So long for now

One of the great joys in my life was going to Parkers Prairie, Mn every summer and most winters. It was always with great anticipation that we made those last 25 miles after Alexandria. Sometimes I would doze off to try and make the trip seem shorter, because the anxiousness was too much for a boy to handle. Yet, I always managed to be awake when we rounded the final bend of Mn-29, just in time to catch the growing expanse of Lake Adley. How I love that lake, waves licking air, glistening in the sun. I can picture it now with clarity that is hard to fathom. It is like it’s on the other side of a great chasm that I cannot cross. I can see it for its beauty, but cannot be there for time is too large a span to be crossed.

Parker's Prairie was right after that lake. We would pull into my Grandparent's small driveway. An old red tractor, a couple sheds, an old aqua blue fishing boats, piles of firewood, and an old picnic table filled the yard. Usually towels and linens would be hanging from a couple clothe lines. Behind those, we would often find my grandparents working in their garden. I remember running to them, trying to be the first to feel their love.

My grandfather passed away 8 years ago, a few months after the picture above was taken. My family flew out for the funeral. My grandmother was never the same. Since then, there was always some distance in her eyes. It was as if she was looking over that same great chasm that I see now, when I look for my grandparents.

Earlier this week, she found her way across. She spent her last weeks in a great deal of pain, unable even speak in her final days. The last time she spoke she asked one of her nurses if she was a Christian. The nurse then asked her and she answered, "Oh, yes, I love the Lord." After that, she could not muster any more strength to talk. In her final days, my aunt played a tape that my Grandfather had made of himself singing hymns. When my mom called, to tell me the news, she said that "Grandpa sang her into heaven."

As I write this, my family is getting ready to go to the funeral home. So much of me wants to be there. So much of me wants to see that town that I love so much. Yet, it wouldn't be the same. I yearn for the life and the love that once resided there. What I yearn for is on the other side of that chasm that I still cannot cross. Yet I can see it clearly: two young figures standing in a garden, smiling with those familiar eyes.

You....Shot...ME!

Read this and laugh

Bathroom Nazi

I don't ask for much in life. I'm a pretty simple guy. I don't get too fussy about things. Up until I moved to St. Louie, alls I really wanted was a beautiful woman, 20s rolled on command, and all change returned to me rounded to the nearest 64. Things have changed though.

I crave and covet creature comforts that I once took for granted. One such comfort is being able to stand in front of a urinal without stepping in a puddle of the drippsies. Every day I ask myself, "ARE WE FREAKING KIDS!?" I don't understand it. Urinals are made to be stood over. Our man-bodies are meant to pee on, pee over, and pee beyond any object we see fit. Yet strangely, in this life, many master only the "pee on" stage. I mean, seriously, our man-parts are meant for precision as well. That is why we don't have to sit on a target just to hit it. We can stand from some distance and complete our desired objectives. With all these skills, why then did someone persistently pee on my floor, for the last 5 months?

Last weekend, I finally had enough and wrote up a nice sign requesting that the urine flow where it ought to go. Problem solved, or so I thought. Now instead of standing over the urinal, they are just sprinkling the toilet seat. Why do they always think they can slip by the seat without leaving a trail. It rarely works! I guess I just need to write another sign or just lay down another protective layer of paper.

Jello

See that Clock there, the one on the tree? That is how I feel most mornings. I am not really trying to complain, since that is what generally goes on in these types of things. It's just lately I have found myself draped over my desk in my early morning classes. It is not even that I am that tired. Most mornings I afeel okay once I get up. My back just generally doesn't want to hold my body together if I don't get enough sleep. It is a strange feeling. I know this isn't that cool of a post, but it is that time of the month were I realize I haven't posted for about a month. But don't worry. I have an idea for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll remember. Would anyone like to email me to remind me to post?