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A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. January's Theme: "Path"
Volume 9 Issue 2 ISSN# 1708-3265



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 		And Then I Grew a Pair!
by David Reber

I played them all the old songs
Thought that's why they came
But no one heard the music
We didn't look the same
 -Rick Nelson

As I grew up everyone gave me advice. Of course I never noticed there was so much wrong. In fact, truth told, often the kinds of people who gave the advice were less than shining examples. I guessed it was harder to see the situation from the inside, from the personal side. I was told often, "Relax," "Take it easy." In the 80's "take time out for you," was around quite a lot. Actually that last one I supported, too much in fact, but those were stories from past articles. In the seventies, and then again during a Neo-Paganism surge in the 90's, I was told a lot, "Go with the flow." Personally I was all for "the flow." I knew it existed, kind of a current that swept me and everyone else along. I just wasn't good at "going with it." Never could just sail along with the tiller unmanned, it didn't sit well in my gut. But then there was the cliché "Follow your own path." That one I was actually for.

You see, my life was a gift from the Grand PooBah of the Hoopla. I shook the box, listened when it rattled, ripped off the wrapping with my teeth, and dove in. Though called much, a gift, a soul, free-will, life, it was mine. When was the last time you got a gift; but you sat there and watched the giver play with it instead?

"Follow your path," spoke of a partnership. The Giver of Life knew what was ahead; and even sent along clues, but every twist or intersection was totally mine. If life was a path, it was under my own moxy when one foot planted in front of the other. I showed That Which Was All and a Bag of Chips that I understood and tread ever forward. Also, if I stood still Ol'-Sun-Shines-Out-His-Arse reminded "he who hesitated was lost." Perhaps this was where the "flow" metaphor came from. It was not hard to imagine one who was lost in a strong flow. A river that tumbled, crashed, and ground one against the bottom as it polished.

For me, there was an excellent reminder of how "The Path" split, when indecisively stationary was not an option. It was during what I called my "dumbass" years, a time of no direction, no clue, but plenty of big talk. I was big stuff and the world hadn't figured it out yet. I floated through different jobs which paid for my crappy apartment and I even poked around at college a bit. The last of those jobs I actually held for a whole summer, even made it to "management"(no one else applied). At the end of the summer however, the owner wanted out, just didn't want to do it anymore. Raw Food and Fasting Coaching with Aleesha Stephenson

He gave two-weeks' notice before it all shut down with a big everything-must-go sale. I smacked right into a mighty parting of way with no clue at all. Big talk was not an option with no job and a need to eat at least once a month. My "path" rapidly turned in a "creek…." And I had no paddle.

Before it all hit the fan, I consulted the most knowledgeable person I knew… I ran to Mommy….

"Seems you have a choice," she told me. Mom didn't sugar-coat the important stuff.

"I do?" Remember I called these my Dumbass Years.

"Seems you can either go back to college or try to make a go of that business."

"But I'm broke… I dug change out of the couch to get here."

"I will help you out," she said and then stated flat, "but I am not paying for you to half-try at both…."

That last comment hung in the air for a time before, "It's time for you to get serious."

She did not kid about the "it's time" part either. In a weird bit-o-tweaking from The Big Cheese the deadline for semester's classes and the out-of-business business sale were on the same day, three very short days away. So, two paths converged in the woods and I… I grew a pair.

Looking back it really wasn't much of a decision. Back then I pursued a degree with practically nada for employment options. Also, from that past summer's experience I knew the business had a chance to turn into something special. Twenty years later I was still a proud owner of said business. My wife, the co-owner, even let me run things once in awhile! More importantly however, an unexpected perk popped up a few years after that auspicious beginning.

I always wistfully missed the studies I gave up for self-employment. So one semester I went back, took things at my own pace like before and you know what? Along the way I grew up! The maturity to relish the experience was not there back then. Now I took the classes for experience and knowledge rather than a credit. It turned out the fork in the path was not either/or, one way exclusive to the other. One side of that choice actually enabled the other, as it enabled so many other things along the way. Since that particular decision, when I finally got serious, I became the Renaissance man before you. Remember how we got to know each other over long discussions of archery, Ms. Editor? Thank the Saints for they gave us guidance along our path. But if you wanted to be in that number, you marched, eh?


Hello, I'm David Reber. Currently I'm trying very hard to live a simple, uncomplicated life. I really enjoy tying flies or writing bad fiction in some quiet corner near where my beautiful wife is working on one of her hobbies. I also enjoy long walks with her when the weather is nice and we can take our two Siberian Husky puppies, Annie and Chloey with us - or when the huskies take us for a run would be the proper description. Then of course there is the time we spend trying to keep the refrigerator stocked ahead of "Big J", our active son and his tape worm.

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