The Neverending Story

Maybe the eyes miss deliberately as long as the wanderer believes his
own heart is pure and knows it for real.

Eliot

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The degoba system

It's mostly at our worse point when we really are inspired to do what
we are supposed to do. When Luke had freed himself from the cave of
the ice monster and was wandering around a snowstorm was when Obi-wan
told him to go the degoba system to get real intensive Jedi training.

In a euphoric state of hypothermia Kenobi's spiritualized hologram
speaks to him. Maybe that's when we listen best to the voice of our
Creator.
Eliot

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Things like this

It"s things like this that are the subtle keys to fatherhood. The actions taken by the dad that enable the healing and growing of the greater good... the entire family structure.

Playing catch with your kids. So cliche. No one but actors with a Tim Robbins smile are actually caught in the act of doing this. Most dads have though, at least on one occasion. Don't get all high-and-mighty, Even I, the father of two girls, have gone through this act; not because I'm super-rad, I am compelled to do so once every year or so. I like to crouch down and give them that same big target-of-a-mitt, time and again, to perfect a throw... just like a catcher.

However, the key is to make it a challenge on some level to myself. I use a catcher's mitt on my right hand which makes me learn some finesse while throwing with the off-hand.

But, you see. there are no left-handed catchers, therefore no right-handed mitts. They are as rare as an EMT dispatch call without "vomitous".

Think about it: A player with a right-handed catcher's mitt throw's with their left hand (the quick throw to second base is the most common). But the majority of batters will be standing right in front of that throw. So there are no left-handed catcher's, therefore the catcher's mitt for the right hand is pretty much non-existent.

But I have one. It's a Rawlings from "the sixties" I guess. My dad gave it to me about 15 years ago and he had it when he was a kid or something. Anyway, I gave it some Langlitz leather conditioner tonight for its first "drink" in half-a-millenium. Man it looks good and "old-timey".

I should throw the ball with the kids more often.

...

Every one of us is an actor to some degree. We have decided the roles, even when we feel we didn't approve the casting.

I think the the way to go though is in mastering the art of Directing so you don't inadvertently give that job up to someone else. It's your play for crying out loud.


Or is it God's?

It's supposed to be.



Maybe real mastery is when you have read the Director's notes thoroughly and have attempted to put yourself in His shoes to fully understand the authenticity of the scene.

Is He a Director of the ultimate improv?

An old foreign coin collection

Most of these coins are from countries where governments represented on them are no longer in power. My Dad gave them to me with a bunch of old trinkets that his grandpa, Ernest Ray Sprague, gave to him. I think the coins are mostly things my dad picked up in his tour of the South Pacific in the 70's with the Enterprise.

Avery is charged by her second grade teacher to come in with foreign money. We are going to throw a curve ball into her geography lesson and mix in some social studies and poli-sci in history.

They'll probably just notice the different colors of metal. I'm charged with taking a quick inventory to make sure nothing is worth a few G's per chance... to spice up her collection of Aussie coin and decade old money that was just prior to the EU. I would hate for that kinda thing to end up under the tire swing via some Gap Kids Overalls.

1. Research proper cleaning technique: Cleaning coins is hotly debated among collectors and could negatively affect their value. I am going to identify coins first.

A few coins:
1972 Hong Kong Dollar with Queen Elizabeth on the back. Been around for more than One-hundred years. No problem letting this one go with her.

1961, 1972, 1974, 1976 Peso. Again have at it.

the rest:
Ecuador
Netherlands
Peru 20 Centavos ... which is worth about 10 bucks probably or $35 at an online "police auction"
Argentina
and two odd ones that have the Mandarin symbol for dollar but no date or country.

... I'm not too worried where any of them end up.

An Intro

I would like to give you an intriguing background story on your author. One that instantly seals the deal with you, the reader. David James Duncan is the pro at that. But this isn't fiction and I don't know what the truth is. Sometimes I have heard it said I was a C-section baby with hours of excruciating labor and other times I was almost born on the way from my Dad's house on Lake Maloney to North Platte General. Sometimes my dad was driving, other times I think I have heard that he wasn't there. It is an event that I can gather as much data as possible on, but in the end the conclusion comes ultimately in faith about like The Big Bang theory, or evolution vs creationism... I wasn't really there so I'm not going to fight anyone about it or go to the extreme and place a bumper sticker on my car about it.

