Monday, July 21, 2008

"Show me a day with Hilda Ogden and I'll despair"

Heath and I were in a Barnes and Noble in Topeka, Kansas, and I had a few minutes to kill while he finished up a claim he was working on. I decided to take a stroll around the bookstore, and ended up in the bargain books section. As I glanced around the stacks, one book caught my eye. Its title..... "The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. The reason it caught my eye was simply that the word "Shark" was in the title. I'm always drawn to books with any reference to aquatic life in the title (especially if it's sharks), or a blue color scheme on the cover. So I picked it up and read the teaser on the back. Suprisingly, good, and at $5.98 I figured worth the risk. I bought it.

Some three or so weeks later I've finished reading the book, and enjoyed it very much. Truth be told, however, I'm not perfectly clear on some essential plot points in the story. As I sat in bed last night after turning the last page I tried to go back over the series of events in my head to understand exactly what had happened to the protagonist Eric Sanderson. I was unable to make sense of it. I thought I might be able to find some sort of online Cliff's Notes or something that might explain an idea that I missed, and provide some clarity to the author's purpose, but..... I began to wonder. Do I really want to know exactly what this story represented to Steven Hall so that I completely understand his intention with the events, or would I rather just allow myself to interpret the events in my own mind and settle on what the novel means to me. Would I like the "truth" spelled out for me so that I am clear on one persons idea, or do I want to navigate my way around the events and experiences to create my own understanding.

The Musician Seal offers his thoughts on the insert of his self titled CD. He says One of the most popular questions people seem to ask is "Why don't you print your lyrics on the album?" Well, the answer to that is that quite often, my songs mean one thing to me and another to the listener. But that's OK because I think it's the general vibe of what I'm saying that is important and not the exact literal translation. How many times have you fallen in love with a lyric that you thought went, "Show me a day with Hilda Ogden and I'll despair", only to find that it went "Show me a way to solve your problems and I'll be there". I guess what I'm saying is that the song is always larger in the listeners mind because with it they attach imagery which is relative to their own personal experience. So it is your perception of what I'm saying rather than what I actually say that is the key.

This thought process applies to different aspects of life in different ways, but I like the idea of what Seal has to say.

It gives me this sense of how I would like to approach life. Let go of control a little bit, get away from the need to have "it" spelled out and allow the current to take me. It's likely to flow to a place that is deeper and more meaningful than the one on the map.

Steven Hall, thanks for the read, I'll be passing on those Cliff's Notes.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Good Luck Exploring the Infinite Abyss......I'll miss you

Well, the day has come and gone. I knew it would happen, prayed that it wouldn't, and now it's over.

The most tenured disc in my disc golf bag is gone. My magic blue-gator disc has flown into the abyss never to return. It can no longer deliver me the beautiful sound of the chain of a disc golf basket; no longer be the reason for a "Gee whiz I can't believe I just made that shot" celebration dance; no loner bring me joy. Except in memory. I'll not forget you my friend, thanks for being so good to me. We both know the good shots were all you.

I saw it coming as I released. I had the wrong trajectory. I could only watch as it disappeared over the cedar trees and towards the lake......I ran like crazy trying to see where it would land, but it was just too far....it just kept going. Maybe some lucky disc golfer will someday find its resting place and dust off the old relic and understand just what they have found, but it is not likely. I imagine it flying, gliding, slaloming through the trees, cutting a path straight to that big disc golf basket in the sky......ready for that final, magical, collision with the chain.

I'll miss you my friend. Thanks for the memories.