Begin

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.

~ G. K. Chesterton

- - - - -

Doing things badly is underrated - whether it is writing, art, raising children, or starting new years. Do the best you can and if you do a bad job, do a better job next time. Fail first. You can do it. If you expect to fail and you do - you have met your own expectations.

Happy New Year.

Sunset

My New Year's resolution was to stop saying, "You go girl!" to myself.

~ Zach Galifianakis

- - - - -

Today is a day for reflection and anticipation. We can appreciate what went well and look forward to future joy. We can learn from mistakes and embrace mistakes as learning for the days ahead. 

Or not. I'm not the boss of you.

Attention

A place is only as good as the people in it. 

~ Pittacus Lore

- - - - -

When you go to a new place with children, you can see things you might otherwise miss. The world through the eyes of a child is so different. It's mainly because children tend to be short and their eye-level is lower.

Kool-Aid

Jim Jones used Flavor-Aid not Kool-Aid.

~ Bruce Weinstein

- - - - -

I have had this mug for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid we had a set of these and maybe a Kool-Aid pitcher to go with the mugs. 

Childhood is full of memories about things. Of course those memories are often ours alone. Is that why there is both a "me" and and "I" in memories? No. There is both a "me" and an "I" in memories because of spelling.

Looking

In a world as myriad as ours, the gaze is a singular act; to look at something is to fill your whole life with it, if only briefly.

~ Ocean Vuong

- - - - -

This is a good time of year to look ahead. And if the way seems cloudy or unclear, maybe this is a good time of year for you to clean your windows.

Not

Not everything has to have a silver lining.

~ Kirk Boettcher

- - - - -

So, I'm writing this on my brother's birthday in 2024. He said this to me a couple of weeks ago. I was on a drive and pulled over into a cemetery to talk when he called me. It was a logical place to stop since there isn't a lot of traffic in cemeteries, and we were talking about death and impending death.

2024 was a really tough year for a lot of reasons, but I'll share one theme of the year - the death of mothers. Leslie, Kirk & I, Leslie's brother-in-law, and my brother-in-law all lost our moms in 2024. 

I'm scheduling this post for a year from today: Kirk's birthday in 2025. And here is what I predict, 2025 will be easier. It will be difficult in different ways, but it won't be as hard as this year has been. I also predict none of us will lose our moms in 2025.

Christmas

Christmas Day is the first day. The Twelve Days are 25 December to 5 January, counting first and last.

~ Wikipedia

- - - - -

So, not only is my brother's birthday close to Christmas (which he didn't necessarily love as a child), it is actually the third day of Christmas. I may have to send him three French hens for all of his birthdays now that I know this. Because I'm like that.

 

Christmas

Merry Christmas to all,

And to all a good night.

~ Clement Clark Moore

- - - - -

Lily doesn't get too wrapped up in gifts at Christmas. She focuses on the joy of being around people she loves. She likes it when we are at home more. It usually means more snacks for her - intentional and accidental.

Santa

A good many things go around in the dark besides Santa Claus.

~ Herbert Hoover

- - - - -

A good many things, but maybe not many good things.

 

Lights

I've learned you can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

~ Maya Angelou

- - - - -

I like to take Leslie's luggage, tangle Christmas lights around it and leave it outside in the rain.

(pause)

She doesn't really handle it very well when I do that, though.

 

Bird

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.

~ Robert Lynd

- - - - -

 Isn't the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" mostly about giving people the bird?

(pause)

The answer is, "Yes, Michelle. Yes, it is."

Lighting

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

~ Francis Bacon

- - - - -

Is darkness darker when we compare it to the light, you ask? No, because when we turn on the light for the comparison, it isn't dark anymore. 

Sheesh. You ask some ridiculous questions sometimes.

Duffy's

I'd like to be very wise.

~ Duffy

- - - - -

I learned that duff can mean both worthless or buttocks and in both cases the origin of the word is unknown. 

(pause)

I didn't say it was interesting. I said I learned it.

Tired

Tired minds don't plan well. Sleep first, plan later.

