Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Cloud Watching

07/04/2007

This past Sunday The Nancy and I took a ride from Beautiful Downtown Berkeley Springs, WV (aka Town of Bath), population 711, to one of our favorite places in Sterling, Virginia, The Sweetwater Grill, and also to do a little shopping and to see the movie “Ratatouille” – psst!, go see it, it’s wonderful. 

The trip to Sterling from the farm takes about an hour and half.  It was a gorgeous day and perfectly suited for our intention, which was simply to do something relaxing away from home and work.  The temperature was about seventy-five degrees with very low humidity, and absolutely no summer haze to subdue the landscape.  The sky was a magnificent blue and dotted with white, puffy clouds accented by a brilliant sun.  Just a beautiful day to be alive with nothing to have to do.  And to make the trip even nicer for me…The Nancy was at the helm and the controls, and I got to ride shotgun.

The Nancy doesn’t often drive when we are together, but when she does, I get to take in the scenery I miss when I am driving, maybe shut my eyes and dose off for a few blissful moments, but most of all I get to recline my seat a little and enjoy the ride.  I love to watch the clouds through the sunroof as they drift around the heavens.  It reminds me of summer days when I was very young, laying on the grass and looking at clouds and picking out ones that looked like an animal or something else.  Did you do it?

Well, on this day, this sixty-three year old fart got to do this again.  As The Nancy piloted the car down Rt. 522 and on to Rt. 7, I gazed at the sky looking for stuff.  I quite easily picked out a large-eared rabbit, a fat baby, lopsided Mickey Mouse’s head, a snake, a dog with a super long tail, a lady’s face surrounded by flowing hair and one cloud that looked oddly like West Virginia.  I was feeling oh so good flitting back and forth from childhood to adulthood and began to wonder if this too is part of God’s plan - these wonderfully beautiful clouds in identifiable shapes - to make us happy?  It was about that moment when a rather large cloud entered my field of vision. 

What, to my wondering eyes should appear in a sky of Viagra Blue but an incredibly large cloud of perfectly shaped male genitalia.  At first glance, I thought, perhaps, I had forced the conclusion, but a good second look proved it.  As I stared at this prodigious freak of nature and pondered it, it once again proved to me that God does have an immense sense of humor. 

And that is all I have to say about that…

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Shopping for a Birthday Present...

07/01/2007

June 3Oth was The Nancy’s birthday.  I did a little shopping and purchased a couple of little things for her at Macy’s, but realized as I left the mall, I didn’t get any wrapping paper.  I made a quick swing by a Target, since it was right in front of me as I was leaving the mall entrance.  After a short but productive stroll around the store, I found and selected a truly exquisite paper and a couple of magnificent bows – after all, what else would expect one to find at Target.  I got in a short line at a cash register behind a lady with a little girl and a small guy, maybe six-months old, in a carrier.  The little girl was talking a mile a minute to no one in particular, as little girls will do.  The little guy was just looking up at the lights on the ceiling, and quite happy just to “be” doing anything at all.

The mom asked me if I would like to get in line ahead of her, she had a number of items to purchase and I had but three.  I was so amused by the little girl; I told the mom I’d like to wait my turn so I could enjoy her kids.  She passed me a reluctant, somewhat suspicious “what-is-this-weirdo-about” smile, and began to put her items on the counter.

The little girl looked up at me, as she clutched a small package to her chest, and introduced herself as “Bellasaurus.” I wasn’t quite sure I understood what she said her name was, so I just nodded and smiled.  She was holding on to her package with both hands, and immediately thrust it up in my face and told me with a slight lisp (probably why I didn’t get her name) it was a dinosaur egg.  And that is exactly what it said on the packaging – Dinosaur Egg.

As softly as I could, and with my best grandfatherly smile, I asked her what was she going to do when it hatched and a baby dinosaur popped out of the egg?  “They get pretty big, you know?”

She looked up at me with a puzzled look on her face and told me the egg was “fake,” as if she thought mine was a really dumb question.  So, I quickly changed the subject and I asked her how old she was.  She had to work at it a bit, but eventually held up four fingers.  I gave her a “Wow!” Then I asked her about her name. “Did you tell me your name is Bellasaurus?”

