Just Another One

Just Another One                             

By John W. Vander Velden

On a bright summer late afternoon, Craig drove a bit too fast on the country road.  The slanting sun piercing the row of tall hardwoods with shafts of brightness across his route, the flash, flash, flash of brilliance came through the driver’s window annoyed the man determined.  He had miles to go.  Yet there was no real need for his haste.  No one in particular expected him.  None stood checking their watch waiting for the man that drove so feverishly.  But he drove on as if the world would end if he did not reach the place he chose at the time he had set.

A soft brown doe stood, not ten yards from the roadside with her two, yet spotted fawns, watching as the man in the BMW passed by obvious.  The great white clouds, sailing ships of the sky looked down as Craig roared onward.  The man drove past ancient barns, rolling fields dotted with great green bales of hay, a grand cock Ring Neck Pheasant peaking from the road’s edge, a child sitting on her front steps licking an ice cream cone as she raced its melting, and the old white pickup truck with a man stretched beneath the open hood along the very road he sped, and Craig did not notice.

At journey’s end, the man felt content that he had met his deadline.  Craig climbed out of the car parked along a street of a small town whose name escaped him.  He moved quickly among gawkers and shoppers annoyed that they slowed his pace.  Glancing at the shop fronts, catching but a glimpse of wares displayed, the man shook his head as he wondered what it was that brought the throngs to this “burg”.   Later in a small café, Craig frowned as he sat waiting for a common meal ordered in what he felt a common place as he was served by cheerful, courteous, common people.

When he entered his leather upholstered white automobile Craig frowned.  He must write his review…just another one… It was his job…but ….   (345 Words)

Just a Parcel

Just a Parcel                              9-16-2014

By John W. Vander Velden

 

 

When we think of all that we have, those things that make us, we consider the objects acquired and sometimes the items lost, but too seldom we contemplate the most important thing we have been given…our life.  For each of us has received that gift…just a parcel of time. 

Should we dwell upon the years behind or worry that the number of years ahead grow shorter.  Too often those thoughts creep into our consciousness, but I say allow regrets to remain in the past, for all have memories of the things we wish we had done differently.  And to stare into futures mists, concerned with difficulties yet unborn, does us no good.  Enough problems come, there is no need to fear imagined situations.  For to wallow in the past or fear the future steals from the now! 

We remain here among our neighbors, friends and especially family for a time, and the number of years we have been allotted, we do not know.  But He who gives good gifts, has presented us with this parcel…just a parcel of time.  Whether the bulk of that parcel lies before us or behind, whether that parcel is days or decades, it is a gift of great worth.  For each moment contains possibilities…grand possibilities that present themselves…or grand possibilities that need to be sought.  Though we have allowed many to slip between our fingers like sand, countless others await.  So draw a breath, thank the GOD that made you, for this day, smile, and take hold of this bit of your life and seek the challenge to do something.  And though it might seem that “something” is meaningless, be assured it is not!  For the lowly brick seems of little value, yet when stacked, brick by brick, grand edifices stand…depending upon each stone.    

For our lives is so much more than a measure of time, and yet time is one of the greatest gifts we have been given.  Time is an element we share with those around us, should we not reach out to do and to care, to use the thousands of moments of that gift in the millions of possibilities that remain before us.  As I stand awestruck facing the dawning sky, I thank GOD for this day…just a parcel of my life he has given, and pray that I use that gift well.

(399 Words)

Do You Remember?

Do You Remember?

By John W. Vander Velden             

Do you remember the first moment you knew?  The first moment you heard or saw.  The first moment your heart believed what your ears or eyes revealed.  How did you feel then?  Was it shock, fear, anger or did your heart break at the loss of the brave and innocent.  How did you feel…then?

How do you feel now?  Remembering the attack upon US soil…the attack on our way of life…the attack that killed so many…drew ordinary people into another’s war.  How do you feel?  Each time you travel… waiting in what seems endless lines…asked to remove you shoes…seeing armed men.  Do you feel anger at those that brought fear into your every day…those that allow hate to drive their actions…those that do not value their own lives?  How can they value others?  How do you feel?

The world changed that day…the day that hate found places to strike.  Do we return hate for hate?  Do we allow the world to spiral down the path other have chosen.  Do we grovel in fear?  Hide as we wait for some other atrocity to strike the defenseless.  What do we do?  Our actions show more than our words.  

In a confusing world of blurred lines, we search for simple solutions to complex questions.  We wonder what made our country the target.  Why others shake angry fists our way.  Each day the rhetoric grows…each day blame cast…each day tensions fester...and we wonder.

The towers fell and a new building stands defiant.  We have not surrendered…but at what price.  The violence comes closer.  Metal detectors and guards stand in our courthouse.  Schools are locked down.  And though these may seem unrelated to that September day, can we say they are fueled by different problems…different mentality.  Was the actions of Sandy Hook, Columbine, and Oklahoma City not driven by hate and aimed against the innocents?  Were they not some grand way to gain attention for some confused or mad soul as they lash out in places long considered safe.  What do you think? 

