TGIF

It is a strange thing how the proximity of one day, relative to a weekend, can change a person's outlook on everything. My entire outlook on life seems to change on my favorite workday.

On Friday, the coffee is better, the doughnuts are sweeter, and the sun shines brighter. Friday is like Tiger Stadium. "It never rains," even in the middle of a downpour.

The most noticeable perk on Fridays as of late has been my perception of what I hear on the radio. Every song is good on Friday. Soul, classic country, weird stuff played locally only on KLSU, even top 40. It all is better on Friday. Rush Limbaugh has never sounded wiser and N.P.R. has never depressed me less.

Secondary Characters

In both movies and literature, there are certain characters whom have always meant more to me than the typical protagonists. Often, these are secondary characters, and not the lead role guys. But more specifically, it's those "transitional" roles that speak to me. I'm talking about those angst-stricken n'er do-wells that, because of the turmoil they cause, we fortunately get to observe from afar.

I love the role of Robert the Bruce in Braveheart, and think he is one of the men that defines this idea the best. I understand he was a real man with real conquests, but I'll approach this based on his cinematic portrayal. He's a spoiled rich kid, who is heir to the throne of Scotland, all because of the generations of sires before him have played it safe and not "charged in." He is destined for something more and longs to pursue something of significance more. Not a noble title on royal documents, but rather something that can't be taken from him...something that only he can obtain. In his case, it is climbing out of his scheming father's shadow, and following his heart, and fighting for his beliefs that ultimately redeems him (and frees all the Scottish people from tyranical authoritarianism). He makes a life-changing decision, and sacrifices all the security he has ever known.

In a similar mold is Theoden, King of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although he is already king, he is ashamed of himself for NOT leading with confidence and boldness, and doesn't measure up to his brave forefathers. He is drowning in apathy, but is intended for so much more. And he is closer to realizing his destiny than he knows. Through the example of the heroic Aragorn, he learns the true test of a man is not winning the battle, but rather, the true battle is in overcoming his fear and taking that first stand to fight. When facing impossible odds, he leads his men into the battle of "the end of days" and does not survive. Yet his transition from lackluster to leader is complete as he breathes his last and claims he will now not be ashamed in the company of his fathers.

And finally, the literary character with the most inspirational transformation must be Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities. A drunk. An underachiever. Yet before his doom, he trades places with aristocrat Charles Darnay, to save him from execution in the wake of the French Revolution. "It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done,"...and he gives up himself and redeems his wasted life.

I think we all wish for a life of significance and purpose and I believe that is why these characters mean a lot to me. They are all meant for something unbelievably great, yet can not see it. They have lived their lives on their own personal treadmill, just as we have, until inspiration takes them, and changes their sights. Their perspective of their own purpose changes and they are set into motion.

Oh how much I would love to turn my own potential energy into kinetic energy. The Bible says I am the son of a King. Why do I not live like it?

City on a hill?

I've always been amused by the messages on church marquee signs. On my formerly regular drive up LA Hwy 371 (just north of Cotton Valley, south of Sarepta) I once saw a message on a church sign that read "Think it's hot out here? Try hell."

Now I'm sure these words were not meant to be amusing at all, yet I was semi-amused and had to shake my head and roll my eyes. I thought of all the people that drove past that sign and probably swore they would never set foot in that church (or any other). I guess those words fit on a sign better than "Hey you, lost person! If you don't get your act together, you're in for a really unpleasant experience in the afterlife." I suppose an alternate sign that actually would fit is, "We're better than you."

I wonder if most churches should place a sign outside that says, "Feeling less than perfect? Come on in. We're a little messed-up too!"

It's a coffee table book about...

So I was up in the attic last weekend, "neatly" placing away the boxes of Christmas ornaments and stockings and ceramic things I forget that we have, and I came across some old belongings: the student trumpet that I learned to play on; the snow-skiing gloves I'll never wear, the furniture I've been meaning to take to Goodwill; and a book. That book! This isn't just any book. It's my favorite coffee table book of all time, that for some reason doesn't seem to fit the new Davis family opinion of what defines tasteful entertainment.

This book....... is "Dancing with Cats." I have never felt more foreign during a "light reading" session before, nor since, and yet I never felt so compelled to read every word of such a seemingly insignificant work. This is a book that was published specifically for me and my sense of humor. It was my book of destiny.

As I walked through a Shreveport book store one Saturday morning, this book fell off the shelf as I unknowingly brushed against it, and I immediately picked it up, and after reading the cover, immediately opened it, and after flipping through it, immediately purchased it. You would too if you had read the Foreward, with words of wisdon of Swami Shakya Bahrain, Spiritual Healer. "...when we consider how the psychic energy of the cat has been able to affect so many lives in positive ways, we begin to understand that cats possess special gifts, a spiritual dimension that cannot be lightly dismissed."

But mostly, I bought this book because these photos are AWESOME! There's Ralph, presenting a "hopping arabesque", provoking a series of stalking leaps from Petipa. And there's Marvin and Missy, busting out and going ballistic, teetering on the verge of collapsing their spiritual reserves into negative submatter. And Fred...who could forget Fred, with all his sharing of grace, power, and oneness with the universe........and wearing striped tights and a cat tail? Anyone who has ever flipped through this book has been captivated.

In one circle of friends, this book has become legend, and I hoped that I might introduce a new crowd to this great find. But, from Pam, who is wiser than I, the word has been given, and the word is "throw that stupid thing out". She found the book lying beside the still unfolded attic ladder and immediately chunked it down further to the first floor, pages flying as it tumbled over the steps.

Now I will never get a chance to spread awareness of the best conversation item that ever graced my living room......................except on the internet.

What am I doing?

Sometimes, you just have to get things out of your head. Not like a bad song, but rather, as an exercise to make sense of it all. It can't hurt to organize a memory or train of thoughts, can it? Some people journal. Some people write songs. Some people try to think out loud just to help squeeze that idea out. I've done them all and have learned that it takes a lot of work to make heads or tails out of what's going on inside my brain. As my header says, my thoughts are like a tree. A friend once laughed at me for saying this, and I think the very experience may have even ended up as some anecdote in one of his sermons. But you know what? It's true! My thoughts (I guess like everyone's) constantly branch off in seemingly unexplainable directions. My mind is like a giant game of "6 degrees to Bacon" or whatever it's called. "...this thought was in a scene with that thought, which co-starred with the other thought.......that had a cameo in that daydream with......" You get it.

What I'm going to try to do with this blog experiment is sit down for a while and work out the twists and turns, or maybe dump everything out and put it all back together in a way that will benefit. -benefit me and maybe entertain those that peer at this spot and laugh (at me or with me).

So, I'll soon have another entry filled maybe with Seinfeldian quips or "did you ever notice" moments. Oh and metaphors...there will be metaphors. Or maybe just similes as I'm not extremely agressive and those metaphors come off kind of absolute and may not reflect the tone I'm after.

'til the next time,
Craig