Spring 2022 part 2 (4/7/2022)

As the pandemic winds down, and I whole heartedly hope it stays down, I am reminded that this is my third spring of teleworking or working from home. My department has decided that May 1 will be the date that things are going to go back to “normal.” Normal means working at least one day at the office and the other days are still allowed to be telework days. For me that means that on weeks that I do not teach or travel to teach (in May I teach in Williamsburg which does not require any travel), I need to show my face in the office one day a week. Our supervisor told us that if this would be the reason for one of us to quit or start looking for a different job, to let him know and we could talk about it. There is obviously some flexibility in the new rule. 

Working from home has become the new normal for me and I like it. While working I can bake bread, do the laundry, do some writing, explore the news, make dinner, and spend some time outside either looking at my bonsai or just looking and walking through the woods behind our home. Many of you know, I am a huge believer of the concept of forest bathing.

Forest bathing or regularly spending time outside in nature lowers the blood pressure and the general anxiety one has. Just looking around, spending time outside, and breathing in the smells of the natural world increases your immunity to diseases and most likely fight cancers as well.  Research in Japan showed that the volatile compounds or aromatic compounds released by the vegetation, called phytoncides, are responsible for all this and the effect of a one-time exposure to these compounds can actually last up to two weeks.  Naturally, movement itself strengthens your immunity, skeletal and your cardiovascular system.  I get a lot of creative ideas for new classes, for changes to my current classes or to the way I teach by simply walking outside in the woods meditating and thinking. This is where I get my inspiration. Thank goodness, my supervisor know this and he encourages this.

One of my more favorite areas in the woods behind our home.  Just past this crossing is a grove of very large yellow populars (or tulip trees).  I just love it here!

During these two years working from home, I have been able to come much closer to the natural cycle of nature and how it affects my bonsai trees, my yard, the natural area and the woods out back. It has helped me to become calmer and more accepting of who I am and everything going on around me. I would say that I have become more introspective. More and more do I realize that I am me and no one can take that away from me. I have gone through a lot of tough times in my life (personally and with or because of my extended family), some of which I have chronicled in these postings; someday I will post some more. However, I am happy with where I am and where my life is heading; I would not want to change a thing right now.

As I write this the redbud in my backyard is blooming profusely. The honey bees that we keep in the back yard are all over it and so are the chickadees. The chickadees are eating the small pink flowers which must be loaded with vitamins, flavonoids and all kinds of micronutrients. Or are they eating insects that feast on the flowers? Those small observations are so enjoyable and keep me going, that sapsucker I can see working the tree right outside my window, the lemon tree seedling in my office that are rapidly growing towards the light. It is almost time for the tropical to go outside and make an attempt to rig up that irrigation system. Summer is rapidly approaching.

The view from my home office window.  You can see the redbud in its full glory.  Other trees are starting to leaf out.

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die (4/1/2022)

I am starting to wonder if I am getting obsessed by getting old. Or maybe I am getting obsessed by changing. Who knows? In my latest post I lament about getting older and more sentimental and I even quote one of the blogs I wrote entitled “The old man and the woods” which is purely autobiographic. I write how “Old age is not for sissies” and about mortality. I am sure that I can probably find more when I start combing through my posts.

Am I really obsessed by it or just more aware of it? I really don’t know. For one, I know that I am getting slower. When I walk what I consider a decent pace, I get passed by folks and I rarely pass people. Yes, my knees are not in the best of shape, but that is probably also age related. I am faster than my brother-in-law who is a year older than I am, but he had a hip replacement. I am faster than my 95 year old father-in-law, surprise. We always joke that it is essential that you only need to be faster than the grim reaper, well I have this feeling our top speeds are slowly getting closer.

