NOTE: BEFORE PUSHING "PLAY" ON THE VIDEO ABOVE, TURN OFF THE MUSIC BY SCROLLING DOWN A BIT AND PUSHING THE PAUSE BUTTON ON THE PLAYER LOCATED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BLOG.

"Gypsy City" is a lopsided musical collaboration between myself and Michael Fotheringham, Michael having composed the lyrics while I contributed the melody. I describe the project as lopsided because the magic of the song stems significantly more from the lyrics than it does from the melody.

Far from surprising, I'm not alone in that observation as I have shared the video of the song with numerous friends, family members, former students and associates, almost all of whom have responded with comments ranging from "Wow!" to "The song is amazing." When pressed, however, with "What did you like about the song?" invariably, their responses were akin to "The lyrics are fantastic," to which I smiled and replied, "I know."

Michael and I, whose acquaintanceship goes back some three decades with a hiatus of some three decades minus one year, a school year, to be more precise, during which Michael was a student in one of my ninth-grade English classes at Evergreen Junior High school, as were pretty much all of his siblings. And what a distinctive clan the Fotheringhams were (still are), not only in their abilities and talents but also in their number. You've heard of the '70's sitcom, "Eight is Enough"? Well, at an appropriate point in their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Fotheringham must have made a similar comment to each other as they produced eight amazing children, all of whom, each in their own time, trotted through the public school system, stopping for the duration of their ninth grade year at room 210, where I had the privilege of mentoring them in all the usual aspects of writing and the appreciation of literature.

Interestingly, over the years, there were a number of sibling dynasties which resided within the boundaries of Evergreen Junior High, each sibling of which having made similar stops at room 210, and each dynasty consisting of siblings remarkably similar in some respects and remarkably diverse from each other in other respects, which, of course, is at it should be.

My friendship (retrospectively, I describe all of my former students as "old friends") with Michael resumed about a year ago when one of his talented sisters, Katie, who somehow stumbled upon my art blog, left a comment that went something like, "Is that you, Mr. Mathis?" to which I replied with something like, "Of course it is." Early on in that blogspot reunion, she suggested that I check out the blogs of two of her brothers, Mark and Michael, remarking rather emphatically that she was certain that I would be amazed at what talented writers they had become. So I did and I was.

I can't say that I was all that surprised as I perused their blogs since one of the recollections I have about the Fotheringham Clan has to do with their precocious proficiency at writing--even at the tender age of 15, but I can definitely say that I was delighted at the opportunity to see how refined their talent had become and what insightful and interesting writers they were, despite the fact that their styles and personas were very different from each other, which, of course, is as it should be.

Having been so delightfully impressed with their blogs, both of which consisted mostly of short essays and poems, I began to make routine excursions to their sites, excited each time I discovered new entries to savor.

And what fun we have had, sharing our poetry with each other, challenging each other to try our pens, composing various forms of traditional and not-so-traditional poetry, ranging from free verse and sonnets to rondeaus and haikus. In fact, during one of those challenges, Michael managed to create a new form of poetry, consisting of six haiku stanzas, which collectively tell a story or elaborate a particular topic. I dubbed his creation the "haiku sestina," although Michael, much more interestingly refers to his creations as "Sapporo Sixpacks."

Although I've been writing prose and poetry for most of my life, I have also savored a passion for songwriting--just another kind of poetry, actually, with an emphasis on lyricism and rhythm. Following the posting of one of my songs, Michael commented that he was envious of my ability to write songs, to which I responded with something like "Writing songs is a very short stretch from writing poetry, both of which were meant to be heard aloud--needed to be heard out loud, actually," and so I suggested that he get his song-writing feet wet by collaborating with me. His contribution would be the lyrics and mine would be the tune.

Well, in typical Fotheringham form, it didn't take him long to respond to the challenge by forwarding me the lyrics to "Gypsy City." In short, I was blown away by their power--Michael's first attempt at writing lyrics no less! In fact, I was a bit worried as to whether I could come up with a tune that would do justice to his lyrics. But I gave it a shot, the result of which is memorialized in the video above.

