Seeing with new eyes speeds up the process of change

I was looking at a book the other day and these words caught my attention:

*

*

*

*

*

"there are some periods where creative and disruptive

forces reach maturity and combine to speed up

the normal process of change. We encounter the

clash and the fusion of old and new on every side,

in science and religion, politics and economics,

law and literature, music and architecture.

It is the impact of modernism upon medievalism

which gives the age its peculiar character. ........

it was in the name of conservative tradition

that the great rebellion in politics and religion was conducted."

*

Now the question is when was this written and for what time period was this message intended. I have for the purpose of showing some clues as to "when" posted pictures of the shelf just about this computer. It could of course be about the 1920's or the 1950's or the 1960's or even the 1980's. Maybe this fits the last half of the 1800's. As a matter of fact I find the last half of the 1800's fascinating. Lincoln being at the center point of this time of change. Some might find the age of the computer in the late 90's and today to be a central point. Maybe it was just a few days ago when I just figured a poem of my own was fine. Who knows................

Well the book, as you will see in the picture, was "English Literature in the Earlier Seventeenth Century 1600 - 1660.

*

Proust
The real voyage of discovery consists
not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.

Solemn Light

The quality or condition of being solemn is what is meant by solemnity. Solemnity may be a trait rather than a particular "state" or condition. Solemnity, it would seem, must be "about something" . True beliefs, things that matter a lot. Whatever it is that is at the core or center impacts the outer layers. *

Land and sky, reach out
Embraced by the old
Touched with light
A new world
Desires for right

Vantage Point

Looking back over a lot of years wondering when the best of times really was and then again wondering if it would be fair to label anything the worst of times. Truth is the times have been so much on the good side that worst is an unfair label even for the troubles. Doesn't mean that challenging times have not occurred. In fact some of the challenging times seem to come in the middle of some of the best times. Best times would include a long list..................
*
1 All the days, and every day that I have known KJ
2. Early years with just the two of us
3. Time following each child
4. Time when all were under one roof.
5. Times when we are all together.
6. Much about the ABQ time
7. Much of what we did to our Fortuna house
8. Zach's mission
9 MJ's move to ABQ
10. The arrival and time spent with each grandchild
11. Being with Jeff N, anytime
12. In many ways, "now".
*
I like the way Dickens put the words together in the first of "Tale of Two Cities". The impact is in contrasts. It is tempting to see contrasts around us but it would be an overstatement to try to balance the extremes because the good so far outweigh the contrasts otherwise.
*

Tale of Two Cities
*

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom,

it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief,

it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of Light

it was the season of Darkness,

it was the spring of hope,

it was the winter of despair,

we had everything before us,

we had nothing before us,

we were all going direct to heaven,

we were all going direct the other way
Charles Dickens

Plenty to Imagine ..........running or not

John and Albert on my mind today.....................

When I run I often listen to my IPOD and one of the songs on my "long" list is Imagine by John Lennon. I have always liked the song but then there are things to not like about the song too. The song, "perhaps", take a point of view that there is now heaven and really only now, but then "perhaps" that really is just a backdrop or tool to frame the idea of living "now" better. Earlier this week I have found a new theory by Stephen Hawking about the formation of the universe very interesting. In this theory, the early universe can be described by a mathematical object called a wave function and, in a similar way to the light particle, the team proposed two years ago that this means that there was no unique origin to the cosmos: instead the wave function of the universe embraced a multitude of means to develop. Imagine............the big bang theory is being replaced. This new idea suggests that everything that there is expanded from the size of an atom.

Tag, whatever that means, and I'm "it".

Today another

"favorite

blog" created an approach that required answers so I will follow that direction here............So here's my tag

1. What’s your latest addiction? Right now caffeine is it.

2. What are you listening to? I listed to a lot of CNN. Flip channels. Listen to the radio first thing and on the way home. IPOD on my runs.

3. How late did you stay up last night and why? 8 PM. I was tired. Got up earlier.

4. Who were you with last Friday night? KJ is my standing date.

5. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? Yes of course..............KJ

6. When is the next time you’ll see your close friends? I am note sure which of a lot of friends I would list as a "close". My best friend and I see each other each day and night.

