Archive for April 2010
More Questions
If you could see
around the corner
wouldn’t you just
want to see
around the next corner, too?
If we could put
the genie back in the bottle
would the world revert
back to a more simple time?
If we acted
on all our best intentions
would it be
like seeing around the corner
and having a genie
of our very own?
Green Growth Galore
Lily of the valley spotted in our yard last night when I was out executing the inaugural lawn mow of the season. It looks like pretty much every little thing that grows is about as happy as possible out there. Perennials galore, trees and bushes, a variety of ground cover, a fair number of flowering plants, and a few too many from the class of weeds. It’s a wonderful display of nature.
I saw a brief segment on the History Channel about the years of drought in the 1930’s that led to the dust bowl and the black blizzard clouds of topsoil that rose thousands of feet in the air. Think about the happenstance timing of being alive during times of such unique extremes. For a time, it can seem that there is nothing but dry, sandy desert soil in a region. It may happen in the years of life from 5 to 15. What a difficult childhood.
Or, born at another time, those years of childhood might have been filled with running through fields of tall grass, exploring down at the creek, playing on a tree swing, and catching frogs or lightning bugs in the 1950’s.
Looking at the lush growth in my little corner of the world right now, I found myself aware of how entirely different things could be if a drought of the sort that impacted the middle of our country in the ’30s were to occur here for a similar duration.
Hockey Distraction
I’ve got a moment in the evening, while waiting for the laundry to finish, and after the Twins have wrapped up another victory, to compose a post about an insight I had at work during the day, but I am entirely distracted with NHL Hockey playoffs. There is an easy way to measure one’s appreciation for a sport by how interesting the competition is regardless the fact neither team represents any affiliation.
At the time of this writing, the Detroit vs. Phoenix game is in the 2nd period and it is chock full of the thrills and spills and end-to-end action of ice hockey. Make that, action of a Game 7, NHL playoff series hockey. What a couple of relentless power-play attacks by the Red Wings.
Oops, there’s the laundry. Gotta go pack for soccer in the morning. Hopefully, I will carry the momentum of this hockey energy into my ball games tomorrow. I just need to remember… no checking.
Rush Hour Bike Commuting
It is hard to describe the insight that comes from riding a bike to work during the hours when most people are driving to their workplace. I fear it is one of the things that needs to be experienced first-hand in order to truly comprehend. I also think it is key to already have been driving to your workplace for some time and to then bike that distance, preferably, multiple times.
First of all, there is the time difference in the duration of the trip. On a bike, you have time to notice a lot more things about the world between where you live and where you work. There is something about that fact which can really improve your perception the next time you climb back in that car to drive to work. It is hard to explain, but it broadens your perspective.
One less mysterious aspect of biking a route that you also drive is the new respect it provides for the terrain. Little changes in elevation that used to go entirely unnoticed will subsequently be intimately understood as you are gliding up inclines at the touch of the gas pedal.
When you are on a bike and moving at the slower pace of cycling, the manic pace of automobiles being driven by people rushing to get to work becomes dramatically apparent. There is an overt selfishness in every obsessive gesture to get around any car that is in front of a rushing driver. Their impatience emanates an incredibly annoying aura. They can also prove to be extremely dangerous to cyclists.
I am again reminded of the classic quote of comedian George Carlin: Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
Have you ever noticed that drivers who label others as idiots and maniacs, demonstrate selfish behaviors in their rush to and from work? Relax. You’ll get there.
What Moment?
Do you realize that this moment falls in the last week of April and so that means soon it will be May and right after that June will be here and we will be swimming in lakes and swatting mosquitoes? Enjoy this spring-like weather while you can, for summer is right around the corner. A worthy distraction for a Monday, don’t you think? Just try to keep your mind on your work now.
Remarkable
.
sick silent subtlety
soothes the pain of knowing
what really was meant
by the offhand remark
nailed to the wall
in weak attempt
to appear above the thrash
yet reveals nothing less
than the very shortcomings
thus intended to mask
it is the high art of hurt
on the tight rope of sanity
served with aplomb
.
Eating and Exercising
It is Saturday and I don’t have any commitments. After a full week of activity that began with cycling last Saturday and Sunday, included three days of soccer, one of floorball, and two days commuting to work on bike, I am worn out. I believe I will allow this to become a day of rest. It being rainy helps make that an easier decision.
All this activity is a concerted effort to return to my former level of sports participation from the hamstring injured and sports-limited person I have been for the previous 8 weeks. I saw an article just the other day that reiterated a point I have already witnessed over and over with regard to the limitations of exercise for losing weight. Being active burns more calories, for sure, and a person is always better off for having exercised, but people are generally inclined to eat what they burn and weight loss doesn’t happen.
