Poem O Thanks
In 1619, Cap'n John Woodlief brought a group of fresh colonists to a grassy knoll where he ordered them to get on their knees and give a little thanks for this big new world. He then declared a day to be set apart every year to do the same. Now in honor of the gracious captain, I too pause to reflect, remember and give thanks...
Poem O Thanks
~a tribute to the Cap'n~I'm thankful for thanksgiving
So that I can give thanks.
I'm thankful for my parents
Except for all the spanks.
I'm thankful for my friends
Because they're super nice.
I'm thankful for the ladies
My muscles can entice.
I'm thankful for my coffee
At nine, at noon, and three.
I'm thankful for my scooter
Fast as fast as can be.
I'm thankful still for China
For tea and the Great Wall
And that they think I'm awesome
Because of basketball.
I am thankful for Thailand
For ladies and for boys
But not when mixed together
An odd and troubling ploy.
I'm thankful for India
For Budduh my camel
I'm thankful for his spirit,
Not thankful for his smell
I'm SO thankful for Europe
For French bread and for wine.
For hiking the Cinque Terra
And strolls along the Rhine.
I'm thankful too for Portland
And even all the rain.
I'm thankful for cute puppies
But not for flies, they're lame.
But most of all I'm thankful
For those who read this blog.
Well that and my really
Really big muscles.
The End.
*Now you say at least one thing you are thankful for.
Seeing Green
It is often thought of Arizona to be a state of harsh unforgiving desert. And while it is true that there are vast areas of sun scorched land, there is in one section a mountain that has pushed itself some 12,500 feet into space. And there nestled among the unexpected pines is a small mountain town. It is a sleepy town, home to a sleepy people and one sleepy university.
This university was not known for much. There was one time in the early part of the 21st century that it got some attention for an anthrax study it had conducted after a national anthrax scare. But other than that, Flagstaff has managed to stay under just about every radar there is. Especially the sports radar. You see, when you are a university that few people know about, in a town that fewer people have heard about, it becomes increasingly difficult to recruit those hometown heroes necessary to compose a winning football team. And so year after year, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks made do with mediocrity.
Well not long ago around the holiday of Halloween, there was a creature that crossed over from the netherworld for the first time in the known history of man. This green haired symbol of justice, wandered the crust of an injust earth searching to make things right. How this Green Awesome caught wind of the sports program at some obscure town in Northern Arizona, no one will ever know. But even more mysterious is the fact that our green winged heroe not only heard of the suffering sports situation, but that he was somehow able to arrange a reentrance from the burning underworld to visit what might be viewed as an unimportant football game.
There is however, a small group of armored college men who week after week suffered humiliating losses and needed nothing more than one simple one win. It's true that athletes are often babied and given unfair treatment because they can run, jump, or catch a little better the majority of us. But when you have invested hours and hours to an art, and never see the fruits of your labour blossom into a win, it can be quite demoralizing. So demoralizing in fact, to significantly trouble one particular seeker of truth and fairness.
So on a cold November night, much like every other football friday of the season, the team suited up and entered the dome just like they did every week. Though, this time something was different. There was a sweet air of hope. Was it that the Green Awesome struck a paralyzing fear into the oposing team? Was it that some supernatural transfer of power occurred from one frightening creature to a needy football team? Or was it that the Lumberjacks had sitting in the stands something they had maybe never had before. A true fan. A fan that would squak and scream and flap its hairy wings after ever play. And for the first time in a long time 11 collegiate males took to the turf and believed that maybe... just maybe they could win.
It might be said they weren't playing an Ohio State, or USC, no they were playing Weber State. But to anyone in the stands that night, there was no team that had a chance that night against this invincible Lumberjack team. It feels good to beat a team by a score of 42-17. Heck it feels good just to beat a team. But more important than any win, is that there is young man in a small town who once again believes. Believe in his team. Believes in himself. Believes in life.
The Change
Inevitably, when a person takes a big trip, say encircling the world, he or she returns to a torrent of expectation. The first of the expectations is "why". This question is mostly founded on the assumption that a person travels for some distinguished reason. Self discovery. Spiritual awakening. Relaxation and escape. The last, relaxation and escape, generally demands a duration of 1-3 weeks and an exclusive or tropical destination. If the trip is over 3 weeks it fades into a trip of a deeper, more spiritual nature. In which case a world encompassing trip of 4 months necessitates a larger more meaningful response than a simple "I just wanted to see the world" purpose.
