hard labor

We saw Wall-E tonight.  Great movie.

This on the heels of working 

the last two days

cleaning out our garage

and laying tile in our basement.

The weekend before, we cleaned up

after our tree was struck down

by a storm.

Hard, physical labor.

For years, I belonged to a gym

Lifting weights, running on a treadmill

you know the drill.

Yet there is beauty and fulfillment

in the physical labor of 

caring for your home.

The next time you hire someone

to paint, to lay tile

to clean up your yard

know that this is exhausting

aching work.

that you could do yourself

and in the process

get a good work out

and a real sense of accomplishment.

to george carlin

i watched george carlin tonight

1978 performance

george, i'm smiling tonight

thank you

you were bold enough to question

and break the rules

you even shattered the

thin thread that held 

my hope of reincarnation

i'll miss you

and i hope you went out

the way you always wanted to

with a bang.

Driving 95 toward Richmond

is about as fun as spending a day

in the bathroom with a stomach virus

This experience let us to forgo our commitment

the reason we were headed in that direction

and just keep on going

to greener pastures

or, more accurately,

blue waters and sunset skies.

We arrived in Roanoke Island, NC 

at 8 p.m, hopped on the complimentary

bikes and explored the town at sunset

stopping at a local store to grab some wine

and snack, then bike back to the inn.

Sometimes you just go for it.

Listen to the voice, and let it guide you.

After Manteo on Roanoke Island, we

were led to Edenton.

It was a quaint, coastal town

lit up by the waterfront festival that day

where children climbed the rock wall,

learned to sail, and ate the biggest sausages of all.