Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Life’s Journey

Posted in Journeys, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 20, 2012| 15 Comments »

 “Does the road wind uphill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the journey take the whole day?

From morn to night, my friend.” – Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894

Discovering the Wondering Wanderer

 

You’re on a journey, whether you travel or not, from sunrise… — Photo by Pat Bean

I was a late bloomer, a wisp of a girl who grew up too fast, going from taking care of three younger brothers to a too-young marriage and taking care of five kids of my own.

It wasn’t until I was nearly 40 that it dawned on me that I had no idea who the woman I had become was. Trying to answer that question began a new, and very surprising, journey for me. It’s one that has been full of both heartache and joy, and one that continues to this day.

The truth is, I’m many persons in one: Writer, mother, grandmother, traveler, birder, friend, adventuress, tree-hugger, nature enthusiast, reader, peace advocate, feminist,, animal lover and currently campground host. I’m sure there’s a few more tags somewhere around that I could add.

… to sunset. Make it a memorable trip. — Photo by Pat Bean

But lately I’ve been calling myself the wondering wanderer. It’s a descriptive phrase that I’ve decided fits me as well as a clingy leotard, not that I would put one of those on my over-ripe body these days.

In my own way, I’ve always been a wondering wanderer. And now I wonder why I didn’t understand it sooner.

So how would you describe yourself? This wondering old broad would love to know.

Bean’s Pat: 20 Minutes a Day http://tinyurl.com/77t2488 The Consequences of Being Nice. This blog certainly gave me something to think about. Blog pick of the day from the wondering wanderer.

Read Full Post »

Favorite Places: Jamaica

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

This passing boat looks just like the one I cruised the Black River in. — Photo by Pat Bean

“The Mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.” Chinese Proverb

Typical passing scenery at the start of the river cruise. — Photo by Pat Bean

The Black River

Toward the end of the cruise, it was just one mangrove tree after another. — Photo by Pat Bean

I had one day to spend in Jamaica as part of a Caribbean cruise, and I chose to spend it cruising some more — on the  Black River.

But first there was a ride in a rickety old bus to get to the other side of the island. 

“No problem.” That describes the Jamaican way of life I learned. 

It was a fun bus ride, and a fun boat trip.

George — Photo by Pat Bean

 One in which a crocodile named George came at our boat captain’s call, and one in which all aboard toasted our captain with a Jamaican beer after he called the alligator over to say hi.

Honest!

Bean’s Pat: Retiree Diary http://tinyurl.com/7orn9dq Keep traveling with this blog, which takes you to Croatia. Blog pick of the day from this wondering wanderer.

Read Full Post »

Happy Father’s Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on June 17, 2012| 15 Comments »

 “Our fathers had their dreams: we have ours; the generation that follows will have its own. Without dreams and phantoms man cannot exist.” Olive Schreiner

I Miss What I Never Truly Had

My son, Lewis, top, taking time to enjoy his son, Scott, one of his four children. Scott, by the way, leaves for Marine boot camp tomorrow. Happy Father’s Day Lewis — and good luck Scott. — Photo by Pat Bean

My father died in 1975. He was only 62. As he lay in his bed, suffering from emphysema and a stroke, he pantomimed to me that he wanted a cigarette. I replied that the doctor told him he couldn’t smoke.’

He reached for the pad beside his bed and wrote: “To hell with the doctor!”

I gave him a cigarette and sat by his side as he smoked it. He then went to sleep.

Two hours later, when I got up from watching a television program with my mother, and went in to the bedroom to check on him, he was dead.

A few days later, as I sat at his funeral, and when no tears would come, I realized my father had never been there for me.

He was always gone to work before I woke in the morning, and didn’t get home until well after I was in bed. And this went on seven days a week.  It wasn’t that my father worked long hours, it was that he played hard, drinking and gambling.

My son, D.C., left, with Jennifer and David, two of his three children, at Epcot. Happy Father’s Day. D.C. — Photo by Pat Bean

Many were the Friday nights that I listened to my hot-tempered mother scream and yell because my father had spent his pay check before coming home.

