Flower for the Day Amaryllis 2-15-16

Begin forwarded message:

From: Don Sessions <donsessions@aol.com>

Subject: Flower for the Day Amaryllis 2-15-16

To: Don Sessions <donsessions@aol.com>

This is our first bloom of the year. Below is one of the pollen laden  anthers on its filament. And the stigma on its stamen. Almost makes one feel like a voyeur.

Letter to My UCC Pastor Betsy

Dear Betsy,

I continue to read Marilyn Robinson (Gilead and now Home) and have found it refreshing to look at my theological roots. You asked once Why I go to church. I'm sure my reply was about finding the "peace that passeth all understanding" which dances around a personal need for the sacred - a search for meaning and something as paradoxical as being spiritually solid. 

In "Home", a powerful book about family, religion, race, and above all loneliness, Glory, the 38 year old daughter of her father, a dying minister ruminates about faith:

"Faith for her was habit and family loyalty, a reverence for the Bible which was also literary, admiration for her mother and father. And then that thrilling quiet of which she had never felt any need to speak."

That 'thrilling quiet' seems like the sacredness for which I "go to church". In our current service it is most available in verbal or silent  prayer. I know you will not take it wrong that the church for me needs to be more than a recitation of Social Service accomplishments of which our particular church has an enviable list.

This member needs to have an opportunity to be with God in the service. There is a distinction between "praying" and "praying about". We only get in touch with the presence of God when the voice in our head is silenced. Sometimes this happens.

This probably seems too heavy so I'll end with something I recently received from the church of my childhood. We Congregationalists were brought up to remember our fore-fathers as the Plymouth Rock Boys. This obit piece reminded me of that.

At her death she was the longest-affiliated member of the First Congregational Church of La Grange. Pauline had an extensive collection of thimbles and belonged to the Thimblefools of Northern Illinois. She was an accomplished amateur genealogist, having traced her lineage as well as her husband's back many generations. She was a direct descendant of pilgrims John Alden and Priscilla Mullins and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

We have a proud and splendid history and it is amazing to realize that the Pilgrim's descendants are still capable of showing up.

Sincerely,

Don

Don's Blog On a Phenomenon related to Experience and Human Relations 1-6

"He reflected that the progressive extension of the field of individual development and experience was regressively

accompanied by a restriction of the converse domain of interindividual relations."

Stephen Dedalus in Night Town

James Joyce, Ulysses

I have been mulling over this quote since 1958 when I wrote a thesis on "The Problem of the Artist in the Works of James Joyce and Thomas Mann". My thesis used the books to show that the more creative that the artists in these works became the harder it was for them to live in the everyday world. This subject is not new and was treated in ancient times in the Icarus Myth. Dedaelus and his son Icarus were imprisoned in the labyrinth by King Minos of crete. Dedaelus created wings for his son so that Icarus could escape. The wings were made of wax and when Icarus flew to close to the sun they melted and he fell fatally into the sea. It is thought  that the labyrinth represents life and escaping it can be fatal but not hopeless as the sea has always represented an accepting mother image.Joyce giving Stephen Dedalus that last name is not accidental. 
Hemingway treats the same theme in The Old Man and the Sea. There are consequences for the old man "going out too far".

Personally I noticed that it was not easy to maintain much of an everyday life during my training when I was working 15+ hour six day weeks (even though I was ecstatic about what I was doing).

Don's Blog 1-4-16 Qualities of Being Human

This is from my brother David's Blog.

