Coiled
Jennings, GA, January 2009
[Click here for more Thematic electric goodness.]
Our just-in-time economy has gifted us with highways clogged with 18-wheelers and motorists who feel their only option for survival is to buy Cadillac Escalades and Ford F-150 Lariats. Seriously, folks, Lariats?
It's rather amusing to witness the mindless logic of North American one-upmanship, the mistaken belief that size is good and lack thereof is not. But it is what it is, and the trend probably won't be reversing anytime soon. This never-ending superpower arms race of road weapons has a plus side, though: local Wal-Marts everywhere never run out of pool noodles and Timex Ironman Triathlon watches. G-d bless America!
Doesn't mean I can't sneak a peak at some colorful connectors when we're in the left lane. Don't worry: I wasn't driving.
Your turn: Finding the good in something that isn't. Please discuss.
One more thing: Another road trip looms ahead as I stare out at the still-sleeping city that used to be mine. I've been away from home these past few days, and I'll be spending a good chunk of the day shortening, and ultimately eliminating, the 735 km between me and my family. It's been good to be here, an important time to connect with friends and extended family. But it's time to go home.
This may raise some eyebrows.. 9 years ago my spouse was killed.. horrific, tragic, etc... which would fall in your category of 'something bad'... Up until 2001 my life was even keel... nothing upset my life nor my kids... My husband was doing well in his company... After he was gone a neighbor told another that 'it was God's plan' that my husband was taken... My neighbor was upset by that... He told me he told the neighbor that it wasn't a plan, it was an accident.... I got to thinking about that... I wasn't upset by what the one neighbor said about it being a plan.. We are all here for a reason... I think my husband's life was shortened for a reason.. It was my turn to take over, be more responsible... Maybe a life lesson for my kids?? I do know in the 9 years I have learned a lot.. more so than I think I would have..I learned that I am mentally stronger, that I can do some of the physical things my husband use to do around the house... His death taught others to take a second look at their own marriages... My girls, one that had already started college and the second who would be entering his alma mater... My son, is the one who I feel got cheated and that is the bad part... He was 9 when his Dad was killed...It is ironic that a few weeks prior to his death he had bought the girls their first cars... Eerie, huh?
ReplyDeleteKBF-everything happens for a reason...i so totally agree..
ReplyDeletei would like to believe that there is devinity involved...i wrote about that a few weeks/days/whatever back...
if there is not a cnnection, to something greater (kinda like the cables from the cab to the trailer in Carmi's picture) then it is just random chance? i cannot accept that.
the power to believe that there is something when the world is turning to a swirling-S-storm around you is what separates us from our furry friends and the single-celled ameboa...
Hmm.. without going into mass detail I will say this. I was in a 20 yr marriage where I was abused. Enough said. I never thought a light would shine and release me from that darkness. It did..I look back and never blamed him, or me.I am who I am today because of that "stuff" from yesterday. I am blessed and I know it happened for a reason. Maybe not my reason, but a reason. At the end of the day, it's ok. I have forgiven us all and I am free.
ReplyDeleteA quote I live by: In the darkness of night, morning always comes...
Thank you Carmi for allowing us to reflect and share in your neighborhood.
There is good (and bad) to be found in ALL things. Even poo has redeeming qualities as fertilizer that gives nourishment to green plants we need to survive.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I loathe to admit it, disgusting creatures that they are, even cockroaches can supply a meal for some lucky lizard ... ewwww.
nice...travel light...
ReplyDeleteyou know there is good in many things we dont think about...i guess in many ways it is all in how we choose to look at it. most times colored by our own selfish needs you know...
My favorite is when I see a HumVee pull into my local convenience store and soccer mom gets out - war in the suburbs. Gives me a chuckle every time.
ReplyDeleteYou may think this odd, but it is good after bad in a simple none material way. It just happened and it felt so horrible when a co-worker (known for her rude and shelfish behavior)did an unexcusable act which she could have been written up for, but I decided it was done and over, and I calmly told her what I thought about her not being a team player, expressed how could she, and continued working, while inside vowing to disconnect with her when possible, and at the end of our shift she surprised me again. This time she apologized, gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek, and once more as I went out the door. It's amazing but as horrible as it was, others agreed, you know the gossip mill, but that one act of asking for forgiveness wiped the slate clean. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting...I just found your blog and I like your writing style.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time I'm an optimistic kind of person, and I try to see the good side in stuff that happens. Sorry to sound Pollyanna-ish, but the old "count your blessings" idea really works for me - there are so many people in other parts of the world who are so much worse off than I am. (But - I do still have what I call 'black-hole days')...
ReplyDeleteI love the truck connectors, Carmi - a fantastic visual metaphor!