The sun isn't shining, and outside it is brutally cold. The wind is frigid enough it might bruise one's flesh with its relentless battering.
Today I attend my parents for birthday celebrations although my birthday is on Wednesday. It seems for the most part celebrations will be on any day besides my birthday (although I will be going out to dinner on the actual day of with my wife, weather permitting), so it may well be an odd year.
The weather seems to have taken a nasty turn earlier than the meteorologists predicted (what do they know, wizards that they are?), so unfortunately we'll probably have to drive my well worn vehicle. Hopefully it'll get us up and down the hill in one piece; it usually does. Regardless, I wish this weather would go away.
I don't mind the rain, in fact I love it. I don't mind a bit of snow (I do mind more than a bit, especially when socks and shoes start getting wet), but I do mind this bitter cold; it bites into your bones, and chews into your soul. Thank Heaven for warm clothing!
11.12.08
Donnersville: Chapter One - The First Leaf Falls (Part One)
This is the first part of a writing project I've begun. I was originally going to post it on Grey Matter, but then decided this blog would be more appropriate. Here goes:
Donnersville, WA - a sleepy little town tucked away somewhere deeply within the Cascades. Donnersville was an anomaly -it seemed to exist outside the bounds of a normal existence- of an otherwise fairly normal mountain area. The town was outside of countys, school districts, and some whimsical thinkers would like to think its outside of the country too. Donnersville created what it needed to exist; it had its own county, its own school district, and its own residents to live in its boundaries.
The town had roughly 1,500 residents, which swelled in the tourist season. Donnersville was a former mining community, and when the mine died out, the community did too, at least that was until it became a relative mecca for summer hikers looking for good trails, which Donnersville boasted a fair amount of. The town revived itself, almost as if from the dead. How it swelled to 1,500 residents I couldn't tell you, but it did, and thats where it remains.
The summer months for the town were prosperous, and the winter months were long, lonely, and the trickle of national green came to a virtual standstill. The residents of Donnersville didn't seem to mind though, because they always found things to occupy themselves. And that is where we will begin, where much of it begins, on the first day of Fall.
*************************************************************************************
John Weaving Jr., Mayor of Donnersville, loved his car. He had been on vacation in Texas in 1992 when he had spotted it at a spotty little dealership out of El Paso. It was a teal 1981 Cadillac Seville, embelished in full Texas style with longhorn horns and all. He kept the car in good working order, since being mayor meant he had to keep on top of things, and to keep on top of things he had to drive, and drive he did.
Today was no ordinary day for John, it was legally the first day of fall, which meant he had the huge responsibility of declaring the first true leaf to fall. Now, leaves had been falling for some time, since the fall season always seemed to creep up a little early, but they weren't officially recognized by John in all his mayoral power. He liked to think of these leaves as illegal immigrants to his land; he wouldn't recognize them until the proper process had been gone through, but when the first legal immigrant comes, he would greet it with much pomp and circumstance. And that is how it was with the first leaf, all of the other fallen leaves up to that point didn't matter to him.
John Weaving was in his early 50s, and wore a nice pale grey dress shirt with rhinestone buttons. He also wore a large, faded grey ten gallon hat with a leather band emblazoned with turqouise stones. A bolo tie sat just below his collar, and glided down the rotund protuberance that was the rest of his body. His left hand gripped the steering wheel resolutely, while his right hand rested on it lightly, it was preoccupied with keeping a massive cigar between his hefty index and "bird" fingers.
His blue eyes examined the town as he drove through its streets, it was still fairly early in the morning, and most people were still asleep. The last of the summer tourists were still in town, but it wouldn't be too long till they let out. Snow often came early in Donnersville, and with its appearance, anybody who wasn't local made their disappearance.
John brought the massive cigar up to the orofice that kept all of his teeth in it. He took a long draw, and then blew out all the smoke through a crack in the window which he had lowered a few moments before. He eyed the fuel guage and noticed it he was getting pretty close to empty. Swinging the car around mid street, he headed back the other direction toward Chris Burnes' Gas n' Burger.
It didn't take him long to get to the single double pump outside of Burnes' Burger joint. Throwing the door ajar he hefted himself out of the car, and placed his cigar conveniently in an ash tray on top of the pump. The mayor walked slowly around to where the gas lid was located, opened it, and then proceeded to pump the wondrous fluid into his automobile monstrosity. As soon as the pump clicked off, he pulled out a wad of sweaty bills, placed them through a slot in a metal box next to the pump, grabbed his cigar, and loaded himself back into his car.
