Time Flies Like...

Actual thoughts

2008-08-26T13:51:00.003-05:00

I was just looking back at some old posts and realized that I used to have actual thoughts that weren't:

who pooped?

don't kick your sister.

where did she go?

eat food. don't just drink strawberry milk.

why is she crying?

I can't think.

I wish someone could make me some coffee.

no. we don't have time to watch choo-choo soul on the computer right now.

man, I wish the wading pool was full.

how do people go out and do anything after they have two kids?

stop that.

you did too poop.

can that smell really be possible?

please go to sleep. please.

That's about all there is in my brain right now. It makes me a little sad. I am sure that some day I will miss this time.

Cora Faith

2008-01-21T15:07:00.000-06:00

We have a new daughter, Cora Faith!

Born: Christmas Eve, December 24, 2008 at 12:07 PM

Weight: 8 pounds 9 1/2 ounces

Length: 19 inches

She is four weeks old now and doing very well. We are very happy to have her in our family. Charles is starting to warm up to her and offer her things to eat and his toys. I think that he is going to have a hard time for a while before he gets used to sharing his parents with his new little sister.

Insomnia

2007-01-23T08:49:00.000-06:00

Well, I am not writing this in the middle of the night even though I was wide awake the whole time. I am pretty sure that I didn't fall asleep the entire night. I didn't dream, and it took a very long time till morning. I should say that I am used to not being able to sleep and laying there for a long time waiting. I have been bad at sleeping my whole life so far, but last night took the cake. I am really tired, but I have this odd energy too. I mean, come on, when was the last time I put something on this blog??? I am not so sure that this is a worthy topic for a post, but I wanted some outlet for my thoughts this morning.

Things around here are going pretty well right now, other than the whole sleep issue. Charles is great and running around like a toddler already. He is always interested in things that roll or are round. He keeps us very busy keeping him fed and entertained. We are having a great time with him, he is a wonderful little man so far.

My brain just decided to quiet down and start to move like molasses, so I think this is the end of this little post. Hope all who might read this are having a great new year.

Homecoming

2006-08-30T20:45:00.000-05:00

Wartburg Homecoming is October 12-15th this year.

Charles is ready to have some fun!

We are excited to see any of you who will be in the area!

2006-07-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Charles is keeping us busy and the summer seems to be flying by. I just thought that I would put a couple new pictures on here in case there are a few people who see this and not the real thing very often.

This is Charles showing how he has mastered falling over.

Here is Charles on the fourth of July while we were out for an evening BBQ in the backyard. It was a little cool, so he got to wear a jacket that is still a little bit big.

I am very proud to call him my son. What a joy he is to us! His little giggles and huge grins... The fact that he allows us to comfort him when he is sad or worried, and that it works...

Amazing.

Charles in Charge

2006-05-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

The journey into motherhood has been amazing so far, and Charles is becoming a wonderful boy. Watching him learn how to look at things in his new world and how to hold out his hand and touch them is just the best thing. You can almost see his brain develop and make all of those connections. His smile can make any bad mood disappear in an instant.

There are always some things that are not as fun though. It is still hard to make myself crawl out of bed in the middle of the night when my son is hungry and I am the only one who can help him. I have never been good at sleeping or getting up in the morning. I thought that being really tired would help, but I think that it has made it harder to fall asleep than it was before. Even the diapers aren't too bad when it is your child who you are changing. You want them to have a clean butt, no matter how gross it is to make clean.

Here are a couple pictures of him as he gets a bit bigger.

Charles John

2006-03-29T17:59:00.000-06:00

Here is Charles showing us how wee and little he is compared to his daddy's hand. Things are going well for the three of us.

Charles is not the most happy when he is working on tummy time to get strong. He is letting us know that he would rather take a nap or that he has some issues in his GI tract that he would like to resolve.

What are you doing taking my picture?!?

I could look a little more rested, but I am enjoying the whole mother thing with our good baby boy.

New Family

2006-03-10T17:59:00.000-06:00

Announcing the arrival of Charles John
Saturday, March 4th, 2006
4:02 AM
8 pounds 7 ounces
20 inches long

Daddy, Mommy and little Charlie are getting ready to come home from the hospital on Tuesday, March 7th, 2006.

