Necessary Corrections

It is always good to have nature correct the collective miscalculations that clutter our modern-day subconscious.  One begins to confuse wants, needs, and have-to's.  And then a snow day reminds us that we do have time, even if we think otherwise.  We do have what we need, even if we think otherwise.  Priorities return to their proper place, especially on a cold and snowy Christmas night. I am reminded of this poem by Billy Collins. For there is no greater joy than watching a dog "porpoise" through the fresh snow.  (And the last stanza is SO middle school). Stay warm and be safe, Sam - - - - - - - - - - - - Snow Day by Billy Collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow, its white flag waving over everything, the landscape vanished, not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness, and beyond these windows the government buildings smothered, schools and libraries buried, the post office lost under the noiseless drift, the paths of trains softly blocked, the world fallen under this falling. In a while I will put on some boots and step out like someone walking in water, and the dog will porpoise through the drifts, and I will shake a laden branch, sending a cold shower down on us both. But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house, a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow. I will make a pot of tea and listen to the plastic radio on the counter, as glad as anyone to hear the news that the Kiddie Corner School is closed, the Ding-Dong School, closed, the All Aboard Children's School, closed, the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed, along with -- some will be delighted to hear -- the Toadstool School, the Little School, Little Sparrows Nursery School, Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School, the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed, and -- clap your hands -- the Peanuts Play School. So this is where the children hide all day, These are the nests where they letter and draw, where they put on their bright miniature jackets, all darting and climbing and sliding, all but the few girls whispering by the fence. And now I am listening hard in the grandiose silence of the snow, trying to hear what those three girls are plotting, what riot is afoot, which small queen is about to be brought down.

Trusting the Past

This is the next in my series of poems to consider, to ponder, to examine inwardly and outwardly.  I originally posted the poem back in September.

It is particularly powerful to me right now, as our two boys have reached adulthood.  But if the tree is to be judged by it's fruit, then perhaps we didn't saddle them with too many albatrosses.

I first read this poem three years ago, yet I continue to think of it often.  I love how it changes our understanding of time... for the way it turns our wistful gaze into the future into a reflective assessment of our humanness, our incompleteness, our gullibility.  Yet, like the ancient mariner, we made the best decisions we could for that time and in that place.  We pray the past will serve us well.

Yes, old Frost, I chose the roads to take in the past.  For this journey called life is a map-less exploration of dark woods and meandering streams.  One must navigate by head and heart... and I tended to take the road less traveled, and that has certainly "made all the difference".

- - - - - - - - - - 


Thanks, Robert Frost by David Ray

Do you have hope for the future?
someone asked Robert Frost, toward the end.
Yes, and even for the past, he replied,
that it will turn out to have been all right
for what it was, something we can accept,
mistakes made by the selves we had to be,
not able to be, perhaps, what we wished,
or what looking back half the time it seems
we could so easily have been, or ought...
The future, yes, and even for the past,
that it will become something we can bear.
And I too, and my children, so I hope,
will recall as not too heavy the tug
of those albatrosses I sadly placed
upon their tender necks. Hope for the past,
yes, old Frost, your words provide that courage,
and it brings strange peace that itself passes
into past, easier to bear because
you said it, rather casually, as snow
went on falling in Vermont years ago.

What is that?

Check out this short four minute video... it'll be worth it, I promise.
(Thanks, Nathan, for sharing.)

Click here to view the YouTube video

Time Takes It's Toll

Another poem for contemplation during my sabbatical... appropriate for November.  No explanation is required.  It is what it is.

(Don't worry.  No mid-life train wreck here... just acceptance.)

Losing Steps  by Stephen Dunn

     1

It's probably a Sunday morning
in a pickup game, and it's clear
you've begun to leave
fewer people behind.

Your fakes are as good as ever,
but when you move
you're like the Southern Pacific
the first time a car kept up with it,

your opponent at your hip,
with you all the way
to the rim. Five years earlier
he'd have been part of the air

that stayed behind you
in your ascendance.
On the sidelines they're saying,
He's lost a step.

