Bill Bodden's Blog - Posts Tagged "life"

My parents passed away over the last few years — my dad in January of 2011, and my mom in late July of 2013. Both lived into their late 80s, so they both had a good, long run at life. The last house they owned was a large, unattractive brick structure that was among the first houses in the area built by white settlers. That house was old when I lived there, and frankly, my parents couldn’t keep up with it — especially towards the end — so the place was in pretty rough shape.

That house still holds an enormous stash of memories for me; it’s the house I grew up in. In fact, I hadn’t lived anywhere else until I moved away after graduating high school. One of my fondest memories...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2016/06/07/some...

We've had these kittens - Mina and Monty - for just over three months. Despite a few unfortunate incidents (more on those later), they have settled in nicely and made themselves a part of our home.

Monty has become the house love-bug. If we're sitting on the couch watching TV, he walks up on our chests, giving us a head-bump or slide-by with his face. Mina is only a little less personable: she loves to play, and will bring us a toy to throw when she wants some action.

Since they're only 9 months old, they still love to play, and have TONS of energy. They chase each other back and forth, sounding like a herd of elephants rampaging through the house. Luckily, they mostly do this during the day and evening, and for the most part have been kind enough to not wake us in the middle of the night with their antics. They are growing fast, and are substantially larger and heavier then when we first brought them home. Monty continues to be the more moderate eater: Mina, who we suspect was the runt of the litter, is always desperate for food, and dives right in whenever fresh food is added to their bowls. Both seem to be tempering their appetites as they grow older: the last couple of weeks has seen them not eat every scrap of dry food for hours at a time.

Monty, alert for playtime.


To read more of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2018/12/24/kitt...

I love the snow. It brings solace to my soul every year at a time when I most need it, as the days grow shorter and I get more and more depressed. The blanket of white puts me in mind of far more pleasant than bad things, and I happily stand at a window watching the snow fall.

The end of the calendar year is a time for reflection: on what has gone before, and on hopes for what it to come. During these days of horror and malicious indifference, I find it difficult to be optimistic; We are pissing away the only world we have so the value of rich people's stock portfolios go up a few more points. The US is showing signs that SOME things will turn around, but...

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http://billbodden.com/2018/12/31/the-...

With everything going on, I've been thinking a lot lately about how I'm getting by. It isn't easy, what with a political coup and a global pandemic both still going on. The concept of the disaster bingo card, while hilarious, is also very on-point for 2020-2021, as we reel from one piece of horrible news to another. My coping mechanisms are sorely lacking; trying to stick to some kind of routine helps, but it's easy to get sidetracked.

There's certainly loneliness - I miss...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2021/01/12/my-o...

I owe a lot of my musical taste to my family.

My brothers were both coming of age in the late 1960s, so I got to listen to a lot of music from that era. My dad was also musical; he could play the organ well enough that he volunteered at church from time to time, and could noodle around with a couple other instruments. His and mom's era was the Big Band sound of the 1940s, and dad had a fondness for classic music too.

So at a very young age I was listening to Tchaikovsky; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; the Beatles; Stravinsky; Cat Stevens; The Who; The Band; Three Dog Night; Duke Ellington; Count Basie; Santana, and a lot more. One day, I was watching Sesame Street, and they had Stevie Wonder on with his band, playing the most funktastic version of "Superstition" I've ever heard, and it was...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2021/02/24/to-s...