He put his hand down to turn the engine on, but then thought better of it. After a few more slow draws on his cigar, he pounded its flame out in a thick green ash tray he kept on his dash. His eye wandered over to his watch, which said it was 5 past 8, which meant it was time to get the town up and running. He opened the door of the car, coughed several times, spat some phlegm, and then shut the door again. His right hand deftly reached down, and grabbed what appeared to be a CB radio. He brought it up to his mouth, turned it on, and began to speak.
*************************************************************************************
In the middle of the town there was a loud speaker, although it looked more like an air raid siren. at 8:05 precisely, the mayor's voice drawlingly blared from it, broadcasting to the entire community.
"Now, as usual its time to begin our day folks. I know some of yous is still sleepin', so you best be gettin' up, and I know some of yous is up, so you best stay up. Any of you visitin', pay no mind to this message for now, you can keep on sleepin', and sleepin' good, " he spiralled into a brief phlegmy coughing fit, and then continued, "This here day, is the beginnin' of fall, and as the official officer of mayoral duty in this town, it is my most honorable, and mayoral duty to declare the first fallin' leaf. So, I will declare this leaf in the town square this evenin' as we all gather and watch it fall. That'll be at 6:30 sharp is when I predict it'll be, so you all be there. I'll keep you posted, so until further notice, you all have a nice and wonderful day. This has been John Weaving, Jr. mayor in all capacities."
The mayor put the CB back in its proper place, started the car, and then roared out onto the road to make more rounds. The town began to awake from its slumber, preparing itself for a day that was sure to be interesting.
*************************************************************************************
Donnersville, WA - a sleepy little town tucked away somewhere deeply within the Cascades. Donnersville was an anomaly -it seemed to exist outside the bounds of a normal existence- of an otherwise fairly normal mountain area. The town was outside of countys, school districts, and some whimsical thinkers would like to think its outside of the country too. Donnersville created what it needed to exist; it had its own county, its own school district, and its own residents to live in its boundaries.
The town had roughly 1,500 residents, which swelled in the tourist season. Donnersville was a former mining community, and when the mine died out, the community did too, at least that was until it became a relative mecca for summer hikers looking for good trails, which Donnersville boasted a fair amount of. The town revived itself, almost as if from the dead. How it swelled to 1,500 residents I couldn't tell you, but it did, and thats where it remains.
The summer months for the town were prosperous, and the winter months were long, lonely, and the trickle of national green came to a virtual standstill. The residents of Donnersville didn't seem to mind though, because they always found things to occupy themselves. And that is where we will begin, where much of it begins, on the first day of Fall.
*************************************************************************************
John Weaving Jr., Mayor of Donnersville, loved his car. He had been on vacation in Texas in 1992 when he had spotted it at a spotty little dealership out of El Paso. It was a teal 1981 Cadillac Seville, embelished in full Texas style with longhorn horns and all. He kept the car in good working order, since being mayor meant he had to keep on top of things, and to keep on top of things he had to drive, and drive he did.
Today was no ordinary day for John, it was legally the first day of fall, which meant he had the huge responsibility of declaring the first true leaf to fall. Now, leaves had been falling for some time, since the fall season always seemed to creep up a little early, but they weren't officially recognized by John in all his mayoral power. He liked to think of these leaves as illegal immigrants to his land; he wouldn't recognize them until the proper process had been gone through, but when the first legal immigrant comes, he would greet it with much pomp and circumstance. And that is how it was with the first leaf, all of the other fallen leaves up to that point didn't matter to him.
John Weaving was in his early 50s, and wore a nice pale grey dress shirt with rhinestone buttons. He also wore a large, faded grey ten gallon hat with a leather band emblazoned with turqouise stones. A bolo tie sat just below his collar, and glided down the rotund protuberance that was the rest of his body. His left hand gripped the steering wheel resolutely, while his right hand rested on it lightly, it was preoccupied with keeping a massive cigar between his hefty index and "bird" fingers.
His blue eyes examined the town as he drove through its streets, it was still fairly early in the morning, and most people were still asleep. The last of the summer tourists were still in town, but it wouldn't be too long till they let out. Snow often came early in Donnersville, and with its appearance, anybody who wasn't local made their disappearance.
