Regret

I can't take it when my wife cries. She cried today when she read my blog - tiny tears shed because of the last line of my blog. I regret it. I suppose when you end any week, I've played more video games than she has... so why do I get so upset when she spends so much time on the PSP? I don't know... maybe it's because she's the responsible one... she's the reliable one... she's the best of the two. I love her with all my heart and everything I am... so maybe it's time I stop playing so many games too...

PSP...gamecube...whatever

My wife isn't always sure what it's called - sometimes it's a gamecube... sometimes it's a PSP... and it doesn't matter. What matters is that she can turn it on and play a puzzle game. I love her more than anything on this earth, but the PSP is a thorn in our side. She plays it when we drive - which makes driving so much more lonely. She plays it when she says she should be doing art, and gets very upset if I suggest she turn it off. Her goal, strangely, was to wipe my name from all the high score slots. She thought that if she did that, she would be satisfied. I haven't touched the game for at least a month (or more), and sure enough, her game name, "Yoda," fills every high score there is. She's addicted now... at one point she even hid the PSP under the loveseat so I wouldn't catch her playing. I'm not sure what to do... sell it? Hide it? Or just let her play it... after all, in any given week, I still spend more time gaming than she does...
This little piece of technology is truly amazing - but I think , in the end, it has created a tiny little space between us I want back.

Bad Picture - Good Guy

First off- I know this isn't a good picture. So why am I posting it? Simply because I just realized I don't really have any great pictures of someone as important as this guy is to me. His name is John, and he's one of the best guy's I've ever met. He will always be one of my best friends - someone who I love like family.

I'm hesitant to say who I would be today if it weren't for him. I was such a different person when I was younger - when I first met him at "The MART." I couldn't have expected at the time someone like him would come along and show me the path to who I am now. I was at a crossroads in my life: I liked partying far too much, would lash out at people without reserve, and had the most intense anger hidden inside me, some people were actually afraid of me... (remember Calhorn, John?). I can safely say that without him I wouldn't have the gifts I have today - a wife, a house (with two kitties in it!), and a future filled with possibility.

John was my supervisor, and he was always there for me. Even though I should have been fired dozens of times, John stood behind me, backed me up, and talked me through things. He saw the worst I had to offer - but he helped to bring out the best.

Maybe someday I'll be able to pay him back. I laugh with him at his bad luck (one of his great gifts is being able to laugh at the absolute worst life has put him through), but deep inside I wish there was something I could do for him. Who knows... maybe there is... and then I can take a better picture.

The problem with blogs...

Is that you have to update them. I'm a slacker when it comes to doing this. And the funny thing is that I have no excuse. There's no "I was too busy" or "I was out of town" or any of that junk. Nope - the answer, really, is that I've just been lazy.

SO... to pick things back up again, here is a favorite picture of mine. My friend told me of a spot at the edge of town where native Nebraska prarie is being restored. It's hard to imagine what Nebraska - or the Midwest - looked like before the entire landscape was altered...

Lightplay

I think this might be the last post from the South Dakota trip. I might have milked it long enough... the journey was a lonely one - but worth it, I think. Perhaps someday Casey and I will be able to do this more - to explore the world and share what we see.

Barriers

SO... it's not a great photo. I realize that. There is no real depth to the photo - nothing to create a sense of distance. I don't care... What's amazing about being in such remote areas of Nebraska and South Dakota are boundless distances without fences, light posts, and power lines. There were times when I would stop the car and just spend a few minutes looking out into the distance, imagining myself walking slowly through the fields and spending time enjoying the simple beauty of the land. Of course, that didn't happen. I had to hurry to get home to my wife and kitties, and I was still somewhat frightened I'd get killed by a rattlesnake.