Winter Sulking

If you listened to this AM's podcast, you know I am Fraught With Melancholy, which is a poetic way of saying I am sulking because it's winter. I want to spend some time at the range with my .50 BMG Barrett; I want to ride my bicycle (wait...could that be lyrics from a Queen song? Iccccccccky!); I need...need, I tell you!...to spend some time with a 1911 and ball ammunition. Instead, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Tulsa after a day in the studio doing "bumps" for The Best Defense, watching Sean Hannity and downloading software upgrades. Part of it is, of course, is that I'm not looking forward to eye surgery next week, although I think the mandatory eye patch could be cool...of course I'll post a picture! Be interesting to see how my shooting changes after they finish tinkering with my right eyeball. I'm a little bummed I can't get a high-rez camera with a USB 2.0 output. That would be useful.

Anyhow, I mentioned a while back I was a fan of Home on the Range, Brigid's beautifully written blog. I'd like to do a shout-out to today's post, which is eloquent and deserves a read:

Part of what I do is being able to work in the absence of absolutely certainty. And lately, like many other things in life, events transpire to ensure I'm brought back to the reality that things change. Disaster strikes, and though my heart may be my own to give, my time is not. It's not just a job, it's a commitment I've made. I've learned that fate doesn't select only the stupid and the slow, it comes for all of us without a lot of preselection.

Or as the Tao Te Ching puts it: "Heaven and earth are inhumane; they view the myriad creatures as straw dogs".

Sit on your couch watching reality shows and ignore reality and there is a price. Fail to learn how to take care of yourself, your family, and you will soon find there will be a time when no one else will do it for you. Turn your nose up at hard, painstaking work because you are tired, cold, or not the type to get dirty, and you will soon know the meaning of "straw dogs".

Read the whole thing, by all means.

We'll be filming with Stephen Hunter week after next for both SHOOTING GALLERY and DRTV...that will be Big Fun, to be sure.