Steeple

Here's the church

Here's the steeple

Open the doors

See all the people

~ Nursery Rhyme

- - - - -

The purpose of the church steeple (according to my 15 minutes of research) is to house a church bell or clock up where people can see it and also (perhaps primarily) to encourage people to look skyward toward heaven. 

I suspect the purpose of tall McDonald's signs off the interstate is slightly different. (pause) But I did zero minutes of research on that. Sometimes you don't have to do research to feel like you know about a thing. 

(pause)

We have a lot of examples of that in the world.

Chicken

Chicken pot pie, those are my three favorite things.

~ Pablo Francisco

- - - - -

When I was in the hospital one time, they brought me dinner. It was a gravy with chicken and vegetables and a rectangular plank of some kind of pastry across the top. The meat and vegetables stuff was okay. The pastry plank was a little hard and not my favorite. I found out after the fact that it was chicken pot pie. I hate chicken pot pie. 

The moral of the story is, I hate chicken pot pie.

Pumpkin

I will defend pumpkin until the day I die. It's delicious. It's healthy. I don't understand the backlash. How did pumpkin become this embarrassing thing to love but bacon is still the cool flavor to add to everything? I don't have anything against bacon; just don't come after pumpkin like it's a crime to love an American staple.

~ Anna Kendrick

- - - - -

The Great Pumpkin is definitely visiting Anna Kendrick this year.

Halloween

I love Halloween. The one time of year when everyone wears a mask, not just me.

~ Dexter Morgan

- - - - -

I think that sometimes we wear masks, but other times people put masks on us. They don't know us and they project masks onto our selves that we would not choose for ourselves. 

Like when Erik went in that devil costume when we were little kids. Mom put that mask on him. I don't think he chose it. 

(pause)

Seriously. I went as an astronaut and they let him dress up as Satan! What was that even about?!

Now that I think about it, maybe there is nothing more "firstborn vs. second-born" than this. 

(pause)

There probably is, but still this is interesting. 

To me.

 

Sunlight

Either you run the day or the day runs you.

~ Jim Rohn

- - - - -

We have the chance to plan our days (often not always) and to evaluate them. Deciding how to spend the day can be a challenge. Some days I need to reflect on my job and work and tasks I take on. I'm not going to lie, some days I think I may be better suited for something different than what I do. That is especially true when I see things like this posted by The Onion:

Town Hag Getting in Pretty Good Day of Shaking Jangly Bell-Covered Stick

I would be so good at that job. Maybe I could just incorporate it into what I already do.

(pause)

I'll let you know how that goes (in case you don't hear about it on the news)

 

Go

And we'll all go together

To pluck wild mountain thyme

All around the blooming heather

Will ye go, Lassie, go?

~ Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go

- - - - -

I watched the movie Sinners at the end of last year. If you haven't seen it yet and plan to watch it, go watch it before you read this or it will give away some things. Anyway, the "bad guys" in the movie include three vampires who sing a variation of Will Ye Go, Lassie Go. 

I grew up listening to that song. My dad used to play the version by The Clancy Brothers when I was little. I was caught off-guard when it was in the film. It made me a little sad that I had that connection to the bad guys instead of being one of the good guys, but it made sense in the context of the movie.

It's a pretty good movie. If you read this and weren't planning on watching it before, I think you should go watch it now. 

But I'm not the boss of you.
 

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.

~ Gordon Parks

- - - - -

It is more important to be enthusiastic than photogenic.

Librrians

You never want to try and screw a librarian to the wall or you're gonna be in trouble.

~ Barbara Mack

- - - - -

Librarians know things. They know how to get and use information and facts. I know a lot of people think facts and information are passe´ now. Those people are not librarians.

(pause)

Also, those people are wrong.

Puzzles

I use bits and pieces of others' personalities to put together my own.

~ Kurt Cobain

- - - - -

What is up with putting posters in puzzles nowadays? If you like the image and put up the poster but then give away the puzzle, the people will know because it says right on the box "Poster Included" or some such thing. I mean, they're already getting a used puzzle and now you've taken the poster, too? When did we decide we needed posters in puzzles?

