Thought for the Day (only for those that believe in a Higher Power)

Lord, thy will be done in me. Lord, thy will be in me. In words, thoughts, and actions. Practice charity to all, love, to all, finding fault with none, being patient with all, showing brotherly love and brotherly kindness.

Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is listening to the divine within.
If one is to receive grace from God one must show grace to others. Only then can the grace of God be given to man, for the grace of God is manifested through man by showing grace to others. By following the example of Jesus we are doing his will, but more importantly, charting our future.
-a short summary of a book I just finished reading Family Karma by Kevin J. Todeschi

Only when we show godliness will we be shown Godliness.

Seems fair.

Karma

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7

Karma is a Sanskrit word that means action. It is associated with cause and effect and the fact that each individual is constantly meeting the consequences of his or her previous choices. Karma is an interactive, energetic force neither good nor bad in character that is set in action by our intent, desire, thought, deed, and word and as a result molds and shapes the resulting consequences of all our actions.

Bow at the knee of history, for therein lies your future

What is the future but our appreciation of the past? Who we were, why we are, and what we are to become. The past, the effervescent reminder of who we really are. Yes, we can only learn from the present if we really understand from whence we came.

I have heard it said that America is a land of opportunity.
In a small microcosm I tend to see the deck in my backyard as a deck of opportunity. Let me explain. Factors: There is a finite amount of time that the sun hits the deck, hours of sunlight, absence of clouds, proximity of the sun as it relates to the seasons, and height of the trees to our south. Given all these constraints there really is a very small window of opportunity to enjoy the portents of summer. I see it almost as my duty to make use of the deck as much as possible, especially given the fact that it’s been such a long winter. Opportunity doesn’t always strike and I’m a firm believer in Carpe Weekend (seize the weekend). The way I see it a person must take advantages of and enjoy the moment, even if it is only lying out in the backyard listening to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and feeling the warmth of the sun. Simple pleasures are the best. I read somewhere that the farther one gets away from the simple things in life, the farther you are from reality. That’s easy to say as I sit here typing this out on a word-processing keyboard device to be uploaded to my computer and put out for the world to see on the Internet. So, enjoy the moment.

The Speed of Summer
It’s amazing how quickly the seasons change here. Last week it rained an inch in 24 hours, today the dogs are sitting panting in the hot weather. Actually, I’m sitting, they’re laying on the back deck panting. It’s too hot for them! After the last day it rained the following day dawned to be a beautiful spring day. The next day the wind blew from the north (a sure sign of summer). Today the wind continues to blow from the north and it is 72* out, a real nice day for Crescent City. About a month ago we had a very warm day and I got my lawn chair out of the garage and lay out on the back deck for awhile. The lawn chair has been beckoning me every day since…. but it hasn’t been nice enough to be outside…until today. Ahhh… lawn chair, 72* lawn mowed, good books, beverage, no shirt, visions of summer, yes, I have much to be thankful for. But, I was abruptly reminded of the fact that summer was not quite all here when upon mowing the yard I got the lawnmower stuck in the drainage ditch and had to get Randy to help me push it out.

Rain. Surprise! Surprise!

I stopped at the place where Andrew and I shot the deer, and there in the alder tree is our name and date still visible, carved into the bark of the tree. Again, next to Walker Gulch our name is carved, a silent sentential watching the place of our memories.

Rather than rush through life from experience to experience and only enjoying the time with one sense, I want to try to give each place the time it needs. I want to not only see something, I want to hear, taste, touch, and smell the experience.

Last night when I arrived it started to rain. Ladd Road had washed out and so I had to walk about a ½ mile if I were to visit the bend in the river. Just after I started walking a rainbow appeared over the top of my destination and I felt that I had made the correct choice in visiting this special place. By the time I had got back the rain had stopped and I had made the decision to spend the night here rather than driving and finding a motel. I took stock of what I had and found that I had a lawn chair (bed), a poncho (tent), and a fleece blanket (sleeping bag). Everything except fire, of which I hurriedly started. I was cozy, warm, and dry until it started raining at about 2:00 am. I had to get up about every 45 minutes to put more wood on the fire. I got into the car and then I really got cold. I didn’t start the car as I wanted to see how long it would take me to warm up in the absence of a fire. When I woke up at 6:30 I was still somewhat cold so I sat in the car with the heater going until I warmed up enough to restart the fire. When I took a walk this morning and discovered that two deer had ventured in sight of the car and then turned back the direction that they had come.

Making Memories.

This is one of the first places that I shared with Sandi after we were married. So, as you can see, bringing my boys here holds very special meaning for me. The sights and sounds of the river is virtually the same as it was 44 years ago when my mother first started bringing me. The rushing waters still play the same chorus as it charges toward the sea. There are new homes along the river as well as the same old homes. Each year buildings fade farther and farther into their final resting places. There are the abandoned signs of failed businesses. But the river is still the same making the same swooshing sound as it races to the ocean. The cycle continues.

