White Picket Fence....

I only lived in one house that had a white picket fence, and it was when I was very small. Doesn't matter, it isn't the fence I miss, it's the symbolism. The times. The way of life. The simplicity of every day.

I want it back.....

I know, I know. Impossible, you say. It was such a small window of time: the war was over and the troops had returned home. Korea was on some other planet, perhaps. Life in small-town America was coming together again.

In the summer, the grass was greener, the trees were bigger (really) and the fruit and vegetables were abundant. I had no idea how much money my daddy made and I didn't care: we had enough to eat. And my mother made sure I had flouncy, frilly dresses to wear. Too many dresses: I preferred my overalls. I never got in trouble for getting my overalls dirty....

Life was home and family, friends, school and church. A HUGE treat, once a month or so, was to go out to dinner. My older brother hated it: we had to share a dinner and I always got to choose and I always chose fried chicken.

We stood in class, in the morning, and said the Pledge of Allegiance. With gusto, mostly. We knew our fathers had gone off to the war and fought hard and kept our freedom safe. We didn't know where, or how, but we knew they were heroes.

We had one car and Daddy drove it to work. If my mother wanted to use the car, she had to take Daddy to work in the morning. If it was raining, she might drop us off at school but mostly, we walked to school, rain or shine.

And when it did rain, we took our roller skates to school. During recess, we were allowed to skate on the walkways outside our classrooms. Teachers were posted at the corners to slow us down, if we were going too fast. And if someone got hurt, there was a nurse in the school office.

I knew every kid in the neighborhood. Played with the ones who were close to my age. We ran all over the neighborhood, barefooted, all summer long. We didn't have to go home until our mothers called us and then we hurried home. For supper.

My mother wore an apron when she cooked. All our meals happened at the dining room table. My brothers on one side, me on the other, and my parents at each end of the table. I didn't have to have a sibling “elbowing” me when I ate. I had something worse: when the telephone rang, I had to answer it, since my chair was right next to the phone table.

On summer nights, we sat outside, on the patio, and talked or read or played games. The windows were open so we could hear the radio and the tunes wafting out the window on the summer breeze. Sometimes, we listened to music, sometimes to news, and sometimes to a program like “The Lone Ranger.”

When we finally got a television, we were only allowed to watch it for an hour a day: “it'll ruin your eyes!” My mother said that constantly. My parents chose the program and, if we were interested, we watched it, too.

I could go on and on, but it's futile. The memories will have to sustain me. Thomas Wolfe was right: we can't go home again....

Living in the Moment...

As I sit here, collecting my thoughts, I look up and see the most beautiful sight: dappled sunlight on the wall in front of me. It's beautiful. The reds and greens illuminated by gentle golden light.

The picture on my new calendar is a view of a centuries-old city on a Greek isle. Whitewashed buildings with bright blue or yellow roofs. Touches of orange dot the hillside in the picture. Was it always that bright? Or did the sunlight emphasize the colors?

It's that time of year: the sunset happens quickly. I have to hurry, or I will miss it. I could be at the seashore, sitting in a chair, sipping iced tea and watching the sun go down. Or on that Greek isle, watching the sun melt into the ocean.

But no, I'm here, at home, noticing something that is too often taken for granted. The gorgeous show put on by the sun, most evenings of the year. No cover charge, no minimum. No reservations needed. No planning ahead. No dressing up for the occasion. Just a remembering: that it is happening and that it is more spectacular and worthy of watching than anything else that is going on.

Well maybe, the birth of a baby. That might be worth missing the sunset....

Ah, there's always tomorrow night. Or is there? I have been without my sunshine for several days now, and without the sunset, too, obviously. Will there be sunshine tomorrow? I certainly hope so. But, just in case.....

I'm off to watch the sunset right now. Right here. In the moment...

Giving Thanks.....

The turkey's defrosting. The grocery shopping list is a mile long. Maybe two miles. The house is sparkling clean and ready for company.

This morning, I'm on my way north, to the Big Burg, to pick up my granddaughter. She will spend the rest of the week with me, enjoying the holiday. She has only called me about ten times this morning. I'm so glad her mother gave her a cell phone.....

She is bringing her new laptop, purchased for her by her father. He has been an absent father for eight of her ten years of life. He came to see her a couple of weekends ago, and they had a wonderful time. She wanted to know where she came from, and now she does. And the doors are open; the lines of communication re-established. That's a good thing.

We will be busy for the next few days. Cooking, baking, decorating and just hanging out together. She is wise beyond her years at some moments, and a little, baby child at others. Typical of her age, and very endearing, to me.

She doesn't expect to be entertained. She will be happy just to hang out with me, and do whatever I am doing. She can spend hours in her room and idle away her time in thoughts. Or TV. Or now, her laptop. I have a book to give her: Abe Lincoln Grows Up, by Carl Sandburg. I bought it for her at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

I think about her wherever I go, whatever I am doing. And the Museum gift shop was all about finding mementos for my grandchildren. Aidan received a book of Lincoln's speeches. Mckay was thrilled with a mint set of Lincoln pennies. Hopefully, Noelle will like her book.

And read it, too.

How we spend the next few days is not as important as the fact that we will be together. We will have time to talk, to listen, to share, and to laugh.

For that, I'm thankful.

The Night Sky...

I wrote this blog when I was still at Yellowstone.

I just came in from outside....

