The Baboon Congress

life can be easy

93 Comments 
In the header photo: oldest son on left youngest daughter on right all the ones in the middle are in the middle except the old ones in the middle that are not in the middle.

Today’s guest post comes from tim

the art of guest blogging is a mission worthy of pursuit.

when i was a younger man ( i guess i have alway been a younger man havnt i?) i used ot ask people for topics to write songs on. like improv acting. i would take an idea and work it sometimes to my and other delight sometimes to death and with the like i do with potatoes. familiar and i like it but others either do or they dont without much variation. if you liked the least one youve got a shot if you didnt youre likely in for a repeat.

life is a little like that. if you did good you are likely to repeat if you didnt you are likely to repeat. its not like tyou are doomed to goundhog day but it kind of is exactly like you are doomed to groundhog day. unless you are able to swap brains midway through the process the ability to reinvent the essence of you is suspect.

the problem is that if you didnt find great enjoymet in the last version of the sojourn it is unlikely that you will adjust this time unless…… unless you figure it out.

my kids are all coming of age. 28 year old is ready to go make a life, 26 year old is working on hers., 22 year old is fresh out of college and the 16 year old is singing acting and deciding on a course that will allow her to appreciate those things rather than be jailed and a starving artist y looking to find career paths in paying professions that will challenge hr sense of daily heroics and allow her to go for it on a continuing basis.

youngest daughter just got her invite to drivers training and you should have seen the smile. priceless. lord knows what she will end up doing but the 26 year old guesses that emma will likely turn out to be a corporate ceo. just that kind of make up. focused and personable with a take no crap kind of personna.

my job today is to teach them that you never give up.

my wife is form a family where the 9-5 routine is the way it worked. nice folks but a different cup of tea from the roll with the punches life i came from. when we met i was a high rolling young pup on my way to fame and fortune and she bit. we had a kid then two then three and decided to get married and all was grand with a city mouse country mouse kind of theme. then the fan entered the picture and holy moly. it is different when you need to adlib plan

it is a stroke of luck that i can always find a worthy pursuit ti keep me occupied and i have a couple now. the 22 year old told me yesterday when i was talking to him about options i am pursuing right now that he thought i ought to focus on one thing and stay with it. and i told him i have heard that one before and while it sage advice it is not for me. i cant do it. while i am in the midst of one pursuit i a plotting another for tomorrow. multitasking is part of the dna
i hope to show them that if you find a vision and pursue it life will be ok.it works good for me.

i used to work with a guy who wanted me to take a title with his company and i couldnt do it. i told him im a good worker but a poor employee. truer words have never been spoken.

i hope my kids can learn how to find their way in this cold cruel world bt taking care of the things that are important to them as the make therir way throgh the maze and try to find the key ot lifes mysteres. one foot in front of the other a stitch in time saves nine. do sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me and dont let anyone give you a wooden nickle. when someone asks if there are any questions? i always ask for the secret to lifes true meaning. . the response is always worthwhile. every now and again i get a predetermined answer or one off the cuff that the person is comfortable or pleased with and tha tis a good time to pause a moment and reflect.

today was one of the 10 perfect days you get a year in this part of the world and when i went outside at 3 and discovered it was perfect out i went into the office and told my colleague that unless he had something very very pressing he needed to get out and enjoy this perfect day and do whatever the next two hours were going to produce another time and another way.

life can be easy. life can be rewarding, dont think too hard. you know how to do it. just do it.

even nike knows that

93 thoughts on “life can be easy”

  2. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    Thanks tim. You did not give us a question. Is it “What is the meaning of life?” Have we had that question once in 5 years?

    The family is gorgeous–you have so much to be proud of with them. And yes, indeed, life takes so much perseverance. My favorite historical example of perseverance against all odds is Abraham Lincoln. What resilience he displayed. No wonder we all love him, with the exception of some areas of the South. Another favorite of mine is Ben Franklin, who you quote above (or at least his Almanac sayings).

    What is the meaning of life?

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  3. It would be tim, of course, who forces us out of our box by not offering up a question.

    I’ve been on a roller coaster the last 24 hours. Long hard day yesterday and I came home crabby to all the animals in an uproar about how late I was and why hadn’t they been fed yet. This did not help the mood at all. But I got a good night’s sleep, this morning it’s a beautiful day, the work day ahead doesn’t have the horrible possibilities of yesterday. I feel great!