She said yes and introduced her little brother “and that’s Hadensaurus” and her mother as “Gretchensaurus.” Gretchensarus then told me Bellasaurus had a thing for any dinosaur, and that everything was a “saurus-this” or a “saurus-that.”

How wonderful it must be to be a four-year old, not that I remember much of it.  For me it was 1948, a hell of a long time ago.  No wonder I don’t remember.  So these days I get to vicariously live it again when I get close to someone of that age.  This time it just happened to be with a precocious little girl with a lisp at a Target store.  One with a vivid sense of what is real and what is really important.

And that is all I have to say about that…

Friday, June 29, 2007

"Conversations with God"...

06/29/2007

I am really digging this book, big time.  I feel as though this one was written for me.  I feel much the same about this book as I did going through the Millennium Workshops in Dallas (http://www.millennium3education.com), in that the workshops were very much meant for me to attend at that particular time in my life.  This book comes to me at a time when I truly needed to get in touch spiritually, to have some questions of my own answered.  My questions were many of the same offered by Mr. Walsh to God, and way to many to list in this blog.

Much to my surprise I found my God (The God of All Things) in the middle of the Millennium program.  It was serendipity, I might add.  As a borderline atheist and a flirting agnostic, I had no intention of looking for a God in a program about discovering who I really am and why I do (hopefully “did”) dumb shit (you get to blame your mother).  But fortunately for me, somewhere along the line I was hit right in the face with the fact a God does exist and this God is “all things,” and that I am a son of God (a son, not the Son) and therefore, a part of God. 

My heart was immediately put to rest.  I was overcome with emotion at this realization, but with reservations.  “Conversations with God” by Neal Donald Walsh is removing these reservations.  You have to read this book.

As I was reading last night (page 215 and 216), I read a passage wherein God is telling Neal, “Good, use me.”
“Do what it takes. 
Each of you has your own construction.  Each of you has understood Me – created Me – in your own way.
To some of you I am a man.  To some of you I am a woman. To some, I am both.  To some I am neither.
To some of you I am pure energy.  To some, the ultimate feeling, which you call love.  And some of you have no idea what I am.  You simply know that I AM.
And so it is.
I Am.
I am the wind which rustles your hair.  I am the sun which warms your body.  I am the rain which dances on your face.  I am the smell of flowers in the air, and I am the flowers which send their fragrance upward.  I am the air which carries the fragrance.
I am the beginning of your first thought.  I am the end of your last.  I am the idea which sparked your most brilliant moment.  I am the glory of its fulfillment.  I am the feeling which fueled the most loving thing you ever did.  I am the part of you which yearns for that feeling again and again.
Whatever works for you, whatever makes it happen – whatever ritual, ceremony, demonstration, mediation, thought, song, word, or action it takes for you to “reconnect” – do this.
Do this in remembrance of Me.”

I read this and the same intense feeling overcame me as the day of my epiphany two and half years ago: A lasting peacefulness, a lasting happiness.  I lived for over forty of my sixty-three years in search of a God I could understand and love.  Now I have one.

This blog will not become a pulpit or a place for pontification or proselytizing, but this I just had to share.

And that is all I have to say about that…

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Thinking of Food

06/27/2007

Last week I spent of couple of days working with one of my reps up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  I found Minnesota to be an extraordinarily beautiful part of the country – very green and rolling, but, still, somewhat flatter than I like.  My man shared a fair amount of the countryside with me as we made sales calls around the outskirts of Minneapolis.  I have only been to Minnesota one other time in my life and that was in January 2006, and it was a little on the chilly side.  This time the weather cooperated fully by providing me very pleasant sunny, rain-free days to roam around the farm-country outside of the city and wonder who the hell had time to count all those lakes in the state. 

I can’t say I ate very well while I was there, though.  Most of the meals consumed were of the junk variety, more by choice than by chance.  Breakfast at the Hilton Garden, in my book, is nothing more than “tide-me-over-to-lunch” fare.  Lunch, on the other hand, allowed us numerous choices.  Mexican (Tex-Mex) at Don Pablo’s one day – okay but not gourmet or really Mexican, and the second day, because we were under a little pressure to get to an appointment, we dined in an Applebee’s, with Spinach Dip and tortilla chips being my choice.  It was quick and easy and really not too bad as far as spinach dips go, but obviously not healthy.  Dinners consisted of rather weak ale and a mediocre pizza (two nights in a row).

