Casey Lord: Recap and Randoms

Here was my day yesterday...it started with a 3 mile run throughout downtown. Then I sat in the garden and worked on a new song--tinkering with the accordion to match the sound to my singing. That's how I've been practicing the instrument--by ear and experimenting alone. I played until my leg fell asleep and then went for a walk thinking of how if Jerry Falwell were alive he'd have something to say about all of the praying mantises that have overtaken downtown. Seriously, those bugs are everywhere these days and it's been years since I've seen one. I finished a book, worked on a poem, played some more on the accordion, and then went out walking again--a good 4 miles. After the kids' nap I took them out to Raccoon River for some beach time. Then we headed to East Village to have dinner at Tacopacolypse (fabulous as always). From there we walked to the Des Moines river. Picture crossing a bridge with huge catfish swarming underneath, their mouths open and bobbing and bug collecting. There were at least 100. We kicked cans (one of my favorite sounds), found bird nests, picked sunflowers, threw rocks as far as we could off the bridge, admired the downtown skyline and the sunset. Fisher kept asking me "what are we doing next" and I kept telling him to just enjoy now because thinking about what's next keeps you from experiencing the current fully. We arrived home late, where they passed out quickly. I turned on the TV and the classic movie Rocky was on. It was my favorite scene--the one where he drinks a glass of raw eggs and then heads off into the morning dark for a run, stopping of course on those steps that made Pittsburgh famous, and then to Adrian's brothers meat locker where he says the best line from the movie: "I have gaps, she has gaps, together we fill up the gaps." Beautiful isn't it? As was the day, and today also.