Ever since I was twenty I have been thinking about coincidences. There have been many in my life and it continues to amaze me. One significant one occurred just today. It was interesting, at least to me.
I do a lot of research on the internet. I stumbled across an interesting website last night. I am reading Stephen Ambrose's book on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, "Undaunted Courage". (Yes, those of you who stop by regularly, I am still reading it. It is an easy read but I can only find a few minutes here and there to read it.)
I am reading this book and it raises the subject of human migration patterns. Well, it raises the question in my mind. So I started thinking about it. I typed in the words "human migration" on Yahoo and it gave me a lot of choices. One of them led me to a website, http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/. I was impressed with the information that could be found there.
I am an old anthropology major - for two semesters - so this website gave me a lot to study. Some of the things that I found were the discovery or ancient art. The cave paintings in Cosquer and Chavert in France were incredible. But the real interesting artwork was the giraffe carvings of Niger. I was amazed. I read the articles and nowhere could I find any indications as to when these figures were carved. I was really quite fascinated by it. I thought a great deal about it. I knew that my friend at work would really enjoy this artwork. She is a very talented artist and I share discoveries with her all the time. I was thinking about her while I was reading and looking at this website. I knew she would love it.
I was further amazed this morning when I was at work. This artist friend of mine shows up in a blouse of giraffe print. How could she have known that I was thinking about her? Could I have placed these thoughts in her head telepathically? Or was it just a coincidence? I may never know. But it was pretty amazing that I turned around and saw her blouse of giraffe patterns. Pretty cool. Just made me stop in my tracks. Who is running this universe anyway? What great plans You have or what a great sense of humor You have.
While thinking about this, and its flirtation with the paranormal, I was reminded of my grandmother. She was a neat lady who sometimes would say things that just seemed so strange. I remember one day that she was at our house, she must have been in her 80's and she was just sitting in the living room watching the days activities. I remember my younger sister, she must have been 18 or 19 (maybe 20) at the time, had a friend over. I think I said hi to the friend as my sister and her went through the living room and into the backyard. My grandmother looked at me and said that that girl was the girl I would marry. I laughed and thought she was joking.
My grandmother died about four years later. And three years after that? I married that girl. So all of you out there...listen to your grandmothers.
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings today. It was just kind of fun to think about "coincidences" or the great "plans" that someone has for our lives. Keep thinking and wondering.
David.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
I am the product...
I am the product of all who I have ever met.
I am the product of green vegetables, beets, and corn,
of hamburgers and hot dogs, Mother's Sunday roast, and Dad's vegetable soup,
I am the product of friends kept and friends that slipped away.
I am the product of books and teachers that I have known,
of girls that I have loved,
of girls who loved me back and
of those that haven't.
I am the product of enemies and adversaries,
of strangers,
of smiles and disdainful looks.
I am the product of molecules and atoms
of the breath that you exhale,
of the words that you have spoken.
I am the product of all that I remember.
C. 2008, D. Normand
I wrote this at a recent writer's conference that I attended.
Europe
On the day that my son and I left for spring training my daughter caught her flight to Dublin. I tracked her progress on the air tracker before I left the office but the rest of the flight, being international, I could not track. I drove to Arizona knowing only that she was somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. That was fine. I left her in God's hands. She was given the opportunity to travel to Europe to see some of the art work that she had studied in High School. It was a great opportunity. We were in Phoenix when she arrived in Dublin. I was worried sick about her.
My daughter informed us in October/November last year that her school (art history class) was planning a trip to Europe. More specifically Dublin, Wales, London, Paris and Normandy. We checked out the itinerary and saw the places that she would visit and we decided that since she was such a good student that we would send her. Her aunts and uncles donated several stacks of Euro's (bought late 2007 when the exchange rate was better). And, of course, mom and dad pitched in a few bucks (not to mention the ticket itself). She was all set to go. We made sure she would take plenty of pictures. She had a good digital camera with several memory cards and batteries.
