Rapids Lake

On December 26, Dave went hiking with me at Rapids Lake in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Dave brought his digital camera, and I showed him one of my favorite places to climb ravines.

Dave calls the picture of me wearing the orange hat, "the orange-headed dork-bird."
I must admit it isn't my favorite hat, but they are still bow-hunting for deer in this area, and my hat shows up pretty well doesn't it?

It was a fabulous day for hiking. Thanks to Dave for the photos.

The Band Christmas Party

The Band Christmas Party took place on December 23rd. There weren't a lot of pictures, but here is one of me with my friend and drummer Pete.

Happy Holidays!

It’s the season, here in America, the land of the easily offended, to wish everyone a Happy Holiday. Political Correctness dictates that we stay away from using any particular holiday, for fear of offending someone.

Personally, whatever holiday you wish to celebrate is fine with me, and furthermore, you are welcome to wish me a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Ramadan, Kwanza, or whatever you can come up with. I promise that I won’t take offense unless you decide for some reason to toss in a blatant insult.

So have a wonderful (insert holiday of choice), and a very Happy New Year!
May 2006 bring less war, unemployment, crime and meanness. May the New Year find us all with a new spirit of cooperation and understanding.
KJC

My Cool T-Shirt

Friday night, two of my favorite women were trashing one of my favorite T-Shirts!!!
I got it when I went to Dodge City, and it is called, "The Sheriff," and it is an action picture of the sheriff jumping off of his horse (that's rearing up) and pointing his gun. Yes, it is totally cool if you are a guy! Let's face it, women aren't always sure what cool is, though they will attempt to convince us guys that we have stupid "cowboy" shirts.

I-pod, x-box 360, Brittany Spears, airline tickets, cell phone, Iraq Election, Vikings scandal, He Who Goes First

Did you know that those are the key words to the most popular searches right now???

He Who Goes First
By Kevin J. Curtis

This is the story of a Mongol warrior who lived during Jenghiz Khan’s empire. It is a new look at a frequently misunderstood culture and history. The participants are not bound by ideals of what is good or bad. Like their ancestor the wolf, they do not act out of cruelty or mercy. They live by a natural law, which has been lost on modern society. To judge them in the midst of our politically correct, industrialized world is like trying to convince a caveman of the merits of having a personal computer. Jenghiz Khan was perhaps the most brilliant uneducated man in history. He was a master of human nature. The men who helped him create his empire, like He-Who-Goes-First, were making their lives from the “raw materials” of the times they lived in. The warrior in this story struggles with his spirituality and his role as a soldier.

ISBN: 1-4137-4190-8

165 pages, 5.5 x 8.$16.95 plus $3.00 Shipping & Handling (.50 per additional copy)

Phone orders (301) 695-1707

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Nerd Fight

In the school where I work as a detention monitor, I have noticed that the chess club seems to be a bit too competitive. Several students have been given detentions for chess club altercations. I had no idea that chess club was such a violent place. Could they be playing full contact chess??? Perhaps they forgot that, “the first rule of chess club, is you do not talk about chess club...”

Me Band

(In plain English...)

So yesterdai I got togetha with me band for our weekly jam session. I wrote this song the otha dai, and I played it for the blokes and before you know it we were bouncin’ ideas back ‘n fouth and we played it a cuppla times and it sounds great it does!
Me band is supa!

Gorock Mania

For my friend Mark’s birthday, I got him an authentic Gorock Stick.
http://cutris.blogspot.com/2005/10/gorock-stick.html
He was always interested in the ways and deeds of Gorock. Many times we had discussed Gorock together and it seemed like a fitting gift.

Last Friday while I was with friends, John found out about Mark’s Gorock Stick. I told him that Gorock Sticks must not be decorated, and that they should be found and discarded as needed. The proper use of a Gorock Stick is to test the ground, mud or ice to see if it is safe for passage. It can also be used to support your weight on dangerous slopes and can be used as a weapon. John promised to use the stick only for Gorock sanctioned activities.

Saturday when I was hiking the wilds of West Wilkie, I found John his Gorock Stick. I will present it to him in January for his birthday. It will be a fine day for him and we will all be proud that he has joined the ranks of Gorock enthusiasts.

