From The Ocean

Posted in Blathering | 2 Comments »

When I was in high school my friend Todd bought an ACM Spirit with a jeep engine in it. The car came equipped with a CB Radio. After talking to local Truckers, Weirdos and War Veterans, I decided it would be a good idea to have a CB in my home. I bought 2 radios from a dude named T.J. His dad was a trucker and had radios to spare, so he sold me 2 for 100$ I went with my Dad to buy a power supply for the radios and as he spoke to the sales reps, I had to duck out to puke in front of the store. I violently started to vomit, and couldn’t make it to anywhere discreet. I puked in the street as my Dad finished talking to the reps (who could here me puking). Sadly that store didn’t have a power supply – so we tried another and were successful. The pastor of my church helped me out and installed the antenna – he hooked his kids up at their house (they were also friends of Todd and I). I hooked up the devices and began talking to Todd from home while he was in his car (at various coffee shop parking lots).

Dialing into a channel and talking with strangers was a lot of fun.

This past year I have been doing a bit of study on Zen Buddhism. I came across a few different Zen masters during my readings and became fond of a hermit named Stonehouse. Stonehouse lived in a small home on a mountain and made due with the food that he cultivated from his own garden, and the surrounding bounty of nature. I recently bought a translation of his poems and talks (all made possible by the translation efforts of a scholar named Red Pine) and I recommend it very much.

His poems say much with few words and are meant to stir contemplation. Below is one of my favorites from the book:

SCORPION TAILS AND WOLF HEARTS OVERRUN THE WORLD
EVERYONE HAS A TRICK TO GET AHEAD
BUT HOW MANY SMILES IN A LIFETIME
HOW MANY MOMENTS OF PEACE IN A DAY
WHO KNOWS A TOPPLED CART MEANS TRY ANOTHER TRACK
WHEN TROUBLE STRIKES THERE IS NO TIME FOR SHAME
THIS OLD MONK ISN’T JUST TALKING
HE’S TRYING TO REMOVE YOUR OBSTACLES AND CHAINS

This was less than a year ago. I have since gotten a job that allows me to feed my cats.

As long as they have food; they keep licking me.

Fair trade.

Thanks to Barker for this hookup of lore!