Trobuled times....

i've often said, growing up, we barely had a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.  not having much in  the way of material things in my formative years likely influenced my outlook on life. the election cycles since the reagan and bush eras seem to have become exponentially contentious. the events of last week were hard to watch. i was appalled that citizens of this great country would be so crass as to despoil the very seat of freedom in the name of usurping the results of the election. in my eyes the president was complicit in the events of that day.

i most often vote for the candidate on the republican ticket. it's not that i agree with everything the gop stands for, i'm more pro-choice than anti-abortion for instance.  it seems to me the gop has a more conservative fiscal approach .  for sure i don't identify with the something for nothing largesse of the democrats. had there been such a thing as a star program in my younger years, my family most surely would have qualified but certainly not because my folks were sitting on their butts with their hands out saying, 'take care of me'. the life of a sharecropper is hard. that's why every year there was a garden planted and hours spent tending it. picking and preserving the fruits of that labor against the coming winter months.

everything i have i earned. through a combination of hard work and fortunate happenstance; the wife and i are in a much better place than my parents ever found themselves.  

i would prefer to be judged on my character more than for any political affiliation. in these divisive times  both sides are wont to throw slings and arrows at the other.  society's collective state of mind is one of high anxiety. i wish i could sit both sides in the corner and tell them - "when you can play nice, you can come out, but not before." 

for the last four years the democrats have been in continuous attack mode.  from what i can see the next four years is likely to see the gop's turn -- and that's unfortunate. 

come on people- we're better than this. 

aio

are we spoiled, or what?

atmos changed out the gas meter in the alley yesterday.  abel installed a new meter that will be remotely read from who knows where. technology reared its' evil head and one more job description goes the way of the dinosaur.   in the process he discovered what i had suspected for a while, okay years,  that there's a gas leak in the supply pipe going in to the house.   when that happens the gas company puts a lock on the meter which will only be removed once the leak has been repaired.

i called to 1-800-plumber right away.  they promised someone would be out between 1 and 3. As good as their word, mykal and his compadre arrived at shortly after 1. in short order they had confirmed that indeed  the 40+ year old supply pipe had oxidized to the point it was leaking. After only two trips back to the shop for parts, the repair was complete.  of course, by that time it was late and no way would the city be able to come by to inspect their work and of course atmos could not turn the gas back on until the city did its thing.

that brings me to the point of this little rant. that is-- how extremely comfortable the life most of us here in the good old US of A are privileged to enjoy.

i've remarked before in this space about growing up on a dry land cotton farm in the 50's and 60's. we survived without benefit of central air and heating, without hot water at hand, without indoor plumbing. the only heat source came from the butane tank out in the yard.  in winter, my dad insisted that the space heater in the middle of the room had to be turned off.  there was a risk of being gassed if the flame went out i suppose but that little three roomed hovel we called home was far from airtight. if i'd have had a vote it would have been. "lets risk it".  without insulation in the walls or the attic, the temp in the room come morning was equal to that just beyond the walls. the same could be said for summer, but i digress.  every winter morning, i was awakened by my dad's yell, "hey, joe-- get up and light the fire".

last night the temp outside got down into the twenties. i had a fire in the fireplace, the electric oven on low with the door ajar and every light in the house on for the little heat they put out.  the temp in the house with the help of our new triple pane windows, the insulation in the walls behind the brick veneer and in the attic was a mild 65 degrees.  a little chill but nothing like the outside.

luckily the city got here to do their inspection first thing this morning. the repair passed and soon after atmos came back to turn the gas back on.

do i want to go back to the good old days? no thanks. but as they say, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'  i don't know about that.  what i do know is, i'm blessed.

aio

my daddy...

today marks what would have been my dad's 101st birthday.  he'll have been gone 36 years in the fall.  on occasion through the years I've paused to think on more than a few what ifs and if onlys.

