Sorry to get your hopes up—this isn’t about money. This morning two magnificent Whitetail bucks (male deer) posed like statues in our front yard. They strutted to perhaps twenty yards from the kitchen table where I am writing. After a few minutes (just short of my getting pictures), they vanished into the beautiful autumn splendor of a small adjacent wooded area. What a thrill!
Deer are quite common in our area and it seems they are getting more so each year. Last evening while driving, I had to stop once (and be cautious several other times) because of deer crossing country roads. I often see deer in the fields down the street, especially at dusk and dawn. When we sit in the solitude of our darkened back yard during the summer months we often see deer silhouetted against surrounding lighting as they glide along the perimeter of our yard.
What is uncommon is to see a huge buck (and especially two) at eleven o’clock in the morning in this suburban setting. These were not just any bucks; they looked like Cabela’s trophy displays. I haven’t been a hunter since my early teen years but I had that same burst of excitement. I never saw anything remotely like these magnificent bucks back then. (I guess I can safely use the term hunter because I know it’s proper to call yourself a shopper when you never buy anything!)
This is a season when wildlife is on the move. Yesterday I trudged up a rocky local mountain trail (a hill to you Rocky Mountain folks) to get a glimpse of migrating raptors (birds of prey). I didn’t see any although one gent came down from the same spot and reported to my wife he’d seen four Bald Eagles. I would have traded the two bucks and a few other things to see them. I did see a scavenging chipmunk, if that counts.
As I write now, I see squirrels busy retrieving walnuts and chestnuts to bury in my lawn. The resident groundhog sequestered under the shed in our backyard is now quite plump. He’d be at the high end of the obesity scale if they had a height/weight chart for groundhogs. A large hawk came to within about fifty feet of the kitchen window before he flared and decided to abort his kamikaze dive for some unseen prey. I look forward to offering my wife a dinner of a few overly hungry trout as a result of their seasonal feeding frenzy. Nature is on the move.
It is quite evident fish, fowl, and varieties of creatures are sensitive to unseen forces and respond in various ways without hesitation. Many throw caution to the wind, sometimes to their detriment. Perhaps most apparent are those “brave” bucks that have abandoned any sense of caution to make their appearance in a community of potential hunters. I am sure that there is a “mamma” doe that spent many patient hours teaching them to be extremely cautious, now all to no avail. Unbeknownst to them, there is a pretty high probability that they may be within weeks of their mortality. You see it is no coincidence that hunting season is scheduled when their testosterone is at its peak and they become the most macho. Soon they’ll be sparring with those magnificent six and eight point racks to show their individual prowess. They think their fight is against each other. Their single mindedness in pursuing their own agendas sadly makes them extremely vulnerable.
The whole process reminds me of how vulnerable I am when I respond to some of my most compelling human instincts. I am inclined to step out to handle things on my own because “it feels like the right thing to do” and “I can handle it.” My vulnerability can be deceivingly hidden in this season of life because I am finally “mature” and “seasoned.” Perhaps I should keep in mind that there are new hidden perils. A yearling “spike buck” never seems to end up being taken to the taxidermist for mounting.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Aids
I will never forget the terrified look on the young lady’s face in Kolkata, India. She was gathering soiled laundry and had slipped into the room where I was sleeping. I suddenly realized someone was in the room and didn’t know where I was or the time of day. (I was still adapting to the nine and a half hour time difference.) I am much bigger than most Indians and I sleep with a masklike device connected to a machine to assist my breathing. Although I’ve never looked in the mirror while wearing the mask, I am sure I must have looked like an alien to her as she fled the room with an absolutely horrified look.
My grandson thinks the device is neat and is enraptured with Grandpa’s machine and “mask.” I myself don’t care how it looks; I am just grateful to have it. You see I had two accidents within months of getting it, both my fault, due to lack of sleep. Because of this device, my sleep apnea condition is under control and I can function normally. Over the years I have acquired many devices so I can function “normally.” I am assisted in my hearing, sight, and even have a device to assist in monitoring proper blood glucose levels. In addition, physicians have prescribed a litany of pharmaceuticals to help me function. Those devices and medications don’t even begin to compare to the folks who help me each day. That list would be huge. Let’s see: my wife and family, friends, associates, and a list like the proverbial “butcher, baker, candlestick maker.” Last, but certainly far from least, is the supernatural enabling and direction that I find so necessary for day to day life.
