Thursday, January 31, 2008

Red Mask in the Mailbox

Red Mask in the Mailbox
Chapter 8
Lesson in Color Blindness

When he reached age four, the doctors had told his parents that Thomas had a disease called Protanopia; a form of color blindness. He could not see the color red. The doctors had told the young parents that Thomas would never known the difference. To him, the whole world would look different than the way most people saw it. He would never see a sunset, a firetruck, or bottle of ketchup the way others did. Life would go on for Thomas, but there would be difficulties. Becoming a pilot was out of the question, because a pilot has to distinguish between red and green lights in order to land a plane.

A miracle had occurred when Thomas was struck on the head. When he looked at Mary Snodgrass’ red cardigan sweater, it was as if he had been wearing a mask since birth and for the first time in his life, he pulled it off.

On cold days, when Thomas was younger, the port wine stain on his face grew tender to the touch, but he could not see it. It blended with the rest of his face; because he was unable to see the color red. As a boy, his mother stroked the mark as he slept, as if the rubbing would somehow make it disappear. She ran her index finger from just above his eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose, then across his lip.

Margie remembered a story she had read in junior high school about a man and a mouse who were given an operation. They operated on the mouse first and he grew super smart. The man, although mentally unstable when he received the operation, grew smart like the mouse. He worked as a janitor at the laboratory and thought the people who worked with him were his friends. After the operation, he realized the people who he thought were his friends, were making fun of him and ridiculing him. He lost his innocent happiness. He became so smart, the only person he could relate to was the mouse.

Kids in school saw the red mark, but Thomas did not. “A blessing in disguise,” Mrs. Lucado called it.

“I love Thomas,” Margie told Mrs. Lucado, after she learned of Thomas’ color blindness, “but in some ways I feel like God has played a trick on me... Maybe He’s punishing me for something. I just don’t know.”

“Listen, Honey,” Mrs. Lucado said. “God has a plan for your life, just like He’s got a plan for mine, Thomas’s, and Joe’s life too. He’s got a plan for everybody’s life and it’s His choice how he makes us. You did not make Thomas, child. God made him, and he made him that way for a reason.”

“That's easy to say. He’s not your kid.” Margie said.

“Oh you don’t want to know what it’s like being in my shoes, darling,” Mrs. Lucado said, her southern accent drawn like a hidden ace pulled from a gamblers deck of cards. “I’ve never given birth to child one, but I would have loved to when I was younger. I wanted a baby so bad. I would have killed for one. Now I’m old and alone…My husband’s gone...”

“But doesn’t that make you angry with God?” Margie asked.

“It’s what God had planned for my life, child” Mrs. Lucado said while her eyes stared out the picture window.

“You must really get lonely living in this house alone,” Margie said.

“Sometimes I do, but that’s what neighbors are for,” she said. “Right?”

“Mrs. Lucado, you’ll always be welcome at our home.” Margie said. “I guess I did sound a little selfish, didn’t I?”

“Honey, you don’t sound any more selfish than I would be,” Mrs. Lucado said, “but just remember that the little boy God has given you is a blessing. Treat him as such, and never treat him as a mistake, or else he will come to believe that he is a mistake. Treat him as if he were a precious gift from God and he will grow up to believe that he is.”

“You know I was thinking about buying a pet of some kind.” Mrs. Lucado said. "You know..., to keep me company around the house. I’m just not able to clean up after a dog and I’m allergic to cats. Do you have any suggestions, Honey?” Mrs. Lucado asked.
Margie shrugged her shoulders and said, “How about a fish?”

The Apple- Stage 1


And here is the very first stage of the new oil painting of that infamous character "The Apple." He's a chubby little fellow, but he's got a good personality, by Jove! (look in previous post for actual picture)

Thanks to my good friend Lizi for her help and encouragement!

Stay tuned for more.

Freedom From Fear-Stage 1


This is the early, early stage of a new Norman Rockwell painting called "Freedom From Fear." Thanks to Zach and David for their help.

At this point there is no paint on the canvas, just charcoal.

