Soaking In The Symphony Of Sol…

One last official ride on the “pickle.” Oh the bliss of the open road…

No Photos Inside Starbucks… WTF???

It is May 29, 2009; the last day of the Third Grade for my oldest son. I thought it would be nice to take him somewhere other than Sonic, or McDonalds for breakfast. I usually go to Starbucks in the morning when I have time, and have always found this to be a great way to start the morning. I figured a little conversation, a tasty drink, with a yummy treat and we would be all set…

I like to record certain things for posterity, events in my son’s life being one of them. Because of this, I brought my camera to take pictures of his last day in Third Grade. We got to the Starbucks, and I started taking pictures. A bunch of pictures. The little man looking at the treats, looking at the floor, looking at dad, etc… The folks behind the counter were quite friendly about the whole thing. Until we made our choices and paid for our stuff. Once this happened, the lady behind the counter told me…

“It is Starbuck’s Corporate Policy that no photographs be taken inside the store.”

I thought to myself, how convenient it is that she waited until we paid. I also mentioned that this “policy” should be displayed somewhere so proud fathers would know not to take their newly minted Fourth Graders inside for breakfast. Further I wondered if Starbucks was trying to keep something a secret, like the fact that they SELL COFFEE!!!!!!!!

So we went and sat outside! Fortunately, it is a beautiful day in North Texas, and I was happy to experience it. I took a few more pictures, and we went off to his last day in Third Grade!

Anyway, here is a picture of my boy, INSIDE the Starbucks!!!

That is all. Have a GREAT day!!!

KORBEK

Rogaine, the Pokemon…

Well, it is Monday night, and I am once again hanging at the public library with my oldest boy as he enjoys a couple hours playing Pokemon with some of the kids from the area.

Pokemon… When he first got into Pokemon, I had no idea how big a phenomenon this was. Sure, I had heard about it from other parents, but like that purple bastard dinosaur Barney, and those inane colored beastly Tele-Tubbies, I figured he would just skip over this fad as well. NOPE!!! We now have two subjects to discuss… Pokemon, and SpongeBob. Oh my.

The Pokemon adventure all began one evening in the local Target. He and I were there purchasing something VERY IMPORTANT to dad when he asked me if he could get some Pokemon cards. I thought, why not? I got something, he should too. Today, several HUNDREDS of dollars later, two Nintendo DS units, and countless Pokemon cards, games, books and what not, we find ourselves at the public library. Fortunately, society has become much more tolerant, and even supportive of the eccentricities of today’s youth. When I was a kid, I enjoyed skateboarding. Sadly, this was the sport of the outcast when I was a child. There was no real place we could go to enjoy the company of like minded kids. Today, my son gets to hang out all kinds of Pokemon obsessed kids. Even the girls are into it! How cool IS THAT? I could only dream of a skateboard chick. OOOOOHHHHH Skater girl, Is that a skateboard in my pants, or am I just happy to see ya? Yeah, I miss those days of skinned knees, and gravel filled elbows. Good times.

Anyway, this is about my oldest, and how he finds happiness in things I am challenged to understand. He won a new character in his latest DS game, Pokemon Platinum. Some character that starts with an R, kinda sounds like Rogaine to the old man. Alas, he is so happy to just come and be with people of his own kind… PokeNuts!!! Was that mean? Nah, he is a nut about the game, the cards, the TV show, the video games, and anything else Pokemon. Just like the “almost eligible for an AARP card” dad used to want to buy anything that had Tony Alva’s name on it. I understand the harmless obsession to possess anything that may increase his stock in that all consuming world of Pokemon.

Anyway, here we are, enjoying some quality time, father and son, Dialga and Rogaine. What a great time to be a kid. Love ya son!!!

