Bruised Orange...

love these lyrics...

Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
(John Prine) ©1978 Big Ears Music, Inc/Bruised Orange

My heart's in the ice house come hill or come valley
Like a long ago Sunday when I walked through the alley
On a cold winter's morning to a church house
just to shovel some snow.

I heard sirens on the train track howl naked gettin' nuder,
An altar boy's been hit by a local commuter
just from walking with his back turned
to the train that was coming so slow.

You can gaze out the window get mad and get madder,
throw your hands in the air, say "What does it matter?"
but it don't do no good to get angry,
so help me I know

For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter.
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there
wrapped up in a trap of your very own
chain of sorrow.

I been brought down to zero, pulled out and put back there.
I sat on a park bench, kissed the girl with the black hair
and my head shouted down to my heart
"You better look out below!"

Hey, it ain't such a long drop don't stammer don't stutter
from the diamonds in the sidewalk to the dirt in the gutter
and you carry those bruises
to remind you wherever you go.

Best Part Of...

...a quick trip to the parents' house for some tech support--they pay you in warm peanut butter cookies and milk.

Yum.

That D.D.S. guy...

Confession: I don't like going to the dentist.

Now, I know that hardly anyone ENJOYS visiting the dentist, but I REALLY don't like it. Never have. Probably started after a tooth-extraction experience when I was just a lad. I literally have to pray a silly little prayer for calm and courage before I get out of my car to go in, even just to get my teeth cleaned.

Today, however, something was different. I had a definite confidence that I didn't usually have. Perhaps it was due to my renewed focus on flossing, these past 6 months. My teeth cleaning was about as routine as it could be. A little gratuitous scraping with a sharp object, a little polish, a little floss. No cavities, see you in six months!

Wait, that was too easy. Something's up.

Well, maybe not. But I made my next cleaning appointment and hit the interstate quick before they could call me back.

I do think that it is great that my dental insurance covers these cleanings 100% No charge to me. That's awesome.

Really, What Could Be Cuter...

....than a toddler ecstatically hugging a stuffed polar bear?

I had previously scheduled a vacation day for today so I decided to accompany my mom and dad on their usual Tuesday babysitting gig with Lydia. Today's adventure was a trip to the St. Louis Science Center. This photo was taken in the SLSC Discovery Room. Most of the stuff there was over her little head but she had a grand time, nonetheless.

Two Years Ago Today...

I sprung this dog from her holding cage at HSMO. I ask her often if she knows how good she has it. Something tells me she understands.

All I Want Is...

a couple days off. Just like Huey Lewis and the News sang back in 1991 or so.

...taking a little breather from work action to end the week. I covered a vacationing co-worker's Sunday - Thursday shift this week and I had a scheduled vacation day today so that plus tomorrow off equals a four-day weekend. (yeah, that means I only worked Sunday-Wednesday.)

I managed to pull a muscle behind my right leg while I was asleep Monday night. It really, really ached all day Tuesday, less on Wednesday, and is almost back to normal tonight. Must have fallen asleep with my leg crooked or something. Could barely walk and had to do stairs really, really slowly. It really gave me a fresh awareness of how intricately and perfectly God designed our bodies. Every little muscle has its job to do to keep the hitch out of our get-along and when one's hurting, it kinda throws everything else off-kilter!

I drove up to our local Cabela's mega-jumbo-outdoor-sports superstore today. Yeah, I know it's been open for a few years but I've never bothered to check it out. I was impressed by their aquarium and wild-game displays. Did manage to find a Chili-cover for the back seat of my car. I've had the worst time finding something to fit over it and the cheap bedsheets I was using were beginning to wear out. The one I bought today fits perfectly. It does have the word "CABELA'S prominently stitched across the top, but that's no big deal. : )

Speaking of my big dog, we visited the HSMO vet clinic for her annual exam and shots today. Overall, she's healthy, but a bit heavy at 72 lbs. She needs to lose a few pounds to get down into the high 60s. That's my fault for getting a little careless with her feeding. The vet schooled me on how to do a better job. Chili was a very happy dog during her visit and the staff was impressed!

Spent this evening at Q worship rehearsal at church prepping graphics for Sunday. My pal Ben (aka 636benjamin) was running sound so we had good conversation while the band played.

I am reading a personal finance book called All Your Worth . The author of the book was recently featured in an MSN article so I decided to buy her book. It's all about keeping your money in balance to keep your finances on track. I like what I've read so far.

A No-Brainer...

So today a friend mentioned (on Facebook) that he'd bought the Esperanza Spalding CD. I assumed he meant her newest CD, "Esperanza" and then, after some iTunes and Rhapsody research/listening, decided to do the same. Borders and Barnes & Noble had the CD in question for $19.99(!!!!), and Best Buy doesn't have it in their stores. So I clicked over to the Concord Records webstore, since they own Spalding's record label. Lo and behold, they had it available for $11.98 plust $2 shipping.

