The Song In My Head Of The Day: Dispatch – Out Loud

Stop SOPA/PIPA – Watch this to see why:

Rhiannon

if there was a soundtrack to the last week and a half, Rhiannon would be the cornerstone.

Nash in car ad. Watch out, old lady.

Nash in car ad. Love it.

the two-zy

so, yesterday, the nurse & i helped an elderly black man take a two-zy. he was in a wheel chair and couldn’t support himself. we had to lift him up and pull down his diaper to go, and up when he was done. he wiped in front of us. at first, i felt sorry for him because i wondered if he was embarrassed that he had to do that in front of other people.
but then, i thought again. the guy was in his mid-80s. which meant that he was in his teens to twenties during the civil rights movement. (i wonder if he marched). so, the guy grew up and lived in an age foreign to me. he lived the better part of 30 years being segregated from white people and being told that he was less of a person. he had to sit in the back of buses and was kicked out of white only diners and clubs and bathrooms. so.. it made me wonder if, while he was wiping his ass in front of me, he was actually gratified that there was a white boy smelling his crap and pulling up his diaper.

honestly, i hope he was.

North vs South

A few days ago, I headed West. I landed in Seattle due to a free flight and was picked up to get to Portland. I’m from the South, so, naturally, the first thing I noticed was that people out here are, well, uglier. Not to be mean or superficial, but in all contrast, Southern ladies and gents are more aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps it’s the sun, genes, or my natural disposition and objective opinion.

Keep in mind that there is also a contrast in hygiene and grooming etiquette, so the playing field is… different. Women tend to be hairier in the Northwest. They shave less and appreciate and embrace the natural aroma the human body produces. Fortunately, the 300 days of clouds and cool temperature reduces sweat, which reigns in the smell, and bestows on them a glowing skin color that in the South is seen only in the winter months.

My plane in started its dissent into Seattle around sunset. Coming from the land of pines, rolling hills, vinegar based BBQ, and hot summers, what I saw made me feel like I was in Narnia. The Cascades were reaching up from the coolness of the air, peppered with pockets of clouds settled in the valleys. As my eyes scanned these majestic mountains, it seemed as if they were all pointing somewhere. And they were.

Though these mountains at first look rugged and grand, they soon looked as if they were sitting… squatting, in awe of Mt. Rainier which towered over all of them. The Cascades look like ant hills as the sun perfectly accentuated Rainier’s north, snow-covered slopes

There is a verse in the Robert W. Service poem, “The Spell of the Yukon” that says,

“There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,
And the rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
And deaths that just hang by a hair;
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There’s a land — oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back — and I will.”

Life is very different in the Northwest. So who cares about fashion and hygiene when you live in the midst of such beauty that points to something far greater, where it would be easy to straddle death on the whim that you might see something magnificently stunning? I’m not ready to shed good Southern hospitality, food, and maybe not even the good lookin’ folks. But to live in a land that beckons and beckons…

I want to go back – and I will.

Drunk dial your blog.

Did you know that you can just… PHONE your blog? Apparently, WordPress is doing a trial run to see if people will call their blogs and leave messages. How crazy is that?

Basically, I’ll you’ll need to do is enable the “Post by Voice” under My Blogs and your ready to go!

Imagine: instead of getting random drunk dials in the middle of the night or even hearing great stories… imagine the entertainment (or annoyance, perhaps) of drunk dialing your blog… I see this going places.

Practically, I find very few uses for it. But I might try it out someday. Just not today… I’ll wait till I have a few drinks.

The Toast of North Carolina

I ran across this and love it.  Living here the last year and a half to two years, it completely captures the feel of the state we live in.  (I heard this from a local bluegrass band, some local heros, actually, the Red Clay Ramblers.  They put some music to it and made a great song from just the first verse.)

    Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
    The summer land where the sun doth shine,
    Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
    Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!

    Here's to the land of the cotton bloom white,
    Where the scuppernong perfumes the breeze at night,
    Where the soft southern moss and jessamine mate,
    'Neath the murmuring pines of the Old North State!

    Here's to the land where the galax grows,
    Where the rhododendron's rosette glows,
    Where soars Mount Mitchell's summit great,
    In the "Land of the Sky," in the Old North State!

    Here's to the land where maidens are fair,
    Where friends are true and cold hearts rare,
    The near land, the dear land, whatever fate,
    The blest land, the best land, the Old North State!

I Can Smell The Coffee Once Again

My head is much clearer.
My mind always churning.
Passion I’ve not felt
In a long time is burning.

I hear crickets at night.
More than I have in a while.
I find myself holding back
Smile upon smile.

What was gone.
Has come to shore.
My heart feels revived
From all that was before.

The evening mystifies.
With much delight.
The smell of coffee
Fills the air tonight.

I haven’t cherished it.
In quite a long time.
The aroma leaks forth
As if I was on The Maker’s mind.

State of the Union

So, I was watching the State of the Union the other night like all good, caring Americans should. I met the moment with seriousness (I even prolonged a conversation with my wife to take in this pivotal political moment). I sat straight up, shoulders back – like an adult, ready to analyze the Presidents vision. I was focused – prepared to walk away with the ability to talk intelligently about our country’s current state. They announced him in the way a President should be announced; the whole world seemed to stop…

Within about 3 minutes of the standing ‘O’ I was on Facebook and never recovered my disposition.  My attempt to reengage was a half hearted attempt, but ultimately, I was disinterested. I even made a fool of myself questioning to the Twitter and FB world the legitimacy of the Republican’s response, not realizing it was a political ritual.

I guess I don’t know all that much about American politics. I mean, I care… a little. I care enough to know that there are plenty of us out of work and I would love to see the economy stimulated. But… outside of that… I guess I don’t.

Honestly (opposed to dishonestly), I guess the whole system is confusing. The response from the Republicans was weird to me. It was set up exactly like the State of the Union, but instead of the President, it was the Governor of Virginia. I live in North Carolina.  I guess I understand that he was talking on behalf of the GOP, but he kept referring to his family and state – sorry, buddy, don’t care.

Back to the State of the Union. Why is it that when the President says something that one or both groups like or dislike, either the entire group or none of the group responds. It’s never half of the right and half of the left applaud because they share a specific conviction. Do they not have individualized points of view?

Whatever. It’s all a mess to me. Just thought I’d let you know.