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Observations from the 3rd floor IV

For the first time, I went out wearing a mask and it’s becoming very common here in the U.S.  I think it’s much more common in most of the rest of the world and who would’ve thought that the Chinese would have been fashion trendsetters when they started wearing them years ago after another Corona Virus was circulating there.  I even saw a Pilgrim in Spain wearing one in 2017.  I guess it’s the new normal.

I’m hopeful that there may be some seasonality to CoVid-19.  While Italy and Spain may have reached the top of the bell curve naturally, here in the U.S. the peak seems to be coming a bit sooner than I’d seen a week to ten days ago.  Here in Dallas the projected peak is a couple days sooner than even a week ago.  Now this may be totally wrong, or it’s skewed by the lack of testing or, maybe, as it’s beginning to warm up, maybe that’s contributing to the change.  For now, though, we can’t let up. Some interesting links if you like numbers or want to know how much Google spies on you: http://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america (covers most countries and https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/

I was reading on the Casa Ivar blog and someone posted some pictures from a book written in the mid-50’s called The Great Pilgrimage of the Middle Ages by Vera and Helmutt Hell.  I think it’s long out of print, but I find it fascinating.  There are approximately 170 photos with detailed information about most.  As I look at these images, I’m instantly transported back in time.  Then, I remember how they appeared when I first saw them.

I liked the book so much; I found a retired library copy printed in English on Amazon.  It was less than $6 so, I bought it.  I suggest that if you liked your Camino or just love history, you try to find one to look at.  It also offers a glimpse of Franco’s Spain in the early to mid-50’s.  It could easily have been 50 years earlier.

A very warm and humid day here in Dallas.  I hope we get to enjoy spring before we finally have to stumble out into the dog days of summer.

Be safe, stay healthy.

A Two Buck Chuck Day

Today is definitely a Two Buck Chuck (TBC) kind of day.  For those of you who have no idea what Two Buck Chuck is, it is the cheap red wine, a tinto, of Spain but not as good.  It’s better in volume.  TBC comes from a store that started in California called Trader Joe’s, now owned by Aldi’s I think. They started out selling good products, often organic before it was a “thing”, cheap.  Wine was one of them.

TBC was from The Charles (Chuck) Shaw winery and it originally sold for $1.99.  Rounded up, that was $2.00 or two bucks and it all became known as Two Buck Chuck (now it’s $3 but who’s counting?).  In the US, we classify our wines by the type of grape so there’s chardonnay, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and a pinot noir.  All known as Two Buck Chuck.

So, today is a TBC day.  Besides the ongoing CoVid-19 drama with the resulting near lock-down, yes, even Texas finally started getting more stringent, it’s also raining, as if it really makes a difference except psychologically.  Right now, I can use some help in this area, lots of stress.

On top of that, my grandchildren are acting just like 2 & 4 year old’s that don’t get to play outside enough.  I didn’t know that a 2-year-old could screech at such a high pitch…I do now.

On the bright side, we had a virtual happy hour with Leighton & Renee last night, we’re getting quite good at it (the virtual part, already good at the Happy Hour part).  It’s not the same but, it’s better than no interaction at all so, we look for new and creative outlets.  If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to give it a shot.

I wrote on the Casa Ivar blog about our Virtual Global Camino Reunion, I think Ivar ripped me off (just kidding) as he is now hosting them on a regular basis.  The first was yesterday and another is planned next week.  Glad people are breaking out of their isolation.

As it’s not 5:00 PM/17:00, no TBC for me…yet.  I hope everyone is doing well, as well as we can anyway.  One step at a time and one foot in front of the last.  This whole thing really started with my revelation that there’s always another hill.

Observations from the 3rd floor (II)

For the U.S. and Texas particularly, we’re now entering the 3rd week of enforced isolation.  We’re not experiencing the severe lockdown which for many of my European brothers and sisters is their new norm.

