New Year's Resolution - Be A Turnstone

Last December I set some 2012 Goals. I don't like resolutions or promises, I like goals. I especially like goals in writing. I don't work from written goals nearly often enough (maybe that could be a 2013 goal), but when I do - it is amazing how well it works.

Last year, about this time, I set these goals:

1. Celebrate today - everything we do, each moment we live is too precious to be treated as a passing fancy. I will better live in the now.

2. Laugh harder - there are too many minutes between belly laughs so intense that they make me cry.

3. Pray deeper - it is time to embrace an ancient and powerful oracle once again.

 All in all, I met these goals more often than not in 2012. #2 was especially helpful and challenging. Life on life's terms can suck the joy right out of you, unless you tenaciously keep perspective. Part of my #2 was completing my book, Wishful Preaching: Things I Wish I'd Said From The Pulpit. Writing it and sharing it with others has kept me laughing.

I'm still working on my specific set of goals for this year, but I have one piece of it nailed down. I want to live like a bird in 2013 - a particular kind of bird, the Turnstone.

Turnstone at work

Living along the seashore, the Turnstone feeds on insect and animal life near the water line. Like the sea gull, sandpiper and countless other shore birds, it is dependent on the food it can find. Shore birds search the surf's edge and beach sand for the unsuspecting bug, crab or minnow   However, the Turnstone has developed a habit of doing more than hunting on the surface of things. The Turnstone, as it's name suggest, will use it's hardy beak and strong neck to flip over shells, rocks and seaweed to uncover a meal that other shore birds will miss entirely. I feel a life-lesson analogy coming on...

It seems that I need a bit of Turnstone in the days ahead. I don't want to just react to what appears in front of me, or crawls across my path in the months ahead. I want to look into the crevices of life, search for the nourishment that hides beneath the surface of each day, flip over apparent failures and see what can be uncovered. Too often we give up. Frequently we accept less. NO! I say. Let's enter this new year with the determination to uncover the richness of our particular lives and the strength to crack it open and feast on the victory!

Will you join me in a Turnstone New Year?

Christmas Gift Ideas #5 - Big Boss Baking

Big Boss Baking Company! They have the absolute BEST granola on the planet. Buy a bunch and use them as last minute gift giving options.

Local Triad NC couple Lavinia and Rodney have gone GOOD! They actually upgraded there garage to a commercial kitchen and so everything is literally "homemade!" I'm not sure what they put in their granola but it's so good that The Fresh Market has picked it up for their stores.

It's a great gift!

Socially Rude and The New Family Christmas Photo

Over at Netchicks Marketing blog, the new standard in family Christmas photos has been revealed!

I laughed and then I had one of those "things that make you go HUM moments." The blog post asks if smart phones are making us socially dumb. Good question. As I read, I realized that for many of us the word 'social' is being dramatically realigned to refer to...well...the stuff we do with our heads down into our smart phones.

Then I had a few more thoughts.

The presence of mobile devices has changed the way we interact. Is it "bad" or making us dumb? I read an interesting book last year The Shallows, by Nicolas Carr that suggests the problem is larger than mobile devices and dangerously close to causing a rewiring of our brains. Carr is a bit over zealous in his claims, but it's a good read and contains some great research.

As a public speaker, I would contend that the speaking environment has been dramatically changed by mobile devices and Social Media. Speakers once depending on word, vocal inflection and gestures to all work together in a precisely developed symphony of presentation that required rapt attention of the audience. We can no longer be assured that people are, at any given moment actually listening or watching us. What to do? We can strive to embrace the change and adapt to it - there are some interesting possibilities available - 

1. using other's Social clout to market your ideas and brand by inviting people to interact via Social Media

2. adopting a social vernacular to engage users. "This is tweet worthy"

3. providing short (less than 140 characters) points and quotes

4. letting people know when you need them to stop, look and listen

5. keep Social handles and hash tags visible throughout the presentation

Like it or not, Social Media and mobile devices are a means of communicating information, and what is a good presentation if not information that is educational, motivational and fun to share?

