You know there is that old saying about “making some people happy some of the time…” Well I encountered that this week. Some people were and some people were not.
I have a lot of folks that write me and tell me what my work means to them. Nice people with nice things to say. Those words mean a lot. They make me feel good about what I am doing. I had some folks the other day bring me some painting supplies and talk for a while. They were nice in their hearts and full of friendship and love. I could tell and when they had left I felt happy.
Other people seem to take issue with the same things that make some folks happy. I do not understand but it seems to be true. My friend Hudson found my PIE SIGN that had been torn down. A guy was putting it in his truck and Hudson said that he would like to take the sign back to me.
I decided to repaint it and put it back up. So I did. I went over to Hudson’s driveway and painted a Pink Pig Pie Party! Hudson supervised the process. When we picked it up to load it in the truck I noticed a message of sorts on the back. It appeared as if the people who took it down left me a note. I thought about what they wrote for a while. You can see the message they wrote me on the image of me in the yellow hat (above). It appears as if they take great issue with what I am doing.
I was happy that they used the word “preach.” I really just set out to say things that I feel. A lot of time it is a roadside confessional– a message to myself. I need to get things off my chest. A lot of time these things just flow out. I do not plan them. I actually have a lot of tension and stress so I laugh at how my signs are about “Love and Peace“, as they wrote. A while ago I asked God to just use me as He wanted. I am not going to worry anymore about the rest.
It is a simple message with a simple goal. I just want to share some fun and happy thoughts with others. I just want to make people think for a minute and laugh. I want that little kid in the backseat to see the happy faces in the woods or the elderly woman being driven somewhere to see that bear looking back at her. Even if the people who took my sign down want me to, I can’t really turn it off or stop. I just make and paint as the images show up in my brain. I will not apologize for that.
I do have soul. I have had one for a while now and I don’t plan on selling it.
- kyle
Today Nathan and Whitney came over for a good time talkin’. I sat in a rocking chair and they sat up their gear–microphones and stands and cameras in bags and sacks. I did not know what we would talk about but somehow I said a lot. Whitney must be a truly fine questioneer! My dog just laid in her little round bed.
I told them where the bears came from and how I started painting on wood. My neighbor poked his eyes around the corner and looked. A crow flew up and watched. The wind blew.
