Category: RV review

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Humankind

“Wild animals are less wild and more human than many humans of this world” 

― Munia Khan

A friend posted the word “humankind” today on Facebook followed by, “try being both.”

What has happened to our world?   

Yes, another mass shooting happened this last weekend. What scared me the most Saturday was the fact I was no longer shocked as I read the breaking news banner pasted on the front of my phone. A confirmed mass shooting at a Pittsburg synagogue. These tragedies have become as every day as the latest wild-fire or category 5 hurricane. We have become numb and almost anesthetized.

As I walked into my office, I looked out our front door and saw this beautiful buck relaxing in the shade.

Thank you, God, for sharing this magnificent animal with me at this moment. His calm gaze gave me great peace.  Thank you.

As I began reading quotes for today’s story, I kept reading passages attributed to L.R. Knost. I had no idea who this person was but I certainly agreed with what s/he had to say.

I discovered L.R. Knost is a young author and mom who lives in Florida with her husband and four of her six children. She is a well published author with several of her books cited in the short article: Two Thousand Kisses a Day, Whispers Through Time, The Gentle Parent, and Jesus, the Gentle Parent.

I could not decide on which quote to share so I decided to share several.

“Healing a hurting humanity starts with a sacred pause, to listen, to learn, to understand, to accept, to forgive, to respect. That sacred pause transcends the fear-driven brutality of the primitive human survival instinct and makes way for a thoughtful, intentional, peaceful, humane response. Peaceful coexistence on this lovely planet is not impossible. It is imperative. Our future, our humanity, our very survival depends on it.” 

― L.R. Knost

“I know the concern over the events in our nation doesn’t end at our borders. Because there are no borders, really, if you think about it. Everything we do on this planet has repercussions that reverberate around the world. Because we’re connected. We belong to each other. And we need each other. We will get through this. Together. And we’ll learn and grow and overcome. Together. I believe the good things in this world outnumber the sad. And I believe the good people outnumber the bad. We are the lights sparkling in the darkness, and our hope and love are going to set the world on fire. I believe in us.” 

― L.R. Knost

“Do not be hardened by the pain 

and cruelty of this world. 

Be strong enough to be gentle, 

to be soft and supple like running water, 

gracefully bending around sudden turns, 

lithely waving in strong winds, 

freely flowing over sharp rocks, 

all the while quietly sculpting 

this hard world into ever deeper beauty, 

gently eroding rigid rock into silken sand,

tenderly transforming human cruelty 

into human kindness. 

Remember, true strength is not found in the stone, 

but in the water that shapes the stone.” 

― L.R. Knost

I am…

B…simply being…

God bless.

~Peace be with you.~

 

 

 

 

 

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Still Standing

“No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side.

Or you don’t.” 

― Stephen King, The Stand

A quote from one of my favorite books, The Stand. This book caused me to lose many hours of sleep–not just once but several times over the years. Even after all these years there are still times when I get anxious when I’m watching a newscast and the announcer starts to cough. Noooooo……

This week has certainly seemed like some type of endurance test. I am thankful to say I’m still standing and mostly smiling.

I was skimming Rabbi Naomi Levy’s book, To Begin Again, in search of something to add to my story today. When I found this segment of Chapter 8, The Comfort of Prayer, I knew I needed to pass it on.

     “Often people who are in trouble ask me to pray for them or their loved ones. They say, “Rabbi, I don’t know how to pray.” But anyone can pray. There are, of course, the prayers that were written long ago by our ancestors and have been codified into liturgy. But there are also the spontaneous prayers that flow from our hearts. They might not appear to be as beautifully crafted, but they are infused with an eloquence that is just as powerful–the passion of a soul crying out. A prayer does not have to be a ritualized, structured piece of writing. Anything that comes from the heart, that we communicate to God, can be a prayer.

     There are petitionary prayers where we ask God to help us There are prayers of repentance where we turn to God after having transgressed. There are prayers of protest where we cry out in anger, and there are prayers of gratitude for blessings. There are daily prayers and once-in-a-lifetime prayers, communal prayers and individual prayers. There are long, drawn-out prayers and prayers of just one word: “Help,” “Thanks,” “Sorry.”

