A sad year for trees

 The Great Basin like most of the West and Southwest is in a severe drought. Really, we've had drought conditions for more than a few years already, but this year has been brutal. Reservoirs around the area are at the lowest levels of water since they began to fill. Water allocations for residential and agricultural users has been curtailed. Wildfires in the forests of California, Oregon, and Washington have been burning for months now and smoke plumes carried by the prevailing winds have heavily blanketed Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Colorado. Seen from space the plumes have carried clear across the U. S. at times.

I can only imagine what my friend, the Oracle of the Great Basin is experiencing. 

If you recall, the Oracle is an ancient Bristlecone Pine living high on a mountain in the Great Basin National Park. I imagined what "he" would say, if I could speak the language of trees. I have interviewed the Oracle twice and would like to again, but I'm wondering if he would speak to me after being bathed in the smoke of the funeral pyres of his cousins all summer long.

Likely he is weeping. Sorrow at the loss, angry at my kind who have ignited these fires and who have also driven the planet's climate to this extreme. 

The photo above was taken on a fairly clear day. If it had been taken today the Sun would have been a dull red orb in a gray sky and the mountains would have been totally obscured.

More from the Oracle...

The Oracle: Revisited

I was sitting here at my computer this morning watching the rising sun highlight the bare branches of the yard trees when the thought crossed my mind—I haven’t spoken to the Oracle tree for a long while. Now is the last chance to visit before the deep snows of winter make it impossible to get near.

DISCLAIMER: The author makes no warranty to the verity of the Oracle’s answers. All questions were asked (and I imagine answered) in complete sobriety with no assistance from external sources or chemical aids of any kind to arrive at the results of this interview. Material presented now may not be the complete transcript of the interview, and further text may be shared in the future.

Here is an abbreviated interview or conversation, if you will, for your thoughts and consideration. I find it soothing to converse with an ancient, wise being. It puts a perspective on the immediacy of today. Here goes:

ME: Hello there, do you remember me? It’s been a while since I last bothered you.

ORACLE: Of course, I remember you! You were here just a bit ago, weren’t you?

ME: Actually, almost nine months ago. You didn’t have much snow until after January, if I remember right.

ORACLE: Yes, you’re right! But we got plenty after that. I have to say that nine months compared to 5-6 thousand years is just a blip on my consciousness.

ME: Hahaha, I guess that is true, much different for me of course. So any news you want to share with my readers? Have you heard about the impeachment hearings going on in Washington, D.C.?

ORACLE: I heard someone talk about that once, A man called “God damned” Andrew Johnson. It seemed to me that the speaker didn’t like him very much—I never quite understood why. Do you know about this?

ME: I have read about that, it is before my time. I believe it was a case of over reaching the will of Congress and willfully ignoring the laws concerning the President’s control of the military and something called the Tenure of Office Act that was designed to keep the President from blatantly appointing or dismissing his cabinet members without the advice and consent of Congress. Essentially a power struggle.and a man thinking he was above the law. There have been two actions in my lifetime about the same base issue; is the chief executive of the United States above the law? And now another impeachment in progress concerning the same issue.

ORACLE: Hmmm. In my world we have struggles like that—not for individual power but for survival. Survival of the individual translates into species survival in the end, even though an individual isn’t particularly important of itself. Anything else going on that you would like to share with me—you can see I don’t get around too far. Sometimes the wind brings news, like the aroma of a great fire somewhere over the horizon towards the setting sun. do you know about that?

ME: Yes, terribly destructive fires in California, er, West on the coast of the continent. Many trees have been destroyed as well as my species homes and lives.

ORACLE: (Alarmed) NO! Really? What has caused that to happen? Will the fire come here?

ME: It might, though this forest isn’t crowded like it is there, maybe down lower where the Junipers are thick. I have to say, I can’t answer your question very easily. There are multiple reasons, climate change-increase of carbon dioxide due to my species releasing ancient carbon from coal and petroleum in our industries at an undprecedented high rate. It has had a large impact on the earth. I hate to say it, but it seems to be the human species fault for this—I don’t know the outcome or even if life on earth will make it.

ORACLE: Somewhere, likely on the wind, I have heard it said about that. “If there is a God who made us and we did wrong before His eyes…at least we did wrong only because we were as God made us, and I do not think that He…set(s) traps”¹ and  don’t be too hard on your species, you all may reap what you sow, but, in the end, “Men go and come, but EARTH ABIDES.²

ME: I hope you abide, I’ll be back to check on you. It won’t be until spring-time though. Enjoy the cold and quiet in the mean time.

