Day: August 26, 2024

Reflections……

I love sunrises and sunsets. Trees and rivers…beaches and snow capped mountains. Birds and bees, foxes and beaver. I have seen all of these things with my own eyes and I know them.

Almost anything which exists in nature has it’s own beauty and symmetry.

But I also love churches and cemeteries. I love bridges and lighthouses…rusty old wagon wheels and sewer covers.

Remains of ancient buildings or a lovely finely crafted arrowhead. These things created by man also have beauty.

I have appreciated the chance to live, and to witness these things, and so much more.

I love the family of which I am a part. I continue to be here because of them. I want to protect them, though I know they are well able to protect themselves. My children long ago grew to adulthood.

All things change.

The personal relationships. The human achievements. The natural world. They all change. We humans are foolish to even believe we will always be the dominant force on this planet. That will also eventually change. Whether by our own hand or by nature’s whim. We are transient. We are today’s dinosaurs.
We ought to be smart enough to pull together as mankind, and reach out to the stars, and try and extend our race to some of those other Earth like planets which are just waiting for us.

But instead we are petty. We are too busy hating each other for our miniscule variations in skin pigment, sexual attraction, and perceived different philosophical values, to see that we are all …simply… human.

I think daily of things we might do to make ourselves of service to each other. Simple things…nothing complex. Compassion, love, kindness, recognition, respect, civility, friendship, giving. One word sermons. I think daily of my age, and of the chances I have had to be better, but was not. I hope I can live long enough to practice some of what I should have been doing all along.
I would not wish to be young again…not in this day and age. It has taken me all these years already to realize how deep are my shortcomings. I wouldn’t relish reliving those learning experiences.

Look at yourself in the mirror, where you are now in your journey, and ask yourself if you are happy with what you see. Listen to yourself and decide if what you are saying or writing is helping or hurting other people. Sometimes you may have to change in order to make a difference for the positive in this life. It’s not as hard as we make it out to be…

When I was a little kid, we lived up near the top of fifth street in a little old mill house. The street ran about perfectly from East to West, so that when I went out in the morning and looked towards Taylor’s Ridge I could see the sun come up. Even as a little kid, I got up early. I don’t know why but I have always been that way and still am. In the evening, I could look down fifth street towards Trion mill at the other end and see the sun set over the top of the mill. We lived that close. If I’d been able to throw rocks very well back then, I’d have been able to make about three good throws and would have broken out a window on the third throw in the General office building. I’d never do a thing like that, or even consider it though….you know…

I got to where I appreciated the sunrises and sunsets then when I was four or five years old, and I still do. I got to where I appreciate a lot of other things during those early years too. Pinto beans and fried ‘taters. Good ‘funny books” (later comic books, but funny books back then) Blue jeans, and good white cotton socks. A few toys to play with…back then I liked tinker toys and matchbox cars. I didn’t have a single other kid to play with back then. It was just me. There were a couple of neighbor kids, but they wouldn’t play with me. They just stole my toys if I happened to leave them out.

I really didn’t make any friends until I started to school. There was a pool of about 60 of us kids in my class and we pretty much stayed together all through school. Those were and still are my best friends. The only ones I have ever had besides my wife now….who is my best friend. I don’t often speak of specific instances of things that we did during my “growing up” days….I might get somebody in trouble. I appreciated that small town of that era. Things change though, and things have changed there and not too much for the better. I won’t go through all that though. You people who know…will know what I’m talking about.

I said all of that to get to the dream I had last night. All I can remember is that I was walking up fifth street at first light….not at sunset as you might think, but at dawn. I had such a wonderful feeling that I was going home. I woke up briefly, just long enough to remember that part of the dream. I’m glad I did, because things in this world are just getting really tough. Everything that’s happened over the past few years makes me glad I’m winding down instead of winding up. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy my life, it’s just that as you get older your viewpoint on life changes. I care more now about the lives of my children and grandchildren than I do my own. I would do anything I could in my power to help them, but in some situations there is just nothing you can do anymore except to hope and pray. Hope and pray that the ones you love will be safe for one more day.

I guess I’ve prattled on enough for now. Just want all my family and my few friends to know that I’m thinking of you, and that I love you all. One of these days when I make it to the top of that hill up on fifth street and go on over the top just remember I told you so!