Since my name in German means a "trick or a ruse" and the creature of ancient Greece most know for this was the Minotaur...
So my riddle for you to ponder. I'm not going to give an answer, nor pretend that there is even just one. However, in my nearly four years here, its the one question no one seems to ponder, the one riddle no one seems inclined to solve.
That being said, I've milked Chicago like a goat, had some fun times, met some fun people. I'll miss them, especially "my" street people. I've been honored to be a bearer of comfort, friendship, and playful papillon dogs to quite a number of them. None of them are left in the Granville neighborhood though... the people I'll most miss are the ones to whom I cannot say "goodbye." Even Sam of "Granville Foods (and formerly liquors)" who supplied my chocolate and junk food fixes is gone. He just couldn't compete with all the other grocers at this corner and make it without alcohol sales.
I've said something about the details on my other blog, no need to here. But while I'm tying up loose ends, and since I was already logged in to blogger to put a space-holder post on my rug blog, I thought I'd drop in to tell ya'll that I was dropping out. I'll be posting the same riddle on my multiply blog, so if you want to hear my thoughts on it, check there in November or December. I'll probably post it there right before I go off line for the move, and give my musings later in November or December.
Savina and Killian survived their poisoning scare... probably better than we did... and are doing well. Tess got out of the hospital last week, but of course moving is no fun. Barb is having rotator cuff surgery the day after election day... we'll be around for a while to help her recover, then we're off. God bless, be well, machts gut, see you on the dark side of the moon, etc.
(Source: www.poptower.com) Vive le differance indeed! I've always railed against the rail thin, unhealthy, unattainable ideal set forth as the standard of feminine beauty. And I have to confess, as a man, I've never understood it, and wondered how much of it has to do our continuing evolution from a patriarchy and our culture's latent misogyny, and how much has to do with women themselves buying into it?
Sure, I know plenty of guys who go for the T&A on a pair of stilts look, but I know just as many who just don't get women's obsession with looking, smelling, and acting perfect.
In the case of my beloved, she was a size 4 to 6 when we wed 13 years ago Pentecost / June 4th, and now she's an 18/20. I'm no less awed by her beauty, and its not just that look of love in her eyes which this photo shows so well, or that she puts up with a piece of work husband like me. I love it that she's shaped differently than I am, that her body feels very different than mine.
What ever size she's been (and at times on her migraine meds, she can flux 4 sizes over the course of a month) she's always "worn it well." Her curves are always there... and that's what's so deliciously different for a rabidly heterosexual man like me.
I've been waiting for someone... say, a woman... to post on this, but none has, and since I've temporarily closed my Johari window so far as blogging goes while some chaos works its way out in my/our life (maybe I'll post on it tomorrow or Friday), I decided now was a good time to post on this. Its been a while since I've done a good feminist rant anyway.
In searching for news reports about this, the most fun one comes from Australia's National Nine News A couple of fun bits from that article...
The headline is: "A plus-sized model has proven that you can have a "jelly botty" and still take out the crown of America's Next Top Model."
"This is what people should look like rather than skin-and-bones, which is disgusting and sends a bad message."
The decision by the American judges to give top honours to a more curvaceous woman flies in the face of recent weighty comments made by their counterparts on the Australian version of the show.
Judge Charlotte Dawson wrote to ninemsn after receiving a public roasting for telling one contestant she had a "jelly botty".
...
[Dawson said] "The reality is if they were at a casting, an agent would turn around and say 'your arse is too fat' or 'get that 'heffa' out of here'."
When I referenced all the nice plastic colanders I left behind because I had no one to do a "Devo" bit with on my other blog, they clamored to see me in one. So here's two. Yep, stone cold sober. Even I don't take life or myself seriously ALL the time!
White Plastic
Stainless Steel
Now the fun videos
The Rare Palmus Dumpsterus Chicagoensius (A Palm in a dumpster with my goofy voice over)
Perhaps you already have, if you've been up to Goth/Angel land lately, especially on weekends.
He's a very vivid person, loves going on camera. I have quite a few videos of him on Youtube and posted at multiply.
This is Jerel at his best... as intense and raw and real as can be.
Consequentially, I'm obligated to note that...
This video is rated "R" due to VERY coarse language and references to sexuality and drug use. It is NOT suitable for minors or the easily offended.
Right Mike... this means you!
If those topics offend you, you're best off not watching either.
Jerel is most often to be found sleeping in the portapotty outside my building, or hoarding his finds outside Snark's.
