So, I haven't just sat down and wrote anything in quite sometime...figured now was a good time.

The road I have been on over the past several years has been full of twists, turns, and alot of learning and self discovery as well. I'm not entirely sure how it happened...but life has handed me happiness and peace of mind. It's a crazy thing to sit back for a minute and reflect on where I now find myself....in the office of Graham & Sons Antiques and Fine Furnishings...it's amazing. I am the proprietor of our family business. My mother is the owner. We now run an antique store as well as an auction house in Monroe, The Sundance Auction House....

...sorry, I was just re-reading that last grouping of sentences and soaking it in a bit...the idea is still new to me..but man, do I dig it.

Working for a Family Business is not like working at all. I put in over 80 hours a week here at the shop...at least...and I could be here more in all honesty, and it wouldn't bother me one bit. I know that this all goes into the family pot. It all benefits us....and that in itself, is more gratifying than working for anybody else. We are working towards a better future for ourselves, and man does it feel good.

I love being able to talk to people all the time. I love the fact that I feel proud to dress in a shirt and tie everyday, being happy to represent the family the best that I am able to. I love the fact that I am able to help.

Being at the shop is a great feeling. Over the past several weeks, many friends and family members have popped in to take a look around , or just to sit back and have a cup of coffee over some conversation. This makes me very happy as well. I seem to have shaken free some of my walls and allowed for a happier existence to happen. I am letting more and more people into my life, and feel the need to let more in.

And, somehow, in the process of taking a different path in life, I am finding I have let go of the feeling of loneliness that has haunted me. I have a new feeling of content that has washed over me. As if I walked blindfolded through a waterfall, I feel good again. Not sure how or why, but I am not one to question these things...at least not this time....I'm pretty happy...and I know that everything will work out just fine from here.

Everything happens exactly the way it should....otherwise, it would have happened some other way.

Much Love.

-kcl

The past year: a reflection

The past year has been an interesting one in my life on this earth. Hell, in the last couple months many changes have been made in my life. Back in August, I got it in me to take off....to leave everything and start over, travelling around and working from place to place. I desperately needed a change. I thought that was what I needed.

So I gave notice to my family and friends, as well as my road crew job, and started making very rough plans to head towards Fort Myers, FL. I took off on a mountain bike that was given to my by Nathan Delong (an old High School friend who thought I should have it, seeing as though both bikes I had previously had been stolen). It was a very nice thing to do, especially seeing as though Nate and I have barely talked in the past decade or so.

I packed up as much as I thought I could carry with me, which amounted to about two sets of clothing, a tent, my camera and tripod, a blanket, my father's old laptop, a little bit of food in the form of ramen noodles and rice, a sterno camping stove, a pot and some silver ware...as well as various other matches and camping tools I thought I would need.

I made it 160 miles on my newly acquired mountain bike. I made it to Lima, OH....and I knew that was about as far as I was going to push myself.

My back and apparently the rest of my middle aged body had had enough.

That moment would be a benchmark for the rest of the year.

I am not as young as I once was....

...and what I thought I needed....to escape...was not what I needed at all.

Don't get me wrong, it was good for me. I learned alot about myself and about people on my little adventure, but after coming back into Wyandotte for Austin's 16th Birthday, I knew I had to stick around. Once I got into town, I knew that there was no way I could leave again.

Fort Myers was great. The location and the weather were beautiful....simply breathtaking at times. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. But, when your life tells you that you need to do something, sometimes you should listen...

And now, my mother has decided to start a family business in the form of an antique and furniture storefront on Eureka across from Cahalan's Party Store and and auction house located in Monroe...which was another reason I felt as though I should stay in town...Better to work towards a family business that to work for anybody else in my opinion. My mom has always dreamed of going into business for herself, and if I can help her do so, than I really see no other option.

The past year has humbled me. It has aged me, it has made me very aware of my own mortality. I have learned much in the past year, I have alot more to learn still.

Let's hope I do.

There is alot of improving to be done...if I am ever going to meet the girl of my dreams, I have to first make sure that I have it in me to be the man of her dreams...

much love everyone.