As I have already commented, I don't think the tune rises to the majesty of Michael's lyrics, but I'm anxious to give it another shot--see if I can do better the second time around. So, Michael, get out your magic pen and write some more incredible lyrics. I'll see if I can step it up a little bit and compose a tune that comes closer to doing justice to them. And, by the way, your fans are eagerly awaiting your next composition. I've had numerous inquiries as to whether you have written any other song lyrics. One of my long-time friends and work associates, a Bulgarian named Ilia Iliev (the marketing director at one of my companies) was so enthralled with your writing that he googled your name and surfed the Internet in search of more samples of your writing. And he reported his excitement to me when, completely without my assistance, he discovered your blog site, "The Hermit Empire."

I don't know that Lennon and McCartney or Rogers and Hammerstein have too much to worry about, although you never know. The most important thing is to have some fun expressing our creative selves, and if we are fortunate in that endeavor, we may discover that the power of two is often greater than the sum of two. I'll end this entry with a simple and sincere "Congratulations, Michael. Your song "Gypsy City" is pretty damn good if I do say so myself."

Father and Son

This is a collage of Neal Middleton, from "Royal Bliss" and his son, Reiley, who quite obviously wants to be just like his daddy.

Love Peace / Love Piece

I wrote this song on December 8th, 1980, just hours after hearing of the death of John Lennon. I have since added several verses as I have been inspired by events and circumstance to do, the result of which has been the gradual transformation of a three minute song to the "mother of all songs that I have written," weighing in (timing in) at a whopping nine plus minutes--and still growing since I'm sure that I will be inspired to add more verses as time goes on.

I never was a die-hard Beatle fan, at least not until I heard the album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band," which blew me away, but I have always had an affinity toward John Lennon, despite the controversy he generated. Truth be known, it was probably that very controversy that drew me to him. He was never afraid to speak his mind, with little regard to the ramifications of doing so. And his message was always very simple: How about just a little more love and peace in the world. He, like me, was a dreamer, an idealist who chose to focus on the brighter side of humanity. Like John, I still imagine a world where conflict is trumped by reason, hatred is diluted by compassion, and greed is overcome by sharing.

Where should we begin? By recognizing that love is the universal denominator. Not the power of love, but the simplicity of love. Unfortunately, it is our nature to to over-complicate love, causing it to be entwined with other emotions like jealousy, pride, arrogance, conceit, even hatred.

If we reduce love to its essence, its purest form and avoid the tendency to adorn it, if we see it for what it actually is, the conduit that unites us all and speaks to our humanity more strongly than nationality, patriotism, religion, affiliations of every kind, even family--it binds us, defines us more strongly than DNA itself. Once we begin to recognize the simplicity of love, we begin to realize that in the beginning and in the end, LOVE IS ALL THERE IS. It is my dream that during this holiday season, we strive to appreciate the essence of love, to embrace it and share it unconditionally as Jesus did.

If the video below offends anyone, I apologize. That was never my intent, but I will never apologize for imagining a world where the landscape is dominated by love and guided by peace.

Hold your horses! Before you push "play," push the pause button on my music player. Sroll down the right side of the browser to find it. Not interested in getting into a musical duel with George Harrison!

Smile at the Rain (All Hands)

Breaking news: Just finished my very first musical collaboration with a creative lyricist! Lennon & McCartney look out; here comes the Hermit and the Hippie--or El Tigre and the Teach, although my collaborator does not yet know that he has collaborated with me until right about now as he reads this post! My friend, Michael Fotheringham, (a.k.a. Aquarius Tigre and the Hermit King), master of "The Hermit Empire," is a prolific poet and the author of a long list of thought-provoking prose (that's a pedantic euphemism for "he tells it like it is").