That is all…
KORBEK

Drowning In The Shallow End Of Life…

It is amazing how a human will fall spell bound under another because of a simple event like a compliment…

It is equally amazing how that spell can be broken by another simple event such as the insincerity of a shallow smile…

As we move through life, we seek out the substance of living. In an attempt to fill the void however, many of us constantly drown in the quick fix of human shallowness. Today, as many times before, I was reminded how difficult a goal this is to achieve when one forsakes the truly important value substance holds in the human soul…

In a half life, half filled with half measures, the emptiness of the shallow fix is undeniably appealing. Having been married four times, and living in a world of music, my life has been filled with the promise of love on a Greyhound bus, with fast memories, and the even faster loss of those memories. I held in my sub-concsious a vision that if I broke enough hearts, my heart would be full. I found however, that it was my heart left broken, ultimately devoid of anything meaningful. Substance it turns out, may be a fleeting goal at best…

I looked in the eyes of an angel, and hoped I had discovered the end to my quest. The dream was ahead of me, yet still just over the horizon. I told myself that patience would win the day, and that day was close at hand. After several years of self adulation, and ill-gotten shallowness, I saw the angel again. In the wink of an eye, and a flash of her shallow smile, the dream and feelings were gone; fruition naught. I walked away realizing the substance I sought was not to be found this day.

Now, in a little town known for cattle, and suburbia, I have realized my substance, my “wirklichkeit.” Two happy healthy children, and a beautiful loving wife; my life is complete. The quest no longer haunts me. At the end of the day, I know where my heart is, and that is where I go, Home…

Keep the dream alive, only this way can the dream come true…

That is all…
KORBEK

The Moral Compass – South By Southwest

In a recent post, The Moral Compass, I wrote about how life was good, but I was faced with a decision that would effect everyone around me. Folks who read it had determined that I was discussing the possibility of my divorcing my wife. I must admit now that this was an experiment…

No, I am not getting divorced, and all is well in the family.

So, what was the purpose of the post? Two things. There was a decision that had to be made, which we will get to in a bit, but first… I wanted to see how peoples minds worked, and they appear to work as I had assumed. The first thought that entered folks minds was the one they latched onto. Without any supporting data, the assumption was made that I was trying to decide whether or not to leave my family of ten years. Granted, the writing was such that it did sound like that might be a possibility. One of you, “Yo Ana!”almost picked up on it, but then moved back to the original thought of divorce. She asked if I was leaving Texas (all because of the one sentence in the second paragraph using the word “Texas.” Good catch!

Anyway, distraction is an AMAZING thing. We do not realize it, but it happens all the time. We are distracted all the time by our employers, our government, our family, and even ourselves. Why is this? I theorize that when we cannot dig down to factual truth, we will…

A. Take what we are being told, and make that our truth.
B. Grasp onto the first thing that makes sense, and that becomes our truth.
C. Relate the new information to something we already know, and that becomes our truth.

Often, there is more than just A,B, or C. Once we have determined our truth however, it is very difficult for the brain to step away from it, or even consider another look. Do we blame ourselves for allowing the distraction to take place? Should we? The answer I think is… MAYBE! It really depends on the situation. What I mean is, was the distraction intentional, as in the previous Moral Compass post, or the Iraq War WMD justification, or was it unintentional? If it was intentional, where someone meant to distract, then no. You cannot be held to blame for that. If it was unintentional, and we simply jumped to an unfounded conclusion, then yes, we are to blame.

Now, why the need for distraction. Well, personally, I feel distraction is tantamount to lying, but sometimes there may be a need for it. I feel that distraction allows one to obfuscate the truth, but still put it out there for the initiated to figure out. Also, I think it is used sometimes to allow the distractor “plausible deniability.” What I mean by this is, if someone distracts with disinformation, they can later say that they put the information out there, but no one picked up on it. Or, you can flat out tell the truth, but bury it in a place that few will notice. Consider the news ticker at the bottom of the tv screen. A story scrolls by one time at three in the morning. The network can say they ran it, but you did not catch it.

OK, so where does that leave this whole Moral Compass thing?!?

Well, Ana picked up on it, but did not run with it. I had been contacted a company from my hometown regarding an employment opportunity. It looked like I might have a chance, and so I would be faced with a decision that would effect the entire family, my job here in Texas, and everything I had worked to accomplish in the last ten years. If you read it again with this information, it will all make sense. Yes, I distracted on purpose… SHAME ON ME. It did however achieve the purpose I wanted. It misled, and also helped reveal our propensity to believe what our mind tells us is truth.