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One of the most widespread superstitions is that every man has his own special, definite qualities; that a man is kind, cruel, wise, stupid, energetic, apathetic, etc.  Men are not like that.  We may say of a man that he is more often kind than cruel, oftener wise than stupid, oftener energetic than apathetic, or the reverse; but it would be false to say of one man that he is kind and wise, of another that he is wicked and foolish.  And yet we always classify mankind in this way. And this is untrue.  Men are like rivers: the water is the same in each, and alike in all; but every river is narrow here, is more rapid there, here slower, there broader, now clear, now cold, now dull, now warm.  It is the same with men.  Every man carries in himself the germs of every human quality, and sometimes one manifests itself, sometimes another, and the man often becomes unlike himself, while still remaining the same man ... Leo Tolstoy

Flower for the Day Pale Holly Tree 1-4-16

We have a holly tree (Ilex aquifolium) that was planted when the house was built. Our plan was to keep it

below the roof line but that has not worked out. We wanted to have it shaped so an arborist came by to give us a bid.

He took one look at the pale leaves and said we had a problem.

Compared to our holly trees in the back the difference was apparent. The arborist said 

that it was a problem with soil acidity. He recommended:

3/4 # of sulfur granules 

24 gallons of Miracid by label (1 tblsp/gallon)

I just finished applying this acid potion. We shall see.

HAPPY NEW YEAR SELFIE 1-1-16

 

Sam's Steakhouse - South County 12-21

We celebrated Christmas at Sam's Steakhouse in South County with our friends the Palmers.

Happy 80th Birthday Mariette.

 

The entire restaurant was decorated inside and out. The food and the service 

was exceptional.

 

There was a nice restaurant painting/image in the Comfort Room.

 

 

Don Ingram's Memorial Service 12-19

Today we joined the family of my close friend and colleague Don Ingram who passed away on December7 for a memorial. The service was held at the Tower Grove Park Tennis Center. After prayers and some stories (he was famous for loving ice cream) his ashes were spread by the courts. 

Don was like a surrogate brother to me and was both personally and professionally supportive. He made us laugh - no howl, at times. One day he planted Karen Azaleas in front of my house. Thirty years later they are thriving. He was filled with  energy and enthusiasm. He had an eye for beauty. He was a giver and a pleaser. He never met a stranger. As I write this I am overwhelmed that I can't play with him anymore.

As we stood at the service Jan looked across the street and saw something that looked like the statue of a horse. After the service we walked over to look at it and it was a Clydesdale dressed up for the occasion. Don would have loved it.

  

 

Don's Blog Memorable Chock Stone

Among the images from my friend Jim Mytton was this photo of the Notchtop Chock Stone. It brought an immediate

tightness in my throat as I remembered this epic adventure. When I was at Cheley Colorado Camp in Estes Park in the late 40's and early 50's I loved hiking and was developing an interest in technical rock climbing. After several years I became proficient enough to earn the 4TH Degree Mountaineering Award at the camp. There were certain climbs that were named the hardest and required the most experience and Notchtop Mountain (elevation 12,129 feet) was in the most difficult group. As this photo shows we climbed in Levis, T-shirts, and hiking boots. After taking off from Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park we hiked over to Lake Helene. I remember that we hung a left and climbed some gullies and turned right up to this long narrow traverse which was fully exposed. We had been indoctrinated in preparation for the famous chock stone where we had been told that some un-named camper in the past had "frozen" being unwilling to move right or left. 

It never occurred to us that we should be using ropes - just that it was not going to be us that 'froze'. What was unsaid was that we were fully aware that if we slipped it would be fatal and someone else would have to explain it to my mother. This fear was made worse if you had short legs. I can remember this as if it were happening right now. I took my time and concentrated on climbing past the stone. I have little recollection of the glory of the summit. I do remember that on the way up after this I was concerned about coming back down the same way. It was much easier coming back than the going up.

As I recall this adventure I see it from a different perspective. There have been some fatal climbing accidents on the mountain and I am glad that no one in our party was among them. That certainly was not due to our mountaineering expertise. There has been a healthy improvement in climbing techniques and equipment since 1951.

Below this photo of Notchtop  that I took several years ago I present a report of a recent ascent of the mountain from

MountainProject.com.

