Living Large, or How to Have Fun on No Money

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both." (James A. Michener)

"A to B". That's how some people view transportation. It's simple. You need to get from A to B. A car, a bike, a motorcycle, a train, a plane...whatever. It gets you there. Click here if you please and think about Brautigan as you read what follows...and look at the photos.



This is the rear end of a very nice car. "Bond, James Bond". Remember that line? James Bond drove an Aston Martin.



This is the front end of said car, costing an estimated $70,000 just to fix. So, what do you get when you buy an expensive, near perfect way to get from A to B? Rubber biscuits, if you aren't prepared for what may follow.

Some people have a mistaken impression that making money is a bad thing. That having nice stuff is evil. There's all sorts of rationalizations people go through trying to figure out what's right and wrong sometimes. I'm here to tell you that enslaving yourself for the sake of A to B (or whatever) is the wrong way to go.

On the other hand, working hard for something you like is just fine and dandy. But, don't get all mixed up and start calling your employer "the man" and ripping off "the establishment" just because you made some bad choices.

People here at Zoobird don't ask each other what it's all about. We're here because we know what it's all about. At least to the extent that we know we can rise above the media hype that says "work, work, work...buy, buy, buy...shop, shop, shop...anesthetize your mind with thoughtless hype, and then waste it all just so you can go out and be miserable working, work, work, work...shop, shop, shop...desire but never be fulfilled.

Now, you may be ill. You may have kids. You might not live in a country that affords you the freedom you'd like. That's life and I can truly say I understand. Work is work. Life is life. Some say life is suffering, but it can be sidestepped!

I met him on the cliffs
Of Twin Rocks, Oregon
He was sittin' on his bedroll
Lookin' just like Richard Brautigan 
(from Shawn Mullins "Twin Rocks, Oregon (Live At The Variety Playhouse)"

I walked into a music store, sat down with some folks there I'd never met before and proceeded to play along with them. We made some good music. People walked in. There was an energy in the air you couldn't buy with all the money in the world. That's Bubba (above) playing the sweetest guitar you've ever seen. Making priceless vibrations come out of catgut and wood.



Alan coaxed us along by playing chords over and over again, sometimes louder to take the lead and other times softer so someone could step in and play his own few notes.



The expression on the guy's face with the veteran gimme cap on tells it all. A good time was had by all.



There are a couple of people I really admire in the photo above, each for very different reasons. Maura's on the left. She's the coordinator of the McRorie Community Garden. Musa's on the right. He's a partner in the 8th Ave Bikes and Coffee shop (8ABC).



Hi Maura! I admire how you nurture your boy Jonakai, who you accompanied to 8ABC and saw to that his bike got the attention it needed.



The McRorie Community Garden is a reflection of all of us who participate, but certain parts call out to their authors.



The garden is a unique, tranquil and utterly beautiful place to be in the moment. Thank you for that.



There's a Homeschool section of the garden for young people to enjoy and learn.






Jonakai asked lots of questions that incidentally got answered at 8ABC and walked away with a bike that works as it should. Musa saw to it that the job was done right, and for about 10% less than the usual price. People notice things like that. Good value for service.

Some folks got to try my Zoobird Jalapeño Cornbread yesterday and even wash it down with kombucha.

See what I mean about making little distinction between work and play?