Yellowstone and Happy, the Movies

We recently joined the 21st Century and got a laptop.  We have been trying to simplify things, so cable was changed and we signed up for Netflix that we stream. The laptop enables us to do this easier, so we have been utilizing the technology.

Our children suggest movies they think we would like such as Tiny; Mile, Mile and a Half; and Bottle Shock. All have been good films. But one thing I wasn't expecting was the, "If you liked this movie, you might like these," suggestions at the end of a Netflix streamed film. Wils said you know you are hooked when you start watching those suggested movies.We have started watching them.

The first was Where the Yellowstone Goes. This films chronicles a drift boat trip down the longest uninterrupted river in America, the Yellowstone. A good story about the people and the towns the boaters meet along the river.


The second movie we watched is Happy. This is a film about what makes people happy, and what are the consistent things happy people do no matter where they live or what they do.  From the slums of India to Okinawa to Bhutan we are taken to discover what makes people happy.













This is a good film and really brings home how we Americans have it easy in many ways, yet still are unhappy. This movie illustrates how others really think differently. In one case they did an MRI on a man the started to meditate on calmness during the MRI and his brain waves changed. The doctor said it caught on fire, and you could see as the brain patterns started exploding in reds and yellows.

This film sure made me think and rethink some things about my life.

The Beginning of Another School Year

And I am not there.

Yesterday at the farmer's market, a former colleague asked what I was thinking about not having to report for school this fall. I first answered with the usual comment about enjoying not having the stress. I then said I was sad. She mentioned a friend of hers that had just retired also. This friend was going to come back to work because he missed teaching. I miss teaching also.

I have been trying to organize my thoughts this past week about the odd feelings I have had. I miss teaching. I don't miss bureaucracy. I don't miss tests and papers. I do miss students, even the sullen ones that are a challenge to get to smile.

Still I wondered what was the root of the uneasiness. The comments about the other teacher shed light. I was sad to not be doing something that I have done for the last 31 years, and still like doing for the most part. The habits formed in those years haven't been broken yet. I realized I really need to make an effort to start new habits, new work to form new habits. As friend Jim did, I need to make a bookshelf.

Deep down as I opened myself up to these thoughts, I realize not teaching is still the correct decision. So many new worlds have and will open with that choice.

Civil Duty and Corn and Fencing

I was summoned for jury duty today. Fourth time I was called in the last three years or so. Fourth time I was excused. This time the defendant failed to appear for their summons. The authorities are now looking for them. Our child in the house commented, "Sucks to be them." Maybe so, but maybe not.

A room full of citizens heaved a heavy sigh. Some were thankful to go back to work, some not so thankful. A few of us had no pressing business. I wondered at the time and expense of nearly 75 people called to a room, then let go. Compared to other people in other parts of the world, I can spend some time sitting in a room talking.

Better than fleeing my homeland and gangs. Better than being asked to deny God and embrace Allah or being killed. Better than sitting of a hilltop hoping for food, water and maybe a trip off the hill. Better than watching my neighborhood burn in a St. Louis. Better than watching any of these on tv "news."

It looks like the corn crop is almost done for the year. A success by most standards. 94 human edible ears from two beds of about 88 square feet. At least a few dozen more went straight to the chickens. We haven't grown corn for years and this year we had a few empty beds and some seed, so we tried. We haven't grown corn recently because around here it is abundant and pretty cheap. So in a bad tomato year chalk this one up as a good thing.

Sure wish the hot weather would change. I want to get to work in some cool temps. The idea was that I would be working at another job, and that is still the plan. Yesterday was spent making a new gate in the back fence. It will be part of a bigger gate that will allow driving a vehicle or trailer onto the back concrete. I need to finish by on doing the old gate and re-fence that area. This will allow to get the chicken coop area cleaned up.



Sure is nice to not have school hanging over my head. How did I do that for 30 years?

7 August 2014

Just now the first bell rang. I didn't hear it. For the first time in 31 years I didn't hear it sound. I'm having a feeling of sadness and lack of stress today. This is the real first day of "retirement." Or call it a change of jobs. I'm not in a classroom waiting as the students wander in with their new clothes and happy voices waiting to tell stories of their summer.

I have no doubts about the decision to change, but the new paradigm in our lives is still taking time to get comfortable with.

A Book Review: A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit

I've been thinking about the future and specifically about what the world might be like if some of the current scenarios go down as they have been projected. One that keeps popping up is the Zombie Apocalypse. The idea that society has only a thin veneer of good covering over our evil. As a Christian I believe that we have an evil heart, but Jesus has given us a direction around that. I used to teach Lord of the Flies and subscribed to the idea of a society over time becoming less helpful to individuals as others in the society gain power. I've never really thought this would happen, but many do. I was reading one day and this book was recommended. It's being used in a college class and sounded interesting even with the title. The subtitle really caught my eye, The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster.

The book tells the stories of five disasters/catastrophes within recent history: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1917 Halifax munitions explosion, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Along the way other disasters are mentioned and discussed.

The first part of the book celebrates the good things that ordinary people do in a disaster, but the last part of the book focuses on the problems created by government, mostly the Bush Administration. The book was published just after President Bush left office, so many of the current government issues addressed were under his watch. Overall, leaders from many different parties and beliefs did bad in the name of "helping" their citizens.

Solnit does a good job of explaining her premise that individuals on their own will help each other in a disaster. She defines our preconceived disaster paradigms, and gives sources for how we come to those ideas. She also uses past scholarship to show us how people have acted under the stress of these crises.

