act 1, scene 1.

In the distance
the moon dances to the hum of the wind
and each tree becomes
a silhouetted soldier
outfitted in black fatigues —
the swat team of the night.

And this well-coordinated effort
never cancels its tour.
The playbill is there for the taking as
it dazzles the horizon today
and tomorrow
and forever, really.
But I —
I seldom
take time
to
notice.

Only tonight, I unwrap this gift,
this one-act play,
and as I sit and watch,
a captive audience, I remain
until the moon is suspended high in the heavens
and the sky is the color of tar —
dark enough to erase the steady soldiers from sight
until dawn
when they reappear
to greet the day with a sleepy-eyed encore.

and now, he's married.

so my little, and only, brother got married last weekend. it looked like this.

family.

entering hell.

my pregnant sister had to stop to pee three times in joplin. i liked this sign. and the name of the chain of gas stations we stopped at. um, seriously?

and then, after a 120 mile "detour" to oklahoma city, yes we missed our exit, we entered the mouth of this beast.

now, we sit in dallas. in our hotel room. after nearly dying several times on the way here and on foot, as we tried to walk up a parking garage ramp.

more to come. happy things, i hope.

i'm on holiday.

my brother's wedding. and other adventures.

maybe i'll blog about it when i return.

oh, who am i kidding. of course i will.

notes to self and other observations.

when on hold with t-mobile, don't expect to enjoy the wait. because they need to change the volume and selection of their 'hold" music. badly.

just because a film gets a nod from sundance doesn't mean it's good. so, don't watch "dreamland." enough said.

sometimes, unlike being on hold with a cell phone company, the wait is worth it. take the new addition to the nelson, for example. it's amazing. architcturally brilliant and simple and sleek. sure, it's a strange marriage next to the pillared nelson, but it says something so real about art and life and society. totally worth an 8-year wait.

listening to an album once isn't enough. Cassadaga by bright eyes didn't impress the first go-round. but now, it's a favorite.

shiraz makes their paninis in the morning. so don't request anything special - like no mayonnaise. there is nothing they can do about that.

on another shiraz note, what the heck is with the "art" adorning the walls. i'm all for freedom and self expression, but i do have taste. shiraz, do you?

and finally, opting to run at the gym on a hot, humid day sounds like a good choice. until the gym has a relative humidity level of 98 percent and smells like, well, uh, you can guess what it smells like. you would think a large chain of gyms would have success with ventilation and air conditioning. well, you'd be wrong.

regrets

i had to go to an A&W restaurant today for "research" for work. A&W, as you know, is now coupled with Long John Silvers.
it was lunchtime when we got there, but i had already eaten lunch. vegetable beef soup. and, i was somewhat satisfied. until i learned that one can order an entire box of "krums" for free. you know what those are, right? crispy bits of deep fried breading. so, yeah. i got two hush puppies and a box full of fried fat. i'm kind of feeling like i'm taking a bath in a deep fryer right now. and, i'm kind of regretting it.

but, oh how i loved every single one of those krums.
maybe they can invent an organic variety.

happy birthday, little woof woof.

Today, gus turns 3.

enjoy lyrics from one of my favorite bands -mewithoutYou.

"I do not exist," we faithfully insist,
Sailing in our separate ships and from each tiny caravel.
Tiring of trying, there's unecessary dying,
Like the horseshoe crab in its proper season sheds its shell.
Such distance from our friends,
Like a scratch across the lens,
Made everything look wrong from anywhere we stood.
And our paper blew away before we'd left the bay.
So half-blind, we wrote these songs on sheets of salty wood.

Caught me making eyes at the other boatman's wives,
And heard me laughing louder at the jokes told by their daughters.
I'd set my course for land, but you well understand,
It takes a steady hand to navigate adulterous waters.
The propeller's spinning blades held acquaintance with the waves,
As there's mistakes I've made no rowing could outrun.
The cloth low on the mast, I say I got no past,
I'm nonetheless the librarian and secretary's son.
The tarnish on my brass, the mildew on my glass-
I'd never want someone so crass as to want someone like me.
But a few leagues off the shore, I bit a flashing lure,
And I assure you, it was not what I expected it to be!

I still tastes its kiss, that dull hook in my lip
Is a memory as useless as a rod without a reel.
To an anchor ever dropped, sea-sick yet still docked,
Captain spotted napping with his first mate at the wheel.
Floating forgetfully along, with no need to be strong,
We keep our confessions long, but when we pray we keep it short.

I drank a thimble full of fire,
I'm not ever coming back...Oh, my God.
"I do not exist," we faithfully insist,
While watching sink the heavy ship with everything we knew.
And if ever you come near, I'll hold up high a mirror.
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you.

so

i sort of feel like a rock star. what, with all of the comments and people standing up for me and stuff. thanks guys.