He likes my dogs, he's nice to me, he's willing to go on camera, that's all I can ask of anyone. I've been known to bring him a hot cup of home made espresso, socks and alcohol wipes for his feet, etc. Anyone who treats my dogs well and treats me like a human gets the same back from me.I let Killian and Hilde decide who I befriend.
I am always honored when people like Jerel or Diane (who's usually down on Glenlake and also in my of my videos) chose to share their lives with me.
People is people... period... what ever their life circumstances
And now... the featured presentation. It runs a bit long, 15 minutes. I had planned to chop it up but... Tess has been even sicker than normal lately, so, I just clipped out the scenes where he showed me his prison ID card (on principle, I don't put images or video of IDs, credit cards, etc. on the web).
First the Bizarre. I'll let you add your own punch line to it.
Next the beautiful (both pictures and video)
Little Flowers- Big City: Violets growing at the base of the Red Line Viaduct in an alley
>Miracles and beauty are always to be found, you just have to be willing to look past the tip of your nose or the screen of your IPhone. This healthy stand of violets is growing right up against the Red Line viaduct below the Granville Red Line station. I took two different videos two different days in hopes of capturing both the beauty of the flowers and the context in which they are growing.
And now my beloved... a picture of her with the pups taking care of her, and a video of her describing her latest Migraine art therapy (and thus, describing the experience of her migraines.)
On the videos, remember if you don't have the bandwidth to watch them on Veoh, your best recourse is to download them from my Multiply video section and watch offline.
They are also on Youtube... my username there is tourtruco, you can find them there.
Howdy all... have ya missed me? Well good, me too !!!
My life's been such a "Jane, stop this crazy thing... " ride I've been rather preoccupied with just living life. But I have been getting back into blogging at Multiply, so thought I'd put in a cameo here.
These are two videos I shot today and posted. The first is of Jerel, a homeless fellow who sleeps in the portajohn outside my building by night, then guards his stash of treasures outside Snark's dumpsters by day. The second is a video I shot down at Berger Park.
Update 5/17 - Veoh kludged the code, the videos should be viewable now.
Didn't see Jerel outside Snark's this morning, so maybe he finally found "a place for his stuff."
Online Videos by Veoh.com This is my latest rug. Its made from a sheet I cut up while waiting for the prof to grade my final, and finished a week later.
As for me and Tess... best to just refer you to these posts over on Multiply:
Beyond that... well, its all over at listig.multiply.com
I'm not sure I have anything particular to add here at the moment, nor the inner drive to find such. Life has so much innate pathos and pain that though I'm no less sardonic or verbose than ever, I'm tending to focus on matters more upbuilding and self-affirming. Tess is still wracked with daily migraine pain, politicians are still crapping out the wrong orifice... so what else is new? A sale at Payless or a striking sky over Lake Michigan get my juices flowing, but very little else does. So-Tschuess!!! Hope to see ya around at the Anvil (since my classes are over for an extended period of time, maybe I can actually make it) or over at my multiply blog (since your fingers aren't broken the same holds true, *grin*)
If anyone wants to see Snark's 10th anniversary pix with Catie at the Anvil, click here.
First of all, Catie- your concern is appreciated and well founded. It is easy to get caught in a feedback loop when things are rough, and when you're down you often don't feel like you have the energy to break out of the loop.
This is precisely why I expressed my concerns about the biochemical and psychological effects of continued excessive use of alcohol. Not to be "preachy," not to rub it in, but because... in all senses, I've been there, and I hate to see others suffering as I and so many dear ones to me have suffered.
My next oldest brother- 11 years my senior- was arrested for his first alcohol related offense when I was 5... right before my eyes. (He'd smashed his car into a bridge abutment, and led a parade of 6+ squad cars from there to my home. He stopped the car and was cuffed right below my bedroom window.)
15 years later, he was convicted of a felony committed while both drunk and high, and spent 10 years hard time.
As a pastor, I knew many colleagues who self medicated, to the great detriment of their marriages and their parishes.
Of course, I was also often called upon to help those affected by alcohol related problems.
This was especially so during my year as a trauma chaplain, where I ministered to the people who had injured themselves and others while intoxicated, to the innocent victims, and to the families and survivors of both.
And now more recently in my nursing studies having taken advanced psychology and biology, I have a much deeper understanding of what's behind it than I ever did.