1.     Paraphrase of a quote from EARTH ABIDES, Author‎: ‎George R. Stewart, Publication date‎: ‎1949, Pages‎: ‎373, Publisher‎: ‎Random House

2.     IBID

Interview with the Oracle of the Great Basin

INTERVIEW WITH THE ORACLE

This is an interview with the Oracle of the Great Basin, a 5000 year old Bristlecone Pine tree.  The Oracle has seen a thing or two, metaphorically speaking, in his/her lifetime. I decided that I would tap that experience and take advantage of the wisdom gained in those eons. Forgive me if I take liberties with reality at times, it can be surreal talking with an ancient intellect at times. A quick disclaimer: The author makes no warranty to the verity of the Oracle’s answers. All questions were asked (and I imagine answered) in complete sobriety with no assistance from external sources or chemical aids of any kind to arrive at the results of this interview. Material presented now may not be the complete transcript of the interview, and further text may be shared in the future.

ME: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I am sure that the readers will enjoy it as much as I shall. Let’s begin. Wait…What?

ORACLE: I’m just glad that you recognized that your species could benefit from a talk with a tree. Also, if I seem to pause, just remember that my clock doesn’t “run” as fast as yours. (Tree laughter here)

ME: HaHaHa, I get it. I will make a note of that. So first question: How did you get to be the Oracle here in the Great Basin? What or who gave you that status?

ORACLE: Well, for me, it seems like it was a matter of seniority. Just outlasted my peers is all. Oh I guess there’s more to it. You know in 5000 years you witness many things and you have plenty of time to ponder on them—try to decipher what they mean or if they mean anything at all. As to who, I have to say, I’m surprised you asked that question.

ME: Why would that be?

ORACLE: On my side of this conversation, the answer to that question is a given. But not on yours?

ME: I don’t want to put words in your “mouth”.

ORACLE: Then I will say that the great almighty GOD gave me that chore to do. Is that a good enough answer? Do you understand?

ME: I thought that might be your answer, but I wasn’t sure. So you believe in GOD? That everything was created, not evolved? Help me understand your view on this.

ORACLE: GOD created everything, the whole earth and everything on it has a soul/spirit. GOD is everything, is everywhere. Of course we evolved don’t be obtuse. At GOD’s hand and direction though, on his schedule. The Earth is too old for that not to have been the case. It is too ordered as you can see all around you. How could this have all been due to random chance?

ME: So all of your peers believe in GOD? Believe that GOD directs everything? What about bad things? Does GOD direct them too?

ORACLE: Yes, everything you call nature believes, well, know about GOD. We are in harmony, GOD and us. Why do you worry about bad things or other things that you can’t control? After all, what can we do as trees when a fire overtakes us? We can’t even run away, we are fixed in place. So why worry? If your species decides to lop off a branch or cut one of us completely down, can we take revenge? If GOD doesn’t prevent bad things does that mean that He directs them? Don’t be silly! Doesn’t your species believe in GOD?

ME: Not all of us, maybe not even a majority of us, we’ve looked and can’t seem to ‘see’ GOD. And the ones that do believe can’t agree who or what GOD is. We have the option to run away or take revenge as a species, I guess that is why we worry about bad things, and we worry that we should be able to do something about them. And harmony--isn’t that just a type of music? Just a joke here, don’t answer that question. So what is your take on climate change then? Man caused or just another natural change that has happened millions of times over the eons of time?

ORACLE: That is sad! I can’t imagine a life of worry like what you are describing. Not knowing whom you are, where you came from, where you are going. Can’t imagine that. I see why you would want to joke at a time like this, but harmony is hardly a joke. Let me tell you a story about climate change and then we can talk some more about it later, is that Okay?

ME: Yes, go ahead.

