The Pursuit part III

The Pursuit part III

Arty stood in the entry way of the church waiting for the funeral service to be over. It was a bright fall day. The sun pierced through the dying trees and made them almost glow with color. Bright reds and oranges burning against the blue, cloudless sky. His wife stood next to him, although she would have rather been in a separate room. It was Arty’s fault that her son was left to die in the woods. She couldn’t believe that he would just leave his son like that, how he could be so careless. But there was no point in making it known to everybody how she felt. It was easier to pretend for the time being. She would never tell Arty what she thought either; she would just become more and more distant. That would be his punishment, an increasingly miserable home life. Maybe he would die next, that would be true justice.
Arty knew if wasn’t his fault, but couldn’t help but feel that it was. Had they stayed at the cabin a few days longer instead of going home maybe they could have found him. They stayed two weeks longer than they had planned. Everyday they went in search of his son, trying to find any sign of him. Search groups had been called in. It felt as if they had searched the entire forest. In reality they only covered a small portion. The experts had made a graph and created boundaries. “He couldn’t go any further than this,” they would say. He knew they were wrong. Graphs can’t account for reality. Anything is possible. The closest they came to finding him was a deer carcass that looked as though it had been gutted with a knife. It may have been the deer they had been looking for in the first place.
“Whenever you’re looking for something you always end up finding something else, and it’s never something better.” Arty mumbled to himself as he walked out of the church. Everybody else had gotten into their cars and waited to follow the hearse holding the empty casket out to the cemetery. Arty stood alone under the fire red leaves of the trees outside of the church. His wife sat in the car crying quietly, waiting for the husband she couldn’t forgive to drive her to the cemetery to her son’s grave. The casket was hoisted into the hearse. Arty made his way towards his car. He wished they would have at least found the body. At least then he could have said goodbye.


He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he had burned the maps. After it had rained everything was wet and the only thing he could find to burn was the paper in his bag. It had started burning when he realized what he had used to start the fire. Panic set in, he tried to grab at the maps and he burned his hand. They were useless now. He was as good as dead.
He didn’t stray far from the deer at first. It was a source of food, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill it. He needed to wait for it to die. He would have had no trouble shooting it from yards away, but up close, it was too real. The deer stared at him with fear in its eyes. It shook and tried to get up. This creature was so strong not very long ago, but now it is helpless. It felt wrong to not give it a chance. So he waited. Once it died he took some meat and stood over it. He wondered how old it was, if it had ventured very far from this area of forest, and if it understood what was happening to it once that bullet hit. He imagined that it didn’t.
After the maps had been burned it was day after day of looking for a stream or any sounds to follow. He didn’t know what to do in this situation so all he could do was try something, anything, to find his way back. At night he would try to find the North Star, but the clouds covered everything. It was black. It was hopeless. Try as he might he could never find what he was looking for. It was always one ravine after another, surrounded by inextinguishable landscape. Everything blended together, and worked perfectly together. He was amongst the perfection of nature, but he struggled because he was not part of it. He no longer understood how it worked and so could not participate in its perfection. The only way he could contribute is in death. His body would bring life to the undergrowth by decaying. He continued to search for home.
He ate whatever he could. It was not long before he was out of ammunition and could no longer hunt. He drank from tiny streams and rain water. He was able to step into nature every once in a while, borrow what he needed and become an outsider again. He could still never be a part of it. He tried all he could to learn from it.
Eventually he found the way. He could not say how.
He stood outside of the cabin where his father had worried and cried over the loss of his son. He stood outside of the cabin and saw that there were no lights on. No one was there. Just an empty box buried deep in nature. A human attempt at becoming a part of the perfection. He stood outside. He knew there was a phone inside. He would go in, pick it up and call home. “I’m going to be fine.” He’d tell them.

picking over the carcass

One moment the scene is calm. There are remains all over the place. A few choice bits, but not enough for everyone. So that means the quick get a bite while the slow must fend for themselves.

Once the scent is picked up there is a flurry of activity. Jockeying for position the predators push and shove there way to the meal. They don't have much time, a chance like this doesn't happen everyday. Not in this barren wasteland. They maintain social order as they mangle the leftovers.

