tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50506299447234403902024-03-05T11:15:02.349-07:00Mid-Life MeanderingBits and pieces of whatever I feel like sharing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-32895032445946540302015-12-03T18:19:00.000-07:002015-12-03T18:19:16.109-07:00To Speak or Not to Speak... the Answer is Obvious<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
I joined Toastmasters two months
ago. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for many years, but I never dug up the
courage to follow through. I thought it would be nerve-wracking, I would be
under a lot of pressure to succeed, and I would be out of my league with other
speakers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
For those of you who aren’t
familiar with Toastmasters, it’s an international organization and its club
mission statement is “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience
in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills,
resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6z45a31OQKK8GWBSvHz_p7_vqecF3FEbxZ7Jac0ISG9NPMED1Y7pw78fMie-Tgbb5lg6YmCjTfNcPj74UZZbVdVdFZ535EbibusTybC6xuQw_wieM9EtpwD_z-Pqmj0ntUJQShKjSuYq/s1600/th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6z45a31OQKK8GWBSvHz_p7_vqecF3FEbxZ7Jac0ISG9NPMED1Y7pw78fMie-Tgbb5lg6YmCjTfNcPj74UZZbVdVdFZ535EbibusTybC6xuQw_wieM9EtpwD_z-Pqmj0ntUJQShKjSuYq/s400/th.jpg" /></a>Formal speaking in front of a
group, large or small, can be intimidating to many people. It certainly was for
me. I’ve had to speak in front of groups, and I always get nervous and end up
with the “ums” and “uhs” and “you knows” in plentiful supply during my talk. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Finally, at the urging of a friend,
I attended my first Toastmaster meeting with a club that was still fairly new.
It made me feel better to know many of the members had been attending for
months, instead of years. Yet we also have seasoned members who help keep the
club running efficiently and effectively and mentor us as we grow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
I make the majority of my living
writing and editing. Although I enjoyed the two months of Toastmasters, and
intended to keep going, I had to wonder - what does this bring to the table in
regard to where I am right now in life?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
The answer came to me as I was
preparing my first formal speech called the Icebreaker. I had to introduce
myself to the audience, letting them know a little about me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
If you haven’t tried to condense
your life into a few minutes, let me tell you that it’s more difficult than you
might imagine. I’ve had many diverse careers, raised a family, married and
divorced, went on several grand adventures, and have many interests - all of
those helped shape the person I am today. Narrowing down the focus was
challenging.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
I was only given four to six minutes
for this speech. It seemed like forever when I thought about standing in front
of the members for that amount of time. Yet when I actually wrote out my speech
and timed myself during practice, I talked for over eight minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Now the tie in to my writing. I had
to be super organized, like I do when I’m trying to write a story, stay on
task, and make sense of everything I included. During my speech I needed to cut
out the extraneous words and thoughts, because I simply didn’t have time to go
off on a tangent. When I write I need to trim up the prose, because my readers wouldn’t
have patience for my off-the-subject rambling, no matter how brilliant I thought
my writing was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Just as organization is key to an
effective presentation, with a clear introduction, body, and summary,
organization is also key in fiction and non-fiction writing to trim unnecessary
words and keep the story moving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
When I timed my first speech about
growing up on the farm, and realized I had to cut a minimum of two minutes off,
and preferably more since I wanted to throw in some well-timed pauses for
effect, I had some problems deciding what was important and what I could cut. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6ld8xAwIO3uMgxeOpIW-yQjPnAPwbTknF8fkxEzyj5CZF-hDa_mYcPYfomR89TTo3I0kY7-rOmGnv8NfWMK09R0DXN5fV5ghKsNaVuwHrHvnqqqFllmN1I6rIZ2EqD6xHWJJQx_dc_qU/s1600/writer+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6ld8xAwIO3uMgxeOpIW-yQjPnAPwbTknF8fkxEzyj5CZF-hDa_mYcPYfomR89TTo3I0kY7-rOmGnv8NfWMK09R0DXN5fV5ghKsNaVuwHrHvnqqqFllmN1I6rIZ2EqD6xHWJJQx_dc_qU/s200/writer+%25281%2529.jpg" width="193" /></a>Are you kidding me, my entire early
childhood was important, right? Wouldn’t my audience want to hear about my
adventures riding dirt bikes in the pasture, climbing the apricot tree even
when we weren’t picking the fruit, going through my grandfather’s old shed and
finding decades-old copies of Life and National Geographic?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Here’s where my writing experience
helped. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Kill Your Darlings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Be ruthless. Just because I was in
love with a scene or a description or a character, didn’t mean it belonged in my
story. Or in my speech.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
I thought my first speech went well,
considering. I was nervous, had to rely on notes, and needed to speed up at the
end to finish within the time limits. It’s going to take practice and time to
become proficient at giving speeches, just as it does to become proficient at
writing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Even if I never have to give a
formal speech in front of an audience other than my Toastmasters club members,
what I’m learning about communication and leadership is invaluable. I can see
how, as I become a better speaker, my writing will become clearer and more
interesting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
My initial worries about
Toastmasters were put to rest after the first meeting, and now after my
Icebreaker speech I can safely say that it’s not as nerve-wracking as I thought
it would be. I don’t feel pressured from other club members - I feel fully
supported. Although the long-time members are much better speakers than I am,
no one makes me feel like I’m out of their league. I’m part of the club,
supported, mentored, and encouraged every step of the way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
Not to mention it’s also - dare I
say it - fun!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-7224405586902956492015-06-14T15:25:00.002-06:002015-06-14T15:25:22.176-06:00Mushrooms, Anyone?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A mushroom goes into a bar and sits
down to order a drink. The bartender walks over and says, ''I'm sorry sir, but
we don't serve your kind here.''</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The mushroom sits back and asks
,''Why not? I'm a fun guy!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Actually the mushroom wasn’t a
fungi, he was a fungus. If he was one in a crowd of mushrooms then they
would all be fungi.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scientific names confuse me. And
they ruin my jokes too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9L_tzipjbocJGCsYOTVwbFeR4Az5B9tPEimkOY1eHhpgC2hd-Gy0_9-f0yWmH0X-puuL1kkxpBFqjmrh3T6jCzR5wxD19hrhcCP8bWjEqM-xYn049LaJ29CX9uxsSEqBIpW4PEa82iz9/s1600/Fungus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9L_tzipjbocJGCsYOTVwbFeR4Az5B9tPEimkOY1eHhpgC2hd-Gy0_9-f0yWmH0X-puuL1kkxpBFqjmrh3T6jCzR5wxD19hrhcCP8bWjEqM-xYn049LaJ29CX9uxsSEqBIpW4PEa82iz9/s320/Fungus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A few weeks ago I walked into my
bathroom and noticed some very odd things growing in a potted plant I had
sitting on the windowsill shelf. They looked like little yellow lawn ornaments,
with a stem and an egg-shaped top.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On closer inspection I realized I had
four perfect mushrooms growing (you can only see three in the pictures.) They were about three inches tall. I was
certain they hadn’t been there the day before, but it was possible they were
but still too short to easily see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ie8FxCSmqscK0hzrIZchJ3ldeu3sFKDsxc1Niy_sFSvED2Hke9GoWCxTNq9-XDeu02Huckap8XsQsNoSWif6TOPpVzXbPUHP7GOjVG8AFGbTQNVfHkqgG9manCeEM0LEJvCZ6TC-6GUE/s1600/Mushrooms+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ie8FxCSmqscK0hzrIZchJ3ldeu3sFKDsxc1Niy_sFSvED2Hke9GoWCxTNq9-XDeu02Huckap8XsQsNoSWif6TOPpVzXbPUHP7GOjVG8AFGbTQNVfHkqgG9manCeEM0LEJvCZ6TC-6GUE/s320/Mushrooms+close+up.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My first thought was “Ack, I have fungi growing inside my house.”