I was too young to understand the implications. So it was my mother I hated when I was growing up, instead of the person who was the reason why I went to school with holes in my shoes. It’s because my father was a happy person, even when drunk. There wasn’t a mean bone in his body. He was a true good-timing man.

I still remember the day my mother threw a beer bottle at my dad and knocked him unconscious. I thought he was dead. When he woke up, he just laughed about it, saying he deserved it.

I have no rancor toward my father, and thankfully my mother and I made our peace long before she died. But there is sadness in me that my father had so little time for me, and that he always stood me up when plans had been made.

But I’m truly glad I gave him that last cigarette.

Happy Father’s day Dad – wherever you are

Read Full Post »

Lake Powell’s Lone Rock

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 15, 2012| 6 Comments »

“Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” – Saint Augustine

Don’t Get Stuck in the Sand

Lone Rock at Lake Powell — Photo by Pat Bean

Just down the road from Lake Powell’s Wahweap Campground is Lone Rock, an undeveloped beach where RV-ers who can survive without water and electric hookups can spend the night for only $10, or half that with a Golden Age Passport.

It’s where I stayed my very first night on the road in my RV, Gypsy Lee. I remember the night well, beginning with the gatekeeper’s advice: “Don’t get stuck in the sand.”

I didn’t, but I came close. It was all part of getting acquainted with my new home on wheels.

Hard as I tried, I couldn’t find a clear path down to the water, where I saw half a dozen RVs parked by the edge. I finally gave up about halfway down, and stopped. The two RVs that had been following right behind me, as I zigged and zagged around like a sizzling snake firecracker, stopped, too.

I learned, when my canine companion, Maggie, and I went for a walk that they were two German couples who had rented RVs to tour America. Since I had Utah license plates, they assumed I had known where I was going.

Lake Powell” A blue serpentine lake that lies atop the scenic magic of Glen Canyon. — Photo by Pat Bean

We all had a laugh when I explained that this was my first day on the road in my brand new RV.

The sun went down while Maggie and I were taking our stroll. It turned Lone Rock into a golden treasure and painted an orange path across the reflective water. I drank in the wonders around me before Maggie and I trudged though the sand back to our new home.

Later that night, after Maggie and I had shared some tuna casserole, the first meal I cooked on Gypsy Lee’s three-burner propane stove, I watched the sky light up with a million stars through the vent above my overhead bed.

That night was eight years and 132,000 miles ago.

Maggie did 130,000 of those miles with me. My new companion, Pepper, is now my co-pilot. But nothing much else has changed. I still watch the stars overhead at night, and I’m still humming Dr. Seuss words: “Oh the places we’ll go and the things we’ll see …”

Bean’s Pat: http://naturepicsblog.com/I love this blog. It’s a daily bit of nature to start the day, usually just one photo so you don’t get distracted. Today’s was a single sunflower that had not yet opened. 

*This pat-on-the-back recognition is merely this wandering/wondering old broad’s way of bringing attention to a blog I enjoyed – and thought perhaps my readers might, too. June 15, patbean.wordpress.com

Read Full Post »

I Didn’t Do It

Posted in Favorite Hikes, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 14, 2012| 14 Comments »

 “If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.” – Flavia Weedn

Here’s the traditional photo of me at the start of the hike to the top of Angel’s Landing in the background. But this year I chose the less-traveled trail. — Photo by Karen Bean

And I Have No Regrets

For an old broad, I’m in pretty good shape. But not good enough, I accepted this past weekend, to climb to the top of Angel’s Landing.

Instead I chose a path less traveled, and was well rewarded for it.

I said good-bye to my son, Lewis, his wife, and my two grandsons, at the Angel’s Landing trail head. The four of them had met me here in Zion National Park for Mother’s Day, a real treat as I am usually far away from any family members on this day.