The world is in chaos, I tell you.

Desserts

We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.

~ David Mamet

- - - - -

 Why can't cooking shows have more than one ice cream machine?

Writing

Writing is a way of creating order out of chaos, of taking charge of one's own story, being the sovereign of the self by pushing back against received knowledge and guarding the sanctity of the dwelling place of the imagination, that place of first permission.

~ Natasha Trethewey

- - - - -

I have read a few novels about serial killers. I wonder if some of those authors aren't just writing about things they would do if they thought they wouldn't get caught. Even if that's what they are doing, I'm not afraid of those people. They don't live in my neighborhood. 

Wasps

And books which told me everything about the wasp, except why.

~ Dylan Thomas

- - - - - -

Last summer I was pruning the shrubs in front of our house. I saw a large wasp's next under the overhang, but I knew that Leslie had sprayed it. I saw one wasp next to it, but it didn't seem active. Then - miraculously - I saw this small and active nest in the shrub itself. I have no idea how I saw it before pruning it and, I assume, upsetting the wasps. And I didn't want to do that because we all know that wasps these days are already pretty upset about a lot of things.

 

Introverts

World Introvert Day:

This is a day for the dreamers.

The thinkers. The quiet ones.

The ones sitting in the back of the room or standing at the edges. The ones who know more than they show and feel more than they let on. Today we celebrate introverts.

~ Jenn Granneman

- - - - -

Thank you, but if you throw a party to celebrate introverts, not many of us are going to show up.

 

Calm

Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.

~ Patanjali

- - - - -

I think calmness of the mind is important. And I think you can cultivate other things if you are completely indifferent about the wicked. I mean, it's a pretty popular musical and it's okay to have an opinion about it.

DoGood

Freedom of speech is ever the Symptom, as well as the Effect of a good government.

~ Silence Dogood

- - - - - 

So restrictions on free speech are both symptom and effect of a bad government? Is that what you're saying Silence Dogood? Are you even allowed to say that?

Hope

Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything.

~ Euripides

- - - - -

Without proofreading we might have a book called Hope on Pope. But then that might be a good book. Probably better than one called Hop on Pope.

 

Self Portrait

You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.

~ Deepak Chopra

- - - - -

How we see ourselves matters. I sometimes wonder how other people see themselves. I get a sense some see themselves as better than maybe the rest of us see them. I get a sense that a lot of people see themselves as not as good as the rest of us see them. Like, my brother Erik had red-green color blindness. I bet he saw himself as less colorful than the rest of us saw him. 

Less

My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do.

~ Francine Jay

- - - - -

It took me a long time to learn that if you do a bad job people ask you to do fewer things. I'm not saying that you should do a bad job. I mean, if everyone does a bad job, I'm still going to get asked to do things, and that's what I'm trying to avoid.

Leaving

I think there's something beautiful about being lucky enough to witness something on its way out.

~ Becky Chambers

- - - - -

I think there's something beautiful about being lucky enough to witness someone you don't like on the way out of the room you are in.

 

Symbols

Symbols, or their absence, do not always mean what they seem to symbolize.

~ Kathleen Rooney

- - - - -

I don't know if dogs read the world as symbols or not, but if they do, I bet they see tree as the symbol for toilet.

 

Leaves

I can hear a new story in each leaf that falls.

~ Isabelle Baker

- - - - -

There was an oak leaf on the floor of the sun room the other day. Leslie picked it up and I said, "Just leave." I laughed. She laughed. 

All of that story is true except for the part where I said Leslie laughed. 

Fear

Your anger? It's telling you where you feel powerless. Your anxiety? It's telling you that something in your life is off balance. Your fear? It's telling you what you care about. Your apathy? It's telling you where you're overextended adn burnt out. Your feelings aren't random, they are messengers. And if you want to get anywhere, you need to be able to let them speak to you, and tell you what you really need.

~ Brianna Wiest

- - - - -

If you fear the library, you care about the library. If you fear a pig is going to come charging you and bite your leg, you care about your leg. Also, run away!