~ Walter Reisch

- - - - -

But sometimes bad plans are hilarious, so go ahead and plan before you sleep. Just don't maybe do those plans.

~ 

T

 

Health

I have chosen to be happy because it is very good for my health.

~ Voltaire

- - - - -

I detest unhealthy soap.

Reading

He retired to his bibliomaniacal bed.

~ Thomas Frognall Dibdin

- - - - -

Dragons don't read in bed because if they get sleepy and yawn they set their books on fire.

 

Burn

Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn you just to see a light.

~ Karmand Kojouri

- - - - -

Salem, MA between 1692 and 1693 was full of a lot of people in utter darkness. It's a good thing we have electricity in more places now.

 

Walking dog horse

A canter is the cure for all evil.

~ Benjamin Disraeli

- - - - -

I love this sign. I don't know who put that dog sticker on there, but I think I would like them.

Rules

Everybody's gotta learn, nobody's born knowing.

~ Harper Lee

- - - - -

This sign is the opposite of Hotel California. You can never check in but you can leave any time you like. At least that is what Harper told me.

 

Cars

One person's car is another person's scenery.

~ Jonathan Ive

- - - - -

I love driving around and taking photos of things I see. Is it ironic that I drive around and sometimes take photos of cars that are not driving around? No. No, and if you think that then I don't think you know what ironic means.

Lobster

The proper place to eat lobster... is in a lobster shack as close to the sea as possible. There is no menu card because there is nothing else to eat except boiled lobster with melted butter.

~ Pearl S. Buck

- - - - -

Lobsters hate those places. 

 

Past

The past is never where you think you left it.

~ Katherine Anne Porter

- - - - -

Dec 11, 2012

Dad sent an email about his cancer saying he could go off chemo and didn't have to carry around the infusion pump for now. "The only down side to today was the one of the chemo drugs I was on causes numbness in the hands and feet and it can become permanent. I have some now. He gave me a prescription that may help with that. Had to share this. It was a great Christmas present."

My response to his email: If the numbness isn't in your head, how come Erik and Kirk always refer to you as a "numbskull"? That is confusing to me.

And Leslie's response to me when I shared the news with her was:

He may want to keep numb hands and feet because I got your parents the Hot Coals of Fire version of Twister for Christmas.

Look

The Artist was an observer, he couldn't bear to be observed. The world always gets those mixed up.

~ Fredrik Backman

- - - - -

When you are wired to watch other things instead of focused on looking at yourself, it is uncomfortable when people look at you. You worry that they might see all of you, all of the secrets, all the flaws, all of the imperfections. You worry about those things because that is what you see when you look at others. 

Sometimes you also see them slip on the ice and fall down and you laugh a little. And you don't want people to see you fall and then laugh because that is not funny at all. 

Things

Everything she owned was either unbreakable or broken.

~ Barbara Kingsolver

- - - - -       

Did you ever break something of your mom's and now you still feel bad about it? You should because she is really angry with you about that.

Listen

When I'm with you, bells go off in my head like a moving truck that's backing up.

~ Jodi Picoult

- - - - -

One week I sent my friend Gene an article about the Taco Bell ultramarathon. 

Me: I am not in favor of telling other people what to do with their lives. I try to only do that in my head. And yet, I thought it was important to share this with you.

A few days later I was driving around and came across this on an old trestle bridge. I sent it to Gene who responded, "I'm not one to tell people what to do with their lives... but I think you need to get some Taco Bell."

Choose the people you invite into and retain in your life carefully and choose well.

Lure

The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.

~ John Burroughs

- - - - -

Sometimes you need to take a few moments and appreciate where you are. Really stop and take things in. Especially the things you want to steal.

Friends

It is good people who make good places.

~ Anna Sewell

- - - - -

Good dogs make good places, too. 

 

Attention

The true art of memory is the art of attention.

~ Samuel Johnson

- - - - -

I don't know what dog memories look like. 

(pause)

That's it. That's the post.

Whisper

(Photo by someone with my dad's camera)

It isn't what they say about you, but what they whisper.

