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Two things I love, Walt, are seashores and mornings. Both are soaked
with soul. All the dark, moody colors of dawn on the face of things
rise imperceptibly across a seamless color chart, as slowly as a
shadow creeps. Dreams retreat with the stars.
This morning I sit in a famed little coffee shop called Deitrich's in the
even more famed artists’ colony town, Laguna Beach. The village
sleeps. There is a Starbucks open, and a convenience store. A few
commuters make quick stops for coffee courage. There is no
inspiration in those places.
I have the perfect seat, with a view of the street and the beach
beyond. The flat, darkslategray Pacific Ocean stretches the full length
of the thirty-feet of so of window panes. It looks cold out there
beyond my toasty refuge, heavy with the aroma of hot bagels. The
outdoor scene belies the balmy August air.
The ocean color seems to have absorbed into the chromatography
paper that is the dawn sky, from deep pastels where it touches the
water to a powder blue vault above, which is empty but for one
narrow ribbon of pink fringed cloud stretching off somewhere beyond
the horizon to the distant spot where rainbows end.
A man and woman in matching, white tee shirts walk by with a pair of
identical, grey weimaraners on leashes. Some guy with a metal
detector combs the sand. A bicycler with a backpack makes his
gasless way to some appointment or other, and a romantic (or lonely)
beach wanderer, with head down and hands in pockets, walks at the
edge of the surf.
A deeply dowdy and matted street person emerges from an alley and
limps on stiff joints to begin his panhandling in the park among the
pigeons who gather along the traveled walkways to begin their day of
carrying on much the same as the street person will, except the
pigeons will not be rousted by the cop who will come to save the
tourists from discomfort.
I have come to visit the Marine Mammal Center, up at the head of the
canyon. There I will find the seals rehabilitating from whatever it was
that drove them up onto the beach. I’m intending to volunteer.
We’ve all seen the TV shows where beasts on the sand are picked up
by ranger types and hauled off for first aid. We’ve also seen the
survivor animals being put back out into the wild. Very moving.
I am going to sponsor one of these sick seals, which means paying
for his needs. If I do that, they will invite me to attend the release as
a reward. I don’t imagine I’ll feel like any sort of savior. I just want
to be in on the beach when they release the lucky little creature…
maybe take a photo or two. This is the kind of thing students and
retired people get to do.
In Reply to: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 25, 2006 at 07:58:15:
Jim,
Don't you miss the stress and pressure of working? Aren't you bored with retirement?
I have 9 months to go before I am able to retire. My problem is I'm not ready for retirement. The closer I get, the less it apeals to me. Maybe if I was sick or could no longer make the sale I would think about trowing in the towel, but I feel great and I am still at the top of my game.
Where is that little switch that you can flip and turn off the drive. I can see myself at 90, working as a greeter at Wal-Mart.
Good-morring, welcome to Wal-Mart. Toys? Isle 5. Try to keep the little beasty quite lady, his screeming hurts my ears :)
Silver Fox!
In Reply to: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 25, 2006 at 07:58:15:
I dont know what retirement means. Is it a state of mind? Never having worked for anyone but myself, I guess I will never retire.
In Reply to: Re: Running with the Big Dogs.. posted by Steve [3019.1399] on August 25, 2006 at 14:02:17:
That's so funny Steve. I keep telling my friends we'll all eventually work at Wal-Mart someday. We probably won't be able to afford retirement by then.
And I also tell them there's too few greeter positions for so many of us...we can't All have the job : )
In Reply to: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 25, 2006 at 07:58:15:
Thanks, Jim.
You can make me feel like I am right there without the travel expense!
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 25, 2006 at 07:58:15:
very rewarding to rescue animals. Watching them as they do their thing is always interesting. Comparing it to what we do, makes one think about the differences.
In Reply to: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 25, 2006 at 07:58:15:
Hi Jim,
Wonderful description, I was immediately transported to the ocean and could even smell the salt air.
Best wishes,
Jan
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Zarin [709.350] on August 25, 2006 at 17:08:40:
Is retirement a "state of mind"? Hmmm. Interesting question,
Moonflower. I suppose we could say everything is a state of
mind...what we call "reality", right? You know how quickly that idea
leads us to the intersection of all the questing pastimes of humanity!
Scientists, for instanced, have chased reality (God) up into the brain
where they have lost the scent at a thick forest of mental concepts
like "patterning", "sequencing", "sensing", and the like, while the rest
of us loll about in meadows of hope and faith, or mope in glens of
doubt, or revel around campfires of delusion and denial.
