"Lessons I Learned as a Boy"

I can't remember the last time I performed a random act of kindness. Perhaps it is time to remedy that.

I got to meet this man today...

Big Buddah!

Plus I got a free flu shot for doing it on camera. Today was a good day. :-)

Rocky Mountain National Park

    

Elk Bugle

I sort of hope this is what their mating call sounds like!

Bul-EEEEEEEEE-NUH, baby!

Today...

Today I rode along with the fire department.

It was a lot of fun to go to lunch in a huge fire engine! Those things command a great deal of respect. I can't imagine what it's like to drive one around town, trying not to hit people who don't pull over enough.

Today I saw an old man die.

The family seemed to be prepared for his passing and sent him off graciously after the paramedics administered all they could.

I tried very hard to feel sad about witnessing the end to someone's life, but the sorrow wasn't there. I felt badly for the family who had to prepare for a funeral, but the man who passed gave me no troubled thoughts. He is eternal. He has merely passed from one frame of existence into another. He has not ceased to be and will never cease to be. His soul is immortal.

Thinking this over, I was reminded of a quote shared during the EFY musical program this summer:

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere moral. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit...Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest thing presented to your senses."
-- C.S. Lewis

Today I watched a friendship die. Perhaps not forever -- but for now, it cannot thrive. What a sad sight. Hurt feelings and inappropriate  or poor communications on both sides have squashed the life right out of this friendship. Speaking from a very mortal perspective, it is a small consolation that relationships with others are immortal as well. However, no man knows the future but we can all learn from the past.

It is cruel to exploit the weaknesses of others, no matter how gently or innocently done. For my inconsideration I am truly sorry.

As this sun sets I will close no doors, but make no promises. With my face to the East and the rising sun, I will carry a hope for more advantageous circumstances in the somedays of life.

I couldn't resist...

...adding this picture at midnight. It was just too good to wait!

Enjoy!

100th Post!

I really wish I had something amazing to say for my 100th post -- but I'm sort of hitting a blank here. It just snuck up on me!


So, here are a few things that have been on my mind today:


The influence of good friends is indispensable. I would be an entirely different person if I hadn't met a few choice friends over the years.


The smell of Autumn air is the best scent in the whole world!


Cookies are magic: they disappear on their own. Especially when they are chocolate chip cookies made with both semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips.


Road trips are the best! When I was a kid we road tripped at least once a year, usually more. The drive is half the fun with all of the crazy car games, songs, and stops at random places on the side of the road to see something that may or may not end up being interesting. Whenever my parent's got lost on the road we would just shake it off as an "adventure." I've taken that lesson with me into just about everything. Adventures are a regular part of life -- any little upset or bump in the proverbial road is a lot more exciting when labeled an adventure.

I get to road trip this weekend to Fort Collins, Colorado! I'm going with, and to visit, time-worn best friends and some new friends. These are people who have influenced my life for good since the moment we met -- even though we didn't exactly start out with high hopes for lasting relationships. It's funny how things turn out. Sometimes the people we least expect to see again are those who end up sticking around forever and those we expect to remain friends with are the ones who disappear quickest. In any case, I'm really excited to spend quality time with people I adore.

We are going to enjoy the majesty of this beautiful season in the lovely Colorado mountains. When I was in England this Spring the thought of a "camera" for scents kept popping into my head as I visited gardens or got caught in the rain. Autumn is better! I wish that I could bottle the smell of this Autumn to be revisited next year some time when the air is hot and still.

Today I baked something like 16 dozen cookies. Chocolate chip, toffee chocolate chip, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, to be precise. To ensure that these cookies have a life beyond tomorrow morning (yes, my family does eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast -- doesn't yours?) I took the precaution of baking during the day when everyone was at work. I also made sure to bag up and hide the cookies I mean to take to Colorado as gifts to the family I will be staying with this weekend . . . and the family my friend is staying with . . . and for the car ride. I made a lot of cookies!

So, this one goes out to good friends, road trips, Autumn, and cookies!

Stay awesome, everyone!