Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part XXIV: The “First Home” Coast

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 17, 2017 in Family, Travel

April 17, 2017, Prescott- Last, but never least, on my recap of what has mattered most to me, in jaunts around the contiguous United States, are the special places that are on, or within a few hours of, the Atlantic Coast.

I’m a native of Massachusetts, so the places and people of Boston and the North Shore have had the most direct influence on the me that you see. My special places in Saugus are still the Ironworks (now Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site), Breakheart Reservation, the Marsh (near where my middle brother lives) and anywhere along the old rail path, now a Rails to Trails hiking and biking route. Kowloon and Prince Spaghetti House are still around; Hilltop Steak House and Augustine’s Italian Restaurant are not.

Lynn and Nahant still mean The Beach, and as a teen, I went to Fireplace 10, as that was where Saugus kids hung together. The evening before I was to ship out for VietNam, I was with two of my mates at The Beach. A rent-a-cop wanted to haul me in, for “being bombed”. I had had two sips of a 12-0z. can of Budweiser. His sergeant heard my story of being about to head for the war zone, and let us go, with the comment, “Next time I see YOU here, is a year from now, right?” “Yes, sir.”

There are almost as many beaches, along the Coast, as there are rent-a-cops. Crane’s Beach was the site of one of my part-time jobs, after the Army. Yep, I was a rent-a-cop. I tried to arrest an Ipswich Selectman (town councilman) for being drunk and disorderly. Guess how that worked out. My favourite beach is still Hampton, NH- it had the biggest waves, when I was a kid. Salem, Marblehead, Newburyport and all of Cape Ann (Gloucester area) are my favourite seaport towns. Gloucester House and Woodman’s (Essex) are fave seafood places, with Kelly’s, in Saugus, good as well, especially for take-out.

The rest of New England certainly has featured prominently, from childhood, on. The White Mountains and Cape Cod were yearly fixtures of our family summers. Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island were places where I got my toes wet, in terms of ferry trips and island adventures. I didn’t get up to Maine much, except to Aunt Marie’s dairy farm, in Eliot, just over the New Hampshire line. Now, I’ve been all over the Pine Tree State. Cadillac Mountain, Kingfield, Moosehead Lake and coastal York County are all special areas.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, I used to enjoy Larrison’s Chicken Farm, near Bedminster, NJ, until it closed. The diners of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, like the Mark Twain, on Hwy 22 (aka the Death Trap-the road, not the dining spot), and Bedford Diner, off the PA Turnpike, remain close to my heart, though my doc would prefer I leave such places in the rear view mirror. Annapolis and Cumberland are intensely special places, at either end of little Maryland.

I have fond memories of the great cities- Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington have all been kind, when I have either passed through, or had extended stays. Boston Public Library is one of a kind as an edifice, and rules, as a grand place of public learning; so, too, does the Library of Congress. I have had mixed experiences in DC- the security force, in the Bush II Era, gave us, and those near us, an unpleasant time, in July, 2007. When I next visited the Nation’s Capital, in 2011 and 2014, all was delightful.

The Southeast is not as deeply ingrained in me, as the rest of the Atlantic Coast. There are some special spots, though- Martinsburg, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Hilton Head, St. Simons, Savannah,Okefenokee and St. Augustine are this solo traveler’s “feels like home”. The Atlanta and Tampa areas have family, so they are built-in magnets.

Florida, south of The Villages, remains a mystery to me. At some point, I will solve that puzzle. Charleston (SC), Baltimore, Delmarva and the Hampton Roads area are, likewise, places that will get special attention, sooner or later.

Well, that’s it, for now. I’m back to work, tomorrow and will be back in eastern AZ, next weekend. Have a great post-Easter week, one and all!

Commitment

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 17, 2017 in Family, Inspiration, Social, Spiritual

April 17, 2017, Prescott-

I read one of those Facebook things, where you put in name and birthday, and an algorithm produces a canned statement, about How It Is With You, regarding a certain aspect of life. This one was about relationships.

The algorithm told me that I was lovable, but “commitment-averse”. I’ve heard that from several people, over the past few years. Without exception, they’ve had their own agendas, and I am “Other People’s Agendas- averse”, to be sure. I like to help, live to help, but in my own space and at my own pace.