We can go outside but the parks are closed, people are ignoring that edict though.  Most food stores are open, and any shortages are self-inflicted, people buying dozens of rolls of toilet paper is crazy.  Some restaurants are trying to stay open by making meals for pick up and delivery.  I don’t know how sustainable that is for a small business.

Finally, the rules are more or less uniform in Texas, the Governor, not wanting to upset his wealthy Republican backers in Collin County didn’t want to mandate closings from Austin, he finally relented because locking down Dallas County while Collin and Denton counties (10 minutes north) were not made no sense.  We still have no leadership in Washington D.C., we’re our own worst enemy.

As I look out, there’s very little traffic, there’s no place to go.  Business is grinding to a halt and if this lockdown continues, I expect the economic impact for the average American to be significant and long lasting.

We still have no idea how many people are infected as we still don’t have tests available except for the most grievously ill.  Trump is talking about drugs which were designed for malaria as a potential treatment even though they’ve never really been tested for efficacy against this virus.  But then, not long ago, he said this (pandemic) will pass like a miracle.  The man is intellectually, morally and socially deficient.

I don’t know anyone who’s been diagnosed as positive yet but, I know a couple on mandatory isolation because of potential exposure, best of luck to you my friends.

On the bright side, we had a virtual birthday for my friend Leighton.  We set up a Zoom meeting, we played Evil Minds, chatted and had a few beverages.  It worked pretty well, and we hung out for 2.5 hours.  You should try it.

I heard from my friend Chris that her trip to Spain is now officially cancelled.  She was looking forward to taking another group of students to walk the Camino.  Maybe next year.

For anyone who’s reading this, I hope you don’t feel alone.  It’s very trying times but we’re all in this together even though it may not feel like it sometimes.  I’m reminded of a saying which is often mis-attributed to Winston Churchill that appeared in England during WWII, “keep calm and carry on”.  So, that’s what I shall do.

Coming soon, the first global virtual Camino reunion, stay tuned.

Catching Up

Between an aching knee, driving rain, arriving in Santiago and hustling out to Leon, I’ve been a little derelict in my blogging.

Betanzos to Bruma started off with both a test of will and my knee. Leaving the hotel, the light mist became a heavier rain as I walked towards Precedo with its one Albergue and Bar, the Meson-Museo. The rain turned torrential for at least an hour before my arrival. I was so soaked that I found a covered area near the Albergue to change my soaked socks, I sure miss my rain pants which I left in my pack, I won’t do that again.

Coffee and a warm up lifted my spirits allowing me to venture back into the dissipating rain. I once again ran into Elke from Hamburg, the only Pilgrim I’ve had regular contact with, this aspect of the Inglés is a disappointment.

After the first climb out of Betanzos, it leveled for a while and the weather held for the rest of the day as the longer climb began up to Bruma and the path reverted to a maintained gravel track.

While not steep, the Way was steadily inclined through the forest and chicken farms. I never saw another soul on this 2.5 hour stretch.

At As Traveses, I went into the Bar and I finally met some other pilgrims, Lee from Prince Edward Island and I struck up a lively conversation about her Inglés beginning in Ireland. Lee and I walked together as far as the Municipal where I stopped and she carried on. From there, a White Mercedes (really) whisked me to the Hotel Canaima in Meson do Vento.

Apparently the Canaima is THE place to see and be seen in Meson do Vento, dinner, drinks, conversation and a private room all for 36€. It was nice to finally be amongst Pilgrims again.

The early morning of the 5th started out with a pouring rain, my old friend, Santiago clearly wanted me to stay for the Pilgrims breakfast which I’d not planned to because it was served at 0700, I was usually well on my way by then.

Having breakfast, the rain suddenly subsided and I took the opportunity to head off for Sigüiero, 27k down the Camino.

For the last time, I crossed paths with Elke from Hamburg. We never spent a lot of time together but she was a familiar face each morning.

Walking along, I met Grace from Canada, Prince Edward Island to be exact. Grace had started walking with Lee whom I’d met the day before. As it happened, we were both staying at the Albergue Miras in Sigüiero so, we whiled away the hours as we walked the Way.

