And the Walls came Tumbling Down

One time, some years ago, Joyce and I were hiking through a Michigan woods not far from our home. It was a fairly dense woods and there were not any significant trails. She looked at me a couple of times and then, rather quietly asked, "Do you have any idea where we are going?" That is not the best question to ask a somewhat self-assured man, and of course my response was, "Of course I do, why do you ask?"  There was no response but a few minutes later she asked, "Do you REALLY know where we are going?" With a little impatience I responded, "Sure - we're headed east toward the river." She shook her head, evidencing some doubt but about five or ten minutes later we broke out of the woods at the shore of the Ausable River. I didn't say I told you so, but I must have had a smug look on face when she asked, "How did you know?" My answer, "I knew which way we were going by the direction of the sun." She looked satisfied but I thought to myself, "Thank goodness the woods wasn't as dense as some out west are, and I'm sure glad I knew the general direction of the river.

Which brings to mind that we often guide our directions by certain objects. In Seattle we might look for the Space Needle. In Paris our point of reference might be the Eiffel Tower. In London it might be the big Ferris wheel. In New York City it might be the Empire State Building. And in Kokomo, Indiana it was a gas tank.

When we would drive to Kokomo we would see the tank from miles away - long before we got to the outskirts of town. It had been built in the 1950's and was huge - almost four-hundred feet high. It served as a point of reference for anyone in the Kokomo area, even long-time residents.

But all things come to an end eventually - football stadiums, apartment houses, skyscrapers, old ships - and 387 foot tall gas tanks. As noted above, the walls of the tank came down by implosion in 2003. Having been gone from Kokomo for over twenty five years I wondered, when I drove into town this past week, where my key point of reference. Then I found it it wasn't there anymore. And I began to lose my sense of direction. I missed the old tank and so did a lot of people in Kokomo.

I guess it's consistent with the old saying, "Eventually, all things come to an end."  Even when it means that walls are coming down.

A new opera:Vigaro...Veegaro....VEE...GA...ROW!

My abject apologies to the great composer of the opera "The Barber of Seville" for my mangling of its reference to Figaro.

I simply could not think of any better way to give some credit where credit is due.

The picture above reflects something that needs recognition.

My wife has a unique gift of raising flowers. The one above is just a sample of her green thumb with plants. This particular specimen has been amazing. It was the runt of the litter for some time. Then, a little while ago, she moved it to a table away from our west-facing living room windows where it seemed logical to flourish in natural sunlight. But no, it seemed to struggle by the window. Now it is under a lamp with a regular lightbulb. We both wonder why it has flourished where it is now. It gets the same treatment as other plants in the same room. Same watering. Same plant food. Same sweet talk from those who enjoy flowers.

That's not to say the other plants aren't doing well - they look great but just not quite as spectacular  as the one above. Could it be the American Flag stuck in the pot with the plant?

Joyce has always had a gift of growing things. She's got a shamrock plant that never seems to give up. It's survived inumerable moves from cold country - to hot country - to cold country - from trailers to houses to condos to apartments. Oh, it's had its moments but somehow even when its existance seems near terminal it surges back better than ever with flocks of pretty flowers. But then, Joyce is of Irish descent so maybe it understands her loving care more than it would mine which likely would be a combination of Scottish and English cockney.

Some people are just naturals with plants. She always has had a knack with them. The only hiccup  in her gardening that I can remember was a veggie garden back in Missouri.

She planted carrots, beets, corn, beans, and more. Especially

Zucchini squash. Lots of Zuchini plants. Enough we could have supplied ample amounts through three or four surrounding counties. When I asked her why she planted so many Zuchini plants she said she thought there was only one squash per plant. I made some inane and inappropriate remark and she looked at me and calmly said, "How was I to know - I grew up in the city."  I mention this only because she has a real gift for growing plants and I have a Midas touch for growing things - hers do well and mine shrivel up and die.

A final note - she uses Miracle Gro - not Vigoro - I found no opera that I could parody in a title. I can just say - whenever she feeds her plants they do well. And whenever she feeds me I do well. What more could a man ask for?





A Flip of the Lid

If you go to Switzerland, you're apt to see one of these - a pretty hat with a white feather on it. You may find them in Germany and Austria as well.

