Passing moments

I woke up the other morning, here in Belize, to a wondrous sight and a beautiful smell. Along the fence line near my front porch, a small tree had bloomed overnight with these fragrant and fluffy flowers. The bees were loving them in their own small, busy way. I snapped a couple shots of the flowers (picture above) on my new Canon Powershot camera.

I went for a walk later that day that gave me view of the hillside leading up to the place I am staying. The hillside was teeming with these freshly bloomed flowers, all snow white against the lush green of the Rain Forest. It was a spectacular display of nature running her course.

The next day I noticed the bright white giving way to a pale, faded off-white. Now, today they are merely brown with the sweet scent as faded as the bright white.

Ahhh, the implied metaphors of the passing moments of our lives giving way to the next.

Yes, so stop and smell the flowers of your life today. Tomorrow they may not be gone, but they will have changed from today. Take them in with all your senses. Relish them in that moment. Do not be sad that they will fade away. But, be glad in that moment, that you were there in that moment of full glory and beauty, no matter how fleeting the moment.

Wanderlust

It has been quite some time since I last posted something here. I have been busy in spurts. I don't have my own computer to go to in the middle of the night. And, I have just been feeling introverted, sometimes depressed, and winter usually compounds these things for me. My father died earlier this year. Tanya told me she doesn't love me and never will. My job with Black Rock Solar, while very rewarding, only provides work intermittently. So, the Universe has sent me a gift, a reprieve from the Universal Gov'nah. I am going to BELIZE, all expenses paid, for 2 months. Plus, I get more than enough to pay my monthly bills that do not cease while I am away. HoooRaay!

How did this happen? Well, someone who trusts me, respects me, and cares for me, needed someone to oversee some construction taking place on her 14 acres on a mountainside in Belize. She could not be there. She was worried. I called her in my depression. Wham-Bam within 36 hours it all just fell into place. So, this Friday I head to Arizona to meet the business partner. And the following Monday, I leave for Cancun for a day then a short bus ride to Belize.

I'll have my own pick up truck while I'm there in the epicenter of what used to be the Mayan capital and its suburbs. There are 4 main ruins sites very nearby. And there is the main ruins of Tikal about 40 miles away in Guatemala. I plan to go to as many as possible. Since the last day of BM '03, when some info about the Mayan calender came to me, I have been very intrigued with the Maya. In fact, I am a 'Yellow Galactic Warrior' from the Mayan calender. Now, I am thrust to the heart of their civilization. This is exciting for me.

If anyone has plans to be in Central America this winter, let me know. We can hook up for some adventure or just chill. I should have semi-regular or better web access while there.

Well, I gotta tie up some loose ends and pack now.....

Life

As a lot of my friends and peers are considering or dealing with having children, I am playing with my grandchildren. Yep, that's right, I am a grandpa. I had my beautiful daughter Sarah, at age 16. She gave birth at 21. It has had its downsides being a father so young. I'm glad to accept an awesome upside. I am young enough, and healthy enough, to thoroughly enjoy and participate in the lives of my grandchildren.
Last week I spent time with my grandsons, Justice, and his little brother, Micheal (we call him Mister, he's such a little man). I got to teach them how to hit a baseball. Justice was spending his last days as a five year old and Mister will be 3 in October.
After getting Justice to hold the bat right and in the proper stance, it took some coaching to get him to keep his eye on the ball and get a full swing. Then, magically....wham!... he hit hit one right out of the backyard, over the fence and hit the neighbor's garage. I don't know who was more excited, him or me.
Mister couldn't quite follow a pitch and get the bat around. So we took an old shoplight stand and made it into a perfectly sized T-ball stand. Whadda ya know, the little guy is a switch-hitter. We finally settled on his lefty stance. Man once that ball was setting still in front of him...look out. He couldn't get it out of the yard, but he could line drive it to the backyard outfield. In his excitement, and little understanding of the game, he would run willy-nilly all over the yard, and then fall down laughing.
We went to the beach at Lake Michigan. We grilled hotdogs. We built sand castle empires. We buried each other in sand and made huge, funny body shapes. A firetruck from the Gary, IN Fire Department showed up. I walked the kids over to have a look. The firemen were great. they let us sit in driver's seat of the firetruck, and then they took the kids for an impromtu ride around the parking lot. All day long there were fighter jets, practicing for the weekend's airshow, speeding just a couple hundred feet above us; giving us our own little airshow.
We rarely know where Life will take us. We can seldom plan for the best outcome. We never know what tomorrow will bring, or if there will be a tomorrow for sure. Days like these let us live thru all the others.
Now, I'm headed back to the high desert. If you see me out there, and I ain't smiling, please remind me of these things we live for.