~ Errol Flynn

- - - - -

When Doris whispered, "This is the worst shower I've ever been to," everyone heard her. Doris was quite hard of hearing and had actually screamed the comment at Zelia who was sitting next to her. Zelia wasn't sure how to respond, so she just kicked Myrtle's handbag into the center of the room. It distracted no one, but it didn't matter. That was just how Zelia got her kicks.

Places

It is strange how people seem to belong to places - especially to places where they were not born...

~ Christopher Isherwood

- - - - -

I keep seeing this thing pop up on social media about how most people do not live in the right place. I'm not sure how anyone knows whether others live in the right places or not. Unless it's an article about squatting.

Messages

I never try to convey a message, I just want to tell a story.

~ Isabelle Allende

- - - - -

Once upon a time I had a work meeting that I was dreading. I was right to dread it because it was a situation where one person just wanted to agitate other people without bringing solutions. You know the type. They come and flip over tables and then leave it to other people to clean up the mess.

Anyway, I had been dreading the meeting and it turned out to be exactly the kind of meeting I expected it to be.

But then, immediately after the meeting, I got a text from my brother. It reminded me that my job is my job, not my life. My life is made up of beautiful things and good people. His text made the ugliness of the meeting evaporate completely. 

Kirk wrote one sentence that lifted my spirits and reminded me of what really matters in life.

"If you get a minute will you create and send me a photo of me with mutton chops?"

And now all is well.

Cards

I don't turn to greeting cards for wisdom and advice, but they are a fine reflection of the general drive of the culture.

~ Susan Orlean

- - - - -

An Email Exchange

Jenn: LOL- Love the card!

Sara: That masterpiece is from Michelle Boettcher. She thought it would be slick to send that grotesque picture of me on a card across campus. However, people that received it did not know it was a prank, and when they mentioned it to me (often just a thank you), I did not know what they were talking about and would just smile and nod. So I apparently foiled the prank with my dimness...

Jenn: OMG - this is even funnier. When I first got the card I wondered? I should have deciphered the handwriting. Then, on Sunday evening Soundoff! I saw a replica and died laughing.

I wonder who I could play on prank on over here in CHS... Well, nobody if I want to keep my job.

SO FUNNY!!!

Me: This is one of my favorite jokes I have ever played. Second only to the time I switched all the labels on my parents' canned foods.

Jenn: Do your parents still allow you to visit? 

Me: They do. But they always have the front door locked - even when they know exactly when I am arriving. True story. It annoys me, but it sort of makes sense.

Church

Even kids who were mean to me at school had to be nice to me at church. Or at least not as mean as they were at school. 

~ Jeff Hiller

- - - - -

I think kids are mean to other kids in church because kids are mean. I don't think they do it to see if God's wrath will rain down on them. At least I never heard a kid say that's why she was being mean to another kid at church.

(pause)

I guess I never heard a kid say that outside of church, either.  

Door

Be open to new ideas and experiences...  You never know when a new door will open to take you on the journey of your dreams.

~ Ketanji Brown Jackson

- - - - - 

You also never know - if you are Rosalind Shays - when a door might open and it might be an elevator door without the elevator car and you fall down the elevator shaft to your death.

This post is dedicated to my brother Kirk and one of his greatest phobias.

Dreams

All dreams are within reach. All you have to do is keep moving toward them.

~ Viola Davis

- - - - -

If you ride a bike made of dreams, you are riding a dreamsicle. 

Turkeys

There's turkey ham, turkey bologna, turkey pastrami. 

Someone needs to tell the turkey, "Man, just be yourself."

~ Mitch Hedberg

- - - - -

The two turkeys discussed who was more at risk that November. "I think it's you," Ben said to David.

David nodded, "Existentially, you may be right. I may have more at stake. Physically though, dude, it's gotta be you." 

Gatherings

You cannot soar with the eagle when you hang with the turkeys. 

~ Apparently Everyone is Quoted as Having Said This

- - - - - 

 What the hell is going on here, you ask? Just a photo of a bunch of turkeys and a dog.

