2003-02-21 - 9:21 a.m.
Closing the Blacksmith Shop
Gentleness, Hey, Gentlemen!
Step right up this way!
Gather close around the shop
For we're selling out today.
Come, now! Who will buy the forge
Where iron and challenger meet?
Think about it seriously.
Can you withstand the heat?
If the forge you choose to take,
Then take the bellows too.
For either taken by itself
Will be of no use to you.
They're companions like my wife and I
Who have labored side by side
To keep the farmer in his field
And our family's needs supplied.
Who will have the anvil?
You say it's old? That's true.
But it's served me well for thirty years
And it'll do the same for you.
With it goes the hammer, too,
For each would useless be
And each would be retired too soon
If taken separately.
How much for the torch and goggles?
More modern symbols they,
Than the anvil and the hammer.
Speak up, what will you pay?
How much for the nails and metal?
For a little coal and oil?
Whoever buys these things today
Must have a will to toil.
For toil is partner to them all,
An essential of the trade.
By strength of will and body
All lasting things are made.
How much for all these smaller tools?
Who needs chisels, pliers, and files?
Search through these other odds and ends.
They're laying here in piles.
No beauty in these things I sell?
All useless junk you say?
That's because to you they're only things.
But to me, of life, a way.
With them I part reluctantly
It's like mourning for the dead.
I thought perhaps I could wear them out,
But, they have worn me out instead.
Each one finds his earthly path
With many a blow fraught.
Upon the anvil of our lives
Our fate or hope is wrought.
-Author Unknown
I finally have a leave date. Looks like March 31st I will be on a plane to San Francisco. That gives me 38 days to get everything in order. That gives me 38 days to figure out what is going with me to the West Coast. That gives me 38 days to make my good-byes�Suddenly 38 days seems like such a short amount of time.
I have also looked more into what is involved in taking Casey with me. Ugh�it is not as simple as you would think. First off, I would have to fly directly out of Dulles�which means that I will need to find someone with a big enough vehicle to tote me, my big ass dog, and all the shit that I am going to be taking with me to D.C. Then there is the issue of flying conditions for animals. Lets start with saying that the ASPCA recommends that you DO NOT fly your pets if at all possible. Did you know that over 5000 pets die each year in transit on airplanes? They are put into the cargo hold of the plane, which is not pressurized, or heated/cooled lit or anything like that. Can you imagine being subjected to conditions like that for 7 or so hours? Then there is the ticket cost for him to ride in the cargo hold�$200 each way, plus the special �flight� crate that I would have to get for him, the Vet note stating he is ok to fly and resist the temperature (I just shaved the poor guy recently!). And this is just to get him to California. Once there I expect that I will be spending a fair amount of time up country�and Casey is one who likes to take walks on his own�He is part Border Collie after all. And my worry is that he will somehow get himself into trouble, lost, hurt or what have you. Sigh�
Bah�oh well, I still have 38 days to figure out what I am going to do with him. It will all work out I�m sure.
Next problem is what to take with me. Clothes of course�but what about my music (I would be lost without it) or my armor, or some blacksmithing equipment and the like. Ugh�I have to remember that I am only going to be one for 8 or so months�I don�t need all that much really�I guess. Perhaps I will finally invest in a really HARD CORE mp3 player like an IPOD or something so that I can take all my music with me. I guess that would work. And as far as my armor goes�well I could always have Vlad and Badger ship it to me�or finally take the time to make the Brig rig that I have wanted while I am in CA. And as far as blacksmithing stuff goes�I reckon I could always buy a setup when I get there�or again have Mr. Badger ship me some things. But then again who says I will have any free time to enjoy doing these things�For all I know my Pop has everything planned out for the next 8 months. I guess I really just need to wait and see what happens.
So today I learned that things are just not as well made as they used to be. Not to long ago I bought an RCA Lyra. Now this is a cute little mp3 player that I got for use at work and at the gym. It is light, small, easy to use, and holds a lot of music. Well last night I dropped the thing in the parking lot. It didn�t fall very far, only about 2 or so feet, and it had the headphones wrapped around it so it unwound as it fell�so it was slowed down somewhat by that. But his morning when I went to use the fool thing I found that the display had broken. Fuck me�it should have weathered that fall with no problem�Guess it is just life�s way of telling me that I need to get an IPOD instead. Unless yall have a better suggestion that is. (I have something like 7gigs of music that I want to take with me.)
So what have yall learned today?
NEWS FLASH!!!
I just found out via the The- BookGirl that I too am dead! What is going on here? First Bryce and now me? I am thinking that it is a conspiracy to get rid of the artisans!
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