Disaster From Afar

We have a cat that is a crazy as they come. She used to be shy little cat and over the past few years Astrid has come out her shell and she is quite the talker. And she brings Jen and I presents. She has a toy called Qua duck. What Qua duck actually is a question for another day. It is half octopus (with four legs) and half duck. Astrid meows in a throaty load purr when she has Qua duck in her mouth. The other day she brought Jen a ball of yarn and our bed was like a big spider web. She brought me a fastener that wraps around a head of Kale. Why she brought me that I have no idea.

But I remember many years ago I was in the apple orchard and I was picking apples. (Such an idyllic childhood) and I saw my Mom hanging wash (people used to do that and my Mom was good at it and she liked hanging wash). The I saw our cat Beacon (our Mom called him BJ) walking toward my Mom much like Astrid now does with Qua duck. Only BJ was walking across the lawn with a big old snake in his mouth. The snake was still alive and wiggling like crazy.I saw my Mom hanging wash and Bj walking across the lawn with a present for my Mom and I could see a disaster of epic proportions ready to erupt and I was helpless to stop the train wreck.

It actually didn't end in train wreck but I remember that fleeting feeling of not being able to stop the disaster at hand. It was uproariously funny in my mind but I also wanted to spare my Mom of the surprise present.

As anticipated my Mom turned and started yelling at BJ to drop the snake and our startled cat to my surprise ran like hell and the snake slithered into a bush.

Even in the Quietest Moments

I remember when I was about 15 years old. I was too old to participate in family vacations in my mind. But I still had my favourite childhood memories tied to going to the beach ( I believe we called it the shore)  with my family. We would spend most mornings getting up early and having a big breakfast , walking the beach, doing a little wave riding but when GrandFather Hoover determined that the tide was right we would head back to the bay to do some crabbing, Yes we all loved going to Assawoman State Park and do the crabbing thing. Throw a chicken laden string in the water and five minutes later pulling up the string and snaring a ceab in our net.

I remember riding in our parents car back to our favorite crabbing spot and me being the self centered teenager that I was. I decided that i would pop in Supertamps Crime of the Century cd. In retrospect our Grandfather was in the car and he had made the drive to our favourite crabbing spots a thousnad times before.

But he sat there that day and listened to the cd I had pur on. The song Even in the Quitest Moments came on the car sterwo and everyboday sar silent and listened to it.

My grandfasther commented that was a beutiful song.

I heard it again todat and it brought me back to Crabbing in Deleware. And some of the simple pleasures I miss today.

And Slim as many used to call my grandfather.

And even though the stars are listening

And the ocean's deep, I just go to sleep
And then I create a silent movie
You become the star, is that what you are, dear?
Your whisper tells a secret
Your laughter brings me joy
And a wonder of feeling I'm Nature's own little boy
But still the tears keep fallinThey're raining from the sky
Well there's a lot of me got to go under before I get high
Don't you let the sun disappear

 My grandfather sat and listened to these words with me and I have not recisted them until I  heard it today on WXPN/
 
A beauriful song always stirs a memory.

My On Again Love Affair with Bikram

I write about Bikram Yoga often. I have a love hate relationships with Bikram and yesterday I went back to old friend with a goal of sorts.

1. Reduce stress.
2. Lose ten pounds by July 4th.
3. Reduce the side effects that my back is having on everything else.  (Damn I get winded when I sprint in my soccer games).

Well my wife bought me a wonderful gift of Bikram yoga for my birthday and yesterday I took the first step of actually going to class. Like I have written before I generally hate the 90 minutes of class and love the 24 hours after it.

Yesterday was a bit different. Leah was our teacher for the day and the atmosphere was so much different this time around. The schedule has changed just a bit. Classes are now at 530 and 730 which suits my life a little better. Yesterday's class had around 13 students which is better for myself.

I also found myself very relaxed and not frustrated at all if I did not come close to making the pose. I was very into the moment and my mind did not wonder. I found myself not quite where I was the last time I did Bikram but so what. It is a process, I am 3 years older and I came here with problems with my back and 11 pounds to lose. One day at a time. One pose at a time.

Once class was over that's when the you reap the benefits. The breeze flowing down Fremont street was gentle and beautiful and the light rain felt great on my forehead. We had watermelon for desert and it was the best thing I tasted all day. A cold glass of water after dinner replaced the usual beer. I slept very well last night.

And that matters.

I went for a walk with our Beagle last night and her leg seemed better. Probably not related but I love the Halo effect that comes with Bikram.

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

The Head Talks

Sad Tire
Effective July 16, 2010, Earl Scheib, Inc. has ceased operations nationwide. Each store is now independently owned and operated by a person unaffiliated with Earl Scheib, Inc. Based on this change, customer warranties of Earl Scheib, Inc. will no longer be able to be honored at these stores or by Earl Scheib, Inc. We truly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you (and the inconvenience we got rid of), however we believe the independent owners and operators will (begrudgedly) continue to provide the same great service that Earl Scheib, Inc. offered for almost 79.9 years.

In other words go take your crappy paint jobs back to them because we made a deal never to deal with this crap again. On second thought go but a new car instead of getting your car fixed.