The End is near....

I am sitting here listening to the radio while I study.

In between the shouts for me to buy something, I hear..what is that...oh its music...
Everytime I turn my ear to listen, I shudder. Every song is either a cover of and old song, a newly arranged old song (usually an originally upbeat song re-arranged to sound melancholy ...oh how contritely 'artistic'). If not that, its either a 'new' song that is nothing but a bunch of lines ripped off from other songs strung together, or an over sampled melody with rap lyrics on top. I won't even get into all the songs that are an old song with new lyrics put on top...ala Ice Ice Baby. Or the thinly vailed, rip off of bass lines and guitar riffs and leads.

The music has died and its clones have taken over. Someday, in the far future, the Messiah of original music will rise up and save us, or at least our great, great, great.......grandchildren. Or maybe not. That undiscovered state-sized meteor is still hurling its way toward earth at 100,000 miles an hour. I wonder what kind of music the bees and roaches will have after the apocolypse. Sorry, I forgot, we're already killing all the bees. Its up to the roaches.

Art Car?

Maybe you need to see this in person to appreciate it, maybe not.

I was walkin down the street on the way back from a boat ride in Bangkok, when I saw this parked on a narrow street along the canal. This is one of the many vehicles in Thailand that made me think, "Whoa, now that's a playa ride." I mean hey, ice cream trucks are cool, but a rollin coffee shop? All the body mods were done very cleanly. The hinged roof and folding side, and the slide out in the back (not visible in the pic) with bagels and toaster and stuff. The interior was nicely done in real wood and white leather. The eye-catching green paint job speaks for itself. The cute barista on the left was a good addition too. Off-camera was even a Thai hippie playin guitar. The folks there didn't speak much english so I really couldn't ask them about their ride.

"Did you have something?", you ask.

Hell yes. It was pretty hot in the day. I got a local favorite: Thai iced tea. Its a combination of hot black tea, some kinda sweet cream stuff, and a splash of milk....all mixed together and poured over ice. The black tea and the cream make an interesting orange-colored drink. MMmmm tastey. They served it up with a smile that made it twice as good.

Off I went, with my drink, my smile, and a brain buzzin with ideas and sugar and caffine.

World Class Art

Since *tribe killed my last blog* with an unexpected 'login' screen, this is a condensed version of what I had written, which could be a good thing, but it still pissed me off....

While going thru my 1000+ photos from Thailand, I realized I had seen an amazing amount of awsome art; Architecture, sculpture, painting, textile, religious, and home grown - like vehicles, and the people themselves and their music.
So, over the next few days I'm gonna do some posts relating to the art that I saw on my trip.

This first installment is from The Queen's Gallery in Bangkok. There was an exhibit on its last day at the gallery. It was paintings on loan from private collectors in Thailand. All the paintings were from Thai artists in the last 50 or 60 years. The impetus was to have art derived from inspiration other than purely religious (Buddhist usually). There were many striking and beautiful works. The one pictured here was very impressive; and huge, about 5 feet tall by about 7 feet wide. There was alot of detail, and if you care to look at a better photo look here: www.flickr.com/photos/vis...3893628222/ and click on the 'original' link above the pic. Some of the details are small sketches at different points on the large painting, as well as shadows of other work underneath the final painting's background. It made me wonder if that was intentional or if it evolved that way. Although not a religious piece per ce, I felt it had religious undertones; with the robe, the necklace, and the ravens, perhaps even with the tattoos. I have to say the color quality is somewhat diminished from the original, but you can get the feel of it. I regret that I could not capture the artist's name. Much of the labeling at the exhibit was in Thai.

There were many other high quality works as well, and in many different styles. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there. I invite you, in the very near future, to go and visit your local art museum or gallery. I am quite sure you will find at least 1 piece that moves you. And, you will be so glad you went.

