~From a place far above us~

Early evening greetings friends and family in whatever place you might find yourselves this day.  The calendar says that it is nearly the last day of July and for the life of me, I cannot tell you where the days of this summer have gone.  But gone by they surely have.  Tomorrow, the very last day of July, is a special day for all of the members of the Scott Family, a time when we remember the day that our parents, the late John and Lois Scott, were married.  In my first year of writing this blog in 2011, I wrote  a post on what would have been their 71st wedding anniversary.  Hope you don't mind, but I'm "reposting" it, as shown below for anyone who would care to reread it once more.

My siblings I have been "orphans" for many years now with our father passing away first in 1982 and our mother, now nearly 6 years ago in 2007.  And you know, the sad truth is that I miss them and even though  I am nearing the autumn of my 58th year, even at my age I still have a longing in my heart from time to time that my folks were still here.  What I wouldn't give to call them up and visit with them on the phone.  How I wish that I could stop by Mom's house and bring her a hamburger from McDonald's once more.  Perhaps some of you reading this who have already lost your parents feel the same way.  My folks' lives ended and those of us who remained behind, well our lives continued on without them.  That's what they would have wished for us, their children~that we would go on living and living well.

I was looking back at some old photos the other day and ran across some I had taken of a special gift that I made for my mom on her very last Mother's Day in 2007.  I had really been coming up "blank" on ideas for a gift for her when I came up with the notion of making a paper quilt filled with the story of her life.  It was a lot of fun putting together the "9-square quilt blocks" and when I was finished I took it to her room at the nursing home there in Hutch and put it together for display on the wall of her bedroom.  4 months later just two weeks after her 87th birthday as she lay dying in her bed, we encouraged her to look at the quilt on the wall and told her that it was time to go and find that handsome young man named John that was shown in the photos.  She couldn't say much to us any longer but her eyes told what she was feeling as she gazed intently upon our dad's picture on the quilt.  At 3:30 a.m. on the 25th day of September, with all of us by her bedside, she slipped away to join our dad in Heaven above.  With that, the two people who had become our parents and  had raised us to adulthood, were both gone.

Shown below are a few of the quilt blocks that she looked at that night, now so long ago as well as the blog post from two years ago in July of 2011.  I loved them both, my mom and dad.  I love them still to this very day.  I will see them some day in Heaven and we will know one another right away.  I thank God for those two people that He saw fit to have made them my parents.  They were by no means perfect, but they were mine.  Have a great evening everyone and if you are blessed enough to still have your parents, never forget what a special gift that truly is.

Happy 73rd wedding anniversary in Heaven, Mom and Dad~We love you!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

71 years later-love still wins

   "All because two people fell in love"~
John B. Scott, Jr. and Lois Scott-July 31, 1940


I miss hearing Mom tell the story of how she and daddy eloped that day.  Heck, when I first heard it I didn't even know what that word "eloped" meant.  But I soon learned and every July 31st that rolled around after that, we kids would sit wide-eyed and pay attention as the story of their marriage was lovingly retold once again.


Mom and Daddy loved each other very much and by the summer of 1940 they had decided to be married.  But my maternal grandparents, Andrew and Catherine Brown, must not have liked my dad too much.  In the weeks preceding their July 31st marriage, I am sure they must have tried to dissuade my mom from making him her choice for a husband. Not sure how long it took for them to figure out that all of their pleading and begging for her to make another "choice" was not going to do any good.  Lois Scott was stubborn...yes MOM, I said that!  You WERE stubborn. LOL, and that strong will and determination was going to make the decision about who to marry.


You know, the really goofy thing about all of that was that we kids never got a straight answer as to why they felt that way.  To us, our daddy was the most wonderful man alive and we couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't have chosen him to be the "one" for our mom. 


Be all things as they may, in the early morning hours of July 31, 1940, Mom wrote a short note to her parents, dressed in her best outfit, and crawled out the window of her bedroom at the family home on the Sandhills farm.  I can't imagine that she had slept much that night before and I'm guessing that my Dad didn't get alot of sleep either.


She met Daddy at a pre-arranged time and place....6 a.m. at the very end of the lane of her parent's farm.   It brings tears to my eyes to imagine how much they must have loved one another, especially to do such a "daring deed" as to disobey their parents and run off to get married.  


Don't know how long it took for them to make the journey from the farm just between Burrton and Halstead to the Sedgwick County Courthouse in Wichita.  But they made it!  And at noon that day, the Justice of the Peace for the city of Wichita pronounced them "Mr. and Mrs. John B. Scott, Jr.". 


I would be so remiss if I told you the story and left out the BEST PART-the strawberry pop story.  After the ceremony was over, I'm sure the reality hit them as to what they had just done. They might have been married but they were still two very young people.....Daddy only 17 and Mom two years older, age 19.  They'd run off to marry against their parent's wishes and now had to go back home and "face the music".  But they didn't worry-


It was a very hot day, long before the days of AC in ANYTHING!  They were thirsty, so before they made the long journey home again, they used the money left in Daddy's pocket to buy a bottle of cold strawberry soda from a pop machine there.  And so they sat on the courthouse steps that "fateful" day and passed the bottle back and forth between themselves, sharing their own personal "toast" to a future together.  


I can't even imagine what that first meeting back home with my grandparents must have been like....but whatever was said, it didn't matter.  Eventually everyone figured it out that "love wins" in the end and in no time at all,  Daddy became a part of their family.  The seven little babies born because of their love for one another said words of "thanks" as well!

This is mom and dad and 5 of their seven kids on July 31, 1982.  Daddy was dying from cancer and we knew that his "fight" with that awful disease would soon be done.  We wanted to give them, the wedding "reception" that they never had that day.  So we kids and our spouses and children joined them for supper complete with wedding cake, mints, punch and gifts! 


 Normally, Daddy would have put up a fuss about doing something like that.  But I guess knowing that your days are "so numbered" allowed him to see how very important it was to allow us kids to honor their life together.  5 months later, he was gone and life never was the same again for any of us.  They made it 42 years~not too bad for two kids who many thought would NEVER make it together.  


Later this afternoon, their children who still remain will join together with their own families and friends to celebrate the life that they enjoyed so much during that 42 year span of time.  We'll be in a place they called "Home" for so very long....Haven, Kansas.  We surely shall say a prayer of thanksgiving that despite all they must have had going against them, that their love for each other was strong enough to survive.  Why would anyone have ever doubted?  

~back on the ground once again~

Good morning to you all from a place, even though it is still more than a "stone's throw" from my old home in Kansas, that is a whole lot closer than where I spent the last four days.  I slept in this morning, I mean I REALLY slept in for me.  When I woke up the bright sunshine was coming in through the window and the clock in our bedroom said it was "6:15".  That's a couple of hours past my usual time to wake up and I guess I must have needed the extra sleep.  This travelling stuff is not so easy for me and I don't really do that "zombie" look all so well.  But I woke up on this, the 21,096th day of my life and I'm taking this as the "sign" that God still has much in store for this "pilgrim" on earth.