That couldn’t be good, right? What if I breathe in the spores? Could it make me
sick? Could it kill me?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I immediately moved the offending
pot with plants and fungi out to the garage, thinking I should dispose of it
later. Still, I was curious. What was this? Was I the only one who
inadvertently grew mushrooms? I tried to keep excess humidity out of my
bathroom, so was I doing something wrong?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Before I took drastic action and
threw the baby out with the bathwater (goodbye lovely little medicinal houseplant)
I decided to do some online searching. To my surprise, delight, and relief I
found immediate answers after typing in <b>Yellow Mushrooms Indoor Plants</b>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first site I opened was helpful
and interesting. This particular mushroom is the <em><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Leucocoprinus birnbaumii. </span></em><em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;">The site was <a href="http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/feb2002.html" target="_blank">Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month</a>. I was relieved to read that there was nothing to worry
about, the mushroom couldn’t hurt my plants, and wouldn’t hurt me if I touched it. He did write we should avoid eating it no matter how cute it looks. No worries about that!<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
spores most likely came in with the soil. Although I had moved the houseplant
from my living room to my bathroom almost a year ago, it took awhile for the
conditions to be perfect for my unintended - but now interesting - mushroom
farming.</span></span></em></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylZoUhbQlSEouykw-Il2v8ht_IKU3-MxqEVVjbZwZeQkittuufZ9_tb72nAAiIyvXzYumG6lJObheF8tiHIndnGpXmmQA1nld4MWib-TBrlt2MfSwhylcKQYCesrO3LUOyzBAYoZJHGbr/s1600/Mushrooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylZoUhbQlSEouykw-Il2v8ht_IKU3-MxqEVVjbZwZeQkittuufZ9_tb72nAAiIyvXzYumG6lJObheF8tiHIndnGpXmmQA1nld4MWib-TBrlt2MfSwhylcKQYCesrO3LUOyzBAYoZJHGbr/s320/Mushrooms.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
second site I found was equally as positive. The<a href="http://www.mushroomexpert.com/leucocoprinus_birnbaumii.html" target="_blank"> mushroom expert who created this site</a> even urged kids to send in their drawings of this cool looking ‘shroom,
but still cautioned parents to let their children know mushrooms growing in
potted plants should not be eaten. <o:p></o:p></span></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal;">The
<a href="http://houseplantscare.blogspot.com/2010/09/yellow-houseplant-mushroom.html" target="_blank">last webpage</a> I opened was not so positive. The author called the mushrooms "</span></em><span style="background: white; color: #323232;">less than desirable, basically useless,
and mostly ugly".</span> I sort of felt sorry for the little fungi when I read
that. Maybe they are undesirable, serving no useful purpose in my house, but
they certainly aren’t ugly, at least in my opinion. I thought they were intriguing
and beautiful in their own way. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then I did a search to see if
inhaling the spores could cause respiratory distress or fungal infections in
the lungs. I found a lot on black mold that could be associated with
respiratory issues, although not all mold was in that category. I couldn’t find
any warnings about mushroom spores being dangerous. That did ease my concerns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After my research, I thought I
would bring the plant back into the house, but I put it on the shelf where it had
been earlier. I had to decide if I would keep the mushrooms as a unique
decoration. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Turns out the decision was out of
my hands. The sun shining through the window must have been fatal to the little
guys, since the next day they were shriveling up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately I decided to reseed my
houseplant and replace the soil. Although the mushrooms were <i>uber</i>-cute and very interesting, and even
though many experts declared them to be safe for people unless included in a
salad or soup, I wanted to proceed with caution.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My brother had a lung transplant
fourteen years ago, and has fought off various fungal infections in his lungs
over the years. I’m positive this is not the same type of fungus, and almost
certain it wouldn’t be harmful for him to breathe the spores. Still, for my
peace of mind, I would rather not have any type of fungus blowing out spores
anywhere in my house when he visits.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although this story had a sad
ending for my little yellow mushrooms, it was certainly an interesting learning
experience for me. I discovered that it really wasn’t my fault the mushrooms
grew, that it was just a circumstance of the proper humid conditions since the
spores were present in the potting soil. I also learned to appreciate the
beauty of something new and remarkable, and to do a little research before
panicking. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a good lesson for life in
general, and maybe even how we treat others - humans, animals, and plants. Just
because something is surprising, brand new, and looks different doesn’t mean it’s
dangerous or frightening. A little research is better than a knee-jerk reaction
to these little surprises that might pop up in my </span>flowerpots<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> (and in my life.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although research has its downside
too. For instance, after finding the joke at the beginning of this post, I
realized it was scientifically incorrect and I’m not sure I could ever, in good
conscience, tell it again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You’re welcome.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-53715119643229520192014-11-26T00:02:00.001-07:002014-11-26T00:04:29.772-07:00Unforgettable Thanksgiving<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are some things in this world that we simply cannot
forget.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I am writing about a To Do list. One that I wrote
probably six or seven years ago in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner, which I
have hosted for my family and friends almost every year since I've been single.
One that only stands out in my mind because of the P.S. attached to it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wish I would have dated it, but I guess it doesn't really
matter the year. What matters is how it made me feel. How I feel every year
right before Thanksgiving when I am busy getting the house ready for company
and the food prepared for the big day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That was one of the first years I made my itinerary for the
day – probably to keep me on track and to make everything seem manageable.
Planning and carrying out this dinner can be difficult by myself. For some
reason, that year I must have been more stressed than usual.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a reminder to myself I wrote this little note – serving two
functions. One to remind me exactly what this day is about, and to be thankful
for all that I have. The second to make a practical list to follow so I wouldn't
forget anything. I don't know how many times I've left important dishes in the
refrigerator or microwave until long after dinner and dessert.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So here it is, in all my humdrum glory. I typed it up (so
organized!) and set it on the counter at night. When I woke up in the morning
and took a look at it – this is what I found...</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJnSx3xIsajbx7Pskl1umpn4qj5RpnWlHNn6FFXy3a9Pbc1_8J_cYw-RCWwdidkPO0uFBVSOjzj3T3RZ6QGZHDvQaJn_75Z5HV36K4RMi3PL0x77TW5vwUhSQPHxAg_FQxIJotZKvUMGN/s1600/Thanksgiving+note.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJnSx3xIsajbx7Pskl1umpn4qj5RpnWlHNn6FFXy3a9Pbc1_8J_cYw-RCWwdidkPO0uFBVSOjzj3T3RZ6QGZHDvQaJn_75Z5HV36K4RMi3PL0x77TW5vwUhSQPHxAg_FQxIJotZKvUMGN/s1600/Thanksgiving+note.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My daughter added that last part. You know, the part that
says everyone loves and appreciates me even if it all doesn't go as planned.
You know – the part that brought tears to my eyes when I first read it. The
part that still does.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, my wise and loving daughter. You really "get"
it. You truly understand. Those few words have stayed with me through many
Thanksgiving preparation times, and no doubt will remain with me until the end
of my days.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What a wonderful gift. What a treasure. Perhaps you never
knew your words would touch me forever. They will, my dear. Always.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So this Thanksgiving, I am doing it all over again. I'm
getting better at planning ahead, but still, this Thursday it will be busy, a
bit crazy, and hopefully I'll get all the menu items cooked and ready to serve,
and the cat hair off the sofa, before my guests arrive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whether it all goes as planned, or it falls apart like a
house of cards in an earthquake, it will be fine. We will laugh, we will reminisce,
we will tease and joke, take pictures, and remark on how the little ones have grown
so tall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am so blessed every day, because there is love around me.
In the end, nothing else matters. This Thanksgiving, I'm sending a special
thanks to Cera. I will always remember, and cherish forever, that simple
postscript from a Thanksgiving many years ago.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-32920366999087632422014-11-14T19:16:00.002-07:002014-11-14T19:27:01.825-07:00Love Thy Neighbor<div class="MsoNormal">
I previously blogged about some of my neighbors, and how
helpful they were when I was trying to <a href="http://idahocat.blogspot.com/2013/04/good-neighbors-annoying-landscaping.html" target="_blank">re-landscape my front yard</a> (take out two
monster shrubs that threatened to eliminate anything in their paths.) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, during an unusual November cold snap, I need to add to
it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were hit with a record-breaking eight inches of snow.
It's unusual this early in November. Usually the first snowfall sort of
meanders to the earth, sometimes melting, sometimes sticking around until the
sun hits it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last night we had snow, about an inch and a half. I merrily
scooped it off my three-car driveway. Haha, what great exercise, and nice,
fresh air...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuqkGSvOhK8scSvam0-gI_2qE_L6xhrrNan955NTmmZeoj8nYZbd-Mg-VYHWUjwxDUHCFi8xRsY9bos3b6P8jWHWv68-KbNsB5_3k9sNNcijWXytcev54uJ1RZk4udN0i0MxBap-quP7x/s1600/November+snow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuqkGSvOhK8scSvam0-gI_2qE_L6xhrrNan955NTmmZeoj8nYZbd-Mg-VYHWUjwxDUHCFi8xRsY9bos3b6P8jWHWv68-KbNsB5_3k9sNNcijWXytcev54uJ1RZk4udN0i0MxBap-quP7x/s1600/November+snow.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Then this morning I woke up to about three or four inches.
Rats.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had places to go.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent an hour outside, managing to clear the sidewalk, the
walkway up to my door, and a little path up the driveway. Grateful that I chose
a vehicle with four-wheel-drive, I went to lunch. Two hours later I returned
home.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The snow was almost seven inches deep. Curses...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I bundled up, grabbed my shovel and proceeded to join
several neighbors attempting to get ahead of the weather. I noticed that the
downpour of snow seemed to be lessening. Then to my surprise and delight one of
my subdivision angels had driven his 4x4 with snowplow attached down our
street. He visited each driveway that had a person shoveling (I assume he
didn't want to plow driveways without permission) and proceeded to clean off the
rest of my snow in five minutes. It probably would have taken well over an hour
by hand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow! I was so thankful! He went up the street, and helped
several other folks out as well.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aren't people grand? Most folks just want to do the right
thing, to help their neighbors, to make this world a little better place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm so thankful for the blessings I've been given. There is
so much in my life to appreciate – my family, my friends, and even this awesome
neighbor that I barely know.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy Snow Day. Happy November. Happy Thanksgiving. Please
remember to always count your blessings!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-50467537160641538892014-10-13T23:48:00.000-06:002014-10-13T23:49:59.031-06:00Distraction<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I admit it. I am sometimes easily distracted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Especially when I hit a snag in writing, or I've been
editing for too many consecutive hours. Or when what I'm doing has become monotonous
or tedious and I need a break.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've noticed if I stay in </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">front of my computer too long and
my dogs and cats get bored, they will do almost anything to get my attention.
