He said: "This whole notion of there being an "Art World" is preposterous. It is an illusion. It does not exist. There is no art and there is nothing supporting that notion. There is only moments and seem as though they came from another hand because of their unique quality, but in an instant are gone. There is no art and there are no artists. There are only scratches on a inside of a cave somewhere; some hand drawn smears of color made by an unknown hand at an unknown time and the cave will soon be sealed and the "art" will vanish and the world will carry on as it always has. The "Art" will not survive. Only the moment will live, and then seconds later, die away."

Stumble It!

She said: He was something alright. You know, one of those once in a million type of men. I fell for him at first glance. He was sweet and had a nice smile. Nice body, too. Every time we went out together, he had some little thing to give me. This was a major change from my last "good man". I gave that one up after he hit me with that meaty hand of his. Had a black and purple eye for about 2 weeks. No amount of make up could hide what he did to me. So, this new guy was like a light coming into my life again. Every thing was wonderful for a month or so. Then, her vanished. Poof. Just gone. I was about to loose my mind, I was so crazy with worry. Then he showed up out of nowhere. Bamm! There he was. Wouldn't tell me where he had been. Gave me a big smile and a hug and that was it. I cried for him, I was so worried, but he didn't want to share whatever the story was with me. So I made up to him because I loved him and even though I thought I deserved an answer, I didn't push him. But, then it happened again. He was gone and I was crazy with worry. And that was that. I couldn't do it again. I broke down. Then I broke up. And I tell my friends the short version of our time together. You know, just to make the whole thing brief: A Hole New Thing: A Fresh Start. Unknown Circumstances. A Broken Heart."

Stumble It!

He said: "Oh, she was smart all right. She was smart and she was sassy. That's just the way I like a woman. It's important to have a good laugh from time to time. Me: I try to make sure I wake up laughing and go to bed with a smile. And, lord, this woman fit the bill. She was sassy, and she was smart, and she was funny, and she wasn't afraid to be a little bit salty, too. And I needed to have someone to laugh to and to enjoy a good story with. The doctors told me why I was hurting down there. It's cancer and I don't think I'm going to be laughing for too much longer. It was a shock to get that news. But that's just the way things go. I'm doing the best I can and she comes over a couple times a week and we sit on the porch and chat and tell stories and laugh about it all. For right now, that's what's keeping me going. That's why I want to stay alive, so I can see what the next punch line is gonna be."

Stumble It!

She said: "It was all around me. The light. That super bright light. It felt like I was being pierced by the light. Like the light was a laser and it was being beamed to everything around me. I was too stunned to turn around and run. I was too afraid to run anyway. I felt the light on my arms and on my legs. I felt warm on a cold November morning. I felt suspended. And at the same time, I felt comforted and protected some how. I didn't even think about running away. I don't think I could have run away even if I tried. The light grew brighter even than it was, but then began to fade. I could feel my skin cooling, and then, suddenly, it was gone. Just like that. Just gone. And I was stunned at how quickly the whole thing took to happen. I was stunned, but not from the light. I was stunned because it left me. Whatever it was, it left me, and moved on to some other place. And I was still here. I haven't moved an inch. Something happened, and then it was gone. If you look real close, you can still see the places where I got burned."

Stumble It!

She said: "I was never afraid. Not once even. I was made of sterner stuff. I was from Texas. That, in itself, explains why I didn't fold. I would never fold. It just wasn't in me. When someone said something or did something that I thought was just wrong, I let them know what I thought. Didn't matter if they were the garbage man or the President. Same thing. So when those young men came into my store, which first was my daddy's store before he died and I took over, well when they came in and told me that they wanted all the money and the jewelery, I was prepared. I knew that they had to be from out of town, 'cause there was no one in this town stupid enough to hold me up. I kept a pistol and a rifle under the table and I shot and killed the small one, and shot the bigger one on his crotch, so he went down too. The third one ran faster than I ever saw anyone from anywhere run. There was the mess after, of course. With the police and the court and just the to do of it all. But I stuck it out. This is my home, my town, my daddy's memory. There will never be anyone who will make me give up. I will never give up. Ever!"

Stumble It!

He said: "We played as tho we were in the garden because, I guess, that's were we wanted to be. We wanted something more than what we had. I know that sounds selfish, but that's the way was was then. We thought that we could find something that was better, more pure, more forgiving than the place we were at. We thought that Nature or God or something would shelter us from what was around us: War, more War, Hate, more Hate, hunger for what we thought was promised to us. We were, of course, wrong. It couldn't last. There was too much against us. What we wanted couldn't be tolerated. But, after all, there did appear lessons to be learned. Quite a few, actually. The one that I still keep close to me is that if everything is level, then everything can be the same. But it is hard to make everything level. Humans just don't work that way. The reality is the Above You is Below me."

Stumble It!