J...o...h...n...’...s.....J...o...u...r...n...a...l
A R C H I V E S
Thanks
for
visiting.
July 29, 2000
Zum
zum zummertime . . .
. . . June
is a bust, the works are fired, and I've been thoroughly and pleasantly
Seitzed. When I get this deep into the summer I begin to have mixed emotions.
I want to double my efforts to capture a warm season slipping away. I
indulge regrets about not spending more time at the Valley. And I start
to look forward to heading north in search of the elusive game fish. In
the meantime there are numerous deadlines to occupy my nerves, far too
many volunteer assignments (go GOP!), and lots of birthdays for the Haus
of Cards.
.
. . The
Lads had an extended stay in Danville, and got to spend many hours in
the swimming pool at the Willoughby A-frame. They paused to let me sketch
them before their father unexpectedly arrived to take them south. As I
write, Dana is on the road in SC implementing a Marty visit, which we're
squeezing in before he goes back to school. There are sure to be some
major playset battles taking place at the Town House while Marty Man is
in town.
.
. . The
highlight of the summer for me is probably "The Patriot,"
the revolutionary War movie with Mel Gibson. Felt so strongly about it
that I sent a Clanwide email note. The criticism about it not being an
accurate historical depiction misses the point. I saw the motion picture
as a political statement, presented as entertainment at a time when too
many Americans are losing touch with the sacredness of our God-given freedoms,
and the idea that they are worth defending, and, if necessary, sacrificing
all to preserve. Hollywood doesn't get any closer to illustrating this
principal in this complacent era. Now when it comes to showing youngsters
bearing arms, the liberals should go back and look at the "The Cowboys"
(1972). Now there is a picture that goes all the way with the idea of
firearms as the great equalizer the Founders knew they were. Although
I am not a big John Wayne fan, it is one of my all-time favorite Westerns.
July 22, 1999
One year ago . . .
.
. . Thirty
years ago today Armstrong walked on the moon. I remember watching it on
TV in the basement of Dixonwood. Somebody took a picture of us. Jim was
soaked because the two of us had just shot the 8mm footage in Charf's
swampy field, the scene where he falls into the water, and also the goofy
close-up of him pleading for his life (part of the Godfather Series).
July 23, 1997
Three years ago . . .
.
. . I
strive to forget about all the bad stuff, but I can't remember enough
about all the good stuff. The past is indeed a textbook, but I did always
cram for a test without reading it. Of all the possible futures held in
the heart of infinity, the only tomorrow that is relevant is the one that
I will actually live, but it comes only one moment at a time. Stand and
face the Eternal Now. Are we sentenced to the prison of the present, or
do we each hold the key that will unlock the paradise of conscious awareness?
Go find the answer to this timeless question.
July 9, 1987
Thirteen years ago . . .
.
. . God's
canvas is the American West! Such wonderment: Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming Range, Devil's Tower, The Black Hills, South Dakota Badlands .
. . marvelous. Now we're heading through a terrific thundershower born
of textbook cumulonimbus formations with their classic anvil-like tops.
Dana has been remarking about being confronted with Nature's power. Electric
violet-blue-white bolts punctuate that interesting thought. Mount Rushmore
demonstrates how God's Power works through the heart , head, and hand
of his greatest creation. "Tell them I will carve Roosevelt's eyeglasses
from our most precious material--imagination!" What guts it took
to carve an entire mountain. Only in America. Have the big dreams all
been dreamt?
July 29, 1979
Twenty-one years ago . . .
.
. . I
must find a way to achieve a high level of creativity and awareness through
natural means. And it is going to take a lot of willpower. I mustn't condemn
myself for wanting to work this whole thing out. I feel that there is
something very positive, very rewarding at the end of it all. There are
bound to be a few setbacks, but I must exercise my free will with courage.
There is no question in my mind that as pure and as natural a lifestyle
as possible is the way for me to go.
