Hiker’s tale

A hiker was ambling along a woodsy trail when he saw another hiker approaching. As usual, the first hiker moved to the side to let the second hiker pass, and they exchanged a “hi”. They paused and commented on the beautiful fall colors, and when the first hiker turned to continue, the second asked him if he was “saved” and if he had accepted “Jesus” as his personal savior. This really took the first hiker by surprise. He answered that he wasn't a Christian, but that he knew well the teachings and life of Jesus, and tried his best to live a good life. The second hiker told him that he was a sinner and unless he changed his ways and accepted Jesus as his personal savior, he would burn in hell for all eternity. The first hiker then told the second that although he had done some bad things in his youth, and still struggled with some judgmental issues, he had changed and strived to do good. In fact, he said, he was actually trying to live up to the ideals ascribed to Jesus, but didn't live his life with the “WWJD” test for every decision. The second hiker loudly told him that he was pursuing hubris instead of humility, and would certainly face eternity in hell. With that he turned and strode off.

The first hiker continued along the trail for a few miles and gradually the beautiful day erased the distaste of the conversation. As he was topping a long up-hill grade he turned a bend and saw another hiker sitting on a fallen log that had been chain sawed into a bench. They said “hi” and the seated hiker mentioned that the first looked tired from the long up-hill slog and told him he would be happy to share the bench. Without being asked again, the first took off his day pack and sat.

The seated hiker said “My name is long and from an ancient language, but my friends call me Jay”. The first hiker said “Nice to meet you Jay, my name is - - “ when Jay interrupted him quietly. “I know your name. I just wanted to tell you personally that the fellow you were talking to a couple of miles back was completely wrong. I apologize for overhearing the conversation. It seems to me that he is the one with the problem, and that you are headed in the right direction. My advice is to keep doing exactly what you are doing now and don’t be influenced by false prophets like that guy. He has a long way to go before he sees clearly, but you are there. Nice to meet you William. Keep up the good work.” And with that Jay stood and walked back down the trail, around the bend, and was gone.

 

William was amazed, and figured that Jay must have been just ahead of him on the trail and just within earshot. But the trail was pretty straight, and he saw no one ahead. He got up and continued on and as often happens when hiking, he reviewed the whole event in his mind. He decided that Jay was right, although how he didn't really understand, and silently said “Thank you Jay. Good advice. Let’s hope the other guy gets with the program.” Immediately, a voice came back and said “William, just remember that I will always be here for you if you need me. And you are on the right trail. And one final thing. It is I who thank you. For who you were, who you are, and who you will become.”

William paused on the trail and thought that it would take some time to figure out what that was all about, but he already suspected that he knew

who “Jay” was. And he wasn’t surprised.

Image: http://www.bouldercoloradohiking.com/wp-content/gallery/longcanyon/hiking-path-in-the-forest.jpg

Woody on Theocracy and Beliefs

I just answered a question from a friend on Facebook that related to my religious bents. I have often been critical of religious viewpoints when I find them to be intolerant of others views or incessantly intrusive. For example, I was in a restaurant in Thomasville many years ago when a man I didn’t know stopped at my table, put his hand on my shoulder, began speaking loudly in tongues and then declared me a sinner and invited me to his church. Needless to say I didn’t go and he was tossed out of the place. That kind of crap really annoys me. But honest people with honest beliefs deserve respect. They have a right to believe and practice their beliefs as they see fit. They do not have a right to impose their beliefs on others, however subtle that imposition might be. Prayer in school is a good example of religious coercion. Not everyone in every class is interested in praying, or in praying to a specific deity who they don’t follow. The perfect example is the Christian parent who went into a rage when a Muslim wanted to pray to Mecca on a prayer rug in a public school classroom. I wish I could find the reference but, alas, it eludes me. You get the point? Freedom OF religion also demands freedom FROM religion. Otherwise we have the basis for a Theocracy, and the Middle Ages, the Inquisition, Sharia law and other equally exclusive religion-based systems are prime examples, to become totally despotic and repressive.

