Adding to your folklore

"What do you do when you've got nothing to do? Grow lemons. Germinate them by hand. Become a farmer of big-ass monster-sized lemons. Add it to your folklore."

-Keith Richards

We all have our own personal folklore - a listing of crazy things we've done, wide ranges of strange, interesting, and out of the ordinary. The guy at the store counter who boxes on the weekends. Your co-worker who runs an illegal sports booking agency in the basement of his uncle's restaurant. The electrical engineer who fronted a punk band back in his 20's, and rejoined the band when he took early retirement. (That being James Williamson, guitarist for Iggy & the Stooges. His story still cracks me up.)

This being the end of the year, I'm seeing all sorts of articles on websites about "How to Improve for 2011!!!!!!!" and such. Better finances, better job, better quads...etc. Lots and lots of advice that always seems to come around every year.

For my how to improve for 2011, I'm going to consider my folklore. I've had a pretty good run so far - an odd and eclectic range of stuff I've done, lots of different friends (though in the age of Facebook, I do a piss-poor job of keeping in touch), and an odd array of skills from all the experiences.

But what brought me thinking about it again was talking with a substitute teacher who has also led a very eclectic life. He asked me if I felt "limited" being a librarian, and I told him I didn't - as a librarian, I am a licensed "professional dabbler". I am expected to be a font of odd information and to know a wide range of different things.

Lately, I've been doing very little dabbling and a lot of healing. I now have a space I'm almost happy with, back in a job I'm learning to enjoy again, and making peace with the consequences of past actions that will not be changing in the forseeable future. So it is time to look forward to 2011, and what I can add to my folklore.

I've been listening to Mr. Richards and his fine album "Exile on Main St." a lot lately. Right now the album is wrapping up on what I thought was always the natural ending - "Shine a Light". Mick Taylor's soaring solos, and the other Mick wishing favor on the listener "May the Good Lord shine a light on you - like the evening sun."

So I'll take Mick's evening sun, and I'll hope to add to the folklore. I have some ideas, but I'm feeling optimistic that whatever happens, 2011 will be an adventure.