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One Man Trying to Establish Himself (Rightly, In The Heart) With the Original Heart (of a Butterfly) — that’s the name of this work by my friend, Bryan Voell.  It is beautiful because I can identify with it.  I see imperfection, longing, hope, and a connection with something that resembles a higher power.

Six pounds of charred cow flesh, 12 strips of bacon, and an enough dairy to cut the cheese into next year… of course, I’m exaggerating here, but it looked that way to me when the waiter brought out Matthew’s lunch.  My stepmom’s grandson ordered The Mondo Hondo Burger off the menu at Farley’s and never looked back.

I’m not a sports fan, but I love drifting off to the calm voice of Wally McCarthy as he does play by play for sleepbaseball.com.  A few nights ago, Jenny & I put our money where our ears are, and bought a couple of t-shirts from one of the teams that play on WSLP.  The Baraboo Bombers from Baraboo, WI aren’t one of the better teams in the Northwoods Baseball League– they lose more games than they win.  We just really like their name.  I also like the flying squirrel mascot.

There’s a story about an old man who lost a horse, and the series of events that followed can be interpreted as “good” or “bad” at first– but everyone’s early conclusions are wrong.  It’s an old story that will help me in the coming days, weeks, and months as I process my own reality and how I perceive it.  Big thanks to Byrle S. for telling me about Sai Weng Shi Ma.

“…They will dig up these ruins and make flutes of our bones and blow a hymn to the memory of the orphans of God.”

His red eyes can sear through the toughest gnat! His silver legs are faster than a ladybug on her way home to stop a fire! His metallic body is able to resist being squished by a human twice his size… but a human that small would probably be considered a freak of nature, and most likely be held captive by secret research scientists.

The visuals make it cosmic, the random glowing insects make it enchanting, the whistling gnomes playing banjos make it real.  This ‘Spacefolk Campfire Jam’ is another happy place for me.  It’s good music to have in the background, but if you want a real treat, watch the video for the fireflies.  Hello November!

Last week our neighbor, Barb, asked Jenny & I if we wanted to carve pumpkins before Halloween.  We said “Sure!”  I got carried away and said “and then we can watch ‘The Great Pumpkin’ together!’  There was a pause before she sighed, shrugged, and said “ok.”  It felt like she expected to sit in a sincere pumpkin patch and wait all night while all the other kids went trick-or-treating.  I guess my Charlie Brown TV traditions don’t appeal to everybody.  After we took these pics, Barb was a good sport and watched The Great Pumpkin with us.

I always thought that “rhetoric” was a word to describe other words that were being used to brainwash, fluster, and cloud the mind. I’m familiar with the phrase ‘that’s a rhetorical question,’ and I know I’m not supposed to answer literally or quickly. Earlier this year Robin Reames wrote a book, The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times.  It goes deeper into rhetoric, and I’m hungry to learn more about it. Thanks Carlos for taking this selfie and going on this journey with me.