What if the cancer hadn't taken him at age 65.  would he have continued to have the run of the T-bar ranch? would my kids have enjoyed hunting whatever was in season with him or fishing for perch and crappie in the stock tanks? if only, they might have a totally different perspective on life.

if only he'd lived long enough to see his still young grandchildren grow into young adulthood with life events yet to be revealed. if only he could have lived into a ripe old age and been able to witness all the milestone events that have come along since he passed.

if only, i'd be able to tell him, "happy birthday, daddy", one more time.

What if i just say it anyway. i miss you, dad. happy birthday.



 

My best intentions...

recently i learned a new member of the fam has written a book.  while it is still in the first draft stage, i cannot express how much that impresses me.  back in the day i read a lot of western themed novels by max brand and the lot.  i think  i've read every one of louis lamour's tales featuring jim chee and joe leaphorn as the central characters. i loved reading dana stabenow's series featuring kate shugak.  her descriptions of alaska and its frozen countryside chill me to the bone. her words paint the beauty of Alaska's native peoples and their history.

i got it in my head. after reading so many of these well crafted tales that i would try my hand at penning a story of my own. much to my chagrin, i'm here to tell you I barely got past the opening line.  a fully formed first paragraph never happened. no next great novel sprung from this feeble mind.

that brings me back to how much i admire j.m. and all those authors who've afforded me hours of escape over the years. you are my heroes and i'm more than a little envious.

A Farewell to Ellwood...

I'll never forget the day you found me.  You were sitting at the base of an old elm tree mewling at the top of your lung, "hey mister, look down here, I need some help".  You were dressed in your best mud coat, too grimy to tell much more than you were a kitten.  I picked you up and took you home.

It was never the intent to keep you.  Lucky and Lucy were already members of the family, surely someone else would love to have a cute little marmalade kitten.  But that's not the way it went, now is it?  The first mistake I made was picking you up in the first place, the second was naming you-- Ellwood, after the park you found me in.

It wasn't long until you'd wormed your way into our hearts just as Lucky and Lucy had done.  the two of them were equal opportunity lap hogs and not at all welcoming.  What had been two were now three.  Soon it became quite evident that you were to be a mama's boy.

That was years ago, 10 or 12, in some sense a long time but miles and miles of purrs and plaintive cries to go "out" have brought us to this day.  It's been some months since Lucy left us and an even shorter time since your surgery for the tumor in your mouth.

The day we dreaded, the day we knew was coming came today.  Right or not we opted not to do chemo.  Watching your decline has been hard. It's been tough to witness your struggle. Obviously you felt like s*** but through it all you soldiered on, demanding to be let outside to lay in the sun, monopolizing your mom's lap for hours on end, keeping on, but at a snails pace.

I've resisted the idea of  "putting you to sleep". I wasn't ready. Selfishly, I wanted just one more day with you in our lives. Last night when I saw you fall off the couch I knew the time was near. This morning when I saw you lose your balance and fall off the kitchen table, then struggle bravely to right yourself, I knew the day was today.  You've suffered enough, buddy.

Holding you in our lap in the vet clinic one last time, stroking your emaciated frame, feeling you push head into my touch, hearing you purr, in pleasure or pain- who knows-- that awful moment has arrived.  We had time for a last goodbye but truth be told we've been saying goodbye for weeks.  Still, it's a sad day for us. Your memory will be with us always.  We're gonna miss your Mr. Ellwood! Be at peace.  

long time no post...

we made a flying trip down O'Donnell way this past weekend.  my sister and cousin made the trip up from down south to check on our aunt lu,  the way i figure it, any time my sis is that close I should make the effort to meet her.  in truth, i've  been needing to get down there to check on lu for a while but needing to and going are 153 miles apart.

the deal is, we worry about our aunt who lives alone in a town whose population was 831 at the last census. that number dropped by 6 or 8 in the last two months. no grocery store, one café, one service station and an allsup's, a beauty shop, a few cotton gins (in season), the school store open for lunch and??-- you get the idea.  there's not much going on in little o-town.

