Joe 6-pack

America: Fanfare For The Common Man

Timber

9/17/98 - 7/12/07

Every person should be so lucky to meet such a dog once in their life.
I was privileged to live, work and play with one almost every day for nine years.

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Timber's adopted little brother, Ranger.

My Pack
Ranger (left) is a Belgian Tervuren rescued after Hurricane Katrina. Timber (right) was a pure German Shepherd.

Ranger: Dog Park Hegemon

Tribute To The SAR Dogs & Handlers of 9/11

I Saw In Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing

I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches,
Without any companion it stood there uttering joyous leaves of dark green,
And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself,
But I wondered how it could utter joyous leaves standing alone there without its friend near, for I knew I could not,
And I broke off a twig with a certain number of leaves upon it, and twined around it a little moss,
And brought it away, and I have placed it in sight in my room,
It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear friends,
(For I believe lately I think of little else than of them,)
Yet it remains to me a curious token, it makes me think of manly love;
For all that, and though the live-oak glistens there in Louisiana
solitary in a wide flat space,
Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend or lover near,
I know very well I could not.

-- Walt Whitman

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."

"I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone."

"Preach the Gospel Always. When necessary, use words."

- St. Francis Assissi

Dante's Prayer

The Men that Don't Fit In
- Robert W. Service

There's A race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far,
They are strong and brave and true;
But they're always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: "Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!"
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.

And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.

He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life's been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh.
Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost; He was never meant to win;
He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone;
He's a man who won't fit in.

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My job supports my art habit. I dabble in calligraphy and manuscript illumination...here are samples of my work:

It's been my experience that there's a fine line between blissful solitude and abject loneliness. While it seems I'm generally fortunate enough to enjoy the former of those two states, there are times I drift across that line and find myself subject to the whims of the latter. My life is in no way devoid of joy, but at times, feels compromised when there's no one there with whom to enjoy beautiful things or experiences. To that end, I'm linking some of my favorite discoveries (or rediscoveries), which I hope you'll enjoy...and let's face it; you probably clicked on my profile page to see what makes me tick and you'll probably gain more insight here than from anything else I've written...

Charlie Zahm - Minstrel Boy: Charlie Zahm is perhaps better known as a Celtic/Gaelic folk singer, but also performs a lot of historical American martial music. His voice is on display here in its fullest glory, and does justice to an equally dignified song of old.

Rushlow Harris - Bagpipes Cryin': If you don't love this performance, you have no business on Free Republic.

Shane McGowan/Sinead O'Connor - Haunted: Song originaly performed by the Pogues (McGowan's old group) for the Sid and Nancy soundtrack. The steel guitar is sweet, and this duet is perhaps the best synthesis of delicate, polished femininity and a somewhat coarse, rugged masculinity.

Pogues - Rainy Night In Soho: One of the Pogues' definitive classics. Although the term, "Irish Folk Punk Band" may sound awkward, they bring it all together here. A magnificent little tune.

Additional tune links I enjoy...

Acoustic Soul cover of Van Morrison's Into the Mystic

Baby Animals - Painless

Some Korean gal performing Beethoven's Fur Elise on electric violin.

The Corrs - So Young (Unplugged)

The Mike Curb Congregation - Burning Bridges (theme from Kelly's Heroes)

Pirates of the Mississippi - Feed Jake

Pam Tillis - Maybe It Was Memphis

Johnny Paycheck - Old Violin

Within Temptation - Our Farewell

Iggy Pop w/ Kate Pierson - Candy

David Ball - Riding With Private Malone

Over The Rhine - I Want You To Be My Love

Lisa Gerrard - Now We Are Free

Rush - Closer To The Heart

Mary Fahl - Going Home (Gods & Generals opening credits)

Willie Nelson & Ray Charles - Seven Spanish Angels

David Gilmour - Dimming of the Day

Stay tuned, and check back for more links; I'm always adding new ones...Right now, though, I'm going to get me a sandwich.

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English Mastiff, Belgian Tervuren, Haitian Niece and American Redneck.

My visit to New Skete Monastery, December 13, 2008.

Well....you checked out my profile for some reason....most likely it WAS something I said...instead of just looking, why not post a reply or shoot me a FReemail? Lemme know what's on your mind, eh?

different people have hit this!

I've got your number, now.

500 years from now, proponents of man-made global warming will be viewed in the same light we now look at the pre-Colombian flat earthers.

~ Keeping the Viking Kitties out of trouble since 1999 ~

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Doggie Ping List:

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WOOOF!

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

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