I think I'll switch to first-person now that the song's out of the bag. Hermit King, , I used your poem, "All Hands," as the inspiration to create a melody to which I then added your poem as lyrics. The result: A pretty cool song if I do say so myself. There are two ingredients in the recipe of a cool song: a pleasing melody and "killer" lyrics. I provided the former, you the latter. So, you're half way there to writing a song by yourself, El Tigre. You have the lyric part down, amigo!

Incidentally, I shared the (our) song with a number of my musician friends, including Neal Middleton, a former student who has a Capital/Virgin Records recording contract and a string of hit singles on Billboard. Their comments ranged from "amazing" to "fantastic." And they know what they are talking about.

It's been said that the lyrics make or break a song. Yours made this one, so keep those lyrics coming, and if a melody pops into your head as you're writing, share it with me and I'll work out an arrangement on my magic synthesizer.

Credits for "Smile at the Rain": All guitars: "Slow Hand" Mathis; lead vocalist: "Crooner" Mathis; backup vocals: "The Mathis trio"; Percussion: "Ringo" Mathis; Keyboards: "Tickle the Ivories" Mathis; ; chief engineer, producer and arranger : "Hammerstein" Mathis. LOL (that's Face Book talk). I've been busy! Composing and recording are two of many hobbies I enjoy. Some might say that I have too much time on my hands. To them I say that there is never enough time when one is having fun and I had a blast collaborating with the Hermit King on this song.

I'll send you a CD of the original version (might make the country billboard charts, hell yeah, partner!). I prefer the rocking version below to that one, but the original tune has a singular (sing-along) flavor of its own, particularly, if one is the mood to kick some dirt, ride a mechanical bull, drink a Bud from the bottle, say "Yahoo!" (Exchange the mechanical bull for a Harley and you've got my attention. I have a biker song or two I'll have to share with you sometime.)

Whoa! Don't push the play button yet! Scroll down a bit until you see the music player on the right side of the page. Push the pause button. Otherwise, you'll be listening to dueling songs--not a good thing.

Adam's Eyes

I call this piece "Adam's Eyes." I chose this picture of Adam to re-create, because it focuses on Adam's baby-blues, reminiscent of Paul Newman's eyes. I'm sure Adam captivated a lot of girls with those mesmerizing eyes. Adam was the victim of a senseless and bizarre act of violence about a year ago, which is still almost inconceivable to comprehend. He was also a close friend of mine and one of my most valued employees. His eyes weren't just charismatic though. They were windows to an amazing soul, who cherished life, lived to the fullest, idolized his family, demonstrated an incredible work ethic, took great pride in serving others--and I could go on and on. In short, Adam was a a rare and special human being, who continues to be missed by everyone who had the good fortune to know him. Rest in peace, my friend.

White Wings to Fly

Note: If you wish to play the video, scroll down and push "pause" on the music player (lower-right) or you'll be listening to dueling songs--one by me and one by George Harrison. I don't think I would win that duel. I composed this song in celebration of the wedding anniversary I just shared with my amazing wife.

Double Talk

I have a friend, Michael Fotheringham (a.k.a. "The Hermit"), who is a poet extraordinaire. Michael came up with his own poetic form, which I call a "Haiku Sestina" and he calls a "six pack." It consists of six three-line stanzas, each of which contain five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third line. He has exhorted me to try my hand at a "six-pack." This is my feeble attempt. If you would like to read some amazing "Haiku Sestinas" and some very beautiful free verse poetry, you may wish to visit the hermit at his empire: "thehermitempire.blogspot.com."


Double talk has be-
Come the accepted way for
Marketing people

To mask what they mean
By polishing words with tricks
Of their trade. Hiding

The fact that a spade’s
Still a spade. They convince us
The emperor has

New clothes as he stands
There naked and all exposed.
They convince us that

Nine-ninety-nine’s much
Cheaper than ten and that in-
Voices are the price

That car dealers pay
As they tell us we're crazy
For walking away


p.s. The mousterpiece below this entry depicts my vision of the "Hermit's Empire."

