Category Archives: Life

Jul10

guts and care.

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when their quesadilla is too hot to eat

leave it to the little ones 

to think out of the box.

one holds the quesadilla pieces,

while the other rides the rowing machine

to move the fan to cool the food.

problem solved. 

—

for every two minutes on the rowing machine

riding fast to cool the food

you can eat one triangle and call it even.

#family math

—

‘creating problems is easy. we do it all the time. finding solutions, ones that last and produce good results, requires guts and care.’

-henry rollins

Jul9

weather.

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kind of funny

that the weather channel on tv

that was supposed to warn me

about incoming dangerous storms

wasn’t working right

because of the incoming dangerous storms.

every so often

a word like ‘severe’ would pop up

and disappear back into the screen

hope it wasn’t saying,

‘turn this off and take cover immediately!’

or

‘if you can see this, you are in harm’s way!’

at least i lived to tell the tale

and that is still working for me. 

—

“weather forecast for tonight: dark.”

-george carlin

Jul8

heat.

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local scarecrow goes down in the heat

and perhaps looks forward to a cooler season.

 

—

“if you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?”

 -steven wright

Jul7

and then there were ten.

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what began with two grandies taking a quiet spin

quickly became a magnet for all to take in. 

—

“what you lose in the swings, you make up on the merry-go-round.” – george v. higgins

 

Jul6

angry beast.

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the dinos have had it

and it looks like

they’ve organized

as seen in 

this garden in town. 

—

“climate is an angry beast

and we are poking at it with sticks.”

 
 – wallace smith broecker – columbia university
—

photo credit: ann arbor townies, k. nyht

Jul5

sparkle brightly.

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”blooming under a cold moon, we are like fireworks…

rising, shining, and finally scattering and fading.

so until that moment comes when we vanish like fireworks…

let us sparkle brightly, always…”

-tite kubo

 

Jul4

4th.

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”we must be free not because we claim freedom,

but because we practice it.”

~william faulkner

–

happy 4th of july

and here’s to practicing freedom every day

 

 

—

image credit: funnyordie.com

Jul3

parks.

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as i’ve been walking and exploring

the parks and outdoor recreation areas around town 

i realize how many i have yet to visit

so i’ve decided to walk in each of the parks 

in ann arbor

all 159+ of them

to see what is unique about each

with more than

2,000 acres of parkland

 50,000 trees

a river, dams, falls, hills, ponds, gardens,

woods, meadows, prairies, and rec areas

found in spaces ranging from

tiny neighborhood green spots to wide open expanses

i see an adventure ahead

with no planned deadline or timeline

 so i began the list alphabetically yesterday

and have walked 2 of them so far

only 157+ to go.
—

“parks are works of art just as a painting or sculpture is.”

-thomas hoving

—

credits: ann arbor parks and recreation

Jul2

john k. king.

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john wanders through the stacks. 

by far, the most interesting bookstore i’ve ever spent time in

john k. king used & rare books

is a bookstore out of its time

located in detroit on 4 floors

of what used to be the advance glove company building

filled with over 1 million volumes

 completely uncomputerized collections

 organized into more than 900 categories

by a team of energetic and helpful staff members

each floor has a manager who is responsible

for knowledge and maintenance of the categories held there

upon entering you are handed a map and directory

 you are free to wander you way through the floors

until closing time.

john began collecting and selling books as a teenager

selling them out of the trunk of his car

and he continues to this day

on my recent visit to the store

staff members said he was in his car

headed to cincinnati to acquire a new collection

every time they sell a few books, he takes on more

he’s now purchased the old otis elevator building

behind the store to use as

 an annex for his art and rare book collections

this is a store and experience not to be missed.

 

“i thought i’d go to a bookstore and see what moved me.”

-erik larson

 

 

 

 

—

credits: john r. king books

Jul1

magical writing.

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peaches: “your writing is beautiful. may i read it?”

grandie v: “it’s written in magic fairy language, peaches, so i’ll have to read it to you. it says: fairies, mermaids, and unicorns are magical.”

peaches: “we’re both so lucky that you know magic fairy language.”

—


”if i fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don’t remove it

— i might be writing in my dreams. 

-terri guillemetsqe