Tag Archives: Canada

The Road to Diamond, Day 275: Reading the Road

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 30, 2025- Waiting until the row of traffic, in the lane I was about to enter, had cleared, I then pulled onto the road. Lo and behold, I heard a horn blare, from a few cars back and to the left. It was from someone honking and yelling at the pick-up driver who had moved into the “empty” lane and who was now having to brake, because of yours truly. Nothing further happened, we all went on our merry ways, but it goes to show, one never can be too careful.

I have learned to “read the road” quite well, and often will wait until the light up the road turns red, before going onto AZ 69, which many drivers treat as their personal race track. It seems there are many such roads, across the country, and even across the continent. (Canada has its share of oblivious motorists and the lands south of the border are even more chaotic, in many places.) Across the Pacific, I don’t think I’d want to drive in the Philippines, mostly due to the many motorcyclists who dart in and out, everywhere. I have learned to read the road there, too, as in many spots, there are no crosswalks and one must inch forward to cross a road, when traffic slows just a bit.

My father thought I was a bit too cautious, when I first learned to drive. There was a reason: I was more of a menace, with a short attention span and tendency to daydream. It took a few months to learn to focus, and I did manage to go nearly 48 years without an accident. There have been a few rough patches, since 2014, for different reasons- Sabotage, an overzealous driver zipping over a blind hill and a driver on medication who fell asleep. The first two saw me get cited for “partial culpability”, which is more a statutory requirement than actual proof of wrongdoing.

Nonetheless, I am determined to get through the next week or so without any mishaps. For seven weeks thereafter, my mode of transport will be the airplane, the train, the bus and a friend’s vehicle. Reading the road will be more as a pedestrian, in the countries I will find myself. Tonight, though, was a caution-there is never a break from driving defensively.

Eastbound and Back, Day 5: Adventures in a State of Flux

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

May 3, 2024, Shelburne Falls, MA- Three of us wound up and down the curves and dips of State Highway 2, going along the slopes of Mount Greylock, this state’s highest peak, and its neighbouring ridges. I once hiked up the mountain, and camped there overnight, waking to the cheerful sound of four prom-goers, on the morning after their big event. The kids from nearby Poesten Kill, NY, were curious about my experiences-the girls wondering why I was up there alone. Why was I shy? Where was my girfriend? (I had no one in my life, at that moment, in 1975.) Such is the exuberance of people in the bubble of one of the finest times in anyone’s life: The senior year of high school.

The lead vehicle’s driver chose to keep us other two drivers set at 25-40 mph, fine for the bulk of the drive’s curves and double-yellow lines, at least for me. The guy in the middle, though, had enough of the double yellow, and of the lead driver’s caution, and so pulled out and around, double yellow be durned. It was not his time to go, fortunately, and since it definitely was not my time, either, I stayed behind the lead driver-until I came upon Red Rose Motel, here in this lovely little village, in the Berkshires, north of Amherst. By this time, another antsy driver was behind me, following a tad too close, but as luck would have it, there was a large pull-off area, half a mile further, where I was able to ditch the tailgater, and make a U-turn, getting back to this quiet haven.

My principle concern, for the past week, has been the state of my mother’s health. She is stable, mind you, and will hopefully be in good spirits, when at least two of her four children are in her room, tomorrow afternoon, and a good part of Sunday. What happens next week will depend entirely on what I find, when I get to her side. There is, at present, a Plan A, largely already scheduled, that will take me up through Maine and New Brunswick, to the Eskasoni area of Cape Breton and on to Newfoundland/St. Pierre & Miquelon, for two weeks or so, but we’ll see what lies in store.

Today was a rather quiet drive, lovely but uneventful. It was an introduction to the windingness of the upper Susquehanna, from Lock Haven, PA to the Chemung region of New York’s Southern Tier. There is much beauty on both sides of the bi-state area, but as I have hinted earlier, this is not a photo-intensive experience, unless and until I get up to Canada. There were few stops today. After leaving the Motel 6, in Clarion, a small snack stop at a Sheetz, in Mansfield, PA and a couple of rest areas along the Southern Tier were my only breaks. Plaza Diner, a pleasant little establishment, on the east side of Oneonta, was my dinner break-with two tasty, ample crab cakes and a full plate from the salad bar, accompanied by creamy but nondescript macaroni and cheese. The place was convivial, and I would stop there again, if I find myself in Oneonta. Albany and Troy, further along were both bustling and lively, on the Friday night, but I kept going. It seems that, with colleges and universities prepping for graduation, there was no room at the inns. (Once I got here, to Red Rose, my host, Aldo, said it was like that all over Amherst, as well. I got a nice room, at a discounted rate, so no matter.)

It will be good to be back with family for a bit, no matter the circumstances. Mother has raised and treated us well.

The Fire This Time

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, impediments, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 20, 2022, Bullhead City- Someone I know, an hour south of here, suffered second-degree burns from a misfiring gas-powered grill. A bit sore, but being tough as nails, the friend told me of how a neighbour with training in such matters got the blaze under control and treated his wounds.

Once I had ascertained that he was not suffering from any aftershock, we talked for a while about Ukraine/Russia. If that powder keg goes off, it could go in any direction. I’ve been told by others to keep my mouth shut about the matter, that it is partisan politics and not the business of anyone who is sincere about world peace.

I beg to differ. This is one planet, one human race. Those who cherry pick which group of people to support, and whom to ignore, are flying a false flag. While it is ultimately up to forces beyond our understanding and control, as to what transpires in eastern Europe, and in east Asia, for that matter, we turn a blind eye to human suffering at our own peril.

