Are you ready for the real thing?

The ultimate goal of technology, the telos of techne, is to replace a natural world that’s indifferent to our wishes — a world of hurricanes and hardships and breakable hearts, a world of resistance — with a world so responsive to our wishes as to be, effectively, a mere extension of the self.  (Jonathan Franzen)

I've got a lot of years behind me now, enough to have lifetime events written into high school history books. I've witnessed the advent of the Bic Pen, color TV, automatic washing machines, electric typewriters, countertop toasters, microwave ovens, touch-tone phones, automatic transmissions, cable TV, cell phones, digital cameras and personal computers connected to the Internet.

A storm blowing in

There’s a storm blowing in. Storms have been blowing in all over the place, within and without. I’ve been thinking that Mother Nature’s storms are pointing the finger at our own storms, making us take notice.

Rumor has it that insurance companies are no longer paying out replacement value on claims submitted, specifically the claims filed as a result of the tornadoes in Alabama. Those who lost everything will see only a fraction of the cost to rebuild their homes and their lives. When did this change happen? Unknown. The insurance companies spliced it into the small print and no one noticed. You no longer get what you pay for, and there is no longer the peace of mind that an insurance policy is supposed to provide.

You want rapture? Try this on for size.

Rapture – to transport with excitement, carried away from one’s self by agreeable excitement; extreme joy or pleasure.

I did what most people will do when looking for a definition, an explanation or an understanding for something not quite known how it applies to current circumstances – I picked and chose from the varied descriptions offered the ones that suited my purpose.

Thus, today, May 21, 2011, the day of The Rapture, sounds like a good day, based on my chosen definition of the word. Give me a minute and I’m sure I could come up with an equally positive definition of “apocalypse” too. You see, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings a bit if today marked the day that the world as we know it comes to an end.

From pasture to stable

If you know me, you know that I cherish two things in life: my son and my horse. And then there’s the three dogs that are my constant companions. They rate pretty high up there too. But, Tim and Odin are my heart and soul.

If you know me, you know I’m a very passionate, emo-type person that feels nothing at less than 100 percent, and that overemotional-ness means that there has to be an outlet for all those emotions or I’d self-incinerate. Tim has all my love, but Odin gets all the runoff, just so that poor Tim doesn’t smother in motherly love. That’s how Odin shoulders a pretty big load in my little world.

Ingredients: Honey

It’s that simple. Really. I see it all the time. I can see it.

That simplicity is the key, when it’s all said and done. You can call it “filtering,” or maybe “prioritizing.” Simply put, it’s choice.

Every instant holds a choice.

There’s the dark, negative, hurtful, discouraging, disparaging side that acts like a cloud, the mud in water, the dampening gray of a cloudy lens.

Then there’s the light, positive, affirming side that frees the flow.

Which side do you choose?

Finding a path through the devastation

I-40, the major highway from Memphis to Little Rock, is flooded, along with miles and miles of countryside. Just last week, the state was hit with tornadoes and storms that fed this major bout of flooding we’re seeing now. It’s a horrible devastation that takes days to unfold, do its damage and then, finally, recede.

No matter how many photos I see or stories I hear, I find it hard to imagine it all. I could drive across town with my camera in hand and take photos of the Little Red River spilling over its banks, but I still don’t think I’d get the impact.

The pleasure of a home-cooked meal cooked for me

Why is it that food cooked by someone else always tastes great? It may actually be pretty crappy, but since I don’t cook it myself, it is heavenly.

I was in heaven yesterday when I came home from work. Tim, my son, had taken the leap and fixed up some Hamburger Helper, and a bowl of it was set aside for me to eat when I walked in the door. The bowl was still warm in the fridge, so it only took a minute and a half in the microwave and I was enjoying supper within minutes. Oh, you bet a steak would’ve been nice, and having a side of veggies would’ve made the goop a meal, but I can’t complain. How could I complain about a meal that was ready to eat faster than going through a McDonald’s drive-thru?