I live in a town home that is next to the woods. The other day I was putting our baby stroller in our trunk and from behind me I heard a rustle in the trees that would make a grown man pee his pants as he squeals like an eleven year old girl. The noise was so loud I knew it was either the T-Rex from Jurassic Park
or the smoke monster from lost.
I have seen both of those documentaries and they are scary stuff. It’s pretty much a sure thing that I am about to get pulverized and then wake up dead. At this moment I had two options.
- I could scream and run for my life. Everyone knows that if you do that you are going to die, so that’s not a good option. If you don’t believe me rent the documentaries that I mentioned earlier.
- I could turn around and face my fear. They say for bears you are supposed to either act bigger then you really are so they won’t mess with you or play dead. I figure if it was a creature of epic proportions then I better face it and then play dead. Hopefully smoke monsters and extinct dinosaurs play by the same rules as the bears.
So I finally mustered the courage to turn around and to my delight it was nothing more than a squirrel in a tree. Those crazy squirrels make a lot of noise. They make so much noise it led me to the following thought. Squirrels make a lot of noise when they do what squirrels do. They don’t demand attention. They don’t beg the world to look at them. They just do what only they can do (be a nutty squirrel) and they make a lot of noise. We also have deer in our woods and the squirrels always sound way bigger and make way more noise then the deer.
What type of noise do you make? Not annoying noise that causes people to tune you out. Noise that causes people to turn around and take notice. It’s my understanding that God created each of us with unique gifts and talents. When we are doing what only we can do our life makes noise. We don’t have to demand attention. We don’t have to make a scene. We just have to be us. When squirrels are in their natural environment they make noise. When they lose focus and run in the street they die. I’ve hit my fair share of squirrels and they don’t die nearly as loud as they live.
Nobody else can be you. Be the person that God created you to be. Live loud! Make some noise!
What creature did you think was lurking from the woods behind me? Are you living a life that is making some noise? Have you seen Jurassic Park or Lost?
Answers: a deer. No, cuz I have to pay a quarter for every bit of noise I make. Now, if you mean in making a difference I hope I am. Neither.
Bill, I think you are. It always reads like you are with your church. And your blog is definitely making some noise.
Rob, I am a big fan of the Lost documentery. I thought, though, that you had a vicious bunny rabbitt sneaking up on you. Did you turn around with your John Locks style knives?
Larry, I wish I had John Lock style knives. I turned around like Mr. Ecko and you know how that ended up. I was sure I was a goner.
you do, however, have to beware of the little varmints as well. didn’t you ever see the documentary, caddyshack?
Ahh that was a well made documentary. Lucky for me those creatures are under ground and not in the trees. It was the noise in the trees that scared me so bad. Now here’s a question for you. Did you see the follow up Caddyshack 2?
Documentaries huh? So you are saying all that stuff was real? I guess that I will believe you as you are a preacher-type man. You wouldn’t lie to me, …, would you? As for rabid squirrels hiding out in your woods making all that noise, don’t bet on it. My guess is that you were being stalked by the rare giant pygmy tree rat. Their venom is among the most potent in all the world. I am amazed that you lived to tell the tale. Normally they devour their victims whole, clothing, hats, iPods, and all.
Not the giant pygmy tree rat? We have every other creature in our woods so it wouldn’t surprise me if that joker lived their too.
Lucky it wasn’t a skunk. Little critters can sometimes make the most noise and be the scariest. They seem hyper and frenetic and unpredictable. I guess all their noise is a scare tactic to cover their vulnerability. I always prefer bigger animals that are out in the open. I can see them and size up the potential harm. Facing the giant is sometimes less fearful than the unknown. I’m probably most like a deer–no noise, not scary, approachable and confident unless threatened.
You are right. Skunks stink. Pun intended.
I like the squirrel analogy…and the reminder to live out loud–walk in the grace God has given you.
I think that for me, living out loud means to be an encouragement where I am. I’m supposed to open my eyes to other people’s lives instead of just focusing on my own. Less complaining about me, more words of inspiration, encouragement, and love directed towards others.
And I’ve never seen Jurassic Park or Lost. They just never appealed to me.
TJ, what types of movies do appeal to you? I think that Jurassic Park is a GREAT movie. Not so much for the sequels but the first one is really well done. Thanks for stopping by. I love the name of your site!
