Take me to a place where they where old t-shirts and drink tea and read dusty George Eliot novels. I want to go where the old men sit up late at street side cafes arguing politics. A place where the young mothers kiss their husbands goodbye in the morning and walk their kids to school on sunny days.
Take me to a place where I can feel brisk air on my face on an early spring morning and run beside gray cliffs that dive steeply into the sea. I want to have a fire in the fireplace and watch old Ratpack movies with good friends on rainy afternoons. Someplace with a big skylight in the roof so I can look at the stars when it's too cold to go out. A place with a screened in porch and big rocking chairs and tables full of 1,000 piece puzzles. We could all dress up for no reason and drive for miles with the top down into the fading sun.
Take me to a place where the pastor has the milkman over for dinner and talk about next week's sermon. A place where you can get real ice cream on the street corner on hot summer days and buy cones for the kids in line behind you. Somewhere where the mailman knows your name and feeds your dog when you're on vacation. I want to go to a place where they have snowball fights all day long during Christmas break. Where the grandmothers invite the kids in for hot chocolate and cookies.
Take me to a place where the girls are pretty because they don't care how they look. I want to be in a place that smells like smoking chimneys and falling leaves and apple cider. Someplace where the neighbors gather round the piano and sing hymns and Beatles songs. I'd like go to a place where I can read Shakespeare in an old oak tree. A place where I can climb up on the roof and watch the sunset.
Good night everyone,
mckinney
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
A Few Notes on the Finer Things in Life
In no particular order:
1. Good coffee is strong, not acidic.
2. David Cook was the lesser evil.
3. Janis Joplin was the great American tragedy. Rock and roll is good. Drugs are bad.
4. Beach music is for old people. Really. Old people in old people beach clothes.
5. Barry Saunders is the man.
6. WHARRO was one of the words in today's "Jumble". If you're one of the people who figured it out, tell me and I will give you a million dollars*.
7. A gallon of gas or a latte? That is the question. OPEC is the new Starbuck's.
8. Ginger snaps are among of the greatest of all mankind's contributions to life in this universe.
9. Urban planning in America is like slavery in America; it died about a century and a half ago.
10. North Korea is simply ridiculous.
11. Staring at the night sky through a canopy of oak leaves is one of the most relaxing things ever.
12. Going to the dentist is wonderful.
13. The Telmarines are apparently Russian.
14. Scrabble is both addicting and infuriating.
15. I had no idea that coffee and chocolate come from the same tree.
16. The Amish make good potato salad.
17. Marie Currie had no idea how much she would change the world.
18. For those of you who where wondering, it's pronounced SOOF-yahn.
19. Do not attempt a Bon Qui Qui impersonation unless you really can do a Bon Qui Qui impersonation.
20. Look up "SNL Japanese Office" on YouTube.
Good Night/Morning,
mckinney
*OK, I lied.
1. Good coffee is strong, not acidic.
2. David Cook was the lesser evil.
3. Janis Joplin was the great American tragedy. Rock and roll is good. Drugs are bad.
4. Beach music is for old people. Really. Old people in old people beach clothes.
5. Barry Saunders is the man.
6. WHARRO was one of the words in today's "Jumble". If you're one of the people who figured it out, tell me and I will give you a million dollars*.
7. A gallon of gas or a latte? That is the question. OPEC is the new Starbuck's.
8. Ginger snaps are among of the greatest of all mankind's contributions to life in this universe.
9. Urban planning in America is like slavery in America; it died about a century and a half ago.
10. North Korea is simply ridiculous.
11. Staring at the night sky through a canopy of oak leaves is one of the most relaxing things ever.
12. Going to the dentist is wonderful.
13. The Telmarines are apparently Russian.
14. Scrabble is both addicting and infuriating.
15. I had no idea that coffee and chocolate come from the same tree.
16. The Amish make good potato salad.
17. Marie Currie had no idea how much she would change the world.
18. For those of you who where wondering, it's pronounced SOOF-yahn.
19. Do not attempt a Bon Qui Qui impersonation unless you really can do a Bon Qui Qui impersonation.
20. Look up "SNL Japanese Office" on YouTube.
Good Night/Morning,
mckinney
*OK, I lied.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Walden and Pancakes
So I went to Taco Bell with Nathan tonight around 10:30 because we were both feeling hungry and frugal. We ate our $2 meals in the parking lot and then I took him to pick up his car at Stephen's. When I got home, I realized that it took more than $2 worth of rice and tortilla to fill me up. As I was scrounging around the kitchen looking for food, it hit me.
