Layered look

"A grownup is a child with layers on."

-- Woody Harrelson 

Self portrait 7-2-13

“... sometimes people keep parts of themselves hidden and secret,
sometimes wicked and unkind parts, but often brave or wild or colorful parts,
cunning or powerful or even marvelous, beautiful parts,
just locked up away at the bottom of their hearts.
They do this because they are afraid of the world and of being stared at,
or relied upon to do feats of bravery or boldness.” 

-- Catherynne M. Valente,

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There

“Everyone was made up of infinitely layered petals. 

And everyone had something indescribably precious at the heart of their being.
No one was shallow. 

Not really.” 

-- Mary Balogh, A Secret Affair

Past tense

“Time held no meaning as my mind darted in and out of memories. 

Past and present collided to create a full-sensory collage out of my life ...  

through it all, a demon stalked me from the shadows of my memories, 

never quite showing its face, but crouching, waiting."

                                                                                           -- Kimberly Kinrade, Forbidden Fire

Collage face 4-29-13

 

“... everything is illuminated in the light of the past. 

It is always along the side of us ... on the inside, looking out.” 

                                                                                               -- Jonathan Safran Foer

  “Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.” 

                                                                     -- Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

Am I missing something?

“There is an optical illusion about every person we meet.”
                                                                                                -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Arranged face with glasses, cutout eyes and mouth  4-13-13

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
                                                                                                  -- Henry David Thoreau 

Humor me

“Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light.”

                                                                                        -- Groucho Marx 

Self portrait 4-6-13

“I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.”

                                                                                  -- Maya Angelou

Self portrait (2) 4-6-13

I don't care how pretty you are.

I don't care how much money you make.

I don't care what you drive.

I don't care what you wear.

I don't care who you know.

I don't care what you do.

I don't care what you're worth.

I  don't care what you drink.

I don't care where you came from.

I don't care where you're going.

I don't care if you fancy girls, or boys, or both, or neither.

I don't care what you believe in.

I don't care if you don't believe in anything.

All I really care about is if you have a sense of humor.

Be it big, brassy, wry, subtle, droll, searing, intellectual, whatever -- 

If you can laugh with me, I'm sure to like you.

If you can laugh at yourself, we'll get along all the better.

Life is hard enough, serious enough, and painful enough already.

If we didn't laugh, we'd probably just cry our eyes out. 

So how about you turn that frown upside-down.
Come on.
Humor me.

I'm totally serious.