Canticle

When there wasn’t anywhere for me to go,

I stumbled into deep love with your Rock & Roll…

Records. Tapes. Mixes. CDs. MP3s. Concerts. Dashboard sing-alongs. Music! All forms and modes that quietly and not so quietly call green into existence, that melodic catalyst of the Holy Spirit; I don’t speak in tongues but I sing in lyrics and I think You hear it all the same. I don’t know what shape my soul would be in without it. Thank You for being approachable (and portable).

My Huckleberry Friends…

You are the select. I am blessed to share this crazy journey with you all. You challenge me, accept me, inspire me, indulge me and spur me on towards love in its many fashions. You’re the dark chocolate and the leafy greens to my life. You level me…and are most likely on my Zombie Killin’ Dream Team.

Talk like an open book, sign me up…

Expression. It’s a gift I often overlook. To write, to talk, to sing, to touch. What a crucial and cherished gift I have been entrusted with. I will do my best to cultivate it for those who can’t and wish they could, and those who stick around and wish I would (and I’ll do my best to avoid rhyming in future occurrences).

Purple irises the camera can’t see…

The little things that make an entire day seem worth while. Unpacking a new life with a friend. Sharing pie and listening to records. Singing along with the only other sober person at a secret show (with the exuberance and ferocity of an inebriated one). Discovering the perfect sentence for a word. The way Ray Bans make me feel. Arizona sunsets. Blankets. Space heaters. Lavender lattes. Welcoming a friend at the airport. Burritos. Rocking out. Sleeping in. Staying up late. Bear hugs. Being the first to clap at a concert. High fives. Swigging rum. Team Nash.  Donkey kicks. Laughing so hard you can’t breathe (and fear you might possibly pass out). My brother’s Germaine dance. And a thousand other moments that fall in their decorated origami fashion and are not lost on me.

And I sing, how can I be anything other than thankful?

Grace

A quality the world lacks.  Perhaps that's why we love Audrey so.

Start From Scratch

I can't find my paper crane collection—I think it got lost in the move.

I’d say they’re hiding but I know better. They’re lost.  Shoved in a keepsake box to reassure them they’re worthy of keeping, but we both know they’re gathering dust.  Quietly decomposing somewhere between last year’s burnt-out Christmas lights and a couple chipped ceramic mugs I was too sentimental about to throw away.  Abandoned, kind of. Most likely. One day. But not forgotten.

Probably just as well. I’ll call them practice.

Favorite Thing About Being A Writer:

Being whoever I want whenever the fuck I want.

Least Favorite Thing About Being A Writer:
Writing something effortlessly and then being haunted by the suspicion you pulled someone else's work out of your subconscious.

Bonus: Reading becomes more suspenseful.

Playing Games

Love is a lot like double dutch
Or dodging traffic
Depends on who you're with
I always preferred reading.

"And out of the red, out of her head she sang"

I think certain things come along in life to remind you of the capacity you have to connect—to ideas, to things, to people, to God.  To remind you that there are good things in the world whether or not they stay that way.  Isn't that sort of gracious?  I realized you can live your entire life in fear of something, anything really, or enjoy what you can when you can.  Not that everything in life is there for you to enjoy, what right does any of us have to lay claim to that?  But to be able to see the goodness in all things, and to be satisfied with your lot, wherever it may fall, seems to be an art worth mastering.


Song of the Moment: I Still Believe - Frank Turner (I Still Believe - Single)

And I still believe in the saints
Yeah in Jerry Lee, Johnny and all the greats.
And I still believe in the sound
That has the power to raise a temple and tear it down.
And I still believe in the need
For guitars and drums and desperate poetry.
And I still believe that everyone
Can find a song for every time they've lost, and every time they've won.
So just remember folks, 
We're not just saving lives, we're saving souls!
And we're having fun.

Homework will be the death of me.  I just want to spin a record and snuggle a blanket.  Maybe watch Tombstone.


Song of the Moment: Soco Amaretto Lime - Brand New (Your Favorite Weapon)
What's not to love?  "You're just jealous 'cause we're young and in love..."

Turn Off The News, Baby And Turn Up The Radio

Tilly & the Wall - The Ice Storm, Big Gust and You from Team Love on Vimeo.

You Know What They Say

Misery loves...CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP!

Song of the moment: I Was Made For You - She & Him (Volume One)
This song is one of the simple pleasures in life, like walking on the boardwalk in a summer dress with a popsicle.