The Hermit Empire

I call this piece "The Hermit Empire" in honor of a former student, turned master poet. His name is Michael Fotheringham, a proud member of the Fotheringham Clan, all of whom are poets and writers of renown. This mousterpiece could also have been called "The Best of Both Worlds" or "Having Your Cake and Eating it Too" since I know a piece of Michael's heart still resides in Utah where he was born and where his family has a pretty cool-looking mountain retreat, but who wouldn't want to live in San Diego where the weather is about as good as it gets--year-round! I know: The snow would melt off of the cabin's roof in San Diego, but this is a magical cabin, so I have made it the centerpiece of the Hermit's Empire.

Michael is a most prolific poet, who has coined his own poetic medium: The "Haiku Sestina" or as Michael calls it, "The Six-Pack." We were sort of participating in a Haiku contest a while back, sponsored by Michael's brother, Mark (a.k.a. "Yarstruuli"). A haiku is a three line poetic form that originated in Japan more than a thousand years ago, consisting of 17 syllables: 5 in the first line, 7 in the second line and 5 in the third. Well, Michael's entries maintained the syllabic pattern of a seventeen-syllable haiku, but each of his submissions consisted of six haiku stanzas, transforming the single-image simplicity of a haiku (the most traditional of which are single images about nature) into a narrative style of poetry where the six stanzas either tell a story or create a lyrical portrait.

Michael has invited me on a couple of occasions to try his original poetic form, and I suppose I will one of these days, but I doubt that any of my attempts could surpass the artistry of the form's creator, not to mention the equally amazing talent of Michael's brother, Mark. It's pretty clear to me that, in both cases, the power of their pen surpasses that of their old teacher, which I take as a compliment, by the way, because the highest accolade that any teacher could hope to achieve is to have had the privilege of teaching students who one day surpass the teacher in talent and skill. Such is the circle of life, and down the road a piece, Michael may also know the joy of encouraging a young writer somewhere, who one day may surpass Michael's artistry--or at least experience the same passion for words that Michael has cultivated--and so, the beat goes on, just one of the many reasons that life is always good....Well done, Michael!

INDEX and NAVIGATION INSTRUCTIONS...

Welcome to my blog. Stay as long as you like. And please leave a comment or two before you leave. Hint: I could use a few more followers. I only have two, official ones (kind of embarrassing)!

FORWARD (only read if you're bored, but read the site instructions in red ink below--that part's helpful): I started this blog as a place to store my digital art creations, or as I usually refer to them, my "mousterpieces" since my paintbrush is a computer mouse. Some of my mousterpieces start out as freehand drawings. Most, however, begin as photos, which are then transformed into images that little resemble the photos from which they originated. I use techniques ranging from freehand drawing; to cutting, pasting, tracing, morphing, cropping, filtering, layering, cross filtering, coloring, fading, more cross filtering, erasing, copying, cloning, transparencing, and dozens of other mouse-controlled techniques, many of which I created from misapplication and just plain ignorance of the manner in which Photoshop tools are intended to be used, which may explain why, on more than one occasion, Photoshop gurus have been unable to figure out how I created my images, especially when they attempt to replicate them through the conventional use of Photoshop tools, most of which I remain ignorant of to this day.

But that's what makes my mousterpieces fun to create and interesting to study. And the Photoshop gurus shouldn't feel bad, because I've attempted, unsuccessfully, to replicate my own drawings. Oh well. In addition to placing a heavy emphasis on color (I love playing with color), I also enjoy lacing my mousterpieces with symbols, semi-transparent (hidden) images, and other forms of subtlety, which makes for interesting (imaginative) interpretation of many of my creations. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them. Some were created in a just a few hours of "mouse work." A few involve more than 50 hours of mouse-inspired experimentation.

