Tag Archives: Mount Greylock

The Road to Diamond, Day 244: Exchange vs. Relational

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 30, 2025- One morning in late May, 1975, I awoke at a camp site, in Mount Greylock State Reservation, centered on Massachusetts’ highest peak. After getting myself together, I walked down to a spot where several teenagers were chatting, they having camped after their senior prom. After a fashion, I was asked why I wasn’t more friendly. I had no real answer at the time, other than “I just haven’t had my coffee yet”. (Cue the eye rolls). It did set me to thinking, though, as to just how important other people were to me, at that stage in my life. Gradually, over the past 50 years, being congenial has assumed importance to me at some times more than at others.

This afternoon, I came across an article about the range of interactions between customers and workers, at grocery stores and restaurants. Some, in both roles, are geared more towards an exchange mindset-more focused on getting the business done. Others are more relational, in their interactions. They enjoy small talk, visiting, hobnobbing-just getting to know people better.

I could say that I am somewhere in the middle of that continuum. There is, though, more of a foundation of being relational in my interactions. Everyone, it seems, appreciates being asked how their day is going and to be wished well, at the close of the interaction, no matter how cut and dried a business exchange it is. Some lonely people need more time, and it can be hard to ease one’s way loose, when there is pressing business at hand. I have managed the tightrope act fairly well, especially in the past twenty years.

Penny taught me the skill of deferred attention, i.e. “Hold that thought, while I take care of this other matter” or “Let me get back to you on that.” It has reaped dividends over the years, and yes, I do get back to people-even if it takes a week or two. Sometimes, they are surprised when I do get back to them, as it may have slipped their busy minds as well-but the continuation, or the closure, is much appreciated.

The truth seems to be that, even in business, a purely exchange-oriented stance will not reap long-term benefits. Elon Musk’s comment that “Empathy is a weakness of Western society” does not augur well for continued success in living. One can’t be tethered to other people’s private lives, but neither can one be totally unmoored.

I rather enjoy both the pleasure of many friends’ company and the satisfaction of accomplishing honest deeds, both of commerce and of service.

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.