Charlie is waving goodby to all the great people who helped him on his first few days in this crazy world.

At home and wondering how come no one is wrapping him up so he can get warm again. Sorry little Charlie, we gotta take your picture cause you are so cute.

We are hanging in there with the feedings all night, the many diapers and unexpected little twists that Charlie likes to throw our way.

Thank you to all who have been part of our journey into parenthood. We hope to see many of you soon and introduce you to our little man Charlie. We couldn't be more proud.

Baby Showers

2006-02-14T18:09:00.000-06:00

We had our baby shower this last weekend and it was more fun than I expected. I am glad that we made it co-ed and didn't play any of those games that sometimes accompany this sort of party. We had tons of food, drinks and cake. Many of the people we invited, came. It makes me feel awesome to know that there are so many people out there who care about us. After having a party like that you really know that you have great friends.

I am due to have this baby in about one month. I am getting anxious about who this kid will be. A boy? A girl? Blonde? Brunette? I sometimes wish I had a womb with a view... The way this little guy kicks around and moves and gets hiccups, I feel like I know a little about him/her. I am pretty sure that the little one will be nothing like I have imagined though. Oh, the waiting.

At least, since we had the shower, we have a few more of the things that are required to take care of a baby. The baby now has a bed, some clothes and a room to sleep in. That helps to make me a little more prepared feeling.

Now, all we need is the baby.

Life Goes On

2005-10-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

My husband and I spent the last six days visiting our new niece, Amy Grace, in Tennessee. I have to say that she is just about the cutest little girl I have ever seen (of course I am a bit biased). She is gaining weight and doing well. She doesn't cry too much, and she mostly can go to sleep and stay that way for a while.

I will be spending most of next week being Amy's nanny (which will be a lot of fun). My sister and brother-in-law are re-locating back to Iowa near Des Moines and are going house hunting with their little three week old daughter. I will join them to help them have time to concentrate of looking at houses and not quite so much on their daughter.

Meeting her and learning all that it takes to take care of her has made it all the more real to me that we are expecting our own little baby on March 21st. Yes, that's right, I am pregnant. I find it hard to believe that I am already about half way through this pregnancy. We are so excited and a little scared about this whole parent thing. So far it had been easy sailing for me, so I can't complain at all. I just hope that when this baby decided to show up, we will be ready.

Amy Grace

2005-10-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the new family. You can click on the picture to see a larger view.

Amy Grace

Amy Grace

2005-10-06T15:55:00.000-05:00

Announcing the birth of my very first niece, Amy Grace!

Born October 4th, 2005 at 11:58 PM
7 pounds 9 ounces

As soon as I get a picture, I will show her off. The proud parents (who live in Tennessee) are still working on returning home from the hospital and will hopefully send out some pictures pretty soon. I am getting anxious to see this little girl!

About to Pop

2005-09-26T16:57:00.000-05:00

Things around here are starting to get quite exciting.

There are a number of people in my life who are about to have their first babies. My sister is due any second (on Oct. 3rd if you want the actual date) and she lives in Tennessee, which is far, and I want to be there, but I know I won't be able to for a while, and I am getting pretty excited! This will be my first niece or nephew. Yea!

Also, we have some friends who are due on Oct. 3rd who live a bit closer and we should be able to go see that baby a little sooner! And, some other friends who are due Nov. 3rd and we can hardly wait to meet that baby either! So many babies, so little time, or something like that.

I have had a number of wedding cakes lately, like last weekend, which is good, but makes me tired.

I got called for jury duty for the U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids for the next three months if they pick me. I have to go in to see if I get chosen on the 29th of this week for a trial starting on Oct. 3rd. What is it with that date? I hope that they don't think that I would make a good juror because that will put quite a kink in my plans to see all these babies next month.

I have no idea if we will be able to be here for Homecoming this year with all of this going on. We may or may not be in Tennessee. I am looking forward to Homecoming, so I am hoping that we end up going earlier or later to Tennessee, but not then.

Well, anyhoo, you get the idea. I just thought that you all might like to know that, even if you really didn't.

Let Them Eat Cake

2005-08-27T18:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I finished it. In case you wanted an idea of what I was talking about in my last post. This is it. I think it turned out okay. I am not sure that I got the best pictures though. Now my back hurts and I am going to go eat some popcorn and watch a movie.

