Our dog, Bela, is 12 now--what's that, 84 in dog years?
He's on some new pain meds that have helped a lot, but his joints are, like my knees, problematic.
He hesitates to go up steps without help. Jumping on the bed is an issue.
I tend to stay downstairs or upstairs longer than I would normally just so he doesn't have to navigate the steep steps in our 1850 house.
Jumping in the car or Bern's truck is tricky--as is jumping out. He slips on our hardwood floors downstairs.
He eats like a champ and sleeps well, but his body just isn't what it used to be and he is coward-ed by things like he's never been.
He's so much a part of our lives--bad, bad dog that he is--that watching him breaks my heart.
Getting old isn't a bed of roses, that's for sure.
Lordy, lordy, Bela, it's so hard to see you like this....
Friday, June 9, 2017
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Dear Lord, help me be calm....
Well, today James Comey, fired FBI director, testified before a Senate Committee.
Lordy, Lordy, our President lied about the FBI Director. Lordy, Lordy, Trump asked Comey for 'loyality' when Comey's job was to be objective about the President. Lordy, Lordy did he really ask Comey to step back from an active investigation?
Take a big breath, Jim. Calm down. Go to your silent space. Relax.
All this is as bad as it gets.
The only thing worse is to imagine Mike Pence being President!!! He's a 'true believer' in Right Wing stuff. At least Trump (the only good thing I can say about him) really isn't a 'true believer' about anything, anywhere, anytime....
Dear Lord, help me be calm.....
Deep breaths, Jim. Deep breaths....
Lordy, Lordy, our President lied about the FBI Director. Lordy, Lordy, Trump asked Comey for 'loyality' when Comey's job was to be objective about the President. Lordy, Lordy did he really ask Comey to step back from an active investigation?
Take a big breath, Jim. Calm down. Go to your silent space. Relax.
All this is as bad as it gets.
The only thing worse is to imagine Mike Pence being President!!! He's a 'true believer' in Right Wing stuff. At least Trump (the only good thing I can say about him) really isn't a 'true believer' about anything, anywhere, anytime....
Dear Lord, help me be calm.....
Deep breaths, Jim. Deep breaths....
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
How Great Is This?
I went to the Cluster Council Meeting tonight--representatives from all 3 of the Middlesex Area Cluster Ministry where I've served for 5 years or so (me and linear time again, who knows how long it's been???)
Two of the 9 were absent but with the Cluster Administrator and me there were still 9 folks.
The meeting was full of joy and wonder and sharing and seriousness and commitment and good humor and stories and hard work and fun.
How great is that?
I don't know when meetings, in my life, were so life-giving.
Remarkable people, ideas and groundedness and a real commitment to who we are and how we serve.
"Better than that," as Yoda would say, "it does not get."
How blessed and privileged I am, here, later in life, to be able to serve and be served by the folks at Emmanuel, Killingworth, St. James, Higganum and St. Andrew's, Northford.
Thank you POWERS THAT BE (and Episcopal priest should probably say 'Thank you God', but I'm not a traditional priest anymore than the Cluster is a 'traditional Episcopal Church'. 'Powers that Be' works for me and I think for that group of people around the table with me eating remarkable desserts and finger food St. Andrew's provided. (By the way, St. Andrew's does food way beyond the other two. They just do.)
I never eat breakfast when I go to celebrate at St. Andrew's--coffee hour will be 'brunch', I know.
I simply can't imagine what I'd rather be doing as a priest at 70 that would be better than this.
Lucky me. Blessed. Full of joy. Wonder. Love.
Two of the 9 were absent but with the Cluster Administrator and me there were still 9 folks.
The meeting was full of joy and wonder and sharing and seriousness and commitment and good humor and stories and hard work and fun.
How great is that?
I don't know when meetings, in my life, were so life-giving.
Remarkable people, ideas and groundedness and a real commitment to who we are and how we serve.
"Better than that," as Yoda would say, "it does not get."
How blessed and privileged I am, here, later in life, to be able to serve and be served by the folks at Emmanuel, Killingworth, St. James, Higganum and St. Andrew's, Northford.
