I recently had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon.  The grand, grand, grand Canyon.  The southern rim, to be exact.  It was knock-your-pink-socks-off amazing.

We took a small guided tour…. which in many ways… was a great thing.  It wasn’t like the 3-hour tour that Ginger, Mary Ann, and the Professor took.  No.

You see….  We learned A LOT about that area of Arizona, and the formation of rocks, and such…. in a very short time.

One such piece of information was about the age of the earth.  Scientists agree it is celebrating none other than the impressive 4.5 Billion Year Old Birthday.

Although… my friends…. get this. We here in the U.S. have a Senator in Georgia who sticks-to-his-guns that the earth is just 9,000 years old.  Hear ye.  Hear ye.  His minor in college must have been Fiction Writing… because it sure wasn’t Geology.

No.  You can SEE the age of the earth in the Grand Canyon.  Those sorts of formations don’t come by way of digging… I’ll tell you that much right now.

But why did I start all of this?

Oh.  I meant to write about the Seven Wonders of the World…. but boy, oh boy… did I ever get off track.  Okay.  What would you say are the Seven Wonders of the World?

Dang it.  Don’t Google it.  Write them down.  On our little tour… Little Mr. Joe-Joe, our Tour Guide told us that the Grand Canyon was one of The Seven Wonders of the World.

Well…..  I Googled it tonight  (I am allowed to Google it…. do as I say…. not as I do).   And he was sort of right, and sort of wrong.

As it turns out… there are many, many, “Seven Wonders of the World.”  It just depends on which variety you are referring to.  In reality, we have more like 49, or 56 Wonders of the World.

Here are a few of the lists.

Ancient Wonders of the World.

Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Middle Ages came up with their own list:

Stonehenge
Colosseum
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
Great Wall of China
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
Hagia Sophia
Leaning Tower of Pisa

And then in 2001, a new list was generated, once again.

Great Wall of China     Since 7th century BC     China
Petra     c.100 BCE     Jordan
Christ the Redeemer     Opened October 12, 1931     Brazil
Machu Picchu     c.1450 CE     Peru
Chichen Itza     c.600 CE     Mexico
Colosseum     Completed 80 CE     Italy
Taj Mahal     Completed c.1648 CE     India
Great Pyramid of Giza (Honorary Candidate)     Completed c.2560 BCE     Egypt

Yet….. the Grand Canyon is…. freakishly absent.

I had to look up the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, which has been compiled by a few modern sources… one of which is CNN.  The agreed upon list….

Grand Canyon
Great Barrier Reef
Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
Mount Everest
Aurora  Borealis
Parícutin Volcano
Victoria Falls

I was beginning to wonder about that Wonder.  But.  There it IS… finally.  That big old wholly rocky hole in the ground!

I have my own Seven Wonders of the World List.  And what is it?  Well…..  I honestly have to say… it depends on the day…. and what I see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.  It depends on the day.  And…. my sense of wonder.

“The few wonders of the world only exist while there are those with the sight to see them.” – Charles De Lint

“Wonder is the beginning of Wisdom.”  – Greek Proverb

This is a bird.

A bird on a branch.

Well…. no.   I say now, this is a fake bird on a fake branch.

The fact of the matter is… you may say that is a bird.  But no…. NO… not really.  Not while you were bird watching… no.

You see, while YOU were bird watching, you turned this bird into a meal for a whole bunch of non-working lazy cats.

Excuse me.  If I may just make my point here…. if you will…

If I were bird watching, I would certainly take this no good bird… and change it… over night…. in to a golden eagle.  A golden eagle for EVERYONE.  Everywhere.

Ahhh…. but YOU just said this was a pair of tweezers… in a feather duster.  Now which is it?

Wait just a minute.  Not so fast.  I am saying this is a good source of income for seed maker and suppliers.  In Ohio.  So while I say this is a bird on a branch, it will also create seed-making-jobs.  But not in China.

And that.  THAT…… …. ……

is……

Politics.

