Yes, the Heaton family is oddly preoccupied with shoes. Or more broadly, as Heather pointed out recently, 'what goes on below the knee.' This because our oldest is not only particular about his shoes but about his socks as well. I must say, I am particular about socks also. I've been known to get so irritated with a pair of dress socks that I've gone to the store in the middle of the day to buy some more comfortable ones and thrown the old ones away.
With the kind of socks you might wear with tennis shoes (sneakers for you Yankees), Tucker and I face a divergence of opinion. This is, in fact, how it all got started this morning. On a normal day, Tucker comes down looking like this.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Jack Reacher
Gotta love the recurring Lee Child character, Jack Reacher. Here's an excerpt where Reacher had been confronted by two guys and told them if they wanted to make it a fair fight, they needed to bring more men.
“Six of you?” I said. “Is that it?”
No answer.
“That’s kind of incremental, isn’t it?” I said. “I was hoping for something a little more radical. Like the difference between an airborne company and an armored division. I guess we were thinking along different lines. I have to say, I’m kind of disappointed.”
No answer.
I said, “Anyway, guys, I’m sorry, but I have a dinner date.”
They all took a step forward, bringing them closer to each other and closer to me. Six pale faces, sallow in what little light there was.
I said, “I’m wearing a brand new shirt.”
Child, Lee (2011-09-27). The Affair (with bonus short story Second Son): A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher) (pp. 189-190). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
“Six of you?” I said. “Is that it?”
No answer.
“That’s kind of incremental, isn’t it?” I said. “I was hoping for something a little more radical. Like the difference between an airborne company and an armored division. I guess we were thinking along different lines. I have to say, I’m kind of disappointed.”
No answer.
I said, “Anyway, guys, I’m sorry, but I have a dinner date.”
They all took a step forward, bringing them closer to each other and closer to me. Six pale faces, sallow in what little light there was.
I said, “I’m wearing a brand new shirt.”
Child, Lee (2011-09-27). The Affair (with bonus short story Second Son): A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher) (pp. 189-190). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Places and Seasons
Going to Hiawassee today and they're expecting some weather up there. But once it passes, Saturday is scheduled for sunny and 73! There aren't a whole lot of places that can beat the Georgia mountains in the spring. In fact, Hiawassee is the kind of place where there isn't really a bad time to go.
In the summer, you get on a boat and hit Lake Chatuge.
In the fall, you plan a weekender around college football and drive up from Athens, if you're lucky.
In the winter, you settle in by the fire, read a good book or do a puzzle, and pull for snow.
And in the spring, you do what I'm doing. Take your fishing pole, maybe your golf clubs, and leave your worries behind in Atlanta.
That got me thinking about some of the places I've been and the ideal time to go there...
In the summer, you get on a boat and hit Lake Chatuge.
In the fall, you plan a weekender around college football and drive up from Athens, if you're lucky.
In the winter, you settle in by the fire, read a good book or do a puzzle, and pull for snow.
And in the spring, you do what I'm doing. Take your fishing pole, maybe your golf clubs, and leave your worries behind in Atlanta.
That got me thinking about some of the places I've been and the ideal time to go there...
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Stuff I Like
I ain't talkin about buttercups, and poetry, nuh uh. Or even my family or walks in the park with nature. Nah. All that is fine but today, it is unadulterated STUFF. In the spirit of good ol' American consumerism. My birthday is coming up and it is a biggie. So I thought I'd give my readers a chance to see the stuff I like. In case you're struggling with what to get me.
I see it is also Chipper's birthday and he and I are the same age. I can't help but wonder what might have been. Had I stuck with baseball instead of going with the video game industry and casual tennis, who knows how far I could've made it? My guess is, right to the top!
I digress, here's some stuff I like. Happy Shopping! If you get the shoes, I'm a size 11.
I see it is also Chipper's birthday and he and I are the same age. I can't help but wonder what might have been. Had I stuck with baseball instead of going with the video game industry and casual tennis, who knows how far I could've made it? My guess is, right to the top!
