EastValleyDrift

I got back into doing some cloud busting last Sunday morning before the sun came out. Perfect weather for it, cool breeze, the moon was still out, and a storm was coming in from the north. Rediscovering this old childhood past time is something I credit to my daughter.



Years ago when she was 5-6 years old we went to a nearby park on a summer day, found a shady spot under a tree, and as we lay in the grass staring at the clouds I told her that if she looked at the clouds long enough her imagination will shape them into cool things…cloud busting.

Years ago. I still do it thanks to her. Sometimes she’ll wake up early and join me in the backyard where we lie on our backs on the pool deck and star gaze / cloud bust until first light. It’s quiet, relaxing, and just a good time to veg-out.

Sometime between childhood and where we find ourselves as adults we lost touch with one of the simplest things in life. Something from a time that made us happy--days with no expectations, no motives, no stress, and no getting caught up in the scheme of things. I recommend taking a moment to lie in the grass and cloud bust…early morning is my best time because watching meteors flame-out is something I normally wouldn’t see unless I cloud busted. Give it a shot, you’ve got nothing to lose and probably everything to gain.

I've come to the conclusion that people should skip more. What ever happened to skipping? We used to do it when we were kids, but then the practice just seemed to fade away and was forgotten long before adolescence.

Did skipping suddenly become uncool as we got older? I mean jump roping and climbing shit made it through, why not skipping? Skipping is the one thing that all people have had in common; the simple act that has transcended language, cultural, and religious barriers for centuries. Everyone skipped when they were kids, why shouldn’t we continue to skip?

If we skipped instead of walked we would get to where we needed to go sooner...and have fun getting there. Probably be healthier too. And think about this, it's hard to be in a bad mood when you're skipping, and furthermore, it would be hard for someone to be pissed at you if they saw you skipping.

I think if every asshole in the world were forced to skip they would quit acting like assholes. They’d mellow-out and may actually turn into someone normal.

I'm thinking that if the armies of the world skipped instead of marched there would be no more wars. If you saw a column of soldiers skipping across a field would you take a shot? Hell no! I'd probably want to join in and ask them where the keg is. I think they need to skip in football too; every sport that involves running, the running should be substituted with skipping...that includes bowling, goddamnit. I'd like to see some skipping at marathons. Thousands of people skipping for 26.2 miles at Boston.

There needs to be an International Skipping Day (should be in Spring). One day out of the year when everyone on the globe skips. That’s the only rule for ISD; Heads of State, law enforcement, the military, businessmen and women, doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, your age, gender, everyone, people from every walk of life, we all skip for a day. Let’s see where we land as a species after 24 hours.

Don’t even get me started on piggyback rides…I pay by the mile with those.

Parkour (abbreviated PK) is a holistic training discipline using movement that developed out of military obstacle course training. Practitioners aim to move quickly and efficiently through their environment using only their bodies and their surroundings to propel themselves, negotiating obstacles in between. They try to maintain as much momentum as possible without being unsafe. Parkour can include running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, and more, if they are the most suitable movements for the situation.

Parkour is non-competitive. It may be performed on an obstacle course, but is usually practised in a creative (and sometimes playful) reinterpretation or subversion of urban spaces. Parkour involves 'seeing' one's environment in a new way, and imagining the potentialities for movement around it.

This has to be the best vid I've seen on pk:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH09YC…