Below is my answer to AW on Facebook:

“As you may know, years ago I was headed for a life as a priest, and was headed for a seminary education. I had a crisis of intellect I suppose you might call it and couldn't find a belief in God strong enough to carry me through. I have always been interested and attracted to the actual teachings of prophets, but could never find a believable "God" in the world. I went back and forth from agnostic to atheist and I am probably some of both. I think that people who unequivocally declare "God is REAL" without a shred of real proof are as wrong as those who declare "There is NO GOD", since proving the negative is also impossible. I appreciate those who believe deeply yet keep a perspective of tolerance and have no use for those who are intolerant of any viewpoint. I hold hands around tables where people are praying, get completely overwhelmed in cathedrals, and light candles for my mother, a lapsed catholic, because she would have wanted that. I love Jesus as much or more than many Christians I know, for his total commitment to human suffering and ordinary people. I do not worship him or any deity.”

Image:http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7641/646/1600/392048/theocracy%2520now(c)sm.png

Spry or Not Spry? That is the Question

Spry:

(especially of an old person) active; lively.

"he continued to look spry and active well into his eighties"

synonyms:

sprightly, lively, agile, nimble, energetic, active, full of energy, full of vim and vigor, vigorous, spirited, animated, vivacious, frisky, peppy "isn't Aunt Helen spry for her age?"

I was talking to a few fellow board members before the meeting when someone asked how Sally was getting on after back surgery. I told them she was completely recovered and weeding like mad. Then I said “but I am probably next”. One of the members said something like, “You? You are so spry.”

That word stopped me. Spry? Isn’t that a pejorative for “Old Fart”? So I looked it up, and sure enough, as the definition above indicates, old age is almost always associated with “spry”. But wait, the synonyms are really cool: agile, energetic, frisky etc. All complimentary adjectives. What is the problem Woody?

It’s this: spry is almost always followed by some variation of “for his (or her) age”. A qualifier. Sort of like “he is in good shape for the shape he is in.” Then I thought “get over it Woody. At your age you are lucky to be able to work, hike, cook, sleep, clean, love, drink wine and think.”

It comes down to this: acknowledging getting older isn’t always easy. You see the “upside down muscle” under your arms, or the man titties in the mirror and think “Who the Hell is That?” The good news is that you are standing in front of the mirror after a nice shower getting ready to go out for the evening. And really, who the hell cares about your minor aging deficits anyway? Nobody. Just the moron who lives in your head.

Thanks for reminding me that I am spry, K. Makes me want to go out and hike and cook and love and drink wine. Not necessarily in that order. (SMILE)

Image: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_L1aS0knEnvU/TXWnYoepnPI/AAAAAAAABXU/xEJAP8PSSgQ/s640/IMG_7192.jpg

Joni Mitchell and Unimproved Land

If we live long enough, we all get there.

We were driving along I-10  a few days ago when a friend in the car mentioned something about all the “unimproved” land, and what could be done with it. Too polite to start a discussion that would once again pit me against the main stream thinking, I hummed along. But decided to write a little thought about it. And herrrrrrrrres the thought!

Unimproved my ass. How’s that for a thought. Land gone back to forest and scrub after the longleaf association was destroyed for farming is the farthest from unimproved. What we were actually seeing, by the way, was mostly pine plantation (planted and farmed pine trees). So that particular land was mostly “improved” already.

My beef with the term “unimproved” lies in the incorrect thinking of many people that the land when left in a natural state is somehow less valuable than the so-called improvements that man brings with his occupation. Exactly the opposite is true: land left alone stabilizes the soil, harbors a biodiversity that is staggeringly complex, cleans the air, helps to stabilize the temperature and provides places for quiet reflection and recreation. Try fitting those things on a peanut farm or housing development.

