Colorful Links…...

Dave keeps saying we need to purchase a new refrigerator. The one we have came with the house and must be at least twenty years old. I'm sure he's right when he says it's not efficient and we'd save money in the long run on electric bills. And I absolutely hate the fact that it is a side-by-side with a narrow freezer. It's so hard to fit real food in there!

But still…it's my gallery of memories. I'm a "throw-back" and still enjoy my refrigerator magnets. The ones we all seemed to have years ago when our kids were little and posting their latest school art work was just part of the decor. Now my magnets remind me of places we've been and hold up a few precious photographs….family members smiling at me as I open the refrigerator door.

My travel souvenirs are refrigerator magnets reminding me of Paris, New Mexico, buffalo herds in Yellowstone National Park, a trip to New Orleans, Williamsburg, Glacier National Park, snorkeling in Bonair, visiting Disney World, Seattle, Akumal Mexico, Maine, South Dakota, walking through New York City. Our trip to Bruges in Belgium, our time with the kids in Jackson Hole, our Alaska cruise and exploring Ireland with good friends. Every time I turn toward the refrigerator I'm reminded of just how fortunate I am to be able to have these memories of such good times and beautiful places.

I also like to buy the magnets that share quotes like: "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." (A.A. Milne) or "It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years!" (Abe Lincoln) or "It is never too late to be what you might have been." (George Eliot) or "I understand the concepts of cooking and cleaning. Just not how they apply to me." (Anonymous!)

And two of my favorites: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Unknown) This one so perfectly captures our feelings as we decided to sell everything and live on our sailboat for two years - we didn't want to look back and say "I wish we'd done that!" Now we look back and say "I'm SO glad we did that!"

And on days I'm feeling a little down, I do take my cup of coffee, stand in front of the refrigerator and read the Apache blessing: "May the sun bring you new energy by day. May the moon softly restore you by night. May the rain wash away your worries. May the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life."

So I guess I'll keep my old refrigerator for awhile longer - it's just a colorful part of my kitchen - part of my every-day-life and it does make me smile whenever I look at it.

Troublesome Territory

Dave and I are enjoying retirement. Our little RV gives us the chance to hit the road and explore some of the places we've always wanted to see. Our first adventures took us west to National Parks and through some beautiful scenic places. We've been up to South Dakota and this winter down to Texas and New Mexico trying to escape the 2014 Polar Vortex.

Each time we go, we are drawn into American history and the tales of western expansion - and of Native American displacement. Some of the places we've visited leave a bittersweet taste in my mouth or a little bit of an ache in my heart. It's long-ago history, but as I visit the places that used to "belong" to our Native American neighbors some of what I see/read/learn does bother me and sticks in my mind.

In 2013 we visited the wonderful Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. The artwork, relics and collection were amazing. One wall shared quotes from famous Native American Chiefs - and the one that hit me the hardest was (I think) from Chief Joseph saying "The White Man made many promises to the Indian and kept only one: we will take your land." Then this year I found this amazing painting at an art museum in Santa Fe entitled "Safe in Her Own Land"…. and as I gazed at the image I remember thinking, "Not so much…..she wasn't safe".

The little I know about Native Americans and their views on land ownership seems to show that they had a different view - no one "owned" the land. They used it with gratitude, moving with the seasons and gathering it's bounty….they lived with the land. They had done so successfully for hundreds if not thousands of years before our European ancestors came charging in claiming "Manifest Destiny".  I'm not saying Native American customs were perfect and didn't include wars and land-grabs, but their societies were well established and cultures deep rooted in the land where they lived and had been working for them for generations. Conquering white men had no respect for this, few tried to understand or build bridges between the old and the new…..our forefathers saw it as their right to take the land, and they did….from sea to shining sea.

