The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV + HAPPY 3rd BDAY KAYLIN!

The Family Portrait

Back in my younger years I used to pick three books for my mama to read to me before I went to sleep every night. She would always start trailing off during the last story of the night and start mumbling funnies that only come out of your mouth when you’re trying to read out loud as you fall asleep. Those are fond memories. She would always ask me what certain words meant and she would tell me to figure the word out within the context of the sentence. This has to be the reason why I love reading and enjoy writing so much to this day.

My mama DID have a limit though. I was HELLA into The Berenstain Bears growing up and I tried to collect all of the ones they would put on the back cover of each book (because it said “Collect Them All!” and I was good at following certain directions). At a certain point in the night for any mama tryin to go to bed, 3 Berenstain Bears books just begins to be too much reading, so she told me I could still pick out 3 books, but only two of them could be the Berenstain Bears.

I bring these memories up for a few reasons:

1 is that I just got back from 5 days split between Maui & Oahu. While we were out there I spent almost every second I could outside doing something cool.

The Fam Eatin' in Maui

We went snorkling, bike riding, went to hella beaches and tried to boogy board (which is lightweight hard when there ain’t some big waves), AND probly the most exciting thing EVER: I saw friggin Humpback whales breaching BLUD!!! (and i didn’t take my camera along for none of those things cuz I knew I would break it so…here’s a youtube clip.

Basically I watched little to no TV, and damn near more important in MY case was that I didnt spend ANY time on the internet. It felt so fuckin good. I forgot that feeling damn near of just being not dependent on any screens (whether it be TV, computer, phone, whatever). It reminded me of the year in college where we decided that we weren’t going to have cable or internet in our spot and it wound up being one of the most active / learning / crazy filled years of my life (on hella levels).

My mama recently did some cleaning out of my gramma’s basement and brought a box back to here house of hella my old books and records and randomly accumulated miscellaneous shit, and in the box was, The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV.

I just re-read that shit and it made me feel hella good, and it just kinda reminded me that just because I’m back home from a vacation doesn’t mean I should go back to my routine of watching the same shows at the same times i tend to. It reminded me (along with the trip to Hawaii) that I gotta do things daily to turn my hometown(s) into my own concrete paradise. It doesn’t hurt that the spring is creeping in (the pollen in my nose reminds me of this annually) and the whether is (trying) to change and get rid of this rain and cold weather. And then daylight savings always gets people back outta their shelter and moving around a lot more again.

So I got a few good books right now (some of which i meant to read/finish a while ago)  to keep me away from the screens in my life:

• A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle (It’s in Oprah’s Book Club, holla!)
• Confessions of a Yakuza by Junichi Saga (Word to C. Darby for that plug)
• Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (Yup, book before the movie type read)
• The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition by Michael H. Shuman (Word to K-Chedda Mo’ Betta for that one)
• Grant Writing for Dummies by Dr. Beverly A. Browning
• The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (I read half of it like 3 months ago and just set it down). And last but MOST important(ly)…….
• The Land Before Time: The Search for the Great Valley by Little Foot

So between all of these books, trying to finish two albums (The Mitchell Report, with Senbei of the mighty mighty Broken Halos & Colinrespose, and BASS aka Bay Area Super Slap (word C+) for OPTIC), working on trying to find work and working that work, being a part of a Dominoes League, and kickin it with the fam (all my families), it should hopefully be tough to fit in any time for these screens…except for Warriors games!!! Come on man, that’s the reason I got cable in the first place!

Holler Atcha Fam Bam,

G.Mitch

PS- If you got any ideas for fun activities that don’t include screens lemme know!

PPS-HAPPY 3rd BDAY to my niece Kaylin…(Dang, she’s three ALREADY!?!?)

My 2 Favorite Womyn (The one who read me Berenstain Bears & the one who gets read Berenstain Bears Now.