Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2013 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.
For the 2013 collection of images, click here.

The Bucket List, Part II

This isn't exactly a bucket list - at least not in the conventional sense, but it is a follow-up to my Bucket List, Part I. I'm still unclear about whether the things on one's bucket list have to be readily do-able. That is not the case with this list, which may be more of a wish list than a true bucket list. Also, I have limited it to ten items - sort of. One could argue that Number 4 is really five things or that Number 8 is nearly three dozen - but who's counting.

In no particular order.

1. Live to see my daughters in happy, rewarding relationships, with their own children who are just as wonderful as my daughters are.

2. Travel to the edge of space - at least high enough to see the curvature of Earth. If I can do that in orbit, so much the better - then I could watch the sun rise and set every ninety minutes or so as the totality of humanity turned below me.

3. Take art lessons. I'm uncertain if that is to be drawing or painting, but I know I want to develop a new creative outlet.

4. Experience what I'm calling my Super Spring. It begins in February with Carnival in Venice, and this time I'm riding in a gondola with my wife. Next is March Madness with the NCAA Basketball Final Four. Then we move on to Augusta for the Masters Tournament in April and to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby in May. We close out May (and Spring) with the Indianapolis 500.

5. Enjoy an extended stay at a vineyard in Tuscany - perhaps with one of the Conternos, but I wouldn't want to preclude going north of Verona where they make the most exquisite Amarone. I can be flexible. Maybe some cooking classes while staying at the villa of Lorenza de’ Medici could be a pleasant interlude.

6. Buy a coastal lighthouse for one of my vacation homes - at minimum, spend a few weekends in one I've rented. Perhaps I could find a time-share lighthouse. Perfect.

7. Tell my personal story to those who want to hear it, and once told, of course, turn it into a book. But ... let's just begin with the opportunity to tell it.

8. Visit 100 Hard Rock Cafés, worldwide. That means 17 more.

9. Go on an around the world cruise, and if the world were the least bit fair, by the way, this would be aboard a very large private yacht.

Aside from the dozens of ports of call, this cruise would have to include opportunities to:
     -look out on New York Harbor from the torch of the Statue of Liberty
     -transit the Panama Canal
     -stand atop an iceberg
     -watch sunrise over the heelstone of Stonehenge at summer solstice
          (but without the usual horde of New Agers and neo-pagans)
     -peer down into a volcano from its rim, perhaps in Hawaii or Sicily
     -contemplate the majestic beauty of the Taj Mahal
     -descend into the center of the Great Pyramid of Giza
     -explore the tombs at the Valley of the Kings
     -go on safari in the Serengeti
     -climb to the top of the cathedral's campanile in Pisa - it leans
     -ascend to Christo Redentor on Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro
     -hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
     -visit Uluru (Ayers Rock) at dawn
          (This was "scale Uluru" in the first version, but I have now read
          that the local Aṉangu do not climb Uluru because of its great
          spiritual significance. They request that visitors do not climb
          the rock due to the path crossing a sacred Dreamtime track.)
     -gaze upon the Northern Lights and the Southern Cross.

Then there is the nightly entertainment aboard ship - James Taylor, Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, John Denver, Kingston Trio, Norah Jones, Simon and Garfunkel, Phil Collins, Fleetwood Mac, Sarah McLachlan, Shania Twain, Tina Turner, Jimmy Buffet, Randy Newman, Steve Martin, Kris Kristofferson, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney (or all the Beatles if they have time), Peter, Paul, and Mary. The original list was twice as long, by the way, but I didn't want to ask for too much. And yes, I know several of these are no longer living, but it is a wish list, after all.

10. Spend the holidays at Monticello - Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year's, plenty of time to have many wonderful dinners and experiences with family and friends. And if it's not too much to ask, maybe Jefferson could join us on occasion. Since this unlikely, we could substitute a house in Colonial Williamsburg for the same period, and those homes are far more readily available.