Jr. Bonner - Riding Sunshine

Ace: "Lord, that does ease the pain of a loser." (as he takes a shot of rotgut) "If this world's all about winners, what's for the losers?"

Jr: "Well somebody's gotta hold the horses, Ace."

Prehistoric Shark Tooth, Cat Tooth?

In 2007 I found a 2" shark tooth (or something) at 800' elevation while elk hunting in territory that I will only disclose to a scientist who doesn't hunt elk...

I originally thought it was just the splintered joint-end of a major mammal bone that had been eroded and serving as a calcium supply for rodents in more recent times. But I showed it to my wife's cousin and he kinda freaked. He told me that it's the most common fossil in the world, but this one, given it's size and location, needed to be shown around. I showed it to him in early August of 2008 and I am finally taking the time to document it. I guess I figured, "what's another couple months?"

Blast Off!

"One, Two, Blast off!" Watching my four-year-old girl, Regan, leap from the arm of one couch to the cushions of the other I am reminded to stay child-like in my later years. Knowing that life is what I make of it and I can be anything but it first starts in my mind. Not pretending, but deciding what I should each day... and acting upon that decision.

Now, I could have reminded Regan that we don't jump on the couch, but it's the day after Christmas and I am enjoying my children. If she had fear and hesitated in her leap she would have fallen short and then while she was crying in my lap I would remind her of our somewhat-enforced safety rule. Instead she said "Blast Off!" with confidence and instantly sprang and stuck the landing no less.

Where shall I spring to now?

Oz Wedding Redeaux- a vivid dream

Mobhit.
Gerry bought huge farm under a new business name for the wedding. I
parked the 912 and was taken in by a detective as i arrived. He
showed me the crime scene in the building I parked near and the 912
transmission linkage came out in my hand as I parked. He took me on
the tour and ithe hit happened the day before. Apparently the hit
was the wrong day... And the wrong wedding party. (this farm venue
was already booked for weddings when he bought it). The Detective
told me that he wouldn't be attending todays ceremony if it were him.
Everyone was shot even the priest doing the ceremony. I saw all of
the body markets on the floor. After questioning me Sarah was
brought into the scene by the detective. (It's probably the only time
I have ever seen her not smiling and I had to dream her expression to
get it). We passed each other without saying a word.
I wandered aimlessly through the whole pre party and finally found
Lisa but failed to mention anything due to being surrounded by
others. It seemed that some were catching wind of this but no one was
talking about it. Due to the interrogation I still hadn't gotten
dressed and was running around looking for my suit. Older ladies were
giving me tasks to keep my mind off of things cuz they knew. I rinsed
some blown glass vase and the glass flowers in it. I tried to go back
out into this farm complex to find the building where I parked the
Porsche and got questioned in hopes of finding my suit but couldn't
find it instead found polo ponies returning from a match. I kind of
got stuck in between these horses going from field to barn and they
were real jittery animals. Jacked on roids for being athletes I
thought to myself. I was at this wrong building full of industrial
cleaning supplies and such when I stopped for a moment to watch and
approach a group of monitor lizards. As I came closer one ended up
being a strange owl that I almost reached out to touch but pulled my
hand back at the last moment.

These were in two consecutive dreams since I woke up in the middle
and got my bearings before drifting off to finish the dreams
sequencially.

I even had conversations with others regarding why Sarah brought my
Porsche to Oz, especially since I sold it back in the states. Oddly
it had moss under the boot from sitting in Oregon so long. I met her
brothers and cousins. I ran and walked through three diff buildings
over a couple hundred acres when it was all said and done.

I wrote this while laying in bed immediately after I awoke. It was
too detailed and vivid to let it go without some written closure to
signify it was just a dream. I had only two drinks that night to
induce this. Nothing else.

Eliot

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