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dammed and channeled

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dammed and channeled

Posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 25, 2009 at 10:48:36:

This is where I sometimes swim in the summer, Walt. (If the link
works)  

Even in the hottest of days in August, the water is still surprisingly
cold.  Wavy ripples and whitecaps show the patterns of the insistent
winds that blow across the lake.  I swim the length of the dam and
back, a manly deed that earns me stern wifely lectures on the
dangers of swimming alone.
 
Mundane cares dissolve into the big sky in this place.  The grand
panorama of the lake inspires breathtaking awe and an archaic
whisper of polytheism in the soul.  Spirit Mountain rises in the
distance.  The "gods" of the Mohave tribes lived up there, ancient
deities as voiceless now as the once upon a time cast of characters
on Mt. Olympus.

For sixty years this silent man-made lake has filled and hidden the
gorges once scoured by the wild and seasonal flow of the primeval
river we call the Colorado, now long forgotten beneath the
speedboats of summer. 

Below the dam, the domesticated Colorado River flows sadly timid
and obedient within a zoo of tended banks, tamed and trivialized. 

Nature cries out in deja vu to the collective amnesia of civilized
progress and haunts us with a nameless but distantly familiar face.
But who listens?

Another side of me says, "Boat, beer...dude!"


http://web.me.com/jimhare/Site_5/Lake.html



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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Steve [10433.3394] on March 25, 2009 at 13:53:54:

In Reply to: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 25, 2009 at 10:48:36:

Jim,

Tell your wife not to worry, but have a short list ready :O)

Silver Fox!


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 26, 2009 at 05:11:04:

In Reply to: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 25, 2009 at 10:48:36:

I don't think I said what I wanted to at the end, Walt. It might be
clearer like this:

"In the natural heritage of the splendid outdoors there is a whisper
from the land, a plea to the collective amnesia that disconnects us
from nature, a deja vu sense that hints at a presence of a common
ancestral memory that gnaws at us like a nameless but familiar face.
It is a voice that mourns and warns of the deafness of progress
caused by the treacherous white sound of greed and power.

And what memory lament from the earth will be heard too late by
the inhabitants of the inhospitable and irreversible landscape of
future consequences."


There is no new idea here, Walt, just my way of saying it. I hope the
growing tide of environmental sentiment overcomes the cruel
behavior of greed and power that disregards our progeny.





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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 26, 2009 at 05:14:50:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by Steve [10433.3394] on March 25, 2009 at 13:53:54:

You mean a short list of husband replacement candidates?

You are bad! :)


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by VF [12036.7502] on March 26, 2009 at 05:42:02:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 26, 2009 at 05:11:04:

Jim, I'll bet the BP drops when in nature, like when touching a furry pet. Civilized is buildings and roads, but nature is Natural. Don't maintain the civilized, and it will become natural. We are human animals, and nature is more natural.


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 26, 2009 at 06:35:51:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by VF [12036.7502] on March 26, 2009 at 05:42:02:

You are right, Vince. The healthiness of a natural setting is more than
just a romantic notion.

BTW, Did your family call you Vinny?


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Walt Stoll [93.7469] on March 26, 2009 at 07:26:54:

In Reply to: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 25, 2009 at 10:48:36:

Thanks, Jim.

What a place of beauty you live in! As usual, your inspiring prose makes me feel like I am beside you.

Namaste` my friend.

Walt


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by VF [12036.7502] on March 26, 2009 at 11:27:21:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 26, 2009 at 06:35:51:

Yea, I got called Vinny, when my dad was around, since I am a Jr. Dad called me Jackson, Spike, and a bunch more. He was a musician, so must have been hip, or musicians names, like Spike Jones.))

Here in Phila we have a big park system, plus a wildlife preserve, part in the city, and a Lot of smaller parks, and 2 rivers close by. One a mile & a half square with one big lake and a few smaller ones, is 2 mi from me, and the preserve about 4mi. When we stopped staying in a small country town right across the river in NJ when I was 12, the closer park was my escape from the city traffic, heat, and noise, and row houses, compared to 2 houses on each side of the street in the country. When I got older the preserve was my escape after work, and where I would take my hounds after work. Before going to work I would get them out for 20min at the park. If I wasn't up to going to the preserve after work, They got walked to a high school 4 blocks away that had a fenced in grassy area to run and meet other dogs.

My hounds were my connection to nature when I couldn't get them out like before. I used to look at them and being an ancient breed, feel I could see back in time through their genes. Being an independent, difficult breed that could give me fits, I figured that and touching their super fine long hair was like meditation one minute, and being shocked by the paddles the next. One who was abused because he was too hard to handle, Though a Super people lover, used to make me curse and praise him in the same breath. Being a mountain type of the breed, he panted all yr long, except on the coldest days, so drank a lot, and would often wake me to go out, and being a heavy sleeper, he would have to get in my face and Bark, with his nose touching mine. The breed are not barkers, and his breeder found it hard to believe that he barked to go out. Usually they look at the door knob, and the worse they have to go, the harder they look at it. Seeing that, I made him wait till he barked, asking what he wanted, and he learned. Often he would leak going out the back door, and I'd be cursing him and praising him while he was out, and laughing at how crazy it all was. At the same time I had a desert type of the breed, who only panted on the hottest days, and could almost read my mind. They were the breed that is said to be dumb because they are the hardest to train. Him and others yea, Her no. Can't be very dumb when you have to Baby Proof your house, and try to keep them off tables and counters.

The preserve is where I used to practice Zen exercises. Walking around a huge marsh while watching planes take off from the airport across the way, was an interesting contrast to the egrets and great blue herons that would be flying around. At the park geese are my attraction, especially when they are coming in heading south, or in the spring, heading north. I hate to miss their activity and honking and flying in formation, like they are saying, Lets get out of here. Heard there are bald eagles at the preserve. Going to have to see if I can see them. Should be more interesting than the hawks. Started seeing deer and turkeys there. The airport is next to the river, and a road along it, and have to watch for the deer and geese there. That is a drive I try to take every time I drive my new Subaru. I want to drive it off road somewhere. The astronomy club goes to a few places that are a bit remote, but I'm not always up for going when they go, and at night the show is in the sky. I should get a winch, but got a come along as a simple trouble getter outer.



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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by VF [12036.7502] on March 26, 2009 at 12:49:07:

In Reply to: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 25, 2009 at 10:48:36:

here's some communing with the natural world...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWmaeZd6Zrw&NR=1


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Walt Stoll [93.7469] on March 27, 2009 at 07:26:47:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 26, 2009 at 05:11:04:

Amen, Jim!

Namaste`

Walt


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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Jim H. [4489.7483] on March 27, 2009 at 15:12:48:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by VF [12036.7502] on March 26, 2009 at 11:27:21:

I don't know what a "come along" is, Vince, but I definitely need some
kind of a "trouble getter outer" I could carry with me at all times.
Wished I'd had one years back.

("...see back in time through their genes.") Here you describe just the
sort of vision I experience in nature, moments when the vast field of
time unravels in the imagination, enriching the moment, and...if the
truth be know, probably filling me up a bit much with my own self.
You gotta be careful about that. (smiling)

Your delightful posts are field trips for my mind.




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Re: dammed and channeled

Posted by Ron [5412.7571] on April 02, 2009 at 14:08:40:

In Reply to: Re: dammed and channeled posted by Steve [10433.3394] on March 25, 2009 at 13:53:54:

Easy there Steve,

I don't think Jim wants to be THAT close to Nature
for quite a while.

There is a big difference between being an appreciative observer and a captive participant. (freedom)



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