On our second Last Trip (a story for another time), Jerry and I planned to meet in Ogden on Sunday, May 19, 2024, so the day before at 7 AM I pulled out of Temecula on I-15 heading north with reservations in Richfield, Utah, about 560 miles away. An easy jaunt for my Honda CTX1300, and doable on the 76-year-old body. A brief gas stop in Barstow led to lunch in Vegas…a decent sandwich shop next to the gas station. Double dipping, I guess. A lot of deserts until I passed St. George at 400 miles, with just over two hours to go. But after Cedar City the clouds began rolling in, some white, some pretty dark. From some I could see the rain slapping the ground, then the road turned away for ten miles, and I thought…
Read MoreSlowing Our Spirit--Episode 3 on Peace
On September the 8th, our refrigerator gave up the ghost. A nice run of 32 years, only to be killed by a power surge after SCE turned off the power. We found and purchased a new one on 9/10, delivery slated for 9/26. We didn’t care for the long delay, but on 9/23, they pushed it back to 10/1. We figured we could manage, if we had to. Then on 9/28, they changed it once more, to 10/14. We hope and pray that’s the day, but I’ll wager that too will get moved. Honestly…
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image by thereseimages.com
Slowing Our Spirit: Peace
In my lifetime of 72 years, I’ve seen the pace of life increase dramatically. Traffic congestion has almost ruined southern California. The cost of housing has skyrocketed, usually requiring two income families to make it. COVID and our partisan political divide add stress. Commercials and keeping up with others increase our obsession with having newer and better stuff. So how do we respond? We worry. We stress. The pressure overwhelms us. And that worry often pushes God out of the picture—it’s up to us to deal with all this. But…
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Find Your Fountain
Stressors abound right now. COVID-19 has disrupted so much of our lives. We can’t gather with friends and families and worship. People have lost jobs and housing. And in the ultimate disruption, over 146,000 have died just in the US, and over 650,000 worldwide. We face protests and sometimes riots in many cities as we struggle with responding to racism. Hurricane Hanna just hit Texas, one of the states hit hardest by COVID-19. Like they need more stress.
So how do we chill? Well…
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Painting by Leilani Strong Smith
Desert Oasis
The bad news arrived in Grants NM, nighttime. Appropriate. In the midst of a two-week bike trip with friends, Jerry and I received word that key family friends and church members had passed. Totally separate events and people, but we each had to abort the ride. The next AM we left Mick and Tom behind and headed the over 700 miles to SoCal across the desert, with temps nearing 118. Beaten by the heat, we stopped for gas in Needles, after 455 miles, with 270 left. I remember …
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Outside Stewart, British Columbia
Serenity or Stress--Your Choice
We all face sources of stress. Jobs. Relationships. Family. Finances. Neighbors. Life isn’t always a stroll in the park, but perhaps we can extract a lesson from my bike trips. The pic above came from the ride from SoCal to Alaska in August 2019 with Rich. The stretch of road between Kitwanga Junction and Stewart BC, right next to Hyder, Alaska, held chances to spot grizzlies and moose and deer and glaciers. But no one mentioned it ranks among the most…
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Cave Campground, Hat Creek
Chill a Bit
Busyness has invaded our lives. Or, maybe we’ve opened the door, widely, in pursuit of wealth and success and leisure and affirmation of our worth. A news article recently wrote that 70% of all workers average less than 8 hours of sleep each night, and with that, productivity drops. Those of us in Southern California especially deal with this, but the problem touches all of America. I’m no exception—even in retirement I have a multitude of projects on the list. I almost wonder what I’ll do when the list gets completed. That’s part of the reason ...
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