It was an incredibly humid and muggy afternoon in Memphis, TN today...perfect conditions for manual labor. I had four pallets of sod to lay and the whole family was ready to help...pretty cool since the kids are eight and eleven.
Shortly after i begin i notice that the kids really like grass...thye climb on it, roll in it, do cartwheels on it...just aboout everything but pick it up and move it. To be fair my eleven year old son was working hard...his sister though used the opportunity to practice her gymnastics and crack jokes. Her plan had its merits....its kind of nice to have a jester around...she kept us plenty entertained.
Slowly the landscape took shape. Laboriously (not magically) it turned from a boring piece of raw dirt to an emerald green oasis...it started to look like the nicest park ive ever been to.
After all of the sod was laid and the kids had their time just playing in it we had a chance to let the hound check it out. Ive got a 100 lb mutt and i was a little concerned that he would view our project as an excellent playground upon which to dig. Ultimately he just romped...he sniffed for about five minutes then simply ran back and forth as fast as his huge paws would take him.
After it was all done I stood back in fatigued silence and viewed our handiwork...and the thought hit me...if people are willing to travel thousands of miles, cross deserts, deal with human traffickers, and run the risk of jail or death just to get a job like laying sod...how bad must Mexico really be? I live here and i dont want to see another piece of sod for a year. I cant imagine how bad it would suck to do this everyday.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Where do all the thoughts go?
I've heard it said that a woman will use 21 million words a year while a man will only use 7 million. I dont know if men really talk that much less or if there is only room for 28 million words per year and women just have an advantage when it comes to the conversational equivalent of what the military calls "fire superiority".
At any rate...men have plenty of thoughts that remain just that...thoughts. Again I'm not sure if these great ideas go unsaid because we are simply cerebral creatures who like the simplicity of the perfect unvocalized thought...or if it's because we cant get a word in edge-wise with our 21 million-word-per-year-better-half.
Whatever the case may be...this is the place I will leave all of my thoughts. Time for thinking can be difficult to come by nowadays...with so much pressure from work, keeping the house in order, and the demands of getting everyone in the fanily where they need to be for their activities there is precious little down-time where one can arrange their thoughts or just ponder on things.
I tend to get this mental downtime from my hobbies. Fishing is a great example. My main goal when fishing isnt to catch fish...if it were I'd be terribly depressed as i really am quite terrible at fishing. Over time I've learned that the primary benefit i derive from fishing is the alone time. After i hook up my boat I get two uninterupted hours in my truck on my way to the lake. When is the last time you had TWO FULL HOURS of uninterupted time to yourself? It doesnt happen often. After I launch my boat i generally get another 4 to 6 hours in one of the most scenic and serene landscapes in the country as i enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Tennessee River from my boat. If i catch some fish then its a bonus...and then i get the return trip to enjoy as well. All things considered I get 9 to 10 hours with a free and clear mind. Many times Ill bring my wife and we can float around in this peaceful place and discuss all manner of things...generally things about the kids but often times bigger issues regarding our dreams of retirement.
Another hobby is mountain biking. Now...you have a lot to keep your mind on when mountain biking...a lack of focus can lead to a great deal of pain. However...there are many times on the straight-aways and the gentler parts of the ride where your mind does free up and you have some great thoughts and your mind seems to just be better at getting down to the solutions you seek.
The human brain needs time away from computers and fax machines and TV's. The power went out at our office last month, and in the still, dark, and quiet place that our office became in the aftermath a co-worker said the strangest thing. He looked around and said "isnt it crazy how QUIET everything is...we should turn off the power more often...you never have times like this.". I looked at him and explained that most of us in the office get this all the time...its why we hunt and fish.
Go get some down time...it will do you more good than you realize. The beauty of it is that you dont need a boat to take a two hour drive...just go.
So these are just some of the places where thoughts come to me...and this blog is where many of them will end up. If you ever meet my wife please tell her about this blog...she's probably not heard of it as she's still trying to get her 21 million words in.
At any rate...men have plenty of thoughts that remain just that...thoughts. Again I'm not sure if these great ideas go unsaid because we are simply cerebral creatures who like the simplicity of the perfect unvocalized thought...or if it's because we cant get a word in edge-wise with our 21 million-word-per-year-better-half.
Whatever the case may be...this is the place I will leave all of my thoughts. Time for thinking can be difficult to come by nowadays...with so much pressure from work, keeping the house in order, and the demands of getting everyone in the fanily where they need to be for their activities there is precious little down-time where one can arrange their thoughts or just ponder on things.
I tend to get this mental downtime from my hobbies. Fishing is a great example. My main goal when fishing isnt to catch fish...if it were I'd be terribly depressed as i really am quite terrible at fishing. Over time I've learned that the primary benefit i derive from fishing is the alone time. After i hook up my boat I get two uninterupted hours in my truck on my way to the lake. When is the last time you had TWO FULL HOURS of uninterupted time to yourself? It doesnt happen often. After I launch my boat i generally get another 4 to 6 hours in one of the most scenic and serene landscapes in the country as i enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Tennessee River from my boat. If i catch some fish then its a bonus...and then i get the return trip to enjoy as well. All things considered I get 9 to 10 hours with a free and clear mind. Many times Ill bring my wife and we can float around in this peaceful place and discuss all manner of things...generally things about the kids but often times bigger issues regarding our dreams of retirement.
Another hobby is mountain biking. Now...you have a lot to keep your mind on when mountain biking...a lack of focus can lead to a great deal of pain. However...there are many times on the straight-aways and the gentler parts of the ride where your mind does free up and you have some great thoughts and your mind seems to just be better at getting down to the solutions you seek.
The human brain needs time away from computers and fax machines and TV's. The power went out at our office last month, and in the still, dark, and quiet place that our office became in the aftermath a co-worker said the strangest thing. He looked around and said "isnt it crazy how QUIET everything is...we should turn off the power more often...you never have times like this.". I looked at him and explained that most of us in the office get this all the time...its why we hunt and fish.
Go get some down time...it will do you more good than you realize. The beauty of it is that you dont need a boat to take a two hour drive...just go.
So these are just some of the places where thoughts come to me...and this blog is where many of them will end up. If you ever meet my wife please tell her about this blog...she's probably not heard of it as she's still trying to get her 21 million words in.
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