Most importantly- I had my own troubles, and thanks to the love and help of others, they're behind me now. In raising concerns and offering help, I was simply following the great adage of Christ and tradition of AA in doing unto others as you would have or have had done unto you.
NOT that I'm an AA zealot... someone characterized my message as "don't drink"- that's terribly inaccurate! My message is- if you drink too much too often, it really mucks you up, and you should do something about it! For feck's sake, I'm GERMAN, my people call beer "liquid bread," and my family's hometown in Michigan is tremendously proud that 1) They never gave the prohibitionist party a single vote, and 2) The two biggest fines imposed on any single bars were imposed there.
Back to your concerns Catie. There's a reason you don't know much about the happier things in our lives- I'm too busy living them to blog about them. Plus, Tess and I are 12+ years married, but still as newlyweds. The camera isn't rolling during those times!
But I really would like you to get to know Tess. She's at her best in the mornings, we live 1/2 block from the Anvil, so sometime if you'd like to drop by, let me know! I think you have access to my email... if not, Snark does.
You are very right to encourage me to accentuate the good experiences and positive things in life, which is precisely why I'm inclined to go dormant here till things shake out. I have this gut feeling that the dynamic has changed, and not for the better. I stopped posting much beyond videos and cute puppy pictures on my Multiply blog when Tess and I took turns for the worse because the atmosphere there tended to be more juvenile... people carping about stupid things like specific choices of words, fonts, etc. Someone was always looking to pick a fight, or to prove that he could more accurately hit a given spot on the wall with his stream of urine than the next guy. PaN was a haven from that, so I kept posting my "Kierkegaard x Buckley x Lewis Black" stuff here for a while, till I got so sick I wasn't even turning on the computer for days at a time. I started feeling better last week, resumed posting while still eschewing posting or commenting on controversial matters.
I don't know what's going on now, but its not been good for me since the fecal matter hit the spinning blades, and methinks a bit more febreze and lysol are in order still. There's more that I don't know or understand than I do, and that's fine- I can on occasion let other people deal with issues without my being involved, but this uncertainty feeds heavily into my hesitance to jump back in. I'm trying to look before I leap... I'm seeking jack ... so no jumping!
Tess is still as sick as ever, I have a month's worth of classes to make up on, a number of requests for further instructional videos about my rug craft... I don't have the resources to deal with unnecessary pathos. I'll help anyone who needs or wants help, but blog drama... zum teufel! Life's way too short, and I've better and far more important things to do.
Now, to test the waters to see if I'm wrong about that, and this place is gemütlich again... here's a video dedicated to Dean, keeping in mind my favorite quotation from the Bard... because it fits me so well! *grin*
Much Ado About Nothing: "O that he were here to write me down an ass! But masters, remember that I am an ass: though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass." Act 4, Scene 2, lines 80-83
Die Toten Hosen - Zehn Kleine Jägermeister
So... if/when gemütlichkeit [warm conviviality] returns, so shall I- the reaction to this post and video should be telling on that count.. Else, I'll be busy studying, doing things off camera with Tess, and making my rugs. My videos get posted to Veoh, Youtube, and my multiply site- listig.multiply.com
Those who know and love me will attest to the fact that my life has been a little.......insane? lately. After my car engine blew up last Friday, my life got a bit more insane. That said, it appears I missed the drama that transpired as well. Having spoken to all parties involved, I am willing to offer my opinions and comments to be either read or scrolled past.
Snark - you were correct in feeling that Gunga's post to RG was rude and insensitive. Regardless of how much was consumed prior to the post, a next day recall would have been appropriate. However, having spoken to GD, I can understand that he was loathe to go back and review the carnage the next day to possibly remove the post and clean up some of the carnage. Regardless of whether or not you return to the blog, you will forever remain in my heart and, while I am working, will become a part of my new Friday night routine.
Gunga - NEW RULE: NO blogging post yeager meister induced semi comas. Deal? We have all been there and drunk dialed, drunk emailed and yes, drunk posted. Having spoken to you Friday in person, I can attest to the fact that you were truly sorry and upset when you finally came to and viewed the havoc you had imposed on the blog. I, for one, have forgiven you already and hope that others will forgive as well. Go forth and sin no more.