I stopped at the place where Andrew and I shot the deer and there in the alder tree is HOOPER and the date still visible, carved into the bark of the tree. Again, next to Walker Gulch our name is carved, a silent sentential watching the place of our memories.

Rather than rush through life from experience to experience and only enjoying the time with one sense, I want to try to give each place the time it needs. I want to not only see something, I want to hear, taste, touch, and smell the experience.

Anyway, back to the Klamath River.

As I drove down the river tonight I recalled all the times I been here with my mother, both when I was young and again when I was older. As a child I didn’t realize that the six hour journey that it took with my mom driving could be but a 3-1/2 hour trip with my dad driving by a different, slightly more curvy route. When I was older I visited the spot again. My mother had not let the absence of the sons that thought it not cool to keep her from this special place. She was there again soaking up the beauty and solitude of the place that we came to call “the cabin” The cabin had ceased to exist after the ’64 flood, being washed away by the high water. At one time someone had tried to make a home of Walker Gulch. They had built a rough 20’ X 20’ single walled cabin complete with galvanized roofing as well as a carport open on all four sides and hewn out of small trees and poles. Mom would make her yearly trips here by herself after Chuck and I stopped going with her.
After working the summer I got a wild idea that I needed to have some type of trip to call Summer Vacation. I took off and hitchhiked over to Mt. Lassen. I had always seen it from afar and I wanted to actually climb it. I don’t recall how I got there, but I do remember walking up to the top and planning to camp the night. In fact, I even had my camp all laid out and I was watching the beautiful sunset to the west. All of a sudden instead of just the sunset I saw lightening flashing in the distance, then the sound of thunder, the lightening closer. Suddenly spending the night atop a volcano didn’t seem like such a great idea. A day or so later I found myself walking down Hwy. 96 after getting dropped off at the rest area at the junction of the Klamath River and I-5. It took me about 2 rides to get the 50 miles downriver to the turnoff to Ladd Road. Walking the last 3 miles and arriving just before dark Mom was much surprised to see me come walking up.

Seiad Valley holds a special place in my heart.

As a child my mother would bring my brother and I here. It’s here that I came to love the woods and the out-of-doors. I suppose two months of camping every summer can either do one of two things to a child; make you love wildness or abhor it. I came to love it. This is what I wanted to share with my sons growing up, that love for the out-of-doors. As a parent anything that you do, you’re walking a very fine line. Too much or too little of anything and your goal is not met. And I think that myself as a parent I had an underlying purpose in what I did. I hoped to mold my sons into an unconscious vision that I had for them. I wonder though, was the vision what I thought best for them or a mark of parenthood for me? Whatever the reason, I think that I really decided to take growing up seriously as soon as Randy was born. At that point, I decided to do whatever I had to so I could make a good life for him. When Andrew came along we were fully committed to giving them the best possible options that we could provide. Sandi and I only wanted the best for our boys. I think that she came to this conclusion even before I did, maybe when Randy was still in her womb.

Memories, emotions, feeling.

They all came over me like a winter storm wave coming over the jetty, totally enveloping me and almost making me cry like a baby. As I turned down Hwy. 96 off of I-5 the memory of a special time seven years ago came welling over me. Randy, Andrew, and I were off on a little camping trip. At the time both the boys were attending school at Milo Academy. It was in the fall and that weekend happened to be, I believe, the Family Weekend. I’m not sure it was them or me, but for whatever reason we were spending the weekend together, just not on or near the campus. I remember picking them up at Milo in the late afternoon and driving the back road to Medford where we stocked up on food. Enough food to last about 4 weekends! Food that didn’t need to be cooked. In fact, I think one of the criteria was that it had to be ready to be eaten in 30 seconds or less. Then we stopped again to eat out. As we drove down the Klamath River we talked of important things. Things that a father likes to talk about with their sons. Things that make a father realize that his boys are turning into men and they can not only have an opinion they can back their opinions up with good solid logic. It’s enough to make a dad smile in the dark of the night as we wound our way closer to our destination.

Part 2
Well, it's one thing to have a colonoscopy, but it's quite another to find out the results. The doctor called last week and told me the finding. I'll save you the doctor-ese and explain the report the best that I can. There were six polyps ranging in size from 2 cm to 10 cm none of which were cancerous. But it does warrant the need to have this procedure done in two years. Now, I'll call my primary care doctor and take the finding in and have him tell me how I can maintain the best health possible, not necessarily in a general sense, but specifically about my digestive tract. I did find it interesting that I was in a really bad mood after the procedure. I tend to think that it was the anathesia. A couple of days made passed and I was feeling better, just moody-not bad mood.
Anyway, Spring Break is here and I 'm feeling almost ecstatic. It's time to do something different. This has been the longest stretch between Christmas Break and Spring Break. The calendar says that it's spring, but it rained again last night so I'm finding it hard to believe that it will really ever come. I'm thinking of taking a short road trip and visiting some friends and family.