It's dark, and quiet, outside Old Faithful Inn. The crowds have settled in for the night. And Old Faithful spewed steam and hot water heavenward just as I walked outside. It's hard to see at night, but the steam is noticeable.

I am sure that, given a chance, Walt Disney, et al, would add a laser light show, Electric Light Parade type music, and glow-in-the-dark necklaces to the show. Mother Nature is confident that we will enjoy Old Faithful just as it is....

I didn't go outside to see Old Faithful. I went in search of my friends. Orion, Ursula Major, Ursula Minor, Andromeda, Sirius, and the Seven Sisters. Oh, and the pure joy of the Milky Way. They were all there, waiting for me.

I knew, before I left Podunk, that I would be looking at the stars each night. In Yellowstone and elsewhere. It is more than eight thousand feet above sea level here, and there's no pollution. And so, the stars are so close I could almost touch them. But I'm not quite that tall...

I have always loved looking at the stars. I have blogged in the past about seeing the constellations and learning about them from my father, when I was a small child. Stars have never lost their fascination to me. I love to gaze at the night sky and find the familiar ones.

Tonight, and last night also, I have seen a shooting star. I remember being told to make a wish when I saw a shooting star. I always have and some wishes have even come true. Was it the stars? Who knows....

There is something so permanent and so reassuring about the stars in the night sky. They take me back to times long ago and make me wonder about the future. All at the same time. They are a connection to my past, especially my father, and a comfort to me in the night sky. Even though so much has changed in our world in my lifetime, my friends, the stars are still there.

And they still delight me.....

Fall in the Grand Tetons...

The Grand Tetons National Park is just south of Yellowstone. And so, I drove south on Sunday afternoon to see.... the Grand Tetons.

As I drove south, following Yellowstone Lake, cars were stopped along the sides of the road. I have learned what that means: wildlife. Sure enough, there was a bison trying to graze on grass, bulking up for the harsh winter, with tourists snapping his picture. Some of them were too close, merely 10 feet away.

Deer, elk, longhorn sheep, bison, moose....all live and graze within the park, wandering freely. So do grizzly bears, I'm told. I did see the bison, a few deer, and one moose, but no grizzlies.

You leave Yellowstone and travel on the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Parkway for several miles before entering Grand Tetons. Fall has arrived in Wyoming: the leaves on the aspen trees were golden. Absolutely, brilliantly golden. In another week, according to weather reports, the leaves may be gone.

And there's another lake. The Jackson Lake runs along the base of the Grand Tetons, for miles. Green fir trees, golden aspens, quaking in the breeze, brilliant blue water, and the mountains reflected in the lake: what an amazing sight.

There are beach areas, and picnic tables, along the lake and ample opportunity to stop and marvel at nature's beauty. I took dozens of photos but my favorite is one with a fir tree framing a shot of the mountains and their reflection in the water.

I believe that I am able to take such a vacation. True, I spent many vacations at home, over the years, not having the money to spend on travel (or so I reasoned). Well, now's the time, my time, to see America the Beautiful.

And boy, is it beautiful!!

Old Faithful....

I wrote this on Saturday. There was no TV or internet in the hotel, and minimal cell phone reception. I enjoyed an old-fashioned vacation for a couple of days! Right now, I'm in Mickey D's in Cody, WY and they have wi-fi.....

To me, Yellowstone has always been about Old Faithful. I had never been here before, nor was I aware of all that the park is about. I guess I was too busy getting ready for my trip to google Yellowstone and find out more about it....

I didn't know it was the first national park...in the world. I could have guessed that Teddy Roosevelt spent time here, that's a given. I was surprised as I entered the park yesterday: the trees are small. Well, small by my standards, but I live in California where we have the world's tallest trees (the coast redwoods) and the world's largest trees (the Sequoias, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range). These fir trees are mostly lodgepole pines, and they are only about three or four stories high.

I also learned that there are two lakes here, Yellowstone Lake and Lewis Lake. There is also a Yellowstone River, with rapids and falls, that I didn't know about.

And yes, Old Faithful is here. And faithful, too. I don't look at the posted signs telling visitors when it will erupt again; I just look at the geyser. If the benches are starting to fill up, it's show time. I actually sat and watched it this morning: it was awesome.

In the visitors' center, I learned that it is the pressure of the steam, and the water collected in the underground fissure that causes the eruption. And it is quite interesting to watch. Another thing I didn't know: it smells like sulfur.

I am staying at the Old Faithful Inn, which was built 106 years ago. The inn has survived an earthquake which wrecked three of its stone fireplaces in 1959, and a fire that came within yards, literally, of destroying the landmark.

The inside is rustic and fabulous. Comfortable old rocking chairs surround the fireplace, and there is almost always a roaring fire. The lobby is cavernous, ascending four stories to the famous cupola on top, with its flags.

This morning, after watching Old Faithful, I walked along the boardwalks in the geyser fields. There are many active geysers in an area that encompasses maybe sixty acres. In fact, the inn is in the caldera, on top of the volcano. That makes sleeping at night easy....not.

The geyser fields are very colorful. There are interestingly shaped geysers, “beehive” geysers, and brightly-colored algae, too. The whole area is a history lesson, geology lesson, and volcanic activity lesson....all in one.

I bought a book at the Learning Center: the story of Yellowstone, written for children. Of course, it's for Noelle. I hope that she is able to share the stories of my adventures and then see the park for herself, someday.

And I want her to know more than I did when I got here.....