Where did this come from?

Let me explain some things before I go into this blog. I earned a BA in Business Marketing with a minor in Health in '91. I earned a Post-Baccalaureate (a dumber version of a masters) in Education is '93. I taught at various high schools, institutes and Jr. Colleges. I get my pleasure from learning as much as teaching, so I rarely pass up an opportunity to take a class or pick somebody's mind.

Here is how it recently started. I decided I wanted to learn how to paint like the most impressive painter I knew, Bob Ross. You know who he is... PBS's "The Joy of Painting." I've been trying for 25 years to paint happy trees to no avail. I even set my DVR to record all episodes of Bob's epic lessons. Somehow I just didn't get it, so it became time to get professional help.

When we moved to our town, the local community college would send me catalogs. I'd circle the non-credited classes I wanted to take and then I'd leave the catalog in the basket until the next one came. Oh how excited I get to circle more classes. I did this for three years before I actually enrolled in introduction to painting and introduction to drawing. The were community classes, so there was no pressure to succeed in making a tree look like a tree. After all Bob Ross could make a tree with a 2" brush! Surely the analytical side of my brain could find a rule that would allow me to do this in one of these classes.