It’s surprising what happens to the ol’ little gray cells when they’re completely exhausted! Over the last week or two I’ve been feverishly transcribing my Brazil trip travel notes and ran across this entry from our outgoing middle-of-the-night flight from Miami to Rio:

Saturday, November 7 – 1 am? 2 am? 3 am?

Leaning against the window, gazing sleeplessly out into the night, I contemplate the moonlit clouds below us as we fly south like a migrating bird. Tiny lights, random scatterings of glowing fairy dust, sprinkle the slumbering ground below, distinguishing hamlets and towns from silent countryside. Some of them are quite large, though of course everything is still small from this height.

I briefly wonder of the lives I’m passing over, likely never to meet or interact with. Still, the fact of their presence is enough to capture their existence here in these few words. What loves, what fears, what joys and passions are there, beneath the now slowly drawn lace curtain of cloud? Only they – and God – know. I resist the urge to wave as they slowly fade into the night behind our wings.

I read that later and wondered, did I dream it?

At this point in our trip I was pretty fogged out, vainly trying to get at least SOME sleep (we still had a long way to go, even after making Rio), though I generally cannot sleep on a plane. At least, not without a generous whack on the back of the head from a large blunt object.

Still, it sorta makes you wonder, doesn’t it? How many lives we pass, each and every day, never to meet; sorta like ships passing in the night. And yet, are those lives still inexplicably intertwined with yours? How can you tell? How would you ever know if, somehow, something you said or did affected a real live person “out there”, with whom you would otherwise have no contact, ever.

John Donne wrote, “No man is an island” quite some time ago, and yet too often I find myself living as though I was an island, y’know? It’s worth thinking about, don’cha think?

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Today in the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving. It reminds us of the early settler’s thanks to God for the new land He’d brought them to, and also for the help from their new friends, the natives who lived here.

I was recently perusing some of my archives, and ran across this post: Seven Things I Am Thankful For. Since everything I said then is still true (even the part about my job which, sadly, has since flown the coop, so to speak), I thought it would be simpler to just point you there.

Have a great Thanksgiving, y’all! And… someone pass me the pie.

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Howdy y’all! Yep; I’m really back this time!

After bein’ out of the country for a couple of weeks in Brazil, then another week sorta recoverin’ from it (I don’t think I’ve ever labored so physically hard in all my life!), I’m feverishly working on writing up the things I’ve learned.

In fact, there’s so much material I’ve decided to publish a book about the adventure. I’ll do my best to share as much as I can here as I work to get my notes transcribed and edited. Fair warning, though: the stories I tell may, or may not, be in chronological order. But what the hey, right?

So bear with me a little longer, ‘K? In the meantime, I’ll start with this one:

An Ominous Sign

One day I was helping another fellow drill holes in some lumber (the wood we used was so hard you couldn’t just drive a nail in it; you had to drill a pilot hole first). We were kinda off to one side, away from where everyone else was working.

So there we were, merrily drilling away when suddenly the power went out. On the one hand, it was a mite irritating; there was a LOT to do, and we were on such a tight schedule we could scarcely afford the holdup. On the other hand, it was nice to take a break!

While we waited for our power to be restored, the other guy went over to get a drink (I’m tellin’ ya, Bubba – it was HOT!), but I decided to just pull up a cinder block and have a seat.

After a while, someone – I don’t remember who – called out, “Hey Bob, are you okay?”

I looked up, surprised at the question. “Sure,” I responded; “why do you ask?”

“Well, look up, why don’t you?” he replied, pointing upward.

So I did, only to discover about 15 or so vultures calmly circling above me. Well! I guess it’s probably not a good idea to, er, stop moving around here, y’know? Luckily, after about 20 minutes or so they apparently got tired of waiting for me to drop dead from exhaustion and moved on to search for easier prey.

Nevertheless, that’s a fairly good lesson for life, too, don’cha think? If you’re not continually moving, you might just be assumed to be dead!

But from then on, I did make a point to move and arm or a leg every now and then, just in case. No sense takin’ any chances.

Howdy, y’all! Hey, I’m really back this time (and not just sleeping soundly – although that still sounds like a great idea).

Wow, what a trip; I don’t think I’ve worked that hard in all my born days! But it was definitely a rewarding and enjoyable experience, and I’ll be sharing some specific thoughts, musings, and photos with you in the weeks to come. First, of course, I have to transcribe and edit my journal notes from the trip (I took no computer with me on this trip). I’ll tell ya; this is probably the most I’ve hand-written anything since my college days!

One thing I noticed, though, about hand writing instead of using a keyboard: it’s far easier to use the “brain dump” method of writing. You know how it is, right? With a keyboard, the temptation to edit as you write can be overwhelming. Even if we know we’re supposed to “just write” first and edit later… it’s just so easy with a keyboard, y’know?

