Something In the Way They Moved

Well, we made a promise we'd always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter's night
with a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender

Bruce Springsteen                                          


Like those who were motivated to march, rally and demonstrate I feel a need to say something about the events of January 21 and the aftermath. I did not travel by car, train, bus or plane but was transported by a spirit that moved a mass of humanity. My wife, sister in-law, my oldest daughter and many close friends, male and female did come from  near and far to do something they felt they needed to do. I watched it unfold in the weeks and days before as my wife packed, created signage, my golf buddy prepared food for their group, others knitted hats and the conversations grew about what you would need and how to be safe, peaceful and in control. On the day of the march I watched it develop on the day of at home, on my computer stream and the TV screen. I could see and hear things up close from the DC stage where my wife Mary was and from afar looking over Chicago, L.A., Miami, Charlotte, St. Louis, Paris and where my daughter was in Boston. I felt pride in their effort. I am not sure how one could not be moved or inspired unless you're political views blind you so that the physicality and spirituality of this day caused you to lose sight of what was happening.

The newly sworn in president chose to say nothing about the gatherings as was probably well advised by his closest confidants.I believe he missed out on an opportunity to reach out and show he may have understood their energy or concerns but he did not. Another one for the disappointment column.

My motivation to blog about this is brought about by one central question. What motivated, compelled, moved all these folks to plan out and leave the comfort of their homes, towns and families, squeeze together in the middle of winter into the vans, buses and trains, in some cases travel all night, lose sleep, spend hard earned money and band together in places many had never been to express something they were deeply concerned with in their hearts and minds? What was so important to each of them, personally and collectively to join in on this day as one?  I believe they did it out of love, to overcome the fear they felt for their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters uncertain futures and the changes they see coming with potentially negative consequences.

Something flipped a switch in their ordinary lives to make them want to Do Something extraordinary. They certainly accomplished a first step in making their voices heard.

So they returned to their hometowns after making history with their rallies, marches, demonstrations, their tears, their laughter, their music, their tribes of millions. New bonds were forged, making them stronger in the process. Nobody was seriously hurt as they came in peace believing that their actions might make a difference.A difference in the lives of those without privilege, without much of a political voice. They represented those women with a deep concern for their sisters and brothers well being and the Mother Earth we all inhabit.

If the 'Women's March' becomes a movement that affects change will remain to be seen. If they feed off the memories of the spirit and energy of that day and events, then those that I know will remain a force that will try to fight the powers that be with their voices, their own buying power as heads of households, and as nurturers in their family trees and networks of friends that spread out vast and wide. No Retreat, Baby, No Surrender! 

Photos courtesy of Ashley K. and Mary E.

The Year in Rehab

Institutional Rehabs are not places you want to spend a lot of time. In the past year I have been a visitor, caregiver more times than I care to count. Most of the work there is positive and done for the right reasons, the need unfortunately is huge but at times these facilities can be dehumanizing, nauseating, frustrating and depressing. From Kalamazoo, to metro Detroit to Foley, Alabama I have made visits to support, aid and encourage  my loved ones and others. Most notably my mother and step-mother. I also have had other family and friends who this year needed rehabbing of some sort or another. From cancer, fractured bones to broken hips and hearts in need of repair. In addition in Kalamazoo I volunteer at a hospital where my work space just happens to be near the re-hab unit. I have been witness to all these folks working on ways to get better.

There has been a certain amount of recovery from heartbreak in our family this year as well and I will not delve into specifics here but note that emotional rehabbing is another form of coming out of a tumble, fall or crash that requires maybe not physical therapy but some type of recuperation of the soul. We can overcome these obstacles and be stronger with conscious work and time.To say it requires patience and understanding is an understatement.

My time spent with my moms, visiting them in rehab is done out of love and devotion. Helping them to heal in a time of need is a gift to the giver as much as receiver. The time Mary and I spent in Alabama not only involved my step-mom but we assisted my father for a couple of weeks with driving, meals, shopping, etc. I could and someday may write a whole short story of that time we spent with him; caring for him and sharing in Beverly's recuperation and our trip getting back to Michigan. Laughs, tears, frustrations but lasting memories were made over the 3 weeks we spent together. Like the midnight scramble down the stairs with my dad and his walker for a false alarm fire drill. The time spent with them, of course, priceless.

Our country, our world is facing a challenge of our collective restorative abilities. Our aging democracy in in rehab. It is in some constant state of healing or so we need to believe. Can we work it out? I think we must first look within and find our own peace before we can know for sure what action as individuals we can take to "take a sad song and make it better", (thank you Beatles). Creativity in a time of uncertainty should be an everyday goal.