     2

In a few more years
it's adult night in a gymnasium
streaked with the abrupt scuff marks
of high schoolers, and another step

leaves you like a wire
burned out in a radio.
You're playing defense,
someone jukes right, goes left,

and you're not fooled
but he's past you anyway,
dust in your eyes,
a few more points against you.

     3

Suddenly you're fifty;
if you know anything about steps
you're playing chess
with an old, complicated friend.

But you're walking to a schoolyard
where kids are playing full-court,
telling yourself
the value of experience, a worn down

basketball under your arm,
your legs hanging from your waist
like misplaced sloths in a county
known for its cheetahs and its sunsets.

"Retirement" Schedule

Typical weekly schedule while working with non-profits...

(It's nice that retirement affords these worthwhile options AND time to put up all the Halloween stuff.)

Monday - Friends of the Library Meeting
Tuesday - Moderate Socrates Cafe session (see earlier post)
Saturday - Setup for church fundraising auction ( Web Link)
Sunday -   Play for museum fundraiser auction ( Facebook Link)

The Dr. Buzzard Jr. Trio
(plus Clarence, the dog)

Halloween

Well... it's the perfect closure to the best month of the year - Halloween.  We're busy converting the home into the Haunted Lentz Hotel.  Some recent Halloween photos (click on the image to enlarge)...

Visiting Schools

Greetings All,

I apologize for the blogging hiatus... it's been a bit busy.

I had the good fortune of being able to present to some school children recently.  First as Johnny Appleseed for the A. T. Allen kindergartners.  What a treat!  Thanks Ms. Snipes for inviting me.

Then... there was the annual tradition of a Jack Tale and The Great Pumpkin with the Mt. Pleasant Middle School sixth graders.  As always - it was a great pleasure!

Book cover from Richard Chase's original recording of these tales.

Oh, where are you Great Pumpkin?

It was really good to be around the kids again.  I miss them, and the dedicated teachers, terribly.

Shakori Hills, here we come!

I'm headed to Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance.  Have banjo, will travel.

Looks like great weather too!

This is our tent (notice Resa's feng shui touch)...

You can checkout the festival by clicking here.

See photos of last spring's festival by clicking here.

For some reason, this quote found me in a very receptive place today.  It's by a Norwegian writer many years ago.

For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money.    – Arne Garborg, writer (1851-1924)

May you always recognize the deceptive shell for what it is, and may you seek the often hidden kernel of all things important.

Hiking with Clarence

Clarence and I went on a day-hike in the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness Area, which is a little known part of the Uwharrie National Forest.  It was a great day to hike... we did not see anyone else the entire day.

This is a homemade stone chimney in the middle of the forest.  It is the only remains of a cabin owned by the Christopherson family.

This fire ring was originally put together by Tyler and me 16 years ago.  It was our "secret" camping spot.  It appears that it is not so secret any more.

This is another picture of the campsite.  The creek is Hannah's Creek (almost dry right now).  Notice the tree on the left... it's the largest Beech tree I've ever seen.

Carvings that Tyler and I made in that tree in 1994.

That's Clarence checking out Hannah's Creek.

This greenery is commonly called "ground cedar".  It is not cedar, but a vine that carpets the valleys in the forest.

This is the sign designating an old family graveyard in the middle of the Uwharries.

Primitive head stone making one of the graves.

Sunken graves were often the result of settling long after the burial.  This is the main reason that burial vaults are used today.

Another view of the old Christopherson homestead site.

While it may be hard to tell from this photograph, this was a gold mine back in the day.  The miners would dig a deep hole, just large enough for a man to enter.  He would be lowered down to the bottom.  He would dig and fill up a bucket with rocks and/or dirt that would then be brought up to the surface using a pulley system.  Needless to say - this predates OSHA standards.

This is an example of an erosion wall.  The first European settlers built these to reduce erosion by storm runoff in the steep hills.  The stones are made of rhyolite.  This type of rock can be broken to make a very sharp edge. It is somewhat specific to the Yadkin River basin, and was prized by the Native Americans.  Called the "Yadkin point", these tools and weapons were traded to traveling bands - and therefore - they can be found hundreds of miles away.

My hiking buddy decides to cool off by bathing in Robbins Branch.

Back at the abode, taking a short siesta after a hard day of hiking.