All of that said, we do need to balance our use of these devices and media and have a low tolerance for what we experience as rude behavior in social situations.

What do you consider rude smart phone behavior?

Couple of Photos

Gift Ideas #4 - Donate and Send a Card

Looking for a good way to thank a business client or a long-distance contact during Christmas?

Let Crisis Control Ministry save you time during this busy holiday season! Place a Holiday Honor Card order and we will give you a little more time to spend with family and friends.

For a minimum donation of $5 per card, Crisis Control Ministry will beautifully hand address, stamp with a holiday stamp and mail your cards for you, giving you more time to enjoy the holidays. If you prefer to address and sign the cards yourself, they can mail them to you.

GET YOUR HOLIDAY CARDS!

Blogger iPad app

Just testing the recent blogger iPad app. It provides a more complete interface allowing for greater ease in adding photos. The label feature is front and center.

Gift Ideas #3 - Dirt to Shirt!

I met Eric Henry of TS Designs the evening his company received the Green Business of the Year award from the Piedmont Environmental Alliance.

TS Designs has a unique "Dirt to Shirt" program that creates a 100% organic cotton t-shirt from the growing of the cotton to the finial printed t-shirt within a few hundred miles - all in North Carolina. Each shirt comes with a unique code that you can use to track and 'meet' the growers, weavers and printers involved in your shirt!




You can get your very own Dirt to Shirt Tee right off their website. What a great gift to spur conversation and local pride!

My life in 2012

My life in 2012


Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Gift Ideas #2 - Boardroom Socks

I met these folks earlier this year and they changed my life. Any man knows that shopping for socks is an all out evil way to spend more than 5 minutes. What is more, I have never been able to find the socks that felt right, stayed up and look professional for more than a wash or two. No more!

Boardroom Socks sells men's dress socks sewn right here in the USA. I checked the website and then spoke with customer service and discovered I'd been wearing the wrong sock my ENTIRE life. I'm a short man with strong legs - you imagine from there. My socks never stay up. Enter the solution - an over the calf sock from these wonderful folks. OK  so maybe I'm overreacting, but I love these socks!

Buy a pair and give them as a gift. Dare you!

Gift Idea #1 - SPRiSH Tees!

Here come the gift ideas. For the wild woman (women?) in your life, why not go with an Sexy, Savvy t-shirt? Local entrepreneur and business woman, Blanca Cobb launched this line of clever and witty tees last year. She even invented a new word to describe the intent of her products: SPRiSH! 

Are you SPRiSH enough? Dare you to ware it!

The BOOK! The BOOK! Wishful Preaching

It's official. You can buy my book, "Wishful Preaching: Things I Wish I'd Said From The Pulpit" on Amazon. The e-book sells for $2.99 with all profits going to charity.

And, if you don't have a Kindle, you can use any number of these FREE Kindle Reading Apps for your PC, Phone, iPad or iPod Touch. Why kill a tree when it's free!?

What is the book?


"A little bit preaching, a tad irreverent and a dash of hilarious - Wishful Preaching is a collection of 12 sermons that SHOULD be preached from the pulpit. After 15 years of ministry and a less than pretty exit, I've become aware that there are a few things I wish I'd said from the pulpit. 

Preaching isn't really all about what the preacher does. It is about what we do, what we hear and how that impacts our lives. Preaching is as much about hearing as it is about talking. This book is about the talking, the proclaiming of preaching. I have written in a form very similar to how I've preached with a mix of scripture, story and humor. 

This book is about hearing, too. You will be challenged to hear some things in different ways, in ways that might really challenge you, even make you steaming, righteous mad. Sound fun?"

So, buy it now and do some good!

Buy the Book, Feed a Charity

All profits from the sales of Wishful Preaching will be donated to charity. The charity recipient for 2012-2013 is Prodigals Community.  

​

So head on over to Wishful Preaching on Amazon and get the ebook now!

Authoring the Book "Wishful Preaching" - Almost Done.

After about a year... Edits are done. The cover art is done. Just hours away from hitting 'send' to the publisher.

Available SOON via Amazon.

Can I get a Hell Yeah?!