The other reason probably is that there isn’t a day that I am not reminded about retiring. We either talk about it at home (most of the time it is the topic de-jour), or someone asks me about it (when are you retiring, or aren’t you retired yet?) or tells me about their retirement. It is tough to think you are at the end of your career and feel you are slowly being sidelined, put on a dead-end track. While they tell you that they still value your contribution when you volunteer, they seem to pass you over when it comes to career choices.

Getting old comes with something else, something my wife pointed out, to my chagrin. She told me the other day that in addition to getting old: “You are no debonair!” Man that bugged the hell out of me! Not that desperately want to be super suave and well-groomed, but inside I sometimes feel like I am somewhat sophisticated, just a little bit. Can old men still be suave without looking creepy?

In the old days, I needed to be well dressed, groomed and wear formal clothes and a tie to work. This is not required working for the state; I have put in my dues, and the worst thing that could happen is that they could fire me for not following the dress-code, early retirement at 68!

Actually, my preference right now would be to retire and buy a piece of land of 10 to 20 acres. I would love to restore it to its pre-historic or pre-settlement condition. However, I would like to have an acre of two somewhere on that property to have a homestead. Of course there would be walking trails and the homestead would need to be as sustainable as possible, hopefully off the grid. I would not look like a debonair but more like a (old) rugged (unshaven) woodsman. I could even be a nudist on that property (weather permitting). I would still like to be able to care for my bonsai, have my wine cellar and a good beer collection.

A man can dream can’t he? But for one, the funds are lacking. What will come from all this? I have no idea, all I know is that I am getting a haircut tomorrow to look a little more civilized (debonair like?).

By the way, today’s writing kind of reminds me of the tune by Jethro Tull: Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die. Part of the Lyrics go like this:

The old Rocker wore his hair too long,

wore his trouser cuffs too tight.

Unfashionable to the end --- drank his ale too light.

Death's head belt buckle --- yesterday's dreams ---

the transport caf' prophet of doom.

Ringing no change in his double-sewn seams

in his post-war-babe gloom.

….

So the old Rocker gets out his bike

to make a ton before he takes his leave.

Up on the A1 by Scotch Corner

just like it used to be.

And as he flies --- tears in his eyes ---

his wind-whipped words echo the final take

and he hits the trunk road doing around 120

with no room left to brake.

And he was too old to Rock'n'Roll but he was too young to die.

No, you're never too old to Rock'n'Roll if you're too young to die.

Don’t worry, I am far from being depressed. I love life and still have fun. But a man can think sometimes: “am I too old to rock ‘n’ roll?” Nah! I am definitely too young to die!

Walking along the abandoned road in the woods behind our home. I do not need to be worried about being passed by other walkers.  Not many folks use these trails and here I am "forest bathing." These are my meditative walk with Jasper, my hound; taking up the sights, sounds and smells of nature that sustain me.  

Return to the scene of the crime - Hotels 6 (3/29/2022)

It was almost exactly two years later, actually two years and nine days that I returned to the scene of the crime. On my drive into town, I dove down Concord Turnpike towards downtown. Nothing much appeared to have changed during the two years that I had been away. When the road leveled out I passed a number of cars and trucks seemingly parked on the side of the road and then I discovered my mistake, the railroad crossing in the industrial area just before you hit downtown. While turning around and pulling up behind the last vehicle was an option, the line I had passed was long and the train appeared to be just going back and forth as in it was maneuvering or adding carts. Google told me there was a work around and I went back up the hill at the crossing on Winston Ridge Street to Winchester Street. This was an adventure in itself. It was an area I had never seen before, hilly, woody and as some may describe it, definitely on the other side of the tracks.

But finally I made it downtown. Not much had changed there either. The perpetual construction was still ongoing as I made my way to the hotel. Then I noticed that one of the restaurants changed from Mexican to Japanese, interesting. Arriving at the hotel I also noticed that the road that was previously one way was converted to two way traffic, again. So things do change over time. Parking was still valet but now there were plastic sheets at the check-in counter between the guests and the persons that check you in. I do not think it was bullet proof, and not even sure how virus proof they were; when I hung my clothes hanger on it with my shirts, the darn thing moved a few inches.

