Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hazards of a Wifeless Weekend

A few days has passed since my last entry. Perhaps that is because of “writer’s block”, or maybe it was laziness, or just other things to do that had a higher priority. I imagine that this won’t be the first time for such lapses in the frequency of writing.

As mentioned in a posting this last weekend, Jo had to work both on Saturday and on Sunday. Since she is in management, she feels the obligation to be at work, even if it is the people of her department that are actually doing the work. With a few minor quirks among her team, she still has a very cohesive and effective group. However, there have been many times that she has gone in to work at night instead of calling team members to do the job.

This last weekend was one where an upgrade was being done, and most of the work was being done by a member of the team. But, she felt the need to be there in support of the gentleman who was doing most of the work. In fact, she left for work around 7:30am and didn’t get home until after 9:00 or 10:00pm. About the only thing I did that day was to go pick up our Mobile Suite from the dealership.

Sunday also found her going to work. In my case, I again did little. In fact, by the end of the day, I was REALLY bored with what little there was to do around the house and being on the computer. Other than the time spent doing a blog post, most of what I did was completely non-productive.

Monday was a holiday, and since we both work for the state, we had that day off as well. That was the only day that Jo didn’t have to go to work, and since I was bored with being around the house all the time, we did a fair amount of driving around Oklahoma City. Mostly it was shopping and lunch out. I was certainly glad to be out of the house and doing something.

All of that leads to an explanation of the word “Hazards” in the title. I have since had a chance to think that I am REALLY going to need to find something more to do with myself. A few years down the road will bring retirement and our hopes of doing a lot of traveling. But, since we won’t always be going around and taking pictures and seeing the sights of whatever area we are in, I’m going to need something to keep me occupied.

I had the mental picture in my head yesterday that I might very well be walking around whatever campground we are in picking up trash and looking for other things to do. While I really do like my time off to do as I wish, I also wish for something to do to keep from being bored. I have a hunch that retirement might be a bit tortuous.

Sunset at Western Hills Lodge in Oklahoma; November 2001

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