Tuesday’s Wandering Thoughts

I found myself thinking about Chris Woods this morning. He’s a friend who died of cancer a few years ago.

Egregious: that’s why I was thinking of him. I was using the word in my head. That triggered The Neurons to remember a time when I was having a beer with Chris and he used the word. One of many reasons I enjoyed Chris’s company is because he would correctly use words like egregious. As one friend said, “my conversations with Chris were never long enough or ever finished.”

And then, since the door was opened, apparently, I thought of the late, great Quinn, a little sweetheart of a cat who lived with me for over ten years. Like Chris, cancer chased the life out of Quinn. Never more than eight pounds, he packed a huge personality into that little being.

It’s weird and odd and other words about how our mind works on its own. So don’t mind me and my memories of the dead.

I don’t mind.

Quinn, not Chris, watching something.

Bravo!

Keith captures my thoughts on it. The difference in values and optics between the Republican and Democratic conventions is striking, highlighted by the current and former Presidents appearing and giving rising speeches, along with notables such as Oprah Winfrey, Pete Buttigieg, Wendell Pierce, Josh Shapiro and Andy Bashear, and a performance by John Legend with Sheila E. to introduce Gov. Walz. Then Gov. Walz spoke about true American values of service, community, and inclusion. We’ve worked hard to become inclusive as a nation. The GOP now want to tear it down.

Former President Obama captured the essence in the difference the two parties and their visions. Trump’s MAGA-dominated GOP is interested in outing people, excluding those not like them. They use hate and fear as their tools to manipulate voters. As Barack Obama noted, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and the Democratic Party will work with you, even if we disagree with you.

And that, friends, is a significant difference.

Vote Blue.

Tuesday’s Wandering Thoughts

I was standing in the Pacific Ocean. Waves break before me. Swirling waters rush around my calves and shoot up the beach.

It’s amazing to be there, contemplating the waves, thinking about history and science, and the forces creating the waves.

That’s why the word ‘trippy’ was invented. This was trippy.

Thursday’s Wandering Thoughts

I added radish leaves to my breakfast this morning. We bought radishes yesterday at a store. Organic and local, they have the leaves attached. As I was checking out, the cashier told me she’d been told by a Persian guy that eating radish leaves are good for the respiratory system.

So I tried it. Tasted like grass, or wheat grass. I ate lawn grass back when I was a kid. I was curious and wanted to see what cows saw in it. Fortunately, we had little money and didn’t use anything on the lawn.

The radish leaves seemed to have an immediate effect on my airways, as congestion seemed to immediately drop. Could’ve just been a placebo effect, though.

Certainly was interesting to try.

The Writing Moment

Time slips into a higher gear when I’m writing. Superchargers and turbos power time to a faster pace during that time. The hours flash past like Saturn rockets push it.

I’ve written a bunch but there’s so much more. The session is just too short, and ends too soon.

Sunday’s Wandering Thoughts

We went to Lake of the Woods Resort last night. The agenda was to dance, socialize, have fun, and unwind.

It worked as intended. Twenty-seven miles away up in the nearby mountains, we arrived in forty-five minutes. The smoke had retreated. Surrounded by tall trees, on the edge of blue water, the picturesque scene was fresh and sigh-inducing. Saucy was the band. They played pop, rock, and disco, like “Lady Marmalade”, “Rebel Yell”, “Life in the Fast Lane”, “Shut up and Dance”, “Bring Me to Life”, and “Honky Tonk Woman”. We ate barbecue meats with potato salad, cole slaw, and mac & cheese.

But the star was this little five-year-old in a red shirt. Up there on the steps to the stage, they entertained with Freddie Mercury and Elton John moves interspersed with inspiring air-guitar solos. Yet, the old man in me couldn’t help but think about the damage they were doing to their young ears, standing in front of a rock band’s amplifiers.

Saturday’s Wandering Thoughts

Most people learn that the same response doesn’t fit every situation and adjust their behavior and responses to reflect the moment. Some, however, never seem to learn, insisting on using the same strident notes, no matter what’s happening. Even as that fails, their only response is to lean harder on that one mode, as though it’ll miraculously work, never seeing how they’re only worsening matters, even though people avoid them or walk away.