The cats jump on my chair, and try to sidle onto my lap. The dogs will push
against me, often bringing a favorite toy so we can have some play time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other day I was on a roll, figuratively speaking. The
words were pouring out of my head and my fingers had trouble keeping up with
the flow. It was great! However, something was amiss.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where were my fur-babies? They weren't bugging me. I turned
around to look for them and here's what I saw: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdp1g5BwW3kj51neM_m0G49uWH9vY26dl617XbDheL0W-yX9n1GNxX0o3-h-aWb133g7iesB1Cf651Q1WU26Ap0yyDvpFGr7pg2XXrg3piNgnb5oyR3Tv-cnAeO3wrsOobIPq6TxfYa4xe/s1600/2014-10-11+11.09.37+luca+atticus+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdp1g5BwW3kj51neM_m0G49uWH9vY26dl617XbDheL0W-yX9n1GNxX0o3-h-aWb133g7iesB1Cf651Q1WU26Ap0yyDvpFGr7pg2XXrg3piNgnb5oyR3Tv-cnAeO3wrsOobIPq6TxfYa4xe/s1600/2014-10-11+11.09.37+luca+atticus+-+Copy.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thankfully I had my camera at hand so I could take several
photos of Atticus Smash, sleeping while Luca kept a watchful eye on me. After
several photos, I thought the law of averages would be in my corner, and I had
captured "the look."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went back to my typing, but a short time later
turned around again. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made some oohing and ahhing noises at the bundle of kitties. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out came my camera, and several snaps later I was satisfied. My cats, Atticus Smash and Nemo, slept through it all.</span><br />
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AV14YAuD6jnPzgopIFRP7Mh4bAPPIzuLm0SVMdlxnMA9VT0XYo4wFpnWbXnwDGNb-sC7NubC6WOPHEftZgVu30dmpMf8sLtYSWQ_oMNFJqO7s56mB6Wcztf1wI-KASqXmqosFOG0FZdm/s1600/atticus+nemo+2014-10-11+12.11.27+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AV14YAuD6jnPzgopIFRP7Mh4bAPPIzuLm0SVMdlxnMA9VT0XYo4wFpnWbXnwDGNb-sC7NubC6WOPHEftZgVu30dmpMf8sLtYSWQ_oMNFJqO7s56mB6Wcztf1wI-KASqXmqosFOG0FZdm/s1600/atticus+nemo+2014-10-11+12.11.27+-+Copy.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jwdnwKZZwkHJ7JXDWL0meGZQDtgiYZJrj9zmq4O0Hr2RJzo9lQTFk8BD98giJA6uwWUwgITFumf0q23wIhKX5cGbGVzg6NDBbPPSf9CikoTk6jqNqrOQcZnyW0sXzI4PiduCnG1pZEfT/s1600/Dude+2014-09-20+18.23.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jwdnwKZZwkHJ7JXDWL0meGZQDtgiYZJrj9zmq4O0Hr2RJzo9lQTFk8BD98giJA6uwWUwgITFumf0q23wIhKX5cGbGVzg6NDBbPPSf9CikoTk6jqNqrOQcZnyW0sXzI4PiduCnG1pZEfT/s1600/Dude+2014-09-20+18.23.34.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Third time was charm – not only with my typing but also with
the last of the animals. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dude was trying to look as cute as could be. I thought
he succeeded quite readily.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it went on all afternoon. They all looked so cute, and
sweet just lounging around, sleeping, being perfect angels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It worked. I broke down and took the dogs for a walk, and
cuddled with the cats. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it's nice to be easily distracted.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-86923689081664912512014-01-13T20:24:00.001-07:002014-01-13T20:24:42.142-07:00Yes, I Am a Runner<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm a runner. I didn't start running until a little over
seven years ago. And after all this time, it still feels a little awkward to
just come out and say it. Mostly because I'm a wimpy runner. I walk uphill,
mostly run on flat land, and manage to pick up the pace on downhills. I'm still
slow though.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqqF14C17gQdKxhKYCi42olF30rB0Q9B_QKsE8jFq8OtFzYccXhNLWEjMF9rKleiSrWthlA5JaCfHXSKyPW0O8iC65_36AoXUJaRKIsWE8jQIbzOe7lDav3-L0JoyOmoc3eDdErbReGmo/s1600/Zan+and+Cathy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqqF14C17gQdKxhKYCi42olF30rB0Q9B_QKsE8jFq8OtFzYccXhNLWEjMF9rKleiSrWthlA5JaCfHXSKyPW0O8iC65_36AoXUJaRKIsWE8jQIbzOe7lDav3-L0JoyOmoc3eDdErbReGmo/s320/Zan+and+Cathy.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathy and Zan - Famous Idaho Potato Start</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite the humble way I get those miles in, it's a fact. I
do run. I've done numerous races – 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons. Thirteen
miles is about my comfort level for an organized run. It forces me to train,
but it's not so daunting it makes me nervous. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'ve run several half-marathons more than once, including
<a href="http://www.zhalfmarathon.com/" target="_blank">Zeitgeist</a>, which is a fun race on rolling hills, all of it paved. And the
<a href="http://www.ymcatvidaho.org/fip" target="_blank">Famous Idaho Potato </a>run, again all on paved roads or paths, but it's a flat
course mostly by the river on the Boise Greenbelt, which makes it a wonderful
run. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The most challenging one has been the <a href="http://robiecreek.com/" target="_blank">Race to Robie Creek</a>, starting at
2725 feet, climbing 8.5 miles to 4797 feet, then dropping for the next 5 miles
to 3065 feet. After the first mile, when we start our big climb, I always
regret signing up, but I get over it by the time I make it, wheezing and gasping,
to the summit.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The only marathon race I've run was a beautiful 26.2 miles
in Susanville, California, the <a href="http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/bizz_johnson.html" target="_blank">Bizz Johnson</a> Run. The entire course was on
trails, first carved out from an old railroad trail, then on a lovely path that
meandered along an awesome river. It was an easy course for a marathon, but was
a tough one for me because of the distance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was true for me what they said about hitting the wall.
Around mile 22 or 23, I just lost it. Everything </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in my body</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> that could feel, hurt. My stom</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ach decided to treat me to gastrointestinal problems. I was
exhausted and discouraged, but on I trudged.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0lQ2PXi-OoQD57ccqwM4HB1X0cONcEK1gWYywCunKAqfq-bLE4YF2nIcqLrnc8-_j8FBetZvNwdag1bAnY-SiD50UuE6p3Z2-vRpMnovMEN27dcGu1IbiDJJh3NxkCinr8CDH374L7b2e/s1600/finish+line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0lQ2PXi-OoQD57ccqwM4HB1X0cONcEK1gWYywCunKAqfq-bLE4YF2nIcqLrnc8-_j8FBetZvNwdag1bAnY-SiD50UuE6p3Z2-vRpMnovMEN27dcGu1IbiDJJh3NxkCinr8CDH374L7b2e/s320/finish+line.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish Line at Bizz Johnson Marathon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The nice thing about these types of races are the people.
The volunteers, race directors, and especially other runners. One runner, Manny from
Texas, ended up walking and slowly running with me the last few miles,
encouraging me, and telling me I would get the first sip of the ice cold beer
his friends had waiting for him at the finish line. He even hung back a second
so I could run across the finish before him. When I realized I had made it and
completed my first marathon, I burst into tears. It was so awesome!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppsvaSJ63QvJ-M48vP9-rr7KI74QoOrBpr95nOvYPh3dLH79YQ16C8znI0lhPlej9i6ShnMfe4rp5rqLmxAxshjvLoPKq4sMlzVR8UvWziE_oE9nUGwnguPK7bfJSk94McoVhXjYmXihE/s1600/Antelope+Island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppsvaSJ63QvJ-M48vP9-rr7KI74QoOrBpr95nOvYPh3dLH79YQ16C8znI0lhPlej9i6ShnMfe4rp5rqLmxAxshjvLoPKq4sMlzVR8UvWziE_oE9nUGwnguPK7bfJSk94McoVhXjYmXihE/s320/Antelope+Island.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish Line at the Buffalo Run</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next big challenge for me was the <a href="http://www.buffalorun.org/?page_id=277" target="_blank">Buffalo Run on Antelope Island</a> in Utah. I chose the 32 mile option – a 50k ultra-marathon.
Although I thought I had trained sufficiently, this one totally wiped me out.
My "run" across the finish line was more like a stagger. My feet were
killing me, I could barely move. But I did it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwbR4ZumHPb8rB5g58M78lGxri4syFSS4U5qZnksGcx1-3LOM8lwWFBoDLLAiyRjTD4NZCi4WcI_l-3GZgKHXqfda3gxL19ikmYVKtofEH1WV4slZgzC4GxzswnOrcL0VNYkVRZ_W0txW/s1600/Bryce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwbR4ZumHPb8rB5g58M78lGxri4syFSS4U5qZnksGcx1-3LOM8lwWFBoDLLAiyRjTD4NZCi4WcI_l-3GZgKHXqfda3gxL19ikmYVKtofEH1WV4slZgzC4GxzswnOrcL0VNYkVRZ_W0txW/s320/Bryce.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am signed up for one more ultra-marathon in June – this one
is the <a href="http://www.ultra-adventures.com/events/bryce-canyon/" target="_blank">Bryce Canyon Ultra</a>, and again I'm running the 50k. Doesn't this look spectacular? It should be an
amazing experience, with the scenery along the trail. I'm sure initially I'll
wonder why in the world I would subject myself to this torture. Until I start
running past the breathtaking scenery, and then again when I make it to the
finish line, that is. It does have a nine hour cutoff though, and I almost hit
that with my previous ultra. I guess I better start training in earnest now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-in-4iCzc05QWK-aQgH6LDlvlK3tqp_WkUUdcBl7sH18v0tm5hkXe5aaXiujcgLZLaMN1Li2OVe8Ej6dxHjQgyA0EvemSgxGmiK00_BNRZkzhgBEDOWzhr4SH-0tglEBPPVJJI1OCSn6/s1600/IMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-in-4iCzc05QWK-aQgH6LDlvlK3tqp_WkUUdcBl7sH18v0tm5hkXe5aaXiujcgLZLaMN1Li2OVe8Ej6dxHjQgyA0EvemSgxGmiK00_BNRZkzhgBEDOWzhr4SH-0tglEBPPVJJI1OCSn6/s320/IMG.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks <a href="http://www.inthebleachers.com/meetsteve.php" target="_blank">Steve Moore</a>!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll be posting a few pictures in June. Hopefully none that look like this...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-6733255296058505502014-01-09T21:40:00.000-07:002014-01-09T21:43:43.524-07:00Whistling<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my previous post I mentioned I love music. I would like
to add that I really like almost any kind. I was raised on a mixture of
classical (from my dad and mom), sixties and seventies (from my older brother),
and a bit of country thrown in (from my friends). I admit that some of the rap
and hip hop music I could do without. But there is that certain beat...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCyXSxqEdXcgwJRf-jW7V-8aMPCFHwa2QoyttUoBOk_T0-1xdDuXnJBoIMxFh7M1M7rumTa3dabMt4B5aA_PSDXv6fJpjvO6olKAH65hHT4przjN9vSnl34flJjK_AMlMfJ_Ps679CQrP/s1600/Slay+in+the+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCyXSxqEdXcgwJRf-jW7V-8aMPCFHwa2QoyttUoBOk_T0-1xdDuXnJBoIMxFh7M1M7rumTa3dabMt4B5aA_PSDXv6fJpjvO6olKAH65hHT4przjN9vSnl34flJjK_AMlMfJ_Ps679CQrP/s1600/Slay+in+the+shop.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a picture of my daughter's boyfriend of three years.
His name is Slay. He is awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I am letting him
take over half of my garage to turn into a shop. He's fixing up his 1947 Dodge
pickup truck, and also just finished putting together an old Yamaha motorcycle.
