Life with The Swell Guy!

Pocket Thoughts - #4

  
  
 

It's a Blues Monday

Thanks to Branko Rieger for turning me on to guitarist Roy Buchanan during last week's Lander Radio Sound Session Podcast. Back when he was a college student Branko saw Roy play live in a bar in Bladensburg, MD. That had to be awesome. I hope you enjoy Roy's nod to Jimi on this cut. 

The Best of Wood & Steel (Guitar) Podcast

 I had the privilege to be on another Lander Radio Sound Session Podcast this week. The panelist all picked three songs that are excellent examples of great guitar work. The picks were interesting and the other panelists are all great and unique individuals.  Click here to download it free on iTunes. Enjoy.

You can't cook pork on a grill shaped like a pig!

We have had a number of new BBQ joints popping up in and around Greenwood recently. I spotted this on the front porch of the new Merry Oaks BBQ today. I'm guessing Momma wants to keep the nice grill up front for company and Daddy does the cookin' on a real smoker out back.

Another Stop @ Crenshaw's

My brother, Brian, was in town on his way to Atlanta. On our way to Greenville for dinner we stopped at Crenshaw's Store in Cold Point. I'm sure they think I am a little crazy when I stop with a camera, but the photo opportunities are just the best. Good times.

What...does...the...yellow...light...mean?

I laugh every time I think about this classic moment in sitcom history.  Make sure you hang around for the last minute.

As seen at yesterday's cycling event...

I'm not quite sure what class they entered.

Coming Soon

In less than two weeks Denine and I will be spending time here. The fact that we will be with our own Baby Girl, well ...that just leaves me speechless. Soon now.

Compound

Earlier this summer we went on a cruise with my sister's family and my parents to celebrate Mom & Dad's 50th. wedding anniversary.  It was a good opportunity to catch up with each other and take in some sunshine.  I really enjoyed the time to read on the days at sea.

For me cruise ships are a different world that is a little surreal. They remind me of a casino in that much effort is made to feed, entertain, and make you forget that there are other things going on out there off the ship. One thing I would have preferred would have been more time to explore away from the ship on the days we were docked on various islands.

We stopped at a total of three ports. One was a private island owned by the cruise line and the other two islands had restaurants and shopping right at the ship. Some of the shopping was local crafts and some of the shops were more like what one finds in an upscale shopping mall at home. One port had a compound with a Margaritaville and well appointed beach right by the dock. I noticed this was as far as most tourists ventured.

Denine was not feeling well on the day we were at Grand Turk Island and decided not to leave the area, but she encouraged me to go explore. I noticed that just outside the compound fence there were several island guys renting Jeeps, golf carts, and bicycles to people who wanted to go to town or explore the island. I paid one of the men $10 for a bicycle rental. My sister, her husband Dan, and their two kids, Jonathan & Rachel, decided to rent a golf cart to go look around and have lunch in town.

After spinning three or four miles I approached Cockburn Town, the capital of Turks and Caicos Islands, I stopped in the road because a small herd of horses was blocking the intersection. A man stepped out of a walled cemetery and ran them off. He asked where I was from and as I chatted with him I found out he had lived in Atlanta for more than two decades, but had returned to his home island a few years ago to enjoy a much simpler life as caretaker of a local park and cemetery. He told me that he made a few hundred dollars a month, but it was enough to live the life he wanted.

The capital town has several thousand inhabitants. The upscale homes and a few inns are towards the northern outskirts. The center of town has simple brightly colored block homes, a few small stores, several bars, and a couple of restaurants.  I stopped to take a photo of an old bike chained to a large block in the center of an empty lot. Two guys next door shouted out greetings, so I wandered over to say hello. They told me the owner of the lot had lived close by and when he died suddenly his friends had chained his bike on the lot as a memorial to his life.

I continued to pedal around town then then on towards the opposite end of the island. Several places like the fish fry joint at the docks made for interesting photos so I stopped from time to time. Before I rode back to the ship I made one last stop for a soda at the Dominican convenience store. We exchanged greetings and talked about the wild horses & burros that roam all over the town. 

When I returned the bike I noticed it was the only one that had been rented. The several men handling rentals hang out together under an umbrella and I asked about the rental tally for the day. It was one Jeep, six golf carts, and one bike for a large size cruise ship holding thousands of people. Including the few buses and taxi cabs that I saw I'd guess less than one percent of the ship left the compound owned by the cruise ship company.

On vacation I believe people should relax however they wish. It's up to them. I just wonder how many went home and said they saw Grand Turk. Nothing significant happened while I roamed the island, but I did have an opportunity to meet people in a different place and I was better for it. 

What a striking metaphor on how so many of us live. Do we make home, work, church, and our social circle our compound? Or do we make some other mix of how we spend our time our compound? What is my compound? What is yours? What are we missing that is close by when we refuse or ignore the opportunity to explore?

It is so easy to look at and talk about tragedy on the other side of the world. But what are we doing to meet the hurting person just down the road? Are we noticing and taking care of the widows and the orphans? Are we getting to know people who are not...like...us? Do we understand seeing and helping in the world starts by seeing and helping close to home? Or are we too busy on the compound?

Time after time in the four gospels Christ is out with his followers and instead of doing what his group is doing he stops or redirects his attention to notice what is happening on the fringe. Sometimes it takes slowing down to notice. Sometimes that takes exploring a little further out from our usual path. And some days it takes changing our schedule.

I appreciated the reminder that I need to leave the compound to live fully. I pray that I continue to do that and I pray that you do to. Let's leave the compound. There is an adventure out there for us.

Good Advice for Men - No. 51

Let them know the only thing you want for your birthday is time with them....and maybe a little cake and ice cream if they insist.