Make a Difference

Yesterday evening we took a bicycle ride and had a light discussion of politics.  I was lamenting the fact that little could be done to make a difference in what city government does.  My fellow rider pointed out that he had measured roads, posted the lane widths online, and government officials used the numbers to write part of their proposed transportation plan.  He also mentioned that contractors are the only reason the bicycle racks he initiated, and city government approved, are not installed.  I had to admit that one person has made a difference.  Perhaps I should try harder to make my difference with city government.

What does it take to make a difference?  Does one just gather information and keep presenting it?  I've received promises from people in office, but the promises do not seem to be kept.  It might be I didn't wait long enough.  I have written letters, spoken in meetings, sent comments to the newspaper, and talked with representatives.  Can't see that I have accomplished anything other than exercising my rights.  As I said during the ride, "I'm a better mechanic than I am an advocate."  It was suggested I make efforts to utilize my strengths.  I can put together presentations, I'm at least a satisfactory teacher, and I have both written and verbal communication skills.

Better Days

On Sunday's ride I encountered runners and bicyclists.  I greeted folks with, "Nice day to be outside."  I suppose it could have been my words that evoked the positive responses, but I think it was their genuine feeling.  Everyone responded that it was a good day to be outside.  Most of them went beyond that comment to say it was a very good day, or a great day to be outside. 

This time of year, with days getting shorter, and temperatures cooling, we hang onto the sunshine filled days.  It is as if the sunshine is more valuable now than it was even a few weeks ago.  The clouds and coolness we have seen hint that the sunshine of Fall will soon be replaced by the days of winter.  Knowing that the supply is limited makes the  value higher.  It works with economics and warm, sunshiny, days.

These Fall days, with sunshine and just a little cooler temperatures, are better days.  They are better than the days to come.  I'm going to focus on finding something better about each day that comes.  In some way it will be better than the days following it.  Today is a good day to be.

Autumn Thunder

It is time for harvest and the combines are roaming the fields.  Soy beans get picked first in this part of the country.  Although, if the beans are wet, the harvest may move on to corn.  With soy beans, the noise is there; a constant rumble as the machine cuts, separates and loads the seeds.  Corn makes a different and louder noise.  One can hear it in the distance when the combine is working.  It is like a throbbing thunder from over the hill.  The corn cobs thunk and rumble through the machine.

The farmers are happier when their yield is high, and the product is dryer.  The harvest is the culmination of an entire year.  Planning what to plant, choosing the hybrid seed, deciding when and what chemicals to apply, and hoping for rain at the right times are all parts of the season.  The harvest tells the story.  It will answer the question, "What has all of the hoping and planning produced?"

We do a lot of planning and hoping in our lives.  What school to go to, how to obtain the things we think we need, and what to do with each day.  I hope for a thunderous harvest in my life as it progresses.

Going to have winter

They say we are going to have a cold, wet, winter.  Seems like this time of year someone always has the prediction for our winter weather.  The caterpillars have an extra wide stripe this year, or they may even be one solid color.  The "Farmers Almanac" said.  Certainly there are plenty of predictors predicting.

This phenomenon happens each year.  I wonder why folks are so interested in what the winter will be.  My memory tells me it is very similar each year.  We have snow, it gets cold, the wind blows, and there is some wet weather.  It doesn't seem to matter what is predicted, it usually happens.  Perhaps it is an urge to store food or prepare for harsh conditions, so that we can survive, that drives our concern for future winter weather. 

Some of us have a natural tendency to worry.  If we don't worry about the weather, we  have to find something else to be concerned about.  A sense of fear ferments in the worried mind until it seems to rot reason.  The fear of what might happen pushes toward the feared reality being more real than what actually happens.

I say, do the best you can with the weather of the day.  If it is cold, dress warmly.  Should it slicken, keep thinking and be careful.  When it warms, enjoy a different comfort and wear less.

Back to Civilization

I was living, in my tent, with rumpled clothes pulled from a bag.  Then I was thrust into a place where it was important enough for clothes to look nice that they provided an iron and ironing board hanging on the wall.

The change from my normal routine to camping is relatively easy.  I shead complexity for simplicity; closets and drawers full of stuff, for a bag full of only what I feel is necessary.  My tent cleaning involves taking everything out, holding it upside down, and shaking dirt from the inside.  My bed is rolled up and stuffed in a sack.  "Home" is taken down and put into its own bag.

