Rainbow over Oahu

Unexpected vistas appear,

unforeseen opportunities arise,

surprises occur,

grace abounds.

For a number of minutes,

I chased this rainbow 

along the H1 on Oahu.

"Dad, there is a reason

the University of Hawai'i 

calls their teams 

the Rainbow Warriors,"

Eric patiently explained.

30 October 2006

Honolulu, Hawai'i  

Helping each other persevere

Sometimes others help us meet the challenges our journeys pose.

To reach the top of Diamond Head, one must climb this staircase.

When I visited Eric, during one of the years he attended Hawai'i Pacific, he insisted that he accompany me when I went to visit Diamond Head. At the top, I realized why. Had I gone alone, I would have turned back - on more than one occasion - including the moment I looked up these steps. But with Eric along, and feeling my responsibility for his experience, I persevered.

28 October 2006
Diamond Head State Monument
Honolulu, Hawai'i

August 2011 movie marathon

Eric and I went to the local Blockbusters early in the week. Amazingly enough, it was still open. We picked up a number of used videos.

We had some challenges - the DVD player downstairs in Cleveland Heights is definitely deceased - it is not pining for fjords or anywhere else - it is definitely an ex-DVD player.

We started trying to watch The King's Speech. It skipped and finally froze about 40 minutes into the movie. Then we tried Pirates of the Caribbean 2. It too skipped. Shortly after we decided that we now had two DVDs to return, Eric remembered that the problem was most likely with the player. Tricia came downstairs shortly after that and, in response to our whining, said, "Yes, it has been broken for some time. I never use it."

Eric then brought down his DVD player - which he will take to Bowling Green and the marathon began in earnest.

We doubled back to The King's Speech  and Pirates 2. True Grit (Coen brothers version) started yesterday, followed by Stalag 17 with The A-Team next in line. Today began with The Visitor. A break followed during which I listened to a rather pathetic effort by the Steelers - they lost their first preseason game - and the score could have been worse. Harry Potter 6  is now being viewed.

An interesting mix of classics, newbies, and fluff along with some incredible performances.

Tomorrow I head to Louisville and will need to take some with me to watch while I hang out at the Shire near the Ohio.

See you along the Trail.

An era ends

Friends once commented that I have some amazing pictures of sunrises at Ghost Ranch. I had to correct them.

I have no amazing pictures of Ghost Ranch sunrises - no drab pictures of Ghost Ranch sunrises - I simply have no pictures of any sort of Ghost Ranch sunrises.

I do have a number of pictures of sunsets at Ghost Ranch including this one from the summer of 2008 - some folks may think some of them are nice pictures.

I post this picture today because Eric is on his way home from the ranch. He has completed his fourth year on the College Staff. He and friends drove to Tulsa yesterday; he flies to Cleveland tomorrow.

The summers at the ranch have been times of great joy and a good, good learning experience for him. I was able to get to see him three of the years he was there - actually I was able to be there for two weeks during two of those summers.

However, since he is scheduled to graduate in December, this will be his last summer - at least as a member of the college staff. And that brings some tugging at my heart strings. I am sure I will be back to the ranch - it seems likely that Eric will be back to the ranch - there are possibilities that we may be there together sometime.

But . . . an era has ended . . . life, as life always does, moves on. And as the sun sets on this part of life, I dab a tear, give thanks for what was, cherish the memories, and look forward to what the next sunrise brings (even though it will be well into the sky before this night owl sees it).

See you along the Trail.

Sunset on Waikiki

These are old ones. I took them when I visited Eric during his time at Hawai'i Pacific University. He lived just a few blocks from the beach. I am not much of a beach person, but it was a glorious evening. I might be able to get used to it.

See you along the Trail.

The Shire is empty

Tricia and Eric headed for home today. It's just me and assorted insects here at the Shire.

I had the great honor and wonderful joy of baptizing Ethan Alejandro Chan Craft, son of my friends Amanda Craft and Omar Chan. It was truly a blessing. He cried pretty much constantly - he's 13 months. Of course, he was exhausted - he fell asleep very quickly when Amanda took him and walked with him. He had also bitten his lip when I first met him. He was standing by a church pew with his dad and I went to talk to them. He fell down and the rest is history.

Painting continued at the Shire upon my return. The kitchen is painted. It remains to be put back together but that will be tomorrow night's task.

I ate out for breakfast (with Tricia and Eric - Panera's - they put the calorie count on the wall - very helpful) and for lunch (Moe's - they put the calorie count online and actually allow you to figure out the calories as you make your meal your way - helpful but one needs to know it in advance) as the kitchen is pretty disrupted.

Even with the eating out, my eating came in at the goal. I went to the gym and did 40 minutes on the treadmill. 10, 477 steps.

Movies - Three Kings and Tombstone. Neither are classics. Each has issues. But they are entertaining.

A good day.

See you along the trail.

Shire renovations continue

With Eric's help work began on the kitchen. We painted the stain on the ceiling. We also prepped the walls and painted the walls under the cabinet. Moving the refrigerator led to the discovery of some pretty disgusting dirt. But that is no longer there. Tomorrow we will try to finish.

The three goals were achieved with 30 minutes at the gym (got there a bit late) and 10 minutes walking outside. Steps totaled 10,259.

Star Trek was the movie after the painting. Good stuff.

See you along the trail.

The preparing of the closets

This should have been posted yesterday - May 29, 2010.

It was a day of multi-tasking that included:

• taking Eric to the airport to go to New Mexico
• a visit to Target to take advantage of a sale on Pepsi products
• a visit to Home Depot to take advantage of a rebate on Behr paints

The multi-tasking continued as the Shire renovation progressed. The following work took place at more or less the same time:

• painting shelves for three closets
• preparing two closets for painting
• washing the doors of one closet
• making ready to move things from room to room to make ready for guests
• changing furnace filters

The plan for today (May 30) is to paint the two closets and fill out the vouchers on Behr paints.

After the work, I finished watching Dances with Wolves. Eric and I had started it Friday evening - after Iron Man 2.

The day's big news is that Sean did a half-marathon in Madison. I am extremely proud of him. I do need to point out that I am engaged in an X-Men marathon (Eric left his videos at the Shire). Seriously, though, Sean's effort has inspired me to go into extensive training for the half-fifty yard walk.

But now - off to lunch and then to the painting.

See you along the trail.