her closest relative, another niece,  lives almost an hour away.  to her credit, she does check on lu often, at least by phone, but face to face response to a crisis is gonna take time. we've provided a life alert but, personally, I have my doubts as to whether she would actually push the button if the need arose.  she locked herself out of the house this past summer for four hours in 90+ degree heat.  did she push the button to at least ask if it was something they could help with?  that would be a-- NO!!

we've been after her for years to make a move somewhere--  anywhere.  a number of options have been met with the same response. "i'm not ready".   i get how hard it is to contemplate giving up ones home of umpteen years, of surrendering ones independence.  but is she really independent?  not so much, having to depend on friends to take her to the grocery store, etc.  stubborn, does not even begin to describe her.

i truly believe lu's current situation is a disaster waiting to happen. but what can we, her nieces and nephews, do?  when it was my mom in a similar situation, i simply gave her no choice.  we made a move.  she didn't like it at first but it was the right thing for her well being and her last years were happy.

i don't see an ultimatum as an option with lu.    surely she knows we love her but as it is telling her she has to do anything is not gonna happen.  thinking of her in her current situation is more than worrisome.  what can we do short of calling adult protective services--  which, i'm a bit ashamed to say, is a thought that has crossed my mind.

waiting for her to make up her mind or for the phone call to tell me it's too late is torture.

In honor of Eddie Melin...

For a time our daughter worked in the ASO offices. She, as were most of the folks who've been associated with the symphony over the years or who knew Eddie Melin through some other connection, was especially fond of him.  He would often come into the office after one of his tennis sessions and continued even after he was forced to give up the game he loved.  K would greet him, "Eddie, baby!" and he in return would greet her, "K****, baby!"

K was deeply saddened when she learned that Eddie has passed at last at the ripe old age of 102. Seeing as how there was no way she could come from NOLA for his memorial she asked that we attend the service in her stead.  Which we did. The Rev. Dr. Murray Gossett, Paul Matney,
Dr. Dale Roller  and others did Eddie proud, summing up an outstanding life in under and hour. Nice, but...

Tonight, was the last concert of the symphony season.  After intermission Maestro Bairos spoke eloquently of what Eddie meant to him personally, to the ASO and the arts community and to the community as a whole.  He referred to Eddie as a common man who lead an extraordinary life.  In 2015-16 the ASO will honor Eddie throughout its 91st season.

But tonight the symphony honored Eddie with Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for a Common Man".  The link below is to the New York Philharmonic's rendition. It does not come close to what I heard  tonight from Eddie's beloved ASO, in the hall he was so proud of, a fitting tribute from our maestro and players who poured every bit of the love, honor and respect they had for Eddie into every note.  I had tears streaming down my face as I listened, as I do now as I write this .  My guess is Eddie did too. As Laura Street so aptly noted.  "He is here! He's in the sound booth, sitting on a stair or in the seat next to you.  He will always be here."

aio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLMVB0B1_Ts

Happy New Year, y'all!!

                                             


                                    As the second hand swept to midnight the last page of 2014 turned.  in the next tick of the clock a new year was born, the pages blank, its story waiting to be revealed.

It is my fondest wish that 2015 will treat you well, that good health and good fortune will find you, that all you imagine for the coming year will come to pass. May the dawning of this new year open your heart and mind to the infinite possibility of what is yet to be.  Take up your pen.  364 more blank pages are yet to be written, the story of your 2015 yet to be told.

Happy 2015, y'all! May the new year be your best ever.

aio 

Jacomo..

the Jim Setapen tenure seems forever ago. with his departure Kimbo Ishii-Eto was named  conductor for our ASO.  his era was one of insight and ingenuity in which we witnessed an escalation of the quality of programming and general excitement about the symphony as a whole. not that i would have liked for him to have had as many years at the baton as Jim but i would not have been disappointed had he extended his stay beyond the five years of his contract.  maybe five years of little a-town was all he could take. maybe kimbo made a mistake in leaving when he did but the fact is he is gone.

