Usually the less I'm updating anyone about my life, the more I'm doing. I guess that's true for everyone. So a year off the road hasn't been a year doing nothing. Though that probably would've been nice. It hasn't even been a year without adventures. Or a year without taking pictures of a certain stuffed penguin in strange places. It's just been a year of not having time to write about it. But all that's about to change. Probably. Not really. I'm intending for all of that to change maybe? Yeah, that's it. Here's a random picture of Pen Pen doing something this year that I never posted about.
Anyway, after a week of juggling writing in the morning, driving in the afternoon, performing in the evening, and drinking and catching up into the wee small hours every day, I holed up in a hotel in St. Louis for 2 days with every intention of getting caught up on work. (Or at the very least recording a scratch of this new song I wrote on the road.) Instead I watched Law & Order SVU for like 6 hours before my show. I have no regrets. This is Pen Pen having no regrets.
So semi-refreshed and still not at all caught up on work, I hit the road. After about an hour, I passed by a sign I've seen many times before and never had the time to investigate: “WORLD'S LARGEST WIND CHIME!” Now there's nothing in the world I love more—not music, not social justice, not Star Trek, not even penguins—than that little moment when someone decides that they need to seek fame and fortune by devoting themselves to a totally pointless pursuit. Something that benefits no-one in the grand scheme of things, but requires so much effort as to be utterly admirable for their gusto. And that, my friends, is why I'm now in love with Casey, Illinois. This is Pen Pen in the pointless forest.
I stood at the corner taking pictures, my mouth agape with joy. A woman walked up to me. “You're not from around here, huh?” I wondered whether my sparkly painted nails, my flower printed jeans, my mohawk, or my faux-fur lined women's jean jacket gave me away. Maybe it was the standing on a corner taking pictures of a stuffed penguin. I guess we'll never know. Though she never gave me her name (she never stopped talking long enough for us to properly introduce ourselves), she was now my official tour guide. “Over there? That's the world's largest mailbox. And around the corner up two blocks is the world's largest ruler. If you go up this street one block, you'll see the world's largest pencil. I've never seen it myself, but I know the world's largest knitting needle and crochet hook is in that yarn store on this block. They used to have these really big wooden shoes on display in front of the Town Hall, but I don't know what happened to it. Oh, what direction are you headed?” “East,” I said. “Oh perfect, the next town over has the world's largest horseshoe. You should check that out on your way out if you've got time. It's east of here, so you can just get on the highway there. And make sure you stop in the cafe before you leave town. They have postcards and other stuff there.” Postcards? I'm sold. This is Pen Pen not sure if they also have the world's largest stamps.
So after wandering around the downtown for 15 minutes or so and dutifully marveling at the wonderful collection of world's largest stuff on display, I headed to the cafe for some much needed coffee and to grab myself a souvenir of the experience. “Where you headed?” Asks the woman at the counter. My not-from-around-hereness not requiring any clarification this time. “Indiana,” I answer. “Well, you'll be there soon enough. Here's your coffee.” Message received. So I followed my guide's directions out of the town, stopping for a brief respite at the world's largest golf tee. This is Pen Pen hitting 2 under par.
I like to imagine future archaeologists and anthropologists trying to make sense of our society by the records and relics we leave behind. How many things will be fundamentally misunderstood and misinterpreted when most of our records are now only digital and the odds of digital information surviving thousands of years are incredibly small. Will they assume Casey, Illinois was home to a race of unusually large humans? Probably not. Will they extrapolate a specific religious belief from the Bible verses inscribed on some of the things? How many things have our archaeologists dug up and ascribed some major significance to, when the real reason our ancestors made it was because they thought it'd be cool? This is Pen Pen doing stuff for no reason other than because he thought it'd be cool.
This is a song I wrote one time. You should download it and share with your friends.
Anyway, after a week of juggling writing in the morning, driving in the afternoon, performing in the evening, and drinking and catching up into the wee small hours every day, I holed up in a hotel in St. Louis for 2 days with every intention of getting caught up on work. (Or at the very least recording a scratch of this new song I wrote on the road.) Instead I watched Law & Order SVU for like 6 hours before my show. I have no regrets. This is Pen Pen having no regrets.
So semi-refreshed and still not at all caught up on work, I hit the road. After about an hour, I passed by a sign I've seen many times before and never had the time to investigate: “WORLD'S LARGEST WIND CHIME!” Now there's nothing in the world I love more—not music, not social justice, not Star Trek, not even penguins—than that little moment when someone decides that they need to seek fame and fortune by devoting themselves to a totally pointless pursuit. Something that benefits no-one in the grand scheme of things, but requires so much effort as to be utterly admirable for their gusto. And that, my friends, is why I'm now in love with Casey, Illinois. This is Pen Pen in the pointless forest.
I stood at the corner taking pictures, my mouth agape with joy. A woman walked up to me. “You're not from around here, huh?” I wondered whether my sparkly painted nails, my flower printed jeans, my mohawk, or my faux-fur lined women's jean jacket gave me away. Maybe it was the standing on a corner taking pictures of a stuffed penguin. I guess we'll never know. Though she never gave me her name (she never stopped talking long enough for us to properly introduce ourselves), she was now my official tour guide. “Over there? That's the world's largest mailbox. And around the corner up two blocks is the world's largest ruler. If you go up this street one block, you'll see the world's largest pencil. I've never seen it myself, but I know the world's largest knitting needle and crochet hook is in that yarn store on this block. They used to have these really big wooden shoes on display in front of the Town Hall, but I don't know what happened to it. Oh, what direction are you headed?” “East,” I said. “Oh perfect, the next town over has the world's largest horseshoe. You should check that out on your way out if you've got time. It's east of here, so you can just get on the highway there. And make sure you stop in the cafe before you leave town. They have postcards and other stuff there.” Postcards? I'm sold. This is Pen Pen not sure if they also have the world's largest stamps.
So after wandering around the downtown for 15 minutes or so and dutifully marveling at the wonderful collection of world's largest stuff on display, I headed to the cafe for some much needed coffee and to grab myself a souvenir of the experience. “Where you headed?” Asks the woman at the counter. My not-from-around-hereness not requiring any clarification this time. “Indiana,” I answer. “Well, you'll be there soon enough. Here's your coffee.” Message received. So I followed my guide's directions out of the town, stopping for a brief respite at the world's largest golf tee. This is Pen Pen hitting 2 under par.
I like to imagine future archaeologists and anthropologists trying to make sense of our society by the records and relics we leave behind. How many things will be fundamentally misunderstood and misinterpreted when most of our records are now only digital and the odds of digital information surviving thousands of years are incredibly small. Will they assume Casey, Illinois was home to a race of unusually large humans? Probably not. Will they extrapolate a specific religious belief from the Bible verses inscribed on some of the things? How many things have our archaeologists dug up and ascribed some major significance to, when the real reason our ancestors made it was because they thought it'd be cool? This is Pen Pen doing stuff for no reason other than because he thought it'd be cool.
This is a song I wrote one time. You should download it and share with your friends.
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