Get over the idea that by using the land we “improve” it. We don’t. We destroy the natural abilities of land to function, and replace it with dysfunctional alternatives. Remember the song that Joni Mitchell wrote called “Big Yellow Taxi”? (1) These were part of the lyrics:

Don't it always seem to go 
That you don't know what you've got 
Till it's gone 
They paved paradise 
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees 
Put 'em in a tree museum * 
And they charged the people 
A dollar and a half just to see 'em

That is what happens when people “improve” things natural. And folks, it isn’t pretty. And, we are not too far from those “tree museums” Joni sang of. So the next time you get a chance to express yourself on the issue of the rape and “improvement” of the environment, think before you say something really, really stupid.

Image: http://civilianglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TimesTalk_Joni_Mitchell_photo_davidleyes-0122.jpg

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJIuP7zEVeM

Screwed? You did it to yourself.

Heh, heh. Get it? 

From an old friend of mine. A rant that has a whisper of desperation and a certain acceptance of what will come:

“I am so bummed out about the state of the world, humanity, the different continents, countries states or provinces, cities counties neighborhoods. I am so disappointed that religions, politics, political parties candidates are so inept that they cant steer us in the right direction, instead of being steered by a perception that will keep them in power or job. A country of the people by the people for the people. Hmm. Will it be here for my great grand children.? Do I need to stock up on greenbacks, gold and .223 or 7.6 mm's? a real true leader not a wannabee at every level. Where are the John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincolns,, Wilson, Roosevelt (2 times), Winston Churchill's of today??? Where have all the flowers gone??? Long time passing? Just saying!”

 And the answer is very clear. Yes, your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are really, really screwed. In so many ways it is painful to enumerate but part of my answer to him was this: “----the grand kids are screwed. By the frozen assholes in Washington ignoring poverty, wage disparity, resource raping and of course climate change we have doomed our next few generations to wallow in some serious shit.”

 And more. The world has ignored warning after warning about population growth and water and land pollution. It has ignored the pleas of the “wacko hippie tree huggers” to conserve the fish stocks in the oceans, and the old growth forests, especially the rain forests, and to reuse and recycle. And more. Drastic cuts in spending for medical research and world health problems. And more.

(The following references "you" several times. I want to make it very clear that the "you" I am talking about is NOT my old friend quoted above, but the rest of "you". This is not aimed at or intended to be a diatribe for my friend.)

And now we have come to the place where warnings are too late. Earth, air and water are seriously damaged. The environment is rapidly changing, with weather patterns changing rainfall locations and amounts. The air is changing to allow more heat to reside in the oceans and atmosphere. Not “WILL CHANGE” but “IS CHANGING”. Get it? The warnings were right and now by not heeding them we, yes all of us, are screwed. SOOOO SCREWED. So don’t whine and cry about the conditions of the world. Suck it up. You allowed this to happen by inaction and either not voting at all or voting for the science-denying religion-spouting assholes of the world. You did this. You.

And you will, if you are unlucky, live to see the consequences. And the more? Only the loss of freedom. Desperate peoples give up freedom for security. You are doing that now. Too late, folks. Just too late.

Image: http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Damn_8b112b_584520.jpg

And There’s Nothing I Can Do About It Now

Coming back from the best performance of Les Mis I have seen to date we slipped Willie’s album, A Horse Called Music in the dash. An old, old friend and we know every song by heart. The play? Well, sum it up this way: I started to choke and tear up in the first 2 minutes and didn’t finish until after the final “curtain” went down (the theater has no curtain, more like in the round). The theater is one of a few they have and it is a small venue. Maybe 200 seats? We were in a 4^th row from the stage and slightly above the stage, which was the floor of the theater with some low risers. The music was live and the cast was a mixture of local Orlando talent and Broadway veterans like James Beaman, David Gaines and Michael Hunsaker. It was unbelievably real. I doubt that we will ever see a mere “play” done like this again.

And on the way home we listened to Willie. Many of the songs he does express some of my philosophy, and this one has not one but two punches. The first couplet is this:

                          And I could cry for the time I've wasted
                          But that's a waste of time and tears

I once worried about time wasted, but as the line goes, that is a waste of both time and tears. Why? Because there’s nothing I can do about it now. Learn, modify or not, and move on. It took a while for me to learn that, but it sunk in in the last 30 years of so. This is one reason Sally and I take life as we do: Don’t wait. Do it now.

