An Ode to Home
Like so many of you, this is a "home-going" week for me and the team. This is the week I feel like throwing off my shoes, slipping into my favorite pair of jeans, and lounging around for a while. The pace isn't slow, but still I breathe easier, and in inexplicable ways, I feel I belong.
I love my Atlanta home, but nothing displaces your first love, especially when you usually see your love from a telescope. We all know first loves don't fare as well under a microscope...
But for this week, I'll overlook the traffic, the gas prices, the crowded hills and project the idealized form of why I love California. The sunny days and presence of some of the best people I know make it that much easier.
Out Where The West Begins
Out where the handclasp's a little stronger,
Out where the smile dwells a little longer,
That's where the West begins;
Out where the sun is a little brighter,
Where the snows that fall are a trifle whiter,
Where the bonds of home are a wee bit tighter,
That's where the West begins.
Out where the skies are a trifle bluer,
Out where the friendship's a little truer,
That's where the West begins;
Out where a fresher breeze is blowing,
Where there's laughter in every streamlet flowing,
Where there's more of reaping and less of sowing,
That's where the West begins.
Out where the world is in the making,
Where fewer hearts in despair are aching,
That's where the West begins.
Where there's more of singing and less of sighing,
Where there's more of giving and less of buying,
Where a man makes a friend without half trying,
That's where the West begins.
- By Arthur Chapman-
Safe travels friends!!