Winston TECH Salem: Wake Forest Doctors Working To Heal Wounded Warrio...

Winston TECH Salem: Wake Forest Doctors Working To Heal Wounded Warrio...: Wake Forest Doctors Working To Heal Wounded Warriors Almost 50,000 American servicemen and women have been wounded while serving our c...

A Serious Thank You - Apple

I filled out a customer feedback survey from Apple iTunes. When I was done, I got this.

The world is so much bigger than my isolated experience of it.

Linger On It

Where do you linger? There are those tastes that just grab us by the tongue and scream delight and indulgence. Do you linger with them, allowing the full force of their impact upon that moment?

Then there are those sounds, the songs that we love to hear – every note, rhythm, and lyric as they dance into our mind and resonate within our body. Do you linger in them, playing them over again to light on each resonance and twisted phonetics?



What about those people whose physical beauty, simply passing by grabs your core? Do you allow yourself to linger in the impression as it launches into your libido and churns ancient and primal sensations, eliminating all thought for a moment? Do you linger there?

What of laughter? When it sneaks up on you and you find your world invaded by a twist of fate or thought, a comical jolt of unexpected amusement.  Do you linger in the wake of a real gut level laugh, leaving you helpless and crying in spasms of delight?

Do you linger on the good moments of life? I think you could…

Winston Salem, NC - A Town of Surprises and Excellence

Yes, I live here. Read and see why. What Hollywood knows about the Twin City!

US Airways Coverage - Takes a little time to load

Some crazy details and info on Marketing Online!

Created by: MBAOnline.com

Happy Halloween

My your candy be delightful, your fears fondly frightful and your evening hallowed.

Happy Halloween

Coffee Table Tales - Sharing Ourselves

There was a time when coffee tables held the central place in our living rooms. Upon them rested the symbols of our lives. Scattered in plain sight, the magazines, books, and nick knacks of our interest quietly broadcast the message of who we were. You could tell a lot about us by our coffee table tops.

My childhood coffee table was made of 1970’s metal tube legs and glass. The top was a framed glass panel, revealing what appeared to be a star-burst pattern of small, rectangular tiles. The ‘tiles’ were actually a plastic sheet, molded and dyed to the pattern. We kept National Geographic magazine’s 3 or 4 most recent issues fanned out on the table. A center piece of plastic fern in a gold wooden dish was always slightly askew from the bumps and table top activity of us kids. If no guests were around, you would have seen the current homework project tossed into the mix. It wasn't uncommon to find green toy soldiers tucked into the fern or climbing down the metal gold legs.  If company was expected, the soldiers and homework were always replaced by Better Homes and Gardens and a sculptured ceramic ash tray. Ours was a coffee table that told the story of a modest family, intrigued by learning and with aspirations of being normal. My grandmother’s coffee table wasn't the same.

My grandmother’s living room (and it was her living room, even though my grandfather was allowed in to sit in his chair and watch the nightly news) sported a large, round cypress coffee table. Always on the top of it was a bowl of artificial fruit and a combination ash tray-candy dish. The ash tray was never used and the candy was off limits except to guests. You were not allowed to lean on, write on, put anything on top of or run near the table. Once a year, at Christmas, the center piece was replaced by a bowl full of gold and white ornaments. The table told a story of constant order, measured hospitality and fragile balance.

From what I can remember, the coffee tables of old served as statements – sometimes intended, often unconscious – of who we were. I don’t see as many coffee tables in living rooms today and lately have wondered if we might have found something else to take their place. When I look around I see a number of coffee table tops: Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, websites…. On these spaces we can broadcast much easier our likes, wants, feelings and interests. Posting a photo on Facebook, an emotive 140 characters on Twitter or a personal story on a blog all give us a means to set the table for others to see. So, today I’m wondering – what do my digital coffee tables tell about me? What do you see in the things spread before you on your friends and families spaces? How do you present yourself when you know friends are coming by your digital place?

Random thought: Is there a coffee table app? A virtual table with digital objects we could display to tell our momentary mood or story? Should there be?

We Are Warriors - A Short Tale

The sun cast shadows upon the meadow, long tendrils entwining the branches of distant trees into a single shade.

