Let me start out by saying that I am not really much of a hunter. I don't spend my days pining after that big buck, or any of the other things that so many hardcore guys do. I don't have any issues with hunting, but generally, it isn't really that interesting to me personally.
That said, My wife's family is full of hunters.
Babe's grandparents spend much of their own time making a living in their country butcher shop. I don't imagine that they make much money at it, but it is what they do. Grampa and Gramma have a place in the woods, about 80 miles from our home.
Their home is spectacular from an agrarian point of view. Grampa has spent the better part of 30 years making it what it is, and doing most of the work by himself. It started out as 20 or so acres of solid wooded land, mostly hardwoods, clear floor, with a mix of evergreens here and there to add interest.
Initially, they built a small cabin for hunting and weekends away, living in the city at the time. Over time however, the home has turned into a very nice home, modest, in a 2 acre clearing, the siding on the house, as well a quite a large amount of the rest of the place, was cut and milled using a rented portable milling machine. the wood came from the trees cut down to make room for the house.
They also have a 30 by 50 foot barn on the property, built much the same way as the house. The barn houses what i would call a professional style butcher shop, complete with a hoist for hanging the carcasses, a huge walk-in cooler, and tons of ice-chests.
It is one of my favorite places to spend my time. There is something very calming about being in a place where your own knowledge of the agrarian way of life dictates how comfortable you live.
We spend time each year cutting wood to heat the place through the winter, Grampa uses an outdoor wood burning stove for his heat, and this requires an amazing amount of wood each winter to work. We never cut standing wood, only those trees that have fallen during the year. It seems no matter how much time we spend cutting each october, we barely make a dent in the fallen wood, and believe me, we cut a lot of wood in a month.
But this weekend was the opening weekend of our gun-deer season here. Friday night, after I was done with work, I drove up, and spent the evening visiting with my father and brother in-law, gramma and grampa, and Babe's uncle and cousin. This is pretty much our deer season crew. We normally spend a few hours each day hunting, and then quite a few hours working on processing the few hundred deer that people bring in each season.
I think that this is the reason that most guys enjoy deer hunting. Camaraderie to me is more than the actual hunting, but for a lot of us, it is the only time of the year that we are able to get away from the hustle, bustle, and stress. We can collectively take a deep breath, forget about our real lives, and focus on spending time with those around us. I find it unfortunate that so many people allow the time to become absorbed in alcohol and the like, but who am I to determine what your time away is fueled by.
We sat in the lower room on Friday evening, well after dark, and watched the deer come up into the yard to pilfer corn from the bird feeder in the yard. It is truly an amazing thing to watch a huge 10 point buck walking in peace, coming up for a bite to eat. He knew we were watching, and grampa said that he was a bit more skittish than normal, but nonetheless, I got to watch him from 20 yards away eating his dinner for a solid 20 minutes.
We did manage to harvest two deer between the six of us, and they'll make for some good dinners for all of us through the coming year. We have another chance next weekend to see if we can find a few more, but mostly, I am looking forward to spending another weekend living in a world that is so much different than the one i wake up in the rest of the time.
get outside and play with your friends....
Greg
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
the babe
If you ever manage to find a woman who can truly put up with your crap, keep her.
My wife and I have been married for 7 years and 4 months.
We dated for over 2 years before were engaged, and as we all know, weddings take a year and a half to plan. You would think that in roughly four years time she would have been able to find herself a better mate. Thank God she didnt.
Things you should know.
The babe is intelligent.
She is patient.
The babe does not like to argue.
I call her the babe for a reason, and it isnt rude in any way in my opinion.
We regularly recieve phone calls from distraught parents asking the babe what they should do with thier kids. ( she teaches kindergarten, and is extremely extremely good at it.)
My wife has an understanding of kids that most of the rest of us will never, ever be able to duplicate.
But at 21 years old I didnt know any of that.
What i did know was that this girl was cute. she was fun. she was smart. and because we had mutual friends, i always seemed to run into her in random places.
We started dating, youve all heard the story from there, it isnt much different than your own i imagine.
We have 2 wonderful boys, a nice home, and are generally sort of spoiled, which means that we also generally have more bills to pay than we'd like.