Then, while traveling home earlier this month, we drove through Oklahoma. We were on the highway and it was too early in the almost-spring for trees to be in leaf, but grass was greening. I expected Oklahoma to be flat and un-interesting, but the land stretching out north and south of the highway was beautiful. Rolling hills, open plains, then trees, some ravines and rivers to cross. But then I began to notice signs along the highway that really began to bother me. We'd pass a sign saying something like "Entering Citizen Cherokee Territory"….and a few miles later "Leaving Citizen Cherokee Territory".  The next one might be "Entering Citizen Shawnee Territory"….and then leaving. This went on and on - every few miles it seemed. Ottowa, Kickapoo, Pawnee. It turns out my guidebook states "With 39 tribes headquartered in Oklahoma and their native heritage on display throughout the state, 'okla-homma' (which means 'red people' in Choctaw) remains true to its name."

Just how did 39 tribes get to be "headquartered" here? Tribes from all over America were forced to leave their homes and move to what would one day become Oklahoma. Never mind their traditions, never mind that the land here did not support their customary ways of living…. never mind.

It just bothers me…. just a personal opinion…..but it still bothers me.

A Little Reconnection

It's funny how paths cross and then sometimes "re-cross" years later. Unexpected events bring people into your lives, then they drift out and may come back into it years later.

Growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois I had two very special friends that I met in junior high school and continued to pal around with during high school. Karen, Barb and I lived close enough to walk to each other's houses, sharing interests and free time. After graduation we all went to different colleges - I went off to a small school in Wisconsin….one went to a small school in Minnesota and the other to a small school in Missouri. (Maybe the small school selections were partly a result of attending a high school with 4,000 students!)

We saw each other once in awhile over summer vacations during the college years, but drifted apart. Marriage, family, careers, moves…... our friendships faded into memory.

Facebook re-connected us.  Friend number one responded when I publicized the fact that my mother's house in Park Ridge was for sale. Barb came to an open house with her son and daughter-in-law and they ended up purchasing it! So I re-connected with her through this process and saw her for the first time at my mom's house for a walk-through. How odd - and how pleased my mom would have been - she always had a soft spot in her heart for this high school pal.

And, after more than forty-six years I just saw my second long-lost friend….stopping at Karen's to  visit with her on our way back from a trip to the Southwest. She and her husband live in St. Louis so we ended up spending one night with them. We parked our RV in front of her house, she walked out the door and we hugged on the sidewalk - smiles all around. Memories came back, laughter and conversation. It really was fun.

We'll never be as close as we were during those teen-age years but the goal now is for all three of us to get together for lunch somewhere around Chicago. Drifting back…..closing a gap…..remembering and sharing. Some of the best parts of any friendship. I look forward to  future lunch!

A Not-So-Terrific-Book…but…..

I just finished reading a spy novel….not sure I should give the title or credit the author because frankly it wasn't that good a read. But once I got into it I just figured I would finish. Can't say I would recommend it. Written in 2007, the author has several others in this genre.

Set in the Middle East there were a few paragraphs that made me stop and think. So I will share those.

"Indeed, America has a grand record of knocking over other nations, even if our history of installing lasting new regimes is a bit checkered. Plus, I suppose it's hard these days to find a great power willing to kick a little butt for a righteous cause. The Europeans have been there, done that; they have lost their appetite, if not their flair, for foreign empires, intrigues and escapades that often turn out badly. As for the Russians and Chinese, they lack charitable impulses. They liberate like the mob lends money; the vig sucks. But American's are a generous if slightly naive people, with a distinct messianic bent and the animating conviction that what works for us must work equally well for others. We are the New World, they are the Old; new is always better. Right?"

And: "Like every society, ours is a confounding mixture of rich and poor, of haves and haveth-nots. And yet, I think,what makes us different from most is that here the poor can become rich, and the rich can become stinkingly rich or blow it all and end up cleaning all those swimming pools. This, I think, accounts for why we have so far limited ourselves to one revolution. Yet I also think we take for granted that because America has survived for over two hundred years, it will last another two hundred, ad infinitum. But the foundation is not as sturdy or impervious to harm as we once assumed, as nineteen homicidal maniacs showed us on September 11."

And lastly: "One way to win an insurgency is to melt into the environment and culture - to go native - and beat the locals at their own game. This, of course, just has never been the American way. We rearrange the culture and environment to suit us."