TGB   

The Bucket List, Part I

Several of my blogging colleagues have been writing about "bucket lists" - those lists of things you want to do at least once before you die. They have me thinking, but I remain uncertain about having such a list. First, I don't intend to die. Ever. Second, it somehow sounds unappreciative of all that I have been allowed to experience in this wonderful world - that it isn't enough.

"My goodness" is the expression that comes to mind when I consider the array - the places I've seen, things I've done, people I've met. I probably can't even remember it all - although much of it might not have been on a bucket list to begin with. It just happened along the way.

My list MIGHT have had any of the following: walk on the Salisbury Plain and gaze upon Stonehenge; view the rose windows in the transepts of Notre Dame; raise children; take the train from London to Paris through the "Chunnel;" drive across the Golden Gate Bridge; take a flight in a hot air balloon; view the golden mask of Tutankhamun's mummy; design and construct a house; earn a Ph.D.; climb a tall lighthouse; drive the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway; go to the top of the Empire State Building; love a woman; take-off and land an airplane; get catapulted from an aircraft carrier; land on an aircraft carrier; pilot a plane doing barrel rolls, spirals, and loops; Rome; Florence; Venice; descend hundreds of feet into a salt mine; see the White Cliffs of Dover; walk through the ruins of Pompeii; visit the Berlin Wall; see a play on Broadway; go to the Grand Old Opry; have an evening tour of the White House and look into the Oval Office. I'm not going to mention concerts I just had to see or the famous folks with whom I've met.

I do, however, want to emphasize that "might." I'm certain that if I were making a bucket list when I was thirty, some of these experiences would not have been on it. After all, the things I've done could go on and on, but at some point it becomes simply a list of very special experiences that I might not have actually selected for a bucket list when I was younger. In reviewing that list, I have to admit I'm not quite sure where that transition lies.

And that has me wondering about the rules for bucket lists. It doesn't seem to have existed as a term until the 2007 Rob Reiner movie The Bucket List. "The main plot follows two terminally ill men (portrayed by Nicholson and Freeman) on their road trip with a wish list of things to do before they 'kick the bucket.' " In that context, the list isn't made until later in life when, in retrospect, you realize time is getting short and there is a lot of life you never got around to. So ... I'm left to wonder if you can have such a list when you're younger.

Then again, I'm not younger. I'm half way through my 60s, and I guess I am getting to that point. Perhaps it is time for a list, time to focus, time to find the joy.

But not today. Stay tuned.

TGB  

See also The Bucket List, Part II

96 Tears

Some situations are just difficult.

I visited my mother over the weekend. She is 93.4 and aging. Her health is generally good (for her age) although controlling blood pressure is starting to be a challenge. Her mind is still sharp, but we are beginning to see some difficulties with recent memory formation. I can easily abide the repetitions of stories, but it hurts to see her get emotional because she knows she's not as sharp as she once was.

It was a good visit. She got to see my older brother as well as other relatives she doesn't often see. It was also, however, a stressful visit. I didn't realize that until I got into the car and began crying.

What had been hardest of all was the goodbye hug inside. She then came out to say goodbye one more time through the car window. It was clear she was thinking that this might be the last time she sees me, her last chance to hug me.

I hope not, and it may well not be. Nevertheless no matter what your feelings are toward your parents, you will miss them terribly when they are gone.

TGB   

{picture perfect} وليلي

Ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis
in Morocco (near Meknes)

Copyright © 2007 Amy E. Brown

Chocolate Chip Cookies

An elderly man lay dying in his bed. Suddenly death's agony was pushed aside as he smelled the aroma of his favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs.

Gathering all of his remaining strength, he lifted himself up from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with intense concentration, he supported himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. In labored breath, he leaned against the door frame and gazed wide-eyed into the kitchen.