I had the chance to learn a lot of things about people as I made the journey out to Whidbey Island and back again and it was with much gratitude that I realized just how blessed I really am.  This was only my second time to fly since I last went to El Paso, Texas in the springtime of 1986.  Had it not been for the encouragement of my youngest child Ursela this past March, I would never have walked aboard another airplane again.  After the terrorist attacks of September 2001, I was absolutely finished with flying on planes.  There was no way that I would have considered it again.  For well over ten years I kept my vow of no flying EVER.  Yet as I sat in the Seattle airport yesterday and watched the faces of all the people quickly hustling to and from their flights I realized one important thing.  99.99999% of all those folks there were pretty much just like me.  They weren't there to cause trouble, not getting ready to fly in order to carry out any kind of plot against anyone.  I was looking at the faces of mothers and fathers, grandparents, sisters and brothers, someone's neighbours and friends. Those ordinary people just wanted to get somewhere like, I don't know, "home" maybe?

On the four flights that I was on, each plane was filled to capacity and then some.  People from all walks of life were there alongside me.  A dozen different religious faiths and nationalities were represented, the age spectrum ranged from brand new life to an elderly gentleman who must have been nearing 100, and the ratio between male/female fliers was pretty much the same.  There were excited kids getting ready to visit grandparents they had never even met yet and a group of REALLY tired kids who were heading back home to Denver after a week's vacation in California.  Yet with all of the variety of travellers packed in like sardines on each United flight, I just didn't feel afraid any more and for that I am thankful.  Perhaps the greatest thing I learned about people was something that I already knew but the unfortunate events of so long ago in NYC, the Pentagon and a lonely farm field in Pennsylvania had taken away from me and that something was this~While yes we do have to be aware, no one should have to live their life in the fear of something happening to them each day.  Because if we DO live like that, then it's not all that much of a life any ways.  Ok, that's the end of my sermon on trusting people on airplanes, I promise :)

It was really nice to visit the different parts of the island and to see how it is that my son and daughter-in-law will be living these days to come ahead.  I had the experience of drinking some pretty strong coffee in a place they call The Useless Bay Coffee Company.  My sons both laughed as they saw me take my first sip of it, having never given me any kind of warning of what it might be like.  Hey, sure cured me from buying more than a cup of it!  This morning as I sit at the table typing this blog post I'm glad to be able to drink "normal people's" coffee.  By the way, no offense towards those of you who like to drink coffee that has to be spooned from the pot to pour it.  I just like mine a little on the lighter side.

And in all fairness to this fine establishment, their menu is filled with plenty of good things to order from in addition to that really strong coffee, so if you should ever find yourself visiting the city of Langley, Washington be sure to check them out.

From our room at the Langley Hotel, the view of the bay in Puget Sound was literally in my own backyard.  It was really nice to walk down the path and to be able to stop and watch the ships and small boats that were coming in and out all day.  It put me in mind of my "bucket list" trip to Maine last year in a time that I finally got to get my first glimpse of what the sea looked like and my much beloved Portland Head Lighthouse.  I spent a lot of time on the deck overlooking the harbour and taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a place that for most of my life I never knew existed.  Although it was quite beautiful there on Puget Sound, I kind of prefer the coastline of Maine better.  Not sure why that is the case but maybe it has something to do with the fact that it was the first I ever saw.  Both were beautiful though and I am glad that I was able to see the northwest as well as the northeast.

                  A treat for all of the senses~from right in my own "temporary" back yard.

And I'm thinking I should have named my middle child, my dear son Grahame, "MacGyver" or something because true to the fictional TV character's personae, that tall and lanky 24-year old son of mine bailed me out of trouble more times than I care to mention.  I accidentally let my St. Christopher's medallion and chain fall down in between the very skinny area between the bathroom vanity and the wall on Saturday evening.  After looking where it landed, I was ready to say that it was never to be hung around this traveller's neck again.  I tried everything to retrieve it, including a long butcher knife and plastic spatula combination that only pushed it further back.  When Grahame came back from the store and saw the look on my tear-filled face, he only laughed and said not to worry, that he'd get it for me.  He came back from his car with a roll of thin wire and proceeded in no time flat to actually manage to pull that very special necklace out for me.  And just for good measure, he also grabbed the hot neon pink hair pick that someone before me must have lost as well.  Later on that evening as I zipped up my old backpack filled with what I was taking back on the plane, part of the zipper broke and there I was in big trouble once again. This time Grahame said only, "Mom just hang on a minute."  He went to his car one more time and THIS time came back with some dental floss (that kid would make a great contestant for the TV show, Let's Make a Deal)  With seemingly no trouble at all, he made enough of a repair to hold that dang 10-year old backpack together enough to make the flights home.  I sure do love and much appreciate that boy!

Just before the wedding on Saturday, down at the tea and cookies table~My two sons, Ricky and Grahame plus Ricky's best friend from St. Louis, Gary.  A fine group of young men~

Well time to get this Monday started and I hope that wherever you are in this huge yet ever shrinking world of ours, that you have a good day and week to follow it.  Come later on towards the end of the week, Mike and I are heading back to Kansas for a visit with our friends and family there so I'll be in a familiar part of the "woods".  We are happy to bring back with us, Mike's mom and to have her stay with us here in Montrose for a while.  Soon this summer will come to a close and what an eventful summer it will have been for me.  Take care everyone of you and be at peace with your lives.  Did any of us meet up with one another by accident?  Absolutely not~it was definitely a part of the "plan".

A message to my dear friend, LeRoy Willis~thanks for "calling me out" in a kind and caring way about my bicycle being in its current stage of "slothfulness".  You are right my good friend~thanks for caring enough to say so :)  I shall soon try to do something about it, I promise!

Dan Fogelberg - Part of the plan

A very sweet good morning to all of you, friends and family.  It's the quiet of the early morning hours here on Whidbey Island and I have to stop to even think about what time it really is.  My laptop is registering the time back home in Kansas, my cell phone the local time here on the island and my watch says the hour in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  When you look at it as such, it's kind of like being in 3 places at once and that's quite a feat for a scatterbrained person such as I am.

This has been a good journey and although it will soon come to an end, a lot of memories have been made here for me.  After the wedding is over and I catch a quick few hours of sleep, Grahame will take me over to the mainland where I will catch a plane in Seattle to head back to Colorado.  From here, Grahame will continue driving on his journey back home to Kansas. Prayers for safe travel home for all concerned~it's been a blessing to be here, no matter how many miles it took for us to do so.