Guess where I purchased it from?

Yeah.

I don't pretend to understand the economics of offering CDs for sale within bookstores or the state of the music business in general. I don't know if they have to offer certain CDs for $19.99, but one thing I do know; for $19.99 there'd better be at least 2 or 3 CDs in the package. (OK, if it's a single CD of remastered songs or additional unreleased tracks, I can see it. Case in point: the "Deluxe Version" of Tears for Fears' seminal 1984 album "Songs From the Big Chair," but I digress!) I thought $18.99 was bad enough but if Borders is at the point of needing to offer single CDs for $20 then they're going to lose me as a customer. They've whacked the music and DVD section at the store nearest my house and with them, my main motivation to purchase anything there.

I'll gladly wait 3-7 days to get new CDs in the mail if it means I get them for a better price. Instant gratification be damned--I'm NOT paying $20 for single CDs. Sure, I could get CDs electronically via iTunes or other digital download stores for $9 or $10, but I'm old school. I believe something just gets sonically lost in the conversion to MPx format. The sound's just better on CD and besides, I like to read the liner notes.

I mean, you really have to draw the line somewhere.

Thought-Provoking,,,

My friend Katie just posted a fine --guest-written-- essay in her blog - check it out:

An Elegant Sufficiency, Pt. 1

On Independence Day...

Who Are The Brave?

Who are the brave?
Those who go to war?
Who are the brave?
Those who fight no more?
Those who gave their lives
protecting freedom's shore.
Who are the brave?
Those who serve in war.

Who are the brave?
Those who live with pain?
Who are the brave?
Those whose lives are plain?
Those with healthy bodies,
Those protecting the unsure.
Who are the brave?
Those who serve the poor.

Who are the brave?
Those whose speech is free?
Who are the brave?
Those loving liberty?
All those with heart and mind,
Protecting all they find.
Who are the brave?
Those who serve mankind.
These are the brave.

J. Paul Williams

©1992 Studio 224
All Rights Assigned To and Controlled By Alfred Publishing Co.
All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

Saturday Afternoon With The Family....

I spent an enjoyable afternoon with the family today at the ol' homeplace in Festus. Here are some pictures:

Dad dressed up the house for Independence Day!

Granddad trying to get Lydia interested in photography, as he is!

Gram loves her some Lydia!

Lydia, one week shy of 18 months old!

coming home, this awesome cloud formation appeared..I see a hand...do you?

A Choir Geek's Indulgence...

Okay, I admit it. I'm a choir geek. I got hooked on choral singing in high school. My choir director Mr. Nall helped me discover that I really liked singing and was better than average at it. I sang in choirs throughout my 5(!) years of college and in a community choir after college. I've had wonderfully rich and memorable singing experiences at the annual state music educator's convention held at Tan-Tar-A Resort near the Lake Of The Ozarks and even did two in-state tours while in college.

Today my inner choir geek was mightily indulged. The local barbershop chorus Ambassadors of Harmony and the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir both performed in St. Louis on the same day! I took in the AOH's matinee performance and the MTC's evening concert.

This time of year is always international competition season for AOH and they appeared ready to take on all comers. They performed many old favorites and the two numbers they've prepared for competition. AOH's show must really be seen (and heard) to be believed. Costumes, choreography, sight gags, I could go on... Their special guests this year were Vocal FX, a male barbershop chorus from New Zealand who will be competing along with AOH. The group is all young males but directed by a female and they were fantastic. They performed 4 traditional barbershop numbers and should do well in competition. The audience was treated to a tasty dose of New Zealand culture, as the group also performed 3 numbers in the native Maori dialect and 4 members dressed in traditional Maori warrior garb (i.e. nothing but skirts made of dried (something which I can't remember!)). It was fascinating.

The evening Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert was immensely satisfying, as I expected it would be. Their 175 recordings and appearances all over the world testify to their legacy. The only real bummer was that they had to perform in cavernous Scottrade Center, normally a hockey arena. True, it was probably the only venue in the area large enough to hold them but I'd have preferred a more intimate venue. They'd not been to St. Louis since 1958 and who knows when they'll be back, so I am glad I attended. The concert was a muscal smorgasbord of classical masterworks and traditional American folk music and hymns.

Oh, and did I mention that The Man Himself John Ashcroft guest-conducted the encore? He did. Ashcroft--the former U.S. Attorney General, senator and governor of Missouri--led the choir and orchestra through a rousing "This Land Is Your Land," to the delight of the audience.

It was an interesting end to a great night of singing.

Headliner!!...