Trying to find God with the intellect sooner or later leads one to the
beauty of the perfect harmony of the veil the mind cannot penetrate.
But the experience of beauty and harmony is as close as most of us
will ever get, or need to get to That which is beyond our
understanding. Not a bad place to be though, eh?
Beyond verbal claptrap, my mundane answer about retirement is: No
time clock, no alarm clock...year round summer vacation...all the days
of the week are simply called "day"...and...and I really don't know
what's going to happen next. Yeah, I know, we never do know what's
going to happen, but I mean letting go in a way I haven't, and allow it
to happen. I never thought I had the courage or means to do that
before. I admire your way, as you describe it.
I must add that I don't intend to hole up somewhere and withdraw
from life. I'm looking for a renaissance of intuition along the path.
In Reply to: Re: Running with the Big Dogs.. posted by Steve [3019.1399] on August 25, 2006 at 14:02:17:
What problem SF? When you are ready, you will do it.
I'll look for you and D at Walmart in the meantime.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Walt Stoll [93.1889] on August 26, 2006 at 07:09:04:
You were with me.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Vince F [4572.20] on August 26, 2006 at 07:28:03:
True words from the terrific urban naturalist you are!
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Happygal [2062.2803] on August 26, 2006 at 08:02:56:
My gosh, I forgot about that sensation! My sniffer is not too keen, to
my regret. So it is I attend heavily to the visual. But you are so right,
the air is thick with the aroma of wet sand and salt water that
triggers memories and emotions of carefree days gone by.
The moist air also mixes in the smells of civilization, so dense where
the Pacific Coast Highway comes close to the shore...less that
pleasant, but no less nostalgic.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 26, 2006 at 09:21:32:
scientists Did chase god into the God Part of the brain. I'm not sure that I have that part, or mine, or experiences shaped mine differently than others. Maybe my experiences of a rich city parish braging about the sunday collection, and a poor country one hollering about theirs made me question if religion was about money. The fancy, rich church was hard to have a religous experience in. I was easily distracted by the building, and after a fire they outdid them selves with MORE gold and marble. I found an answer while driving through the country, early on a sunday AM. The colors and scenery were something that Man couldn't reproduce. That makes me believe that Anything man says about a god, creation, or where we came from questionable. I am not convinced there was a big bang. Maybe a lot of small bangs forming each galaxy. They all have a black hole, and black holes are supposed to be able to compress matter to a point so dense that the bang started from.
I picture god as a huge organism that everything is a part of. That would explain what religous teachers couldn't, and said to have faith in. God would be everywhere, know everything, but not be in full control. I don't know if we can ever figure it all out. Till then I prefer to marvel in it All and pick up a bit here and there, from soil, rocks, plants and beasts. I watched 2 stork and 2 eagle nest cams and now bears catching salmon on the McNeil river in Alaska.
This AM I fell back to sleep and had a dream about both my diceased parents. My dad who was a musician told me how much he enjoyed the radio station he had found, which was the one that was playing while I slept. Mom was telling me about properties they were looking at. They had 3 and none were like what she said they were looking at, or I would.
I wondered if animals have an afterlife like we are supposed to have. I can't see why not. They seem to do everything else we do. They seem to dream, have a survival instinct, so why not? They just don't seem to worry. I think they live in the moment, like we should.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 26, 2006 at 09:39:29:
when in the environment, it is hard to notice the things that are there, unless something is overpowering, but then you can get used to most things unless they irritate and you are allergic. When going to the NJ shore, if you licked your lips when you got there, they tasted salty. The strong smell of fish in one town, that they said was from a cod liver oil processing plant was a bit strong, as was the smell of cresote they treated wood with.
In Reply to: Re: Running with the Big Dogs.. posted by Steve [3019.1399] on August 25, 2006 at 14:02:17:
Hi Steve, my boss is 70 and still going strong. I think that's what keeps him young. I've heard lots of stories of men working into their 80s and 90s.
I remember my first chiropractor was 95. He looked 100..lol.....but he kept his office open until he died.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Vince F [4572.20] on August 26, 2006 at 10:26:37:
I live with a pack of dogs. Six right now. My parents had dogs and other animals before either my brother or I were born. I grew up as a pack animal,lol! Living as close as I have to dogs, I have learnt how to live. In the 90's when I was diagnosed with a life threatening illness and told to live stress free, I did exactly that. I immersed myself in the lifestyle of my dogs and became one of them.