Within minutes there is nothing left. A few stragglers, who gained knowledge of the feast seconds too late, amble by trying to pretend that they didn't show up for the food. They're just on their way to the copier.

these are not vultures. these are desperate office people trying to get a bit of free leftover food from a meeting. i was one of them, i took two plates. it was worth it.

it's sad when that is the most exciting part of your day. free cold leftovers.

i voted. i hope everyone else did too.

dylan

i miss my brother.

i miss my role model.

i miss my friend.

i miss my band mate.

i know he's not dead. i still miss him.

on a side note i miss kitcar. i had some the best times of my life in that band and it is pretty hard to believe that it is over. Rest In Peace Kitcar.

best of luck to mackenzie too.

i'm really getting tired of wasting eight hours of my life everyday.

a temporary sign off

i realize that i haven't written in a while. it has been very busy: a new job, moving, and my van battery slowly dying. The schultz household has been a flurry of activity, some good, some stressful, but all moving towards beneficial changes for both of us.

so that being said, with the move (and qwest not being offered at our new apartment complex) we will be without reliable internet usage. i will not be able to write for a little while but know that i am cooking stuff up. new job, move, the next episode of 'the pursuit'. so until then . . . i hope all is well and God bless.

adam and maria

e. e. cummings 95 Poems, 77

i am a little church(no great cathedral)

far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities

--i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,

i am not sorry when sun and rain make april

my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;

my prayers are prayers of earth's own clumsily striving

(finding and losing and laughing and crying)children

whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness

around me surges a miracle of unceasing

birth and glory and death and resurrection:

over my sleeping self float flaming symbols

of hope,and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains

i am a little church(far from the frantic

world with its rapture and anguish)at peace with nature

--i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;

i am not sorry when silence becomes singing

winter by spring,i lift my diminutive spire to

merciful Him Whose only now is forever:

standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence

(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)

a trip through time

friends, i am very sorry it has been so long since i have written. i have been recuperating from an other worldly excursion of monumental scale. my dear friends i have just returned from the past. yes, we went on a trip through time. my body, and more importantly, my mind needed time to recover some sense of normalcy before i would be able to convey any of what we experienced in this most unusual holiday. i think my concept of reality and time has been altered permanently and from here forth i will not be the man who you once knew . . . i will be a little heavier. here begins my tale.


This tale starts normally enough. we had planned on going on a trip to celebrate an anniversary for some good friends of ours to wisconsin dells, wisconsin. we all met at the place where maria and i live and headed out on the long road to the dells. upon entering wisconsin a strange fog began to descend and it was starting to become hard to see. it was a dense fog, one that brought strange events that i will never be able to forget or explain. after the fog lifted things were different.

we arrived in wisconsin dells but it seemed that we entered into a time long forgotten instead of the time in which we lived, the medieval era. the first place we stopped was a place of torture.

we witnessed the ways in which both the guilty and innocent were punished and it was beyond our belief. some of the most horrific things in human history were done to man by man and we saw them first hand. there was one where a person was hung upside down and a saw was placed at this persons groin and they were sawed in half until they died, which usually didn't happen until the saw reached the navel or chest. some of us enjoyed it more than others, see above picture, and as far as i know steve is now planning on a career in corrections.

we then traveled forward in time into the time of pirates. another dangerous situation that we had to endure.

the girls made a mistake right away and insulted the captains boots and they were placed in these restraints. after they had spent their time and the captain was pleased in their punishment the ship sailed on . . . towards high seas shinanigans! we sailed to the island of wisdelsin in search of an ancient treasure. there we were confronted with 18 tasks that we had to complete before we could see the gold, and if we failed we would perish.

with the tasks completed, my mind is too foggy and i cannot remember what the tasks were, we recieved the treasure and became honorary pirates.

the next day we awoke to a great downpour and something came through the rain to pick us up . . . it was noah's ark! we had gone back to the days of the bible! for fear that we would be drowned amongst the sinners we decided to board the vessel and sail. we were at noahs ark for what felt like 40 days and nights, and we all we overcome by the sun and burned as the ship sailed. the rain and water whipped us around and the waves crashed into us. it was actually alot of fun, even though some of it was nerve wracking at the time. in our haste to board the vessel we forgot our cameras so there is no visual record of these events.

the next day we awoke in a vast forrest and heard songs drifting from a small wooded shanty. as we walked towards the sounds we saw that we were in a small lumberjack camp back when the land was still wild and unsettled. we had a damn good breakfast with these hard working gentelmen of pancakes, eggs, sausage, ham, potatoes, donuts, juice, and coffee.

we ate far too much.

after we left the breakfast hall we discovered an unknown history, one that would rock this nation to its very core.

in the past aliens had abducted the white house and placed back on the earth upside down. this was remedied by the white house being rebuilt in washington d.c. and everything to do with this other incident was kept top secret, but we discovered these ruins of the original white house.