 

Rain

For after all, the best thing one can do 

What it is raining, is to let it rain.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

- - - - -

I like rain. 

But not every day.

Which is how I feel about most things.

And people.

This is not a poem.

But it looks like one because of how I am writing it.

So... rain.

 

Waves

Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves

that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

- - - - -

I love the ocean. I thought when I moved from Iowa to South Carolina that I would go to the ocean all the time. I don't go very often. I should go more. 

I wonder if the ocean misses me as much as I miss the ocean.

(pause)

Yeah, probably. 

But I'm not going to be one of those people who says - when they haven't been to visit someone in a while, "But they never come see me, either!!" because I do NOT want the ocean coming to northwestern South Carolina to visit me. 

Deception

The greatest deception men suffer is their own opinions.

~ Leonardo da Vinci

- - - - -

The second greatest deception men suffer is probably some kind of card trick.

Electricity

Electricity is really just organized lightning.

~ George Carlin

- - - - -

I sent this to my cousin Tamra for Halloween one year. I'm always trying to help people learn and make good choices. I really am an educator at heart.

Halloween?

Every day is Halloween, isn't it? For some of us.

~ Tim Burton

- - - - -

Kirk: How are you guys? What are you gonna be for Halloween?

Me: Tired. I'm going to be tired for Halloween.

 

Reading

Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.

~ David Quammen

- - - - -

There was a time in my life where if I started a book and realized partway in that I wouldn't like it, I pushed myself to finish it anyway. I think it was around 4 o'clock.

Elders

Our society moves so fast, and I was brought up in circles that have the belief that you only move as fast as your slowest. Meaning you're constantly taking care of and attending to elders and young children first. They're kind of the center of your whole world.

~ Lily Gladstone

- - - - -

Here's something interesting (to me). I was recently looking at the National Fire Prevention Association web site and found an article called "Not Your Mother's Stop Drop and Roll: Evolution of a Key Fire Safety Message" by Andrea Vastis. One of the things she shared is that in the 1970s when the "Stop, Drop, and Roll," message was probably at its height, about 6% of clothing ignition fire deaths happened to children and fire deaths of children have significantly declined since the 70s. At the same time, about 75% of this type of death happened to people 55 and older in the 1970s, but the number of fire home deaths of those 65 and older is virtually unchanged.

The solution seems simple - teach the elderly to "Stop, Drop, and Roll." 

An alternative solution is just to wait until the kids who learned "Stop, Drop, and Roll" in the 1970s are 65 and older. They will already know what to do.

(pause)

I said it was interesting to me. I didn't say it would be interesting to you.

Fault

If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone."

~ Epictetus

- - - - -

It's kind of the homeowners fault if they put their garbage cans on the railroad tracks.

Thoughts

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.

~ Lao Tzu

- - - - -

People always ask me how I come up with things for my blog. My response? I just ask them, "How did you get into my house?"

Thoughts

Dogs tend to think about the present moment or what's happening next. They don't reflect on the past or contemplate the future as people do.

~ Ana Gascon

- - - - -

I found this in my notes about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Day 161: I'm sitting in the quiet, cool morning before the sun comes up thinking about things I must do. Dog is sitting in the quiet, cool morning before the sun comes up thinking about the quiet, cool morning before the sun comes up.

 

Sausages

Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made. 

~ John Godfrey Saxe

- - - - -

I'm not sure why you would need a file labeled "Sausages," but if you have need for such a label, I would like to know you more.

 

Librarians

I think the public library system is one of the most amazing American institutions. Free for everybody. If you ever get the blues about the status of American culture there are still more public libraries than there are McDonald's. During the worst of the Depression not one public library closed their doors.

~ David McCullough

- - - - -

I don't think the game Clue should include a library. No one is ever going to get away with a murder in the library. Have you ever met librarians? They'd have that all figured out before the 911 operator answered the phone.

Pleasures

She found herself at 65 telling younger friends that there was nothing to getting old, quite pleasurable really, for if this or that good took itself off, then all kinds of pleasures unsuspected by the young presented themselves, and one often found oneself wondering what the next surprise would be. 

