Well, it has been 7 months since my lat entry, and that will change beginning today.  OK, tonight.

I have wanted to write here so much and have had a block of sorts, but that is a whole other conversation.  So that said, I have a new plan.  I am getting a little tired of FB and though it serves a purpose in my life, it is time for another outlet.  Something more for me, and you if you choose to check it out.

I have so many stories from my travels over the last 3 years that I want to share, knowledge that I gained and want to share, things that I am going to be doing over the next couple years, the adventures that Jennifer, our dog Jack and I are going to have, the art that I am going to be creating, and some of the art ventures I am going to be involved in.

So, from now on, I will be putting my stuff out on this blog.  It will have a WIDE variety of stuff.  If you are interested, check it out and give it a follow.  I will have pictures as well!! 

OK....here we go!!

it's been a while!!

Well my Concrete Friends, the end is soon upon us!!  No, I don’t mean the whole 2012 thing!  When I started this journey 2 ½  years ago, I said it was only going to last so long……and I have decided that this year will be the last of the rat race!!  I said in the beginning that the training thing was only going to be for traveling purposes…make enough money to see the US and hang out with cool concrete artists.  And, it was the opportunity to give back to an industry that has given me so much.  But, in 6 more months, it will be 3 years of helping others create, and not getting to let some of these hovering ideas in my head out.  It’s come time that I do a little more creating…otherwise I will go crazier than I already am!!

So, I will be launching the last of my classes this year.  I have 8 that will be launched soon and several more that will be put in.  These will be great classes because we have great sponsors this year that are donating products for us to play with…….and STILL no sales pitch!!  These products are there for us to play with, they are not proprietary to the training.  Things like stains, stencils, aggregates, dyes, sealers, tools, AR glass, polymer, Portland and free copies of Concrete Décor Magazine.  Basically bonus’s for the class!!  They will also be great because I go overboard with what I teach and the amount of information that I give you in the class.  Ask anyone!  From the beginning I have done this because I love it, I love to share and I can afford to offer it less expensive than everyone else.  Still can and still will!!

So, is this a sales pitch?  “Take my class, ‘cause it’s the last ones!”…..yup!  But….it’s true!!   If you want training from me, get it now, ‘cause next year will be different.  My intent is to do very limited amounts of extended stays with selected artisans.  We will be doing whatever the hell we want to, ‘cause all I need to do is have a place to park, have good people to hang with, be able to make concrete and a couple bucks.  That said…..why the hell am I working so hard to do all these classes?  Well, for this year I have responsibilities to my sponsors through the end of the year and I will make it worth their time.  I have many people here on the East Coast that have been waiting 2 ½ years for me to get here, so I am gonna give them their money’s worth!!  And, the more money I can make in the next few months, means the more art I can make next year!!!

So, I could go on and on and on as all of you know, and I will, but I will do it in my blog.  In a nut shell, I am gonna blow out this year and go on to other things next year!  I will still travel the rest of the US (so yes, I will be coming to the Midwest, but plan on me staying a while at your shops) until I hit all 48 continental….which will happen next year.  After that……backpack Europe or go join Josh Lilly on the eco farm!!  (think I’m kidding?) Or something, I don’t know.  And I don’t need to right now, that’s the cool thing!!

Well, there it is.  Feel free to comment, though this post is more just to let you all know it’s gonna change.    

 Anyone wanting training?  Get it now!  Anyone in the Midwest that wants me to come hang out for a few months, has a place for the RV, wants to make some bad ass concrete and can spare a few bucks, let me know.  I have a few of you on the list already!!

See ya on the road!

I will be posting more here on my blog very soon and will use this more as the update place.  Check back soon!!

Coming Soon!!

  I know you all have been waiting for updates, and they are coming.  I will be much more active on this blog very soon.  Stay tuned, good things to come this year!!


For now, a story for you to ponder.



    A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:
'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.'
He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.
'She got this the first time we went to   New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.



    Well, I guess this is it.




    He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.


    He turned to me and said:
'Never save something for a special occasion.


    Every day in your life is a special occasion'.
I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.


    I no longer keep anything...


    I use crystal glasses every day...


    I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.


    The words 'Someday...' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my dictionary..


    If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now....


    I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.


    I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
 She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.


    I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorites food.


    It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.


    Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.
If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably, there's someone you care about.
If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it 'One of these days' , remember that 'One day' is far away... or might never come....