You never know in this life of ours, just what "plan" it is that is in store for you.  Sometimes, just when you think you have life all figured out, the Lord sends you a different way.  It's happened to me so very many times and I'm going to guess that most of you have had similar things happen to you as well.  When I gave birth to my first child, now nearly 33 years ago, I never dreamt that I would be here today, over 2,000 miles from home to be a part of his special day.  I only hoped on that day in October of 1980 that I would give birth to a healthy child and that I surely did.  Ricky's life has all played out as a part of the plan just as mine has and all of yours too has done.  And guess what?  I don't think God's quite finished with me yet~nor with any of us.  When the time comes that it has been completed for me, then I want to look back on it with the knowledge that I embraced every chance, each blessing that was given to me and that I did something to have made a difference in the world I lived in.  I pray that for my children and I pray that for you as well.  May that surely be so~

Well, it's time to get moving.  I get to become a "mother-in-law" today and I could not be happier!  Thanks for all of the good wishes for safe travel for us as well as a wonderful married life for Ricky and Angie.  We are doing fine and readying ourselves for the hour at hand.  Soon, there will be a happily married husband and wife on this island and they are ready to continue on the journey together.  Have a great weekend everyone out there!  Much love and good wishes to all of you, our dear friends and family.

~From a place, REALLY far away~

Greetings to everyone out there from far, I mean REALLY far away from home, Langley, Washington.  It's Friday the 26th day of July and tomorrow afternoon my first-born son Ricky is getting married to a wonderful young woman named Angie here on Whidbey Island, Washington.  It was a journey of over 1,200 miles for me to get here and after flying out from Montrose, Colorado yesterday I arrived here on this small island in the very late evening hours.  What a "sight for sore eyes" the two guys shown below were for me as they picked their mom up at my shuttle stop on Whidbey's south side.

Hard to imagine that these two guys are really 8 years apart in age any more.  Funny how the passing years seem to make you look at things in a different perspective.  They have much in common to talk about and relate to with one another.  What seems really weird is that they share the same mannerisms, the same verbiage almost even though they have grown up nearly a generation apart and have seldom seen one another over the course of the past few years.  I loved listening to them visit with one another last evening as they sat on the couch together in the living area of our motel room here on the island.  Their mom made a lot of memories to store up in less than an hour's time.

Today has been a good day for a little exploring around this area and to learn a little bit more about this place that my son and his soon to be new wife will call "home".  I've got to admit, prior to this time in my life, that I had never even heard of this place called "Whidbey Island".  When Ricky told me about it, the name didn't even ring the proverbial "bell".  Although I am pretty sure that I wouldn't want to live here, it's been nice to visit it and to see a new part of the world.  When I leave here late in the evening hours tomorrow, I will do so knowing that my son will be just fine and that just like my life is being played out as part of its great "plan", so his shall be as well.  And that is good~

You know, Ricky was an "only child" for 8 years of his life.  We shared a lot of times  together both the good and the bad, that boy and I did.  I'm closing this blog post with a few photos of times that have brought me so much joy as a "mom" over these many, many years.  And with this, I'm off to explore the area on foot today and see all that I can take in during such a very short stay.  One last thing though~and then I PROMISE, I will stop talking and be quiet :).....Some of you who are reading this, have played an important part of helping in the upbringing of a young man named Ricky Miller.  If you are one of them, I say "thank you" for what you did to help not only him, but me as well.  For two years, I was a single-parent trying my best to do what I could in raising him up all on my own.  Things weren't always easy, but we made it and the only way that ever could have happened was because many of you practiced what is preached in the adage "It takes a village....."  

All of you reading this, have in one way or another assisted with the upbringing of other kids out there.  I know there are many of you who have helped in the care of grandchildren, nieces or nephews.  How many teachers are there out there reading this who have gone the extra mile or two or ten for the kids in their classrooms each day?  Have you helped with Scouts or taught Sunday School or mid-week programs for your church? Maybe you are the kind of neighbour who watches out over all of the kids that play in the front yards all up and down the street where you live.  For whatever you might have done, as a "former" single-parent myself,  I thank you on behalf of all the other parents out there who have found themselves in such a place in life.  When we needed the help the very most, there you guys were~stepping in to pick up the slack when we could not.  To you, I am indebted and will always be thankful for.

We both have enjoyed biking over the years~here in Wichita with my old bike, one he lovingly named the "voodoo bike" because of my propensity to seemingly crash it at will.  He redid it and customized it to fit himself and rode it for several more years.  

 He and his little brother Grahame have always been good and kind spirits.  They along with their little sister Ursela, especially loved their grandmother very much.  I was thankful that they were with her when she passed in 2007.  They remained alongside of her until the end.  

It took pretty much a huge leap of faith to step away and allow this photo to be taken :)  A boy who wanted to hold his baby brother so badly, even dressed up as a Denver Broncos quarterback.  He didn't drop Grahame, in fact that little baby boy slept through the whole picture taking ordeal.  

Now it is his turn :)

~from the Group 4 bench~

Hello to you dear friends and family from somewhere along the line at Denver's Stapleton International Airport.  My plane landed here about an hour ago and I knew I'd have a 3 hour layover to contend with here and now given the layout of where I needed to be for the next leg of this journey, sure am glad that I had plenty of time to spare.  The flight from Montrose, very quick in nature, arrived at gate 7,001 (ok, ok it was 72) and my flight out to Seattle this evening is going to depart from gate 00 (ok, ok it really is gate 25).  Needless to say, I was wishing that I was 27 years old instead of the nearly 58-year old that I now am.  But I kept at it and slowly but surely, I found where I needed to be.  Now all I can do is wait and hope that the next two hours literally fly by.

It's been 4 months since I flew anywhere and the memories of my unfortunate escalator mishap back in the airport in Detroit are still pretty fresh in my mind.  It was on that second leg of my "bucket list" trip to New York City over spring break in March that I had a little 'close encounter of the WORST kind" as my daughter Ursela and I were rushing towards our flight to Binghamton.  The best way to describe it, ugly as it will end up sounding, I started at the top of the escalator and lost my balance when my suitcase wheels got caught up in the steps.  I found my way to the bottom the "hard" way as I dove and fell literally head first to the bottom.  A couple of very broken ribs later and I was on my way back  home without even getting to see the sights of NYC.  I have seen plenty of escalators and moving steps today but you know what?  I'm gonna take the "old-fashioned" way this time around.  I want to give both of my sons and new daughter-in-law BIG hugs when I see them tonight and it'll feel a whole lot better if my entire rib cage is intact this time.  