But the most important thing to understand about my wife is the fact that I dont think I would be able to maintain sanity without her. She is my personal rock, my babysitter, and my daily encouragement.
five years ago, she let me drag home a pickup truck. It was free for the taking, and i might have paid too much at the price. My father, the eagle, said it was not fixable. The professor told me to take it apart and get to work. For five entire years, Babe dealt with a garage full of old car parts, rust in the driveway, noise, frustration, (even cursing sometimes) and all of the other things that go along with someone who doesnt really know how to rebuild a car but is trying anyway.
She never got frustrated. She never got mad. She always supported what i was trying to do.
Thats the sort of thing that keeps a marriage going. I try each day to return the favor, sometimes i succeed, and other times not, but I hope that i win more than i lose. The interesting thing about marriage, i think, is that so many people forget about the permanence of it. Remember the vows that we traditionally make? They dont give you any outs. Divorce is not an option, which means that every so often, when things arent great, you need to remind yourself of the reasons that you got together with this person, and the things that are really important anyway.
I think you will find that anything you think is worth fighting about; isnt. anything that is worth hurting somebody you're with; isnt. The world is full of enough crap as it is.
did you know that the majority of splits are caused by money issues? Of all the things on the planet. Why would you ever let something so trivial become so important?
go give your wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, ferret, dog, cat, whatever a hug.
Greg
My wife and I have been married for 7 years and 4 months.
We dated for over 2 years before were engaged, and as we all know, weddings take a year and a half to plan. You would think that in roughly four years time she would have been able to find herself a better mate. Thank God she didnt.
Things you should know.
The babe is intelligent.
She is patient.
The babe does not like to argue.
I call her the babe for a reason, and it isnt rude in any way in my opinion.
We regularly recieve phone calls from distraught parents asking the babe what they should do with thier kids. ( she teaches kindergarten, and is extremely extremely good at it.)
My wife has an understanding of kids that most of the rest of us will never, ever be able to duplicate.
But at 21 years old I didnt know any of that.
What i did know was that this girl was cute. she was fun. she was smart. and because we had mutual friends, i always seemed to run into her in random places.
We started dating, youve all heard the story from there, it isnt much different than your own i imagine.
We have 2 wonderful boys, a nice home, and are generally sort of spoiled, which means that we also generally have more bills to pay than we'd like.
But the most important thing to understand about my wife is the fact that I dont think I would be able to maintain sanity without her. She is my personal rock, my babysitter, and my daily encouragement.
five years ago, she let me drag home a pickup truck. It was free for the taking, and i might have paid too much at the price. My father, the eagle, said it was not fixable. The professor told me to take it apart and get to work. For five entire years, Babe dealt with a garage full of old car parts, rust in the driveway, noise, frustration, (even cursing sometimes) and all of the other things that go along with someone who doesnt really know how to rebuild a car but is trying anyway.
She never got frustrated. She never got mad. She always supported what i was trying to do.
Thats the sort of thing that keeps a marriage going. I try each day to return the favor, sometimes i succeed, and other times not, but I hope that i win more than i lose. The interesting thing about marriage, i think, is that so many people forget about the permanence of it. Remember the vows that we traditionally make? They dont give you any outs. Divorce is not an option, which means that every so often, when things arent great, you need to remind yourself of the reasons that you got together with this person, and the things that are really important anyway.
I think you will find that anything you think is worth fighting about; isnt. anything that is worth hurting somebody you're with; isnt. The world is full of enough crap as it is.
did you know that the majority of splits are caused by money issues? Of all the things on the planet. Why would you ever let something so trivial become so important?
go give your wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, ferret, dog, cat, whatever a hug.
Greg
renaissance men
Today's thought
I have spent the last few years of my life attempting to become somewhat of a renaissance man. It isnt that I want to be some sort of a master of all things. More that i would like to be someone whom most people that know me can feel welcome to call on for help with project x y or z.
