Received news that a dear friend recently lost their Mother. I would ask that whoever reads this takes a brief pause in their day and send their feeling of condolence out into the world.
You don't have to know who... you just need to know that someone who I consider close to me and a fellow human being is dealing with a great loss and grief, and I believe that all the positive energy that could be sent out into the world will eventually find them.
Thank you very much.
Mark
Showing posts with label Friend to Count On. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friend to Count On. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
EVENINGS OF FUN IN THE METROPLIS OF MY DREAMS
ON BEING ‘ IRREPRESSIBLE’
I just thought I would talk about being ‘irrepressibly happy’. It makes me think of the definition of a pessimist, who is an ‘optimist with experience’. Rather than letting the ‘experience’ be bad and by classifying it as ‘an experience’, then I could be an optimist with experience and still be ‘irrepressibly happy’. There isn’t a rule that said that said that experience had to be a bad one, is there?
My thing with my appreciation for Tim Tebow goes beyond my opinion that he doesn’t force his belief down anyone’s throat, but that he does not have that glazed-over ‘Stepford Christian’ look in his eyes whenever I have seen him speak. When he gave his speech after the 2008 game between Ole Miss and Florida, he did not seem any different to me than any other cat who was very passionate about football and that he was going to take full responsibility what goes on with the team and that did not happen until near the end of his speech.
It was never about him as it was about ‘the team’ (right Mike Singletary?). He never single out any segment of the team and by inserting himself in the promise, he announced what everyone on the football team already knew: Tim Tebow was the leader and wherever he was going to go, they were going to have to follow.
The speech also showed that he does have moments where he faces difficulty and disappointment that 'everyone faces' with the same kind of humility that he accepts his accolades and deals with his renown. Objectively, he is, to me at least, what I think makes for a good, maybe even great leader. I don’t let my subjective beliefs prevent me from acknowledging that someone ‘is what they are’. And I am more than a little uncomfortable with the idea that for him to be ‘right’ over what we disagree about that I may have to be annihilated, or at the very least converted, for me to live in ‘his world’. But whether it was on a football field or in a foxhole, he still is representative of the kind of leadership that I would be willing to follow. That being said…
THE DOLDRUMS
Lessee… from about maybe 4 or 5 till maybe I was about 33, I was that ‘irrepressibly happy’ person, always in a good mood and with a smile either on my face or just about to be placed there. The last 10 years have been dicey for me to say the least, and I feel challenged on every level of my existence.
Normally I don’t find myself with a case of the winter blues, and this is a little unnerving now that they have appeared and we are still in the fall! I really only note the winter’s arrival with the fact that it means that daylight is going to begin to creep back into the world. That is what getting up in the o’dark for a lifetime will do to you… give you an appreciation for the few minutes each day sunrise comes closer to 6 am than it was a days before.
IRL, I am doing well. ‘She-who-is-still-unamed’ is still around, so there is that. Got an e-mail from her yesterday and I am like ‘cool’. When something definitive about that relationship I will have to call her SOMETHING.
While I cannot stress how welcomed the turn that communication between Nebraska and I has taken, I am still looking for something that is to me, at least, what pornography is to Potter Stewart. So that is that with my personal relationships.
I don’t think that if there was a unique (since Nebraska is truly special and the ‘still unnamed miss might be’ is still a candidate to be special, I figure that I can create a designation to how critical they are in my life at this moment) person in my life that things would be measurably better for me. Whatever difficulties that I have to overcome STILL would be there even if there was someone in my life that I felt comfortably calling on for anything (and I cannot stress enough how encompassing that ‘anything’ is, by implication, it does extend to all areas of my life). For instance I did ask Nebraska for a favor, to pick up some bread, milk and sugar because I had overlooked the purchase and it was nerve-wracking for me. These were items that I needed and I feel that when a person is being asked, there are two answers to that question – ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If there is any doubt to the importance of a request, then I immediately will enter a default answer of ‘no’ and go from there.