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  4. I agree with you, Tim, about “just doing it”. It is important to think a little bit about what and why we do what we do. I am happy this morning because we put out the soaker hoses last night, and I see my happy little cabbages and eggplants glorying in their drip, drip, drip, while I see the knuckleheads across the street thoughtlessly watering their lawns with their automatic sprinklers in winds that are gusting to 26 MPH. In answer to Jacque’s question, I believe the meaning of my life is to take care of family, clients, and myself and have fun along the way.

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    1. I’m working on a concept for water through a drip irrigation system in kind of an on-demand method so that you don’t have to water the whole area the same as your plan calls for more water the sprinkler system will provide kind of a big deal for homeowners a huge deal for commercial application

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        1. yep. i dont know about circulating pump. that sounds like hydroponics which i am interested and intriged by but i saw an isreali system for drip irrigating and liquid portion control for the desert that would be possible for corn and beans with water nutrients maybe sun and shade also on a project or two to study feasability.
          in my spare time

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  5. the only way to not answer a nonquestion or does one answer a nonquestion the only way to not answer a nonquestion assuming i agree that there is nonquestion to thoughtfully be answered or to thoughtlessly be answered but which i mean to not mean that maybe the only way to tastefully zen tims zen is to not zen at all
    the only way to not answer a nonquestion is either to with full intent leave blank space or to, now that I have focused on the nonfocus of the nonquestion, write my own nonquestion, but I am loath to, not being tim and all or Abraham Lincoln, step into the morass of nonnothingness

    all i can say is “no”

    does that not answer or answer–wait was was the nonquestion again

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  6. I need to plug In a proof reading mode along with my typing on the go. I see not only the misspelled words but flubbed sentances. I will get better on the summer project
    In the past I have come up with an ending question and have been overruled by the alpha baboon so I guess I forgot we are on a new playing field. If it was dale his question would be….
    What is your favorite brand of shoes?

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    1. Now that’s an easy one. Etienne Aigner. Classic styling and I swear they used my foot as the model for their 6.5 N last.

      Haven’t bought a pair in over a decade..
      actually I don’t recall the last pair of shoes I bought (happily, I have a friend my size who likes to shop and gets easily bored with her shoes 🙂 ). Unfortunately, she does not wear pumps or any other heels.

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    2. Clarks, Aerosoles, Sketchers, whatever is in the thrift shop that fits and is almost-new (hasn’t been broken in – I think people must get new shoes home and then find they don’t really fit; it’s easier to give it to Goodwill than return them?).

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    6. When I had ‘normal’ feet I sure loved my Red Wing work boots. Still do…although still working on finding my ‘oddshoefinder.com’ partner…

      And I have fond memories of the classic Nike w/ the red swoosh.

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  7. Hmmm. Maybe life CAN be simple, but a lot of times it just isn’t. That’s when you need Fortitude.

    Yes Fortitude folks, the cardinal virtue without which the others aren’t worth squat.

    I’ve become friends with another solo mom over people saying “I just don’t know how you do it all”. Because really what are the options? We may be only 2 person families, but we for sure have the extra large box of Powdermilk Bisquits on the shelf that give you the strength to get up and do what needs to be done. First Ingredient on the package is Fortitude.

    I’ve had my morning walk, if I get in and work well, I’ll have some time to continue the safari that is reclaiming the yard. Hanging out some laundry will be another chance to get out.

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  8. When I think of tim these days–and I do, more often than he’d guess–I always am reminded of two works of art that I associate with him. This might be a place I could mention them.

    I studied Henry Thoreau in grad school, and it was an unexpected joy. What a fascinating man he is. I often now think of Walden when I read tim’s posts. tim and Thoreau have much in common.

    Even more than that, tim reminds me of the Anthony Quinn movie so popular in 1964: Zorba the Greek. Zorba and tim are soulmates. I hope tim has seen it, or will.

    On most days I am not entirely sure I know what is the meaning of life. But I know what Zorba would say it is. To dance, my friends, to dance. The meaning of life is to dance.

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  9. Life is good. The little guy on the t-shirt says so.
    I woke up FINALLY with the angle I’ve been looking for, for a blog piece about France… has felt like writer’s block lately.

    If I were to answer the non-question Jacque posed, I’d say I believe we’re here on Earth to help each other get through it. And I think Zorba is not far off, either.