we learned that the aliens have been constructing our presidents as robots from the beginning. that was about it, but upon exiting the ruins some amatuer chose the incorrect path and a bomb went off destroying all evidence. i will continue to tell of this true history, even if the government comes after me.

so stressful was this ordeal that we had to have a cigarette.


but as we smoked gerrit went back in time further and channeled the missing link, apeman before homosapien. so many truths were revealed to us on this trip that i cannot fathom what else could be so dramtically different than what we have been taught.

maria and i then continued on our trip while the others decided that had experienced enough revalation. in the interest of exploration and learning maria and i drove on. we arrived at a huge metropolis in which many things would be learned. the first place we went was a place where the waters of the earth still teamed with ancient beautiful creatures that were wild and untamed.

here is one of the ancient creatures we witnessed.



soon after that picture was taken it ate somebody. we went further into this wilderness and saw some beautiful creatures that have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years, sharks. standing there watching them swim through the glinting light of the sun i experienced a truly emotional feeling. admiration, adoration, awe, and inspiration flowed over me as they swam smoothly through the inky water. i felt a connection to creation at that point and actually choked up a little bit. sharks are one of the most magnificant creatures on God's earth. after we left there we rested in anticipation of what might come tomorrow.

we awoke in a world of magic, witches, wizards, talking beasts, and song. it was a marvelous sight and maria and i reveled in the spectacle. mostly maria, this has been a life long goal for her and she was able to achieve it.

we also wandered the city and took in some of the historical art work and architecture. here are some of the highlights.

maria in front of the ancient skyline.



a couple scenes from the heart of the historical city.

a (relatively) modern day tower of babel.

the next day maria and i traveled back towards minnesota unsure if we would return to modern day or stay in the past. we hoped for our own times but i think a little part of us both wanted to see things as they were back when this land was in control, not the other way around. but as we drove and got closer and closer to minnesota the fog began to fall again. i got my camera out to record it but the fog did not work in the photographs. but as we drove through the fog we felt very peculiar and i took pictures of our faces to document. these are how they turned out.

as we travelled forward in time our faces became distorted and returned to normal when we arrived in the present, well maria's did (mine still looks a little odd). after we got into our apartment we were unsure that what we experienced was truly real. did this all really happen? had we really traveled back in time and seen all of these historical truths come to life? how would we know? who would believe us?

we both needed rest, so we laid down and the next morning we awoke to something sitting on our coffee table. it was a photograph taken in the old west. we stared in disbelieve at the evidence of our backwards time travel. this was the proof . . . we had gone back in time and returned. we will always remember this trip through time with fondness. here is the proof.

vacation

maria and i are going to be taking a much needed vacation. first we are going to wisconsin dells with the plantages, matt wulff, and steve kohlmann. that will be sweet. then on to chicago for a little "just the two of us" vacation. thanks to the united states government for funding the vacation with its generous economic stimulus package. i will send president bush a post card.

i'll let you know how the trip goes when we return. we are very excited to get some time away from our jobs and the twin cities. it has been awhile.

root beer

these root beer's are the best. following these root beer's would be culver's, mug, and barqs (in that order). if only root beer was required for human survival, like water.

a quick bit of advice:

if anyone ever asks you if you would be willing to take the responsibility of balancing and adding money to an ATM weekly, say NO.

it'll save you alot of stress.

jaws

i just finished reading "Jaws" by peter benchley recently and i really enjoyed it. i know it probably seems contrary to my great love for sharks that i would read and enjoy a book that succeeded in vilifying sharks to many people. but i think that it actually did not do that.

granted there are times when the shark seems to be pure evil, eating a little boy on a raft, maniacally attacking the orca as it sinks, and so forth. but i do think that the book does a decent job of presenting an alternative viewpoint. the viewpoint that sharks are not evil by nature, they are just predators by nature. there is a character that actually has a reverence for the shark: hooper.

hooper is the marine biologist, ichthyologist to be exact (one who studies only fish). in the movie richard dreyfuss plays him. in the book he is certainly pro-shark, he is amazed by them, he sees them as the perfect predator, he views them with respect. while all the other characters around him cry out for the death of the shark he is the alternate view point, the voice of reason against revenge. the unfortunate part is i am not sure that we are supposed to side with hooper. one of the things they cut out of the movie was hopper's affair with chief brody's wife, ellen. this makes hooper unlikable in the book, and unsympathetic character. we are not supposed to identify with him and agree with his viewpoint.