There, spread out on the kitchen table were literally HUNDREDS of his favorite chocolate chip cookies! Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture with one hand on the edge of the table. The aged and withered hand quiveringly made its way to a cookie near the edge of the table, and the feeling of the warm soft dough actually made the pain of his bones subside for a moment. His parched lips parted. The wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.

What, then, was this sudden stinging that caused his hand to recoil? He looked to see his wife, still holding the spatula she had just used to smack his hand. "Stay out of those!" she said, "they're for the funeral."

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2013 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.
For the 2013 collection of images, click here.

{essential truths} Joy

It's best to keep open the box

in which you hide your joy.

If need be, pry it open.

{poetically plagiarized} 21: Thomas

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

by

Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The Piñata's Apprentice

Some week-end events reminded me of this story which I first heard over a decade ago. It has me thinking about a life lesson with which I sometimes struggle.

Two young men are bungee-jumping one day, and the first fellow says to the second, "You know, we could make a lot of money running our own bungee-jumping service in Mexico." The second fellow thinks this is a great idea. So they pool their money and buy everything they'll need - a tower, an elastic cord, insurance, etc.

They travel to Mexico and begin to set up business in the town plaza. As they construct the tower, a crowd begins to assemble, and slowly more and more people gather to watch them at work.

When they finish the tower, the first young man jumps. He bounces at the end of the cord, but when he comes back up, the second fellow notices he has a few cuts and scratches. Unfortunately, the second guy isn't able to catch him, and he falls again.

He bounces and comes back up again. This time he is bruised and bleeding. Again, the second fellow just misses catching him. The first fellow falls a third time. This time, he bounces and comes back in pretty bad shape; he's got a couple of broken bones and is almost unconscious.

Luckily, the other young man finally catches him and asks, "What happened? Is the cord too long?"

The now desperate fellow moans, "No, the cord is perfect. What the hell is a piñata?"

So ... there's a time and a place for everything. It's really not that hard a lesson to learn. Or so one might think.

Surely we have all - at one time another - been impressed by our own brilliance. Great ideas, profound wisdoms, creative solutions, inventions - and all guaranteed to make us wealthy. Damn, we're good!

Knowing what to do with it and just when to do it, however, is usually somehow just out of reach. For me, it's usually a brilliant thought that I should have left unexpressed and invariably wish I hadn't been so eager to share. It happened again recently, and I'm sure it will probably recur still yet again.

I'm not sure why sometimes I just can't help myself, but I'd like to think I'm getting better at withholding whatever it is for at least a modicum of time while I continue to refine it or, better yet, maybe just keep that brilliance for myself.

I guess I'm still learning, and I should take some solace from that fact. It's when we stop learning, after all, that life becomes boring, and I'm certain don't want that.

TGB   

No Regrets

A post on Aaron Outward posed the question "If you were to die tonight, would you be happy with your life?" As I played with that thought, I recalled that few years ago a colleague looking around my office said, "You are a Collector.” I quickly replied, “Not really. Just Hard Rock Café pins. It’s a silly hobby.” “No, you are a Collector.” And I paused.

I paused because I’ve learned to ponder further when people repeat themselves, when they are being insistent. There is something in the repetition that suggests importance, that suggests I should examine again what I was thinking, that suggests perhaps I am being taught something about myself.

So I tried it on for size. I told myself “I am a Collector.” Okay, but now I was left to wonder what I collect. Yes, I do have a collection of pins - hundreds, in fact. I suspected, however, it wasn't just pins, and I decided to look around. It took a while, and it took some reflection. I now see there is quite a bit more although the why is still being worked on.

In my basement I found Christmas decorations in quantities greater than one could ever possibly display. Everywhere I looked I saw ends and odds who still function as surrogates for friendships once neglected. There were statues and figurines and other works of art representing the beauty of the human spirit. Each of the many sacred but scattered reminders of my father’s honorable life was hard to miss.

