  I just didn't understand why he was trying to ride it when it was so slippery out.  It's spelled "bicycle" with an emphasis on the cycle, not "bICEcle" with an emphasis on the ice.

 

Though if they made bicecles, I bet a lot of people would buy them.  At least up north. 

 

Unless it was a giant bike shaped popsicle.  Those might be popular in the south, too.  Sometimes it's about marketing and sometimes it's actually about the product.

Doubt

Doubt everything at least once, even the proposition that two times two equals four.

~ Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

- - - - -

Leslie and I go to movies sometimes. I think many people do. It's this thing where you sit in a dark room with strangers and watch other peoples' stories on a huge screen.

That's odd  now that I think about it.

Anyway, my point is that one time we were in a theater and a preview came on. The narrator of the scene said, "Everyone gets a miracle. Mine was Margo Roth Spiegelman."

Leslie leaned over and whispered, "Ooooh!  I won't sleep until I see it."

I doubt that she was being authentic in that moment.

Questions

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

~ Naguib Mahfouz

- - - - -

Wouldn't it be ironic if a wind farmer was in the doldrums?

Do you get "in" the doldrums? 

Yes.  You do.

And it wouldn't it be even more ironic if he was an aquatic wind farmer?

Family

Blood can help make a family, but family often transcends blood.

~ DaShanne Stokes

- - - - -

I was talking to someone about adoption a while ago.  I am not an expert on that process, but I didn't let that stop me from offering some thoughts.

Me:  Try not to get one of those scary babies.  Wait.  I'm thinking of dolls.  Don't get a scary doll.

Reality

Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real and you're just a reflection of him?

~ Bill Watterson

- - - - -

I don't know where to draw the line between reality and not reality.  Between truth and fiction.  Between those kinds of things.  Not that I necessarily think it is my (or anyone else's) job to draw those lines. I just think that there are lots of different real moments. The same moment can be real in different ways at different times.  Or to different people.  

Leslie often challenges me on accuracy - which I find to be highly overrated.

Leslie: Um...  I don't think I said that.

Me:  You are a writer! You cant even PRETEND to be annoyed with my --

Leslie: Liberal interpretation of history?

Me: (long pause) Yes.

Truth

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.  Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

- - - - -

I believe that truth is simultaneously overrated and constructed. I think it is subject to change. I think the same moment experienced by two people is at least three moments. If you and I share a moment there is my experience of that moment, your experience of that moment and the "real" moment that exists outside of both of our perspectives.

And I am glad that some people in my world understand that is how I think - and maybe a few even agree with me on it.  For example...

Rachel:  You might be more important to me than Billy Ocean.

(Okay, bear with me.  I know that Billy Ocean is not a clean segue to my point, but there is a point that relates to truth if you stick with it for a moment.)

Me: I may have to use some of our conversations in my blog.  And I have received feedback that it may not be an exact transcript of our interactions.

Rachel: As someone from a long history of storytellers, I have no illusion of the accuracy of your blog.

Roots

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

- - - - -

Our roots keep us grounded.  The keep us attached.  They nourish us. 

They can also limit us.  We can't just go strolling around if we are bound too tightly by our roots. 

I'm glad I'm not a tree.

Those baby birds yapping at all hours would really get on my nerves.

Cookbooks

Cookbooks are almost a substitution for a lost sense of culture. People want some other life than the one they're living, so they buy a cookbook with pictures and imagine themselves as a part of that life.

~ Mark Miller

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We are in the process of helping Leslie's mom move.  As a result, I have discovered that I have a love for old cookbooks.  Just look at this masterpiece (see image above).  These are not just desserts, they are MAGICAL desserts.  And they are so easy - all you have told is whip and chill them.  Sorry - even easier - just whip 'n chill them.

Whatever happened to the days of a simple yet beautiful fruit mold?  Or a parfait?  Or whatever those yellow things are?

I remember once when I was a kid my grandmother tried something like one of these, but it was a "savory dish."  I know it had jello and either chicken or turkey and celery in it.  I also remember gagging a little when I ate it.  I have never been a picky eater, but it was not my favorite thing I have ever eaten.  (obviously...  I still remember it about 40 years later). I also remember that me gagging on that food was not my dad's favorite thing that I ever did as a child.

I should note that while I feel a strange attraction to these old and...  unorthodox cookbooks, I am not sure I will actually try out too many of the recipes.  And also, I'm not sure how much cooking is involved in a whip 'n chill cookbook recipe.

Ways

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

~ Marcus Aurelius

- - - - -

I'd like to live on a street called "Another Way."

Photos

Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.

~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

- - - - -

I love taking photographs.  I haven't done that as much in the past year or so as I had been doing before that.  Part of it is time.  Part of it is priority.  Part of it is change and adaptation.  There are a lot of parts of it.

I look back on some of the photos I have taken.  Some of them look better after the fact.  Some of them I look at and wonder what it was that I saw in them.  Either way, I'd always rather be taking photographs than IN photographs.

I don't photograph well.  I'm not photogenic.  I am more photogeneric.

And I'm okay with that.