Maybe that is harsh and a little ‘whatever’, judging from the unsolicited feedback I have received over decades of this policy. But it is something that has been implemented and has worked out to my satisfaction throughout my life. So I guess I would have readers know exactly how the story goes..!
…THOUGH AS FOR THAT…
I try to keep my entries to around 1,000 words… occasionally I will lift the cap and clock in closer to 1500, but if something is going to run longer than that, then that would mean it is an “Indy, the fire is going out!”, and that situation is one that I hope to avoid at all costs!
But this trending I am on hopefully will explain and clarify why I observe my relationships with people the way that I do, and if there is any comments, and just maybe, dear reader, you and I will get into a dialogue about it. But for now, see you later (unless I see you first!).
I just thought I would talk about being ‘irrepressibly happy’. It makes me think of the definition of a pessimist, who is an ‘optimist with experience’. Rather than letting the ‘experience’ be bad and by classifying it as ‘an experience’, then I could be an optimist with experience and still be ‘irrepressibly happy’. There isn’t a rule that said that said that experience had to be a bad one, is there?
My thing with my appreciation for Tim Tebow goes beyond my opinion that he doesn’t force his belief down anyone’s throat, but that he does not have that glazed-over ‘Stepford Christian’ look in his eyes whenever I have seen him speak. When he gave his speech after the 2008 game between Ole Miss and Florida, he did not seem any different to me than any other cat who was very passionate about football and that he was going to take full responsibility what goes on with the team and that did not happen until near the end of his speech.
It was never about him as it was about ‘the team’ (right Mike Singletary?). He never single out any segment of the team and by inserting himself in the promise, he announced what everyone on the football team already knew: Tim Tebow was the leader and wherever he was going to go, they were going to have to follow.
The speech also showed that he does have moments where he faces difficulty and disappointment that 'everyone faces' with the same kind of humility that he accepts his accolades and deals with his renown. Objectively, he is, to me at least, what I think makes for a good, maybe even great leader. I don’t let my subjective beliefs prevent me from acknowledging that someone ‘is what they are’. And I am more than a little uncomfortable with the idea that for him to be ‘right’ over what we disagree about that I may have to be annihilated, or at the very least converted, for me to live in ‘his world’. But whether it was on a football field or in a foxhole, he still is representative of the kind of leadership that I would be willing to follow. That being said…
THE DOLDRUMS
Lessee… from about maybe 4 or 5 till maybe I was about 33, I was that ‘irrepressibly happy’ person, always in a good mood and with a smile either on my face or just about to be placed there. The last 10 years have been dicey for me to say the least, and I feel challenged on every level of my existence.
Normally I don’t find myself with a case of the winter blues, and this is a little unnerving now that they have appeared and we are still in the fall! I really only note the winter’s arrival with the fact that it means that daylight is going to begin to creep back into the world. That is what getting up in the o’dark for a lifetime will do to you… give you an appreciation for the few minutes each day sunrise comes closer to 6 am than it was a days before.
IRL, I am doing well. ‘She-who-is-still-unamed’ is still around, so there is that. Got an e-mail from her yesterday and I am like ‘cool’. When something definitive about that relationship I will have to call her SOMETHING.
While I cannot stress how welcomed the turn that communication between Nebraska and I has taken, I am still looking for something that is to me, at least, what pornography is to Potter Stewart. So that is that with my personal relationships.
I don’t think that if there was a unique (since Nebraska is truly special and the ‘still unnamed miss might be’ is still a candidate to be special, I figure that I can create a designation to how critical they are in my life at this moment) person in my life that things would be measurably better for me. Whatever difficulties that I have to overcome STILL would be there even if there was someone in my life that I felt comfortably calling on for anything (and I cannot stress enough how encompassing that ‘anything’ is, by implication, it does extend to all areas of my life). For instance I did ask Nebraska for a favor, to pick up some bread, milk and sugar because I had overlooked the purchase and it was nerve-wracking for me. These were items that I needed and I feel that when a person is being asked, there are two answers to that question – ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If there is any doubt to the importance of a request, then I immediately will enter a default answer of ‘no’ and go from there.
