My old raft that has served me well for so many years was a pretty simple and small one, though of course it got much larger over time. When I first built it, I needed only room for myself, an occasional friend hitching a ride for a bit, some books I enjoyed reading, and quite a few compact discs I enjoyed listening to. My trusty canine companion Sheba was on that raft for about 13 years too, until I had to build her own little raft for her...because we came upon a small tributary that led to her own sea of forever, and we bade a touching farewell. A framed picture of Sheba has remained on the mantle of the old raft, and I will certainly bring it aboard the new raft once I have built it.
That simple raft and I had countless great days together, and it's going to be hard to let that raft go. Even now as I type this, I think of how I might just use a few of the boards from the old raft to build my new one...for old time's sake, you know. Maybe. We'll just have to see.
That old raft really began growing when H came into my life. She was a noun that had intended to ride this raft with me until the end, but fate had other ideas. She has another raft these days, and I suspect it must be very large. Before she jumped off my raft, however, we managed to make two other nouns--Weasel and Butterfly. Of all the nouns I believed would be with me on my raft until the end, I thought for sure it would be them--and they WERE on my raft until May 4, 2014. They didn't jump off my raft by choice...just fate again, you know. I will remember the exact date always because it was Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you, and all that).
Obviously, Weasel and Butterfly were a major part of multiple expansion projects to my old raft...and in many cases they even helped build the additions. There were also many other nouns that jumped on to my raft once Weasel and Butterfly were there. Apart from them, but while they were there, I found a new love for vintage audio gear, and particularly for record albums. Those familiar will realize that of course vintage audio gear tends to be clunky and take up lots of space--especially the gradual accumulation of record albums! So yeah, more additions to the old raft of course.
Backing up just a bit, my father and his raft found his sea of forever on November 30, 2007, which also ended up affecting my raft indirectly--and my mom of course had to build a new raft too, which she floats peacefully down her river upon to this day. I was moved enough by my father's departure from this world to begin making music again--after many years of NOT making music, and even swearing off me ever making it again a time or two...or three. So of course that led to more expansion to my raft as I needed equipment to record the music I was so inspired to make. And so it was.
During a holiday visit with his family in 2010, an old noun from high school happened to jump on to my raft for a night and managed to convince me that I should do something with those songs--that maybe they were a larger part of my raft. More nouns, as the music became something serious again in my life. Not all the nouns took space on my raft, but many did. More expansion, more building. More fun, but also more seriousness. Energy was strong with me in those days, so the labor involved in expanding my raft was no trouble at all. I literally whistled as I worked. And there were also new friends that jumped aboard my raft from time to time, and they pitched in. It was a happy and beautiful season.
In the summer of 2011, Twillerbee spotted my raft...she was flagging me down from an embankment. Though she had her own raft in her own river, she had jumped off it, and seemed to be just wandering through the woods along MY river. I of course pulled my raft ashore, and we learned about each other. Weasel and Butterfly highly approved of course--and though she would have to return to her own raft, she made it clear she belonged on mine. It took some convincing, but I came to believe also that ultimately she belonged on my raft. And so she jumped on and off of my raft for a few years, balancing time between my raft and her own. But fate is always a step ahead of us, and the dice really are sometimes loaded. Managing multiple rafts on multiple rivers, it seems, is VERY hard and exhausting work. It took its toll, and she jumped off my raft for the last time in 2014, just as Weasel and Butterfly did. I should point out, though, that Weasel and Butterfly do still hop on to my raft, though not as often as I like. They will always be a part of my raft, sometimes.
So after many years of expansion on my raft, it suddenly became much lighter and quieter in 2014. The entire raft became out of balance, and I spent much of the year shifting things around, rearranging things to try and keep my raft level. The clunky vintage audio gear was most helpful in this respect! I could never really get the raft perfectly level anymore, and I even went so far as to recruit a feline companion named Kaylee in October, who would become my lovely assistant who does her very best to keep our raft level. We got our raft very close to perfectly level, but the quiet lingers and kept us ever perfecting it. More nouns continued to hop on and off the raft, causing me to spend too much time patching holes and shifting weight around. At one point I had to toss the songs I recorded because they were making it impossible to keep the raft level. I considered recording new songs to keep the raft level, but realized that they too would only complicate things further. More nouns, more shifting and patching--more work. And me, so exhausted from years of expansion.
