echoes bouncing back

If only my memory could not recall the dark, mysterious waters that lapped against my imagination. If only my dreams were not so vivid and so real as to mock my waking moments. Perhaps then, I would be content with the monotonous sound of this Oregon rain.

Life Song

Will the tears come
when the time comes
to see the life undone
a song
that sounds
like shimmering summer grass
tall and soft
a whisper in your ear
a feeling of heat
sliding across your skin
a setting of the sun
slipping into night
where stars will shine
and moon will rise
a life song
similar to the one
that day
when light opened your eyes
and air filled your lungs
that day
when you were brought
singing
into this world

How I see the world differently than my insurance company.

The automotive world has two sets of scales, maybe even three, but two that I'm sure of. When they're selling a used vehicle, they pull out the book which shows the highest amount possible. When negotiating a trade, they use the book that shows the lowest possible value. Insurance companies like this trick, too. When they insure your vehicle, they use the HV book, and by golly, it's gonna be expensive to fix or replace that vehicle of yours (in the case of being totaled or stolen). So on you go, paying insurance premiums based on the "Higher Value" book, and then when your vehicle is stolen or totaled, they pull out the "Lower Value" book. They know we know what they're doing, but the game is not to give away that they know. Unless you become a screaming lunatic, they will act like there is only one way to value a vehicle. A "secret sauce" that we should all agree upon. But I guarantee you, that at the time they are calculating their premiums, they wipe away the sauce and shine the paint up real nice and pretty, and presto - a higher value and hence justifiable premiums. Cynical? Me?