Tag Archives: Nissan

Interruption

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Posted by on in Assistance, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

July 10, 2016, Newtown, CT-  In my subsequent posts, I will be doing a bit of time-reversal, focusing on stories of my journey, from last week.  Today, though, I found myself in the predicament of having to put my Nissan in the shop, here in this town that is associated with tragedy.  The engine was smoking, the radiator might have sprung a leak or two, and the coolant overflow tank definitely needs replacing.  I will deal with these things.  It may take two or three days, but I will handle it.

In the meantime, I will be in a hotel room, in nearby Bethel.  This will give me plenty of time to read and write.  I will reflect on the fact that, just three days ago, a mechanic at a Nissan dealership, in a town about 50 miles from here,  replaced the front exhaust pipe, which he said was clogged, with no mention of a radiator problem, or an oil leak. I will converse with one of my closest friends, about whatever cash flow system can be set up, to streamline the payment part of this whole process.  I will write about the things I’ve seen and people whose company I have enjoyed, up to this point.  I will catch up on my reading.

All the while, I will reflect on the lives of the 26 people who paid the ultimate sacrifice, four years ago, this December.  I might lose a car, and have to get another one, but it is a machine.  Most of those who died at Sandy Hook Elementary were just starting out in life.  Being actually killed was the furthest thing from their minds.  That is no longer the case, for many children and their loving adults- both familial and pedagogical.  They look over their shoulders, literally and figuratively, every day.

Ironically, I was going to stop at Sandy Hook, and pay my respects, after gassing up at the  Mobil station, in Newtown.  The consensus, while I was waiting for the tow truck, was that Nissan wasn’t going anywhere.  I, on the other hand, will go where this turn of events takes us;  Me, the car or its replacement, and any who appear in the meantime.

Giving Tuesday

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Posted by on in Assistance, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

December 1, 2015, Chino Valley-  I received exactly 156 requests for money today.  Mot of them were online.  I gave modest amounts to three charities.  That the Solicitation Industry is alive and well is more than a cliche.  Need is great, and I have to figure out a meaningful way to help some destitute friends, yet, before the month gets too old.  Said friends are across the country, and anything I do for them will only be a token, but so be it.

There have been times when I looked homelessness and extreme cold in the face, and got through it, with help from both stranger and friend, as well as through my own resources.  Institutionalized help does do a lot of good, but there is always the Administrative factor, which includes salaries for the staff.  I would strongly advise http://www.charitynavigator.org, in that regard.

It has been quite cold here, the past three days, and my Nissan complained mightily this evening, before starting up and getting me to a friend’s house, for a short visit.  Yes, my car could take a considerable chunk of my resources, yet.  That is something we all have faced, from time to time.  I may have to get an old blanket to put over the engine at night, on days to come, just as my father did a few times, in the New England Decembers and Januaries of old.

Thus has the final month of 2015, and my first full month of 65, begun.

The Road to 65, Mile 211: Reno Is For Reality Checks

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Posted by on in Social

June 27, 2015, Reno- I had breakfast at Kopper Kettle, then left Susanville, headed for my mid-journey anchor.  In Reno, I would do things like see how my car was holding up, assess the state of my clean clothing supply and share my Alaska, British Columbia and Pacific Northwest stories with people who would actually listen for more than three minutes.

Truth told, I have people I consider family (both spiritual and biological) in many parts of the world:  Massachusetts, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Atlanta, northwest Florida, Alabama, various parts of Texas, eastern Kentucky, southern Indiana, northern Illinois, northwest Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, all over Arizona, southern California, western Oregon, southeast Alaska, France, Luxembourg, Luzon, South Korea, somewhere in Canada, and Reno.

That this could keep me in perpetual motion is plausible;  that the list will grow, is probable, but I digress.  I got in to the parking lot of the apartment complex, where the matriarch of my Reno family lives.  I checked the oil dip stick on my Nissan, after giving it a two-hour rest:  Nothing.  NOTHING?? How long, with no oil light flashing on the dash?  The consensus was:  The temperature gauge was normal, no smoke was coming out of the tailpipe and no clanging, shaking and banging were being vocalized by the engine, so lucky Nissan, lucky me.  Jiffy Lube, in Reno, opens at 9 A.M. on Sunday, so the rest of today could be, and was, spent doing things like sipping artisan iced tea at the Starbucks that lives in the House that Barnes & Noble built, whilst listening to my spiritual nephew speculate as to the possible virtues of a Hillary Presidency, and enjoy a 3:30 PM dinner, at Black Bear Diner.  The day was well-capped by three of us going to see “Inside/Out” at a nearby multiplex.  Given the heat, anything inside was best for my Reno family.  I am almost impervious to heat; but most are not.

