...'to unite or grow together, to come together for a common purpose'. It came to mind when reading an article in a recent TIME magazine, about popular media. Written by Judy Berman (who might be a media critic) after viewing an FX show, the comedy 'Better Things'. I wrote down a portion of a sentence to ponder.
Not being a consumer of any video or action packed media, I do not know what the program or show or series is about, but reading piqued my interest. Not enough to go back to Mediacom and sign up for cable, but some small degree of curiosity. I just recently went through a convoluted process of finally getting them to take everything off that can be seen on the big screen television that sits on the shelf in my house.
You know I am the person who lives with electronic devices I do not know how to use, cannot even turn it on. I do not see any point in paying over $100 every month for something I don't use. My house is not the place to visit, with the expectation we will sit and watch TV. I can read, or put stuff on the blog (which lately cannot be accessed by my admirers as it has some sort of dread bug I have not figured out how to destroy/remove/cleanse.) Also there is the option of just going to bed, which is often a very good choice in order to be at work at five or six a.m.
The quote, excerpted from a short two column article by J. Berman: ..."you don't notice narratives coalescing until they are fully formed." Made in reference to the story line as scriptwriters brainstorm for a broadcast program on FX. But it made me think about: Life. How we don't see things coming together in mundane daily occurrences, until we have the vantage point of being able to look back on situations and circumstances and observe that 'coming together'. You might want to attribute that unexpected confluence to harmonic convergence. You might believe in luck, or just happenstance.
You might choose to believe something to be preordained, as it was simply inevitable. Or in a more negative mode, you would think yourself to be in an equally inevitable situation of feeling doomed, with no hope of delivery, but none-the-less a series of events leading to a foreordained destiny. Either a positive outcome or a negative one, still it is what happens when you believe the fortune cookie: Fate.
Not me. I believe a power far greater than humans has influence in our lives. The Great Mystery (a term often found in use by Native Americans to explain the unexplainable) leads us in our daily lives, pointing us towards a future we are not yet prepared to examine or understand. We plod through our lives daily, with our heads down, looking at our feet, rarely seeing the wonders of our surroundings, seldom lifting our eyes to look at the miracles each day presents. When you see the dependably returning miracles of spring, how can you not believe in God?
The wording may be a little off, as I cannot quote directly, but this is from a Tony Hillerman book: 'If you think things happen at random, you are looking at life from the wrong perspective'. So - I am convinced every thing happens for a reason.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
on the road again...
... after several months of staying fairly close to home, other than those exhausting trips made in one day to Valdosta and back, tending to the business of guardianship of the Auntie. For several years I have enjoyed monthly visits to Chattanooga, and taking the time to drive to TN and hang out with family. We put our heads together over the holidays or early in the new year along with freshly minted calendars and pick a weekend each month when I can take time off and make the drive to visit on a weekend. Some of the trips will entail a specific event or project, while others have no reason other than being together, time spent enjoying being with entertaining people.
We went to the Tennessee Aquarium last night for a special event. If you are out in the retail world at all, you are aware that this time of year is Girl Scout Cookie season. Young Scouts will be standing near the entrance to shops, stores, eateries, commercial enterprises by folding tables laden with the current assortment of cookies available for purchase. You should always ask these girls what they plan to do with the funds they will receive after expenses are paid, and how they are going to use these resources for the betterment of their group or the world at large. The girls are expected to have well-thought-out answers, and concrete plans for how their plans will be implemented. Part of cookie sales is the training to handle finances, considering how they will use the profits after they pay for the goods, and what they can do to make the world a better place with the resources they have available.
The event last night at the Aquarium 'Cookie Creations' was an opportunity to sample foods that had cookies as an ingredient. A local catering firm was hired to provide the goods, making up recipes that had one of seven types of Girl Scout Cookies. From shrimp that was baked with a cookie coating, to meatballs incorporating cookies and waffles with cookie crumbs in the batter - all good eats. Then we went on a tour of the fishes, where there were cookie and beer parings! I am not a beer aficionado, but determined to not miss out on anything: willingly sampled every offering. Admittedly the cookies provided at every stop were the best part, I did taste a variety of new beers I would have never otherwise tried.
I've not been to visit the fishes for years, and enjoyed walking through the exhibits. Some amazingly huge amphibians, interesting displays, fascinating turtle lore, creepy reptiles and huge tanks with large captive specimens, calmly swimming day and night. Really a treat to walk through when the place is not bursting with the pandemonium that accompanies small children, chaotic school tours, noisy conversation, rowdy field trip participants and bustling baby carriages.
We went to the Tennessee Aquarium last night for a special event. If you are out in the retail world at all, you are aware that this time of year is Girl Scout Cookie season. Young Scouts will be standing near the entrance to shops, stores, eateries, commercial enterprises by folding tables laden with the current assortment of cookies available for purchase. You should always ask these girls what they plan to do with the funds they will receive after expenses are paid, and how they are going to use these resources for the betterment of their group or the world at large. The girls are expected to have well-thought-out answers, and concrete plans for how their plans will be implemented. Part of cookie sales is the training to handle finances, considering how they will use the profits after they pay for the goods, and what they can do to make the world a better place with the resources they have available.
