The Graphics of Life

 “It’s not as black and white as it seems.” That statement can really cause a logical brain to struggle. A logical brain finds the patterns, sees the connections and tends to follow the rules much more than break them. To a logical brain, things either are, or they aren’t. You either do, or you don’t. You either will, or you won’t. There’s right and there’s wrong. It’s kind of like going to the eye doctor; 1 or 2? 1 or 2? There’s always a clear option when making a decision. Now, I will concede that there are tymes when doing the wrong thing for the right reason can factor into a situation. In the movie National Treasure, Ben Gates had to steal the Declaration of Independence in order to protect it from someone who wanted to steal it, but who didn’t respect the document. Ben Gates did what was wrong in order to do what was right…and when defending his action said, “it’s upside down and backwards”. In truth, it was the gray area between where black and white meet. Graphic design...

A few months ago, I traveled with some cousins to the funeral for our uncle. While the circumstances of our trip were not pleasant, the tyme together was enjoyable. One cousin brought two of her children along for the trip. As we traveled up the interstate, we chatted about this and that, often reminiscing of our childhood and our usually harmless, but often comical antics. At one point on our journey, we passed a sign that read, “Molly Pitcher Highway”. The sign sparked a conversation and prompted the four adults in the vehicle to admit we knew little, if anything, about Molly Pitcher. It turned out, however, that my cousin’s son had recently read about and did a report on Molly Pitcher. His mother encouraged him to tell us what he learned. He informed us that Molly Pitcher helped during The Revolutionary War by carry water to soldiers. We began contemplating the circumstances of the event and asked some qualifying questions. I mean really, the lady has a highway named after her, so y...

  I went on a bike ride today, up and down the many hills in my county. You see, today was supposed to be the first wind-still day we’ve had in what seems like years, but what in reality is only a couple weeks. About three seconds into my ride, I knew whoever had forecasted the weather had been mistaken. Still, as the wind made its presence obvious, I pedaled on. The route I chose had several large and long hills on it and, since the wind decided to be my foe instead of my friend, I began to feel a fatigue that I don’t normally feel on my rides, and it started early. Determined not to be defeated, I kept pushing forward, but the wind had the same determination and the same plan. I thought many tymes along the way that it was a true shame that the wind and I were not going in the same direction.   About 15 miles into my ride (and the wind), I came to the most difficult “hill” on my route. It is called Mole Hill, but I am of the opinion that they could easily make a mounta...

One summer day, I got home from work and saw a beautiful bud on the rose bush by my back door. I took tyme to stop and smell the rose – as is often recommended – and to take its picture, as I am known to do. I oohed and aahed over the delicate flower and praised God for His creation. Then, I headed down to my garden to check on my zucchini plants. I picked a couple that were ready and noticed one that was just starting to form from the blossom. I thought to myself ‘that one will be ready in a few days’! The following day when I got home, I saw the same flower I noticed the day before, but it was no longer a bud. It had opened up into a stunningly beautiful young rose. I stopped, smelled, pictured, oohed and aahed again, all the while thinking, “wow, what a difference a day makes”! Curious to see the progress of my infant zucchini, I ventured down to my garden. Shock and disbelief consumed me as I stared down at a full grown zucchini where the infant one had been. I stood there long...

A few months ago, a friend and I planted seeds for our future gardens and began waiting eagerly to see green emerge from the small containers of dirt. Due to the setups of our homes, we each gave our seeds a different environment in which to grow. My friend was able to keep her seeds inside where they got to enjoy the warmth from her woodstove and the sunlight beaming in from her dining room windows. My seeds, however, did not get such luxury, due to a lack of space inside and the lack of a woodstove. Instead, I placed my little seeds in “growing houses” I made from storage bins and put them on the porch of my free-standing office. There were a few nights when the temperatures fell drastically that I brought the growing boxes inside, but for the most part my seeds lived in their little houses outside on my porch. As the weeks went by, I got a report from my friend that her seeds had sprouted. I was excited for her, but I couldn’t help but wonder why my seeds had not sprouted since we p...

Did you know that words have meanings? That might seem like a silly question, but sometymes I wonder if a lot of people forget that little fact. The older I get, the more I realize that many people use words where they don't belong, mainly off-color or foul language that really does not convey the true essence of what they are trying to say. I have always thought that if I cannot find a word that expresses my intended meaning, then I shouldn't be talking. Perhaps it is because of my black and white brain and my inability to understand "gray area" very well at all. If you say cow, I picture a cow. If you say "sea cow", I picture a sea and a cow...it takes my brain some processing to realize you are referring to a manatee. Now granted, my brain and I have been together for quite a while now, so many of the processes happen quickly and I can keep up, but sometymes that is not the case. Sometymes my brain gets hung up on words, because they don't mean what...

Recently, a friend lamented to me that shopping for people was difficult because knowing what to get was practically impossible. I heard her out and tried to be supportive in the moment by offering suggestions for the people for whom she mentioned needing gifts. As the day went on, I began to ponder why shopping for others can be so difficult, because the truth is, I tend to agree. When my pondering was complete, my conclusion was, no one is in need or want of anything’. I remember when I was a kid, it did not seem as though things were as readily available to people as they are today. It used to be that if someone needed or wanted something they saved up and earned it before they bought it. These days however it seems that if people want or need something, they just go buy it…whether they can afford it or not. Yes, the days of waiting and putting needed and wanted items on a Christmas or birthday list seem to be a thing of the slower, treasured past. As I continued pondering, I th...