It actually seems kind of weird to be on the opposite side of the Continental Divide this afternoon.  As we flew over the mountains on the way here from Montrose, I tried to look as much as I could to see what it was like from way up there~28,000 feet in the air.  The beauty of the earth is so very vivid as a person sees it with a "bird's eye view" from the skies.  The Creator made this world pretty dang spectacular and whether it has been the golden plains of my home state of Kansas or the majesty of the Rocky Mountains here in my new home of Colorado, our earth is a wonderfully made place.  

Well, it's getting nearly nigh onto time to start repacking this computer up and making my way towards Gate 25.  The next 4 days will be so busy for me and I hope to enjoy every moment of it.  I can only imagine how fast the time will go and before I know it, the time will come to leave and return home to Montrose.  It will be a long time before I can see my son Ricky again and sometimes knowing that makes me a little sad.  But how happy I am that he and Angie are going to make a life together and are following the dreams that both of them share.  We have our children in the hopes of raising them up to be responsible adults who sooner or later, make their own choices in life.  I remember with a thankful heart how blessed I am that all 3 of my children are now healthy adults.  For all of the parents whose children may not have been able to live to the adult years of their lives, I send my own son off to this new place in time, far away from home,  in the knowledge that everything will be ok.  Not sure a person could ask for more.  

Have a great evening everyone out there and be safe and well whatever it is that you do this day.  I'm fine and in just a few hours, will be with my children in a place very far from here.  Good night all of you, my dear friends and family.  Signing off from Denver, Colorado with 5 of my favourite photos from the year 2013~

My very first snowman....named her "Eleanore", constructed in February of 2013.

Spirit Week at Lincoln Elementary, March of 2013.  We were the "brown" team :)  What great friends these ladies all were to me.

 Mike got the chance to "reconnect" with friends back in Hutchinson, KS on the day we were married.  Friends from the days of his childhood, the Spencers.

Having one last breakfast together with our two youngest kids, Grahame and Ursela before we left Kansas and returned to Colorado in May.

The San Juan Mountains and a view from a very different window in life now for me.  I will miss the sight and this certain guy I know that waits there for me to return home on Sunday.

As you realize, "It gets better."

It's morning time here along the western side of the Continental Divide and instead of stowing away this computer in my suitcase for the journey tomorrow to Washington State like I SAID I would do, I was moved to make one last post on Blogspot before I go.  Funny, if I were to look back at all of the posts that I have made in the past 3 years~for each one that said, "this will be my last post for a while" you can be assured that within 24 hours, yet another would find its place with the rest. I'm kinda weird that way and shoot, I just accept it.

This morning as I "hopped on" to Facebook to see how things were faring around the world of my family and friends, I saw a very meaningful picture that was posted by my friend Patti who lives back home in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Now, I see photos and plenty of them each and every day of the week on Facebook.  Some are cute, some are funny and some are just what I needed to see at that certain moment in time.  Patti's was one of those kind and it is shown below.

Hey I could go completely down that list, all the way from #1 to #7 and identify with most each one of those things at some point in time in life.  Perhaps you are just like me and could do the same.  In fact, in nearly 58 years of existence, I haven't come across one person yet who had got through life following all those rules without ever making a mistake and believe me my tombstone will never read, "Here lies Peggy the Perfect".  I've been guilty of them all, many times over.  But while reading the list this morning on Patti's Facebook page, one of them in particular really jumped off the computer screen and spoke to me in a way that only things like that can do.

#6-Stop thinking too much.  It's alright to not know the answers.  They will come to you when you least expect it.

This summer has been a great example of how I NEVER seem to be able to follow rule #6 and if I had a dollar for every time that I have answered Mike's question when he sees a troubled look on my face and says "Peggy, are you ok?" and I have answered "I'm just thinking too much.", well then I'd have a lot of dollars.  There has been much to think about and I have found myself pondering some of the most common and uncommon thoughts imaginable.  Questions like....

Will I ever stop being so homesick?
The answer, "Little by little."  In fact, not even a day or so ago Mike and I were talking after supper and I mentioned that I thought maybe my "longing for home" had eased up just a bit.  Mike agreed and he said he could tell because I didn't cry as much as I used to when I was first here.  LOL, he is right.  It gets better.

Will I ever find a job here, one that I truly love and want to do?
The answer, "Yes, you will."  After one "not so good" experience with a job here in long-term health care, I did find a different one.  I have worked part-time this summer as a CNA in home-health care and I have loved it.  It's a joy and a real blessing to be able to provide services to folks in their own homes and to know that I am helping to make a difference to them.  In addition, I have been blessed to return to the world of education one more time and when the school bell rings come August 15th, I will be there. More on that later.  It gets better.

Will I ever be able to stop feeling claustrophobic as I live with (as my friend LeRoy Willis describes it) a ring of "14ers" all the way around me?
The answer, "Probably."  I remember when I first moved out here that was an issue for me.  Having been used to the flatlands of my home state of Kansas, I just wanted to see!  Bulldozing a huge hole through the mountain ranges to see to the other side, was what I considered a brilliant idea.  Now as I have gotten a little more used to the landscape about me, it is somewhat easier.  I try to concentrate not on how much I feel "penned in" but rather to see the beauty in the way my geographical surroundings truly are.  It gets better.

Will I be able to make it "safe and sound" to my son's wedding this weekend?  Will anything go wrong?
The answer, "Peggy Ann Renfro, you are not in charge of everything in this life.  In fact, I'm the one who is so just be leaving that to me." (a thump upside the head and a message from God himself)  I'm not too crazy about flying, about getting on a ferry and travelling across the Puget Sound.  I wish I could close my eyes and click my ruby red slippers and repeat to myself...  "There's no place like Whidbey Island, there's no place like Whidbey Island, there's no place like Whidbey Island......"  but I cannot.  I've done everything I can from this end with tickets secured and luggage to be packed.  I'll be staying away from escalators as much I can and thankfully have enough of a layover in Denver that I don't have to hurry to get to where I need to be.  In spite of everything, in spite of myself, I will make it and I know it.  What a joy it is to see our children get married and begin a family of their own.  It gets better.

Well, it is definitely time to get this thing turned off and get that suitcase of mine packed for the journey but before I go, one last thought.  When my son Ricky called me last evening to visit, I could sense the excitement in his voice as he described his new surroundings, the place where he and Angie will make their new home.  As he described what it was like there, he told me of being able to see the Olympic mountain range and all of the ships, great and small, that sail in and out of Puget Sound.  He sounded like a little kid again, his voice filled with joy.  In fact, he sounded like his mother did when she first espied the San Juan Mountains on her first journey here to south western Colorado back in January of this year.  If I were to have been paid only a dollar for every time that the word "WOW" came from my mouth that weekend, then I would have been able to travel to Washington and back for FREE.  For my son, I am so glad and what a wonderful adventure he now embarks upon.  Life is good~and the God who has given it to us all is so much greater and oh by the way, It gets better.

