Via Negativa - Redux

It is a little bit hard to believe that a year ago, I attended Jubilee! for the first time and became aware of Via Negativa, the fall season that can, and usually does, bring dark things into our lives - like emptiness, loneliness, uncertainty, and grief.  Then it was explained as the ancient yin/yang symbol and made perfect sense to me, as I had experienced the joys of being married to LaVerne, then the deep pain of losing her to cancer.  This year Howard explains them as "unwelcome guests" who come barging in, move the furniture around and decide to stay for a while.  Not only are they unwelcome, they are unsolicited, unwanted, uninvited and just come in a takeover for while.  So how do we get rid of them?

There are woods to walk in, chapels to pray in, food and drink to gather us, and blues singers and reggae bands who invite us to sing and dance.  And perhaps the uninvited guest will leave us a gift: a reminder that  love is still real, forgiveness happens and compassion is always an option.  Thanks for these good words, Howard. 

My post-Jubilee! stroll through down town Asheville was pretty quiet last Sunday.  Then I saw this big dog as driver with a big dog as passenger and had to stop and smile!  Then as I turned to go up Patton Avenue, this is what I saw. 

After lunch at my favorite pub, Jack of the Woods, where I had a Scotch egg and a Greenman ESB beer (excellent! my new favorite!), I finished my stroll by going through the Grove Arcade.  As a kid I remember is being a dull office building.  Not anymore!  It is very beautiful and full of fine shops.

It is good to be home again, no matter what Thomas Wolfe said!

Lordy, Lordy My Youngest is 40!

Derick & a sole sandwich

What a wonder filled week this has been, beginning last Sunday with Jubilee!  After months of looking forward to being there again and seeing and hearing Howard, my heart sank when I looked at the program and saw that he wasn't there.  Then I realized there might be a lesson in that for me, so I opened my heart and mind and thoroughly enjoyed a very different service.  It was conducted by Howard's sister and niece.  They did a marvelous job! The niece did a humorous skit reminiscent of Lily Tomlin's switch board operator, except the niece was a special assistant to God.  It was hilarious, entertaining and insightful. 

After Jubilee! I met my high school buddy and his wife, David and Madeline Rickman, for lunch at Apollo Flame Bistro and we told more than a few stories.  It is always good to see them and David and I pick up where we left off last time.  Old friends are like that.  We're more like brothers than just friends and have known each other for over 45 years now.  We lost touch for a while so it is especially sweet to be reconnected again.  We're already talking about golfing at next year's high school reunion. 

On Monday I went to Blowing Rock to do a half day meeting management workshop for the Corning Cable folks from Hickory, thanks to my brother-by-choice, Hugh Huntington.  Some of them had been in my previous workshop with them 10 years ago and they had requested a refresher.  I had a ball!  It felt so good to do that work again, as I can't even remember the last time I had done one.  My rust showed a time or two, and that was okay. 

Tuesday found me on the road to Raleigh to inspect my rental house and get my tenant to sign a new lease, as I'm going to manage it myself for a while.  I found the place in pretty good shape and enjoyed talking with the tenant.  As we were finishing up, he said his roommate had left a few questions for me and that they were a little unusual in nature.  I said go ahead, I would do my best to answer them.  He began by explaining that his roommate had seen and heard some unusual things in the middle of the night.  "Has anyone died in this house?", he asked.  I said yes, my wife had passed away in the living room almost 3 years ago, and I had not experienced her presence in the house since then.  I offered to talk with his roommate if that would help, and he said he would pass that along.  I suppose I'll always think of September as Hospice month now, as that was when LaVerne called them.  I've had some sad moments lately, but they are fewer than in past years.

John & Derick at Keith Hills

On Wednesday I met Derick for breakfast then we went to Keith Hills Country Club at Campbell University in Buies Creek for a round of golf.  His long time friend John Lack was there and we had a very good time.  Derick was hitting the ball beautifully with his long, graceful swing, in spite of a hurting back and a flip-flopping sole on his golf shoe.  He parred the first and last holes and hit lots of good shots in between.  He wants to make this a tradition, which is just fine with me!  He's a fine man and a good father and I'm very proud of him! 