Through this process, I have learned how to do quite a varied number of things. I have learned how to be a pretty fair mechanic. A reasonably good welder. Somewhat of an engineer. I am now ok at woodworking. Im a plumber. An electrician, matter of fact, i wired a new circuit into my best friends circuit box last week with the main switch still turned on. turns out, all you really need to know about electricity is the old adage, "dont stick your finger in there."
in any case, the whole point of my writings here is more about finding self than sharing self. I guess what im trying to say is that it seems that one of my favorite things to do really is learning how to do new things. sounds rather circular to me.
To this end, I enlisted the help of a person who is now a very good friend, but 8 years ago was just my buddy's father in law. I'll refer to him as the professor. he refers to me as the apprenti. as if ther ecould really be more than one person as warped as i am.
in any case, at the time that i met the professor, my buddy was making an attempt at fielding a 4 cylinder race car at our local track. it was not going well. our tshirts said "never give up" largely due to the fact the we seemed to be on the brink of such every single time we started the engine at the track.
I can still picture the oddly colored mixture of water and oil, spuna t 6000 rpms, resembling chocolate milk, that we so often found upon draining the oil after a race.
I got to know the professor after asking him to teach me how to build an engine during one particularly long night, during which the IT guy and I , (IT guy being my buddy) were supposed to drop off the car trailer, which was stored at the prof's house, and then pick up ice cream. (never promise your women ice cream and then get caught up in beer and cigarettes with the prof when you're supposed to be right back, it pisses them off)
Long story shorter, they're never really short anyway, I entered a regular regimen of spending my days off from work at the professors workshop. I cannot say enough about the multitude of things that I have learned there. All three of the types of intelligence have been bolstered and grown in that simple mechanic's shop, and in the last eight years, I have grown in more ways than i can begin to express due to my time there.
simple and short, just the way prof likes it,
thanks coops.
Greg
I have spent the last few years of my life attempting to become somewhat of a renaissance man. It isnt that I want to be some sort of a master of all things. More that i would like to be someone whom most people that know me can feel welcome to call on for help with project x y or z.
Through this process, I have learned how to do quite a varied number of things. I have learned how to be a pretty fair mechanic. A reasonably good welder. Somewhat of an engineer. I am now ok at woodworking. Im a plumber. An electrician, matter of fact, i wired a new circuit into my best friends circuit box last week with the main switch still turned on. turns out, all you really need to know about electricity is the old adage, "dont stick your finger in there."
in any case, the whole point of my writings here is more about finding self than sharing self. I guess what im trying to say is that it seems that one of my favorite things to do really is learning how to do new things. sounds rather circular to me.
To this end, I enlisted the help of a person who is now a very good friend, but 8 years ago was just my buddy's father in law. I'll refer to him as the professor. he refers to me as the apprenti. as if ther ecould really be more than one person as warped as i am.
in any case, at the time that i met the professor, my buddy was making an attempt at fielding a 4 cylinder race car at our local track. it was not going well. our tshirts said "never give up" largely due to the fact the we seemed to be on the brink of such every single time we started the engine at the track.
I can still picture the oddly colored mixture of water and oil, spuna t 6000 rpms, resembling chocolate milk, that we so often found upon draining the oil after a race.
I got to know the professor after asking him to teach me how to build an engine during one particularly long night, during which the IT guy and I , (IT guy being my buddy) were supposed to drop off the car trailer, which was stored at the prof's house, and then pick up ice cream. (never promise your women ice cream and then get caught up in beer and cigarettes with the prof when you're supposed to be right back, it pisses them off)
Long story shorter, they're never really short anyway, I entered a regular regimen of spending my days off from work at the professors workshop. I cannot say enough about the multitude of things that I have learned there. All three of the types of intelligence have been bolstered and grown in that simple mechanic's shop, and in the last eight years, I have grown in more ways than i can begin to express due to my time there.
simple and short, just the way prof likes it,
thanks coops.
Greg
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
My Family, Doc
I have 2 small boys, on here, and because of the world we live in, I will be giving everybody a nickname, some that we really use, some that I will make up. In any case, my boys are Turtle, who is 4 now, and Tank, who is the ripe old age of 2. (2 1/2 daddy! he would say).
My son's nicknames are actual. Turtle got the name because when an infant, had a big head and a little everything else; such that he resembled a turtle out of his shell. Tank has his because of his personal tendencies. I swear he could walk through a brick wall and only turn around to scold me for the mess he left behind.