~ Doris Lessing

- - - - -

Today is Dale Dickey's 65th birthday (amybe). I like her. I read this about her when she found out she was nominated for an Emmy for Widow's Bay, "I'm scrolling [Emmy nominations] and I get to Supporting Actors in a Comedy, and as I'm scrolling, I see my fucking face - excuse my language - but I'm like, 'No, why is that... What?"

I like people like that. People who are humble and swear and get recognized for good work. And I like that she survived being bitten by a copperhead because if I am ever bitten by a copperhead I would also like to survive, so she is kind of my inspiration about that.

Freedom

Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.

~ Jean Paul Sartre

- - - - -

One time I was at the dog park and this guy was telling me about how he got moved to remote work during the pandemic, but he really liked it because it gave him a sense of freedom. Then he said, "And you what freedom is another word for?" And we both said, "Nothing left to lose" at the same time.

After that he talked for a while about how much he liked Bob Dylan lyrics. I didn't tell him that "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," is from "Me and Bobby McGee" and that Bob Dylan didn't write it.

The guy seemed like he was on a roll and I didn't want to stifle that energy.

Chair

I wonder what chairs think about all day - "Oh! Here comes another asshole!"

~ Robin Williams

- - - - -

As I write this, I am sitting in a bad chair. I will be getting a new one soon, but for now I have this not so good one. You don't really appreciate a good chair until you are sitting in a broken one. Kind of like most things. Because you're so ungrateful.

Imagination

Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.

~ Mary Oliver

- - - - -

What is the difference between "imagination" and "hallucination"? Well, spelling for one thing.

Sharing

(photo from internet posted by Janet Beadle - Abbie's mom. Thanks for inspiring this blog entry.)

It ain't no fun if the homies can't have none.

~ Snoop Dogg

- - - - -

When I was in maybe 10th or 11th grade, we had Mr. Hakeman for Sociology (and I think another course, I forget what it was). Anyway, he had a rule in his class. No gum. And if you got caught with gum, then you had to bring in gum the next class to share with everyone.

Carmella Kennedy got caught chewing gum one day. Mr. Hakeman told her to bring in gum to share with everyone in the next class. She brought in a package of these tiny size chiclets. I am not sure I ever had more respect for a classmate in my life. And I was jealous that I hadn't gotten caught chewing gum and done this same thing.

I don't know where she is now, but all respect to Carmella. This is probably one of many things that inspired me to appreciate people who violate the rules - without causing permanent damage to anything or hurting anyone.

People are the best sometimes.

Grass

Sitting quietly, doing nothing,

Spring comes and the grass grows by itself.

~ Toyo Eicho

- - - - -

And the grass grows a little better with a little dog urine. But too much dog urine is not good for the grass. Everything, as they say, in moderation. Even dog urine.

Advice

                                               

My grandmother once gave me a tip:

In difficult times, move forward in small steps. Do what you have to do, but little by little. Don't think about the future or what may happen tomorrow. 

Wash the dishes.

Remove the dust.

write a letter.

Make a soup.

You see?

Advance step by step.

Take a step and stop.

Rest a little.

Praise yourself.

Take another step. 

And then another.

You won't notice, but your steps will grow more and more.

And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.

~ Elena Mikhalkova

- - - - -

My grandmother once gave me a tip, "If you have something to ask me, ask me yourself don't send your brother in here to do it!"

Different grandmothers, different kinds of wisdom.

Autumn

Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

- - - - -

I love autumn. I love it. it brings me so much joy. It is as if I have held my breath all summer and now I can breathe again. 

Lily agrees.

Heart

You never know what's in a person's heart until they're tested, do you?

~ Fanny Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes

- - - - -

I do think you learn more about a person's heart when they're tested, but I don't think everyone has to go in for heart tests. Sometimes we can just learn things without a medical procedure.

Skylines

Only from the heart can you touch the sky.

~ Rumi

- - - - -

Rumi didn't know a lot about space walks. I still like some of what he says, though.