"Everything I Know I Learned in a Song, or: Lyrics to Live By"

Simple Man

Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day

Oh, take your time don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
Go find a woman you'll find love
And don't forget son there is someone up above

And be a simple kind of man
Be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can? Oh yes, I will

Boy, don't you worry you'll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?



I think this man had life figured out. "Be something you love and understand." I'm not sure I love who I am, much less understand who I am. You know what towels look like when they're soaking wet, and have been wrung tightly as possible? That's kinda what I feel like. It's time to figure out how to unwind, unwrinkle, and get a few things straightened out.

Crazy As Always

Took Tom to the Celtic Women concert last night. I think he enjoyed it immensely and enthusiastically. Win! We wanted to do something nice for him since he's always doing things for everyone else. Only after the concert, he said he would return the favor by taking us to the opera. I'd love to go see the opera with him. But the point was not that it would be a favor requiring another in return! *sigh* Tom is Tom, as usual. The show really was great. I've always liked Celtic Women, but wasn't as stoked about them as Tom is. It's easier to pay close attention to all the details when it's a live show though. One of the words that repeatedly came to mind was "exuberant." It's a very uplifting performance; there is nothing negative. Whether the song is heart-wrenching or joyful, it will make you feel like a better person simply for having experienced it. They played some of my favorites--the Shenandoah fiddle solo brought tears to my eyes--and I've had "The Spanish Lady" stuck in my head ever since then as well! And some new ones. I didn't count how many encores they did, but at least half a dozen. The fiddle impressed me most...I don't think I've ever heard such depth and range of emotion come from a solo instrument, a singer, or an entire orchestra. Every note clear and perfect. Amazing. Anyway, before this starts reading like a newspaper review, I'll move on, just saying that if you ever get a chance to go, even if you think you aren't interested, go anyway!

Gearing up for the Griffin Needle Challenge this weekend. The team is down to 3 of us, but I think we'll do fine. We've got some talent. :) Need to print off the research tonight, wash fabric, and round up materials. And make a packing list for everything I need to bring!

Wish us luck!

More Stolen Wisdom

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balanceaccounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a newproblem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fightefficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects!" -- RobertHeinlein

I am Broken

I stole this from Sorcha's blog:

“life will break you. nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearnings. you have to love. you have to feel. it is the reason you are here on earth. you are here to risk your heart. you are here to be swallowed up. and when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could.”
- louise erdrich, the painted drum, p. 247

In Which I Actually Find Something

Did a couple surveys in NE SD with the annoying-but-harmless coworker yesterday and Wednesday. The first was at Roy Lake; surveying for a new foot-bridge in the campground. Nothing interesting, but nice weather...crisp, cold and cloudy. Then we drove up to Sica Hollow State Park, near Sisseton. Survey for proposed hiking trail upgrades, so for the rest of that day, and the morning of the next, all I had to do was wander the hiking trails looking for artifacts. By myself, no less...the survey corridor was pretty narrow, so we only needed one person per section of trails, so it was blissfully silent and beautiful. Astoundingly beautiful, fairy-tale lovely, green catheral-esque. I want to go back and hide myself away in the trees with the deer and the streams and the birds, and maybe never come back.

My first find was the most exciting...a historic/prehistoric site...some depressions indicating structures, historic debris scattered about, a Catlinite flake (very exciting, as we don't see it very often, and the Pipestone Quarry was a sacred site), some other flakes and...two glass trade beads, and one unidentified object that is shaped like an animal claw or a drinking horn, is as glossy as glass, but makes me think instead of smooth-surfaced seashells. The hole went all the way through it, being small at the pointed end, but widening all the way to the opposite end...exactly like a drinking horn, only with a hole in the opposite end. I'm wondering if this is some type of shell that was traded as if for a bead...it made me think of dentalia shells, only is larger, and far smoother, slightly more curved. The glass beads were one white tube bead, perhaps an inch long, several mm diameter, and one tiny white seed bead.

They are the only trade beads I've ever personally found in the field. Ever. Finally, after waiting my entire archaeological career. I'm putting the day on the calendar, and Sica Hollow on my (not-really-existing) "Personal Journeys" map.

Catch Up

Oh hey, I notice that I promised more on the Flogging Molly concert. Well, I think most of the people who usually read this blog have already heard about it. Briefly...it was awesome. It can't top the Gaelic Storm concert, but it was pretty dang close on the list. We were right up front, got tossed about in the mosh pit (and out of the mosh pit!), sang along and screamed til I was hoarse, danced with strange people I've never met, and got some random guy's phone number scribbled on the back of his business card. :P Great music, great crowd, great friends to share the road trip with.

In other news...hey, it's October now, and it's cold and rainy! I love it! The job search continues as the monotony and irritation at the current job increases. I'm going to actively make this place merely a footnote in my life...it'll take me from point A to point B, and that is all it's ever going to matter. It's NOT worth the stress!

Looking forward to the Griffin Needle Challenge in a few weeks. I am about 90% sure that I can be there. We still don't know what we are going to be making, but I'll bet it's going to be good!

Last weekend had Girl's Night Out with Kaia and Sam. We brought Travis along as our "chaperone"...we were all dressed up and pretty-ful, so someone had to protect us from the freaks. Besides, he said he really need to go out and drink, he'd had a bad week. Went to eat at Ruby Tuesday, then went to see Zombieland, which was actually, surprisingly, well worth the $8. Hilarious! Met up with Bernie there, who later went out to Club David with us. Also ran into Jerry and Rick, separately. Evidently it's a popular movie! Hung out at the bar for awhile, drinking, talking, laughing, playing pool. I was dd. No one got particularly drunk, which was good! Just enough to relax and loosen up.

Tonight's plans...make zucchini bread before that last zucchini says time is up, file my Siege report (I've been trying for weeks, but have been thwarted thru various different channels!), tackle the mending pile and pack for a short 2-day survey up by Sisseton. Will be back Thursday night.