Prints, calendars, miniatures, paintings, postage stamps, postcards, books - all sorts of images of lighthouses, those beacons for souls needing help in perilous circumstance, can be found in every corner of my office. Internally, of course, there are valued memory fragments both great and small, some pleasant, some poignant. And as with anyone who has experienced life there are scars uncounted but each representing proof of triumph over adversity.

So, yes, I am a collector, and the chances are that you are too. There are, however, some things I don't want to collect; there are, for example, some memories that perhaps ought not be preserved. What is certain though is that I shall continue to live my life with a determination that I shall never collect regrets. I can't imagine anything sadder.

TGB  

{picture perfect} Rotunda

Mr. Jefferson

North side of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia

which he founded in 1819 in Charlottesville.

Copyright © 2002 Thomas G. Brown

Bible Quotes

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. He, therefore, took out a business card, wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it, and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. What he wrote was Revelation 3:20 which begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10, however, reads, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid for I was naked."

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2013 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.
For the 2013 collection of images, click here.

Puff That Magic Candle

I thought it was hysterical, but that's how I roll. I'm not sure what she thought, but others would have been mortified.

I had a birthday last week - the 65th anniversary of my emergence. No big bash, no bells or whistles - but we did have a very small dinner for nine the day after. That's when it happened.

Everyone was suitably filled and saturated by the time they brought out the cake. The search was on for a few candles, not 65 or 66. Just three. That was followed, of course, by a somewhat more frenetic search for matches. Success. The candles are lit, and the unfortunate singing has been completed.

That's when it happened - time to blow out the candles. Mind you, I wasn't optimistic. I am in chronic respiratory failure so there isn't a lot of breath with which to blow. I tried once. Nope. I tried twice. Nope. Third time's a charm, right? Nope.

I called a fourth-grader over to help out. One puff and they're out. At least for a moment as they now begin to relight themselves. Em was determined though, and she blew them out again. Same thing. Again. Same thing.

That's when it became obvious that in the candle search haste my wife had unwittingly grabbed a few of those candles that aren't extinguishable by the usual methods. Sure! - make fun of the handicapped. Let's find a guy who is on supplemental oxygen 24/7 and give him some candles to blow out that can't be blown out. Ha, ha, ha!

When I pointed out the delicious irony, everyone laughed - but somewhat nervously. On the other hand, I actually DID think it was funny, and if nothing else, I have something with which to tease and a story to tell. I'm just the kind of guy who would do this to someone whom I knew would react as I did.

Life is good.

TGB   

{this memory} 89

This is the story behind last Monday's {this moment}.

Oh, my! A trio of beautiful young ladies - offering their best Charlie's Angels performance.

Beautiful evening. Big Limo. Handsome young men. It's Senior Prom, a dozen years ago.

The angel on the bottom right is my younger daughter, the others being two of her best high school friends - although from only one of whom do we ever hear much today.

What treasures my daughters have been, but the years do slip away all too rapidly. I've had them both here for the past two weeks or so, and it's left me with such sweet memories - some new and some old.

I am a fortunate man. Life's been good to me so far.

TGB

Dreams Along The Mohawk

I lost a friend yesterday, and although we had not seen each for decades, it hurts. "Michael died this morning, August 13, 2013 at 10:50. It was a very peaceful departure at home with family beside him. He will be sorely missed." What follows is one of several posts I wrote that were related to him.

February 4, 2011

I had a dream the other night. Well, that's not quite right because I dream every night. We all do - about every 90-100 minutes. So we have four or five each night depending on the duration of our sleep.

What I should have said is that I remembered a dream when I woke up - when we obviously forget most of them. This one was pleasant, but I don't remember a whole lot about it. For the most part, I have just a few impressions.

It involved an old friend I haven't seen since high school but who lives only 200 miles from here. I have written about Michael before. (See: Singin' On The Brain ) Then I said he might as well live thousands of miles away - since he is in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease.

