Nat Random Pt. III

The last thing people need to do these days is get all serious on you. We are immersed in a swirling sea of somber seriousness. It all gets overwhelming. People are freaking out hardcore.. The media fuels it, they know they can make money out of people's insecurities and their terror of the unknown.

I'm a pretty centrist, with a little lean to the left kind of guy. I loathe the media more than the Repubs. Way more. Shit! I started getting serious. Forgive me...

Ok, lets take it down a notch, shall we?

Naming isn't destiny: A New York City father named one son Winner and another Loser. Winner lane went on to compile a massive criminal record. His brother Loser, meanwhile, became a detective sergeant in the New York City Police Department.

Malaysia recently forbade parents from naming their children with "unsuitable" words, including names taken from animals, insects, fruit, vegetables, colors, or numbers.

The most common name among the nearly 400 death-row prisoners in Texas is Robert and its variations with 18. Next are William and its variations with 17. Michael/Mike
(14). Anthony/Tony (8) and Steven/Stephen/Steve (6). Whew...no Daves :)

And finally...

Yourhighness Morgan, a standout high-school athlete in Florida, has a younger brother named Handsome and cousins named Prince and Gorgeous.

No Mistakes.......

Life is not random. Everything happens for a purpose. Doubt that and you spit in the face of love, logic and reason. I found this gem in the place behind ours in BL. Check it!!

Where does your heart dwell?
Does it pop from a toaster, or float in a cup?
Does it steam from a teapot, get packed in a box?

Where does your heart dwell?
Does it rise every morning, and sleep in a bed?
Does it itch when you scratch it, play games with your head?

Where does your heart dwell?
Does it live in a cage of bone, and pump time to a beat?
Does it waltz with one who is not there, who waltzes all the same?

Where does your heart dwell?
Flip the coin, where does it land?
Enter the panda and see...

©2008 SAWiltse All Rights Reserved

Being there

No, I'm not going to talk about that Peter Sellers movie...

Yesterday something horrible and heartbreaking happened. Something so RL that SL became an extension of it. I wanted to be there for Kimala.....

Kimala called me at work yesterday and told me that several ppl at her workplace were being laid off that afternoon. No warning, bam! These ppl went into work and by 1:30 they were being escorted out of the building. They hadn't done anything wrong, the economy had done them in. Kimala, of course was very upset. Not fearful of her own position but just feeling bad for those ppl. She asked me to pray for them. I did.

We had early release yesterday at my school. We did Professional Development while the students had vacated. It was mostly typical, with the most negative being the most vocal. Typical educational teacher mob mentality bullshit.

I'm thinking to myself. What some assholes these ppl are! They have jobs, they have the knowledge that no one is going to show up with a box to escort them off school grounds. Geesh, some people.

Kimala upon her arrival home yesterday evening dissolved into tears at the doorstep. I held her and hugged her as tight as I could. She cried and our little 5year old son joined us in a comforting embrace.

I am so fortunate to have met, married and have a family with this woman. She has so many good qualities in her. Most of all, she cares. Deeply. For people that lose their jobs, for people that lose their homes, for people that are hurting. This personality carries over into SL also. If you know her, she does care. The people that she hangs with in SL are real and important to her. She tries so hard to do the right thing by them but sometimes ppl being ppl things happen. It hurts her.

God, I love her so.

One last example. An opportunity came my way yesterday. I may be able to work with homeless kids and children who are in battered family sancturaries on a part time basis. No hesitation at all was involved, "Yes, you should do that!" Its like that, always reaching out to serve the greater good.

Perhaps in times like these, that is more imperative than ever! Have a great Thursday.

It happened!!

OK, you guys have put up with my whining about our blowdryer weather here in Phoenix. Well.....I go out this morning to say hi to our dog and get the trash out to the street. It was .....pleasant. Not the slightest hint of heat. I was very happy.

I picked up Feliz's two front paws and we had an impromptu dance in the back. She is way too big to pick up for a full embrace. Kinda wiggly too. Talk about your day getting off to a good start! I am so grateful for this.

Now comes the time to enjoy our desert home. No bone chilling cold snaps. Possibility of wearing shorts during the holidays and riding the mountain bike with the wife and kids. Just lovely.

