Thought for the Day

                                                      I was thinking...

There is a baseball field in the back of the apartment where I live. Just a single field for Midway college I presume. It has not been used this season because of the COVID pandemic. One day I decided to walk over to the baseball diamond and wander its perimeter. It was kept in perfect condition for play but there would not be any play. After exhausting the details of the lonely field, I decided to investigate the new growth around the outside of the area. Just beyond the wild growth there was a tiny creek as clear as grandmas crystal. There were flowers determined to show off their brilliant colors and grass as thick as a hayfield and as green as Irelands rolling hills. Watercress was in the water, birds were singing like their music could heal the world.
It simply reminded me that no matter where you are or what you are thinking, beauty is close to you. Step slightly off the most prominent path and find the tiny park that waits for your surprise visit. And when you step into that space with a joyful gasp, don't forget to say, "Thank You!"
.
©Herb Ratliff - June 5, 2020
The Daily Thoughts are original  
writing unless otherwise noted.

I was thinking...

It's My Brain

Like the sound of snow falling,

or the sound of the sun rising,

the thunder of your silence

overwhelms

this empty room.

I read an article about stress reactions of the brain. One of the aspects discussed was how people tend to see things in slow motion. Well, they think they see things in slow motion. What actually happens, according to the article, is the brain is so focused, it works like a slow-motion camera and takes many more frames per second than it does during normal brain activity. So, you see each frame in real-time and that slows the action down because there are so many more pictures of the action that took place. Not only that but it turns out that many of your other sensory perceptions are in an altered state. Hearing decreases in favor of visual acuity.

Things are not always what they seem. Think of yourself as you were when you were forty, then look in the mirror. If you are forty-one this is not a big deal, for some of the others of us, this is a very big deal, over or under. 

I like to think of myself as a good communicator but when I explain things to my children or grandchildren they just look at me with a face that can only be described as "in pain". Surely there must be something I am good at. It just may not be explaining things to others.

Thought for the Day

Weekness

Thought for the Day

Friday has softer edges

there's something pliable

in it.

Not like Monday

which is hard

and 

unforgiving.

It waits like a judge

that has already

made up their mind.

Tuesday is more

of a wipe up

the egg 

on the floor

kind of day.

Wednesday,

okay, hump.

I don't like that

word, it seems

like an

old infection

not tended

and 

ongoing

without being

treated.

And, Thursday,

hmmm,

kind of a

preview day

or maybe

bridge

to relief?

A reminder that

something is

almost

over.

You

take care of 

Saturday

and 

Sunday.

I'm not messing

with 

your weekend.

©Herb Ratliff - July 19, 2019

The Daily Thoughts are original  

writing unless otherwise noted.

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Happy New Year

A Tiny Suggestion...

A tiny suggestion, my friend, if I may. As we come to accept the fact that years have gathered behind us and now show a remarkable accumulation in the stock room, remember this. How we acknowledge them matters. Make certain your acceptance doesn't signal defeat, only awareness to a sometimes inconvenient truth. And, if you must cling to something, cling to the beautiful part of you that laughs and loves and explores like a child but with the wisdom of a well seasoned connoisseur.

Forget the little bumps and stumbles that naturally occur to those of any age. If you forget, attribute it to your busy life. If you fail, learn enough to avoid doing it again. If it hurts, be grateful you can feel. And if you cry, celebrate the intensity of your love of  life and friends enough to touch your heart.

Life is about the art of the possible. If it is possible who’s to say it might not happen for you? So, the next time a minor infraction of protocol poses a bit of an inconvenience, tilt your head and narrow your eyes - just a bit.  Curl your lips into a knowing smile then look directly at the camera filming your life and say…..Thank you for this life! What an adventure.

©Herb Ratliff, January 1, 2017

Morning on the River

Tranquility Base

COMMUNICATION

Sometimes communication is like sending a spray of fresh flowers, but what is received is a bushel of skunk cabbage. Curiously, both actions, sending and receiving, occur the same day and the same people are involved and it's the same package. 

©Herb Ratliff

I was thinking...

This morning when the sun broke over the horizon I wished I were on the North Branch of the Au Sable waiting for slab cut bacon, fried potatoes, eggs and toast from home made bread to prepare me for the chess game with a trout. I had heard the Hendricksons were on the water but with morning temperatures around 48 there wouldn't be a lot of activity until it warmed up a bit. The weather folk had promised 70 degrees by 3 o'clock. Michigan in May can be anything from blizzards to balmy. And, it can happen quite suddenly.

When I finally get to Michigan this year it will be the beginning of my forty fourth year of fly fishing the North Branch.

Herb Ratliff May 11, 2016

Sir Charles in postprandial lethargy

This morning I woke up hungry. That is not an entirely unique experience for me but My appetite had been without vigor since I contracted a nasty, evil, heartless cold. It squashed every bit of hunger from me, a task which must have required Herculean effort. I love to eat. The cook is on Holiday in the south of France, the butler, gardener and handyman have no culinary skills, so it was left to me  to create a festive, albeit pedestrian, morning temptation for my rapacious palate.