August 27 Wedding

Cry Me a River

2005-08-25T10:43:00.000-05:00

Modern things like washing machines, dish washers, cars, televisions, computers, etc., are great things for which I am grateful for. On the other hand, what is wrong with a little honest hard work? Apparently a lot, since I don't do it very often and usually try to find ways to avoid it when at all possible. Although, I have heard that the best things come from hard work.

There is a wedding this weekend here in Waverly, and I have the privilege of creating the wedding cake. The fact that I will be doing something that will make the wedding day of those two people a little better is a nice feeling, but I am still not really looking forward to the day and a half of work that will go in to producing that cake. The good part is always when you get the cake there without messing it up and it still looks how it was meant to look. Then you take a few pictures and leave. Yea, job (well?) done. The hard part seems to come the next day or so when I realize that I have no idea if the bride and groom liked the cake or if the guests thought it tasted good. All I know is that I got it there in one piece and nothing fell apart before I left. Who knows what happened later. Did the cake tip over? Did a child stick a hand in it before the reception really began? I might never know.

It is fairly hard work to make a large wedding cake. There is a lot of standing and bending and squeezing icing through a piping bag which can end up giving you carpal tunnel. I do really enjoy the creative part of it when it comes to the building and decorating of the cake. The part that gets old is the endless baking and icing mixing that takes significantly longer in comparison to the decorating.

I know, I know, you are all saying, "cry me a river". A day and a half of hard work once in a while is no big deal. I agree, but I am exceedingly lazy as it turns out, so I decided to vent a little about it here. Hopefully all of you out there are having many rewarding things in your life that have come from your hard work.

Fall

2005-08-19T09:43:00.000-05:00

I have to say that Fall is most definitely my very favorite time of year. Second to Fall, I love Winter, then Spring and finally Summer. I just can't get excited about all the heat and humidity around here. I am sure that if I lived somewhere else, that I might actually like summer, but since I don't, I live in Iowa, I must take what nature gives me and so, I love Fall.

The dry crispy air with the sound of dry leaves rustling along the ground. The cool evenings where you need a coat and the best thing is to hang out in front of a bonfire and roast your dinner on a stick. Two of the best holidays all year are in the Fall, Thanksgiving and Halloween. You get to eat a lot with friends and family and you don't have to feel bad about it later, and you get to dress like someone you aren't in real life and also get to eat a lot of candy. Yummy!

I wish that Fall would last more than a month and a half before it gets to be Winter, and it would be great if Summer would not last quite as long. That is just my opinion.

Lennon's Edibles

2005-07-11T10:15:00.000-05:00

Here is a list (yea! A list!) of things that I have seen Lennon "Thumb Sucker" DeVries eat. I am pretty sure that he would eat quite a few other things if he were presented with the opportunity, but I am reluctant to let him for fear of ruining his health. I don't usually try to feed him any of this stuff except the cat food, cat treats and hairball goop. He just seems to seek that other stuff out and get ahold of it despite your best efforts to stop him. I admit that sometimes I do offer him a little of certain things just to see if he will eat them. I am often surprised that he will, but am growing less surprised as time goes by.

Jell-o (any flavor)
pistachio shells (note to self: Don't leave pistachio shells unguarded on the coffee table.)
cookies
peanut butter
popcorn
carrots
styrofoam
birdseed
paper (newspaper bits, shredder bits and any other bits on the floor)
hairballs (from other cat's, ick!)
other catÂs puke (very gross, makes me leave the room many times, but a bitconvenientt since it make my clean-up job a little easier)
marshmallows
dry leaves (from my house plants)
butter
tuna
cat food
cheese
any other meat products
feathers
rocks/sand (brought in on peoples shoes)
potato chips
strawberries
whipped cream
cake (any flavor)
cat treats
hairball remedy goop
bar soap (he licks it, after I use it, while it is still wet)
apples
pears
Twizzlers
Skittles
chocolate
random tufts of cat hair (Lennon probably caused them to be free of the other cats in the first place)
candle wicks
tree bark
grass
crackers
catnip
sorbet
Cheeze-It's
strawberries
beer
soda (almost any kind, even diet)
juice (orange, red grapefruit, grape)
probably some more stuff that I wasn't there to see him eat...

