Every so often when the world seems a bit complex I look into our living room. Like in many homes, I rarely go in their or sit in there. Normally I place my weariness in the family room which now is made up of just my wife and I and each of our piles of magazines and books which pass the time and may hold the secret to our futures.
This was an interesting Christmas and when we came home I glanced into the living room. Next to the fireplace in the bookcase are my Tonka trucks which I received at Christmas probably in 1954, 1955 and 1956 or perhaps one year later. Along with new pajamas getting one toy was pretty much Christmas back in those days. You received things you needed and perhaps a single toy. I still have my Erector set which was wonderful. That was probably somewhere in the 1957-1959 range, also not an inexpensive gift. In those days the Sears catalog was the place to find everything and the toy catalog was special. More time was spent looking at things than asking for things because there was not much to be had.
Now kids like electronics, devices and games. I'm assuming that the useful life of those things might be a year, perhaps three. Certainly they will not be looking at those things fifty-five years after the fact and I'm not sure how they really foster creativity. The Tonka trucks and the Erector set still evoke memories of sitting on the living room floor of our little house and imaging, truly playing, creating scenarios. I'm still creating scenarios. This blog is an effort in that space. I'm sitting at my desk. What should I write about? I've delved into my aged keyboard, the miscellaneous items in the middle drawer (I've not yet touched on the top right drawer or the file drawer or the spider that descends in front of me routinely) and it's been pretty satisfying.
My daughter, who follows this blog, as does my son, says I think about lot of stuff. I guess I do, but now after the 27-year gig I'm trying to move into a new zone, beyond the Tonka trucks and Erector sets of the past and the resources, relationships, palette and blank slate of the 27-year gig into the next space. I'm moving some pieces around and am now successfully past the past (more or less), prioritizing tasks and putting some important pieces on sabbatical. It's really helpful to have the opportunity and capacity to do that; the 27-year gig was a drain but leveraging forward some of those resources have given me some freedom to do what I like (or need) for a while.
There still has not been any paint on paper; As I've committed to this process of writing I'm going to commit to the process of graphic/tactful imagery next week. There will also be a commitment to the process of the two book projects.
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