I am glad she went. She called us three times. Once when she was having dinner in Dublin; Once when she was having a snack at the Eiffel Tower in Paris; and once when her connecting flight home got canceled and she had to spend the night in Dallas, Texas. Each phone call was essentially to let us know that she was OK, having fun, and couldn't talk long. These were the extent of the details that we received while she was gone on her ten day trip. We did receive a nice post card. We knew that we would have heard had anything gone wrong. We hoped she was enjoying her time.
The day came that we were to pick her up at the airport. Her flight arrived at 5:30 PM. My son and I picked her mother up at work and we all drove to the airport to pick her up. She arrived on time (albeit 24 hours late-- aircraft inspections and maintenance problems) and we asked her what she wanted to do for dinner. She wanted STEAK. We gathered her stuff and went to a local steak house for dinner. She read her trip journal to us on the way to the restaurant. She is such an excellent writer that I hope she captures these reflections and publishes them. Great stuff.
At dinner she handed out souvenirs. I got a CD of Irish music (which I love) and some pamphlets. I have four great interests in life - folk music, food, history and poetry. She also brought me two cookbooks - one from Wales and one from Normandy. She is such a great kid. She also told me that she took some pictures for me. Rodin's Thinker (which he originally called the Poet) was one. I could not wait to see that one.
We kind of glanced at the photos on the little photo screen on the camera. We got an idea that they would be great viewed on the television at home. We had planned a party for her. But that would wait till next week. I had to leave town on the weekend.
After dinner we went home. As we turned the corner to our house, my daughter asked where the other car was. My wife and I looked at each other and just groaned. I hate picking her up at work because we always forget her car somewhere. Yes, it has happened before. This time was not so bad. The other times we had left it farther away. So we dropped my daughter and son off at home and drove back to my wife's office for her car. A fitting end to a crazy week.
Two days after my daughter's arrival home I was finally able to get a look at the "Thinker" sculpture. This was the picture that my daughter took for me. I was looking over her shoulder as she was queuing it up on the computer. When it finally loaded she told me that she was looking through the window of the tour bus when they happened upon it. There it was! I was staring at the backside of the Thinker. Well, at least she was thinking about me. And she knew that I would like to see that piece of art. She is such a sweet kid.
My daughter informed us in October/November last year that her school (art history class) was planning a trip to Europe. More specifically Dublin, Wales, London, Paris and Normandy. We checked out the itinerary and saw the places that she would visit and we decided that since she was such a good student that we would send her. Her aunts and uncles donated several stacks of Euro's (bought late 2007 when the exchange rate was better). And, of course, mom and dad pitched in a few bucks (not to mention the ticket itself). She was all set to go. We made sure she would take plenty of pictures. She had a good digital camera with several memory cards and batteries.
I am glad she went. She called us three times. Once when she was having dinner in Dublin; Once when she was having a snack at the Eiffel Tower in Paris; and once when her connecting flight home got canceled and she had to spend the night in Dallas, Texas. Each phone call was essentially to let us know that she was OK, having fun, and couldn't talk long. These were the extent of the details that we received while she was gone on her ten day trip. We did receive a nice post card. We knew that we would have heard had anything gone wrong. We hoped she was enjoying her time.
The day came that we were to pick her up at the airport. Her flight arrived at 5:30 PM. My son and I picked her mother up at work and we all drove to the airport to pick her up. She arrived on time (albeit 24 hours late-- aircraft inspections and maintenance problems) and we asked her what she wanted to do for dinner. She wanted STEAK. We gathered her stuff and went to a local steak house for dinner. She read her trip journal to us on the way to the restaurant. She is such an excellent writer that I hope she captures these reflections and publishes them. Great stuff.
At dinner she handed out souvenirs. I got a CD of Irish music (which I love) and some pamphlets. I have four great interests in life - folk music, food, history and poetry. She also brought me two cookbooks - one from Wales and one from Normandy. She is such a great kid. She also told me that she took some pictures for me. Rodin's Thinker (which he originally called the Poet) was one. I could not wait to see that one.
We kind of glanced at the photos on the little photo screen on the camera. We got an idea that they would be great viewed on the television at home. We had planned a party for her. But that would wait till next week. I had to leave town on the weekend.
