Spring

Just returned from a glorious 3 mile walk. Well the walk itself was the usual one foot in front of the other sort of thing, but I was visited by some thoughts that I will hopefully convey to you effectively. Due to the magic of modern electronics you will be completely unaware of the several hour gap of time between this blog's beginning and its ending. I wanted to get a bit down before I play some music with my daughter to help me remember the "gist" of the thoughts that accompanied my walk.
Firstly, my heel did not hurt much at all. According to medical experts, (my wife), I likely have Plantar Fasciitis. Don't know what that means other than it makes your heel hurt. It seems the pain can be adjusted to, only to have a lingering effect later on. This morning, little to no pain. Of course this resulted in the predictable gratefulness of my general good health throughout my life so far. And an admonition to others, (that would be all 4 of you), to get out and take some walks if you have the ability to do so. This was a wonderful, cool, puffy cumulus cloud sort of morning and a time to thank God for the incredible engineering feat that our bodies are.
I had the thought, again, of how fortunate I am to live here in Kansas. We don't get cheated out of any one of the 4 seasons. Those poor suckers over in Hawaii, as well as those who live in, let's say, Florida, or Southern California, don't have the advantage of experiencing all 4 seasons. Go ahead and voice your comments about how, if you want snow, you can drive to it, or whatever, but living through all the seasons allows you to truly experience all that creation has to offer. I mean, come on. Living in Florida is like celebrating only the resurrection over and over without coming to grips with the suffering and anguish of the cross. (I know this analogy is sounding a little sacreligious, but you're the one who stopped to read this thing). Like Easter Sunday, without Maundy Thursday. Stick with me here. How can playing in a soccer game here in Kansas come to announce to me that spring has really come, without living through a couple of months of cold and snow where outdoor activities are limited to "necessity only" items? (of course sledding notwithstanding) I actually like winter, and snow, but I'm always ready for the color green to reestablish itself here in Kansas, and that first soccer game in the spring gave me a chance to celebrate with the rest of the world that life is coming out of hibernation and bright colors will once again join us. Then, in late summer, after a couple of weeks of 100 degree days, that first significant cold front moves through to bring its energizing effects to my aging and tired body. Like a drink of cool water after spending the day on a roof nailing down shingles. I would argue that the refreshment is shallow if you haven't lived through the hot and humid summer days first. Sure, driving from a boring, continually warm climate to the mountains is refreshing, but offers only a shadow of the refreshment that a late August cool front brings to us Kansans. Today's walk was great partly because we have already hit 100 this year and I could absorb the coolness, knowing it will soon be swallowed by the advent of summer.

Home, sorta.

What a great trip our family had to South Africa. One we will not forget I'm sure. We were greeted by a very hospitable people who, by and large, seemed to be a happy lot. It seems the World Cup provided a chance for the country to take on a party atmosphere for a while. Yes, we drove by some of the slums and yes, we visited the Apartheid museum and learned more about the horrible rule of a very detailed, law based, discrimination. But the over all sense I came back with was one of appreciation for their culture and a sense of gratitude for their accepting the world with open arms. In the airport there was a collection of people, some who I believe worked there, and some who did not. Some older, some younger, but all of them smiling and laughing as the danced to a song playing on a boom box. This dance was obviously practised and the 25 or so people all moving together made a wonderful visual set against the backdrop of an airport hallway. The enthusiasm was contagious and you couldn't help but feel happy watching them enjoy the music and motion together.
At the Game Reserve where we stayed there was a visit from a group of folks who treated us to some more dancing as well. They offered some more current dance routines but then demonstrated the more traditional dancing of some of the tribes there. Again, it was a wonderful experience followed by some songs that they had prepared. One day we took a drive through the reserve to view the animals. This reserve is close to Josieburg, (Johannesburg), and did not have the larger animals on it. However, we saw several gazelle, wildebeest, zebra and baboons. At night you could hear the hiena's calling. Similar to coyotes though a bit like laughing. There were several baboons around the camp and we saw a village of 20 or 30 of them close to our camp. They would raid the trash cans in the early morning hours.
We stayed in Safari tents that had beds in them. While it's winter there, their winters are relatively mild compared to ours. Of course, while we were there they had an unusually cold night or two that got down to below freezing. With the extra blankets they provided we were fine though the first few minutes in bed were a little chilly.
They drive on the left side of the road there and of course the steering wheel is on the right. This provided many opportunities for a little comic relief for the family while travelling to our various destinations. You could always tell when I was getting ready to turn because the windshield wipers would come on. It was all so very confusing. We saw two games while we were there and Germany and the Netherlands are still in the tournament so we saw two of the better teams as well. We didn't get ahold of any tickets for the US matches but we watched the games on a big screen there at the camp. There is much more to say but I will save it for another time. My wife and granddaughter will be back tomorrow as they took a detour upon our arrival back in the states, to attend a family reunion. So we will be whole again tomorrow as a family, and we will have a great adventure in common as we move on through life.
Thank you, Lord, for South Africa and all the creative things you have done and are doing there.