Thank you POWERS THAT BE (and Episcopal priest should probably say 'Thank you God', but I'm not a traditional priest anymore than the Cluster is a 'traditional Episcopal Church'. 'Powers that Be' works for me and I think for that group of people around the table with me eating remarkable desserts and finger food St. Andrew's provided. (By the way, St. Andrew's does food way beyond the other two. They just do.)
I never eat breakfast when I go to celebrate at St. Andrew's--coffee hour will be 'brunch', I know.
I simply can't imagine what I'd rather be doing as a priest at 70 that would be better than this.
Lucky me. Blessed. Full of joy. Wonder. Love.
Monday, June 5, 2017
2017--that's it....
When I decided I needed to decide when to retire as Rector of St. John's in Waterbury, CT, I finally came up with the idea of retiring the month I had 30 years in the Church Pension Fund.
I could have stayed on--I was only 63, after all--but., because I was going to be 63, I could get early Social Security. I know, I know, people tell you to wait to take SS benefits. I think the Social Security Administration is who does that. I did the math and taking SS at 63 vs 70 means that until I'm 82 I'll get more money taking it at 63. Go figure that.
So, anyway, that story is about my wondering when I'll stop writing my blog.
I've written 1904 posts. I don't post every day, but most days, except when I'm away and since I can only post from my desk top computer--having no other web devices--I don't post when traveling.
I decided I'll stop at 2017 posts. That's 113 more posts and since it's only June 5, I'll get it done before the end of 2017.
I could hang on, just like I could still be at St. John's since I'm two years from mandatory retirement in the Diocese of CT. But I needed a stopping place so I would stop and it would be over.
So, 2017 posts will be the end--the stopping place--for "Under the Castor Oil Tree". I'm sure I'll miss these musings and ponderings, just as I missed being Rector of St. John's. But I got over that and I'll get over this.
I like 'clean breaks', so I'm delighted I've made the decision of what the 'end' of this is.
113 to go. Lots of pondering and musing left. But at least I know now when I can stop.
That feels good for me. It really does.
Stay with me until the end, OK?
I could have stayed on--I was only 63, after all--but., because I was going to be 63, I could get early Social Security. I know, I know, people tell you to wait to take SS benefits. I think the Social Security Administration is who does that. I did the math and taking SS at 63 vs 70 means that until I'm 82 I'll get more money taking it at 63. Go figure that.
So, anyway, that story is about my wondering when I'll stop writing my blog.
I've written 1904 posts. I don't post every day, but most days, except when I'm away and since I can only post from my desk top computer--having no other web devices--I don't post when traveling.
I decided I'll stop at 2017 posts. That's 113 more posts and since it's only June 5, I'll get it done before the end of 2017.
I could hang on, just like I could still be at St. John's since I'm two years from mandatory retirement in the Diocese of CT. But I needed a stopping place so I would stop and it would be over.
So, 2017 posts will be the end--the stopping place--for "Under the Castor Oil Tree". I'm sure I'll miss these musings and ponderings, just as I missed being Rector of St. John's. But I got over that and I'll get over this.
I like 'clean breaks', so I'm delighted I've made the decision of what the 'end' of this is.
113 to go. Lots of pondering and musing left. But at least I know now when I can stop.
That feels good for me. It really does.
Stay with me until the end, OK?
memes
I read an article on line about how Harvard had taken back some offers to be in the class of 2021 because of the racist and otherwise unacceptable 'memes' some of those who had been accepted posted on a group created by those accepted to Harvard.
I realized I really didn't have any idea what a 'meme' is.
So, I went on line for an hour or so--read Wikipedia (the article was more complicated than an article about 'String Theory' or "Black Holes") and got on a site that had a collection of 'memes'.
I looked at that for a long time.
A 'meme', unless I'm really missing something (which is totally possible) is a picture with words on it that make it either ironic or funny or something else.
There was a picture of a man mowing a lawn with a tornado in the background. I found dozens of variations on that picture with different messages on them.
Is that a 'Meme'?
And how do they get offensive? I must have looked at a couple of hundred on that web site and none of them offended me though lots of them made no sense to me.
You know, as the last flip-phone, only a desk-top computer person I know--there are lots of times I feel pleased to be that 'out of it'.
And this is one of them.
I don't need to know what a 'meme' is, which is lucky since after a lot of research, I still don't know what a 'meme' is.....
