Six-Word Memoirs: On Love and Heartbreak

seeing as it's almost valentine's day, i thought i'd at least throw out a spark of love, even if it is just spawned from commercialism at it's finest. i recently came across a magazine that was entirely dedicated to the idea of summing up your love life in six-word phrases. the concept sounded a bit difficult and far-fetched, until i read through some examples. below are a few that entertained my perhaps smaller than average adult male brain, along with one that i wrote (can you guess which one?). i was pleased to see that these phrases, or 'memoirs'; as their called, did not focus solely on love, but also the pain that it can cause. i think for so many of us, for all the great memories we may have, an equal amount of people may be able to recall a painful love at a moments notice. here are a few examples, and mine...enjoy!

"he sees the me i don't"
"for the children, i remain his"
"i finally threw away his toothbrush"
"our prison visitations were surprisingly romantic"
"red-eye. him window. me aisle. love"
"if i get chlamydia, blame myspace"
"will government ever let us marry"
"i dated wrong. i married right"
"not him again! said my mother"
"silently suffered his facial hair experiments"
"three marriages. two divorces. ba .333"
"what do you want for dinner"
"if only he wasn't a Republican"
"tried men. tried women. like cats"
"leap of faith. Sh*t, no parachute"
"inevitably, his obituary didn't mention me"
"we "I do" -ed. Then he didn't"
"two marriages. the wrong one died"
"best family ever. thank you, match.com"
"marriage, children, empty nest: Now what"

what's your six-word love/heartbreak memoir? come on, you know you can think of at least one! click on the comments section right below this and leave yours there. check back later to see what others had to write!

Salt Marsh Diary

"at the bend in the river a flock of mallards is dozing in tall grass that is winter-bleached and battered by snow, by wind, by high water. worn thin, there is little cover in it but it is all the mallards have and must make do. in these river narrows, in the tie-downs of the straights and shallows, their only true refuge is day sleep. the pulse drops, the body stops except for the low breath and the least heat it needs to keep on living. even the sun is cold. and the mallards hold.

they are an average flock, these mallards. still as the ice grounded to the bank. closest are four drakes, laid up with their bills tucked to the crook at the back of their necks. positioned this way their heads are a virtual black so dark it is not a color but a gap. sensing my presence the drakes, in consort, look up. and a curious thing. that gap fills with an iridescence, so brilliant, reminiscent more of a scarab's shell than the soft hue of feathers.

it is the angle between the shafts. heads bent, the feathers spread. light falls straight in and vanishes. only when the drakes unfurl themselves do the feathers relax and close and the full green flash of plumage, bright as a lighthouse, beacons forth. the object of all this stands between them, a single hen, invisible as an afterthought. movement reveals her and (now that she is standing) so do her very orange feet. the color is a sign that breeding is imminent, though the choosing is not yet complete. it is for her the drakes risk themselves this way and hide as best they can when they sleep. for the need runs deep and the mallards stay.

i want to lie down beside them there on the spongy bank, nestle my face into the warm hollows of their wings and feel the pulse and listen to them breathe. but i must leave. not out of fear nor because i am riven by the frigid air and not because i want to. i am comforted here. as if i belong here. as i am sure we used to before we knew what we know and wish we did not."

this was written by mark seth lender, and i stumbled upon it yesterday evening while flipping radio stations. the first thing that struck me was the beauty with which it was written; and subsequently spoken; along with the detailed imagery and realistic language used. it really was a work of beauty…until the reader spoke the final line: “as i am sure we used to before we knew what we know and wish we did not.” that’s when the wheels started to spin in my head, and it became more than just a literary work. what do we know now? what do we wish we did not know? i’m sure we all have very different answers to that one…i know i can think of a few. what do you know now that you wish you did not?

transcript courtesy of living on earth on pri, public radio international.

www.loe.org

Graffiti: Illegal, or Art?

living in san antonio, i think most of us are used to seeing graffiti sprayed upon walls of old buildings, overpasses, street signs and fences. and i'm going to speak out of generalities right now and say that i assume most people would rather not have to look at it... most people see it as an eye-sore and a form of vandalism. but what about those cases when graffiti is allowed, when it's encouraged, when people get paid good money to display their artistic talents with the aid of an aersol can? what then? what changes?

take for instance, this example (click here). now, normally you wouldn't find 800 year old castles covered in spray painted images, but that's exactly what happened at kelburn castle in scotland. what are your thoughts now? art, or an abomination?