Maybe that is harsh and a little ‘whatever’, judging from the unsolicited feedback I have received over decades of this policy. But it is something that has been implemented and has worked out to my satisfaction throughout my life. So I guess I would have readers know exactly how the story goes..!
…THOUGH AS FOR THAT…
I try to keep my entries to around 1,000 words… occasionally I will lift the cap and clock in closer to 1500, but if something is going to run longer than that, then that would mean it is an “Indy, the fire is going out!”, and that situation is one that I hope to avoid at all costs!
But this trending I am on hopefully will explain and clarify why I observe my relationships with people the way that I do, and if there is any comments, and just maybe, dear reader, you and I will get into a dialogue about it. But for now, see you later (unless I see you first!).
Sunday, January 9, 2011
A QUICK HITTER
FELT BETTER
And it would not take much to beat this feeling. Woke up at 7:30 a.m. (which is for me akin to waking up at noon) and stared out the window for a bit. Scrolled the dashboard window and thought about making comments. Nothing really came out so...
Did see a blog to share. I think it has the potential to be pretty cool reading. I know I have wondered what kind of stuff I was writing to myself at 17, though I would have been readying for Basic Training.
I think I should add that Nebraska has been cool even with our back and forth conversations. I simply think that is going to take some time to iron out between us, the communication part of our relationship. But she is very sincere in allowing for my sudden turns in conversation. She is quite alright in my book.
Tomorrow I will go to the lawyer's office... should be fun, what with all the snow and such. Then Tuesday is the doctor's. Looks like I will be waiting for Wenesday, when I can lay down and rest.
Later gators!
And it would not take much to beat this feeling. Woke up at 7:30 a.m. (which is for me akin to waking up at noon) and stared out the window for a bit. Scrolled the dashboard window and thought about making comments. Nothing really came out so...
Did see a blog to share. I think it has the potential to be pretty cool reading. I know I have wondered what kind of stuff I was writing to myself at 17, though I would have been readying for Basic Training.
I think I should add that Nebraska has been cool even with our back and forth conversations. I simply think that is going to take some time to iron out between us, the communication part of our relationship. But she is very sincere in allowing for my sudden turns in conversation. She is quite alright in my book.
Tomorrow I will go to the lawyer's office... should be fun, what with all the snow and such. Then Tuesday is the doctor's. Looks like I will be waiting for Wenesday, when I can lay down and rest.
Later gators!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
SEE, SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA FLASH 'EM BACK
WELL, THIS ISN’T WHAT I HAD HOPED TO BE SHARING WITH YOU TODAY
My buddy Hutch has kept a running journal of what his days were like for most of his adult life. Not a ‘diary’ but a list of what he did on that particular day. I have decided to adopt that practice, making it serve not only as an activity log but a daily planner. This way I can bullet point the activities that really mean the most to me and keep me ‘on schedule in regard to down and distance’.
The first thing I did today was to get up and take a run outside. I have less than a handful of runs outdoors so I took myself out for a loop and it felt good. It was what I call ‘winter brisk’, temperature in the 40’s and the sun overhead in the sky. The snow removal hasn’t really been tested but the streets are mostly clear as we had some light rain over the weekend here and melted the accumulation that was on the ground.
PAID MY RENT
First stop, the bank. That means I had to stop at the ATM and withdraw money and did a few transactions. I got that done and then went over to the USPS store downtown. I use postal money orders and take an envelope addressed and stamp for the Housing Agency. No need to wonder if I mailed it or not because I had everything essentially within a one-stop radius.
