One Thousand Gratitudes, Part XV: 650-626

I wish it were easier to tie up categories without post overlap, but what're'ya' gonna do?

Things -- it would seem -- got a touch intimate in this installment, and I hope that when that happens my coveted army of three readers doesn't get squeamish or offended. I'm trying to keep things real both in here and anytime I write. That's always been the intention and until I learn otherwise it always will be.

After I posted the last installment, my wife asked me if I thought this series had changed me.

I think the answer is "yes," but I think it's also a work in progress. It's easy to be in one mindset, then slip into another.

Rest assured, though, I'm trying to view the world as a thankful dude.

There's a lot of awesome out there.

And all of you are certainly part of it.

Thanks for reading.

One Thousand Gratitudes, Part XIV: 675-651

As I nibble away at the 600s it occurs to me that I have a ton of good memories, and a ton for which I am thankful. Thinking it and typing it are but two pieces, though; I must act like it.

In trying to do so, I'm also trying to be more conscious of judgment.

I don't want to think something of someone or communicate said something because I think his or her whine or gripe isn't legit'. It's tough, though.

So many people in the world exist in shitty environments or are under the control of shitty people or simply cannot crawl out from the shit into which they were born.

If you're reading this my guess is that -- chances are -- you've got it pretty good.

That doesn't mean you can't want change or seek more. It just means look around and try to at least imagine being thankful for the food you have to eat. You might feel better about things.

Thank you for reading.

One Thousand Gratitudes, Part XIII: 700-676

After a productive February and a promising start to March, I hit a lull last week. Having a busy home calendar, everyone fighting bugs of one sort or another, and some combination of fatigue/apathy, I wrote but a couple hundred words. Back at it this morning, though, and lucky you -- you get to read about a bunch of the hats I've worn in the last 25 years.

Feel free to skip it. I know I would.

Seven Hundred: Exchange City

One Thousand Gratitudes, Part XII: 725-701

Dropping a brief one in this morning. This installment contains a bunch of family members that most people won't know, and it contains a couple of friends that most family members won't know. Better still, it features some public figures that a good number of neither friends nor family members will know, so it should make for a solid read with a ton of traffic.

Pleased to have had such a productive February with this series and hope that March will mirror it.

With that, I bid adieu to the 700s. You look a lot better walkin' away than you did comin' at me. Thanks for the continued readership, commentary, and compliments, people. I appreciate you all.

Seven Hundred Twenty-Five: Katarina

            My Uncle Jack married a second time, which -- anti-institution guy that he is -- surprised me. I got to meet this lady and she and all of her Swedishness exuded nothing shy of sweet beauty. They’ve been out of one another’s lives for some time now, but I have incredible memories of her jumping in with everyone in the family as though she’d known us all her life. Amazing lady. Hope she has found happiness.