we are now into the second season with our new maestro, Jacomo Rafael Bairos.  from where I sit he has the baton well in hand.  in my mind there was no drop-off in any aspect upon his ascension to the rostrum. he continues to amaze. my enjoyment of the concerts continues to rise. i appreciate that his programming has a high degree of cohesion, that he is exposing me to American composers and other composers who have not been moldering in the grave for centuries.  not that there is anything wrong with Bach, Beethoven et al, there certainly is not, but i truly appreciate the variety of his programming.

i do not pretend to know one damn thing about classical music. i don't. what i do know is that i am keenly anticipating whatever Maestro Bairos and our ASO have for us in the coming season(s).  His energy and enthusiasm are infectious. come on people, jump on the Jacomo/ASO bandwagon, we're in for the ride of a lifetime.

aio

Yikes!!!

i have two programs that i use to track visitors to kidsdonegone. bravenet shows me how many hits each day and from where they originated. it reflects the ip address of the person wandering on to the site. it's usually the same 8 or 10 family and friends but occasionally someone stumbles on to the blog using the "next blog" feature on any BlogSpot page.  bravenet also features a world map which shows where any hit is physically located.

I've been posting regularly over these last few days. last night I was checking hits when i noticed on the map feature a visitor from across the pond. referring back to the ip address list i saw one that was unusual.

curious to see where in the world the hit had originated from i entered the ip address into the tracker.  imagine my surprise when the tracker indicated the hit was from Moscow City, Moscow in the Russian Federation.  kinda neat, i've  not had many hits from outside the country.

the tracker puts a bullet point indicating the location of the hit. I about crapped my pants! are you ready for this? beneath the bp read-- "the Moscow Kremlin"! the Kremlin! as in the official residence of the president of the Russian Federation. as in where THAT guy-- what's his name?-- lives. oh yeah, that's right-- Vladimir Putin!

i don't for one second believed that Vladimir Putin viewed my blog, but wouldn't it be neat if he did!)  from all indications someone from the Kremlin stumbled across it. probably it was some mousey little secretary who was surfing the web instead of tending to business; probably didn't even read English.

then again, who knows? maybe the big red horde is tracking drivel originating in little a-town. are the Russians watching kidsdonegone? you don't suppose, do you? nah! surely not, do you think? nah!

it is intriguing to consider that someone halfway around the world laid eyes on my blog, if only for a second. now, if i could just find a few more and different followers a bit closer to home.

aio  

Chris Rogerson...

to be a composer in residence at the tender young age of 25 is  amazing!  The piece he has composed in honor of ASO's 90th season is beautiful. 

if you think about it, the greatest composers of all time were all 25 at some point.  90% of an iceberg is lurking out of sight  just below the surface.  i believe that chris has only just begun to fulfill his potential, that like an iceberg we are yet see all there is to be seen, and heard, from him.

based on what? by report he has been composing since he was a youngster. and "the way through" was pretty damned good!  what wondrous pieces will he have gifted to the world in his lifetime?

it excites me that I might have been in the presence of, potentially, one of this centuries great composers.  will symphonies 200-300 years from now be playing bach, beethoven, rachmaninoff et al?  probably.  but, in my script at least, symphonies will also be playing concertos from the brilliant mind of chris rogerson as well.

i hope to live long enough to see chris realize his promise.  i can't wait to hear the next piece(s) he'll be writing for ASO.  an old fart like me has to take what he can get.

aio

the phil and gus show... with guest star, chris rogerson

a guy just never knows where life is gonna' take him.  last monday eve I got a text from the dr. n. v telling me they were hosting two violinists for the ASO in from out of town for the week.  he related that one of the two is a runner and asked if i'd be interested in running with him. so, i'm thinking, if they can put two total strangers up in their home for a week it wouldn't hurt my sorry ass to run with the guy for an hour or so.  I answered his text asking if the guy would like to run at noon on tuesday from the flc at fbc, my usual time and place.

then my phone rang.  it was dr. v saying "hey why don't you just talk to phil".  so just like that, phil, who btw is a very young man-- at least when compared to my rapidly aging hulk, had agreed to run with me, a total stranger, the next day.  dr. v is the hardest guy to say no to as phil quickly became aware.