Thanks, Robert Frost

Headed to the Birkhead Wilderness area for a day-hike with Clarence.  This will be my sabbath for this week.  My poem for the day can be found below.  I'll have a copy with me today... thoughts and comments will be posted later.


"Thanks, Robert Frost" by David Ray, from Music of Time: Selected and New Poems.  (The Backwaters Press)

Thanks, Robert Frost 

Do you have hope for the future?
someone asked Robert Frost, toward the end.
Yes, and even for the past, he replied,
that it will turn out to have been all right
for what it was, something we can accept,
mistakes made by the selves we had to be,
not able to be, perhaps, what we wished,
or what looking back half the time it seems
we could so easily have been, or ought...
The future, yes, and even for the past,
that it will become something we can bear.
And I too, and my children, so I hope,
will recall as not too heavy the tug
of those albatrosses I sadly placed
upon their tender necks. Hope for the past,
yes, old Frost, your words provide that courage,
and it brings strange peace that itself passes
into past, easier to bear because
you said it, rather casually, as snow
went on falling in Vermont years ago.

Momma Said...

As I thought about the poem,The Journey, (see earlier post), I was reminded of a saying that I had heard from my mom. It went, "You can't please everybody, so be sure to please yourself." Or at least I thought that was the way it went, until I asked her about it one day. You see, my mom is the most selfless person I know, yet the saying seemed very self centered, and thus - very out of character for her.  She corrected me (not the first, nor last time)... actually it goes, "You can't please anybody until you please yourself." That makes more sense (especially coming from my mom). One cannot supply water for others if his/her own personal well is dry. Sometimes you have to allow the needed time to dig your well just a little deeper.

Pictures from the Canoe

Mobile uploads while on my canoe camping trip.

Sent from my BlackBerry

Rosh Hashanah

I made made dinner last night, and thought it would be interesting to have a traditional Rosh Hashanah meal.  So we recognized the Jewish New Year with:

• Apples dipped in honey
• Challah (round bread loaf)
• Fish - smoked salmon  (not the traditional fish head)
• Olives

Actually - Granny Smith apple slices dipped in honey are really delicious.

For more information:

http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/Rosh-Hashanah-Food-Customs.htm

The Journey

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save. 

© Mary Oliver. Online Source

Personal Sabbath

Greetings All -

Well, this whole sabbatical thing seems to be harder than I expected.  You've heard of Parkinson's Law, right??? (Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.)  Well, I can attest to the veracity of this adage.  But my primary problem is that I must overcome the constant need to be "doing".  Instead... I must work on "being".  For a lifelong workaholic, this is much easier said than done.  One step in that direction is to establish a personal sabbath within each week. With Resa's work schedule, I am considering making it a weekday. No work... no projects... no shopping... no commitments - just think... just contemplate... just read and write...just be! I'm afraid that if I don't establish a regular routine (for example - every Monday will be my personal sabbath), then - knowing my nature - I will put it off until the week has passed me by. And for me, there does seem to be something significant to the whole Biblical seven-to-one ratio.

"And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2:3). The same idea is also stated elsewhere, as here: "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work" (Deut. 5:14).

My first foray into a personal sabbath will be tomorrow.  After staying overnight tonight with Family Promise (a nonprofit organization about which I feel very strongly), I plan to go solo canoe-camping on Friday.  I will have one short reading to contemplate per "sabbath day".  My first, for Friday, is The Journey - by Mary Oliver. (I will submit it as a separate post entry.)

Feel free to respond.  In the meantime - be well, and enjoy the weekend.

S

The Concord Socrates Café

With the help of my good friend, Nathan King, we will be starting a new series that will meet at The Branchview Tavern on the first Tuesday evening of each month at 6:00pm.  The series is called The Concord Socrates Café.  The Socrates Café is a national, grassroots movement devoted to bringing philosophical inquiry into our daily lives. The goal is for each of us to become better questioners and listeners. We can then use our improved skills to make better decisions in our personal lives, as well as better consider public issues.


