It has been a lazy Sunday morning.  I missed church and still have my sweats and moccasins on.  I am finished with my morning coffee.  We made plans to go to a church evening service so I have to make myself more presentable:  shave, shower, etc.  My day is just starting although it is past twelve PM.  It is never too late to take your day more seriously.  It matters.

We were going home from church the back way.  Two fawns disappeared into the undergrowth on the right side of us.  I am sure “mom” was nearby but we did not see her.  I had never seen twin fawns before.  I was thrilled.  It was the highlight of my day.  In the wintertime the town does not even plow that road when it snows.  It was a little bit off the beaten path.  It is not unusual to see deer in the fields there in the early morning or dusk.  I never know exactly what animal I will see.

My world is interconnected.  There are so many people I owe thanks to.  And I am sure I will leave somebody out.  A thanks to my primary doctor who takes goood care of me.

A thank you to our retired electrician who did some work in our house this year.  My wife still loves that lamp you installed over the sink.  And we have three new electric radiators and two new thermostats.  There is nothing like heat in the winter.

Thanks, to Bob, who willingly answers my questions about “ailing” cars.  Thank God I have not needed you too much this year and our 2006 SUV is behaving well.

Thank God to all my listeners at the Open Mikes.  Their comments encouraged me and kept me writing.

A thanks to Mike whose comments in his letter to me I have picked up occasionally when my spirit dropped.  I am sorry your best friend died unexpectedly.

There is Sonya, our postmaster, who always asks how I am doing, everytime I drop by our post office.

A thanks to the team of doctors that takes care of me–my nephrologist, etc.  There are so many people I appreciate.

A thanks to the small church I go to–its pastor Pete and the many people I have become friendly with from there.

I know I have left out people.  My sisters who had an hand in making my trip to San Francisco by train a reality and who both support me and care about me.

Philhaven, a thanks to for helping get me past a rough patch.  You all know who you are.

And all my pets, particular my dogs:  Pax who always comes to me when he wants something.  And Tilla whose tail never refuses to wag when he see me.  And Coco is a real sweetheart.  And don’t let me forget Sweetie, who is just that a sweetie.

And that is just the dogs.  Thanks Cool Hand Luke, the last pet still alive from my Duncannon days, a black cat, who often keeps me company on the bed.

And most of all my wife who is always there and gives me a reason to get up each morning.

‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…’ is the opening lines of the Psalm King David wrote (the twenty-third Psalm).  Know when you are struggling, He will never forsake you.  Humans might, but not The Almighty.

Repeat those lines over and over even when you feel out of control and there is no hope.  Cling to those words until they become saturated in every corner of your being.

Know He will take care of your every need, know He will not forsake you even in your darkest hour.  By all means read the rest of that psalm.  Just know he will fill every need you have and will never forsake you even when others let you down.

We are all imperfect and flawed.  ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’  If that is all you have, that is all you need.  Never lose sight He cares about every thing you do and say.

He is always at your side.  Never lose sight of that.  And make sure you do not fight your fight alone for others will pick you up when you slip and fall.

So find a body in a church you are comfortable with.  You have to make yourself accountable to others.  It matters.  Another person can pick you up when you fall.  And we all do.  And God works through others.

Tragedy befalls people everywhere.  I just came from my small church this Sunday morning.  I talked to a lady who was going through chemotherapy at least a second time:  her cancer returned again.

We were told that in our congregation a four year old boy’s brain tumor returned and he would be operated again next week.

You do not have to live very long to discover somewhere someone is dealing with some difficulty.  The only question is whether they face their difficulties with courage and honesty.

Someone is always coming down with something.  There are accidents.  There is illnesses and disease.  Tragedy happens every day to someone.

Every day someone lives, someone dies.  It is the same everywhere.  Though, that knowledge does not make it any easier, especially when you are that person.  It is something you have to work through.  And it takes time.