I had a rough time that day. The morning we had to put our dog to sleep, after he had been my (our) faithful companion for over 13 years. Then I had to drive to this place, at times tearing up or at least with my eyes still burning. Then to think this was a two year’s anniversary of sorts; a return to the scene of the crime. So I needed to celebrate or was it commiserate? At least one microbrewery had sprouted up in the two years I had not been in this town. It was within walking distance, so here I went!

Three Roads Brewing Company in an old car dealership.  They had some decent beers a gal behind the bar who was a good listener and a puppy that came to visit that I was allowed to pet.  It was within walking distance from my hotel.

Ok, ok, what place am I writing about? Lynchburg! It was two years ago, when I came out of Lynchburg when the Governor told us that we were going on a 30 days quarantine for COVID. Yes, I have been teaching in the classroom since early February, this return after almost exactly two years felt so auspicious. I was troubled by the death of Jake, my trusty dog, and it still bugs me. I have Jasper and I love him to death, but still. I guess I am just getting old and sentimental. Oh well.

Despite all its faults, like Liberty University and its related conservatism (every Republican wannabe presidential candidate will visit that university), I really like the area, the downtown, etc. It is pleasant to teach there together with a colleague who lives in town and to meet old friends who I have taught and interacted with for 13 plus years.

In the two years Liberty has had some fun. I have written a lot about the sexual repression at the university, about my secret voyeurism when sitting at Starbucks watching young girls studying the Bible, and of course about Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s escapades in cuckoldry (at least that is what I think it is). I understand he is currently suing the University, or maybe it is settled, I am really not following it that much. I am just amazed or fascinated by the fact how hypocritical a lot of the conservatives and religious folks are. I guess they are human too.

As you can see, a lot of thoughts and feelings came flooding back to me two years after my last visit. My return to the scene of my “last crime” was not as much fun as I had hoped it would be, because of my depression about Jake, I explored too little and drank too much that first day (my poor liver and brain). But still, it is worth documenting.

The Virginian Lynchburg a Curio Hotel by Hilton.  Here I am in the lobby and you can see the plastic sheets.  Very friendly staff, I really like this place.  The doorman told me I looked like Einstein; what else do I want?  All hotels photos were taken to mimic Hopper's work. 

Me in my room.  My only complaint was the view: walls and a tiny sliver of sky and across the street.

My world ethic (3/28/2022)

Reading a book that I was given by the family of our diseased friend (who was very spiritual) I came up to a call for a set of new planetary ethics. An interesting concept indeed. I write a lot about ethics and empathy, which in my eyes are closely linked at times. The book, “The Sacred Depths of Nature” by Ursula Goodenough was published in 1998 and the situation on this planet was somewhat different than it is now. Since then, we have endured tRump, a pandemic, neo-Nazi protests in Charlottesville, Black Lives Matter protests, school shootings, a war in Ukraine, accelerated global warming, you name it.

It made me think, what would my so-called new planetary ethics be? I would like to propose the following: Climate, peace, ethnic cleansing, sustainable fuel sources, habitat preservation, human rights, black lives matter, hunger, infectious disease (pandemic), oceans, pollution, population, mindfulness. Some are borrowed from Ms. Goodenough; some have been added by me. I am struggling with some of these items, in that some bring up a negative emotion while others may engender more neutral or positive feelings. However, they are my key words of items we as society or planet need to focus on by fixing the negatives or enforcing the more positive items. Moreover, the order I put them in is random except maybe the last word: Mindfulness.

I realize, who the hell am I that I have the audacity to even think, propose, or write about a list like this and dare to call for a new planetary ethics? Oh well, this is my blog, and as a regular reader you know I have strong opinions, at times. These are my new planetary ethics. If you want to propose your own, tell me yours in the comment section below. However, these are some of the credos I would want to preach and live by.