He wasn't ill in the dream though, and my wife and I had simply stopped in to visit. He wasn't expecting me. While we waited for him to return, we chatted with his wife in the living room. As he closed the door, she shouted, "Michael, guess who's here." As he came around the corner, I was out of my chair in a flash. We recognized each other immediately even though neither of us looked in the least the way we did when we last saw each other over 46 years ago. What followed is best described as a massive bear hug with much back slapping and laughter.

I don't remember much other than that. Such are dreams. What is lingering so vividly is the sheer merriment we shared in seeing each other. It was as if we were carefree teenagers again.

Why was Michael in my dream, you ask? Well, dream content simply reflects our everyday lives. Whatever we are doing or thinking about or stressing over is what usually emerges in our dreams. Earlier that night I had re-read some of his wife's blog in which she movingly describes what her days with Michael are like - the good, the bad, the in-between. He was on my mind.

There is one other impression that remains. It is of the sincere joy Claire experienced in seeing Michael so happy. This is where dreams get weird. Although in my interaction with Michael he was clearly not ill, her reaction was all about Michael having a wonderful experience in spite of his illness.

Although I have never met her, the devotion and love she shares with Michael is deep and obvious, and this was evidently on my mind as well. He is a lucky man, and so am I.

TGB   

They Shoot New Yorkers, Don't They?

No one symbolizes non-violence more than Mohandas Gandhi. What follows is a script excerpt of a speech in the movie Gandhi. The power of these words as they embody Gandhi's ideas has always impressed me, and American current events, repeated as they are, have again brought them to mind. There are so many places where these shooting tragedies occur, that as a New Yorker, I am no longer sure where I feel safe.

Gandhi: I want to welcome you all. Every one of you. We have no secrets.

Let us begin by being clear about General Smuts' new law: All Indians must now be fingerprinted, like criminals, men and women.

No marriage, other than a Christian marriage, is considered valid. Under this Act, our wives and mothers are whores, and every man here is a bastard.

And our policemen, passing an Indian dwelling -- I will not call them homes -- may enter and demand the card of any Indian woman whose dwelling it is. Understand, he does not have to stand at the door. He may simply enter.

Audience Member #1: I will not allow it.
Audience Member #2: I swear to Allah: I'll kill the man who offers that insult to my home and my wife. And, let them hang me.
Audience Member #3: I say, talk means nothing! Kill a few officials before they disgrace one Indian woman! Then, they might think twice about such laws!
Audience Member #4: In that cause, I would be willing to die!!

Gandhi: I praise such courage. I need such courage because in this cause I, too, am prepared to die. But, my friend, there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. Whatever they do to us, we will attack no one, kill no one, but we will not give our fingerprints -- not one of us.

They will imprison us, and they will fine us. They will seize our possessions, but they cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.

Audience Member #5: Have you been to prison?! They beat us and torture us!

Gandhi: I am asking you to fight! To fight against their anger, not to provoke it. We will not strike a blow, but we will receive them. And through our pain we will make them see their injustice, and it will hurt - as all fighting hurts. But we cannot lose. We cannot. They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me. Then, they will have my dead body - not my obedience.
------------------------
Ah, yes. Brilliant. "I praise such courage. I need such courage because in this cause I, too, am prepared to die, but, my friend, there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill." If only these mass murderers had believed similarly.

Indeed, if only.

TGB   

Give peace a chance.  

{this moment} 89

A Monday ritual. A single image - no words - capturing a moment from the past. A simple moment along my life's Journey - but one over which I wish to linger and savor each treasured aspect of the memories it evokes. If you are moved or intrigued by my {this moment}, please leave a comment. On Thursday in a companion ritual called {this memory}, I'll share the story of this moment.

{this moment}

{this moment} is a ritual copied and adapted from cath's wonderful blog ~just my thoughts. She, in turn, borrowed it from Pamanner's Blog. Check out their blogs, and if you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your {this moment} in the comments for each of us to find and see.

