Travel Well

Saturday January 19, 2019

Snow is falling outside.  The Weather Channel says it will end about four in the afternoon.  I have been doing dishes and other household chores.  I did go out and snow blow off the driveway about 2 hours ago.  I would guess another two inches have fallen.  Probably will go back out about four and give it another once over.  If it keeps falling we probably will have five inches of the stuff on the ground by night fall.

Really don’t mind the snow.  It is just another form of water.  What I mind is the cold.  From what I am reading the temperatures will be heading below zero for the next couple of days. Yes, I can dress for the cold.  No, I don’t want to dress for the cold. It has been 

When one is out there pushing the snow blower odd thoughts crop up.  One that came to me was that I remembered an article where some cardiologists stated using a snow blower was no better in avoiding heart attacks than shoveling.  Apparently the stress of pushing the bulking contraptions is roughly the same as the repetitive lifting of snow.  Of course I started factoring in that I am using the lightest snow blower in the universe.  It is battery operated and made of plastic.  Probably I am a little better off riskwise for it.

Yesterday one of the guys I grew up with died.  With the exception of a couple of high school reunions I have not seen him in forty plus years.  Scrolling through his FB feed he seems to have done well for himself.  Given the extensive notes of condolence to his children and family he seems to either have been well liked and/or was a force in the community. 

He was a distant friend when we were kids.  Not one of the circle I ran with.  My strongest memory of him was that he had a pony and he rode it through town on occasion.  He always had a smile, a kind of wry knowing smile.  I am sad for his family’s loss and I am sad at the too young passing of the people who are the same age as I am from our small town.

As I type this I am listening to folk ballads and Irish reels. There was a program a bit back on PBS called the Transatlantic Sessions.  This is an Apple playlist with the same title but I don’t know if it is the same people.  I can hear Jerry Douglas on the dobro.  I can hear Bela Fleck on the banjo.  Such wonderful music is calming. 

Travel well my old friend,

Sail over oceans clear and blue,

Sail above the noise and busy nonesense

Of the too important but not really important

Things of everyday life.

Travel well my old friend,

Find your rest in the sand of some distant shore.

Find your rest beneath the warmth of some distance sun.

Find your joy in the music of the spheres.

Travel well my old friend.

Travel in peace.

Travel withou pain.

Travel into a place of bliss.

Travel well.