A Bloy and his Blog

What’s the best thing that happened to you this year?

That was one of the topics of discussion at the Thanksgiving dinner table last Thursday. It turned into a very philosophical thought for me. When I first heard the question I realized there were quite a few things that could have been the best thing that happened to me this year. Sometimes it’s easy to let negative things overshadow positive ones. But having to consider one event being the best makes me realize just how many positive things have happened to me this past year.

So, what did I choose as the best? I’m still thinking about that.

Thanks to me rushing to get a home improvement project done and a little accident involving my left thumb and my drill, I had a fun filled trip to the emergency room last night. After my thumb was stitched up, I had spent a total of three and a half hours there. Weeeee! Needless to say, I probably won’t be doing any home improvement projects until I get this big purple bandage off of my thumb. Yes, I have a purple bandage. It’s actually quite fashionable and a better choice over the hot pink gauze they also had in the cabinet.

So there I was going through some stuff as I was packing yesterday and I came across my high school yearbooks. I couldn’t resist opening the first one and browsing through it. It’ll just take a few minutes, I said to myself. After I had finished looking through all three an hour had passed and a rush of memories were flooding my brain. Sometimes I wish I could go back to high school with the knowledge of life that I now have. I also wish I could go back and visit those good friends I had that I lost touch with so long ago. Here’s to my classmates. I hope you’re doing well.

I feel a little obligated to post something today, although I certainly don’t want to be part of the media onslaught of disturbing accounts and images from one year ago.

I suppose each of us must remember, mourn, contemplate and pray in our own way. That’s what I choose to do. My father told me that he will do things today that feed his soul and touch his heart. Good advice. I’ve always found solace in music and I’ll be listening to a lot of it today. Here’s a quote from a song I know I’ll be listening to:

Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.
Imagine all the people, living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.

- John Lennon, Imagine

Here it is September already. Where does the time go? In a way I’m glad — September is one of my favorite months. The days are usually warm and the nights are usually cool. This month brings the anticipation and excitement of a new football season (Go Badgers!). September is also the time all the fresh produce really starts to be available. Yesterday at my favorite local farmer’s market, I picked up the best bag full of corn, green beans (I love to eat those raw), summer squash, carrots and tomatoes so far this year. There’s just nothing like having fresh, locally grown vegetables on your table. I also saw acorn and butternut squash at the market for the first time this season. Definitely a sign that fall is on it’s way.

It’s been pretty warm and muggy here lately. Last night I decided to wait until late to get out on my bicycle and get some exercise (until it got cooler). This was about 10pm. It was amazing how many other people were out so late jogging, biking and walking their dogs. I even saw whole families with young children riding around the neighborhood on their bikes. It was a little surreal — it almost felt like I was living in a town full of vampires.

After my last entry ranting about cell phones, this joke is pretty appropriate.

Update: The eaglet in the eagles nest I mentioned a few weeks ago is getting bigger everyday. Today was the first time I was able to catch the eagles feeding the eaglet.