     There are prayers with no words at all. They are the thoughts that we don’t even have to utter. Hager and her son Ishmael were lost in the desert, dying of hunger and thirst. The Bible tells us that God heard the cry of the child. Nowhere in the narrative does it say that the child cried out to God. So how could God hear the cry? The answer, according to one interpretation, is that there are cries that are silent and are heard by no one. But God hears even our silent cries. 

     Every one of us has a different prayer on our lips. Some of us cry out in bitter protest. Some whisper a secret longing. Others weep in pain. Our needs may be vastly different, but ultimately all our prayers contain the same yearning: a desire to be heard.

     In our daily lives we are so often misunderstood. We carry thoughts within us that no one knows, hopes that have never been voiced, confession that are too terrible to speak of, yearnings that are too deep to share with even those who are closest to us. And so we pray in the hope that God will listen and accept us in all our frailty, in all our end, in all our failings. 

     Each of us has a prayer in our hearts. A prayer of singular importance. Chances are we will only find it by opening our hearts and speaking directly to God. When the moment is right, close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and as you breathe out, relax. Without censoring or editing, look inside yourself. Look deep down inside. Find the prayer of your soul. Tell God your pain, your hope, your rage. Tell God your secret. Tell God what you need to say and listen for a reply. 

 A Prayer

God, I need to know that You are with me; that You hear my cry. I long to feel Your presence not just his day but every day. When I am weak and in pain, I need to know You are beside me. That in itself is often comfort enough. I do not pretend to know Your ways, to know why this world You have created can be so beautiful, so magnificent, and yet so harsh, so ugly and so full of hate. The lot You have bestowed upon me is a heavy one. I am angry. I want to know why: why the innocent must suffer, why life is so full of grief. There are times when I want to have nothing to do with You. When to think of You brings nothing but confusion and ambivalence. There are times, like this time, when I seek to return to You, when I feel the emptiness that comes when I am far from You. Watch over me and my loved ones. Forgive me for all that I have not been. Help me to appreciate all that I have, and to realize all that I have to offer. Help me to find my way back to You, so that I may never be alone.   Amen.”

May Rabbi Levy’s words comfort you as they comforted me.

Have a safe and joyous weekend.

I am…

B…simply being…

~Peace~

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Party Lines

Eavesdropping is such a regular-person activity.”
― Franny Billingsley, Chime

I had a flashback to my childhood today. It made me smile and a little sad.

The little town I grew up in had a large population of Czech families. Those memories include dishes with sauerkraut, heavenly pastries like kolaches, polka music, and party lines.

What?

For those who don’t know what party lines are, let me share what I remember. It won’t take long because I know very little about them. All I really know is how they played into my social life in the early to mid-sixties.

During this time several families or households shared phone lines. When you picked up the receiver, you’d hear a dial tone or overhear someone else’s conversation. The dial tone meant you could make your call, the sound of voices signaled you needed to replace the receiver and wait for your neighbor to finish their call.

If I’m remembering correctly, after three minutes of conversation,  you’d hear three short beeps, signaling you had one minute left of your call time. At the end of that minute, your call would be disconnected. This was an attempt to keep someone from tieing up the line for long periods of time. Now, if you were really fast and determined, you could redial your friend before your neighbor realized your call had ended.

Iowans are nice people. Even Iowans get cranky waiting to make a call. However, this was a great opportunity to practice passive/aggressive behavior. If you had been waiting for a long time, many of us began to pick up and replace the receiver frequently. Those maneuvers began softly. As time passed, aggression dictated the speed and the power of receiver placement. If that did not work, we’d pick up and just listen. The eavesdropper would be quiet at first, especially if the conversation was interesting. In my neighborhood, once we began listening, English was replaced by the language of the speakers native country. Since this made it pointless to listen, loud breathing would go into play accompanied by tongue clicks and heavy sighs.

It was a battle we rarely won. These little grandma ladies could tolerate all our teenage acting out and angst. They’d just talk louder and faster. When it would finally be our turn to make our call, they’d occasionally do a few payback moves. As a way to discourage them, we’d begin to speak in our special made-up languages, working to perfect “pig latin.”  As these skirmishes wore on, it was clear, we were no match for them.

