pre-order my new coffee table book (published by time life books) “sad bikes”:  a pictorial of orphaned bikes.

desperate bicycles :: cars

;) enjoy your day and take care <(((O

this is one of those lessons that you are fortunate to learn by example.

All I wanted was ordinary life back, for ordinary life, it became utterly clear, is more valuable than anything else. ~ katherine russell rich

17 Years Later, Stage 4 Survivor Is Savoring a Life Well Lived

yeasayer :: ambling alp

the perception of separation and empty space between objects is an illusion.

the distance between us and all things is an illusion.

imagine a pool filled with balls surrounded by a viscous liquid in which the balls can move. if the balls are tightly packed (giggidy) the movement of any one ball makes some impact on every other ball.

but sometimes the ones we are closest to seem the farthest away. we need to see with fresh eyes their humanity. with their unique brilliance and frailty.

“If our beautiful child were to come up to us and offer us a smile, we would miss him completely, and he would miss us.  What a pity!” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“Take care of yourself.. and each other.” ~ Jerry Springer

modest mouse :: one chance (via tympanogram)

the straw that broke the camel’s back isn’t so important itself.  it’s just the last one.  people often spend too much time wondering about that last straw.  i mean.. of all the straws that one was pretty small.  but in the end it doesn’t really matter why that straw was the one.  the fact of the matter is that the camel’s back is broke.

the better question to ask is what are you gonna do with your camel now?

have a fabulous weekend. take care.

communist daughter :: not the kid

i was on this trip.  and worries were catching up with me and i was tying myself in knots.  the whole tribe had collapsed into disarray.  noel left a frantic voice mail (todd threw it away).  he was really scared.  catastrophizing was the order of the moment and the downward spiral was palpable.

then i broke free by breaking free.  i decided right then and there to let go and just do what i wanted.  if i wanted to walk across the bed to get to the other side of the room, doggone it, i’m gonna do it.  no, it wasn’t a to-hell-with-you self serving hedonism.  i was just going to do what i wanted and enjoy the doing and the being.  and i told myself everything would be all right.

and it was.

take care and have great days!

the bees :: (this is for the) better days

i think i was eight years old or maybe ten, tops.  i had one of those pneumatic daisy bb handguns.  it was awfully inaccurate at any distance over five feet.    myself and at least one friend were down in the creek behind my childhood home and we found a crawdad.  some people call it a crayfish.

in some ways the section of creek directly behind our home was an idyllic place for a kid to play in the middle of suburbia.  there had been a road that went over the creek long ago and one of the cement retaining walls had fallen and succumbed to the water.  portions that remained were perennially home to crawdad’s large and small.  plenty of others  hid in the thin clay that broke away from the banks six feet down from the weeping willows growing above.

i spotted the large crawdad in some shallow water.  in a stroke of remarkable luck my daisy handgun lodged a shiny copper bb square in the middle of it’s head (cephalon).  i shot it from less than a foot away.   but now for the barbaric part.  we tied the crawdad to a weeping willow branch with string and as it’s body twitched we each peed on it.

i didn’t feel any remorse for what i did.  i didn’t fully comprehend that i was taking a life.  if the crawdad’s demise had served a purpose it would make me feel better about what i did.  i had a naive concept of death.  compassion for all living beings is something that would come with age but that day i was just “a kid being a kid”.

it bothers me now.   it’s not something that i dwell on.  i haven’t thought of this episode for many years.  the peculiar resurfacing of this memory is partly why i chose to share it.  and as much as i like to wear out a story i bet i haven’t told this story to many friends or family.  on the spectrum of good and bad things it’s not the most horrible thing to do.  but i can’t see how i could explain my actions as a good thing.

i hope you have a great day.  take care.

<(((O

the postal service :: such great heights

my very best wishes for you and yours for the holiday and for the new year!

stephen malkmus :: mama

take care. bee (and the hive)

lattie moore :: i’m not broke but i’m badly bent

(8:50:52 AM) chrysanthalbee: morning bag of water
(8:51:06 AM) justron: bag of water?
(8:51:30 AM) chrysanthalbee: yeah tentative beebox topic or at least title
(8:51:51 AM) chrysanthalbee: we’re mostly just a bag of water
(8:51:55 AM) justron: I found a bag of water in my garage on friday
(8:52:05 AM) chrysanthalbee: interesting
(8:52:07 AM) chrysanthalbee: coinky
(8:52:22 AM) justron: I smashed it, but it didn’t break, so I stomped it and my left leg got very wet

it’s not always easy living as a speck of flesh retaining water on a speck of dirt whirling in a universe so vast. but recognizing our insignificance in the grand scheme of things can bring significance to our daily life.

yesterday this bag of water witnessed the grandeur of life in the 20 minutes it took to bike to work. there was a heavy fog and the sun was breaking through for the first time in days. everywhere i looked was a masterpiece. it’s something i would have loved to share with you.

oftentimes the drama of life is between enjoying life and doing what you “have” to do. appreciating what you “have” to do is a bonus. because what part of life isn’t simply living?

from one bag of water to another i wish you a great day. take care.

bee

not too long ago my son’s kindergarten class won a pizza party. there was some kind of “pig race” with little plastic pigs and their teacher’s pig won. after the race they went back to their classroom and the teacher had them take a vote. there are two kindergarten classes in the school and she asked them if they wanted to split the pizza party with the other class. his teacher said it was unanimous and they wanted to share.

this story about 5 and 6 year olds bolsters my belief in the intrinsic goodness of humans. i am still shocked that there wasn’t a single dissenter in the group but i think they all knew it would be a bigger party and more fun if they shared. they would each get one slice of pizza instead of two but they wanted everyone to share in the fun.

i’m only shocked that the result wasn’t different because it seems that all too quickly this tendency to be kind to one another disappears. selfishness and greed are born of petty differences, jealousy and hate. in the end all people are hurt some time. some people push others down to get ahead. some people let their sadness out through anger. some people have been hurt so bad all they see in life is pain. some people simply let the pains rule their life and excuse their malice as something that was caused by others.

now don’t take this as anything political. it isn’t. i use socialism in the most general sense. think of it more as people centric. i would just ask you to be kind to one another and the child in all of us that deserves to be happy.

take care and have a great weekend. <(((O