It will still be blazing this afternoon. Like 98 I think. But the morning creep has begun. It will not be denied. /HOO. Have a great Monday everyone:)

When in doubt....rock out

Bad times swirl around us.....It seems relentless. Sometimes you just have to listen to some rcok. Its good for you. Lou Reed kicks ass!!


Jenny said when she was just five years old
you know there's nothing happening at all
Every time she puts on the radio
There was nothing goin' down at all
Then one fine mornin' she puts on a New York station
She couldn't believe what she heard at all
She started dancin' to that fine fine music
You know her life was saved by Rock 'n' Roll
Despite all the amputations
You could just dance to a rock 'n' roll station
Jenny said when she was just five years old
My parents are gonna be the death of us all
Two TV sets and two Cadillac cars--
Ain't gonna help us at all
Then one fine mornin' she puts on a New York station
She don't believe what she heard at all
She started dancin' to that fine fine music
You know her life was saved by Rock 'n' Roll
Despite all the computations
You could just dance to a rock 'n ' roll station
and it was alright.

Ok....Now I'm concerned

Watching the morning news with my 10 year old at 5:48 this am I finally got pissed. Before I was disheartened, but now I'm pissed.

I remember when W was inagurated so long ago, a person had a sign making a reference to the village idiot being in charge. The media should track that person down and interview them. Talk about a prophet.....

Left wing or Right wing? I don't like either. Its just a continuation of the same old cluster fuck thats been dogging this country for years. I want the middle. Extremes are bullshit and limiting. I like my politics like I like my chinese food, some of each.

As we watch our economy plummet into God knows what, its easy to point the finger at people. Politicians love doing that. They oughta to keep that finger fully extended and shove it up their ass. Yeah, I'm just a touch pissed.

I got 4 kids. What kind of effing mess are we leaving them? Not only them but their kids and their kids. The mind spins with revulsion. I remember hearing all my life that baby boomers were going to make the world so much better than thier parents had. What a crock!

Perhaps Thomas Jefferson was right. Maybe we need to overhaul the system every 50 years or so. The founding fathers were brilliant, diverse and TOLERANT! What we have had are occasional flashes of brilliance against a backdrop of timeserving bumblebutt bureaucrats.

Concerned? Your gd right I am.....

A tremendous departure

I like the idea of being unexpected. In a good way mind you:)

Our twins have a reading log that needs to be filled out with 40 books. Thats 40 X 2 mind you. Of course we are going to do it. We are teachers and we do our homework without fail. as for myself, its usually a last minute thing. I have deluded myself for years in thinking I work well under pressure and I'm sticking with it.

So last night we had a semi-read-a-thon. I read 5 books to both Simon and Rach. I thought it was funny and cute how Noah moved on in too to listen to me read. That is one thing I have noticed even with my students, they love being read too. I can have a class with some badass barrio kids and if I start reading they are transported to a time of sitting on the story rug once again and not concerned with representing the 'hood. Its really amazing to me.

One book last night really warmed my heart. The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater is a must read. I kid you not! It's about a heroic man named Mr. Plumbean who battles conformity with color and caring. I don't want to give it away so I will stop with any other details. Check it out!




"My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams."


Have a great day everyone.

In my pics and in my heart

I've occasionally been asked about the women that are in my are in my profile pics. Some people have joked about me being some playah with all these women contained therein. Me a playah? Most days I couldn't find the field.

The women that are my picks are very dear to me for alot of reasons. I feel like I have the type of relationship with them that if I knew them in RL, and they asked to help them move on a hot, humid day, hesitation wouldn't enter my mind.

Ok, one of them is my wife so that might be a no brainer in your opinion. Oddly though, she is first and foremost a friend. I like hearing about her day and get excited about the cool stuff she does in her job. I'm lucky, lucky, lucky:). Anybody that can put up with my unique brand of bs deserves more words of praise and appreciation that all the blogs in the world could possibly contain.

Now the other ladies are outstanding in there own right. They are Blissie, Joonie and Parker. This triumvirate of grace, humor, intelligence, beauty, and uniqueness have come to mean a lot to me. They have picked me up when I was down, they have made me be more reflective about my actions and more cognizant about what comes out of my fingers and are just a joy to include on my friends list.