RG - You were right to feel upset that GD jumped down your throat and the fact it was in an alcohol induced haze did not make it right. However, I got the sermon part of don't drink the first time you said it and didn't need it repeated in subsequent posts/comments. You are an amazing human being and like myself, are probably too smart for your own good. You have an amazing mind and a truly noble sense of humanity, but you tend to get long winded and preachy. Very preachy. I speak for noone but myself when I say the font thing is a bit annoying, but I choose to follow Howard Stern's advice, if you don't like it, don't read it or move past it. As with any long post, I tend to scroll past those that don't interest me and that includes rants by GD as well. We would all do well to follow the rule that less is more. As we discussed Friday, you really do need to get someone positive into your daily routine. I fear you slipping into the dark side and that is not good for anyone. I LOVE the puppies and can't wait to meet the wife. I really do like you and have no intention of letting you go from my life either.
RM - Dude, we gotta chat. Having completed three years of law school with Matthew Hale, I have to say that some, if not most, of what you post is disturbing at best. I have two teenaged boys myself and they have lots of friends. What I see, when I read what you write, is a very unhappy teenager full of angst and issues. You need someone to listen and guide you in a positive direction. I am not your mother and this is none of my business, but this is what I feel.
As for the other posters, I have nothing more to say. I apologize for this taking longer then I anticipated to get posted, but I was extremely productive yesterday. I find that having a reason to get up every morning is very motivating towards the better use of your "down time".
Somebody- NOT ME- brewed a pot of tea leaving the tags on the bags. Its probably not harmful, I assume they've tested the dyes used etc. for human (or at least rat) safety, but the taste of cellulose [wood fiber, as in paper] does not well compliment that of camellia sinensis [the botanical name of the tea plant.]
So I thought I'd have some fun with it, the entire tone is obviously sardonic and slightly parodic of the great Paul Harvey's vocal style with a more obvious nod to him at the end. Online Videos by Veoh.com
As for us...
Tess is no better,for me its too early to tell, but I'm glad to be able to be there for her both emotionally and physically more these days. Until very recently, life for me has pretty much consisted of
"be sick",
drink electrolytes,
sleep.
We see Tess' doctor Friday, and I follow up with mine in a few weeks too.
I'm not ready to say that the light at the end of my tunnel is an opening and not an oncoming semi, but I have been... (see video below)
The trash truck driver got a kick out of me videoing the scene. I think this really captures the Chicago experience in winter well.
This is how she was almost all night. Dogs always seem to know when their people need them, don't they?
You can see from this picture, my artistically deformed one of yesterday wasn't so much an exaggeration as an amplification.
I forget what I've said and to whom I've said it, but basically imagine having the stomach flu not for a week... not for a month... but for three months. That's basically my situation.
So there's immense fluid and nutrient loss, interruption in sleep, general and cumulative loss of energy...
I'm so out of it, I've not even turned on my PC in days.
I have shot some great video (interview with another eco-warrior recycler at the dumpster, the Red & Purple lines, etc,) but now the memory card is filled, and its just going to have to say that way.
Finally got good pix of the "Dr. Seuss" tree too, but, they'll wait too.
I Haven't even been up to doing my rugs!
When I'm not actively being sick, I'm sleeping off the results.Tess is no better than she's been since November either.We're keeping our respective spirits up, and the dogs are doing their part.
Barb- my MiL- gets back from vacation Saturday. She doesn't know how sick we each are... she's a mother, she'd worry about it instead of enjoying herself.
We have both been to the doctor about our respective problems, and we each have follow up appointments. I'm too exhausted from how long this has been going on to even say whether any of the meds are helping us. I still can point out where north is at any time, and guess what time it is plus or minus three minutes, but beyond that, my functionality & productivity are only marginally above Tess'.
Today was another bad day for both of us, health wise.
We've been talking a lot about the way that one's occupation, health, etc., though we focus so much on them, really make up such a small part of what really matters in life.
Jobs come and go, so does health. If we peg our entire view of ourselves on what we do instead of what we are, then such changes are catastrophic and we shatter.
These things are not the substance of our being, they're the expression of them. This division between the innate nature of something and its external form or manifestation is called "substance vs. accidence" in Aristotelian / Aquinan philosophy.
While generally I'm more fond of the Chinese philosophers than the Greeks... there is much truth here, and Tess and I have found it very helpful as our lives, vocations, and health have gone through so many transitions.
Just think about it this way- when water freezes... has it stopped being water? When it evaporates, has it changed its chemical form or just its physical manifestation?
Likewise, when you stop having a job or your health... what makes you you hasn't changed, only the ways you [get to] express it.
I'm not saying this is easy for either one of us... I'm not saying we don't each have our moments when we want to- and do- scream at God over it. But that's OK, God's a big boy, He can take it.
