The Art of Living.365
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Day 351 - Coca Cola 600
Yesterday I had the esteemed privilege of helping unfurl the largest flag in the world at the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dubbed the “Superflag,” it is 255x505ft with the surface area of 4 football fields. It weighs 1300lbs and needs 500+ volunteers to carry and unfurl it. Myself and about 20 people from my school were a part of the crew for the afternoon. We unfurled the Superflag as Darius Rucker began to sing the National Anthem and a B-52 bomber flew overhead, all the while surrounded by the NASCAR drivers and crews, 1,000s of fans, and 100s of Airbornne soldiers from Fort Bragg. Chills went down my spine and tears came to my eyes as I stood there helping hold “Old Glory” and remembering the men and women we were honoring on this Memorial Day. Land of the free and home of the brave….
I’m somewhere at the top of the stars in front of Marcos Ambrose’s pit.
*picture via the Charlotte Observer
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”I am oppressed with a sense of the impropriety of uttering words on this occasion. If silence is ever golden, it must be here, beside the graves of fifteen thousand men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem, the music of which can never be sung. With words we make promises, plight faith, praise virtue. Promises may not be kept, plighted faith may be broken, and vaunted virtue be only the cunning mask of vice. We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke: but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.
Day 350 - President James Garfield, May 30, 1868, Arlington Cemetery
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Day 349 - My current happy place…..coffee, music, and novel writing. Yes, I have decided to write a novel. A friend keeps telling me that there is a novel somewhere inside of me so I want to see if she is right. My goal is to have a first draft done by the end of the summer. Here’s hoping!
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Day 348 - Happy birthday to Mary Cassatt! (1844-1926, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania) artist and printmaker during the Impressionist period of art
Child’s Bath, 1893
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Day 347 - For my birthday this year my parents gave me the coolest present; one that I have been wanting for quite some time - a bicycle! Yes, I realize that I turned 28, not 8, but there is something about a bicycle that people at any age can enjoy. My bicycle, now dubbed Petunia, is a gorgeous Huffy beach cruiser, which will soon be tricked out with a basket and bell. Friends keep telling me that I was born in the wrong decade, but I just like to think that I have an eclectic taste influenced by my love of history. As soon as I took Petunia on her maiden trip through the neighborhood and felt the wind in my hair I knew it was going to be an amazing summer filled with many bicycle outings.
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Day 346 - On this day in 1938 Louis Armstrong and his band recorded “When the Saints Go Marching In.” There was and never will be a voice like his. Wow.
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Day 345 - Groggy and sleep-deprived, but deliriously happy - that is how everyone should feel after returning from a spontaneous roadtrip. Last night at midnight (after going to see the Avengers; amazing movie!) my friend and I were walking back to the car and he jokingly said, “About the only thing that could make this night even more amazing is driving to the beach to see the sunrise.” Little did he know what he was getting himself into because I said, “Um alright; let’s do it!” We gassed up my car, acquired two extra-large slurpees, checked directions, and drove until the map turned blue. 3.5 hours and 200 miles later we ended up at Carolina Beach and Kure Beach in Wilmington. We quickly found a public access and in spite of the rain we took a walk on the beach. Sadly, because of the rain and clouds, we were unable to take everyone’s favorite “moon-lit walk on the beach,” but we still had a great time dodging waves and stranded jellyfish. At this point we still had a couple hours to kill until sunrise so we reclined the seats in the car and tried to get some sleep; he was definitely more successful than I was. After about an hour of catnaps we headed down the road to Fort Fisher and waited for the sun to rise. There will never be anything like it. Sitting in the car, waiting for the rain to stop, and watching the sun come up over the edge of the ocean. There is definitely something comforting in the fact that every day at roughly the same time the sun comes up, breaks through the clouds, and starts our day. The rain finally stopped and we stood watching the sunrise for quite some time before heading back home. After breakfast under the golden arches we drove the 200 miles back home….a little sleepier, a little groggier, but completely overjoyed.
Yeah, maybe it was a little crazy to drive through the night just to see the sunrise but as cheesy as it sounds, it wasn’t just the destination but the journey. We were able to spend time together; I was able to experience something new (I had never taken a roadtrip such as this one); and we were able to do something “just because we could.” The freedoms we have in life are something I hope I will never take for granted and a trip like this has helped me to appreciate them even more.
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Day 344 - Found this interesting coffee chart on the UK Daily Mail’s website. TOO funny. My usual is a mocha…
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Day 343 - Last night I was having a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to draw in my sketchbook. Sometimes a blank page can be one of the most aggravating things, whether you’re a writer or an artist. Looking for some inspiration I pulled up Google and typed in “famous paintings.” Google always gives you suggestions of other related topics to search and I could not help but stare in bewilderment when I saw its suggestions.
I of course had to click on it and this is what it lead me to: http://www.sadanduseless.com/2012/01/famous-paintings-improved-by-cats/ *shakes head*
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Day 342 - Thanks to a friend on Facebook I was introduced to this Youtube video called the “Metro Song.” My dad being a DC native (therefore, taking many a family trip there) and living/working in DC one summer in college, I have ridden the Metro more times than I can count. Every word of this song is true and I could not stop laughing watching it. I read the Express every morning on the way to work…my station in Ballston ALWAYS had an escalator out of service….and tourists trying to figure out the Metro or crowding the escalators drove me INSANE. Oh memories….
Likes
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stillness, a study
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After a day like today. What a pillow for my soul to know that You love me, when I think I am...