The other couplet is this:

                          I'm forgiving everything that forgiveness will allow
                          And there's nothing I can do about it now

I have forgiven and asked for forgiveness for all I can, and from whom I can. Some was easy and some was very hard. But after you forgive yourself, in order to live at peace, you have to give and ask for forgiveness. Ah, but there are some things in life, at least in my case, that forgiveness will not allow. Those few things remain unforgiven or unasked. Still, I let them go, mostly.

Why? Because there’s nothing I can do about it now. But I can do this: If any reader has been harmed by me, I beg you to forgive me. And if any reader has harmed me, I forgive you. As I age, my memory necessarily fades a bit, so forgive me if you can, for not remembering any slights, intended or perceived.

1. Willie Nelson - Nothing I Can Do About It Now Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Image: http://lindsaykriger.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/forgive1.png

Great Performance and Good Teaching Moment

Tossing Diabolos. What a treat!

I saw a remarkable performance last night. A troupe of middle graders from Taiwan, the Taiwanese Youth Folk Sport Troupe from Keelung, Taiwan were putting on a show of dancing, top spinning, acrobatics, rope skipping and diabolo (1. A double conical Asian yo-yo) spinning.  Average age = 14. These were very athletic and graceful young people. Very high energy.

The things they did mostly worked out fine and the coordination required to jump multiple ropes at once, or throw a top onto a 3 inch disc or keep the diabolo or indeed multiple diabolos going at once is impressive. Mostly worked out. But a few drops or trips or missed tops did happen. And here is where the real professionalism came out. In every case when something went wrong, the kids made a correction and moved on without missing a beat. No frowns, no tantrums, no pause. In most cases many performers are involved, such as 5 girls twirling and throwing diabolos at once. Someone drops a yo-yo, picks it up and seamlessly gets back into the act.

As we all know, we learn a lot from our mistakes, if we have any sense at all, and we get better by getting back in the game after an error. These kids took the good and not-so-good completely in stride, at least publicly, and are to be applauded not only for their successes, but also for their mature response to glitches.

Unlike some professional athletes I could name.

1.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Diabolo_large_and_small.jpg

Image: http://www.taiwanembassy.org/public/MMO/Photo/15217213671.JPG

Bad News for Americans and Worse News for Women

Best economic news since the Bush meltdown. GNP up, unemployment lowest in 8 years, job openings up. All indicators bright green.

But somehow Obama has failed to get the economy going. Huh? Did I miss something? Bush handed off the worst economy since the Great Depression and it took a bunch of years to get things going again. But, the steady progress has led to a slow but very solid recovery. Until, that is, the Republicans get control again. Then you can look for wars, inflation, debt increase and tax cuts for the 1% who already pay too little. Then you can look to Fox News for the reasons. Then you can suck eggs.

Think very hard before you put Republicans back in charge. Think about reduced wage growth, reduced health care availability, reduced help for poor and starving Americans, reduced control by women of women’s reproductive processes, and more. What you will get is less taxes if you are rich, more spending on border security, more spending on prisons and prosecutions, more spending on congressional salaries and fringe benefits. Less spending on safety net programs that benefit the lower 99%, even though they are the ones who supply the money.

Talking to the wall, Woody. The assholes who are Republicans and conservatives will vote the greedy bastards into office and then wonder why they are not doing as well as they hoped. Sorry Woody, you will probably lose this one, and so will the country. Oh, and Woody, did you forget about all the judicial appointments that Obama will not get? A conservative Republican will probably fill those positions with ideologues and further decrease the rights of Americans in favor of corporate persons. And Woody, don’t forget that as soon as the conservatives get control, voting will be harder for poor and minority people, thus favoring the wealthy and mostly white people.

All in all, Woody, the future politically is not very bright. Unless the people get off their asses and VOTE.

