Bare With Me

I have four passions in life. They are ( not in order of importance) art ( art is life), organic farming, animals and writing. The sub list would include romantic movies with a happy ending, chocolate, pie, clean air, women of all shapes, sizes and colors, cooking, music especially indigenous music from all cultures, real Mexican food like huachinango and learning/teaching. I no longer have a life list that includes driving an 18 wheeler or flying an airplane, but I'll start my own school, God help me, and take back all the things that parochial, public and private school teachers stole from me. Yes, I'm fortunate to have attended all three, the longest of which was a co-ed private school in Milwaukee where I was able to rub shoulders with some of the snottiest individuals I've ever met. A few were good friends. One even became my wife. What a bunch of leakers, including the ex-wife.

This blog began at the suggestion of a friend and business consultant. Originally designed to draw attention to the business of art which I have been involved in many different aspects since 1988 when I quit teaching in the inner city and went on to start a sole proprietorship, then corporation and now a hobby business existing solely on-line.

I got sidetracked. I consider myself a word-smith. I shape ideas and images with words. My goal is to describe anything/anyone in such clear language that the reader would see my words as a painting. I've accomplished that a few times in the past and occasionally to a few who've followed Seven Roads To Home in the past year. The writing took over. Then organic gardening/farming took over.

Our place covers almost five acres. Previous owners converted most of the five acres into lawn, mature landscaping, forty foot pine trees and a neglected field. The weed infested overgrown horse pasture is at present 11 separate plots. At one time there were 19 gardens: asparagus, herb, mini pumpkin, squash, peony/wildflower and an extended list of unusual vegetables such as okra and edamame. Then I met an Amish family.

Their influence led me to specialize on crops I could can, freeze and dehydrate. The economy in recent years helped with that decision. Living better on less became my mantra.

I realized today I have drifted away from the original focus of the blog. That's OK though, because I've had the privilege of associating with interesting people around the globe. Today I surfed Blogger. I discovered artists out there. My creative urges of late have been in culinary arts. I need to rekindle my intuitive artist side.

My wife is a talented artist. In the near twenty years I've known her, she has painted and crafted her way through a web of projects. She's painted bottle gourds to look like gnomes, made rawhide drums decorated with snakeskin, designed tribal jewelry from organic decorative elements like coral, claw and bone. She's taught dance, scored #4 in the nation in a kick boxing tournament, survived a 19 year tour of duty at the USPS and now works with the elderly as a certified care giver, activities director and gopher.

My daughter is a talented photographer graduating from the Chicago Art Institute. The youngest daughter survives by taking a daily beating as a customer service rep for a large department store. You'd never know she taught in Japan for several years and has innate art skills in painting and ceramics. No.2 son works as an urban environment specialist assisting tourists. He's a talented writer with a truck load of real life experiences he may draw on some day. No.1 son can tell people he injected mosquitoes in research projects, directed the food service operation for a major university, is so valued as a knowledgeable server in a top rated restaurant that he won impressive monetary awards, one of which I was able to enjoy- a night at a five star hotel including a gourmet breakfast. Thanks to the banking system and the previous administration he holds several jobs to make ends meet.

I'll be taking more time with the art side of life and infusing this blog with, I hope, inspiration and creative chaos. The writing will continue. Thanks for your interest.