and thus began one of the best weeks i've had in some time. phil, being young, male, accomplished and ever so confident introduced a breath of fresh air into the ennui that has become my life since retirement.

i took him to medi-park lake.  he very graciously ran my pace, stopped to walk when my eeky-leaky heart demanded a rest and listened politely as I prated on.  never having made acquaintance of a professional violinist, i had a gazillion questions which he patiently answered without once giving the impression that i am an idiot for asking. we laughed.  the miles passed quickly and we agreed to meet again on Wednesday and again on Thursday for more of the same.  we agreed to give his bleeding ears a break from me on Friday, but we made a date to run on saturday.

at this point i still had not met gus.  that was to change when we went to dinner with the drs. v and gus before the symphony performance friday night.  he too, like phil, patiently ignored my platitudes and answered my inane questions with grace. OU is lucky two have both these young but rising stars in their program.

i met chris rogerson, aso's composer in residence, at the after party on friday night. it was a short exchange but he impressed me too-- with his willingness to look a stranger in the eye, his firm handshake, with his humility as he accepted the many honorifics for his work and without appearing   falsely modest.

the symphony has never sounded better to me.  i'll tell you why.  I've never known any of the ASO musicians, not even on a hi and a hand shake kind of level.  oh, i met maestro bairos last season when the drs. v hosted a recital from a guest violinist but having a more personal connection in the form of these out-of-towners served to increase my interest and appreciation of the concert.  this new investment served to amp up my enjoyment to the third power.  that connection is key, i think.

as it happened, on saturday dr. v took phil, gus, chris and me to the palo duro canyon state park.  it was a pleasure to show off the canyon to the three first timers.  the rains this summer has the canyon looking its best. the time spent getting to and from the canyon, the time hiking over hill and dale and sitting around at the bagel place for lunch afterwards gave us all a chance to get even better acquainted.

it was a pleasure getting to know these young men, if just a little .  i'll be able to say i knew them when.  where life will take them remains to be seen but i can't wait until it brings us together again.

until then.

aio

ASO--90 years young...

The 90th season for our ASO is off and running- and what a way to start!  The program on Friday night roared into life with the fantastic new piece, "The Way Through" by Chris Rogerson, which was commissioned din honor of this 90th season. The program built from there with Brahms' Variation on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, Op 56a and climaxed with the taming of the beast that is Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 3 in D minor, Op 30 played so ably by our guest artist,
Garrick Ohlsson.

Maestro Bairos made note as to how having Ohlsson with the orchestra during the week lifted the orchestral players efforts to another level.  Even to my un-sophisticate, tinnitus plagued ears it was obvious to those of us in attendance on Friday night were privileged to share a very special even of music.

Ohlsson is a wonder.  I listened in awe as he wrought a tsunami of wondrous proportions from the grand piano.  Likely, said instrument was ready to wave the white flag, to concede that never had so much been asked of it, yet grateful to have done its small part in blessing those in the hall with Ohlsson's rendering of Rachmaninoff's offering. 

To my mind the orchestra stood toe to toe with this pianist of world renown.  Bravo all!

To our ASO musicians and to Maestro Bairos, thank you for rising to the occasion.  The bar is at a new high.  Enjoy this taste of success; let it build toward a glorious season.  My ears can't wait to hear what else is in store for us as we make our way through.

aio

"The Way Through"

It was an honor to be among the first to hear and enjoy a new piece especially commissioned for the Amarillo Symphony's 90th season.  "The Way Through", the first work for ASO by resident composer Chris Rogerson is remarkable in so many ways.  By report he had not visited the area before coming to Amarillo for the season's first concert.  Let's not talk about his being barely old enough to shave. Those things are not what matter. What matters is this piece of glory written just for little old ASO 90th birthday.  What a gift!

For me, "The Way Through" describes in music a typical panhandle summer day.  The opening limns the sun shyly inching above the eastern crust. The early rays of a new day reach toward the heavens, stretching lazily to shed the torpor of the night just gone.

