In Addition...

...and while maybe I shouldn't apologize, I've felt guilty about not posting or doing any other writing lately, so I'm sorry for the blog neglect. Hopefully, I'll be a little more prolific in December. This blog hasn't been fun lately (really, it hasn't been a blog lately; it hasn't been anything lately). Of course, it'll be more fun when Ken writes as he's more funnier.

I do hope everyone had a GREAT THANKSGIVING!!!

Okay, I'm off to Asheville.

My Grandma Passed Away

She was the last of my grandparents, in her mid-nineties, and it's been awhile since she really "lived". My dad and his sister both have struggled with when the right time to let her go has been. God and Grandma helped with that decision, thankfully. Today, I'm heading to Asheville, NC for the funeral, which is tomorrow. I'm not sure what exactly I'm feeling, if anything, except that I want to be with my dad (and mom), his brother, and sister to share in their grief. And really that's more because that's how I'd want my kids to be for me rather than for any personal benevolence. Sometimes, I worry about my personhood. Well, many times.

As opposed to my mother's parents, I wasn't that close with my Dad's. They just weren't in our lives as much. Nonetheless, both Grandma and Papa were wonderful people, albeit a little quirky, from what I know, and for the times I saw them, they were good grandparents to me and, as Christians and decent human beings, they helped a lot of people. I used to love going out on Papa's fishing boat when we went down to Miami, and Grandma would cook up the perch we caught and make it taste like fried shrimp. I used to climb in their fig tree and stuff myself. They had a mini-farm and barn, and when I was a baby, they bought Gingerbread, a Shetland Pony, for me. I never got to see the pony much, although I rode him and their other horse when I was down there. They had lots of chickens as well - used to collect the eggs when I was down there... and cats and two or three poodles. Grandma made the best key lime pie, too. And then, I remember she told me a couple stories I almost had trouble believing. One was about her and Papa talking to and encouraging Billy Graham when he was young and had thoughts of abandoning preaching. I wonder if that really happened?

Whatever is in me, though, I just don't feel that much. I'd like to feel more, because I think that'd be more human. She was my grandmother. She loved my dad. She loved me. While I'd like to think it's grief, I'm fairly sure it's rather that my soul's just a little too numb, I don't love enough, and really, my heart's a little too hard.

Lord, soften it.

Stream of Consciousness

Times of wonder, those Summer, days gone by. Children climbing, hiding on the bluffs. The sounds of squirrels and rabbits, fleeing from footsteps of running boys. Sweet breezes that blow through hair and into eyes, and the twilight fades and the darkness sets in. The resilience of youth is but a facade and can be seen through like Saran wrap. The chickens always come to roost, so they say and nevermore true than now. And later. Life trods on like the hull of the battleship still gliding yet deeper through the seas neverminding the torpedo that ruptured its aft. Sparrows still sing. The harvest moon yet rises. Puffy clouds still find their merry paths below azure skies. All the regrets reflected in the tears of one man's eye forgetting not the passion and devotion and hopes and teaching and some of the prayers. Where to begin, where to end, and to perservere in between, so it is and so am I.

V - A Shout-out!!!

V, the TV series (the 2009 version), starts tonight at 8:00 EST/7:00 CST on ABC, and I've got my fingers crossed that this one's going to be good. It has, from one of my favorite series, Josh Whedon's Firefly, the beautiful Morena Baccarin as Anna, one of the aliens, and that's reason enough for me to watch it. Obviously, this is a re-making of the 1983 (mini-series) and 1984 (TV series) version of the show with the same name: V, which starred none other than The Beastmaster (Dar), Marc Singer. While the original V miniseries was mildly successful, spawning a year-long TV series the next year, I'm hoping for a more Battlestar Galactica-like re-envisioning here -- although I'll not set my expectations that high. Really, I'm just hopeful for a legitimate sci-fi drama that's cool to watch. And, of course, scary aliens.

However, the reason for this post is beside the point of all that. The REASON FOR THIS POST IS that it also stars Logan Huffman (pictured to the right), a friend of Shawn, who is one of our blog followers. Shawn (correct me if I have any of this wrong) home-schooled Logan, and her son and Logan are best friends from way back. SO! Give V a try, and keep a lookout for Logan.

The Visitors are here!

Post All Hallow's Post

Understanding that not all folks that come to this blog love the Halloween holiday, I'm still a big fan, so please indulge me for a few questions. Just wondering what trick-or-treating was like in all your neck o' the woods. How was it where you live? My neighborhood has a lot of kids, so we had a lot of traffic. However, by and large, I've heard that kids on the candy rampage was down this year for several reasons, not the least of which is the Swine Flu. So tell me:

What did you do for Halloween? Did you dress up? Did you hand out candy to passersby? Did your kids dress up? As what? Do you have any candy leftovers? Can you send them to me? What were the best costumes you saw? Did anyone have or go to any festive parties? Did your church have a fall carnival or a Reformation Day? Or was Halloween just another day that went by, not much different than any other day?

Also, are you ready for Thanksgiving? How about Christmas?