Day 91: Day before April and this stuff?!?!

Yes....I'm tired of the cold. I'm tired of the snow. I'm tired of having to scrape my car windows in the morning.

*sigh*

Warm weather....a dream now; a reality in the future.

Day 90: Don't Hate!! SPAM is a highly developed taste...like caviar.

In phases I go.....sometimes loving it and other times not so much. All I usually need is some cheap white bread (I wonder how Vienna bread would work...), some mustard and once in a while a slice of cheese.

Day 89:

Not making fun of parents are those that assume responsibility, but if my Mom & Pops started talkin' to me about this I would do a form of meditation to take me away for that place and time.

Day 88: Muskrattatouie!

Noticed a number of these lil' critters at Cascades. Never when I have my camera on hand, but I had it on Monday! Woo Hoo! Go me.....

Day 87: Can't Sleep....

Sunday nights (early Monday morning) are one of the most difficult to fall asleep. Drives me crazy. Even if I keep my pattern throughout the weekend I'll still suffer a lack of sleep Monday.

Day 86: Old School Faces

For a number of years I coached a great many kids in gymnastics. Actual sport aside, I also like to think that I imparted so many other odd lessons, though don't ask me what.

It was such a wonderful time, keeping me sane in a time I had little to feel good about. There were so many times when I wasn't in the mood to go on, but I enjoyed going to work because I had an effect on the children. I had the power to make their days better. Beyond gymnastics, I could really give them an example of positivity that I myself didn't necessarily feel inside myself.

Separating myself from the job - the kids - was part of my initial falling into a darker place. Thinking the Army would do me a great deal of good, while it did long-term, it also took me away from one of the few things I really enjoyed with a passion.

Not to knock on friends I had at the time. Many of you were just as important to me as the children at the gym, but in so many cases, my mind wandered not to friends as a depressant but to the lack of other things. Lack of direction in life. Lack of motivation. Family - meaning friends as much as blood - will always be there. Even if the relationships change, you can always look to good friends for an ear to speak to, or a joke to help pull you out of a funk.

Those friends can't give you confidence, however, and that's where the gym-kids come in. Teaching them was the only thing at which I felt I was truly good.

Fast forward to now...

Once in a while, I'll talk to a kid and it warms my heart to know that I've given them experiences of which they're super fond. Something that they can look back on and smile. One laughs and shares that she never uses the word "good" or "fine" in response to the question "How are you," because those responses are only four letters and boring; something I would give them hell for because I knew my kids were smart enough to think of more descriptive words. More than a few tell me they think of me whenever they stretch or workout and have to work through the pain. They just imagine me walking around them while they were in their splits, saying antagonizingly, "pain...is your friend. It helps keep you aliiiive. Lets you that you are still awake."

Yes, I totally pulled it from G.I. Jane, but I adopted a Major Payne voice for comedic purposes.

The girl in the pic is Sidnee (said like the place in Australia), a former gymnast of mine I met last night after more than a decade. She was probably 10 the last time I saw this girl, and it was such an awesome thing recognizing her. Her story was that one of her stronger memories was doing pullovers on my arm (she was and still is quite a tiny body).

Small world, eh?

Day 85: Live From Jackson Coffee Co.....

THE STONEY CREEK GOSPEL!!!!

Definitely a great act, but they raised a question, posed by Buffcock, about obvious religious tones in more secular places. Where do we draw the line? If they sing music of a religious nature, is it enough to argue that it's beautiful music or should it be not sung because some might be offended? Their mid-song comments about praising the Lord...is that too far?

This is a public coffee shop that has live music for free every Friday night, but should it be used as a podium from which to spread a certain message, a message not necessarily about just music. What if there was an Indian group performing music about Hindu gods, and then telling a story about Hinduism? Is it the same? More offensive or less so? What about a Jewish act? A Muslim act?