Went to a memorial service today. Gordon Baker. The family was there to celebrate this wonderful life. I had not been in this community for more than 20 years. I knew a fraction of those there. I did know the major participants.
What a feeling to be the next generation to "go". The entire audience was above 50 but the range still seemed extreme. There were those who did not recognize me (funny how I did not recognize my own aging process.)
Gordon Baker was a great man. We miss his fairness and compassion.
It was a great celebration. There were those that seemed unchanged (but older).
Although attempted, I was not able to recreate the bonds that were once there. Sad. It became an event of remembrance.
I guess this is the next stage. Losing a spouse, sister or brother will be difficult to the extreme. This experience is just a reminder of this.
The wonderful plus is that those that I will eventually lose -- or they lose -- have given great value already.
Hurray for the continuance of what we have and vision.
Don
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Condominium Hopping
We flew up to Spokane and spent the night near the airport. Can't remember what it looked like -- that spectacular. Next, our friends from next door picked us up and we drove to Seaside Oregon. We were on the 7th floor looking out over the pool to a huge sandy beach. Did you know that this is where Lewis and Clark ran out of land? There is a statue of them at the beach looking forlorn-- S__t! no more land.
On the way to Seaside, we stopped at two beautiful waterfalls. We stumbled onto a Vista House at the top of a bluff overlooking the Columbia river. Unreal. The Vista House was surprising. Google it.
At Seaside, we went to a strange historical column (164+ steps to the top -- inside). You could buy a little wooden plane to throw off. So much for pollution in Oregon.
We next moved down to Klamath Falls (no falls in Klamath) to a condo on a golf course called Running Y. The most interesting thing was Crater Lake. Been there before but this time the water was so smooth that it looked like a mirror. We could not tell where the land ended and the water began. Unbelievable. The next day a guy fell down 300 ft. because he went over the barrier and slipped on the snow. So much for stupid.
The birds we saw up close were inspiring. Osprey, hawks, egrets, vultures, and a ton of small birds. They flew right over our patio (we were on the 3rd floor).
We next drove to SF -- always a culture shock. We moved from wide open country to an unbelievably dense human condition. We have a condo on Powell. The cable cars stop just outside our window. We have a room on the corner -- we sit at a round window seat looking up and down three streets.
It is amazing how so many people can be so close and so many of them seem barely functional. The poor, the predators, the well dressed standing on the street sipping white wine, a young boy in Walgreens looking to be picked up, and so many individuals walking with their heads in the wind -- it just goes on and on.
We leave tomorrow to visit my elderly in-laws for lunch and then home.
I can't wait to see my garden.
Don
On the way to Seaside, we stopped at two beautiful waterfalls. We stumbled onto a Vista House at the top of a bluff overlooking the Columbia river. Unreal. The Vista House was surprising. Google it.
At Seaside, we went to a strange historical column (164+ steps to the top -- inside). You could buy a little wooden plane to throw off. So much for pollution in Oregon.
We next moved down to Klamath Falls (no falls in Klamath) to a condo on a golf course called Running Y. The most interesting thing was Crater Lake. Been there before but this time the water was so smooth that it looked like a mirror. We could not tell where the land ended and the water began. Unbelievable. The next day a guy fell down 300 ft. because he went over the barrier and slipped on the snow. So much for stupid.
The birds we saw up close were inspiring. Osprey, hawks, egrets, vultures, and a ton of small birds. They flew right over our patio (we were on the 3rd floor).
We next drove to SF -- always a culture shock. We moved from wide open country to an unbelievably dense human condition. We have a condo on Powell. The cable cars stop just outside our window. We have a room on the corner -- we sit at a round window seat looking up and down three streets.
It is amazing how so many people can be so close and so many of them seem barely functional. The poor, the predators, the well dressed standing on the street sipping white wine, a young boy in Walgreens looking to be picked up, and so many individuals walking with their heads in the wind -- it just goes on and on.
We leave tomorrow to visit my elderly in-laws for lunch and then home.
I can't wait to see my garden.
Don
Friday, July 01, 2011
It's July
Happy New Month.
This is the birthday of my oldest daughter -- always an enlightening perspective. She is on the East coast and should really be out of sight, out of mind. However, the world of technology has made this less than a reality. When I was her age, it cost so much to make a long distance call we just didn't. Now with universal phone accounts and the amazing reality of iChat, we are in contact minutes, no hours a day. I remember how much a single picture cost -- to buy film and develop it and then send it by mail if we could afford a copy.
We now try to make time to see all the media sent to us each day from all of the extended family. I do not have a FaceBook account but my wife does and just sitting down to her computer can consume an enormous amount of time before she can pull herself away from all the content thrown at her.
It is so difficult to not be aware of a child's every activity -- especially when they are sick or can't sleep or want a new toy or a sweet.
It is amazing how food is the common denominator for establishing a happy child.
A good time? or an Invasion?
Don
This is the birthday of my oldest daughter -- always an enlightening perspective. She is on the East coast and should really be out of sight, out of mind. However, the world of technology has made this less than a reality. When I was her age, it cost so much to make a long distance call we just didn't. Now with universal phone accounts and the amazing reality of iChat, we are in contact minutes, no hours a day. I remember how much a single picture cost -- to buy film and develop it and then send it by mail if we could afford a copy.
We now try to make time to see all the media sent to us each day from all of the extended family. I do not have a FaceBook account but my wife does and just sitting down to her computer can consume an enormous amount of time before she can pull herself away from all the content thrown at her.
It is so difficult to not be aware of a child's every activity -- especially when they are sick or can't sleep or want a new toy or a sweet.
It is amazing how food is the common denominator for establishing a happy child.
A good time? or an Invasion?
Don
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