I really only have 2 important goals in my life. I want to be the best husband that I can be, and the best father.
This brings me to Doc. I dont know why Doc came to my mind today. Maybe it was because he must be dead about three years to the day, or maybe because I was reflecting on seeing his grandson, my brother-in-law last weekend, but in any case, i was walking across our campus at work, and found myself thinking of Doc.
Doc was the grandfather of my sisters husband. I cant begin to explain the circumstances of our relationship with enough interest to you other than to let you know that my parents and our family made an unspoken adoption of Doc as our family's grandfather when I was about 25 years old.
My own history with grandparents indicates why Doc was most likely so important to me personally. Let me preface by saying that I loved both of my natural grandfathers very much. As a child. Unfortunately, both of them passed before i really had the maturity in life to get to know them very well. My maternal grandfather was in and out of my life for as long as i knew him, and was always good to me i suppose, but cant say that i ever really knew him very well. My paternal grandfather I knew pretty well, he lived close to us, and I saw him often. I know that Grandpa loved me a lot. But again, it wasnt like I really knew him beyond childhood.
On the other hand, I met Doc when I was grown. We saw each other at all of the Wilker family gatherings, and usually a few times in between. He would always sit with me and chat, and wasnt afraid to talk to me about some of the more important things in life. We talked about raising kids, about cars, about wine and beer, golf, and really did enjoy each others company. He was, in my adult life, the grandfather that I didnt have.
Oddly, Doc was not neccesarily the kind of person I want to be if i grow up. He tended to value himself based on his net worth. He was materialistic. He was not particularly interested in having a true personal relationship with anybody. What I valued about him however, was the fact that he was indeed interested in other people. He was curious about what made people tick. He didnt judge people at all that I am aware of.
Doc was by all accounts, an addict. Not in the normal fashion, but more in a workaholic sense. Doc was an eye doctor, and had his own local practice for many many years. even after he closed it, he continued to work until he was no longer able. Doc was well into his octogenarian years when he finally quit going to work every day.
Doc reputedly got addicted to many things in his life. He had a fantastic string of high-end cars through his life, including jaguars and mercedes-benz. He was a scratch golfer in his life. He was even at the end of his life, and exceptional bridge player, a game which, although he tried to teach me during his final days in the nursing home, continues to evade my mental capacity.
Doc was also a collector. I suspect he was one of the most extreme collectors that I have ever seen. If he had one of something, he had 100. Terry Redlin prints. German beer steins. stamps. coins. You get the idea.
In any case, i suppose that having known Doc has somehow taught me a few things about my own parenthood. I dont know what sort of parent Doc was. But i do know what sort of adopted grandfather he was, and he was exceptional. Doc was very good at providing me with hope. He always seemed to know when I needed some encouragement. He always seemed to be able to find a way to feed my ego, which sounds self-absorbed, but really i dont think it is. I guess i'll finish by saying that i am thankful for the time i got to spend with him, and am sorry that those times had to end.
rest in peace, we all miss you.
Greg
My son's nicknames are actual. Turtle got the name because when an infant, had a big head and a little everything else; such that he resembled a turtle out of his shell. Tank has his because of his personal tendencies. I swear he could walk through a brick wall and only turn around to scold me for the mess he left behind.
I really only have 2 important goals in my life. I want to be the best husband that I can be, and the best father.
This brings me to Doc. I dont know why Doc came to my mind today. Maybe it was because he must be dead about three years to the day, or maybe because I was reflecting on seeing his grandson, my brother-in-law last weekend, but in any case, i was walking across our campus at work, and found myself thinking of Doc.
Doc was the grandfather of my sisters husband. I cant begin to explain the circumstances of our relationship with enough interest to you other than to let you know that my parents and our family made an unspoken adoption of Doc as our family's grandfather when I was about 25 years old.