Hopefully, there'll be more to come!

Global Warming...

Is it just me or does Global Warming feel a bit brisk these days?

Who Said That?


Who said...?

"Our salvation requires not only the conquest of our enemy, Satan, but the removal of a yet more terrifying enmity: the wrath of the holy God of heaven."

I'll post the answer in a week. No cheating, (googling, etc.)




Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Whatchutalkinboutchris?


Fed up with fried...? Like to scratch the scrambled...? How about a coach on how to poach?

Learn how to poach an egg.

A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked by poaching. No oil or fat is used in its preparation. Poached eggs are used in Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine. (from Wikipedia)


Tony Almaida Rocks!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Interesting Quotes (I Don't Like)














"Kenneth Copeland, I will stand with you.' 'You're trying to get prosperity to the people and they're trying to take it away from 'em.' 'I will stand with you any time, anywhere, on any issue.' -Mike Huckabee (in a conversation with Kenneth Copeland in which Copeland was raising money for Huckabee's campaign.)

Blog at Bree Shameless Appeal

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Apple Still Life



I took a few pictures today that I may possibly paint this week in order to do a color study. Which one do you like best between the two- the one with the book or without? Please vote on the poll on the left.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

High Dive







This is a new painting of mine. High Dive 24"x30" (click on the picture to see a bigger view). The one on top is my rendition, and the original is the one below. It is a Norman Rockwell reproduction that originally appeared on the Saturday Evening Post back in 1947. It took me a week to finish.

Monday, January 21, 2008

The Insanity of Sin


I found this modern parable over at Doug Wilson's blog. It's got a good gotcha' at the end.

He's Right Here- A Parable by Douglas Wilson
Once there were two girls, the best of friends. They played together, went to school together, and grew up together. They even made a point of attending the same college together. Nothing could separate them, or so they thought.

One day, when they were juniors, a young man in their class began showing one of the girls a great deal of attention, courting her. And because he was a good guy and her dad approved, she was more than willing to reciprocate. But because there are only so many hours in the day, this meant that there was a significant drop off in the time she was able to spend with her friend. Most of her free time was now with her suitor, and when she was with her girlfriend, she spent most of it talking about him.

Of course her friend was beside herself. There was a bit of a legitimate grievance—her friend was being a tad thoughtless, but not as much as it appeared. But there was also the jealousy for what her friend now had that she did not, not to mention resentment over what she had lost, and was missing desperately, and which her friend didn’t seem to be missing at all. At one point, the girl even found herself on the verge of flirting with her friend’s suitor—not because she wanted him, but because the courtship was the enemy and this would wreck the courtship. Of course stealing a guy from your best friend is not exactly the way to seal that friendship. But sin doesn’t make sense. If it made sense, it wouldn’t be sin.

How much she wanted to flirt with a guy she didn’t even want scared her, and so she called her mom one evening and spilled everything—how angry she was, how hurt she was, and just how wrong everything was. To her surprise, her mother was not as sympathetic as she had been expecting. "Our duties do not arise from what we want," she said. "Just imagine the chaos."

She had this view because the same thing had happened to her twenty-two years before . . . only she had been in the position of her daughter’s close friend. That situation had not gone well at all, and there were times when she still missed her friend. "But," she added to her daughter. "I don’t miss your dad. He’s right here."

Written by Douglas Wilson

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Air Supply-Lost in Love



As you can tell, I'm lost in inspiration for blogging.

Okay, you must grant me a guilty pleasure occasssionlly. I know it's bad, but it has a way of bringing back memories.

The musical equivalent of Easy Cheese: Air Supply

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Primer



A trailer for one of my all-time favorites. Mr. Caruth wrote, directed, and starred in this movie. And the most incredible part is he made a mind-blowingingly wonderful film for $7000.

Chuck Berry & Keith Richards- Carol



The tension between these two legends is what makes this clip a classic!

Etta James- I'd Rather Be a Blind Girl



A powerhouse performance from Etta James and Dr. John. Watch-out...there's a lot of soul goin' down in this song!