I’ve been to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion about 30 times. It was an April birthday tradition for me. Lewis, when he was younger, accompanied me on several of those occasions. It was an experience he wanted to share this past weekend with his family.

As the four of them turned right, just past the bridge over the Virgin River onto the Angel’s Landing trail, I turned left. My path would take me on a two-mile hike, via the Emerald Pools, back to where I could catch the shuttle and return to my RV to await their return.

My reward for being sensible this day was that I had the first mile of the trail completely to myself. This is a rare treat in Zion these days, as the park has an extremely high visitation rate.

While the view of the river and valley below wasn’t quite as spectacular as the one from atop Angel’s Landing, the peace I felt observing it made up for the difference.

I also, perhaps for the first time in my life, felt at peace with myself in accepting that I no longer could do everything I could once do.

Bean:s Pat: Everyday Wisdom #43 http://tinyurl.com/6nc3lky A great way to slow yourself down and live in the moment.

Read Full Post »

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused

Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , on May 6, 2012| 4 Comments »

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of ordinary.” – Cecil Beaton

Unfocused or  Focused: That is the Question

The sun reflecting through a colored glass canopy at the Albuquerque Zoo repeated itself on the sidewalk. I thought the reflections looked a bit unfocused. But then again perhaps not and I just chose to break the rules. What do you think? — Photo by Pat Bean

Read Full Post »

Favorite Things: Egrets

Posted in Birds, Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on April 19, 2012| 3 Comments »

Egrets
 
Where the path closed
down and over,
through the scumbled leaves,
fallen branches,
through the knotted catbrier,
I kept going. Finally
I could not
save my arms
from thorns; soon
the mosquitoes

This great egret regally watched all the comings and goings from its perch aboard a boat at a Key West, Florida, dock. -- Photo by Pat Bean

smelled me, hot
and wounded, and came
wheeling and whining.
And that’s how I came
to the edge of the pond:
black and empty
except for a spindle
of bleached reeds
at the far shore
which, as I looked,
wrinkled suddenly
into three egrets – – –
a shower
of white fire!
Even half-asleep they had
such faith in the world
that had made them – – –
tilting through the water,
unruffled, sure,
by the laws
of their faith not logic,
they opened their wings
softly and stepped
over every dark thing.

        — Mary Oliver
 
Snoweys, Greats, and Cattle
 

Snowy egret on left, great egret on right, northern shoveler in the water in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. -- Photo by Pat Bean

When I first became one of those crazy birders, it was easy to identify a snowy egret, which for a long time was the only egret that I saw.  They were these tall, white, graceful birds with a long, slender black bill, and black legs with golden-yellow feet, which I liked to think of as their slippers.  I saw these delightful shorebirds just about anywhere there was water when I lived in Northern Utah.

 
The next egret I saw was a shorter, chunkier one that looked like parts of its body had been dipped in liquid wheat. occasionally I would see one with a wheat-colored crest, which I learned was its breeding cap. These were cattle egret, and wandering around a herd of the four-legged critters were where you almost always found them.
 
It took me a long while before I saw a great egret in Northern Utah, although when I traveled east of the Rockies, this was suddenly the most common egret I started seeing. It’s a tall, lanky bird with a long, slender yellow bill and black legs and feet.
 
Egrets, well the snowy and the great since the cattle egret didn’t migrate to America until the 1950s, were the inspiration for the creation of the Audubon Society. The main purpose of the conservation organization, of which I’m a proud member, when it was first formed was to protect the egrets from extinction. They were being killed by the thousands simply to provide fanciful plumes for women’s hats.
 
Tsk! Tsk! I’d like to think we vain females know better these days. Most of us do, I believe.  
 
Bean’s Pat: Serenity Spell http://tinyurl.com/6wgdtdd Since it’s a bird day, read all about red-winged blackbirds.
 