7. What were you doing this morning at 7am? I was sitting in a chair visiting with my close friend about the night, yesterday, this day and so forth.

8. What radio station do you listen to the most? KKOB is a local talk radio station. I like to listen to Paul Harvey and the news in general. I wear out pretty fast on any part of it that has call in.

9. What was the reason you last cried? I probably could find a reason to cry if I watched "Peggy Sue Got Married again and frankly I need to do that. Likewise I find things about "Dances with Wolves" that can evoke that. A lot of movies can do that. I find moments running that do that and I find times reading the scriptures that do that. These may not be the deeper reactions but I think that for a person to really feel remorse is something that ought not to be listed on a blog list. On the other hand what have refereed to is mostly deeper feelings.

10. Have you ever talked to someone when they were high? Yes but to call it "talking to them" is not accurate.

11. What’s the fifth text in your inbox say? A note from Mike is #5 in my in box. It deals with writing suggestions on an article I should have taken a lot more time with before I asked for feedback.

12. Where was the last coffee shop you went to? I have been to a lot of coffee shops. Mannies, Lindys, Millies, Macs, come to mind. Old style food. Interesting places.

16. What were you doing at 11pm last night? Sleeping or thinking about something.

17. Who was the last person you talked to last night before bed? KJ, course prayer is last. Then again I sort of think to myself for a lot of time.

18. Will you be driving in a year? Little as possible. I don't like to drive. I am on the other hand expecting to feel "driven" but then I don't need a car for that.

19. Is there anything that you are craving right now? I would like to be 5 miles into a 10 mile run. I would like to be deep into a good book. I would like to to be deep into a conversation with my best friend.

20. When did your last hug take place? MJ, Sunday.

21. Do I know why I am making up my own #21 and what is my favorite cookie and fruit, and day of the week. First off, no I don't. Then of course KJ's chocolate cookies. and a Brigham City Peach might be good. I like the Saturdays that we take a walk. The evenings that we go to Flying Star. The Sundays that we eat dinner together. Also any day that I run.

22. Have you ever started a sentence with “No offense, but. . .? No offense but this question seems odd. On the other hand as to the "intent" of that comment I very often try to think about how things sound. Need to more.

23. Do you drink tea? I don't think I have had more than a taste in my life. Dittto on Coffee.

24. Have you ever been arrested? Not in a long long time and then they might have been bluffing.

25. Have you ridden in someone else’s car today?No.

26. Have you made a mistake this past week?Of course but hopefully, not too many.

27. Who was the last person you emailed? Looking in my email, sent box I see, myself, KJ, KJ, King, KJ..................

28. Are you happy with your life right now? We have had some of the most significant blessings in our lives. I find much to be happy about. Some down moments happen too.

29. In the past 72 hours have you been under the influence? Regarding Caffeine...................I fail to see "influence" being an accurate description of too much or just enough but then "yes" is a good answer.

30. What’s the connection between you and the last person you emailed? Everything.

What you "hear" or "see" may not be fair and balanced but a tempest can be a problem.

Even so you have to do something about what you "see" or "hear" and it can be a challenge.

The world can get you down. Especially when you listen to the news. It is hard to get a "fair" review of what is going on and itt seems like we are surrounded by a "tempest" and that we are in danger of being pulled into the unknown. The source of our information changes the appearance of a problem a great deal. News from the left or the right or even the center are less accurate than just looking at the facts. News claiming to be fair or balanced may not be accurate. Sometimes the facts are staring us in the face. The scriptures report in Mark 4:37-41 of a great storm. A tempest. Many feared the unknown. Folks were scared. They awoke the master and asked if He cared. He suggested that with some faith that they had no need to fear and He calmed the storm. Answers come. Help comes. The best solution is to find the right source for help and for that matter understanding.

I have wondered a little about what the best source of "daily news" is. Those guys in the boat looked out and saw the news themselves. What they saw was very relevant to them. For them it was not an issue of "fair and balanced" but about whether the news meant a problem was at hand. Some over the years have had to fight for FREEDOM themselves and not been able to just have the storm calmed. On the other hand maybe they could have. Maybe they were sustained as they fought and that they needed to do all that they could before the calm came. Many have, like those in the boat, asked for help in faith and found it. Even in the boat those who feared were left to face that fear until they asked for help.

