Know What The Prince Never Knew...

I realise this song is a little old- some might say "outdated...

But sometimes as a father of "merely a five year old" I forget that my "Cinderella" won't be five all that long...

And the greatest mistake I could ever make is to refuse my Princess a chance to be in my arms- before all too soon...


Peace be with you, Steven Chapman- know that your daughter will still have that dance one day- and it will never have to end.

So Plainly Obvious

If this has already run its course through the 'blogosphere"- fine, so be it.

But the latest vulgarity given the Progressive Left's blatant elitist snobbery at the Nobel establishment leaves me posting a simple picture with regards to POTUS BHO's latest trinket [nominated for bestowal after only 11 days in office as POTUS]:

A picture's worth a thousand words- and much like a package of Cracker Jack- many of the Euro-Trash Progressive elites are air-fluffed corn chocked full of candy-coated nuts.

I continue to be;

Russ

Of Lessons & Stories

Some of the greatest lessons I've learned in my life, came from my grandfather.

Oh, there were tomes read & lessons discussed in academia to be sure- but some of the greater ones; the ones that had/have a voice and a time and a place... No, those lessons were gifts from "Crappaw" to me.

Those people in the film/television/media industry know well, the old adage "A picture's worth..."

So too, is a simple story.

And I do mean simple in it's most base. Embellishment often comes in the retelling of a favored tale; in making a thing more of someone else's so as to add one's own essence to the yarn.

The media industry as a whole certainly takes a simple tale and often expounds on it a certain grandiose quality- in many cases, rightfully so; since 'larger-than-life' often needs a little help along the trail of auteur theory.

But this is about the humble "story". A tale, a yarn- that small colloquial misnomer that gives us all a realization that life's questions are sometimes- in and of themselves- their own best answer.

I heard a character story recently that gave me a moment's pause- not only for the brilliant use of simplicity- but because it took me back to days with my "Crappaw"... It went something like this:

One day, a man sat, waiting for a train to come, to make his long journey to some far-off place; when he happened to spy a mother & her three daughters skipping up the railway platform, obviously excited over some, as yet unseen prospect.

Listening further, the man soon realized that the ladies were coming to meet their father & husband, who had been gone for some time on a business trip.

The girls were ecstatic at the prospect of finally seeing their father after what must have been a very long time. They sang and danced around their mother and once the announcement came of the arrival of the train bearing their patriarch, they all stood frozen, transfixed in anticipation as they breathlessly awaited Daddy.

Even though there was the usual bustling crowd transferring to-and-from the train, it was soon evident who the father was, as the girls shrill giggles and scamper towards one particular face in the crowd told the story.

But, the man who would be the hero to 3 small girls simply by kneeling and hugging them- strode past them, noticing only his wife and muttering, "Didn't you bring my overcoat?"

The story, on the surface, could be one of perhaps a strained and tired father-figure who might have met defeat in his job prospects; or perhaps a gruff-yet-lovable curmudgeon we'd expect to know as a neighbor, relative or business associate.

But what if he was supposed to be "The Hero"?

By ignorance of the world around him, his one simple opportunity to be the greatest thing in 3 young lives came to a crashing end simply because he hadn't taken a look around himself.

The lesson learned is that often, our ability to explain or teach a lesson doesn't come from explaining the facts and putting them to rote.

It comes from telling a story.

I continue to be;

RusS

Not Just a Job- It's an Adventure!

Though I'm sure it's been quoted countless times; the old axiom:

"Life: What's going on while you're busy making other plans..."

Still rings true... Often and loudly.

Life's certainly played its part upon my mortal coil- the least of which is the current job market, the past election cycle and heaven knows any myriad of other things that includes everything from lawn mower mechanics to diaper changes.

Let's start with the last first...

Blissfully, thankfully, my daughter has just about made the hurdle from "princess panties" [Pull-ups are thusly named so in our house, it's the only way to get a hard-headed Irish red little girl to wear them. Wonder where she got that trait from- thanks Crappaw...] to real underwear- a cost savings as well as life savings to all including the pets who look at me like "Why can't we do that on the floor?!"

Lawn Mower Mechanics...

I hate yard-work. My wife knows it- now the rest of the world does too.

I really hate yard-work when the riding lawn mower decides to blow its one and only cylinder. I also hate having it sit for just under a year in a shop waiting for a [could be "hot" & I don't mean in the volcanic sense of the word] new/used engine & then getting the call that;

"The motor mount had to be modified slightly to get the thing to fit and incidentally, your throttle's gonna work backwards from the way it works now in order for the engine to fit- oh, & your headlights didn't work anyway but one of those had to be moved to make way for the exhaust..."

"Whaaaaaaat?!"

Let's just say that The Family Unit here at "Rose Manor" has now nicknamed that Murray lawn tractor "Frankenstein".

And we're talking the Gene Wilder "Frahnk-un- Steen".

This damn thing is so mutated it looks like a Transformer that developed rickets half way from turning into some kind of robot or at the very least, it could be it's own "Teenage Mutant Ninja... "X".

Strange thing is- it purrs like a kitten and drives like a dream- let alone cut grass better than it ever did before.

Something to be said for being different- right?

The past Election Cycle...

I'm a staunch conservative, "Confused Zen Buddho-Taoist in Christ".

As I see it the current POTUS is no more interested in me than I am in him- I'll leave him alone simply clinging to my guns & religion while in turn, he can leave me alone by staving off his "new age fascist world order".

Here's a common sense point to ponder:

No matter which extreme of the political spectrum one can be- I've come to learn that the acting President can't "win" regardless what he does- by satisfying anyone, no-one's gonna be happy. The two warring factions on either side of the political spectrum are so diametrically opposite that they join each other at the opposite end of the primordial circle.

Now I know why Ronald Reagan used Grecian Formula... I'm sure his hair was white 5 days after taking office back in the 80s.

And then, there's The Current Job Market...

18 years working where I worked & it was over one dry March afternoon late in the month.

Perhaps I should have seen it coming- perhaps not... I had come off a one year high having worked for Walt Disney Imagineering on the Toy Story Mania attraction- sadly what I gave all to had me return to something i should have at least kept privy, if not absolute attention towards- which was my "day job".

Corporate means being what they are- and no one can fault them for being such- I was laid off along with a gaggle of about 1400 others. Cest la Guer. Some will fall so that others may live to continue the battle.

For me- perhaps life begins anew...

Unhindered with the want, need or desire to keep a position that [after Imagineering] I'd finally outgrown [or, most likely "finally figured out"] my adventure begins again.

As the character Yojimbo [in the self-same titled movie] had noticed as his wander took him to a fork-in-the-road; with a decision to make, he had yet more decisions to make.

1. Simply choose a path and continue.
2. Allow the fates/gods/god/ancestors choose for him.
3. Figure out how best to let the [#2 dieties] broadcast this choice to him.
4. Take that path chosen outside his control.
5. Opt for the path not chosen outside his control.
   
6. Ignore all of the above and turn back.

Regardless of any choice [or "not choice"] he'd make:

With Yojimbo- there was no turning back.

So too will it be with me.

Much like Yojimbo- I have my tools of the trade- though perhaps in today's world it's a better plan to carry a sharp mind as opposed to a sharp sword- [though I can use both]!

Still, I'll be trying to hedge my bets- choosing a path that not only I can live with but will also allow my family to live right alongside me.

I continue to be;

Russ