THE BIRTHDAY HIKES - 7

DAY, AFTER DAY, AFTER DAY

Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014

Today’s Hike:         5.4 miles
Total Miles:            62.6 miles (3.8 miles ahead of schedule)

Going out on a hike today was not one of my main priorities; in fact I have plenty of other things to do and I think that this will be one of those “day, after day” hikes.  However, the weather is good, and I don’t particularly want to fall behind with my accumulated mileage. It’s so much easier to stick with the program rather than try to catch up.

My philosophy is “Just Do It”.   Even though I may be down in a funk, doesn’t mean that others are feeling the same way.  Perhaps if I go out and just happen to meet someone who is a little more upbeat than I am at the moment, I just may gain some of their positive energy and improve my outlook.  We shall see.

I have a small portable hand recorder that I have been carrying along with me on my hikes to record any fleeting bits if inspiration that may come my way; so far there’s nothing, but I do have high hopes.  More on that later.

The trail I take to Silly Mountain is a dirt road which goes two miles from my house down to the parking lot at the base of the mountain.  About 1 ½ miles along the road there is a small unmarked trail which branches off and joins into the Brittlebush Trail of the mountain trail system.  From there you can either go up the mountain towards the top, or you can follow the trail back to the parking lot; for the past fifteen minutes I have been debating whether to go on up the mountain, up a lesser trail which would eventually go back to the parking lot, or to just take the trail which takes me directly back to the parking lot and then back home. Life has so many decisions that have to be made; especially for a tired man.

I decided to take the unmarked trail which joins up with the Brittlebush Trail and then make further decisions as whether to go up or down when the time came.  As I approached the trail junction there was a group of four people making their way down the trail towards me.  They had found something funny because I could hear their peals of laughter coming from at least 150 feet away.  When we met up I told them that it looked as if they had found Br’er Rabbit’s Laughing Place up there.  In unison they all looked at one of the ladies carrying a hiking stick; “She’s the one that found it” they exclaimed.  We all laughed and started talking about what a good day it was for a hike.  

The lady with the hiking stick noted that if anyone gave her any trouble about her laughing she could always take them out with her stick.  I fully agreed with her and mention that was why I always carried my two hiking poles.  Well that led into the topic of my canister of bear spray that I had dangling from my pack.  Quite innocently she asked “Have you ever used it”? “Oh yes” I exclaimed.  “I have bear spray and I’m not afraid to use it”.  I then proceeded to tell the story of how I was attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone Park and how after I had stared him down I emptied my entire bottle of bear spray on him.  Wide eyed and intent on my every word I finally had to burst their bubble and tell them that it was just a fiberglass replica of a grizzly bear.  But I was ready if a real one should ever approach too close.  Yes, a good time was had by all.

One thing led to another and I told them about my New Year’s Resolution Birthday Hikes and how what seemed like a good and easy idea at the time had turned out to be a bit of a chore; you know, every day, after day, after day, after day.  By the time we were finished we all were having a pretty good time.  I even gave them one of my Grandpa Hyde’s Multi-Grain-Bread (Best Bread Known to Man) business cards with a reference to my travlinmanblog.blogspot com on it for their reading enjoyment.

As we readied to part ways, one of the group asked if he could get a picture of me with the rest.   “That old man on the mountain” I guess. Sure; it had been a good encounter.

Well I am still left with the decision as to which way to go; up or down?

.....What the hell; it’s a good day, I’m going to the top. 

JUST DO IT

Happiness is contagious; pass it on.

Gary Hyde

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

Resolutions

So how are your New Year’s Resolutions doing?  The New Year is far enough along that we have surely wondered what had possessed us to make such a decision as to undertaking this kind of resolution, however noble it may have appeared to be at the time.

Today is a cloudy day, the kind of day that saps the strength and ambition right out from your soul.  My resolution to hike 740 miles during this year was admirable enough and really not a difficult one, only 2.1 miles per day; some day’s I make that distance just going back and forth from the bedroom to the refrigerator.

So far I have maintained my daily mileage, even surpassed it. I have met some fine friends, discovered new trails, and eaten lunch at some great, and some not so great, restaurants. 

It’s not the difficulty of the task; it’s the tedium; 2.1 miles per day, day after day, after day, after day, after day.  I am reminded of a journal entry Mark Twain made as he and his “Innocents Abroad” traveled by ship through the Mediterranean Sea and then across the Atlantic Ocean to home.

“Sunday—Services, as usual, at four bells.  Services at night, also. No cards.

“Monday—Beautiful day, but rained hard.

“Tuesday—Somewhere in the neighborhood of the island of Malta.  Can not stop there. Cholera.  Weather very stormy.  Many passengers seasick and invisible.

“Wednesday—Weather still very savage.

“Thursday—Anchored off Algiers, Africa.  Beautiful city, beautiful green hilly landscape behind it.  Staid half a day and left.  Not permitted to land, though we showed a clean bill of health.  They were afraid of Egyptian plague and cholera.

“Friday—Morning, dominoes.  Afternoon, dominoes.  Evening, promenading the deck.  Afterwards, charades.

“Saturday—Morning, dominoes.  Afternoon, dominoes.  Evening, promenading the decks.  Afterwards, dominoes.

“Sunday—Morning service, four bells.  Evening service, eight bells.  Monotony till midnight.--Whereupon, dominoes.

“Monday—Morning, dominoes.  Afternoon, dominos.  Evening, promenading the decks.  Afterward, charades and a lecture from Dr. C. Dominoes.

“and so on, and so on, and so forth, for several days.

So as you can see we are not alone in our boredom, but just as Mark Twain finally arrived home, I too will complete my resolution despite long stretches of tedium and monotony; but next year I will put more thought into the making of a long term resolution.  Perhaps I will go on a nice long cruise. 

