I Don’t Need a Conspiracy
Campfire Songs
Amos Lee, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Beastie Boys, Citizen Cope, KMFDM, Sublime, David Bowie, Lo-Fidelity All-Stars, Queen, Tori Amos, Tenacious D, the cast of Hamilton, Warrant, Frankie Vali, and Spearhead are just a few of the musicians two adults and three tweens have come up with tonight.
My girlfriend’s daughter recently got Spotify Premium and we’re celebrating with a night of requests. The only real rule is that no request could have been heard on our adventure.
Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Bigger Adventure
A 22-mile round trip cycle journey cracked a new record for the Zerbey Three. Add in that we achieved this goal with my girlfriend and her wonderful daughter and you get an amazing day.
We overcame plenty of early obstacles and a later-than-expected start to lunch, adventure, and ice cream in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania.
The trail was mostly flat and offered some of our favorite views, including chipmunks, deer, changing leaves, colorful fungi, and lots of beautiful sky looks.
It was warm enough in Ohiopyle to dip our feet in the Youghiogheny River.
Near the end of our trek, the sun set and we got to see paper lanterns fly into the sky. In the picture they are above and to the right of the building in the center.
Achievement Unlocked
My jiu-jitsu practice is full of deficiencies, consistency of training being the most glaring.
After a year of excuses, I finally struck a balance in my routine that promises to improve my soccer, yoga, and jiu-jitsu practices.
This week I had two of each discipline. Soccer is likely the most unpredictable and two tough games to draw were the challenge I needed to see if my body could prosper on the fields and mats.
Yoga is the mental, physical, and spiritual reset that seems to make it all possible.
I am confident that returning to the Wim Hof Method breathing technique (still taking lots of cold showers) as a daily routine will further enhance my overall recovery and performance.
I thank God everyday for the energy to do these things. I thank Him for the focus on health and self-improvement that has driven me during a time when the narrative diminishes these goals. I thank God for a body that treats me better as I treat it better.
Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Celebrating a Creator
James Greatorex is one fine creator. I met him on the soccer field and he quickly became my sons’ favorite player to trade comic book banter with…check that, he is their favorite HUMAN with which to commiserate on all illustrated narrative matters.
I’ve loosely followed the creation of his own title and I was totally excited to see that it hit the streets today!
Purchasing details have yet to be revealed, but I promise to share links and info here (heck, I’ll deliver you a copy if that’s what it takes) soon.
Stand Up for Children
This mom is standing up for her children:
Letter to the Editor: U-CF board avoiding parents
Posted by ChaddsFordLive on September 17th, 2021
After the August school board meeting, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District board members decided to retreat to a virtual format in order to avoid having to face parents who could not be trusted to act with “civility” and, in the words of Board President Jeff Hellrung, because there was a controversial topic “likely to spark even more parent anger than masks” on the September agenda.
There were other reasons given, such as fear of Covid spread and “fears for their safety” due to the behavior of parents in other districts (the worst thing they could say about our parents were that one parent “refused” to stick to his three-minute time limit, and they were interrupted in their business by some heckling which they shouldn’t have to tolerate).
Clearly, at this point, there is no legitimacy to their “fears of safety,” and it was clear that the primary reason they retreated to a virtual format was to avoid having to deal with or be interrupted by angry parents as they conducted their business.
I’ve engaged in a lengthy email exchange with Mr. Hellrung, at first inquiring why the board changed the September format to virtual, then informing him of his legal and moral obligations under the state Sunshine Act to the parents of UCFSD to allow them to attend and face the board in person. But I have been stonewalled.
Although at the current moment, the October board meeting is still scheduled to be held in the auditorium, Mr. Hellrung has made it clear they reserve the right to move any meetings to a virtual format, so clearly, we cannot trust that the October meeting and others on the future docket will not be moved to virtual as well.
Lori Peters
Birmingham Township
The following was my response:
Rules for thee, not for me.
The Board is clearly willing to break the law in order to protect itself. Is there no law enforcement official willing to stand up to protect the rights of children and parents?
The lack of transparency and backbone in these politicians may be criminal.
Break the Censors
Sharing this video solely because it is harmless, factual, and being censored by those who do not trust your ability to think.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CT7oPP_lrl8/?utm_medium=share_sheet
Monsters and Heroes
Carl Jung wrote, “No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.”
It’s the blessing of the suffering that is irrevocably wound up with existence. Within hours of feeling the hopelessness of a dying wife, I accepted our fate and was gifted with an experience of pure love. In those hours my life stretched between Heaven and Hell.
The monster Fear and the hero Love.
My life is filled with Love and Joy. Yet, it’s hard to see beyond the Fear and Anxiety in the world.
It was like this when I was ten years old. I was happy and full of imagination, but that imagination carried me into an empathic place that exposed me to the darkness of the world. I couldn’t handle it then, I shut myself off for protection.
I’m learning to handle it now. Widowhood cut my life in half, half living and half dead. That chasm eventually splintered all the pieces of my mind. In rebuilding, I began to integrate the light and dark fragments. Joy and Guilt rested side-by-side. Love and Pain got cozy. Excitement and Anxiety coupled.
It’s ongoing. The more Joy and Love enter my life, the more monsters I can see.
It’s all so messy and frought with human folly, but I’m accessing those dark parts of me to be a light to others. Paradox is in all of us.
Header quote from this post:
http://delawaredad.com/2019/12/28/duality-and-divinity/
That’s All
This new culture of asking people their vaccination status is repulsive. Not long ago it was assumed that we don’t discuss these things publicly.
I don’t know what to add to this thought. I think is enough for today.
Starts
A friend gets married today.
Jessica was my first friend as a widower. She lost her husband, Matt, a few months after I lost my wife, Mary.
A mutual friend introduced us in the days after Matt’s passing. I was on a roadtrip, learning how to be a single dad. Mary had been gone four months and I was deep into a world-record-breaking adrenaline rush.
I was plowing through tasks and adventures and life seemed to be reshaping to accomdate me. Jess was another puzzle piece perfectly timed and placed.
Preposterously, four months of widowhood gave me the confidence to comfort someone else in grief. Once we met in person, I realized it necessary that we comfort each other.
Jess became the safest place in the world. If I yelled at my kids, drank too much, hurt someone’s feelings, or was altogether lost, I could tell her without fear. Those weren’t the darkest confessions. The thoughts. The thoughts of a grieving person are hard to communicate without some relatability. As a young widow, single parent, impossible optimist, and adventurous soul, Jess heard me like no one else could.
Our dark moments are matched with equally brilliant flashes of joy. Our monthly lunches shock nearby parties in their wild swings from heartbreaking sadness to cavalier cheerfulness.
Her first date with her fiancé, George, happened shortly before I started dating. Our romantic journeys were quite different, but we shared many of the trials and tribulations we encountered as we welcomed love back into our lives.
I’ve spent a relatively short amount of time with George, but I am overwhelmingly appreciative of the love, care, and peace that he has brought into my friend’s life.
Widowhood is full of unexpected starts like weddings. I could not feel more blessed to watch Jessica and George embark on this wonderful start today.