I like to think that now that I am back riding my bicycle… things will return to the way they were. Only way to find out is to pedal until they do.
The road back…
Category: Thoughts
Back to normal…
I like to think that things are returning to a new normal. Masking restrictions where I am are easing and people seem more relaxed and making travel plans. I want this to be true and to remain so as well. I’ve gotten back on my bike and feel more like my old self (I am 65 this year) which means I still think like I was 40.
Spring 2021
Spring is hear and things are already better than 2020. No worry that the store may be out of toilet paper. Thoughts are about not about lockdowns coming but the ease and ending of them. Spring is here and I get on my bike and it feels good to be in the sun and out and about even if I limit the distance I go.
I still avoid crowds and wear my masks… but I do not worry about those who do not. I believe there is a light to be seen and not a locomotive coming. Like the fresh flowers pushing up through the ground hope is returning as well. It is a fresh new day and year with lots to look at and to.
Snow days…
Been snowed in for the past week. Read a book (Rabbit’s Blues: The life and times of Johnny Hodges by Con Chapman) which provided me with a new phrase to use: “Can a Moose Crochet?” Watched the documentary Jazz on a Summer’s Day which is a great way to see Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington, Anita O’ Day and other’s as they performed at Newport in 1958. Then I went outside and took some pictures. With lots of time to reflect…
Our country…
I was not at the Capitol when things happened… I can only go by what I saw and heard and read; I am sadden by it. I would like to believe that the majority had good intent to have a peaceful expression of their views. However the actions of a few impacts impacts us all. I will not lump everyone into a single label because our future depends on seeing the value of character, truth and common ground.
I believe it is not weakness to strive to understand… I believe that respect for the flag is to strive to bridge this gap of what makes America great. For me it is not needing 20,000 in uniform to have a peaceful transition of power. Without understanding between us how can we return to peace?
As 2021 comes…
So far the fact that I turn 65 in 2021 has resulted in lots of calls from folks wanting to help me deal with Medicare. I try to be polite before I hang up… Dealing with 2020 I feel was a higher priority. I got out my 1903 Underwood #4 and looking at the page it produced one would think it was much younger than 117 years.
At 117 my Underwood can create pages better than the words my 64 year old brain can think of. However the joy of using this machine made the words type special to me because I used this machine. Sometimes that is enough to make the day a day of joy and wonder.
As 2020 ends…
At the start of 2020 I had a long list of things I planned to do. Then things changed and my biggest plan became to “just stay healthy”… so far so good and it means that I have had great success. With vaccines… there is new hope that 2021 will bring back a measure of “normal”. I even went out and pumped up the tires on my bicycle. I did not ride but 2021 is near.
2020 Vote
I drove by my polling place to determine where I will park tomorrow… I could have voted early but like to vote on election day. I like to think I might discover something that will impact my choices…
I get email and text messages from both Major Parties…. they still want money from me. I find that how this request is made has impacted my thinking. Do I believe that the only way a candidate can win is my contribution… that the only hope for saving America is sending in $10.00 now? Both Parties say only we can save the country… which seems to mean the only way to save America is to vote… does not matter who you vote for because each party will save the country. But that is just me being difficult!
I would rather spend my time seeing if a movie called: “The man who killed Hitler and then the bigfoot” is any good… but instead I am going thru my sample ballot trying to make sense of the amendments to the state constitution and if the Judges listed on the ballot should be retained…
Words…
I understand that we can say something and have others interpret what we say in a manner that was not our intent. Today some have the ability to use words in a way that conflicts; but mean the same thing to them. I wish there was a dictionary to let me know when “good” is “bad” and when “lie” is “truth”. When “fact” is “fake” and when “Opinion” means what is said does not count.
2020 reflections
What you do when no one is looking is what makes the world go round. I will continue to believe when someone mentions seeing a “double rainbow” not call it “fake news” because it easy to deny than to believe.
I will still look for 4 leaf clover’s because they will bring me luck.
I will not step on cracks in the sidewalks… not because it may break someone’s back but because it makes walking along a sidewalk more fun.
I will believe that good will will outlast bad. That honesty takes you farther in life than lies. That it is good to think of good…