Transition back into civilization, from a camping life style, is more difficult.  The need for clean clothes and a shaven face are the first few differences I encounter.  Each day the bed must be made, clothes washed and folded, cleaned dishes put in cabinets, floors vacuumed, and so much more.  There are more interactions between people that I must deal with.  More routines are associated with civilization than with camping.

Some find the transitions easier than others.  Taking on the additional routines and demands for attention and time is a difficult process for those who prefer simplicity.  Others are comfortable with what they consider the necessities of civilization.  So, which should we strive for, simplicity or civilization?

A Talent Show Song

Toward the end of a tour there is often a chance for a talent show.  Our tour leader encouraged folks to begin to think about one and prepare a short talent presentation.  While riding along, I sang a song, and rhymed some words that would be heard.

Bicycle Touring

By Kent Beisner - 2012

Chorus: Riding my bicycle, touring by bicycle:

Worms hang from my down tube,

Rain drips from my nose.

Nothing seems to matter,

As long as my bike goes.

Chorus: Riding my bicycle, touring by bicycle:

I often become odorous,

Yet sights seen are so wondrous.

Smells saturate my senses,

I'm glad for trees like fences.

Chorus: Riding my bicycle, touring by bicycle:

Sounds surround my hearing,

I search for the right gearing.

With speeds I ride to get there, 

I see more than my share.

Chorus: Riding my bicycle, touring by bicycle:

Eating ice cream, nuts, and protein;

And still I seem to stay lean.

To camp in time for dinner,

I will be a winner.

Riding my bicycle, wondering what's around the next bends,

Will lure me until my life's tour ends.

Listen to Stories

I enjoy staffing Adventure Cycling Association tours because the folks I am around understand what I tell stories about. They listen and then share their stories. It is apparent to me that we like to share, perhaps even need to share, our life stories. Could it be that our stories help us to feel that we are worth something?   The recognition we receive for our story telling is a validation of what we did to make the story possible. My stories also help me remember positives in my life, and what I enjoyed.

I saw trees leaning toward the road. This was not just a one time event. It was a condition almost everywhere the road went and trees lined it. I suspect the light is more available toward the road. The canopy of the forest limits the light in the other direction. Positive photo tropism is the phrase I remember being associated with this condition. I wonder what light we lean toward? What competitions cause us to go or grow a different direction?

I recently met a female pastor who was enabling women as one of her ministries.  In our discussions we agreed that we first need to understand the differences between men and women.  Then, we ought to celebrate the differences.  How wonderfully we are made.  I have seen, and I believe it is true that, as it is written in the Bible,  "...the two shall be as one..."  There is something that can happen, between a man and a woman, that makes them "one."  Yes, there are still two individuals, each with their own talents and thoughts.  Additionally, there is a process, over time, that yields a oneness between these two.

Petoskey thoughts

I'm going to post some observations and thoughts from recent Adventure Cycling Association tours. In Petoskey, Michigan there were some terrific bicycle/pedestrian paths. On one there was a sign I had never seen on a bicycle path. It said, "Walk Your Bike." There was a steep downhill after the sign and for many riders, the sign was appropriate. It was just an interesting sign for a bicycle path.

Folks in the "Roast And Toast" were reviewing news of the day on their electronic tablets. One gentleman mentioned something about, "...our fair share." I thought about this and asked myself, "Who said it has to be fair? Who determines what is fair?" Then the old cliche, "All is fair in love and war," occurred to me. After thinking about the questions for a while I had this thought: "Fair" is another way of saying give me some of what you have that I do not have.

During my stay at the campground, near Petoskey, I found some "Petoskey Stones," per instructions from my wonderful wife. My observations produced these thoughts: The waves lapping the shore were peaceful, and yet sorrowful. Their journey full of energy was ending with a gentle caress of the land they encountered. How much are we like waves; full of water, energy and motion? We too, are driven by a force, like the wind, and moving toward our endings. I wonder what stones we grind up along our shores? Each wave, another bump of grinding, adds to the smoothing of the stones.

I came to the shore to meet you. We watched a solitary bird floating. His was a silent steady motion to the shore. Then, tiny legs bore him along the sands. We recalled bird runnings along the seas, and shared an embrace. We have so many memories together.

Begin again

First let me reference a link to the old blog I was posting: http://felcbiking.blogspot.com/ . This was primarily for telling what happened on bicycle rides with First English Lutheran Church. For about a year now those rides have not happened. Now it is time to go another direction. This one is for me.