TGB

Adam's Rib

At Sunday School they were learning how God created everything, including human beings. Johnny was especially interested when the teacher told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs.

Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, "Johnny, what is the matter?"

Johnny responded, "I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2013 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.
For the 2013 collection of images, click here.

Dial M For Meteor

Well, we are into Leo, August is upon us, and the excitement is building. That can mean only one thing: we’re getting close to the Perseid meteor showers, a celestial light show of what many call falling or shooting stars. I like to think of it as The Universe's birthday present to me, but I'm happy to share it with all the other Leos.

What follows is mostly gleaned from the web.

The Perseid meteor shower is annual, extremely regular in its timing, and often visible for weeks in the late summer sky. It's named after the constellation Perseus, located in roughly the same point of the night sky from which it seems to originate. That's a useful naming convention, but not very accurate!.

The source of the Perseid meteor shower is actually debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Every year, the earth passes through the debris cloud left by the comet, and the earth's atmosphere is bombarded by what are popularly known as falling stars.

Perhaps a few meteors are visible now, but not many. The lucky viewer might catch one. If you do, put it in your pocket and never let it fade away. This year peak viewing will occur on August 11th and 12th beginning around 11:30 pm EDT and growing more spectacular in the early morning hours (until dawn). You'll see the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn. The moon is in its waxing crescent but will have set before dark at the shower's peak, so there will be minimal moonlight to interfere with the faint meteors. The shower should reach its peak in the hours after midnight with a maximum of a 80-100 meteors visible per hour.

Look toward the horizon at the constellation Perseus rising in the northeast sky, but they come from all directions. All you need is darkness, and if you can see all seven stars of the Big Dipper, it's dark enough.

Bring a lawn chair and bottled water. Maybe something stronger. If you wish, add a camera and tripod. I suppose you could just bring a blanket and someone you love. Or ... if you’re not with the one you love, you might try loving the one you're with. If you do either, however, you run the risk of missing the whole thing.

TGB

{this memory} 88

This is the story behind last Monday's {this moment}.

Oh, dear. I am sure everyone has a photo like this. This was on the Norfolk Naval Station or maybe on the USS Krishna which my father was commanding. The young lad would be me around 1951 making the annual pilgrimage to tell Santa what I truly wanted. I doubt that it was whirled peas, but I don't really remember what I desired.

It is obvious I'm not particularly happy about this encounter and would rank it #2 right behind clowns. Ugh. I think the two hands in the lower left that are trying to keep me from running away are a particularly nice touch. Don't you?

In spite of this trauma, I was a happy child who became a happy adult. When I look at photos like this, I remember only the good times.

I am a fortunate man. Life is good.

TGB

Just Do it

I have forgotten where I read this list of things one should do in life. I've paired them with the first thing that popped in my mind as reaction to each. See what you think of the list or how you would react.

Choose Life over the other stuff. I did and will continue to.

Get out of your head. Yep.

Live. I do.

Dress up. I don’t.

Eat. To live, usually.

Touch people. I try.

Help out. Ditto.

Give up. I don’t do this. Never take no for an answer. Must mean something else to make this list.

Love people. Yes - absolutely.

Give your best away. I try to be generous.

Relax. You're going to die. Probably.

Throw a party. Easy Peasy.

Eat off my plate. Okay by me.

Sing to me. Please do.

Meet me in the bedroom. Pretty please.

Get a massage. Would be nice but I've never had a professional one. Something for that bucket list.

Give one. Be glad to.

Let your amazement out into the room. I wear it on my sleeve.

Pry open the box you hide your joy in. Has never been closed.

Be a poem. Write me.

TGB   

{this moment} 88

A Monday ritual. A single image - no words - capturing a moment from the past. A simple moment along my life's Journey - but one over which I wish to linger and savor each treasured aspect of the memories it evokes. If you are moved or intrigued by my {this moment}, please leave a comment. On Thursday in a companion ritual called {this memory}, I'll share the story of this moment.