After shopping for a new trailer since April, I finally placed the order for a new one this week and I'm very happy about that.  I figured since it will be my primary residence for as long as I'm able, I wanted more space and comfort.  So, I ordered a 2012 Jayco Eagle, 37 feet long with 3 slide outs, queen sized bed, 32" TV, fireplace, entertainment center, outside shower, electric awning, 2 rocker/recliners and a couch.  It's a model 330 RLTS if you want to see what it looks like, or here's a link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNgiljfolTI&feature=related.  So HOWHEE is for sale and I sure will miss him.  We've traveled many miles together in a short time and he's loaded with good memories. 

Yesterday the sun finally broke through after a week of rain, so I jumped on the Burg and headed up Davidson River, then to the Blue Ride Parkway and Graveyard Fields.  The leaves have just started to change and the air is so crisp and clean smelling.  I stopped at Pisgah Inn on the way back for a brief rest, and in the gift shop, prominently displayed, was a copy of the novel "Cataloochee" written by my friend Wayne Caldwell.  It is such a good book and it's almost time for me to read it again.

Today I hope to watch the Tar Heels play football, and tomorrow it's back to Jubilee! and my weekly walks through downtown Asheville.  It sure is good to be home again!

Today's the Day!

After spending over 6 hours online back in June to get tickets, today was the day for Brewgrass 2011 in Asheville, and what a day it was!  And it reminded me of a story I heard long ago. 

A professor was conducting a class on human sexuality and decided to take a poll on how frequently the students in the class had sexual intercourse.  So he announced what he wanted to do, then asked "how many of you have intercourse every day?"  Only  a few hands went up out of the 30 or so students.  And they were all smiling.  "How about 2-3 times a week?" and a lot more hands were raised.  "And 3-5 times a month?" brought even more hands.  "And 2-5 times every 6 months?" saw just a few hands.  And finally, "How about once a year?" and a shy young man in back waved his hand excitedly and grinned from ear to ear.  "Why are you so excited about only having sex once a year?" asked the prof.  And the student replied..."Because today's the day!" he exclaimed!

And that's the way I felt when I woke up this morning knowing that today was the day for Brewgrass 2011 in Asheville!  And what a day it was!

I bought the tickets back in June after spending 6 hours online and enduring numerous server crashes.  It was truly an endurance contest.  All 3500 tickets sold out that day, so I was a little surprised to see a few people selling tickets outside the venue when I arrived. 

An on time arrival assured me of a good place next to the sound man in front of the stage, and the "outfield" was lined with over 40 beer brewers proudly serving their 120 different brews.  I enjoyed a red brew from Aviator Brewery in Fuquay Varina, where my son Derick lives and where we tipped a few last summer.  Craggie Brewery also had their Antebellum Ale, another favorite, and Asheville Brewing had the Highland Gaelic.   Toward the end of the day at Smokey Mountain Brewery I discovered Brown Trout Stout, which tasted just like Guinness, only fresher, and an ale called Thunder Road, which made me want to sing the song from the movie every time I took a sip.

The bands were as good as the beer and this one called themselves Bloodroot Barter.  They had a Cajun rhythm and were more than a little quirky, as you can see by their props and the guitarist laying on the stage.  Mountain Heart finished out the day and they were excellent. 

The people watching was unsurpassed and when I took this picture of the artichoke hat, the lady insisted that I wear it so she could take a picture.  I politely declined several times before she finally let me walk away.  As the long shadows show, by this time of day the hops were in charge and the mood was mellow for everyone.  Oh yeah!  It was a very fine day!

Tomorrow will be my first Jubilee! in 3 months, and on Monday I'll go to Blowing Rock to do a half day workshop for an old client on meeting management.  I can barely remember the last time I did such a workshop and I'm very excited and a little apprehensive about it.  It will be a good test of my hearing ability since my hearing loss, my memory and my ability to think on my feet.  It's a great challenge and I can't wait! 

September has brought a few sad moments, remembering Laverne's last month of life 3 years ago.  It's still shocking how sharp the pain can be, but thankfully it doesn't last very long now.  So much life has happened in such a short time...

Being back home again is such a pleasure that it's hard to describe.  I'm content, happy, and considering being a campground host at Lake Powhatan next year, a favorite place for many years now.  We'll see...