CHRONICLES: The Simple Joy of a Blue Sky

I'm in Colorado with Malcolm. The two of us are visiting my parents in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. Living in Ketchikan for over a year straight now has really made me appreciate the warm (38 degrees and dry) sun and the blue sky. That is all.

THOUGHTS: On Fatherhood

Lately I've begun to realize that one of the traps I'm falling into as a relatively new father is that I feel compelled to put down so many plans for the sake of my son. I know a few people who have kids, some of them blindly putting their kids ahead of themselves, settling for a mundane life of a steady paycheck, benifits, regular vacations, and meetings with the home-owners association or the p.t.a.

For a small group of people, i'd imagine that this is the goal. This is the perfect life.  This is the ideal that they've worked so hard for. And that's okay. I respect one's right to follow their dreams.

However, for the majority, I wish they had the courage to do the things they love, not in spite of their children, but as an inspiration to them. The man who wants to be an actor and moves with his daughter to New York City into a small studio apartment. The woman who wants to travel the world and home-schools her son from a sailboat. The couple who build a commune and share their kids with the rest of the community. The farmer who buys a plot of land and gets his boys up at 4:30 in the morning to plow or feed the animals.  None of these fit the typical mold of what many of the masses would call "normal" or "healthy", yet it's very, very likely that all of these kids will grow up to fondly remember their childhood adventures, and the worldly experience and work ethic will benifit them far more than some of the more homogenized alternatives.

Just my take... from Alaska.

CHRONICLES: Light Screens

Here in sunny Ketchikan, we've had what seems to be a miracle: moe than three straight days of sunshine! Of course, sunshine is lack of clouds, and lack of clouds is lack of insulation, and that's colder temperatures, so it's been hovering around freezing, but still, it's very much worth it!

I'm going to get outside today, but it will be for working and running errands. The family life includes a trip to the dump, and a shift at work. I would have liked to be pro-active about things, but I'll honor the wife's request to sleep in this morning. Malcolm and I have been up since 6 am, doing what toddlers do with their fathers: he sat on my lap, and we shared a cup of coffee.

I'm hoping to put together a playlist for Monday night sooner than later, too. For the next two weeks, KRBD is doing a music survey, which means that every song I play will have to have album and record label information with it, as well as time (to the second) that I'm playing the songs. It's always fun for me in that compulsive way, another way that I get to exercise my sense of order and discipline and what not. I really do enjoy that part of things.

Malcolm and I will be going to Colorado for a week next month. Just the two of us. On the way back, thanks to a lengthy layover in Seattle, we will have hopes to be going to the Space Needle, and to the infamous Hooters for his birthday. He'll be 2 on March 16th.

Life happens quickly. If you don't take the time to appreciate the small things, you could easily end up stuck watching your sunrises through the screens instead of being out there breathing them in.

CHRONICLES: Succumbing to the Sickness

There's been a pretty awful cold making its rounds in Ketchikan. After claiming Lyss and Malcolm's health for a few days, my co-worker Craig, it's finally caught up with me. I'm now sitting on my couch watching Malcolm deleriously tired and feverish. At least, for me, Malcolm is keeping me company in his excellent Star Wars comic hoodie. Cars 2 is playing in the background, but neither of us are really watching. He'd rather play with his toys, and I'm probably going to have a cup of tea and read a book.

The weather here has been beautiful for the past couple of days. It's been chilly, but sunny and dry for the most part. The BattleWagon is still running well, despite some electrical drain that requires a jump start nearly every time I get into the damn thing. I still have dreams of converting that thing to 4-wheel-drive. Sigh...

THOUGHTS: Importance of Random Appreciation

Today, I grabbed a random picture of the old power pole outside my house. It definitely has a direlect feel to it. I can appreciate that. You should, too.

RADIO: The Valentine

The playlist:

Myst Soundtrack "The Last Message (Forechamber Theme)"

God Is An Astronaut "No Return"

Tori Amos "Baker Baker"

The American Dollar "Starscapes"

Gifts from Enola "Screaming At Anything That Moves"

Frou Frou "Shh"

Explosions in the Sky "Trembling Hands"

Amberhaze "The C.P.R."

You.May.Die.In.The.Desert "The Sound of Titans"

Saxon Shore "Marked With a Knowledge"

Ulrich Schnauss "Crazy For You"

Dashboard Confessional "Carry This Picture"

This Will Destroy You "I Believe In Your Victory"

Maybeshewill "He Films The Clouds Part 2"

Massive Attack "Teardrop"

Sigur Ros "Milano"

If These Trees Could Talk "The Friscalating Dusklight"

Mountaintops "RedBlue = Violet. You"

Tristeza "Opiate Slopes"

I'm gonna slip in a special Valentine's Day somewhere in there for Lyss.  Stay tuned!  Thanks for listening!

www.krbd.org

105.3 FM, Ketchikan

THOUGHTS: What does it all mean?

I had a very vivid dream last night. I dreamed that I was at a Walgreens right next to where I lived in downtown Denver. This Walgreens had an escalator inside. I was riding down the escalator with a good friend of mine since childhood, noticing the line up ahead was pretty long. We waited in line and checked out, and walked around the parking lot. As we were walking, the parking lot and the city vanished, and we were suddenly in a very recognizable place caught in a crossfire with some ver unrecognizable military forces. I jumped into an abandoned tank while my friend ran into an old camping trailer, our destination. I turned the tanks guns on both sides battling on this little swath of land, and, once I drew their fire, abandoned it and ran toward the caper myself. Once inside, it was dark. My friend was playing with some toys, and my son was running around in there, getting into stuff, totally oblivious to the loud explosions going on just outside. I knew we had to go, but I had no idea where. I didn't want to get killed in this damn camper...

Then I woke up. I have no idea what the brain is doing. Is it trying to tel me something, or is it just flexing it's creativity muscles in a thrilling and exciting way?

Wow.