CHILDHOOD MOUNTAIN MEMORIES

Thoughts of my childhood take me back to fishing on Battle Creek with my dad while staying at a cabin in Mineral in the 1950's.   It was an exciting drive up California highway 36 after leaving the Sacramento Valley at Red Bluff, passing up through the foothills of oaks and the rocks that were blasted out of Mt. Lassen in 1914, then the first sighting of pine trees and finally entering the mixed forest of firs, cedars and pines near the mountain community of Mineral.   Just outside Mineral was the headquarters for the Lassen Volcanic National Park where there were administrative buildings, personnel housing and equipment shops.   The center of Mineral was the lodge with a restaurant, lounge with some motel rooms and a store.  The Lassen National Forest had a summer ranger station here.   Most of the nearby houses were summer homes.   The Edwards family from Willows owned a house in Mineral, since Charlie Edwards had worked for the Forest Service or the Park Service here before taking a job with the Forest Service in Willows on the Mendocino National Forest.   They would let us stay in this house at times during the summers.   They eventually sold it.   At the age of 7 or 8, I remember walking through the forest behind this house to a split rail fence where a large mountain meadow was with some ranch buildings off in the distance.   After climbing over the fence and walking out into the meadow a bull laying down on the edge of the forest was startled and got up and began coming after me.   I ran back to the fence just in time before the bull caught up with me.   I never crossed that fence again.  

AN UNFORGETABLE THANKSGIVING

One of my most memorable Thanksgivings was when I lived in Eugene from 1991 to 2000.    My two children were with me on Thanksgiving of 1992 or 93.  To save myself from trying to cook a big turkey dinner, I decided to take them to one of those all you could eat places in the shopping center at 29th and Willamette in south Eugene.   We had been there before, but now it was under new ownership.    There was a line of people going out the front door when we arrived.  Once we got inside I paid for the three of us as we got a plate and utensils.   The first dish was a big salad that looked descent, next was mashed potatoes in one of those big tubs that you would see ice cream served from, definitely instant potatoes.  Then there was a man serving ham or turkey as he told us we could have one or the other and it was cut in thin slices from round cylinders of meat, no fresh turkey or ham here.    After that there was no more food, I don't even remember a vegetable or a roll.  We found a table and started eating.   With the small servings it did not take long to consume our Thanksgiving dinner.   Off to the side was a table of pieces of pumpkin pie on plates with a sign saying help yourself.   Sitting next to us was a large woman wearing a blouse that did not completely cover her bulging belly as she got up for seconds.   When she returned to the table with her family I overheard say, "isn't this great food?"  By then my two kids were eating their second plates of pie.   That did it for me and In desperation I told them eat up we got to get out here. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

YOU JUST NEVER KNOW

After getting a hearing test today that revealed much hearing loss, and above all how my brain no longer understand certain sounds, I stopped by Sherm's Thunder Bird market thinking how my old body is falling apart, maybe a case of feeling sorry for myself.   It was mid day and the store was crowded with shoppers, mostly old folks like myself making their way through the different aisles.   As I came into the main aisle I noticed a crowd of people assembled at the far end near the meat section.   Then I saw a man on the floor as store employee or another customer was giving him CPR.   Other shoppers looked shocked as they were frozen in place.   I moved on down another aisle as EMT's arrived with a stretcher.   Soon they yelled for people to get out of the way as they carried the man out of the store.   A man standing near me asked what was going on since many in the store had no idea what had happened.   I told him about what I saw and made the comment, "you just never know".   He replied, "that's the truth".   I left the store praying that the man would survive and feeling better that I'm still moving and thankful for what I can hear. 

PS:  yes, I will be wearing hearing aids in a few weeks that will help me and my old brain understand  what I have not heard or understood for a good part of my adult life.  

THE WAR WITHIN US

 We all have battles that we are fighting be it physical or mental ailments, addictions, injustice, financial problems, abuse, depression, loneliness, etc.    Did I leave something out?  

Sometimes we take out our despair in anger on our family, friends, politicians and government.    All anger and hate breeds is more anger and hate, unless we can forgive and find common ground.   I believe there is more common ground between us than we know.   Don't we all want security, health care, financial well being, and the freedom to chose our own destiny.   We may not agree on how to achieve all these things, but can't we discuss our differences in a civilized manner?  

How can there ever be peace on Earth if we can not find peace within ourselves and with others?