52 New Friends

The interesting thing I’ve learned about meeting a person for the first time is that it usually only allows you to see them in the current moment.   Whether the observer is aware of it or not, the other person’s reality is colored by what is going on in their life, whether it’s happy or sad or chaotic or nostalgic.   If you listen closely the subconscious is drifting to whatever is at the forefront of their mind, and in a way the words passing through their lips are the reflection of their subconscious.   Typically, there is a common theme that presents itself but no one’s life is comprised of just one theme.   We are all made up of different parts, feelings, moods and stages of life.   Our lives are a jigsaw puzzle of opposites that give our reality depth instead of reading as one flat character on a page.   In the moment, we all typically wear just one mask to show the world, but sometimes, you find a rare person who will throw all the masks on at on...

Last fall, one of my car’s headlights burned out.   I know next to nothing about cars, but a burned out headlight seemed like a stupid thing to take to my mechanic to fix.   I change burned out light bulbs at my condo all the time.   So really… how hard can it be? I bought a new headlight at my local auto parts store and watched three YouTube videos on the topic.   I put on a dirty wife-beater tank and some old jeans, popped the hood of my car and proceeded to dismantle the headlight like it was the most natural thing in the world.   I did pretty well until I got to the pin that held the bulb in place.   Each of the YouTube videos I watched said dismantling the pin was the hardest part and none of them really seemed to capture exactly how to get it out.   I struggled with that pin for what seemed like ten minutes.   I was starting to get frustrated.   My thumb and my pointer fingers developing welts, and then a friendly voice behind me...

Most people don’t realize it but there are two types of people in this world:   city folk and country folk.   Because most of those reading this will be city folk, let me explain the difference. When someone is born into a country life, their life is simple.   Nothing important is ever rushed and often silence is the most beautiful voice.   They understand the importance of stopping to watch a sunset.   The people they trust are the ones they sat next to in grade school, kissed under the school bleachers and sang with in the church choir.   They trust those from the same root and they often wonder, “How can life get any better than this?”   It is an idealistic life.   They love and they die with a blessed innocence of violence.   And they see city folk as chaotic, unbalanced and misinformed on all the ways life should be. This story is about a country boy named Rodney, who found himself displaced.   Rodney spent his childhoo...

A group of American tourists in Bulgaria decided to plan a day trip.   There were three destinations on their agenda but as they were looking at the map, they realized these locations were slightly farther apart than they had, at first, realized.   This meant the trip might require more daylight hours than fell in a single day.   They heard there was a lodge on the top of a mountain at the final destination but it worked on first-come-first-serve accommodations, which meant they may or may not be able to stay the night.   Deciding that it was worth taking the chance, Erica and a few of her friends packed small overnight bags, preparedness for the possibility of what was to come. The day wore on and after two stops, the group finally parked below the huge mountain, home to their final destination.   They asked the parking lot attendant in broken Bulgarian if she knew if the lodge at the top of the mountain was full for the night.   She indicated that ...