Social Isolation

I haven't posted in a long time.... too busy to stop moving, too unmotivated to be introspective, too self absorbed.  Sometimes the path we should take is rocky and lonely, but still leads somewhere.  With the recent pandemic of Covid-19 we are to maintain a safe distance (>6') and avoid crowds.  Restaurants, bars, gyms, rec centers/pools, public spaces are all closed.  Now is a time to return to the values of silence and awareness, while still enjoying the sounds and sights that only come to those alone.  If indeed we are an uncarved block of pure potential perhaps this is a time to explore those avenues.  Life for a senior citizen goes so quickly and yet the days drag by when confined to a single space.  I am so glad to have an activity that still is possible to enjoy, that welcomes me in a way that no occupied setting allows.  I have involuntarily progressed  from swimming two miles/day to pacing from one side of the house to another.  As the weather morphs from cold Winter winds to sunny Spring breezes we are reminded that each moment is precious and potential for new knowledge.  On the water with wind there are waves and because wind is directional there is always a lee, a respite from the forces that would take us where we don't want to go.  I will proceed with purpose taking strength from the ability to face another day without fear.  Here we go again!

Long lost..

Time to reflect on years of possibilities... or at least the accomplishments of trying to leave something behind that has some sustainability.  I hate to think that I have only kept the Light from those that need it... so I continue to work at the only things I know... and maybe it can somehow someday make a difference... before I am called to something better.

Oil on Canvas

Grandson, Jordan Aman with his senior BFA art show.  We live on through the shared energies and expression of innate talents. 

finding the Light

“They both listened silently to the water, which to them was not just water, but the voice of life, the voice of Being, the voice of perpetual Becoming.”
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Rock Harbor lighthouse on Isle Royale in Lake Superior was the start of our trip to circumnavigate the island.  After 110 miles we celebrated another milestone and checkoff on my bucket list.  We traveled on to the Apostle Islands after returning on the Ranger III ferry out of Haughton, MI.

The seacaves on the north shore of Devil's Island were spectacular and my third time to reach the northernmost island in the chain.  Another 60 miles made the total trip 170 including Isle Royale.

coolville

everywhere i go lately seems like the best place to be.... yesterday i was accepted for another 13 week assignment here in Fairfield, Iowa, home of Maharishi University of Management.... perhaps a chance to return to my TM practice and ayurvedic knowledge... time to pick up my beggar's bowl and the path to enlightenment.

key to the clubhouse

before the potomac froze over last month i paddled from the washington canoe club to chain bridge and back and on this trip paddled under the key bridge to washington harbor in georgetown.  as a member of the club i can paddle from there any time i'm in dc and can use one of their boats if i don't have mine.  pays to be an "out-of-towner". 

bridges over untroubled waters

it hardly seems that long ago i was cruising on the C&O canal, parallel with the potomac river in virginia, but after a couple trips on the river and joining the washington canoe club it froze up completely and i was back to memories only. 

open water on the C&O Canal in Georgetown, VA

now i'm back in iowa and able to find open water below red rock dam on the des moines river.. my usual winter paddling routine.  today it is -5F and there is enough snow on the ground to xc ski so guess i'll find solitude in a different place.

“Water is sufficient...the spirit moves over water.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo

absentee balance

it's amazing how out-of-balance you can get at times when you have so little direction.  opportunities for an old man in today's working world seem to be slim to none.  attempts to secure a traveling job on the east coast, or even here in iowa, have been frustrating to say the least.  i've occupied my time working out: swimming, spinning, running, paddling and doing yard work.  the leaves continue to fall and yesterday i paddled on whitebreast bay with whitecaps and steady headwinds blowing 15kts, while viewing what is left of fall colors.  being in shape is superseded by the breathlessness of waiting for the phone to ring with someone saying "i want you".  i'm not holding my breath, mind you, but it is always possible to imagine.

for the first year i don't have transitional pics of the tree outside my office window because i don't have an office anymore.  the lake is my office now and my co-workers are pelicans, gulls, ducks and geese.  things could definitely be worse...  we should celebrate good health and the time to enjoy it.

lost

without my camera i'm a bit lost for posting and journaling but am a bit more inspired after listening to Chris Howes, jazz violinist, last night.  i even got an invitation to piano lessons by a minister also attending.  this am while surfing youtube i listened to leonard cohen's "anthem" and the phrase that caught me was, "there is a crack in everything, that's what lets in the Light".  i'm back to the beginning of my blog (i know some people don't like the word 'blog') where mention of "Light" had the original meaning for me.  now to reestablish some meaning in this disorganized world in which i exist....

lost words

life definitely catches you unaware at times.  during RAGBRAI someone repurposed my camera from my bag to theirs and now i'm unable to document my activities as before.  my thousand words per has shrunk to decidedly lower levels and my lack of accounting for what is occurring has increased. 

