THE AGE OF AQUARIUS

Sunshine Freedom, USA

MEMORIAL WEEKEND 2021

The 1960’s hit musical Hair included the Fifth Dimension hit recording Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In and promoted a new age of peace, love and light.  Some astrologers suggest it started on the conjunction that occurred in December 2020 or at the vernal equinox on March 20, 2021. 

Let it be so and let it start with you and me as we honor those who have given their all to preserve the freedoms of our great country—freedoms that we often don’t pause to appreciate and that we need to embrace more than ever on this dawning of a new age and Memorial weekend 2021.  Let us cast off the masks of hate and violence to reveal the light of a more perfect union, so that their sacrifice will not be in vain!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbCH5lnZ6sA

AFTER THE PANDEMIC 2021

Empty Chairs, Empty Tables, WB, NC

MEMORIAL DAY 2021

Phantom faces in the sea mist,

Phantom shadows on the sand,

Empty chairs at empty tables,

Where my friends no longer stand.

There’s a grief that can’t be spoken,

There’s a pain goes on and on,

Empty chairs at empty tables,

Their songs and laughter are now gone.

O my friends, my friends I thank you,

For the good times we shared together,

Empty chairs at empty tables,

We'll meet again in a beautiful forever.

The plague is now being defeated,

And the people have paid a great cost,

Empty chairs at empty tables,

We pause to remember those that were lost.

 

THE JAMESTOWN CHERRY TREE

JUMC Cherry Tree, Jamestown, NC

Once upon a time in the land of Jamestown many years ago, a congregation had the vision to plant young cherry trees on either side of the entrance to their Fellowship Hall and Sanctuary.  So, they acquired the necessary funds and planted the trees under whose blossoms many of them would never pass.  And over the years the trees flourished and blossomed and began to reach to the heavens in praise of the creator of all who entered their honor guard. 

And as the years passed and the trees reached maturity, they began to arch over the pathway to worship.  Then as late March began to warm the air in the Carolinas, beautiful cherry blossoms opened over the people.  If the timing was perfect and spring showers with gentle wind gusts arrived on a given Sunday morning, the cherry petals would cascade down on the people in high praise of celebrating Palm Sunday and the following Easter Sunday. 

The trees celebrated wedding parties introducing young couples, baby baptisms introducing new life and graduations introducing young adults to the people.  The trees were there to celebrate all of the special days of the people including the funerals of the saints that had planted them and worshiped with them.  The cherry petals mingled with the rice and the confetti that were tossed into the rarified air surrounding the church on the hill.

Then as it befalls all sentient organisms on earth, one of the trees fell prey to age and disease.  First some affected limbs had to be trimmed in an effort to save the tree.  But time was taking its toll and there was a concern that if the tree was not isolated and removed, the other trees could soon be infected.  The cherry tree had witnessed how the circle of life progresses and understood its destiny but it was sad to leave.  Then our creator shared a vision of what was possible in 2021 for the space it occupied after a worldwide pandemic infected many of the people and covered the earth in the year 2020.  He understood that he could still make a difference, even after he was gone and it was good.

After the tree was removed from the grounds prior to the pandemic, the people agreed to gather safely outside the sanctuary of the church building where the cherry tree had stood for so many glorious years.  As the surviving cherry trees rejoiced in the new services honoring their creator, the people gathered once again out of isolation and spread out under their shade on the new spring grass and worshiped unobstructed on sacred ground. 

And the fragrant spirit of the cherry tree moved with almighty God in the breezes among the people in this place and it was good.

YOU MISSED MY WRY SMILE

Hocus Pocus Face Mask

 

FACIAL COMMUNICATION

This COVID pandemic has created many changes in our world culture, not the least of which is the loss of facial communication when many of us use social media on-line at home and face masks when we venture out.  The human face is very expressive and conveys emotions without us uttering a word.  Research has shown that as we interact, just 7% of meaning is conveyed by words, 38% is the way the words are spoken and a surprising 55% is revealed in our facial expressions!  And our human facial expressions cross all cultures.

It’s been said that the eyes are the window to the soul.  A person’s eyes can reveal wide-open surprise or squinting anger along with our eyebrows.  A fake smile only creates wrinkles at the corner of the mouth.  A genuine smile also creates wrinkles at the corner of the eye.  A genuine smile is one of the key indicators of physical attraction.  So, beware of a romantic attraction during this masking phase of our lives!  And if any of the following three reactions is missing, a person is only simulating emotion; the eyes are wet, the nose gets moist and saliva is swallowed.  If the facial expression does not look symmetrical, the person is not being truthful.     

All of these indicators plus many more are lost in social communication and when the other person is wearing a variety of face coverings which is not the norm, except during this pandemic.  I confess to probably using satire in my conversations all too often which will sometimes confuse someone face-to-face if they take me too seriously or don’t know me very well.  I’m pretty sure that I usually have an asymmetrical wry smile on my face if I’m using satire to make a point.  And that is totally lost during social media interactions or when I’m masked up.  I wonder how long it will take all of us to return to normal interactions when all of these restrictions on us are finally rescinded—after we repair the collateral damage done to many of our relationships?

