tao1776

New England winters can turn on a dime. Warm, cold, snow, rain, ice, sun. Changes can occur within a span of hours. Our latest storm dropped a fluffy twenty nine inches with Monday calling for temperatures in the forties accompanied by rain. Oh-oh. We will have a mess on our hands. But I think the biggest challenge facing our girls is boredom - not the weather. They are a hearty lot but they are still prone to frostbite and temperatures even too cold for good New England stock. So one does need to keep an eye out. Katie was found in a ball and most unresponsive but a few weeks ago. She enjoys coming to the "big house" but it was apparent that she was not pulling a fast one. Not this time anyway. Once inside it took hours to bring her around. But within a day, she was singing the blues like Mamie Smith. They will pick through straw for hours. Especially when littered with corn. A head of cabbage hung like soap on a rope. Treats and warm water laced with molasses....

February 10th will be the start of the Chinese New Year. The year of the snake. As memory serves, the day before was traditionally a day to clean and set things in order. The evening was a time of reunion. It sounded to me that it resembled our thanksgiving. Feast and family and all that it entails. Dynamics. History. The circle of life in a full view, yet not often understood or valued until the circle has turned closer to our own 365. Since my divorce, that which I miss most is when my four children came home with their friends, husband and boyfriends, girlfriends and children. Overlooking the "human pigeon" behavior of my heroin addicted son and the drunken behavior of my now ex wife, it was almost perfect in it's family imperfection. Simplicity and movement within the cycle of life has become almost unknown; and I too am at present, among the masses. I will however roll along to find that which is down will be once again be, up" like the hands of time. A...

Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them - Watts Simple. Simple is good. Not the kind of simple as in Uncle Stan who was once arrested for simply trying to buy a burrito at midnight, with no money, in his underwear, with a beer in his hand. No, I mean simple. As in possessing "all of your needs and some of your wants." I never take for granted the shoes on my feet. A hot shower. A laugh with friends or family. Wake up. It IS the simple things in life that give life it's meaning...........

This is the first " real '" Christmas that me and Gaia Girl have enjoyed together. Technically speaking, this is our third Christmas together but the first two were a time of change and turmoil. This year we enjoyed Christmas eve together and sang carols at a U.U. service. A cold night, we returned home to a hot fire even as the snow was beginning to color the grass white in preparation for giving all those who pray for it, a white Christmas. Memories have sweetened my heart the last few days with smells and sounds reflective of the season. I lit a cigar the other evening and the pleasant smell lingered in a cloud several feet above the room's floor. It curled and rolled and silently dissipated into the candle light. Like a ghost memories of my Pe'pe' came flooding back. A clear visual before my mind's eye. A stout little French Canadian named Rossaire, he smoked those dried up little cat turds, the Parodi . He also chewed tobacco. He carried a spit...

I'm cautious when I hear people say that we need to restore America back to the faith that made it strong and that we need to put God back in our schools and classrooms. Those that make such broad statements never really define what they mean. Usually it means "Christian Faith" with the Ten Commandments posted on the wall while hoping that people of other religions will worship quietly and in the background. Often it centers around a designated authority who cannot be questioned or challenged.  I propose that we DO let God back into our classrooms - not through fear and a strong authoritarian rule but through teaching that which is contained in all religions: The Golden Rule and Loving Your Neighbor. Maybe even throw in some tonglen practice. :) How beautiful would it be if Kindness was our Religion. But that would require that we take more personal responsibility. What if we bought less guns because we felt them unwarranted in our home. Our decision. What if felt that...

Driving as much and as often as many of us do, I can't help but try and visualize the volume of gasoline that we are pissing away on a daily basis. I'm stunned by the volume of traffic, the great number of larger vehicles and that most everyone is driving from ten to twenty-five mph over the posted speed limit.  The majority of vehicles that I see on the road are the same as me; Only one or two persons per vehicle. The US Energy Administration Agency states that the U.S. uses an average of 367,000,000 gallons of gasoline every day. But just how much is three hundred and sixty seven million gallons? And the truth is? No one cares. The Purse is first. I often say to my Paint customers. "If the automotive industry was as regulated as the house paint industry, we'd all be riding horses".