The Unknown

March 4

I am thankful for the unknown. I know that is a scary thought. But if we knew everything, if we knew our future, wouldn't life be boring. Life and the unknown can bering about the most fantastic surprises.  A couple of quotes I found on the matter are:

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Soren Kierkegaard

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
Corrie ten Boom

The photo is my representation of the unknown. It was taken on University Lake in Baton Rouge while these ducks swam into the fog and into "the unknown."

unkown

you say you are afraid

of an unknown future

that i do understand

but if the future

was in our hand

and tied up

wrapped up

and sutured

and we knew all

everything that passed

would be no different

than reviewing the past

but instead we get

unknown

un-sewn

god’s blessedness

and the possibilities

endless.

© rt tulley

Origins

March 3

I am thankful for origins. This includes the origins of names or people. We should all try to understand where we came from in order to see where we are going. 

This photo is of the Red Stick sculpture on the riverfront in Baton Rouge. The history of the red stick dates back to 1600s when the French explorer d'Iberville sailed up the Mississippi River to the current site of Baton Rouge and saw a cypress pole reddened by the blood of sacrificial animals on it. The pole marked the hunting ground boundaries between the Bayou Goula and the Houma native Americans. d'Iberville called it le baton rouge (the red stick), and thus the origin of the name of our city. The sculpture was erected not too many years ago to remind Baton Rougians of their origins. There is another red stick sculpture on the Southern Univesity campus at the Mississippi River on Scott's bluff, which is on the north side of Baton Rouge.

origins

mr. darwin in 1859 published

on the origin of the species

many believe that treatise to be true

while others think it is feces

whether natural selection

or the theory of evolution

the work of darwin

began a raucous revolution

but i myself subscribe

to a particular notion

my idea of the origin of species

will create some kind of commotion

so in a concise and simplified nutshell

i ‘ll tell you what it is i think

in the evolutionary history of man

a french fry is the missing link.

© rt tulley

Zany

March 2

I am thankful for zany, crazy things that make us laugh. Sometimes things are just so outlandish and silly they crack us up.

I've already mentioned the Lawn of the Dead parade at the Spanish Town Mardis Gras parade (February 12). Here is a photo of the Krewe of Yazoo and their lawnmower brigade in action. Hilarious. It proves it doesn't have to be raunchy to be funny.

zany

i wish i could bottle

a way to make people laugh

i am often unsuccessful

it ends up being a gaffe

but if i see or hear it

from comical to hilarious

slapstick or dry

if it’s crazy or uprorious

well i can’t make them laugh

and i know i’m no brainy

but if i hear or see it

i certainly know zany.

© rt tulley