Anticipation

2005-07-08T12:27:00.000-05:00

The hardest thing I find about anticipating something (at least for me) is the almost inevitable let-down when the thing you are anticipating either doesn't happen, or doesn't work out like you thought it would (not necessarily in a good way). To me, it seems like that is slowly becoming the predominant theme in my life this last year. I am sure that things are probably not as extreme as I say, and that my apparently prolific ability to focus on the pessimistic side of life is contributing a great deal to this problem of mine. I try hard to stay positive, but it doesn't always work.

I wish that the things I anticipate and get all excited about would actually happen the way they are supposed to once in a while. Is that so much to ask for?

Sorry about this vent post.

Open Door

2005-07-07T17:43:00.000-05:00

While I was out doing some errands today, I noticed something about what people do when going in and out of doors. Some people hold the door for the person following them into or out of the building, some hold it even if the person is quite a distance behind them. Others don't hold the door, no matter what, not even if you are one step behind them.

I went to the bank and held the door for the woman behind me. She said, "thank you" twice because there were two doors. Then I went to the store and as I walked up to the front of the building, a man didn't hold the door for an elderly woman and she made a less than happy face and proceeded to open the door herself. When I got to the door a woman held it for me, twice. I thanked the woman, twice.

I think that sometimes people expect the door to be held for them though. Older folks often expect that the door will be held for them (which I think that it should be most of the time) and act surprised when it isn't. People who are perfectly capable of opening the door for themselves are also sometimes miffed if it isn't held for them. I hope that they would be the people who always hold the door if the opportunity arose, otherwise, they don't really have the right to get mad if it isn't held for them, in my opinion.

Is it that some the people who expect the door to be held for them, also think that they are better than everyone else? I'll give the expectation to the older folks who really are helped when the door is held for them. That is the respect they deserve, or so my parents taught me.

Admittedly, I don't hold the door if the person behind me is a long way back there, but when it is appropriate, I hold the door. I was raised that way I guess. It makes me happy to do that for people, and I am always in a better mood after someone else does it for me. So, if you find yourself out doing whatever it is you do out there, hold the door for someone, and see if it brightens your day a little, because it will probably brighten theirs.

Easiest Scones Ever

2005-07-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

There I was, staring at the cookbook, not wanting to deal with the recipe for scones I was planning to prepare for our breakfast. There were things like, cut the cubed, chilled butter into the flour mixture, and other similar things that are just not what I want to deal with at 7AM. I made up my mind to find an easier way (for some reason I can design a new recipe out of thin air at 7AM, but not follow a harder one), so this is what I came up with:

Easy Scones

1 Box Jiffy Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
1/2 cup dried fruit, chocolate chips or fresh fruit (your choice)
1 tablespoon lemon or orange zest (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy cream, half & half or light cream

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix above ingredients and knead a few times to incorporate. (You can use 1/2 cup water instead of the 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup cream and it will work fine. The cream just helps to make a richer tasting biscuit.) Press out into a square that is about one inch tall and cut into six triangles. You may also use a round cutter, but I find that the last one ends up a hard, overworked blob, and cutting in triangles is a lot easier in my opinion. You may also double or otherwise increase the size of this recipe without any trouble. Place scones on ungreased cookie sheet at least one inch apart.

1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon sanding sugar or table sugar

Brush scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until they are golden brown. Cool on pan. May be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. Store in plastic for up to four days.

I had the biscuit mix on hand and I made a double version of this recipe. I put in dried cranberries, dried blueberries and fresh lemon zest since I happened to have three lemons in the fridge. I very rarely have lemons on hand, and I would probably have used lemon flavoring or dried lemon zest instead. To make it even easier, and since I am a cake decorator and have sanding sugar at home, you could also just use regular sugar and you probably don't even need to brush with the heavy cream to get it to stick. I just had some heavy cream and I knew that it would help the scones to brown.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can chose anything you like and make them as unique as you dare. You could also add nuts if you like that sort of thing. The base is so simple with only the biscuit mix, water (and cream) and sugar, that you can make them exactly the way you want and it is still really easy.

