2012: Apocalypse Interrupted

or, 2012: The Year We Make Confetti

I was on an errand for my mother when I first found out.

Purchase a loaf of bread and bring it home – that was all I had to do. When I think back on those occasional grocery missions, they were neither necessary nor urgent tasks. I used to think it was her way to make me stop pestering her about wanting  to ride my bike somewhere, anywhere.

But, I think she was trying to teach me some responsibility and independence…”and don’t forget the change!” 

But, education is about more than the 3R’s as this event bore out.

The B.A.R.T. Files: Just Finish One - The Art of Earning

It’s the noon train out of Concord.  Stepping into the car, I settle into my bedbug-ridden urine stained seat.  The car, typically empty at this end of the line, does not begin to fill up until Lafayette and Orinda.

I open my backpack trying to decide which book is up for rotation. It had been a week or so since I spent some time trying to unravel the monomyth as drawn out by Joseph Campbell’s, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.” So, I open up where I left off.

Thus, this day’s journey begins.

What of Facebook…?

As a little kid, I remember begging my grandmother for candy. She would always cater to the needs of my sister and me in this way. One day, I asked what her favorite candy was. She replied, “A Love Nest.”

A what nest?

The B.A.R.T. Files: Is this the Twilight Zone or Should I Just Change the Channel?

It was late on a Thursday night with no baseball game; no game means no baseball idiots would grace us with their obnoxious presence.

I was to be spared the mean mugging (the express threat,) the anxiety over the colors of my apparel (the implied threat,) and the certainty of standing in a cramped car with dozens of rowdy fans who smell of body odor, alcohol, and cannabis.

After working the last 48 with less than 6 hours combined sleep, I was looking forward to a peaceful ride home. It looked like the stars were moving into conjunction.

I get a bonus surprise when the train arrives at Embarcadero Station, a very light crowd with plenty of seating. As a settle into my bed bug-ridden, urine stained seat; I survey my fellow riders.

Clayton Patch to Shut Down

After one year of writing for Clayton Patch, I have learned they are folding up. They could not make it in Clayton. There last day will be December 5, 2011.

My last story submission was tonight.

Over the last year, I wrote nearly 50 stories on subjects ranging from self check out, city lighting and landscaping, internet service, archery, hiking, numerous public events, chili and rib cook offs, a murder, a fatal car crash, and fallen, but not forgotten, police officers.  

The greater joy was doing the photography that conceived the hundreds of images that went along with the stories.

A compendium of the stories are listed on my blog at this link.

The good news is that I have been asked to write my weekly column for Concord Patch, which will cover Clayton too. So, things are not changing all that much.

Also, I was also approached by the Clayton Pioneer newspaper and asked to write for them; although, I don’t think it will be a column.

So, the end is not an end at all. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life and has put me in touch with many terrific people. We shall see what the future holds.

I wish to express my warmest thanks all my Facebook friends for your comments and readership.

Blessing to all in this Christmas season.

Coming Soon - The B.A.R.T. Files

Having started a new job in San Francisco, I am now riding B.A.R.T. daily. Because my work schedule varies, I ride at all hours of operation, first trains to last on some days.

The posts I designate as “The B.A.R.T. Files” are my experiences with the bizarre, the humorous, the sad, and most of all…hope.

I hope anyway.

Not every day reveals the kind of stories I post here. Some days are just routine. But, then, quite unexpectedly, something weird happens.

I struggle with my natural tendency, which is that of a careful observer of the world. Shy to get involved unless it’s related to my profession, past and present, I sit curiously watching, taking note, evaluating, and contemplating.

There is much to see on BART, depravity of many degrees, mental illness, loneliness, brokenness, selfishness, joy, sorrow, and many people just going to and from work, going about their lives so to speak. I am certain that I am all of the above to one degree or another.

The struggle continues nevertheless. I wonder if my natural tendency is just laziness. I want to help people in some cases, listen or speak with them at least.

In other cases, I recoil in resentment, annoyed and driven by cynical arrogance. I know that’s not good either, no different than being lazy.

But, making contact is fraught with many hazards, real and imagined.  Ah, the balance between cowardice and courage, between prudence and foolhardiness.

What to do? That’s what this is about too.

I look for the messages; listen for the hints, and whispers.

Thus, I share these stories with the reader (even though my Blog has no readers, ha ha.) It’s a kind of experiment in one sense. I want to see what happens if I get involved with strangers doing very strange and dark things.

Or, not!  Maybe in certain cases, things are left well enough alone. I don’t know.

I wish I did. Maybe you can tell me.