The Concord Socrates Café offers an opportunity for residents to move from small talk to big talk, to get together in a casual setting to discuss a topic or idea and explore it from multiple angles and perspectives. As we share our differing views and opinions, we will stimulate our minds and encourage thoughtful and creative responses. No special knowledge is required; just bring an open and inquiring mind.  Together, we will nurture the "fourth R" - reasoning.


So - please consider joining us for our first meeting this Tuesday, September 7th.  The food, fun, and conversation will be great!

"A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking." ~~Arthur Bloch

Labor Day

I am currently working on a sermon that I'll be delivering on Labor Day Sunday.  With retirement... and with the terrible unemployment situation, I am viewing Labor Day a little differently this year.  I have always viewed work as a way to develop and live out our beliefs.  This is the synopsis blurb for the service...


Sermon Title:  Work as Worship

Just like "jumbo shrimp" and "tough love", you may find that "work" and "worship" are two terms that do not go together. Perhaps you see a worship experience as a needed and welcome refuge from the world of work.   But as we celebrate Labor Day during these very uncertain economic times, we will explore the role of work in our personal journey and spiritual growth.

Happy Labor Day everyone... you teachers be sure to catch your breath!

Timeout for Clarence

Meet Clarence - our one-year old Brittany.  Just like Clarence Oddbody, the guardian angel in “It's a Wonderful Life”, this angel appeared unannounced in the frigid waters on a snowy evening. Apparently he had been caught in the rapid current of the winter floods;  and we found him (cold and wet) adrift in the Yadkin River. And just like his namesake... he is sometimes an inconvenience, but a true blessing in the end.


I mention this on the blog because Clarence must see the vet to have a "procedure" this week (yes... the big one), which will postpone my backpacking trip due to the post-surgery convalescence..  Yet another inconvenience, but he's worth it.

The Purpose of Schooling

Checkout this YouTube recording of Alan Watts' perspective of Western education.  Watts was a British philosopher who died in 1973 - long before the accountability movement in American education.  Wonder what he would say about our current standardized testing regime?

Don't forget... our current educational system was designed after the industrial model of Henry Ford's assembly line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCoHnGarAFI

Contemplative Poetry

I have been planning a solo backpacking trip to the middle of nowhere.  I had planned on beginning it soon... but I was holding out to see if a break in the heat is forthcoming.  Regardless - I will be taking copies of five poems with me.  I will read (multiple times), contemplate, think, and record my thoughts about a single poem each day.  My hope is that by focusing on one poem for an entire day, that my thinking will be directed toward depth in lieu of breadth.  I have put together a short list of poem possibilities, but I am definitely interested in your suggestions.  I will be posting the final choices before heading into the woods.  I treasure your submissions.

Wisdom Commons

One of my favorite websites.  Be sure to subscribe for the daily wisdom quote.

http://www.wisdomcommons.org/

Just a Thought

What if employees (especially teachers) could collect 7/8 of their salary, and take a year off (with pay) after seven years of service. Imagine how refreshed the educator would be as he/she returned to the classroom!  Perhaps some would choose not to return during their "sabbatical"... but is that so bad??? Maybe it was time for a change after all. I have always thought that the state retirement system promotes folks to "do the long haul" without a break.  Is this really best for teachers and students???

Seems like Moses (or whomever) may have had it right after all.

Food for thought..

My Personal Retreat

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, 

where we expected to find a place of prayer. (Acts 16:13)

Origin of the Sabbath

The original meaning of the word Sabbath is the seventh day of the week observed by Jews as a day of rest (Hebrew shabbath, "rest") and solemn assembly for worship. Jews (and some Christians) observe the Sabbath from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. Besides attending worship services, the principal duty of Jews on the Sabbath (also known as the Sabbath Day) is to perform no ordinary work or act of labor.

Jews regard the day as sacred to God because of biblical texts explicitly stating that sanctification. Early in Genesis, for example, is this clear passage: "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2:3). The same idea is also stated elsewhere, as here: "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work" (Deut. 5:14).

The word Sabbath also refers to any other Scriptural period of solemn rest or cessation from usual activity. The best-known such period is also referred to as the Sabbatical year, a year of rest for the land observed every seventh year in ancient Judea.

The Sabbatical year is explained in Leviticus: "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard" (Lev. 25:2-4).