The warrior sat upon a rock overlooking the rolling fields that lead to town and home, allowing his thoughts to cast their own shadows, collecting into one thought: "How much longer can I do this?"

With effort he lifted his weight and stood facing west. He felt the pain surge through his broken knee and the burn beneath newly forming scabs on his back. He stood and prayed aloud.

"Odin, my guard and guide. For 55 seasons I have lived. For 36 of these I have fought the Beast into submission, annually sending its weakened body and depleted spirit back into the caves to sleep and heal through the winter. I wield sword and shield in Your name and provide safety for my home, my family, my village. Each year I fail to destroy the Beast and like the certainty of each spring it returns. I am tired and wounded and this time I fear tired beyond this battle and wounded of not only body, but spirit. How long, Odin, how long can I continue?"

The warrior gave into his pain and stumbled to one knee, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword and brow upon his forearm. He could hear the music and singing beginning already, drifting across the darkening meadow in celebration of his victory. He knew better. He knew that the beast would live and in a few months they would renew their battle, and he doubted. He felt not only the pain of injuries that would heal, but the weakness in his limbs and mind that would not.

Tonight the village would sing. Tankers of ale would be hoisted in his honor. The voices of maidens would sing and young men would weave another chapter in the tale of his valor. Their Hero was invincible. The winter would be safe.

But next season would come.

A breeze lifted his thinning hair as he raised his head.

"Odin," He spoke almost a whisper, "Tonight we will celebrate. I will not worry about the aging of my bones, or the weakening of my strength. Tonight I will give you thanks for our victory, another year of safety. But, tomorrow I will not lift tankers of ale or songs. I will forget the victories of the past, and I will prepare for the battles to come. I will lift whetstone and blade, shield and arm and return back to the work of a warriors training. I will not quit. Odin, you have my word and my life."

As the last word drifted away on the breeze, a tired man stood and began walking to the village.

Sipping Moonshine

She is Moonshine...

Harvest moon, radiant blast across the horizon
diminishing anything near the sound of her light
taunting us with the threat of reverting to a simple, normal
part of our world if we look too late or move too close.

She is Moonshine

Full moon, raising werewolves and iconic myths
making day of the darkness and drawing
florescent strokes across every able bodied pond
waving boldly coming too in due cycle

She is Moonshine...

Shiva moon, a promise and goodbye
deadly waxing and waning of war and peace
the confidently ignored reminder of our mortality
veiled carelessly by translucent clouds

She is Moonshine...

Day time moon, pale and out of place
whimsically demanding to be seen
unafraid of the brightest sun or the bluest mood
a broad daylight

She is Moonshine...

To drink, clear, forbidden and dangerous
Intoxicating, even in small portions
Promising to burn you from throat to belly
And warm your bowels through the coldest doubts

She is Moonshine...

and she needs light, bright hot
consuming fire to pour forth upon her
flares of character and promise to reach
out to her for her light is
in all its shapes and sessions
reflected from another one.

Tar Heel Chapter PRSA - Connecting to Success! Presentation.

After an exciting dinner with the group of speakers lined up to share the stage tomorrow at the Annual PRSA NC Tar Heel Chapter Seminar - Connecting To Success, I'm even more honored to be a part of this year's presenters.

Here's our schedule for tomorrow:

Tonight I truly enjoyed meeting Mike Foley, Robert T. Youngblood, and Jennifer Curtis. Tomorrow will be a fantastic day - I can just FEEL it.

Wish me "Break A Leg!" 

More later...

Dreams of Telling

It is so clearly wrong
It is so clearly what I want
So, there in such a great cloud of
Witnesses
Judges
Advocates
I dream of choice and find
I choose wrong

Wrong is pain
Pain is clearly living
So, I'd rather be dead
Wrong than dutifully
Written.

Wofford 38, ASU 28

NUFF Said.

website

So, you're looking at my current website. But - I'm thinking the future is this.

Feedback? You like?

Tweet, Tweet! Twitter.

