Business as usual. Usual is business. I like to dance.

One thousand stories...

The taste in my mouth has grown old. I am ready. I first glimpsed, then starred into those eyes. It was if one thousand stories were thrown into the abyss, never to be told. It was ironic. Here I was, waiting, yet the walls never came crashing down. It was if I were seeing life flash before me, but it wasn't mine. Have I not lived? Have I not loved? Is this some cruel joke? Give me my pen. Give me my thought. I shall tell it once again...recording it all this time...the mundane, the righteous, nothing able to escape my grip. Wait! What was that? A fleeting memory? The mind held to it only but for a split second. A complete vision...yes, I saw it vividly. Where's my pen?

It's gone.

The Doorway Pt5 fin

He peers through the lace curtains that line the frosted glass, hoping for just a glance...
Yet he has no way to enter.

As the sun begins to set, he turns his journey back from whence he came...
Only then does the door open.
Yet he is to anxious to enter.

The Doorway Pt4

With the most care, he gently knocks on the elegantly designed doorknocker...
Yet he has no way to enter.

Today

Many people live their lives looking at the future, or worse, looking at the past. Fools, they are. Today is my life, and when tomorrow arrives, then so shall it be.

The Doorway Pt3

Reflecting the rays of light from the setting sun, it seems to invite him in.
Yet he has no way to enter.

The Doorway Pt2

Marked with etchings of grandeur, he marvels at the wonders which must be beyond...
Yet he has no way to enter.

The Doorway Pt1

He stands at the magnificent doorway seen from afar...
Yet he has no way to enter.

Why can't

Why can't two grown drunk people act like two grown drunk people?

Puzzles

As I look through the pieces that lie on the floor,
I can't help but feel that some of the more intricate ones are missing.

I dump the remaining ones out to be sorted through,
no longer to be hidden by the box they once were in.

I continue to push my hands threw the huge pile of individuality on the floor,
gently touching the side of this piece, and the tip of that one.

I rotate around the completed portion of my work, looking for a different perspective,
A new angle, unseen before, that will motivate my search for the next piece, spurring me onward.

It seems as if I can almost put my finger on the piece that would complete me, my puzzle,
yet it always is just slightly larger, or shaped a shade differently then what is needed.

None the less, I try each piece that resembles that which is necessary. No matter how much effort is used,
the piece continually bucks at every attempt made, and finally, after much effort and grief, the piece is abandoned.

I pick up the next piece, only to go through the same lingering process.
Then the next, and again the next piece, until finally the piece I hold slides effortlessly into the void that I have become so focused to fill.

I encourage myself to continue this pursuit, my obsession, by looking at the completed portions of the puzzle.
Seeing the emerging beauty, this flawless picture of happiness, this absolute, is the ultimate drive.

Standing back to admire, I think of how empty this puzzle had been, and how much further it has to go.
Smirking, I begin to search for the next piece of my life, knowing it has just as an important of a role as all those before it.

Cold Mountain

Graveyard Fields
Originally uploaded by boscage

This is a picture of the falls at Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Graveyard Fields is at the base of Balsam Gap, and the entrance to a great backpacking trail heading up to Shinning Rock (Cold Mountain). I've been up there more times than I can remember, camping in a grassy saddle between a couple of peaks. Their are several different trails that you can take to actually get to the peak of Cold Mountain; straight over the peak of Balsam or along an old lumber rail bed. Yep, even the rail bed can be challenging because of the rocky terrain, but the elevation climb isn't quite so drastic.

If you've not been to the top of Cold Mountain, I recommend it as it has many beautiful views, great camping spots, and you can pretend like you were in a Civil War era movie.

This past weekend

brian and the suzuki
Originally uploaded by zen♫♪

This past weekend zen and I took a nice ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We headed out around 11am ish (probably would have been earlier, but I'm a late sleeper) and got back around 4pm ish. On the way up the parkway, we took it nice and easy, making several stops along the way to take pictures. zen is quite exceptional with a camera, so I took the opportunity to learn a tip or two (I'll be posting them to Flickr soon). The ride was a blast on the way back down the mountain, keeping a fairly nice pace, with lots of twists and turns.

Here's a pic of me during one of our stops with my new bike, a 2006 Suzuki SV650. Her name is "Suzie", and I'm finally in love ;]

Stidham's heading home

The digits?
Originally uploaded by boscage

Talked with my buddy Stidham (pictured) and he said he's coming home for a bit. Stidham joined the US Army a few years back, right as Bush and world politics started to heat up. He's spent a tour in Iraq, and is just now getting back from a tour in Afghanistan. I'm looking forward to seeing him. The picture is from our expeditions last time he was in town to visit (after he got back from Iraq). His permanent duty station is in Germany.

In other news, ok, I got nothing. Let's see if we can keep this blog going (I usually teeter off after a short period).

Cheers!