Showers came in waves most of the way to our Albergue. Rain gear on, no rain. The minute you took it off, mist or a shower or a down pour. No matter what you did, it was the wrong choice.

Arriving in town, my second stop was the Farmacia for some 600mg Ibuprofen, my right knee was shredded, la droga del Camino helped.

The Miras was very nice and their for real restaurant below was very good, I introduced Grace to Pulpo Galiego and rare steak, she admitted that she enjoyed both.

Finishing dinner, I headed back to my bed, since I’d left, I’d been joined by 3 guys from The Canary Islands who’d only just arrived.

Aside from the trashed knee, it was a good but very wet day. One more to go to Santiago.

Not all those who wander are lost

The title, a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien I think accurately describes my search since returning from the Camino almost two years ago, I’ve been pondering the concept of spirituality and if there’s a place for it or, something like it, in my life.

I feel that I developed or maybe accepted or realized a sense of something while walking my 500 miles across Spain.  I know that it was not a religious conversion as I did not and do not feel any form of greater power, no God.  But there’s something now that was not here before that trek, apparently, it’s obvious as friends and even my wife has commented on it.

As I wander, friends have guided me, some from their perspective driven by religiosity but not forcing a view or their faith upon me.  Others have talked to me about a more universal form of spirituality.  Another has talked to me about the very personal aspect of spirituality.

A friend sent me a quote from the Dalai Lama which resonated with me: “Love and compassion are the universal religion.  You don’t need churches or temples to practice it.  You don need to have religion or faith.  It’s sufficient if you just try to be a human being with a warm heart”.  To that, I’d have to say amen Brother.

In my research, maybe my quest for understanding, I came across several definitions of spirituality and most were very similar, I think this one sums up my current feeling about it:

“the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”.

Even if I have not always been able to show it, I believe that I’ve always been a person who was concerned about others even in a world where it  appears that so many don’t care about anything or anyone if it does not benefit them personally.  To me, that’s a sad state.  I think and I hope that I displayed this along the Camino and that this may be catalyst for my quest.

As I’ve searched and read pieces on spirituality, I found one from the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota, https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-spirituality.  I had never really connected spirituality and healing.  What I found most appealing are the concepts of Mindfulness, Meaning, Connection and Safety.  At one time or another, all of these have passed through my mind as I pondered my feelings about spirituality.

Currently, I’m very focused on Mindfulness and Connection, aspects that I experienced first hand every day while on my pilgrimage.  The concept of mindfulness is something that I’ve been aware of almost all my life and I acquired it when I learned to meditate 45 years ago while in High School.  Surprising to some, I’ve quietly and privately continued this practice to this day.

Connection is another aspect which I experienced everyday while walking.  The friends you came with or that you met there.  You saw them everyday or, only once but, they managed to become your family, people you were concerned about and missed.  This phenomenon is apparently quite common as it’s talked about by pilgrims all the time and discussed regularly on Blogs dedicated to the Camino.

My Way opened my eyes to so much more of the world.  I’ve been places, experienced things and met people but, it was always gone rather quickly.  The Camino experience and living in the moment, being connected to these people made me feel very safe, very comfortable.  And, for those 35 days, I felt there was a meaning, even if I don’t to this day understand exactly what it is or was.

I now have friends from around the world that I miss seeing, we stay in touch via email or Skype as we can.  My friend Katja is like one of my oldest friends now and I can’t imagine not hearing about her life, travels, job woes and her budding writing project.

I think of my friend Alex and his personal growth.  I worry about Henry from Puerto Rico who’s home town of San Juan was decimated by a hurricane shortly after he returned home from his Camino.

Last year, Susan and I travelled to Ireland to visit Bernie and Nigel a wonderful gift. A side benefit was meeting our actual neighbors, G and Renzo in Dublin where G’s from and her family still lives there.  Meeting her sisters and their family created as stronger connection to our neighbors and friends.