Back to the grindstone...kinda

Well, I am back in Reno, NV USA. I was gone for 65+ glorious days. After landing in SF on Thursday, and having a few drinks with the DPW at Benders, I jumped on the the diesel-powered 10-wheeled canine. 28 hours in Sf and I slept for 20 of them. Friday and Saturday are merely a blur. Sunday was my first day back with 'normal' hours. I got up at 4:30 am. At 10:30 I went to the sports book at the casino and watched the Daytona 500. Typical Sunday kinda stuff. Its Monday (late) morning now. I still feel kinda worn down, but I know I gotta keep movin. I got a hundred things to do. I was so ready to come home. Now i got to make my way the rest of the way home...hey I got 20 acres to call home now. I'll probably be there this weekend with another camper, and maybe some more building materials. I hope to have some of you all come out and see me this spring and summer.

Well here I go... I got a truck and motorcycle that need some love after 2 months of sitting......
(and then only 98 more things...............)

Last Transmission from Bangkok

I was gonna post my last thoughts before leaving Thailand. My bus to the airport will leave in about 5 minutes. Gonna miss this place, this country. The people are fantastic. Enjoy the pic.
I'll write all y'all when I get stateside.

Temples and Culture

Tomorrow is my last full day in Thailand. This morning I got up way before dawn. I had a simple mission: Drag my lazy ass out of bed and go see The Temple of Dawn...at Dawn.

It was still dark as I made my way down the side streets of Bangkok towards the nearest pier. I met my previous tuk-tuk driver at the end of my street. I reached out to shake his outstretched hand. He did not want to shake my hand, instead he gave me a big hug and said, "Good Morning!". He asked where I was goin, and I told him my plans. He said he would take me. I politely declined and said I'd rather have the morning walk. He smiled big with a true understanding and warmth. He wished me well as I was on my way.

It was already hot and humid in Bangkok. I stopped at the 7-11 and got an iced coffee and drank it as I walked. I arrived to a closed pier. So, I kept walking along the riverside sidewalk, with water at both sides, until I came to an open pier. Careful study of the signs and my map lead me on 3 different boats to my destination.

The sun was barely up as I arrived. This centuries old temple was magnificient and majestic there on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. I had read up on its history the night before. I had a childlike sensation of excitement as I exited the boat. The utter vision of the detail and workmanship that went into what I was seeing was amazing. The place had been open only a few minutes. There were about 4 other tourists there. We had a good 3/4 hour to ourselves with the place, before it started to get an influx of of other tourists. I spent a full hour there. And, in my unintentional style, I made it to the next ferry out within 1 minute of its departure.

There was a surreal sky as the sun was rising up thru the marine inversion layer of clouds. After a short walk, I arrived at Wat Pho. Another of the oldest temples in Bangkok. There, I saw a reclining Buddha that was 50 meters long. It was an awesome site. I heard a tour guide say that they built the temple around the Buddha. And that the project took 7 years to complete. It was crowded with tourists. I made my way thru and finished filling my camera with pictures.

It was a good morning I thought, as I walked back to my room at the guesthouse.

Well, I have emptied my camera to the internet. Now I will get some lunch at a streetside diner and make my way to The Queen's Gallery to see 2 exhibits that are both on their last day. and I'll see a 5 ton solid gold Buddha, and an artificial mountain that gives a good panoramic view of Bangkok.

So, I'm off to fill my camera again.......

Bangkok Bound

Well, I spent my final night on the islands of the Adaman Sea. Memories, feelings, and photos to sort out later. This last island was the most primitive, with barely a trace of modernization. I even had a glass of Cashew wine and a fine conversation about the joys of traveling, with a fellow from Munich. I ate, drank, and smoked with Canadians, French, Spanish, Germans, Scandinavians, and Thai. We had laughs, as well as quiet, relaxing admiration for the pristine beauty around us. Several of us left on the same 7:30 AM longtail to the mainland. The boat ride back was sublime. No one talked much. Just last glances back to the islands and the sea, with occasional glimpses and smiles for each other.

Well, now its on to Bangkok, where I am gonna find a SuperBowl Party at 5am Monday morning. Then I will have 9 days to explore Bangkok before boarding the 777 to SF via Tokyo.

Well, The trains are full of locals traveling for Chinese New Year. So, in 1 hour, I am boarding a bus for the 9 hour journey.......