Ideas for things to add:

Cranberry Orange Scones
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon orange zest or 1/2 teaspoon orange flavoring

Lemon Blueberry Scones
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon zest or 1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring

Chocolate Chip Scones
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Banana Nut Scones
1/2 cup dried banana chips (broken to about pea size)
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon

White Chocolate Almond Scones
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Restless

2005-06-24T16:10:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard a song and it just somehow resonates inside you somewhere? Not necessarily the lyrics or the melody, but some combination of both that just hits this chord right in your heart. For some reason that I don't understand, Restless by Alison Krauss and Union Station does that to me. I can just listen to it over and over and that feeling happens each time.

Maybe it is the idea of feeling restless and a little insecure about the life I lead. The only real thing in my life right now that I feel secure about is the strength of my marriage. All I hope is that he feels the same way, even if everything else seems so out of control. That song reminds me of all that, makes me feel good about one part of my life, then reminds me that the rest seems like chaos.

Play the piano like you walk across the room.

2005-06-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in my piano lesson (Yes, I am taking piano lessons at the ripe young age of 27. Better late than never, right?) my instructor told me that I had trouble with my rhythm. Me? Trouble with rhythm? I always thought that I had pretty good rhythm seeing as how I grew up with music. I played cello as a young girl, flute and piccolo until I went to college, sang in various church choirs and played handbells. Well, apparently I have trouble when I try to play chords and melody and read the music all at the same time.

I figure that since I have only been taking the lessons for a little over two weeks, I am entitled to still suck a little bit. I was playing When the Saints go Marching In and having trouble switching from the C chord to the F and G7 while playing the melody with the other hand and having the whole thing flow well. Keep in mind that I had only played the piece a few times before the lesson and I hadn't worked out all the kinks yet. Also, the only reason I was playing it at all was because I had worked ahead in the book because I was bored with what I had been assigned. I made the mistake of mentioning that, and so she decided that I must be proficient since I had worked on it.

She told me that I needed to practice the song until I could play the piano like I walk across the room. I need to keep my rhythm. No more of this pausing to figure out the notes I am trying to play.

Sometimes I think life is a little bit like that for me. I keep pausing to figure out what the next thing is and the best way to get there. I miss out on the spontaneity and joy that I might find if I just would take things as they come, and keep on moving. If only I could play the piano like I walk across the room.

Full Circle

2005-06-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

Here is my commentary on the different connectedness that ebbs and flows through life. There are so many people, places and experiences that happen to us over the years, and I am often amazed by the way they come back again when we aren't even looking.

In the song "Full Circle" by Storyhill (Chris Cunningham & John Hermanson) Chris talks about different events coming around full circle within themselves. Quite a good song if you ever hear the whole thing. Some of the people who might read this I know are familiar with Storyhill (Chris & Johnny as they were first known).

I first heard them play while I was a student at Wartburg College here in Waverly, Iowa. They (if I remember right) played in Players Theater and it was amazing even though I didn't know any of their songs yet. I went on to hear them many times over the years either at Wartburg or Luther, while I was still a student, until they broke up and stopped touring. Then I went to the Reunion Concert in the Twin Cities. After they got back together I have seen them in Cedar Rapids most recently, but I also have seen Chris alone in a little coffee house in Bozeman, Montana and Storyhill together at the Gallatin Gateway just outside of Bozeman. If you can't tell yet, I would say that I am a groupie and try to see them at often as I can (without, of course, spending too much money or effort at it).

I should also say that the reason I get to see them in Montana sometimes is because my parents decided that Bozeman was the place they wanted to be, and retired there. I get to go on vacation there once or twice a year if I am lucky. For those of you who don't know the background of Chris and John, they are natives of Montana and Chris is still living in Bozeman so they are playing concerts in that area fairly regularly.

All of that leads me into the story I was intending on telling here about coming full circle and connectedness. Just the fact that my parents moved into their hometown and Chris is still there is enough, but just the other day I found out that Chris and his wife moved about two blocks away from my parents house. My parents discovered this when they were at a garage sale down the street and thought that Chris looked familiar. Mom struck up a conversation by asking if his name was Chris, found out it was, and she proceeded to tell him all about how she is a big fan and they are from Iowa and her children introduced her to the music, etc...

