joined on 03/02/04
last updated 10/13/06
about me
Qualities I value most in self and others: compassion, courage, humility, humor, independence, integrity.
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THE BROWNIE OF BLEDNOCH
There cam a strange wight to our town-en', And the fient a body did him ken; He tirled na land, but he glided ben Wi' a dreary, dreary hum.
His face did glare like the glow o' the west When the drumlie clud has it half o'ercast; Or the struggling moon when she's sair distrest- O sirs ! 'twas Aiken-drum.
I trow the bauldest stood aback, Wi' a gape and a glower till their lugs did crack, As the shapeless phantom mum'ling spak', "Ha'e ye wark for Aiken-drum ?"
O had ye seen the bairns' fright As they stared at this wild and unyirthly wight As he stauket in 'tween the dark and the light And graned out, "Aiken-drum !"
"Sauf us !" quoth Jock, "d'ye see sic een;" Cries Kate, "there's a hole where a nose should h'ae been, And the mouth's like a gash which a horn had ri'en; Wow ! keep's frae Aiken-drum !"
The black dog growling cowered his tail, The lassie swarfed, loot fa' the pail; Rob's lingle brak as he men't the flail At the sight o' Aiken-drum.
His matted head on his breast did rest, A lang blue beard wan'ered down like a vest; But the glare o' his e'e nae bard hath exprest, Nor the skimes o' Aiken-drum
Roun' his hairy form there was naething seen But a philabeg o' rashes green, And his knotted knees played aye knoit between; What a sight was Aiken-drum !
On his wauchie arms three claws did meet As they trailed on the grun' by his taeless feet; E'en the auld gudeman himsel' did sweat To look at Aiken-drum.
But he drew a score, himsel did sain; The auld wife tried, but her tongue was gane; While the younger ane closer clasped her wean And turned frae Aiken-drum.
But the canny auld wife cam' till her breath, And she deemed the Bible might ward aff scaith, Be it benshee, bogle, ghaist or wraith- But it fear't na Aiken-drum.
"His presence protect us !" quoth the auld gudeman'; "What wad ye, where won ye-by see or by lan'? I conjure ye-speak-by the Beuk in my han' !" What a grane ga'e Aiken-drum !
"I lived in a lan' where we saw nae sky, I dwalt in a spot where a burn rins na by; But I'se dwall now wi' you if ye like to try- Ha'e ye wark for Aiken-drum ?
"I'll shiel a' your sheep i' the morning sune, I'll bury your crap by the light o' the moon, And baa the bairns wi' an unken'd tune If ye'll keep puir Aiken-drum.
"I'll loup the linn when ye canna wade, I'll kirn the kirn, and I'll turn the bread, And the wildest fillie that ever ran rede I'se tame't," quoth Aiken-drum
"To wear the tod frae the flock on the fell- To gather the dew frae the heather bell- And to look at my face in your clear crystal well Might gi'e pleasure to Aiken-drum."
"I'se seek nae guids, gear, bond nor mark; I use nae beddin', shoon nor sark; But a cogfu' o' brose 'tween the light and dark Is the wage o' Aiken-drum."
Quoth the wylie auld wife, "The thing speaks weel; Our workers are scant-we ha'e routh o' meal; Gif he'll do as he says-be he man, be he de'il, Wow ! we'll try this Aiken-drum."
But the wenches skirled, "He's no be here ! His eldritch look gars us swarf wi' fear, And the fient a ane will the house come near If they think but o' Aiken-drum."
"For a foul and a stalwart ghaist is he, Despair sits brooding aboon his e'e bree, And unchancie to light o' a maiden's e'e Is the grim glower o' Aiken-drum."
"Puir slipmalabors ! ye ha'e little wit; Is't na hallowmas now, and the crap out yet ?" Sae she silenced them a wi' a stamp o' her fit; "Sit yer wa's down, Aiken-drum."
Roun' a' that side what wark was dune By the streamer's gleam or the glance o' the moon; A word or a wish-and the brownie cam' sune, Sae helpfu' was Aiken-drum.
But he slade aye awa' ere the sun was up; He ne'er could look straught on Macmillan's cup; They watched-but nane saw him his brose ever sup Nor a spune sought Aiken-drum
On Blednoch banks and on crystal Cree For mony a day a toiled wight was he; While the bairns played harmless roun' his knee, Sae social was Aiken-drum.
But a new-made wife, fu' o' rippish freaks, Fond o' a' things feat for the first five weeks Laid a mouldy pair o' her ain man's breeks By the brose o' Aiken-drum.