This one was purchased at the intersection of three Swiss cog railroads at the base of the Jungfrau - one of the ever-snow and ice-covered mountains in the Alps. I thought it might help me to get motivated enough to yodel. No such luck at that - but it has earned a corner of my closet shelf. However, there remains a problem - a felt hat like this does not moisture. Somewhere in its lifetime it has been rained upon and it shrank. Originally it fit fairly well. When I try to wear it now it sits high on my head and looks a little funny. On second thought, maybe the hat has done well and it has been my head that has grown. Some people end up getting a swollen head over life accomplishments - but I hope that's not the case in my life. Makes me think about the country music song, "It's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way." Sure, and I make chocolate sushi in the summertime.

Anyway, though the hat has shrunk the number of emblems on it has not. Each on of them reflects somewhere we've been. The majority of them reflect places we have been to in Switzerland. Places like Geneva, and Zermatt and Schiedegg (where  the hat was bought, and where I got the first pin.
There are other non-Swiss places represented - places like Heidelberg, Oberammergau, and Berchesgaden in Germany. There are pins from Jamaica, and Alaska, and even West Point.

Some might say, "So what - it's just a bunch of pins" on a hat I can hardly wear anymore. But the collection is more than that - every one of the emblems represented some place we have been. Each of them provides a bright memory of some time in life. Each of the has a back story of life and people we met or traveled with.

So, I keep the under-size hat with all of its pins and emblems on a corner of my computer room closet, not just to gather dust but rather to offer memories of some really good times with good friends in amazing parts of the world. As I sometimes say, along with Bob Hope, 'Thanks for the memories' - and things that bring back good memories from times gone by.

In the Eyes of the Beholder

I recognize that I have a problem with hearing - an affliction that impacts a lot of us as we age. That may be a subject for another blog down the road.

I thought, when I had cataracts removed from my eyes a few years ago, that all would be well with my sight. For the most part, that is true - for someone who had terrible vision for years it was a near miracle after that surgery - close to 20/20 sight without glasses now. I can even see well enough on a clear, sunny day, to drive without glasses.

But I have a hunch we all have vision problems in other ways.

Like the time in Michigan when we were having a wild thunderstorm. I looked out the condo window to watch the storm and across the way I saw something strange. We had experienced a near lightning strike and as the rain poured down I saw what seemed to be a power line on fire. The red or yellow light flickered and flared just like a flame and, as a committed 'good citizen', I called the fire department. It wasn't long before the fire engines arrived and we got a call from the firemen asking if we could pinpoint where the fire was. In the meantime someone from the fire department came to the condo office and asked about the  reliability of the person who made the call. The manager assured them that we were reasonably sane, but about the same time I came to the realization that what it actually was was power lines moving past a yellowish street light. I rushed down stairs, feeling like a fool, and told the firemen there that I was mistaken and that it wasn't a cable on fire after all.  I think they laughed and left shaking their heads about that crazy old guy who was seeing things.  I won't say who it was that insisted I call the fire department but I will say that it was a cooperative effort.

Then we moved to Indianapolis and found we had a nice view out our window toward the west.
Perfect for watching sunsets. But for months I have been mystified by the appearance of some kind of a building in the distance. I thought at first it was a part of the Raytheon factory some distance west.
However, in the many times we drive past that plant I could not find anything looking like the "building" off in the distance from our window. Then last week it finally dawned on me: It wasn't a building after all. It was a large sign (or signs) on I -465 just past the rehab center to our west. Like the title above, I was fooled by what seemed to be something altogether different.

I apologize for the picture - it's not a problem with my eyes. Instead, the camera must have focused on the spots on the window. That's another story in itself but for now I'm trying to focus more clearly on the real stuff - not mirages.

Huh?

Strange things happen around our house.  Not ghosts as such - but mysterious noises and stuff hung  on door handles.

Last night we heard a rattling at the door - perhaps like someone trying to slip a key in the lock and trying to open the door. At first I thought it was something on TV but we were watching a debate and who would be rattling during a debate. Maybe someone trying to get at anyone who would watch CNN for something political. Then I got up and looked out the little view window in the door to see if anyone was there. No one in sight -- maybe it WAS a ghost.

This morning I opened the door to get the morning paper and there it (or was it they?) was hanging on the door. The picture of the door above is what I found - a lovely string of pearls for Joyce and beads with an Air Force medallion for me.

