Observations 109

My occasional blog series "Observations" was created to be an outlet to share a variety of topics that pop into my field of view as a result of a condition that many
bloggers are afflicted with known as "blogger's eyes". In this state we view the world on the constant look-out for topics on which to write about. Today's blog came about from
random odds 'n ends of things that I have noticed over the past few weeks.

• Don't you hate it when you are absolutely head over heels exhausted, when you can't stop yawning, when your eyelids feel like lead weights, and yet your body still won't let you fall asleep?
  
• I recently went to a show featuring comedian Brian Regan. Dang it felt great to laugh and let the problems of the world melt away for a little while.
  
• I woke up on a recent Saturday to a downpour. Checking the forecast made it clear that the rest of the day would show continued moistness. Pooh, that means that I wouldn't be able to mow the grass and do all of my other yard work.
  
• Saturday morning 8:00 a.m.. I drive past the chiropractor's office near my office and the parking lot is packed. What the heck happened last night that so many people threw their backs out?
  
• I may have recently lost a staring contest with a Canadian goose.
  

Lessons from the Deli

There is a brand of cold cuts called Boar's Head. They make a broad array of deli meats and cheeses that are definitely a couple of notches above anything else that I have come across. A bit more expensive than the usual mass market brands, but after a few nibbles, you will quickly appreciate what you are paying extra for. As Boar's Head was not sold in my regular supermarket, for many years I made do with a different brand that was just "O.K.". However, every once in a while I would stop off at a different store, a bit farther from my house, that did carry Boar's Head. I would get a bit of this and a bit of that and it was amazing how it transformed my lunch time for a few days. Instead of gobbling down my regular sandwich without a second thought, lunch became something that I would look forward to well in advance. A sandwich became something to savor and linger over.

Recently, my supermarket changed locations. It moved from its old, cramped, dated building to a newly remodeled and expanded store front. As part of the remodel, they upgraded their deli department with a broad selection of Boar's Heads products. I thought that this was the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread. I would now have regular access to my favorite deli selections. However, it didn't take long before I was back to choking down my lunches without a second thought. What was once a special treat that I allowed myself a couple of times a year, became just another sandwich when it became the usual.

Like so many things in my life, I quickly tend to lose appreciation for the blessings that I have. When things are readily at hand they lose their vibrancy and quickly fade into the backgroud. This happens not just with things and possessions, it has also happened with people and relationships. It is only when things and people suddenly disappear from my life that I truly realize what I had.

iTunes Latest - 29

I have been a user of iTunes since 2011. This service has allowed me to bring music back into my world and to reconnect with so many great songs from my past and to find some great new recent stuff as well. One of the things that I really like about music is how it becomes part of the soundtrack of the different seasons of our lives. So, I thought that I would share my latest five downloads and a bit about my thoughts on each song.

• Crucified - The Fixx (1991) - My first real taste of this band was their 1983 release "Reach the Beach". This song screams out from the sudden awareness of dupliticity as a relationship has abruptly ended. A tune alive with emotion and frenzy.
  
• Black Money - Sniff 'n' the Tears (2011) - Many call this band the epitome of a "one hit wonder" with their smash hit "Driver's Seat". In fact after a commercial in Britain used that song, a groundswell of fans clamored for new music from the band. This song about the taint of ill-gotten gains was part of their 2011 release and represents a great song with their trademark sound.
  
• The Game's Up - Sniff 'n' the Tears (1980) - I actually had this song on vinyl back when I in college. I bought the record at a used record sale on campus. This song about the bitterness and frustation of loss when the game's up and not a thing can be done holds up even after 35 years.
  
• I Think We'd Feel Good Together - Rob Thomas (2015) - I have always wanted to like Rob Thomas. He is charismatic, good-looking, has a great voice and oozes rock star, but I just never found anything of his that resonated with me. There was was exception, however, when he took the lead on "Smooth" for Santana. This song, although a bit overproduced, has that same sing-along-with-me vibe that is infectious.
  
• Pieces - Rob Thomas (2015) - A slow, calculated, and paced song about our inevitable breakdown when we give too much to the world. Somehow this one from his new album spoke to me and left me nodding.
  

The Dragon Reborn

The third entry in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time epic saga is entitled, The Dragon Reborn, and follows on just a short while after the end of the previous story, The Great Hunt. We have followed the once innocent troop of rustics from the small village of Two Rivers as the ever-turning wheel of time has propelled them hither and yon at breakneck pace. Three young men, Rand, Mat, and Perrin, have found that they are somehow key players in the destiny of the world, the battle of light against dark, with Rand the child of prophesy who is fated to face the Dark One in the final battle. Each is marked with his own part to play, but to them their safe and secure worlds have unraveled so quickly they cannot seem to catch their breath. One moment they were happy to dream their small dreams and live their rural lives, and the next they are battling tooth and nail against creatures previously limited only to their nightmares. As well, two young women are caught up in the flow of fate that is pinned to the boys, Nynaeve and Egwene, who were celebrated in Two Rivers for their ability to channel powers of healing and nature. With their eyes opened as to what they can do with proper training, they have gone to become powerful sorceresses known as Aes Sedai.