Slay is clean, keeps his workspace organized (more organized than I am in general) and
loves my daughter, my dogs, and my cats. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past weekend my brother was at my house. We had a great
visit. On Monday, we were invited to lunch, which I accepted at the last
moment, which meant I had to take my shower fast. I told Marty to go ahead
without me and I would be there as soon as possible. I took a very fast shower,
dressed, and headed out of my bedroom, whistling some happy tune.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When suddenly... I realized as I rounded the corner to the
kitchen, I was not alone. At first I thought it was my brother, and wondered
why he hadn't left already. Then I realized it was Slay. He was sitting at my
counter, eating his lunch before he continued working on his truck. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First I was a little embarrassed whistling my way down the
hall. Then I thought – what the heck? So I made some comment about my penchant
for music, and guess what? Slay wasn't laughing at me. It was really no big
deal. His girlfriend's mother was a little wacky and definitely happy, so... so
what?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I thought to myself as I continued this conversation in
my head. Whistling? Not the worst thing anyone could catch me doing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We proceeded to talk about his current progress, and how he
and my daughter were getting packed for their trip to Hawaii. Our conversations
are comfortable. I like Slay, and I am really happy he is with my daughter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll continue to sing. To whistle. To hum. I'll try to tone
it down when I'm out in public, but I can't offer any guarantees. What can I
say, my life is good, and I'm happy!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-76474700945905961072014-01-08T20:29:00.001-07:002014-01-08T20:29:54.958-07:00Music - I Love Music!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love music, and love to sing along with my favorite songs.
That's quite normal, right?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sure I'm not the only one to sing in the shower, and
possibly not the only one to sing at the top of my lungs in my house when I'm
alone. I can carry a tune, although I don't have a "recording-ready"
voice. But that's not important, not for me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I caught myself singing away while I was doing
laundry. I don't even remember the song, or if it was one I made up. I just
stopped and thought to myself – "If someone came in the door right now
they would be laughing like crazy!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that's okay. I guess. I've been caught before, and after
a fleeting moment of embarrassment, my life does go on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember when my son and daughter were little. Almost since
they could walk and talk, they loved music. It was a big part of their play. I
think back fondly on their breakfast ritual before school – they sat at the table,
humming merrily along between swallows of milk and cereal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The part that made me smile – big – as I futzed around in
the kitchen, was that they were both humming different songs, and totally
oblivious to the other. It was cute, and it made me happy to hear them sound
happy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now my kids are young adults, and last year they informed me
that I used to hum all the time. They thought it quite the fun game to start
humming some tune I would know, and... wait for it... I would start humming
along. Then they would laugh silently at me. I'm sure because it was cute,
right?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is wrong with humming? It's happy, downright joyous! So
I would say – there is nothing wrong with humming, or whistling, or singing.
But if you are caught unexpectedly in the middle of a tune – is that
embarrassing? Tune in tomorrow...</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-61345990084439995782014-01-07T00:11:00.000-07:002014-01-07T00:11:33.897-07:00Family<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow my brother Marty travels back to Coeur d'Alene,
after spending the entire weekend with me. It was so much fun, and we were busy
from the time we both eventually rolled out of our beds to the time we said
goodnight. Today I thought about opting out of a few invites so I could get
other things done but at the last minute thought – hey why not?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This particular invitation was to lunch with my brother's
son's girlfriend's parents. Got that? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See, Marty came to Boise so he could visit me and
our other brother, then drive his son (my nephew, Jake) back home to get ready
to go back to the university. I met Jake's girlfriend Taylor on Sunday, and
today Jake wanted to introduce my brother to Taylor's parents.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told Marty it sounded serious, and he just laughed, a bit
nervously. After all, both kids are not quite twenty years old, but seem quite
smitten with each other. Anyway, the six of us had a wonderful time getting to
know each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We then spent the afternoon with my older brother and his
wife. He's had some very serious illnesses the past several weeks, spending almost
two weeks during two visits to the hospital just before Christmas and just
before New Year's Day. He's recovering well now, which is great. We went to see
some property they own that they hope to build on in the near future. You could
hear the excitement in his voice as he talked about those plans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then Marty bought me dinner at a favorite Mexican
restaurant, and we topped the evening off by visiting my niece and her family
at their new-to-them house. After a fun time talking to them and seeing almost
every toy and costume their kids had (they are so cute!) we headed back to my
house. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marty leaves tomorrow. It's been a great visit – he's an
awesome guest. And I will miss him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So today, all the plans I had for organizing, cleaning,
writing, editing... they all went out the door. Instead I spent time with
family and friends, and the entire day passed so quickly. Life is too short.
More specifically our lives are too short. We need to be with the ones we love
while we can, and support the dreams of our friends and families. Tomorrow is
never guaranteed, but today is already here and waiting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can edit tomorrow. I can write tomorrow. Today was for
family and for memories.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-5011102210772615842014-01-03T19:47:00.003-07:002014-01-03T19:47:53.594-07:00Goals, Goals, Goals...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ha, well this goal of
writing a blog post every day didn't last very long. It sounded good on the first of
January! Perhaps I should revise it – to every other day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a good lesson
though. And I love those things I can learn and grow from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I'm going to set a
goal, and make it public, I have to follow through successfully. Or else get
called out on it. And I do not want that to happen again.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It does make me
accountable – either to do what I set out to do (write a blog each day) or to
make more realistic goals.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On only day three, I
have already fallen short of my goal. However, the good thing is, I am writing
something. It might only be a little explanation for my tardiness, but it's
something.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I want to write, I
must make it a priority. I can't waste time checking my social media for way
too long, or doing anything else that isn't productive in some way. Reading is
productive. Thinking is productive. Taking the dogs for a walk is productive.
And writing is productive. But going through each and every one of my friends'
posts to see what I might be missing – well, that is not the best use of my
time.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The good thing is, I now
have two blog posts in three days. If I keep this up, I might end up more
prolific than I have been in the past. I miss blogging, not so much for the
writing part, or the sharing part (which can be a little scary and/or
uncomfortable for me) but because when I blog I also check out the blogs of my
friends, and I miss doing that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let's see where this
takes me. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-8076224252638095872014-01-01T20:56:00.000-07:002014-01-01T20:56:23.837-07:00Happy New Year!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I took on a once-a-day blog challenge for the month of
January. It can't be that hard, right? I can certainly think of topics to blog
about. Such as the New Year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a matter of fact, I like this idea. A new year. A
challenge.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last year seemed to be a time of building for me.
Relationships, writing, and new beginnings. Sort of laying the foundation for
things to come. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I realize that change can happen at any time. We certainly
don't need a new year to change our less-than-good habits, lose weight, write
the great American novel, or do anything else in our lives we've been putting
off. But there is something about having a specific date that appeals to
people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I made a goal for myself. I wanted to get healthy, and
strong, and finish the challenges that were before me. I didn't start today. I
started four days ago, and so far, so good.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As far as any new resolutions for 2014? I suppose it's
exactly the same as my current life goals: I want to have a healthy body and
sharp mind. I will finish and publish my first novel. I will continue to make a
living writing for other people. And I will never take any part of my life for
granted. It's too precious, and too short.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-56872881454809591482013-10-26T12:01:00.002-06:002013-10-26T18:01:21.378-06:00The Good Mommy<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My children are adults now. Cera, my youngest, my baby, is
twenty-five years old. How did that happen so quickly? Sometimes I look back
and wonder if I was a good mother, if I could have or should have done things
differently. I'm sure that crosses the minds of mothers all over the world. I
do believe I did the best I could at the time, and I take comfort that above
all, I loved—and still love—my children unconditionally, with all my heart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They taught me so much about life, and what is really
important, and sometimes I remember these lessons when I look over old photos
or videos of them when they were young. Recently I ran across a picture of my
daughter when she was ten years old. Her Girl Scout troop had a picnic in the
park, an informal party to celebrate their past year accomplishments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the other side of the park were snakes. Big snakes like pythons
and boa constrictors. All were non-venomous (or so we were told) and
accompanied by their handlers. It wasn't long before the Girl Scout party
invaded the snake party, and it was an amazing sight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These preteen girls were petting the reptiles, making
tunnels with their bodies while the snakes wriggled underneath them, sitting
and letting them slither up and around their arms and legs. Moms and Dads were
watching carefully, more than a bit nervous, and as I recall, the snake
handlers were amused by the whole situation as they talked about their unusual
pets. This was definitely a teachable moment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most of these reptiles were really long, twelve to twenty
feet perhaps, if I recall correctly. I watched my daughter delight in stroking
their smooth scales (skin?) and attempt to lure snakes over to her just to
watch them slide in and around her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cera was sitting cross-legged, when one of these snakes
slithered under her knee and raised its head up to look at her. My first
reaction was a bit of panic, then I composed myself and told her – "Don't
move. I'll be right back."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a good mother, you know what I did next, right? Of course, I ran to my car and grabbed my camera! And snapped this picture. And I'm so
glad I did, since both Cera and her new snake friend only had patience to pose
for a few moments. Then the snake slowly lowered itself to the ground and
glided away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5mH8yQCDTI19PiHei2SYDD9qa0rnCOr1HVBhSz10bBAwM55LiR4AntobVg-3T9W8LPTKTI-QUHuQ49Q6946QbFISLIdLRgy4RkgxIw7wQCrD2ajsnYOBpH0oHY5FrwU-T2lp1w9bi9hq/s1600/Cera+and+snake+1998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5mH8yQCDTI19PiHei2SYDD9qa0rnCOr1HVBhSz10bBAwM55LiR4AntobVg-3T9W8LPTKTI-QUHuQ49Q6946QbFISLIdLRgy4RkgxIw7wQCrD2ajsnYOBpH0oHY5FrwU-T2lp1w9bi9hq/s640/Cera+and+snake+1998.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lessons learned: </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Snakes are really pretty cool, unless they are
rattlesnakes sitting in the middle of a trail I'm running on.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">My daughter was entranced by this encounter, and
it helped reinforce her love and appreciation for all of God's creatures.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">When you put Girl Scouts in the same park as big
long harmless snakes, give up on any of your pre-planned activities – they will
hang with the reptiles instead.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The real snake charmers were the real snakes
charming the girls.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the number one lesson I learned? When you're with your
kids, always carry a camera.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-50062275223831911982013-08-07T22:46:00.001-06:002013-08-07T22:46:31.250-06:00"I Don't Believe in Bears, So..."<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A few years ago I joined a backpacking trip through the
Emigrant Wilderness in California. This was a four day trek covering 40 miles
of amazing scenery. Our group consisted of sixteen adventurers, one guide, and a
bevy of pack horses. Oh, and a yellow lab who belonged to a cook at the resort.
