For the first time I was the old man.  We talked for a long time.  And frequently.  She was waylaid:  she had broken her leg badly and was home recovering.  I started calling her home and having long conversations.

She told me her Dad died several years ago and she was quite close to him and no one ever replaced him.  She had no older man to talk to any longer until me.

She was married and so was I and my other did not appreciate the longer calls and wanted me to stop them.  I knew when she went back to work they would.  For the first time I was the older male, the older confidant and the realization was somewhat startling.

Not that it was any thing more than that.  It was not.  For the first time I had become the older male–the father figure and that was a role I never thought of myself.  I just got older.

It was just another world–only six miles away.  There is an healthy Amish and Mennonite community that close to me.  Until two years ago I had no idea it was there.

We were looking for someone to build a wooden fence for our yard two years ago.  It was then I became aware of this community.  People who only used horse and buggy to get around.  And had no electricity or cars.

I became friendly with Ron a Mennonite who built our fence.  He was straight forward.  There was no guile.  He was what you see.  Totally honest.  I got to know his large family better and his life.

I marveled this community was so close.  My awareness of this started when I started shopping at a large Mennonite produce stand.  Now I get most of my produce there.  The prices are generally good.  They also have a bakery.

They know me there.  And I learned the names of the two who generally are behind the counter.  Sometimes you have no idea of another world until you change you habits a little and go in another direction.  This world was right under my nose and until recently I had no idea it even existed.

Why do most teachers in high school and college act as if the whole world learns only by lecture.  I could never understand that.  You would think that is the way everyone learns and I know this is not true.

Some people are kinesthetic learners.  They learn by doing.  Physically doing something.  Some of the most famous dancers did not shine until their parents recognized this and put them in the proper environment.

There are always clues how you learn but somehow you have to recognize them.  There are people who like taking things apart and putting them together.  What do you spend most of your time doing?

So many times a student is a square peg and the system is trying unsuccessfully to put them in a round hole.  I really do not understand why public education is so bad and insists the student learn in a way which is not always to their liking or leaning.

I could personally identify with this.  I was at an disadvantage in school because I did not learn from lecture.  And I am sure there are many others like me.

In fact a college was going to call me handicapped for that reason.  I think that is absurd.  Somehow the parent has to advocate for their child and find the best situation for them.

The situation in which they will flourish.  Every person is different and learns in their own way.  The parent has to figure that out.  Not every one reads but every person excels in one at least one area.  The parent has to figure out where it is.  And put his child in that situation.

Some people get educated despite themselves.  Education is not an end point but a process.  The literal translation of the word education means to lead toward.  It is not a degree and is on going.

And it is true:  some people do get educated despite themselves but most of the time it is a journey.  There is really no point you have arrived which is not to say a piece of parchment is not an accomplishment.  It is.  But don’t stop there.

I could never understand people who get degrees and stop reading.  And an education is not simply books.  It is the process of learning during your life.  It never stops.

Some of the wisest people have no degrees.  It is all about learning.  And learning is not always in books.  We need carpenters and mechanics and plumbers.  In fact, there is a shortage of these people.

Whatever you do, do it with your whole heart.  In Thoreau’s words, ‘Let living be thy sport (from Walden).’

It is easy to become angry and harder to hold your tongue.  Patience is a virtue.  It is easy to react in anger.  And anger can get in the way.  I know that.  I am working on that.

And when the other erupts, sometimes the best course of action is not to say anything but let her words wash over you.  And let her calm down.  You can’t discuss issues when tempers are flaring.

And words sometimes hurt.  When both of you have calmed down and neither feel threatened the timing is better to discuss conflict.  It is harder in practice of course but it is worth trying.

My wife did not want to put a paper clip on the documents she spent six hours preparing.  We had a short conversation regarding that and I finally let it go.  It seemed such a small thing.  And I did not understand but I acquiesced.  It was her business.  Later on she revealed the reason.  Sometimes we don’t want to do a certain thing.  And it is really a small matter.  And sometimes it is not.  You just have to let it go.  And not force the issue.

‘Your window to the world might be your own front door.  Your shiniest day might come in the middle of the night.’  Two lines from the Blackhawk song “That’s Just About Right”.  I identify with those two lines.

