Rituals

I’ve got a 2 week long ritual.

I begin this ritual before every backpacking trip by gathering up all my camping gear. It takes close to the entire 2 weeks for me to find everything that I “put up” - so that I’ll remember where it is next time - after the last trip, but that’s not why I start so early. I need an outlet to release some of the excitement. Otherwise, I’d be completely distracted and unable to focus on anything else.

Tent from this closet, sleeping bag in that closet, water filter and headlamp over in that drawer, and there’s always an assortment of “gear” riding around in the back of the Jeep. With every piece I find, I regain a little focus. It helps me to remember things like: tying my shoes, stopping at red lights, bathing, going to work, my children, changing my underwear, etc.

A major aspect of this ritual is making sure that everything will STILL fit in the backpack and experimenting with new arrangements. There might be a way to stuff one more thing into that not-quite-big-enough pack. That’s why the backpack is ALWAYS the first thing I get out.

Well, I pulled the pack out the other night and began marveling at just how freaking many pockets and compartments are on the thing. I unzip them one by one making mental notes of what I can store in each one. And then I unzip the last one and found a surprise.

Yep, that’s the trash from a lunch that was eaten in the Andes Mnts. almost 1 year ago. After I got over the initial shock and “ick” factor caused by the crusty, dried jelly on the napkin, I realized that I can remember eating that lunch while sitting in a lush, green field on the side of some foreign mountain (Notice the writing on the juice box. Anyone know what it says?). Turned out to be quite a nice surprise. Made my day actually.

I think I’ve got a new ritual now. Every time I return from a trip, I’m going to make it a point to leave something in the pack that, when found, will remind me of my previous adventure.

Do you have any goofy rituals that you perform?

Not a Mother’s Day Post

Sorry, this one’s all about me.

What happens if you take a bored guy who marvels at all the mysteries of creation (while allowing his children’s mom to get a well deserved late morning in bed), let him plant his first ever vegetable garden and then put his brand new big boy camera in his hands?

You get pictures of butter bean sprouts. I even ventured out of the green-idiot-box setting (automatic) of the camera. Not too far though. I used one of the other less-stupid-but-still-a-dummy settings.

Cool, huh? I’m amazed that less than a week ago I dropped a dried bean in the ground, threw some dirt over it, and now have a plant growing! I like the way that bean split open to reveal its inner-self.

See that little green spout to the right of the bean sprout. That’s a bell pepper sprout (I think) that was supposed to be up about a week ago. I had given up on them and planted the butter beans in their stead. I think I planted them too deep and through the process of planting the bean, some got to the correct depth and have started sprouting.

In a couple of months we may have vegetables out the wah-zoo around here. I hope so, really. I’m becoming very attached to my little garden. If it doesn’t make it, I think I’ll be devastated.

On wolves and sheep

Funny thing happens to a wolf when it gets all dressed up in sheep’s clothing. Because to look like a sheep is just not enough. For the disguise to be complete the wolf must also act like a sheep - adopt its ways. Slowly, intentionally the wolf becomes more and more sheep like. Slowly, unnoticeably the natural ways of the wolf give way to the foreign ways of a sheep. A sort of metamorphosis takes place.

Baa-ing instead of growling… grazing not stalking… no longer feared and respected but overlooked and ignored.

Given enough time, the deception consumes even the deceiver. The wolf, so intent upon blending and being accepted, begins to forget that it is a wolf. It begins to believe its own lies. The wolf ways and the sheep ways marry, leaving a composite being that looks like a sheep, acts a little like both, but really is neither. It is a nothing - living, breathing, but still nothing - incapable of being a wolf or a sheep. Existing. Nothing more, nothing less.

What remains of the wolf is aggressive and pushy. So eventually this new nothing spreads. It is inescapably forced throughout the entire flock. What began as an attempt to infiltrate and destroy for entirely selfish reasons has backfired. But not completely.

The original selfish gain intended by the wolf was not found. In fact the wolf lost itself and gained nothing in return. But the sheep were still destroyed. Clothed in wool and baa-ing away, but no longer sheep. Mutants. A flock of nothings.

The mutation is almost flawless, and occasionally a true sheep wanders into the flock. It can be very difficult to find the seams in the previously conflicting but now married natures. Most would never detect anything wrong. But the tell-tale seams are there for the true sheep to find, and eventually the sheep knows - even though they look the same, speak the same language and say the same things - these are not sheep. Their lives are governed by a mutated nature of morphed opposites.

And that nature, forceful and aggressive, will begin to push towards assimilation. The sheep has a choice between staying true and remaining a sheep… or not, and becoming part of a powerful, consuming nothing.

What’s a sheep to do?

nothing new at possession slave…

but I’ve made a couple of recent updates at nobleMISSIONs. Go here and here to check them out.

And go here to learn about how much balance #1 has.

THANK YOU!!!!

2,825 thank yous to be exact.

“For what?” you ask.

That’s the total $ amount raised with the Peru(se) t-shirt fundraiser. Everyone was EXTREMELY generous!

In case you didn’t know, the shirt is the team shirt that will be worn by the group going to Peru. So wear them with pride, because you’re as much a part of the team as those who are going.
I can’t express it enough, but again…

Jesus, a blogger?

Brant’s at it again over at Letters from Kamp Krusty.

Check at his If-Jesus-had-a-Blog posts here and here. The “comments” are hilarious, frightening and sad all at the same time.

[**WARNING** - Unless you're a little twisted and cynical like me or just don't like a dose of the truth, you may want to pretend you never even read this. This message will self destruct in five seconds!]

Some never learn

Take a 12:00 soccer game

plus a late afternoon track meet

and you get…one sunburned dad!!!

Next time I’ll wear my sunscreen!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catching up with #1

She finally decided to be like her hip, young, cool parents and get herself a blog. I don’t know when she’ll update with school work, sports, social life, and scrubbing dishes always pressing. But I’m sure she can handle it as effortlessly as she does everything else.

Go check it out and give her some comment love.

Did I mention how smart (highest GPA in her class), athletic (volleyball, basketball, and track), sweet (the greatest of these is love) and pretty (just look at the picture) she is? If you’d like to know, ask. I’d love to tell ya!

P.S. She’s an excellent dish washer…she loves it!

turtle, turtle

I’m always a little nervous when it comes to checking the pool skimmer. It catches it’s fair share of creepy crawlies - crickets, spiders, frogs (or, around here, properly pronounced “frawgs”), snakes, lizards, salamanders - you name it, I’ve probably caught it! The strangest thing I’ve found in the pool was a water-logged, dead opossum laying on the bottom. Well, I think he was dead. Opossums are known for their “acting” skills, but I haven’t heard much about their breath holding abilities, so I’m sticking with “dead”.

But today it had a nice surprise for me…

Ain’t he just the cutest little thing you ever did see?

When Daughter #2 gets home, we’re going to find him ( or her - I checked, but how do you tell?) A nice pond or creek to live in.

****Later, that same day****

Why did the turtle cross the road…er, driveway?

You got me. I tried to ask, but, being a box turtle, he just shut me out! I wish you could see how orange his head was…the picture (cell phone) doesn’t do it justice!

Anyway, it’s been very reptilian around the house today. Maybe they’ll return this weekend to bask with all the other sunbathers who live here.

I’M BACK!!!!!!!

It took a system reboot, but I’m back in business. I was able to save my important documents and favorite pictures, but lost everything else - downloads, bookmarks, preferences that I set and can’t remember how to do again.

It’s kinda like using someone else’s computer right now, but it’ll be ok…I’ll get it broke in and fittin’ like an old pair of boots again really soon.

- Van Gogh’s Old Boots with Laces