last month i finally threw in the proverbial towel and decided against setting up a new clinic.  i had to let my employees go and start looking for alternative employment myself.  in all my years, with all the jobs i've held, i've never been on unemployment so filing with workforce was a bit degrading.  i've paid in thousands of dollars though so can rationalize that it was savings put away for just this moment.  i hate to be part of the statistics of why this country is in trouble when i said there never was an excuse for "not working".  it is easy to be judgmental regarding other people's troubles until it hits you smack in the face.  i hope to get my act together soon and file paperwork for licenses on the east coast and by january take a traveling job that gets us closer to family at least for 13 weeks at a time.  it is so difficult to leave the place you've been and called home for 38 years, but nothing is static and i started out as a vagabond anyway. 

having more free time has allowed me to get back in shape physically, if not mentally, and finish a couple projects set aside for so long.  i'll take my kayak along wherever i go and continue to fill my bucket list of places yet unpaddled.. 

"let us go then , you and i, while the evening is spread out against the sky, like a patient etherised upon a table." -- T.S. Eliot, J. Alfred Prufrock

don't let them know you're coming..

Clair Skies on takeoff across Red Rock Lake

"when you go after honey with a balloon, the great thing is not to let the bees know you're coming." -- winnie the pooh

my peeps

 

hangin' w/ my peeps

 

whitebreast reflections

hickory ridge wayfinder

here's lookin' at "you" kid

"reflection must be reserved for solitary hours" -- Jane Austen

delays

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. -- Herman Melville, Moby Dick 

trainspotting from the DSM river in Ottumwa

lingering on the computer has prevented me from swift appointment of my paddling rounds... but now to the water i go...

renewal

 “The cure for anything is salt water - tears, sweat, or the sea.”
― Isak Dinesen, Seven Gothic Tales

it has been a long time since i posted or accounted for my activities, but being unemployed has left me a bit disorganized and aimless.  our project to start a clinic in a VA bldg. fell through after 4 months and now we are looking at another place.  hopefully in the week we will come to terms.  in the meantime i have been repurposing myself through swimming, spinning, paddling and watching HGTV and the Food Channel.  it's hard to avoid the feeling of worthlessness in not being gainful and productive but at least the yard gets mowed and my tomatoes look great.  this weekend is my 45th class reunion from HS and the crusty old grads will be rolling in from around the country.  many are now retired and enjoying the fruits of their labors.  there weren't many "old football jocks" still playing this year so at least even if i didn't cut a record or write a book i can say i'm not totally "over the hill".  i still say i'd give my football career to be able to play the piano.  if only we would have known what is truly important back when sports seemed so great.  well, i guess it's time to head to the lake to find some solace.

out standing in the field

nature's artistry

back waters of flooded whitebreast creek

one closes - another opens?

three score and three

we are met on a great battlefield of that war.  we have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those that here gave their lives that that nation might live.  memorizing the gettysburg address was a challenge for my idle mind but a diversion from daily routine.

loch red rock monster

robert's creek and red rock on even terms - running the tunnel

newbie joining the armada

“A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable.” ― William Wordsworth

rec boaters on a spring afternoon on whitebreast

lake monster lurking in whitebreast bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

new beginnings

“One can begin so many things with a new person! - even begin to be a better man.” ― George Eliot, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life

granddaughter Mia Elisabeth - 3 weeks old

 

second generations

it's always great to see father/son paddlers.  mike and kenny keefer on red rock.

“They both listened silently to the water, which to them was not just water, but the voice of life, the voice of Being, the voice of perpetual Becoming.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

patching leaks

“In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” -Warren Buffett

since moving home i've accumulated experiences without accountability.  for the past month i've been transitioning out of hospital clinic, massage clinic downtown and filling storage and garage with tons of books and equipment.  i've kept busy with spinning, swimming and paddling but lack motivation to move ahead quickly with return to work.  the new clinic awaits a lease signing and progress to construction, but is taking shape.  for now the days are filled with organization, CSI, NCIS, and the Walking Dead...  i feel a bit of a zombie now myself..

nature's artwork on the back deck by morning light, ready for the 106F swimspa

lost in the woods on a snowy morning, with miles to go..

elk rock journey last weekend, the ice is almost gone..

hopefully our soon to be new clinic: "heritage wellness center at knoxville historic village"

like a you or a me

“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It's always our self we find in the sea.”
― E.E. Cummings

i need a gps for finding my way in this business creation.  the endless process of creating a new business involves so much and at my advanced age a bit daunting.  to ease the process i've been working out on a daily basis and know that spinning class, while kicking my butt, will give me more confidence that i can translate into possible success... but some really painful quads.   there is a 90 year old lady next to me in class who is scary intimidating for the entire hour.  i need to get some pics loaded soon to get back to flow here..