Are you on Twitter? Have we done the Follow thing, yet? Leave me you Twitter ID in the comments and I'll gladly return the #Follow.

http://twitter.com/williamskim 

College Football Game Day

Headed to NC State today...

to the FSU and NC State game.

We are a house divided. My wife graduated from Florida State and her olderst daughter went to NC State.

I think I'll just root for my alma mater, Wofford!

Go Terriers! 

What Our Tweets Really Say

Tweets say more than you can imagine in less than 140 characters...

Thoughts On Failure

Sometimes we fail and it's our fault. We must acknowledge that we have been beset and seized by our own bindings. such shackles and mire may have, to this point held us fast to our own mediocrity. This truth directs us to love our failure and forgive ourselves. We travel from such limitations through the pain and angst of struggling free and into our personal liberty.

Today, we may have become more aware of such limitations and thus of the fresh and vital opportunity that awaits you. Carpe diem is often misquoted as "seize the day." a better rendering of it is to "gather the day." Gathering the day is both a reference to making order of the day(to gather it together) and harvesting the day. The implication is that all that we need is robustly present and waiting. It is therefore our destiny, our very calling to claim each day unto us. Such effort is most often the assembly of simple, singular, seemingly routine tasks. Such simple effort does, eventually, result in the very real manifestation of our dreams.

Just for today, may we renew ourselves and simply do the next right thing. Carpe diem!

Amusing Awareness - A Poem

Amusing Awareness

Why do you remain
There
A brush by my world
Radiating
Passion against my senses
Leaving
Me longing for more?

Your voice sang today
Mournful
Lyrics of loss and hope
Ascending
Tones of fluttering union
Scattered
Eternally within my mind

Haunting.

The Last Cicada - Re-Post Poetry

The last cicada sings
Into the crisp fall air
A final call of
Fall’s end, winter’s era

Leaves cling
To branches high
Not one wants
To release and die

A father dreams
Of his son’s flight
But silence returns
From this season’s night

[Chorus]
Seasons change
Seasons go
Season remain
Ever so slow

Summer leaves
To find its fall
The stillness breaks
Upon us all


The last cicada sings
The final tear falls
We are cold
We are so small

A baby cries
Her first breath of life
Mother’s arms are gone
An women will live in strife

[Chorus]

Sometimes we must burrow
Deep into the earth
Waiting there, searching
For the matter of our birth

Remembering when we can
That as this begins
We can return as
The last cicada sings

[Chorus]

The last cicada sings
Into the crisp fall air
A final call of
Fall’s end, winter’s era

Leaves cling
To branches high
Not one wants
To release and die


NOTE: in the depths of a hike in SC, i heard a lone cicada. while only weeks before i had heard the deafening noise of their community screaming, only one remained. the words above come from that last cicada's song.

9/11 Remembering

Eagles weep the dust of fury

            Glory droops in a breeze filled sky

Trumpets howl forth silence

            Blind eyes gaze on dust and pry

Paradox rains upon sweltering souls

            Discordant melodies find no harmonic tone

Sleeping giants fail to wake

Dreams of horror in daylight come

Restrained talons seek to rip

            Flesh and bone. Retribution wails

Bridled shouts from viper lips           

             Broken tongues speechless, still

Such foreign chaos, grief born questions

            Here rests doubt, fear rooting

Anger to pain beget rage

Tearing fabric, destroying the shoot

A blast through heart’s cage

            Cries, screams and eternal rage

Why! Demands our soul

            Why? Defiant voices entreat

Into this realm of despair

            Touching sinew of exposed hope

Lifting corpse-like remains

            Our Hope stands, lifted hands

In a speechless voice the whisper comes

            Gentle words rock our perilous stance

Words carefully spoken, deeply heard

            Faith, Hope, Love the memory calls

Again, glorious birds will find their songs

            Heavy banners will lift in a gentle breeze

Clarion call of brass sounds, proclaims

            Life has come and still remains

-Kim E Williams

September 12, 2001

Sometimes We Run from Pain

Sometimes, the best response to pain is FLIGHT not fight.

