Snippets and Prisms in the Sky

It's not really a rainbow as it wasn't raining. The prism of light you see on the right is as viewed, with the sun on the left. I took this shot in Bridgewater, NJ this past Wednesday afternoon about an hour before sunset. I was mesmerized by the prism, but the shots of it alone didn't show balance. Or something. ;-) It was cool. I love seeing these things in the age of digital cameras... which mean I always have a camera with me!

Another holiday weekend is wrapping up for most of America. It's not so much for me as I worked both Friday and Saturday so I didn't travel to feast with loved ones. The closest relative is about 400 miles away and to travel that and back in one day, then go into work early the next morning... it's too much. I did my solitary feast thing and had a good day with it.

I didn't go to stores for the big sales, either. Eww. I don't like the rush of humanity... or lack thereof, at least when thinking humanity. I hate crowds; I hate waiting and I'm really not thrilled with the general public out in public places, especially masses of them. I'll find my bargains online or at quiet times like a Wednesday morning or an early Monday evening. I tend to avoid malls on the whole even though I live in the Land of Malls -- New Jersey. If I want to suffer the crush of fellow humans, I'll go into Manhattan. At least it's good street theater there as opposed to NJ shopping malls. Plus, I can carry my camera and take pictures without a second glance as so many have cameras in the city. Around here, taking pictures of people gets noticed and I may have to see those same people again.

On and off all weekend I've been listening to Q104.3's Top 1043 Classic Rock Songs. Good stuff, lots of memories for this aging child of the 60's. As always, each song takes me back in time, at least in my mind, to where I was and what I as doing at the time. While I'd love for my knees to be good again, I treasure the times in which I came of age. In many ways, it feels like I never grew up, although I don't do some of the crazy things I did in my youth. (Or, as they say around here, in my "yoot.") I'm admittedly a bit jaded, but I still have those hopes and dreams... "hang onto your dreams, my friend. If they end, simply pretend you can build them again..." -- apologies to Paul Simon. I guess I do a lot of pretending and the years keep going on.

The holiday season tends to be a bittersweet time for me. I lost both of my parents five months apart when I was young. My brothers scattered across the country and there has been no "home" to return to for decades now. Yes, invites, but it's not my family and it's not the same. I've come to peace with it over the years and know that I'm thankful for what I have. However, with such focus on families, it's not always easy when you have no family, per se. People don't really think of it when they ask if you're going home for the holidays. Some people have no home in that way of thinking. I have my own home that I cherish in a solitary kind of way, but even so... the holidays can take a toll on the state of mind front.

So, I take a trip back in my mind to the days when I thought Santa's elves were the dark spot I could see in a light bulb, spying on me to report back to the Big Man. Back to the days when I would awake well before dawn with excitement and thrills for the day. Back to the days when I believed the world would never change and I would never age...