Read Full Post »

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Posted in Favorite Places, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , , on April 15, 2012| 9 Comments »

It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by.  How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?  For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone.  That is where the writer scores over his fellows:  he catches the changes of his mind on the hop.  ~Vita Sackville-West

Among My Writing Soul Mates 

So many things I want to tell my writer friends out there about the tremendous amount of energy and good advice going on at the Story Circle Network’s Stories from the Heart Conference being held in Austin this weekend.

Austin skyline from Lady Bird Lake -- Wikipedia photo

Much of what I’ve learned, however, still needs to be digested, and practiced, before I feel I can write about it.

But Gail Straub’s keynote Friday night  presentation “My Mythic Memoir Journey,”  had a secondary significance for me. She spoke about her memoir, “Returning to My Mother’s House,” which is about her relationship with her mother.

 Sitting next to me was my own daughter, Deborah. Gail hit a few familiar notes with her talk and it seemed as if I weren’t  nudging my daughter, she was nudging me. 

University of Texas fountain, a familiar sight to Austin residents. -- Wikipedia photo

Gail’s talk was full of interesting insights, and came at a time when my daughter and I could both recognize them — and most importantly laugh about them.

The best thing about the conference for me is being in the midst of a circle of supportive female writers. It’s not that any of us, well among the many circle members I know, have anything against men. It’s just that our voices are different and it’s nice to be among people who understand female quirks, and the difficulty women often have in finding their voices.

I can say with 100 percent accuracy that this writing circle is the most supportive group I’ve ever encountered in my years on this planet. I can’t think of any place I would rather be this weekend than right where I am — deep in the heart of Texas with writing soul mates.

Bean’s Pat: Darla Writes  http://tomurl.com/77xu6pf  13 Tips From Writers. It seems only fair that today I should give a thumbs up to a blogger who writes about writing,

Read Full Post »

Playing Hooky From the Writing Conference

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , , on April 14, 2012| 10 Comments »

“The earth laughs in flowers.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Wright's skullcap -- Photo not by me (remember I left my camera in the hotel room), and I'm not sure who the photographer was.

A delayed plane and a missed flight put me into Austin after 10 p.m. yesterday. It meant I missed meeting with a couple of old friends here in town, like me, to attend the Story Circle Network’s Stories from the Heart Conference.

Instead I treated myself to a nice strong Jack and Coke at the hotel bar, while I waited for my oldest daughter, Deborah, who is attending the conference, too  to arrive on an even later flight. I woke up this morning, thinking it was 6 a.m., only to discover it was 8 a.m., seeing as how I was in Austin instead of Tucson, where it was 6 a.m.

After taking care of a bit of business for the conference, four of us writing buddies, took off for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. When we arrived, I realized I had left my camera back in the hotel room, which was a darn shame because there were plenty of beautiful flowers to photograph.

My favorite was the Wright’s skullcap, whose blossoms reminded me of Darth Vader.

And that’s all I have to say today. While it’s just after 9 p.m. in Austin, it’s after 11 p.m. in Tucson and my body remembers and is telling the brain it’s time to go to bed. I think I will sleep well tonight, even without a Jack and Coke.

Bean’s Pat: Portraits of Wildflowers  http://tinyurl.com8ywkbd5  Standing winecups. Steve Schartzman’s blog is why I could identify many of today’s plants at the wildflower center.

Read Full Post »

Weekly Photo Challenge: Journey

Posted in Favorite Places, Journeys, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged , , , , , on April 7, 2012| 3 Comments »

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams 

Oregon’s Highway 395

My kind of journey is one in which I travel slowly and has many twists and turns and surprises around every curve in the road. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Sunshine Blogger Award

Just Words   kzackuslheureux. wordpress.com  awarded me a Sunshine Blogger Award. It’s always nice to think that I’ve brought sunshine into someone’s day, so thank you very much. I’m using my Bean’s Pat to pay back the honor on a daily basis.

Bean’s Pat: Write to Done http://tinyurl.com/89wxokt  One’s writing is something that can always be improved, and this is a great blog to help you do just that. It’s also a new way to look at your “quirky” family. 

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »