Our politically charged society has a new term: cancel culture. The tipping point of the concept came from differing slants on Confederate war monuments. Some say they glorify treason and should be removed from public display; others say that’s our history and we shouldn’t try to cancel our culture. Let’s not get into the political, because we face a deeper issue of cancel culture in the church—where many cancel core beliefs about following Jesus. Not necessarily intentionally or knowingly, but many times we…
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Oak Creek 2020
Restoration
For several decades, Dad and I fished a lot of Sierra streams, and Oak Creek just north of Independence may top the list of favorites. The water flow remained consistent for spring to fall angling, and while they had developed campsites, you could camp anywhere on the stream—just be neat. I still remember landing my first big trout there as a mid-teen: 16” and a fat 1 ½ lbs. Then troubles afflicted Oak. Whirling disease hit in 1984, stopping all stocking of rainbow trout, but some good browns remained, and the trailhead continued to give good results. Then a 2007 fire incinerated all the trees and brush from the trailhead nearly to…
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Carlsbad Beach
Beach Lessons
In the midst of a hellacious heat wave in SoCal, where something like 8 out of 10 days broke 100 degrees, the weather predictor delivered a message from God: Temecula would likely hit 107, and the nearby beach city of Carlsbad would be 80. My interpretation: a beach day! So an early lunch at the Daily News Café led to the sand—with appropriate social distancing (except for family units). I especially enjoyed…
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image from a Facebook post
The Truth and Nothing But
Just this last week I saw this above post on FB. Now that would rile up a lot of Christians, like me, who hold traditional values of marriage! A real slap in the face. But followers of Jesus, who described himself as the Truth, should be a….
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Grace and Power
Early August saw my son in law David and two grandsons Josh and Gavin and me heading to the Sierras for some stream trout fishing. We use the classic Sierra stream rig: a limber fly rod with automatic fly reel and 4 lb. monofilament with nightcrawlers, or grasshoppers—when we can catch them. That set up allows us to reach all of a stream, with brush and trees at the water’s edge, without spooking the wild trout. The key is…
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Old Cats and New Tricks
We hear it a lot, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” A more serious form, “People just don’t change.” A bit sceptical. But perhaps, if an independent, self-willed, and amoral stray cat can change, then dogs have hope. Maybe even people.We already had…
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image from tripadvisor.com
See the Big Picture
That pic doesn’t look like much of a goal—the Motel 6 in Dillon MT. The spacious but sparse room had a good bed and an acceptable shower. But it had a larger meaning: I challenged myself and pushed my limits, and survived. Earlier we explored my Iron Butt attempt to ride over 1,000 miles on a bike in one day at age 70 (May 18 and June 15) but let’s keep a wise perspective and learn…
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Breakfast on Rock Creek
A Tale of Two Conversations
Needing regular mountain fixes, I headed up to my beloved Rock Creek: a narrow canyon thrusting into the heart of the Sierras, a nice stream tumbling down the lowest points, the dry land covered with Ponderosa Pines and aspens and meadows and enlivened with blue jays seeking handouts. The pic above shows my breakfast, where our story begins. I had just finished fajitas and eggs and bacon for breakfast and brought out my tablet to work on some poems, Unconventional posts and a book proposal when…
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