“And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”- Mark 12:32

It is perhaps ironic, maybe fortuitous, or just serendipitous, that two of the areas I have been told by my spirit guides to visit this year, Canada and east central Europe, are experiencing winds of turmoil. I know, I know, it has nothing to do with little old me. It may be that the latter area will be off limits to anyone without portfolio, in the months ahead. It may also be that, in some yet unknown way this October, I will end up in western Poland, looking over the area where my maternal grandfather’s forebears lived, before their emigration and that I will locate a friend in Croatia, whom I’ve known online since the mid-2000s. It also could be that no one is going anywhere. I leave it all to the Higher Power.

One thing remains, though: The fire this time, with apologies to the great James Baldwin, will require all of us to extinguish it.

So Onward It Is

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 1, 2022- We received our first, and possibly only snow of this new month, right about the time that the Boot dropped and the fireworks went off. It was also the time that I called it a night, as well as a year.

Prescott, January 1, 2022

People have been wishing for 2022 to arrive since a) the inauguration of President Biden; b) the Delta variant started worming its way around; c) New Year’s Day of 2020. I personally adopted the time-honoured practice of taking one day at a time-back in 2002, when Penny first began showing real signs of decline. I have seen no reason to change that practice, since. Still, life does require some sort of planning.

So, today prompted me to think, first, about this day-which has ended up being largely a restful Saturday, aside from going to Farmers’ Market and helping scrape some of the ice off the asphalt in front of a good friend’s stall, and picking up a few items-including a beeswax candle. Then came a stop at Peregrine Books, for a journal, wall calendar and a copy of Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s “The City of Mist”. The laundromat was closed, so that’s put off until tomorrow, as is the carwash.

Then, I thought about this month. Visiting with Baha’i friends in western and southern Arizona will take up the second and fifth weekends. There are commitments here at Home Base, the third and fourth weekends. Work? I will choose my assignments carefully. After this past week’s fires in Colorado, I am also leaving myself open to Red Cross activity.

February looks quiet, right now. March will find me hopping on a train, a bus or some combination of the two-plus spot car rentals, and visiting family and friends in the Southeast, particularly Georgia and Florida. April and May will be a bit less frenetic, though visits to southern California Nevada are likely during that time. June and the first part of July will see a train trip up the West Coast, to several places in Canada and back across the U.S. The rest of July, August and September are open, and will be quiet, unless duty calls. October hopefully means Europe (Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Croatia, Bosnia, Germany and France-with a bit of Scotland possible). November and December will also be open. All of this depends on God being willing and the creek staying in its bed. After all, the last two journeys have been postponed twice. The postponements are probably a good thing. We Baha’is have received important guidance on the nine year spiritual plan that will certainly determine the basis for many, if not most, of my activities going forward. A spiritual element is present, whether I am at Home Base or going about the wider world. It is not, as someone once remarked, a simple matter of “going about here and there, taking photographs”. God knows, I could rent a drone to do that.

Having covered the “What” and “Where”, it’s time for the “Why”. Basically, I thrive on both connections with people-and on those connections being both virtual and real time. Rudimentary networks were established in 2014 and 2015, which I want to strengthen-along with making new connections, this year and in the four years to follow. This is how, to my mind and heart, the planet may be unified- with my doing a small but worthwhile part.

Happy 2022, and as another friend said yesterday, it’ll be a year-no promises, either way. We just set our courses and do our level best.

Harvest Day

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Posted by on in Community, Inspiration, Poetry, Social

October 10, 2016, Chula Vista-

All Canada offers thanks,

for a successful harvest.

Canadian Thanksgiving

is a true celebration

of the farmers’ fruition.

It has ever been a rejoinder

to the Columbus Day tradition.

First Nations people, across the nation

would gather to honour the Holy People

and the Creator,

for all that was given them

to stave off deprivation.

The Europeans across the north,

tried to snuff out many traditions,

in the name of “civilization”.

What they meant by “civilized’ were things like

private property, walls, fences and speaking

one of two European languages.

Harvest, and sharing, made the cut, though.

Love is one thing, no one can long disparage.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

 

The Road to 65, Mile 161: Weather

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature

May 8, 2015, Prescott- We had the odd experience here today, of being colder than parts of Canada.  Snow swirled here, outside the classroom window, for about twenty minutes, and stuck on the ground, in the surrounding mountains.  It’s supposed to be twenty degrees warmer by Monday, so the moisture will be useful in staving off wildfires- at least for a month or so.  It was also gratifying to see that the mountains of southern California also got precipitation.

It will be an unusual May, in this regard.  I am quite sure we will see more rain, between now and Memorial Day.  It remains to be seen what this means for our “monsoon” cycle, though I’d be happy to see it be wetter than normal as well.

Weather has been weird, worldwide, and for several years now.  Some blame carbon dioxide, and I’m certain that excess gas emissions of all kinds, from CO2 to methane, don’t help.  There is also the shifting of the Earth’s magnetic poles, which I am convinced is happening, little by little, so that by the time my yet-potential grandchildren are seniors, say, in 2080, they will be in a rather different world.

It seems already happening, though.  Another friend mentioned that the populace of Maldives are fleeing their island homeland, in droves.  People in Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are eyeing property in more spacious, less-threatened places, like Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.  The shifting may be affecting the world’s fault lines, thus adding to the dynamic stress that brings about earthquakes-great and slight.

We are surely in for more excitement than some would like, and can expect feast and famine, precipitation-wise, to alternate, with more volatility than the New York Stock Exchange, over the next half century.  Don’t put away the longjohns, or the summer wear.  Get used to layering; it’s the new normal.