Sometimes, an event, or several together, interrupt the life we’ve crafted, the life we enjoy. Sometimes, one that involves our bodies. One that can bring negative and positive changes. Maybe you can identify. For 75 years, my body has treated me well, much better than I have on occasion done to it. A decent athlete—rarely picked first on choosing teams, but usually second or third. Decent strength—a USC football offensive lineman couldn’t pin me in arm wrestling. Decently healthy and functional, playing competitive football and softball into my late 50s. Riding 1,080 miles on a motorcycle in 16 hours at age 70. Honestly, I felt more pity than empathy for those not with those attributes. Yeah, a sin that I feel no pride about. Then, in a few months, life interrupted with…
Read MorePlan...But Flex
Three Sierra trips make up my plans for each year: May, mid-summer, and mid-fall. But the2018 spring trip gave way to hosting our granddaughter’s rehearsal dinner and getting ready for family. Summer got eliminated by a 6,700 mile motorcycle ride, including an Iron Butt ride of 1,080 miles in 16 hours. As fall drew close, I desperately needed a mountain fix, so I planned a six-day trip, leaving Sunday morning and getting home Friday evening, for five fishing days. That avoids the crowded weekends and eliminates some traffic. But around the time I left, our son-in-law’s brother Bob passed. One of the good guys, we’d shared a lot of time at family gatherings. His service was set for Friday, so I still took…
Read MoreSqueaky Wheels, Grease, and...
I never fully understood my dad’s line, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Oh, I knew he meant that only when we mention a problem can we get it fixed. Later, I learned a deeper meaning. A few years before returning to Temecula, back I bought a decent wheel barrow (in the pic above) from Home Depot and used it well. And roughly at times. After much abuse, it began "complaining." With no load, it squeaked. With a heavy load it veered to the side. And every day the tire lost air. So I followed Dad’s advice and…
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An Unchanging Frame of Reference
On evening on a recent trip to Palm Springs, Sheila and I grabbed our drinks and settled in on our patio to watch the night emerge over the mountain range across from us. As the sky darkened, we spotted a blinking red light in the sky, kind of like an airplane but without moving. UFO perhaps, to hover that that? Then Sheila said…
Read MoreJesus Revolution
Viewing the new movie “The Jesus Revolution” refreshed many memories. I returned to God then, attended the Calvary Chapel Saturday nights in the tent, passed out Jesus flyers at the 1971 Rose Parade, even led a Christian coffee house at my church. But more deeply, the Jesus freaks speak to us today. First, in both eras, Jesus intrigued people, but…
Read MorePeople Care for People
Yes, social media can often come across as unsocial, or even anti, but it enables us to establish new relationships and rekindle some from earlier days. Facebook taught me a great spiritual lesson not long ago. Two good friends faced serious health issues at the same time, one with COVID, the other with cancer, and I asked if I could share their need on Facebook. The former agreed and wanted to stay anonymous, with good reason; John Prothero, the latter, allowed the use of his name and picture. At least ten times as many responded with an emoticon or comment for…
Read MoreA Well-Traveled Leaf
A month back, Sheila and I drove twenty miles north to Canyon Lake to look at a living room bench—kind of a flat white church pew. A few miles up the freeway, I noticed a liquid amber leaf from the tree next to where we park our F150 was stuck on the windshield wiper arm. That leaf stayed on the entire trip up and back, at speeds up to 75 mph. AND, the wiper arm still holds it, with several other trips in between. That’s one tough leaf to take such a beatin’ and keep on truckin’. Feel like you’re taking a beating from life? A job, a spouse, a church, a friend? Let…
Read MoreIntegrity
Early last December, when fall still held sway, a strong wind stripped our trees of many of their leaves. A sixty-foot liquid amber, a broad fruitless pear, and a neighbor’s trees all contributed to the mass of leaves covering the ground cover on our south slope and driveway. Wanting to avoid the debris from choking out our ice plant and from drifting onto our neighbors’ yards, I grabbed my leaf blower to blow them off the slope and pushed them into a pile…
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