SECOND…
Thought about the bus but I liked being out in the weather and thought I would ride my bike to the Cox cable store and do that. Saw a lady doing her ‘airborne shuffle’ around Memorial Park and I looked around for a place to lock my bike, for future reference, of course.
Got up to the Cox store and there was a line. I wasn’t really cognizant of it being the first week of the month and I would not be alone in paying on a cable bill. There was a bit of a line at the door and a cluttered lobby. Service was moving along well, so no one was upset at the slight back up… honestly, no one gripes at all here in Omaha. And talk about friendly! One of the two service expediters stationed in the lobby guiding people to where their needs could be met was a young woman in maybe her late teens-early twenties (I don’t think that anyone working there was older than 27 or 28) and she looked absolutely adorable! I shared that compliment and she smiled and said thank you.
Sitting down as I waited my turn I couldn’t help but notice that everyone, the young blonde who was an 'exipediter' as well as the adorable girl seemed to have a pooch-pouch to them. And there were a few ‘whatever-weight’ folks in the place too. I don’t think I would be so aware of this if the Live Well Omaha campaign wasn’t everywhere in print, commercials and on billboards and buses. There are a lot of overweight folks around… but I wonder how self-conscious they really are about it. It is hard to say that many people are bothered about their weight when it comes to appearance because they all look so comfortable in their skin. Not only that, they are coupled up and not in the way that the lady from Romeo Void was singing about, as they look happy and content with each other.
Even with the lobby somewhat full there were numbers being called that were not being responded to, whoever holding them deciding to either go home or finding another way to get their business taken care of. Me, being a semi-wiseacre go up to a window and tell the cat at the window that whoever is holding that number isn’t here so take me! He laughed and said that he couldn’t do that, but wouldn’t you know it… the next few numbers didn’t show up and there you go!
THIRD...
I had mentioned to Nebraska about wanting to go to Wal-Mart and that I saw one on the west side of town. She then directed me to a Wal-Mart that is considerably closer to me and, since I was out in the vicinity I checked it out. While people think of Wal-Mart as having everything at the best prices, I know that isn’t true. Often, Meijer’s had them beat as far as the items that I shopped for and I cannot stand the store brand products that bear the Wal-Mart imprimatur. Additionally whenever I see stories on shoppers who use coupons to the point of shopping for little money, they almost NEVER are shopping at a Wal-Mart when they are showing how to shop.
I’d price the items that I saw myself buying… then picked up some break ‘n break cookies and a gallon of Edy’s because I knew that the prices for THOSE items were better than at Baker’s! I got on my bike and a bus going against the grain but with a ‘Downtown’ destination came by and I hopped on it. I do need to get familiar with town and the more often I go to different places the more places that I will add to my ‘map’. Wound through the south side of town, through the Latino neighborhoods and passed the south campus of Metro College. The bus would pass ‘the Blatt’, Rosenblatt Stadium, which was the long-time home of the College baseball World Series and the Henry Doorly Zoo, both of which are on ‘hit list’ from my childhood understanding of Omaha.
Eventually the bus neared downtown. Since I did not need to go all the way in, I got off on a street that I take up and down to the gym and proceeded to ride uphill towards home. And THAT’S when everything changed.
AND WHEN THE EMT’S CAME THEY ASKED FOR MY NAME…
… and my eyes were glazed when I spoke …
Did I ever mention that there are a lot of one way streets in Omaha? They go from east and west, north and south. The odd numbered streets go south and the even numbered ones streets go north. Sort of harder with the named streets… you simply gotta know which way they are going. Easy enough, or so the Germans would have you believe...
If I am riding ‘against traffic’ I have to remember to flip the traffic rules. I was riding ‘up’ a street on the side that I should have been going ‘down’ on (which if I was doing more of, ‘going down’ something that is, I would not have been on my bike!!) and a car that was making a right turn totaled my bike, the front passenger side quarter panel and clip of his car… not to mention me!!
