Sons in Manchester

Few times do I get to visit with my two sons who both live in Albuquerque. Last evening we had dinner and celebrated Kirk's birthday. I wish that there were more times to get together and do other things rather than just have a small party.

Good Friend and Good Medicine

I have worked with northern dogs since 1982. I started with 1 as a help when cross country skiing and winter camping in the Rockies and Uintahs. After 7 years I found myself living in Germany and got involved with a German sled dog club. I had over 20 dogs at one time and raced as a hobby in Norway, Germany, France, and Austria. The German club was a sport club and not out for money. We camped out on weekends, trained together, had seminars on dog care and training, and drank tons of coffee with cake. I will always treasure the warm hearted nature of fellow German Mushers. I needed to return to the states in 2000 and from then on I have only raced in several races in Maine. The drivers or sled dog owners in the states are much more about money and competition and do not willingly offer help to others. As you will sense from my blog  postings I am very concerned that the level of competition and the concept of win at all cost keeps the violent behavior of Americans always near the surface.   

Clear Cutting or I Can Do What I Want With My Land

My neighbor clear cut over 15 acres on the property next to my property. Do whatever you want if you own the land. We are a cut and burn society that does not believe in nonviolent solutions. My way or the highway!

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Sunday evening here in Maine

I had an idea this morning about the underlying theme for my postings. It was influenced by an article in Health and Spirituality on a good death. I have been faced with dangerous situations as I was growing up and for much of my adult life. I do not claim to have the most violence of anyone in my life but like many other people there was an undercurrent of poverty and dangerous family jobs. That is that my family relied on coal mining for our livelyhood. Over the years my grand father, father, uncle and other friends died from accidents in the mining industry. When I was in first grade my friend Dick had his father killed while working alongside my father. In that accident my father was only slightly injured. It would be later that my dad was killed in the mines.

Poverty has it's violence as most of the people around the world and many people in our country know all to well. When you are porr you must do dangerous work that others will not do. The other ongoing violence in my life was WWII, Korea Conflict, Vietnam, and all the military conflicts over the past 20 years. I spent 2 tours of duty in Vietnam and a total 21 years in the Army working on hostile borders in Europe and in Korea. My second career was in Europe where i taught the children of the soldiers, airmen and women who faught the all gulf wars and othe conflicts in central Europe.