After dinner we went home. As we turned the corner to our house, my daughter asked where the other car was. My wife and I looked at each other and just groaned. I hate picking her up at work because we always forget her car somewhere. Yes, it has happened before. This time was not so bad. The other times we had left it farther away. So we dropped my daughter and son off at home and drove back to my wife's office for her car. A fitting end to a crazy week.
Two days after my daughter's arrival home I was finally able to get a look at the "Thinker" sculpture. This was the picture that my daughter took for me. I was looking over her shoulder as she was queuing it up on the computer. When it finally loaded she told me that she was looking through the window of the tour bus when they happened upon it. There it was! I was staring at the backside of the Thinker. Well, at least she was thinking about me. And she knew that I would like to see that piece of art. She is such a sweet kid.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Spring Training, 2008
Well, here we are at the beginning of a new baseball season. April, 2008 already. I suppose then that it is time to post the post I was going to put here about Spring Training. I am a little behind. Lots of things going on this year. I am just now getting around to it.
My son loves baseball. He was a pretty good player these past 7 years in Little League. But he was always playing. This year he graduated from Little League so he wasn't playing this season. I thought this would be a great opportunity to take him out to Arizona to see some pre-season baseball.
My son is growing into a nice young man and I really hadn't spent a lot of time with him. I thought this would be a great opportunity to talk. This would be a four hour car trip. He only has 72 songs on his iPOD and I think he got bored with them because he played for me his favorites and then he turned it off and after a while we just talked.
We talked about his friends, his school and, of course, the road.
"Dad, how do they know it is 300 miles to Phoenix?" I did my best. I explained that someone came out with a big tape measure and actually walked the entire distance and recorded the distance...No. I told him that it was developed when they surveyed for the roads. Each road has a given distance. They know what the distance is between certain points. They made lots of studies and that is how they know. (I didn't want to get into satellite imagery and triangulations.)
At about 9pm and an hour or two away from our destination the talked turned to religion. Lord Almighty, my prayers have been answered.
I always wanted my kids to make their own decisions. I was there to guide them as best I could and hope that they made the right decisions for themselves. My son made me proud just by talking about the things that we did. From our discussion I discovered that my son has a decent head on his shoulders.
We had a great trip. We arrived at the hotel and went right to bed. We were both tired.
The next day we went to the sports complex to watch our favorite team practice. I had bought him a baseball for autographs. I didn't want him fighting with the eight year olds for baseballs. He was able to see several minor leaguers practicing with the big boys.
The park was nice. The field was ok. The game was uneventful (our team lost.) But the weekend was a success. We both had a lot of fun just walking around, just being together. I had a terrific time. I hope he did too.
My son loves baseball. He was a pretty good player these past 7 years in Little League. But he was always playing. This year he graduated from Little League so he wasn't playing this season. I thought this would be a great opportunity to take him out to Arizona to see some pre-season baseball.
My son is growing into a nice young man and I really hadn't spent a lot of time with him. I thought this would be a great opportunity to talk. This would be a four hour car trip. He only has 72 songs on his iPOD and I think he got bored with them because he played for me his favorites and then he turned it off and after a while we just talked.
We talked about his friends, his school and, of course, the road.
"Dad, how do they know it is 300 miles to Phoenix?" I did my best. I explained that someone came out with a big tape measure and actually walked the entire distance and recorded the distance...No. I told him that it was developed when they surveyed for the roads. Each road has a given distance. They know what the distance is between certain points. They made lots of studies and that is how they know. (I didn't want to get into satellite imagery and triangulations.)
At about 9pm and an hour or two away from our destination the talked turned to religion. Lord Almighty, my prayers have been answered.
I always wanted my kids to make their own decisions. I was there to guide them as best I could and hope that they made the right decisions for themselves. My son made me proud just by talking about the things that we did. From our discussion I discovered that my son has a decent head on his shoulders.
We had a great trip. We arrived at the hotel and went right to bed. We were both tired.
The next day we went to the sports complex to watch our favorite team practice. I had bought him a baseball for autographs. I didn't want him fighting with the eight year olds for baseballs. He was able to see several minor leaguers practicing with the big boys.
The park was nice. The field was ok. The game was uneventful (our team lost.) But the weekend was a success. We both had a lot of fun just walking around, just being together. I had a terrific time. I hope he did too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
