Life Imitates Art
...Sisyphus Pauses, Does Some Yoga Breathing & Smiles


When you drive through the Canadian Rockies, you often come across signs indicating points of interest because of a particular postcardesque view or site of historical note. Such is the portion of life’s proverbial road that I am presently traversing. Call it Art equals karma and the metamorphosis of worm to butterfly. It all started this weekend when my wife suggested we check out the Red Strap Art Market downtown. There was a painting there that she had fallen in love with (and misjudged in terms of cost), that she wanted to show me. It was an original piece, roughly 3 ft. x 4 ft., painted by a guy in town, Remmy Hart, whose real job is as a dental hygienist. Being sympathetic to this man’s plight, as I often lament being a punk rocker trapped inside a Correctional Officer’s bridle of authoritarianism, and also loving the piece (it looks like something painted by a Guatemalan living in Norway with Polynesian flowers amidst branches whereon there are five parakeet-like birds perched...anyway, gaze upward and you can see it for yourself), I agreed to the surrender of $600 in the name of Art. ‘Twas then that the bohemian spirits of subliminal anarchists heard our pleas.

Miracle #1: The following morning we received a telephone call from a daycare attached to a local school of visual and performing Arts that we have been hankering to get our toddler in. The waiting list is horrendously long, and, in all honesty, we figured that our chances of having our daughter accepted to be slim to none. Hopping up on the soap box, donning my teacher’s hat, I can not begin to stress the need for the Arts in the overall cannon of learning as it facilitates an abstract form of reasoning that allows us to think outside of the box and, in general, simply makes people confused and thus interesting as it also causes them to think about why they are confused. Seriously, I’ve taken a lot of Philosophy and Psychology in university and couldn’t begin to demonstrate the magnitude of my inner synaptic flaring! So, getting back on topic, this will hopefully prove rewarding for our wee one as she loves to paint, play with play-doh, sing, pluck at the piano and strum my guitar.

Miracle #2: I returned home from meeting with the staff at the school mentioned in Miracle #1, checked my messages wherein there was one from a local school asking me if I was interested in teaching a behaviour modified class. I had a similar offer back in January (see my posts from that time of turbulent cognitive cufuffling), but turned it down, allowing my fears for job security cloud my judgement over whether or not I still had the desire to teach. Of course that ship had set sail by the time I was done giving my head a shake, so I put the word out that I was ready to pilot a similar proverbial ship should one be sailing nearby. Thus, perhaps more like a fisherman, I have sat, waiting.

Before I continue, let me make the point that this is only a demi-miracle with the possibility of being delusional as I was only given an interview and will not be aware as to whether or not I have secured the position for a few days. That being said, hope springs eternal, gabba gabba hey and I feel the interview went well. Fingers crossed… should I search eBay for more Art??? (and if you decide to look on eBay, type in 'Tascha' and have a look at some of her original paintings - lots of warm cats and Frida Kahlo... bought my missus one of her paintings of three cats and two chairs - hope they don't quarrel with the parakeets!)

There’s not really another miracle, but there are some exciting and positive things happening in my life. I went to my first Boxing class last evening and felt really good about it, though I’m not 100% on whether I will elect to make this my next devotion or if I will check out rock climbing which has always been one of those things that has appealed to me. Certainly a move out of the prison might sway me in my decision making. I enjoy combat Arts, but think nothing beats climbing both literal and proverbial mountains. There’s a local rock climbing gym (http://www.verticallyinclined.com/) which has reasonable enough rates. I’ve been told that my 220 lb. frame might be a bit robust for climbing, so perhaps I’ll do the Boxing to drop weight and then make the foray into the land of crags and clefts.

Friends, of course, are also a big part of what makes life wonderful. Adding to my social mix is my friend, Paully, who is flying here tomorrow for a week. We’ve known each other since we were 5 years old, he was the best man at my wedding, etc., so it’s going to be great to hook up for a while, take in the mountains in Jasper or visit the Badlands in Southern Alberta. So, throw in a healthy family, a few good books, sessions playing the guitar, a week of holidays from work and a nice single malt and you’ve got my metaphorical “point of interest”.

Carpe diem!