 So we live our lives, think about tomorrow, hope that somehow…someone…returns sanity to a troubled world.  And wonder, just wonder what the new normal might be.  But today, on this September day, I ask…Do you remember?

(386 Words)

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, Michigan...Oh Yeah! Part 4

Yes, Michigan?...Oh Yeah

Part 4

By John W. Vander Velden

Sunny days with cool temps, blue skies over broad expanses of water lapping on rock strewn beaches, these things might describe our time to the north.  But it seems all good things must come to their conclusion…

 

We looked one final time at the sign along the road, in front of our hotel, “Guests check in…Friends check out”.  It is a fitting slogan for our time in St. Ignace.  We had not stayed on the north side of the straits on past visits to the region -- I expect we will next time we choose to venture this part of Michigan’s wonderland.

On the northern tip of the
lower peninsula, stands this castle-like
lighthouse.

But our adventure had not ended -- merely moved south.  The morning held great promise as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge that Friday.  Entering Mackinac City we, soon found ourselves in a parking lot of another thing on this year’s bucket list -- The Old Mackinac Lighthouse.  It had been sixteen years since the last time I had walked those grounds with Nick.  The photographs I had taken in 98 left much to be desired, and armed with new equipment and good light I hoped to photograph the unique light again.

How things had changed!  The whole area has been redone.  Before the keepers quarters only housed a small gift shop, and now they allow visitors to climb the tower.  The light station is a proper museum with the keeper’s quarters restored, the outbuildings housing their own displays, and curators dressed in costumes of the lighthouse’s era, answering all questions.

Looking down on the fog horn building and
Lake Huron.

The light had been decommissioned in 1957, so it no longer sheds its beam across the straits.  With the light removed, we were permitted to climb into the lamp room -- that glass walled portion at the towers peak.  Though I enjoy standing upon the catwalks of other lighthouses, this held a different thrill.  But the lighthouse park was but half of our historical adventure, for a short walk led to Historical Fort Michilimackinac, a rebuilt replica of the 18^th century fort and settlement.  We found the history fascinating and spend several hours moving through the buildings.

 



You can almost hear the voices
of years past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old fort originally built by the French and modified by the British.
The site now reflects the early British era before the fort
moved to the Mackinac Island.

 

 

For those willing to spend the time,
there is much to see at
Fort Michilimackinac

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the old style multi face
outdoor clocks.

The afternoon found us strolling the downtown of Mackinac City.  The town has changed to please the tourist.  That is more shops -- many more shops --  than we found on our past visits.  We did not walk the streets alone as we shared the sidewalks with throngs of folks that have all come from other places.  We stepped inside many interesting shops including the Mackinac Kite Store.   Last time, when Nick was small, we bought a kite there, so a return visit seemed necessary.  The store had grown over the years and handled many things it did not years ago -- games and such.  But they yet had the large colorful kites hanging overhead -- a fun place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were told since the structure had been
lived in all those years, the county found it in good shape.

 

We left the town in the late afternoon with one more stop on our agenda.  Would you like to guess what it might be?  Why McGulpin Point Lighthouse, just west of Mackinac City.  The light station has only recently become open to the public.  For nearly a hundred years the lighthouse has been privately owned.  It had been in the same family during that time and used as a home.  The present public fascination with lighthouses has fueled the county, and they have done wonders returning the light station into a place that merits a visit.

McGulpin Point made the twelfth lighthouse we visited on this trip -- sounds a bit crazy, but we enjoy them.  How they were built and of course they stand on beautiful locations.  We were able to climb seven of the towers on this trip, each with unique breathtaking views of the lake.  I managed to get some pretty good photos -- that can’t be bad.  We had not come only to see

Another set of stairs.  Who knows how many steps I
tread up and down that week.

lighthouses -- we saw so much more, but we did see some amazing lighthouses.   

We spent our final night in Gaylord, Michigan, about an hour south of Mackinac City.  The traffic in that town seemed greater than we would have expected for the location.   We were told that the bumper to bumper typical for a summer day.  I am not certain what causes the roads to overflow in that town.  As for us, it was our jumping off place for the homeward trek.

We took the trail down to the shore of
Lake Michigan to see McGulpin Rock.
A boulder of some fame that has been used for years
to measure the height of the lake's water.

Saturday morning we headed south, going a different route, moving west to Ludington.  Many times we have traveled US 31 up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, so once we headed south of Ludington the road was familiar.  Being strangely ahead of schedule -- that just doesn’t happen -- we thought a stop in South Haven might be fun.  But arriving in the middle of some kind of festival -- tents traffic and scant parking -- sent us scurrying for a quieter local.  Saugatuck was not that place!  If we thought South Haven insane, Saugatuck had the keys to the asylum.  After getting turned around three times, we escaped planning a return on a weekday -- soon.

Well friends, we made it home.  I guess you knew that -- or how would I be posting this stuff.  1835 miles and more than 1300 photos give you an idea of the pace.  I expect it will take month to go through all those pictures – but the memories – well, they will last a lifetime.

Thanks for joining us on this journey.  Who knows where we go next – I’m certain I don’t…

(908 Words)