Old Times, Places and Friends, But New Adventures

In a few days I am beginning a short vacation that will take me to Idaho, Montana and Glacier National Park. In Idaho I will visit my long-time friends, Lloyd and Barbara Agte. I met Lloyd when he came to Denver and participated in some of the programs I offered through Whole Life Learning Center. He arranged for me to present a meditation seminar later in Casper. Since retiring several years ago as a professor at Casper College in Casper Wyoming and moving to Idaho, he has spent most of his time building his dream home on land that has long been in his family.

From there I will travel to Kalispell, Montana. My maternal grandparents homesteaded in the area and I plan to visit the old farm which I haven’t seen since I was four years old. My memories of those old times include sleeping in the barn along with my sister. Also, I spent grand times in grandma’s garden sitting between the rows of carrots and eating my fill. My cousin, who visited the area in the 80s, shared a photo of the new house that had been built on the farm. He also looked up the farm on Google Earth. I followed his lead and also looked it up and mapped directions to it from Kalispell. Isn’t modern technology great (in most cases)! My grandfather sold the land and moved to Oregon around 1944 where he worked in the Oregon Shipyards.

After a good look around the area I will spend the next several days in Glacier National Park. I will stay one night in Lake MacDonald Lodge. As a child I remember the photo we had of the lake that hung in our home. This will be my first visit to the Park and I hope to take numerous pictures some of which I plan to share on this blog later.

My co-pilot on the trip will be a friend from back in my seminary days at Unity School in the middle to late 1950s. Judy Gillenwater as she was known then (now Nomi Sweetfire) had also come to work in Silent Unity. I hadn’t seen her since 1959 until we were reacquainted in Tucson, Arizona two years ago. Nomi now lives with her daughter and her family in California.

I look forward to visiting old friends and old places in a new adventure. Bon Voyage!

Family Sharing

I want to share some recent photos I received of my daughter’s two sons. Photos do so much to bring families together who are geographically far apart. They live in Florida and I have only been there once when Kyle was just a baby. They visit Tucson usually for Christmas and I got to see them there several times, but my trips did not always coincide with theirs.

On the left is Kyle, who is now seven and in the first grade. His little brother, Ryan, is on the right. He is three. It has been awhile since I have seen my grandchildren so the photos brought them closer right away.

Being a grandfather has been difficult for me. I found that I had forgotten “child-speak” that I knew as a parent when my two children were small. I am sure any of you who have children know what I mean. I do not mean the gibberish parents use to talk to their children. I am talking about knowing the level of their interest and how to share their excitement in what is important to them. Maybe I didn’t know then as well as I think I remember. In any case, I remember how much I loved them and how much we enjoyed the things we did together—camping, fishing and other things many families do.

As a child I came along last in the family and my brother and sister being older than I had different peers and interests. The result was I learned to relate to adults more than I related to my peers. It has always been this way. I seemed to be totally helpless around children. Though the old saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” I’d like to think I can change this. I look forward to relearning how to relate to my grandchildren as well as all children. The innocence and vitality of their very being can refresh and restore us if we let it. I will joyously undertake this adventure! So as I am refreshed I share this part of my family with you.

Catching Up

This entry is just to catch up on loose ends, which is enough of a reason to find something to share.

Daryn Kagan
As I watched the video from Daryn Kagan (darynkagan.com) today I was again impressed by the fact that her web site and blog tell the “good news” about people making a difference. I have already added her link on the left panel of this blog, but I particularly wanted you to see her interview back at CNN, where she worked for 12 years before her contract was not renewed. It is her May 5, 2008 entry. http://www.darynkagan.com/darynsblog.html

Update on my “Entangled Connections.”
I wrote recently about trying to repair my desktop PC. I thought it was a circuit board problem, but it turned out (I think) to be one of my two hard drives. Several years ago I had a similar problem and bought a new drive, installed it, and then installed the old drive as a slave unit. I was able to recover all my information and all was well until that original hard drive began to clack away like metal hitting. The last time I was into the inner workings while the PC was turned on that nasty old drive began clacking away. I unplugged it and the noise stopped. So I have ordered a new drive and will start the process all over again. Fun, huh? I guess most readers won’t care much about my computer problems, but I thought that since I brought it up before, you might just want to see the finished story. You will get another installment when all is well again.

Spring has Sprung (for a few days)
This has been unusual year weather wise, but of course it seems we say that every year, doesn’t it? Well, we reached 70 degrees for the second time this year and we may again today. I love the seasonal changes in the northwest, but the sun always is the best thing to happen. The sun heightens the color intensity of the evergreens and the spring blossoms of trees and plants. It is truly a gorgeous time of year. I am ready for it and for the emotional change that comes with the sun. As skies brighten, so do I! I hope your skies are blue and your sun shines brightly!