This is a Grand Canyon Rock Squirrel.

They are not to be confused with the Pika, or the Kaibab Squirrel.  Nope.

Nor are they to be confused with the Waltz Squirrel, the Punk Squirrel, the Rapper Squirrel, or the Polka Squirrel.

These are the Rock Squirrels of the Grand Canyons.

Little Rockers.

They only play songs by The Rolling Stones.  Well…. and Stone Temple Pilots.    Yeah.  And sometimes Sly and the Family Stone.  Oh.  And maybe… Earth, Wind and Fire.

But that’s it.

Yep.  They sure do like to rock.  And…. they’re nuts.

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.  – Aldous Huxley”

I am so lucky… so fortunate…. to have a home.  My home is more than a house.  It is a life.  It is where I belong.  My home means being with the ones I love.  It is the safest place for me to be me.

And once again, I am blessed, that I HAVE ones to love.  Those who love me, in spite of myself.  They come in the shape of life partner, and family, and friends…. and dogs.

I read a story tonight.  A very interesting, and tremendously sad account.  It was about a woman named Clara Dickey.  Clara was born on June 4th, in 1880.  The daughter of a fine boat captain, named Isaac.  Her mother was Hattie Mudgett.  Seriously.  Hattie Mudgett.  On that day in June, Isaac docked his ship in Hong Kong.  Clara was born as the ship bobbed up and down, while docked in that bay.

The family moved to New York City…. eventually.  Clara took to the limelight of the Big Apple, and became a world-renowned stage actress.  Big Cheese.  The star of Madame Butterfly, and many others. During that time… she married… and divorced… rather quickly.  No children.  Yet her career thrived on the stage.

Eventually, she headed west to Hollywood.  She started working a wide range of small roles for the silver screen.  Bit parts.  She tallied probably 150 to 200 minor or supporting roles.  She never landed a single lead at any of the major Hollywood studios.

By 1969, she retired from acting.  Her health began to fail miserably.  She was going blind and began suffering from severe arthritis. On April 15, 1962, she returned home from Palm Sunday services at her church…. and she then began rearranging her room.

Clara took great care in placing her favorite photos and memorabilia in prominent places. She laid out her resume and a collection of press clippings from her lengthy career. She put on an elegant royal blue dressing gown.

Clara then took a lethal overdose of sleeping pills.

She went over to the couch…..covered up snugly in a gold blanket  and tied a plastic bag over her head.

She left the following note: “I am now about to make the great adventure. I cannot endure this agonizing pain any longer. It is all over my body. Neither can I face the impending blindness. I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

Her landlady, Helen Mason, found her body Sunday morning.

We all know her better as…. Auntie Em, from the Wizard of Oz.  (Clara Blandick was her stage and screen name.)

Though the Auntie Em character proved memorable to audiences, few fans knew Blandick’s name. She is not billed in the opening credits and is listed last in the movie’s closing credits.

Survived by one niece.

Isn’t that something?  Auntie Em…. the beacon…  the matriarch…. the “mother” of “no place like home”  committed suicide…. lonely and alone… and probably afraid.  It appears she didn’t have much of a home.

This made me so sad… and so grateful at the same time.  I have a home.  And…. there is NO PLACE LIKE IT.  Anywhere.

Yes.  I always love to be home.

And tonight, I think about Clara Dickey Blandick… and hope that somehow…  someway…. she has found her own ruby slippers.  I hope that she has found her home.  Where her pain, and worries, and troubles…… could melt like lemon drops.

Sometimes, in life, you meet those people who are the bright and shining lights.  The stars.  The ones who shine, and the ones who everyone sees.  They can be illuminators, or beacons, or just bright spots.  And how great is that?

But, without the light pole, or post, or stand…. that light would just fall to the ground.  Yes.  Sometimes we meet the light posts… and they too are as sturdy and as stalwart as can be.  They offer support, and fortitude, and stability.  And how great is that?

Both are strong. But in different ways.  And one isn’t much good without the other.