I am not commitment-averse. Penny had my full commitment and attention, especially when she needed me most. I am a father-for-life, and the big guy knows it. if he were in harm’s way, I’d drop everything and get over there. I am a son-for-life, and Mom knows it. She is fiercely independent, and that’s always a good thing. If things change for her, I’d drop everything and get over there. I am a sibling, cousin, nephew and uncle for life, and the family knows it. We are little islands but, yeah, if it comes to it, you get the point. I am, regardless of where my spirit takes me, a friend-for-life. It’s gotten me through every tough spot in which I’ve ever found myself, including those tough places where my grief got me, a few years back.

I am not commitment-averse. Recently, I walked into a small cafe, and was greeted by a soul who, I could testify on a stack of Scriptures, is one of those whom I’ve known forever. Penny was, and is, such a soul. Five good friends elsewhere, two males and three females, are likewise. I’m convinced that, in time of a needful in-gathering, we would find ourselves in the same geographic place. In fact, one such good friend is moving to a place close by, very shortly. The thing about those of us who were together, in God-knows-what sort of Soul Existence, is that we understand one another, preternaturally, even supernaturally, and it goes beyond that which we know as empathy.

I will, over time, reconnect with “K”, as I have with the others. Our friendship on this plane will follow whatever course is in store. There are, no doubt, more such souls out there, and we will find one another, likewise towards whatever end the Universe has in mind. Well, that’s it for now, with what an empathic friend here calls “the hoo-hoo stuff”.

My commitments for today are to continue clearing the backyard, get the clothes laundered and write another post, this evening, on the Atlantic Coast.

He Bids Us All To Arise

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 16, 2017 in Matters of Faith, Service Activities, Spiritual, Striving

April 16, 2017, Prescott-

Today, nearly a billion people, around the world, commemorated the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Many combine the sacred with the whimsical, filling baskets with candy of all sorts, making Easter the second most popular candy-eating holiday, after Halloween. Others leave out the sacred, altogether, thus making Easter little different from the Feast of All Hallows.

Christ overlooked the faults of others, save the Pharisees, whom He scolded and the merchants in the Temple, whom He chastised more forcefully. He was far kinder to those who committed indiscretions of the heart.

The lesson I get from this, and from His very resurrection, is that the human spirit is capable of enormous resilience. We fall down and hurt others, either physically or emotionally, yet some of these same people could very well return to at least a modicum of friendship, over time, if we ourselves recover our moral bearings.

Christ was not only saving us, by His sacrifice. He was also showing us, how we might save ourselves, albeit by less supreme means. Each of us can arise, in our own way, through adhering to the Golden Rule and by making amends, for wrongs that we have done to others.

As a Baha’i, I revere Christ as Messenger of God and Supreme Teacher. Accordingly, I know that it’s my bounden duty to serve others, both to make amends for what I’ve done wrong in this life, and out of love for them. Love is the basis for everything the Messengers of God, from Adam to Baha’u’llah, have taught us, over the millennia. Yesterday, I had the bounty of visiting several people, at the Native American Baha’i Institute of Learning (at Houck,AZ) , in the Hopi village of Polacca and in the small Verde Valley town of Rimrock, where a longtime friend is in the fight of his life, against a crippling disease. What I went to impart, was a very simple message: Your life matters.

Christ said this, repeatedly, 2000 years ago. Baha’u’llah said this, repeatedly, 164 years ago. Both gave us the admonition to say this to one another. Both gave us the bidding to arise, to lift ourselves, and one another, out of despair and trouble. That is the message I get from Easter.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Inklings

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 16, 2017 in Poetry, Striving, Travel

April 14, 2017, Clints Well, AZ-

I like this route to the northeast corner of Arizona.

Bypassing crowded highways to the west,

and winding roads to the east,

is a fine thing,

when one’s main purpose is

to get to a particular spot,

which inklings say,

must be reached at a certain time.

Long Valley Cafe, at this little junction,

that is part of an area

called Happy Jack

is a good spot, at which to

make sense of inklings.

So, my itinerary for tomorrow

is set.

After a Lumberjack Burger,

and time near the gas-powered stove,

I am headed to sacred land. SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

The Last Resort, and Ignorance

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 13, 2017 in children, Personal Values, Poetry, Striving

April 13, 2017, Prescott-

A boy kicked his “best friend”, in a fit of rage.

The “best friend” is a girl.

I told her to never, ever again

accept such behavior from any boy,

or man, or man-child.

She agreed, wholeheartedly,

and he is now short one friend.

People have no business,

settling their affairs with violence.

This is true for men vs. men,

women vs. women,

women vs. men,

adults vs. children.

Harm is always foul.

No person, on earth,

need pretend that business is usual,

even after having turned the other cheek.

