We Human are All Connected?

     Yesterday I was an invited speaker for the Cortland County Historical Society in upstate New York.  My topic covered observations on the significance of tower silos  in Cortland County.  They remain as monuments to the transitions in the dairy industry from small farms to the mega dairies of today.  

    During the Covid pandemic I photographically documented the remaining silos and wrote a pamphlet that is now archived at the historical society, thus the invitation.  My audience was residents of the area. For the most part they were new faces to me since I had not lived in Cortland all my life.  So at the beginning they were strangers to me.  However, that did not preclude being connected to them in some way or another as people of this earth.

    Here are some observations on the manner of our connections.  Some had grown up on dairy farms.  Some had the common experience of the labor associated with agriculture. Some had also observed the silos of the county and became intrigued thinking about the background of families who had been dairy farmers there in the past. Some, like myself, have developed an affinity for the simple beauty of the silo structure and the rural surroundings.  

     To connect this to my emphasis on skiing and geezerhood, at the end of my talk a lady asked me if I knew her husband who is an avid skier at our Greek Peak.  And so it was.   Connections do often bear some other fruit than acquaintanceship.  In her case, she is petitioning to be on the ballot for our local school board.  I ended up adding a signature to her petition.  I probably could go on at greater length about connections,  but will resist.  

    I conclude that we do not function as a people in isolation. We have both known and unknown impacts on many people.  In fact, we cannot fathom how our acts can ripple throughout society both for the better and for the worse.  In this chaotic time in the United States I pray that the better angels of our behavior will come to dominate and improve humankind, end wars, end poverty and produce peace.

Finding a New Rhythm

    Yesterday I had a phone call from my son Colin who spends the winter in Utah skiing Alta and Snowbird.  Of course I asked him if he was still skiing.  It was affirmative and he was soon to be off to ski with one of my grandsons Carson who was patiently waiting for him to arrive on the slopes.  His call reminded me how much I am now missing a daily routine of heading to my local ski slope.

    Yes, I am having a challenge this year to transition to a new daily rhythm  that keeps me fit and enthusiastic plus gives me a social outlet too.   Now I am in a lull before my frequent volunteer guidance at local museum.  Fortunately  the schedule is due to ramp up to more days per week by the end of April.  For exercise a daily regimen of an hour on my recumbent bike has to make up for the lack of ski slope exercise.  Meanwhile, the usual yard work is held in abeyance by some colder weather.  Once things warm up there will be  daily chores outside that always feels good to be out in nature. 

    I wonder if other retirees have challenges in transitioning from one season to another?  Most of us geezers probably have a fixation on certain routines that give them comfort.  Some of us are even eccentric about that. I know my children think it strange that my routine breakfast of a slice of Oatnut bread with butter and jelly of the day is weird.  Actually I go so far to have seven different jellies in a weekly rotation with a specific jelly assigned to a day.  To top all this off, I have discovered a year round source of sweet corn on the cob and which has become my vegetable of choice for dinner each day.  As I write this blog, I am becoming to recognize there are many of my routines that continue year round so I don't have to do a lot of adjusting.   However, fellow geezer skiers, the passion for skiing is special and hard to leave until next season.