ORACLE: My great grand parents, on all sides, witnessed the rise and fall of the great lake that your species calls Bonneville over a period of time that was caused by climate change and geological change that affected the local climate. Sometimes it was warmer and wetter, warmer and drier, cold and wet, cold and dry. The earth weathered it all. Most changes occurred over long periods of time. Never on a schedule like is happening now unless a volcano erupted and filled the air with ash and smoke or a meteor struck us and caused the same phenomena. Your species is Hell-bent on what? Sucking the last drop of petroleum from the ground? Fouling the air with the smoke of all that burning petroleum? Polluting all of the fresh water on earth? Do you think you’ll be able to desalinate enough for your species to survive? For mine? The climate is going to warm or cool on it’s own schedule, not much any of us can do about it Hell, I have already told you that we can’t even run away and the only revenge that you’ll see from us is there will be more carbon dioxide to breathe since we and most other trees won’t be around to convert it to oxygen. I have to say here that your progeny, if there are any will curse you and the memory of you for ages to come.

ME: But what can we do? There’s just too many of us and we all have different ideas and motivations. And the politics of it are just too complicated to solve anything.

ORACLE: Ah, politics! Another subject for another day. I think I will ponder your question for a while; I’ll get back to you on that.

ME: Great, I will wait.

ORACLE: You better go home for a day or two; it gets cold here at night. We are 10,000+ feet in altitude, you know. Goodbye for now.

A MEMORY TO BE SHARED

THE BARBERSHOP

I’m a not-so-old guy who grew up in the 50’s and 60’s (20^th century) and have seen a thing or two (to borrow a phrase from a TV ad) between then and now. I am not going into the big changes or “the good old days”. I just want to talk about haircuts. I don’t remember my first time getting the hair out of my eyes, nor do I remember much about it before I was 5 or 6. Then, Mom’s boyfriend’s friend convinced her to let him cut my red locks into a manly flat top. For a red head, a flat top is the worst haircut there is. It allows the sun to penetrate to the skin of one’s pate and the tender tips of your ears. A ball cap covers your noggin, but leaves your ears exposed. Scabby, sun-burnt ears, are not a fun summer in my mind. I had a flat-top haircut until the British invasion (The Beatles) on The Ed Sullivan Show. Then like a regular teen lemming, I pursued long hair to be like them. I wasn’t always successful and the last flat-top haircut I received was in the summer of my fifteenth year when I went to work on a dude ranch in Wyoming (in the thin air of 8000 ft elevation) and despite the broad brimmed cowboy hat Dad purchased for me, my ears were burnt to a crisp within three days.

The reason I am telling you this is that I usually didn’t go to a barber shop to get sheared, but to my Dad’s buddies kitchen or garage (depending on the air temperature) for my regular trim. When not able to get one there Dad took me to the local (DPG) barber whose specialty was a buzzed head for soldiers on the Army base where we lived. After the Brits made their inroads on the Barbering business here in the USA, the local guy did his best to modify his specialty into a “Beatle cut”. Not always successfully, I might add. But his barbershop was like every other in America, Old men with a tufty, silvery fringe, middle-aged middle managers with their “Mad Man” regular hair cuts, soldiers waiting for the buzz of close clippers, and teens/kids for whatever Dad said we could have. All waiting their turn in The Chair, swiveling, reclining, chrome plated, leather or vinyl upholstery, unforgettable. There was an aroma of light oil on warm clipper blades, stale tobacco, buttery shaving cream, and the ever-present odor of Eau de Toilette (toilet water in common speech and lore). There are more memories in a barbershop to be spoken of later.

Then, it all collapsed, the Brits had toppled a whole industry and we men were relegated to the local Hair Salon with our moms, wives, sisters and little girls to wait our turn reading Cosmo, Elle, and Teen magazines, sitting in dismay among the gossip about nursing, pregnancies, and lousy boyfriends/husbands instead of hunting, fishing, and sports stories. Hanging our heads while trying not to inhale the sour smell of Perm solutions, dyes, and over heated, air-blown up do’s. After all, John Travolta traded in the barbershop for a salon in a “Disco Fever” up there on the big screen. For me, that continued pretty much regularly/infrequently until last year when I traded that for some start-up barbering establishments locally. But I still had to explain what a ‘regular’ haircut was to barbers who were churning out the “Paul Bunyon” look to hipsters.

Six months ago, I stopped into a new shop in town called ‘Black Cat Barbering Co.’ taking a chance that this would be the place. It was, The Chair was there, aroma of light oil on warm clipper blades, even the toilet water. The first time in there, Kevin and I talked about books, and music (Johnny Cash, Kris, Waylon, The Beatles, Maroon 5, Three Doors Down, you get the drift) and barbering as a cultural experience that every guy should have. If you’re a guy that hasn’t had the back of your neck prepped with a hot, wet towel and the buttery warm shaving cream to be shaved with a straight razor, and toilet water splashed over the newly shaved skin, then, well, you need to do it at least once. When the barber is done with all that he turns you to face the mirror and asks if everything is ok, and you nod yes, then he  brushes any loose hairs onto the cape that protects your clothes and with a bit of drama, he flourishes that cape, shaking the cut hair onto the floor. You get up, reach for your wallet and go to the counter and pay, adding a tip, the amount depends on your style and satisfaction.

