Saturday, May 31, 2008

Battle Scars

When I was in High School, our church choir was on tour in St. Louis. During the time we visited the riverfront, a downpour occurred and forced us to wait it out in the back of an RV in our shorts and T-shirts. To pass the time we wound up pointing out all of our scars and telling everyone how we got them. I don't know what it is about scars, but they seem to be something that most people enjoy sharing. One would think that this is a particular "Boy" thing, but the girls were equally pointing out their scars and telling everybody how they got them, no matter how gruesome the story.

There seems to be a leveling quality to scars in that if you know that someone else has a scar– this makes them more human. The willingness of pointing out ones imperfections shows a humbleness and proves that we are all fallible. Physical scars are easy in that you can easily point to something that you see, emotional scars are a different matter completely. You can't just say "Here; look at this depression, isn't it interesting…" then proceed to tell them how you got in such a funk. But that is always true about any intangible.

Even the tangible physical scars can have an interesting symbolism about them. There are several scars that I have found that I have to ask myself "now, how did I get that one…" then rack my brain and try and figure out how I got injured. Others I know I got, but have a tough time trying to find: such as the laceration on my left forearm– the only place I ever got stitches.

I was working at Knaack Manufacturing helping form job boxes. I was assisting the break-press operator with lifting the box top while it was being bent. I must have dropped my arms at some point, because I did not notice that I was cut until I started to lift the next piece, and saw the blood dripping down my arm. I am sure that if this were any other cut, I would not have to have stitches. But, since I was working with metal, it was required. For the longest time, I kept thinking that it was my right arm that was injured, since that was the arm closest to the piece. Interestingly, it was not the arm closest to the piece, but the other one– which probably explains why I could not find it on my right arm.

Much like the tree in the forest; if a scar cannot be seen– did the injury ever occur? I sure hope not because there are some injuries that I felt a scar should be visible, but went away. But, even though there is not visible scar, the story still remains. Like the time that I was playing baseball in a neighbors back yard in my bare feet and overran first base only to slip on a plastic drain pipe and cut my foot from the base of the big toe up through the heel. A great looking cut, but it actually went away in about 3 weeks (probably because most of the cut was through the callous skin). Perhaps this is also true of emotional scars that may seem to not be apparent, but the event that caused the injury still occurred.

The best scars are those that when you look at, you either guess wrong, or can't figure out how such a scar was formed. I'll forgive you if you stare at my forehead and try to figure out how I got the scar that looks like someone shoved their fingernail into my scull.

It is our scars– as well as our experiences that cause them that define our being. Having a scar allows us to reflect on our experiences and know that we are able to recover from our injuries and tell the tale.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

D. …Richard Nixon

Many times my wife wants something to drink, but is unsure what. So, with inspirations from: Whose Line is it Anyway - The Millonaire Show I then proceed to ask what she would like:

  1. …T:
  2. …D:
  3. …C:
    or…
  4. …Richard Nixon:

I know what each of these choices are, but do you…

Monday, May 26, 2008

Dichotomy of Chicago character

You can always tell a lot about a person based on the choices they make. Interestingly I found that living in Chicago there are several choices that are unique to the city itself. I have included some others that are more universal to round out the field. In order to not show any bias or correlation to the choices, I have placed them in alphabetical order. Here they are:
Burger KingMcDonald's
CableDish
CarnivoreVegetarian
Cat LoverDog Lover
CoffeeTea
CokePepsi
Cubs FanSox Fan
DemocratRepublican
Dominick'sJewel
Dunkin DonutsStarbucks
Lou Malanti'sUno's
O'HareMidway
MacintoshWindows
PaperPlastic
Sun TimesTribune
If you come up with some others, I welcome them as well. Enjoy

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Welcome to my Blog

Introduction

I am trying to refine my writing style. I have always found that I have way too much information in my head and need a way of sharing it. Some things I know are quite long and would take too long to explain in a normal conversation. Other things are not the kind of thing that you can fit into a letter easily. This therefore becomes the place where I can just write.

I have divided my blog into several categories, each with a distinct flavor which I will describe below:

events
I want to be more involved in the world around me. This is to announce those events that I am involved in.
fridays feast
I have created my own meme called Friday's Feast. This is where you can see my feature posts as well as link to what others have contributed.
guest postings
Many times I let others post to my blog when I am away. These are those posts that my guests have submitted on my behalf.
miscellaneous musings
So many things strike me funny. This section is my take on those things that I find either interesting, weird, or just down-right amusing to me.
personal history
I never thought my life was very interesting until I payed more attention to the stories I wrote to others in letters. This category is for telling the stories about things that I have done and experienced in my life.
personal philosophy
I always believe that I have a unique perspective on many things. This is where I define my thoughts and feelings about the world around me.
poetry
Like many people— I have also written poetry. Here is where I will share my poetry and any explanation or interpretation I have about it.
recipes
I do admit that I am a foodie. But I also know that I love to cook. I think it is the reward that comes with giving that makes cooking for someone such a joy to me. This is where I will share those recipes that I enjoy making so that others may enjoy them as well.
reviews
Everybody has an opinion about things… I am no exception. This is where I will review things such as songs, books, movies, and other matters of interest.
writing
I find that there are some things that I write that are not personal stories— but are more fictional in nature. This category contains those things that I have written that are not stories about myself, or things that I find amusing. This will also serve as a category in which I can discuss what writing is to me and how I write.

If there are others, I will also include them on this page, so continue to check this page for updates as they become available.

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