but i do. putting the affair aside hooper was able to straddle the line of respect and concern for human life with scientific curiosity and respect for the fish.

and i am not so sure that we are supposed to identify with quint either. the ahab character that constantly crosses lines of dignity to achieve his goals. he poached an unborn dolphin to use as bait and gutted a blue shark just to watch it eat its own entrails and watch other sharks eat it. this kind of disregard for any type of life is repellant as well. i think benchley was trying to bring us to a sort of middle ground with brody.

brody is obviously the main focus. it is his famliy and thoughts that are focused on in the book. we are emotionally connected to brody more than any other character, and he does show both feelings about the shark on different occasions. but regardless of how the characters feel about the shark, what did the most damage to the image of the shark was the pure fear that benchley made us feel about the ocean.

he made it seem like these attacks, though rare, always ended in death. the shark always seemed to be targeting whatever it saw and had no discerning taste what-so-ever when it came to prey. we know now that great whites mostly eat seals and sea-lions because they are high in blubber content. the white shark is essentially warm blooded. it uses the high fatty content of its food to produce heat in its body so it can swim in cold waters. very rarely is a human ever eaten by a shark, we may be tested every now and again, but rarely devoured, if at all. but a shark performing a taste test does not make for good pulse pounding fear or drama.

benchley was informed in part by a documentary called "blue water, white death" which i just watched again recently. it is an acount of one film crew's journey to be the first to film a great white shark. it was made in 1971 and though we still know very little about the great white, it seems they knew even less back then. it is interesting to see how far we have come. the film has some great shots and is very interesting. but it is hard sometimes to watch the divers punch sharks that don't seem to have any intention of causing harm. at one point the female diver, valerie taylor, appears to swim up to a shark and shoot it with a boom stick, a sort of underwater gun, just to see what happens. it shoots the shark with a projectile and the shark swims in circles struggling into the deep until it disappears and most likely dies. this was the time period in which the book was written and it shows.

benchley became a huge advocate for sharks and i do respect him a great deal. and regardless of whether or not i believe his book did more harm than good it is still a fun read. the stigma that "jaws" brought upon sharks has yet to be completely lifted but i do think that it did make people interested and fascinated by sharks as well. when i first saw the film i fell in love with sharks . . . it will always be one of my all time favorite movies. and though it does seem to have done some harm, it worked in an opposite way too, and i am very thankful for that. plus it is just plain entertaining.

i will leave you with a quote from the book that pretty much sums up how i feel . . .

"that fish is a beauty, it's the kind of thing that makes you believe in a god. it shows you what nature can do when she sets her mind to it." -hooper

The Pursuit: part two

Chad and Jake stopped walking long enough to put their rain gear on.
“Arty, you should really put your parka on. The rain is really coming down.” Chad didn’t like to call his father-in-law “Dad”. Since his own father passed away it felt like he was replacing him. Arty just grunted and put the ear flaps down on his hat. A little rain wasn’t going to hurt him, he had survived much worse than this. When he was ten he fell through the ice on the creek behind the farm. As his clothes grew heavy with water he sank slowly to the bottom, it felt like knives pierced every inch of his body, and as the current flowed he moved further away from the opening and under the ice. Before he passed out he could see blurred figures struggling to break the ice, to set him free. The next thing he remembered was being covered in blankets in front of the fireplace. Surviving that gave him the ability to assess true risk, if he survived falling through the ice, he could survive rain and the cold that might follow.
“Are you sure we should go back to the cabin without Ethan? Will he know to go back?” Chad asked.
“I’d be surprised if he wasn’t there when we get there.” Arty said. “He’s got the maps, he knows where to go.”
“Sure.” The drumming of the raindrops on the leaves drowned out any other sound that floated in to them. The faintest of yells did not register. Neither Chad nor Jake heard anything because the sound of the rain was amplified by the hoods on their raincoats. Arty stopped for a moment and turned. He motioned for the others to stop and listen. They stood frozen listening for anything other than the rain. No other sound waves could pass between the drops and they went unheard. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

A walk gone in a new direction

As you might figure out eventually this isn't Adam writing...it's his wife. Why you might ask? Because I have a story to tell, so listen up!


Adam and I wanted to go for a walk tonight, but we didn't want to walk in our neighborhood, so we decided to go to our favorite place to walk in Roseville, Central Park. As we were driving there we noticed some commotion going on. At first I thought it was an accident because there were lights and an ambulance and a barricade. But no! It was a PARADE!!! My little heart skipped a beat. I LOVE PARADES!! I've been kind of bummed because Adam and I won't be able to go see the Albert Lea 3rd of July parade this year and I really wanted to see a parade. Apparently this week is RoseFest which is kicked off with a parade!