 

With Notchtop's south ridge soaring above, work across the bottom of the lake and uphill to the left, through mild talus and grassy slopes. After entering the gully, look for a ramp going up to the right that would lead back to the south ridge. It should look very easy and is in a small cirque with large boulders at its base. An easy scramble leads to a nice perch on the ridge crest. This makes a nice place to rope up and/or put on climbing shoes.

With a two hundred foot rope, two pitches can be made of a series of rock steps in the ridge. These steps are separated by low angle spots that can be used as alternate belays with a shorter rope. Many different paths are obvious on the initial pitches. Look for a cool line and enjoy. Eventually find a belay beneath the south ridge as it increasingly steepens above. A grassy ledge leads right around a spectacular corner. It is never very difficult and is nicely protected for both the leader and the second. Stretch the rope out to a belay beneath the east meadow.

The "notch" should be visible above you. Follow the path of least resistance for a rambling pitch up the east meadow. Find a belay beneath a steep headwall that blocks access to the notch. Look for the easiest path path through the headwall. It should be a crack on the left that is well protected. It goes up to a small roof, where a step to the left leads to easy terrain. This is one of the best pitches on the route.

From the notch, scramble south along a ledge until it is possible to scramble to the summit of the Notch Spire. Keep in mind that this ledge is on the opposite side of the mountain that the climb was on. It is very obvious. Enjoy the summit of the spire. It is very small and very cool.

After descending the spire, work uphill to the north. The goal is to find the West Gully, a third class gully, full of yucky talus, that descends to the lake at the base of the route. Look for some cairns and and a well worn path. Several rap stations appear, but the cliffs below are long, and the trail goes right beneath them anyway. The scramble from the notch to the West Gully is longer and more intricate than would be expected. Don't worry, just look carefully for the path everybody else has used before. Some snow may be in the upper part of the West Gully until mid-summer. This traverse is not a good place to be caught in a big electrical storm. Maybe that's why there are several rap stations encountered along the traverse.

Descend the West Gully down to the start of the route. This is the traverse from the gully to the ridge line. Pick-up any stashed gear or head directly down to the Lake. Reverse the approach to Lake Helene and Bear Lake via the Fern Lake trail.

This is a wonderful route and not too sustained for its grade. It is a good first time route for someone looking to do a moderate tour in the mountains. It is a wonderful route to cruise 3rd class. With a two hundred foot rope, it can easily be done in 5 pitches. Enjoy.

Yes it kind of sounds like the Notchtop that we climbed in jeans and hiking boots and T-shirts with two leaders and a bunch of fit teen-agers with no ropes and no metal and no belays and no raps. I can see why my throat constricts when I see that chock stone picture.

My Brother Bob at Cheley Camp in 1948

My friend Jim Mytton sent me some slides that he had transferred to digital several years ago. He and my deceased brother Bob had been friends for many years at Cheley Camps in Estes Park Colorado and these images are from 1948. Bob is getting off the bus at camp. The previous day he had been put on the Denver Zephyr in Chicago by my parents. Traveling west on the Burlington Route the train passed through our home town, La Grange, and within two blocks of our home.The trip to Denver with the other campers from the Chicago area included eating dinner and breakfast in the dining car and sleeping in "births" made up at bed time by the Pullman Porter. In the morning before breakfast he woke up in the flat prairies of eastern Colorado before being met at the Station in Denver by camp representatives. This red bus took the excited party from Denver into the mountains stopping in Lyons for a snack before arriving at Cheley Camp near Estes Park.

Notice that Bob is wearing a coat and tie and carrying an overcoat on his arm.

 

This photo was taken that summer on a backpack from the Arapahoe Peaks area to

Brainard Lake via Crater Lake.These intrepid campers include (from the left) Walt Sweet,

Tom Weill, Bob, Nick Clinch, and George Karch in the white shirt.

 

Here is a great shot of Bob serving dinner that summer with Sonny Toughy in front.

I went to Cheley Camp from 1949-1951 and went through many of the experiences that

Bob talked about including the same backpack trip. Bob is gone but the camp is still going strong and my 

grandchildren are going there now.