And I commenced to do what was probably the most reckless and subversive thing I have ever done late on a Tuesday night.
I made myself the best M&M pancakes the world has ever known.
- -
I suppose I owe you guys more than an overview of my weeknight eating habits. AP's and various other school pressures have kept me from blogging the past couple of weeks. Since I have a bit of time now before camp starts, I decided I would ramble for a bit to keep the site alive.
I love Thoreau. Walden is probably one of the coolest pieces of non-fiction I've ever read. I was one of those kids who always dreamt of living out in the woods in a giant tree house - complete with trap door and rope ladder - spying on my enemies through a concealed telescope. I would have a complex pulley system of ropes and wheels to crank up food and supplies from below. My tree house would be large and efficient, interwoven among the tree branches like something out of a Stevenson novel. I think all boys have a certain fascination with living out in the woods, a ceiling of leaves and clean air for windows.
This is partly the reason Thoreau is such a big hero of mine. Off went Henry David, with an ax and a few supplies, chopped down some trees and lived next to Walden Pond for a good year. Largely without friend or company, he dug into the backwoods of New England and decided to find the purpose of life. Out of this came what has become known as one of the most boring and pointless required readings in higher education.
I loved Walden. Partially because I'm a pretty boring guy and partially because of what I already mentioned above. One of the things that's been coming to my mind recurrently the past couple of days is an observation Thoreau made at the end of his work, "Humility, like darkness, allows us to see the stars." As I've tried to unpack this brief yet weighty comment these past few days, I've come to the realization that Thoreau viewed the virtue of humility as simply letting go. We don't have to spend our lives trying to outshine something that is already beautiful and right. By simply stepping out of our perceived rights and needs, the beauty of life and of God are seen and cherished. I like that.
Enough for now,
McK
And I commenced to do what was probably the most reckless and subversive thing I have ever done late on a Tuesday night.
I made myself the best M&M pancakes the world has ever known.
- -
I suppose I owe you guys more than an overview of my weeknight eating habits. AP's and various other school pressures have kept me from blogging the past couple of weeks. Since I have a bit of time now before camp starts, I decided I would ramble for a bit to keep the site alive.
I love Thoreau. Walden is probably one of the coolest pieces of non-fiction I've ever read. I was one of those kids who always dreamt of living out in the woods in a giant tree house - complete with trap door and rope ladder - spying on my enemies through a concealed telescope. I would have a complex pulley system of ropes and wheels to crank up food and supplies from below. My tree house would be large and efficient, interwoven among the tree branches like something out of a Stevenson novel. I think all boys have a certain fascination with living out in the woods, a ceiling of leaves and clean air for windows.
This is partly the reason Thoreau is such a big hero of mine. Off went Henry David, with an ax and a few supplies, chopped down some trees and lived next to Walden Pond for a good year. Largely without friend or company, he dug into the backwoods of New England and decided to find the purpose of life. Out of this came what has become known as one of the most boring and pointless required readings in higher education.
I loved Walden. Partially because I'm a pretty boring guy and partially because of what I already mentioned above. One of the things that's been coming to my mind recurrently the past couple of days is an observation Thoreau made at the end of his work, "Humility, like darkness, allows us to see the stars." As I've tried to unpack this brief yet weighty comment these past few days, I've come to the realization that Thoreau viewed the virtue of humility as simply letting go. We don't have to spend our lives trying to outshine something that is already beautiful and right. By simply stepping out of our perceived rights and needs, the beauty of life and of God are seen and cherished. I like that.
Enough for now,
McK
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