Ultimate Sledding

Christmas is a time for:
family, friends, snow, remembering Jesus Christ, and riding a canoe down a snow covered slope.

Growth

He huddled alone in the sweat tent . The ceremony was coming to a close. Memories of a good life flowed before his closed eyes. From a very young age he knew this day would come. He was leaving the life of a boy behind, hopefully, if he survived, he'd become a man. One of the village elders entered the small tent. The Elder squatted nearby studying the boys face. When the Elder was satisfied he said, "it's time". Startled from his meditation, the boy opened his eyes. The Elder stood and walked out of the tent. Taking a deep breath the boy stepped out of the tent into the bright light. The whole village was waiting. They stood around the hut whispering in clusters. Just ahead on the path the Elder waited patiently. With a wave of his arm he beckoned the boy to continue down the path. He tried to act stoic as he marched through the village. As he passed a group of girls they began giggling, his face turned bright red. He followed the path out of the village and into the woods. At first it stayed level, but eventually the path grew steeper. After a while the boy found himself at the top of a cliff. He stood on the edge, and looked down. Far below was village he had left, along with his childhood. The cliff was covered in jagged cold rocks. This was his final step to becoming a man. With a grin he stepped off the cliff.

The air flew passed his face, whispering of an end. Suddenly a falcon swooped in to land on his back. It dug it's claws into his flesh. A large chunk of his back tore free. The boy cried out in pain. Then another bird appeared. Again it latched onto his back, and again it tore off a piece of flesh. Bird after bird swooped in, and tore a piece of flesh from the falling boy.

The villagers stood at the base of the cliff waiting to see if the boy had failed in his preparation. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes passed by. There was no sign of the boy. With a loud cough the village Elder drew the attention of the villagers away from the cliff. He was standing outside the sweat tent once more. He reached towards it and pulled up the flap. Hundreds of birds burst from the tent. Inside they found the body of an unconscious man.

Freedom-exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

Lately I've found myself becoming more and more frustrated. I feel restrained. My problem is not so much needing to realize that I am stuck. My problem is trying to escape the box. If I was a magician my magic went terrible awry. It is a feeling of being stuck in a small, dark box, just large enough to fit, but every corner is filled with my fleshy body. The oxygen is running out, and I can't escape. I plan and plan, but buying a motorcycle and riding it to Mexico would only give me temporary freedom. Eventually I would find myself in an even smaller box. I've thought of transversing the globe on my own two feet, but it would be lonely. I'm afraid this magician has lost his magic. Sometimes I feel like the only thing I can do is take a deep breath....... and let it out. Maybe if I am patient for a long enough period of time, breathing slowly..........I'll eventually find my magic again.

Bread for Jose

In a world of dreams people never sleep. There is no need. Magic runs rampant throughout the world, glittering like fresh snow at the dawn of day. Angels sing, and dinosaurs roar. Cowboys sing songs and tell stories next to bonfires. In a world of dreams, eagles cry and mice don't die. Unfortunately for Jose he didn't live in a world of dreams. Instead poor Jose lived in a dreary world. A world where money ruled and the poor went hungry. Jose was one of the poor. If you pause for a moment, listening to the silence seep, you can hear the gurgle of Jose's tummy.
"Oh, Jose," it cries. "I want some bread! I want some bread to fill me up".
Jose then replies, "I'm sorry my stomach. I have no bread to feed you today. Maybe tomorrow I will have bread to feed you". This was the story of Jose, his stomach complaining and his reply. One day while Jose lay on the side of a dirt road, a large man, waddled towards him.
"Boy, come help me with my groceries," ordered the man. "I need to buy my food and my servant boy is sick today. If you help I will give you a small loaf of bread".
It was a miracle. "Stomach, today I will fill you up with bread," Jose whispered.
Jose followed the large man down the dusty street to the store. Then he followed the man through the store grabbing the groceries the man wanted. The large man bought a lot of food. He bought olives, steak, chicken, bacon, fruits of every kind, he even bought a bar of chocolate. The one thing the man didn't buy was bread. After the man paid for his groceries Jose hauled them across town to the large mans house.
"Boy," said the man. "put those groceries away and then leave". Jose took the groceries to the kitchen and put the food away. Then he went back to the large man and asked, "sir you said you would give me some bread for my services". The large man laughed a deep, mocking laugh. "Boy" he said, "you are a fool. I have no bread for you". Jose left the large mans house and went back to his street.
"Stomach", said Jose "That large man is a liar, he gave me no bread to fill you up with".
"Jose, I was told I would have bread today, but I had no bread. I am even hungrier than before," his stomach moaned.
"I am sorry stomach, maybe I'll find you bread tomorrow" said Jose.
The next day Jose was sitting on the same street when the large man came by again. "Boy" he said, "I need more groceries today. Come carry them for me".
So Jose, trusting the large man, carried his groceries. And again the large man laughed at Jose when he asked for some bread. Every day for a week the large man would tell Jose to carry his groceries, and every day he laughed at Jose.
At the end of the week Jose was waiting for the large man to come ask him to carry the groceries, but the man never came. Instead a skinny man in a fancy suit walked down the street. The man walked up to Jose and asked, "are you Jose the grocery boy?"
"My name is Jose", he replied.
"Well I need you to carry my groceries for me", the skinny man said.
Standing up Jose followed the man to the grocery store. The skinny man bought many, many groceries. He bought everything the large man would buy, but he bought much more. He even bought bread. As they left the store the skinny man turned to Jose and said, " The large man is my brother, he is mean and a liar. He told me how he makes you carry his groceries every day without giving you bread. These groceries are for you. I apologize for my brother. He will no longer ask you to carry his groceries". The skinny man walked away, leaving Jose with many, many groceries.
"Stomach" Jose said. "Today I will fill you up with bread".