*

Fair and Balanced is a news perception that you really find on the tube or in the paper. Reality is not balanced. It is what it is. You know what the real news is when you are inspired and concerned enough to seek help in faith and being willing to ask for a solution.

I relaxed just above the road

Yesterday I saw a bird drop down to within a foot of the road ahead. His wings seemed to lean forward as his body leaned back and then with what seemed to be on obvious increase in speed the wings worked together to hold the the body almost still while the bird looked for something. Quickly it moved to the other side of the road and then ahead, each time almost stopping in mid air for a few minutes. The rhythm of the wings and the stillness of the body seemed perfect.

I thought of that "moment of stillness" today as I reached a midpoint in my 10 mile path. I relaxed just above the road. Sometimes with a deliberate attempt, but best unplanned, come moments of "stillness". The body moves across and up the road but then comes a second when mind seems to leave the body and float. Unplanned it can be like fresh new air just arrived. As the brain inhales it loses its recollection of recent events. For a moment you can not remember where you are and what you were thinking about. Often the brief moment having left is so missed that I "reach" for it to come back. Several large breaths of air inhaled and then the last held can help. I admit to closing my eyes at those moments and then for a brief second your mind and thoughts seem to fall and become separate from, and unconnected to, your body. The fall is almost real and is emphasized as you feel your body almost stagger but all the while you, and what you perceive to be "you", seems to be somewhere else.

*
Unplanned and even created highs,

to a degree while running is

a moment of stillness.

Just above the road,

energy all around

quietness within.

Are "favorites" really "hypothetical"

Men often become

“what they believe themselves to be”.

If I believe I cannot do something,
it makes me incapable of doing it.
But when I believe I can,
then I acquire the ability to do it
even if I didn't have it in the beginning."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Favorites

Favorite President: Abraham Lincoln. His second inaugural address is the essence of a life lived and learned from. He changed. His conclusions presented in this address were born in testimony of what he knew to be right, at that point.

Favorite questions to ponder: “What if there were no hypothetical questions?”

Favorite Cookies: chocolate…………. 2 c. sugar,1/4 c. cocoa powder,1/2 c. milk,1/2 c. butter or margarine, 2 c. quick oats, 1/4 c. peanut butter,1 T. corn syrup. In heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa and corn syrup; stir in milk. Add butter or margarine. Bring to boiling; boil vigorously 3 minutes. Stir in rolled oats and peanut butter. Return to boil. Remove from heat; stir until slightly thickened. Immediately drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper. Cool. Makes about 36 cookies (hint)

Favorite Singer: Dolly Parton: this could change but she will always be in the top few.

Favorite Authors: William F. Buckley Jr. His positions were thought out and anchored in real experience. I especially admired the consistency of his faith that was part of his writings throughout his life.

Favorite Boxer: Ali, I liked a lot of his quotes. “If you even dream of beating me you better wake up and apologize.”

Favorite Fruit: Raspberries win this one. Memories of eating them right off the bush are good thoughts.

Favorite Running Places: Millcreek Pipeline. Any trail that has 10 miles run behind me.

Favorite Vacation: Shakespeare Festival with “all” the family

Favorite Pizza: BBQ, usually

Favorite Grocery Store: Big store in Austin

Favorite Picture: Little Girl, Little boy, standing holding hands, kissing, together.

Favorite Gift: anything Kathy gave me

Favorite Book recently read: Einstein by Walter Isaacson

Favorite Day: today

Favorite Song: Angel, Sarah Mclachlan

Favorite yesterday : Ask me tomorrow

Favorite Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Favorite verse from a poem:

And you, my father,

there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Favorite verse from Edgar Allan Poe

For the moon never beams

without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise

but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

Favorite verse from Browning

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need

*

Favorite Sport: Basketball if it is the Utah Jazz and Stockton and Malone are there.