Walkability

today, kyle and i walked from his house to the alamo, and back. it was 8.5 miles. it was fun. i'd do it again. below are a few photos from our adventure.

you know, it's funny how many things you see when you walk that you completely overlook when you're flying by in your car. everyone should walk more often and take a look around. in fact, there's even a web site dedicated to showing potential homebuyers the walkability of their future neighborhoods...how easily accessible the home is to certain things like grocery stores, restaurants, schools and parks. click here for the website. my house rates as a 31 out of 100...car-dependent. how nice would it be to live somewhere that was convinent, not car-dependent? i will know that joy soon enough, i hope. check out how walkable your home is, and enjoy the photos.

our first stop: shag the salon

for those of you wondering, you're in luck; yes, it is for rent! i bet the walkability of this place is off the charts!

oh yeah, our future's in good hands

gotta love the crane. where there's a crane, there's something going UP!

long legs, or short shins?

our meal fit for a king. gotta love gm steakhouse across from alamo plaza. how many places can you get a steak, baked potato, toast, salad and iced tea for $5.99? that's what i thought.

inside the men's restroom at gm steakhouse. what is it? a cigarette machine? a paper towel dispenser? a monument to efficiency?

why do you have to cross a barbed wire gate in order to take piano lessons?

kyle thought it would be funny to drop 1000 ping pong balls from this overpass during rush hour traffic. ladies and gentelmen, a church elder!

i'm not sure what's worse: this ladies matching blue suit / hat combo, or the fact that she took this 'professional' picture with her dog. i don't care what she's selling, i'll take 2!

nothing really clever to say here, i just like train tracks.

oh sweet, the newly designed 1974 peugeot 205 gti's are in!

isn't it great to see creatures in their natural habitat?!

cool crest...world's finest minature golf

donkey...with wagon

donkey...without wagon

I Need Words / Surely We Can Change

I AM

i am a son, a husband, a friend and a dog owner.

society would say i am an architect.
the church would tell you i am a Christ follower

i am a former womanizing, selfish, insecure alcoholic.
i am changed.

some might say i am a leader, funny, immature, a follower, entertaining, obnoxious, calm, irrational, patient, steady, a success, content, cheap, a great friend, a failure, giving, someone who left them behind.

i say i have been all of these things.

i am excited too see what the future holds.

i am sometimes afraid of failure. afraid that i will fail as a husband, as a provider and someday as a father. i am sometimes afraid that the urge to taste another drink again becomes more than i can bear. i am hopeful that these fears never subside.

i am sometimes forgetful that God will provide the strength for me. i am sometimes too self-reliant.

i am eager for what today may bring.

Plumbing

so, i fixed the toilet in our bathroom yesterday… for the past month or so, there’s been a minor defect with it. it started leaking water out of the reservoir into the bowl at a very slow but steady pace. over time, that trickle increased until finally we had to physically turn off the water at its wall connection after every use, to avoid a hefty water bill. well, as you can imagine, this created quite an annoyance. i had fixed the problem of the water leaking, but it wasn’t a permanent or ideal solution.

finally last night, i had enough of the hassle, so i went down to the local home improvement superstore and purchased the $3.67 replace part. an hour later, the problem was fixed, the toilet was working up to desired standards and i once again had a very happy wife (between you and me, i think she found my extraordinary plumbing skills very attractive).

isn’t it funny how simple things we take for granted in our everyday routines suddenly become an obstacle when they don’t meet our desires and expectations? isn’t it also funny that it took me over a month to purchase a $3 part to remedy the situation. but hey, like i said, i fixed the toilet in our bathroom yesterday…