You and the flame.

If I just say yes

I will have it all

All the joy, all the sorrow

Every pain, every truth

The deal is all or nothing

And if I say yes

Then I am in for good

No one gets just the happiness

And no one bears all the weight

Life is not a menu

You’re in or you’re out

And I say yes

James Lee Jobe 

Bob Dylan - Rollin' and Tumblin'

Here in a thached hut

hidden among mountain peaks,

with barely room for one,

I'm suddenly invaded

by wandering white clouds.

Koho Kenichi 1241-1316 CE

Keep the fires burning for whatever god you love the most. The most private of prayers burns in the most quiet of hours. You and the flame. Faith and fire. The drumbeat of the earth. The whispers of heaven in the quiet folds of your ears. You have a secret name, and you speak it in the firelight.

James Lee Jobe 

If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.

Yogi Berra

Orange sun, pale, in a gray sky

Davis, California, in the big valley

The biting odor of burning wood

There is a forest fire about 100 miles away

North by east

Paradise, California, in the Sierra foothills

A wind out of the north

Has brought the smoke here

My wife is coughing, many people

On the streets people are wearing breathing masks

3 people dead in the fire, so far

Some more people are missing

And nearly 7 thousand buildings were lost

Homes, schools, businesses

“Did you see the sunset?”

A friend wants to know

“An orange sun, pale, in a gray sky

If the fire keeps up I’ll get some pictures tomorrow”

I quickly decide against chastising him

What’s the point? He means no harm

I see the homeless and the dead

He sees a unique sunset

Both are there, from a fire 100 miles away

Settling down in a quiet room, alone

I begin the Loving Kindness prayer

James Lee Jobe

If you could make a small donation below, I'm trying to build up bail money for my next offense. 

Thanks, James