*

Favorite time of day: Mornings

*

Favorite Pet: the grand cat and grand dog

*

Favorite Blog: Any that Kathy does

*

*

re inventing and reflecting

I, again, have an office. It has been 9 months. I suppose better things than this office could come from 9 months effort but nevertheless this is what I have. The two collage's on the wall added a lot of color. (story of one of them was posted a couple of days back) I understand that the tile will be changed soon. The walls will be re done. Good things compared to no office.

*

Last night I watched a presentation by David McCullough the author of the book, "John Adams" . He spoke with a lot of passion about this man. It was re run from a few years back. One of the things that was interesting was to be reminded of how important Abigail Adams was to knowing John Adams and so much about this time period. John and Abigail exchanged over 1000 letters that have been preserved. John Adams frequently sought the advice of his wife on many matters, and their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics. I remember when I read the book how impressed I was with their love for each other, their marriage and her intellect.

*

McCullough must have read most of the letters and seemed to know both John and Abigail well. Well enough to understand both the human side as well as the side that was so committed to doing what was right and learning and mastering all that they could while sometimes just losing tempers and making mistakes.

*

The part of the office posted today of value is the pictures. Kathy and Abigail have a lot in common.............................................................

This picture is one that I have posted with before but it captures what can often be a "highlight" of the weekend. Saturday morning walks. A couple of miles and then a follow up run on my own. The last few weekends I have done a long run Sunday AM and did so this weekend also.






And on her lover’s arm she leant,
And round her waist she felt it fold
And far across the hills they went
In that new world which is the old;


Alfred Tennyson
*
I was reading a blog of a favorite person I know and she listed her favorite things. The result was a list and it covered a lot of categories. The one that caught my attention was that her comment that she "loved her family". I would add to that thought one other. The most important thing a father can do for his family is to love their mother. Another that caught my attention was that she saw herself as "determined".
*

How do I love thee?

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

How do I love thee

Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love with a passion put to use

In my old grief’s, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints;

I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!

and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death

History of a picture.

This

"collage"

is one that Kathy did a few years ago after we went to the State Fair........................... The picture was then hung just outside my office wall and was there for a couple of years. When I went to El Paso to start a new job, and as it turned out a new series of changes, this picture stayed on the office wall back in ABQ. After I left the company a few months later this "collage" was left behind and a good friend promised to get it for me. It represented Kathy's effort and talent and it was something I just didn't feel I wanted left behind. You always leave personal relationships behind. Some continue on. This picture was a part of someone else and I felt no need to share her talents. 10 months later I was treated to a birthday lunch by my friend who still worked at my former company and brought this with her. It now is on my wall in my new office.

No rage, just "light"

Song of Tonight
By Brent

Land and sky, reach out
Embraced by the old, tonight
Touched, from within with "light"
Our new world, like the old
Gone from sight

Memories, sometimes dim
Free in the land, no need to hide
Dancing with wolves, and the light

A Fathers memories, and past friends life
Friends eternal, a companion and wife
Life so short, families right
Truth eternal
Desire only to do right.

Neither of these guys is Grandpa Brent, o well

...........................two days in a row my "blog picture" has been taken from "favorite blogs" of favorite folks. This may solve the problem of what to post in the future, if I continue to get away with this. I started this day a little earlier than most. I went out for a early run. 10 miles on my B day. I remember a for years JB in SLC and I always ran 10 miles on his B day. Started the day with a couple of nice gifts, book, cookies, later a blog. I have about half of my cookies (did I mention that these are my very favorite) left.*

Remembering a good thought and trying to find it I also have the scriptures open to Proverbs. I found the scripture. I just really should have opened up and looked at this one every day for the last 62 years. Proverbs 3:5.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