So I pulled my old raft ashore, and tied it to a tree. And here it remains forever more. It will float no more down the river. And here, my lovely assistant and I will remain until we get that new raft built and return to the river. It's not so bad in the woods upon the shore. The river is always flowing, and it always will. I can always watch it, always touch it, and It will be ready to carry me when my new raft is complete.
That simple raft and I had countless great days together, and it's going to be hard to let that raft go. Even now as I type this, I think of how I might just use a few of the boards from the old raft to build my new one...for old time's sake, you know. Maybe. We'll just have to see.
That old raft really began growing when H came into my life. She was a noun that had intended to ride this raft with me until the end, but fate had other ideas. She has another raft these days, and I suspect it must be very large. Before she jumped off my raft, however, we managed to make two other nouns--Weasel and Butterfly. Of all the nouns I believed would be with me on my raft until the end, I thought for sure it would be them--and they WERE on my raft until May 4, 2014. They didn't jump off my raft by choice...just fate again, you know. I will remember the exact date always because it was Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you, and all that).
Obviously, Weasel and Butterfly were a major part of multiple expansion projects to my old raft...and in many cases they even helped build the additions. There were also many other nouns that jumped on to my raft once Weasel and Butterfly were there. Apart from them, but while they were there, I found a new love for vintage audio gear, and particularly for record albums. Those familiar will realize that of course vintage audio gear tends to be clunky and take up lots of space--especially the gradual accumulation of record albums! So yeah, more additions to the old raft of course.
Backing up just a bit, my father and his raft found his sea of forever on November 30, 2007, which also ended up affecting my raft indirectly--and my mom of course had to build a new raft too, which she floats peacefully down her river upon to this day. I was moved enough by my father's departure from this world to begin making music again--after many years of NOT making music, and even swearing off me ever making it again a time or two...or three. So of course that led to more expansion to my raft as I needed equipment to record the music I was so inspired to make. And so it was.
During a holiday visit with his family in 2010, an old noun from high school happened to jump on to my raft for a night and managed to convince me that I should do something with those songs--that maybe they were a larger part of my raft. More nouns, as the music became something serious again in my life. Not all the nouns took space on my raft, but many did. More expansion, more building. More fun, but also more seriousness. Energy was strong with me in those days, so the labor involved in expanding my raft was no trouble at all. I literally whistled as I worked. And there were also new friends that jumped aboard my raft from time to time, and they pitched in. It was a happy and beautiful season.
In the summer of 2011, Twillerbee spotted my raft...she was flagging me down from an embankment. Though she had her own raft in her own river, she had jumped off it, and seemed to be just wandering through the woods along MY river. I of course pulled my raft ashore, and we learned about each other. Weasel and Butterfly highly approved of course--and though she would have to return to her own raft, she made it clear she belonged on mine. It took some convincing, but I came to believe also that ultimately she belonged on my raft. And so she jumped on and off of my raft for a few years, balancing time between my raft and her own. But fate is always a step ahead of us, and the dice really are sometimes loaded. Managing multiple rafts on multiple rivers, it seems, is VERY hard and exhausting work. It took its toll, and she jumped off my raft for the last time in 2014, just as Weasel and Butterfly did. I should point out, though, that Weasel and Butterfly do still hop on to my raft, though not as often as I like. They will always be a part of my raft, sometimes.
So after many years of expansion on my raft, it suddenly became much lighter and quieter in 2014. The entire raft became out of balance, and I spent much of the year shifting things around, rearranging things to try and keep my raft level. The clunky vintage audio gear was most helpful in this respect! I could never really get the raft perfectly level anymore, and I even went so far as to recruit a feline companion named Kaylee in October, who would become my lovely assistant who does her very best to keep our raft level. We got our raft very close to perfectly level, but the quiet lingers and kept us ever perfecting it. More nouns continued to hop on and off the raft, causing me to spend too much time patching holes and shifting weight around. At one point I had to toss the songs I recorded because they were making it impossible to keep the raft level. I considered recording new songs to keep the raft level, but realized that they too would only complicate things further. More nouns, more shifting and patching--more work. And me, so exhausted from years of expansion.
So I pulled my old raft ashore, and tied it to a tree. And here it remains forever more. It will float no more down the river. And here, my lovely assistant and I will remain until we get that new raft built and return to the river. It's not so bad in the woods upon the shore. The river is always flowing, and it always will. I can always watch it, always touch it, and It will be ready to carry me when my new raft is complete.
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