9-6-2011 video blog

a moment of doubt

not gonna lie, starting to second guess my decision to come down to Florida...the past week has tested me to no ends..

the lack of a job, friends, cash, and the feeling that i am under foot staying with close friends is starting to get me down. i have to admit that i lied to myself in order to get myself here...i let myself believe that i would have no problem finding a job when i arrived....in retrospect, this was a bad idea, and not at all being honest to myself.

i have spent the past 2-3 weeks pounding the pavement quite diligently filling out applications everywhere i could and trying very hard to get noticed above all the other people desperately looking for employment. shit is hard here...especially right now...seems as though i have arrived right in the middle of the down season around here...i got here when everyone else seems to have left...which is not making it easy to find a job...i keep hearing "we wont be hiring for the winter season for another couple weeks" over and over again, and my patience is wearing thin...

i also miss everyone in michigan terribly. my son, my mother, and the full circle especially. i find myself thinking of everyone quite a bit.

i hate feeling like i have made a mistake...maybe i just am getting discouraged that things have not worked out the way i was hoping they would...maybe i have to suck it up and make it work, somehow....i got myself here, now it's time to make something happen...but what happens if i cant make something happen...what happens if i got all this all wrong...what happens if somewhere, i made a wrong turn..

it's hard to not feel lost sometimes. I just hope that the path presents itself once again....and soon...because i hate feeling like this.

i am sure everything will happen exactly how it should...it usually does.....i just have to get right with it.

video blog 8-22-2011

The amazing place that is Florida

HOLY SHIT IT'S HOT HERE!!

I mean it. It's a "wall of heat that burns your skin as soon as you step out of the blessed thing that is Air Conditioning" kind of hot around here. And the Moisture in the air (to steal Greg's analogy) is like "having a seven foot linebacker leaning on your shoulders all day, just kind of saying 'hey buddy, how ya doin'?" ALL DAY.

But, those two grievances out of the way.....there is absolutely nothing bad to say about this place that is Ft. Myers, Florida. As a matter of fact, there is nothing that is not amazing around here. It is such a latitude change from anywhere I have ever traveled.  Everything is new to me, I fucking love it. I still find myself just looking around, trying to soak it all in.

Last weekend, I had a great time as Greg, Judy, and Cari (Greg's girlfriend) showed me around the area. Greg introduced me to Downtown Ft. Myers, Ft Myers Beach, Captiva Beach, The Mucky Duck Restaurant (where Jude works), and many a bar along the way (the Hideaway is a great place, as is The Buddha). On Captiva Beach I witnessed the greatest sunset I have seen in at least 13 years. It was the second time that people on the beach actually applauded the sun as it finally dropped below the horizon. That moment reminded me that I had made the right decision in coming to Florida.

I am so happy. This journey and this destination were brilliant ideas. I havent stopped to write as much as I thought I would, but in all honesty, it has been hard to stop to write along the way...I was just having to much fun being in new places, meeting new people and constantly feeling like the new guy in town....because I was.

After I found myself at Cody Lake campgrounds, I had a chance to reevaluate what I might do from there..I spent two nights there, and enjoyed my time there very much. It was nice to have a chance to relax abit. I decided to take a train to my next destination: Lexington, KY where I had arranged to stay with my good friend Tom McCleese's Grandfather and his Cousin Paul.

I had an amazing time in Kentucky. That part of the country is truly amazing. The rolling hills and the rich, deep history that extends back to the beginning of our country fascinates me to no ends.

Tom's Pawpaw and his Cousin Paul were very kind to allow me to crash for several days as I saw the sights and arranged my next move. After talking to Paul and his friend Nick, I decided to take a flight from Lexington into Ft Myers, FL. They had informed me of an airline that offered cheap flights into Florida, and at that point, my road cash was seemingly disappearing day by day...so I decided to just get there as opposed to spending alot more time, and money, to get there..

flying is cool....blah blah blah blah.....

