Things are so damn good for us, me, you. It’s a very positive time here. Not so, in many other places.
I walked into Fred Meyer today, which is full of good stuff to purchase and was packed with purchasers. Quite conveniently, my bank’s branch is located as within the store. Nice. I deposited my self-made paycheck (first one in a while) and sat down to eat pizza and drink a peach Snapple.
Peach Snapple saved my life when I was a caddy. Caddying is: Hauling asshole’s (not always, but sometimes) bags for 5 hours in the sun up and down hills of wet grass. Chasing golf balls and reading greens for blind old bats who could not see straight, much less putt straight. Caddying sucked except for peach Snapple and being the best summer job ever. Anyhow…I digress-s-s-s.
I sat down at a table to eat pre-made lunch of pizza and some asian salad wraps at Fred Meyer and there was “Wooden Boat” magazine, the most recent issue, sitting open to an article on the table. The article is about my brother’s surfboard company, Grain Surfboards. I read the article, which had pictures my brother, Nick, shot for the article. My brothers are pretty stoked people, to be able to make wooden surfboards, ride them in Maine and shoot pictures of them. This is what they do. They’re not rich people, but the opportunity to spend thier (their) time this way in a beautiful place and get covered by the AP and magazines is pretty crazy. Now thier (i mean their) boards are showing in a window in Soho, on one of the busiest corners in New York.
My point is not only to promote my brother’s company, (yea baby!) but to make you realize how good we have it, how lucky we are to live with relatively minor problems, and plenty of great things to do with our lives. Believe me, I am glad I don’t have any big problems right now, even though I know how quickly that can change. You gotta realize and enjoy that fact more often, or you’re wasting your time being needlessly bitter or simply ignorant.
A little perspective: We’re not being shelled, bombed, shot at, or ferried to Cyprus. Hell, Ryan Coulter is having the best week of his life. I have a mobile phone that does damn near everything, ‘cept wipe my bum. Last weekend, I drove 4 hours to spend 6 hours on the coast of Oregon getting a sunburn with my girl and some friends. The week before, I drove 12 hours to camp, drink cheap beer and fish for gigantic brown trout near Idaho. Worthwhile and fun.
Little things matter and they can take the edge off. I say, look at them, realize their potential and enjoy them. Cause tomorrow, things will change.
Here’s our shopping list for the week. Can you tell what I added to Meghan’s list?
2 bottles toilet cleaner
lunch meat
bread
eggs
cheese
milk
cereal
bananas
berries
cherries
melon
tomatoes
meat
fish
Cheap Beer
Assorted Good Jerky
Open minds, Open Sandwiches
10 responses so far ↓
1 Your Future Wife // Jul 21, 2006 at 1:08 am
i thought you said you had a degree in English.
Thier?
2 J. O'Shea // Jul 21, 2006 at 6:58 am
yes, life is very good.
the grain site is great. those guys have done a great job with that. beautiful and cool pictures. made me very jealous. i need to get a surfboard sometime soon as i live too close to the ocean to not be riding it.
why’s coulter’s week so good? he’s a good man and deserves that happiness.
stay cool out there.
J
3 mia // Jul 21, 2006 at 8:31 am
i love your “stop and re-evaluate your life” blogs. thanks for making me think this AM, feels good to realize how lucky we are and to have such great people in our lives.
4 J. O'Shea // Jul 21, 2006 at 11:58 am
speaking of fred m.’s and good fortune, if you go through the self check out with a sixer of beer (cans). you can arrange it so you only have to pay for one of the six beers.
i’ve never done that, but i knew peope, who knew people who did that.
i think it works best with sixers of the 16 oz. cans.
vin, i love you and can’t wait to slap your hot beard during your wedding. i owe you the following: total drunkness, buttons ripped from your suit, open handed punches to guests faces, a lit cigar thrown onto a tent.
you were in fine, fine form. you effing robot.
5 Vince LaVecchia // Jul 21, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Nothing like a good ole’ LOL on a 100+ degree effing day. And nothing like a bathtub full of natty lite bottles with the lables peeling off at townhouse 413 at SMC. And nothing like waking up in the front seat of your car in the middle of a field in Elmore VT with your friend’s wife’s (also your friend) father staring in the car window, wondering what the effing-hell you’re doing in his yard. And finally, nothing like telling him you have no effing idea, but thanks for the fuzzy memories.
6 your future wife // Jul 21, 2006 at 7:20 pm
there will be NONE of the following events at the wedding:
total drunkness, buttons ripped from your suit, open handed punches to guests faces, a lit cigar thrown onto a tent.
: )
7 Vince LaVecchia // Jul 22, 2006 at 1:48 pm
There will be some of the above.
8 J. O'Shea // Jul 24, 2006 at 8:34 am
will there be open minds and open sandwiches?
9 Vince LaVecchia // Jul 24, 2006 at 10:48 am
Dang, now I need to add those to our shopping list…
10 Shannon // Jul 25, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Damn, I needed this one today. Thank you.
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