Nothing was broken and the CAT scan showed a mild concussion and they would send me home. Let Nebraska know and she was there by my side as soon as she could get away. Called the SFC and let her know what had happened and though it was late, she sent a message that she was glad I was okay and I expect to talk to her at length soon.
I did get a little weepy when I let Nebraska know what had happened… just as I was hesitant about making an entry about today’s incident. Even though I can hear lil’ Mook telling me to ‘be careful’, worried that I might have some kind of accident, I am not as worried as all that. After all, I am still going to do what I am going to do. This is simply an impediment to how quickly I am going to do things. Who knows… maybe the fates wanted me to have a new bike and the cat who hit me insurance would have to cover it. That is a good thing and another good thing is I get to see how bad I want it, if you feel what I am saying. There were a few tears and then I started dealing with what happened and what could have been done that may have avoided the situation.
“Be careful.” Or something of that nature along with an admonishment said with the best of intentions. I know, I will be a bit more careful but geez, as with the last time I was hit in Detroit, witnesses and more importantly, the police, determined that I WAS NOT AT FAULT. Period. So I AM being careful. Does this mean for me to be a little more careful?? Yes, yes it does. And I will be from here on out.
This was not what I thought I would be writing about for my next entry. But here I sit, up in the butt crack of the morning unable to get to sleep. Yet I think that it does lead into where I am going next with this thing… Don’t know when I will get back to stickin’ my nose into other folk’s blog, but hopefully I will be back up to speed before too long.
My buddy Hutch has kept a running journal of what his days were like for most of his adult life. Not a ‘diary’ but a list of what he did on that particular day. I have decided to adopt that practice, making it serve not only as an activity log but a daily planner. This way I can bullet point the activities that really mean the most to me and keep me ‘on schedule in regard to down and distance’.
The first thing I did today was to get up and take a run outside. I have less than a handful of runs outdoors so I took myself out for a loop and it felt good. It was what I call ‘winter brisk’, temperature in the 40’s and the sun overhead in the sky. The snow removal hasn’t really been tested but the streets are mostly clear as we had some light rain over the weekend here and melted the accumulation that was on the ground.
PAID MY RENT
First stop, the bank. That means I had to stop at the ATM and withdraw money and did a few transactions. I got that done and then went over to the USPS store downtown. I use postal money orders and take an envelope addressed and stamp for the Housing Agency. No need to wonder if I mailed it or not because I had everything essentially within a one-stop radius.
SECOND…
Thought about the bus but I liked being out in the weather and thought I would ride my bike to the Cox cable store and do that. Saw a lady doing her ‘airborne shuffle’ around Memorial Park and I looked around for a place to lock my bike, for future reference, of course.
Got up to the Cox store and there was a line. I wasn’t really cognizant of it being the first week of the month and I would not be alone in paying on a cable bill. There was a bit of a line at the door and a cluttered lobby. Service was moving along well, so no one was upset at the slight back up… honestly, no one gripes at all here in Omaha. And talk about friendly! One of the two service expediters stationed in the lobby guiding people to where their needs could be met was a young woman in maybe her late teens-early twenties (I don’t think that anyone working there was older than 27 or 28) and she looked absolutely adorable! I shared that compliment and she smiled and said thank you.
Sitting down as I waited my turn I couldn’t help but notice that everyone, the young blonde who was an 'exipediter' as well as the adorable girl seemed to have a pooch-pouch to them. And there were a few ‘whatever-weight’ folks in the place too. I don’t think I would be so aware of this if the Live Well Omaha campaign wasn’t everywhere in print, commercials and on billboards and buses. There are a lot of overweight folks around… but I wonder how self-conscious they really are about it. It is hard to say that many people are bothered about their weight when it comes to appearance because they all look so comfortable in their skin. Not only that, they are coupled up and not in the way that the lady from Romeo Void was singing about, as they look happy and content with each other.