(I really do enjoy flying, but whatever I would write would just come off either all "it's so amazing, flying through the clouds, and all the people look like ants, and they even let me into the cockpit to take pictures, and it was so awesome".....or......it would come off all "fuck airliners for their offensive use of fossil fuels")

I took me alot less time than I had originally planned, but I think I really got exactly what I needed to from the whole trip to Florida. I saw alot of great places, met alot of very kind and generous people, and pushed myself a little bit to do something I have always told myself that I would do again, travel.

Next Posting....FLORIDA BITCHES!!!!!!  

THIS.PLACE.IS.AMAZING.


much love.,

KCL

after packing up my gear at van buren state park, i headed towrds Findlay, OH to try to find another camping spot for the next night...i got to findlay right around 4pm and biked around town a bit, snapping some pictures of the local sights, and grabbing a bite to eat at Wilson's , which was reccomended by a local as having good cheap food...the place was a bit odd i found, and felt more like a cafeteria than a diner, but the coneydog and fries were awesome and i had a great conversation about traveling with one of the patrons...shortly thereafter i found a great coffeeshop with wifi where i grabbed a red eye and hung out for awhile as i tried to find my next spot to pitch my tent.

i spent that night in a campground just north of findlay called shadylake campgrounds, and let me tell you what the name suited the place...i did manage to talk to owner of the establishment into giving me a discounted price, as i would be leaving first thing in the morning, and also talked him into selling me a couple natty lights to help me fall asleep. the place was not maintained at all it seemed and was filled with the variety of people that made me not want to leave my tent, as i had alot of gear that i was afraid may not be there when i returned..so i stayed in the tent all night, which i dont believe was a big loss as the campgrounds werent very much to look at in the first place...

leaving shadylakes the next morning i biked through findlay once again as i made my way towards Lima, OH for the next leg of the journey...this days biking was not as easy as the others had been previously...it seems as thought my body is not what it used to be and that my back was not agreeing with the weight of my backpack very much at all..i took my time to get to lima, and stopped at many a place on the way...i stopped at a farm , where a younger looking man was washing his John Deere tractor for a show he was going to the following day...i asked if i could bother him for some cold tap water to fill my wtaer bottles with, as i hadnt seen too many places up until that point..the man's name was josh and he was very kind and talkative and was more than happy to fill my water bottles. random encounters like that is what roadtripping is all about in my book, strangers doing kind things for strangers. after talking with josh for awhile and resting, i got back on the road and headed towards Pandora, OH which was on the way to lima..

in pandora, i stopped at a grocery store/gas station right on route 12 which was about 10 miles away from lima..

thats where i met rick morrison...

he saw me in front of the store resting and munching on some lunch and asked where i was heading...as it turns out, he passed me earlier that moring in findlay and felt as though there was a reason we had run into eachother again...he was a very religious man as i came to find out and sat and talked to me for quite some time as i rested. we atlked about a great deal of things, mostly pertaining to his faith and belief in jesus christ as his saviour...

he insisted on giving me twenty dollars, he said god put him there with me for a reason, and that he would never forget our encounter..i told him i couldnt take his money but thanked him very much for the thought..but rick was quite insistant..so , sheepishly and very thankfully i accepted his gift...he was a very good man with an amazing heart and i dont think that i will forget him anytime soon...i snapped his picture, as i had been doing with mostly everyone that i encountered along the way and gave him my name so he could find me online and follow along with my travels and snag the photo i took of him. after thanking him once again and giving him a nice man hug, i made my way down the road towards lima...

just before reaching lima, i saw a garage/mechanic shop open and decided to see if i could fill my water bottles once again...the owner of the garage was working on his son's truck with his son and was very kind and offered me a two liter of water which he kept in his fridge, this was very kind...i sat there talking to them for at least a half hour before i thanked them and made my way to lima.

about four miles south of lima , there is a campground called cody lake...this place is heaven.

i rode my bike into the driveway and walked to the office where i met the owner of the campgrounds, beth...she was a very cool woman who had bought the place from here parents in the late 90's from her parents, who had established the place in '72.

as soon as i enetered the campgrounds, i knew i was in the right spot...there were families everywhere and kids were swimming in the lake having a great time...everyone there was very friendly and welcoming.