The book is worth the read, and I would have difficulty giving a  thoroughly good summary. I came away having a belief in the good of people and was reinforced in my suspicion in government. Solnit gives examples of people doing good and I needed that at this time.

Ranger Lake, Silliman Pass and the Shoulda Couldas

I just returned from a two day backpacking trip with Wilson into the Jennie Lakes Wilderness area. This is the same area we traveled in last summer, but there was a different reason this year. Last year we hiked to Seville Lake and back out the next day. This year we were to meet Uncle John, Elias and another father and two sons. I joined at the last minute and drove up early to meet and pick up Wilson at Lodgepole.

The plan was to meet John and crew at Rowell Meadow at noon on Sunday. The most reasonable way to do that was to leave from the Horse Corral/Rowell Trailhead. We drove down to the trailhead and took off a bit late, but arrived at Rowell Meadow just a little after noon. We eventually realized that John wasn't going to arrive at Rowell Meadow. There had been a spectacular lightening storm the night before and figured they had to change plans. We had to decide what we would do. We could go to Jennie Lake and then over JO Pass the next day and back into Lodgepole. Or we could continue on the trail to Seville and Ranger lakes. We chose that option and started off.

We had been on this section of the trail last year so it was refreshing to see the differences. The big change was no creeks running.  Water was scarce with another drought year. We enjoyed the burned out section of forest like we did last time. A fire had burned through an area of the trail about 5 years ago. The trees left standing were like gravestones in a cemetery. It reminds me of a scene from the movie Jeremiah Johnson.

This was just before the turn to Seville Lake. Though unspoken, we realized we wouldn't be seeing the party we were looking for. I was tired at this point and Seville and rest sounded good. But the idea of the hike up and out first thing in the morning was not bueno. We both remembered it from last year and didn't want a repeat. We decided to continue on to Ranger Lake.  Wilson said it was pretty and I couldn't remember if I had been there before, so new scenery would be nice. We also had the bail out of Lost Lake if we got too tired. I didn't want to tell Wilson, but that was fast becoming an option. So it was on to Ranger and the end of a 10 mile plus day.

I'd like to say it was a good decision, but I will say it was a decision. We almost stopped at Lost Lake, but I reasoned that if we were to go over Silliman Pass tomorrow, it would be better to do it first thing when we were rested. So on to Ranger.  The last mile for me was one of those times where the envelope gets pushed and you realize you can do more than you thought. I shuffled into Ranger Lake just before 7:00 and Wilson had started water for tea and was laying out the rain fly.  I lay about for a bit to gather myself and we ate dinner before retiring.

The next day I awoke early, or should I say my fitful sleep of the night was interrupted by light in the sky. We ate and eventually left camp around 8:45.  The two miles up Silliman Pass was a combination of breathless views and breath challenging climbing. We reached the pass in two hours and the views were even better. East was the Great Western Divide and west down into the Great Central Valley. This has always the strange dichotomy of backpacking to me. The effort expended to see sights only seen by those that work to see them.

Regardless of the views, we still had 8 miles to walk before  getting back to Lodgepole. With the trail almost all downhill we certainly would make better time than the slow trip up Silliman. Could my knees handle the trip?

The rest of the trip was reasonably uneventful. Twin Lakes was pretty. The tree roots and exposed rocks that the trail consisted of were not. We reached the trail turn to JO Pass about 1:30 or so. We continued down, me slowly and my knees were talking. Looking down upon Cahoon Meadow was another nice sight. We eventually rolled onto the pavement of the Lodgepole campgrounds just before 4:00. We then had another near mile hike to reach Wilson's cabin.

Two days of backpacking and over 20 miles. Each day was a little over 10 miles. Two of the longest backpacking days I can even remember doing. Sights never seen by me. A wonderful trip with one of my sons where I was blessed to see how he has grown. We may disagree about music, politics and various subjects; but he is a good young man with insight and compassion. I also got to see where his knowledge and passion collide in the mountains.

P.S. After returning home I talked to Tio John. He said that part way into the first day a couple of the boys were starting to struggle with the walk.  They decided to cut their trip short by going up JO Pass and camping at Jennie Lake. They shortened their trip and enjoyed it.

If we had made the "other" choice at Rowell Meadow, we could have met them at Jennie Lake. Even after that they were at the JO Pass turn only a few hours before us on the trip out. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

The Desire to Serve

This past weekend I attended the memorial service for a father of a colleague and friend. He was 92 when he died and had lived a good life as many would say. My first recollection of this man was in Boy Scouts.  He was one of the leaders of a troop from a nearby town. They were the largest and most honored troop in the area.  We were a young troop just starting from a small town nearby. There was a gathering of troops called a jamboree with skills tests of various camping and Scout techniques. On the first night it snowed on the gathering. Many did not follow the Boy Scout motto as much as they should and eventually a decision was made to evacuate the camp. I remember this man leading by example and slogging through the mud and snow to get troops and young men up the hill and on their way home.

This man served on the local school board for over 20 years. And as I got to know his son at work, the son and I talked some about being on a school board and the hours spent in that capacity.

I saw this man in parades as a member of a local search and rescue group that gained a reputation for a loud and raucous parade presence. The reality was they actually rescued people in rough situations in the mountains. This man was the oldest member of this group.

I heard of other instances where this man helped others and served his fellowman. Where does one get this desire to serve and help others?

I also learned at this memorial that his man flew 37 missions over Europe as a B-17 pilot in WWII. He didn't lose one crew member in that time. He also remember the time he turned to his navigator just before a .50 caliber bullet came through the wind screen, just missing him. This man felt he was given a gift and it was his duty to help others.

We need to have others like this that realize when they have been given a life others will never have.