All posts by Jennifer June

Cowboy Boots

Okay…so I noticed it too. It took me longer to update my web page than it did for the U.S. to win a war, and occupy and/or “secure” an entire country. It’s all about manpower.

Now that my bronchitis is long gone I’m getting back to business. My next step on the bootshop is to transport a file cabinet to my landlord in Vallejo. My landlord has kept a big pile of stuff in the basement for the last five years…and now it’s bugging me. Her file cabinet is sitting right where my sander is meant to be. I’m waiting for a dependable stretch of dry weather…then I’m pitchin’ that file cabinet and all it’s four drawers in the back of the Ranchero and headin’ North.

I found a makeshift workbench in my yard, in the back of what used to be the garage. I think I can get it through the basement door. I’m moving my inseaming jack and lasting stand down to the basement too….Then I all I need to do is scrape together enough money for my sander. I’m part of the way there…just not quite the whole way.

I’m encouraged though…at least one kind soul with keen vision saw the link to my “Tip Jar.” (Do ya see it there in the right hand corner of this page?) It’s hard to know earlier this month, which was worth more…his generous gift, or the words of encouragement that came along with it.

I was also slightly awed by my recent web statistics. A pal of mine at work…even geekier than me…ran my March web page stats through his wowie-zowie analyzer software. Here’s the deal…in March 2003 this website had:

  • 34,279 User Sessions.
  • 11,116 Unique Visitors
  •  2,278 Repeat Visitors… 1,509 of whom visit more than once a week, and 742 of whom visit once or more EACH DAY!
  • 334 page visitors spent from 30 minutes to more than an hour online at my site.
  • My biggest crowds show up on Mondays.

Eeek…that’s a lot of people. There used to be a time (not so long ago) when it was me, Marshall, and maybe my dad.

Cowboy Boots

The country’s gone to war and San Francisco’s gone to hell. It’s been reported that the protests are costing the city more than half a million dollars a day, and the Mayor has promised to take it out of the budget for health care, and the programs for the homeless.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve become leary of strong opinions, right or left, it doesn’t matter… I think strong opinions close your mind to new ideas and changing stituations. I think strong opinions limit your compassion towards others.

Art & Culture

“Bootist” Walking Meditation

Instructions:

Wearing your favorite cowboy boots, take a walk to nowhere in particular. Listen to the sounds your feet make in your boots…across wood floors, across dry gritty dirt. Do not rush.

Be mindful of your walking, not your path. Enjoy your steps. Let the sound of your cowboy boots call you into the present moment. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not here yet.

“When we practice walking meditation, we arrive in each moment. Our true home is in the present moment When we enter the present moment deeply, our regrets and sorrows disappear, and we discover life with all its wonders. Breathing in, we sayto ourselves, “I have arrived.” Breathing out, we say, “I am home.” When we do this, we overcome dispersion and dwell peacefully in the present moment, which is the only moment for us to be alive.

As you begin to arrive with each step, you become more solid. As you become more solid, you become more free. Solidity and freedom are two aspects of Nirvana, the state of liberation from craving and clinging, fear, and anxiety. The practice should be pleasant. When you feel happy, your solidity and your freedom will grow, and you will know you are on the path of right practice. You don’t need a teacher to tell you if you are enjoying the practice. Allow yourself to be.“ –Thich Nhat Hanh