MediaEnthusiast

Sometimes, shit even happens in a mini-van.

While you’re driving on a freeway.

Volunteering time you don’t really have.

Transporting a dog from a shelter to an adoption event.

In a flimsy and damn near broken crate.

… >pause to compose myself< …

And when the shit does happen?

The dog that made the stinky mess?

He might just get even more freaked out by the transportation process.

And do a somersault inside the crappy crate.

Flinging poo not only all over the inside of said crate. But all over himself. Causing it to ooze out. Into the carpet of the car being (ab)used.

… >sigh< …

AND? When the crate flips over in the dog’s panic?

It might even break open.

Releasing a shit-covered-dog-in-a-frenzy.

To run frantically inside your minivan, looking for a way out.

As you slam on your breaks. And jump the hell OUT of your almost-still-moving-vehicle.

While he continues to spread the mess from inside the crate.

To the upholstery. To the walls. To the windows. To the seats (car seats of your kids not to be excluded). To your purse. To your steering wheel.

I still don’t know how it got in my hair.

… >shudder< …

And?

It’s apparently a joke best played by God (or whomever the higher power was that did that to me .. and my minivan .. yesterday)

When you are already running late.

To meet someone about a potential job opportunity.

… !!! …

I still have no idea how I made it home.

Showered.

Blow-dried my hair.

Found new, non-shit-covered-clothes.

And made it to my meeting.

With 10 minutes to spare.

…

But next time? I’m not even going to ask. I’m bringing my best, most secure, non-break-out-able crate to make a transfer.

…

If I miss a call from you today? It’s because I’m getting the shit out of my car. Please leave a message. I’ll call you back after I wash my hands.

Beginnings and endings.

Sometimes it feels like that’s all that life has to offer.

Sunrises sparkle with glory.

Sunsets carry tinges of regret.

Photography via Michael Smith

What could have been today? Yesterday? Tomorrow?

What if? What if?? What if???

We can ask ourselves to death.

Or we can embrace what was. What is. What will be.

Truth rests within our souls. Within this moment.

Truth lives within you if you make it so.

Be what you believe.

I believe in you.

Believe in me.

BE.

“When I was a younger man, lookin’ for my pot of gold

Every where I turned the doors were closin’

It took every ounce of faith I had to keep on keepin’ on

And still I felt like I was only losin‘

“I refused then like I do now, let anybody tie me down

Lost a few good friends along the way

I was raised up poor and I wanted more

And maybe I’m a little too proud

Lookin’ back I see a kid who was just afraid

Hungry and old before his time

“Through the years I’ve known my share of broken hearted fools

And those who couldn’t choose a path worth taking

There’s nothin’ in the world so sad as talkin’ to a man

Who never knew his life was his for making

“Ain’t it ’bout time you realize it’s not worth keepin’ score

You win some, you lose some and you let it go

What’s the use of stacking on every failure, another stone

Till you find you’ve spent your while life building walls

Lonely and old before your time

“It took so long to see

That truth was all around me

“Now the wren has gone to roost, the sky is turnin’ gold

And like the sky my soul is also turnin’

Turning from the past, at last and all I’ve left behind

Could it be that I am finally learning?

“Learning I’m deserving of love and a peaceful heart

Won’t tear myself apart no more for tryin’

Tired of lyin’ to myself, tryin’ to buy what can’t be bought

It’s not living that you’re doing if it feels like dying

Cryin’, growin’ old before your time

Cryin’, growin’ old before your time”

- Ray LaMontagne

I’ve been reading “a lot” from a little book named “Heart,” given to me by my favorite advertising agency (as far as those I’ve worked with, anyway), Barkley.

Every day, as I brush my teeth in the morning, I open the book to any random page, and read both sides.

Each page hits straight to .. well .. my heart.

Today’s Reading:

Left Page: “The outward work can never be small if the inward one is great, and the outward work can never be great if the inward is small or of little worth. There is your life and there alone you live and your work lives.” – Meister Eckhart

Right Page: “Quality is not just a chart, or a standard, or a specification – it’s a state of mind, a commitment, a responsibility, a spirit. It’s a way of doing, being and living.” – Don Galer

Welcome back to work, y’all. Make it a productive and fabulous day.

I see it all the time and am sick of passively watching without saying what (unfortunately) needs to be said:

Too many parents in the United States apparently just don’t care enough to teach their kids the simplest of things.

Like, brushing their teeth, according to my friend Karina. She might be a saint, but obviously doesn’t appreciate having to do a lazy parent’s job, in addition to her responsibilities as a daycare provider:

The only thing I could ask for different is that the parents would have the kids brush their teeth BEFORE they get here in the morning….. Stink stinky

Or paying close attention/guarding them around a new person/dog/cat/animal/spirit… Let alone teaching them how to behave around a creature that is different than them, as my friend and colleague “B’” has said for years.

If we cannot teach our children the simplest of tasks, who are we to point fingers at the government for cutting back on education spending? Who are we to yell at a teacher for doing their jobs, just because we think we “know” a better way? Who are we to blame our neighbors for owning a dog and keeping it in their own yard, just because it bit your child who got in its face when you stopped paying attention?

Unless you have proven that you are fully capable, all-knowing and omnipotent, quit making excuses, start looking in the mirror and listen.

Get off your lazy ass and teach your kids right from wrong.

No one else is going to do it for you.

It’s your child.

It’s YOUR responsibility.

If you don’t, you are only creating more problems.

More of YOU.

Yeah. That’s right. I called you a problem. Got somethin’ to say about it, Lazy American?

Take. Responsibility. For. Yourselves. First.

Then, come and bitch at me for speaking my mind. Which, if you remember, is my Constitutional Right.