Of course, our biggest fear was someone would pick up so quietly we would not hear them, unknowingly spilling a secret or two. Not only could those little grandma neighbors out talk us, they were super quiet–almost spy-like. Taking the risk to share secrets was a concern. There was one other little worry. What if these little ladies overheard you talking to someone you were not supposed to be talking to…somehow, our parents would know before we even ended the call.

All these thoughts made me pause as I picked up my cell phone. For all those automated phone tree customer service calls, I think I’d feel a lot less frustrated if I could make and end those calls more–let’s say–energetically by way of a heavy old rotary phone.

Maybe I should have kept one old phone just for that type of anger management?

I am…

B…simply being…  

God bless.

~Peace~

 

 

 

 

 

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Every Day Grace

Oh…Mondays…

Just like retirement does little to change the excitement of a Friday afternoon, Monday mornings still have a certain “feel.” The feel of this Monday took on its own little bit of flair when I found myself sitting in my new favorite dentist’s chair. I really like and respect my dentist. Unfortunately, my neck and jaw do not feel the same.

Meaning it’s time to go to the prayer file and find something to share.

Thank you, Marianne Williamson, for this prayer shared from your book, Every Day Grace.

Dear God, I give you this morning. Please take away my despair of yesterday. Help me forgive the things that caused me pain and would keep me bound. Help me to begin again. Please bless my path and illuminate my mind. I surrender to you the day ahead. Please bless every person and situation I encounter. Make me who you would have me be. That I might do as You would have me do. Please enter my heart and remove all anger, fear, and pain. Renewal my soul and free my spirit. Thank you, God, for this day. Amen. 

I am…

B…simply being…

Love Y’all.

Peace

 

 

 

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Our Home Away From Home

Three weeks on the road was much easier because we had our home away from home. Otherwise known as a travel trailer. With this mode of travel, we can take all our stuff. We can load up our own food, our own adult beverages, our three dogs, and hit the happy trails.

Over the years we have been lucky enough to experience all types of RVing. From a pop-up to a motor home, we found that a travel trailer works the best for our traveling style. For three weeks, the CrossRoads Sunset Trail 26BB Grand Reserve, was our home. Getting from one place to another was easy, thanks to Michael’s pride and joy, his diesel GMC one-ton Denali HD.

What makes set-up work so well?

This trailer is small enough we can take it anywhere. Our goal was to be small enough we could go into national park campgrounds and other remote areas. This little camper can do that.  The center of the trailer opens up by way of two opposing slides. With the slides open, the main living area is large enough for the two of us and our three dogs to relax comfortably. The kitchen island, with double sinks, makes it possible for both of us to work in the kitchen at the same time. Storage is always high on my wish list and this trailer comes through with ample storage space throughout the entire trailer. There’s the usual under bed storage, under the dinette, and multiple large storage places in the kitchen and bathroom. An added bonus is the outside kitchen and shower. Coming in from the beach, that outside shower has been a huge plus. The outdoor kitchen has a small refrigerator, sink, and storage areas. All that cuts down on trips in and out of the trailer and makes grabbing that cold drink so very quick and easy.

If you are in the market for an RV,  please check out Kansas RV Center, Chanute, Kansas. Michael has helped us so much as we’ve transitioned from full-time RVing to RVing for fun. Mike has always been just an email or a phone call away.  We value his sound business advice, his fairness, and his excellent customer service. Thank you, Mike. The RV world is a small one. We ran into one of his other customers when we were in DuBois. Jeff and Michelle have a MobleSuites that reminded us of the fifth wheel bought from Mike when we first retired. It was great to hear their experience and together, we had a four member Mike admiration society.

RVing is always an adventure–from the places you see to the people you meet along the way. I have a journal that I kept for years when we began this type of travel. I am sorry I stopped writing because those trips are wonderful to re-live by the stories both Michael and I wrote. I’ll have to share them as well.

Thank you for keeping Texas and Texans in your prayers.

I am…

B…simply being…

I love and cherish Y’all.

Peace

 

 

 

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