I'm not only honored to have them in my profile pics, let me tell you about the story behind each profile pic. I'll go in alphabetical order with no connotation of favoritism. Blissie: of the triumvirate, I've known her the longest. She is funny and I can't tell how many IM's she has shot to me that have just made me laugh and smile. Plus she is my own personal beautiful attack dog! Sample interchange: "is she bothering you? I'll get rid of her...." Thats my Bliss, baked goods and bodyguard service rolled into one. I'm honored that she considers me a friend and never fails to check in with me. I love that Bliss.

Joonie is this combination of beauty and brain. She is a deep thinker who I'm not sure I can keep up with sometimes. She has an incredible sweet heart and is one of the kindest individuals I have met in SL. I can't put into words how much her support meant to me recently when an RL friend passed. She was there and it was as real as someone sitting in the room talking to me. What a treasure you are Joonie.

Parker reminds me of someone who would have been in Gone from The Wind. She is so genteel and mannerly that just being around her can change your outlook and your perspective on the day. Did I tell you that she doesn't mind when I tease her? She just laughs and tells me I'm nuts. She didn't even get upset when I put in a pic of her holding one of Liss's twins and made some remark about health insurance. What a sport you are Parker and what a sweet soul:)

So these four ladies are and will be in my pics as long as I come inworld. It wouldn't be the same place without any of them. I need them there and hopefully they need me in some way. I hope you have a great day and a fantastic weekend and I hope you tell those you hold near and dear to you that they are just that....

A Day to remember.....a day to think

Today we have been mandated to talk about 9/11 in all classes. Its a rare chance to exercise some freedom of choice and be creative in your instruction. Teaching social studies lends itself to several approaches.

I'm lucky in that I teach with a diverse group of people. We put our heads together and have come up with the following: we are going to concentrate on how people twist religion to advance a political agenda. Seems pretty topical to us.

Have you ever delved into the Koran? It is so beautiful and peaceful. Its an extremely tolerant work.

So our question to the young people is how can this be manipulated, be perverted to represent this (cue footage of the 9/11 attacks). I got to tell you that its days like this that stoke my passion about teaching. It's going to be a good day.

On the human side, when I think of that September of seven years ago, I visualize a stone being thrown into a still pond. The ripple that radiates outward makes me think of all the lives that were impacted by each victims passing. That is the true tragedy of that day. The fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandsons, granddaughters, grandparents, friends and lovers who never got another chance to feel the embrace of a loved one again.

I believe in an afterlife for all of us. I can only take solace that the above people instantly were held in an embrace of pure love. When they thought of those that had been left behind, the embrace got a little tighter, a little more loving. The word whispered into their ear was, "soon.........."

My 100th post!!!

I have hit the century mark. I didn't know what to blog about when I noticed that I had reached this milestone. I am somewhat glad that I have managed to maintain some sort of consistency. I'm really grateful that Kim got me into blogging, so thanks for that hun.

Prior to the fab four, when there was only the wonderous one. Kim and I used to write quite a bit. We used to take fantastic creative writing class with Mary Sojourner who used to give us these fantatsticv writing prompts that you could just take off on.

I always wanted to write. I think the first time I considered this a life long journey was when I had a writing assignment in early elemenary grades and wrote something and brought it home after I got an A on it. I gave it for my Mom to read and I watched her as she read it and laughed. Exactly the response I was going for. That felt really good and it was probably the first time I thought to myself that I could entertain people via the written word. Its been a feeling that I continue to go for and still provides that sense of......I really don't know how to put it in words. Too funny......

When I was in college, I remember telling people, o.k. mostly girls, that I wanted to be a writer some day. It served as some barometer for me in some respects. If the response was negative and provoked a comment on how was I going to survive, I figured that I had information that a more in-depth conversation was probably not warranted. On the other hand, if the response was wow....thats great....what kind of stuff do you write?...or....hey, I like to write too, I figured wow this person seems interesting, cool. Probably superficial and shallow, I know but when you are young, ya get my drift.

Watching my kids develop as writers is interesting also. Nice to see them shoot for something and see the joy they get when they can elicit the response they are going for.

It really outrages me that education has become so politicized. Now it is all standards based with heavy emphasis on the 5 + 1 traits. I can understand that in terms of employability. What makes me sad is the fact that they no longer offer Creative Writing as a course selection. What a shame! That was the coolest learning environment where you would write along with your students and all would share their finished pieces together. Talk about a learning community. It was a fab class to teach also. Damn I miss that environment.