I can confirm that miscommunication based on my personal experience when I’m checking out of a grocery line.  Some grocers still require mask wearing inside if you want to shop there.  Many times, a checker has apparently been trained to ask “Did you find everything you were looking for today?”  My response is generally “most of the stuff I’m buying today wasn’t even on my radar when I entered the store.”  Or if my foraging goal for the day was a six pack, cheese, crackers and summer sausage, my go-to response is “Just buying the basics today!”

A GOOD TIME MEMORY

Rocky Mountain High, Vail, CO

“If you take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.”

I recently wrote in my post on Time that it’s been observed that children primarily live in the present, adults also live in the future and seniors live more in the past.  I believe we should aspire to a good life so that when we begin to fall back on life’s memories, we will smile.  After I posted this blog, I was out on the street driving to dinner with a Carolina blue sky overhead sprinkled with lazy cumulous clouds.  The temperature was approaching a summertime 80 degrees and a recurring memory began flashing in my mind’s eye that such an occasion has prompted in the past.

I was instantaneously drawn back to a scene just off Interstate-70 between Vail, Colorado and the suburbs of Kansas City where my young wife Karen and I had settled into an apartment after our wedding.  We remained engaged for the four years she took to graduate with an education degree as I started my Industrial Engineering career and attended evening classes for a master’s degree. 

This scene occurred about 50 years ago as we drove home from a liberating vacation in the Rocky Mountains as young career marrieds.  We had hiked mountain trails, explored aspen forests surrounding clear lakes, ridden summer ski gondolas, participated in a group horseback ride through alpine meadows and swam in the resort pool.   Later, we dined at fine restaurants in the cool evenings and walked the stone paths back to the condo.  By this point in time, we both had good paying jobs and were free from debt with the exception of a car payment.

The scene that has been indelibly branded into my mind was pulling off I-70 on our way back home into a small country town for a rest stop and refreshments.  The panoramic blue skies and lazy summer clouds were a duplicate copy of today and the weather was warm, humid and breezy.  We were suntanned, wearing shorts and t-shirts, and singing with the windows of our Oldsmobile Cutlass rolled down while a country tape of John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High wafted out into the prairies. 

I remember experiencing a moment of euphoria at that time and savored every second of being fully alive.  I’m certain I had no idea that this perfect moment of the good life would randomly enter my consciousness every time I was placed in a similar Deja vu time and place.  But I’m eternally grateful for the loving memory.

TIME

Clock Time, Jamestown, NC

 “Time is not measured by clocks but by moments.  If you take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.  Life teaches us to make good use of time, while time teaches us the value of life.”

To begin, time is a human construct.  Time doesn’t exist, clocks exist.  We must proceed cautiously or the clock will dominate our lives.  The Creator of this existence is not bound by time.  We mark the passage of our lives by how many times we circle the sun.  How old would you be if you hadn’t done this?  We mark the passages of days by how many hours pass before the sun returns to the same spot in the sky.  This passage will be different for other planets.  We can’t grow up fast enough when we’re young, but time goes too fast as we age.  Sunrise, sunset.  Time can’t go fast enough when we’re bored or in pain, but time goes too fast when we’re having a good time.  And I love the analogy that time is like a river.  You can never cross the same river twice for the flow keeps passing and is never the same again.

As we grow up, we consider that we have all the time in the world.  As we age, we understand that it is limited.  Everything on this planet has an expiration date, with one exception, our spirit.  We were given five senses to perceive the dimension we inhabit.  If there are others beyond our comprehension, it’s probably best we don’t have them.  The very nature of this physical world seems to be focused on the continual recycling of star dust into new creations that have the ability to advance our existence.

Is it wise to waste time?  Does it matter?  Any time spent with good intention would seem to be well spent.  If we want to do something we will find the time.  If not, we will find an excuse.  Solomon, perhaps the richest and wisest man that ever lived, wrote in Ecclesiastes that “Everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  But he also wrote that there is a time for everything such as “a time to be born and a time to die…a time to tear down and a time to build…a time to keep and a time to throw away…a time to be silent and a time to speak” among many other sage observations.        

A good test of a life is to examine where we spend our time, for that is where the heart resides and defines our lives.  Solomon concludes the third chapter by observing “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God…All go to the same place; all come from dust and to dust all return.” 

It’s been said that children primarily live in the present, adults also live in the future and seniors live more in the past.  I believe we should aspire to a good life so that when we begin to fall back on life’s memories, we will smile.  Especially if we follow the ways of the heart and spend our earthly time wisely.

THE DRIVE-THRU

 

The Drive-Thru, Jamestown, NC

 I received a text from my pharmacy on my Saturday morning “no place to be” drive notifying me that my Rx order was ready.  First of all, I never placed my prescriptions on automatic refill and I like to order and pay for things on my schedule.  But they caught me in an agreeable mood, so I swung into their drive-thru on my way home.  As I turned the corner of the building, I passed two signs directing traffic into one of the two available lanes for either prescriptions or testing.  Never mind the two opposite arrows painted on the driveway. 

