by Joe McKenzie
Rehearsal: Do you rehearse the important moments of your day, of your life, or even conversations? I’ve heard the Salina Symphony rehearsing. I’ve seen sound checks. They work. Baseball players take BP before each game. But, how is there time for life rehearsals? Does it come in routines and repetition? Is it like living twice? Will we sense a world applauding our daily performance, or a family member recognizing a fantastic home-cooked meal? Do we take our own bow of gratitude or prayer at the end of a day that was totally improvised and rushed? We learn from our mistakes and make adjustments as needed in pursuit of a good day. But, it’s a new year. Past years may have been a rehearsal for the real thing - 2025. Let’s take it from the top.
2 Noses: Noses are red, well, they can appear red if they are under the siege of a common cold and we are blowing them constantly. There have been reports of people with flu-like symptoms and common colds around town. What’s an uncommon cold? You can blow your nose all day, but in many cases, you will not lose your congestion. Each of your noses, that’s right, your two noses/nostrils (separated by a septum) could have swollen tissue blocking your breathing. It may not be mucus stuffing you up. You’ll need a decongestant that can shrink some blood vessels to open things up and smell a fragrant rose or at least that new candle you fond in your stocking at Christmas. Having two noses sounds weird when you picture a face, but, each nostril or nose is its own pathway to the respiratory system.
Ol’ Shep: Christmas and the manger in Bethlehem make me think of sheep and their wool. I wonder if the shepherds ever used sheepdogs - pre-Old English Sheepdogs, of course. That’s the name of a beautiful and goofy looking thick-coated breed. Shep might be a good name for this breed. When Shep was a puppy, was he still old? I love paradox. Even as a young dog, Shep was still adorable, but old, an Old English Sheepdog. When he gets old (they live 10-12 years), will his humans describe him as an Old-Old English Sheepdog or just refer to their beloved pet as Ol’ Shep?
4 Bikes: Holidays bring visitors through our festive town and when I saw 4 bikes mounted on the back of an SUV from Montana, I hoped they were enjoying their time at The Alley. That place always seems busy. It was a Monday afternoon, so Blue Skye Brewery and Eats was closed. I associated the mountain bikes with active adventure and that often comes with a thirst to sample local brews. Bikes and beer. It’s a thing. Craft brews are easy for travelers to search and find online. Brew pubs show up on many sites and beer drinkers will drive out of their way to sample and celebrate the discovery a well done local brew, like Blue Skye’s Ebenezer Vanilla Porter. So, I’m thinking the family from Montana hung around another day. And, that’s good for the local economy.
Wreaths: Loved seeing small wreaths displayed at Christmas outside second floor apartments at Eaglecrest. Residents wanted to bring color, life and good cheer to the community. The circular wreath represents eternity or the continuous cycle of life, no beginning or end, like God’s love. And, it’s evergreen. That could be strongly felt by the forever young, residents at retirement centers and could bring good old comfort and joy to those of us who are racing by at 40 mph.
