Saturday, December 25, 2010

Gossamer Thread and Merry Christmas

So, first off, Merry Christmas to anyone reading this. I shared a wonderful day at my dad's house and hope you shared some quality time with family and/or friends.

As I was driving back home from my dad's house, I was shuffling through my iPod. I spent some time listening to Whiskeytown, then early Ryan Adams, then the desire hit me to listen to one of my favorite songs right now, David Gray's Gossamer Thread. Before I started listening to it, I decided that I was going to try and tie some sort of memory to each line of the song where possible.

For starter's, the song's title, Gossamer Thread, I don't know what that means so when I googled it, I learned of references to spider silk and gave up trying to find a definitive meaning.

Anyway, here goes...

"Talking with the old folks by the wall"

I don't know if I ever did talk with old folks by a wall. But on occasion, I have brought myself to talk to an elderly person in an airport or other public area. They always seem to have a memory to share, some wisdom. They share it with such clarity and detail that I wish I had the sentimental ability to capture memories like that. Capture the memories in such a way that I can consistently tell it in a story over and over. I'm trying to focus more during special moments, so I don't lose them.

"Dreaming about New Orleans in the fall"

I've been to New Orleans but I can't remember if it was fall or not, so its hard to make a literal reference here. So what I did was briefly think about how dreary New Orleans looked from a distance by taxi, and how vibrant it was when you walked its streets. I then thought of leaves falling in a Long Island autumn.

"And grateful for the time that God allows"

I am grateful, He could take it away at any moment. So cherish every moment of it. If I do, then maybe I will be fortunate enough to savior memories to the point where I can share them by the wall when I get old.

"You're choking on your daily bread"

Maybe I'm wrong. I've come to understand daily bread as a daily dose of The Bible, God's Word. So, I thought about what's in The Bible and why someone might choke on it. Perhaps its content is just too strong because of their sin.  Trying to live a life so pure and free of sin is not easy, so reading the word, one might find it really difficult to come to grips that what is written is truth, but difficult to accept, or "swallow".

"Dog in the doorway, dyed in the wool"

I had to look up these lyrics just to figure out what the chorus of the song was, and there was no translation for me whatsoever. I just enjoy singing it while I'm driving.

So that's it,  It's a song that I like. When I got home this evening, and searched for Gossamer Thread on Google, I found a good video about the making of the song.... Enjoy.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Welcome

This is my first entry. Some entries will be long, some short, some informational, some boring, some edited, some with spelling mistakes, some with grammatical errors, some with photos, some with ideas, and some with things I can't think of right now. But definitely all will be more than 140 characters, because if they weren't, then it would just end up being a tweet.

I might not even keep up with this blog because I have tendencies to start blogs, get bored and give-up. I might offend someone

I tweet every now and again, but I generally have nothing clever to say. Typically, I will re-tweet an article with the reason that I am doing so.

I will try to go about my day, struggle with a person, an idea, or a task. I will overcome it. When I overcome it I am hoping I say to myself, "I'm going to put this up on my blog." Maybe someone else wants to experience the same thing. But how many blogs are good... one a week, 3-4 a week. Listen, I have to get stuff done, but I also know it isn't so bad to give a little back in the way of information. So, let's just see how it goes. Now that grad school is over, my mind is a little more free so I have a little extra time on my hands. That is until the next book I decide to read, or the next program I decide to write, or the next triathlon training season, or the next hobby that hasn't even crossed my path yet.

Oh, and I promise to keep reading other people's blogs...