The Cardinals had a bit of trouble scoring runs against the Giants' starting pitcher Matt Cain last evening. The headline for the game story in today's paper summed it up thusly:

"Cards bats are unable against Cain"

: )

Memorializing Memorial Day 2009...

I've decided that I'm decidedly in favor of Monday holidays. Let's recap...

- I checked out the annual Gypsy Caravan event up at UMSL. It's a Memorial Day tradition in St. Louis, a benefit for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. I'd never been before, so just to satisfy my curiosity, I drove up there. It was basically a giant flea market. You pay $5 to get in and shop around to your heart's content. I found a couple of people selling old carpenters' tools and other shop items; my dad might have found something he liked. Unfortunately, a torrential rainstorm descended and I got caught without raincoat or umbrella. I tried to wait it out but eventually gave up and walked back to my car, soaked almost to the skin.

- came home to eat lunch and watch the ballgame between the Cardinals and Brewers. It was a classic pitchers' duel between the Cardinals' ace Carpenter and the Brewers' young hurler Gallardo. The game went to extra innings tied 0-0, with the Brew Crew finally breaking through in their half of the 10th to win 1-0. Truly disappointing for the Birds.

- packed up Chili-dog and headed to Festus for dinner with the parents. We dined on pork steaks and all the trimmings, with oatmeal cookies, and strawberries à la mode for dessert. We watched old war movies on television after dinner. My bro and sis-in-law sent pictures of Lydia enjoying herself at the Lake of the Ozarks with her mama's family. She enjoyed being out on the water but wasn't thrilled about not being able to go wherever she wanted! : ) Such is life at 16 months old. I'm sitting for her Thursday night...

Kids vs. Cookies...

My church is fortunate to have a video-savvy guy on its worship staff to produce videos such as this one, which we used in today's services.



We used it as part of our stewardship series, "The Buck Stops Here: The Heart Of The Matter."

Weekender, 3 days late...

Had an enjoyable last weekend....Chili and I embarked to Bark In The Park, on a lark, no shot in the dark, Hark! We mingled with dogs (and people) of all shapes and sizes. We left at mid-day so I could get over to Castlewood State Park in time for my bible class's annual year-end picnic. I threw the frisbee around with friends and partook of some great food. I led a small band of adventurous folks on a hike up the hill and onto the bluffs overlooking the Meramec River. Later in the evening, some of us met up to see the new Star Trek movie and we enjoyed an ice cream nightcap at Oberweis afterwards. Here are some pictures:

Been There!!...

Ummmm...

I encountered this price tag yesterday at my local grocery....I wasn't amused.

Ready For Her Close-Up...

Lydia Joy at 16 months - enjoying crepes with the family at Crepes In The City today. That's her grandpa watching in the background.

My Weekend...

Had a nice full weekend, so I thought I'd chronicle it, just for fun. Most readers won't care, but, hey, it's MY blog! : )

Saturday...

out of bed
let dog out
daily devotional quiet time
clean self throughly
walk dog around neighborhood
breakfast and devour Saturday paper
proceed to sears hardware for lawn mower motor oil
back home, add oil to lawn mower
oh, shoot, mower needs gas
proceed to QT to fill gas can
cut the grass, front and back yard
*lunch*
drag out weed eater and blower
start to cut weeds, run out of trimmer line
proceed to home depot for replacement line and, on impulse, jumbo bag o' fertilizer
back home, install replacement trimmer line, finish cutting weeds, front and back yards.
sweep off back patio thoroughly.
clean off roof, unclog gutters as needed
*wow* major clog in gutter at SE corner of house
make temporary repair to soffit/rafters at NW corner of house
drag out fertilizer spreader, realize i bought way too much fertilizer
return jumbo bag o' fertilizer, purchase smaller bag
fertilize front and back lawns
put away spreader, trimmer, and blower.
walk dog around neighborhood again
home, feed and water dog
rest while watching Ask This Old House
order pizza and rent movie (Frost/Nixon - highly recommend!)
let dog out
go to bed

Sunday...

out of bed
let dog out
daily devotional quiet time
clean self thoroughly
breakfast, morning paper sports section
church
get lunch from McAlister's Deli
home, eat lunch, read paper and devour crossword
start laundry
get groceries
clean house
drive to church singles group game night out in Wildwood
drive home
finish BSF lesson
upload a couple of pictures to facebook
let dog out
go to bed

Recently...

Against all odds, my backyard Redbud tree bloomed out. It lost a big chunk last fall when the remnants of Hurricane Ike marched through the Midwest.

Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears @ The Pageant last Friday night. Two horns, drums, Black Joe himself in the middle on vocals, lead ax, and harp plus bass and rhythm guitar.

Chili-dog spied a cat one day last week. A black one, no less. I'm grateful for a backyard with a fence and a dog that does not jump it.