You are each you- not what you do, nor what you can't do.
These first are what's left of the bizarre flowers and cold cuts tableau shown in an earlier video. On top is the original, below is my bit of fun with filters
Ultimately I'll put these together into a slide show of scenes of and views from Chicago alleys. This is a little girl's shoe I saw in the same alley- I shot a video panning from it up and down the alley. This is the "Dr. Seuss" tree from Snark's alley. (You ever seen this Snark? Its down on the Glenlake end.) Top is the original, below one I ran through a filter. I think I may have to reshoot this picture, maybe with a different camera. The dark tree blends in too much with the dark background. Of course, I shot video of this as well. So... this is the art therapy I've done today... not too much. I'm a lot sicker than I'd realized... having had a day without massive dehydration has helped me realize how sick I've been for how very long. Its like I've had stomach flu for... 2 or 3 months!
No wonder I've not gothed up much until last night (Good to see you Snark and Dean)... and last night was really just half way. When all your energy goes into your crappy body, fashion and funk go by the wayside.
Image source: freefoto.com, used under the Creative Commons License. This is a superb site for freely usable photos under the CCL and related "open source" style licensing.
Everyone knows the proverb/aphorism "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" but my research hasn't turned up anything definitive as to its origin. It seems to have been around in some form for hundreds if not thousands of years... which makes sense, since chains have been too!
In any case, this aphorism and image are an apt summary of how things are with me and Tess right now.... and to go into more detail would take more time and energy than I have, or background on us than most any of you have.
Just a few tidbits which don't require so much explaining...
We believe we have isolated out why Tess' migraines have been so intractable since November, and are addressing it. When we'll see the fruits of that, I don't know, but I know many of you are wondering and worried (and THANK YOU for both! ) so...
Tess is really taking to the concept and action of blogging. I expect she'll be more active and INTERactive on multiply and "whygod" than I for the foreseeable future.
And speaking of Tess and "whygod"- a special request... she doesn't know I'm making this... (she's asleep as I should be except that one of my "weak links" is acting up on me)
If you'd like to engage her in talking about life, spirituality, etc., but don't want to join "whygod" please let her know, so she can consider posting to her blog more too. Blogging is becoming an important lifeline to external reality and human interaction for her... its damn near the only one she has, so... .
As for me... the same realities which became so overwhelming that I had to draw back from the amount and nature of my virtual interaction remain so. Some are a little better, some dramatically worse (I don't know what's up with my gut, but its nothing good, and its become a figurative and literal pain in the @ss!)
I have realized one thing... after what- 25 years of interaction with other people on the computer, starting with the old dial up BBS powered by caged hamsters in the 80s... that the one thing which cannot be accomplished in virtual reality is the establishment and enjoyment of Gemütlichkeit. (If you don't speak the superior German language click here to read what it means.)
You can do some of the groundwork for its establishment, as I did with the BBS parties I hosted back in the 80s, or as Snark does with the PaN crowd at Gino's and the Anvil now, but... there is no such thing as virtual gemütlichkeit!
So... I'll continue posting pictures and videos of interest both places, but keeping my head down on Multiply.
Finally- this deserves a post of its own, but I'm too exhausted from life to do it now... the death of William F. Buckley Jr. is striking a powerful resonance with my feelings for my father. My earliest memories of my father include his introducing me to The National Review, and helping me to learn to read by sitting with me as I read it... always starting with WFB's column.
Watch out, I'm a verysauer Kraut. People at JibJab are thumbs-downing my slide show, and one even took offense. Watch out, expect hell to be freezing over, but Hillary Clinton was right again when she said...
As for public speaking... I do know a bit about this, it being a major part of my former career. One time, when I went on a bit too long, I was lovingly chided by a member whom I'd noticed had dozed off. He advised me to put a lozenge in my mouth- when it was done, so was my sermon.
Before I speak, I have something important to say. - Groucho Marx
"As an apple of gold in silver carvings is a word spoken at the right time for it." - Proverbs 25:11
KEEP IT SIMPLE The Lord's Prayer contains 56 words The Gettysburg Address contains 272 words The Ten Commandments contains 297 words The USA Declaration of Independence contains 300 words A bag of Lay's Potato Chips contains 401 words The IRS Form 1040EZ contains 418 words Average USA-Today cover story contains 1,200 words A recent federal publication on setting the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words
One other relevant matter. I say this informatively, not defensively. It is axiomatic that the longer the speech, post, etc., the less time which went into it.