If you can get past the first superficial shorcomming, the second expectation is the "what". "What was your awakening?" "What did you discover?" "How did you change?" "Epiphanies! We need epiphanies!" There is an undercurrent of conjecture that a trip like this will bring with it the answers to life, both past, present and future. That you will return having seen the face of God and holding an epiphany of purpose.
And now, before I address these inevitable inquiries, I have a confession to make. When I decided to undertake this adventure, I did not leave with a pack full of expectations. I had no deep preconceived notions to prove or disprove regarding the cultures of the world. Nor did I leave expecting the sun to rise on my future and illuminate fate. And while I was not closed to the idea, I wasn't driven by some quest for spiritual awakening, self discovery, or the meaning of life. No, I'm sorry to say I'm a bit more simple than that. To be honest, I just wanted to see the world. Without pretense. Without expectation. Without the prerequisite of change: the world by me or me by the world. I was single, a day older every 24 hours, and saw a window of oportunity to take advantage of. So I did. Weak, perhaps, but honest.
The problem with a trip like this, at least for me, is that when you return from 4 months of 2 night stays, you are dripping with experiences, memories, observations, and you're not quite sure what happened. There is a sense, a bit surreal, that you have in fact changed. Something is different but it's not black and white. Before leaving you spent all your in the same gallery, with a certain painting. Then you return to that familiar place. Although now, even though you know it is the same piece, it seems bigger... or is it smaller? Mesmerized you position in the same spot, you sit at the same coffee shop, wander the same side street, staring at the same canvas. Maybe the colors that have changed. Maybe are they simply running through a different filter, eyes now seeing shades not formerly known, or at least understood. Whatever the case, something has changed, whether the canvas or the person viewing it. Parts of the picture more vibrant, others darker and less defined. But the interesting thing is it's the same picture. Different? definately. But I'm not exactly sure how.
The other interesting thing is just how quickly parts of the painting fade back to familiar. The memories turn into pictures. Snapshots. The feelings don't leave, but they do become more distant. A fire settling into embers. Still glowing. Still warm. Still pleasant, but no longer the dancing flames they once were. You never forget the flames. It's just not as easy to remember them.
The Green Awesome
There is a creature that exists only in the netherworld. Floating to and fro just neath the surface, he scans the dark energy of those dreaming despicable acts of indecency. A beast of unforgiving power, his soul is cloaked with an inpenetrable and fortelling fur. Each hair working as a sensor of justice, discerning right from wrong, good from evil. Not only does each emerald strand serve a sensor of truth, but also upon determining even the slightest hint of iniquitousness each hair releases a chemical what when combined with the creature's acidic blood produces a power unimaginable. It is strong. It is green. It is awesome. It is
THE GREEN AWESOME!Halloween is oft recognized as the darkest night of the year. A night when evil creeps in the shadows and darkness flows through the streets like a river. For centuries this monstrosity of rectitude has circumambulated below this world's crust waiting, justly frustrated, burning to rectify the wrong. Burning for release. Well on October 31st, 2006, with the stars aligned to perfection and the moon neither full nor empty, the supernatural door 'tween this world and the next was nudged open. And in the dark swamps of the Amazon, a green creature crept into a different world. A world with which it was so familiar, but one it had never known.
Now driven and hungry for justice, The Green Awesome scanned this evil world, looking for others who were also fighters for truth. Who with The Green Awesome as Commander and Cheif would form an army of impariality. He found an unlikely bunch.
Neither powerful nor attractive as himself, but good hearted and honest. They would do just fine.
Billy Bob Blue. Doctress Surprise. The Empire Great Building. Lady Liberty. Bonzai the Bird Ape. Double Wide. And The Mongul.
Unified in strength, the group of not-so-super heroes and their Awesome leader took to the streets and fought for justice. Understanding the importance of the situation, the group focused their energies and powers in one centralized place. The dancefloor. Hour after hour they danced for rectitude each displaying an honest show of grace, moving as if there were no tomorrow.
Then as the night drifted into morning and evil fled for oblivion, a green powerful beast flapped his hairy wings and soared victoriously back to the amazon where he once again crawled under the crust returning to the nether world. His job was done. He fought, he flapped, he danced all night. And then he returned.
It was a night unlike any other in the history of mankind. It was, you could say... awesome...
GREEN AWESOME
