Thinks on Things

so many friends/hugs/books, so little time…

Postalhoot — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 09:31:33 +0000

what is it about friends that makes life so interesting? how they come and go throughout your life and then for no apparent reason they chuck something new at you? it’s almost like you thought you knew them for a second and then you find out they really do care about you. kind of humbles a guy, don’t it? just when you think you know what’s going on, someone gives you that hug you didn’t know you needed. or tells you to “get your butt over here cuz we need to sit around and do nothing but read books and drink hot tea”. sometimes i really wish i could read people’s thoughts. and then i think better of that idea… life is more interesting when you don’t know! whoa, it’s like 330am and i have to work soon. there just isn’t enough time to do all the things i wanna do. i have been constantly adding to my stack of books to read and trying to make a mental list of things i would like to write about and places i want to take my camera or friends i want to see and spend time with and talk with and things i would love to learn more about and new things i would like to try if i had the money… if only we puny humans didn’t need (or like) sleep so much. but, just like everyone else in the history of the world, i still have the same number of minutes as everyone else. it’s only a matter of what i do with my time.

“for all the points of the compass, there is but one direction… and time is it’s only measure.” -rosencrantz/gildenstern (i don’t know which one of them said it and neither do they)

Happiest Childhood Memory

Postalhoot — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:21:45 +0000

a friend gave me a challenge. i accept.

What is your happiest childhood memory?

Trying to think back to my childhood so long ago has led me to a couple specific memories that have brought me a particular happiness in being a kid and in being the person I was. War and Legos have played key roles in developing who I am today and how I see God shaping me and my life.

In our ‘hood, being a kid meant war. And I loved playing war with all the neighbor kids, but since our family went to church, we were not allowed to own guns. Real guns, fake guns, plastic guns, squirt guns. All were seen as instruments of evil and destruction and were banned from our house. Instead, we would scour the yard for sticks that looked like guns (and even some that didn’t) and we would run around shooting each other by simply shouting “BANG!” We lived in a prime neighborhood with the elementary school across the street providing a huge expansive playground system for our antics. There was a telephone company on one corner of our block which was nearly always vacant and offered some great trees and fences. Not too much farther away were a couple different churches that, well, only saw use minimally and they were way too good to pass up. We used entire city blocks to their fullest potential by tearing through the surrounding yards, jumping fences and stone walls, climbing trees and neighbors’ sheds, crawling under bushes, shrubs, cars, and culverts. We would climb trees and sit on rooftops and run through private gardens and jump over 20ft fences just to get the best sniper positions or the quickest shortcuts to cut off the enemy.

All of this took place in an ever enlarging territory as we thought of ourselves being bigger, badder, tougher, and sneakier with each passing summer. Inevitably, some crazy old lady, who would never understand our need for her yard, would catch one of us crawling through the rhubarb patch and threaten to call our parents, or in some cases, the cops. We never thought that she would be able to recognize us in a line-up, but we ran just the same. The escape would consist of hightailing it around an entire block or two before circling back home to ease the adrenaline-induced fear that somehow she could have followed us with her cane.

Rain or shine, sun or snow, these neighborhood battles were definitely a highlight of my childhood. Looking back on all of the craziness and illegality of it all, I’ve come to realize that it was the adventure and risk of the hunt and the imagination involved that was the real appeal. It has made me realize just how key these activities are to a young boy’s growth and how it ties in with who God is and how much he loves adventure and challenges.

And when outdoor challenges were not on the menu, Danish plastic was the way to go. The freedom to use my imagination to create worlds and battlefields and castles and space stations with Legos was a major outlet to express the stirrings within. Remembering the monstrosities that my brother and I would build, I can see now how beneficial it has been in realizing how God has shaped me.

I love to create and I love seeing potential and possibilities. Even simple plastic blocks one centimeter long offer a world of opportunity. But the creative mind of God is infinitely greater than all of my Lego worlds combined. Knowing this has constantly driven me to return back in wonder and amazement at how truly awesome God’s mind must be.