I am not taking the job, and all is well here in Texas. On a lighter note however, I told you all this, just so I could tell you this…

My better 75% was telling my oldest son that there was a possibility I would take a job up north, and out of the MOUTH OF BABES, came the following words…

“Daddy will have to get up really early to leave for work!”

She then tried explaining to him that the drive takes two days when we go to visit grandma, and again…

“Wow, daddy will have to leave the day before just to get there on time…!!!”

All I could think of was Dr. Cosby, and the show Kids Say The Darndest Things…

So go out, make a little distraction in your life. See what happens. Also, rethink the things you take as truth. I am willing to bet you will find that some have been a distraction away from something else. Once you do that, it will be time to talk conspiracy theory!

Any way you slice it, have a GREAT weekend!!!

That is all…

KORBEK

Tobi Allen… Pooch Extraordinaire

It is a twofer Thursday…

As I am making my trip to hang in the ‘Bucks with the Earl and the fritter, and while I am testing the brakes and my sphincter (mentioned in the other post this morning), my dear wife calls…

Apparently, the fine canine that is Tobi Allen, has gone AWOL again. She and I discuss where he might be. I make a couple suggestions like he might be trapped in the office. He goes in there sometimes, and I close the door without knowing he went in. Also, he might have slipped past my son and I when we were outside looking for my paper. Young son #1 tends to leave the door open, and Mr. Allen takes advantage of that opportunity when he thinks he can get away with it. For the record, I did not find my paper this morning (do you hear that WSJ?!?!?!?),

She called me back after a few minutes to let me know that everywhere she had looked had turned up ZIPPO, NADA, no walking carpet, or canine for that matter. We talk for a few moments, and decide that since he has come home before, he probably would this time. I hang up, and continue dealing with the AS*****S mentioned in the previous post…

A few more minutes pass…

The phone rings, and low and behold, Tobi Allen has been found. Where you might ask? UNDER MY PILLOW IN THE BEDROOM!!! J had looked in there for a bit, looking in he closet, under the bed, the bathroom, but had turned up nothing. There he was, just hanging out under the pillow. J said hat when she asked him what he was doing under the pillow, he just looked at her with his big bat ears, and wagged his tail.

Dogs, go figure…

The End

KORBEK

The Rush Hour Sphincter Factor

I left the house around 6:10 this morning to hang with the Earl and the fritter. Along the way, I ran into, how do I say this… Hmm, let’s just put it out there: AS*****S!!!

Traffic was pretty bad this morning, and I was doing my best to observe everything around me so as not to become a statistic or a report on the Sirius/XM DFW traffic report. Well, apparently, I did not get the AS****E Thursday memo, because some douche bag felt it necessary to tailgate me for a good tenth of a mile before he banked left, swerved around my car, cutting off two others, just so he could cut in front of me, then put on his brakes! Oh sir, you are so droll, and if you have read my blog in the past, you are also a GREAT AMERICAN!!!

I guess cutting off the little blue Ford Edge was not all the ignorance he had in mind. Once he got near a merge lane, he swerved into it, cutting off several merging cars so he could gain a couple seconds on his commute. Deep inside, I really hoped that as my journey progressed, I would see a red Ford truck with a sticker that read HB on the lower right of the tailgate in the ditch somewhere, or better yet, pulled over by Mr. Johnathon Litigator. Alas, it was not to be…

That was my first “pucker” experience this morning. The second was no less dangerous, but not nearly as dramatic…

As I continued on to my morning appointment with the Earl, this 53 foot (that’s what it said right there on the trailer) big rig decided he wanted to get over into traffic, so he did. I had the opportunity to fully test the brakes this morning, and I am happy to report that they work!

AS*****S!