I realized I really didn't have any idea what a 'meme' is.
So, I went on line for an hour or so--read Wikipedia (the article was more complicated than an article about 'String Theory' or "Black Holes") and got on a site that had a collection of 'memes'.
I looked at that for a long time.
A 'meme', unless I'm really missing something (which is totally possible) is a picture with words on it that make it either ironic or funny or something else.
There was a picture of a man mowing a lawn with a tornado in the background. I found dozens of variations on that picture with different messages on them.
Is that a 'Meme'?
And how do they get offensive? I must have looked at a couple of hundred on that web site and none of them offended me though lots of them made no sense to me.
You know, as the last flip-phone, only a desk-top computer person I know--there are lots of times I feel pleased to be that 'out of it'.
And this is one of them.
I don't need to know what a 'meme' is, which is lucky since after a lot of research, I still don't know what a 'meme' is.....
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Bern's owls
Bern ordered two owls from Amazon. Amazon has everything!
They're not real owls--fake ones that are supposed to scare away creatures.
I must admit, since they came I have seen a squirrel or chipmunk anywhere near our deck, though I didn't believe the hype.
One is sitting up and it's head moves. I'm not sure what the mechanism is but it won't be looking at you when you go out on the deck and when you glace up, it is. Creeps me out a bit.
The other is flying on plastic wings and will be down by the strawberry patch or next to the tomatoes to keep birds and squirrels away.
She moves the head turning one around and it always startles me when its been moved.
I'm not sure, but I may be more weirded-out by the owl than by squirrels and chipmunks....
They're not real owls--fake ones that are supposed to scare away creatures.
I must admit, since they came I have seen a squirrel or chipmunk anywhere near our deck, though I didn't believe the hype.
One is sitting up and it's head moves. I'm not sure what the mechanism is but it won't be looking at you when you go out on the deck and when you glace up, it is. Creeps me out a bit.
The other is flying on plastic wings and will be down by the strawberry patch or next to the tomatoes to keep birds and squirrels away.
She moves the head turning one around and it always startles me when its been moved.
I'm not sure, but I may be more weirded-out by the owl than by squirrels and chipmunks....
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Letter to my granddaughters
Dear Morgan, Emma, Tegan and Ellie,
Today your President--well, no one you voted for, thank God--but the guy who is sorta 'running our country' chose fossil fuels over your future.
Not exactly, it's much more complicated than what I just said--but he made us one of three countries (the other two are Syria and Nicaragua) not part of the Paris Climate Control Accord.
It is a sad day for us all and for the world, that the country that contributes almost a third of the greenhouse gases with only 6% of the world's population (do your fractions and percentages girls!) is no longer a part of a world wide effort to save the planet for you.
Oh, the planet will be fine for the rest of my lifetime...but yours, I'm not so sure. Baltimore and Brooklyn, where you live will start having sea rise issues before you're half my age.
I just hope I live long enough to vote for someone for President who will run on fixing all the nightmares He Who Will Not Be Named is creating.
That's my hope for me--but more so, for you.
I love you so much. You are, along with your grandma and Josh and Mimi (your dad, M/E/T and your mom Ellie) my life.
You just all.
Live long enough to have grandchildren to worry about and live more than life.
Love you, Granpa
Today your President--well, no one you voted for, thank God--but the guy who is sorta 'running our country' chose fossil fuels over your future.
Not exactly, it's much more complicated than what I just said--but he made us one of three countries (the other two are Syria and Nicaragua) not part of the Paris Climate Control Accord.
It is a sad day for us all and for the world, that the country that contributes almost a third of the greenhouse gases with only 6% of the world's population (do your fractions and percentages girls!) is no longer a part of a world wide effort to save the planet for you.
Oh, the planet will be fine for the rest of my lifetime...but yours, I'm not so sure. Baltimore and Brooklyn, where you live will start having sea rise issues before you're half my age.
I just hope I live long enough to vote for someone for President who will run on fixing all the nightmares He Who Will Not Be Named is creating.
That's my hope for me--but more so, for you.
I love you so much. You are, along with your grandma and Josh and Mimi (your dad, M/E/T and your mom Ellie) my life.
You just all.
Live long enough to have grandchildren to worry about and live more than life.
Love you, Granpa
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