This dog loved to join any hiking group going somewhere exciting, and he stuck
with us the entire time, begging dinner and a warm place to sleep each night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our guide, Colin, was young, only twenty-two years old, yet
he was an experienced guide and wrangler. His team of pack horses hauled our
tents, sleeping bags, and various comforts from civilization, and we carried
day packs with water, food for lunches, cameras, and various other essentials
we couldn't do without during daylight hours.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was an amazing journey. We merely had to follow the
trail, and stop when we saw Colin and our packs. He made camp by water sources,
so we could filter clean mountain water to drink. Every night we made a
campfire, and sat around telling tales, getting to know one another, and
sharing spiked cocoa and wine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first night, however, several of us had a few questions
for Colin. In preparation for this trip, we were dutifully warned that we were
hiking in bear country. And these bears weren't like Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They would eat our food, and possibly us, if we happened to be in the same
proximity. One of the conditions of joining this trek was to use a bear-proof
canister to store anything that had an odor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I took this seriously. Weeks prior to the hike, I studied
the warnings, and watched the videos of bears attempting to open various
canisters. I bought one that was highly recommended. It was so bear-proof that
I myself had trouble opening it. Perfect! I put my freeze dried meals inside,
my snacks, my coffee for the morning, a few candy bars... I was prepared.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yet, the first night, when I heard someone ask what I dared
not – "what about bears?" – I listened intently, feeling my heart
race. What if the bear couldn't get in the canister, and decided the human
flesh cowering inside the tent would be much easier to access, and almost as
tasty as the granola bars?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was then, when Colin spoke, that I was completely
reassured. For this young man who was in charge of our safety and well-being,
simply replied, "I don't believe in bears. So they never bother me."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Really? It was that simple? And he backed it up by adding
that he actually slept with his food under his bedroll. He didn't even use a
tent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Actually, that was reassuring. I guess because his total
belief in his own beliefs helped me feel secure. And perhaps the thought that
the bear would go after the easiest food source – you know, the one that wasn't
cowering in a tent. Yes, that helped. And I must admit, I was reassured that we
had a dog along who would surely let us know if a four-legged, smelly,
dangerous intruder entered our camp.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each night, what did I hear? I heard my camp mates settling
down. I heard the dog sniff around until someone opened the tent flap to let
him in. I heard the light jingle of bells on the pack horses as they grazed. I
heard the sweet rustle of a breeze as it meandered through the trees and
bushes. And then, I heard silence. Sweet silence. You really can hear nothing.
You just have to listen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And no bears. Perhaps they found us annoying and chose to
stay away. Perhaps they were never close to begin with. Or perhaps, possibly,
because one of us truly didn't believe in them, they had no choice but to leave
us in peace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was an interesting thought. If I believe in something,
does that give it life? And conversely, do I have the power to negate something
in my life simply by not affirming it? The mind is powerful. And the older I
get, the more I believe in my own power. Think good thoughts, good things could
happen. Believe the worst, and we better watch out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps that's a bit simplistic, but still... I do think I
control what is happening in my own life. Even when I don't realize how
powerful I am. So now, I choose to not believe in bears...</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-2412733155195430972013-07-02T19:10:00.003-06:002013-07-02T19:10:33.830-06:00I'm Melting!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Record temperatures all week, here in the southern part of
Idaho where I live. Yesterday it hit 110 degrees. That's hot. Right now, at
7:00pm, it's 104. That's also hot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I spent time outside, weeding the flowerbeds. Why I couldn't
wait for double digit temperatures is beyond me. That weather brings out happy
birds chirping. It was so blooming hot that even the hornets gave up and
crawled back wherever they came from. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The only sound that broke the silence was
the laughs of delight from the children next door.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They were bouncing on their trampoline, tossing a beach ball
back and forth. To add excitement, they also had a sprinkler running over the
entire trampoline. In the midst of yanking one weed after another, in 104
degree temperatures, I had to stop and smile at the shrieking and giggles from
over the fence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the ball somehow made it into my yard, they cried out
for me to throw it back. It was then that for just a brief moment, I wished I
was a kid again. I would have hand delivered that ball, and joined them on the
soaking wet trampoline. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I was just a sweaty, grubby, middle-aged woman pulling
on weeds. Remembering my childhood. Remembering the time when my own children
were that age, and how they delighted in the simplest of entertainment, some of
it actually safe...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had one of those lightbulb moments. Aha! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can't go back in time. But I can appreciate each moment on
this wondrous planet. Today is going to be a memory for tomorrow. What kind of
memory will it be? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think it should be a "clean off the sweat and grime
and go out for an ice cream cone" memory.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perfect.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stay cool, my friends.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-70373286676655168332013-07-02T00:05:00.000-06:002013-07-02T00:05:04.711-06:00Heroes in the Flames<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Such sadness. Yesterday I learned that nineteen wildland
firefighters were killed in Arizona trying to fight a forest fire threatening
homes and citizens in Arizona. These young men were truly heroes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This group of nineteen young men – in their twenties and
early thirties – faced a large, out of control fire coming directly toward
them. Official reports are yet to surface, but what I read is that they were
following protocol, attempting to slow or stop the flames with a firebreak,
when the flames were still small. Then the erratic wind picked up, causing the
fire to grow and move toward them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With no way to escape, the crew deployed
their fire shelters – basically tents designed to provide air and protect the
occupant from fire.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the sudden shift of the flames and the severity of the
fire proved too much for the shelters the men deployed. Nineteen souls were
lost, in a flash. Nineteen loved ones perished, leaving their families, friends,
and fellow firefighters to mourn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This hit especially hard for me. There is a firefighter that
I know – a Hotshot – who is, as I type this, currently on duty at that very
same fire. He is my daughter's boyfriend of many years. This brings the tragedy
home to me, in a very real way. I love him, as a son. As my daughter's love of
her life. As a young man with a great sense of humor, one who is kind and
caring, and who has an amazing future ahead of him. He chooses to live a life
of hard work and real danger, to save lives and homes. I worry about him. I
worry for my daughter who is frightened and on edge right now. And I am so very
proud of him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've followed this story in bits and pieces. I've seen the
photos of family members and friends mourning their lost loved ones. I've heard
interviews from people whose homes were destroyed but "at least my wife
and dog were saved" and I wonder.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wonder – do they realize the sacrifice made by nineteen
very brave young souls on their behalf? And by the hundreds of others still fighting to control this unforgiving force of nature? I am sure they do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How can they not?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rest in Peace – brave young souls. You are loved. You are
missed. Your lives made a real difference. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rest in Peace.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-60943823458821613002013-05-31T13:05:00.001-06:002013-05-31T13:11:42.524-06:00Heroes and Courage<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I set out to write this blog, I quickly realized that
in order to cover everything I could about heroes, it would take more writing
than this simple post could contain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First of all, I wish hero wasn't a gender-specific term, but
since it is for most uses, I want to include female heroes as well. Yes, yes, I
know they are referred to as heroines. But truly, what is the first thing that
pops into your head when you hear heroine? For me, it's the female lead in a
story. Yes, usually they are strong and brave, but do they really have that
"save the world" persona that is often attributed to a hero in a
story?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I digress.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To me, a hero is anyone who, in the face of danger, shows
tremendous courage. Heroes are willing to sacrifice their own time, comfort,
health, safety, and sometimes even their lives for those who are in a position
of needing help to survive and/or thrive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think of heroes as men and women risking their lives in
the military, serving us, fighting a war far from home to help protect people
like me. Or firefighters and police officers, and search and rescue teams, often
putting themselves in extreme danger to keep us safe.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And what about people who might not risk their lives, but
still save ours, sometimes in a manner of speaking and sometimes quite
literally? Doctors and nurses, for instance. And I can't forget teachers and
life mentors, those who put in long hours and lots of work in the hopes that
the individuals in their care will have successful and bright futures?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let's not forget those who may not be working in
particularly heroic professions, but when coming across life-threatening
situations will jump into a raging river to save a stranger, perform CPR to try
to get someone's heart beating again, drag accident victims out of a burning
vehicle when they are the first on the scene?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are heroes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would like to add, that my idea of a hero extends beyond
the obvious. Which doesn't diminish the importance of the heroes I mentioned
above. They are different kinds of heroes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The person who sees, really sees, suffering and sadness in a
fellow human being, and offers a kind word, a warm coat, a few dollars, or even
a simple smile.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Caregivers to the sick and dying, putting their own comfort
aside to give peace to those who suffer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A neighbor who doesn't ignore the neglected or abused child
next door, but takes action to save that child. Or who sees mistreatment of defenseless
animals, and tries to do something about it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The person who does <i>something</i>
to help another living creature on this planet that we all share, even if it
seems like such a small, inconsequential act. I'm reminded of this little
quote: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>You may be one person to the world, but you may be the world
to one person.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think that for most of us, we should just strike </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">may be</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, and replace it with </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">are</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Because every one of us has some
type of influence on each person we meet, whether it's profound or seemingly
inconsequential. Whether it's fleeting or lasts for eternity. Our thoughts and
actions matter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I really love the Starfish Story, adapted from "The
Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to
the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he
began his work.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked
down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to
himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked
faster to catch up.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of
a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man
was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them
into the ocean.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May
I ask what it is that you are doing?"<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The young man paused, looked up, and replied
"Throwing starfish into the ocean."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish
into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and
the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But,
young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there
are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another
starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It
made a difference for that one."</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just because you can't change the world doesn't mean you
can't change a part of the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of my heroes is a very dear friend of mine – <a href="http://www.erichansen.net/" target="_blank"><b>Eric Hansen</b></a>.