The Birthday Hikes - 6

The Birthday Hikes

ikes

Year Five

Today’s Hike:         4.4 miles
Total Miles:            54.6 miles (2.1 miles ahead of schedule)

LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE

Back in the ‘70’s I worked for a subcontractor by the name of Jack Couch.  He would do the bidding on jobs from the FHA to refurbish vacant or repossessed homes.  I was on the painting end of the job, and often when Couch would return from a bidding negotiation, he would be mumbling about how some of the contractors would underbid the job in order to get work and then make up their profit by using inferior quality of materials and work.  Jack would rather lose a bidding contract than produce a shoddy job just to get work.  They would ”Leave the money on the table” as he would say.

Those were good days.  I had been laid off from the Boeing Company and Sharon’s dad Albert was working for Couch.  He had managed to get me a job working as a painter with him. I learned a good trade and work ethic while working on that job.

On a recent hike;

Along the trail is a small rock outcropping that I like to call Meditation Rock.  I stopped there for a while to enjoy the view and do a bit of meditating.  This gives me a quiet time to reflect, to assess, to plan.  Things are going pretty good for Sharon and me, we enjoy two wonderful homes with good friends at each, and good weather at both; we have a great family, both close and extended, we seem to find many opportunities for service and we still enjoy a good day of hard work. 

While reflecting I considered how we got to this point in our lives, how we are taking advantage of the opportunities which arise at this time, and just what we should be looking forward to in the future.    They say these are the autumn years of our lives.  We are still very active and constantly learning something, but it seems as though we seem to be attending more funerals than weddings.  Mortality is no longer all fun and games, but something which definitely has a purpose and an end to it.  

One factor that I am beginning to enjoy more and more is the service which I can give to others.  I never have been a “what’s in it for me” kind of guy, I’ve always enjoyed helping others.  I guess being a scoutmaster for several years instilled the “Do a good turn daily” attitude in me.  The road of life hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been good.  Things are smoothing out now, the road is not quite so bumpy and we are enjoying the ride.  Like Jack Couch we have always tried to “bid the job for the right price”.

My mom had a poem pasted on our bedroom wall all the years we were growing up titled “Be The Best of Whatever You Are”

Be the Best of Whatever You Are

By Douglas Malloch

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,

Be a scrub in the valley-but be

The best little scrub at the side of the rill;

Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush, be a bit of the grass,

Some highway to happier make,

If you can't be a muskie, then just be a bass-

But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,

There's something for all of us here;

There's big work to do and there's lesser to do,

And the task we must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail,

If you can't be the sun, be a star;

It isn't by size that you win or you fail-

Be the best of whatever you are.

Size up the opportunities that come your way and don’t let the good ones get away.  Constantly strive to better yourself; through continuing education, learning a skill and advance in it, specialize if you wish but keep a well rounded portfolio of wholesome activities.

Teach your family a good work ethic and proper principles.  Keep yourself in good health.  If you see yourself getting sick, depressed, or out of touch, develop a plan to reel yourself in.  We have all been given certain gifts and talents to help us through this life, learn what they are and develop and use them.  In short, Be the best of whatever you are.

Don’t leave the money on the table!

Welcome To The Temple - Gilbert Arizona LDS Temple

The Agave

As a design theme, the humble AGAVE plant, native to
Arizona, dominates the architecture of the new Gilbert temple.
It is apparent in the stained-glass windows, stone work,
carpet, carvings, light fixtures, door hardware, and elsewhere.
The temple’s color palette incorporates soft blue, green, gold
and cream – colors of the succulent AGAVE plant.

After collaborating with church leaders, the principal
architect, Greg Lambright said, “We wanted something to
represent the living waters of Christ, and for the temple to be
an oasis in the desert.”  The AGAVE plant was chosen to
represent the Southwest – a humble, yet strong, tolerant plant.
It is extremely versatile, and has been used for a variety of
purposes, including food, beverages, rope, and basketry awls.
The Aztec used the plant for meat, drink, clothing, shelter, and
writing materials!  It is a common misconception that the
AGAVE plant is a cactus, but the AGAVE is actually a lily.
(That certainly gives new meaning to the scripture…”Consider
the lilies – how they grow”.)

The leaf design of the AGAVE plant used in the temple and on
the outside fencing is interlinked, representing families being
linked for eternity.  In the plant, the lower, older leaves are on
the bottom and the younger ones on top.  The lower leaves
support the younger ones and help them to grow as a plant.
After a decade or so the AGAVE plant grows a tall stalk in the
middle – it contains the plant’s short tubular flowers, which
are the plant’s “children”.  Once the plant has dropped all of
the “children”, the plant dies – It is as if the plant “gives her life
for her children”.

The Living Waters of Christ 

Interlinked fencing represents
families being linked for eternity

Windows representing the agave
       stalk with flowers
    reaching towards Heaven 

Blessings of the Temple

By President Thomas S. Monson
Sixteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The late Elder Matthew Cowley, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, once recounted the Saturday afternoon experience of a grandfather as hand in hand he took his small granddaughter on a birthday visit—not to the zoo or to the movies but to the temple grounds. With permission of the groundskeeper, the two walked to the large doors of the temple. He suggested that she place her hand on the sturdy wall and then on the massive door. Tenderly he then said to her, “Remember that this day you touched the temple. One day you will go inside.” His gift to the little one was not candy or ice cream but an experience far more significant and everlasting—an appreciation of the house of the Lord. She had touched the temple, and the temple had touched her.

 

They touched the temple, and the temple will touch them.
 

For more on the LDS tempel see ABC News 15 at:

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/gilbert/gilbert-mormon-temple-what-happens-inside-lds-temple