thousand word thursday

thanksgiving dinner beverage

november 22, 1963

in dallas, texas, on this day in 1963, president john f. kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade.

“i look forward to a great future for america – a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.” (j.f. kennedy)

forty-five years later, i finally feel we’re back on track.

twelve tracks of perfection

i’ll never forget the autumn night when mfg picked me up in his silver chevy cavalier Z24 and told me, with an unusual urgency in his voice, that i *had* to listen to something with him.  so we sat out in his driveway that night for hours, listening to the cure’s disintegration.  track after track of deep, dark, brooding music filled the car and my mind and my soul.  i was changed that night.

following its release, the critics called disintegration, “commercial suicide, ” and, “savage torpor,” yet it quickly became and still remains the cure’s highest selling album to date.

to me, it’s nothing short of perfection.

while i was in indianapolis last week, i met someone who shared my passion for music.  and so, on a white leather couch in the milk bar of 6 lounge, we started chatting about our favourites.  when i mentioned the cure’s disintegration, his face lit up, and without a word, i knew.

it got to him, too.

inspired by that conversation, i’ve been listening to disintegration this week, and it’s still just as powerful and as perfect as it was on that autumn night in 1989.

from the archives

[originally posted on 11.20.2006]

sometimes i forget that the journey is often more important than the destination.

there are times in my life when i get so wrapped up in where i’m going, or what’s coming next, or where i think i need to be, that i lose sight of where i am. only recently am i coming to accept that the real beauty of life is that it exists in each fleeting moment. not in the yesterdays, and not in the tomorrows. life is exactly *this* — no more and no less.

i’m reminded of a time, about 10 years ago, when i was at a much different place in my life. i was headed home after my afternoon classes. about halfway through town, traffic came to an abrupt hault as the local elementary school was dismissing. bus after bus streamed out of the parking lot, and a steady flow of children and parents crossed the street. at first, i was upset by the unscheduled delay, but then i looked up and out of my sunroof and saw the most beautiful display. the entire sky was an expanse of pink petals dancing amidst the sunlight. it was breathtaking and i lost myself in the beauty of the moment. nothing else mattered — not the traffic, or the delay, or my plans for the day. i existed only in that moment, drifting on the breeze, free and alive and unencumbered.

it was beautiful beyond words.

i often remember this experience when i become overwhelmed and impatient with my life. there are times when it is better to just be: in this moment, in this life, in this journey. and that’s enough.

thousand word thursday

this picture sums up my indianapolis experience:
grey, rainy, foggy and cold.

don’t believe the rumors

despite my absence, i am still here.  the past few weeks have been crazy, but crazy in the very best way.

the new job is amazing, last week’s work trip to indianapolis was a blast, and my weekend visitor made the rain and wind feel like sunshine.

things are good.

i’m toying with a few blogging ideas for december, so hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me in the not too distant future.  in the meantime, rest assured that i’m blissfully soaking in the last bits of autumn goodness in preparation for weathering the cold winds of winter that always seem to come too soon.

thousand word thursday

this picture reminds me of everything good about autumn.

full moon tomorrow

the november full moon is also called the beaver moon.  this was the time to set beaver traps before the waters froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs.  this is also the time that beavers are actively preparing for winter.

this full moon will light the way for my journey home from indianapolis.  there’s always something magical about traveling in the full moonlight.