The Great American Quest!!!!!!!

well, im doing this!  left wyandotte around 11am or so weds and arrived in toledo ohio right around 4pm where My good friend Fred Mundt came by to pick me up for the night..Fred and his wife , Kristy, were very gracious in accepting me for the night and showing me around town...toledo is a pretty cool place, Fred and i drove around downtown toledo til around 4am weds night...we had such a good time. it was very nice meeting his wife and his amazingly adorable daughter Riley, who is a very willing model i came to find out...

upon waking up thursday, Fred and i decided to do some more sightseeing around town during the day...he drove me all around the toledo area as we caught up and had some great conversations. sometimes, it doesnt matter how much time has passed between friends...things just pick up right where they left off. Fred has a great family and life in toledo, and i was very thankful and happy to share that with him while i was there.

after Fred and i toured around town a little bit more , he had to get to work...so i started getting my things gathered and packed up, when he told me he was going to take me as far as bowling green, so that my days bike ride wouldnt be that bad, which helped tremendously, a half hour car ride is a two to three hour bike ride, so any rides i can muster are always appreciated greatly.

upon arriving into the van buren state park just south of bowling green, i discovered a family camping next to my site with several horses whom i quickly struck up a friendship with...Rick, Tina and Britney Brand were traveling around with their horses and enjoying riding them around the state of ohio..they were very kind to invite me to hang out over a campfire later that night...an offer that i definitely accepted...when traveling, i find that i talk to as many people as i possibly can. i like the interaction...and, most of the time i find some extremely good people in doing so...i enjoyed a very nice night with the Brand Family over a couple beers and a nice campfire...it was a great night.

upon waking up, the sounds of rain and nature overtook me...it was amazing. there is alot to be said of being amongst the elements of nature, at least for me there is...i started to get myself together and woken up, and was invited over to the Brand Family campsite to enjoy a nice cooked breakfast and some very appreciated coffee(as i only brought tea bags with me, coffee is too much hassle when you are travelling unfortunately, so that seriously made my day.) we all enjoyed a very nice morning with french toast and ham and some great conversations. the rain eventually passed us by for the moment and the sun and the sounds of nature resumed...and i started to head towards Lima, my destination for day 3 of the great american quest.

more to come as time passes......much love, as always!

video blog 7-21-2011..one day late...lol

video blog 7-19-2011

link to the FaceBook invite for the get-together at 

My Place Bar and Grill

Friday , July 22nd 2011:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=142038329208715

There was also this article which was published online about me, which I was very thankful for:

http://wyandotte.patch.com/articles/wyandotte-artist-to-sell-paintings-at-the-grind

ok, Blog time....

So, for those who do not know, I am displaying my artwork and photography at The Grind Coffeeshop (in Wyandotte on Biddle Ave) for the Art Fair this year. I am very happy to be doing so, it has taken me 20+ years to get comfortable with the idea of showing it publicly, and as well - to be confident enough in my work to be able to do so. I am very proud of the work I have on display and feel as though it is an excellent representation of my creative endeavors. If you haven't already, please come down and take a look and let me know what you think, as I am very eager to get feedback on it all.

Also, a recent development has made it possible to have my artwork and photography on display all year round at The Grind Coffeeshop. It will also be available for sale year round. The work there may rotate as time goes by and as things get purchased...so pop in from time to time to get the best coffee and espresso in town, and take a gander on the walls for my stuff.

Here are some pics of what is currently up on the walls at The Grind:

(SOLD!!!)

I may not be able to play the guitar very well, but I can play it well enough to put something like this together on my computer...I programmed and arranged everything myself...and played the guitar samples being looped..

"Why Can't I play Guitar Dammit?!!?"

I think that this is a question everyone reaches at some point in their lives...the answer in my case is quite obvious unfortunately....I never took the time to truly learn how to play...and I hear that really helps...

Bike is MIA...but i was given a replacement?!?!

i remember thinking, ' i should go for a walk, looks like its done raining...'...lol

...and there was a river running down my street...