Introducing a New Writer on Our Sky Blog

Introducing a New Writer on Our Sky Blog

Kenny Grey The 4th House of Home has agreed to let me post some more of the writing he has sent me over the last couple of months.  We reconnected via internet this past March after being blown onto different paths at the end of high school 36 years ago.  I never knew Kenny very well- just saw him when he came in to Surfside Pavilion to get a drink or bite to eat when I worked behind the snack counter.  He was the coolest surfer on the beach which is saying a lot since Holden Beach was the coolest beach around.  It was a super place to be a teenager because it was just a beach with pinball machines, foosball, friendly waves and a fishing pier.  Ok there was also air hockey, put-put golf and a few pool tables.  The best parties were at the end of dirt roads hidden among live oaks and sand dunes. 

In the three summers I worked at the Pavilion I never learned anything about Kenny.  So when I made a day trip to visit him and his family this past March I was flabbergasted to see that he lived right near the boat houses that I had looked at countless times, and wondered about, whenever I crossed the bridge over the water way.  I also did not know that his favorite little league coach was a close friend of my parents; I only knew that Kenny was the surfer with the sunniest disposition who always treated others with respect and consideration.

It was a wonderful surprise to learn that Kenny writes, documenting his heritage as a native of Brunswick County.  In the last several weeks I’ve gotten to read about all the ways he has enjoyed the beach and waterways over the years with friends and family; he’s written about kayaking, surfing, camping around the state and family reunion fish fries to list just a few of the topics.

Today I'm posting a few paragraphs from an excerpt he sent from "the surfing diary", and I've sent him the 'keys' to the blog, so he can start posting at his convenience.  Aside from a brief introduction to his birth chart, Kenny is new to astrology.  I will be looking for ways that natural time is reflected in the themes of his posts and the moments he hits the publish button.  Welcome Kenny!

Excerpts from the surfing diary......

October 1994, just before Halloween...Steve Strutski and i are the only ones out, both of us on nine foot long boards. Perfect waist to chest glass, long rides, warm water and air. A great day with a good friend. Rescued a pelican who caught a surf fisherman's live bait and got hooked through his bill.  I was surprised how weak he was; obviously built to glide.

 ...Around September, 1995, we had several days of the most excellent waves, thanks to hurricane Luis passing by offshore. Big waves, some over head high, offshore winds and perfect glass made Holden Beach a surf mecca for a few hours one day. I was out at the bridge; in between sets, the ocean would appear dead calm. This made it difficult to be in the right spot, as there was no lineup of surfers just outside the break zone like usual.  Fear kept my adrenalin pumping as every twenty minutes or so a huge set, much larger than the rest, would stand against the horizon and i would burst into a full speed paddle straight out to sea, to try not to get caught inside as these waves would break much farther out to sea than the rest.  Knowing that a wave breaks when its height is about two-thirds the depth of the water, i knew that I had to get outside the shallow sandbar where the normal waves break. But the waves, although huge and powerful, were breaking very slowly with the strong northeast wind blowing against them, so the takeoffs and drop ins were effortless, almost as if i was in slow motion. The rides were extremely long, and i often got tubed twice on the same wave as the shorebreak was still chest high or higher. I got barreled so many times that day i lost count. Got tubed twice backside on the same wave. 

A week later hurricane Jerry passed offshore and great chest to head high waves again. Perfect glass for several days at the bridge, the pier, and Surfside, my favorite old spot. I lived across the river then, as i still do, and i would paddle my board across the river and surf all day and paddle back home in the dark. My first board was an eight foot long Claude Cogdin "Lightweight" model, so named because it weighed a scant sixty pounds. It was like walking with a ship's anchor. It was too wide for a scrawny fifteen year old to get his arm around, so i had to carry it on my head like the "Endless Summer" guys. I had a knot on my head for years after selling that board. 

May Horoscopes

May 2012 Horoscopes

Late again!

You can always find Our Sky Horoscopes on time at The Triangle, including Fluffy Cosmos, DJ Pancakes and many other inspiring writers from the glbt community.  Click on the link and check them out!

Aries:  On May 9 your mainline to hot information will be compromised, but a helpful channel will be an inspiring example of patience and restore your faith in partnership.  By the 24^th your access to intelligence will be effortless; you’ll soon look back on the last several months and appreciate the knit fixing that seemed to go nowhere. 

Taurus:  Virtual life is for the birds, but get used to it; you’ll be up in the air till August.  After a low spirited May 9, you’ll start examining rooftops to orient yourself.  May 13, 14 you’ll still be lost and paralyzed but full of hope.  Call and respond, listen and talk back, you’ve got to hang in the treetops for awhile and learn to chat with the avian tribe.

Gemini:  The wind continues at your back till the 9^th, and then those pedals will need more torque.  Your best bet is persuasion May 11, 12- but cooperation will be threatened May 15, 16.  The weekend of the 18^th is not in your hands; May 25-27 is the high point of the month. 