I had forgotten what a treat a real haircut at the barbershop was until stopping into the Black Cat Barbering Co. Today, Fernando and I talked about growing herbs and vegetables, Bonsai trees and food.  Chili Rellenos, squash blossom quesadillas, The Red Iguana, the Blue Iguana and some joint in West Valley that has the best ramen. I came out of there with a haircut like my middle grandson, short on the sides, and longish, floppy on top. Relax, it’s a regular haircut, not a hipster ‘do’ like his.

I just have to leave you with this: the barbershop where you can smell the odors of male grooming, talk about guy stuff, read Outdoor Life, have your hair cut not styled, and just be you, no posing necessary.  Try it, I bet you’ll like it.

Passion can eat you up

 

Passion is a funny thing, it can inspire you or it can eat you up. When we have a thought or idea that strikes our fancy, we tend to focus on it and maybe focus to the point of obsession. Why do we do that? 
I think it is because our minds are not challenged enough in our day-to-day lives/survival to objectively view the world around us. In this current political arena, both sides of the fence claim to speak the facts or truth, when obviously in most cases or issues, there is no hard right and wrong answer. There are hard boundaries however. 
In a more primitive world, politics had a direct impact on individuals and families. Oppose the tribal chief, you are dead or exiled with your whole family. If you supported the right guy (the strongest, or the smartest) then you and your family might flourish. In today’s world, politics are less direct and more oblique. 
Obviously, in this country at least, voting for the most popular or least popular isn’t gonna get you dead or exiled. At some point it may affect your well-being or status, but some of that is on the individual for the subsequent choices and actions. And long term consequences of your politics can & do impact you and yours (i.e. tariffs on agricultural products impacting the same demographic that voted for the prez). 
In short, going back to passion; why do we care so much? Is it a pride thing? “I have an idea, it’s mine and no one can make me change my mind!” Could it be the ‘blue dress/gold dress’ brouhaha? Are we really wired that much different that we see the same thing(s) as something totally opposite? Our nervous systems are virtually the same, our blood is somewhat interchangeable, another person can use my spare kidney and other parts of my body, but they can’t share my thoughts, ideas, beliefs, courage, cowardice, pleasures or pain…those are mine. 

And yours are yours. 

"I've done my damnedest to stir the pot today...I could've done better"

Mike

They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind...

Hosea 8:7 

Life is different except when it is the same

IF YOU HAVE READ THE PREVIOUS POSTS, THEN...

As I am working on rebranding this blog and the other one that I haphazardly post to, I read the last post on this site. Isn't it something that nothing has changed for the better since I first wrote it. Except that after a tumultuous year (2017) both in my private life and the public place, I have somewhat reformed my FB habits. I am much more careful about the amount of snark that I reply to on other folks' political quips.

I have found that the application of law and order, right and wrong, morality/immorality is highly dependent on peoples political/religious affiliation, ethnic sensitivity, or xenophobic behavior. Simply said, if you are a white republican (democrats are guilty too) then you could shoot someone on the street (5th Ave [sic]) and still have their support. Another example is, if you stage an armed revolt over grazing rights, then you are a patriot freedom fighter, but if you march for equal protection under the law and call for #blacklivesmatter too, then you should be jailed or shot down (ala Ted Nugent). Nice huh? "What a fine mess we have here, Stan!" "Ooooh, Ollie..."

The ruling class, worldwide, has convinced us poor working stiffs that what is good for them is good for the world, no matter what it does to us or the poor. A recent meme that compared equality with slavery has finally cleared up the problem or the question for me. That is, what do words mean? Are they meaningless (having so many conflicting meanings as to render them only as page art) or do they really depict what the writer intended? 

Is equality just a flowery calligraphy exhibit in our founding documents, our laws? Or is it a curse for us to only use for our own purposes, an ideal to never achieve in our wildest aspirations? 

