Metal & Steel

I have a new love. His name is Bob Schneider.

This singer/songwriter is swiftly shooting up in the ranks of my music loves and coming in a close second to my fave Band, Blue October.

He is a poet. with an incredible voice. I often wake up singing one of his songs in my head.

Bob and Blue October - both Texas talent...coincidence? nah...

I almost fell out of my chair when I found this live version today...because there is a cello! (you know how much I love the cello, right?) Have a listen:

METAL & STEEL

Prompt #73: Now, I want to hear (read) your interpretation of this song. if you need the lyrics you can read them HERE.

Hurl words into the darkness...

I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.  ~Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977

There's nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.  ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith 

As writers, we have all hurled those words, we have all opened that vein...it is part of living, breathing, swimming in, our art. We are compelled to put our words to paper, in the hope of sharing it with the world; in the hope of feeding that frenzy; in the hope of reaching out to even one other soul who might take comfort, find solace or recognition in those words. 

We bleed onto the page, slice open our souls, pin emotion to the walls and wait...wait for an agent, an editor, a publisher, a friend, a stranger, anyone...to tell us we've done it. it's good. it's wonderful. it's ready. it's perfect.

and then...then, we do it all again. because we are never done writing; creating.

It takes bravery, persistence, a ridiculously thick skin, and a hell of a lot of gumption...but do it! Because you'll not regret trying, but you will mourn giving up. 

Prompt #72: Are you holding back or are you going for it?

Bad habits are like rotten meat...

they stink.

I have several bad habits.

I chew on the inside of my mouth.
I smoke (bleh.)
I procrastinate.
I sometimes try to divine deeper meaning from things that are simply...simple.
I analyze certain things too much, and sometimes, I don't pay proper attention to things that perhaps needed a bit more tending.
I crack my knuckles.
I snap my gum.
I don't always maintain eye contact when I'm speaking to someone (which doesn't mean I'm bored, it usually just means that I've got too many thoughts vying for first place in my brain...but the person I'm talking to doesn't know this.)

and...I have a terrible habit of letting myself fall into patterns of mediocrity. which is a terrible thing. because I fear being ordinary more than I fear spiders.

Being stuck is a position few of us like. We want something new but cannot let go of the old - old ideas, beliefs, habits, even thoughts. We are out of contact with our own genius. Sometimes we know we are stuck; sometimes we don't. In both cases we have to DO something. ~ Rush Limbaugh

Prompt #71: What bad habits do you need to break? How do you fight off the monsters of mediocrity and ordinariness?

The difference between falling and flying...

Wings.

Sometimes...we all need to be reminded that we are something more.  

When the day to day bogs us down, and we feel like we are doing little more than muddling through, we just need someone to tell us that we Shine! That we are something greater, something better, something incredible. 

I've got a mountain to climb before i get over this hill

I've got a world to unwind before i ever sit still
I've got a hard row to hoe before my seed is sown
I've got a long way to get before i get back home 
~ Bob Schneider

Prompt #70: Write about that person or thing that reminds you that you are amazing.

change your mind...

"I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls."   

~ Anaïs Nin 

I'm a big fan of change.

If something isn't moving right it my life, a job, a town, a relationship, I make a change...exit quietly stage left and move on to the next role.

A year ago, when my son was 13, he decided to make a change in his life, thereby altering mine, and moved to Seattle to live with his father.

It wasn't entirely unexpected, it was just sooner than I would have chosen. I knew one day my child would grow up, move on and make a life of his own, but I thought I had a few more years before having to deal with it. I wanted more time.

It's been rough. ups and downs. lots of tears. I miss him every day that he's not with me. but I've had to adjust to it.

I made some changes of my own, in order to try to make my life "right" again. I moved (several times, trying to find what felt right to me) and landed, happily, back in Louisville, Kentucky - it's the first place that ever really felt like "home" to me...coming back was like stepping into an old photograph, a happy memory.

So, here I am. Getting my feet back under my weight. Discovering how hollow that empty nest can sometimes feel, and cherishing the moments I get to spend with my son during those not-quite-long-enough visits.

I'm adapting, simply because that is what I do. I'm pliable, but tough. stubborn. strong-willed. determined.

but man! I miss my kid when he's not here. 

Prompt #69: How pliable are you? do you embrace change or resist it? do you adapt easily, or fight tooth and nail when change invites itself in?

living on the air in Cincinnati...

Heading out to Cincinnati  for the day. Zoo and Aquarium, so today is a quick post. 

Today's blog and prompt are one in the same...borrowed from my friend, June.

Prompt #68: It's Monday. Do you know who you are, where you're going, what's important? It's never too late to find out.

diamonds on the sea...

What will it take for you to dare to live the way your soul craves… ~ Big Sparkly Life

We all have big dreams and aspirations. Sometimes, we follow through, and sometimes we let things slide. 

For me, there are certain dreams that keep coming back, and I wonder, "huh. why haven't I done that yet?" 

I don't want to miss out on the things I've always wanted. It's time for me to really dare...really do...really go after my goals. 

I mean, really, why wait? 

That's not to say I haven't done a lot of the things I've wanted to do, just that there is still so much more I want! and I want to do it all! does that make me greedy?

I'm the gold in the sunset and diamonds on the sea... ~ Bob Schneider 

Prompt #67: So, what will it take? for you?