Road Rash

This title causes many of us to remember an incident (or many) where those two words were personally painful to us.

I was reliving my own road rash times as I looked at my old, now vintage Proline skateboard hanging in the garage. The days, weeks, months I tore it up in our old school way long before half pipes and empty swimming pools are fond memories. The pain and results of those days still linger though—not in bad ways, but in those “good ole days” ways.

I am in my sixties now, and my knees still have no hair on them from those days of scrapes, bruises, and painful walking.

Then came the days and weeks of healing. As the scabs would come—and the itching and the cracking of them—well, more pain of another kind… the pain of healing.

Reflecting back on all those memories, it strikes me that the pain of healing was what was needed at the right time.

Keeping the wound bandaged all the time made the process seem to take forever. But taking the bandage off every so often and letting the air and sunlight get to it… that seemed to help it along.

As kids, getting road rash was part of growing up. The scabs, the stiffness, the awkward walking—it all came with it.

It makes me wonder how many things in life are a little like that.

Not everything needs to be covered up all the time. Some things take their time… and need a little air and light along the way.

Somewhere in all that thinking, this space started to make a little more sense to me.

Life has been long. Not always easy, but full of its share of road rash along the way.

And over time, with a little air and a little light, things have a way of settling… healing… becoming something you can sit with.

Maybe that’s part of what this place is.

A quiet place to sit with the memories… and maybe look ahead a little too.

— Rooster Caswell

Something to hold onto: Title: Grace Notes Mug #1 — “It’s Okay Not to Be Okay” Double sided Mug