As the piece progresses the tempo quickens.  The day begins in earnest- there is work to be done. The middle measures speak to the bustle, the press to get the corn, cotton or wheat planted, watered and weeded, the need to get the cows milked and turned out to pasture, the rush to get to the other end of I-40 with the latest load.

The closing notes begin to slow revealing the winding down of a day's labors; it paints the sun sliding beyond the horizon in the west, the welcoming of yet another night.  At last it's quittin' time, time to rest, to recharge and to prepare for the symphony of a new day just a sunrise away, another day, just passin' through. 

aio  

September 1, 2014

Labor Day, 2014

...but, i like the take from a couple of strips in the funny papers today referring to today as Lazy Day.

those pundits aren't far from right.  there's not a lot of labor going on today, or any day in modern times.  take mowing the lawn for instance.  i recall mowing my aunt Celeste's lawn back in the 60's with a push mower.  now that same task can be accomplished with a mower equipped with front, or rear, wheel drive and enough power to make the guider feel as thought the machine in front is about to levitate him off the ground to flap in the wind like a neckerchief held out a car window at highway speeds.

such is the bane, or blessing, of progress and a testament to just how lazy modern man has become.  or perhaps it is a testament to man's ingenuity. fingering out how to accomplish a task with greater ease, in less time while investing less sweat equity in the process.

i grew up the son of a dry land cotton farmer.  long gone, the days of breaking ground with a one row plow pulled by a two yoke team.  i was fortunate to have a poppin' johnny four row.  that didn't stop me from casting a covetous eye across the turn row at my neighbor on his six row farmall.

it's the nature of man to seek a better way, a way that requires less time, less effort to accomplish the task at hand and for that we all should be thankful.

Happy Lazy Day, ya'll!!    

this just in... Mariah is missing!

this year little a-town earned the dubious distinction of being the windiest city in the country.  take that chi-town. 

but this summer has been exceptionally calm.  in addition to the day time highs being lower than the norm, many days this summer i've noticed old glory out hanging straight down, the leaves on the trees without a single leaf stirring.  unusual to say the least.

hear it is, the 11th day of august, twenty minutes until noon.  the temp is 71, the "winds" at nine mph.  for little a-town, the windiest city in the country, that's dead calm. don't think i'm complaining though, i'm just sayin'.  it's been a summer to remember.

aio

ghost kitty???

we have cats at 7420. not two, but, three cats- lucky, lucy, and ellwood. I've never thought of myself as a cat person but at this point i guess you could say i am. they each have distinct personalities.  with our kids choosing to live a world away from little a-town, i can't imagine how lonely our lives might be without our feline companions.

                                                                            Mr. Lucky

life with three cats is not without its share of problems.  there's the expense of buying food and litter, vet visits and shots, hairballs and cat fights.  the list goes on.

                                                                              Miss Lucy

                                                                           Ellwood


but the biggest problem for me is vacuuming.  we have one those shark navigators.  no matter if i vacuum once a week, or every day or two, the shark sucks up what looks to be a whole 'nother kitty. 

yes, there are three of them but could there be a ghost kitty lurking about adding his hair and dander to the mix? just how many cats have passed here at 7420, you might ask.  the answer is-- only one.  our daughter's cat, gus, lived with us while k was away at tech.  maybe the hardest thing I've ever had to do was making the call to tell k i'd  found gus in the driveway.  i thought he was just being a cat-- but he was "gone".  maybe the ghost of gus is roaming the house, contributing his share to the litter box, shedding on the hardwood and area rugs.  but probably not. 

the truth is the three cats and we humans just shed-- a lot!

long live the shark.

aio

that was for you, Mike...

july 2, 2014

i ran 5 miles at noon today for the first time in at least 5 years and probably longer than that. it was 66 degrees at the start. a light rain was falling. I've been running 4 fairly consistently. my buds ran earlier, or not at all due to the rain, i guess.