The light and the post.  Which one are you?  Which one would you rather be?

“A person shows their true self by how much they need other people.”
–Anonymous

These two images were essentially in sight of each other.  Which brings me to this:

Today, I heard a really good story.    So now, if I may…. share it here.

=.=.=.=.=..=.=..=..=.=.=.=.=…=.=.=

There was a huge and ancient city in the middle of the desert.  A traveler approached that city walls, and asked the man sitting by the gate, “What is it like here?”

The gatekeeper responded, “What was it like where YOU came from?”

“Oh, my holy socks.  It was a terrible place. Awful!” the traveler responded.  “The people were unfriendly and would take advantage of you in a heartbeat.  There were no jobs, and the town was terribly ugly.”

“Well… that is pretty much what you will find here,” answered the gatekeeper.

So… the traveler shook his head in disgust, and continued on his way.

Then… about an hour later, another traveler walked up to the gate.  “What is it like here?”

Once again, the gatekeeper asked, “What was it like where YOU came from?”

“Oh, my oh my,” the traveler chimed.  “It was a lovely place.  Lots of friendly people and beautiful vistas.  Great food.  A very rich and wonderful culture.”

“Well.  That’s pretty much what you will find here,” answered the gatekeeper.    The traveler smiled and walked through the gates to his new home.

=.=.=.=.=.=…=.=..=.=..=.=..=…=.=..=.=.=

And there you have it.  Really.  We see this world…. not as it is…. but as we are.  Reality is a very tricky thing.  Each of us has our own.   And the reality we experience is the one that is formed by the notions and conceptions we hold in our minds.

We see the world as we see it.  And how we see it…. has a great impact on our lives and our reactions…. to everything.  Each part influences the other.  And then it all connects.  The old glass half empty or full postulation.

We really own nothing in this life… except for what is in our minds, our hearts, and our spirit.

“From now on, I will connect the dots my own way.”  – Bill Waterson

When you tell most people that you are going to visit Utah… they respond with:  “What the heck is in Utah?”

Yes.  It is the underestimated state… in my estimation.

There is plenty here.  Really.

Big rocks.  Lots of big pretty rocks.  (And yes….this is yet another evening in which I have provided additional visual evidence to support my claim of all the huge rocks.)

At the very top of some of the big rocks….   more than 500 inches of snow falls  per year.  Powdery snow.  People come here with skis strapped on to their tootsies as a result.

Now…. if you are an actor, you may want to go to Kanab.  It is known as Little Hollywood.  Who knew that a large number of motion pictures are filmed each year… there in little Kanab.

And since we speak of towns…. Levan is located smack dab in the center of Utah.  Look at that town’s name backward, and it spells navel.  Huh.

Utah has five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef.  It also has six national forests:  Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-LaSal, Uinta, and Wasatch-Cache.

The state bird is the California Sea Gull.  Now what is wrong with that picture?

The state cooking pot… is the Dutch Oven.  First they borrow from California… and then from the Dutch.    Thank goodness the state tree is a Blue Spruce.  If it were the Buckeye Tree, I’d really start to wonder about these folks.

However…. these folks out here…….  They ARE a little quirky here indeed.  I asked one lady where she was from….. and she said: “You Tall.”

I said… “No.  Me not tall.  Me short.  So where you from?”

“You Tall.”

Again…. “Nope….  I am not nearly as tall as some.  So then tell me….. where are you from?”

Oh….this went on and on.  I never did get a straight answer.  And she just walked away shaking her head.

At any rate.  The day was good.  I saw more cliffs, and formations, and great big boulders.   One of them teeters… way up on a ledge.  Yep.  It Rocks.

I’ve also noticed this about some of the graveyards and headstones out here.  They look the same as they do back east, and down in the south.

The thing that I’ve seen is this.  It appears that “life” is the dash between the birth date and the death date.