My own history with grandparents indicates why Doc was most likely so important to me personally. Let me preface by saying that I loved both of my natural grandfathers very much. As a child. Unfortunately, both of them passed before i really had the maturity in life to get to know them very well. My maternal grandfather was in and out of my life for as long as i knew him, and was always good to me i suppose, but cant say that i ever really knew him very well. My paternal grandfather I knew pretty well, he lived close to us, and I saw him often. I know that Grandpa loved me a lot. But again, it wasnt like I really knew him beyond childhood.
On the other hand, I met Doc when I was grown. We saw each other at all of the Wilker family gatherings, and usually a few times in between. He would always sit with me and chat, and wasnt afraid to talk to me about some of the more important things in life. We talked about raising kids, about cars, about wine and beer, golf, and really did enjoy each others company. He was, in my adult life, the grandfather that I didnt have.
Oddly, Doc was not neccesarily the kind of person I want to be if i grow up. He tended to value himself based on his net worth. He was materialistic. He was not particularly interested in having a true personal relationship with anybody. What I valued about him however, was the fact that he was indeed interested in other people. He was curious about what made people tick. He didnt judge people at all that I am aware of.
Doc was by all accounts, an addict. Not in the normal fashion, but more in a workaholic sense. Doc was an eye doctor, and had his own local practice for many many years. even after he closed it, he continued to work until he was no longer able. Doc was well into his octogenarian years when he finally quit going to work every day.
Doc reputedly got addicted to many things in his life. He had a fantastic string of high-end cars through his life, including jaguars and mercedes-benz. He was a scratch golfer in his life. He was even at the end of his life, and exceptional bridge player, a game which, although he tried to teach me during his final days in the nursing home, continues to evade my mental capacity.
Doc was also a collector. I suspect he was one of the most extreme collectors that I have ever seen. If he had one of something, he had 100. Terry Redlin prints. German beer steins. stamps. coins. You get the idea.
In any case, i suppose that having known Doc has somehow taught me a few things about my own parenthood. I dont know what sort of parent Doc was. But i do know what sort of adopted grandfather he was, and he was exceptional. Doc was very good at providing me with hope. He always seemed to know when I needed some encouragement. He always seemed to be able to find a way to feed my ego, which sounds self-absorbed, but really i dont think it is. I guess i'll finish by saying that i am thankful for the time i got to spend with him, and am sorry that those times had to end.
rest in peace, we all miss you.
Greg
What is Intentional Intelligence
I have named this blogsite, ( is that what its called?) Intentional Intelligence. In my recent readings, I have understood this term to be relative to my own life as follows.
Intentional Intelligence, or II as i will refer to it from now on, is the practice of focusing one's thoughts towards success with any given goal in your life. For me, it is defined a bit differently, and has more to do with curiosity. I pursue II daily, in that i try to learn something new every day. These lessons are many and varied, similar to the days that we all live. The lessons may be interpersonal, a mechanical skill ( which is one of my personal favorites, as you will soon see) or something else.
This is the intentional portion of the name. It is fairly literal i suppose. Much like the more mainstream definition of II, it refers to actually trying to do something. I intentionally look each day for the lesson it will hold. I try to seek it out as i go about my business, asking questions, listening ( to both my elders and those who arent) and practicing skills that I am honing.
The Intelligence portion of the name has a few different facets. First there is what i call detective or research intelligence. These are facts, tidbits, funny jokes, myths, and so on. They are more like things that could be written down and stored away than like things that could be practiced. The proper spelling of a word, a conversion table from measurement x to measurement y, things of this nature fall into research intelligence.
The second portion of intelligence to me are skills. This seems obvious, but skill intelligence is those things that a person learns to DO. Skill intelligence can be practiced, honed, refined, and possibly never perfected. Some of the skill intelligence that interests me most is parenting, my relationships with people, my golf game, and my welding ability.
The last portion of intelligence is the most common definition i think. I will call it learning ability for lack of a better term, if anyone has a better term, feel free to let me know, i really dont like this one. In any case, learning ability refers to the training of the mind in the areas of creativity, focus, determination, problem solving, empathy, and all of those other touchy-feely things that we all could stand to work more on.
And such will be the common thread of these postings. I intend to share with you my daily pursuit of Intentional Intelligence. I will share those things that I think would make anybody more capable in our lives, as I find them, and welcome any ideas you may have.