So in 62 years I have a great deal to be thankful for. Of course there is a lot of favorites things that might be worth remembering today. Chocolate Cookies, a birthday card that makes me want to hug someone close. 10 miles run. A birthday lunch Friday and a birthday dinner today. Popcorn balls, and blogs and grandkids. The emails we get each Monday. Plenty of good things. Some lessor things but noteworthy over the last few days. A great Friday night fight..............This may seem odd but I watched the Friday night Boxing on TV. I just watched and sort of enjoyed and wished it was a Ali fight from years past that I could watch over and over and have done so. The fights seemed pretty boring in comparison and I was convinced that that ever seeing a good fight was a long ways done the road, if at all. The fight that proved surprising was when Ahunanya won a ten round unanimous decision over Alonzo. What was surprising was that Alonzo lost the fight but in the last second of the fight landed a punch and took the other fighter down. Going down at the bell meant, I guess, that it didn't quite count except for the fact that the guy that went down had to the count of 10 to get up. He did get up in 9. He still won the fight he had dominated until that last punch. The guy that lost held his head up. It made all the difference to him in how he lost. Right up to the last second he was trying and he took the guy down with the last possible swing. Loved the fight. Guess surprises come. Guess a great moment can happen when least expected. Man, just makes you won't to go out and punch something...................................

the day before "the" next year

This "great collection" of pictures was taken and arranged by my favorite person after we went for a walk last week. I "lifted" it off her blog and I don't know if she will be glad or not when she sees it her since "lifting her pictures off her blog is a "no no", sort of, but this arrangement is really good, as is all of her photo arrangements. Our walk was downtown Albuquerque. A lot of the buildings have painted sides and backs that are sort of reflective of the mood of the downtown . In addition to the paintings are some interesting signs a couple of interesting folks in the lower left corner and a interesting window sign.

Very talented lady.

*

Tomorrow is #62

Tell that guy to shift/control/delete and then punt.

According to a survey conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress, "Man's Search For Meaning", by Viktor Frankl belongs to a list of "the ten most influential books in the United States.

Frankl's book showed that the last of the human freedom was to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

*

*
"Nietzsche's words offered some similar advice,

*

'He who has a why to live for

can bear with almost any how.'"

*
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct.

*

Questions about life/ by me

1 : Life is not fair as you look at it each day but then it does make us better or worse and it in many ways is up to us.

2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem and the truth is working hard in spite of low self esteem does make you better

3 : Titles are a foolish goal. If they proceed accomplishment then they don't last long.

4 : Bosses are tougher than teachers but you will be your own toughest critic if you have the right motives pushing you.

5 : Doing work well is a worthy goal and any work should not be beneath your dignity.

6: Schools may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT.

7. Winning is as much about staying in the ring as who wins the fight. Never give up.

8. The value of people is not in what they can do for you but in the humanity you share with them.

9. Those that hurt you make you better than those that try to help you, all to often.

10 Caring about others should not be dependent upon being cared about.

"High" on Fathers Day

Is he really smiling or even

happy or just "high".

3 of these 5 pictures

really have a lot to do with my best friend upstairs........... rather than being focused on "Fathers Day". So I started out by just figuring I would find some favorite pictures and post them and just let the day go with just that. 2 of the 3 pictures I am talking about here are not even "us". Even so they make me think of "us". For that matter the stack of books I picked for the picture are not mine either. I have plenty of books that I could have featured in a picture but these seemed interesting. I like to re read books and especially the ones that I underlined the first time through. Books that I have underlined in includes a lot of good books. The stuff underlined seems to quickly recapture the book for me on the subsequent times through. I also like to go from book to book finding a common thread or thought that I have an interest in. The scriptures are easier to do this with since you can find references for all the places the "thought of interest" appears.

I like to run and I enjoy watching a good boxing match. Actually I would like to put on some gloves and have a good fight a lot of the time but "wanting" is easier than "doing", I suppose. Even so the challenges we sometimes meet can be a surprise. I really like this picture of me half way through the Saint George Marathon a few years back. I don't know which one but it was probably one of my earlier races. I look at the picture and I see my foot turned more than normal. I see the bandage on my knee that I had put on at mile 10 or somewhere along the line. I look at my face and I realize that perhaps the secret to looking like your smiling is to sincerely wish you had died a mile or two back. I recall the wish was even stronger at mile 22 that day. I remember when I ran into the park in downtown Saint George I laid on the ground and all I could see was stabbing white light and even though I drank a lot of water it made little difference for a long time. I actually, a week ago, for the first time in probably 15 years saw the same light and felt a little like that. I had gotten home from a 10 mile run. The mileage was not the issue but I didn't take any water with me. I have always been ok without water up to 8 to 10 miles but last Saturday was hotter than normal and I just drained my body of water. The main thing I remember a week later about the white stabbing light and being lost for a moment in the pain was that in some odd way it was a little bit of a "high" actually. Not like the overall running high but in a odd way getting through it was a high. Nothing equals the "high" that a long run can produce.