The trees blanketed by the first snowfall were beautiful.  It was a “dusting” but nevertheless breathtaking.  It made me glad to be alive.  I was heading for church in the morning.  Everything–the ground, bushes and trees were completely covered with white.  I would be glad when winter would be over and the warm weather returned but I really was in no rush.  It was a brisk thirty-two degrees outside.  And everything was white, a sight my brother-in-law would never see, who lived in San Francisco.  In a few hours the snow would melt.  The morning truly was a “miracle”.

I could not understand why I did not want to go to church.  Today I did.  It has been going on for two months.  Today it hit me.  I did not know how to discuss the prognosis of my doctor.

For a long time I assumed I might live somewhere to the ripe old age of maybe eighty or ninety (that is how long my mother and father lived respectively) but now I am not sure I will make it to sixty-five.  I am now sixty-one now (???).

I did not know how to openly discuss my fears on death.  Or at least I was afraid to.  I did fall into a depression.  I realized my staying away was a way I had of indicating in a passive way there was something seriously wrong with me.  I had been going regularly–every Sunday morning to my little church.

I want to thank the people who are in my life.  I know most people will never read this and I will leave out people and I realize Thanksgiving has passed but it is never too late to do this.  All these people take the “extra step” and I do not want to take any of them for granted.

First the medical team

(1) Dr. Hume for your kindness and helpfulness

(2) Dr. Cornelius for your patience

(3) Dr. Blake for her thoroughness

(4) Dr. Mital for your ability to listen

Then,  P & R and Bob and his team who takes care of our cars and keeps them running smoothly, I thank you for your honesty and competence and for standing up to your work even when it costs you and most of all for always giving me the time of day when I have a question about my vehicle

For both of my sisters Fran and Marilyn who are always there when I need them

For Tony for your support:  you know who you are

For Sara, who I have known for over fifteen years and is one of the reasons I still write for her encouragement never abated

For the audience at the local coffeehouse who laughed at my material encouraging me to continue to find the humorous in everyday situations

For Elizabeth Yon wherever you are and the years you spent moderating our writing group

My two kids who years ago I thought I never would have but they came and have blessed me immeasurably

All the many people who God put in my life including those from my small church who have blessed me with their presence

To Sonya who welcomes everyone at the local post office and gives me one more reason why I want to stay in my small town and Perry county

And most of all for my wife who inspires me and still makes me laugh after all these years and came into my life when I was not looking, who thinks she is better than me at Scrabble (she did lose the first ten games she played against me).  As an editor she has no equal.  My website and blog would never have come into being if it was not for her (she is the webmaster).  I “pop” out my bed each morning because of her.  And she bakes a pretty “mean” apple pie.  She gives me a reason to cook.  And that is no small thing.  And after six years she still wants to sleep in our bed.  I call her “serendipity” although she can really be stubborn (for that matter so can I); nevertheless, I thank the Lord every day for her.  I did nothing to deserve her.

The grass is not greener elsewhere.  It is so tempting to believe that but it is not.  Sometimes paradise is right in front of you.  This year I discovered a large raspberry patch within an hundred yards on the street I live on the edge of some woods.

This was to be the second year I was going to pick raspberries in a patch I discovered last year on my property.  And then I discovered this patch.  I did not know who the owners were.  The berries were wild.  I picked enough at the new patch for at least two pies.

It amazed me I never noticed that patch before.  It was ten feet in from the road and I happened to notice it when my dog was sniffing around there.  What else am I missing right under my feet?

I was going home from church and took the long way because the land was wilder and I never knew what wildlife I would see from this road.

I was not disappointed this time:  I flushed a dozen wild turkey hens.  I do see wild turkey around here but I had never seen so many at one time.  I was thrilled to say the least.

I never know for sure what discovery I will make next time.  We have thousands of books between us and there is an universe in each of them so I have no need to travel too far to explore the next universes.

And that does not even include universe after universe in my music– thousands of LP’s, cassettes and CD’s.

I never run out of things to explore.  I do not have to go to far but don’t get me wrong I do enjoy traveling once in a while.  I just don’t feel I have to.