The fact that this novel was written seven years ago, set in Iraq and detailing supposedly "key" players in the American and Middle East during that war just ended up seeming so ironic to me. Here we are seven years later - still stuck in a mess in several countries with cultures so different than ours…watching new events play out in the Ukraine.  Trying to figure out the best way "out", how to inspire change…."win" hearts and minds.

Doesn't seem to be working.

My Mother's Jacket

When my mother died a few years ago my sister and I spent time going through her things, keeping some, donating others. We organized her lovely home before selling it, boxed up her photographs, distributed some meaningful items to good friends and family. We did the kinds of things you do at an ending.

Going through her closet I came across her greenish jacket. It was an all-purpose sort of jacket with a hood and a zip-out lining. It was "water resistant" although not a true rain coat. I slipped it on and I liked it. So it went home with me.

Since then this jacket visited Ireland with me, traveled to Alaska, spent a Thanksgiving holiday in New Hampshire with family and friends, and traveled in our little RV on two western adventures. It's the one I use when I walk the dog, go to the grocery store, run errands, attend book club or quilt guild. It's been to France and Belgium, from Chicago to Santa Fe, Seattle to Nashville.

The zipper is broken, so I just use the snaps. It's washable, warm enough except on the coldest of days and I just like to wear it. Every time I put it on it's sort of like a "hug" from my mom. She's no longer with me…..but her jacket is….and it is well-traveled.

Living with a City Dog

We have a Boston terrier and Fenway loves to go camping with us. The minute we start to load the RV for an adventure he is underfoot and shivering with excitement. He knows the special drawer in our small space where we keep his food, treats, toys, sweater and leash. He watches while we tuck the pillow onto "his" seat so he can sit and view the passing scenery.

During our five RV outings Fenway had the chance to bark at buffalo, chase a magpie, watch turkeys pass by "his" window, eagerly try to follow a prairie dog down into its den, smell all sorts of new smells and anoint thousands of trees from the UP to Texas, Iowa to Seattle, Colorado to Oklahoma....and other states along the way.

Traveling with Fenway makes it a bit more difficult. We don't go out to dinner as often, we spend less time in Museums (although he is perfectly fine waiting in the RV while we do people things). But it's also fun...we've met a lot of nice people who meet us because they want to meet him...and the occasional shop or gallery owner smiles and says "Sure.....bring him in!"

However, on this trip, we have learned that Fenway is just not a big fan of the Southwest. It seems his tender toes attract every burr in the vicinity whenever we try to take him for a walk. He comes to a dead stop, ears flat against his head until we examine each paw and pull out the offending prickle. Then he will slowly agree to continue walking....while avoiding all of that suspicious taller grass-stuff in the area.

So we come to the conclusion that Fenway Underfoot Tender Toes Woodard is a city dog. He likes his two mile Milwaukee walks on sidewalk, his soft green grass in his yard and at the field where he runs.

Yes....he likes to travel but we know he really loves the RV cause it's the only time he gets to sleep with us.

Something Sacred

There are moments in my life where I feel I've come face to face with the sacred. For me it's not usually in a church setting.....more often it is somewhere in the great outdoors.

Dave and I spent two years living on our sailboat, Connemara...cruising from the Chesapeake Bay to the Bahamas, then up to Maine, back down to Key West and finally ending our adventure back in the Chesapeake. There were times at anchor....by ourselves, quiet waters, huge blue sky or star filled nights when I felt a connection.....a spirit. An appreciation of how tiny I was in such an incredibly huge universe.

Today our morning in New Mexico provided a similar kind of experience. We drove northwest from Santa Fe to The Bandelier National Monument. Our guide book stated this was one of "New Mexico's most atmospheric sites." We simply chose it because there was a paved road all the way to the visitors' center, we could hike for a couple hours, see a lot of "stuff" and leave our dog in the car.

I was not prepared for the awe-inspiring experience waiting around the corner. The towering cliff sides, the color of the rocks, the hundreds of cave dwellings carved into the rocks, the community left behind by our ancient neighbors. As we walked the trail and climbed the ladders to peek inside the past it was so fascinating to imagine how the men and women and children lived their lives in this pueblo. They were one with their surroundings.....one with nature....one with their creator. They respected and honored this place......and I hope I have a small understanding of why and a huge respect for them and their story.