Interestingly, since the time that I began using this blog site to save my images, the site has evolved into a vehicle for personal commentary, in most cases, the mouseterpieces serving as spring boards for whatever thoughts pop into my mind as I reflect on the finished images, usually, more as an observer of the drawings than their creator.

Note: Be sure to "click" on the images to enlarge them into an exploded view, especially the montages. And if you would like a copy of any of my mousterpieces (printed on canvas no less), just let me know; otherwise, simply right-mouse-click on an image and do a "save as" somewhere on your hard drive . Highly recommended for downloading or a canvas copy: "Genesis" --traditionally, I customize this painting for those who receive a copy of it (embed their picture at various places in the painting). The version of "Genesis" in the blog was customized for Michael Stone, brother to actress Sharon Stone.

Note: To see the individual (microscopic) images from which the "montages" were made or to see more detail in any of my digital mousterpieces, especially those with subtle images in the background, click on the images to enlarge them.

"Faces"

Through the Looking-glass

I intended this piece to be a very powerful tribute to womanhood, a subject which I do not believe can be over-celebrated or over-stated--and a subject about which my friend, Mike Fotheringham (a.k.a., "The Hermit," creator of the blogsite known as "The Hermit Empire"; a.k.a., "Aquarius Tigre") is equally passionate. Note: The visages on each side of the painting symbolize the two most important women in the life of Jesus Christ.

"The Big Bang"

A piece I've been working on for some time now--still not sure if I'm there yet so I've decided to study it for a while, thus, the posting...

Light My Fire

The good old days when life was simple and yes the flaming-haired hippies are Vicki and I.

Best Friends ("Amigos Bueno")

I painted this "mousterpiece" from a photo I found on Els' facebook page. She named the photo "My Best Friends," so in keeping with the photo's title, I have elected to call this piece "Best Friends." I added an autumn background to the painting to give David and Els, who spent a brief time at our condo in Park City, an idea of how beautiful the mountains around the condo are right now. The mountainside is a spray of orange and yellow. Autumn is my favorite time of year, at least until spring when I usually change my mind until fall rolls around again. The painting depicts David, Els, and Lucas Lopez. I haven't seen Lucas since he was a couple of months old. I hope to see him on our next trip to Spain.

Naturaleza

Naturaleza lleva muchas caras. Todo es hermoso. Todo es infinito.

Lillian Pearl: Destination Earth

My youngest granddaughter, Lillian Pearl Sadler!

I call this piece "Lillian Pearl: Destination Earth." It depicts my newborn granddaughter, Lillian Pearl, traveling on a sunbeam towards Earth. Inter-mixed in the clouds you will find a host of angels, along with my daughter, Jessi Pearl, who recently gave birth to Lillian Pearl with Brandon at her side in a birthing room at Salt Lake Regional Hospital on September 26th, 2009.

Teuila's Grandpa

When Teuila Gerber Lavea (a former student) posted a photo of her grandfather on Facebook, I was impressed by his charismatic "movie-star" features (a little Marlin Brando, a little James Dean, a little dash of Paul Newman, maybe). And there was also a very distinct strength of character that resonated from his image, which gave me an interesting idea for a painting, the first step toward fruition of which was to contact Teuila and ask her for a copy of the photo, a suggestion to which she complied enthusiastically as I related to her that I would like to make him the subject of one of my "mousterpieces."

Most of my paintings take at least four or five days to complete; however, to my surprise, this one almost seemed to paint itself, and I completed the project in a record-breaking day and a half. From the beginning, I had an image in mind, which is not unusual, except that my images usually evolve as my projects progress. This painting, however, remained true to my original vision, the two most primary elements of which were (1) to bring Teuila into the painting, posing along side her charismatic grandfather and (2) to fuse two dramatically diverse background scenes into a single background: the Swiss Alps (since Teuila's grandfather was Swiss) and a tropical beach (since Teuila has a Polynesian heritage). And yes, there's a little bit of symbolism there.