Poison

Fools want to share their poison, but wise people prefer water.

~ Maxime Legace

- - - - -

While not generally a proponent of selfishness, I do sometimes wish people would keep their poison, their negativity, and their pumpkin pies to themselves.

I do not like those things.

Family

(Photo by Richard Boettcher)

Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days...

~ The Judds

- - - - -

This is my Grampa Boettcher and my cousins. I know it looks like Scott has antennae as if he is from outer space. That is because my cousin Scott was from outer space. Not in a cool way like Superman, but in a weird way like that alien on Flintstones. 

(pause)

Family history is fun.

Dizzy

 

All dreamers in the world are dizzy in the noodle.

~ Edie Adams

- - - - -

I heard someone talking one time about how we are programmed to seek a feeling of being high. When you're a kid you get that feeling from playing on the swings or spinning in circles until you're dizzy. Then when you get older you look for other ways to capture the feeling.

When you get really old, you can capture it just by standing up too quickly.

(pause)

Maybe you don't even have to be really old for that to start happening.

Lillies

The delicate blooms of a white water lily represent the essence of rebirth and renewal, promising a fresh start and revival to weary souls.

~ Kellianne Matthews

- - - - -

Lily the dog definitely promises revival to weary souls. She is the best dog in the history of dogs.

(pause)

Don't tell the other dogs. 

Greatness

To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

~ Anatole France

- - - - -

The dreaming and the planning and the believing is all a part of the journey. It isn't success we are traveling toward, it is Acadia National Park. Well, at least that is what we were traveling toward when I took this photo.

 

Grandness

There is one spectacle grander than the sea. That is the sky.

~ Victor Hugo

- - - - -

This is a photo of a small pond, not the sea. But Victor Hugo doesn't read this blog. He is dead. If he was alive, I'm not convinced he would read this blog then, either.

Moods

"So is God evil?" a friend asked Kafka. 

"Not at all," Kafka said. "He just has bad moods."

~ Judith Shulevitz

- - - - -

We are responsible for our own moods. However, if you tick me off and make me angry and I take it out on you and that puts you in a bad mood... Wait, then it's still you who is responsible. 

Remember that.

Bandana

In terms of fashion, I love adding a fun scarf to whatever I'm wearing - it's a great way to dress up a plain outfit!

~ Bridgit Mendler

- - - - -

I believe that Lily is a nudist by nature.

 

Plants

Life is ruled by fortune not wisdom.

~ Theophrastus, The Father of Botany

- - - - -

From November 17, 2009

Dad and Mom: Have a question. The city of Des Moines is considering selling the Blank Park Zoo and the Botanical Center. We can't decide which to buy. Don't think we can afford both. Any suggestions? 

Love, Mom and Dad

Me: Buy the Botanical Center. Less liability. Less mess.

Kirk and Erik: (no response).

And since my brothers never responded, my parents didn't buy either one. 

Thanks a lot, guys. 

Sheesh.

Lure

I find the lure of the unknown irresistible.

~ Sylvia Earle

- - - - -

If invited, I shall choose not to attend the potlurk. Everyone just hangs out around the crock pot and it's creepy.

 

Mail

Discourse is fleeting, but junk mail lasts forever.

~ Joe Bob Briggs

- - - - -

When people die and you have their mail forwarded to you, you get things you never really expected.

 

Dog

Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

~ Anatole France

- - - - -

Lily goes to the dog park to see people rather than to see other dogs. Once in a while she will meet a dog she really likes and will play and play with that dog. I am sort of the same. I don't go to the dog park to see people, I go to see the dogs. Once in a while I will connect with someone at the park and we will play and play.

(pause)

I'm just kidding. That has never happened.

Going

You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens. 

~ Mandy Hale

- - - - -

If you are hanging on a tree limb above a pool filled with crocodiles ore piranhas or toxic waste, I suggest that you plan instead of letting go. But I'm not the boss of you. Depending on how you got yourself in that situation, we could be talking about natural selection at work.