I have no desire to put a tattoo anywhere on my body.
Tag: dailyprompt
Wary
Apprehensive.
Pinnacle
I often felt as if I was on the outside looking in, when it came to grasping certain tenets of systematic theology. Truthfully, my eyes often glazed over the way they did in high school trigonometry class.
It must have been a seminary requirement, since I wouldn’t have chosen such a class as an elective, and one with a term-ending final paper. Ten pages, single-spaced, annotated, in which I was to summarize and share my own systematic distillation of the Christ event.
I was hoping just to get a passing grade on this project, but ended up getting a 39 out of 40– which I now realize might have been an arbitrary, tongue-in-cheek way for the instructor to let me know he liked what he read.
The last page contained this grade and a paragraph of commentary from the instructor that included what, in my view, were surprisingly kind and complimentary words. It’s one of the few items I’ve kept from those years at Gettysburg, because it represented an accomplishment, in my mind, and recognition from one of the intellects in this particular field of study.
I was and still am proud of it, even as I’ve grown to question the whole enterprise and would most likely write a very different paper if I had to do it over again, and didn’t care about graduating.
The Scenic Route
Daily writing prompt
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
Most likely car. It gives us flexibility, since we wouldn’t be in a terrible hurry. Of course, getting there by plane in a few hours, compared with a few days, has a certain appeal. Not only would we be traversing all manner of hill and dale and urban areas, needing places to stay, spending money on food and fuel and tolls to get out there, we’d have to do the same on the way back– unless we took a different route and really turned it into a lengthy sojourn.
We’ve occasionally talked about how nice it would be to take the train across Canada, maybe make our way to Alaska, but that’s a pipedream. A transcontinental excursion by car might probably maybe be more likely.
The world, their oyster
Confidence, I think, is often present in someone who’s curious and a bit fearless. I’m not sure I know or have known anyone who is always sure everything they do or try is going to come together the way they want it to. It’s more that they’re not afraid to try things, and not afraid of failure. When they set their mind to something, or when their curiosity is piqued, they go into action. They abide by a “Why not?” mantra, and little is off-limits to them.
So… three people come to mind– a sister-in-law’s husband, and an uncle of mine on my mother’s side, along with his wife– my aunt, rest her soul.
Chronic Angst
Sometimes I mope, even at my age, which is admittedly sad. Most times I’m able to recognize that the negative feelings have a shelf life, that they’re sometimes self-inflicted, and that I’m often my own worst enemy. I’ve never enjoyed a very high opinion of myself, though I can muster enough self-confidence to get me through a day.
What I have ongoing trouble with, and what often looms like a dark cloud and puts me in a sour mood, is my sense of where we’re heading as a species, given the current leadership at the top here in the U.S., and other places around the globe. There have been too many days of throwing up hands, looking skyward, and muttering under my breath– even when a certain narcissistic, egomaniacal man child was out of office.
Let’s just say that I often don’t like the odds of being able to recover from the damage being inflicted, which is why so many of my blog posts may sound like the ranting of an angry, glass-half-empty sad sack.
A certain “leader of the free world,” whose last name rhymes with “rump,” has long worn out his welcome, so I’m grateful for this outlet where I can get things off my chest and try to deal with a steady diet of lunacy that was foisted on us over a decade ago and continues unabated.
Immersed
Sometimes sitting at the piano and playing, sometimes reading a good book, or putting a blog post together. I’m totally engaged when out on the golf course, couldn’t care less about what time it is. Every now and then there will be a show on the TV that has me marveling at how quickly it went by, and the same for the rare times we actually see a movie in a theater.
Anything where boredom isn’t a factor.
Add Popcorn
The Sandlot, A Christmas Story, the first and third Indiana Jones movies, Close Encounters…, Castaway, The Help, Hidden Figures, Forrest Gump, Jaws, a couple of Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan efforts, The Princess Bride, Dumb and Dumber, The Truman Show, Dances With Wolves, Field of Dreams, Apollo 13, Dodgeball…, The Wizard of Oz, E.T., The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There are probably a few more.
I’ve never watched a TV series more than once all the way through, but I could watch Ted Lasso, Shrinking, M*A*S*H, Doc Martin, maybe Cheers, Hill Steet Blues, and ER again. Though after watching the first season of The Pitt, I’m not sure ER can measure up.
Wow, I’ve spent a lot of time in front of the television.
Probably
A little bit. Since the days of Phil Esposito, I tie my left shoe before the right one, since that was something he did when he got dressed for a game with the Boston Bruins– he always tied his left skate first.
I’m not sure where the crossover is– I’m a bit of a creature of habit, tend to follow the same routine at certain parts of the day. I don’t know if that’s superstition or just being in a rut. I’ve had black cats cross my path, occasionally walked under a ladder, stepped on the cracks in the sidewalk when we’re out getting some exercise– all without incident that I’m aware of. Though in each of those situations, I’ll admit to feeling a bit like I’m tempting fate or waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Domesticated
Certainly not a dog- they’re too laid back. I try to be laid back, but can’t pull that off for very long.
I dream about being a bird, if for no other reason than the ability to go airborne.
Probably a house cat. A creature of habit, a bit finicky, sometimes playful, sometimes affectionate, with instincts and movements that might occasionally remind one of a bigger relative in the wild.
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