Imagination: A Good Thing to Possess

September 26, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

I named this rock formation “Alien Rock”

I didn’t get on the river until around 4:30 p. m. and I knew I wouldn’t have time to do a lot of fishing. I did realize that the retreating sunlight should present some great photo ops so I began looking for those shots that would show the amazing beauty of Mother Nature.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

My mind was working overtime and my imagination was like that of a 60s “flower child” who had taken a hallucinogenic drug. I took several pics of the rock I had named “Alien Rock” trying to capture what I was seeing in my mind. I think the above pic was the best picture to portray what I was seeing and I hope you can see it too.

To me it looks like an alien’s head slowly ascending out of the water just revealing its eyes and nostrils that had just broke the surface of the water. I imagined it rising completely out of the water revealing a body as tall as the bluffs around it.

Well, maybe I am losing it. Maybe the crazy stuff going on in the world is finally taken its toll on me. Maybe I have drank too many Jack and Cokes in my life time. Naw, one can’t drink too many Jack and Cokes. I got it, I need to quit drinking the kool-ade! That’s it!

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” – Robert Fulghum; All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Thoughts On Common Things

Was the alien there extracting lead from underneath the river bed; after all this is part of the old lead belt, or was he looking for a McDonald’s fish filet sandwich? Maybe he is stashing green kryptonite in case he ever had a run in with Superman? Was he a game warden in disguise spying on me. Oh so many possibilities!

Hello, earth to Wayne. Well back to regular programming. Once I figured out what the alien was doing I began floating back to what the locals call the “Bone Hole” and fished as I went. I managed to catch a small largemouth and several small perch. I think the alien must have scared the fish off. Oh crap, it is getting dark. Where did that alien go? I am skeered I tells ya!

“Logic will get you from A to Z; Imagination will get you everywhere”. – Albert Einstein

I hope you enjoyed today’s blog. I am a firm believer that great artists ( painters, writers, musicians, etc.) are full of imagination. I feel it is a must to be really good at what you do. I think we need to emphasize it more than we do. One can not suffer from too much imagination; well maybe I need to rethink that one.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. It is deeply appreciated. Remember to spread the love.

Almost There

June 23, 2017 / doubledacres / 4 Comments

{Left to Right} Mark’s Grandson, David, Me and Mark

“Remember the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr

I thought the above quote was quite appropriate however I can’t speak for David and Mark. In the movie Wild Hogs four middle aged men hit the road for adventure on motorcycles. So I guess for three guys hitting the open river for 7 days in kayaks and canoe, I guess we would be called the Wild Yaks. Hopefully we wont hear banjos.

Some months back I had mentioned to them that I was going to do a seven day float on the river and they thought it was such a great idea that they wanted in, so on Saturday the Geritol Crew will begin a seven day journey down the beautiful Big River. I guess we should call it the Rice Krispies float because every time we get out of the boats you can hear snap, crackle, pop.

14051575_10153914141918041_5227124425302298728_n (1)

One of the places we will pass by. I call it Rock of David, because my friend David brought it to life in water color.

I hate to say it but this float trip was brought together by Facebook. Mark, David and I graduated together and were reunited by Facebook. I will let you know how many bottles of Geritol we go through. Instead of butcher, baker and Indian Chief we have, retired teacher, bails bondsman and semi-retired horseshoer. What a combination. Well with three wild sixty-three year old men unsupervised on the river, I think the bails bondsman will be most beneficial. I just hope I don’t overdose on Geritol.

Another site we will see on the Big River

I have our trip planned to cover around 6 to 8 miles a day. I hope we reach Cherokee Landing by Monday evening. Our final destination is going to be Washington State Park south of De Soto, MO. I figure it is about a forty-five mile float. I hope to get lots of pics and fish. My wish is to some day float the whole Big River and Bourbeuse River.

“Friends…they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.” – Henry David Thoreau

As our time draws closer my mind wanders back to the times in school when life was so much simpler. Then my mind rockets back to the present making me realize how much different things are today. We all seem to have a little more snow on the roof. Our step doesn’t have as much spring in it as it used to have. I know some mornings I get up and notice that the “git” in my “git along” all ready got up and left without me. Our friendship has endured a long time. I am looking forward to taking a trip down memory lane this weekend, going back to a time when you all climbed into one car and dumped all your change out to get enough gas in the car to ride around all night. Life was good.

Another place on the river we will pass by.

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Be kind to one another and share the love. Don’t squat with your spurs on and God Bless you one and all.

Believe in Yourself

January 28, 2017 / doubledacres / 1 Comment

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” -Norman Cousins

I remember the first time I read this quote. I was completely blown away. Can you say profound? I mean wow. Just wow!

How many of you have had that “something” die inside you? Were you devastated? Did you feel your life was in a downward spiral out of control? Maybe you didn’t feel any of these. People handle things quite differently. I still remember that day “something” died inside of me.

It was my freshman year of high school. I had always loved art. I had been told that I was talented and should consider taking some classes to hone and fine tune my artistic skills. I decided to enroll in an art class. I was going to pursue a career in art..

Classes began and I couldn’t wait to immerse myself into the class and learn everything I could to make myself a better artist. Things were going pretty good and I was excited that I could see improvement in my work. Then it happened. One thing I could never draw was people. I struggled at it. I was sure that my art teacher could take me under his wing and explain to me what I was doing wrong and teach me how to draw people. Wrong! Not that teacher any way.

I was asked to stay after class one day. That is when I got the wind knocked out of me. My teacher asked me if I was serious about an art career and I said absolutely and I told him I realized drawing people was my weakness and that I was going to work hard to overcome that. Then he looked me in the eyes and asked me, “Why are you wasting mine and your time? You are obviously never going to get anywhere with it and you should find something else to spend your time on.”

I was dumbfounded. I had all these people telling me I should consider an art career and the art teacher is basically telling me that I suck at it. I was devastated to say the least. I finished the art class and pretty much gave up. I had friends that tried to encourage me to start drawing again but “something” died inside me that day and would never surface again.

“Follow your passion. be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” – Donovan Bailey

I don’t blame the teacher. I blame myself. He might have gave up on me but I should have never gave up on me. I should have worked harder and kept my dream alive. I let my dream fade and did nothing to stop it. Lesson learned.

Thanks for reading. Be kind to one another, share the love and God Bless you one and all.