The LunchBucket

Friday, February 15, 2008

Ferris Bueller

Nuggets of wisdom, "ah-hah" moments, and flashes of inspiration or motivation can come from strange places sometimes. Whether it be diving into a great book, powerfully meditating or praying for guidance, getting ice cream with your family, or stopping for a grilled ham and cheese at the LunchBucket there are great lessons to be learned out there and some of the most sublime come in ways we never expect. Don't get me wrong, it is my strong belief that there is no substitute for quiet, concentrated, scripture study and personal prayer to improve our behaviors and quality of life. But with that said, sometimes the randomness of life grabs us by the shoulders looks into our eyes and tells us something we need to know.

Ferris Bueller is just one such unusual source. He once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." How true. This statement is the very reason for the LunchBucket as a blog. How many LunchBucket diners have we driven by in life and opted to continue on to the next big city for McDonald's, Wendy's, or something else familiar and safe.

Frankly, day after day after day goes by and it doesn't seem there is the time to do anything but push forward to get through life's basic daily routines. But sometimes living, in the true sense of the word, has to involve more. We need something to look forward to and we need experiences to reflect on so that we are better at life's daily routines and so that we approach them with more excitement and energy. Sometimes a little Ferris needs to creep in and we need more "I'm takin' the day off. Now get dressed and come on over." or "How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?". Sometimes we just need to sit around with our wife, siblings, or friends engaged in conversation that gets us thinking about something other than the mortgage, diapers, the mortgage, next week's schedule, and the mortgage. Sometimes we just need to sit around and laugh when someone says "I do have a test today. It's on European Socialism. I mean, really, what's the point? I'm not European. I don't plan on being European. So, who gives a crap if they're Socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, it still wouldn't change the fact that I don't own a car." There are times when there is no substitute for stopping for a quick bite at the LunchBucket and laugh as the old ladies sit on their purses when the see the new guys come in.

Ferris Bueller, for today at least, you're my hero.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Somthing We All Should Do

If you have never been to the Lunchbucket in Hamilton, MO you should go. It is not a five star dinner, or even close to being listed in Zagat, but it is worth the trip nonetheless. It is worth it because of what it represents - Life. At the Lunchbucket you can hear all sorts of conversations, stories, opinions, and disclosures. I wish I could have sat in the Lunchbucket during the most recent US Presidential Primaries. What a joy it would have been to hear the locals opine on McCain, Obama, Romney or Clinton. It would have been an education, I am sure.

The Lunchbucket and therefore this blog is dedicated to the stuff we sometimes forget to enjoy. The experiences that accent our "oh so important lives", which really if we dare to get over ourselves are not so important. The experiences that make each day colorful, delightful, and rich. So much of life is about becoming, achieving, pursuing, climbing, or promoting. So much of our focus is about being the youngest, smartest, wealthiest, or most famous. We are a nation of Joneses, and yet we are the Jones' neighbors as well.

What we need is more time at "The Lunchbucket". More time to discuss the basics, to expound, to philosophize, to pontificate without overhead, oversite, or overemphasis on being right or wrong. What we need is more intimate discussions over a nice bowl of ice cream, a BLT, or the daily special. If we are not careful we will spend all of our days in hot pursuit of the end of the rainbow - having never really taken the time to STOP and enjoy the view and spender the rainbow provides.

So, welcome to "The Lunchbucket".

About Authors

Jim Sallcerates is a breath of fresh air in world filled with coal dust and windstorms. Born in Pewit Vim, a small farming town in West Virginia, Sallcerates finds a way to pound out provocative prose with the power of John Henry, but the literary cunning of Twain, the warmth of Dickens, and the philosophy Rand, the perspective of Emerson, the adventure of Hemingway, and the tragedy of Cobain. After reading one of his pieces he had nursed for years, the great literary critic, Ana Rhumbaing, stated, “I felt compelled, elated, melancholy and touched”. Turning to Sallcerates Ana said, “How is it you can be so much, see so much, and have so much to share?” His response, eternal. “All we are, is all we are – Tiny Tim.” Truer words have never been spoken, and a truer writer has never marked lead to paper, finger to key, or words to hearts. Sallcerates has returned to his home town of Pewit Vim, to live out his remaining days of eternal youth – writing his memoirs entitled, “Grave Polentas".

LeRoy Brown learned the power of words at a young age. At age 5 he read the unabridged version of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables for the first time (but not the last) and his tender eyes cried for two weeks straight. He spent his teenage years looking for his own Jean Valjean around every corner but at each turn was met with one internal Javert after another. The intensity of his internal strife, when combined with his locks of fiery red hair and a singular mangy freckle that seemed to cover his entire face, left an indelible impression on all he came into contact with. Always a voracious reader, LeRoy compiled quite a vocabulary, which he quickly learned to use to his advantage. Friends are often overheard to say 'that LeRoy-- if he isn't the baddest man in the whole damn town then I don't know who is. That boy there could charm a donkey.' So it has always been with LeRoy, from donkeys, to mongloids, to waitresses at the Paul Evans--there's not much he can't accomplish with an utterance of calm words gently spoken in that lilty, deep baritone voice. A regular contributor to thelunchbucket, LeRoy now lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah where he has dedicated his life to reducing the area' crippling illiteracy rate. 'Read they must' are now the only words he utters.