Home Again

It's been a pleasant time in Oregon on the coast. We've eaten well, lots of seafood like dungeoness crab,razor clams, steamer clams, oysters, etc., cooked in our kitchen mostly. There has been lots of coffee and an " occasional " glass of wine. After all, we are near the wine area. On arrival it was sunny and warm, nice for sitting on the deck high above the beach. In the evening we could leave the windows open and hear the surf if we awoke in the night. But most of the time it 's been raining and heavily overcast. Now one might think " Too bad about the rainy days ". But having spent most of my early working life doing weather related jobs, I don't mind a rainy day or two. In fact, on this trip I have embraced them. I still have the tendency to feel uneasy about doing very little on a nice day. But on a so called bad weather day, it's much easier for me to enjoy leisure hours reading, writing, napping or cooking. Days off from school were to be celebrated. Rainy or snowy days during my working years outside meant a call from the boss to tell me not to show up. Sure , I didn't get paid maybe sometimes but you can't buy a day can you ? Anyway, I'm sitting in a recliner by the windows, overlooking the ocean from high above. Even with the doors and windows closed I can hear the waves coming in with the rising tide and the wind. Rain is blowing against the windows that are only a foot or so from me. Abby, my Scottie , is snuggled in next to me in the recliner with her head lying over my leg, which is being warmed by her furry , black form. On the window sill there is a freshly brewed cup of strong coffee. And the payoff is that every time I reach for it I get a look at the ever changing ocean ! Sometimes doing nothing can really be something ! I sit here and wonder what it would be like to be here in the winter during one of the gales that this area can get . I remember hearing about 90 mile per hour winds and enormous waves coming ashore last year . I know there are some people who come here for storm watching when the weather is at it's harshest. Sounds like fun to me. And there would be whale watching too at Cape Mears lighthouse just a mile or two down the road . It's a wonderful spot during the summer and I can only imagine the wild, wonderful power of a winter storm seen from that spot. I try to imagine sailing ships going through the area many years ago before motors, radar, and all the other technology that we take for granted. I remember being on the bridge a few years ago on a coastal ship far north of the Arctic circle along the fjords of Norway and having the captain point out the computers and automated guiding systems. And was even more surprised to hear that he still mostly used the old navigational charts set up years ago by the early sailors. Well , packing is almost done, coffee almost gone. One more meal of clams left in the frig to steam this evening and then the long trip home, back to friends, family, and my studio. It's been good to be here for me and my wife and the dogs and will be good to get home again. And I will have one more collection of memories to reflect on and a renewed commitment to use the good china, set the table for the two of us as if we were the company. And try new exotic recipes and wines that we have never tasted before, remembering that every day is a gift. "This was written while in Oregon. Now we are home and I have just made a batch of dog bone treats in the oven for Abby and Max. While reflecting on the past two weeks I am listening to a new musical album by someone who sings some bluegrass songs as well as some country that I am very fond of and I can't help but still be much aware that I was born a " country boy " and even though I live in a town of forty thousand now, i will always be a country boy. Opposed to the long held belief of many, which is thier right, I have never aspired to be great. I figure that my creator has plans for me and he continually seems to nudge me in the way in which is best, although seems like sometimes I go kicking and screaming. And that doesn't mean that some days I don't ask him " just what is it you think you're doing and would you mind letting me in on it sometime soon " ?