The Write Time and the Write Place - The Biltmore Estate

The whole point of this trip was to spend time with James and Melissa. If that was the bare minimum, then we achieved our goal. But even though I'm one lazy ass bastard, I do more than the bare minimum when it comes to having adventures. I like to go balls to the walls until the wheels fall off. But I can't let the wheels fall because then the car stops driving. What happens then? The adventure is over. It should never come to that, so on this trip we added a few more things to the checklist. We did things like rage, try out some new shit and also anything that my Mom wanted to do. After all, she was the one bankrolling this little endeavor. So when the boss gives orders, you say yes. Fortunately for me (although I didn't know it at the time of selection), the boss wanted to check out The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

I didn't really know anything about the mansion that George Vanderbilt uhh... built, prior to driving into the grounds. This was half on purpose and half on accident. When I heard that this was the plan, I stopped my inquisitive nature and decided to play the cards when they fell into my hands. This would allow me to live in the moment and react to every little thing that was happening around me. If I would have paid attention to history, television, my education in life and most importantly my mother, I would have known that the Biltmore Estate is like the largest privately owned house/land in the United States if not the World. I don't have my fact checkers on the payroll right now so I can't really look that up, but it really was something that I had to see with my own eyes before I believed just how incredibly ridiculous this place was.

Almost everything that I learned about this joint, I learned from a dog. While I know that sounds impossible, you just wouldn't understand it unless you took the kids version of the audio tour. They have an optional audio tour and it comes in two versions - one for adults and one for kids. I listened to the adults version for just a few minutes to know that I chose poorly. Luckily I was only on the first stop of the tour, so I went back and got the kid's version. I made the right decision. Not only did Cedric, the Vanderbilt's St. Bernard, give me a good history lesson, but he also kept me thoroughly entertained the entire time. I can't remember what he sounded like (he spoke perfect English), but in my head he sounded like Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). We weren't supposed to take pictures inside the house, but I had to take a picture of the indoor swimming pool. Cedric told me to try out the acoustics of this room, so I sang in an opera voice. When people around me looked at me weird, I told them that the dog made me do it. Like that made it acceptable. But this isn't anything out of the ordinary for me. Everything I do causes people to stare at me.

I'd tell you more about this house, the grounds, the gardens and the winery, but what is the point in doing that? There's plenty of other things out there that can do that. You can read up on it on the internet, watch a documentary, watch Richie Rich or best of all, you can go there yourself. And if you do, make sure to get the kid's version of the audio tour. You'll thank me later. I'm not a big fan of dogs, but I kind of wish that Cedric was still alive so that we could hang out. I feel like we would have a great time telling stories to each other in the Lando Calrissian voice. We'd be best of pals and we'd always be in cahoots, using each other to get food, women and fireworks. We'd be the perfect team and no one could stop us. Of course this is all just speculation from listening to him talk for 90 minutes, but a lot can be gained in a short amount of time. So while I'm off finding out how to recreate the DNA of a deceased dog from 1902 so that we can start a unique partnership/small business/microbrewery/law firm/doggy day care/sweet shop/crime scene investigation lab/modeling agency, I encourage you to make plans to visit beautiful Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate.

 - pookon -

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The Write Time and the Write Place - Detroit Airport

I tried writing this entry while we were in the Detroit airport during a 2 hour layover, but apparently everything I wrote over the last hour just decided to delete itself (technology can be a real bitch sometimes). So let me try and figure out what I said so that I can share that with you. I'm a little upset at this son of a bitch right now. I had written 4 paragraphs of content and then when I tried to post it, it magically disappeared. I am currently operating on this new tablet and we're still trying to become friends. So I apologize if I'm a little rude and crass. Now I'm not saying that what I wrote before was gold, but I was proud of the nonsense that I came up with. The whole point of this was to write something that wasn't structured. To write something random during my adventure. I'm on my way to see my brother James and his wife Melissa in South Carolina. But we're also going to be spending some time in the North one as well.

