He Musta Got Better

Robert Milne died June 5th 2005, at age 49.
That is not an extraordinary fact. Many people die at that age.
How and where he died is the extraordinary part: at an altitude of approximately 8850 meters during a final push to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.
When I knew Mr. Milne (we attended the same high school) he struck me a something of a nerd. 

That's ok. He was focused on a goal: to study computer science. He had a love of mountain climbing. The two came together when he was field testing a telemetry device in the most remote locations: mountaintops. He had, prior to this trip, already summited the highest peaks of the other six continents and had just this one remaining. He didn't quite make it.
You can't really say that he failed in his quest, though. He went where his vision led him and I presume died with few, if any, regrets. Having more than my share of regrets, I envy him that.
Harry Chapin (singer-songwriter, wrote Taxi, Cat's in the Cradle, 30,000 lbs of Bananas) wrote a bit of advice given to him by his grandfather. In the interest of NOT infringing on copy-rights, I point you to a link on Amazon.com: My Grandfather .

Do your best to fight your own fights, as much as you can, and the fights you care about. Fighting somebody else's fights may be necessary in the course of your life (and, of course, do your best with those, too).

But, do not neglect your own battles, your own goals, your own dreams.

Yes, You Can.

The Madman

Devil Discouragement

Today is the day after Christmas, and with it comes the usual (for me) seasonal blues. Christmas for me has always been an up-and-down time of year. Charlie Brown and I are two of a kind: We know we should be happy, but we're not.

In my case I'm fighting a chronic pain that takes over at a certain point, especially when I've missed taking the aspirin on schedule. Then the old reliable car turned out to not be so reliable. Mostly my own fault, though. I didn't get the regular maintenance schedule done & the battery went flat after being let set a few days while we were off to Grandma's house. So it goes.

I could go on, but then I'd be risking getting myself even more down than I am. Time once again to take the opposite tack: Christmas Eve was beautiful, with a full moon shining through the clouds and off of the snow around my brother and sister-in-laws mountain home. That is where we had the family get-together. As they say, a great time was had by all. The three-year-old is amazed all over again with all the stuff that goes on at Christmas.

And I'm amazed right along with her. I've often said that every adult needs an eight-year-old kid with them all the time, to remind them of what the world looks like. I'll amend that to 'needs a kid of any age'. One of the little girl's best friends is the moon, and has been so ever since I pointed it out to her. Once. When she was about a year-and-a-half old.

She's even helping me with my vocabulary. "Dang it!" is no longer in my list of things to say (never mind anything stronger), because if she's around, she'll repeat it with every bit the same inflection and vehemence that I used. And it doesn't even sound 'cute' coming out of her little mouth.

SO. No more cussin'. Not even the soft kind of cussin'.

And so by blessing her with goodly speech, I bless myself by speaking better in the first place. And so the blessings continue.

When the pains start, she is a joy, and helps me knock the "Devil Discouragement" in the head, just by being herself, and makes me smile in spite of myself.

That points up something important: One of the best things a body can do to lift themselves out of the doldrums is get along side of a little kid and have them show you something they've discovered, or sing you a song they've just made up, or look at (no helping, now!) a picture they're drawing or coloring. This is right up there with helping someone fix a flat tire.

I'd go on a bit more, but I need to get to my day job. But remember, whenever the Devil Discouragement tries to bite you on your heel and slow you down, do a good thing for someone else, thereby kicking him loose at the same time.

Have a great day!

Yes, you can!