Going Social - It's Your Choice

Thinking about going 'social' on someone or about something? We've all been there - bad customer service, misrepresented products, lousy experience...the list goes on. However, I subscribe to the 'think it through' approach. Going Social on a brand or product has the potential to smudge a business's reputation, or even go viral and result in major loss of brand value. Social media IS marketing, so I need to remember that this isn't just about me venting and whining. Before I let a momentary frustration ignite my Social  fuse, I like to go through a checklist:

1. Have I made the business aware of my problem?

2. Did I contact customer service or management and try to get resolution?

3. Did I use a softer "I'm less than happy" approach on Social media first?

4. Did I give the experience some time (24 hrs) after the last attempt at resolution?

If my answer is 'yes' to all 4, I might just be forced to unleash y Social wrath on them...maybe, if it's worth my effort.

On a lighter note, here's a infographic that might help you with your Social Media posting via BreakingCopy.

LinkedIn Troubles - I am not a Woman... part 2

So, I share An Open Letter to LinkedIn below via my Social network and then I get this.

CLICK to enlarge

That's just wrong in so many ways.

An Open Letter to LinkedIn

Dear LinkedIn:

I do adore you, honestly. You are an almost perfect tool to assist my networking efforts. However, please refrain from offering me ads that are...well...a disconnect. My name may be Kim, but my gender is no secret. You know that. I am not, nor have I ever been, a woman. Honest.

Thanks.

Mind On Drift - Poem

Mind On Drift...

Time in the yard.
Cooling down from Summer, and I can feel it in the air.
Eager leaves are already dancing to the ground, life's boldness is waning.
The stillness of the coming season settles into my mind.
iPod on shuffle.
Mind on drift.

Vacation California - The "First Time" Trip

We rented a car in LA and were delighted by not only getting a convertible, as requested, but one with only 5 miles on the odometer! The 'bright' color - described to us as Crayola Blue - only seemed fitting. We were then off to head north on the Pacific Coast Highway (the "PCH" among locals).

Not too far up the coast is the famous party house of WR Hearst, commonly known as Hearst Castle (although the 'real' Hearst Castle is in Europe) . It was quiet the imposing force you would expect from a man with money and a fancy for European architecture - though perhaps not a unified vision for what he was building.

Hearst on the hill in the CA haze

A Intimate Dinning Room

The Coast from the Castle

NC feet at home on CA

After several hours of schlepping around the grounds, we headed up the PCH and made a stop to view the Elephant Seals molting along the beach. We were told by some onsite park ranger types, that they hang out here for about 30 days, basking in the sun and washing in the surf to encourage their coats to shed.

Next up... Carmel by the Sea!

Frampton - What Are You Doing Friday Night?

Friends,

This Friday – August 10th, Peter Frampton comes to The WHITE OAK AMPHITHEATRE with what is being described on the internet as  “a show not to miss, Frampton is at his all-time best” .

The Gate City Rotary FREE Pre-Party in the Coliseum Pavilion starts at 4:00pm and runs until 7pm with Lawyers Guns & Money headlining the Stage and also includes Ranford Almond!

GIBSON GUITARS will be here from Nashville with their Custom Guitar Traveling Exhibit where you can demo some priceless one-of-a-kind guitars including a replica of Frampton’s famous lost guitar. (have you heard this unbelievable story?     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEKFjaGWbkY

Natty Greene’s Micro Beers and food will be available for purchase and there will be a raffle for a DREAM VACATION.  (Let me know if you would like a chance - $20 helps us raise money for our charities!)

This is the Event of the Summer and we hope you can join us!  Frampton tickets start at $25.00 so bring the whole family to see one of the greatest Rock Guitarist of all time tear up the stage in Greensboro!
 TIX :    http://www.greensborocoliseum.com/event/2012/aug/peter-frampton


Please share this to your friends & neighbors.  We want to fill up the amphitheater!

See you there!

UPDATE:

Peter Frampton Concert Moving to War Memorial Auditorium

GREENSBORO, NC (August 9, 2012) - Due to the threat of severe weather and in the interest of patron safety, the August 10^th Peter Frampton concert originally scheduled for White Oak Amphitheatre has been moved to War Memorial Auditorium.