It is like this one part of your life that was meaningful at one time, fades out of the forefront for a while, then when you aren't looking for it, there it is again.

The other full circle idea I was going to mention here is about the daughter of Martin, of the German restaurant, Martin's Brandenburg, here in Waverly, Iowa. Well, she married one of the brothers who made the video called "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." which I talked about in the first post in this blog called Time does fly.... My husband and I live about two blocks from Martin's Brandenburg. She and her husband now live in Heilbronn, Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany. I am not sure exactly where Jessica is, but I know she is in Germany, and somehow that just ties it all together for me. Into this big circle of coincidences and connectedness.

There are tons of other things that could be said along the same line, but I think you get the idea I am going for. Look into your own experiences and see what you can find that come full circle in your life. You might be surprised.

Politically Correct?

2005-06-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I found myself in the middle of a conversation that I couldn't quite decide how to react to. The topic of the whole Michael Jackson crap o'palooza came up and part of the conversation went a little like this:

Person 1: Can you believe that they let MJ go and he can do whatever he wants now? (Except having sleep overs with little kids.)

Person 2: Yeah, it's a little surprising that he wasn't convicted of anything.

Person 1: I didn't realize he was a Negro! He looks like a white person! Did you see his sister? He looks just like her. He looks like a woman. Why would he wreck himself like that? I didn't know he was a Negro.

Person 2: He used to be a very good looking guy...

Of course, this is paraphrased a lot since I can't remember what was actually said, but that was the gist of it. I think that you can guess the part that startled me and made me cringe a bit. (If you can't guess, it was the use of the word Negro.)

I should say that Person 1 didn't really know who MJ was to begin with, so the confusion as to his race is somewhat understandable. Person 1 is also one of the very most lovable people I know, and the things said in this conversation in no way represent the way they feel about people in this world. In this case it is all a matter of word choice.

I didn't realize (or maybe I just like to forget) that there are people who haven't heard that it isn't really politically correct to say that these days. I think that sometimes people are set in their ways and don't really ever shift over to the whole PC way of the world, but it sure is surprising when you run head long into it. In no way am I an expert on what is or is not PC. I found an interesting commentary about the subject here.

I decided that there was no room for me to really react the way I wanted to, considering who we were talking to. It would have been different if we had been talking to strangers, though I am not sure what I would have said. Maybe just, "What does it matter? Who cares what race he is?" But I have to admit that MJ seems to care just a bit, and is trying awfully hard to become someone a bit different than he started out as (at least physically).

I suppose it is all a matter of perspective. I mean, we are all just people, are we not?

"Speaking in Quotes"

2005-06-17T16:17:00.000-05:00

There is something to be said about those people (who we all know... Charlie, Mark, etc....) who can hear something once and then commence endlessly quoting what they just heard and enjoying the experience again. I am not one of those people. I have the worst memory of anyone I know, I think. That is why Google and other resources like that are such wonderful things.

Therefore, I have used the "Google" and found a few quotes that I like, or that are following the theme this blog has taken, even though I didn't plan it that way. I won't put who said them right away (a game anyone?) and I am sure that some of the people who might read this will be able to guess them.
1. "Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so." ~ "Ford", Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(Joel is on the right track with HHGG. Now, who said it? and when? Greg is right, Ford said this to Arthur in the pub before the Vogons destroy the Earth. Arthur is complaining about not wanting to drink three pints before lunchtime. Welcome, Greg!)
2. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." ~John Lennon, Beautiful Boy
(Charlie was the first to correctly answer that John Lennon said this, but he also informed me that he said it in "Beautiful Boy", which I didn't know. Mark and Jessica also answered correctly.)
3. "The only reason time is so that everything does not happen at once" ~Albert Einstein
(Mark correctly answered that this was said by the really smart guy, Albert Einstein.)
4. "Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." ~John Lennon
(Yea! Charlie is right! Through process of elimination. Way to go everyone!)
Two of the quotes were said by the same person, one was written as fiction and one was said by a really smart guy.
Good luck! I will (to copy what Charlie did) post the answers as people guess. It will not be as fun as Charlie's games, but I can only be who I am, even if that means not being as cool as my friends.
I also found this last quote, which I thought was very poignant and I should take the idea to heart a bit more, but since it was an unknown person who said it, I didn't think it was fair to have in the game.
"Who plants trees although he knows he'll never sit in their shadows has at least begun to recognize the sense of life." ~ Anonymous

Those Were the Days

2005-06-16T13:19:00.000-05:00

Here are some things that I look back on and wonder about:

Remember back in college when staying up practically all night, most nights was normal and didn't almost kill you? I have to say that I am still a night owl, always was, and will probably always be that way to some degree, but I now have trouble staying up past 1 AM. And then if I had stayed up that late, I have to sleep until about 8 AM to have a good day the next day.