He is a musician who shares his gifts of love and hope to the world through his
music. Although his life hasn't always been easy, he is a testament to
strength, perseverance, a positive attitude, and love for his fellow human
beings. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KXnSYqbVg1E?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eric wrote and recorded a song called "Hero in the Dark", from
the album of the same name, which I would like to share with you. It is a beautiful way to illustrate what I want to say in this post. I do hope you
take a few minutes to listen to it.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks to all the heroes in my life, and especially my unknown - and unsung - heroes.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-41158125437334106172013-05-15T13:58:00.000-06:002013-05-17T18:41:55.966-06:00Real Torture<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is
torture? Sometimes we as humans toss that word around so casually it loses its
impact. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It's
torture sitting through another one of these long, boring prese</span></i><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ntations."</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Don't
torture me with that delicious smell of cinnamon rolls while I'm on a
diet."</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those
instances might not be pleasant, but they come nowhere near the torture that
some human beings can inflict on other living creatures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
definition I'm using for today's post, according to <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/">http://www.merriam-webster.com</a>, is "the infliction of intense pain (as from burning,
crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0x-U6Ge2jV9uEU-Xw6WUEEwL9kwskjkxBydNOm4D_nDL4xoEw_PDcrWkhXJufuBm3wuKnf4JDvmjQJ3IevW6PaCRg5mVkjN1w56lgL-uNqXi-DTOITKxz5-bo_NySNaXayPPjj2W9oQh/s1600/Pit+bull+with+IHS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0x-U6Ge2jV9uEU-Xw6WUEEwL9kwskjkxBydNOm4D_nDL4xoEw_PDcrWkhXJufuBm3wuKnf4JDvmjQJ3IevW6PaCRg5mVkjN1w56lgL-uNqXi-DTOITKxz5-bo_NySNaXayPPjj2W9oQh/s320/Pit+bull+with+IHS.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Photo from</span><a href="https://www.idahohumanesociety.org/news/2013/04/63-pit-bulls-from-oneida-county-arrive-at-ihs.aspx" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;" target="_blank"> Idaho Humane Society website</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the aftermath of
torture. This dog, a small pit bull bred especially for fighting, is one of 64
dogs rescued earlier this spring from a dog fighting operation in a rural area
of Idaho. They were only discovered after a person, or persons, killed a 61-year-old
man, his 32-year-old son, and the son's 27-year-old wife, all who resided at
the property. The young couple's infant and toddler were both found alive and
unharmed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The people who were killed were in the business of growing and selling
marijuana, and also raising and fighting small pit bull dogs. Law enforcement
stated that this was not a random act, and it was also not a robbery. They
found $95,000 in marijuana plants and cash in the house. Whoever killed these
three people had another motive. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPu-lg_d5ti_uTcBSCFbFqtfN9wCDgwZS7IoM6aB7YHC6HnO6ZuCAe99CFb6StzJfSUOSF-cJKPIkjVZhvuAe6FOQ8qVlQRiILxoHUjSKla8AxmCjzLR56JH-zISKjNeBjFxbvYaCf5XiT/s1600/4.8.13-pitbull2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPu-lg_d5ti_uTcBSCFbFqtfN9wCDgwZS7IoM6aB7YHC6HnO6ZuCAe99CFb6StzJfSUOSF-cJKPIkjVZhvuAe6FOQ8qVlQRiILxoHUjSKla8AxmCjzLR56JH-zISKjNeBjFxbvYaCf5XiT/s320/4.8.13-pitbull2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit KPVI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dogs lived in horrible conditions, freezing in winter, baking in
summer. It was thought that while some were fighting dogs, others with sweet
temperaments were used as bait dogs, attacked and killed to keep the attacking
dogs mean and blood-hungry.<span style="background-color: black; border: 1pt none black; padding: 0in;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Idaho Humane Society (IHS) took
on the responsibility of assessing and caring for these dogs. One had to be put
down immediately due to severe injuries and nonstop seizures. Bad Rap, the
organization that rehabilitated Michael Vick's fighting pit bulls, came out to
help with the dogs. Other regional animal shelters offered to take dogs at the
IHS to make room for the pit bulls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When all was said and
done, eleven dogs had to be put down because they could not be rehabilitated.
Another dozen were soon put up for adoption with carefully screened families.
Some were sent to outside dog rehabilitation facilities. And the rest remain at
IHS, still being cared for and evaluated in the hopes that they will also find
loving new homes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My daughter works at IHS, and here are a few pictures of her with some
of the pitties. As you can see, they are soaking in the love and affection from
staff and volunteers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDRkB2oCjHffUJFqRHy9BS7ME0Ao0lwcIZVivkLWKAWzDsLwuoehi7aw81AMlQ8jFzgLqyFQ2-v-Faaj1ORw1krVQhVFjoiN3f9y1OD3heWiZXvGFWsl9wRhCJcuWtgpFaZoo9LgP-JuH/s1600/cera+with+pittie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDRkB2oCjHffUJFqRHy9BS7ME0Ao0lwcIZVivkLWKAWzDsLwuoehi7aw81AMlQ8jFzgLqyFQ2-v-Faaj1ORw1krVQhVFjoiN3f9y1OD3heWiZXvGFWsl9wRhCJcuWtgpFaZoo9LgP-JuH/s320/cera+with+pittie.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">These pit bulls were bred to be small, as many fighting dogs are. Here is one little girl who is basking in an embrace. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><br /></span>
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA1eiFdKyubQ_PNDN61RYeFgrVdNYtONnTbHGP-9yZqaO34vZCBYRN_W0X0Z0F6S3ICZklIk_xFBQUl6XIiXf92GayqieSC2VLF6GNEtFhFjovJ6e77ylRcdXKtqvLRy-QFMjK6Oc0RUS/s320/cera+holding+pit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="256" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">This picture is so sweet, but sad at the same time. This little dog looks scared, but is simply trusting that she won't be hurt anymore. (<a href="https://www.idahohumanesociety.org/news/2013/04/bad-rap-and-ihs-complete-oneida-pit-bull-evaluation.aspx" target="_blank">Idaho Humane Society website</a>)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA1eiFdKyubQ_PNDN61RYeFgrVdNYtONnTbHGP-9yZqaO34vZCBYRN_W0X0Z0F6S3ICZklIk_xFBQUl6XIiXf92GayqieSC2VLF6GNEtFhFjovJ6e77ylRcdXKtqvLRy-QFMjK6Oc0RUS/s1600/cera+holding+pit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxUFeLEXxiFpGWTVvwSz-0ulvzci6V-HYu2014Ho5fRYRTAK7Hi6MBw946GW_0Q0Ja4oLVs1oDCe43HGg5wQ0NRAbcdInpC_z58mx9a7Xp-8DUu224B-TL4onRIXkckZ-4eqWmoi-X1RU/s320/Sweet+Cera+and+pit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="238" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">And my daughter getting some love from another of these "fighters". She fell in love many times over...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxUFeLEXxiFpGWTVvwSz-0ulvzci6V-HYu2014Ho5fRYRTAK7Hi6MBw946GW_0Q0Ja4oLVs1oDCe43HGg5wQ0NRAbcdInpC_z58mx9a7Xp-8DUu224B-TL4onRIXkckZ-4eqWmoi-X1RU/s1600/Sweet+Cera+and+pit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I love this video from IHS – this is the first peanut butter (and Kong toy)
that this dog has ever had.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wssr12V6J-8&sns=fb" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wssr12V6J-8&sns=fb</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this is a happy ending for many of these dogs. But it came at a
price, and adjusting to a life with a soft place to sleep, plenty of water and
food, and love instead of pain, will take time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those of you who think pit bull dogs (which are actually several different breeds of dogs) are inherently more dangerous than any other breed, I urge you to do your own research. And realize that many dogs seem to look like pit bulls, but actually are other breeds altogether, and are often mistaken in news reports.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html" target="_blank">http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html</a></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those of you who think mistreating animals is a trivial act – that a
slap on the wrist will do just fine – </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">again,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I urge you to do some research. Many evil
people in our society had a history of animal torture when they were younger. If
someone is able to tear the wing off a bird, starve and beat a dog, mutilate a
cat, or otherwise torture and kill any one of God's creatures, will they have
any regard for human life and well-being?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Please, be kind to one another. Not just to
other people, but to all living creatures. How<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">we treat the least among us</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> is a
reflection of who we are in the very depths of our souls. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-9763839498509879372013-04-11T11:15:00.004-06:002013-04-11T11:15:50.310-06:00Good Neighbors, Annoying Landscaping<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's so nice to have good neighbors. I've lived in my current
home for seven years. Although most of my immediate neighbors are much younger,
married, and with kids (lucky for me, some are Girl Scout-cookie-age), we all
get along. Since we don't have a lot in common other than sharing a street, I don't socialize with them, but we have been known to help each other out - for instance, shoveling
driveways together in the winter. It's a great neighborhood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today, the universe confirmed that I was in the right place,
at the right time. I am fairly independent, preferring to try to do things
myself rather than ask others for support or help. But sometimes, people just
need to step in. And I need to let them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I guess I should backtrack. When I first moved into my
house, there were two bushes planted in the front yard, close to the sidewalk,
in an area filled with landscape rocks. They were nice then. About four feet
tall, red leaves, nothing exciting. But nothing too outrageous either. I always
intended to add flowers, other shrubbery, and maybe even a small tree, to
brighten it up a bit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then as time passed, those shrubs took on a life all their
own, without my permission or encouragement. They grew large and out of
control. Probably at least ten feet tall and with a diameter to match. I
chopped them back several times, to within an inch of their lives, or so I
thought. And each time, they grew back stronger and bigger, and nothing else
had room to grow. I kept putting off the inevitable – to remove the entire shrub. Finally,
I realized that they had taken over the entire area, and I could do nothing
about it. I was tired of them, I wanted them out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So a few weeks ago, I cut them back down, although the base
of each shrub remained, with lots of sawed off limbs shooting out. I wanted
them gone. I wanted no more annoying limbs and leaves spraying me in the face
when I mowed. I longed for a real tree, some colorful flowers, and something
manageable to work with.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then yesterday afternoon, as I was digging around the
stumps, trying to plant something else, I realized the undergrowth of roots had
formed a large network of aspiring shrubs, just waiting for my ground cover to
open up enough to break out and grow. That was the last thing I wanted. Some of
these roots were two inches in diameter, and were so long that they looked like
sprinkler lines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Two of my neighbors, Joy and Erika, were out talking, and
they came over to look at the mess. It wasn't long after that Erika's husband Ryan
came over and said he thought we could just use a heavy-duty chain and a big
truck and pull them out. Then Joy's husband Rob came home, and Ryan soon
recruited him to start digging around the roots. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-2fSL59othDX0zepv220w4YurV9O2UV073Cf6Bidojo-laG_F7M6uUaVMvXHCJEoPnsfGO5pwh9Brq2i7M-z6mNCCzSmEch0tTZosCOu4gO8cf4G7BRKNHnWL8OKRdCwh_Har8Q2chI_/s1600/stumps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-2fSL59othDX0zepv220w4YurV9O2UV073Cf6Bidojo-laG_F7M6uUaVMvXHCJEoPnsfGO5pwh9Brq2i7M-z6mNCCzSmEch0tTZosCOu4gO8cf4G7BRKNHnWL8OKRdCwh_Har8Q2chI_/s320/stumps.jpg" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Using an ax, a shovel, large clippers, and a rake, they soon
dug a hole around the first shrub, and once the roots were cut, Ryan determined
it would be a piece of cake for Rob's truck to pull it out. We didn't have a