I did have a few complaints with the parade however. A) The people refused to throw candy to me. Okay so i realize that i am not a kid but adults like candy just as much as children do! B) Marching bands that just march to clicks...lame! C) Princesses that aren't really princesses of anything but are allowed to sit on a moving vehicle and wave to people on the street D) Marching bands that sing instead of playing their instruments. There were at least 2 bands we saw out of 5 that sang as part of their performance. The only band I was somewhat impressed with was the Champlain Park band...they played Fiddler on the Roof which was pretty good. It made me miss the days of sweating in the wool uniforms and rolling my feet.



Overall it was an evening walk well spent. We got to be part of our city's parade, people watch, and be a marching band judge. Thanks for listening!


Maria


P.S.
I want a house

a couple quick frustrations

first of all, i have been listening to KDWB and Beat 96 recently and have noticed something that really bothers me (it's not just the music in general). Now that T-Pain (probably spelled T-Payne, but i'm not going to do the research) came onto the hip-hop scene and used that stupid voice modulator on every single song to hide the fact that he can't really sing now the entire hip-hop community has taken to using it constantly. it's like they just discovered this effect recently and now can't stop using it. kind of like when i was little and i discovered the armpit fart and couldn't stop doing it.

i used to hear that effect once in a while when someone wanted to sound like a robot or something but it is getting ridiculous. Every song, honestly, check it out. Kanye used it too.

secondly, maria and i went to church this morning and were greeted very nicely but had decided that we wanted to sit in the balcony. there wasn't anybody handing out bullitens by the stairs so we went to the gentleman that was standing at the doors to the floor level and took some bullitens. as we were walking back to go upstairs he said, "oh, going to be balcony bums today, huh?"

i thought this was extremely rude. he might have been trying to be funny but don't see what is so wrong about wanting to sit in the balcony once in a while. what makes a church service different from one floor to another? we sang the same songs, we said the same prayers, we listened to the same sermon, and we weren't the only people up there. let us worship on the floor of our choice please without the attitude.

i also don't like nice days in the cities because you have to fight crowds to get fresh air.

good night. i feel better.

i wanted to write something but couldn't come up with anything that i wanted to keep. hopefully the next part of "the Pursuit" will be posted soon.

i'm going to bed.

my life's calling

i was having a conversation with someone this past weekend and from that conversation came the inspiration for my life's calling. i finally know my purpose in life, the reason i was put here on earth, the reason i have been working at this horrible job at the bank for so long. all of that time working at the bank prepared me for my true career . . .

a male stripper.

and my theme? bank teller.

think about it. it is perfect. i can come onto the stage in full business casual. that would allow me to take off a necktie, and use that in imaginative ways. i could wear and belt and suspenders and really make the show interesting. once i got to the nitty gritty, i would be wearing briefs that read "deposit only","night deposit", or "$7 fee for cashiers checks" and the ladies, or guys, could slip the bills in. maybe i could print them a receipt somehow.

it would also work as a professional wrestling persona.

i would be "the bank teller" and i could perform such moves as the "check bounce" and the "big bill slam" (which could be moves for the strip club too, if you think about it). and before i finish off my opponent i could scream "You're overdrawn!" and slam him to the mat violently.

i feel as though there has been a great weight lifted now that i know my life's calling. now it is just a matter of filling out a g-string. . .

maybe i should go back to school.

grandpa marvin

i wish i could have met my grandpa Marvin (on my dad's side).
i have a feeling that he was an incredible person.
i have seen pictures, but i wonder what he sounded and acted like.
my dad is probably alot like him, which means that i would have liked him very much.
i wonder how much my dad misses him.
i imagine that Marvin had some pretty amazing stories to tell, i wish i could have heard them.
i think about this every now and again and wonder if i will meet him in the afterlife.

i don't know, but i really hope i do.

some things i have learned today

1. i don't like clogging the toilet, especially when the bowl runneth over.

2. when i re watched an episode of "the Blue Planet", the seasonal seas episode, i was reintroduced to a shark that i know little about but is very interesting. the Porbeagle Shark, or Salmon Shark, which is a shark in the mackerel family. Here, I'll let you learn for yourself . . .