 My agreeable mood was going south as I waited on the conversations between the six drivers ahead of me and the cashier.  When I finally reached the speaker in the prescription lane, a pleasant voice asked how she could help me?  I replied “I’d like a double cheeseburger with fries and a coke, hold the Mayo.”

 Actually, I stayed civil and asked for my mystery drugs, but I might say that the next time if this persists. 😎

SUNRISE SILHOUETTE

Sunrise Silhouette, Kiawah, SC

A first light sunrise walk along a deserted sandy beach will cure even the melancholy spirit as the foaming waves break ceaselessly over your bare feet.

Any time is a good time to walk the beach and letting the cool ocean breezes at sunrise invigorate your early morning walk seems to be ideal.  Morning’s first light arrives well before the big combustible globe makes its daily entrance on the eastern horizon. Then as the shining orb nears the horizon, the eastern sky begins to glow with pastels of gold and citron and crimson. If there are low level scattered clouds of vapor droplets on the horizon, they will serve to magnify and reflect and refract the new day’s sunbeams across the sky.

Small Morning Glory blooms open their petals on the surrounding sand dunes. Scattered shells that have been deposited by the receding tides are left as one-of-a-kind treasures for the early morning risers. The empty shell of a large sea crab lies motionless near the water’s edge. Sea birds launch into their daily migrations along the shoreline.  Only after the support players have adequately prepared us for the main attraction will the star of the show begin to rise into our view and within minutes the grand entrance is complete.  My wife Karen and I loved to walk along the beach at sunrise, sometimes together and sometimes apart, depending on who was in the mood for shelling.  

I had briefly stopped and was photographing shore birds scurrying along the receding waves when I noticed a dark silhouette walking toward the rising sun.   Without even giving it much thought at the time, I turned my camera to the east and waited to shoot until the figure walked into the rising sun.  Once I got the image I wanted, I turned back to the shore birds, my lone companions this day. 

That photo accompanying this post turned up in my Facebook memories today.  I took it a few years ago, almost ten years after breast cancer took Karen’s life.  That’s when it caught my attention, as it finally occurred to me that we were the only two on the beach early that morning.  I only saw the dark female silhouette walking away and she left no footprints…

 

INNOCENCE, DEATH AND DYING

Patches, Emporia, KS

MEMORIAL DAY 2021, MONDAY, MAY 31

This is not a fanciful or inviting subject matter for discussion in a youth-oriented culture, but one that needs to see the light of day on occasion.  And on the occasion of the hopeful decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s appropriate to reflect on lessons learned from any milestone event in our lives.  Vaccinations in America are beginning to control the viral spread here, but other areas of the world that are not so fortunate like India are experiencing record infections and deaths.  The gift of life is fragile and we should be appreciative on every waking day.  Over three million deaths worldwide have now been recorded.

Death comes calling quickly for some of these unfortunate people and has a long and anguished protraction for others.  I recently reflected that my father and grandfather Davis died within seven months of each other and my mother and wife also died within seven months.  My grandfather and mother had immediate heart failure while my father and wife had longer challenges with cancer.

I wrote a blog ten years ago about my loss of innocence when I was a child and experienced the death of our family dog, Patches, after he was hit by a passing car.  That was my first personal understanding of the reality that our mortal life has both a beginning and an ending.  That concept is quite sobering.  Later in life, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to take two of our family dogs to the vet to end their lives, since they both had terminal issues.  I did find solace in the swift and gentle process.  In the past few months, friends and family have had to do the same.  The passage of time can’t ever erase the precious memory of any sentient being in this life that has deeply touched our hearts or minimize their eternal influence which has been indelibly inscribed on our soul.  In his passing, Patches had assisted in the preparation for the life ahead of me.   

When my daughter and son-in-law drove to pick up my four-year old grandson from school, they had to gently tell him that they were sad because their family dog of ten years had died at the vets.  His innocent reply was “I’m not sad, she was sick.”  Later after more discussion, he came to the realization of a mortal life’s ending.  When quality of life and suffering has occurred, we can do the humane thing and end life with compassion for our animals.  The majority of our culture still values human life so that we issue pain meds until there is a natural ending. 

Our family pets wake up every morning only taking life as it’s presented.  They don’t have the gift and sometimes the curse of a frontal lobe that enables us human beings to know that life has an end game.  But that final evolution of our brain also enables us to prepare for it.    We know going in that we will probably outlive our animal companions.  Our comfort is knowing we had a good life together while they were here.  A Day Lily thrives only one day, but that is time enough for them. 

My sister Carolyn sent a yellowing Ann Landers column which concluded, “And, my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going.  I am not having any fun.  Please see to it that my life is taken gently.  I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.”

RIP Rosemary, Jenny-Wren, Lucy, Sonny, Mason and Daisy