The Tire Iron and the Tamale

Posted on 25. Mar, 2011 by in The Goo Blog

By JUSTIN HORNER  - Justin Horner is a graphic designer living in Portland, Ore. This essay was adapted from a message-board posting on reddit.com.

Published: March 4, 2011

During this past year I’ve had three instances of car trouble: a blowout on a freeway, a bunch of blown fuses and an out-of-gas situation. They all happened while I was driving other people’s cars, which for some reason makes it worse on an emotional level. And on a practical level as well, what with the fact that I carry things like a jack and extra fuses in my own car, and know enough not to park on a steep incline with less than a gallon of fuel.

Each time, when these things happened, I was disgusted with the way people didn’t bother to help. I was stuck on the side of the freeway hoping my friend’s roadside service would show, just watching tow trucks cruise past me. The people at the gas stations where I asked for a gas can told me that they couldn’t lend them out “for safety reasons,” but that I could buy a really crappy one-gallon can, with no cap, for $15. It was enough to make me say stuff like “this country is going to hell in a handbasket,” which I actually said.

But you know who came to my rescue all three times? Immigrants. Mexican immigrants. None of them spoke any English. (more…)

Pretty

Posted on 31. Oct, 2010 by in The Goo Blog

Clearing Your Energetic Closet

Posted on 29. Jun, 2010 by in The Goo Blog

Have you ever had an article of clothing that you did not want to get rid of even though it no longer looked good or fit you?  Maybe there were even holes worn in it?  It really does not serve you anymore but you are so attached to it that you resist letting it go.

We sometimes do the same thing with the energies in our lives.  Perhaps it is the energy from a past relationship, work environment or school or family.  This energy no longer serves you, in fact it is restrictive like a piece of clothing that you have long since out grown.  When you have it on you feel confined. (more…)

The Storm

Posted on 24. Mar, 2010 by in The Goo Blog

Morning after the storm

Last night I went downtown to take a bus to meet a friend for a concert in Denver. As I was walking to the station, it started to snow. I knew snow was expected, but have never seen it hit like this.

It went from no snow, only rain, to at least two inches an hour. I gauged this rate of snowfall on the fact that when I got on the bus there was hardly any snow on the ground and when I got off the bus two hours and forty-five minutes later there was 6 – 8 inches on the ground. Heavy, wet, slippery Spring snow. (more…)

Just another ordinary week…or was it?

Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by in The Goo Blog

I was chatting with a friend on Friday when they asked a fairly standard question.  “How was your week?”  And in my standard unthinking way I said, “Oh it was fine, nothing special.”

Then I started to think.  Was that true?  Had it been just another ordinary week?

I called up the calendar on my computer and took a look. (more…)