A greeting and introduction

It’s hard to know how to introduce myself, to decide what about me is so vital that you must know it to understand what I write, and what is periphery, a distraction. But with time against me (and my own conviction that as a newly-invited author to this community I owe you all an introduction sooner rather than later), I’ll keep this short.

My name is Heather. I am a writer by trade, but am falling in love with words all over again in my spare time. I live in coal-mining territory in the hills and valleys of western Pennsylvania with my husband of three years, work as a reporter at a daily newspaper while he begins a doctorate degree, and spend afternoons on my living room floor with Vesper and Alaska, my ferrets.

I once thought I had a fairly decent handle on this journey we call life; but I know now that what I thought I understood must be relearned. I have been shattered, and am slowly being rebuilt into a more useful tool for service in the hands of my God. And I am coming to understand that the growth is worth the pain.

So that is who I am. I’m looking forward to being a part of this far-flung community.

- Heather

P.S. I'm not familiar with the font, size, or tagging requirements for posts - please let me know if I need to change something!

from ali : census work

Fellow friends, family and tortoises:

Just a quick blip to let you know we now have Heather on board, that delightful Pennsylvania-dwelling journalist cousin of mine (as well as Alden's older sister - we're a big clan like that). Many of you know her, some of you don't, but hers is both a professionally developed and refreshingly genuine voice I'm thrilled to incorporate here.

... now play nice.

a delayed arrival

Hello friends, acquaintances, strangers. My name is Will.

Ever since the rough idea of what has now manifested itself as the tortoise was orignally conceived, I was very supportive. A group creative outlet has been bounced around and attempted for years now, but never successfully executed. Despite my initial enthusiam, I found that sparse internet availability and an ironic lack of "initiative" were obstacles too big to overcome. Enough motivation remained, however, to check in from time to time. What I discovered was that in my absence a small community was thriving. Now, after much delay I find myself standing on the welcome mat, trying not to scuff it with my muddy shoes.

Just like a father serving a prison sentence while his newborn child is quickly developing, I feel very deep regret for missing the tortoise's first steps. Upon my metaphorical release, and actual inception, I realize there is still time left to teach the tortoise how to ride a bike. In an effort to make up for all that I have missed, I am instituting two cardinal rules for myself.

First, I will struggle to be open, which is quite a lofty goal with my pinky backspacing more than my fingers are typing. This is a much more critical environment than I have been affiliated with in the past. That is not to say that the current condition is stifling creativity, but when you come from a background of constant back-pats, so much as a "your last post was okay" can seem harsh. Obviously, my former experiences were not very conducive to progress so I would like to go ahead and welcome any future criticism one might have.

Secondly, I will not deal in putting down another's work. The last thing I want is to advocate the same attitude that makes me cautious of posting. While I may have a few critiques, they will remain constructive and never be voiced in a joking manner. To be supportive is to aid in the growth of others and of myself, which is my intention.

Now that all the formalities are out of the way, all thats left is to sit back and muse over what my favorite things about the tortoise initiative will be. Maybe it will be perusing past posts, and giggling over all the grammatical errors we've made? Or being so filled with inspiration that I stay up until midnight just so the post will be on my day? Or the mixers that we'll attend with people from other blogs? Oh boy, oh boy.

Themes and Variations on Waking Up

Hello all. I am called ryan. I enjoy building fires on beaches and san serif fonts, so it really bothers me that Helvetica is not an option here at blogger. I used to blog at http://greatintheory.wordpress.com/ but I eventually deleted every post, as I have a particularly bad habit of doing (ask the torn bindings of my moleskine).

I am glad to be here at The Tortoise Initiative; I consider this domain a blank slate limited only by my fear of the blinking black line in the top left corner of the screen. The idealist in me always harbors that hope that all we (the editorial "we") need is one more fresh start, one more creative space to start over and reinvent. As naive as that may sound spoken aloud, we all have a tendency to inwardly believe something similar at certain times.