Image: http://www.loyarburok.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/291765548_a917548e72-400x331.jpg

A friend of mine, JH, sent me an email piece about God finding out just what morons humans are by questioning St. Francis (Frank) about lawns. Think about it. We dig up what grows there, plant something that needs constant attention, and we pay for the privilege. The point extends to all aspects of the earth. Many of the religions of the world say man should/must live in harmony with the earth and critters thereon. The often repeated idea is good stewardship while harvesting what is needed.
Take the Bible (please) for example: Genesis gives mankind dominion (if the translation is right) over the world. Dominion means to rule as a king and it also means possession of the land that is thus ruled. So in many religions control and ownership is ceded to mankind by some deity or right.
The implication is pretty clear that good care, stewardship, will follow this most gracious gift. Because it seems that something given by a deity can be just as easily taken back. To my point, then.
Mankind for millions of years (if you are rational) lived in harmony with the earth. Neither taking too much or too little. Just right. Equilibrium. Carrying capacity. Then we learned how to exploit our vast home. And trash it in the process. We are way past the point of fouling our nest. And now it is nearly at a point of collapse. I can’t help but think that any deity that cared enough to give such a paradise to a species would be seriously pissed off at the outcome. Nothing but silence from the heavens. My conclusion: nobody home up there. Gone fish’n. Lost interest when we nuked each other, maybe, and moved on to somewhere else. Or just never was.
Anyway that is my take.
Image: www. stickerworldusa.com

surviving child abuse: one of the lucky ones

“Let This be Our Secret”: The Secret of the Abused Child

It came out of nowhere. An early morning, a basement, a cousin, name being called, mothers bedroom,questions,crying, shame, forgetting. The details buried.

Years later a sudden memory of murmured words "...it'll be fun...don't tell...pull down pajamas...be quiet..." Details return over the years. A cardboard fireplace stored in the basement, bright red bricks printed perfectly. In the corner. Perfect hiding place.

What happened? I still don't know for sure. Some details elude recall.

From early on a lingering sense of guilt about something recalled as a protective mother tried to get to the truth. She couldn't have known that the inquisition would be the first lasting memory. The session ended with "let this be our secret."

Well, it was. So far as I know, no one in the family ever knew that the cousin was an ---what?

And here the story pauses for a question. I have always been repulsed and revolted by the cousin. Had to be with him in many family gatherings. He never seemed to be different. Always playing, cutting up, joking with everyone, an all around goofy guy. He grew up to a hard life of failed work. Job after job. Wife after wife, more than a dozen kids all together and grandchildren by the score. The question is this: What exactly was/is he? Pedophile? Ordinary child abuser? Experimenting kid? Monster? Sick shit that should have been put down? You know, I really don't know because I know of no history except my own. I was 5 or 6 he was 12 or 13.

For years I didn't see him didn't want to see him didn't want to think about him. Then it happened. On a trip with my kids we stopped to see his mother. And he was there. Looming. And I realize that he was a sad, failed (for all his kids and grand kids who he loved and seemed to love him in return) human being. On the fringes of society moving from one menial job to another, unfocused. I couldn't hate him. I wanted to and told myself I would kill him when I saw him. But I couldn't hate him. And I didn't kill him. Instead we had dinner, a few beers and left. I kept a close eye on my boys.

Years later I think about him and what he did. How did that change me? I don't know that either. As Popeye is oft quoted "I yam who I yam" and "I yam what I yam". Me too. No point in dwelling, and I think the healing has long been underway. Forgiving is hard, but forgetting isn't going to happen. So I forgive him for his acts of long ago. Pax vobiscum.

One of the lucky ones? I think so. You see I knew something happened in that basement. I remembered something. Not all of it, but something. Many abused children suppress the abuse so deeply that they never know why they feel and act the way they do. They go through life damaged and guilt ridden and don't know why. One more effect of the assault. (see the July 28th 2009  post for another story on child abuse.)
Image: http://ylstc.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/4/1/10414578/6136082_orig.jpg