Have a good Wednesday everyone and catch up with you all later on along the line.

It was SO much easier to keep up with him in those days.  All he needed was his "softie ball" and his Loriannon and he was "good to go".  This photo will always bring a smile to my face.

His first Halloween and he wanted to go as a cowboy.  Barely two years old, I introduced him to the timeless tradition of going door-to-door, begging for candy from total strangers.  :)  He turned out "ok" regardless of the fact and later became a big brother to Grahame and Ursela.


 

~upon being (not) a world traveler~

I used to remember when my idea of a big journey away from home in Kansas was the really long 6-hour drive to my sister's home in Altus, Oklahoma and my idea of travelling through big city traffic was the sprawling metropolis of Oklahoma City.  Shoot I can recall many times that if I was there meeting up with my sister and brother-in-law that my sister Sherry would have to drive me into and out of the city because those 40,000 lanes of traffic (ok, ok only 8 of them) looked like they could swallow up Kansas farm girls, just like me.  It would be years and years before I would ever feel confident enough to try OKC traffic on my own.  Not sure that I had a lot of confidence and faith in myself as a driver and the truth was, I hated traffic and going very far away from home.

For the first 55 years of my life, my concept of "spanning the globe" (thanks to ABC's Wide World of Sports for that phrase), was journeying up and down the Great Plains states.  From Texas to North Dakota, with side trips to Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, and Arkansas, I from time to time would make a visit.  Never wanted to stay too long and usually by the time I had been away from home for 3 days, I was ready to go back.  Now I know there are a lot of folks who would say that way of thinking is crazy, ones who relish trips of  weeks or more EASILY.  But I know for a fact that there are people just like me who for one reason or another, have been the inspiration for the phrase of being a "home body".  Nothing wrong either way~some like to travel and some do not.  For the biggest part of my life, I've been affiliated with the "do nots".

Things changed for me in that respect a little bit as I grew older, especially since the development of my "Bucket List".  I "realized" the number one thing on my list in May of 2012 as I drove to the great state of Maine to see my very first lighthouse.  Friends and family who know me very well were surprised, no let's say "shocked", that I would even consider such a thought.  But "consider" I did and in the early morning hours that late May day, I pulled out of the driveway of my home in Valley Center, KS. and headed over 2,000 miles to the north eastern part of the country.  On the third day, this is what I found~

 The Portland Headlight-Cape Elizabeth, Maine, construction began in 1787 with the intent and purpose of protecting the citizens along the shoreline from attacks from British soldiers.

Standing on the porch of the lighthouse keeper's residence, I found a total stranger walking along and asked her to take my picture there.  When she learned that I had driven all the way from south central Kansas just to see this place, she couldn't believe it.  After we parted, she walked over to the gift shop and must have told others in there about me because for the next hour, I was approached by several other strangers who wanted to know if I was that lady from Kansas.  That still makes me smile.

In the past three years, there have been many other chances to finally get out of town and find new and interesting places to visit.  Back in November of 2011, between surgeries on "old lefty", on a total "whim" I took off with only 2 days' notice to meet up with a friend in Iowa.  It was my first time to ever venture through Kansas City traffic and I did so at the height of rush hour.  Thank goodness for vehicle navigation systems or else my journey might not have been so happy.  But 8 hours and 5,199 dead deer carcasses later, I made it and because I was willing to venture way out of my driving comfort zone, I was able to witness the beautiful sight shown below.

Standing on the Roseman Bridge in Madison County, Iowa~the place made famous in the movie "The Bridges of Madison County".  It was a chilly mid-November Saturday morning and snow lay on the ground in that part of rural Iowa.

The inside of the bridge is covered with "messages" left by people who had come to visit.  My favourite one was the one shown above, the very famous line spoken by the actor Clint Eastwood in his portrayal of Francesca's new love, Robert Kincaid.  I wanted to leave my own message but of all the times for a teacher not to have a black Sharpie in her purse, well that was one.

I have had the most amazing time visiting a little New England village called Owego, New York not once, but twice in my life.  I went there on the way to Maine in 2012 and had such a good time and met so many wonderful people, that I decided to return again this past spring.  Of course, my visit to New York City was cut short by the infamous and most unfortunate escalator "incident" but at least while I was there I could spend a few days catching up with Owego friends, old and new.  I came away with many good memories of a place that was very easy to fall in love with.  

Breakfast at Angel's Diner with my friend Kevin Millar, the mayor of Owego.

Meeting some of the kids at St. Patrick's School, penpals with some of the kids from my former school of Lincoln Elementary, in Hutch.

Having dinner in the city jail with my friend Diana~better explain that one.  It's the old historical jail that has now been transformed into a restaurant.  Nothing more unique than sitting down to eat a lovely dinner in an old cell.  We had lots of fun!

In the past three years, I've had the chance to make up for "lost" travelling time in this life of mine having seen more sights in a short 36 months than I have seen in now, nearly 58 years of living.  And come this Thursday, the day after tomorrow, I'm heading out for yet another journey, another adventure to the great state of Washington.  I'll be flying out of Montrose, stopping over at Denver and then on to Seattle.  After touching down in Seattle, I'll be boarding a ferry to get to my final destination stop of Whidbey Island for the occasion of my oldest son's wedding.  In a way, it's a little unnerving considering the fact that I'm on my own and flying for only the second time now since 1987.  Never had to catch a ferry before, that's for sure.  I don't think it's anything like catching the school bus or catching a quick nap but if I want to see my son get married, then that's what I have to do.  I'd love to think it will be easy~50/50 chances are that it will be so.  I am not thinking of the other chances, just yet :)  It will be a short little journey of 4,000 miles round trip and a mighty fast turn around time.  But when it is done, I will have not 3 children but 4.  What a blessing.

  
The soon-to-be "Mr. and Mrs. Miller"

Well, the clock is moving fast today as I pretty much expected and it's time to get going, to start this day. Friends, the road to get to where we are going sometimes takes a lot of turns with some of them being pretty unexpected.  May this day's travel  be a very good one for each of you out there and wherever your own personal journey is taking you in life, may it be one of peace.

~upon the subject of being married and a whole lot of other things about life~

Good morning to you everyone, our dear friends and family, spread out all over the world from this place here in south western Colorado.  It's another cool and breezy morning here in Montrose with the temperature sitting at 66 degrees at present.  The cottonwood tree's leaves are rustling and the windsocks are blowing~for now, not a cloud in the sky but even that is fixing to change as the moisture from the monsoon rains arrives later on today.  Some things are pretty predictable here and little by little, I am beginning to understand how just like in Kansas, the weather can change rather quickly on any given day.