Of course we hope the holidays put us in an inherent search for kindness, giving,  The season makes us anxious to seek the perfect, and the goodness in ourselves and others. Let it be a solid something that lasts longer than a couple of days.

Leonard Cohen in his passing, left us some words of wisdom for times like these, during the longest days of the darkness of winter solstice, hope does spring. from his song Anthem,

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in

May you find your light,  ☆
Sreno
December 2016

Now What

Now What was the working title of my latest collection of writing but I changed it as I always had Raiding the Icebox lurking. in my files. So Now What? seems appropriate this day after the election, after the pendulum has swung back the other way. After all this Democracy thing is an experiment of just over a couple hundred years that is by no means perfect with no guarantees of longevity. Compared to ancient history we have a ways to go.

As does Shock and Awe, Say No to the Status Quo, and SHAKING ALL OVER! I feel compelled as an observer and writer of sorts to put something down this morning after a not so restful sleep, as I am sure many experienced last night.

I have an urge to do something as dramatic as took place yesterday: sell the house, move somewhere rich and warm, or far off the beaten path, try and make my modest holdings as close and protected as possible.

Then I come back to two words that guide me most days as our world turns: struggle and joy.
Many of us have it better than most of the world's populations. We will always have struggle as part of our existence and if lucky a fair amount of  joy will come to most of us over time, if we let it happen. We cannot look too far down the road but stay in the here and now, ( my second name for book), and know all things must and will pass.

We can plant our own seeds of positivity each day, through thoughts and actions. Take the high road and be our own change. It is going to rain and snow, strong winds will blow, rivers will rise and fall, sun will shine, it is thus and so, the flux and flow.

raid the icebox

a preview

we all feel the same sun
we all may try and lasso the same moon
give it a go

Accept-dance

As my mother read about acceptance at Thanksiving
 I wondered
what it meant
to accept, forgive, and heal
from a break-up or breakdown
a death or significant change.
Do we accept the status quo?
Do we accept the violence in our lives?
Do we accept refugees as neighbors?
Is our children's pain our own?
Who are we as individuals, as humans?
Do we let it be?
Can we we accept the balance of struggle and joy, move on, and act?
Mother says be patient,
  wait for it
to change in an organic fashion
  like a river moving stones gradually,
   waves altering the shoreline
morphing into new flowing forms

of an accept-dance.

Road Trippin Pt.2

As our trip continued via the New York to Vermont ferry I got out of the carry we left on and spoke with a local who had names for some of the peaks overlooking Burlington and surrounding area, like The Chin and Crescent Hill. Always interesting to get that local color. We hit the Vermont side just as nigh was falling upon us and the line of cars sped off to their individual destinations. Ours was South Burlington and according to Expedia one of  the only rooms in town left and at an exorbitant rate. Lesson, sometimes it is better to book early. Turns out it was homecoming weekend at University of Vermont.
Daughter Ashley had suggested Burlington and with the ferry ride cutting some drive time it was a good suggestion. In the Sunday AM we headed for main campus and downtown which was filled with parents, students and girls in black yoga pants. The day was sunny and warming up. Again shopping came first after bagel egg sandwiches and coffee. Mary flitted in and out of stores while I observed the crowds and area occasionally looking at how overpriced even the sale North Face merch was. Closest thing I came to buying was a Keep Vermont Weird shirt.This went along with the liberal vibe this college town on Lake Champlain only 75 miles or so from Montreal put off. Especially with the childrens' parade circling the Market area protesting slaying of elephants for ivory. Mary and I stopped at Vermont Brewery Co, for a quick one before we went down lake side at a very nice park where the folks were enjoying the start of a fine fall day. After a quick stroll we would head out to Byway 100 Scenic Drive 80 some miles through the center of Vermont headed to Brattleboro our next overnight stay.

The drive down thru Central Vermont was captivating as colors were turning  as quickly as the road turned along rivers and streams, small classic Vermont towns bordering the Green Mountains popped up with picturesque church steeples and covered bridges. An 80-100 mile trip took us 5 hours with only a couple stops.

After a long sunny drive which included Vermont maple syrup purchase, seeing the largest cow we had ever seen and a dirt road cut across to main highway we arrived at dark at our hotel for the evening in Brattleboro, Vermont near the south eastern border. It had a mom and pop feel with a tavern attached which is just what we needed.

Next morning we hit downtown Brattleboro another quaint, little town with river and mountains alongside. Ashley had tipped us off to it as she and her friends celebrate 4th of July  there from time to time. We again shopped, at a great outdoor goods/clothing store Sam's, grabbed some stuff at local food co-op and had lunch Thank you meter lady for our $10 parking fee. Then we were off for New Hampshire and Maine. 

