Tonight I had some time to sit and think. My wife had gone gambling with her sister and I had just finished working in the yard. I was tired and just sat in my chair and listened to the water shower the front yard with refreshment.
Regular readers and followers of this blog know that I believe we are all searching for a direction. And for the past two years I have been writing this blog for a variety of reasons. But tonight I started thinking about life and plans.
Life has a way of riding along with you as a co-conspirator. Your plans may be different, your dreams may be different than God's plan, but together you ride on the same bus.
I remember a line from a novel that Denis Johnson wrote in the 1980's**. Well, I remember the essence of it. There was a character who was thinking about her life. She was riding on a train or a bus. She thought her life was like the bus and she got on in her twenties and the bus spit her out in her forties with a handful of kids and a headful of grey hair.
Somedays I feel like that. Where did the time go? Why did it go by so fast?
Update, May 17, 2009:
**She was riding on a bus. "Angels" by Denis Johnson, (1983)
"Jamie pushed the child's words away, afraid of the dark the bus was rushing into, confused at being swallowed up so quickly by her new life, fearful she'd be digested in a flash and spit out the other end in the form of an old lady too dizzy to wonder where her youth had gone."
And thus the power of Denis Johnson's poetry, that after 25 years I still remember the greatness of his images. I read his first three books. I miss having that time. Thanks Mr. Johnson.
D.
About Me
- David
- Columbia River Gorge, Oregon , United States
- I am evolving. After 50 years of working, I finally retired in January, 2021. We currently live in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. I had lived in southern California with my wife and kids for 25 plus years. In June, 2014 my daughter accepted a job with a university in Oregon. My wife, began to worry that she would not see her daughter too much. Luckily, (ha ha) I was laid off from my job, making me free to move wherever I wanted. Over the course of several months, and several hundred resume's and applications, I secured a job in the Portland, Oregon area. We are now close to my daughter and are able to see her more frequently. It is truly a blessing. Our continuing journey has taken us to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, in the little town of Cascade Locks (what a wonderfully historic place this is). Here on this little collection of essays and interests I try to capture life. I try not to get political. Sorry, but I have opinions, and sometimes they sneak in. I don't ask that you agree with them, but I have reached them after 50+ years of thought and observations.
3 comments:
Fast but rewarding and eventful and joyful and painful and wow so much more. Funny you mention that I was getting into the van last Saturday night at Keith's moms and she said oh your girls are so beautiful. I said, "Who fast forwarded my life?" I think sometimes we get so caught up in the craziness we forget to stop, sit back and enjoy the ride. So everyone let's just slow down. :)
I think when we're younger we have high (unrealistic, perhaps) expectations of what our life will be. When we find we can't live up to them all it can be disappointing.
However, the good things in life still happen and I'm sure you've pondered them long before you even started this blog. It's easy to take for granted the things we have around us every day - your wife, your kids, the food on the table, the beat in your heart. Life would be a whole lot different without them!
Those days that have gone so fast are still there somewhere - memories, photos, songs, poems - ready to be recalled and remembered.
oh yes to both of you. Julie, great line, "who fastforwarded my life?" Great. We all must slow down to stop and smell the roses.
Cosmo, you are right. I have spent my life pondering. I do have the stories and poems to remind me. You are absolutely right. My wife had only gone out for a couple of hours but I was 'elated' when she came home. I do cherish my family. Thanks for your comments. Thanks for checking in every so often.
D.
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