A new start

I am sitting in the mountains near Lake Tahoe and just finished reading Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav.  It has changed some of my views of me a person and the way that I have viewed the journey.  It has truly changed the way that I will move forward and how I will engage those that I meet.  It has helped me to see that the loneliness I felt in my last post is not how I perceived it.  I knew that I was not alone, though I could not tell why I still felt alone.  I now know.  I now know how to change that feeling, and I am.  I have held resentments towards people that I can now release.  This is no indication that I am now an evolved spirit just because I have read this book, but I can now work towards that peace in a much easier way.  I am now aware of the power within me that I was not aware of or how to tap into.  As I move forward, from this day on, I will do so with the intent of TRUE love in my heart and not by the illusion of true love that that I may have been blinded by in my past.  I have always felt that I am a person of love and peace, but I have realized that the love I gave, though honest, was still self serving.  Through the insight of my Teachers and my Friends around me, I have been able to realize this more fully.  I here by release this from my soul to the universe and truly give myself over the direction that the Universe and my true Soul has set out for me.  I do this without fear.  I am excited to see how my life changes from here going forward.  With that, I am back on the road.

Lonleyness Vs. Lonley

As I write these words, tears fall.  I am not sure why, it is just an emotion that comes around once in a while.  I feel that it may be because I am lonely.  But that word is difficult to define, especially for me.  I am surrounded by so many people that love and care for me, everywhere I stop, I have been welcomed with open arms.  Very little of my time is truly spent alone, so how can I be lonely?  The difference between being alone and being lonely are worlds apart, but are separated by only a very thin line.  this is why, I think, I have such a hard time feeling like I feel lonely, when I am really only alone.  And, again, I am not alone.  Trying to discern the difference in my mind is difficult, especially when emotions get in the way.

I am in a place of peace and happiness.  My heart is truly full of joy.  I am trying (which is a defeating attitude) to draw from the joy in my heart to elevate the loneliness.  But by "trying", I am not truly doing.  I still do not understand why I block myself from implementing the things I know to be true.  But, this is a subject for another time.

I am not sure where I am going with this post.  I suppose, as I said in the beginning, this is Blog is more for me than anyone else.  My writing has always been more for me than anyone else.  It has always been an outlet and a way for me to process.  I have all the answers I need to change my thoughts and there in my emotions.  My friend Collette would say at this moment...."have you read seat of the soul yet?"  And I would say no, but I will soon.  My father.....years ago....would have said "quit being a baby, it ain't that bad< your not dieing".  He would say the same thing today, but he would say it a little softer.  My little brother would say "you ain't lonely, you got me" and we would laugh together.

Better yet, this morning, the owner of the property that I am staying at....whom I have never met (he is the landlord to Mike, the tenant of the building who is letting me park here while I am doing training with his company) knocks on my door and tells me that is happy to have me here and that if I ever come back through SLC, just call him and I am free to park here.  an hour later, I had a great conversation with Robert, the lawn guy across the street.  We had a brief "introduction" of sorts about a week ago.  In less than 1/2 hour of conversation, we knew more about each other and each others character then I have knew about people I have know for many years.  I can call this person my friend.  I will discuss the definition of "friend" another time.  Only to say now, that, no amount of time (knowing someone) can define a friendship.  It is like love at first sight in a way.  You just know.  My friend Paul and I are going shopping and then later tonite we are meeting with a bunch of friends and going to the Toby Keith concert.  Tomorrow I am sure that I will meet new friends at the Salt Flats.  So I ask myself, how can I be alone?

This is the question I will answer.  If not today, then it will be tomorrow.  If not tomorrow, then it will be the next day.  I know this.

The picture is of Robert and I.  My new friend.

Namaste

sharing a smile

This was sent to me in an email, and I wanted to share it.  it is what I am to do in my life.

Twinkies and Root Beer


A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting in the park just feeding some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.

Again, the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?

"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added," You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

~author unknown~


So often, we affect people and we do not even know it.  This happens for good and bad.  I try to compliment, say hello, pass a smile to as many people as I can on a daily basis.  I know that it is so simple to do and can bring so much joy to another person.  You never know when that word of kindness or that simple smile that you shared that day with a stranger may have been the one thing they needed to no end their life that day.  You may never get the "credit" for doing this, but if you live your life spreading that love always, then you can go through you life knowing that you have changed others lives, even if their is no proof.  I challenge all of you to share a smile or a kind word today.  You will find that it will also make you happy.
I wrote this in 1993


28 Smile



People are mean

in this world Of ours

They have rude weapons

Like voices and cars

They say fuck you asshole

honk their horns for awhile

And I like to rebuttal

With just a small smile.

Because I learned as a child

And confirmed as an adult

That a smile is something

Not caused by a fault

It is something that happens

When you feel joy inside

And it is so very powerful

That you cannot hide

The power that it has

And the beauty that it shows

With a smile on your face

Everybody knows

That your happy or joyous

Or up to something sly

But when people see that smile

They usually don’t wonder why

So when you’re mad or sad

Or even glad

Then give your face something

To do

Lift your cheeks

And make a smile

I do it quite a lot

And I hope that you will too.


Tommy  T Cook

Some of my goodbyes