Even with the lobby somewhat full there were numbers being called that were not being responded to, whoever holding them deciding to either go home or finding another way to get their business taken care of. Me, being a semi-wiseacre go up to a window and tell the cat at the window that whoever is holding that number isn’t here so take me! He laughed and said that he couldn’t do that, but wouldn’t you know it… the next few numbers didn’t show up and there you go!
THIRD...
I had mentioned to Nebraska about wanting to go to Wal-Mart and that I saw one on the west side of town. She then directed me to a Wal-Mart that is considerably closer to me and, since I was out in the vicinity I checked it out. While people think of Wal-Mart as having everything at the best prices, I know that isn’t true. Often, Meijer’s had them beat as far as the items that I shopped for and I cannot stand the store brand products that bear the Wal-Mart imprimatur. Additionally whenever I see stories on shoppers who use coupons to the point of shopping for little money, they almost NEVER are shopping at a Wal-Mart when they are showing how to shop.
I’d price the items that I saw myself buying… then picked up some break ‘n break cookies and a gallon of Edy’s because I knew that the prices for THOSE items were better than at Baker’s! I got on my bike and a bus going against the grain but with a ‘Downtown’ destination came by and I hopped on it. I do need to get familiar with town and the more often I go to different places the more places that I will add to my ‘map’. Wound through the south side of town, through the Latino neighborhoods and passed the south campus of Metro College. The bus would pass ‘the Blatt’, Rosenblatt Stadium, which was the long-time home of the College baseball World Series and the Henry Doorly Zoo, both of which are on ‘hit list’ from my childhood understanding of Omaha.
Eventually the bus neared downtown. Since I did not need to go all the way in, I got off on a street that I take up and down to the gym and proceeded to ride uphill towards home. And THAT’S when everything changed.
AND WHEN THE EMT’S CAME THEY ASKED FOR MY NAME…
… and my eyes were glazed when I spoke …
Did I ever mention that there are a lot of one way streets in Omaha? They go from east and west, north and south. The odd numbered streets go south and the even numbered ones streets go north. Sort of harder with the named streets… you simply gotta know which way they are going. Easy enough, or so the Germans would have you believe...
If I am riding ‘against traffic’ I have to remember to flip the traffic rules. I was riding ‘up’ a street on the side that I should have been going ‘down’ on (which if I was doing more of, ‘going down’ something that is, I would not have been on my bike!!) and a car that was making a right turn totaled my bike, the front passenger side quarter panel and clip of his car… not to mention me!!
Nothing was broken and the CAT scan showed a mild concussion and they would send me home. Let Nebraska know and she was there by my side as soon as she could get away. Called the SFC and let her know what had happened and though it was late, she sent a message that she was glad I was okay and I expect to talk to her at length soon.
I did get a little weepy when I let Nebraska know what had happened… just as I was hesitant about making an entry about today’s incident. Even though I can hear lil’ Mook telling me to ‘be careful’, worried that I might have some kind of accident, I am not as worried as all that. After all, I am still going to do what I am going to do. This is simply an impediment to how quickly I am going to do things. Who knows… maybe the fates wanted me to have a new bike and the cat who hit me insurance would have to cover it. That is a good thing and another good thing is I get to see how bad I want it, if you feel what I am saying. There were a few tears and then I started dealing with what happened and what could have been done that may have avoided the situation.
“Be careful.” Or something of that nature along with an admonishment said with the best of intentions. I know, I will be a bit more careful but geez, as with the last time I was hit in Detroit, witnesses and more importantly, the police, determined that I WAS NOT AT FAULT. Period. So I AM being careful. Does this mean for me to be a little more careful?? Yes, yes it does. And I will be from here on out.
This was not what I thought I would be writing about for my next entry. But here I sit, up in the butt crack of the morning unable to get to sleep. Yet I think that it does lead into where I am going next with this thing… Don’t know when I will get back to stickin’ my nose into other folk’s blog, but hopefully I will be back up to speed before too long.
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