Definitely, all livig things are interconnected and therefore if one has a soul, all living have souls. I have always thought that God was this super force. We, the living creatures, are all fragments of this big force. One day, when we have completed our journey, we will merge back with the force.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Zarin [709.350] on August 27, 2006 at 17:58:42:
I started reading before I looked to see who the reply was to. The 2nd paragraph made me look.
The first paragraph made me think of what Native Americans say about learning how to raise children, to watch the wolves with their pups.
I'm curious how you immersed yourself into the lifestyle of your dogs? Everytime I would look into the eyes of mine, a calmness would come over me. I felt like I was looking back in time, either to our ancient ancestors connection to them, OR to a place or way we should be living. I would wonder how they saw the world, and how it affects them. I have thought about the Garden of Eden story, and is it here for us if we would let ourselves live in it? It seems like if we could follow instincts, we could get there. I would love to test myself living off the land. Because of my love for sighthounds, I figured I would let them help me. I thought about a month long test, to see how we would manage. If nothing else it would be educational. I have wanted to take Tom Brown Jr's survival courses.
I may have been influenced by the Boy Scouts, and the Nat.Am. info that used to be on cards that seperated the layers of Nabisco Shreaded Wheat pillows.))
In Reply to: Let the Force be With You.. posted by Vince F [4572.20] on August 27, 2006 at 18:53:55:
I just chilled. At the time I was told I was gravely ill, I was running my own magazine. I sold the magazine. I did nothing. Just stayed home with the dogs.
I learn from them all the time. I also rely on their instincts to sift good people from bad. They just know. Over the years, our so called progress and civilisation has cost us our natural istincts. Watch you dog as he greets different people. You will learn so much from them.
I think I am more a dog now than a human:-))))))
I should add, my senses of smell and hearing have increased beyond what is considered human range. I hear and smell suff my housekeeper cant! I have also learnt that different types of grasses act as medications for the dogs. So much to learn, just let yourself go.
In Reply to: Re: musing on an errand posted by Jim H. [2733.2562] on August 26, 2006 at 09:21:32:
Your description of retirement seems to describe the way I live. So am I in retirement or am I still working?
The word retirement somehow conjures up images of a state of mind that is resigned and slowly waiting to die.
I am a working person, albeit not ruled by too many schedules.And yet, I must say, if retirement is a state of mind, then I have been retired for a very long time.However, my motto remains, "I live". I will continue to squeeze 25hours of pleasure, and the sheer joy of being who I am, into 24hours.
In Reply to: Re: Let the Force be With You.. posted by Zarin [709.350] on August 27, 2006 at 23:24:20:
I always had a Very keen sense of smell, and would tell people they had a gas leak, usually a pilot light out. My dad was funny about odors. When asked to smell something to determine what it was, he would say he couldn't smell, but like he didn't want to smell anything offensive.
I figured that my keen eyesight made me attracted to sighthounds. One who was weakened from malnourshiment couldn't see what I could till I got him cured, and then he was seeing things that I had to strain to. All his other abilities came back, so I knew he was where he should be. He became the handful I was warned about and didn't believe, and probably what helped him get into trouble, being so hard to handle. Extreme in every way, good and bad.
When they would sniff a tree or something else, I didn't want to rush them too much, since I knew it was interesting to them, and called it, Tree Mail when they sniffed a tree.
They do know how to care for and treat themselves if left on their own. One of mine amazed me when I was thinking of ending it all, to not have the pains anymore, and she came over and pushed me over on the sofa to lay with me, and she had never done such a thing or had been on the furniture before or after. I had cured her of all her ills and fears, which were many, so either she learned from me or was paying me back.
In Reply to: Re: Running with the Big Dogs.. posted by D [465.1351] on August 25, 2006 at 19:22:59:
I'm holding out for a job at dollar general in my old age- wal-mart's too big and cold.
In Reply to: Re: Running with the Big Dogs.. posted by Steve [3019.1399] on August 25, 2006 at 14:02:17:
maybe you could put together some field trips for those home schooled grandkids (or go on some already planned ones- never enough adult males there).
In Reply to: Re: Running with the Big Dogs.. posted by Barb [5186.2765] on August 27, 2006 at 10:08:46:
Barb,
I hope by 95 my health is still good and I no longer want to work :)
Silver Fox!
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