some brown-haired guy was sitting in his car at the stoplight in front of rachael and i and yelled some insult at these punks that had gathered around us. then he parked, and got out and joined us and i realized that they were friends. he approached rachael and i trying to solicit a hug, and after a little resistance we gave in. "you're a lousy hugger," i said in reaction to a less than convincing "embrace". "i'm a lover-hugger," he protested, whatever that means. street punk with warm brown eyes, dyed white-blonde hair, so-cal surfer dude accent, see-through earlobes, bones brigade t-shirt and bondage pants comes up and sits down next to rachael and i. i wondered how he could get his feet through pants so skinny but smiled, listening to his rantings and goings on about cops, or "pigs" as he called them in his song. "i'm just gonna chill here with you guys, if that's all right." he said, sitting down. "that's fine, just so long as you know that we own these steps," i said back. he said something to the contrary, that they were actually owned by everyone or something silly like that. he asked rachael for a quarter and when she told him she didn't have one, he reached into his hole-y pocket and handed her one of his. he proceded to try and tell her how much that equaled in pounds and euros and rach offered its equivalent in rupees. then he dug out a mostly-gone bag of spicy freetos from his pocket, "yeah, that's what i wanted," he said, "but i need a dollar twenty-nine." rach hands him back his quarter. keep your eye out for him around town and give him a friendly hello. he will reportedly be in missoula another two months waiting for his girlfriend to get out of jail.

pondering loneliness

i took a deliriously wonderful late-night bikeride last night and got to spend some time talking to God. as i began praying for my friends i realized that the overwhelming majority of my prayers for them (and for myself) were about loneliness. what is this thing? why is it so prevalent? why does it hurt so deeply? what is its purpose? is it simply a means to make us seek God? (i don't insinuate that God causes it, but He does allow us to walk through it) can we ever be fully healed from it on this earth? how can i be surrounded by the best friends in the world and still feel so alone? i need to spend some more time thinking about it, and more importantly, asking God for wisdom and help concerning it. but i just related to scott when he said once that while taking out the garbage one night he realized that he just longed to be with his God. and when don miller said in blue like jazz, "i didn't want to be on earth that night." the pain of this world is deep and wide and profound, and right now i'm longing for heaven.

tackling the big dog

this monster came from a flying j gas station in no-town, idaho, and no, i'm not referring to rachael (love u rach:) she downed it right before the long haul home from po-town. (hey! that's pretty good, wonder if it's taken.)otherwise known as spokane, washingdishes by our beloved moffett.

The Va-loo Vi-LAGE

here i am with my find. and no i'm NOT talking about those sunglasses. i've had those for yeeeeears. (pron.years, not yee-ars)my one and only purchase from the Value Village (affectionately known as the Va-loo Vi-LAGE by rach's friend's friend)was a scarf which, if i'm brave, will be worn either on head if i'm feeling 50's, or neck if i'm feeling european.

a junkshop fit for a king

here i am next to the king of rock 'n roll in all his glory, immortalized in a shellacked (?sp) wall hanging at the 10,000 silver dollar bar in haugan, mt. rachael and my first stop on our long haul to spokompton.

missing jack

this one's to you, boy. the wildest spirit i know. i hope that hot texas sun doesn't change you, unless it's for the better. i'll bet you wish you had a topvar right now.

i neapologize

calling all chocolate fans. i have successfully separated the good ice cream from the bad, so the first to respond, wanting the chocolate section can have it. i suppose ed should have first dibs since she did bring it for my birthday, and she can use all the food she can get. if you don't understand what that means, ask her about the dollar-a-day plan:)

a "dynamite" birthday present

my birthday might be the only one that keeps on giving, er, getting. every year it seems to stretch long into july as people give gifts and well-wishes, but this might be the most explosive. a 72 pack of ground bloom flowers. cuchillo said earlier in the season that a bouquet could "probably be arranged" but i didn't know this is what he had in mind:)

me and my girls

this picture is in the spirit of celebration of the roma people. i think they are some of the most beautiful in the world. i am reading a book about them called "bury me standing" that scott gave me as a belated birthday gift and it's absolutely fascinating. i met a woman who told me a band of gypsies came through montana in the 1930's or so and i'm out of my mind excited to try and find more information about it. she said when the native americans went by homesteads or farms you wouldn't hear a sound, but when the gypsies came you would hear them for miles and miles banging their pots and dancing and making music. i think when i took an interest in them i had no idea the rich culture that was in store for me.

afternoon in nove mesto

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Originally uploaded by lafalda.

ivanka herakova, roma girl in slovakia

ode to friends

this is just a quick little post to say thank you to all my friends who challenge me in my walk with the Lord. sometimes you don't even know you do it. maybe most times. but God has been so good to put people in my life who walk a better walk than i, so that i am inspired to do better and walk more closely to Him. thank you to all who love Him, and through Him, love me.