I do know where I have had and can get some really great food.  I started thinking about this as I finished my sumptuous breakfast at the Hilton Garden my last morning in Minnesota (my omelet looked like something one would purchase at the Waffle House on the cheap).  So here is my list, or a least a start to it.  It is not necessarily in any particular order and some of these places may not be in business any longer.

1. Lot 12 Public House in Berkeley Springs, WV, my current favorite.  This one is open and hopefully The Nancy and I will be there one day this week.  If you are in BS, this one is a must.  Damian and Betsy Heath, the proprietors are the best.  Damian is as talented as any chef in New York City.  Check it out at their website http://www.lot12.com for directions and reservation number.  Sit at the bar and enjoy good drinks, good food and great company – maybe The Nancy and me. 
2. The Plaza Restaurant in Rome, New York, 229 E Dominick St, (315) 336-9961.  This is a place my Ex and I used to order pizza back in the mid 60’s when I was Airman Dave.  It is (okay, “was”) the best pizza I have ever had.  What else would you expect in Rome?  I was last there in 1992, my first trip back since 1967, and the pizza had not changed at all.  In fact, the owner told me he actually had folks from around the country (most likely former Air Force hacks like me) having him send pizzas to them.  He partially cooks them and sends them frozen and packed with dry ice.  I checked the internet and The Plaza is still there going strong.
3. Aupaka Terrace, Kauai Marriott, Hawaii.  I sincerely hope this one has not changed.  I was there in 1989.  This restaurant left a lasting memory.  It isn’t a Benihana style hibachi grill.  This is an authentic Japanese restaurant and the food was incredible.  Check it out next time you jaunt over to Hawaii.  My Ex will wonder how the hell I remembered the name of this place.
4. While in Hawaii, you must go to Moose McGillycuddy’s, Lahaina, Maui.  The Nancy and I have several breakfasts there in October, 2000.  Moose’s is a chain, but the food is consistently good at all its restaurants.  We ate at one in San Diego a couple of years and it was as good as Maui’s.  Breakfast is best, especially the juices (The Nancy’s Bloody Mary’s and my Sierra Nevada Pale Ales on tap), considering the five-hour time difference from here to there. 
5. Carmine’s at 200 W. 44th Street, New York.  One of the best Italian restaurants I have ever had the pleasure to dine.  Food and service is just wonderful.  Go early and get seated fairly quickly; go later and wait an hour.  Prepare to eat big, succulent dishes and plan to share with friend or friends.  It’s a fun place.
6. Café Cimino in Sutton, WV.  The Nancy and I ate there just once, but it was wonderful experience and we often talk about going back.  http://www.cafecimino.com
7. CJ Maggie’s in Buchanan, WV is part of a small chain located in college towns around West Virginia and Kentucky.  It was a date place for The Nancy and me for a number of years before we were married.  Many fond memories were born at CJ’s.  It is American fare, sandwiches and such, but, nonetheless, good stuff. 

I think if I had enough time I could really reel off about a list of hundred places where I over indulged, but really enjoyed the food; Trinkus Manor in Utica New York – from the 1960’s, Fuddruckers of years ago at the Woodlands in Houston, Texas (haven’t had the pleasure since I quit eating animal flesh in 1995), The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York – home of, well, you know, and Alioto’s on the wharf in San Francisco is a place I want to share with The Nancy, and the list could go on and on.

We are only limited by the restraints we put on ourselves, when it comes to food.  I made a decision a long time ago to eat abstemiously and healthily, but a few years ago I fell into a habit of quick, easy meals without the health aspect entering into what I put in my body.  I find these days, and I know this has to change, I eat solely for pleasure.  I have discovered it is easier to purchase larger clothing than to lose weight.  My mother used to say we should “eat to live, not live to eat.” I think I am into the latter these days.  If fact, it is damn near lunchtime and I am already wondering what unhealthy, super fattening, succulent repast I am going to shovel into my mouth in copious quantity.  Ummmmm!

And that is all I have to say about that…