But I guess I’ve discovered (or re-discovered) that using pen and paper is a great way to get those first thoughts down without editing! I mean, who knew? I may actually try that method again for future posts. I think.

So bear with me folks; lots to come soon!

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In case you missed the news, I’ve been away for a while. (And please – don’t tell me you didn’t notice! I’d rather not know that little tidbit.)

However, as of last night (just about midnight, my time) our plane touched down. In one piece. Hopefully with me on it. (As you may have no doubt surmised, this is a pre-written post.)

Anyhoo, if you’re reading this (and you must be, or you wouldn’t, y’know, be here) I’m still sleepin’ like this kid, after our nearly 24-hour trip back from Brazil.

So please be patient, folks; there’s gonna be lots to tell (and photos to share) when I wake up!

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Howdy y’all!

By the time you read this post, I’ll be flying to Brazil. And boy are my arms gonna be tired! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! (er, sorry.)

Don’t worry; I’ll be back! (In case you’re wondering where I went, see last Monday’s post.)

Anyway, since I’ll be away from the Internet for a while, may I recommend you check out a few of my older posts?

1. I learned two very important lessons about life while climbing to the top of the mountain called The Tooth of Time.
2. Have you ever had one of those days when you just wanted to blow up the planet and start over? Uh, me neither. But… if you have, then you need to read How to Destroy the Earth. Really.
3. My first “What I Learned From…” story, To Follow the Herd… or Not is what inspired our monthly groupwrite projects here at the Middle Zone.
4. Still one of my favorite tales, The Pain and the Prize tells about how I overcame a huge obstacle.
5. Take ‘Em By Surprise is a great story about how to deliver not-so-good news to your boss. Or your boss’s boss.
6. I once won a prize for being a total failure! It was an accident, really! But still, I had everyone wondering, How’d He Do That?
7. The second favorite most memorable incident from our trip to Paris: A Full Moon Over the Seine River. (In case you’re wondering, here’s the MOST memorable: Ah, Paris in the Spring.)
8. You can learn a lot of great things from blogging, can’t you? Some of ‘em invaluable; some… not so much. Here’s a list of the Top 5 Strangest Things I’ve Learned While Blogging.
9. A long tunnel in the mountains of France taught me a thing or two about hope when we came through to The Other Side of Darkness.
10. In The Long and the Short of It, a teeny tiny little bit of a dog teaches me a great lesson about perseverance.

(OK, so there’s 11 instead of 10. Think of it as a bonus, ‘K?)

Well, that should keep y’all busy until I get back! Y’all play nice, now!

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OK, I know you were expecting to see an announcement about this month’s What I Learned From…” groupwrite project here today. Actually, I did too. I mean, ever since starting these things back in May of ’07 (practically prehistoric times on the Internet!) we’ve had a new one every month like clockwork.

But… well, sometimes stuff just happens, y’know?

As a matter of fact, this week I’m preparing to go away for awhile. And not just away – far away. (And don’t let me hear the sound of cheering here! Just sayin’.)

Yep, as a matter of fact I’ll be completely out of touch. Well, at least out of Internet range, anyway. But don’t worry, I’m not on the lam or anything. I haven’t been abducted by government agents (not yet anyway) or aliens. And yes, I’ll be back soon. Try not to let your disappointment enthusiasm show too much.

Where am I going, you ask? Well, as you can see from this handy image I created, it’s to a small municipality called Pedra Branca, located in northeast Brazil. (The town name means, “white rock” in Portuguese.) As a matter of fact, it’s so far out-of-the-way, Wikipedia has virtually nothing on it. It’s located somewhere near these coordinates: 7º04’03.06”S and 40º30’00.49”W. Pop that in your magic teleportation machine and drop by for a visit, won’t you? Bring some ice.

Actually, I’ll be part of a team of 17 wonderful folks who are there to build a church for a small congregation. Which is kinda ironic, considering my, er, “carpentry skills”. (I put that in quote marks for a reason, if you get my meanin’. But don’t tell anyone, ‘K?) Nevertheless, it’s going to be a lot of fun working with ‘em.

What’s more, we’re going to build an entire church in just 6 days! (How hard could it be? After all, God created an entire cosmos in six days. We’re just constructing the one building.)

We’re leaving this Friday, November 6 (that’s in 2009, in case you read this post in the future – or the past, for that matter), and we’ll be back on Sunday, November 15 (although I probably won’t be, y’know, awake, until a few days later. Not to worry; I expect to take lots of photos and will no doubt have plenty of stories about the experience in the days to come. Lots of things to tell about and lessons learned, I’m sure.

Y’all play nice while I’m gone, ‘K?

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