The porbeagle is a member of the group known as the mackerel sharks--Isuridae or Lamnidae--probably the most notorious of all shark families. There are only three genera, Carcharodon, Lamna, and Isurus, but in these genera can be found three of the most well-known sharks ever to swim the seas: the mako, the great white, and the extinct Megalodon. All these sharks have enough in common to classify them as a single family: they share the same fusiform, tapered shape, and the same pointed snout. They all have laterally flattened caudal keels (although the porbeagle has a secondary caudal keel as well), their tails are almost equally lobed and muscular, and they have an insignificant second dorsal fin. They all swim stiffly, flexing only the tail that is strengthened by the muscular keels, and they are capable of incredible speed. Some say the mackerel sharks are the fastest animals in the sea.

The porbeagle has several common names, including mackerel shark, bonito shark, and salmon shark, derived from its preying upon, rather than its resemblance to, these fishes. The value of Linnean binomial nomenclature is obvious in a situation like this; in one location it's a porbeagle, in another it's a salmon shark, and off the coast of Maine, it's a bluedog. If it's a shark with a conical snout, sharp, narrow teeth, a symmetrical tail, and a double keel at the base of the tail, it's Lamna nasus. That's if it's found in the Atlantic. If it's found in the Pacific, it is Lamna ditropis, the Pacific porbeagle. Ditropis, by the way, means "double keel," and nasus means nose, both of which refer to the salient characteristics of the species. This double keel is unique to the genus Lamna. The upper, wide keel is similar to that of the other mackerel sharks, but the second and smaller keel, located on the lower lobe of the tail fin itself, occurs only in the porbeagles.

There is no problem in differentiating the porbeagle and the great white--the white is usually lighter in color (but not white), while the porbeagle is usually a dark bluish or brownish gray above, fading to white below. It is often makos that are mistaken for porbeagles, but the mako is a more slender fish, and it is a rich blue color above. The porbeagle also has a white patch at the posterior base of the dorsal fin.

The teeth of the mackerel sharks are interesting for reasons other than their use as a genus determinant. Most sharks have teeth that differ in the upper and lower jaws. This differentiation is based on the separate functions that the jaws perform. The lower teeth are often narrower and more pointed, and they are used to pierce and hold the prey, while the broader serrated upper teeth are protruded, and the head is twisted, thus removing a bite of flesh. In other words, the sawlike edges of the upper teeth function as a knife, while the lower teeth serve to hold the prey, much in the manner of a person carving a roast with a knife and fork. (This arrangement presupposes a prey animal too large to be engulfed in one gulp.) In the jaws of the mako and the porbeagle, both the upper and lower teeth are narrow and smooth-edged, which would indicate that both sets are used for grasping and that the prey is swallowed whole. This is borne out by many studies of the stomach contents of mackerel sharks, which show many fish more or less undamaged, except for the stablike puncture wounds made by the teeth. The teeth of the porbeagle are pointed and narrow, and they differ from those of the mako by the presence of small cusps on either side of each tooth.

Porbeagles are pan-oceanic, having been reported in the North Atlantic, the North Sea, off England, Scotland, Iceland, Newfoundland, New England, and from corresponding latitudes in the southern hemisphere. All the porbeagles can be characterized as temperate or even coldwater species. This is one of the reasons that there have been no documented attacks on swimmers; even though the porbeagle is certainly capable, there are just not very many people in the waters where the porbeagle lives.

Given its illustrious relatives, it is no wonder that the porbeagle has been given short shrift. The shark with the funny name has not been incriminated in unprovoked attacks on humane and it does not perform elaborate high jinks when it is hooked. It may appear to be the poor relation of the more flamboyant mackerel sharks, but it is a full member of the family, a swift and capable hunter. The porbeagle is not as deadly as the white or as graceful as the mako, but it is among the fastest swimmers in the sea, and therefore it ranks at the very peak of the food chain. It is the "top predator" in its own territory.

Source: The Book of Sharks by Richard Ellis

thanks for learning with me.

