Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 42

I told Ms. Boss the other I was doing to start a podcast. “It’s going to be on haiku,” I said. She smiled in reply, but not a smile that said “that’s a great idea”, it was more of a “what in the what are you thinking?” To her immense credit, she did not say anything bad about this… plan. In fact, she told me the exact thing that I needed to hear: “If you’re going to do this, you need to do your research.” I started doing so immediately.

I had no idea, but there’s a Haiku Society of America. As soon as they process my application, I’ll be a member. It’s not Wednesday, but here’s the link: https://www.hsa-haiku.org/

Here’s another something I had no idea about – most modern English haiku do not have a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Most of them actually have less than seventeen syllables, sometimes significantly less. It’s more about putting you in a certain frame of mind with a minimal amount of words than any pattern. So given this revelation, what do I do? I’ve enjoyed the act of wrangling my thoughts into a 5-7-5, but I’ve left lots of great four and six syllable phrases on the cutting room floor because it isn’t haiku. Now, however, I’m being told it would have been perfectly okay to use them. I look at it this way – using a 5-7-5 forces me to meditate on my words so that I bring the truest expression of what I’m trying to say, so I will continue to use that form. That being said, if I create a phrase that does not conform that I believe will rock you to your core, I won’t be afraid to use it. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

I’ve also learned that there is something in haiku called ‘haibun’. Haibun is a combination of prose or something ‘prose-like’ with a haiku. The two parts exist to compliment one another to immerse the reader in the experience the author is trying to create with the haiku portion. I already laid Haibun 1 on you a few days ago. It’ll take some time to get my legs underneath me to repeat that feat, but you will see it again.

Yes, dear reader, the amount of haiku has increased in this space. That’s where my head is now. I want to present my thoughts in the most concise way possible and express myself somehow every day. Will the amount of Random Semicoherent Thoughts decrease as a result? They most certainly will. I must go where my life wills me to go and long form writing just isn’t where I’m headed at the moment. Maybe one of these days…

grey hair falling

not a younger man

but a different one

World Wide Web Wednesday – Volume 10

Today’s World Wide Web Wednesday link is…

https://www.railstotrails.org/ – The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

This past spring, I took up bicycling after a twenty-plus year hiatus. It feels like having an old friend in my life. I

n my teenage years, I rode my Huffy ten-speed for miles to go to work or summer sports conditioning or just to get out of the house. In college, I rode my bike for miles just to get away from life in the apartment. I likely would have continued into adulthood, but a few things got in the way. First, a bad bike wreck caused by the fact my bike was improperly fitted and poorly-tuned made me a little fun shy. Second, I got a job and free time seemed to evaporate. Third, I moved somewhere bike riding just wasn’t possible. The final blow was having kids.

Desperately needing to stop the downward spiral of my physical body and finding that life circumstances had improved, I decided to renew my acquaintance with biking. I visited a local bike shop who set me up properly and sent me on my way. I wasn’t alone in my desires. Ms. Boss also bought herself a bike and soon displayed even more passion for the pastime than I did. We were both racking up the miles, but where to ride? That’s where the Rails to Trails Conservancy comes in.

Rails to Trails Conservancy’s mission ‘is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines, connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.’ I’m certainly looking to be healthy, which aligns with their mission. Ms. Boss and I have ridden on several of the lines listed on the website and thoroughly enjoyed them (as an aside, it doesn’t hurt that railroads are relatively flat which is good for an old man like me). There is, however, something else at work here as well.

My father loved trains. He grew up in a railroad town and his fascination never stopped – model railroading, taking pictures of the real thing, even tracing the routes of abandoned railroads – my life growing up was filled with trains. While I have not had as fervent of a love as he did, something involving trains does touch a soft spot in my heart. I think about him every time I ride one.

Rail to Trails – something that’s not only good for my heart, but dear to my heart.