It’s Been a While…

I had told myself I’d write one-hundred days on this blog and well, have fallen through again. While I write most every day in my journal, I have found it difficult to sit down at the keyboard and put my thoughts together. I guess I could just copy what I’ve written in my journal, but as of yet, that has falled by the wayside as well.

So just for today, I peck on my keyboard and write whatever comes to mind. There is no them, no plot,,,just me writing whatever comes to mind.

I have determined that I am indeed a person of habit. I tend to start my day the same way every day. There are the medicines that I have to take, the daily online puzzles to be solved, teeth to brush. And of course, get dressed and showered.

I also frequent the same establishments, especially restaurants. Especially if it’s a restaurant we’re speaking of, I tend to order the same menu items. This morning, I started with a bowl of oatmeal and cup of coffee. For lunch, I had a livermush sandwich and large diet Mt. Dew. All were things I’d ordered one thousand times before. The usual as I like to say.

This evening I’m doing the public address announcing for a middle school football game. I started this “hobby” when I was fifteen years old and have done it ever since. I guess that makes this my fiftieth anniversary in announcing sporting events. It also, at least in part, led to a job in local radio. This Friday night, I’ll be on the air once more, providing updates on the game my alma mater is playing.

I recently have started attending church again. Three different people, unbeknownst to any of the three, had invited me there for one function or another. I’ve been attending for five weeks now and have enjoyed each service, class, or meal that I’ve been to. They are offering a new members class this upcoming Sunday and I’m planning on attending that as well. You never know what direction your spiritual journey will take and this, at least for now, seems to be a positive direction for me.

Well, that’s it for now. Next time….

David Lee

Cultural Heritage

Daily writing prompt
What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?
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I am most interested in the parts of my ancestral heritage that were involved in ministry. I am aware that several ancestors down the line were Lutheran ministers. I’ve done some research on their service in the ministry, finding that one helped found the local university I attended and received two degrees from.

I just wonder what part of their DNA was passed down to me to have things of a spiritual nature be of interest to me. That divine quest to find out all I can about the author of creation and my part in that creation. I have learned to keep the faith and trust the journey.

David Lee

Tick-Tock Goes the Clock

I recently was rearranging some things in my house and moved a old clock from the living room to the bedroom. In the process, the grandfather clock started ticking and continued to do so for nearly three days.

The grandfather clock was one that belonged to my maternal great grandfather. It needs to be wound every so often and I don’t recall the last time I had it running. As I moved it from one room to another and repositioned it, it started to tick tock, tick tock. The pendulum swung back and forth and the familiar tick tock continued. Every hour, it would chime to tell what hour it was….every half hour, chiming once to tell you it was half past the hour.

I didn’t think it would continue to run for more than a few hours. I was amazed to hear it still ticking for the next three days before finally winding down. I paused and reflect while I lay in bed that this was the same familiar tick tock sounds that my great grandparents had listened to while they were still living. The chimes on the hour and half hour were the same ones that graced their home for who-knows how many years. And I found that to be really cool.

I’m trying to decide whether to leave the clock in my bedroom or move it back to the living room. While the tick tock of passing seconds is soothing, the chimes on the hour and half hour can startle one in the middle of the night. Perhaps there is a switch of some sort that can be disabled for the nightime hours. I will investigate and use the key to wind the clock back up for another cycle, chimes or not.

Once again, I just found it fascinating that the clock had survived lo these many years in good working order. And the fact that here in 2024, I’m listening to the same sounds that they did at least sixty years ago. Such is a part of the amazing world in which we live.

David Lee

House Cleaning

Neatness has never been one of my strong suits. Here of late, I’ve started making the effort to get things cleaned up and cleaned out around my home. It’s definitely not an easy proposition, but one that I’m hoping will make my house more like a home.

Cleaning the house has never been an easy task. The longer it goes without caring for housekeeping, the more disorganized and messy it gets. Matters aren’t helped by the fact I go to flea markets and estate sales and pick up even more stuff. Over the past month, it’s finally gotten to the point that I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to get things cleaned and organized.

My hot water heater recently breathed its last breath and I had a friend coming over to inspect and possibly fix it. I realized the clutter in the kitchen, where the hot water heater is located, made it impossible to get to. So my kitchen was the first place the cleaning and reorganization began. Although I haven’t gotten it as organized as I’d like, it at least looks a lot better than it did.

I’ve made a start on getting both the living room and bedroom cleaned and organized as well. There were so many odds and ends in both rooms and I’ve realized it’s going to take quite a bit of time to get things the way I’d like it. There is quite a bit of stuff that I’m going to donate or throw away. Much of the rest of it is going into what I’m calling a “catch-all room”, which is now nearly filled.

I realize my house didn’t get this way overnight and that it’s going to be a time-consuming process to get it all done. But I’m happy to say I’ve at least made a start on the process. With my mind working the way it does, clutter seems to be par for the course. So I’m also working on tidying up each day instead of letting it build up as I have.

Small steps…baby steps, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

David Lee

Writing Prompt of the Day – Sept. 6, 2024

Daily writing prompt
How do you relax?
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I like to write in my journal and read books, mostly nonfiction. For the past three years, I have also taken daily walks of about four miles. While I’m walking, I listen to music or podcasts. I also like to hang out in local coffeeshops, read, write, and people-watch.

Day One of One-Hundred: The Journey of Life

I recently went on a hike on a trail just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. What started out as a short excursion turned out to be a five mile trek across some challenging trails. It occurred to me while I was on my journey, that life too can be that way.

I was just going to go on a short jaunt for a small part of the marked trail and return to my creekside chair. I started on the trail, taking a few pictures, and before I knew it, I had gone half a mile. It seemed not at all too difficult, and the posted sign said the trail was a five-mile loop, so I decided to continue.

The trail has a creek running alongside it most of the way, which allowed me to take pictures of several small waterfalls. But the fact this was a mountain trail also meant there were quite a few rocks along the way. I navigated those the best I could and continued the course.

By the time I finished the five-mile course, my shirt was thoroughly drenched with sweat and my feet were aching. It seemed that the second half of the course was the most difficult, as I have become tired of the more strenuous parts of the hike. Along that path, I reasoned that it was a lot like life.

Over the past three years or so, life has seemed to be one big life event after another. Just when things seem to be settling down, something else comes along. Some of the events are in quick succession and some seem to take a while to develop. But just like the trail I was traveling, there are some parts that are easier to navigate than others.

Once you reach a certain point of the trail, you realize you’re going to have to continue until its conclusion. In life, when you are experiencing some unsettling event, you realize you’re going to have to see that situation through until its end. It’s important to pace yourself and not let the utter exhaustion get to you. It’s necessary to take a short break from time-to-time and rest. Above all else, keep your faith strong and trust the journey.

David Lee

Daily Writing Prompt

Daily writing prompt
Where did your name come from?
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My name is David. I once upon a time asked my mother why I was given that name. She said I was named after David of Old Testament times. I think that’s an appropriate name. Given my life’s story, I have slayed several giants in figurative terms. I even have two pictures of me when I was in elementary school when I was name school prince and king. So I did actually on two different occasions have a crown to wear. David: giant slayer, cave dweller, writer of Psalms.

David Lee

False Start…Let’s Try That Again

Back on May 7th, I declared that I would be writing in my blog for one hundred days. Well, there’s been one post since that time. Life sometimes gets lifey, and as a result, I haven’t done much writing on this blog. And so on this day, I recommit to writing on my blog for one hundred consecutive days. Please be assured that I do continue to write each day. I have filled several volumes of journals during these past several years. But on this day, I’ll make a pledge to post at least something each day.

David Lee