So…  Make YOUR Dash Count!  – Polly the Kronyish

How in the heck, I ask you, can things on this planet be so incredibly sensational?  For the past four days, I have stood in awe of our world.  Not only the physical part of our surroundings.  In this…. our mutual home.   But also the spiritual aspects.  The two are connected, I think.

In Physics, one of the laws…. a big stinking ONE of the laws…..  states that energy can neither be created, nor destroyed.

If I may bore you for just one moment… please.  This is how it follows.

The Law of Conservation of Energy was first formulated in the nineteenth century.  To you and me… that is in the 1800s.  Again… this is a LAW of Physics.

It basically…. very basically….. states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time.

So what does this mean?  Again… it is barest explanation:  The total energy is said to be conserved over time. So…… for an isolated system…. this law means that energy can CHANGE its LOCATION within the system.  AND that energy can also CHANGE FORM within the system.  But it can’t be Houdini and disappear.

Like… if you think of “scientific nomenclature”…..  you would say that chemical energy can become kinetic energy.  BUT…. THAT ENERGY can be neither created nor destroyed.  So red energy can become blue energy… but it cannot be NO energy.

Okay… I’m finished with the Physics.  So we, as people… are really just a form of energy within this greater system.  So are trees, and rocks, and birds, and dogs…. and house flies.  And when the physical body dies, it decays… and turns into other things…

But it is the spiritual energy that can’t really be measured very well.  So where does it go?  What happens to the energy that is love, and… determination, and will, and courage, and curiosity….. and so on?

That goes where…. and in to what?

I think it persists….  or remains… … or continues…. in other ways, shapes, and forms.

Some of us feel it…. or think we feel it.  Others do not… or think they do not.  Neither, is right or wrong…. I don’t suspect.    But I also suggest….. that OUR energy goes where we want it to.  And every time we make a decision with our current energy… we are making a decision about how it will continue on.

Yes.  Perhaps we choose…. exactly…. what shape and form …..  our energy will be next.

By the things we think, and do, and say… and give.  By the way we choose to live our lives.  What if that is how it goes?

“The greatest gift is a portion of oneself.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

A lot of times…. we just see the big.

That big huge thing.  What ever “that” thing is.

I’m not saying that is necessarily bad.  Often is is very good.

But sometimes it might be better for us to focus on the small.

And other times it is just difficult to know…. which one of those things we should be paying attention to.

Yes.  On occasion … it is hard to really know in which direction we should be looking.

That is  the way it goes.

We try our best.

But quite simply… there are times… when we just don’t know.

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” -Robert Brault

One thing that completely astounds me… is the incredible beauty and mystery of our planet.

When I am in places such as this…. I become more mindful of the complete exquisiteness, and grandeur of this place we call home.

The earth came into being about 4.5 billion years old.   BILLION.  That in itself is mind-boggling.  Overwhelming.  (Humans a blinky little sliver of that…. 14,000 years.)

Leave it to the Grand Canyon to remind you of its comeliness, and mystique, in the same breath.  I think the rocks are painted with Fairy-Gold.

Today was a jaw-dropping experience for me.  Of all the National Parks I have visited in my lifetime, I have never had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon before now.

Two things I will tell you for sure.

It IS a Canyon.
It IS Grand.

Whoever named this sucker was right on his game that day.

It is a wildly large place.  Which opens the doors for a wildly number of stories.  Stories about its history, and formation, and character.  Stories about Cameron the Canyon Swindler, Coulter the Master Designer…. AND… a woman. The Kolb Brothers and their photography.  Captain John Hance… who wasn’t a captain of anything. The first Up-Run on the river…. and the upheaval of the Indians.

Today, I was introduced to both the visual allure of the Canyon, as well as the cerebral enticement.

Yes.  The stories.  The sights.  The sounds.  The smells.  The emotions.  The overload.  And….

The Gratefulness for it all.

In the morning… I think I will go outside and hug a few rocks.  They’ve been around a lot longer than I have…. and they have opened the door for new learning and awareness in my life.

I bet they hug back.

 “Stories are like fairy gold, the more you give away, the more you have.” –  Unknown