This may have been one of our best surprises finding a place on the ocean I booked the night before, Ashworth by the Sea.  A resort town, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire with a Jersey Boardwalk feel dating back to early 1900's, most of which had closed down for the season. We opted for ocean view which we need only run down from our room to walk on the beach. You could feel hurricane Joaquin's power in the waves. We were thankful it chose an easterly track out to sea. It was a wonderful sunset before dinner at the hotel restaurant and an awesome sunrise with surfers doing their thing at 6:30 AM.

After breakfast we were off to Portland, Maine for a
visit with old friend Deborah who I have known since junior high in Fraser, Mi. Daughter Ashley was going to come up from Boston to visit for a day and night.
Our reunions began in downtown Portland where huge cruise ships were docked  in the bay alongside every other type of marine craft you could imagine. I learned right off that Portland was once the busiest industrial port in the US back in 1800s. Deborah and Ashley arrived within minutes of each other at the pub Mary and I chose to grab a bite at. Soon Deb took us all on a brief tour of one of the many bays on our way back to her place where she has resided for last 25 plus years. We had a low key evening as I wasn't quite feeling 100%. Deb made us a great dinner, we had some wine, conversations and an early night to bed. The following day our tour took us to Cape Elizabeth and the Portland Head Lighthouse there, then down the coast a ways to some more spectacular views of surrounding islands where we could walk out near the water.

 We would have an early dinner and cocktails before Ashley had to head back for Boston so went to a restaurant that looked back over Portland near several marinas. I would attempt the obligatory lobster.

After Ashley went back to Boston Deb, Mary and I had a quiet evening at Deb's home. There was a lot to catch up on in our lives over the past 40 years of relationships, working and raising children. We listened to music, talked and watched a little TV before retiring.
Mary and I were off the next morning to check out Freeport, Maine and the L.L.Bean shopping complex there. Lots of stuff in most stores was overpriced, we only bought warm socks at a Bass store had lunch and we headed on our way north up the Maine coast first to a state park Deb had told us about, Wolfe's Neck, where we had a relaxing lunch in a serene setting.
We then were off for a day trip up to Rockland.
The colors were brilliant on the drive,other highlights were seeing 2 Bald Eagles together over a bay and first time I could remember I had ever seen cows with a wide white stripe around their midsection, Belted Galloway. We wouldn't make it to Bar Harbour/Acadia on this trip as we had a concert date with Ashley and Sherry back in Boston on the weekend.
We would spend the night back in Freeport where I would be remiss if I didn't report on our
1:30 AM fire alarm wake up where we had to evacuate, come back in and after fire trucks left, back in bed another false alarm. I did not get up for this one, Mary did but finally they disengaged it and at 2:30 we were back in bed. It was a capper to a long day.

Friday after our first real rain we were in Boston to visit with Ashley and Sherry and see Brandi Carlile in concert Saturday nite, a bday gift from them to me. Friday night we had a beer at a funky little Scottish bar within walking distance in their Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Ash made us dinner and we waited for Sherry to get back from Maine where she had a work retreat.
Saturday was a sunny, cool day and we did a nice morning walk with their pooch Piper in nearby Blue Hills Reservation Park. After resting up for a night out in Boston we did dinner at Beantown Bar right next to The Orpheum Theater where our concert would be. It was a bustling Saturday night in Beantown. Our excitement for the concert was matched by crowds enthusiasm. Ashley had seen Brandi several times, Mary, Sherry and I a couple. LSS, it was really super show. From the opening strains of When Johnny Comes Marching Home, a nod to Boston, to the acapella Amazing Grace closer in the dark with opening act The Secret Sisters it was great. Relationship between Brandi and Boston is special as she spoke about several times. It rocked and was poignant. Mary even picked up a guitar pick Brandi threw our back into 9th row!

After we did an Uber ride home still high from an awesome show. We had one more full day before we would head back to Michigan. Our last day Ashley had a couple things planned first was hanging out with some friends at The Bleacher Bar watching the Buffalo Bills. The bar is connected to Fenway Park but on Sundays or football game day for the Bills, it is taken over by quite a throng of Bills fans. We were joined by Andrea and  Lauren who we had met back in MI this Spring, had lunch, some beers and cheered the Bills on to victory.

For dinner Ashley had reservations at an Italian restaurant in the North End of Boston which is a predominately Italian area of the city. We had an excellent meal, I think we all had seafood done Italian. It was a festive warm Sunday night and the city was jammed with folks out enjoying it. We found a place for some cannoli and headed back home via the train. We be stuffed.

Next morning after a quick breakfast, thank yous and some big hugs bye, we were on our way back home. It was Presidents Day and almost 70 degrees out which made for a lot of early traffic. Some of the best color on our trip was going home in Western Massachusetts and upstate New York. We spent one night in eastern NY on our way back and made it home Oct, 13 day before my 63rd Birthday.