Being a kid inherently involves a certain level of adventure and imagination. Too often these things are lost as we grow older and we forget where these longings initially come from. Seeing other kids playing war or building Lego models brings back my own memories and reminds me to look to God and remember who he is.

Needs a Life

Postalhoot — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:29:32 +0000

Yup. I need a life. Or maybe that’s not it, maybe I just need a better schedule? It’s 1am and I’m perusing through my old posts on here. Just reminiscing about my wonderful trials and triumphs… Care to join me? I’ll be here a while…

Also, if anyone wants to buy my piano, just shoot me an e-mail or something…
Cable-Nelson Upright Grand (circa early 1900′s)
(not the shorter cheap rip-off Spinet, we’re talking full 88 keys wide and up to your head height)
Strauch Brothers action board with “Highest Award” plaque from 1893 Columbian Exposition
Detailed scrollwork in great condition
Locking keyboard covering
Real Ivory keys, have 8 of the 9 that came off
5 hammers broke off, have all of them
And of course, it will need a tuning…

full view

inner workings, action board, keys

strauch brothers action board

keys and scrollwork

doomed to repeat

Postalhoot — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:42:15 +0000

see here for better explanation.

new stat

Postalhoot — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:37:32 +0000

lael is doing much better but is super busy.

status

Postalhoot — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:46:42 +0000

lael is not doing well.

harsh thinks

Postalhoot — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:00:25 +0000

this week has been crazy with ideas for this fall running wild through my head. i’ve run this stuff by a few people so far. the lists keep getting longer and more confusing for all the logistics needed to make this work. rent payments, health insurance, cell phone, one job, possibly two jobs, two cars, churches, relationships, living arrangments, food costs, safety concerns, consequences, rewards, everything. it’s exciting. all of my planning, scheming, dreaming, feels pretty good right now. but the one person that i really want to talk about this with is gone.

so what good is it all if the person you want to share it with chooses a different road? how good can a dream really be if the dream is conditional? if it includes a clause that only by it’s inclusion can bring about the maximum? am i setting myself up for a failed mission? who knows. but i limp on, knowing that the dream is crippled, but knowing more that this dream is vital.

Scooter Tramp

Postalhoot — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:31:51 +0000

so i had this idea (thanks to conversation with a friend), and now i’m seriously debating becoming the futurely-famous Scooter Tramp. yea, allusions to Alexander Super-Tramp intended. click the link (or check out new pages) to keep updated on progress for this idea…

mobility

Postalhoot — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:01:31 +0000

thinking of making some pretty drastic changes in my life within the next 8-12 months. more later…

A Hero Comes Home

Postalhoot — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:42 +0000

although i enjoyed watching the movie Beowulf for the second time, it wasn’t the action that caught me so much as the ending credits. oh don’t get the wrong idea, i loved the movie! but this time i listened to the song at the end. makes for a wonderful poem about the myth of a hero. here’s a link to the music. so close your eyes and listen with that part of your heart that stirs for adventure. unless of course, you’re a couch potato…

A Hero Comes Home
by Idina Menzel

Out of the mist of history he’ll come again

Sailing on ships across the sea to a wounded nation

Signs of a savior

Like fire on the water

It’s what we’ve prayed for

One of our own

Just wait, though wide he may roam

Always a hero comes home

He goes where no one has gone

But always a hero comes home

Deep in the heart of darkness sparks a dream of light

Surrounded by hopelessness he finds the will to fight

There’s no surrender

Always remember

It doesn’t end here

We’re not alone

Just wait, though wide he may roam

Always a hero comes home

He goes where no one has gone

But always a hero comes home

And he will come again on crimson tide

Dead or alive

And even though we know

The bridge has burned

He will return

Just wait, though wide he may roam

Always a hero comes home

He knows of places unknown

But always a hero comes home

Someday a name carved in stone

A hero comes home

He goes and comes back alone

But always a hero comes home

Just wait, though wide he may roam

Always a hero comes home

The important thing to remember about any story where you fight a dragon is not that you’re telling people that dragons are real, but you’re telling people that dragons can be defeated. And that is a huge true thing and it’s something that should never be forgotten. -Neil Gaiman (writer for Beowulf)