Category: Family

LEGO: For Every Size of Imagination

e3fb2082011863.5d10fe8a88203This artwork from Asawin Tejasakulsin is absolutely brilliant, perfectly capturing the spirit and reality of working with LEGO. Check out the gallery. This too. And this. I first came across this design layout here.

I’ve had a longtime love affair with LEGO. I’m in the process of handing that same affection to my kids. I love the sets; I’m particularly fond of the Star Wars line. I build LEGO with my son, or I watch him build.

Occasionally we break away from the sets and come up with our own creations. My parents hung on a ton of LEGO pieces and eventually passed those on to me. We have plenty to work with. I’m always excited to see what my kids come up with.

Our creations are usually something like the dragon above, the seed of a grander vision. The small dragon is just as much of a wonder to behold as is the large dragon. Both spring from the imagination. Whatever we create, the important thing is that we can see it, we can share the wonder. We can celebrate what we do make. Then, the next time, we make something bigger, more detailed, grander. We learn and grow.

James W. Arnold, Honored

austin-texas-state-capitolLast Thursday I had the privilege of visiting the Texas State Capitol to hear the Texas House formally accept House Resolution 626 as I stood next to my grandmother, Bess Arnold, on the dais. H. R. 626 formally honored my grandfather, James W. Arnold, who died January 19, 2019 at the age of 87.

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On my right is my cousin, Jimmy Landes. My brother, Walter Simpson, stands on Mrs. Arnold’s left, with John Landes on the far right. At the bottom of the frame is Representative Travis Clardy, who served as our host, and who introduced the resolution before the House. Mr. Clardy represents Cherokee, Nacogdoches, and Rusk counties. Mr. Clardy’s wife, Judy, grew up knowing my grandparents alongside their children (my mom, aunts and uncle) in the city of Tyler. The Clardy family and their staff were gracious and warmly welcomed us to the Capitol.

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My uncle Drew Landes recorded the proceedings as they were streamed live on the web.

Here is the video, which I wish I could center in the frame, but cannot:

 

Following the acceptance of the resolution several members of the House came and offered condolences to our family, including Charles “Doc” Anderson, who represents Waco. That was nice, considering I knew who he was.

Our visit to the Capitol was special. I won’t forget it. I am glad that Mr. Clardy, Matt Schaefer, and Cole Hefner introduced this resolution, and I am very thankful that my grandmother, Bess Arnold, had the privilege of hearing it read while on the dais. James W. Arnold was a valued member of the community of Tyler, a true friend, and a respectable man.

Equally if not more important, at least to me, he was my Daddy Jim.

Don’t Miss It.

Seb Agresti

This is artwork by Seb Agresti, who has had work published in The New Yorker and elsewhere. I think I saw this image in the Dense Discovery newsletter.

The icon for this image has been sitting on my computer desktop for weeks. My six year old son, sitting in my lap and observing it asked, “What’s that?” I opened it and said, “What do you see?”

He said, “Those people are sitting on a phone!” I then asked him what he thought the artist was trying to convey, which led to a discussion of interactions with technology. Our exchange boiled down to this: “People spend so much time looking at their phone that they miss a lot of what is beautiful in life.”

So, as you likely are reading this from your phone, turn it off. Put it away. Look at the ocean, the mountains, the sunrise (all three appear in the image above). Hopefully in the company of a friend. Have a conversation. Climb. Go on an adventure. Or sit still.

Don’t miss it.