The Wifery

The wind blew the autumn leaves around and around. A man walked alone among this concert of excitement and loss. With each step his shoes would scuff the cold cement. He walked up to one of the many doors lining the street, pulled out a key and unlocked the door. With a heavy sigh he walked into the cold dark house. Too tired to make dinner, the man found himself slumped on the couch staring blankly at the television. He was remembering.

"It's time", he said to his friend.
"Time for what?" his friend replied.
"I'm going to get a wife," he said.
After a minute of sitting in awkward silence his friend asked," where will you get her from?"
"I've looked into three stores, wife patch, soul match, and wife in a basket. I've decided to try wife in a basket. They seem to have slightly better quality than the other two," he replied.

The front of the store was clean and neat. Above the entrance a large yellow sign with swirling red letters read, "Welcome to wife in a basket, come on in and get a wife". Choking down his anxiety the man pushed open the door. Responding to the door a little pudgy man popped up from behind the cash register.
"What can I help you with today?" the storekeeper asked.
"I'm looking for a wife," he replied.
"Well you came to the right store; all we sell here are wives and wives aplenty. What is your preference?" the store keeper asked.
With a look of confusion the man replied, "I'm not sure, this is my first time getting a wife".
"If you just walk this way then, I'll show you our wonderful selection of wifery," said the storekeeper.
The man followed the storekeeper trying not to be overwhelmed by the gawking women. He was about to give up when he saw her. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Only ten feet away she waited, eyeing this prospective husband up and down. There was coolness about her, a sense of self that many other women didn't have. Her light brown hair graced the top of her shoulders and her eyes sparkled with the light of a thousand stars.
"I'll take her," he said to the storekeeper.
"Excellent choice, if you step this way we can make it official" said the storekeeper.

On the drive home, the man had a hard time controlling his enthusiasm. No longer would he have to spend the long holiday season alone. The cold winter months would finally be filled with companionship instead of loneliness. As he turned the corner to his house he realized the woman was crying.
"Why are you crying?"He asked.
With a sniffle she replied, "All my life I've dreamed of this moment. I dreamed that one day a man would come and buy me and we would travel home together. Finally this day has come, and I've realized I don't want it. I just want to be free. I want to be able to choose a husband for myself. I don't want you for my husband".

His heart stopped. Everything had been so perfect. He had actually bought himself a wife, but suddenly she didn't want him as a husband. Darkness filled his soul. He stopped the car in front of his house and said, "If you don't want me I won't force it". Fiddling with the keychain he removed his house key and got out of the car.
With a face of stone he said, "For your troubles take my car, and farewell. All your belongings are in the trunk". Then he walked away, leaving his happiness, and companionship behind.

Liberation

Sometimes I let my imagination get the better of me. I sit and daydream of a day when I won't be in school. A day that leads to the nutrition of my actual desires. No longer will I be liable for busy work assigned to me in a class that I don't want to attend. I'll finally have the freedom to choose what I want to do. My research, my writing, my peace of mind will be my own. Then the ticking of a clock wakes me from my dreams. Liberation will have to wait for another day. All I can do until that day is to doggy paddle along, hoping that a wave doesn't come along to submerge my hopes.

A life more ordinary

For weeks now I have been wondering how to escape the regularity of everyday life. It has really been weighing me down. The last thing I wanted was to give in to the ordinary. I wanted to make my life different. Aware of the worry that I cause my family, I can't help but to scheme ways to achieve my goals. I even got to the point that I wanted to drop out of school, buy a dog, name it Biskut, and then roam North America on a motorcycle. Although it would lead to acheivement of some goals such as: getting a dog and a motorcycle. I realized that doing something like that isn't what I am looking for. It wouldn't lead to the freedom that I seek. Unfortunately most of my other plans followed suit, they never quite seemed to satisfy my desires. I was at a loss (and still am). As hard as I tried I couldn't find or even create "my neverland". Through my pursuit of irregularity I have learned a few things:
5 month old neices are great listeners.
It is harder than it seems to become a gypsie.
Life as a pirate is great, but short lived.
Television is the nemesis of creativity.
Pie is sweeter than cake.
A dead mouse is an unhappy mouse.
As my life has moved on, slowly, ever so slowly. I go to college, I date periodically, I go to church, I sleep in church, I play, I work, my life it has seemed extremely ordinary. It is filled with a regularity I have been trying to avoid. I don't own a motorcycle, and I don't have a dog named Biskut. Although my life is ordinary I've realized something important about ordinary lives. They aren't always ideal, but they are real. For now all I can do is to dream of "my neverland". I know dreams never achieved anything, but It is those dreams that keep me going in a life that is filled with regularity. As long as I have dreams there is hope of finding the freedom that I seek.