Hey, if you don't mind, could we talk about Facebook and friendships for a while?  I've been on Facebook since 2008, having drug my feet for months before finally giving in to the admonishments of my friends/family who told me what a wonderful way it was to keep in touch with one another.  And for as long as it took me to make my own page there online, it only took a couple of days before I realized what a wonderful medium it was to keep in contact with my family members and friends, not only "present day" ones but those from the days of my childhood in the "land of long ago and far, far away".  Now, nearly 5 years later, I would have to admit to being pretty dang used to being on it each and every day.  I stop short of saying "addicted to it" because, well because probably I am :)  But I guess if a person HAS to be dependent upon something, then Facebook may well be as harmless as it gets.  

Since moving away from my home in Kansas, now two months ago already, I've loved opening up the Facebook site and reading all of the posts from the people back there.  I've enjoyed seeing the many photos that have been posted this summer and hearing the stories of what folks back home have been doing since I left on May 24th.  For my teacher friends from back at USD 308 in Hutch, I know how close it is for you all to return to school once more and I'd have to admit that I'm a little sad that I won't be there to see it happen again. Life has changed for me in that respect but I can still keep up with what it is going on at school by reading your daily "check ins".  Please dear friends and fellow educator cohorts of mine, keep the news coming my way!  Sometimes the "word" isn't always so good for us all and with sadness I have read of the passing of many of my friends back home since this summer began.  In addition, many folks that I have known have been facing the challenges of serious illness, depression, loss of jobs, and other troubles that many of us would never want to know on a "first name" basis.  Yet even in the sadness, how wonderful it has been to be able to pray for people who really need you to do so.  Without the instant connection of Facebook to the outside world, I might not have learned until much later of those times when families have had to go through some pretty bad things.  So in the very least of things, I thank God that I am living in a time when communicating with one another no longer  requires a 6 cent stamp (LOL, I am really dating myself here!), an envelope, and days worth of travelling time for the news to get there.  Do you share the same feelings?

This week will be a busy one for us here and I'm sure each of you have hectic schedules as well.  It's life, you know?  On Thursday of this week, I'll be boarding a plane here in Montrose and flying to the Puget Sound area of Washington State.  On Saturday afternoon, I'll watch my oldest son, Rick Miller, marry the most wonderful young woman named Angie on a place called Whidbey Island.  My middle child, Grahame, will be driving out from Kansas to meet us there in time for the ceremony.  It will be a great day for them and I couldn't be happier that he finally has found the person he wishes to spend the rest of his days with.  I'm sure that I will shed a tear or two during the course of that weekend but I guess that is to be expected.  And by the way, I hope those tears are shed because I witness my child getting married, NOT because I miss the ferry ride from the airport to the island :) 

I'm sure it's customary that the parents of those who are getting married should impart some wonderful wisdom to their children upon reaching this monumental occasion.  I've learned, as a very newly married person now myself, that the best advice that I could give both Ricky and Angie is to just keep talking with one another in all matters and above all else, to remember that they are not alone, that God would go with them and guide them along the way.  Marriage is not easy, it's just that simple.  It takes a lot of work, courage, strength, faith, and a "blind eye" every once in a while. There are bound to be some hard times for them yet an equal to greater share of good ones.  I pray for them that they continue to love each other and that their love will grow each and every day of their lives together.  What a privilege for me as a parent to be able to witness this very wonderful day in the life of my child.  I'm travelling over 1,200 miles to be there with them this coming Saturday and you know what?  I wouldn't miss it for all the world.  

Hard to believe that the calendar says it's now the 22nd day of July and summer is now way past half over.  It's not been the easiest of ones for me but for all of the challenges I have had here, there have been some real blessings that have come my way.  I haven't always seen them, mostly because of being so overwhelmed with things here.  I have a very good friend, a wise man named LeRoy, who said something a couple of days back that meant a lot to me.  In fact, it meant so much that I went home and wrote it down.  We were visiting, he and I, about how rough it had been to settle in to life here in Colorado.  LeRoy looked at me and said this...  "Peggy, stop and think about it.  You retired from teaching after 35 years, you got married and you did it on the last day of school in front of all of the students and THEN before the week had barely ended you gave up your life in Kansas and moved all the way to south western Colorado.  Each one of those things individually could be a catastrophe waiting to happen and you did them all at once!"  And you know he was right~Maybe I haven't given myself enough credit for how far I have come in my adjustment period here.  The not giving myself credit thought has happened a lot in my life and maybe a good goal for me would be to start remembering that.  I'm gonna guess that I am not alone in that respect~do you find yourself there as well?

Well, the day is getting ready to begin and I'm going to be heading out the door very soon.  To all of you reading this, I thank you for friendship, concern and love for us here.  What a privilege it is, what a blessing it is, to know that you are there for us and remember, we are there for you as well.  When everything else is gone, then the only thing we truly have is one another.  I would not trade my friendship with any of you for all of the money in this world.  You are worth that much to me.  Please don't ever forget that.  Take care all of you and have a good Monday out there.  Mondays are not so bad~they just remind us that we've been given another week in which to live and make a difference in this world of ours.  When you think of it  in those terms, this first day of the work week doesn't seem so bad after all.

Some of my favourite images from Facebook~

The view out of the window as the wonderful Graf Family from back in Hutchinson, KS. drove home from Wichita yesterday. It's of my hometown, Haven, KS and they knew what it would mean to me to be able to see the place where I was raised up and will always call home.  It brought a tear to my eyes to see it once again.

Mike and I with just about the best friends a person could ask for, LeRoy and Anne Willis.  They met us for supper a few nights back here in Montrose and of course, by no coincidence, showed up at a time when they were needed the most.  Everyone should have friends like they are.

Something fun that I have learned to do here is bowling and even though I am always "skunked" any time that I can get skunked by less than 50 pins, I consider it to be a dang blessing and an improvement on my part.  Mike is a great bowler and I am a not so great one, but hey I do believe I am getting a little bit better.

I have been blessed to become a part of the Renfro Family and these are just a few of them. We took this photo the night before we left for Colorado in May.  It was strangely ironic to have learned that during the 3 month period of time that I lived in Valley Center, KS last spring/summer that I was only a few blocks away from Mike's family members living there.  

And we laughed until we cried :)

~on the subject of angels~

Good morning dear friends and family from out here along the western slopes of Colorado.  The sky is very beautiful this morning and what few clouds can be seen are the very light ones, you know the kind that look like someone took cotton candy and pulled it as far apart as they could without tearing into two pieces.  The air is cool, so much so that a person nearly needed to pull a light blanket up over them while they slept in their bed.  The wind socks are just hanging out there in the yard with not a breeze to push them anywhere.  Even the old cottonwood is standing silent, kind of unusual for it as well.  All along Highway 50, the cars, motorcycles, semis and recreational vehicles move along.  Some go east and some go west, all of them heading somewhere out there.