Cancer:  May begins with a problem to solve and your best chance to gaze on the fleeting nature of perfection.  Don’t run out for a new radio when urgent signals are dropped or seem to become fainter as the month progresses.  You will have to feel your way for a while, and guess at the meaning of the few messages that get through.  Keep a steady hand and after the 24^th you’ll get an inspiring jump in reception. 

Leo:  When I look at Leo’s chart for May 13 I get a nostalgic urge to reread “The Brotherhood of the Grape.”   At the same time I picture a child, dragged against their will to work in the field, discovering grown up pleasures they would have missed, had they not been pressed to carry grown up weight.

Virgo:  May 1 the moon highlights the ongoing challenges you’ve dealt with since Nov.  May 3 and 4 take care of contract duties while you’re motivated to speak up.   The quest to find creative solutions for practical problems peaks before dawn May 22.  May 26 your ability to take on a bit of chaos will feel like the triumph of a survivor.  May 28-30 things are improving, but there is still a little way to go.

Libra:  May 4 your cool head prevails, then on the 9^th the moon points to the dispossessed while mental activity digs in for an understanding of how things work.  May 13 if you can let go, wander dissolutely; the better for your reflexes on the 17^th when tempers flare.  May 18-20 get busy behind the scenes while the moon closes in on the sun.  Visit like a butterfly May 26, 27.

Scorpio:  You retain the initiative through May 9 and then your will to fix things gives way to necessity.  Not to worry, hidden information will start to come out after the 24^th at the same time the fix-it train is picking up speed.  You still have plenty of influence.

Sagittarius:  In May conversations will rise and fall like the feathers from an old fashioned pillow fight; by the 9^th the pillows will be worse off than the birds whose down stuffed them and the air will begin to clear as gravity takes over.  But then on the 24^th someone lets in a breeze and stirs things up all over again.  The air shows no sign of staying clear till the June rains come.

Capricorn:  You’re still vulnerable till the 10^th, when hot heads run out of steam.  Then, as folks begin to cooperate with each other you’ll forget the rancor, or at least not dwell on it.  Your work as a diplomat becomes more intricate on the 24^th when you start managing all the input.

Aquarius:  You can handle the stress of war.  The real threats since Nov come from the failure of equipment and disregard of critical protocol.  Give up wrangling from May 9-23, but then go back out like a bee after honey and the lines of communication will hum with efficiency.

Pisces:  Your tour in the nursery has been extended- they want thrillers till May 9 and then you can bring out the sleepers till the 24^th for quiet time.  The scariest part of the month comes when everyone wakes up from a nap eager to tell a story just like you. 

Mars and Jupiter in Earth Signs

 Blogspot has changed the format and I feel like I'm driving in an automatic after years of a stick shift. 


Not sure if this is Mars finally picking up speed after so many months in Virgo- but I tried to play a cd in the dvd player plugged into my little tv in the living room.  Except for computers we haven't had a working cd player in the house for more than 4 years.  They aren't as plentiful in thrift stores as they once were.  I remember when you could get a decent boom box for 8-10 bucks.  So, since the dvd player does play cd's; I've done like Dorothy did in the Wizard of Oz, I clicked my heals and got the music I could have had all these months.

There is a middle eastern disco beat pulsing in the living room.  A nice call and shout number is on the second track with women responding to men and lots of hand drums.  I get this stuff at the store where I buy olives, olive oil and feta cheese.  There is a really beautiful woman who treats me like a sister.  She is from Egypt and has a baby boy.  I have spoken with some of the other women at the store a bit, but she is the one who literally took me under her wing.  Since then I have noticed that she is outspoken with the men.  Though I'm sure she is not yet 30 years old, she has the spirit of a matriarch.

I love the combination of violins like plentiful water rushing over rocky creek beds and hand drums like many feet pounding the bare earth.   I will have to ask my friend what they are singing in these songs.  I tried to learn the alphabet in Arabic, but failed twice.  One day....when there is more time for these things.  

So crossing the obvious technical hurdle to get music could be Mars finishing up its extended stay in Virgo, but what to associate with the international theme it has fed in my world?  Maybe Jupiter in Taurus.  That stay has been a bit longer- about a year, and it has felt like a time of putting down roots, realizing a commitment, coming to an understanding of loyalty among people from faraway places.  Without traveling from my home, I have made a place in my life for strangers.  It has been very difficult; I am exceedingly selfish with my time, my words and attention to the lives of others.  My son and dog and housemate live with my antisocial behavior every day.

But today I am alone in the house with my dog who does not complain about my choice of music, getting the dishes washed with a lively beat, a foreign language and foreign musical flourishes gracing the air.  But I am late to clean a house...  jumping jupiter!