Into February

It’s clear to me, now that we are one month into the Obama presidency, that we have building a stark contrast to his inclusiveness. The media has gone back to performing its role as vultures, not contributing to the solutions, speaking for the sake of titillation rather than informing. The Republican party, bereft of any new ideas, postures toward 2010 and 2012.

The rest of us remain in the glow of the November elections and wonder how trivial the MSM and these minority politicians want to become. It takes time to redirect the negative and unuseful direction of the past eight years.

Oh, well. Today is a particularly good day, like all of them are. Some needed rain and wind to clear the air and not much in the way of things we really need to get done. Undoubtedly the Universe is unfolding as it should. Life is good.

Stuff

We go from a day of counting our blessings (what we have) on Thanksgiving Day to an artificial day of frenetically acquiring more the day after. Those who would give even more hype to the commercialization of the holiday season have given shoppers the term Black Friday, when the meaning of the day after Thanksgiving has never really been a “breakeven point” for annual sales. What’s more important to retail is the number of days between that Friday and Christmas, which can vary between 26 and 32. This year there are 26, six less than 2007, a significant drop. The media just keeps spinning it.

The death of the KMart employee this year is the metaphor for the season. We go from stuffing to more stuff, and woe be to anyone who stands in the way of drastic price reductions. I don’t think this represents most of us this year, but it does fill the constant demand for news stories, and puts events here in perspective with the deaths in Mumbai.

Spring, almost

A quiet morning on Discovery Bay. Protection Island is obscured by fog and I’ve cleaned up the kitchen after a wonderful breakfast of oatmeal pancakes and bacon. The pancakes were, of course, not quite obscured by raspberry jam and maple syrup. As we do most mornings, we read something from the Dalai Lama and Science of Mind magazine and ponder the messages.

I’ve been reading The Third Jesus by Depeak Chopra, who offers a different way of looking at the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Interesting reading, at least the first third of the book. It’s a tragedy that  church and theology evolved rather than the God conscienceness Jesus taught and lived.

Mark, our next door neighbor, brought us some most beautifuls flowers in appreciation of our being good neighbors. He is such a nice fellow. A result of our level of acceptance of having a house on one side.

Another year older

We marked another year on the planet Tuesday. I’m not using the “imperial we” here as I received lots of e-mail and phone calls and a number of cards. If I had my druthers I’d just as soon see the cards dropped in favor of a phone call from now on. The cards, as well meaning as I know they are, contribute to a number of systems that are not very favorable to the health of the planet and I would rather hear about your life.

Don’t feel much older, really. As long as I eat properly and exercise I’m able to get up in the morning and go to bed without more than a few creaks. Can’t ask for much more than that at my age. Well, I guess I could ask for more, but I’m feeling pretty abundant already, so why push my luck?

2008 looks like an interesting year. A presidential election with all candidates all the time, and what appears to be a serious economic downturn. We’re have discussions while walking Allie about moving closer to town, or maybe even back across Puget Pond, as painful as that would be. This country will be recovering from the ineptitude of George W. Bush for decades to come.

I am grateful for another year. Life is good.

2008

It was a very mellow and early New Years Eve last night. Another holiday we more or less ignore from a celebration point of view. I heard a few pops down on the point as I fell asleep. We always leave the drunk driving to the amateurs on these two days.

A good time for recollection, though. 2007 was a great year, all things considered. A nice long trip to D.C., Virginia and North Carolina broke things up and we met some folks doing important work with the mentally ill. The last three months were very tiring, but a learning experience. I’ve cast forth my intention for more conscious living and to live in a dematerialistic manner.

Home at last

Sherry and I picked Dad up from Garden Terrace yesterday and dropped him off at his house. He could have used several weeks more of professional help. He declined an assessment of his house for independent living as well as one of those devices elders wear around their necks for emergency help. Garden Terrace made a referral to a home healthcare agency and they will be calling him; I hope he will take advantage of the services he can access. His assessment of his health is more positive than reality. 

I’m glad this part of his recovery is over and I’m tired of all the driving and being in healthcare facilities. I learned a lot of lessons from the past few months and I’ll get to some of those over the holidays. Right now I’m home, too.

December

The outside temperature says 30 degrees and there is snow in the forecast. As the local fear-based media would put it, “how much of a threat of snow you YOU have?” STORMTRACKER! I stopped attaching judgmental words to the weather some time ago. The temperature can be warm or cold, the moisture in the air dry or wet. The wind can range from calm to windy. But never “threatening.”

I took Dad to the doctor Thursday and his progress has been very good. Looks like two more weeks of feeding tube (which he says he’s not using – hmmm) and two more weeks until he can go home. Wonderful news!

On to the next stage

Dad was discharged from the hospital Friday so we drove over and transported him to a skilled nursing facility in Federal Way. He walked out of the hospital with some assistance. We visited him again Saturday morning and I’ll sit in on his care conference tomorrow morning.

ODAAT

We thought we had a glimpse of some light at the end of the health tunnel Monday, but more tests yesterday and no discharge date. Dad reports the test showed noting. We also discovered that Dad’s phone doesn’t have a ringer one can hear, only a red light that flashes. I am feeling a bit numb this week, something akin to the 1000 yard stare that comes back occasionally.

Veterans Day 2007

Dad and I spent some time sharing Veterans Day this afternoon at the hospital. He labored to talk, but he spoke about his days in ROTC at Georgia Tech, his close encounter with orders to Corregidor and his role in building a troop carrier glider training base in Ohio. How hard it was to march behind the Georgia National Guard with their horses. A colonel in bed and a captain listening. It makes me proud to have worn the blue with my father. 

For those who haven’t seen Terry Kelly’s video “A Pittance of Time,” it’s worth watching each year:

“It takes courage to fight in your own war.
It takes courage to fight someone else’s war.”