This trip is kind of a big deal. I've been down to visit them almost every year that they have lived there (5 or 6 years now) but this one is different. This time my mom and my sister Jenny Reck will be joining me. So we're getting the band back together. We don't get to hang out as a family much anymore except for holidays and when someone dies. But this will also test the patience of everyone in the surrounding area because Jenny Reck and I come with some baggage. And not the kind of baggage that we carried on the plane. I'm talking about the baggage that follows you around like a little monster. This monster has a name. His name is Nonsense. And he never leaves the sides of the #HotMess and the #Spectacle. That's right bitches,  we're trending. So if you can't deal with the nonsense, don't even bother paying attention to anything I do. Now that we got that shit out in the open, we can move on.

I'm trying to be more random, so feel free to call me that. Yes, I understand that name already belongs to a Milwaukee bum chilling out on a park bench back in like 2004, but he's either dead or he has transfered to a city that isn't cold as balls. Seriously, why would bums ever be homeless in a cold weather city? I understand that your options are as limited as your finances, but whatever happened to stowing away in a box car or a cargo ship with nothing but the clothes on your back, some baked beans, fingerless gloves and a stick & bindle? Do bums still do that? If they don't, then that's one of the many things that they are doing wrong. If I hear that they are no longer warming up next to a burning barrel, then I've lost my faith in the modern day bums. If that is true, I'm going to start teaching classes for homeless people. Free of charge of course. Homeless people don't pay for shit. Maybe I can write it off on my taxes because I'm doing a service to the community. That way we all benefit. Hooray for profit and hooray for me!

I hate to make comparisons to something that you can't see, but the other post (the one that got deleted) was so much better. It's not even fair how much this fails to live up to that. But so it goes. That's life. Shit happens. Sometimes you create something beautiful and sometimes it is what it is. Only I know the difference, but you move on. And speaking of moving, I gotta get going because the Carolinas are calling my name. The adventure is just beginning my friends. And I couldn't have asked for two more worthy traveling companions. Here's to making memories. Cheers folks. 

- pookon -

www.pookon.com

Who's A Rock Star?

I am. That's right. There's no other way to say it than by stating the obvious. And while I do that, I also need to reference Josie and The Pussycats. I've been watching this movie a lot lately and I'm not ashamed to admit that it's one of my guilty pleasures. I have an unhealthy obsession with pop music, women who sing and play guitar and Rachel Leigh Cook. All of these things come together in Josie and The Pussycats. And it is glorious. I love this movie more than any man should. But what does that have to do with anything right now? It's because I am a rock star. When I think about that statement I think about two things - this clip from the movie and something that writer/director Kevin Smith once said. This clip (at the bottom of the page) speaks for itself. You need to only watch this to know where I got this from. It's a very simple message but it is so true. If you say something and convince yourself that it is a reality, it becomes real. Just like "Do. Or do not. There is no try." or "Don't think you are - know you are." Yeah, they're movie quotes but they are so incredibly true. There's a reason people have been saying them long after the films were released and they have become legendary. But how much do you actually believe in them and practice them in your daily life?

Kevin Smith talks (a lot). I know that is pretty ironic from a guy who is known as Silent Bob. But the man is a genius. I could go on and on about how much I admire and subscribe to his philosophies, but he has said so many things that I have taken to heart. One of the things that he talks about is when he was thinking about going to film school to become a filmmaker. He told his sister that he wanted to be a filmmaker. She said be a filmmaker. He said that's why he was going to school, to be a filmmaker. She said no, don't want to be it, don't try to be it, don't work to be it; simply be it. It's very simple really. Don't set goals for the future that you are working towards. Tell yourself from Day 1 that you are that thing that you want to be, and you will become that thing because you have been it from the start. If this doesn't make sense, then you just don't get it. I'll try and make this crystal clear - If I don't say that I am currently a Rock Star, then I will never be one. That's just one of the many things that I have learned from him. That and chasing whimsies...