Perpetually learning,
Greg
Intentional Intelligence, or II as i will refer to it from now on, is the practice of focusing one's thoughts towards success with any given goal in your life. For me, it is defined a bit differently, and has more to do with curiosity. I pursue II daily, in that i try to learn something new every day. These lessons are many and varied, similar to the days that we all live. The lessons may be interpersonal, a mechanical skill ( which is one of my personal favorites, as you will soon see) or something else.
This is the intentional portion of the name. It is fairly literal i suppose. Much like the more mainstream definition of II, it refers to actually trying to do something. I intentionally look each day for the lesson it will hold. I try to seek it out as i go about my business, asking questions, listening ( to both my elders and those who arent) and practicing skills that I am honing.
The Intelligence portion of the name has a few different facets. First there is what i call detective or research intelligence. These are facts, tidbits, funny jokes, myths, and so on. They are more like things that could be written down and stored away than like things that could be practiced. The proper spelling of a word, a conversion table from measurement x to measurement y, things of this nature fall into research intelligence.
The second portion of intelligence to me are skills. This seems obvious, but skill intelligence is those things that a person learns to DO. Skill intelligence can be practiced, honed, refined, and possibly never perfected. Some of the skill intelligence that interests me most is parenting, my relationships with people, my golf game, and my welding ability.
The last portion of intelligence is the most common definition i think. I will call it learning ability for lack of a better term, if anyone has a better term, feel free to let me know, i really dont like this one. In any case, learning ability refers to the training of the mind in the areas of creativity, focus, determination, problem solving, empathy, and all of those other touchy-feely things that we all could stand to work more on.
And such will be the common thread of these postings. I intend to share with you my daily pursuit of Intentional Intelligence. I will share those things that I think would make anybody more capable in our lives, as I find them, and welcome any ideas you may have.
Perpetually learning,
Greg
Starting out.....
Welcome.
This will be the first post of (hopefully) many; directed at the goal of standard journal keeping. By journal keeping, I mean the practice of sharing ones thoughts and experiences with nobody in particular, or anybody who cares to read them.
I intend to use this venue to share my own experiences, specifically the things that we learn each day of our lives, and expound on my own thoughts and reactions to such. Hopefully I am able to use the sharing of this information, (or intelligence, if you will,) to find better ways of pursuing what i would call "right living"
The use of this term as i will interpret it is a little vague. I suppose the simplest way to explain it is as follows. "Living Right" to me means going about my interactions and even my thoughts each day in such a way as to follow the rules and law of God to the best of my ability. To me that means raising my children, loving my wife, and also my friends, family, and fellow man in the best manner that I am capable. I am by no means perfect, as I am certain that these pages will illustrate plainly, and am also by no means cosmically (or any other way) more important than anybody else.
I welcome any and all comments or contributions to my expressions here. I dont ask anybody to agree with what i have to say, or what my thoughts are on any particular item. I do ask that those comments are stated in a constructive manner. Life is too short for degradation.
Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully you enjoy your time.
Greg
This will be the first post of (hopefully) many; directed at the goal of standard journal keeping. By journal keeping, I mean the practice of sharing ones thoughts and experiences with nobody in particular, or anybody who cares to read them.
I intend to use this venue to share my own experiences, specifically the things that we learn each day of our lives, and expound on my own thoughts and reactions to such. Hopefully I am able to use the sharing of this information, (or intelligence, if you will,) to find better ways of pursuing what i would call "right living"
The use of this term as i will interpret it is a little vague. I suppose the simplest way to explain it is as follows. "Living Right" to me means going about my interactions and even my thoughts each day in such a way as to follow the rules and law of God to the best of my ability. To me that means raising my children, loving my wife, and also my friends, family, and fellow man in the best manner that I am capable. I am by no means perfect, as I am certain that these pages will illustrate plainly, and am also by no means cosmically (or any other way) more important than anybody else.
I welcome any and all comments or contributions to my expressions here. I dont ask anybody to agree with what i have to say, or what my thoughts are on any particular item. I do ask that those comments are stated in a constructive manner. Life is too short for degradation.
Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully you enjoy your time.
Greg
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