This sunset photo was taken at Oceanside , Oregon a few years ago on my last trip there. The reason I am attaching it to this blog is that I am leaving for Oceanside in a few days and will spend a week there in a house perched high on the hill above these rocks. I have stayed there quite a number of times but it has been a while now. During the time I have been to Europe and Scandinavia so this will be a time of relaxing and contemplation, fresh seafood and wine from some of the wine producing areas of Willamette Valley, not far from there. The valley with it's red hills covered in green grape vines is an inspiration all it's own. One of the wineries makes a Johannesberg Riesling that is a favorite of mine but cannot be purchased here in Idaho so needless to say, I will have to stock up. I have a friend who also loves the Riesling wine and I seem to find others as well who like this wine. I am pretty convinced that my great grandfather produced these grapes before he moved here from Europe according to research I have. I had wanted to go for some time but finally felt that it wouldn't happen this year, however, my other half has been ill and thought it might help to get some things off her mind if we went .This is quite a spontaneous decision. Now myself, I am not known for being spontaneous but there are times that I do things that surprise others and even myself. I attended the funeral of someone who led a long and productive life yesterday. He was almost 97 years old and sharp as a razor yet. In fact, in some of the anecdotes, etc. at the funeral, it was mentioned that he was still making plans for new fences and planting trees next year. He lived on a farm only minutes from where I live but had previously immigrated from Norway, coming to North Dakota, then owning a ranch in the Yellowstone River Valley and finally purchasing a business here in town along with other investments. He was a rugged individual who spoke his mind but was eager to let you speak yours and then not be judgemental if it was a differing view. He could be tough as nails but yet compassionate. A loving father who was not afraid to discipline according to his children. He and his wife were eager to give to anything that would help improve the life of the less unfortunate. He had a wonderful sense of humor and I saw the love of his family as they talked about him. This was not a funeral service mourning the passing, it was one of celebrating a life lived to the fullest. A part of the service was dedicated to the older cowboy and western music that he loved as well as classical pieces played on the piano by a son in law, written by Grieg, a beloved Norwegian composer. I will miss his stories and views on life. It will be like losing a good friend or a great leader, there will be an empty spot that will be difficult to fill by someone else. Life of course is not permanent and so we need to remind ourselves that we should make the most of it. Here is a quote from somewhere or someone that I want to pass along. " Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in from the roadside in a cloud of dust, a glass of red wine in one hand and a chocolate in the other, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ' wow ! what a ride ! ' Finally, I want to repeat something that I read not long ago. " What I appreciate, appreciates" . In other words, if you recognize something that someone does for you, it will make them feel better and in turn cause them to do more or increase the good things that they do, or making your investment of a thank you letter or praise " appreciate ", like interest on your bank account. As I read this I thought about times that I have done that and the great return on my investment that it made. A thank you, a phone call or email or letter to someone who has done or said something that deserved a little recognition or whatever it might be, these are things we can do. I must admit I don't do it as much as I would like to say I do but I try hard. I can say from personal experience that a warm look, a touch on the arm, a kind word, or any kind of respect or appreciation that seems sincere will melt me like butter on a hot stove. I crave it and the truth be known, I think a lot of people do but not all will admit it. I wish I could go back in time to some people that I wish I had understood this as much as I do now and made it known how deeply what they said or did was appreciated. But then, some people I think know instinctively. I have often said that I don't need to talk or be talked to constantly when in the presence of a really close friend.Just being together is sometimes enough, no words spoken. Sometimes silence together can be a wonderful thing when there is a real connection. I have been told in the past that I wear my feelings on my sleeve. That is probably true. But is that a bad thing ? Some will say it is. Be stoic, stiff upper lip and all that " crap ". Well, I don't buy it, at least not for me. I may show or speak my feelings more than some I suppose but I think that is what is missing in too many people. Too many walls, too many facades. I think and feel that openness between friends or spouses is the deepest kind of connection that one can have and I wonder if it is more rare than it should be. Until later, Ralph