I love my local diner.  For the first five and a half years I did not even set foot in it.  It is a mere three miles from my house.  Finally I started going there.  I was waking up early and frankly was lonely.  My wife was not up yet.

At first, I would just get a cup of coffee there.  I was learning about the lives of the waitresses (I do not like the word server) in dribs and drabs.  I learned that Sharon had almost worked there for thirty years.  She loved what she did.  And there was Jane and others whose lives I slowly entered.

They were making a living from serving me (and others) but it was more than that.  They had running relationships with most of their customers.  The local diner’s rules were pretty relaxed:  I saw customers going in back of the counters and serving themselves coffee because the waitress was just too busy at the moment.

I would sit at the counter taking in all the conversations around me.  You might say I was eavesdropping without being too obvious about it.  I heard some big tales especially about hunting.  This county shuts down when hunting season for deer starts the Monday after Thanksgiving.  In fact, this state ranks two in the nation for bear hunting.  Some of the tidbits and snatches of conversation I heard were fascinating.

I would not talk to too many people.  I could tell some customers, particularly the men, were curious who I was.  I would take my time, let them take me in.  One waitress asked me if I had just moved here.  It was only last summer when my town had their 200 year anniversary.  I realized I had to do things a little differently if I wanted to meet people in this town.

I started watering the plants in the post office and gradually grew to know the postmaster and the other clerk:  we became friends after a period of months.  I would water the plants six days a week.  And not only that, I would run into other people.

I started going to a local church where I felt very comfortable and met people in my community there.  Going to the local diner was just another step in my involvement into the community.

Going to the diner had other ramifications:  I would occasionally go to the the Susquehanna River which was less than an hundred yards away.  I went there today and mist was rising in swirls from the surface of the water.  It took my breath away.  I have spent more time visiting the River in my town since I started going to the diner the last four weeks than in the first five and half years I have lived here.  All because I am occasionally getting my morning coffee at my local diner.

It is an absolutely magnificent River.  It is another world.  You never know what you are going to see there.  It could be a bald eagle or a great egret or some other exotic bird or creature.  Usually when you least expect it.  I missed having being able to walk to it which had been a five minute walk from my house in Duncannon.  Now I am back.  There are so many reasons visiting the diner has changed my life.  Visiting The River is only one reason.

Life without problems to solve would be incredibly boring.  It is problems in our lives that make it a challenge.  And we mature as we learn to deal with them.

There is only one place that we don’t have any:  and that is when the Lord takes us.  We should be grateful for the opportunity to solve them.  And some never will be solved.  And others we just adjust to.  Our brain is designed for solving complex problems.

Conflict usually brings out the best in us.  Finding compromises and win-win situations is always a challenge.  If no one is satisfied with a solution, something is wrong with it.

Politics is just that–finding the best solutions which are almost always some kind of compromise between opposing parties.  There is really nothing wrong with politics.  It is in every area of our lives:  the family, government, the church, every institution you can think of.  The only question regarding politics is how fairly the compromises were worked out.

Politics almost always involves solving thorny problems.  As a rule, there are no easy answers and not everyone can be satisfied.  Problems are what make our lives interesting and challenging.  So do not bemoan them.  Problems keep us going and gives us a reason to get up each morning.  Be glad you have them.

It always makes a difference to you when you do not wear your watch:  my watch band broke.  The last two Sundays I went to church I did not have a watch on.  The time flowed differently.  I focused more fully on the service.  I did not get impatient.  I never forgot the comment of Gulliver in “Gulliver’s Travels” when he was asked by the Lilliputians (the little people) what that large ticking machine (referring to his watch) was and he replied, “It is my God.  I would not do anything without first consulting it.”  Too many people consult their watches way too frequently and lead their lives by the book and heavily regimented.  They never learn to flow with the moments they deem important.  It is an interesting experiment to leave your watch at home and learn to flow with your important moments.  God knows there are enough clocks around to keep your appointments on time.  Try it some time.  Take your watch off for a day or two or even a week.  See how that changes your perception of the events occurring around you and through you.