I’ve been in hospital for a week after testing positive.
Looks like I’ll go home Wednesday
I feel the love of family and friends
From Fla to Alaska
From california to illinois
From Portland to the Dallas
From the coast to the mountains
Love abounds
Love heals
God is love; Love is God
But especially Betsy
And my Charisma.
Go in peace and love and be healed.
Dear lord let me accept this gift with gratitude and appreciation.
Thank you all! I love you.
-Small town boy
I’m waiting for breakfast to be served.
Waiting for Betsy’s birthday and Thanksgiving.
Waiting for church to resume.
I can’t avoid it.
Waiting comes with everything.
You might as well be patient.
I have been called impulsive.
Impulsive is the opposite of waiting and implies impatience.
And so I’m waiting and thinking…
About being impulsive.
I’m waiting for big things too, things I can’t be impulsive about:
Death, end of life, the big transition. I’m in no hurry.
Taxes.
The second coming.
The next big medical problem.
I’m in no hurry for these.
And waiting for these big ticket items has taught me about waiting.
First of all “Seize the day!” Each day is enjoyed for its own merits.
Next: things come without waiting: smiles, pets, sunrise/sunset.
So that’s why I’m writing this, to pass the time.
I want to tell you something, I can’t wait!
I love you.
-Small town boy
I’ve had so many wonderful thoughts today …
And I’ve forgotten nearly all of them.
The problem was s that I remember that they were wonderful thoughts,
But I forgot what they were about.
I had a thought about a wonderful afternoon snack…. what was it?
I had a great idea about doing something with my Golden Doodle, Toby. What was it?
I remembered my brothers’ birthday because it was on the calendar, but did I send a card?
I almost drove my electric cart into the elevator with the dog, but caught myself.
It’s not that I’m upset .
It’s an alternative lifestyle.
And I’m developing coping strategies.
I hope you can cope with it too.
-small town boy
My girlfriend, Charisma, has family in The Dalles, Oregon.
On Sunday last we drove nearly three hours from Corvallis for a visit with her mom, Charleen, and her sister Audrey.
After lunch Audrey suggested I take Toby my 2.5 year old Golden Doodle to meet her cows.
She asked if Toby had seen cows before and I told her no.
As we walked from the house to the cow pen, Toby sniffed. New smells of the farmyard excited him.
The closer we got to the cow pen, the more interested he became.
The cows were smaller than standard Herefords. The cow and a smaller but horned bull occupied the pen. As we approached the cow pushed her way to the rails and shoved her huge beautiful wet nose through the rails.
Toby by this time was straining at the leash to push his nose forward toward this huge (in his eyes) animal.
Nearly nose to nose, Toby skittered back and the cow did too !
Toby took this as an opportunity to play an leaned down on his elbows as his typical invitation to play!
The cow didn’t respond and we walked away.
I just know that Toby was amazed at the huge brown dog he had just met at the farm.
I feel he’s excited to return to the farm and play. Maybe we should take his favorite ball?
-Small town boy
Sitting in my car in Bi-Mart’s parking lot,
I was privileged to witness a woman talking
To an elderly couple in an SUV across from me,
Who was talking loudly and with animation about
The other presidential candidate, the other side.
She went on and on saying her candidate was the only one for the job,
Complaining that some didn’t understand him,
Including young voters, who all agreed were too naive.
Her candidate was the man to get work done that he said he would,
Etc., etc. I’m sure you’ve heard this same conversation, or something like it.
Later I was the receiving end of a diatribe for the other candidate, the other side of the former conversation.
This woman was aghast at the opposition and surely the downfall of the country if he continued.
She was concerned about young voters who hadn’t voted in the previous election, four years ago.
Her candidate was the only man for the job, in spite of wild rumors put forth by the other side.
Etc., etc. I’m sure you’ve heard this conversation or something like it.
This kind of talk is nothing new to politics, but
There is vehemence now. And lies. And polarization among the citizenship. Leaving injured, disenfranchised, marginalized citizens.
So What do you do?
So listen.
Find someone you trust who supports the Other Side,
And listen.
Try to restate what they are saying, what is important to them, what you might agree with.
Then realize we are not the Other Side,
We are all on the same side.
-Small Town Boy
I have lived here for a very long time.
I didn’t know that I lived here.
I saw others living here, but not me.
See, I was already in denial about living in Denial.
I have discovered Denial, the place where I live, recently.
It took years and years to find out where I was living.
I am in denial about death, loneliness, global warming, politics, and pineapple.
I am most certainly in denial about many other things, but I’m in denial about that.
I see others in denial and I tell them about it.
