86 on the Chainsaws

There are a large number of web destinations called “Random Access”, but I chose the name anyway because it really is meant to be random – only appropriate since our minds are also (I thought of calling it “100% Brain Flakes”, but it's hard to make a URL out of that).

For example, I still remember the first time I heard Carole King sing “It’s Too Late” … I was in the back seat of a car driving through Troy, and I was about 10. My sister was in the front seat and our friend Lana was driving. I heard the song the other day while driving, and I had such a powerful flashback – even a sense of “10-ness” that I almost forgot how to drive. I was instantly back in that spot. Music is well known to induce that kind of reaction, but I think I got a double portion of that section of the brain; maybe it replaced some of those things I’m obviously missing.

In any case, there’s clearly no accounting for the things we remember. My wife asked me for a friend’s phone number the other day, and I rattled off … the number we last had in 1994 (in my defense, the first 4 digits were the same). I still remember watching a special, around 1990, starring the juggler Michael Davis. He’s as well-known for his comedy bits as for his technical skill, and I remember he did a bit with a bowling ball and a ping-pong ball that amazed me. It might have been him, or another juggler, who juggled revving chain saws – a bit of a step up from flaming torches.

In a way, I feel like I’ve made the same move. Normal life is a bit like juggling flaming torches for most of us, I think. And summer is supposed to be when the livin’ is easy, life takes on a slower pace, we relax a bit… but the more I live it, the more I think that’s only true in beer commercials. Since the beginning of summer, it seems as if I’ve graduated from torches to chain saws.

Everything goes up a notch, particularly the kid involvement. Now that they are out of school, they constitute a full-time job, to go with my part-time actual job (or paid job, if you prefer). Said employment is itself increasing the pressure, with a laundry-list of “first of September” deadlines.

Then there’s the carefree joy of planning and executing the Annual Family Vacation, including a visit to Disney, “The Hottest, Humidest, Most Crowded Place on Earth®”. In August, no less! Did I mention this has me filled with something falling short of breathless anticipation?

Although we finally broke down & bought a power mower for camp, the fact remains that I have two lawns to keep un-savanna-like. So when I arrive at our retreat, the first thing I do is retreat to the shed & haul out the mower. If I stay home, we have a wealth of beautiful new landscaping… but since the weather has been days of either downpours or oven-like heat, there are maintenance duties as well.

I’m trying desperately to do all of that and still attend to things like my fantasy baseball league (although I think divine intervention might be the best bet for my team), and the blog, and piano practice, and miscellaneous household chores. My wife has also reminded me that it’s poor form to squeeze one’s spouse in at the end of such a list – or even “in the middle”, for that matter.

The unfortunate reality is that most of those things are by no means optional, with the exception of the things I do for enjoyment. So I am constantly seeking ways to make all the pieces fit (which, by the way, accounts at least in part for the sparse nature of my posts – but I promise I’m writing them in my head all the time!); I know for sure that one more chainsaw will lead me to drop the whole group.