Either issues are addressed,

and amends are made,

by the perpetrator,

or the perp goes on, alone.

Changes are made,

by the aggressor,

or the oaf does without.

I have never struck a girl,

or woman, least of all, in anger.

I own my mistakes, though,

and have left the person

whose feelings I hurt,

as alone as she has wanted.

My son was raised,

to never strike a girl,

or woman.

To that end, he has

remained a gentleman.

To that end,

I hold myself,

accountable.

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part XXIII: Great Lakes and Muddy Rivers

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 12, 2017 in Hiking and Nature, Historical, Travel

April 12, 2017, Prescott- Every major transportation route, from airlines to roads, seems to lead to Chicago, or at least within its magnetic sphere. For me, there is an added draw: The Baha’i House of Worship for North America, in Wilmette, north of the city. The House of Worship’s location, overlooking Lake Michigan, highlights the fascination I’ve long had, with the Great Lakes. I would frequently visit “the Temple”, regardless, but the lake is a draw, in itself. A few dips in its waters, as well as at Indiana Dunes and Fruitport, MI, have been a tonic, on a hot day. I have also been alongside Lake Erie, in Toledo, Cleveland and Erie, as well as Lake Superior, at Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The lakes are only part of what I have enjoyed about the east central region, between the Great Plains and the Atlantic Coast. Chicago, as problematic as its internecine battles have been, remains a majestic city. So, too, does St. Louis, especially with the Gateway Arch, and nearby Cahokia Mounds, highlighting the importance of the confluence of two great rivers. Speaking of which, Cairo, IL has a special place in my heart, marking the union of the Ohio and the Mississippi. I have prayed at Trail of Tears State Park, in Missouri and at Scioto Hills, Ohio, for the recognition that mankind is one, and that the Aboriginal nations feel vindicated of their long ago suffering. I have felt intensely welcomed in Des Moines , in Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, and Rolla (MO), Quincy (IL), Francesville (IN) and Fruitport (MI). Two of the best meals I’ve ever had, were in Dixon and in Vandalia (IL).

The Indigenous People of the riparian region may have irritated Abraham Lincoln, whose heritage I have honoured, in New Salem and Springfield (IL) and in Hodgenville, KY. There would, however, not be as rich an overall heritage, for the Midwest, were it not for Cahokia, Chillicothe (OH), Pipestone (MN) and the remaining nations that grace nearly every state in the East Central swath. Too bad that Honest Abe didn’t get to know the Native peoples better. It may have made a great difference in the fates of their descendants.

I have plenty of family in this vast region- in Avilla and Blue Springs, MO, plus Jeffersonville, IN. Friends abound here, as well, in northern Illinois, the Twin Cities, Wisconsin, several parts of Missouri, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, across Indiana, Little Rock, New Orleans, and eastern Alabama.

There remain many parts of the mid-section that pique my interest, from northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to bubbling, revitalizing cities, like Kansas City, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Detroit.

I will be back across, on the way to/from a family reunion, in mid-summer. It’ll be a fine thing to feel the water, and the warmth of Midwest welcomes.

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, No. XXII: Wonders of the Middle Realm

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 9, 2017 in Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Social, Travel

April 9, 2017, Prescott- Yesterday, I wrote of the western third of the contiguous United States, which is where I have spent most of my time, since 1992. Being from the East Coast, and preferring surface travel over flying, especially when the weather is good, I have developed an affinity for the regions which many call “flyover country”. The Great Plains and South Central regions may not have the jaw-dropping grandeur of the Mountain West or Alaska, but there is plenty worthy of spending one’s time.

The Rockies, of course, are the heart of the Mountain West. In many visits to the heights of Colorado, I have felt most at home in Longmont, Loveland and Denver, where I have family. Manitou Springs, Garden of the Gods and Seven Falls have helped make Colorado Springs another “feel at home” stopover. One of these years, I will find my way to the summit of Pikes Peak. Boulder, also, has welcomed me, several times, with wonders ranging from Pearl Street Mall, and Boulder Books, to Eldorado Canyon, which I hiked in the rain, whilst carrying an umbrella. The Tetons and Yellowstone invite me back, as well, with visions of geysers and Grizzlies.

As the Rockies recede into the Great Plains, I find Spirit Tower (forget the name, “Devil”), Medicine Wheel, the Badlands, Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak), Scott’s Bluff and the determination of the Indigenous People of the prairie as riveting as any great mountain or canyon. Little towns like Deadwood, Belvedere and Custer(overlook the name) (SD), Burlington, Granada and Walsenburg (CO), Wellington,Dodge City and Hays (KS) have been as welcoming as any place in the West. There is, to my mind, a goodly amount of sophistication and culture to be found in Omaha, Lincoln and Wichita, as well.