However, even though the boys and the girls are separated geographically at the start of the story dealing with their own issues, they are still inexorably linked via the turning wheel of time. Rand has found that he has a powerful ability to channel, a power that history has shown leads to madness in men in short order. As he fights against the threat of this madness on the one hand, and against the prophesies that paint him as the Dragon on the other, he decides to force the hand of fate and prove to himself whether or not he is the Dragon or just a pawn of the Aes Sedai. He decides to travel to the great city of Tear where the prophesies claim that the one true Dragon is the only one who can claim the great crystal sword Callandor. Pulled in Rand's wake, Mat and Perrin separately take a circuituous and adventurous path to Tear.

The girls, who the Aes Sedai realize are closely linked to Rand, are given a secret mission to investigate a plot by a renegade group of their number controlled by the Dark One, also follow a trail to Tear. Ultimately Rand, Mat, Perrin, Nynaeve, and Egwene battle one of the Dark One's most powerful minions, believing initially that their efforts had, in fact, defeated the Dark One himself. It is only when they are drained of every last ounce of strength and mental reserve, that they begin to see how long and how perilious their true journey ahead will be. I now move eargerly onto the next part of the tale, The Shadow Rising.

Quick Hits 43

Sometimes I hear an utterance or catch a quick visual of something that sticks in my mind. As this sensory input rolls about in my head, several different outcomes are possible. It might be the case that after a moment of consideration, the input is deleted as uninteresting, trivial, or too much for me to deal with. However, another possible outcome is that the input keeps demanding my attention. It somehow wants me to wrestle with it and give it more than just a passing notice. In such cases, they can end up here, in my blog series called Quick Hits.

There was an episode of the old Star Trek series where a race of people with white on one side of their face and black on the other, tried to oppress a race of people that were identical but with the white side and black side of their faces reversed. This proved to show how arbitrary and absurd we are with our discrimination and prejudice. So why is it that guys with hair on top of their heads and missing on the sides (labeled as a mohawk) are accepted as tough and virile, while guys with hair on the sides of their heads and missing on the top (labeled as bald) are marginalized as wimpy and uncool?

What do you think?

Observations 108

My occasional blog series "Observations" was created to be an outlet to share a variety of topics that pop into my field of view as a result of a condition that many bloggers are afflicted with known as "blogger's eyes". In this state we view the world on the constant look-out for topics on which to write about. Today's blog came about from random odds 'n ends of things that I have noticed over the past few weeks.

• You would think that the definition of a "catch" in football would be a pretty easy thing to determine. However, after watching clips of obvious "catches" that were ruled "not catches", it has become apparent that I know absolutely nothing.
  
• The first thing to learn about eating and enjoying wasabi-covered peanuts is not to rub one's eyes after handling said legumes. Trust me on this.
  
• Would I label myself in your eyes as a weenie if I told you that I couldn't make it past 8:30 p.m. the other night?
  
• People are so vain. A woman in the doctor's office stripped down to her undies before getting on the scale so that her recorded weight would be as small as possible.
  
• If you are looking for a good excuse to grumble loudly to yourself, try dropping a new roll of paper towels into a sink full of water ... I'll wait while you try it.
  

Summer's End

I always grow more than a bit melacholy when I can no longer ignore the fact that summer is coming to an end. The darkness is now present when I awaken, when there used to be a glorious brightness urging me to carpe diem with its energizing promise. Then, after dinner, I have less and less time to sit outside and enjoy the evening before the sun sets, allowing a slight chill breeze to creep in. Even looking across my lawn I can see a growing accumulation of sere leaves. What once was vibrant and verdant and glowing with life, is now turning toward the reds and golds of autumn.

Although summer is my favorite season, this time around it carried with it more than a bit of a foul taint. As my daughter was suffering from a thorn in her flesh, we were kept apart. While she struggled I was left to the whims of frustration and worry without the ability or opportunity to make any positive contributions. Left to my own, there were no adventures, far too little laughter and exchange, and far too much of routine. My mind kept focusing on what was missing instead of what I had.

I truly understand the feelings of a woman approaching middle age who desperately wants to have a child only to have the sounds of her tears drowned out by the ticking of her biological clock. For me as a father, this summer might just have been the last of my allotment with my daughter as she will likely be going off to college next year. What has always been a time of late nights, special times of interacting, and sharing lots of great food and goodies, has been none of the above this year. I feel the loss so deeply in my bones that I feel absolutely drained of life. Why does the summer have to go when I wish it would stay, just a bit longer?