I wasn't going to write for a while in this blog, thought about giving it a bit of a rest until next week or so.  But as usual, even the best laid plans sometimes go awry and here I am pounding away on this keyboard.  A year or so ago, I wrote a blog post about something scary that happened to me while I was riding my bike and how I was sure that angels from out of nowhere arrived just in time to help me.  I believed it that day last summer and I still believe it today.  I have been the recipient of the aid of angels many times in this life and actually just this past weekend I witnessed the same.  I wasn't going to say anything about it, especially on Facebook.  But I changed my mind this morning and hope that if I tell my story it can save other people from finding themselves in a similar situation.

Last weekend, I went with Mike up to Gunnison where he had some work to do at a couple of stores.  I thought that I'd just wait for him in the car and read while he was busy inside.  Mike parked the car at the end of a row, one that we actually had all to ourselves.  Not another car was in sight as Mike pulled up and parked under a nice shade tree.  He left the key in the ignition and I locked the doors as he walked away.  It was warm outside and I knew that if I didn't leave the window down on my side that it would get pretty uncomfortable.  I opened up my book, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", and began to read.

It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes that he was gone when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a man walking up to where I was sitting in the car.  Immediately, I got what is commonly called the "uh-oh" feeling.  You know, the kind of feeling you get when your gut says "this isn't quite right".  Before he got any closer, I reached over quickly and put the window up, checking to be sure that the doors were locked.  It seemed like a long time that he stood there next to the car watching me and also watching a crowd of people just a few yards away.  He sat down on the ground next to the front of the car and began to smoke a cigarette, all the while looking around first at me and then at the others.  I knew that I should get out of there and so I scooted across the seat and started up the car, driving away as soon as I could do so.  Now that man, I don't know what his intentions really were.  Except for scaring the daylights out of me, I guess you'd say he did nothing wrong.  But all you have to do is let your imagination get going and the real truth is, it might not have had such a happy ending.  I had no business sitting in a car like that, alone in a parking lot...broad daylight or not.  I was oblivious to my surroundings and way more intrigued by the words of Aron Ralston than I was to my own personal safety.  That won't happen again~Angels have saved me before and they may well have saved me this past weekend.  If you can take a lesson away from that story, please do.  I'm glad that I shared it with you~hard to admit that a person could be so careless as I was that afternoon.

Reprinting the blog post from nearly one year ago today on the subject of angels.  I hope that everyone is well out there and safe from harm and danger. I think of you all and I miss you when we don't get to see one another very much.  I will always pray God's blessings upon each of you as we go about this thing we so fondly call "life".  Have a great Tuesday out there~it's the 16th of July, 2013 and I woke up this morning and if you are reading this, then so did you.  There has got to be a good reason for that, you know?

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Just in case you don't believe in angels....

You know I waited for a "couple of three days" to write this blog entry~didn't want anyone to get all excited or anything.  But I kind of/sort of had a proverbial "close call" on my bike ride last Saturday morning.  It was an attention getter, to be sure and as near as I have come since last August 4th to wrecking my bike.  And by the way, lest you think I was attempting some type of "Evil Kneivel" stunt again....put your mind at ease.  That was not the case nor, God willing, will it EVER be again.  I was riding safely, helmet atop my head down the quiet (although maybe I should say NOT so quiet) streets near my school, Lincoln Elementary.


I had left very early that morning in order to beat the unrelenting heat of our Kansas summer time weather.  By 6 a.m., I was out the door and well on my way to the path that I have set out for my daily 10 mile ride.  Ok, I guess you can say I'm predictable.  I know, from many times of riding it, that on even an "average" riding day I can make it to the South Hutch McDonald's and back home again in well under 45 minutes. Saturday was no exception.  


As I turned to head back north again and to my home in the middle part of town, it felt good to be back on my bike.  Ever since my accident last August and the 9 months I spent recuperating from "old lefty's" broken arm, I have been determined to return to biking, a pastime that I truly find enjoyable.  The nice little south breeze blew me back towards E. 14th Street again.  


As I came over the Frank Hart Crossing, the bridge that connects the two cities of South Hutchinson and Hutchinson, I took a slight detour off the usual route.  I was close to my school and thought I'd just ride by to see if any of the kids were out playing on the playground.  The decision to do so, provided the impetus needed for my "close call".  Little did I know what was about to happen as  I rode my bike back home.


At the corner of Maple and East Avenue F Streets it happened.  From out of ABSOLUTELY  NOWHERE a huge black Rottweiler dog came charging at me from behind.  I had not seen him until that absolute split second.  He was big, strong, powerful and VERY fast.  And it took me about one second to figure out that he wasn't racing after me because he missed seeing me on the playground for noon recess duty.  THAT dog was aggressively coming after me, snarling and growling all the way.  It was not a good moment in time, believe me.


Now I've been chased by dogs before, mostly on the bike trail and country roads.  For the most part, harmless incidents where a dog just wants the rider to know that they are getting awfully close to the dog's territory.  The dog, whatever kind it might be~big or little~would chase me for a few yards and then go back home.  I can handle that, it's part of the "hazard" of riding bikes.  But THIS time, THIS dog, was different.  I have never been so frightened of an animal in my life.  


For what felt like an hour, but in retrospect was only maybe 30 seconds, that stupid dog (and I'm REALLY cleaning up my language here as I describe it~I'm trying to work hard on that character defect of mine) kept up with me and successfully stayed by my left leg, within striking distance of my left calve.  With a voice that I only find in situations like this, I yelled at it to get back, go home.  It was all to no avail because that dog was determined that he and I were going to have a discussion and it was gonna be very soon.


And so that's where the angel part comes in and even if you don't happen to believe in them (and that's ok), I do so believe.  Equally out of nowhere, in my bike's mirror I saw an older model van coming up from behind.  And what they ended up doing, I am positive saved me from getting hurt very badly once again. At first I thought the dog must have belonged to the people in the van.  Then I realized that wasn't the case.


 The driver rolled their window down, yelled at the dog and even opened up their doors to try to get its attention away from me.  And it worked!  I started pedaling even faster than I was until I was sure that I had gotten a safe enough distance away.  I looked back to see the dog running off towards the south again and the van turning the opposite direction and leaving the scene.  They came up behind me and gave me a "thumbs up" in the mirror as they passed.  I never got the chance to say thank you to them, but the smile and relieved look on my face must have told them that I was grateful.  