chain to use. I got on the phone, called my brother, and left to borrow his
towing chain. By the time I returned, less than thirty minutes later, they had
finished digging around the second shrub.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It took only a few minutes to hook each shrub to Rob's
truck, and they both pulled out quite easily. At last, the shrubs that had so
annoyed me over the years were gone! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had two lessons reinforced from this incident. First, when something really bothers you, address it early on, or it will just grow bigger and more unmanageable. And second, it's okay to ask for help from people, even if you feel you can't reciprocate in the same way. Most folks do like to feel needed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also re-learned some truths. Good neighbors are a treasure. Never take them for granted. And you can judge how ugly your front landscaping is by how quickly and willingly your neighbors volunteer to help get get rid of the eyesores.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Okay, they would have helped even if it wasn't that bad. Like I said, they are wonderful neighbors. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope they are around when it's time to plant the replacement tree...</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-9530573168312060372013-03-01T09:59:00.000-07:002013-03-01T09:59:09.500-07:00Safe Haven<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once in awhile I would love to travel back in time to when I was a baby – not to stay for very long— but just to revisit what it was like to be swaddled in a cozy towel after a nice, warm bath. To be held by someone who loves me and promises always to keep me safe and warm. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">I wouldn't need more than twenty minutes or so of being babied, that would be just long enough for me to drift gently into a deep, restful sleep. And in the morning I would open my eyes feeling refreshed and content in body, mind, and spirit. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">So what made me stop everything and do a little daydreaming about this? It was a beautiful picture of my niece's children. Her two year old daughter wanted to be held like a baby after her bath, by her older "brodder". And the expressions on their faces. Pure joy. This picture brings a smile to me each time I look at it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLb_1gbzTVpIYbSwsgwm5x5ziqZCgLVbn7Nb_DDb8KyPldb8xJg8Qe6nWdHo1DYOfkJhzzJs9-YSyv4WKEAdGBGATJ8qPNoBQ82tUkXTIIT_50zCbnD5gcMGz3R_xgvOJGv7FhJrm1FUs3/s1600/Ella+and+Carter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLb_1gbzTVpIYbSwsgwm5x5ziqZCgLVbn7Nb_DDb8KyPldb8xJg8Qe6nWdHo1DYOfkJhzzJs9-YSyv4WKEAdGBGATJ8qPNoBQ82tUkXTIIT_50zCbnD5gcMGz3R_xgvOJGv7FhJrm1FUs3/s320/Ella+and+Carter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">My grand-niece is barely out of babyhood, and how perceptive she is to remember the importance of trusting someone who loves her unconditionally, who keeps her completely protected and cared for. I am sure it wasn't long after this picture was snapped that she was running around again, independent and relatively self-sufficient for her age. And her "brodder" was there as her protector, her playmate, and her teacher. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">Don't we all need this? Human touch and unconditional love deeper than the ocean? Knowing that there is at least one other person on this planet who will never break a promise to care for you as much as possible, while still letting you be independent, to grow, to learn, to thrive?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">While I am much too grown-up to be swaddled and held...sigh...I will never be too old to appreciate those who fill me up every day. The loved ones I can turn to when times are bleak, who will just embrace me and care for me, even when distance requires that they hold me only in their hearts.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">So thank you all—family and dear friends. I hope you can feel that I also hold you close in my heart and wish you pure love and joy all the days of your lives.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-5363746382550341592012-12-05T14:45:00.000-07:002012-12-05T14:45:00.759-07:00Light at the End of the NaNo Tunnel!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As you might have noticed, if you have been reading my blog,
it's been over a month since I last posted. I should never wait that long
again. The entire month of November went by with only a single post. Of course
I have lots of reasons. I went out of town for a week. I hosted Thanksgiving
for twenty-five relatives and friends. I had my birthday to celebrate. Life in
general was busy. And of course, November is National Novel Writing Month, and
I was trying to get my word count in and novel written. So because of all the
distractions, I wrote in huge stairsteps...words, then nothing for days, words,
then nothing for days...yes it went like that. Until the last few days when I
realized it was crunch time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please, someone remind me to never, ever , EVER attempt to
finish a novel like that again. In order to get my word count, I had about three
hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, and I ended up writing pure narrative of
my story just so I could get it done. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sad, and perhaps fudging a bit, because I knew it would take
a ton of editing. But I made the 50,000 words, then I slept for 12 hours
straight. And the good thing was, I woke up with the ending in my head and
logical fill-ins for plot holes. So perhaps the narrative was a good idea. It
just came a month too late to be helpful with putting the story in novel form. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I procrastinated and paid the price. And learned my lesson.
I also learned about my writing style, at least about novel preparation. I
think of myself as a pantser, with a basic idea in my head, and then I just
write. However, this month I spent way too much time trying to research parts of my novel, because I admit I don't
know all that much about quantum mechanics/theory. So perhaps deep inside, I do
need to plan, or at least get the research out of the way before I start
writing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was especially painful to have to finish that way,
because I really loved the idea of my novel, and I think this one could go
somewhere. I didn't do the poor thing justice. It deserved so much more than
what I managed to throw at it in November. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So my goal, now written and published on this blog, open for
all the world to read (although the number of actual readers is slightly
smaller than the whole world), um, where was I? Oh yes, my goal is to finish
the ending, and to edit all that narrative, and to continue editing until I
have something I feel is good enough to pass around to my trusted writer
friends for input should they want to even read it. Then I will work on it some
more, and later this spring I will publish it. And print it out on CreateSpace
for my five free copies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And see where it takes me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I've put it all down in writing, so it will really be
difficult to neglect this piece of work. No matter what happens with my
finished novel, I at least want to hold it in my hands, declare it completed,
and go on to the next project. That will be my reward. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy Writing!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-41973840770193322812012-11-01T16:29:00.000-06:002012-11-01T16:29:41.261-06:00NaNoWriMo, Dawgs<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's finally November 1st. Last night I met up with a local
group of writers who will join me in writing 50,000 words in the form of a
novel. We do this during the month of November. This is National Novel Writing
Month (www.nanowrimo.org) and we are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of
participants worldwide. At the end of the month, we either make our word goal
or we don't. It's all on the honor system, and I believe most of the writers
involve take that very seriously. After all, we don't actually win anything,
unless you count a nice badge to put on your website, and bragging rights. Or
if you don't count the fact that just writing toward that goal makes you feel
as if you accomplished great things, because you did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway, some of the group arrived at the restaurant around
8:00pm yesterday evening. I got there about an hour later. The last arrival showed
up around 10:00pm. We couldn't start writing until November 1st, so had to keep
ourselves occupied until 12:01am.We ate, we drank, we talked about our novels,
our challenges, we joked around and laughed. A few people left before midnight.
By 11:30pm there were seven of us. We started pulling out laptops and netbooks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the minutes ticked by, there were several moments of
silence. There was a bit of electricity in the air, excitement and impatience
building. Some of us slipped away to the restroom. Everyone had laptops fired
up and fingers at the ready. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, midnight, and it was time to type. Our group
finally quieted down, and we all hit the keyboards. This was my first write-in,
and to join in at midnight was amazing. I had no idea where to start, but I
just typed. After about an hour, I decided I better get home and catch some
sleep, and when I checked I had 1100 words posted. Amazing, since I started
with a blank page and an almost blank mind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had a wonderful night of camaraderie with my fellow
Treasure Valley NaNo writers. Even though we are loosely organized, we all
agreed that regular writing meetings would be helpful. It sure kickstarted my
novel!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is probably not my most interesting blog, and most
likely not even that well-written or organized. My mind is not on the blog
right now, it's on the novel that will be unfolding before my eyes. I sure wish
I could use this blog to boost my novel's word count but since I'm not writing
about a writer writing NaNo, it just won't work. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy Writing Everyone!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-87759526361135918162012-10-26T13:05:00.001-06:002012-10-26T13:05:37.163-06:00Patience<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The older I get, the less patience I have at certain times.
Seems like when the issue is insignificant, I tend to lose my patience more quickly.
Usually it's only apparent to me, or at least I try to keep it to myself. So
mostly I find myself annoyed when I'm driving.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some people drive too fast, and I complain to myself how
dangerous it is. Some drive too slowly, and then I wonder if they ever manage
to get anywhere at all. Some cut me (or others) off, weave in and out of
traffic, and don't look either direction in parking lots. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I know I need to corral that inner Zen of mine, take
deep breaths and just relax. And I am working on it. I sure don't like the
impatient side that keeps trying to frequently pop out. In the spirit of
assisting me in my quest, the reality of life steps in now and then and smacks
me quietly but effectively in the face.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like today. I stopped for gas at one of our local stores. As
I pulled back into the parking lot on my way to the street, the car ahead of me
stopped. A small pickup truck had halted traffic in front of us, as if it
wanted to pull into a parking space to the left, and it was halfway there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm used to that happening. Sometimes drivers will wait forever
for someone to leave a spot so they can snag it. Fine, unless there are forty
other spaces a bit further away. But this little truck was blocking us, the
cars coming toward us, and all indications seemed the purpose was to wait for a
space. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm ashamed to admit I was quite irritated with that driver.
Why did he or she have to block our way, make us wait all this time, just to save a few steps? Then the truck
pulled forward toward the space, which I noticed was empty, but didn't pull
into it. I wondered if he knew how to maneuver. Yes, I was silently snarky.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The delay wasn't more than 30 seconds. Seriously. All my
griping for such a short amount of time. And once that truck pulled forward, it
was only blocking the oncoming lane, and we could pull around it. So we did. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once I got past it, I was instantly smacked by the universe.