When my activity level dropped during the period of weeks after my injury, I gained weight. It was effortless and surprisingly swift. I am a victim of my diet. Decades ago, I adjusted my diet to reduce my intake of butter, salt and condiments. I learned to love potatoes dry. The flavor inherent in them, and the differences between varieties, actually surprised me. I discovered that popcorn has a distinct flavor of corn when not masked with salt and butter. I prefer my vegetables not be buttered. I don’t drink carbonated beverages and choose water for most every occasion. It is not enough.
I have yet to master portion control. I love salty snacks. I am probably addicted to carbohydrates. I love bread in all its shapes and forms. My craving for sweet is probably the strongest urge I experience every day. When I give in to it, there is a cascading desire for further indulgence.
I can exercise everyday, but I won’t lose weight unless I take more steps to improve my diet. Most importantly, to reduce my calorie intake to a level below that which I burn. What actually happens, is that I eat in compensation for the work I’ve done. When I’ve just ridden 40 miles on my bike, I feel that I deserve an ice cream treat.
Any bets on how many calories I will take in today while I’m on break from burning any extra with exercise?
Out of Mind
Ever stop to consider how many things in life have become, “out of sight, out of mind” for you? I would become completely overwhelmed if I opened the Pandora’s Box of everything I have allowed to match that phrase. I think that allowing things to transition out of sight is one of my primary coping mechanisms.
It’s not always a good thing to have parts of your life become invisible and subsequently nonexistent. I don’t know why the VCR, buried on my dresser under years worth of accumulation, caught my eye the other day. It triggered my questioning the status of videos we recorded during the years our children were growing up. Those are at high risk of deteriorating beyond viability. That led to a recollection of the significant number of photos I have in slide format. I bet I haven’t seen those for over 20 years. Are they even in that closet where I last parked them? Being so out of sight and for so long, renders those slide images way out of mind.
Some things evade that trick of getting out of sight. They sit in my garage, in plain view, for years on end. It can be wonderfully invigorating to discover someone you know is a perfect fit for items that you have had no use for in years.
I accomplished just such an exchange yesterday. Now, even though the items will finally be out of my sight, I’ll probably never forget about them due to the knowledge of the people who were so excited to receive my donation.
You know, if someone asked me if I had a VCR a couple of days ago, I wouldn’t have had an inkling there was one on my dresser. It’s mostly out of sight.
Adventures in Bike Commuting
Driving to work during rush hour can be fraught with hassles like squirrelish decision makers in front of you, the little red number that darts across your lane, and any number of turkeys that impede your progress.
Well, it’s no easier on a bike, I tell ya. It was a beautiful, though chilly, morning yesterday when I set off on my inaugural bike commute to work this year. I’d hardly left the driveway when my first hazard appeared in the road. A squirrel darted out and then began the classic moves of indecision right in front of my path. Back, then forth, oops, no, back again –wait! Go! No, back! I flashed to the embarrassing story I would have to admit if I crashed by running over a squirrel that couldn’t decide whether to complete his crossing or not.
A little while later I enjoyed a close encounter with a bright red Cardinal that darted across the bike path, right in front of me. I always wonder if they already sense the rate of my approach and are calculating the room they have to get across, or whether they get surprised by the speed I am moving and find me to be much closer to them than they expect as they zoom across. A new image flashes across my mind of having to explain getting broadsided by a bird like a Cardinal.
Finally, I notice a bird that looks like the tallest pheasant I have ever seen. I already have a sense of what it is when I come around some trees to find a flock of turkeys congregating right in the middle of the paved trail. The bird appearing to be the dominant gobbler has his tail spread wide and all the others seem to be gathered around him. He lets out the classic turkey gobble, but none of them seem inclined to yield their position to my approach. I’ve heard stories of the potential aggressiveness of both geese and turkeys, so at this point, I’m more interested in maintaining my momentum than stopping to visit with them. A brief whistle from me helps to encourage enough movement from them to allow me to pass unharmed.
In the end, I survived all the hassles of commuting and arrived at work, on time, and pre-energized to face the tasks ahead of me. The work all seemed a bit less daunting with the knowledge that when quitting time arrived, I would be able to unwind with a pleasant glide home in the sunshine on my bicycle.
It never entered my mind that in the span of one day, the very trail I rode to work on in the morning would be posted as closed for repairs by the afternoon. The thing about it though, was that the barrier with the sign was not across the trail, but on the side. And from what was visible, the new asphalt had already been laid. I was utterly surprised, but maybe they did this all in the span of one day!? I went for it.
New pavement is so fun to ride. And this direction, the trail is mostly a downgrade. I was feeling pretty smug. Then the new stuff ended. No big deal, it was still rideable. When I came upon a woman walking her dog, I received a stern warning that it was all messed up ahead. Sure enough, they still had a lot of paving left to do, and their preparations included breaking up some of the old stuff.
No wildlife to speak of on the way home, but a fair challenge navigating the construction that just so happened to start on the first day I chose to ride my bike to work. Maybe they will finish it all today. I will be driving because I’m playing soccer in the morning. Hopefully, I packed the proper things for two days worth of work clothes last night.
Relative Something 