True Story

Book Worthy

Rapidly exiting a Barnes & Noble parking lot, my gaze lifted off of the pavement in front of me and I saw a colorful sunset happening. Being an absolute sucker for sunsets, I pulled into an empty space, hopped on the roof of my car to get a better vantage point, and started snapping.

The pictures were worth the strange looks I got from the people in the store. And from the people coming and going to their cars.

Following your heart is always worth it.

Somewhere Over The You Know What

       Pre-dawn this morning, I noticed a subtle pink and purple glow in the east. It was going to be a colorful sunrise. So I hopped on my bike and rode out to the higher ground of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir to put myself in a better position to snap some shots.
       As I’m approaching the hill to get to my vantage point, I look up and see this most magnificent rainbow stretching across the whole sky. It literally froze me in my tracks, and I practically fell off my bike, jamming the brakes and skidding on the grass. I would have gladly suffered a few bloody scrapes and contusions. Because this was spectacular.
       It occurred to me how often we go looking for something, or go after something, and come across something different than we intended. And that whatever we come across while going after something else turns out to be just as, or even more incredible for us than what we were going after.
       In my opinion, the best scenario is when we get both what we initially intended and that big extra something else that we ran into on the way. The old David Lee Roth adage, “My life is about  ‘In Addition To’, not ‘Instead Of’ “.
       May I always be open and willing enough to see more.

©2012 Clint Piatelli. All Rights Reserved.

Monsters

 “The Werewolf is neither man nor wolf, but a satanic creature with the worst qualities of both.”
                      -John Colton

       Pictured below is my favorite werewolf of all time: Oliver Reed in The Curse of The Werewolf.     
       Monsters were a huge part of my life as a kid. I thought about them, bought books and magazines about them, and talked about them constantly. I played monsters, drew monsters, and spent countless hours putting together and painting the Aurora monster models.
       When there would be a monster movie on television, I would got so excited that I temporarily couldn’t function. I would speak so fast you couldn’t understand me, and my mind would race so quick that I couldn’t concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds. And I felt euphoric, long before I knew what that word meant.
       Monsters were my childhood cocaine. And I was an addict.
       They provided an escape from my pervasive overall unhappiness. Monsters were magic to me, and magic, in all it’s forms and incarnations and mechanizations, gave me something else to focus on besides how much I hurt.
       Monsters saved my life.

   

Red Skies At Night

The Fixx song "Red Skies At Night" is one of those songs that stirs my blood and literally gives me goose bumps, every time I hear it. Thus, it makes it's way into virtually every play list I ever create. It also sometimes triggers a very specific memory. Sophomore year at Villanova. Halloween party. I was the Incredible Hulk. She was a......? It didn't matter.

©2012 Clint Piatelli. All Rights Reserved.