The personal writings and photos of Jonathan Smith.

I always think about you when I hear this song. The title fits you perfectly.

Pearl Jam – Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In a Small Town

I seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar yet, I can’t seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place, I wish I’d seen the place
But no one’s ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away… (2x)

I swear I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
me, you wouldn’t recall, for I’m not my former
It’s hard when you’re stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all, small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that’s what no one wants to see
I just want to scream…hello…
My god its been so long, never dreamed you’d return
But now here you are, and here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade…away…

Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away… (2x)
Hearts and thoughts they fade…fade away…
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away… (3x)
Hearts and thoughts they fade…

If you have been listening to the news lately you may have heard of the frequent shootings here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Everyone seems to be blaming everyone else. There’s talk of the Pennsylvania State Police coming in to the city to help the Harrisburg Police Department, some want the National Guard to help, and the Guardian Angels from York, Pennsylvania came to the city to patrol our streets.

The problem stems from the youth. Simple as that. Of course these people have influence from somewhere. They need to be reached out to and changed! Their thoughts are simply wrong. Take the following video for example. Just possibly, the people in this video are behind something illegal that has happened in the city of Harrisburg.

“All my niggas doin’ crimes and facing time as high as the big dipper”

“Bullets whiz past your head my aim lazy. Never been to the range dog I blaze crazy.”

“We on the block. Look a shot ricochet hit your daughter and baby heads. Look, this is real livin’. You can help me out like pimpin’ but I kill like Jordan and I grill like Foreman.”

“… when the car come through throw five shots in his top. Fuck it, it was broad day on the fuckin’ block but he had to let his gun pop.”

You get the idea of what is going through these people’s minds. They need to get some real jobs and get off the streets. It’s not that difficult. Go to school, go to college, and start a career. It’s all available to you!

Maybe the HPD should just go through YouTube and try to identify all of the people who seem to be flaunting their disregard for the law. Sounds like a good place to start to me.

I had an interesting talk with my dad yesterday. Last week I called him to discuss my decision to sell the BMW F650GS and buy a BMW R1100S. I wanted his opinion. Afterall, he influences my frugal ways. He basically said it was not a good idea with our economy and that I should save all of my money.

Yesterday I called him to discuss something completely different. But he stopped me and said he wanted to tell me something. He said I should buy the bike. My mind and heart filled with emotion. He said that everything that I  “need”, I already have taken care of. He said that I’m responsible and I really don’t go out buying many things. He followed this up by saying that I am still relatively young and that I should buy the bike if I really want it. Because as we get older, we lose the ability to enjoy those moments. He reflected back to the time when he was younger and he really wanted to buy a new chainsaw. Finally, he bought it and it made him so happy. In fact he still has that chainsaw today.

I did my homework on the purchasing decision. My motorcycle payment will basically stay the same, or possibly be less. And the loan is for a shorter length of time than my current bike.

It also made me feel good when he said I blew up his cell phone. His phone died when we talked last week. He said we haven’t talked that long about anything since I was a kid. It was kind of a bonding moment for the two of us.