The Myth & The Majesty

Tonight I feel ambitious and so does my foot as it sinks on the pedal; I press it to the floor ... The night is beckoning although I have nowhere to go but home -- feels good to be alone. With every turn comes a new frame of mind; if I could frame my mind, where would it hang? ... This is an open road song ... 3 days. 21 hours in a vehicle. 1,453 miles. 46 gallons of gas. 4 random meals, 4 fast-food meals, two soccer games, and one wedding. Two replaced brake pads. Well I had a dream I stood beneath an orange sky. What a weekend. It started in Wausau, landed in Minneapolis for a night and a good chunk of Saturday, moved to Sioux Falls for about 14 hours, then ran to Pierre for another 18. It ended back in Wausau, 75 hours after it had started. Welcome to the beautiful ... The drive was green and gorgeous all the way across. Even eastern South Dakota looked good -- something I haven't willingly admitted in several years. The flat, open space and lengths of highway made me a little n...

Every once in awhile, a song hits me. Most of the time, I don't know why. This is no exception. The Beautiful (Five For Fighting) There's a bar on my head There's a cross for my bed There's my heart in my hand There's my stick in the sand Here where the world starts spinning round take a ride and you'll feel what you've never found Here when the stars start fading out you hear the angels laughing without a sound Welcome to the beautiful She sits here; far away in my breast, in my grace She's the best; the best of me She my love, she's my queen talking to me And when your world starts spinning down take a ride and you'll feel what you never found When the stars start fading out You hear the angels laughing without a sound Welcome to the beautiful I met myself just today Came alive in my grave And I'm the best, the best of me For you my love; for you I'll be When the world starts slowing down Take a ride and you'll feel what you never f...

She leaned her head against the window, watching patchwork fields and river ropes creep by. It had been an interesting weekend, a wonderful weekend, an exhausting and emotional weekend. Now, she was technically on a business trip, three hours from her current place of residence. As far as she was concerned, she had left home an hour before. The iron bird skated across layers of atmosphere, touching down in a stomach-jarring (if not unsettling) manner and coming to rest in place next to the airport. As she found the tram and cruised through the terminal, she closed her eyes, both in exhaustion and remembrance. The weekend had started with a late taxi, a couple flights with good conversation, and a happy greeting at home. She had managed to talk to just about everybody she intended to catch while she was there in a variety of scenarios, including a barbeque with friends, a meal with grandparents, late nights, early mornings, days of bouncing around, a church in which she was always comfo...

It will probably take awhile before I'm used to living somewhere with real humidity. After five years in a veritable desert, it's a bit of a shock to walk outside and have the air stick to me. On a day like today -- it's looked like rain since before the sun rose -- it reminds me of North Carolina, both in feel and in scent. But no matter. In four days, I'm returning to said desert for the weekend. That's right, it's back to Rapid City! I'm pretty psyched about it ... It's been awhile and I've really missed it. I have a feeling that Rapid City will always feel more like home than anywhere else I live. In any case, that's this weekend. So if you want to avoid me, it'll be a little harder than it has been lately. And if you don't -- call me! (Be warned, though, you might get hit up for a ride, as I will be short a vehicle for the weekend.) On Sunday, I'm headed back as far as Minneapolis. There, I get to attend a week long hazardous mat...