Satisfaction in the Little Things

 

The sun was beating down on me as perspiration beaded from my face.  Occasional moments of refreshment occurred while wading through pools of water as I made my way upstream.  Having a chance to go enjoy the outdoors the day after everyone went back to work after the Memorial holiday, this was a holiday for me.  Taking my fly rod and reel, I explored a local creek and was kept entertained by the small fish going after my insect imitations.  While I have fished bigger bodies of water this year, there was something about catching these small fish from a small pool with the sound of babbling water in the background that took me back to earlier years when I would explore creeks with my cousin.  It was just simple fun without the complications of the "grownup" world.  No facades, politics, electronics or any of the other things that burden us once we cross over from Never Neverland into the adult world.  It was just me, the fish and an occasional small snake slithering to get away from an intruder.  And to emphasize the point, slipping on a rock during the excursion and taking some water into the waders was initially annoying but then it dawned on me that it was actually fun and refreshing.   I also ruined the cell phone that I had with me but that again just seemed to expose the layers of stuff that I have accumulated in this age of material and quite frankly really unimportant busy body-ness.  I rediscovered that I was a person who enjoyed the simple things in life and I was where I belonged.  It just took a dunking to help wash away some of the complexities.

My Rocket is Bigger Than Yours

On my way to work one morning and I pulled off from the major highway to take a photo of downtown Cincinnati's latest addition.  Yes, I am talking about the Great American Tower or the building that looks like a rocket or perhaps a thing of lipstick. For the longest time, I thought construction of the building was not yet complete but then learned the steel dome on top is supposed to represent the tiara worn by the late Princess Diana from Wales.  The architect, Gyo Obata did this in reference to the city of Cincinnati also being known as the Queen City.  It is an odd building and viewing this rocket building between the two P&G towers from I-71 can be viewed as being complementary to the surrounding architecture or a salute to Cincinnati's German heritage and weinersnitchel.  So for the time being, this is the tallest building in downtown Cincinnati with 41 floors and a height of 665 feet.

Me and My Shadow

We come in peace.

Beautiful Loneliness

I made it out to the East Fork reservoir to see if could get any fish.  The temperature was below freezing with the lake water having about an inch of ice cover the lake.  Yes, I am crazy.  Craziness aside,  I took this photo which seemed to capture the beauty that surrounded me.  There was no one else around and it was quiet except for the occasional bird call.  My wife was at home sleeping and I really wished she was there with me to enjoy this scene together.  I threw rocks of various sizes onto the frozen lake and each rock landed with a thud that did not break the surface of the ice but caused a sound to reverberate across the ice with no response from anyone or anything.  It was a cold feeling and I am not talking about the temperature.  Even with the sun out and the clean white snow, it was lonely.  I wonder if this is what Adam felt like before God made Eve.  I imagine the Garden of Eden to be as beautiful and maybe more so than this photo and Adam could probably feel God's presence yet at the same time he felt lonely without anyone else around.  There are so many things to do and enjoy on this blue planet yet without someone to share it with, it is, as someone lamented, all meaningless...

Setting Up Camp

This is the first of possibly a few thoughts to make it out of my head before the thoughts escape like the morning fog.  My initial purpose is to have a place to reflect (thus reflections) on the events that occur in my or others' life and the subsequent effects.  I realize that I could use Facebook or other vehicles like Twitter, however, both seem too commercial or lack a certain substance that reduces the ability to see the world as I perceive through my eyes.  I do not promise anything exciting but like you, I experience things in my life makes me take pause and I try the best I can with what I got.  Like a single transmission sent out into the inky void of space mixed with other transmissions and static, this is my spot on the information network.  Welcome.