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Driving I-95 S. With Dancing Nancies.

July 18, 2015 by 25 Comments

olena kassian drawings pavane, 64- x 48-

Friday morning. July 17th.  77° F. 8:10 am.
Traffic?  A lava flow.
I’m in the center lane between two tractor trailers. Behemoths. Wall to wall.

The Mind, a Raccoon, ever searching, digging, anxious.
Its beady eyes darting.
Its sharp claws twitching, digging in sh*t they shouldn’t be digging in.

Shiny tinsel flashes from the morning readings.
Fulghum: The examined life is no picnic.
Remarque: The less a man thinks of himself the better he is.

And on cue, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds strum their guitars to open Dancing Nancies. 

Could I have been / A parking lot attendant
Could I have been / Lost Somewhere in Paris
Could I have been / Anyone other than me

A parking lot attendant? First job. Gas station attendant.
Paris? I’ll take just being in Paris, just once, lost or found.
And, ‘Could I have been / anyone other than me?’
Now, that is a question.

A copper colored Tesla jams his nose in the wee gap in front of me. I close the gap, with my nose within inches of his door panel. The mini cameras on the bumper trigger the sensors: Warning. Too Close. Too Close. He turns left to see my grill, and me, feeling the blast of natural heat. Oh, you know what you’re doing Friend. Save electricity with your Tesla. Burn me up. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Photography, Quotes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Running. Because I can’t stop.

June 8, 2014 by 33 Comments

gif-funny-cartoon-eating-diet

Wednesday: 2 am. A knife stabbing the muscle in the right calf. I’m gripping the iron railing on the headboard. And pointing my toes. (Susan’s remedy. I’ve always thought it was Bullsh*t, yet here I am pointing my toes.) I’m writhing in pain. Cramp. Zeke awakens, rolls over and starts licking my face, I’ll save you Dad! Dog mung-mouth-sleep-breath — I’m snorting ammonia. The bed is rolling like a stormy sea – yet, Susan is not moved. She stirs, but doesn’t wake. The entire team carries Lebron off the floor with his leg-cramps, and I don’t even get a: “Are you ok?” Where’s the empathy here people?

Thursday: 3 pm. Work meeting. Same leg. Same calf. Pitch fork stab. Cramp. I’m gripping the arms of the chair. Eyes are gushing water. I drop my head to take notes to avoid eye contact. Meeting ends. I walk up the stairs alone, limping, and heaving. Hydration? Vitamin deficiency? Sleep deprivation? Hunger?

Saturday: 4 am. Feelin’ large. I step on the scale. NO! Just.Can’t.Be. NFW! I strip off t-shirt and underwear – – I might be carrying extra poundage in my shorts. I get back on the scale – it wobbles – and falls 0.2 lbs. Pathetic! I move to the mirror. I see a six-inch scratch from the belly button to the jelly roll part, with a puff of dried blood accumulation on the handle. A tattoo from my wrestling match with Zeke. Or another sign? I check my notes. April 19th, is the last time I ran. 49 days ago. Can that even be possible? I check my weight tracker:

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Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hump Day: 4:02 am and inspired…

May 9, 2012 by 11 Comments

Kicking off Hump (Hug?) Day with Dave Matthews Band and “Everyday.” (Lori, music video is dedicated to you).  And now to feature some of the most inspiring blog posts of the week by some of my favorite bloggers:

If I had a son who was playing high school football – he’d be lucky to play for Coach Bill Moore – the Westfield, MA High School Football Coach. I was inspired by Coach Moore’s recent post “Jugs”: “It was 1989 when I faced a monster nicknamed Jugs. He was a colossus of a man, six feet six inches tall and 300 pounds of powerful mass and ill content. I watched the film in the week before the game. I knew what was coming. I had faced powerful men before, but nothing like this…”

Leonard Buchholz at DealerPro Training Solutions with his post Want to have a big day today? Get a checkup. “Anyways, I think I have probably heard ‘do a checkup from the neck up’ at least a million times in my career. It is as pure an attitude adjustment technique today as it was when first uttered. I picture a Roman general saying to his troops just before battle “Hey, get in the war man. Do a checkup from the neck up before we rush over that moat” or something like that. That’s how old it is.” Check out his prescriptions. Leonard lands yet more ah-has with this post.

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Filed Under: Business, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Week in Review: "Grace is Gone…"

March 23, 2012 by 20 Comments

I was invited to a party for a former colleague who was retiring after 17 years of service.  I couldn’t attend in person so I was asked to share some of my thoughts in a note that would be read at the party.  So, in preparing my note, I reflected on her performance (consistently good), her results (consistently good), her technical skills (very good), her loyalty to the firm (exceptionally good) and I ended up landing here…

Linda,

I’ve had a few weeks to think about this note.  I reflected back on all of the ups and downs that we shared at work over the years.  And the thought that keeps coming back to me over and over again when I think of you is "Grace."  Someone who carries herself with grace.  Someone with a quiet confidence.  Someone who keeps their cool under fire.  Someone who looks for the good in everything and everyone.  Someone who always seems to be at Peace.  At peace with yourself and others.

You remind me of the quote by William Hazlitt: “Grace has been defined as the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.”

You live your life with so much goodness and you’ve given so much…now it’s your time. Your time to kick back, relax and enjoy.

Thanks for all that you had done for me when we worked closely together. You are an inspiration and I miss our times together.

Best of luck and health in your retirement…

Dave

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Filed Under: Art, Business, Inspire, Lead, Life, Quotes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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