The event last night at the Aquarium 'Cookie Creations' was an opportunity to sample foods that had cookies as an ingredient. A local catering firm was hired to provide the goods, making up recipes that had one of seven types of Girl Scout Cookies. From shrimp that was baked with a cookie coating, to meatballs incorporating cookies and waffles with cookie crumbs in the batter - all good eats. Then we went on a tour of the fishes, where there were cookie and beer parings! I am not a beer aficionado, but determined to not miss out on anything: willingly sampled every offering. Admittedly the cookies provided at every stop were the best part, I did taste a variety of new beers I would have never otherwise tried.
I've not been to visit the fishes for years, and enjoyed walking through the exhibits. Some amazingly huge amphibians, interesting displays, fascinating turtle lore, creepy reptiles and huge tanks with large captive specimens, calmly swimming day and night. Really a treat to walk through when the place is not bursting with the pandemonium that accompanies small children, chaotic school tours, noisy conversation, rowdy field trip participants and bustling baby carriages.
about that swim meet...
... where I did another stint of volunteering on Friday. The meet at the Aquatics Center was continuing on Friday, and I offered to donate half of my day to the event. Meaning I had to be on site at 7:30, and would serve as a volunteer for the first shift. The program of events was planned to give everyone from competitors to cleaning crew a break in the middle of the day.Allowing the students and coaches to leave the premises to get lunch, and dry out before the second half of the planned relays/medleys and singles events.
Competitive swimming is something that has never caught my interest, so I do not know anything about it. My knowledge is practically non-existent, other than occasionally seeing the cream of the crop when televised with world class athletes. In order to have the skills they do, they start young and commit to years of daily practice, developing speed. as their bodies mature. Like getting to the national level of competition in any arena, it takes devotion, dedication, and years of getting up early before classes. Being a diligent student, then returning to more practice after school, weekends spent traveling and a willingness to give up other things with greater appeal to young people.
There were dozens of young people I saw in my time on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at the NAIA meet. (National Association of Independent Athletes? I never asked, and everyone assumed I was far more knowledgeable than I was!) From colleges I was unfamiliar with, arriving in middle Georgia in those big charter-type buses from all over the US. I asked a swimmer if most of the attendees would be on athletic scholarships and she said yes. Smaller, independent colleges, who still want to participate in national events, but may not have the resources to produce powerhouse football teams yet still want to be visible, make a name for themselves in the world of sports.
I was sitting in a wide hallway area with benches and space for teams to gather. My job was to guard a door, refuse entry to anyone who wanted to pass through. The door is actually the entrance to a short hallway where there are lockers lining the walls, and four 'family' style changing rooms. Now being used, during this event as a space for the people who perform drug-testing to do their secretive work. I was instructed to tell anyone attempting to open the doors there was 'no entry'. The signs posted indicated the doors were not to be opened, but you would be surprised at the number of people who either cannot read, think it does apply to them or do not know the meaning of 'No'. My job was to tell them: 'No'.
It was really dull, but I had book and spent several hours on Thursday afternoon reading. Also walking to and fro in that small space so I could keep an eye on my assignment, while getting some exercise. There was plenty of foot traffic, athletes, coaches, parents, supporters, employees of the parks and rec. department, law enforcement, but most ignored me. Though it appeared to be a pointless endeavor, I was assured it was a very important job, necessary to keep the door closed and the people within uninterrupted in their work.
Competitive swimming is something that has never caught my interest, so I do not know anything about it. My knowledge is practically non-existent, other than occasionally seeing the cream of the crop when televised with world class athletes. In order to have the skills they do, they start young and commit to years of daily practice, developing speed. as their bodies mature. Like getting to the national level of competition in any arena, it takes devotion, dedication, and years of getting up early before classes. Being a diligent student, then returning to more practice after school, weekends spent traveling and a willingness to give up other things with greater appeal to young people.
There were dozens of young people I saw in my time on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at the NAIA meet. (National Association of Independent Athletes? I never asked, and everyone assumed I was far more knowledgeable than I was!) From colleges I was unfamiliar with, arriving in middle Georgia in those big charter-type buses from all over the US. I asked a swimmer if most of the attendees would be on athletic scholarships and she said yes. Smaller, independent colleges, who still want to participate in national events, but may not have the resources to produce powerhouse football teams yet still want to be visible, make a name for themselves in the world of sports.
I was sitting in a wide hallway area with benches and space for teams to gather. My job was to guard a door, refuse entry to anyone who wanted to pass through. The door is actually the entrance to a short hallway where there are lockers lining the walls, and four 'family' style changing rooms. Now being used, during this event as a space for the people who perform drug-testing to do their secretive work. I was instructed to tell anyone attempting to open the doors there was 'no entry'. The signs posted indicated the doors were not to be opened, but you would be surprised at the number of people who either cannot read, think it does apply to them or do not know the meaning of 'No'. My job was to tell them: 'No'.
It was really dull, but I had book and spent several hours on Thursday afternoon reading. Also walking to and fro in that small space so I could keep an eye on my assignment, while getting some exercise. There was plenty of foot traffic, athletes, coaches, parents, supporters, employees of the parks and rec. department, law enforcement, but most ignored me. Though it appeared to be a pointless endeavor, I was assured it was a very important job, necessary to keep the door closed and the people within uninterrupted in their work.
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