The little truck was waiting for the parking space, but the car next to it had
an open door. And on the passenger side of that car, there was a man lifting a
little girl into a small wheelchair. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Talk about humbling. I was grumbling and fussing over my
delay of a few seconds, and the driver of the truck was kind and patient enough
to wait until the man could put his daughter into her chair and then close the
door. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even though no one had a clue how impatient I was, or how I
was ranting quietly to myself about inconsiderate drivers, I was ashamed that I
jumped to conclusions. And then I realized even if there had been no wheelchair
and little girl, why should I get so upset about a short delay for someone who
was trying to park? It was so silly.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I remembered when my kids were in driver's education, and
how tentatively they started out on the road. During that time I was so patient
with other drivers, especially young ones, thinking that maybe they were just
being very careful due to inexperience. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who am I to judge? If someone is not directly and unnecessarily
endangering my life, why can I not give that person the benefit of the doubt?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's really hard to write and post this on my blog, because
I feel like I should be a better person than this. By posting, I might
reinforce that virtual slap across my face I received today. Maybe I'll be
calmer, kinder, less rushed. Maybe I'll learn, once again, the contentment and
peace that comes with patience.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-28377752048763187692012-10-20T16:44:00.001-06:002012-10-20T16:44:27.413-06:00To Infinity and Beyond!<h3>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story)</span></i></h3>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty-four miles. Think about traveling somewhere twenty-four
miles from your current location. Your perspective on that distance would
change depending on your mode of transportation. In an automobile, with light
traffic and higher speed limits, you could drive twenty-four miles in a half
hour or less. On a bicycle, pedaling at an average speed, you could make it in
about two hours. Walking that distance could take around eight hours, if you're
like me.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now imagine that same distance, twenty-four miles, straight
up in the sky. Seemingly at the edge of space. To give it a little perspective,
when you fly with a commercial airline, you might top out around five miles. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you've been paying any attention to the news lately, you
might know where I'm going with this. Last Sunday a brave man named Felix
Baumgartner climbed into a small capsule and, using the power of a huge hot air
balloon, rose 128,100 feet above the earth (over 24 miles). Wearing a special suit to
protect him from instantly freezing or suffocating from lack of oxygen, he
stepped off a tiny platform, arched his back, and started a most amazing
freefall. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The camera attached to the capsule showed him falling to an
earth that was barely distinguishable. I watched it live, or almost live, as
the sponsors built in thirty seconds of delay in case of a disaster. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've included a very short clip with a few of the highlights.
This gives you a tiny taste of the tension I felt as Felix stepped onto the
platform and into the atmosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FHtvDA0W34I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He broke several world records including:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The highest freefall;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The highest manned balloon flight, and;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first human to break the sound barrier in freefall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Felix traveled 833 mph, faster than the speed of sound,
before being slowed down by denser air. His only protection from the deadly
atmosphere surrounding him was a very well-insulated flight suit, one that
would also allow him to fly under canopy and perform a gentle landing. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because he was descending so quickly, he failed to break the
previous record for the longest freefall. Felix had a "mere" 4:20 minute
descent before his parachute opened. To put that into perspective, a normal
freefall usually lasts from 30 to 45 seconds, with a speed of around 120 mph. The
freefall record he didn't break belonged to Col. Joe Kittinger, who in 1960 ascended
in a balloon to 102,800 feet and then fell for 4:36 minutes before deploying his
parachute. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I watched Felix launch in his little capsule and hot air
balloon, then took a two hour break, and watched the last half hour with the
final sequence checklist (given to him by Col. Kittinger) and the entire nine
minute journey back to solid ground. It was exciting and scary at the same
time. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And it made me wonder – besides the "cool" factor,
why spend all this money and risk a life to leap from the edge of space? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because of our global connectiveness, we humans tend to
think that we know so much. After all, we have satellites to map the entire planet.
We've been to the moon and back, circled the globe in space shuttles, and now
have our own mechanical ET exploring the surface of Mars. But what do we really
know? Seventy percent of our planet is covered in water, much of our oceans are
inaccessible and unexplored. Earth is but a minuscule speck in the universe,
and perhaps our universe is a small speck in something much bigger that we will
never be able to observe. <a href="http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-many-universes-are-there" target="_blank">http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-many-universes-are-there</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We <i>don't</i> know a
lot more than we <i>do</i> know. Exploration
and new discoveries are interesting to say the least, and who knows—someday these
findings might save the planet and all humanity. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was disappointed when I heard a few years ago that
our government was shutting down the space shuttle program. However, thanks to
private companies like Red Bull, who sponsored Felix Baumgartner's record jump
and skydive, we can still find pioneers willing to risk their lives in search
of the next miraculous discovery; on earth, in the ocean, and in space. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-35171422206994580962012-10-17T22:10:00.003-06:002012-10-18T19:16:54.030-06:00"But You Have Indoor Plumbing..."<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was a good day. I spent it helping my friend John work
at his cabin in a resort area, getting it ready for vacation rental. I've done
this many times before, and I always have fun. The cabin sits on a wooded one
acre lot. Unless the nearby forests are on fire, which happened this summer,
the air is always crisp and clean. It smells like camping.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Sometimes I work really hard— hauling firewood, cleaning out
deadwood, painting, staining, washing windows. Other times it's been a little
easier. Today I spent my time sorting through old sheets and towels, remaking
beds with new linens, and vacuuming up lots and lots of flies (in years past
there were seldom any dead flies. The bats got them all. Now the bats have been
banished from the house, so the flies have free reign until their short little
lives expire naturally.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Of course I always get some perks for my work. I have
several free nights which I could use anytime of the year, if it's not already
rented. It's close to two ski resorts, many wonderful mountain trails, a golf
course, and a nearby hot springs. Someday I'm actually going to find that hot
springs and perhaps I'll bring my golf clubs too. </div>
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<br /></div>
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It's a beautiful place. Yes, it looks like a log cabin.
Because it is. The outside of the cabin and the inside exterior walls are
formed of logs. Once the woodstove has been burning for awhile, the inside of
the logs heat up nicely and the whole place is cozy warm. But that's the only
reminder that it's a cabin. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Because it's actually a house (with log walls). Three
bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice kitchen, laundry area, dining room and living
room. A deck that wraps halfway around the cabin, half of it covered. It's
awesome. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I should emphasize, this cabin has two bathrooms. Indoor. With showers and sinks and toilets.
So why, oh why did I end up peeing outside by the shed today when the
temperature was 40 degrees? </div>
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<br /></div>
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Common sense would have led me straight to one of the two
fully operational bathrooms. But nature convinced John otherwise. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Because dear reader, a fox had decided that a nice, warm den
underneath John's shed would be an ideal place to live during the cold winter
months. </div>
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<br /></div>
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And actually the story started many months earlier. John saw
the fox. Then he saw the signs of digging. Then he saw an ambitious beginning
of a fox hole. He brought his rifle with him once. He filled in the holes and
covered them with rocks. To no avail, for that fox was determined to claim the undershed
territory for a cozy little home. </div>
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<br /></div>
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So during our last visit over a month ago, my friend said
that when it was time for me to heed Mother Nature's call, to please pee in the
foxhole. Apparently this was a way to make the hole so disgusting, no self-respecting
fox would even contemplate moving in. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I refused. Indoor toilets seemed like a much better
solution. Besides, John already took care of that.</div>
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Today however, I acquiesced. Although it probably won't
work, I found myself peeing in the fox hole. Now, it wasn't as bad as it
sounded. First of all, there were no passing cars or neighbors who could
possibly see me. Second, I have peed in much weirder places during trail runs
in the hills. And third, I just wanted John off my back about this. And if I
could save this fox from a sad end, I would do my part to gross the poor dear out
and help him or her find a more suitable winter home. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I don't know if this will work. Time will tell. Either the dirt around the shed will remain
untouched by canine claws, or next spring we will see a litter of cute little
fox kits. I know what I want to see, but then, it's not my cabin...</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5050629944723440390.post-83382532754385529242012-10-12T13:43:00.001-06:002012-10-12T13:47:50.968-06:00<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Soup Weather!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you read my post yesterday, you might remember it was
about the weather. Now just to clarify, I wasn't talking about the weather only
because I had nothing else to say. I have a lot to say, but some of it I'm not
ready for the whole world (or six or seven of you anyway) to read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I'm continuing on with the weather, but only for this
paragraph, I promise. It's another sunny day, will get up to the mid-70s again
but right now it's a bit cool. With that in mind, I threw together a pot of ham
and potato soup. I had some habanero peppers from my garden that I tossed in
just for fun, along with random spices, onion, garlic, and celery. From my
initial taste test I think I have a winner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By the way, these peppers are so hot that when I sliced them
to take the seeds out, my eyes watered, my throat started burning just from the
smell I guess, and I had to back away to stop coughing and sneezing. That was
with running water too. I find it odd that as hot as they are when I first
handle them, they mellow so much in the dishes I put them in. There is only a
slight kick to the soup, and not identifiable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, what's soup without some nice crusty french
bread? Well, it's still soup, but what will you use to wipe the bowl when
you're almost done?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love to make bread. I use my KitchenAid mixer (I splurged
and upgraded to one with a bigger motor) and it does the kneading for me.
Although I do love the texture of dough in my hands, and the almost meditative
feeling of working it into a soft, smooth ball, it's a lot of work and
time-consuming. So I usually take a short cut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This bread is just now going through rising number one. Soon
I will split it into long baguette loaves and let it rise again, brushing with
a little egg wash to give it a crusty golden top.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The best part is baking it. The smell just about does me in,
especially if I'm outside at the beginning and step back inside just before
it's ready to pull from the oven. It's so hard not to sample right away. I
think the only time I can hold off is when company comes for dinner and we are
going to eat within a few minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How can I resist? With the crunchy crust and soft, chewy
middle...and the aroma! And of course I have to use real butter on my bread. No
fake stuff for me. I do have some homemade plum jam some friends gave me – they
had a lot of fruit on their tree this year. I might add that to a steaming hot slice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyone want to come over for dinner tonight?</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4