Just BE

This has been reprinted from my SendOutCards blog  http://tinyurl.com/omb24cb

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February 27, 2015

by tom_g

Life can be complicated. There is so much to worry about. From the second we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep at night, we operate in a world that moves at a feverish pace. We have few opportunities to stop what we’re doing and just BE.

Have you ever noticed that children are often content to just BE? They find all kinds of ways to pass the time. As adults, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to take a cue from children in this regard. Here are some kid-inspired ideas for ways to hit the pause button, even if it’s just for a few minutes:

Sit under a tree on a nice day. Or just find a spot outside where you can hang out for awhile. You could read a book or write in a journal. Or you could just look and listen to nature. Even better, lie down and watch the clouds go by.

Draw a picture. What, or who, is on your mind? Bring it to life on a page. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to be good. Just let it be truthful.

Write a thank you–or a just because–card. Remember when you were a child and you’d draw a picture or write a note just to tell someone you loved them? Do it now! Sometimes, when we are in the throes of a stressful situation, simply sitting back and thinking of all the people we are thankful for can bring some perspective.

I'm the Guy on the Right

In 2009 I had the opportunity to met the legendary Jerome Kersey of the Portland Trailblazers.  We were there a equals, both health coaches for a great company.  

This week the Portland community and the Trailblazers lost a great man at age 52.  Fair Winds and Following Seas Jerome.  

My mother, Lelia Houchen Grimes, 1964

I posted this picture yesterday on Facebook and the first one to call was my sister.  She was laughing about going on the social site and finding a picture of mom.   I have hundreds of pictures and decided that they need to be shared.  When I post one of FB there are a few classmates and other people who remember my parents.

The note on the back says the picture was taken at a motel in Lincoln City, Oregon and the photo is dated August 1964.  My parents rarely when to the coast in the summer.  Dad always said that mom like the winter storms.  1964 was the year I graduated from high school and when on active duty with the Navy.  It is also a year before Lincoln City was incorporated on March 3, 1965, uniting the cities of Delake, Oceanlake and Taft, and the unincorporated communities of Cutler City and Nelscott. 

My parents loved to stay at motels in Taft.  They were cheap during the off season.

The picture brought back memories.  

Finally

I'm back.

Mari-Linn School and Lyons

Today I posted the following note on a Facebook group called Mari-Linners . https://www.facebook.com/groups/MariLinners/. 

This group is more that just Mari-Linn, it is also about growing up in the canyon, our little corner of Heaven on Earth. Some of remember Lyons when Hwy 226 was the only paved road in town; when a fire meant calling Mill City and Stayton, the closest fire departments; when everyone in town knew what five blasts of the millwrights whistle meant fire and the volunteer firemen were rolling before the call came in; when there were fire phones at the Corner Store, at the fire chief's home and a couple of other locations and each had a button to blow the siren. I remember Lyons didn't have sidewalks. I knew every mud puddle between Mari-Linn and our home on the corner between the telephone office and stores across from the Corner Market (I think it has a new name now). I walked to and from school every day for 8 years. I also remember the arrival of dial telephones. What a wonderful town to grow up in.

We are all students of the school.  The name came about when several one and two room schools were consolidated after World War II.  The new district was located in both Linn  and Marion Counties, along the North Santiam River. 

I'm back.

I tried this once before and once I changed my password I could not access my blogs.  Hopefully everything will work this time.

Was This How the Wright Brothers Started?

Some people spend the end of their lives sorting all the stuff they collected while experiencing life. Others like to wait until the end and then tell their family that can sort it all after they are gone.

While helping Nancy go through the boxes her mother left for her to go through we found the above picture. There was no name on the back, but that is not all that is missing. Take a minute and examine the bike. Note that there are no tires, no tubes, no chain, (and we can assume, no coaster brake) and no seat.

This young man apparently wanted a bike very badly. I know the feeling. Over 50 years ago, while growing up the the little town of Lyons, 25 miles East of Salem, Oregon, I wanted a bike too. My best friend and I decided to build one. No pictures were taken of our creation but it looked very much like the one above.

The parts came from my two older brothers. They had left them behind when they left home. We had the basics, just like the picture. There was a frame and handle bars. The bolt that connected the handle bars to the front fork was missing, so we used a stick. The axles were missing too, so a couple of more sticks were put to use. Living in a sawmill town had it advantages! Of course there was no chain and no sprocket for the rear wheel. It was truly a "coaster".

On the outskirts of Lyons there was a mile long grade on the state highway that came into town from the South. We decided that it would be the perfect hill for testing the bike. Yes, there was traffic but just an occasional log truck. Maybe every 15-20 minutes. that would give plenty of time to reach the bottom of the hill.

Safety was a concern and we decided to borrow a football helmet. The neighbor girl heard us talking. She was aways hanging around and apparently had more common sense that we did. She went a told my parents. They took one look at our "bike", told us not to leave the yard and jumped in the car.

I don't know where they found it, but they were back in less than an hour with a brand new bike, balloon tires and all. Soon I was racing around town on that bike. My parents got their money's worth. I would ride it until the middle of my high school years.