Climate, sustainable fuel sources, oceans, pollution, population are all somewhat related. As you my regular reader will know, I have been on a climate change soap box for a long time. I have written a lot about the legacy we are leaving future generations, out children and grandchildren. While a lot of conservatives worry about money and the economic future, they do not appear to care if anyone survives to spend that money. Fuel relates to air pollution and that appears to be the driver to a lot of the environmental issues. Oceans don’t only address sea level rise, but also warmer ocean temperatures which allows less oxygen to dissolve in it, but it also addresses ocean acidification from increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

Peace and ethnic cleansings should be clear to you all. The war in Ukraine and the so called claim of Naziism. Putin’s need to cleanse that country. Let’s not talk about what China is doing to its Muslin population in the west. Hey, we are not much better in the white supremacy circles in this country. That is where Black-Lives-Matters comes in and all human rights. Naturally, hunger needs to be included as well.

Now where does population fits in? As I mentioned in a post, while I am not a Malthusian freak, I do believe that the earth has a carrying capacity. What I mean with this is that it can only support a limited number of people. What that will be or is, I have no idea. We are probably there already. I am for population control. Not mandatory, but birth control should be available to all and should be taught in school, so that everyone can make a sensible decision of their own. This includes a woman’s right to choose. Too many rats in a cage makes for wars and pandemics, the other word on my list.

Finally, the last word. The word I throw around a lot: Mindfulness. As regular readers and followers of my Instagram account know, I am a huge proponent of forest bathing or spending mindful time in the woods. I personally think that the interpersonal, health and mental health issues for a lot of people can be taken care of when we spend more time in nature. The world would be a better place. In addition, we would appreciate what is being done to the environment, our senses would calm down and we would become more peaceful. Can you just imagine Putin walking through the woods instead of sitting at one end of a very long table ordering to kill more Ukrainians?

So here you have it. My (not so new, somewhat borrowed) world ethics. I’ll be trying to live by them. Let me know yours, please!

We had a nice walk in Yorktown this weekend.  Spring had started and we enjoyed the spring flowers and the budding green.

Spring 2022 (3/20/2022)

While still consumed by what’s going on in Eastern Europe, life goes on. Spring is making itself known in spurts. As I write this, today it going to be 72˚ or 22 centigrade. Tomorrow they are predicting around 80 or 26.5 (remember I always edit my posts a few days). As I mentioned my travel schedule has picked up, and soon I’ll be writing a special anniversary post about that.

For us here the news has been that my favorite aunt has died at 94. She lived in the Netherlands, and we did not have a chance to say goodbye or even see her. We had planned to travel to Europe two years ago and then again last year, but COVID got in the way. My aunt always had time for me; she was interested in what was going on in my life and even served as the mother in absentia for a half year when I lived with them when I was 16 and we were about to move from the Caribbeans to Holland and my parents send me ahead in order not to miss the beginning of the new school year.

At home I am working on the repotting of my bonsai trees. They are leafing out, and if I don’t finish soon, it will be too late. This weekend of the summer solstice I reported probably six or seven trees. This includes raking out the roots, pruning the roots, mixing my soil, and then potting the plants up again. Some of them have been in the same pot for three years or longer and it was time.

We are also trying to spruce up the house in expectation of our daughter’s wedding this summer. My father-in-law also still needs tending and care. That on top of two full time jobs is keeping us out of trouble.

We just got back from a memorial service and picknick for a dear friend who died on Christmas eve. Bob was one of the most beloved men in our church community. He was one of the most empathic listeners that we knew, and it seemed that he had regular meetings with a lot of folks, either at Barnes and Nobles, Panera or at a restaurant for a beer. One thing is sure, I want to be like Bob when I grow up.

Oh well. Just a minor update. A week being reminded of two persons who passed that were very dear to me, who were overflowing with empathy, and all I could do was write this messily blog in remembrance to them and meditate over my bonsais.