This Is What You Shall Do

This is what you shall do:
Love the earth and sun and the animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labors to others,
Hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
Have patience and indulgence toward the people,
Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown,
Or to any man or number of men,
Go freely with powerful uneducated persons,
And with the young and with the mothers of families,
Read these leaves in the open air,
Every season of every year of your life,
Reexamine all you have been told,
At school at church or in any book,
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul,
And your very flesh shall be a great poem.
- Walt Whitman

So long Professor

Tony Hillerman, journalism professor, author of 29 books, and all around nice guy died today.

Professor Hillerman taught at UNM, the university I attended, before I arrived, but his name was always spoken in reverence and with high respect. People there were proud to have studied under him.

A few years ago, I was with someone at a local resturant I frequent and saw his wife and him eating at a table nearby. It had just so happened that it was near Christmas and I had bought my brother a hardback copy of Hillerman's latest Joe Leaphorn book as a gift.

I asked the guy at the resturant if he would do me a favor and ask Mr. Hillerman if he would mind signing the book for me. I didn't want to just go over and interupt his dinner and draw attention to him, but I thought it would be a great gift if it was signed.

The next time I went into the resturant, the waiter told me that he'd talked to Mr. Hillerman who said that it was so appreciative that I had been polite enough not to interupt dinner, that he'd be happy to sign the book for me. I was thrilled and had a great gift to give to my brother that year!

Professor Hillerman brought alot of positive attention to New Mexico with his writings and the movies that were made of them.

He'll definately be missed around the Land of Enchantment!

Rest in Peace Professor!

Sunday Funnies

Click to enlarge

Cause Frankly, I Need The Reminder

Thanks Roby!

Quotable Quote

If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z.

Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. - Albert Einstein

Ugggggg

If you had told me 7 weeks ago that I'd be sitting in my own hometown, relaxing with nothing to do except finish up the end of engagement document for my project. But absolutely dying to get back to Sacramento so I could go to church on a FRIDAY NIGHT, I would have laughed until I wet myself....

But....here I am. Sitting in my favorite coffeeshop in town, wishing that I was back in Sac so I could go to church tonight with the people I barely know but feel completely connected with somehow. I'm missing them like crazy and it's only been one week!

How absolutely bizzare!!

Sunday Funnies

This weekend I'm hanging around with my brother's family. I came down to check out my nephew's marching band competition. Thought these were appropriate


Q: What's the difference between drummers and government bonds?
A: Government bonds eventually mature and earn money.

Q: What's got 36 legs and an IQ of 83?
A: The color guard.

Q: What's the difference between a clarinet and a mouse?
A: You can't hear a mouse squeak over the entire band!

Q: What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?
A: A flat minor

Peter Kay - Winners Song

Hilarious!!!!
If you don't know why....google it. ;-)

Sacredness in the mundane

Tonight I was privledged to spend most of the night in sacred moments. First with my team as they took me out to dinner and gave me some wonderful goodbye gifts. Then laughing and joking with a bunch of my knucklehead friends who I've truly, truly missed. Then lastly, spent some time talking with someone who has just been told she doesn't have long to live. This person has been one of those "difficult" people in my life over the last few years and has caused some considerable pain in our lives. Tonight, I was able to really forgive her for that and even ask her forgiveness for anything I'd done to hurt her. Then we just talked.
Each of those are moments,I've come to realize, are the mundane moments that make up what's most sacred about life. Those moments that really matter...

This song just reminds me of that we need to pay more attention to the scared in the every day.

Sunday Funnies

More here: http://despair.com/

Quotable Quote

Images help me find and realise ideas. I look at hundreds of very different, contrasting images and I pinch details from them, rather like people who eat from other people's plates. - Francis Bacon