Relationship issues? Categorize friends; That tree is pokeweed; If Avatar and Ready Player One had a baby.
Relationship issues? Categorize friends; That tree is pokeweed; If Avatar and Ready Player One had a baby.
3 Things this week and a poem with foliage.
Inflight dogs and vomit couldn't keep me from making it home in time for my daughter's Dudes and Donuts Father's Day event at her kindergarten. (I took a red eye from Denver with a layover through Vegas, where some passengers had too much to drink and too many puppies).
Somehow I slept. My newly christened Nexus card got me through customs in a flash. I highly recommend the documentation—I couldn't believe how fast I got through immigration on both sides of the border. It's a travel game-changer!
Thanks for spending some of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down. And a Happy Father's Day to everyone loving or remembering their dudes.
Here's this week’s link round up and an original poem.
1. Relationship issues? Categorize friends.
Friendship is like a Swiss Army knife. Different friends should do different things. That, at least, is what this article suggests.
The Art of Manliness posted an excerpt from a humorous 1940s op-ed that tackles adult friendships and suggests thinking vocationally about their role in your life to take pressure off relationships and maximize enjoyment.
I had a cousin who exasperated me for years because she would never answer my letters or even acknowledge the receipt of gifts I sent her. But she has lovely table manners and can eat asparagus, oranges, frog’s legs, or even corn on the cob so that you are hardly aware of it. Well, what did I do? I gave up writing to her but whenever she was in town I took her out to dinner. We have been great friends.
If you're an adult and looking for friendships, this essay might be a great help.
2. This tree is pokeweed
We moved homes in the middle of July last year, so this is our first summer in our new digs. We were delighted to see different perennials emerge this spring, including some well-placed tulips and flaming poppies in our backyard beds.
But another massive plant emerged and in the last few weeks it’s started to dominate the flowerbed with tree-like stature. I’m not super familiar with plants native to Ontario so I’ve been waiting to see what it is. Turns out this plant is, in fact, the poisonous pokeweed.
Apparently it can grow to 3 metres tall, so it’s time to take action.
What did y’all do before Google lens?!
3. If Avatar and Ready Player One had a baby,
If you need more evidence that the internet is a double-edged sword and that clear guardrails are worthwhile, especially for teens, then read this article.
Starlink, the satellite internet hook-up from one of Elon Musk's billion-dollar ventures, has reached remote Amazonian tribes. It has clear benefits. And real clear negatives.
While it's connected tribes and families and made medical help much more accessible, elders of the tribe have noticed that people are getting lazy, young men are getting hooked on explicit pornographic content that's noticeably changing their public behaviour, and individuals are retreating from each other.
In response, the tribe, which went from no internet to full internet in a matter of days, has started to restrict access, incorporate regular scheduled internet blackouts and add community safeguards.
If the films Avatar and Ready Player One had a baby, it'd be this real life story, right now.
A poem
I was reminded of this poem about trees and fruitfulness as I wrote about weeding out invasive plant species this week.
I hope you like it.
the fruit/the tree : a stall between heartbeats the tree stands separate and catches the eye leaves – lush deep brown bark eyes intent see nothing else without warning fruit appears perfect round spheres that shine as the sun winks reflections once golden then emerald now red shining orbs suddenly the tree is very near within arms reach the fruit is firm but fleshy cool against the skin and once it is held a taste sensation begins to register though it hasn’t yet touched the tongue somehow it is familiar as though it has been sampled before cool fruit against the warmth of lips soft like a whisper an energizing kiss melting everything that could take away taste now melody like music begins somewhere inside and swells swelling more until it rolls out into waves of inaudible sound soft, unheard music surging like feeling because the fruit has been touched held gently by trembling hands the fruit slowly disappears just as it had come sparkling at the last moment replaced by air taking the song, the cool tingling of its touch the rainbow display of colour a deep silence takes its place echoing like hollowness that may never be filled another stall between heartbeats when everything is still the tree is gone too a sapling is now in its place shrugging to the ground replacing the fastforward images of life and promise only an impression of the tree remains and memory cannot chase it the sapling blurs the sudden vision of its magnificence it is becoming fainter closed eyes only see gray eyelashes close in an embrace of frozen time and then the words come: the fruit of the spirit ©️ 2024 Andrew Kooman