Trespasses

I kicked my dog today, not on purpose of course, it was accidental. I was tired, it was dark and cold as we left the house for his morning walk. I was looking at the sky. I saw a planet and wondered if it was Venus in the western sky, I thought of Venus lying to the west, it made me smile. Then THUD little Jacques had walked across my stride and my big, heavy, winter boot struck him right in the ribs.

He sat down right away and looked up at me in disbelief. His sweet, brown eyes spoke of fear and betrayal.

I reached down and scratched behind his ears. I said, “Sorry boy, forgive clumsy Peter”? His little tail began to swing back and forth wildly. We finished our walk, still best friends.

You know, that nine and one half kilos of cute, has a lot to teach a guy like me.

Eau de Parfum

If you are a woman, you may have at sometime found yourself at the perfume counter of a large department store. You would have likely applied a sample to your wrist. If you were with a man, you almost certainly held out your wrist for him to offer his opinion.

That man may have taken a sniff and wondered if this store had section that sold tools. He may have thought about buying a book.

You may have been with another type of man, he would take scent of the fragrance and know that it was held aloft by the warmth of your blood. He would wish to stand with you in a dark space, because the harsh lights of the department store cause the colour of possibility to fade.

Both types of men would say the same thing to you, they would say, “That smells pretty, you should let me buy it for you”.

Secret Name

This is my bow, it has a secret name know only to it's maker. There is not a deer that it could not slay, no pheasant that it could not knock from the air, but it's owner has too soft a heart and casts arrows only at stumps in the field or targets on the range.

It is smooth and fluid in it's function. When you cock the arrow and draw the string, it feels as if you hold your arm against the current of a powerful river. Upon release, the string sings a whisper song of purpose. The arrow's flat trajectory closes the distance to the target in an instant.

This is my bow, it has a secret name known only to me.

A Link

My blog, this place here, started on a whim. I thought that I would post my thoughts and photos, I thought that I might follow a few other blogs and find some inspiration and a different way of looking at the world. I liked that people looked at my pictures and read my words, such encouragement I received, so far beyond any I had given. Through blogging I've made a great friend and read so many wonderful things and viewed such lovely photographs, paintings, read some fantastic writing.

When I first started, I made a rule that I would only post things that I had created... but now I see that we live by too many rules and I think I'll post this link to a video of a song at I would hear on the CBC as I rolled down the highway in my service van. Rolling into cities large and the small towns of southern Ontario, fixing things for people, chatting with people and sharing a joke. I drove hundreds of kilometres a day, and when I heard this song on the radio it made me feel like I was in the groove, I could feel all that road moving underneath me, sliding along on a grand asphalt ribbon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHNAFRg6jYA

Light

I'm glad that churches have windows. Whenever I see one, I have an urge to peer in. I wonder what mysteries are housed within it's walls. When I stand within the church my eye is again drawn to the window. I wonder at the mysteries of the world outside. I think of the force of light that pushes through coloured glass, trying to reach my soul.

Light, so important to a man with a camera. It just doesn't illuminate your subject, it sometimes feels as if it is pushing on you. It sometimes feels like the breath of the divine.

Turtleneck

Sometimes a Thursday will suddenly tower over you, it will try to push you down and break you. When this happens you need to put on your turtleneck sweater, because there is something about a turtleneck that makes you walk upright. It causes you to level your gaze as you you meet your fellows on the the street. A construction worker will flick away his cigarette and nod at you as he meets your eyes. He knows what kind of man you are, he sees you as a peer. The man in the suit is friendly toward you, he holds the door and lets you enter the coffee shop first. The girl behind the counter smiles, she seems glad to see you, you don't usually come in at this time of day.

Later as you walk down the street with a warm paper cup in hand, you catch sight of yourself reflected in a shop window. Even before you recognize the figure that gazes at you from the pane of glass, you think, My God, that man has dignity.