The City Mouse in the Country

I 'm not sure if kids today have ever played with a Kaleidoscope .  You used to be able to buy this silly little toy, which consisted of two or more refractive surfaces in the tube, at any toy store.  Turn it one way and see one colorful pattern, turn it another and see a completely different pattern.  The number of patterns depended on a couple of things which I’m not going to go into here. Kaleidoscopes however are a thing of the past.   Simple little toys that didn’t beep or let you beat up hookers or kill Big Bad Monsters.   There was no winners, no losers.    There were only moments of simple fleeting beauty. Relationships, particularly family relationships are a kaleidoscope.  For example, my brother and I are only 3 years apart in age, grew up in the same home and were raised by the same parents, but we were raised by two completely different people and have two completely separate memories of events. Turn the tube slightly and entirely new patterns appear.   I tho

I am driving into the sunset.  The colors of the sky are brilliant; as pinks, oranges and reds dominate the skyline.  The sun continues to set and the palate changes into the darker hues.  It feels as if I'm driving into heaven itself as I make my way down some random country lane. Change and loss have been on my mind a lot this October.  We celebrated the second anniversary of our move from Florida quietly.  We remembered the passing of my mother quietly and are dealing with the loss of Susan's father the best we can.   Her father passed earlier this evening. It's only a matter of time for my father as well. Death and change have been on my mind as of late.   How do you deal with the passing of a parent?  How do you deal with the the realization of our own mortality?  Because like it or not we are next in line.   The coming days will be filled with grief as Susan’s family members say goodbye to their Dad.   I will be there beside them to provide what comfort I can.   One

      Last week I got a great comment via Reddit concerning this blog and why I do it.  "Leaving a legacy to future ancestors through climate awareness - a smashing idea."       I was just happy that someone was reading what I wrote, and I appreciated it.  To make things even better, he's a professional writer and I highly recommend his blog .  I'm grateful for any feedback and this simple comment made me feel like I was on the right path.        So when I sat down this week, electronic pen in my virtual hand, I had a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head.   My small container garden is growing, my dogwood trees (with edible fruit) haven't died and I got to spend some time with my 90 year old father; who seemed to fall in love with the goldfinches at my bird feeders.  Susan noticed the number of bees and hummingbirds that have been attracted to our yard, and laughingly told me not to mow till August.    Photo by Birds Unlimited     I've noticed something

  So we stood there, my wife and I, looking at a train display in the window of a small bank, my eyes as wide as saucers as I watched the toy train chug around the track.   One of the cars had a moveable searchlight on it, and that brought back warm memories.                 My wife said something to me but I had already traveled back in time to when I was 8 years old and my brother and I were playing with a train set that took up the entirety of my grandmother’s dining room.    One of the rail cars on her train set had a search light on it too, another car had a missile that you could shoot up and into the tree; which was exactly what my brother and I were doing; trying to knock ornaments down.    Sort of looks like me.  Even has a beer.                 Even today I swear that every Christmas packages were as high as the roof as chorales sang of old kings and new and it always snowed on Christmas day.   Memories of my father dressed up as Santa year in and year out as generation a

                                        When I first decided to write about why I joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, I thought that one of the best ways to do it would be more me to tell you about my love of music.      I am not a musician myself, never having the patience to sit down and practice or put in the hard work.   However I grew up in a house where records and the radio were just part of everyday life.   As I was growing up I was surrounded by the sounds of Mel Tillis, Kenny Rogers and George Straight.   As I grew older I found myself drawn to bands like Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush and Jazz music.      My friends however were all musicians, playing trumpets, guitars, drums and a whole range of instruments.   An old roommate often had band practice in the garage next to my car.   My first wife was a professional flutist and even though the marriage was unsuccessful, I still have a deep love and understanding for classical music.      Music has always intrigued

      Once in ancient America - about 100 years ago - there was this thing called a "Party Line".  In remote or rural areas it made sense to have several homes connected to one telephone line.  Thus if you had to make a call, it was possible that others could listen in, sometimes even join in on your conversation.  Party lines were a way to connect to your neighbors and avoid isolation.  Party lines were eventually replaced as the miles and miles of utility wire were laid over time in rural areas.     It sounds strange to today that we would allow ourselves a lack of privacy, but in 100 years the idea of a cell phone will probably sound very odd to the youth of that generation.  However it was a way to avoid isolation back then.  Much like our work chat and zoom calls are ways that we avoid isolation now until we finally officially go back to work.      It's not odd for my team to share pictures of our pets and talk about things other than work, even though the chat is de