coming soon: The Pursuit: Part Two

The Pursuit: Part One

The Pursuit: by adam schultz


We stepped into the clearing. That is where the blood trail had led us. The four of us had our safeties on and our rifle barrels pointed into the sky. The grass was up to our knees and we brushed through it carelessly. It did not matter, nature was our domain, and we were its masters. The trees groaned as the cold wind cut a path through them. Leaves fluttered to the ground and fell soundlessly on the ground and on us. We casually brushed them off and continued to search for the wounded buck. I looked over to my dad, who bent down and looked at the blades of grass for any trace of blood.
“Do you see anything, dad?” I said softly. He shook his head and stood back up. We all stopped and spun in place to see if we could spot any sign of the buck at all. It was nearing sunset and as the dying light filtered through the leaves, it was hard to make out anything but branches. We examined and dismissed any movement we saw.
“We lost him.” My brother-in-law, Chad, said. He squatted and rested his gun on his knees. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead in disappointment. “He was big, too.” Chad looked over at his son, Jake, who was itching a poison ivy rash he acquired earlier in the day. “It’s going to bleed if you keep itching that.” Jake rolled his eyes and stopped itching. My dad walked over to the tree line to our right and stopped at the edge peering in as if he was looking through a foggy window.
“Let’s go back to the cabin.” I said. “We aren’t going to find him. It’s too dark and it’s too late.”
“You want to quit?” Dad said, turning quickly. The look on his face was calm but suggested frustration. There was a slight furrow to his brow and he didn’t blink. He walked into the forest. Chad smirked, stood up, and began following my dad. He motioned Jake to follow them. Jake groaned and itched at his ivy rash. The three of them disappeared into the trees and became shadows and snapping twigs.
I stood there alone. Leaves drifted slowly around me, swirling in the wind. I looked right, left, and then back towards the cabin. I was too far away to see it but I knew it was there and I knew it would be warm. I could start a fire, make dinner, read a book, and go to bed. I would be content to stay in the cabin for the rest of the trip. I wanted to go back to the cabin. But, I had the maps. They might get lost if I left them. I needed to go with them.
Then, I realized that I had lost sight of them. I couldn’t hear their steps anymore. I strained to listen. Silence. I squinted into the trees to see any movement. All I saw was leaves falling and the gentle sway of the trees in the wind. I began to walk in the direction that they had gone. I hoped that eventually I would be able to hear them again. They couldn’t have gone far.
I stomped through the brush as loudly as I could hoping to get their attention. I yelled out for them but I didn’t receive any answers. The sun was dipping below the horizon now and it was beginning to get cloudy. I imagined them lost, sitting in a cave somewhere calling out but no one hearing them. Jake itching his severe poison ivy rash blood running down his arm. Chad trying to make him stop itching while attending to dad, who has a bad heart and would be without his medicine in this stressful situation. Chad and Jake would most likely survive, but I don’t know about my dad. If they got lost I would be surprised if he survived until help arrived.
I began to run and yell even louder. I heard a groan to my left. I stopped and yelled again. The wind howled and the groan drifted to me again. I ran in the direction of the sound. The groan always seemed distant somehow, as if I was never going to reach it. The cold air stung my lungs as I heaved and ran faster. I kept yelling, and I kept thinking I heard a reply but in from a different direction. I assumed it was an echo. I was terrified that this groan was coming from my dad. I thought maybe dad had fallen and Chad took Jake to get help. “Someone should have stayed with him.” I muttered. It was louder now. I ran through a thicket of bushes and on the other side there he lay.
It was the buck, blood trickling from the wound in his side. I stood above the beast, amazed at how helpless even the most powerful can be sometimes. I yelled that I found the buck. Nothing but the wind and the shutter of the trees. That is when the first raindrop fell.

a thought while re-watching some classics

i have a feeling that there would be more peace in the world if we were all to sit down and enjoy some looney tunes cartoons together.

since war hasn't helped, why not try looney tunes?

that's all folks.

keith

yesterday maria and i met our across the hall neighbor, keith. this is not a picture of keith but it is a keith that i found on google images. keith is a proud owner of two cats and multiple cars, which tend to have damage done to them anonymously, which was how the conversation started. he asked if maria and i had heard anyone run into his vehicle between 7 am and 10:30 pm on Wednesday. we had not. and so began a 30 minute conversation covering a varying array of topics.

he explained to us, in detail, what has happened to each of his four or five cars and two garages in the 14 years he has lived in these apartments. alot of windows had been broken and some hit and run situations. his garage was broken into and ransacked as well, but nothing was really taken.

after he explained these things to us the conversation topic turned to the downfall of our neighborhood. apparently the apartment complexes across from us are a haven for illegal drug activity. a woman once asked him over and in the house she offered him drugs and sex, both of which he turned down. she had just ended a long relationship and he didn't want any drama.

in our own apartments there was a "raging lesbian" who would have "raging lesbian parties" with marijuana and drinking which were very loud. when he asked her to quiet the party down she was belligerent and cussed him out. there were some other instances of drug abuse on a massive scale but i don't remember the specifics.

not only drugs, but violence is escalating apparently too. last winter, or the winter before, a gentleman drowned his baby in a bucket of water. keith has heard many gunshots on several occasions as well. he also witnessed a biker beat another man to death with a tire iron. he called the police and they never showed up. he said that "the screams were the worst sounds he's ever heard."

there was a time when he wasn't living in our neighborhood and i am not sure, since the stories came quickly and out of chronological order, which ones actually happened in this area. i have never heard a gunshot and have never had any problems with drugs, violence, or loud parties. still, it was a little disconcerting.

other topics of conversation:
1. our landlords. apparently they are crooks and have kicked several old people out of the apartment building. one being disabled.