From my initial perusal of the photo, I noticed a resemblance between grandfather and granddaughter; however, as the painting neared completion, I was struck by the depth of their familial affinity. What do you think?

Teuila and I go clear back to 1982 when she was a ninth-grade student in one of my Honors English classes at Evergreen Jr. High where, for seventeen years, one of my greatest teaching pleasures was to introduce my students to William Shakespeare, especially my male students, who invariably groaned at the prospect of having to read Shakespeare, my goal with them being to amend their "tune," once the play had been completed to at least something like, "I guess Shakespeare's not so bad after all." Usually, I was successful.

Since by school-district mandate, I was expected to teach the same play ("Romeo and Juliet") during each of the seventeen years in which I remained at Evergreen, in order to keep the project alive and fresh, I made an effort to approach the play differently each year. For some time, I had thought it would be interesting to re-create the play as a movie, but it wasn't until 1982 that I summoned the energy that such a project would require, the timing for which may also have been affected by my belief that I had an exceptionally bright group of Honor students that year, whom I was reasonably confident could bring such a complex project to fruition.

I was correct. My students embraced the idea immediately, so I took a deep breath and said something like, "Let's go for it!" And go for it we did! We didn't just slap together a thirty minute video, reminiscent of a home(made) movie, we created a full-blown, two-and-a-half-hour, mega-movie, cinematic extravaganza--I'm talking technicolor and surround sound, the whole nine Hollywood yards (actually, surround sound wasn't invented until later, but it would have had surround sound!)

Almost every student I taught that year participated in some capacity, from costume-makers, to set-builders, to assistant directors, to camera operators, to lighting technicians, and, of course, to actors (and "extras"), of which there were dozens of students selected to play the roles of Capulets, Montagues, and citizens of Verona (and Mantua).

Our production team and cast would have made Cecil B. Demille envious. We actually traveled to on-site locations to shoot scenes--rode on real horses too, our primary mode of transportation to location sites consisting of my family's "Mathis-micro-mini-mobile-motor-mansion" (that's what I used to call the little, 24 ft., underpowered somewhat claustrophobic motor-home).

Yes sir. We were stylin', which brings me back to Teuila, who was cast in the starring role as Juliet, and what a stellar performance she executed. In ninth grade, Teuila was a thoughtful, very bright young lady, and having recently been provided with the opportunity to become re-acquainted with her via "Facebook," that cyber re-uniter of people worldwide, I pleasantly observed that she has not only retained those qualities, she has continued to refine them over the years.

I like to think that every once in a while God sends down a few members of his "A Team" to show the rest of us how "nice people" are supposed to behave toward one another. Perpetually positive and ever optimistic, Teuila is almost certainly a member of that elite squad: She goes out of her way to befriend all (has a ton of Facebook friends); she is a devoted spouse to her husband (about whom she had bragged on Facebook, referencing him as "my man"); she is a proud mother to four beautiful daughters (as evidenced from her Facebook photos of them); she is an unflinching defender of humanity (as suggested by the Facebook comments she posts, i.e., "The best things in life aren't things."), and as if that weren't enough, she is a multi-talented artist who can act, sing, dance (I'm talkin' Polynesian dancing!), perform, and write poetry.

Like all artists, she has a relentless need to create and an insatiable desire to make the world a better place for others. So on behalf of your many fans, Teuila, I thank you for remaining true to yourself and your proud heritage--and for being a bright beacon in a world that can use all the light and love it can absorb.

Postscript: If you know Teuila, ask her the significance of the bell (top-left-side of painting--you may have to "click" your mouse on the painting to enlarge it enough to see the bell). It is an interesting story about a poem that Teuila wrote for the school's literary magazine, "Pen 'n' Inklings," an annual project I oversaw for 17 years. Oh, almost forgot: There's a second bell in the painting. Can you find it? It took my granddaughter about six seconds, but she's had a lot of practice finding "Waldo."