I am not sure I will ever do any thing earthshaking.  Nor will I ever be the President or some CEO of a corporation.  I realize maybe what I do in my own backyard might be important.

Notoriety or fame is overrated.  I remember reading in Bob Dylan’s autobiography how he wanted fame early on and then got it and wished he didn’t have it.  He wanted his children to have a normal existence and they could not.

Some weirdo was always showing up on his doorsteps.  Anonymity is really a gift.  And the famous lose it.  Dylan bemoaned its loss.  And realized fame was not what it was cut out to be.

I will continue to do what the Lord has called me to do.  Whether or not others recognize it.  The words I write if they impact at least one person they served their purpose.  I will continue to reach out and love the people around me.

The words from this song remind me to continue writing for it still matters to me no matter how many people read it.  So I continue for I know I have to.

We love the large pine tree outside our living room window, which is the center of attention.  I placed a suet cage right next to its trunk.  There are a steady stream of woodpeckers mostly downy who feed on the suet.  The squirrels also come.

The downy woodpeckers travel up and down its trunk seemingly at attention.  Only one bird is allowed to feed on the suet at one time.  The others make sure of that.  Sometimes there is as much as two or three downy woodpeckers on the trunk of the tree at one time.

Occasionally a red bellied woodpecker makes its entrance.  The sight of it makes me gasp.  It is a bigger woodpecker with an one inch red stripe that goes from the back of the top of its head to its nape of its neck (at least the male looks that way).  I had never seen one before and now they are regular visitors.

The white breasted nuthatch also likes the suet as well as the Carolina wrens who I have fallen in love with.  I did not know wrens could get that big.  Occasionally a cardinal will alight on one of its branches briefly.

We get occasional visits by the brown creeper who has a long curved beak and is a small brown colored bird who appropriately creeps up and down the pine’s trunk.  And these are only the birds we remember seeing.

This year a large branch was brought down by an ice storm which became our Christmas tree when I cut off part of it.  We used the rest of it for our tree.  It was one of the most beautiful trees we ever had lit up by several hundred multicolored lights.  Both of us love this tree and consider it to be our friend.

The brightly red colored cardinal (the male of course) still takes my breath away.  Every time.  It is one of the most beautiful song birds I have ever seen.  I was amazed when my friends could not identify it when it crossed the road right in front of us.  (They live in NYC.)  I also love hearing it sing.  It is still one of my favorite song birds.  And still relatively common.

When I see the bird feed on the ground there are generally two at one time–his drably colored female is usually with him.  They mate for life.  As a rule they are somewhat cautious and flush easily.  It is always a treat for me to see the male.

I have to thank both of my wives for one thing.  Both love cats and dogs.  When I was growing up I never had any pets.  My Mom simply was too fastidious.  She could not tolerate any messes they might make.  When I married Robin we usually had at least one dog and one cat.  And now I have a menagerie with Lynelle:  seven cats and four dogs.  I would not want to live my life any other way.  I love all my pets.  They daily enrich my life.

I still love Macintosh apples after all these years.  I was shopping at Aldi’s a week ago and I bought two bags of them.  I usually can tell just by looking at them whether they are going to be crispy.

I once met the apple buyer of a large supermarket chain and he told me how fickle these apples were.  They had to be stored at just the right range of temperature.  Well Aldi’s must have it right.  Their apples were extremely crisp and tart.

I worked as a produce clerk for years and found out there are many varieties of apples and I have sampled each one that came along.  Macintosh is still my favorite.  And I have no explanation why.  It just is.

Spring was less than five weeks away.  I started my countdown.  It was close enough to it.  I do this every year.  It is a little game I play.  I am waiting for the warmer weather.  The spring.  The blackberries and raspberries I pick.  My annual camping trip I take in May with my buddy.  The explosion of life.  The first flowers — daffodils.  Everything.  Every year I have a countdown.  The winter that passes me and I endure just makes spring that much sweeter.  Right now there is quite a bit of snow on the ground.  I know in less than six weeks it will be all gone and the daily temperatures will gradually rise.  My countdown is my anticipation of spring and what follows.