They don’t see it; they are in Denial.
Everyone thinks they are taking all issues on,
But many issues lay in front of them waiting for their attention.
You see you can only get out of Denial when you see that you are in denial.
Some people are in denial about racism, but they don’t realize it.
Some people are in denial about their health, and will pay the price.
There is always a price to get out of Denial.
Denial likes for you to be busy. Business promotes denial.
When you are busy, you don’t notice.
When you are busy, you don’t see.
Quiet time is required for you to believe; to believe you are in denial.
I have been isolated since March.
Isolation is a good time to deal with those things you are in denial about.
Go ahead, try it. Sit still and be quiet. Quiet your mind.
Now, do you see?
-Small town boy
Start by telling me what you liked most about the recent isolation due to the pandemic?
I liked the reduction of automobile use and the good environmental impact.
Did that have a color associated with it?
Green, I guess. And multicolored like the flowers we saw in the neighborhood.
And a size? How big was it?
All around me, in the immediate neighborhood.
How did it make you feel?
Open and calm and safe as I rode my electric scooter to the park.
How did that feel? Did it have a color?
Like being wrapped in a pink blanket.
What will you continue to do after this is over?
Use my electric scooter more and my car less.
Two carts, small ones, one from Safeway, one from Bi-Mart were found together in a corner of the Sunset parking lot.
They were clearly runaways.
Cart people would be seeking them out, one from Safeway, one from Bi-Mart.
But for the moment they had found each other in the sheltered nook out of wind and rain.
Away from the hustle and bustle of their respective stores.
It had been a long time since they had been alone and not jammed together with others of their kind.
This was isolation, but with a twist: a new friend to rest with.
The red Bi-Mart cart had a child’s seat and accompanying seat belt with four different warnings for children who might ride there.
The Safeway cart was not for kids and had eleven warnings to say so.
The handlebar basket on the Safeway cart was for grownups, with a place for coffee and a tray for small stuff, about the size of a carton of cigarettes, which no one buys anymore for $87.00!
They were two different carts, two different colors, from two different stores, but
They rested together, enjoying the quiet, and the peace.
Soon they would return to the fray, but I take peace and ease with them as I sit on my scooter with my dog waiting for my friend to get our groceries.
Peace ☮️ out!
-Small town boy
I don’t get it.
Where has all the quiet come from?
Many are masked and isolated, socially distanced,
Because of the great pandemic of 2020.
We sit at home,
In the quiet.
I have been quiet myself from tome to time,
Meditation, prayer, school, church,
So I recognize it.
You can hear the birds.
The trees are singing spring, quietly.
But I ask again, where has all the quiet come from?
Did we have a storehouse somewhere where we kept quiet?
We’re we each saving quiet time for just such an occasion?
What are we finding? In the quiet? What do we hear now?
There are private parts of ourselves meant only for quiet spaces.
We had been ignoring these parts, rushing about.
Stop now and listen.
Listen to your heart.
Let your heart live in the silence.
Let it love you and me and God and the birds and the trees,
And heal your sick soul.
Listen to me, I love you.
Shhh, here comes more quiet today. What will you do with it.
Is there a limited supply, like toilet paper?
Let’s wait and see.
-Small town boy.
No one was in the lobby and the sign on the door said absolutely no visitors!
No one was in the dining room and tables and chairs were shoved to the side with yellow caution tape around them.
There were no cars on the streets and the park was empty. There were red danger tapes around the children’s playground.
Banks were closed and churches too.
No one walked the streets unless they were accompanied by a dog on a leash.
No theaters, no gatherings of any kind.
And yet there was the internet alive and humming.
People were arranging to gather virtually.
Video conferencing among friends and family became routine.
Church was streaming seven days a week morning and evening .
Old problems were forgotten:
The homeless, racism, political differences. What would happen?
New problems arose:
Hoarding of toilet paper and anti bacteria lotion.
How to get groceries and prescriptions.
But there was no rioting, looting or fires, like there were in the sixties.
Amazon was so busy that people worried about the people who worked there.
Police delivered life-saving meds.
Grocery stores were open early for the elderly, and Costco only let a few in at a time.
Everyone stayed home, but for how long?
Teachers taught us how to home school.
Artists taught us how to be artists at home.
Everyone worked together, separately.
Separated by at least five feet,
But acting like they were right beside you ready to help if you need it.
How will this end?
Will we return to the way we were?
Pick three things you will continue to do when the earth is no longer standing still.
Daily contact with friends and family?
Needlepoint?
Prayer?
You decide.
I want you to know that I care about you.
I wish you well.
– Small town boy
lloydmcanelly 