my eeky-leaky heart was hittin' on all cylinders early.  i run by myself as a rule, either ahead or behind my buds, from the flc at first Baptist. i'm not sure what got into me but i set out to run the mister mister 5 mile course.  running along julian i got to the fork in the road that would have taken me to the 2.5 mile turnaround.  instead of bearing right i stayed left taking me on another of mike's favorite training runs, the wellington course. it's a bit over 5 miles but what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound. the weather was perfect, what the heck.

on my 4 milers I've been really trying to push the pace, running as hard as i can for as long as i can until my system tells me "okay that's enough".  i walk just long enough for my circ system to recharge then i'm off again. the guys don't see the value in this approach.  their take is to run without stopping but at a slower pace.  who can say which is better?  i find it easier

it's ten years now since mike passed.  we often talk about what he would have to say about the state of our running these days.  yes we're older and heavier but, hey, we're still out there come rain or shine, hot or cold.  most of us are closer to 70 than 60.  come noon time, 4 days a week, we're there at the flc hitting the bricks, carrying on the tradition mike started back in the 70's. 

i think he would be proud.

aio

cruising alaska... three weeks later

it's almost three weeks since we bid ncl's pearl goodbye.  that's hard to believe.  they say time flies when your having fun.  being back to the everyday is anything but that so where have these last days and weeks gone?

I've chronicled some of the happenings on the cruise here. there were amazing first time experiences for all of us.  i was thinking today, as neat as those things were, and are, the best thing about this cruise was spending time and sharing those adventures with family. 

our kids were still young the last time we vacationed with my sis and bud-in-law. sis and her family have always lived in the houston area so it's not like we can visit any time we want.  over the years we've done well to get together once a year; twice if luck smiles on us. having our cousin along made this time all the more special. 

this cruise was a series of firsts. first time to Alaska for the three of them,  first cruise for my sis and her hubby. for my wife and me it was our fifth cruise, the second to Alaska but it is so beautiful it could never get old. though we've been there before this time 'round we took different excursions so the things the other three were seeing for the first time were also a first for us.

truly one could take the same trip every week in a season and not see, or do, all there is to be seen and done.  on board the view is always changing. because your not driving along at 70mph there is time to see that mountain as the ship reveals its beauteous backside view, side view,
then front side.  if you happened to see that same mountain on the return trip the viewing would look totally different.

it was a week of relaxation, of catching up.  it was everything i hoped it would be.  it was alaska and best of all it was time with family.

 

 

i can't wait to do it again. how 'bout ya'll?

aio

cruising alaska-- sunday

sunday morning, a week later, finds us back in seattle.  our Alaskan fun is done.  living in little a-town, flights to get back home are limited.  there is an urgency to disembarkation in order to make that last flight out at 11 am.  we opted to "walk off'' instead of the usual routine of putting our bags outside the cabin the night before. it worked out fine.  we were at the curb by 8:30, called the car company for early pickup and arrived at the airport by a little after 9:00. no worries.  back to the same old, same old, but taking with us some special memories. 

on sunday morning before we sailed we took the fast train to the seattle center and wandered through the northwest folklife festival. it was there we saw a haiku drum group of teen drummers.  their drumming was perfection.  who says the youth of today is going down the wrong road?

monday was an at sea day.  not one cruisers look forward to but this day had an exciting rescue at sea by the Canadian coast guard. the rescued had appendicitis.

tuesday was Juneau and humpback and orca action with a harem of frolicking sea lions on the side. wednesday was Skagway and Haines and the float trip down the chilkat river valley.  i'll not soon forget seeing bald eagles in flight.

thursday we cruised glacier bay and witnessed the margerie  glacier calving quadruplets.  friday was Ketchikan.  the misty fjords were carved by the glaciers into rudyerd bay an ice age ago.  saturday was Victoria, BC.  i'll not soon forget the haunting sounds of 'amazing grace" from an erhu played by an Asian gentleman-- for tips.

it's sunday again, the bags are packed with dirty clothes from a week at sea, our hearts and minds filled with the sights and sounds, with the peace, of a world so different from the flat, dry plains of the texas panhandle.

so long, Alaska, until next time.

aio