What about those people who you once were (you thought) great friends with, and were never going to lose touch with? I can't even count the number of people that I have not kept up with over the years. Do you ever find yourself sitting there and all of a sudden something reminds you of an old friend and you just wonder where they are now and what they are doing. You know you should just try to look them up and drop them a line, that they would surely like to hear from you, but you just can't bring yourself to do anything. For me, it is the problem of thinking that I don't have much to show for the time that has past, and not wanting them to think what a loser I am.

What ever happened to Saturday morning cartoons? I remember getting up at the crack of dawn to be down in front of the TV even before the first show started. I didn't want to miss Muppet Babies or even Garfield & Friends. These days there is nothing more than info-mercials and things like that on Saturday mornings on network TV. I know, because I check every once in a while, just hoping that I might find a little of that comforting feeling of my childhood once more. I am sure that the change has come from all the new networks like Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel where there are cartoons on most of the time. But what about all the kids who don't have cable TV? What do they get? Nothing! How fair is that?

My brain seems to have shut off for now. I think it might be from the trauma of remembering those good old days of the morning cartoons that were so much a part of my childhood and how no one will ever have that again. Those were, most definitely, the days...

Time does fly...

2005-06-15T10:53:00.000-05:00

Like the top of my blog says:

"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." ~Groucho Marx

This was also the name of a student film made by the children of friends of my family. I saw the film when I was, maybe, 12 years old and I had no idea that kids who were only in high school could ever make something so cool. I saw the film a number of times over the years, but I have no idea what became of it now. I might have it in some box somewhere that was never unpacked when we moved, or I may have returned it to my parents who might have it in some box that they didn't unpack after they moved. Either way, it doesn't matter much.

The film was done for some class or other, by two brothers with a very interesting father who is endlessly exploring science fiction, strange music and anything new in the world of computers and electronics. I am sure that some of this interest in nerdy things has rubbed off on the boys over the years as evidenced in the film they produced such a long time ago.

I don't have a clue what the assignment was for this film, but it might have been just to create a film and learn editing and animation or something like that. They used technology that I didn't know existed for the average home filmmaker. I was utterly amazed by what they created. I thought that it was SO creative and I just wished with all my 12 year old heart that I could ever in my life be as cool as they were. I, of course, have never measured up but I was raised by a father who is pretty much as interesting as these boys father, if a little bit less eccentric. Ergo, I have a well developed interest in science fiction and anything electronic.

Back to the film. I am not sure that I would be able to summarize the story line anymore ( just don't have a memory for things like that), but I remember that they used a computer as a time machine and moved around history with it. They went back to the time of dinosaurs and used clay animation to depict a scene of two dinosaurs fighting to the death. This culminated in the end of the dinosaurs which, to my great surprise, was brought about by a giant foot smashing them all.

The film moved on to ancient Rome and Socrates mistakenly being killed with a glass of hemloc, I think. See, I have no memory for story lines. Anyways, the connecting idea through the film was that each of these things in history was ended in some unexpected way that history has overlooked. They finished the film with credits typed on the screen of a (very high tech at the time) computer with the Beatles song "Across the Universe" which I am listening to right now in an attempt to bring back a small measure of that youthful and hopeful outlook on life that I seem to now lack.

Looking back on this student film that was made so long ago and was really only cool back then, I realize how long ago it was for me, and how different my life is now. I didn't have a clue where I would end up, or how I would get there. It was a much more innocent time with only positive expectations in life. What ever happened to that? Where did the feeling of unlimited time go? I worry now that I will turn around some day and my life will have past, and what will I have done?

I see now that time really does fly like an arrow, and fruit must, then, fly like a banana.