It seems that there is a developing Gorock Mania! Soon everyone will want Gorock Sticks, and I will have to teach classes in the proper usage of these fine implements.

What is Reality?

For the second time in my life, I am dealing with severe underemployment. As a matter-of-fact, I have probably never really been adequately employed. I do have a Liberal Arts degree (gasp) and my major was in English (Ha! Ha! Ha!), but I have had trouble finding a good job with halfway decent pay.

My first stint with this was when I finally graduated college with my BA. It had taken a long time to work my way through school. Today it would be nearly impossible, because the University of Minnesota (where I went) has made it hard to go to college part-time. Back when I went, registration order was based on credits earned. Today, part-time students are always last to register for classes.

During my first bout of underemployment, I left my job in the nursery/landscape industry when I got my college degree. About that time, a certain George Bush was President and the USA attacked a country called Iraq with a nasty guy named Saddam Hussein in charge. Now years later, the names and places are the same during my second major bout with underemployment.

Over the weekend, I received a letter from the county regarding a job I had applied for. The job was Visitor Center Supervisor at a regional park. Having significant customer service experience, experience working for government, experience as a supervisor, and the fact that I am currently a volunteer park ranger (in a Federal Wildlife Refuge); along with my skills in outdoor sports/recreation, I was found by the people of human resources –to “not meet the minimum qualifications.” Had they read my resume and application??? I wondered how they came to this conclusion.

I have a few conclusions of my own. First, employers are currently in “weed-out” mode. This means that they are not looking at what you bring to the job as much as what fine details of experience, etc., that you don’t have. Second, the people hiring often have little idea about what the job entails or what the skills are for it. Third, they don’t care to find out. Fourth, the world is being run by a lot of cowards.

Why would I say that? Because the general trend in “letting someone go” now is to fire them as they are leaving or (this recently happened to a friend of mine) after they have left on Friday. This gutless tactic is now standard procedure in many companies.

In a semi-related situation, while the president of a certain “super power” likes to say things like, “bring it on,” if he was to meet a certain dictator from a now occupied country; one-on-one in a street fight, the dictator would pummel him! Lots of people like to act like they’re tough because of their jobs. Too many of them couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag if they needed to.

Finally, once the middle-class is finally squeezed out and there are only the rich and the not rich, this country is in for a world of hurt.

'Tis the Cold Season

I ended up getting a cold. First it wasn’t bad, and then suddenly, I lost my voice. I actually feel a lot better, but my voice is just starting to make a comeback after almost a week! I hope it’s almost over and I hope I don’t get another one.

The problem is that I work at a school around kids. Hopefully my immunity will build up after I am exposed to the little buggers and their germs for awhile.

Second Chances

Once there was a man who had thought he understood what love was. He eventually was hurt so many times that he kept his feelings stowed safely behind a wall in his mind. He was good at such things. He had learned to shield himself from the white noise and all the pain that found him.

Then all at once, he found himself in love in a way that he had never felt before. He was uncharacteristically willing to take huge risks and change his life to obtain this wonderful thing. Eventually, it fell apart and he found himself alone, and knowing the true meaning of heartache. His heart hurt so badly that he was wondering if he might die.

Finally, with only himself to rely on, he found his way back home to his own land and his own people. He struggled to rebuild his life. He wondered if he could ever again, feel that feeling, that love that he once had. It seemed like it was so far away. How could that ever happen again?

Years had passed, and now he remembered how last night he sat near her in that noisy club. His shyness had finally given way to his desire to be close to her. It felt so good and so right to feel her warmth against him. They were both confused by all of this. They had both been hurt so much before.

The next morning, he woke up alone, still thinking about her. The feelings were so strong that he wasn’t quite sure where it all had come from. A single tear escaped from the corner of his eye, and rolled slowly down his cheek. He wiped it away with his hand, and an almost imperceptible smile flashed across his face. He knew, after all this time, that he could feel that way again.

Invitation

I would like to invite George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleeza Rice to resign. The American people aren’t buying it anymore.