    It’s a GORGEOUS day out there right now, but s’posed to climb to almost 90 – first day to put climate control in place – gotta close the shades…

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      1. Bing.com is my default page when I open the internet – today’s image is fabulous, isn’t it?

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  11. “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
    That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
    And then is heard no more. It is a tale
    Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
    Signifying nothing.”

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      2. That reminds me:
        In the play ‘Ten November’ about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, after the coast guard inquires about life boat drills on the oar ships, a Former Captain says “If I was going down, I’d crawl in my bunk and pull the covers over my head.’
        (That was one of my lines; I remember it well. 🙂 )

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  12. What can do other than just do it? I know we are suppose to set goals and make plans. I would like to know how those goal setters and planers end up. I do like to make short range plans. Goals and long range plans usually seem to a waste of time as far as i”m concerned. Whatever you do, don’t expect much from any goals that you try to establish as a group with other people. That is almost sure to be a waste of time. For a short time a group might pay attention to the goals they set if they even do that and then the goals are filed away to never be seen again.

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  13. I was just thinking about how wisdom often comes in sets of three. “The quickest way to human joy are singing, dancing, and laughing”. “Relationships are always in one of three states: harmony, disharmony, or repair”. “We need three things to be happy: someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to”. There are more, but my memory isn’t serving me today.

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    1. he dose look damn big doens he. i dont think of him as big til im standing next to him in a picture. his grandpa was 6’6″ hes only 63 but he looks tall since i shrunk to 5 9″

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  15. “As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red
    again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a
    bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.” Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

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  20. thanks every one . i think we can make it. dale sticking his head in to act like a baboon. we can accept him as an equal right?
    i know i have quoted this phrase before . i got it years ago out of the forward to wayne dyers your erroneous zones
    all history hath shown that mankind will suffer evils while evils are sufferable rather than to right himself by abolishing the means to which he has become accustomed.
    i keep working on righting my self by abolishing the meands to which i have become accstomed. my favorite shoes are birkenstocks , arriat boots are good too. thanks babons i guess we find out in a while if there is a backstock of blogs? did i send the next one to dale already?
    i speel checked itbut i think i did it on the ipad where i have to cut and paste rather than emailing direct to the email address.

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  21. Very nice post by LittleJailBird.
    I guess we will be commenting about her’s here hereaftter.
    What are my simple pleasures?
    I do not have a ready answer.

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  22. One of life’s simple pleasures is hosting a friend from out of town. If that friend is accustomed to taking care of others, not seeking her own pleasure, it becomes easy to find nice things to do. If this all happens on a spectacular day early in summer, things will surely go well.

    Now I have to go. Today is the first time I will be a “babysitter” for Liam, who is due to arrive here (sleepy, in pajamas) in three minutes. I think we’ll have a good time.

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    2. sounds like a fun day. Liam seems like he would be easy to “babysit” in some ways, but challenging in others (for instance, asking difficult questions).

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  23. I love to gaze at the seedlings getting bigger and bigger in the garden. We have had hot weather and some nice rain, so things are looking good. I also love to read the paper in the morning with a cup of strong coffee and an English muffin.

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  24. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    I have a post written in my head–perhaps by the end of the day I will get it on paper and try posting it.

    Meanwhile, simple pleasures…my coffee in the morning, walking my dogs and seeing and hearing all the birds which were non-existance in my childhood, and my flowers which are glorious right now. The peonies are just divine. I hope tomorrow’s predicted heavy rains do not trash them.

    I just love my flowers.

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  26. I just set a batch of artisan bread to make itself ready for the over, just plain white bread today, the way Sandy prefers it. I am still amazed how simple this is to make. In 45 minutes the pleasure will be the aroma from the oven. In 90 minutes the pleasure of the first bite through the crust. Then at noon I will make a cheese plate for diabetic Sandy: two thin pieces of the bread cut into small pieces, slices of three kinds of cheese, ce;ery and carrot sticks, half an apple sliced up, one strawberry, and some salsa and a drop of honey for dipping. Cheese dipped into honey is surprisingly good, especially the white cheddar with a bite of sourness, which Sandy does not like, so I get it all.

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    1. Clyde, who eats all this bread that you make? I’ve never tried the artisan method because I figure I’ll have to mess w/ the starter too much because I can’t envision YA and I eating the loaves fast enough!!