I played guitar last night. In a bar. With other people around. Now before you start thinking that I had an audience chanting my name, I will tell you to slow down. I'm not there yet. My friend Heather handed me her guitar as she was putting it away after her gig. So I started playing a few songs. And it may have been the wine going to my head (I got a free glass of wine from a gay guy. Don't ask) but I actually sounded good. Real good. Better than I have ever sounded before. I have been playing a lot more lately, but I still don't play as much as I would like to. I don't even practice as much as an amateur should. But I felt like a true musician. I felt like I belonged up on stage or in a circle of friends providing the entertainment. I was never this guy before. I was also the supporting member of a band getting by on my good looks and marginal talent. OK, so I didn't have the good looks part down, but one can dream right? But the whole point of this is that I took a giant step forward last night and another step towards my ultimate goal as a singer/guitar player - performing in front of people that I don't know (like an open mic night). I know that sounds like a very achievable goal to most people, but I have a real issue with confidence and being the center of attention. If I play anything like I did last night, I'm on my way.

I'll leave you with a clip from Josie and the Pussycats that inspired this article. This is a movie that is surprisingly making it's way into my top 10. I'm not ashamed to admit when I love a movie (because Lord knows that I love Keanu Reeves in The Replacements more than anyone should. In fact, I almost named my cat Shane Falco before deciding that he looked more like a Korben Dallas), but this goes beyond loving the movie - I love Josie. And I love Rachael Leigh Cook too. I can't decide which one I love more, but I can decide on one thing - I AM a Rockstar. Just like my girl Josie.

 - pookon -

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Life is a Real Precious Thing

I recently got another opportunity to take a look at not only my life, but also the life of someone else. I don't really have too much to say about it, so I will try and keep it brief. Life is beautiful. Life is an amazing thing. You get a reminder of that when you view someone else's life through a series of pictures set to music. Of course that's not their entire life. There's so many little moments that fill in the gaps in between the life moments that were captured on film or digital device. But these are highlights of the good times. That's what pictures truly are. Besides war photographers and people who are sick bastards, who takes pictures of the sad times? Pictures offer a brief look at a moment in someone's life and it allows you to get an idea of what their time was like on this Earth. But of course it doesn't tell the whole story. 

What it does do is spark conversation. You may see a picture and then ask the person who took it for more details. You may ask a person who is in for the story that lead to this snapshot. You may find out that there were some people that were there who somehow didn't make it into the picture. They have their story. Something in the picture may catch your eye. It could be something in the background or something somebody was wearing or even the way that the photograph was framed. Either way, it's a starting point for figuring out what that person's life was all about. I got the opportunity to get to know somebody through pictures. Somebody that I never met. I liked his life. I liked his family and I liked his friends. I liked the good times that he had and I feel bad that he's gone. How can you feel an emotion for somebody that you don't know? It's rather simple actually. You put yourself in the shoes of somebody who did. If you can't do that, you just sit back and look at the pictures.

My cousin Kelly asked me to put together a slideshow for her friend Nick Schaal, who unfortunately left us too soon about a month ago. Like I said, I never met the guy, but it was a privilege to be one of the people granted the opportunity to tell his story. I didn't take this assignment lightly. I know how important these pictures slideshows are. I had a hand in selecting the pictures that appeared in my brother Timmy's memorial at his funeral and I put together one for our Grandma back in January. But this was the first time I did something for someone who I didn't know. But that doesn't matter. I don't have to know someone to know how precious their life was and how important it is to properly convey that. Every life is precious, so don't don't waste too many moments of it. Unfortunately we have been given too many reminders of how quickly it can end, so live every day by having picture worthy moments. Some day it will all end, but hopefully you get the chance to live a long and full life. Not everyone is given that chance, so be thankful for every day you get towards that goal. 

 - pookon -

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