At the diner, the rising sun will send rays of light haphazardly leaping through the windows, cutting through the steam rising from your mug, and whatever you say during that moment is vigorous and youthful and awake. That is a redemptive feeling. There is a confidence and a forgiveness that comes with letting go, no not forgetting, letting go of failures, victories, preconceived notions of what you are capable of, labels and loss. Everyone has experienced the terror and beauty of waking up in an unfamiliar place. Everyone secretly wishes they could brush their teeth, walk outside and announce that "today, the rules are: there are no rules".

Alas, in the interest of intellectual honesty, we must consider the converse. We must do what is hard and weigh the benefits of the past against the freedom of the untethered life. For there are benefits, I must admit. Momentum can only be realized through an awareness of your own personal history, and truthfully the excitement of waking up at a stranger's place is the fuzzy pre-dawn question "am I home?".

Where do I fall on the issue? Is there wisdom in whole-heartedly embracing the new day, the spring, or are we losing something by forgetting the lessons we learned in winter? Here at the Tortoise I will attempt to do what I have never done previously: Create and not forget. I will not rip the pages out, even if looking back over the clumsy words and fuzzy logic, I see little worth saving. One can still feel the excitement of the pen on paper even if there are pages and pages of rough coffee-stained words to the left.

I like how one of my favorite navel-gazers Søren Kierkagaard puts it:

Nature, at its most basic level, is ahistorical, in that it can only be predicated of history in one way: it has come into being. A smaller subset of nature, potentiality, can be more fully predicated of history.

Potentiality is the thread that ties our past and our future together. There is only what has been, what could be and the vaporous sliver of time called the present where we sift through the latter and fall into the former. When I look at it this way, the sharp distinction between past and present blurs the slightest bit, and I see more clearly that decision is what lies behind them. Every new post could be a million things, and every old post could have been a million things. Accept, maybe even rejoice, in your history, live out your future. Do not delete, do not give up.

I love this song, and I think the video, in a way, expresses what we all value about spring, and new beginnings, but has a reflective ending that kind of blurs those type of distinctions.

*Must be watched in full screen mode

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

So there it is, my first post. Maybe you read it and liked it, maybe you read it and hated it. Maybe by morning I will think myself foolish, or preachy or any number of things, but regardless, this time I won't tear out the page.

adjusts reading glasses...

... peers over them enthusiastically around table, folds hands and begins brightly:


well hello boys! I'm so glad to see that Taylor Coleman has joined us today and -


checks notes, furrows brow


- Leon ... Willabee.


Conrad wriggles in seat with delight, jabs at Taylor with elbow - Taylor attempts to subtly distance himself with long, contemplative sip of coffee.


I'm pretty sure I've already laid out this blog for at least Taylor, if not both of you.


Conrad yawns noisily. Ali glares, corrects herself, resumes with strained cheer


Basically, it's a practical manifestation of an idea sparked by Conrad's hypothetical scenario of "communal living with a positive purpose," and fueled by the creative energy generated while sharing and discussing projects with Taylor.


Taylor beams. Conrad flicks paperclip at Ali's glasses.

What I had in mind for the tortoise was a place where we can share

• Inspiration: anything which sparks you - passage, quote, article, link, photograph, art, artist, author, concept, anything
• Ideas: whether a broad, general creative idea or an idea for a very specific project
• Projects: sharing the progress of a project, the actual project-in-progress, or the completed product

Basically, a creative catch-all: somewhere where we can not only archive our own inspirations, ideas, and creations, but where we can also open them to others and receive/generate thoughtful feedback.

Every post will automatically have the author's name at the bottom and, if we all use the same labels when creating a post [e.g. IDEA, INSPIRATION, or CREATION] then we can quickly find everything within a given category using the label module on the home page's right hand.

Any thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Concerns?

Ali looks up - realizes Taylor is texting and Conrad has quietly slipped under the table to nap on his backpack. Rubs bridge of nose wearily, sighs.