... I was talking to the duck

**crickets**

almost makes me want to run out and buy a Honda

I loved this song when it first came out in the early 80s. Glad to hear it make a comeback.

long ago in the sweet used to be

I'm packing because I am moving. Going through my things, deciding what to keep and what to give away, I get nostalgic. Old cards, printed emails, photos, gifts, a random article of clothing I haven't seen worn in a long time. I start thinking about the people I have cared about. And those who have cared about me. And then I start to think about those who mattered to me, but who probably never knew.

In our lives, there will most likely come a time when we find out that we mattered more to someone than we previously realized. The newly discovered awareness is lovely ... at first. But then come the questions: why didn't I know? would it have mattered if I did? does anyone else feel this way? why do I still have this Richard Marx t-shirt?

And then you think about the people who mattered more than you let on. Maybe it was the guy from high school - the one who told you that you had the sweetest eyes he'd ever seen. Or the guy you talked to for hours that night at the bar in Burlington - the artist on his way to NYC - who you hope made it. Or the classmate who told on the other kids when they were being mean to you in the 6th grade and who would end up facing the wrath of the mean clique for the rest of the year, but whom you never had the chance to thank?

There is a place in my mind where those people still exist. The ones who had a quick and lasting impact on my life. They cross my mind and I wonder where they are, what they are doing. And I wonder if they remember me or the moment as clearly as I do.

The reality is that most of them probably have no idea the impact they had on my life or that they still cross my mind. Which makes me wonder about the lives I may have touched ... and if I'll ever know.

Wouldn't it be nice to know?

we built this city!

Kindly take a moment to identify the song or songs which you feel qualify as humanity's most powerful, horrendous, ear-burrowing and painful earworm.

Please share them here.

somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying, you’ll find the bright places where boom bands are playing

I wrote the following email to a friend as a way of adding humor to what has been 5 very difficult years. But after I finished, I felt really proud of what I had accomplished. And so I am sharing it here. I can finally admit, without any justification or embarrassment, that I had a heck of a lot of learning to do. I am happy to say I've made considerable progress.

---------

This May, I will be graduating with a five year degree in Letting Go and Letting Be. Classes completed include:

Codependency 101
Obsessive Tendencies 102
Intro to Letting Go
Emotional Intimacy 101
Basic Drawing 101

Repeating Patterns 202
Getting in touch with your inner child 202
Letting Go: building on your foundations
Intermediate Drawing 201
Belly Dancing - Beginner

Making peace with your childhood
Love can't be earned: so stop trying - [lab]
Letting Go (when you want to hold on) - [prerequisites: Intro to letting go and building on your foundations]
The Buddha and You: accepting and embracing reality
Mixed Media Art Studies

Self Love: your most important relationship
A Rose is a Rose - [group discussion/interactive]
Let it Go and Let it Be (what Paul McCartney's Mom already knew)
Falling in Love with what is -- and seeing what isn't
Finding your Purpose - [meditation practice]
Belly Dancing - Intermediate

Listening to your Heart - Advanced
Happiness: finding within what you thought you were without
Live, Laugh, Play: finding your joy
Music Appreciation: why the compilation CD is the root of all evil
Inward Journey/Outward Bound: inner pilgrimage [thesis]
Letting Go: when one door closes, but no other opens -- learning how to create your own door.

Graduation Ceremony: May 10, 2008. Which coincidentally happens to be my 35th birthday!