I’ve always had a large group of friends but suddenly I value my connection to them even more, it offers me a safe place when it’s difficult.  And certainly, I have a new and more complex need for my family, children and wife Susan.

So, am I spiritual?  By some definitions, no.  By others, yes.  But other’s definitions don’t concern me.  By my definition, I would have to say yes.  But I don’t know why or how I’ve become this way, maybe I always was but not able to see it or, I rejected it because I was told that spirituality required faith in a God.

For whatever reason, this is where I am at this moment in my life.  I look forward to my return to the Camino, this time the shorter English Way and the opportunity to focus on only that moment, that place and those people.  When I return home, I will strive to do the same.  Wherever I am, I hope to continue my spiritual journey, wherever it takes me.

More to come…

Every Step Is Worth It!

For me, one of the joys of the Camino de Santiago is the preparation for that walk.  I learned in 2016/17 that the walking, hiking and comradery which was part of both was almost as important as the Way itself.

The Crew

This year, as we did in the past, many of us are making regular walks just to get our aging bodies in shape for the daily grind of walking the 18-20 miles that we’ll do each day.

Yesterday, we walked the White Rock Creek Trail a round trip of almost 7 miles, it was flat an easy for the most part but, it was a good start and a great chance to talk with friends.  While I woke up a bit sore this morning, it felt good in a way, I earned those aches.

WRC Trail on a cold morning.

Five months and counting…

Temporary Perfection?

We had a gathering last night of friends.  Old friends, new friends, Camino friends and neighborhood friends.  The common denominator was that we were all friends.

A couple friends that were not here, played their part in this gathering as well.  Bernie and Nigel were here through Nigel’s gift to Rick, his book Handed Down.  And our friend Katja was here in her video presentation of Leberknodel 2.0.  Katja, when you read this, it was a big hit, thank you!

I described this party to a friend as a Venn Diagram of the perfect gathering.  Perfect in the sense that all the right people, under the correct circumstances came together at the right moment.

I’d been trying to connect 2 friends, Renee and ‘G’, our neighbor who we saw while we were in Dublin.  I figured, they had a lot in common and they’d make good company.

I’ve been trying to get Kathy and Tim in to meet some of our group of friends, once again, I thought it would be a good mixture.

Steve and Chris, a.k.a., The Professors were in town and they got to meet some of the locals as well, they’re always a good addition and, I got to hear about their latest Camino adventures.

Sarah and Madison were able to make it, I know how hard it can be to get to Dallas from both San Antonio and College Station, I’m glad they could make it, I don’t get to see them enough.

These two in particular I was happy to see because of something that I told them last year that was correct but, incomplete.  I told them that they were lucky to have this group around them.  I didn’t mean that they were lucky to be around us but, they were lucky to be accepted (and to accept) as peers because, at their age I never really had the opportunity to be around a group of older people who accepted me as a peer.

What I later discovered was that it was not them that was lucky, it was me.  Their intelligence, outlook, sense of humor and curious nature reminded me that I too still have those skills and abilities and that it’s okay to see the world from a different place, to question and to challenge the norms and expectations.  I told them that last night and I wanted to tell anyone who reads this, reach out and embrace anyone and everyone, sometimes you have to take the first step and make that effort.  Thank’s to both of them!

Thanks to my friends in Germany, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.  We missed you all.  I’m a very lucky man.  We’re a lucky group to have such a diverse, interesting and caring friends.

The diagram does not define the best group or mix of friends.  It does though represent the best group of friends in this moment.  The spheres are constantly moving and the sweet spot is always changing, as it should.  Next time, it may be a different collection with the same results, temporary perfection.  Huh, temporary perfection, sort of contradictory because that would mean that there is no, true, perfection.  I would agree with that, life is dynamic and it should be that way.

There’s a lesson here I see.  Don’t get caught thinking that everything is perfect (good or bad) because it will change.  How we handle that change really defines us (me).  That truly is a lesson that I learned on the Camino.

Friends are, the greatest gift in the world!