I digress, here's some stuff I like. Happy Shopping! If you get the shoes, I'm a size 11.
Friday, March 30, 2012
"Is There Any Easter Music?"
That was the question posed to me recently. Like a lot of churches, we have a 'contemporary' service and a 'traditional' service. As a planner for the traditional, there is no shortage of congregational music that one might select for an Easter service. Likewise, if you are looking for a song about the cross, (thinking maybe about Holy Week and not the Resurrection itself) we've got it covered. My only problem is choosing which songs to do and which ones to leave out. There's a deep well.
But when asked if I could think of some Easter music that would be stylistically suited for the contemporary service, I had to think about it. I know quite a bit of 'what's out there' but I really had difficulty coming up with anything that was topical and I thought would 'fit'. That got me thinking.
But when asked if I could think of some Easter music that would be stylistically suited for the contemporary service, I had to think about it. I know quite a bit of 'what's out there' but I really had difficulty coming up with anything that was topical and I thought would 'fit'. That got me thinking.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Following Up on The Hunger Games
I saw the film and finished the final book over the weekend. Where to begin?
The book got real philosophical at the end and chalk that up as a win for the author. One of my issues with the books was the relentless first-person medium. It couldn't help but make you (eventually) a little tired of the protagonist and find her a bit self-centered and her self-depracations ... hmmm ... disingenuous. Shorter version: I sure wish I had some points-of-view described belonging to some of these other very (otherwise) well-developed characters.
Then I'm constantly reminded of the target audience. Certainly not a ... ahem ... thirty-something male who was taught to examine the viewpoint of every author who ever wrote and insist that there is no such thing as a truly unbiased accounting even in fiction (brought to you by the fine folks at the University of Georgia's History Department at Leconte Hall). They also taught me better sentence structure than that but I sometimes ignore that one.
The book got real philosophical at the end and chalk that up as a win for the author. One of my issues with the books was the relentless first-person medium. It couldn't help but make you (eventually) a little tired of the protagonist and find her a bit self-centered and her self-depracations ... hmmm ... disingenuous. Shorter version: I sure wish I had some points-of-view described belonging to some of these other very (otherwise) well-developed characters.
Then I'm constantly reminded of the target audience. Certainly not a ... ahem ... thirty-something male who was taught to examine the viewpoint of every author who ever wrote and insist that there is no such thing as a truly unbiased accounting even in fiction (brought to you by the fine folks at the University of Georgia's History Department at Leconte Hall). They also taught me better sentence structure than that but I sometimes ignore that one.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Half-Marathon Play List
No, I don't expect you to care.Yes, I do expect some snide remarks related to my choice of music, my age showing, my lack of exposure to the "right" kind of music, my lack of culture, my affinity for Simon and Garfunkel, Willie Nelson, and Dwight Yoakum, etc. The fact is, I don't have a lot on my iPhone that might be considered 'running music'.
Perhaps even someone who suggests this is a lot of music so let me save you the trouble. It took me 2 hours and 57 minutes. (The next time will be better I promise)
The song that best matched my pace was "Free Falling" and the one that I might should've left off was "A Most Peculiar Man", which came right around the mid-point and might've slowed me down a little. It seemed hilarious to me when I put the list together to think about that song coming up in the middle of the race but there's actually very little that occurred during the race that even I could find funny. Certainly not a slow song about a weird guy who kills himself. Live and Learn.
Without further adieu, the half-marathon Playlist as chosen by Shuffle...
Perhaps even someone who suggests this is a lot of music so let me save you the trouble. It took me 2 hours and 57 minutes. (The next time will be better I promise)
The song that best matched my pace was "Free Falling" and the one that I might should've left off was "A Most Peculiar Man", which came right around the mid-point and might've slowed me down a little. It seemed hilarious to me when I put the list together to think about that song coming up in the middle of the race but there's actually very little that occurred during the race that even I could find funny. Certainly not a slow song about a weird guy who kills himself. Live and Learn.
Without further adieu, the half-marathon Playlist as chosen by Shuffle...
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