Vick and I (and Smokey)

OK, it's not really me in the photo. I swear! But I have to admit that it's pretty much what I looked like--actually pretty much exactly what I looked like when I was 24 (that was a very good year...), so much so that friends and family have stated it's either me or an identical twin about whom no one knows. It must be the latter. The picture actually came from Life Magazine, sometime in the mid 1970's I think. One of my students brought it to school more than 30 years ago and promptly accused me of being a Hell's Angel, which I thought was cool, but, alas, untrue. I hung the photo in my classroom where it remained for two or three years until it disappeared one day. Apparently, someone wanted it more than I did.

I've been looking for another copy ever since--finally found it while looking for photos of Sonny Barger, one of the founders of the Hell's Angels, whom I thought might make an interesting addition to my series of motorcycle mousterpieces (if I were a real painter, I'd call it my "motorcycle period"). Vick and I met the infamous Mr. Barger in '95 in Sturgis. Anyway, on a whim, I googled "Life Magazine, Hell's Angels," and there it was--or there I was. I amazed myself. Yeah baby, I'm getting this Google thing down.

What makes this photo even more fascinating--eerie might be a better word, is that not only does the dude on the panhead look like me, the dude on the far right looks amazingly like an old college friend, whom I haven't seen in years, John Koelsch, or "Smokey" as we used to call him. I was actually pretty proud of myself for finding this photo after thirty years, so I thought I'd press my luck and google my old friend's name "John Smokey Koelsch." Lo and behold (or in '60's slang, "far out"), I found him in Wells, Nevada. Found his email address too, so I sent an email directing him to my blog.

Don't know if he'll respond but if he does: Hey, Smokey! What's up? It's been a long time. Next time I roll through Wells on my Harley (I actually have a Harley), I'll attempt to look you up. Meanwhile, what do you think? Does the dude on the right look as much like you as the dude on the bike looks like me--actually, let me re-phrase the question. Do the two dudes in the photo look like we used to look about 35 years ago?

I will admit that I doctored the photo in one respect. I added Vicki (the only person smiling in the photo, which is pretty much a dead give away I suppose). Oh well, she is my motorcycle mama, so I figured if there was going to be a biker chick on the back of a bike I was riding (or that someone who looks like me was riding), it should be Vicki. Oh yeah, Smokey, click on the photo above. Check out the name tag on your twin's jacket...

I call this mousterpece "Black Beauty." It's my "real ride," an '02 Heritage Springer, accessorized to create a very nostalgic look, reminiscent of Harleys from the late '40's and early '50's.

The Miracle of Life

I call this piece "Three, Six, Nine (and doin' just fine)." Don't forget to click on the paintings to enlarge them...

This one is called "The Miracle of Life," a topic which has been on my mind of late because my youngest daughter, Jessi, is eight months and two weeks pregnant. Yup. It could happen any day. My miracle baby is about to have a miracle baby of her own. And she shall be called Lillian Pearl Sadler or Lilly for short. Yes, a baby is growing inside of Brandon's wife. He's giving it love and Jessi, well, she's giving it life. And so there are three hearts where once there were two as two loving parents stand waiting for you. And your grandma and grandpa can't wait to touch you, Lilly, to see if you're real, although we've already felt your hiccups.

And here she is! On this, the 26th day of August, 2009, I proudly present Lillian Pearl Sadler, my sixth grandchild. To say that the miracle of birth is among the most magical events in the universe is an understatement. And I have found the births of my grandchildren to be even more profound than the births of my children since the births of my children were always tempered by the weight of responsibility (and a sense of inadequacy) which I always felt the moment I first held them in my arms, but holding my grandchidren, just moments after their birth, those are experiences beyond all comprehension--tempered only by love, and even though, during those moments, my eyes are always blurred with tears of happiness, they are moments, more than any others, when I glimpse the purpose of existence and absorb the energy of the universe with a clarity that exceeds perception.