So, in a sense, I guess blogging connects me to that feeling that happened so long ago. I don't say well this is what I want to do when...... I say this is what I'm doing now that I am......

Thanks for being along the journey with me. I write for something inside of me but you guys are the frosting on this cupcake:)

Some stuff and goodbye...

After getting up early to take care of some stuff, I just sat around and thought. I thought about The Gift story I shared with you guys back in January. Gordo and Ron were the other characters in that besides Kemp and myself. I don't know why I got up as early as I did, almost felt like I had to.

Gordo will be put to rest today. Not a church ceremony but a simple ceremony where people will paddle out at sunrise and form a circle. I don't know if there will be many or few. Once the circle is formed all those out there will slap the water with their flat hands five times. I really don't know what this signifies. At that point, someone will open the urn and scatter his ashes back into the ocean.

Gordo always kept the faith. Unlike Ron, Doug and myself he never moved inland. Never made the decision not to have the ocean in his everyday life. Never moved to Arkansas, Arizona or Vermont. He kept surfing breaks of size and with a certain degree of danger. Cold water, fog and the occasional Great White drive by. As far as we know we never heard about him getting married although there was mention of some scheme in marrying for money. Don't know how that played out... LOL

So this sunrise, about one hour from now as I write this, Gordo will go out for his last session. I will look out my window at the breaking morning sky think of that beach in Central California where my friend will exit, at least ceremonially. I'll see my vision get all blurry at the thought of him and feel the tears well up in my eyes. Aloha bro, thanks for the times and the stories......

Synchronicity

Interesting thing happened today. This young lady in my World History class was jamming on her iPhone prior to class. The song sounded familiar, I knew I had heard it before. But when? I asked her if I could listen in.Back. How far back? Away back! My friend used to play it in his car. He loved Leon Russell. Mistake, coincidence? I say not:)

How many days has it been since I was born
How many days until I die
Do I know any ways that I can make you laugh
Or do I only know how to make you cry
When the baby looks around him
It's such a sight to see
He shares a simple secret with the wise man
He's a stranger in a strange land (Do you feel that way sometime?)
Just a stranger in a strange land
Tell me why he's a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land

How many miles will it take to see the sun
And how many years until it's done
Kiss my confusion away in the night
Lay by my side when the morning comes
And the baby looks around him
And shares his bed of hay
With the burrow in the palace of the king
He's a stranger in a strange land
Tell me why, hes a stranger in a strange land (you know what I'm talking about?)
Just a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
Well, I don't exactly know what's going on in the world today
Don't know what there is to say
About the way the people are treating each other
Not like brothers
Leaders take us far away
From ecology
With mythology
And astrology
Has got some words to say about the way we live today
Why can't we learn to love each other
It's time to learn a new faith
To the whole world wide human race
Stop the money chase and
Lay back Relax
Get back on the human track
Stop racing toward oblivion
Oh, such a sad, sad state we're in and that's a thing
Do you recognize the bells of truth when you hear them ring
Won't you stop and listen to the children sing
Wont you sing it children
Won't you come on and sing it children
(He's a stranger in a strange land)
Whoa, sing it one more time,
I didn't hear ya
(Just a stranger in a strange land) (He's a stranger in a strange land)

Passages

The past 24 hours have been so ...........different. I got a real upclose glimpse of the periodic hell Kim endures when Mr. Migrane comes a calling. Oh my. I promise to rub her shoulders, rub her feet, whatever it takes to alleviate that hell.

It was just a twinge earlier before its full blooming. But bloom it did. It felt like the side of my head was going to blow out in an earthshattering explosion. I was sent to bed with an ice pack. During this time period I took something like 8 sundry pills before the blend and an ice pack let me slip into the void. My oldest gets these interludes also.

I'm lucky in that it rarely strikes me. Mostly sinus headaches. I don't drink like in days of yore, that hangover thing is fading into obscurity. Thank God.

The second oddity was the news of someone passing. As a kid and into early adulthood, Gordo was a friend of mine. We both started surfing at the same time and became friends through our love of the ocean and surfing. We were initially just nodding acquaintences who admired each others surfing skills until junior high.

