Three Tunes

Posted on 4:19 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

The prompt is three songs from my past that are important in my life.  So here we go.

Amazing Grace  is a song from my childhood that has melded with my life.  My earliest memories include this song.  My father was a Baptist minister and church at least three times a week was the norm.  This song was often on the lips of the choir and congregation.  Eventually Amazing Grace was an important song during my hippie years (which have yet to end).
Amazing Grace has become an emblematic African American spiritual and I find it ironic that it was written by John Newton, a slave trader.  

Share the Land by The Guess Who was almost my theme song in my 20s.  I lived in a commune and believed in the dream of peace and love.  I still believe in the dream and I still love the song.

Apostrophe by Frank Zappa (I cheated, this is an album) 
Somewhere along the way I was exposed to Frank Zappa and this album made me smile and still makes me smile.  It became my family theme song(s) when my children were young and is still one of my favorites to this day. It may still my theme song(s).  It has healing properties for me.When I'm down I can play this album and feel better. 

Background:
This is my third post for Writing 101.

The prompt:
Writing 101: Commit to a Writing Practice

Today, celebrate three songs that are significant to you. F\or your twist, write for fifteen minutes without stopping — and build a writing habit.

See what else I’m doing.
Follow me on twitter: jr cline
My Instagram profile

Elsewhere

Posted on 7:42 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

If time and space didn’t matter and I could suddenly find myself somewhere else, where would it be?
 
Elsewhere

According to Merriam-Webster the adverb elsewhere means, “in or to another place”.  The Google search definition of the pronoun elsewhere says, “some other place”. 

Obviously elsewhere is not a particular geographic location.  It is just "some other" place.  For my purposes,  elsewhere is more a state of mind.  Of course, on some occasions, it is a place. My elsewhere is a quest.  It is being lost on purpose, exploring my own understandings, awarenesses, and feelings. It’s a journey into and through what I fear, confronting what holds me back.  It is also the documenting of that journey. 

How do I get there?  Jump!
I get there by spending time with loving, encouraging, positive, creative, intelligent people.  I get there through mindfulness and meditation.  I get there by being accountable for my words and actions.  I get there by valuing diversity, moving away from labels, letting go, and embracing what is before me.
Is there a map? How do I find the way there?  My edges show the way.  When I bump into my edge it is time to push past it into elsewhere.  

What does elsewhere look like?  It looks like running water.  It looks like the breeze.  It looks like growth.  It looks like change.  It looks like fear that is being challenged.
 
Life is growth and learning and change.  The cessation of growing, learning, and changing is death.  The body may still be alive, but the person inside has died. 

Background:
This is my second post for Writing 101. 

The prompt:
A Room with a View (or Just a View)

We’re all drawn to certain places. If you had the power to get somewhere — anywhere — where would you go right now? For your twist, focus on building a setting description.

See what else I’m doing
Follow me on twitter: jr cline
My Instagram profile

Chinese Fried Chicken and Waffles

Posted on 4:00 PM by jr cline | 0 comments

Twenty minutes of free form writing.  How odd is that?  It’s a prompt for Writing 101.  I’m not much of a writer.  I’m more of a photographer.  Any writing I do is usually centered around the photos I take.
  
Then there is religion and philosophy.  I’ve very interested in that.  I’ve studied it for years.  I was searching for ”the truth”.  That is something else I find odd.  Apparently “the truth” is found inside ourselves.  What do you think?  I’m still not sure what I think about “truth”. 
 
My house has been for sale for a while.  Someone is coming to look at it on Thursday.  The window is cracked.  The repairman was supposed to come today.  His company was supposed to call.  Neither happened.  I’m mad but ok with it.  If you tell me you are going to do something, just do it.  That isn’t too hard is it?    I will find someone else.  At least the grass is cut.  I’d like to think it is the last time this season but I’m pretty sure it isn’t. There is chopping, hacking, toting, stacking, and burning to do.  I’m planning on going to the circus on Thursday too.  What kind of circus is held inside a small town’s recreation center?  I guess I’ll find out.   
 
I do like New Orleans.  The Clover Grill has chicken and waffles.  That could be tasty.  I like the Audubon Zoo and Aquarium, Bourbon Street, The French Quarter, the Mississippi River, the architecture, the culture, the food, and myriad of other things I find there.
 
Fall is pleasant.  Winter sucks.  I don’t do well in the cold, I survive.  I thrive in warm weather. 
 
Posting this is optional according to the prompt.  I don’t know if I will.  It isn’t that I am ashamed of what I have written or shy about sharing what I do.  It’s more about typing it all up because I hand wrote the original.    Oh well, just takes time.  Life comes down to the choices we make in the present.  Each choice effects and creates the next.  
Chinese fried chicken and waffles will have to do. 
 
See what else I’m doing.
Follow me on twitter: jr cline
My Instagram profile

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)