2. the female cat rules the roost while the male is a wuss.

3. his mistakes with women. he said he always went for the one who was "in skimpy clothes and as easy" or something to that affect. he said he didn't always make the best choices.

it was interesting talking to him, some of it kind of made me uneasy, but i think he needed to talk. he said he's on disability and is home all day. so he probably just needed some human interaction, which everyone needs. we've come a long way from the day he yelled at me for "slamming" my door.

(this was not "The Pursuit.")

coming soon: The Pursuit

looks like the Schultz clan will be inhabiting the metro area for an undetermined amount of time. we're happy about it.

abilities

"will there ever be a boy born that can swim faster than a shark?"

Gareth, from BBC's "The Office"

i have always liked this quote, for obvious reasons, it is funny and it has to do with sharks, but the last time i heard it made me think about something else. it made me think about my abilities. what skill do i have that i excel at? even abilities in general, about the abilities of those who surround me. how do these things make us stand out amongst this never ending sea of people trying to stand out themselves.

this boy, if he is ever born, would have an amazing swimming ability that would set him apart in an amazing way. just imagining someone racing a shark makes me wish it were me. but that would mean that i have to swim constantly and work harder on that than i am used to. but i don't think amazing ability is taught, there has to be something ingrained somehow. a gift of skill, maybe some physical or spiritual attribute that makes someone excel at something. if i were meant to be an incredible swimmer maybe i would be born hairless, that sort of thing. piano players with spindly fingers, tall basketball players, scientists with larger than normal brains. i can spot these things in others but very rarely do i spot it within myself.

i can listen to a CD and hear inspiration and skill, i can look at a painting and see that artistic touch that i never would have come up with, i can read a book and be blown away by the emotional depth or new idea that i never would have been able to create. i can look at my wife and see her incredible way with children, which leads logically to her being an amazing teacher. i can look at my brother and see his writing ability, which would lead him to be a great writer. i can look at most people and see their particular skill and see how that is going to guide them to a career in which they will excel. a career that will hopefully fulfill them and make them happy. then i try to look inward . . . and it doesn't go so well.

this is not meant to be a poor me blog. i am only saying that i struggle with seeing my own special skill, and i think that that is a normal thing. alot of people struggle to discover what they are truly good at. i think i dabble. i play the drums well, i write decently, i am a good bank teller, i work well with people. but i sometimes feel like i don't have a skill that takes me above and beyond. something that makes it obvious what i should be pursuing as far as my career. i am able to do alot of little things just well enough. where is that drive to be the best? what is holding me back from putting my whole effort into one of those things that i am okay at? i think i would feel a stronger push towards any one of these things if it was my calling. i just think that i haven't quite landed upon it yet. i know part of it, being a good and loving husband, and someday a father. i think i am developing those skills on a daily basis, and both are things that i want to be. but what about the rest of it? how am i to fulfill my career path?

i think i need to focus on what i am passionate about. i need to look into those things that make my heart skip alittle when i think about them. of course, this isn't that easy. sacrifices would be made, hard decisions come with it. it helps that maria and i are supports for each other. this time of transition is so difficult for everyone, i am just glad i am blessed to be with someone who will be a rock of support instead of one weighing be down. both of our families are there for us as well as our tight circle of friends. the problem is myself, my doubts and insecurities causing me to stay stagnant and fearful of really taking chances. nothing is gained if nothing is risked. i just pray that God will guide through with grace and love.

i still need to discover that one thing that i am passionate about doing, the place where i feel i could do some good, and pursue it regardless of the risks. hopefully i will succeed, even if i don't i will have learned something and will know that much more about what i would want to do. but, if i do succeed, i hope i understand that i am not the best at what i do, but that i do my very best.

i think i rambled a bit much, i am sorry. just to clarify, i do think that people aren't just boiled down to one skill. everyone has many different things that they are good at. but i do see that the one thing that people do excel at tends to be what they pursue as a career. so i guess that is where my mind was going with this. sorry. God bless.

not so great clips

i don't like getting my hair cut. waste of time.