Mr. Caldwell's English class changed that. I think we were reading some Shakespeare, when one of our classmates mangled a pronunciation of some key term in Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Caldwell passionately loved this work of the Bard of Avon and was utterly appalled that we could not share this appreciation. He literaly worked himself into a frothy condition. His passion came forth verbally in words of profound wisdom, along with some saliva.

On and on he went, relating to us the tragedy that was about to unfold before and how most certainly our lives would be forever changed. As this was occuring, I looked at Gordo's desk and he had neatly drawn a Bullseye and was tracking the aim of the Shakespeare fueled saliva. Upon seeing this, I lost it. God, I was like 12:) Gordo and I were asked to sit outside the rest of the class period and we bonded.

We were surfing buddies. We prowled the coast. We ditched class. We lied to each other about girls. We got drunk together the first time, smoked weed together the first time, took acid together the first time. A lot of firsts were undertaken. I remember talking to Gordo after the mind and body shattering experience of losing ones virginity. I said I thought I had changed, how everything was and would be different.... He heard me out and offered this well needed reality check, "You know Dave,you're still the same asshole." Well put and oh so true.

One of my oddest memories of Gordo was when we hit the party circuit on a Friday night along Del Playa. He drank some wine out of a jug that had some real dosage of acid in it. He wouldn't talk for a week. Freaked us out. He was scarce when the swell came up. I called his house and his Mom said he wasn't there and oh could I please stop by and talk to her because Gordon has been quite odd lately and she doesn't know what to think.... I said I would and grabbed the board and the wetsuit and headed to Sands Rivermouth.

The faces of people in the cars heading the opposite direction were sunburnt and stoked. All thumbs up was the sign. Some quite emphatically so.

Walking down to the break I saw him. Gordo. He was destroying the place. Big, fluid cutbacks, spraying rooster tails from the back of his board as he carved up the waves face. Gordo was good but this was something else. Instead of rushing into my wetsuit and heading out, I just lay my stuff down and and sat down. God he was on. Along with the aforementioned wave lacerations, when the opportunity offered itself, he would tuck himself into a spinning cylinder of a wave and emerge after some curtain time. Another running buddy of ours Ron, stood by me and said,"I don't know what was in that jug, but I should have drank some. "This snapped me out of it, I laughed and went out. Somehow, some way Gordo had reconnected the synapses and was back among us. When I heard the news, I flashed back to the way his face looked when I paddled up to him that winter's day long ago.

I heard from a mutual friend this morning that Gordo had died changing a flat tire for a stranger along the highway going into Morro Bay last weekend. He was hit by another motorist who was probably driving too fast during the twilight hours. As I get older, and I am, I know I will get more and more news of someone vacating this plane. It's sad but its not the end. Basic science tells us that energy can not be destroyed only altered.

I know if there are the amount of good things out there that there are in here, this isn't the final story. Perhaps when you pass you go on a series of journies, the path of connection and reflection. I hope I paddle out to the Rivermouth one last time and see Gordo turn around and drop in on a piece of peeling perfection and shout,"I see you"!

I saw you too Gordo, I saw you too.....

Aloha Gordo

Nat random Pt. II

It's hodge podge time! Stay seated and keep your arms in the car at all times....

Lets start with the absurd shall we?

Suitably ripe euphemisms for flatulence include:

Cutting the cheese
Sneezing in one's pants
Floating an air biscuit
Doody burping
Sphincter whistling
Killing the canary
Colon bowlin'
The scented scream

Ok, some are just gross, but a couple made me laugh. I wonder which ones? ;)

In the History file.......

"I'm bored with it all." last words of Sir Winston Churchill before slipping into a coma and dying nine years later.
Well, the guy did have one hell of a life. If you are ever immobilized for a spell, God forbid, read his eight volume, !, autobiography. Good stuff.

And to the ever present financial news......

People often say one thing and do another. This gap represents the difference between what economists call a "declared preference" (what you say you'lll do) and an "expressed preference" (what you actually do).

And....

In the lobby of a Hyatt hotel, a one -day pass for a wireless Internet connection costs $10.95. Not cheap, but standard for nice hotels. In the hotel's ballroom, however -- where corporate conferences are typically held --- a one-day pass costs $300. Economists refer to such a scenario as price discrimination. Maybe there is a little justice out there anyway, ha ha. Wait! Both institutions pass their costs on to the customer. Slaps self on the forehead. Doh...