I’m sure I’ll fumble and bumble about quite nicely. That ought to be a good laugh anyway. Therefore, this little experiment won’t be a total waste of cyberspace.

Celebrate This: Coming to Terms Over The Killing of Osama Bin Laden

It’s been over one week since we learned that Osama Bin Laden was killed by the US Navy’s mythical Seal Team Six while conducting Operation Neptune Spear halfway around the world. It is only now that I can begin to put into words the thoughts and emotions flung into motion on the first day of May, 2011.

In the hours and days that followed, celebrations, planned and unplanned broke out. All forms of media were energized by the dramatic death of the most notorious man of our time.

News commentators and pundits of all types repeatedly made the amusing gaffe of transposing “Obama and Osama” in their sheer excitement to proclaim the “good news.” As I listened to this, I chuckled and thought, why don’t we just call him Bin Laden? This way we can avoid sounding like Ted Kennedy.

Dad, What Is That? - A Recent Experience With Daughters, Public Decency And Car Cullions

Well some things are hard to write about. Some things are even harder to talk about. This one is both. However, something has been nagging me for over a month now and it’s time to let it all hang out, so to speak.

Wake Up Kevin, I Think I Have Something To Say To You

So, I am driving to Berkeley Saturday morning. Just this side of the Caldecott, I am listening to Rod Stewart singing Maggie May on a soft rock station out of Sacto, just at the edge of its broadcast range. The lane in front of me opens up and I accelerate to near light speed as I enter the tunnel.

The radio fades to a silent hiss.

In the audio stillness, with no car in front of me, I glide through the entire length of the bore in strange combination of peace, and soothing speed.

On the Oakland side, I emerge into the light and the radio suddenly comes to life. But, what I am hearing is comedy skit…in Portuguese. It sounds like I am listening to an episode of the "Honeymooners" in Portuguese!

This bizarre post-cold war Bay Area radio station punctuated the surreal experience of traveling through the tunnel, unabated and in silence, to a place in time unfamiliar to me. It was as though I had traveled through a wormhole from the 1970’s and emerged in the early 21^st Century in roughly the same location.

All told, a very strange experience.

A Midwinter Night in Clayton

(This is the unedited version of the article that was published in the Clayton Patch on February 8, 2011.)

This past Saturday night you may have noticed that the weather was more like a midsummer night's dream. Warm and clear, it seemed as though we were being charmed by this sublime event.

On this night, our daughter Stephanie is having her friend Natalie for a sleep over. For dinner, we decided to go out for pizza. As we left the house bound for Skipolini’s, I took note of the temperature, 70 degrees!

What Do You Mean I Have an Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area!

(This is the unedited version of the article that was published in the Clayton Patch on January 26, 2011.)

About six months ago, I stood inside the Clayton Safeway starring at the large newly arrived wooden crates. Staged next to the Starbucks kiosk, I was filled with both anticipation and anxiety as the installation crew began revealing their contents. I knew what was in them because I had asked about a week earlier.

Self check out had arrived at our local grocery store in Clayton.

The Season of Change

We are visiting my mother-in-law for her birthday. My daughter asks me all morning for a trip to the park. Curiously, I am interested in the park this day; I am compelled to get some fresh air, to see…to see the sky, the trees, and the clouds, to smell the day. The seemingly bleak autumn morning beckons me like an old friend from long ago…“let’s go out and play!” I think, perhaps, I might create some cool images of her playing. I gather my camera and a second lens. My daughter changes her clothes …twice.

THE NEW GENERATION OF SIGN-SPINNERS

Is it just me or is this the just plain ridiculous?

THE NEW GENERATION OF SIGN-SPINNERS

On Seeing Moon Shine

This short poem was inspired by a liminal moment experienced while driving home after midnight on May 27, 2010. I struggled for several days trying to get it to make sense for me; that is, to make the words express what I felt and saw that night. On the 30th I heard from the book of Proverbs (8:22) and the whole thing suddenly came into specific relief. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Most of all though, I hope it reaches you with the vision I experienced that night. And, that these words give you reason to pause and reflect. Blessings.

Pelosi Gives the Word

Did you know that Nancy Pelosi practices her public policy consistent with her faith? I didn’t, until now. According to this article, the Speaker of the House’s favorite word is “The Word” made flesh, aka Jesus Christ.

I can not believe that so many Americans fall for this kind of dishonestly. Too many of us actually believe these lies. I also believe that many people know it to be totally dishonest and corrupt but will not turn from it because they have too much ego invested in it.

Does anybody else find this to just plain bizarre.

Click HERE for the full story