A simple, deep thought

I just finished a sci-fi book, called All These Worlds. In the book, a leading character is lamenting the loss of a friend and how those in his village seemed to move on with their lives soon after his death. "Archimedes had mattered. He’d made a huge difference to the lives of the people there, and I found it offensive somehow that he was so completely and so soon relegated to the past."

On Goodreads, I added a comment to this, saying, "One of the deeper lessons of life is that most of us are here and gone, and the memories that rest with friends and loves ones are all that's left, until they're gone, too. So enjoy the ride, because our presence is fleeting."

That may not be something we all want to absorb. I think what drives many to practice certain religious faiths is the wish that we somehow carry on in perpetuity. While that's a nice idea, I think the truth is simpler. So make life better for those around you and for yourself. Live well, and recognize that the journey through life is what matters. It won't be long after we're gone that our presence fades from memory. Soon, those who remember us fondly are gone as well. Maybe the good lives we led will have some subtle echo in a part of humanity and make life better, but for the most part, we're here and then we're gone. Even great philosophers, leaders and humanitarians aren't remembered by most. C'est la vie.

Enjoy the ride, folks, and don't trouble yourselves too much over the generations ahead.

That was nice

 There are places we usually don't get to go. Fancy country clubs certainly are on that list. This week was an exception. We volunteer with a food bank called Island Harvest, and this week they had their golf outing fundraiser at a place called "The Creek."

The Creek was founded over a hundred years ago. The founders included J.P. Morgan, Vincent Astor, H.L. Pratt (the President of Standard Oil) and other well-heeled folks. For sure, we're not the usual folks there, especially since we don't play golf.

This property used to be another rich man's estate. With all of that said, I thought you might like to see a few photos of the property...

Really, the nicest part was providing photos to Island Harvest that they can use to thank to donors/participants (we took shots of every foursome, as well as some candid shots) and knowing it saves them money (versus having to hire photographers like us) and will keep people coming back, both the folks they gift our photos to as well when they use them to advertise for next year's golf outing.

This organization does great work, helping feed people who (shamefully, in this rich country) don't have enough to eat. We're happy to play a small part in making things work!

A Very Happy Anniversary

Thirteen years ago today, we'd just finished attending a rugby tournament in Manchester, UK. Our plan was to board a train and head to Edinburgh to extend the trip into a longer vacation.

We had reserved seats on the train. When we got to our seats, there was a guy sitting there who the conductor had to shoo out of the seats, since he didn't have a ticket to be there. But then we sat down, and two other guys sat across from us (it was a 2 & 2 setup).

The other two guys were dressed like rugby players, so we quickly struck up a conversation and determined that yes, they had just come from the same tournament we'd been at. Their names were Tom and Andrew. This was Andrew on the train...

We spent the trip chatting with both of them and had a wonderful time.

When we got to Edinburgh, we said our goodbyes, planning to email each other when we got home so we could stay in touch. We then headed to our respective hotels and checked in. After that, Marc and I did what we often do in a new city, heading out to get on a hop on-hop off tour bus to orient ourselves to the new city. It was a double-decker bus, and we always prefer the top level. So up we went! And as I got to the top, what was the first thing I saw?

From that point on, we decided we were meant to hang out together. After the bus, we went out to dinner, walked around the city, visited some sights, including Edinburgh Castle. The four of us were there for the daily ceremonial firing of the cannon...

And our new friend Andrew let his personality shine through...

Eventually, the Edinburgh visit came to an end, but we really had started a friendship by then. Andrew was from Toronto, but we said we'd keep in touch. We already adored him, so that certainly was our plan!

Happily, it all worked out very well. Over the past 13 years, Dru has become one of our best friends. We see him as often as we can, and we're in touch constantly, even if it's just a daily flow of memes and silly posts going back and forth.

Happy Anniversary to Dru and us! I can't imagine a sweeter, better friend!

A great book: In Memoriam by Alice Winn

In Memoriam by Alice Winn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great piece of literature. I wish I could go beyond 5 stars, because it deserves as much praise as I can heap upon it. Alice Winn has written a compelling novel of love in a time of the worst of humanity's brutality. Can young love endure through a time of mustard gas and machine gunning, through seeing friends cut down in their prime, through horrible injury to the few survivors?

Alice Winn brings top notch character development, and that makes such a difference, as you find yourself truly caring about these people. Also, she doesn't sugar coat what happens. This isn't a rom-com. This is romance in a time of unspeakable brutality, and the story is completely believable, even if that makes for some very sad (to say the least) aspects of the story.

Pick up In Memoriam, and you won't want to put it down until you've read every page. A great novel, and this is an author to watch! Bravo!

View all my reviews

A few photos from the yard

 It was a beautiful day today. As Marc worked in the yard, I felt the urge to go take a few photos out there. The dogs went with me, to act as models, of course! Here are a few shots:

Romance is fun

Among the friends we've made through rugby is a young man named Connor. A couple of weeks ago, Connor reached out to say he planned to propose to his boyfriend. He wanted to know if Marc and I could take pictures when he proposed. Of course, we loved the idea. So around midday today, we met them in Central Park. Connor's boyfriend, Kevin, thought this was just a meeting so we could take some photos of them.

So we started with that...

Then Connor started talking about how wonderful Kevin was, how much he loved him, and how much he loved life with him. Kevin clearly was confused, wondering why Connor was going on like this. But then...

So wonderful! We were honored to be a part of this special day, and we both wish them many happy, healthy years together!

Go ahead and use the money how you want. It's yours now.

I try to be generous. That extends to strangers, when I think I can help out. When I worked in Manhattan, I bought lots of lunches for guys on the street. How can you go wrong feeding someone? 

Well, we're in Savannah, and we recently went shopping at Publix. It was late for food shopping--about 8pm--and the turn lane into the Publix wasn't well lit. But as we approached, I thought I saw someone. Sure enough, as we got close, I saw that it was a man with a little sign, asking for money.

I had a couple of dollar bills in my pocket. I rolled down the window and gave them to him. With that, he thanked me and apparently was done with his work for the evening. He immediately headed across the road. In that dim light, I was worried he'd get hit by a car. There was one coming, but luckily they saw him.

The man was heading into the same parking lot we were. At first, it looked like he was heading for Publix, too, and I said to Marc, if he goes in there, I want to tell him we'll buy him anything he wants. Marc agreed. Really, whatever he could get and bring home wasn't going to bankrupt us and would brighten his life at least for a bit.

So as we were parking we watched him head towards the Publix entrance. And then right past it, to the corner of the shopping center and the liquor store.

Oh well, if that's what he needed, so be it. More importantly, I suppose it got him out of traffic, so he'd live to see another day. It's his life, not mine, and the that little bit of money was his by then anyhow. But I really did love the idea of helping send him home with lots of fresh food. I hope he gets to a better place where that's his priority.