*

Good Quotes for the day

Statement after losing his first fight to Ken Norton, March 31, 1973: I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.
Muhammad Ali

*

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
Muhammad Ali

Searching for Jumbo

So this is my day before Fathers Day post. I can't even think of a picture to put on this? Maybe I will later, and will add to this? This morning I opened a book about writing and noticed with interest some of the things that I had underlined. One item mentioned that in good writing the readers needs, rather than ones own, should dominate the "thinking" that goes into the writing. It also mentioned that good writing is a lot like good manners. This was a help to communicating with he reader, or course. In another chapter it said that "Mumbo Jumbo"is what comes out in first and second drafts when your still writing for yourself.
*
Success. Writing for myself is pretty much a given on this blog. Guess it really, in many ways, is indeed "Mumbo Jumbo". On the other hand I have also given some thought to who else reads it and I often try to tell about something that I would like to have known or quote something that I think has helped me and may help others.
*
Success eventually: So even though I "may" be writing this for myself and it sometimes is indeed "mumbo jumbo" I would offer a defense of the approach by saying that I find that writing is also a way of thinking things over......................................
*

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.

When there is a gap between ones's real and ones's

declared aims, one turns , as were instinctively,

to long words and exhausted idioms, like

cuttlefish squirting out ink.

George Orwell

*

Writing and rewriting are a constant search

for what it is one is saying

John Updike

ignorance is better if your a little younger, ya think?

Knowing what we don't know is easier as

time goes on. On the other hand when

we are young we sort of don't realize

what we don't know and it may

make us more creative? At

least that is what Picasso thought.

"All children are artists"
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." '

~ Pablo Picasso

Two very different trails along arroyos less than a mile apart.

These pictures capture a few of the things that I normally see on a run in my neighborhood. I took all but the first one this morning. The first is from a few weeks back and before we hit the 90's. The contrast in the two arroyos is what caught my interest. Today I went back and re ran yesterdays route just to see these two areas again. Yesterday I covered 10 miles and that was my longest run this year. Wyoming to the West and Tramway to the East. North to Elena . Today I went West back towards Wyoming reaching first the arroyo trail lined with sagebrush. Turning to the North and going past the high school is a arroyo trail that really is a "first class park" between two neighborhoods. This park/trail, seems like an oasis in the desert. It is easy to take for granted the blue sky that is just very different in New Mexico than up North but green grass is not a common sight in New Mexico. I don't recall anywhere that it was as "green". Yesterday and today I was struck with thoughts and memories as I ran this short half mile trail. The grass was freshly cut. It was wet. The smell and color was so very different than the sight normally seen on a run. Running is as much about memories sparked with sounds and sights as it is anything else. Even a fly buzzing around my head sometimes takes me back to thoughts many years ago.

10, miles, thoughts about a bench, Milan and making the most of our lives......................

We,

would

have

gone

for a

walk

but

today

was

different. Today we didn't since my favorite running/walking companion wanted to let her foot heal up a little more. One thing I like to do when we go walking is to stop on a bench that looks over a small park. The bench in this picture only reminds me of the favorite little park bench, since I usually start out Saturday walking with her and then running on afterwards alone. I still call my part running although it isn't all that fast. So I just went out and ran myself today. 10 miles. Hot. Not enough water, in fact no water with me which was a mistake.

*

Milan Italy was not on my run or even in my thoughts until last night. The other pictures are of a church, and a town square ( bet there might be a nice bench there somewhere) in Milan Italy. I got an email yesterday from a friend who lives part time or most of the time in Tokyo. He had recently been in Milan and took these pictures.

*

Then too I was looking at a good quote by Ezra Taft Benson. I thought it was insightful and helpful.

*

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that

He can make a lot more of of their lives than they can.

He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds,

strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings,

increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends,

and pour out peace. Who ever will lose his life in the service of God

will find eternal life"