Pax Plena

Tag: Living

  • Bike Riding in Tucson?

    Bike Sign TucsonI’ve lived in Tucson nearly four years, and throughout my time here, I have ridiculed the city’s efforts to promote commuter bike riding.

    As the proud driver of a gas-guzzling Chevy Colorado, I have found the bike lanes in Tucson simply annoying. There is nothing more irritating than making a right turn, and having to wait for every petty kraal of bike-riders in the bike lane to pass before me.

    What’s astonishing, I suppose, is that there is even a bike lane at all. Alas, Tucson routinely ranks among the top ten bike friendly cities in these states united, and actually does have quite a nice infrastructure developed for cyclists. Even the University of Arizona (home for at least another year), has made significant investments in creating a’bike friendly’ campus, and in promoting alternate forms of transportation.

    Unsurprisingly, the much-touted green aspect of bike riding isn’t terribly appealing to me. But I do like the idea of staying in shape once our Lenten crusade against carbs ends. And all of the above, coupled with the rising costs of gasoline make investing in a bike an increasingly attractive idea.

    And I have to admit, this bicycle is especially tempting…

    The main question, for now, is whether I can actually give up my scorn for cyclists long enough to visit a bike shop and pick up some new wheels.

    Highly unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

  • The Inverse Relationship Between Parenting and Health

    Screaming ChildI got married in the late summer of 2009 under the brilliant skies of an Indiana August. Despite being still relatively, newly married, one of the first questions that always seems to come up when my wife and I meet someone new (or not so new) is:

      A) Whether we have children;

      B) Whether we plan to have children in the near future.

    My answers, are usually: A) No. and B) NO!

    Thanks to the University of Minnesota, I now have a stronger argument for avoiding kids: they are harmful to the health of the mother.

    In brief, according to the U of M’s study:

    New research…shows that mothers consume more calories and get less physical activity than women with no kids.

    …

    Mothers [also] had a higher body-mass index and didn’t eat as healthily as childless women, chugging more sugary drinks and eating more total calories and saturated fat.

    [Link]

    The simple take away is that parenting may be hazardous to your health.

    Don’t believe the study? Ask your Mother and Father when they receive your tuition bill.

    Note: Read the full story here.

  • Worst Pilot Ever

    Had a good time last night, watching old clips from the Dean Martin show.

    I swear, I’ve been on this guy’s plane before. He was clearly a pilot for Delta…

  • Song of the Week: L-O-V-E

    Since today is St. Valentine’s Day, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate song of the week than Nat “King” Cole’s L-O-V-E.

    L-O-V-E was recorded on a sunny Wednesday afternoon on June 3, 1964 in Hollywood, CA. Having listened to the song in numerous movies, and in my own music collection, whenever I hear L-O-V-E I can’t help but think of a ride I once took down Hollywood Boulevard en route to the Capitol Records building, palm trees swaying against sun-drenched skies.

    Isn’t this basically how love feels? Every cloud has beauty. Every kiss is an exciting mystery. It’s as if the skies were painted blue by God Himself, just for you. This feeling of wonderment associated with ‘love’ is what Cole’s song captures so well.

    Oddly, what makes the piece work is the almost imperceptible crescendo of the music. As Cole begins his etymology of love, the initial lines are soft, if not sultry. As Cole delivers line after classic line, the music builds, interspersed by trombone vignettes, and trumpet solos. By the time Cole bellows that ‘love is made for me and you’ the music is enthralling enough to actually believe him.

    The song itself is performed in a masterful legato style that is every bit as smooth as Cole’s baritone voice. The sound is one unique to the artist combining elements of Jazz with Cole’s provenance as a big band singer. At the end, the music almost has a dixieland band feel, concluding the song splendidly.

    And what to say about the lyrics? The lyrics have really almost become their own definition of love. At the very least, it seems fair to say that Cole’s lyrics are the most famous acrostic in history. But perhaps the more intriguing part of the song is the way Cole’s simple melody has come to inform our consciousness of what love is and means.

    Cole’s song reminds us that two people in love can ‘make it’, damn the odds and divorce rates. It reminds us that love is really all we can give to someone else. And it reinforces what is most important about our relationships. Sure, we can buy presents. We can devise exotic vacations. We can even share a delicious meal, or a fine wine. But all of these things involve something external to the self. Love, on the other hand, is all we can actually give of ourselves to another.

    With that thought in mind, just because I ‘love’ my readers, please enjoy this very special Valentine’s Day song of the week, L-O-V-E as performed by Nat “King” Cole.

    L-O-V-E
    By Nat King Cole

    L is for the way you look at me 
    O is for the only one I see 
    V is very, very extraordinary 
    E is even more than anyone that you adore can…

    Love is all that I can give to you 
    Love is more than just a game for two 
    Two in love can make it 
    Take my heart and please don’t break it 
    Love was made for me and you

    L is for the way you look at me 
    O is for the only one I see 
    V is very, very extraordinary 
    E is even more than anyone that you adore can…

    Love is all that I can give to you 
    Love is more than just a game for two 
    Two in love can make it 
    Take my heart and please don’t break it 
    Love was made for me and you 
    Love was made for me and you 
    Love was made for me and you

     

  • Thoughts on My Wedding Day

    In roughly 1.25hrs, I will stand at the alter of Avoca Baptist church and pledge my love, and life to Gwyn Hamrick (soon to be Fodder).

    My vantage from the small window in the alcove of the church shows an absolutely perfect day with only wisps of clouds in the sky. A crane of the neck looks out at a field of green behind the church. The warmth of the sun feels a lot like the Father smiling down, and feeling pleased. It’s the kind of day made for beginning life anew.

    It might seem strange to some, adding my thoughts on marriage, and life here in this space normally devoted to political wranglings, and snarky remarks.Yet in other ways writing here could not be more appropriate. This peculiar hobby of mine has been one of the few things that I have continued throughout my formative years- from college, through my time in Boston, to my days of law school down in Tucson, until now. Why not share some thoughts with an old friend?

    The single thought that occupies my mind in these waning hours of my single, adult life is the notion of loyalty, and its implications. I remain convinced, now as much as ever, that love is fundamentally a commitment. We choose whom to love. And love is something borne out in life’s great struggles as the commitment to another is tested, time and time again.

    I am under no delusions that love, and marriage will be an easy commitment to keep. Any commitment given proper consideration requires some quid pro quo from both parties. But in marriage, the agreement should never terminate. Given this depth and breadth of commitment, deciding whether to marry or not is among the most profound decisions one can make.

    And so marriage, in many ways, is not unlike any other major decision that life brings our way. We simply make the best decision we can with the information available to us, and proceed accordingly. I am confident in my decision. I am appreciative of my betrothed for her agreement. And I am joyed at our mutual decision to love each other.

    And on this we can build a life.

    In sum, I love my bride to be with all of the commitment a life time can afford. My feelings on this auspicious occasion are quite serene. The wedding itself, the reception, the entire production is ancillary to the actual commitment between the two of us that this day is set to commemorate.

    But, ‘to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3.1). Today is our day to love, and to laugh.

    And this is good.