I inventoried the refrigerator, ready and frozen sections. Checked the pantry, herb garden and baked good repository. What I found was but a peasants view of hard bread and molded cheese but that would have to make do. To the chicken coop for eggs, the milk cow and dairymen for milk, butter, cheese and yogurt. Apparently, I would have to do the rest.

I prepared potatoes for hash browns and visited the smoke house for sausage while walking to the chicken coops for eggs. With the love and skill of a mother nursing her child I prepared the sausage, eggs and hash browns, placed them gently on the carefully warmed stoneware plate and repaired to the formal dining room to await delivery of the fresh squeezed orange juice, turned out the butler could do something besides iron the New York Times.

Hands full with visions of ingesting food for a king I tripped on the rug and lost control of it all. It tumbled tragically to its end  - upside down into a Jackson Pollock semi sculpture with a delicious aroma but tortuous visage. Heartbroken I screamed a single word. Then I looked at Charley whom I could swear was smiling. He needed no more invitation so walked slowly, almost regally to his prize.

His gratitude was so obvious and so intense that I somehow found my self grateful to be a part of it.

Pithy daily reminders of mortality, humanity, limitations and dreams controlled by the 6 inches between your ears.

Thought for the Day Charley, my dog, has had his own sofa for years. Yes, I know. Yesterday his sofa was relegated to the great furniture resting place. It was very tired. I had no plan for its replacement only a sincere desire to find it another location. Charley is a bit disoriented now. I can see him mouthing, "where is it"?. He has arthritis, so he couldn't get on it anyway, but it was a comfort to have close by in case something changed. Now he just circles looking for his couch. I can relate. When I get rid of things that are not in my best interest to keep I imagine them in their old locations waiting for me to interact with them again. It's almost as if they never left. If I keep it up there's not really much point in pretending to say I let them go. ©Herb Ratliff

Daddy's Shoes

Daddy's Shoes

Painting by Vyacheslav Shevchenko

Today when I picked up my running shoes from the closet I noticed the laces had been finished off with a double knot. I don't do that.Then, I remembered my son had brought his two children over for a visit Thursday afternoon. That evening we had a bonfire to make s'mores. At one point in the activities Bud, my son, had dropped down to his knee to tie one of my shoes. That must have been when it happened.

Parents of youngsters often use the double knot when tying shoes. I had used the technique on his shoes many times, what seemed like only a few years ago. He was doing for me what I had done for him. I'm a very lucky man. I have children who are very thoughtful, kind and loving in the way they treat me. Many times they are 
almost excessive in their thoughtfulness. And, believe me when I say, there is no balance sheet. Each of us gives, what to us, is whole, rich and comforting. More importantly, we give what we have time to give and what we believe in. 

I don't like everything I get from my children but, I know where a lot of it came from. And to their credit, they have filtered out a good bit of the chaff.

©Herb Ratliff 7/20/2014

Thought for the Day: Gratitude

Thought for the Day: And You Thought You were Trying

Andy Miyares, SO Ambassador/Contestant

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Sports Transcending Boundaries

"Let me win, 

but if I cannot win 

let me be brave in the attempt."

Thought for the Day: I Remember

The look you get from a child should remind you when you tell him, 

"Wait until tomorrow."

Thought for the Day: Answering Questions

"When a child asks you something answer him, for goodness, sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em."  - Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Thought for the Day: Help

Remember what she says:

In the event of a decompression, an oxygen mask will automatically appear in front of you. To start the flow of oxygen, pull the mask towards you. Place it firmly over your nose and mouth, secure the elastic band behind your head, and breathe normally. Although the bag does not inflate, oxygen is flowing to the mask. If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.

It's always a good idea to make sure you have prepared yourself before you try to help others.

Herb Ratliff

Thought for the Day: What Are You Thinking?

It doesn't matter near as much what others think of you as what you think of yourself. I mean respect not pride. In the long run you teach people how to treat you.

Herb Ratliff

Thought for the Day: Expectations

I've never argued against planning ahead, goals, dreams and aspirations. I have come to see the landmines one can step on when setting up expectations of another's behavior. The secret to success in these sensitive arenas is the sure knowledge of which is which. One of them is planning what you control, the other is trying to control what you can't.

Herb Ratliff

Thought for the Day: Finishing

Have you ever had the occasion to watch a sheet-rock finisher ply his trade? It's worth the time and filled with good advice. What I found to be most noteworthy was how he left the surface alone after he finished it with his spatula. He never went back over it with tiny fixes and touch ups. He left it alone. Good idea.

Herb Ratliff

Thought for the Day: Listen

If all you do is talk, all you hear is what you already know.

©Herb Ratliff

Thought for the Day: Quiet Gifts

The other day I was visiting with some old friends. Many of them were people I hadn't seen in over twenty years. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone looking at me. Finally, I turned and walked toward him to see if it was someone I hadn't recognized.

Before I could even introduce myself he looked at me and thanked me in a very kind way for something I had no memory of doing and so I protested the compliment and suggested he mistook me for someone else. He spoke my name and assured me there was no mistake. The he told me what had happened.

I still had no idea who he was and no recollection of the event. But the smile on his face was too genuine for me to argue. He said he had to leave and was abruptly gone from sight.

Sometimes I think I live in a world where people do not touch one another in any significant way. The truth is we do it every day, we just don't know about it. But that makes the gift even better.

Herb Ratliff