I love the time in the Crusader RV. I traveled to Bryson City in the Smokey Mountains. On the way, I stopped at the famous Biltmore Inn and Estate – the largest private home in the US. I had read about it in a book of The 1000 Places to See Before You Die. It was much better than I could have imagined.
Here are some of the pictures that do not do it justice.
The history of the estate is amazing and well worth the read and visit. The food was exceptional, scenery serine. It is like a Disney World for adults. So many things to see and do. Definitely need more than one day to explore and enjoy.
My mom read books every night. Mysteries mostly. She would take me along with her to the Akron Public Library every Thursday night, where she would direct me to the children’s shelves while she selected at least 4-5 books for the next week’s reading. She would read from late evening until 2-3 am every night.
Being so artistic, she also enjoyed writing to people. The following was sent to me along with a couple of crochet doyleys. What an amazing woman! Insightful, able to teach by fable, ability to laugh at the moment, and uplift the soul. Mom, I love you!
Every travel episode should be captured in a photo to maintain the glorious memories that form our lives. Kitty Hawk, NC on my sixty-sixth birthday was that and more. Be grateful for friends and tell them often what they have meant to your short experience on this planet.
Thanks, Mary Mount for being a friend and making my life richer for knowing you. Here are some pictures from Kitty Hawk, NC on my birthday.
Each birthday just keeps getting better. Once I realized that every trip around the sun is a tremendous cause for celebration, I began observing each birthday differently. Coupled with my goal and desire to see ten new places in the world this year that I had not seen, I was honored to have a friend, who cared enough to want this birthday to be excitingly special. Mary Mount planned a weekend get away to Kitty Hawk, NC on the Outer Banks. What a perfect time of year to explore a giant tourist attraction that is being altered with the global climate changes.
Here are some of the pictures that came from the exploring. One thing I have learned about photography is that the observer should be trying to capture a unique view that others simply miss. It is easy to see the large pictures, like sky and sea, however, it is even more interesting to capture the miniature pictures that are so easy to overlook. We took the time to collect small, unique pieces of beach components, only to then create mosaic collages of color, texture, and shapes. Here are some of the fun ones.
You have probably heard the story about the man who was throwing starfish that had washed up on shore following a storm back into the ocean as an observer stated that he could not make a difference when there were tens of thousands of starfish dying on the beach. The man simply threw another one back into the ocean and said, it made a difference to that one!
I had that exact opportunity on my birthday this year at Kitty Hawk Pier in NC. As I was walking down the beach, my friend Mary and I noticed something moving in the sand in front of us. Upon further inspection, we realized that it was a living Sea Horse that had washed up on shore as the tide receded. After quickly taking a picture, I carefully scooped up the Sea Horse along with a hand full of sand and placed it back in the ocean. As I did, we both said, made a difference to that one.
Not only had I never seen a Sea Horse outside of an aquarium, I had never seen one on the beach before. How cool was that for a birthday experience?
One if life’s lessons is that you can never reach down to help someone up without helping yourself reach up at the same time.
Dreams need a date to become a reality. Goals have dates, otherwise, they are just dreams. I had written goals for 2014 that included seeing ten new places that I had never been to in the US. I had the opportunity to see Hyco lake district in North Carolina. It is a man-made lake, developed in the 1960’s to supply cooling water for an electrical power plant. Today, approximately 1400 homes occupy the shores of the extended lake tributaries. The lake provides recreational facilities for fishing and boating as well as retreats from the Raleigh-Durham urban centers.
This is my new friend, Mary, at her family retreat. The relaxing sounds of water, birds, and quiet walking trails provide a silent counterpart to the daily humdrum of work activities.
Memorials and funerals are for the living, it is said. It is a time to remember loved ones as well to reflect on our own lack of immortality of existence. It is a time to review the impacts that person has had on our lives, to count our blessings, and yes to peer into the future as to our own demise. As I have grown older I have come to the conclusion that all of these events can be points of sadness or celebration. Attitude is really everything.As spirits on a human journey, we experience all of the human emotions, regardless of our want, to choose one over another as right or wrong, good or bad. We are all here as observers on behalf of the universal consciousness. Buddha speaks to this in much detail as well as the Tao Te Ching. Although it is vital to experience all emotions, we have the individual ability to concentrate our focus on those that will lead to a joyful spirit. In my humble experience, emotions reflecting love are the only ones that terminate in hope. Hope is what gives us life.
A very close friend sent me an email today which conveys much of my beliefs in a beautiful story. It also culminates all my emotions surrounding the passing of Pete Seeger today. Suffice it to say his path has had a strong impact on my life. His music and lyrics struck a strong chord, so to speak, in my early twenties.
I have always wanted to world to be a better place because I was here. Perhaps I have not been the activists that I could or should have been, and that may change going forward. I have always been a fighter for the working man and woman who have labored and toiled for what seems like meager existence, living lives of quiet desperation, as Henry David Thoreau said.
To those much has been given, much is required, the Bible says. Then it is up to each one of us to give as much as possible to those we love and those in need. Activism is simply standing up for what is right, for if we do not stand for something, we will fall for anything.
Kathy and I were like-minded spirits in the late 60’s and early 70’s. We married and spent great times in Germany, Washington DC, Fairfax, VA and Columbus, Ohio. We are to this day, kindred spirits and share many resonant beliefs. Her intuitive insight from the following experience with her mother regarding Pete Seeger is both brilliant and soul touching. It includes much of Pete Seeger’s philosophy, which embodies mine.
Thank you, Kathy!
As spirits on a human journey, we experience all of the human emotions, regardless of our want, to choose one over another as right or wrong, good or bad. We are all here as observers on behalf of the universal consciousness. Buddha speaks to this in much detail as well as the Tao Te Ching. Although it is vital to experience all emotions, we have the individual ability to concentrate our focus on those that will lead to a joyful spirit. In my humble experience, emotions reflecting love are the only ones that terminate in hope. Hope is what gives us life.A very close friend sent me an email today which conveys much of my beliefs in a beautiful story. It also culminates all my emotions surrounding the passing of Pete Seeger today. Suffice it to say his path has had a strong impact on my life. His music and lyrics struck a strong chord, so to speak, in my early twenties.
It has taken me some time to record some of my own guitar playing. This is one of the first songs I ever learned from Gary Bolstad in Berlin, Germany in 1968. It is a Bob Dylan song, “Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues”. The melody and lyrics mimic some of my melancholy side in music. Most importantly, I play it on a 12 string guitar. The octave strings add such a rich sound.
Music is the window to the soul. Tonight a good friend, Mary, took me to Duke University in Durham, NC. We experienced the Ciompi Quartet at the Baldwin Auditorium. It was exciting, entertaining and educational. If you ever get a chance to listen to live classical music, please do it. It will lift your soul and create another facet to your personality that cannot be removed. The memory is worth every effort.
