Love Has Many Iterations

 

I walked 47 miles of barbed wire
I got a cobra snake for a necktie
I got a brand new house by the roadside
Made out of rattlesnake hide
I got me a chimney made on top
Made from a human skull
Come on, take a little walk with me

Who do you love?-Quicksilver Messenger Service

More importantly, WHAT do you love? The answer for me can change from one day to another. That’s the beauty of life, particularly when you have plenty of time to meditate upon ‘stuff.’

 

I definitely love my three grandchildren, Piper, Reid and Gemma. Piper and I love to fish and go critter hunting. She’ll pick up anything but spiders and we’re working on that. Reid is a passionate truck dude and loves joining us for open swim in the heated pool at the Alfond Center. Gemma, not yet two, loves board books, blowing kisses and silly songs-I taught her Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer at Christmas time.

I love synergistic people, those folks who spark new enthusiasm and story ideas. My late Mother, A. Carman Clark was such a person. Out shared recovery in AA, coupled by both being careful observers of nature, made us both better writers. My friend Dr. Dave who also swims at the Alfond Center, is another such soul.

I love opening a new book and the next thing I know, I’m 100 pages in and have discovered a new world.

 

I love coming back from a day trip to find I took an almost perfect photo.

I love kind, graceful and patient people. They’re in short supply these days and we need more.

I love having a chance to do a good deed, preferably anonymously.

I love timeless music that makes me want to sing and dance-think Satisfaction by the Stones, or Light My Fire by the Doors.

 

I love being the humorist for my fellow swimmers five mornings a week.

I love places of power-those spots where one can feel extra spiritual and creative energy pouring into me.

I love extra fat snowflakes, taking a new road, and wind whispering through pine trees on a summer day.

I love finding myself coming back to the moment with a new story idea in my head and then letting it germinate until it’s ready to be written.

I love new challenges.

I love watching flowers dance in the breeze.

I love snow-covered mountains, finding rare-colored bits of beach glass, and computer role-playing games.

I love writing a good book review so others can discover it.