Let the learned decide when they convene What spell was him and the breeks between; For frae that day forth he was nae mair seen, And sair missed was Aiken-drum.
He was heard by a herd gaun by the Thrieve, Crying, "Lang, lang now may I greet and grieve; For alas ! I ha'e gotten baith fee and leave, O luckless Aiken-drum !"
Awa' ! ye wrangling sceptic tribe ! Wi' your pros and your cons wad ye decide 'Gainst the 'sponsible voice o' a hale country-side On the facts 'bout Aiken-drum ?
Though the "Brownie o' Blednoch" lang be gane, The mark o' his feet's left mony a stane; And mony a wife and mony a wean Tell the feats o' Aiken-drum.
E'en now light loons that jibe and sneer At spiritual guests and a' sic gear At the Glasnoch mill ha'e swat wi' fear And looked roun' for Aiken-drum.
And guidly folks ha'e gotten a fright When the moon was set and the stars gi'ed nae light At the roaring linn in the howe o' the night Wi' sughs like Aiken-drum.
-William Nicholson
**TAROT**,
++Crystals++,
Aeon Speculative Fiction,
Alchemy: The Royal Art,
All things Entomology,
Archaemysteria,
Asperger's Syndrome,
Astrology,
Baha'i,
Bees,
Bio-Electric Health Technologies,
Borderlands & Fringe Science,
ChakraTribe,
Classical Astrology,
Cognitive Science,
CONSPIRACY,
CREATIVE WRITING,
Crossroads of Religion,
Culture Jamming,
DIY - do it yourself,
Doctor Who,
Dream Therapy,
Dreaming,
Edible and medicinal plants of the wild,
Ethnobiology,
Ethnobotany,
Eugene,
Eugene Events,
Fibonacci,
Fnord,
foot in two worlds,
Fortean Tribe,
FUNGUS AMONG US !,
Herbal Medicine,
Herbalists,
Iboga,
Killed My Television,
Light Machines,
Meta Brain Growth Process,
mycology,
Natural Building,
Neuromantics,
Neurophysiology and Neurobiology,
Neuroscience & Neuroengineering,
Northwest Gardening,
organic & sacred forms,
Paranormal Research,
Parents of Special Needs Children,
people seeking Truth,
Perceptual Holography,
...
Recently relocated to a place five hundred miles from home -- from The Valley of Sand to the Capital of Crunch. I share a ten-yr-old daughter with a wonderful woman, with whom (after years of careful, platonic planning) I will soon separate and embark on my new life as a single, proud father. This is shaping up to be a parting under perhaps ideal circumstances (if ever there were any) although as would be expected, it's a heavy ordeal.
A distinct and familiar pattern in my daughter's personal struggles (sensory, social, learning) first shed light on the idea that a few flavors of ASD can be traced in our family. I plan to further research this. She teaches me something new about our gifts each day. Together we embrace our challenges with success, mostly, and live with great respect for one another, and for a legacy that was deprived of such for many generations. Our existence is intense and there is never a dull moment, but she's constantly surprising those around her with her resourcefulness and optimism. She drives me crazy, but I would not trade my Leo/Capricorn/Cancer fireball for anything.
Peace Corps birth, Bay Area raised, lover of all natural and progressive places across the globe. My atoms happened to originate in an ancient little country far away from where I have lived most of my life, and I wonder if this may help explain why at times I feel so alien here in western society. I had the privilege of visiting there once, a decade ago, and have recently wondered how different it would be if I were to go back knowing what I know now.
Being pretty new to Eugene and working out of the home, I tend to be a hermit, but I look forward to forging new friendships and (as hinted in this profile) will be open to the idea of forming a new relationship with the right woman. I work officially in corporate and Internet technology due purely to luck and a natural attraction to things technical, but my interests are quite broad and deep, always refining, emerging and expanding.
Outwardly shy at times yet friendly and open to all. I choose my friends pretty carefully but am devoted, trustworthy and responsible. I am a fierce individualist, but also constantly on the lookout for ways to promote social betterment and similar just causes. Sometimes willful and stubborn (in the right contexts, I hope) yet I grow the most when I have freedom to do things in new and interesting ways. Originality is always on my mind.
Qualities I value most in self and others: compassion, courage, humility, humor, independence, integrity. My two biggest social turnoffs are "group think" (although I still value consensus) and dishonesty.
Just had my second Mars return & fourth Venus return and am starting my fifth Mercury return. Recently transitioned from Lovers into my Chariot year, and the pace has most definitely quickened!
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