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      1. I give away a loaf here and there, as I will do to our patio neighbor today. She is a music teacher, now resting up, who will read every day on her patio.
        Sandy and I eat the bread. The white dough last for three weeks in the refrigerator, and longer we have found. I just take out a small lump every two days and that covers us for two days and doing so uses up the dough about on schedule. Sandy prefers to get a lot of her car units through bread, like a piece of this bread under a grilled hamburger patty.

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      2. I wish you lived next door. I cannot keep bread in the house. I should get rolling on the bread baking project, but a day like yesterday makes me think that would be crazy (too hot- once the yard gets cleared, I may take tim up on the outdoor bread oven project).

        I’ve currently got the flatbreads book from the series out from the library. I think they have info about baking on the grill, but I am not sure.

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      1. yes. My daughter and I live by this bread. It is the only bread we have had for several months now. You really only need the recipe to get started, which I will email you, if you want.

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        1. Actually my girlfriend next door has it – I’ve seen it at her house. Maybe I’ll borrow it and give it a shot.

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      2. I have the newest edition “The new artisan bread in 5 minutes a day” and like it better than the first edition. More whole grain recipes for one thing. I think there are some gluten-free recipes, too. Of course, I am unable to keep myself from doing variations of the recipe that the authors never thought of, but that’s the way i roll. The beauty of it is the ease of mixing the dough and then having it available whenever you want it. Hennepin County Library has quite a few copies available for checkout right now.

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  27. Simple pleasures. I’m almost embarrassed to say that I love my yard at in the spring and summer. When I back out the driveway in the morning and when I pull in later in the day, it gives me a wonderful feeling to see my flowers blooming and my plants growing. You all have heard me say that my long term goal is no grass, all flowers and although there is still grass, the flowers are gaining. I enjoy sitting in the backyard as well, looking at all my plants and my bales and my bird feeders. Very relaxing.

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  28. 1) Sitting on the screen porch on a day with a high of 80 F. reading a book I’m enthralled with. Looking up often enough to see the robin in the birdbath or the bunnies or squirrels chasing. With a cup of hot tea (would be perfection if it didn’t cool off).

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    2. Clyde, Seattle is sort of like the big brother city for Portland. Washington state is like a brother for Oregon. We feel a strong kinship. Now to the south of us is California . . . a whole ‘nuther thing!

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  30. ljb, thank you for your account of that sweet day. The pictures are beautiful and I can really imagine how your soul must have been buoyed by all that green after (and still during) a Minnesota winter.
    This post says “Part 2”. Was there a Part 1 that I missed?

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  31. Guess this is the place for today’s comments. Like many Baboons, that first thing in the morning cuppa and a walk in the neighborhood is high on my list. One of the houses in the neighborhood has the most delightful yard with a little fountain and at least 2 friendly cats who will let you pet them (but they aren’t going to get silly on you and act like it is a big deal- they don’t love you, just collecting the toll).

    I love going by their place, but am absolutely dotty about getting food out of my currently overgrown, messy yard. Apple tree is loaded as are the raspberries and currants. We did each have one strawberry on our rhubarb cake with strawberry revel ice cream last night. I still haven’t figured out where those really want to be, but that one strawberry was a delight.

    I’ve also carved out a space under the Japanese lilac to take my reading and lunch break. Everything tastes wonderful sitting in there.

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    1. My apologies. It appears the “allow comments” box got un-checked on LJB’s Portland post. That has been fixed, and the chatter can begin directly below that post, if you wish to move. I feel like the overflow check-out boy at Target. “I’ll take the next customer over here!”

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      1. If you were the check-out boy at Target, I think I would enjoy shopping at Target more than I do now. Especially if you don’t follow the lead of the cashiers at my local Target who use so many of those plastic bags it’s criminal. Once one of my items about the size of a pack of gum got its very own bag. (!!!!) And, yes, I try to bring my own bags, but sometimes I forget.

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    2. MIG, I also grow fruit – no strawberries or apples, but raspberries, gooseberries, rhubarb, and raspberries. They are so easy to grow and there is no better food than something made from them (or, in the case of raspberries, eating them while I pick them). My mouth is watering just thinking of it.

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  32. I’ll add a post about simple pleasures. When I lived in Saint Paul, the right start for the day was to drive to the Minnehaha dog park and saunter through the park with dear Katie. I would meet friends (doggy and human) and so would Katie. After a long walk Katie would be warm, so she’d wade into the Mississippi, which would be sparkly and clear most mornings. What a lovely way to start a day.

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