Send me on my way

I 

If the Irish soda bread comes with caraway, buy two, one without

For you, and one with seeds, for me; once fortified, send me on my way

Juggling the email thread, should we gather or not, too many choices

That day, but others had options, that made the case to send me on my way

Trying to read while the rain pelted the house, relishing the sound 

of the heat rising thru the baseboards, the story sends me on my way

His voice is changing, not seeming to fully enunciate his words

But his blues beat is steady, ready to send me on my way

Good fitness is work, learning techniques for lifting, doing this

Or that exercise, getting me stronger to send me on my way

A subscriber wants less of the national issues, and it is not clear

Which of the issues caused the message to send me on my way

  II

March 14, or pi day, gets me to the kitchen for my annual baking 

exercise; 2 French meat pies & 2 pumpkin pies, sends me on my way

We had Shepherd Pie earlier in the week but for me, without a crust

that doesn't really count as pie, it's goodness did send me on my way

Audio, video, digital text, the information streams surround us, can

Overwhelm us, what do we pay attention to, to send me on my way

Coming to the intersection, watching the lights change, each direction has a

Turn, some use a different path to cross, then the light sends me on my way

A secret to life is keeping moving, with youth like energy, exploring

With eyes wide opening, rising each day with joy sends me on my way

Travel time is coming, an opportunity to see another area of our world

Other ways of living, anxious for the day to send me on my way 

So Sherlock what will happen with those left behind, will they realize 

there is a gap to be filled when the day comes to send me on my way

Lessons from dust

Travel can be fraught with peril or challenges. One prepares with preparation, research, packing, and the hope that such will enable a successful journey whether for business or pleasure. One also asks for blessing from the almighty. Trepidation about the potential for peril brings to mind: “All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

While we ultimately go to one place, the modern airport is a mixer. Folks arriving, going to their destination; others arrive to transfer to their destination, or take the next step to their destination. Walking through this airport, I notice my shoes are still colored with the red road dust we picked up on our travels. Only 4% of the roads in Uganda are paved hence our accumulation of dust. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

How big is Uganda? As a native Rhode Islander, I always find it interesting to put things in perspective. How big is Uganda compared to RI? 100, yes, one more than 99, and not just a round number. 100 RIs would fit within Uganda. 11 Massachusetts would fit. So that may help explain how we spent 20 days there and really did not see it all, no matter how much dust we collected. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

Uganda is one of the poorest countries in Africa. The country has been struggling to properly utilize their resources. 60% of the population live on an average $1.25/day. When one finds out that there is also 40% unemployment, that helps to explain. Each community has a street market. Street vendors sell many of the same items; mattresses, food & produce, hand crafted wooden furniture, welded steel gates & doors. All of these are also cleaned daily to wipe away the dust. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

Uganda is referred to as the “pearl of Africa.” Interesting image. Oysters make pearls. I quote: “The formation of a natural pearl inside an oyster begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant by encapsulating the interloper, thereby protecting itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell, and these concentric layers of nacre will eventually form a pearl”. To continue the analogy, the continent has provided Uganda with a varied landscape, from the savanna, across rivers and valleys to mountains. With resources (minerals in the ground), and wild animals (in natural environments). A speck of sand (or dust) can not create a pearl. That item can be expelled by the oyster. Dust however is accumulated by all visitors. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

One of the key resources available are the wildlife; giraffe, elephant, water buffalo, warthogs, chimpanzees, the mountain gorilla and a variety of antelope to name only a few. Viewing these majestic animals in their habitat is an amazing experience. They live off the land, or each other, that most of the time is pleasant and peaceful. They have life's basic needs to be busy about; food, shelter, caring for each other, and their young. Fortunate to be only a few feet away from a rather large alpha male silverback gorilla, we both took a deep breath, and listened to the jungle. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

Our travels, approximately 1800 miles over 20 days, provided me with a deeper understanding of how Uganda is “the pearl of Africa.” The people are so much like us. They desire similar things, a good home, opportunity for their children, they enjoy dancing, and singing, etc. Their opportunity by being born in Uganda rather than elsewhere presents a challenge for them. However, their spirit is good. They take things in due course. The sun will rise tomorrow. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

While traveling, I was surprised to find internet access much more prevalent than I expected. In a lull moment catching up on world news, an article in The Guardian caught my attention. It talked of the art curator who cleans Michelangelo’s David and who is quoted as saying about her work: “You know when you clean a bathroom, you clean and clean and think you’ve done a great job but then you spot some dust and wonder ‘where did that come from?’,” Cecilie Hollberg said on Monday. “This is what it’s like. Dust is everywhere.” “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

In summary, when you happen to travel, prepare & prepare, trust the process, look out for one another, there will be bumps in the road, this too shall pass, be watchful, the world around us is a wonderful thing. Be curious. Take some time to process it all. Approach life with the dust pan, gathering dust, and then moving to catch the next line, now smaller, then the next line, still smaller. Repeat and repeat. “All are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

sherku: catching up

Air travel is

Exhausting

Maybe the

Soul's effort

Rejoining

The body

sherku: Ronni Bennett 1941-2020

This Halloween
brings her byline
to a close
Portland to
Portland "Time goes by"

#140poets  posted to Twitter  https://twitter.com/shersteve/status/1322932385277792259

After much correspondence, I was fortunate to spend a glorious time with her in Portland, ME before she moved to Portland, OR. She wrote about our visit in 2009 here  https://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2009/02/the-curious-dynamics-of-blog-friendship.html   She will be missed.  

sherku: too close

Elderly airport
travel today
is not made for
making close
connections


Dolores and I recently took her parents to Roanoke, VA for a family wedding. Our travel experiences were similar to those written up very well by Ronni Bennett:
http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2011/07/air-travel-and-elders.html



What is a sherku?