Sir Bob

I wanted to say a few words of thanks to Sir Bob Russell who, until the recent election, was Member of Parliament for Colchester, my home town.

I have lived in the United States for many years, and am now a U.S. citizen.  I have no involvement at all in British politics, though I do follow it keenly.  I still love Colchester, though.  It is where I was born and raised.  It is where family members still live.  And this is why I want to thank Sir Bob for all the work he has done for Colchester.

Sir Bob was Member of Parliament for Colchester from 1997-2015.  Not only does this represent a great number of years.  It represents an incredible amount of work.  He is a man who puts in amazingly long hours.  He is a legend when it comes to devotion to his work.  I remember years ago visiting my sister in Colchester.  Some flier was placed through the letterbox.  My sister looked out the window and commented, "That was Bob Russell."

Sir Bob (he was knighted in 2012--very well deserved indeed), has devoted decades to the service of his fellow citizens.  Before his election to Parliament he had already served twenty years as a councillor in Colchester.  One year he served as mayor.

I have never met Sir Bob, and can only guess at this, but it seems to me that it must be particularly hard for him to have been defeated in the recent election.  Wherever one stands on the political spectrum, I think we can all agree that it is not easy to lose.

It might be easy for me to say this, from 4000 miles away, and with no personal commitment to the process, but let me say it anyway.  Bob Russell did not really lose.  Yes, he was defeated in the election.  He remains, though, a winner, and a most remarkable man who has worked incredibly hard for others over the years.  He deserves the gratitude of many.

In recent remarks Sir Bob suggested that now he could now live a normal life.  Now he gets a chance to rest a bit, and a rest was never more well-deserved.  I have little doubt though that he will continue to find ways of serving others.  It is the very nature of this remarkable man.

'
Thank you Sir Bob.

The Gym

I sit here in my recliner pondering whether to go to the gym tonight or to put it off till tomorrow afternoon.  My body is tired.  Even my brain feels tired.  It is not too tired, though, to make up all kinds of reasons why tomorrow would be better:

• Tomorrow I will have more energy and will be able to work out harder.
• Sometimes a person needs to be gentle with himself.
• If I stay home I can get more writing done.
• My back is a bit sore and it perhaps needs a longer rest till my next workout.
• I feel short of sleep and a nap can be very healthy indeed.
• My body is telling me that it needs to rest, and a wise person will listen to his body.

One of the most fascinating things about working out is that is brings an awareness of the mind/body connection, and sometimes the mind/body lack of connection.  The gym is not simply about the body.  It is about the mind.  Indeed, it is more mental than physical.

In yoga there is the practice of building one's will power.  You can find some tips here.

My muscles are already feeling stronger than a month ago.  It is now time to go to the gym to strengthen my will power as well.

I just love being a jock! :)

Mommy Chipmunk

I saw Mommy Chipmunk today! I want to proclaim this news alongside the “big” news we read about everyday. Big news is the kind of news that the BBC or CNN puts up on their websites. And much of what they publish is very big indeed, for it affects millions of people. There are wars and potential wars. There is economic news. There are natural catastrophes. And don’t forget politics. As frustrating as it might be to read about the antics (yes, antics) of politicians, their actions can affect the lives of very many people. Included in the big news are stories that may not affect many people but still are of interest to them. Sports news is like this, I suppose. So too, the antics (yes, antics again) of celebrities seem to make the big news, though it is sad, I think, that the doings of strange and often spoiled people get published.

Here is a plug for something different — for small news — news that most likely will never be reported. Some news is of interest to only a few people, perhaps a family, perhaps only one person. And individual people — you, me, all other people — have their own news, small news. It might not make the networks, but it is still news, important to those it affects.

“Dog dies. Family mourns.” “Woman diagnosed with breast cancer. Woman is terrified.” “Car breaks down. Man on low income can no longer make it to work. Family devastated.” There is good news too. “Family gets new puppy.” “Biopsy proves negative.” “Jobless man hired.” And, one of my favorites: “Baby born.” All big news, to a few people.

There is even smaller news, news that is perhaps almost trivial, but which still affects people. “Water pipe breaks.” “Cell phone lost.” Trivial? Only if it is someone else’s life. “Man finally gets lawn mowed.” Ok. Very trivial. But, a good feeling, very good. For him. Also for his neighbors.