John brought the massive cigar up to the orofice that kept all of his teeth in it. He took a long draw, and then blew out all the smoke through a crack in the window which he had lowered a few moments before. He eyed the fuel guage and noticed it he was getting pretty close to empty. Swinging the car around mid street, he headed back the other direction toward Chris Burnes' Gas n' Burger.
It didn't take him long to get to the single double pump outside of Burnes' Burger joint. Throwing the door ajar he hefted himself out of the car, and placed his cigar conveniently in an ash tray on top of the pump. The mayor walked slowly around to where the gas lid was located, opened it, and then proceeded to pump the wondrous fluid into his automobile monstrosity. As soon as the pump clicked off, he pulled out a wad of sweaty bills, placed them through a slot in a metal box next to the pump, grabbed his cigar, and loaded himself back into his car.
He put his hand down to turn the engine on, but then thought better of it. After a few more slow draws on his cigar, he pounded its flame out in a thick green ash tray he kept on his dash. His eye wandered over to his watch, which said it was 5 past 8, which meant it was time to get the town up and running. He opened the door of the car, coughed several times, spat some phlegm, and then shut the door again. His right hand deftly reached down, and grabbed what appeared to be a CB radio. He brought it up to his mouth, turned it on, and began to speak.
*************************************************************************************
In the middle of the town there was a loud speaker, although it looked more like an air raid siren. at 8:05 precisely, the mayor's voice drawlingly blared from it, broadcasting to the entire community.
"Now, as usual its time to begin our day folks. I know some of yous is still sleepin', so you best be gettin' up, and I know some of yous is up, so you best stay up. Any of you visitin', pay no mind to this message for now, you can keep on sleepin', and sleepin' good, " he spiralled into a brief phlegmy coughing fit, and then continued, "This here day, is the beginnin' of fall, and as the official officer of mayoral duty in this town, it is my most honorable, and mayoral duty to declare the first fallin' leaf. So, I will declare this leaf in the town square this evenin' as we all gather and watch it fall. That'll be at 6:30 sharp is when I predict it'll be, so you all be there. I'll keep you posted, so until further notice, you all have a nice and wonderful day. This has been John Weaving, Jr. mayor in all capacities."
The mayor put the CB back in its proper place, started the car, and then roared out onto the road to make more rounds. The town began to awake from its slumber, preparing itself for a day that was sure to be interesting.
*************************************************************************************
In My Defense
So, I am contemplating taking up fencing again. Yesterday I dropped by the local fencing school, and rather liked the atmosphere of camaraderie there. I fenced some time ago, and it is amazing exercise.
If there is anything in this world that I need, it is exercise. I will write further later on whether I follow through on this, but I am leaning towards following through.
If there is anything in this world that I need, it is exercise. I will write further later on whether I follow through on this, but I am leaning towards following through.
6.12.08
In der Regen
Starting tomorrow, December 6th, 2008, I pledge to turn a new leaf in my life. In this article of life re-authentification I pledge to do the following:
1. I shall finish one volume of written word - specifically in book form - within a period of two weeks, every two weeks.
2. I shall exercise regularly, no less than 25 minutes, 3 times per week (this form of exercise shall not include walking, or activities of a relative low intensity nature).
3. I shall say my prayers.
4. I shall write no less than 1 page of material for my written works per week.
5. I shall eat a plant-based diet, excepting celebration and date nights. This does not mean that I cannot consume animal products, however, it does mean that animal products may not be the majority of the meal.
6. I shall spend my time less frivolously and attempt to be more productive with my time.
I pledge these things sincerely for the betterment of my self, and for those around me. I will add further articles to this pledge in future, for my further betterment.
Sincerely,
David M. Roberts
1. I shall finish one volume of written word - specifically in book form - within a period of two weeks, every two weeks.
2. I shall exercise regularly, no less than 25 minutes, 3 times per week (this form of exercise shall not include walking, or activities of a relative low intensity nature).
3. I shall say my prayers.
4. I shall write no less than 1 page of material for my written works per week.
5. I shall eat a plant-based diet, excepting celebration and date nights. This does not mean that I cannot consume animal products, however, it does mean that animal products may not be the majority of the meal.
6. I shall spend my time less frivolously and attempt to be more productive with my time.
I pledge these things sincerely for the betterment of my self, and for those around me. I will add further articles to this pledge in future, for my further betterment.
Sincerely,
David M. Roberts
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