Blogger's Block

Richard Wagner once said he composed music like a cow giving milk. Effortless. Not to compare myself to the composer of “Tristan and Isolde,” but generally I don’t have to search very hard for a daily blog theme. A catchy title appears, an insight surfaces, a weird perception jumps out from around the corner and I’m off. Almost all of the 750 + entries are first-drafts with a check for typos, written anywhere between ten and twenty minutes.

So now it’s been four days since I last wrote and nothing has appeared. I’ve had three days of long-distance biking (is the exercise draining the imagination?), made an interesting black rice/ black bean tortilla, loved the 5^th graders singing “When You’re Smilin’” with motions. Any could have inspired an entry. None did.

Today could have merited a “revolt of the machines” rant— my i-Pod battery dying, the printer suddenly not printing, the sound system at school failing. But another entry whining about technology promising us heaven and then changing its address every five minutes? I don’t think so.

Tomorrow is my Mom’s Memorial Service that begins with picking up daughter Kerala and granddaughter Zadie from the airport. Hoping to take them to school and having them join my three-year old music class, though I know full well it will both melt my heart to have Zadie there and break my heart that she will not be in my three-year old class next year! Portland’s just a bit too much of commute. Well, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say about another goodbye to Mom and Zadie is food for an entire winter of written reflections. So no need to begin now.

Then there’s the comedy of errors in that maddening world of bureaucracy. Set to work on Visas for the incoming Interns and suddenly, our sponsor from last year ran out of Visas and said the government is cutting back in general and re-vamping their Intern/ Trainee programs. If I was trying to invite some gun-runners into the U.S., well, no prob! But to sponsor a cultural and educational venture that brings intelligence and understanding to the world? Well, let’s throw up as many roadblocks as possible!!! We can’t let THAT happen!! Found an alternate sponsor in New York that looks promising, but now the tension of timing.

Need more material, Doug? How about trying to figure out the complicated Fox-Chicken-Corn transportation of getting Kerala and Zadie back home for a nap before the service with our one car and daughter Talia’s car. Had a plan and then Talia just called and said she went to her parked car to find the windshield smashed. Good timing! Oh, and I have to call Jury Duty. Everything was pointing to, “Tomorrow you must come in” but the gods in the heavens were probably laughing so hard they missed that opportunity and I got another day pass. Well, all this surely would be a blogworthy tale!

But mostly I’m trying to see if I can write something about having nothing to say. And lo and behold, I think I did it!