That is all

Take a few extra moments to cut someone off today on your way down the road. I am sure they will appreciate it. If you see the little blue Ford Edge, try to remember I have been cut off twice today, and I believe in baseball… THREE STRIKES, AND YOU WILL BE OUT! Have a GREAT day! AS*****S…

KORBEK

The Moral Compass…

It is a wonderfully crisp morning here in northern Texas, and I am here once again with the Earl and my morning fritter…

I have a quandary that I am unsure my feeble human brain can navigate successfully. My life is pretty good, and for the most part, I am content. Now however, an opportunity may present itself that will not only allow continued contentment, but potentially happiness as well. The problem is, my committment to those who have been with me for this great ride here in Texas…

I know that with time, the people effected by any decision I might make will move on with their lives, and probably be stronger for it, but it still gnaws at my being. The moral compass my mother, and to some degree, my father have given me is not the same one I will pass on to my young sons. On several levels this bothers me. What signal am I sending to them about loyalty, committment, integrity and life in general? Hopefully they will know that in the end, I have done what I felt was best for all parties involved. If my happiness lies somewhere else, then staying where I am will only lead to misery for all, and ultimately a dysfunctional relationship…

Time will only tell what happens next, but rather than a moral compass to hand off, i think I will provide my sons with a moral GPS. Hopefully this will help them to make decisions that are more accurate, and less destructive than the one that I am now faced with…

Face the day with an open mind and heart, and embrace your uncertainty. After all, you only live once!

That is all…

KORBEK

I Walk In, She Calls Me Hon, I Melt…

What is it about a beautiful woman that makes a man to lose all sensibility?

I moved to Texas in the fall of 1999, and discovered a whole new world of confusion when it comes to male/female interaction. When the Better Half and I moved here, we did not start out with a place to stay. We bunked with someone else. As such, we ate out a lot (still do for that matter…). One restaurant we frequented was IHOP. One day we were in the local IHOP, and the waitress came to the table, asked my fiance what she would like, then turned to me and said…

What can I get for you hon?

Well! Where to start!!! See, in Michigan where I am originally from, a question like that is a proposition. One which being the typical male that I am, rarely goes unanswered. So, my first thought was to give her my best Joey from Friends impression… “How you doin?”

Fortunately, having failed at more relationships than I have succeeded in, I simply looked confused. My Better Half shook me back to reality, telling me to order something! Well, we got through the meal, but I still get anxious when a beautiful woman calls me Hon. I am after all, A Man!

This morning at the ‘Bucks, this beautiful red head girl (oh my, Peanuts reference!!!) behind the counter said “You want your usual, Hon?” Of course my mind went to that place that we don’t talk about in polite company, and I started to say… “You know it baby!” But like a big girly man, I just said… “Sure!”

Now, would I have actually pursued that course of action had I said something naughty to the IHOP waitress, or the red head girl at the ‘Bucks? Most likely not, but this is how the game is played. It is one of the things that makes us feel vital, and important to ourselves and others. That feeling that someone would say something a little naughty to us in public, and actually hope to hear something in kind in return.

When I drink my morning Earl Grey, I put in some Equal sweetener, and it melts pretty fast. This morning however, it was I that melted first. Thanks Hon, for making my day!!!

That is all…

KORBEK

How Rude…

So, I was in the mall yesterday getting some new glasses. The ones I had been wearing were at least two prescriptions old, and things have been getting fuzzier every day. Well, I had the eye exam, and yep, the doc said it was getting close to that time… FOR BI-FOCALS!!! I knew it was coming, but I did not want to acknowledge that it had arrived. So, I opted to get the single vision lenses, rater than get the old dust farter lenses…

But I digress. As I was wandered about the mall, waiting for my new specs to be completed, I would pass by vendors hawking their wares in the middle of the mall corridors. There were these three guys that were trying to get folks to buy something colorful. As folks would walk by, they would say something to get the passerby’s attention, with little or no success.

Anyway, I walked from one end and back a couple times. On my final walk back to the Lens Crafters, there they were. As the were loitering about, this very attractive woman showed up on their radar. They jumped into action, trying to wolf a sale from the girl, and of course get into her pants. Fortunately, the woman recognized “jerk” when she saw it, and avoided them. As she walked by, the three of them took turns leering and cat calling at the poor victim of their uncivilized, and reprehensible behavior. Such a sad commentary on the state of civility in some folks. “Pigs” like this ruin it for the many of us trying to play nicely with others.

How Rude!!!

That is all…

KORBEK