I want to add another category: beautiful small news. There are things that happen to people everyday that may not affect their outward lives, but affect their spirits, and do so in beautiful ways. “Man sees rainbow.” “Woman sees bird bathing in bird bath.” “Couple out walking see deer walking through neighborhood.” Such things are not big news. It is not right, though, to call them trivial, for these are beautiful events! Nature is filled with beauty, awesome beauty springing forth within a world of wonder.

Which brings me to Mommy Chipmunk. The wonderful thing about a blog is that a person can publish news that is perhaps important only to himself . This might not be important to you. But it is to me. Nevertheless, you may still like it, because it is, I think, beautiful.

There is a hole in our back lawn. It goes under the root of a tree that was cut down some years ago. I love that hole because as I look out the kitchen window I see little chipmunks running out of it and getting some of the seed that has fallen from the bird feeder. Some little chipmunks even make it up to the birdfeeder itself. And when a squirrel happens by and chases them away from what he thinks is his food, they move so fast —darting back to their hole.

Today, for the first time in a long while, I saw Mommy Chipmunk. She is about twice as large as her chiplets (I think that is a good word for small chipmunks). She was sitting in the middle of the lawn, but within running distance of the hole. She scratched herself. She looked around. She scratched herself again. She wasn’t even going for the birdseed. Perhaps she was just feeling relieved, relieved that her chiplets were alive and well. It doesn’t even matter that that she most certainly was not thinking that. I doubt chipmunks think much at all. It doesn’t matter because Mommy Chipmunk is a beautiful little animal. Her chiplets are beautiful little animals. And this beauty cheered me immensely as I looked out the window.

That is my news for today.

Thank you so much, Lord, for the beauty of this world.

http://youtu.be/V2RbFVRRtqI

Bless Their Hearts! :)

I got something in the mail today that made me chuckle and wince and feel a tad irritated all at the same time.  I got mail from the Republican National Committee.  I had been a card-carrying member until a few years ago.  Then I got tired of continual fundraising letters that suggested that if I did not send in extra money immediately, then the Democrats (gasp) would win an extra seat in the House and the nation would suffer terrible things.  It is one thing to have political views and leanings, and I do lean towards the right.  However, it is quite another to think in exaggerated terms of black and white, and of evil and good, with nothing in between.

My guess is that much of this rhetoric came from the fundraisers.  I have run into this before.  While living in Ohio a man representing the Fraternal Order of Police phoned me and was so pushy in his attempts to get me to contribute that I resolved never to give to that organization again.  It was a shame, because I felt that even if I wanted to give (and basically I think the police need far more support from the public than they get), to contribute at that point would encourage this practice of ugly and pushy fundraising.

Back to today's whopper.  Take a gander at this!!!!

Past due?  Past due???????????  If you really want to alienate your donor base, then go ahead and suggest that they are late in paying their bills.  This is not a bill.  It is not a debt or an obligation.  It is, or might have been, a donation.  But this donation will not be donated, certainly not while the organization is wasting its money on incompetent fund raisers.

It is sad, really.  If people talk to me intelligently, I, like most people, I imagine, will listen and consider their request.  But use exaggerated rhetoric, or use insulting words on the envelope, and I will turn my attention elsewhere.

I have no idea whether this particular envelope contained exaggerated rhetoric.  It probably did, but I will never know because this envelope is now in my trash.

Grow up, fundraisers!

Ballet and Parking Lots

I did not start going to the ballet until late into my forties.  It seemed like something to avoid.  My sister had had ballet lessons.  My daughter had had ballet lessons.  Ballet seemed like an alien feminine pursuit, something to be ignored.  I don't even remember how or why I first went to a ballet, but wow!  We were living in Cincinnati at the time, and the Cincinnati Ballet was exceptional.  I was hooked.  These people floated through the air.  They painted scenes with motion instead of pigments.  They sang with their bodies.

Ballet is not as popular as, say, [fill in the blank].  The people that go to ballet are not just any people.  They have been captured by the magic of a gentle world.  And this was obvious after we left.  The parking garage was awfully badly designed, and very hard to get out of.  Yet, there was no aggressive garage-exiting.  People were polite, and polite beyond anything one might ever see elsewhere.  They waited for their turn to merge into the one lane heading out of the one exit.

Politeness is something kind and human and gracious and civilized.  Politeness behind the wheel was a fitting postscript to the gentleness of dance.

Originally published May 15, 2008.