It was a wonderful trip indeed. We did a lot in 10 days. Thank you Deborah, Ashley and Sherry. We Visited mostly places we had never been. Good for body and soul, the heart and mind. In New England much is about the history and beginnings of our country.

Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and of course New York all reminders of our spiritual longing for freedom to move about, rugged individualism and diversity. In a land rich in natural beauty and resources, there are so many reasons to keep trying to make this democratic experiment of freedom work for us all.

If you made it this far thanks for reading ;)

Road Trippin

Since my last forays into blogdom at the end of June when I wrote about the extraordinary events of our Spring much has transpired over late summer into Fall with most of it being about going places and enjoying opportunities for adventure and hanging out with friends and family. Processing the passing of close friends was a part of the past few months which I wrote about in the previous blogs.Summer of course flew by with Mary and I taking separate trips, I went up north to The Catbird nest on the Au Sable as KrK and Cath shared their place with the 3 remaining members of Guys Golf Getaway so we could memorialize our 4th, Jimmy Jazz. We did this by playing a round of animal golf in his honor and donating the animal cards to the territory of the animal golf kingdom at Black Bear near Vanderbilt, the Frog, the Camel, the Gorilla and the Snake were set free.

Mary and I would come together back at the Catbird Nest on Labor Day weekend to begin our travels which would consume almost the next several weekends and then some. KrK and Cath were splendid hosts as Mary and I took our NEW kayaks to take on the pristine waters of the Au Sable. Mary's retirement in June provided us with time to explore the possibilities. Our visit and trip was splendid and stimulating as Chef Keith's dinners and Cathie's conversations. Keith even delved into some new territory taking us on a 3.5 hour afternoon kayak cruise in historic North Branch waters. A great trip within a trip. I must move on as I can only skim the surface like a caddis just hatched.

Next up was 42nd annual Wheatland Music Festival which our band of merry puppeteers and music makers would again camp out and perform as Susans' 'Palamazoo Puppets and enjoy a weekend of frolic, fellowship, music and dance. Highlight: Sunday gospel during Fairfield Four performance helping an inspired 70 plus yr old band member down from stage and over railing to sing and rally the crowd and back up again to stage. Hallelujah!
Following weekend we enjoyed a trip up to Boyne Mt. for a stay with Micheal and Susan doing brewery tours, shopping, outdoor hot tubbin, and a ride up the ski lift for a drink and view from up above overlooking the valley..
Upon returning home we would begin to pack and prepare for our Niagara Falls and New England adventure.
Traveling to new places usually helps us in getting out of our comfort zones and familiar surroundings.So we are able to see a fresh perspective of an area a little different than ours.  I appreciate the local histories of each state and unique geographic areas. In Niagara Falls we experienced for our first time a tourist destination that is world class in its beauty. So many people from all over the globe come to see this, ride the boats, get sprayed by the mists and take photo after photo. In one elevator ride in our hotel Mary and I rode with a Hassidic Jewish family and Arabic family. Everyone coming together there to experience the wonder of a place. Yes is it built up with hotels, casinos, touristy rides and shops? Of course but it is the Falls they come to see in  Canada, Lit up at night or bursting with hydrological energy during the day with a rainbow hovering at sunset while eating dinner it is a place to behold.
Our next destination would be a little burg in the hills of SE New York where there is a place that honors America's pastime, baseball, in Cooperstown, NY. Home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. After we found our room for the night we ventured out to a brewpub not far, Council Rock, where we bellied up to the bar. It was bustling with locals and travelers alike and we had some beer and a nice meal. The next day we did the HOF tour and the little town.  I bought souvenirs, cigars, distilled whiskey, Mary found a new hat and some gifts. In a classic Americana town we also walked through a Farmers Market, where it seemed like Woodstock generation folks had settled in the region and were selling their organic and homemade wares. Again after a belly at the bar lunch and some local beer we headed out to find the ferry in upstate NY on Lake Champlain to cross over to Burlington, Vermont.

After a lovely drive up into the Adirondack Mt. area we started to see some color change and we needed to find the little town where the ferry went over. It was a longer than expected, windy drive along the water and GPS was not getting a signal but we found it just to see the  5:30 ferry from Essex pull out, luckily I knew we had one more ride at 6:30. As it became darker we  had another little drama to deal with as we waited for ferry to return, our battery died out while sitting charging phone. Luckily I had jumper cables we dug out and we received some help from other fellow ferry riders and we got it started as the ferry was returning to take us over to Vermont as night fell.

End of Part One. So as to prevent boredom I will break it up. Stay tuned to see what awaited us on the other side of Lake Champlain, Vermont and beyond..