MindBlog Archives
 May 1 - 31, 2008

A much better place is a good place to hide
05.31.08 - 10:16 am (CT)
Having my druthers, I prefer a much better place… it's definitely more comfortable, both physically and mentally, which makes it a great place to hide. Because you look to be living comfortably, those around you don't easily suspect that you're really hiding… and what better place to hide your hiddenness than in the open. I think I've probably lived most of my life that way… with me, it's what-you-see-is-what-you-get, but with the added bonus of what-you-can't-see-you-also-get.

Even here at MindBlog, I frequently (like now) am writing both on and between the lines, where the few that possibly really know me catch my allegorical drift.

Did you catch that? No? Oh well… maybe next time.

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Somewhere out there, a benevolent billionaire?
05.24.08 - 10:01 pm (CT)
Sometimes I wonder whether there is, somewhere out there, such a thing as a benevolent billionaire… I feel a song coming on, but I'll try to just hum it to myself. The thought of some nice, rich guy out there who is looking for, not

… we'll all be somewhere out there singing along with Linda and James… out where dreams come true.

a charity case, but a case for charity in the use of a bit of his capital, well, one should never stop dreaming. And it is a dream, just a flight of fancy, it's something to make light with, a bit of whimsy, to ponder that beneath the pale moonlight there is such a whimsical gentleman… someone's thinking of me… yes, it's pure whimsy.

I seem to be getting beyond humming and wouldn’t mind if you joined me in a whimsical note or two — we'll all be somewhere out there singing along with Linda and James… out where dreams come true.

Commonalities of the oddities of life
05.20.08 - 7:43 am (CT)
It isn't odd at all that the oddities of life are, well, odd, but is it just me who thinks that they are all too common? Somehow, I think not because, and I'm probably using this quote in a slightly different context, but as John Donne (1572-1631) said in his Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII*, "no man is an island". To me, the commonalities in life are quite similar to the oddities of life and, in fact, one of the commonalities is also one of the oddities.

I could go on, but why bother when it would probably just cause more confusion (and speculation as to my sanity) than I already have at this point. If it helps at all (or at least eases your mind), this passing thought has to do with the dominoes falling at about the same time as Rome is deliberating… there you go, there you have it, there you are.

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Shorter drive and no view of a lake... yet
05.14.08 - 6:00 pm (CT)
Starting tomorrow, my drive will be cut by 60%, which also means, thank goodness, my travel expenses will be down the same amount… it will end up being the same job, just at a much closer location. As luck would have it, one opportunity (not unexpectantly and definitely not regretfully) closed, but another opened which is just 30 miles and $16 in gas and tolls away from home.

This also means I have told my realtor at the old location to quit looking for the view of the lake (or any other view for that matter) I had hoped for. However, just because I told her to quit looking there doesn't mean I've given up hope of ever finding my place on a lake, because I haven't — no harrumphs here — I'll just find another one.

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Mom's Chili for Mother's Day
05.11.08 - 10:08 am (CT)
In honor of my mother, I made her Chili last night… it's really Chili Mac… and it's best as a leftover, which makes it today's dinner. As is customary, I am serving it up with saltine crackers with butter on them, which some use as a scoop to partake in this traditional Harper family dish. Personally, I like to eat a forkful (or two) of chili and then follow it up with a bite of buttered saltine, however I do understand the need of some to down both at the same time. It is also best served with a very cold glass of milk, at least that's my personal preference, however others may quite understandably prefer an ice-cold Pepsi®.

However you like it, I made a kettle full of the delectable stuff, so anyone in the neighborhood who would like to join me for the feast, just show up… with more saltines.

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Who are these men?
05.08.08 - 12:58 pm (CT)
50 years separates these two pictures, but it shouldn't be too hard for anyone to figure that these two are related, as in the old saying, "Like father, like son"…

Robert H. Harper My Dad

James R. Harper My Brother

They are two of the men in my life — one I knew for less than 11 years, and the other, for over 55 — and lucky for me on both counts, because both are the epitome of what God intended men to be… they are real and truly good men. I am proud to call one my dad and the other my brother.

Unauthorized installations
05.01.08 - 9:10 pm (CT)
I come home tired as, well, I can't say, but I am WORN OUT and what do I find but a new toolbar on my browser and a bunch of another-I-can't-say unknown email garbage in my MailWasher. Talk about irritating… I just spent a half an hour trying to get rid all of that, that stuff… well, the downloading perpetrator is going to have to remove this latest unauthorized garbage from my computer no matter how good he (and it is a he) thinks it is.

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