“Inside/Out” is, essentially, the depiction of a young child’s emotions, as she struggles with a move that was generated by her father’s quest for the Golden Egg.  It is a fascinating take on the topic, and ought to be seen by every parent- and prospective parent.  Too often, a child is expected to take one for the team.  I know we moved far too often for my long-suffering son.  He is a treasure, nonetheless, and handles life’s vicissitudes quite well, I’d say.

After the film, I was gratified to see that it was still light out, yet cooling off enough to briefly enjoy some fresh air.  Then, another breath of fresh air showed up:  Spiritual grand-niece.

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There is no end to the joy this little one brings into a room, and into a heart.

The Road to 65, Mile 172: Scattered Forces Get Magnetized

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

May 19, 2015, Chino Valley- I had an uneventful drive to/ from Chino, today, in a rented Ford Focus.  My Nissan, which will shortly be my vehicle on a Pacific Northwest sojourn, was repaired this afternoon, in short order.  The electrical mechanic had no trouble putting in a new alternator pulley- which is crucial to proper charging of any motor vehicle.  While he was working on it, he found a rather expensive hand tool, which belongs to my regular auto maintenance person.  I, in turn, found a voided photo ID from Michigan, for a chauffeur, in the rental car.

A lot of little things thus came together.  It’s amazing how unity of thought and purpose can resolve many, seemingly unconnected matters.  The rental agency placed the photo ID in a file; the mechanic to whom the tool belonged was ecstatic at getting it back and the owner of the Nissan (me) feels affirmed in my placing trust in a total stranger, who is now a preferred vendor.

I am a bit concerned about three boys in one family, at the school where I worked today and will work tomorrow.  All three were in and out of trouble today, which hasn’t happened all that often.  Another friend has to chronically face her four sons getting ill, simultaneously and with great flourish.  The energy needed to keep a family functioning together, is indeed a thing of wonder.

Scattered forces can come together, for both good and ill.  As I learn more about quantum mechanics, I see how positive forces need to be brought in focus, to avoid harm and despair.  A commenter on another site bemoaned the “lack of anguish” in today’s religious gatherings.  I believe such hand-wringing shows a dearth of understanding.  Christ told us not to despair, but to work hard at relieving the misery of the sick and the poor.  Baha’u’llah wrote:  “Wert thou to scan the pages of the Book of Life, thou wouldst, most certainly, discover that which would dissipate thy sorrows and dissolve thine anguish.” – “Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 133.

The Road to 65, Mile 171: Alternators

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

May 18, 2015, Prescott- My Nissan has a slight headache.  It turns out that the issue is a defective pulley that helps drive the car’s alternator.  The new pulley will arrive tomorrow noon, at our area’s only auto electric shop. Then I will have my car back, in time for a Pacific Northwest sojourn.

The devices that keep a car running smoothly, and help the battery maintain consistent current, are impressive and solid little boxes, full of brushes, wires and bearings.  The devices that keep us on track are also solid, yet are not always box-like in nature.  Brushes, wires and bearings, of a sort, are in our brains, and in our minds.  The brushes are the cleansings we do each day, in the face of new information and insights.  The wires are our connections, from one part of the brain to another, and from one part of our life to the next.  The bearings are the abilities we have, which keep us flexible, and allow our adaptation to change to go smoothly.  We must keep them lubricated, with an open mind and loving heart.

It is the view of some, that Mechanism will be the lord of the future world.  Mankind, in the view of extreme roboticists, will simply have no purpose.  I disagree. The semi-human beings seen in the Terminator and Avengers movie series each claim to be Pro-Life.  That, to me, means maintaining, lubricating and refining our working parts.  This, only the flexible intelligence that is human will be able to do, ever.

The Road to 65, Mile 136: The Last Such Gift

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

April 13, 2015, Prescott-   I completed my online Defensive Driving class, this evening.  Then, I went over to the Tow Lot and retrieved the license plate to the defunct KIA.  A round of machine work and deep heat massage at Planet Fitness completed the ritual.  I am back into the routine.

The loss of my 2007 KIA Optima marks the end of my direct, day-to-day connection with Penny’s side of the family.  The house has given way to the apartment, and the KIA to the Nissan.  Penny will never give way to anyone.  If I enter into another relationship, it will parallel my now spiritual tie to the most effervescent, heart-centered soul I have ever known.  She has guided me into friendships with other women, and I’m sure this process will continue.  The central bond is always there, by the Grace of God.

The last gift I received from her, in the tangible sense, was an investment, the core of which I will guard and do what I can to help grow.  It is this which has helped me, in turn, show responsibility and pay various homages to both her father and to those who came long before us, both here in North America and on the continent of Europe.  It is this which helped me honour our son, on his return voyage from Hawai’i to California.

The last gift from the Light of my life is generating seeds of its own.