Thanks! =)
I don’t watch movies very often, but when I do, I like a comedy. Sometimes I like a drama or a suspense thriller. Mostly, I like a good story. Action movies are okay…if they have a good story.
I don’t know; you seem to be convinced of the greatness of Jurassic Park, so maybe I’ll give it a chance sometime… =)
TJ, you may not love it but I think it still holds up really well from it’s time.
I was pretty sure it was a huge deer and you were going to pull your six shooters off your hip and enjoy deer tenderloin later that night. Wait… You don’t carry six shooters on your hip?
I think I’m making some noise but I’ve also been convicted lately that it’s not near loud enough. In some ways I’ve been telling myself not to be too loud.
I’ve seen both. That smoke monster from Lost was pretty crazy!
I don’t carry six shooters but I thought about putting my finger under my shirt in the shape of a gun and hoping that whatever it was would fall for it. I kid, I kid.
I really wanted it to be a bull that will horn you into your living room. As you are bleeding I was hoping you had the courage to write this post before you passed out. I was so wrong! :/
Do I make noise? Oh yeah. I’m from NYC. We are never quiet. LOL.
BTW, love Jurassic Park (only the first one) and LOST was awesome (ending was corny though).
I agree on Jurassic Park. That one is amazing but the sequels are not so amazing. Oh and if a bull did horn me I’d probably not let it inside for fear of getting my blood on the carpet. I’m kind of a stickler for keeping the carpet clean.
I thought it was a prank…
Yes. I live a life that makes a lot of noise…good noise…music.
Yes, I’ve seen Jurassic Park.
No, never seen Lost (though I want to)
Great read Rob!
Thanks Arny. You need to borrow Lost from someone and start watching it. It’s great stuff.
How has no one mentioned the Rodents of Unusual Size?! Come on, people. I expect better.
Burrill, you and me, eye-to-eye, had to be ROUS’s
Burrill, the fact that you just quoted Princess Bride brings my respect for you to a whole notha level. It was already really high but now it’s inconceivably high.
I was placing my money on the T-Rex. It just seemed more probable.
I can always count on you to leave me thinking and challenged. Thanks!
Brynn, you are welcome. Thank you for stopping back by. I have missed your witty comments.
I have this same exact experience every morning I go out to my car at 4am. The slightest rustling has got to be a black panther or a velociraptor waiting to disembowel me.
I’ve seen Jurassic Park, but never got into LOST because I don’t like feeling stupid.
ThatGuyKC, you could handle Lost. I believe in you.
Since ROUS’s was so aptly identified by Burrill, my other guess is every monster from the mov…documentary Monster Squad. I was very prepared in the late 1980’s to fight off legions of monsters with my friends, we had a secure woodland fortress and supplies stocked in our garages/basements. Thanks for the reminder, I haven’t sharpened any stakes in a while, man, I better get on that.
Ya know I never saw Monster Squad. Did I miss out on much?
Great post. We’ve never really watched Lost but I know lots of people loved that show. Never could get into it.
Austin-Lee, you have to start from episode 1. By the end of that episode you’ll be hooked.
I’m a big Lost fan because I am a nerd and it was required. When there is a noise behind me I just figure it is one of my kids. And I throw something at them.
That’s awesome. My kids can’t crawl yet. I’ve still thrown a few things at them. They were soft things and they still didn’t know how to respond.
I used to make some noise. Though I have to admit that, even now, I could have made a lot more noise than I did, and even now I could. I was told I had a John the Baptist anointing on me…but I guess that meant I was gonna get my head knocked off, which almost happened once or twice I guess….
I’ve seen Jurassic Park, but was never a dinosaur fan. As for Lost, I was never a big fan of that one…prefering Smallville to fill up my Friday nights.
Ed, I love Smallville. It had one of the best series finales of all time. It was way more satisfying then Lost’s.
I missed most of Smallville’s final season, but I did catch the final show. I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD!
I’ve actually written a novel that includes the vicious clicking sounds that squirrels make. Hilarious. LOST smoke monster harrowing type sounds!
I too have been hit by my fair share of squirrels.
I remember loving JP back in the 90s. I mean… I finally saw a PG13 movie in the theater! 😉
LOST was awesome. Still is. Always will be.