When I got home, I parked my bike on the porch and sat down on the front steps and thought about what had just occurred.  How many times in my life have things like that happened to me?  How many times have they happened to you or someone you loved?  Ok, here's the "Peggy Miller" version of angels.  I've been rescued, so very many times in this life of mine, from a lot of heartache, worry, hurt, and concern by angels.  My belief is this~that van driver was an angel, put in the right place and the right time to save my "sorry behind".  God knew exactly what to do, as always.  With a grateful heart, I do so give thanks.  


As I sat on the porch steps I realized just how close I came to being hurt once again.  When that animal was chasing me, I was not even aware of whether or not cars were coming at me or if  there were stop signs or traffic lights in the immediate area.  It was me and that dog-NOTHING more.  And the closer you get to finding out what it is like to being bitten by a dog, the less you are aware of your surroundings and just how fast you are pedaling on two wheels.


I went back later on to see if I could figure out which yard he might have been from.  After a couple of passes through that area, I gave up hoping to find him.  A call to "animal control" was made just to report the incident but nothing else could be done.  I'm a lover of animals~growing up as a Kansas farm girl I was used to dogs of all kinds being around.  But friends, I gotta say this~that dog had better hope that he and I don't cross paths again.  Because the next time I will be in a car, not on a bike.  This is a good time for me to say "thank you" very much to all of the responsible dog/cat owners out there.  Thank you all for making sure that your animals are contained in the yard and aren't allowed to roam at will.  I appreciate the fact that they are your beloved pets...hey we ALL need them. That's all I want to say~feel free to "read in" to the rest of the message.  


Getting ready to start the day now, sun is thinking about rising.  I'm heading out on the bike soon but probably won't be taking any detours today, LOL.  For every single time in my nearly 57 years of being that an angel, one on Earth or one from Heaven above, has come to rescue me~Lord I give thanks.  May the same be for you all, my dearest of friends, this good Tuesday morning.  


I am EVER more determined to keep riding my bike than I would ever be afraid of a Rottweiler.  I think I'm gonna like today, Tuesday the 24th of July, 2012...one of the greatest of days to be alive!

                                          August of 2011~ "Been there, done that." 
                                                  NEVER going back again!

~upon being caught between a "rock and a hard place"~

A great Sunday evening to everyone out there with special greetings to my family and friends back in south central Kansas.  A steady stream of traffic is flowing along Highway 50 and as I watch it go by, I have to wonder where in the heck all those people are heading to.  We've heard motorcycles flying along like crazy since summer began and it's not at all uncommon to see riders from all over the place along the city streets of Montrose. Just this weekend alone I have seen license plates from Illinois, Texas, Florida and even the good state of Nebraska.  This part of the planet is a popular destination for a lot of people and I have to laugh as I realize that I didn't even know there was such a place as this until 7 months ago.  My idea of the state of Colorado was the land up to Denver on the east.  The rest was just this place you drove through to get to Utah.  Obviously what I said all along and will probably say until my dying day was right~"You know, I don't get out very much."

In my spare time lately, I've been picking up a favourite book of mine to reread yet once more.  And since this would make the fourth time that I've read it,  then that's the sign of a good book, right?  My son Grahame gave it to me for Christmas in 2011, the year of "old lefty".  It was an inspirational book for me to read and it couldn't have been given to me at more appropriate time in life.

The book is about Aron Ralston who was a 27-year old mountaineer from here in Colorado who, while hiking alone one day in Blue John Canyon, Utah, literally found himself between the proverbial "rock and a hard place".  In his book, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", he describes his harrowing ordeal of being pinned against a canyon wall by a very unforgiving boulder that had become displaced, trapping his right hand and forearm beneath it.  For 6 days of what anyone would easily describe as "hell", he waited for help to arrive.  When finally on that sixth day it was obvious that if he was going to get out of there alive, he would have to be the one to do something about it.  Aron did the unthinkable, at least by most of our ways of thinking.  With little more than a "not so sharp" leatherman's tool, he cut off that portion of his arm in order to free himself, in order to live.  Somehow or another, he made it out of the canyon, found help, and lived to tell the story.  

I was inspired by his story, one I heard about during my initial few months of having my arm in a cast after the now so infamous "curb jumping" incident.  I was struggling doing things one-handed, very easily frustrated and so very close to giving up more than once, shoot more than a hundred times.  Nothing was going right.  I couldn't wash my own hair, couldn't get dressed on my own, couldn't even make a stupid peanut butter sandwich, and a thousand other things that I deemed important in life.  For me, the "rock" was the curbing that my body smacked that August morning and the "hard place", well that was "old lefty's" exoskeleton.  I was convinced that when I died, they would wheel me into the crematorium as an old lady, STILL wearing a cast.  Hopeless is about as a good way to describe it as I can think of.

But after reading the account of all that young canyoneer went through that April morning in 2003, my struggle with a badly broken arm didn't seem to be quite so serious after all. When my recuperation was done, I'd still have an arm and hand attached.  Unfortunately for him, that would not be the case.  I thought about it, after reading all of his book, whether or not I'd be able to have the guts enough to take a knife, sharp OR dull, and amputate my own limb.  Friends, I really don't know if I have the answer to that one and I sure as heck hope that I never have to find out.  

How about you guys~have you ever been "between a rock and a hard place" in your life?  Ever found yourself in one of those situations that inspired the phrase, "damned if you do, damned if you don't"?  I suspect we all have and I am no different.  Try as we might, life is full of situations that require our making a choice and sometimes that is a "not so much fun" kind of moment.  I have no real advice on what to do when that kind of option arises, everyone has to make their own mind up on that one.  Thankfully, we usually don't encounter them on a regular daily basis.  Life wouldn't be very fun if we did.

Hey, it's the "teacher" in me, but may I suggest the reading of this great book to you?  It's actually a pretty easy one to get through and if you get squeamish about the thought of surgery without anaesthesia and sorely lacking in sterile operating conditions, you could always skip over pages 280-285.  But if you do skip over them, you'll be missing out on truly the best part of the story~Aron Ralston's strong will to live and NOT to die.  Don't worry, no book report is assigned but I'll bet you will be like me and love it enough to suggest it to others to read and really that's what a good book report does any way.

Have a great evening everyone out there, wherever you can be found this day.  Thanks guys for helping to make the world a pretty darn good place to live in, all things considered. A peaceful night's rest for you in order to wake for the beginning of the morrow.  

One of my favourite quotes from Aron Ralston's book, attributed to the Italian mountain climber, Walter Bonatti:

"Mountains are the means, the man is the end.  The goal is not to reach the tops of the mountains, but to improve the man."   

                                   My shameless plug for a really good book.

The Gunnison River flowing at Morro Dam in Gunnison County, Colorado~some pretty incredible "rock and hard places" to be seen here.

Early morning~frequent returning visitors to the alfalfa patch this morning.  Been watching these two young bucks all summer long.  They are beautiful~a "just because" kind of photo.