Likewise, a short story or novella is much more difficult to write than a full length novel. Reading War and Peace or any of the Victorian era serial-novels is like climbing Mt. Everest but for those of us who run at the mouth, writing that much is like breathing- it would take great effort and concentration to do less of it!
For my 12-20 minute sermons, I put sometimes close to an hour per minute into them. For these posts... well, I type at over 100 words a minute, and the only time I don't have anything to say is when I'm under anesthesia, so you do the math! Count the words, divide by 100, add in a few minutes for finding a screwy picture on Wiki or video on Youtube, and... you do the math.
You'll know I REALLY have too much time on my hands when my posts get shorter but more pointed, with multiple layers of meaning, as my sermons and Bible studies once did when I got paid to shoot my mouth off, and was doing it "in the stead and by the command of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
When I've not been studying for class or injecting medicines into Tess' major muscle masses / holding her as she flails in pain, I've been busily saving the environment one t-shirt or ratty pair of jeans at a time. Its amazing how much clothing people throw out, and I'm only getting a small part of it (I've met my fellow guerrilla environmentalists... sometimes we work together to divvy up the diggings) from a couple of blocks radius.
I came across this today. Lets have some fun... see if 1) You can identify it 2) You can make up a good story for it if you can't.
(I do know what it is based on surrounding "archaeological evidence.")
Next, I also came across the shoe below. (I didn't go digging for its soul-mate... ooh, ow... sorry... just too easy... ) because the location wasn't one I'd venture into without a hazmat suit... this was sitting on top of a lid.
Anyone want to make a wager as to whether I'll figure out how to use it in a rug?
OK then, Snark encouraged me to feel free to post more personal things here, and it doesn't get more personal than this. This is my wife Tess. She just started a blog at Multiply and has taken over for me in leading the "ask any religious question" group there- whygod.multiply.com, but she's been really smacked down by her migraine lately, so I suggested she record a VLOG, and this is it.
Sorry the sound levels between us vary so widely... my computer is ancient and I don't have mixing software to adjust the vol. So if you do, feel free to download the file from my multiply site and mix away!
She's sick enough to be in hospital, but she just got out a month ago, and she says that if she's going to be miserable anyway (that stay lasted 2 weeks!) she'd rather be in my arms than in a hospital bed. I can't argue with that, *grin*
She is legally disabled with migraines, and every day she reaches a "10" on the pain scale, but since about last Weds, she never drops lower than that. I've been having to give her intra-muscular injections of various medicines every 4 to 6 hours.
When she has any good time, its in the morning, which is why I've become a morning person, and can't often make it by the Anvil Fridays. Mornings- early mornings- are when she's most likely to be able to walk with me to the lake, tutor me in Spanish, etc.
I can function as a night or morning person, but... as befits a goth (*grin*) day time is regardless not my friend. Its for getting through pretty much.
When I woke up this morning, I realized that I'd put too much into the one post on my father and xenophobia last night. I am reworking it into two, and will post them presently.
In my defense of my criticism of Obama... when I was a pastor, I was famous for my 12-20 minute sermons when my colleagues were preaching for twice that length. Listening to one of my sermons was like being hit by a hurricane. If people weren't white-knuckled and hyperventilating by the end, then I was off my game.
I operated on the premise that TV has conditioned us to a 12 minute to 20 minute attention span before a "commercial break." So I limited myself to making ONE point and making it very very well.
In writing, its a different story. Honestly though, even there brevity is the soul of wit... but it takes more time and effort than I have to go through the sort of boiling down and editing process that I put my sermons through. I put 30 - 60 minutes of prep into every minute of delivered sermon. That way when I shot off my Gatling gun mouth, every word-bullet was a bullseye. ... In writing, however, I give myself more liberty, and maybe every other word is bull-s... instead of a bullet. *grin*
This was just tossed aside in the middle of an alley... it wasn't even in a receptacle. Its already being worked into my latest plastic bag rug. The orange works great next to the "Chicago tribune bags" blue. I found these in a treasure trove left behind by someone moving out nearby. This is the first time in my life I wish my feet were smaller! But I've not been able to wear size 7s since about 3rd grade!
So if any of you local folk have feet this size, get in touch with me! Otherwise, I'll donate it them to a worthy charity. But charity begins at home, so if one of my amigos or amigas could use these... they're yours!
) so...