Friends in Amarillo and Enid (OK) have helped make those cities almost necessary pit stops, on any eastward trek that takes a southern route. Texas, like California, is a world unto itself. I was captivated by the warmth I felt, across the state, from the great cities of El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston to small communities- Grand Saline, South Padre Island, Laredo, Marfa, Sanderson, Quanah and Temple. There wasn’t much happening in Luckenbach, when I happened through there, but the locals were glad I came, anyway. Revelations abound, across the Lone Star State, from the view of the Rio Grande’s confluence with the Gulf of Mexico, to Pedernales Falls, northwest of San Antonio, or the wild canyons of the Llano Estacado and the Trans-Pecos region. My favourite museum section remains the Music Hall, at Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History, near the Texas State Capitol (itself an extraordinary edifice). Then, there are the five missions in San Antonio- a very full day of discovery!

Oklahoma has no end of variety, but I will content myself with sending kudos to Lake Texoma and Lake of the Cherokees, Black Mesa(the state’s highest point, at its juncture with New Mexico and Colorado), Tonkawa and its monument to Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perce, and the heartfelt, humbling memorial to the victims of Oklahoma City’s tragic bombing, in 1995. Oklahoma City remains the only place where I have been mistaken for a county employee- being invited to an employee barbecue, as I walked by, on the way to the Memorial.

I will continue to skip the temptation to fly over, as long as the weather is not too harsh.

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part XXI: Near and Far

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 8, 2017 in Community, Hiking and Nature, Social, Spiritual, Travel

April 8, 2017, Prescott-

I went to the Farmers’ Market, this morning, and attended a Red Cross Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. Then, I went back to Home Base and cleared the first of nineteen sections of a weed-filled back yard. I am old school, when it comes to such things. Herbicide and gasoline-operated weed whackers don’t appeal to me. Pulling weeds up by the roots is tedious, but it has no side effects. I also won’t wreck the beautiful tulips that are gracing the yard.

I chose to stay in, this evening, just for the sake of it. In the process, I find myself wanting to note the things that are dear to my heart about each region of the United States- at least the contiguous area, with which I am most familiar.

So, I love the Southwest for its lush deserts, its canyons and their limitless surprises, mountains that rise like sky islands, the wildlife that seems so furtive and yet so likely to pop out of hiding, at a moment’s notice. Its superlatives are the Grand Canyon, Nevada’s Valley of Fire and Cathedral Gorge, Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon and Kartchner Caverns. Its most sublime surprises are Canyon de Chelly, Slide Rock, Thumb Butte, Picacho Peak, Quitobaquito, White Sands and Great Sand Dunes. The revelations are the best of all: Superior, AZ; Mancos, CO; Pioche, NV; Truth or Consequences and Chama, NM; Loa, UT. Prescott will always feel like home, and so will Tucson, Flagstaff, Hopi, Dinetah, Reno-Carson City, the Front Range and Superior.

California is in several classes by itself. The sunny (until this year) south; the interchangeable mountains and deserts of the east; the intense vegetation of the north. It has been a home away from Home Base, for as long as I’ve lived in Arizona. Its superlatives are Yosemite, Mount Shasta, the Coastal Redwoods, frenetic Los Angeles and exquisite San Francisco. San Diego and Julian will always be welcoming, family places. Coastal Orange County, Palos Verdes, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Point Reyes and Mount Lassen define inspirational. There is no such thing as a boring Spanish colonial mission. Revelatory, to me, are little towns like Banning, Brawley, Ojai, Willits, Lomita, Woodfords and Yreka.

The Pacific Northwest defines majesty. Nothing outdoes the Olympic Peninsula, the Oregon Coast, Rogue River Gorge, the North Cascades or the canyons carved by the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Portland and Seattle exude creativity and cultural diversity. The islands of Puget Sound and the Straits abound with familial small communities: Anacortes and Friday Harbor stand out, in my memory. Wenatchee, Toppenish, Leavenworth, Spokane, The Dalles, Bend, Culver, Ashland, Pullman, Lewiston and Moscow all took me under their wings, and remain every bit blessed in my heart. The most surprising scenes were at Smith Rock, at the bridge outside Culver, at the alkaline lake for which Lakeview is named, on the boulder strewn beaches at Bandon and Kalaloch.

I am rambling, so there will be parts two and three to this elegy.