We haven't figure out where they came from - nor have we figured out who the donor might be.. Maybe someone was giving a gift to give me some positive thoughts after my facial chemo was at it's worst. Or maybe someone has decided to celebrate an early Mardi Gras.

Well, guess I'll go check the mail and see if anyone has beads to flaunt. Meanwhile, thanks to our mystery  visitor - we appreciate the gift.

Politics oops, I said that word!

Usually, around our house, and even on the Internet, discussions about politics are a no-no -- and I  respect other thoughts than mine. But I have a problem with today's politics in general.

My problem lies in what our leaders and candidates really are thinking of in their beliefs. I'm old-fashioned in a lot of ways -
and I am reminded of this more often than I like, but I don't want to apologize for how I think about our country. For instance, I look back at Harry Truman and realize that, though he may have made mistakes, he held fast in his beliefs and never 'passed the buck', instead he was decisive and history reminds us that he was right more often than wrong. I look back in history to Theodore Roosevelt, a president I have admired for a long time. With Theodore Roosevelt, the needs of the nation and the morality and accountability of leadership was paramount in his leadership.

I know there are a lot of people who do not like and maybe detest Bill O'Reilly and Glen Beck, but the two books above (by them) have motivated and excited my thoughts about 'old-time-politics - something somewhat lacking in today's political world. I know, there are those in my family who are apt to say to me, 'the world is different,' and I must agree. But I think that we need to reconsider who we are as Americans, and what we expect as Americans. Just like the question of what to believe in the church: should the church change to conform with society or should the church hold fast to its traditional beliefs and try to lead society to a strong and consistent belief in the presence and power of God.

Both Washington and Lincoln lived in dreadful times but each of them, in many ways, stood fast in their priorities. Neither of them deviated from their belief in God's power, and belief in the United States Constitution. Each of them sacrificed much for the sake of our freedom and national potential.  In many ways today's focus is on self aggrandizement, and secular and personal things. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt did not prioritize a give-away government - he came up with programs like the CCC and WPA that put people on a payroll. Yes, their salaries came from the government - but people did not live on handouts - there was dignity in earning what they got.  Look at the legacies those programs offered us, and those results continue to this day.

I am sure that the books above may not appeal to everyone. But the fact of the matter is, we all need to deeply and sensitively consider what made our country great and what our national priorities are today. What sacrifices do we make that might parallel the sacrifices of Washington and Lincoln and the people of their times? Washington was not perfect (he admitted that) and surely I'm not - but Washington and Lincoln, in terrible times,
placed trust in God and did the best they could to mold a strong nation. And I've tried to do what I could in my lifetime.

Finally, the books must be good - they have been on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller list for quite some time. Beck and O'Reilly must have done something right - and I appreciate
their efforts. The big question is: 'Who among our leadership today offers the same commitment to what America stands for'?

Procrastination 2012

 

Did you ever have a time when you knew you had something to do but just didn't have the initiative to do anything about it? You know, the old proverb, 'Don't do today what you can put off to next week?'

Like saying, I'll make make my New Year's resolutions someday.
Someday may be tomorrow, but then, again, it might not be until next December -- after all the political campaigning is over.

I guess I've been guilty of the doldrums since Christmas - a post-holiday letdown. Not quite depression but a lack of motivation for much of anything. I've done a lot of reading - Christmas brought a lot of new books and a really great DVD about religion in America - one of those six-episode specials from PBS. And the everpresent no-no -- candy, candy, and nuts surrounded by chocolate. Like I said, maybe it's just letdown after the busy times at Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Or maybe it's that we're beginning to experience a bit of winter for the first time this year. Or is it the first time since  the end of summer? The skies are grey, there's been a lot of rain, and now a bit of snow and frigid weather.

Or, maybe it's just that I miss all the family - our children and grandchildren (and a great grandchild or three or four). I see other families coming together in family reunions and our family is scattered from coast to coast. The only way to experience family is through picture albums or videos, and memories. And those go way back in some cases, To my brother and his wife, or to my mom and dad who are long gone now. And to Joyce's family - and to a flock of friends we have known over the years.

But I also can walk into the bedroom and see the picture I have included above. Then I can look at each picture and say, 'Thanks for each and every memory' and wonder what memories we'll collect in the next 12 months.

Have great year yourself and keep in mind that every day that goes by it's a day closer to  spring - and one day less of political campaigning.