Soundtracked

30DIC Day 1: How They Run

What's up everybody? Gotta admit, it feels kinda good to be back churning out blog entries again...pretty sure (too lazy to look it up ) the last time I did anything like this semi-regularly was last August for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  camping trip across Europe, and y'all know how that ended up . Feels a little scary too though, because now that there's been such a layoff for me, I have the creeping doubts and wonders asking myself if I can still do this at a level I'm used to. Eh, at least I'm typing again while thinking and composing thoughts, so that's a good sign. I'm hoping I can keep it up for another 29 days...we'll see.

And this is a great exercise for me to get back into action. I did the "30 Day Image Prompt Contest - CLOSED"  back in 2015 and had a good time with it, so why not give it another go? Of course, then the first prompt comes down and I'm all like "maybe this isn't a good idea" ...but then I gotta tell myself "tough shit...this is what you wanted to do". Someday me and my inner self will be friends...today is not that day .

I didn't know where I wanted to go with today's choices. I do rather like the image of the two people on the train tracks...it evokes mostly good memories and makes me a little nostalgic for a younger, simpler time. I'd say I spent a good 3/4ths of my life living near train tracks (active and inactive). There was an abandoned set that turned almost into a trail that I could bike down, which started a few blocks from my house and let out onto the access road for the then-new mall in town...it made getting to the mall so much easier than navigating a busy road and thruway exchange, plus there was a little spot that abutted the back lot of my high school. I hopped that fence a few times as a means of getting out of Calculus class and prank-calling the school from the mall to harass the substitute teacher .

But yeah, I didn't wanna tell old stories, and wasn't in the mood for reliving my past specifically. I'd determined earlier that I was gonna start "Give It 100!"  this week, and was all set, until I actually looked at the forum and saw they weren't accepting new participants...but Cinn was down for it, and Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline wants in on it, and Charlie ~ will be dragged into it as well as far as I can tell , so why not tackle this with a poem today? Two birds/one stone, and all that.

How They Run

Tracks so narrow;
lives almost too wide.
Where do we fit it all in?
The mysteries of existence
are fueled by simple joys.
We pack, eager to go to the place
unknown to the map-makers
and track-layers...
loose stones and wooden beams
supporting the weight
of teenage dreams distributed
while moving at high speed.
It's amazing that we don't derail,
but on the rare occasion we do
it's often the best part.
The young part. The new part.
If you're unsure, maybe
you should join the ride.
There's never enough time
to say "we don't have much time".

         "How They Run" , from "Also Mutants" 

I know trains and tracks can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people...and I have a variety of experiences, which made it hard to draw on just one aspect. I wanted to remember being young and carefree...not knowing where we were going but knowing we were gonna enjoy getting there. What's sad about it is we never realize how quickly it goes away, and how it's gone and not easy to get back (if it's even possible). The vibe I had in my head was a bit like "Ahead By A Century"   by The Tragically Hip, but I knew there was gonna be almost no way of me fully capturing that in any way close to what they did...that's an epic song on so many levels, and I'm not even gonna try to be on something like that. Not right now at least.

This is more my pace ...and it came out around the time I was riding that same trail of dead train travel somewhat often. Also a lot of good memories associated with bangin' this tape in my walkman, stuck in a fannypack affixed to the handlebars of my bike like a car stereo made for two wheels .

"Stop That Train"  - Beastie Boys

"Elevated platform; I'm never gonna conform...riding over the diner where I always get my toast warm.
Bust into the conductor's booth and busted out rhymes over the loudspeaker about the hard times."

Are you reading this cuz it's a blog? Do you read blogs cuz you write one? Then boy howdy, have I got some news for you! This month over at "The Bard's Hall Contest" , the theme is blogging . If you have a current blog, you can enter. It's that simple. And since I'm using this for the 30DIC and maybe crossing over a little more often with my own "Also Mutants" , that's another bird/same stone. Poor birds...but nobody considers the stone. That stone gets to experience being thrown only so often, yet has to ricochet off so many things. He's probably then gotta land alongside his buddies in the Thrown Stones Union and be like "Well, I was only thrown once but I hit a couple things along the way, so I guess that's ok", until the douchebag flat stone pipes up and says "Yeah, that's great and all, but I was skipped on the beach and the skipper got to 10-Mississippi before I touched down for good" like a snarky, one-upping petty little bitch. Be a stone and not the thrower, but don't be that stone.

I think that's all I got for today...I figure I'll ease back in and not overwhelm you or myself. Good to be back though. And thanks for having me. You're all fine people. Peace, party people going places on the D train, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!

Congrats to all the recent high school and college grads!