The love of money is the root of all evil. That evil drives us to achieve what we will never achieve. It is that love that the ruling class uses to enslave us at their wage labor by convincing us that inequality is not slavery, that we too can become like them if only we will keep our nose to their grindstone. I'm afraid my nose has been ground off. I will never be like them (Thank my Lord and Savior for that). I will shed real tears when I see my peers trying to run that race on a spinning wheel just like a hamster in a cage. 

If you watch the hands and listen to the blather, instead of paying attention to the walnut shells, you'll never find the pea. And then the game is lost.

Repost, Reposte', Riposte'

  Interestingly enough, I just pulled this up with the intention of posting something about the current state of affairs in the good ol' USA and what did I find? A rant, precursor if I may, of what we are experiencing right now.  Anyway, if you haven't read the piece below, go for it, you might agree or disagree. 

But stay tuned for my next post.  MDL 3Feb2017

 

I posted this nearly two years ago, and although I have a bit more control of my temper the premise is the same. The memes are more numerous than ever, positing, poisoning, mean insulting memes. The events of this week lends themselves to full on madness from some quarters, great sadness from others, and reasoned/unreasoned fear from yet others. And to top it all off, our nation is in the middle of a presidential election that will prove to be the worst campaign season, including the 1968 death of Bobby Kennedy, of my life. I hope it isn't as disastrous as that one. Read, rage, and comment if you will. It seems that my voice will be heard once again. New material to come.

Today’s Debate----Tomorrow’s Fight

I think I called some one a nincompoop the other day. Of course it was from the safety of my desk chair and my faceless profile picture. No worries about the object of my scorn reaching through my computer screen and breaking my nose. Maybe next time I can call him an F_ _ _in’ idiot (and no I don’t mean any of the ‘F’ euphemisms). How un-civil do I have to be before I have crossed that “damned rude SOB” barrier? Well, I am guessing not that far.

When browsing through Facebook posts, Tweets, email, God blackmail (forward this a zillion times in 10 minutes or burn in hell), I find myself building up a head of steam that only has a short safety valve on it. When I don’t get control, it blows and Heaven help anyone or thing in the way. I cuss at the TV, I swear at the computer. I bash the table with my fist (I promised I wouldn’t crush the keyboard ever again), and have been known to kick a wall or slam a door. Or, lately I have taken to writing scathing remarks in response to something that I don’t agree with. Sometimes I delete them before pushing the send button, sometimes not. My fingers will fly over the keyboard and when I look up and see the missed keystrokes and mis-spelled words, it just fuels the flames of indignation.

Another bad habit I have acquired, tit-for-tat meme posting. I will search for what seems hours to find that perfect rebuttal meme or article to slam down as proof that I am right. I have yet to see an article or meme that has converted the sadly misinformed FB poster. For every pro article I can find, there are dozens of negative ones. Pro-petroleum (jobs, healthy car idling, what smog?) to the Negative on that Black Gold crowd (climate change, stinky water, can’t see the bunnies for all that haze)…are good examples of that.

I know that there are myriad definitions of what constitutes a good “Christian” but can’t we all agree that we can be civil without bringing faith into the equation? Faith provokes more conflict rather than mutual agreement. My faith is better than your…just what do you call yourselves these days? I hope you catch the sarcasm there. I am trying to remember we are each human beings and deserve respect for our ideas and opinions even if we don't agree with each other. These days it is hard to find a forum where you can discuss your opinions and bounce your ideas off someone who isn’t invested in our ego. That’s what makes FB and the Twitterverse and email lists so important. Just being able to provide feedback on a news article (TV or print) is a wonder and seeing the different responses (absent the rude SOB’s) is wonderful.  BTW what do you think of that woman who bought all of the T-shirts that she thought pornographic from a mall store? (Explain that to your spouse, “Honey, I spent this week’s paycheck buying all of the beer at the pub down the street so that little Joey wouldn’t be tempted. Oh and by the way, I couldn’t bear the thought of wasting all of that money so I had to drink it all before I came home.)

Don’t get the idea that I am saying that you or I have to lose our passion for the causes we feel strongly for. I hope that we can all continue to respond to the issues of today with that passion and our opinions no matter how messed up others think they are. Just remember, if you want the privilege of spouting off about (name a topic) then you have to recognize my right to do the same. Nobody made me the King of the World.

And like previous posts this is the Answer from the Great Basin, feel free to express (within the conditions of my blog) the Answer from wherever you are.