The Dickean Universe

I just didn't finish watching "Timecrimes" because I was too weirded out by the overdubbing. You knew the film was in Spanish, but they had dubbed the English in so well that the lips seemed to actually say English words, but the voices sounded ethereal as if recorded in a large church. I would much rather have had subtitles.
The movie did kind of get me thinking about our perception of reality and all of the movies based on Philip K. Dick books that mainly question our senses. If you can't trust your eyes, ears, and memory, just how firmly can you grasp our world? I loved his books and need to go back and find the ones I missed. You should read "Ubik" if nothing else. I believe the movie "Vanilla Sky" with Tom Cruise is the closest plot to that book.
Back in what I believe to be "real life", I am having such a time. It is as if things I know very well have been transported to some strange alternate world. My computer is familiar, as are some of the people around me, but instead of working in this really cool school for counter culture kids, I am in a whisper-quiet bank environment. My shoes actually whisk on the carpet as I head to the restroom and encounter these other strange people that give me the "what are you doing here?" look. Looks....lots of strange looks, and strained smiles. Nervous laughter and a parking lot that seems to say, I'm almost full right now, but who knows about tomorrow?
All the time I'm thinking, I'm turning into a banker. In a week, it will be hard to remember days of gross-out humor, fart jokes, and banter about basketball games. Now, there is the computer screen, lunch, and the restroom, nothing more.
Another book comes to mind: The man in the grey flannel suit. I need to find that book fast...

The View From 55

Today is 55 years on the planet for me. I have the distinct pleasure of enjoying life much longer than I ever thought possible. My son took photos of me surfing this weekend and while I have never reached the place where I amazed myself or anyone else with my skills, the fact that I'm still there is plenty for me. Life is good today. I have reached my goals in most things in life. If there is one thing that makes me happiest, it is that I feel I have achieved a balance. I'm finding that this is much more important to me than having much more of each aspect of life.
I remember a big disappointment was that I never got to live on the beach, something I thought was necessary. But here I am going over Dusty's photos from last Saturday, thinking that having a son that would patiently sit for hours to get a few pix of his old man getting some waves....man, that beats living on the beach any day....

Breakfast With The Bird

Perhaps it is merely contentment, but the words aren't just pouring out these days. I'm sitting here with Bogey, my Blue and Gold mccaw, sharing our breakfast of walnuts and banana. I'm the one doing the typing while he investigates anything in the kitchen that may possibly have changed since yesterday. Life seems to be on an even keel and the little things in life are just that and nothing more.
The biggest things coming up are counting my 55th year on the planet and the job move to a new remote building. I may have been concerned about those things in the past, but right now they since less important than the next piece of walnut.
Spring looks like it has decided to become a roaring hot Florida summer already and my thoughts turn toward the really important things in life; music and surfing. Like my family, they have stayed with me and I cling to the idea that I'll be playing the Doors in an Old Folk's home someday and pulling out a bar of surfwax to sniff and recall my days of gliding down the face of some glassy wave.
There is a saying, "If you used to be a surfer, then you never were." As a surfer who spent his life inland, I think I understand that saying as well as anyone could...

The Salt Water Buddha

I can't say why, because I really don't like reading about religion, but I do like reading books about adventures in life and how someone can learn from that. I'm reading the Salt Water Buddha now, which is one young man's journey of self-discovery. He runs away from home to live and surf in Hawaii and learns along the way that the journey itself is the important part. This is either the main recurring theme in books like this or the one I always pick up on. It started out with me saying, "one day I will be retired and boy will I have fun traveling and seeing the world then!". I later looked at the world of declining fortunes and realized that I might be lucky to keep a job at Home Depot so I can have medical insurance when I'm that old. So, I go on the adventures now and have little bits of my retirement in advance.
The other main theme is the quest I seem to be on to find that bit of wisdom that will finally make everything come together and make sense. From my readings (and even Kung Fu Panda!) I can already figure that the wise old man I am seeking will end up being me.
I have actually started getting some of this into my daily life. I now truly understand that surfing is not the 3 seconds on the face of a wave or the number of waves I rode in a particular session. Surfing starts with me pulling the bar of wax from my drawer and smelling it, driving over the causeway and getting my first whiff of saltwater, and even the struggle through the whitewater to get outside. The trick is loving every single part of it. You really don't have to be that smart to know this, you just need to be reminded once in a while...at least I do.

A Big Thank You

As I look around and take in all of the bad things in our world right now, there is one thing I know for sure; it is never ALL bad or good. I used to think of something going wrong and believing that the whole day was shot, or if enough bad things happened, the whole year was shot. And you know, I'm kinda getting that sort of news these days. 2009 sucks and all we can do is hope for 2010 to be better.
However, our gig at the 'Flats for Cinco de Mayo, was one of those shining moments that I seek in life: nothing but fun. We had so many people that if any one else had come, they probably left because there was nowhere to sit and the line for food and drink was so long. Among those that stayed, we had family, friends, long lost friends,well-wishing neighbors from our community, and really nice strangers.
They say you can't really seek happiness, but a few beers and good times with all of those people put a large smile on my face. If that wasn't what I was seeking, then it could never be found.
Thanks guys, for making absolutely sure that no one could ever say that 2009 was all bad....