Reserved seat ticketholders may exchange their tickets for an orchestra level seat upon arrival at War Memorial Auditorium. General admission (lawn) ticketholders may proceed directly to the Auditorium balcony upon arrival for general admission seating.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets at participating Wal-Mart locations, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and the Greensboro Coliseum box office.

Grammy winner Peter Frampton remains one of the most celebrated artists and guitarists in rock history. At 16, he was the lead singer and guitarist for British band the Herd. At 18, he co-founded one of the first super groups, seminal rock act Humble Pie. His session work includes such legendary artists as George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, David Bowie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, John Entwistle and many others. His fifth solo album, the electrifying Frampton Comes Alive!, is one of the top-selling live records of all time.

  

EVENT:                            An Evening with Peter Frampton
DATE:                              Friday, August 10
TIME:                               8:00 p.m.
VENUE:                                      War Memorial Auditorium (NOTE NEW VENUE)
TICKET PRICES:            $25 and up

James Kavanaugh - Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves

THERE ARE MEN TOO GENTLE TO LIVE AMONG WOLVES
A Poem by James Kavanaugh

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men too gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder then for a merchant's profit and gain.
There are men too gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves.
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men too gentle for an accountant's world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant's world.
Unless they have a gentle one to love.

Vacation California - The "First Times" Trip

If you know someone who knows the way, you can find a deserted, private beach in Malibu, CA. If you are fortunate, you will enjoy not only warming sunshine and hypnotic seas, but visits from seals and dolphins.

Led by my daughter, we drove to a popular beach in Malibu and found the crowds, complete with a crew preparing to film a ESPN Football Summer promo.

NFL on ESPN does Malibu

We also found a very high rock wall, adorned with rock climbers, that terminated the beach on it's South end.

Then, we were led to a hidden path that took us over the rocks and to what would be our private beach for the afternoon.

Enjoy the video below. Drop back next week for another "California First Times Trip" post.

Work Contest - I Must Rule

So, today a contest was announced at work and the challenge is to get as many new followers to follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and Connect with us on LinkedIn. By using special URLs they can track who sends people to the pages.

Here's what I need you to do (PLEASE). Click on each of the links below. Like, Follow or Connect as the destination page allows. That's it.

AND - If you leave me a comment with your Social links, I promise to return the favor. Deal?

Pretty please with sugar on top...

Click NOW!
LinkedIn: http://bem.bz/SQmSxv

Facebook: http://bem.bz/OljYMm

Twitter: http://bem.bz/MSmhqK


Besides...we get PIZZA!

Vacation California - the "First Times" TRIP!

I promise not to dump hundreds of photos (although I DO have them) and countless meanderings upon you from my recent trip to California. I will however share a post each week for some time on my 'first time' experiences and a few stories.

First up... my first time - hike up to the famous Hollywood sign. Originally, the sign read Hollywood Land and was intended to promote the availability of land as a new and somewhat risky real-estate opportunity.

I found it much smaller than I imagined and after several balancing tricks, we moved on to other adventures.

See Peter Frampton in Greensboro - Help A Charity

Here's what you need to know. You can help kids by attending a Peter Frampton concert in Greensboro, NC on August 10. The link below has all the details. I'm going. Care to join me? The pre-party will be lots of fun, too.

http://www.gatecityrotary.com/partywithapurpose.asp

JustSaying

Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane. - Philip K. Dick

TO DO List

I have no idea where this originated, but I had to share it.

Garden City Surf Shop - An Icon

Garden City Surf Shop

Garden City Surf Shop Entrance

This place has been there as long as I can remember...and that makes it OLD! I uploaded the photos in full resolution, so click on them and enjoy the details of the paintings!

Emotions Make for Bloody Poetry!

Yesterdays deeds descend on raptors wings

talons flare and slice into my mind

tearing through the carefully constructed facade of hope

i bleed, into tomorrow

ancestoral wounds reopen with vengence

defecting logic and maming reason

proclaiming the torment of self loathing valid

i bleed, drip with sorrow

(re-post from some time in 2002)