They end up alone, shouting at themselves.

Thursday’s Wandering Thoughts

I ordered a new knob for my gas range. It’s the third one I’ve had to buy for the GE Profile range. The range is about six years old. Quality, right? Headshake.

Anyway, I’m tracking the knob. They said it shipped. I looked up the details.

After being picked up by the carrier, it arrived at the carrier facility, and then arrived at a carrier facility, and then arrived at a carrier facility. All the carrier facilities are in Arkansas.

It’s like, such strange progress. But then, another part for something else last week left California, south of us, and arrived at Eugene, north of us. Then it went further north to Portland. The day after that, it came back down south to Medford, basically northwest of us, before being delivered.

I suspect the folks behind these shipping processes are the same people who are always shouting, “Do more with less!”

The Writing Moment

I’m at the point in the novel-in-progress’s progress where I entertain notions of the next book which I want to write.

First, I’m always doing that, no matter where I am in the writing, editing, and revising process. Ideas and characters are stacked up in my head like a giant Costco warehouse. But now it’s reached the point where I’ll transition from mind mutterings into earnest application, chasing a direction, building characters, and so on.

Now, I have one novel in the works where I wrote about a third of it and shared it with friends earlier this year. They said, “That’s great, do more of that.” But there are some ideas which have been lurking in my mind’s niches for a longer period. Some light flashed on them today.

Suddenly a concept jumps into being almost fully conceived. An opening paragraph begins getting typed in my mind. Main characters clear their throats and step up. Then, best of all, a neon-lit title leaps into the scene.

Some muse is behind it all and put together an impressive campaign to convince me to pursue their idea. And it worked.

I’m eager to start writing.

The Red Tricycle Dream

I was with some sort of military unit. A bunch of military units wre there, all living side-by-side with their families, including children in this big sort of hanger. It was a sea of chaos to my eyes.

The guy in charge held up a large white envelope. “Someone needs to go around and collect for the charities.”

“I’ll do it,” I said. Otherwise, it seemed like I was doing nothing but waiting.

Directions about what to do were in the envelope, along with a list of the units. My task was to go around and hit them up for money, not just the units, but some individuals in the units. Weirdly, I was to always get eight donations. That struck me because a few years ago, I had a series of dreams in which eight was always significant.

I began my collections, and fumbled my way through, telling others what I was doing and why, getting the required monies. After doing three, I thought, this is ridiculous. I was walking, and with the throngs of milling people and distances, snails would have outraced me. Going back and turning in my collection, I complained, “I need some way to get around faster.”

Someone gave me a little red tricycle to use, the kind of transpo suited to a toddler. I sat on the seat and grabbed the grips on the silver handlebars. The grips were white, with pink and white tassels hanhing off them. Applying my feet to the pedals, I tried to make progress, but it was ridiculous, with my knees rising above the handlebars and sometimes slamming into them.

Getting off the trike, I considered my transportation. “I need to make some changes,” I said, “but how?”

Like heat lightning on a summer evening, the idea came: I will think of the changes I want and make them happen.

First, the three-wheeler needed to be larger to fit my adultness. I picked up the thing and thought that until the trike was sufficiently sized. Next, I thought, I want the front wheel further out, like a chopper. Thought and done. Then, sitting on it again, I thought, I want the seat to be like a chair and reclined. Done.

Next, did I really need to pedal? Flying over this crowd and from unit to unit would make my task deeply easier. So I thought of wings, and then decided, yes, this can fly. Somewhere along that process, I gained a flying helmet with googles and a white scarf.

I took off on a practice run, flying around the hanger, and it was smooth as an icy pond. In quick order, I was flying to the units on my rounds. Some of the unit personnel knew me at one and asked, “How did you get that flying bike?”

I told them, “Someone gave me a red tricycle and I changed it.”

“But how did you change it?”

“I just thought of what I wanted,” I replied. “And that made it happen.”

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