When I chose the title “Aids” I almost changed it because in our current societal condition most of us now associate the word differently than in the past. I have still not “shifted gears” and associate the word “Aids” with nurses, students, or things like that. (Slight variations in spelling have never bothered me!) My first thought is of a “helper” not the very real and debilitating medical condition that has seemingly hijacked the word in our minds. As I reflect, I realize that aid and assistance in general has been pushed to the background in our supposedly “self-sufficient” society. Our heroes are folks that are supposedly pillars and have “made it on their own.”
The school district that I attended (I wish I could say where I studied) was a wrestling powerhouse that generated multiple state champs; one of whom I knew well. I always felt like the sport of basketball was only for those folks who couldn’t master wrestling. For those of us who were tall but gangly, and somewhat uncoordinated, that even meant the bench and possibly playing a few closing minutes. I suspect some of us have never shifted gears from the stigmas and peer perceptions of our youth. No longer does status, sitting at the right lunch table, or having no noticeable zits establish our “value” (or lack of it).
We live in a society that is increasingly oriented to “perfect stand-alone super stars”. As a “people watcher,” I watch with amusement and then sadness as folks work their way up through the social networking in most group situations. Most seem to hopefully want to touch base with the “one-man dynamos” and “movers and shakers.” I have no problem with this. It’s just sad that all the others in the room lack value in these folk’s eyes.
I am increasingly aware of how significant my personal support system really is. I am amazed and almost embarrassed how “what I am” is not of my own doing. As I realize the contributions that others forces and folks play in what I am, it contributes to a significant shift in my thinking. I realize how honorable and noble it is to aid and enable others. Perhaps this “members of one body” stuff has merit because I can no longer “make it” without you, my family and friends (not that I ever could). A sincere “Thank you” for your aid to me.
My grandson thinks the device is neat and is enraptured with Grandpa’s machine and “mask.” I myself don’t care how it looks; I am just grateful to have it. You see I had two accidents within months of getting it, both my fault, due to lack of sleep. Because of this device, my sleep apnea condition is under control and I can function normally. Over the years I have acquired many devices so I can function “normally.” I am assisted in my hearing, sight, and even have a device to assist in monitoring proper blood glucose levels. In addition, physicians have prescribed a litany of pharmaceuticals to help me function. Those devices and medications don’t even begin to compare to the folks who help me each day. That list would be huge. Let’s see: my wife and family, friends, associates, and a list like the proverbial “butcher, baker, candlestick maker.” Last, but certainly far from least, is the supernatural enabling and direction that I find so necessary for day to day life.
When I chose the title “Aids” I almost changed it because in our current societal condition most of us now associate the word differently than in the past. I have still not “shifted gears” and associate the word “Aids” with nurses, students, or things like that. (Slight variations in spelling have never bothered me!) My first thought is of a “helper” not the very real and debilitating medical condition that has seemingly hijacked the word in our minds. As I reflect, I realize that aid and assistance in general has been pushed to the background in our supposedly “self-sufficient” society. Our heroes are folks that are supposedly pillars and have “made it on their own.”
The school district that I attended (I wish I could say where I studied) was a wrestling powerhouse that generated multiple state champs; one of whom I knew well. I always felt like the sport of basketball was only for those folks who couldn’t master wrestling. For those of us who were tall but gangly, and somewhat uncoordinated, that even meant the bench and possibly playing a few closing minutes. I suspect some of us have never shifted gears from the stigmas and peer perceptions of our youth. No longer does status, sitting at the right lunch table, or having no noticeable zits establish our “value” (or lack of it).
We live in a society that is increasingly oriented to “perfect stand-alone super stars”. As a “people watcher,” I watch with amusement and then sadness as folks work their way up through the social networking in most group situations. Most seem to hopefully want to touch base with the “one-man dynamos” and “movers and shakers.” I have no problem with this. It’s just sad that all the others in the room lack value in these folk’s eyes.
I am increasingly aware of how significant my personal support system really is. I am amazed and almost embarrassed how “what I am” is not of my own doing. As I realize the contributions that others forces and folks play in what I am, it contributes to a significant shift in my thinking. I realize how honorable and noble it is to aid and enable others. Perhaps this “members of one body” stuff has merit because I can no longer “make it” without you, my family and friends (not that I ever could). A sincere “Thank you” for your aid to me.
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