k e i t h e d w a r d p a u g h

Toy Story 2 Daedalum

– Leslie Aurelio

I say to you: “Do something”; and when you have done that something, if it works, do it some more; and if it does not work, then do something else. Yes, you young people want action. You believe, as I believe, that the something which needs to be done, can be done.

The vigor of our history comes, largely, from the fact that, as a comparatively young Nation we have gone fearlessly ahead doing things that were never done before. We subdued a wilderness that men said could never be conquered. We established a civilization where others insisted a civilization could not survive.

We did all these things with zest. The very air was exhilarating. We were young; we were getting things done—worthwhile things. And it is part of the spirit of America to believe that now, in our day, we can do equally well in getting things done.

I, for one, do not believe that the era of the pioneer is at an end; I only believe that the area for pioneering has changed. Our country richly endowed today in body, mind and spirit, still has need of many things. But I am certain that one of its chief needs today is the releasing and the enlistment of the spirit of youth.

You ought to thank God tonight if, regardless of your years, you are young enough in spirit to dream dreams and see visions—Hold fast to your dreams.

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ice-Cycle

– Ferris Plock

1/2 Stolen From Walter Meego – National Geographic

1. Got It Twisted Sister (The Rapture Vs. Mobb Deep) – Dopplebanger
2. Peg – Steely Dan
3. Things Are Getting Better – N.E.R.D
4. Saturdays – Cut Copy
5. The Remix – Wallpaper
6. 1234 (Van She Technologic remix) – Feist
7. Wanna Be A Star – Walter Meego
8. Let’s Call It Off (Girl Talk Remix) – Peter Bjorn & John
9. Between The Rent And Me – Snowden
10. Shadows – Midnight Juggernauts
11. Anyone – Moving Units
12. The Coming Of Spring – The Rapture
13. Talk To Me, Dance With Me – Hot Hot Heat
14. Psychic Swelling – Black Moth Super Rainbow + The Octopus Project
15. Watch the Tapes – LCD Soundsystem

Thanksgiving is good. Other than eating bird, it’s a holiday up for interpretation. Come up with a new tradition this year.

• Write a list of stuff you’re thankful for • Bicycle or hike • Have dance-off • Bocce ball • Rake Leaves • Design a bird call • Plant something (add trout) • Dress like pilgrim or indian • Do any of the afore mentioned activities as pilgrim or indian. • Small float competition (ie: diarama size) • Dog race • Wear nice socks • Holiday pie fight • Home make donuts • Find oldest piece of change in the house • Learn state capitals • Press leaves

Wiffle Waffle 2006 – after party

Remembering Mr. Katenga

Are we really stealing bikes still? Have we not reached an age of wisdom and presence where we steal things of monetary value, and not sentimental? iPods, wallets, identities… these are small, expensive and easy to palm; but bicycles! I’d understand if you just really needed a ride, but how much could you be making? What’s your take home? 50 Dollars? 100?

I’ve had fantasies of, late at night catching you in your burglary. Tracking you back to your den of two-wheeler thieves, and confronting you. In my favorite, you pull a knife after my brief demand that the Black Schwinn be returned, and in two swift blows I disarm you of your blade, and smash you in the face with a wrench picked up entering the shop.

I related some of these daydreams to my compassionate brother-in-law Danny, and a few days later received this rendering of the scene:

In my imagination its not as heroic, but no less messy. Your demise is ignominious, and sanguine. One of pity and disappointment.

What is there to learn from this experience? What to be gained more than the void in my apartment stairwell? I can only hope that its gone to happy home, for a reasonable price. To someone who will appreciate its reinforced mountain bike rear rim for jumping stairs, and sometime replace the white walls as they are wearing thin.

I set aside my revenge for thoughts of the good times, and the rides we had. May they begin for someone else.

– Keith Paugh

The rain was coming down harder now. Big, deliberate drops hitting my windshield. My wiper blades worked furiously to allow for some degree of visibility. This time, I was in downtown Dallas. And I was alone, which meant full opportunity to relish in the delight of being lost – meandering through an unfamiliar part of town, learning new street names and becoming acquainted with the city of which I’d lived on the outskirts most of my life – all without any anxious passengers getting concerned or panicked because we didn’t know our exact coordinates. What delicious adventure! I don’t know where it came from for me or where it had started – this thrill of getting turned around in a big city and having to find my way out. But it occurs to me now that it’s only when I lose myself in a city that the city becomes mine. It’s only in getting lost and finding my own way out that I ever feel like I belong to a place; only in getting comfortable with not knowing exactly where I am, do I truly learn where I fit. Looking at a map and following it to the letter is effective for going from point A to point B, true. But sometimes the unplanned deviations end up leading us somewhere we could never have expected, or even considered, while teaching us a lot about what lies beyond the narrow confines of the direct route.

So why is it that my sense of adventure diminishes when it is not among city streets which I have lost my way, but rather life’s paths? Somehow the panic that I am normally able to deflect deep in the heart of a metropolitan center takes hold as I struggle to navigate through the more abstract trails of my life.

It is only in getting lost that perspective comes. Only in steering through the twists and turns that I am able to discover for myself how the pieces fit together – to understand where I am in relation to God’s will for me. And only in being forced to learn how the roads interconnect can the final destination be clearly seen relative to its surroundings. With that panoramic view, how much more does ‘Point B’ appear to be the right place? How much clearer is my perspective as I stand “amid the eternal ways” which have ultimately led me here?

“‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

– Chelsea Combs

Goodbye Talent Show – 2002

Essays can be fun.
And about anything.
They can be short, and witty.
Interesting and provocative.
Submit one today.

– ed.

September 2007

– Wes Anderson