{this moment}

{this moment} is a ritual copied and adapted from cath's wonderful blog ~just my thoughts. She, in turn, borrowed it from Pamanner's Blog. Check out their blogs, and if you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your {this moment} in the comments for each of us to find and see.

TGB

Elijah's Test

The Sunday school teacher was explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal to her class.

She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces, and laid it upon the altar. Then Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour the water over the altar. He had them do this four times.

"Now," said the teacher, "can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?"

A little girl raised her hand with great enthusiasm and said "To make the gravy!

Author Unknown>   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2013 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.
For the 2013 collection of images, click here.

1,008,681,897 Seconds

At the time I am writing this, it's suggested that this is how many seconds I have left to live! Until Thursday, July 20, 2045. Given what know now, I would take that in a heartbeat.

What am I talking about, you query? Reading the NY Times yesterday, I came across a reference to the Death Clock - "the Internet's friendly reminder that life is slipping away ... second by second. Like the hourglass of the Net, the Death Clock will remind you just how short life is." Just answer a few questions, and you too can learn your personal Day of Death.

What do you think? It seems to me they don't ask nearly enough questions for this to have much validity; I suspect, however, it is based in part on solid actuarial data. All I really know is that it made me feel great. Given my medical history, I never thought I would live to be 96 - although my grandmother died at 98, and my mom is still alive at 93. So who knows?

TGB   

{this memory} 87

This is the story behind last Monday's {this moment}.

Well, those are two old guys. I'm on the right, and Rod MacDonald is on the left. This was taken after he performed a concert in my home in 2010.

Rod MacDonald is a wonderfully talented American folksinger and songwriter - and a fraternity brother from our University of Virginia days in the late 1960s. I was unaware for much of his career that he was performing, but in the last decade I've become quite a fan. Described by one critic as "… one of the most politically and socially aware lyricists of our time, Rod MacDonald has been entertaining audiences worldwide for over 35 years with his timeless ballads, modern folk songs, satirical commentaries, wry humor, and diverse music genres.” In 2012, he released his latest and ninth album entitled Songs of Freedom.

He has performed two other concerts in my home, the most recent last Friday, and I have gone to see his concerts twice in Syracuse. I remain amazed each time I see him that his voice retains its pure and crystalline quality, his guitar work unexcelled, and his songwriting so very entertaining. I apologize for the audio quality on the clip below. Check out his music - on Amazon, CDBaby, or his web site.

I am a fortunate man. Life is good.

TGB

American
Jerusalem

Rod MacDonald
1978

New York City rain
I don't know if it's making me dirtier or clean
went for the subway but there was no train
and the tunnel was crumbling for repairs again
and the sign said welcome to American Jerusalem

I been around
you could spend forever looking for a friend in this town
and all you get to do is lay your dollar down
till you're stumbling drunk up the stairs again
and the sign says welcome to American Jerusalem

In the temples of American Jerusalem
they buy an ounce of South African gold
they don't care who was bought or sold
or who died to mine it
in the temples of American Jerusalem
they buy an ounce of Marseilles white
somewhere on a street with no light
somebody dies trying it

and somewhere in a crowd
looking the kind of way that makes you turn around
will be somebody who knows what it's about
and she's going to take the ribbons from her hair again
and welcome you to American Jerusalem

In the alleys of American Jerusalem
the homeless lie down at the dawn
the pretty people wonder what they're on
and how they afford it
in the ashes of American Jerusalem
the prophets live their deaths out on the corner
the pretty people say there should've been a warning
but nobody heard it

then shadows lick the sun
the streets are paved with footsteps on the run
somebody must've got double 'cause I got none
I forgot to collect my share again
so go west to breath the cleansing air again
go Niagara for your honeymoon again
go on the road if you're going to sing your tune again
go to sea to learn to be a man again
till you come on home to
American Jerusalem