Well, it's May 17, and you know what that means, right? I have fulfilled the first half of my promise to pick up trash every day for one year. A friend of mine stopped me a few weeks ago to say she had seen me around town and wanted to thank me. "I'll bet you find some interesting stuff," she commented. "You have no idea."
Today I decided to clean the east fence line at B&Bs, our famous local gas/junk food store. I found 2 pennies and another interesting-looking coin which I got excited about until I looked closer--"Estados Unidos Mexicanos," it read. The center is aluminum bronze encircled by a stainless steel ring. One side reads N$1. Mexico was the first country in the world to use the dollar sign on their currency. Tough to find out the U.S. copy-cated that! (I just coined a new word!) So I found a 1994 peso. Big whoop.
The thing about pickin' trash today is that there was no wind--none--not a breath, not a whisper. I love it when I can just set the open garbage bag on the ground and toss stuff in from random locations. See how easily I find happiness? Even though I collected one full black bag of junk, there wasn't as much as I had anticipated. No need for the 2nd bag folded neatly and slipped into my back pocket. Could someone else have adopted my cause and beat me to it? I can only hope.
Apparently, convenience stores are a convenient place to drop one's cigarette butts, because I picked up 400 this morning. Think it odd that I picked up an even number? That's because I got to 400 and just quit, or I would be there the literal day long.
There is a 5 foot strip of grass between the parking lot and the fence at B&Bs. So I stand on the grass, or what passes for grass, while trying to extricate candy bar wrappers, paper plates, etc. from the chain link fence. Quite intent on removing a piece of paperboard lodged under the fence, I failed to notice exactly where I was standing. I was making somebody mad, because I looked down to observe ants scurrying all over my shoes and up my pant leg inside and out. Red ants no less. I brushed them off my jeans, off my shoes and then jumped around for a while hoping to discourage any lingering team members from staying. But once you get the creepy-crawlies, they're hard to get rid of. Whether there were any ants left or not, I kept feeling them. Gross. Stashing the bag where it wouldn't be noticed, I headed for home. A shower might be in order.
My hurried walk, however, was put on hold as I noticed a couple of nicely-dressed guys heading to their car at the Black Dog Inn. At first I thought they might be realtors. Then one of the guys in slacks and a sport coat--not something you see every day in Estes Park--called me over. Hmmmm..."I'm ready for anything, mister," I thought. "I've just defeated an angry mob trying to attack me, and I've got my picker in case you try something." But guess what? It was Jerry from the Gideons, and he wanted to give me a Bible! He has spoken at Rez a few times, knew Earl and Jan Treat, and also knew my brother, John, Pastor of Good Shepherd Bible Chapel. He even mentioned the Hoornbeeks! Lee, don't be surprised if Jerry calls about joining the Gideons. You just never know what divine appointments await until you get out there pickin'!
Always,
Winter
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A Change of Place
It's been six days since we flew in to Denver from Santa Barbara after helping our son, Sterling, leap to 40 after being 39 for a whole year. I'm sure he needed our help to make this serious change. Sterling, Liza and the kids live in Ventura, officially the City of San Buenaventura, commonly called San Buenaventura with a population of 110,000. Somewhere along the line since Father Junipero Serra founded the mission in 1782, it became simply Ventura. Probably some kids were responsible for that since they don't like long names.
I could tell you some other interesting facts about Ventura like because it is located between the Ventura River and the Santa Clara River, it has the most fertile land in the whole state of California. Ever heard of Sunkist? Uh-huh. Headquartered there. Headquarters for Patagonia clothing too. Ever used to watch Perry Mason? A lawyer by the name of Erle Stanley Gardner, who with a last name like that probably should have worked for Sunkist, had his law practice there and created the iconic Mr. Mason. One of the most recognizable landmarks in Ventura is known as Two Trees. I'll leave the rest of that story to your imagination.
Ventura Harbor is very impressive and home to Channel Islands National Park Headquarters. That is the whole reason Sterling and Liza are in California. We got the royal tour which included packing all 12 of us into Sterling's office where there is a wonderful view of the ocean from his window. CINP has a great little visitor's center too. We stood on the deck of the Sea Ranger, the park service boat, and watched pelicans swoop into the harbor waters for lunch.
Ventura is known to have the best surfing in Southern California. Who would even care about that except the kids who asked before breakfast every morning, "When are we going to the beach?" Speaking of breakfast, on Sterling's birthday, Liza made Baked Oatmeal Alaska and THEN we went to the beach! Sterling and Liza like the beach at Oxnard, a shell's-throw down the road, so we barbequed there. It was VERY windy; oddly we had the whole park to ourselves. We had a good time unless you were Shawn who cut his foot on a piece of glass; Luke who sort of crushed his big toe in a longboard accident; Max, who totally scraped off his right kneecap in a scooter mishap; or Jonathan and Shawn (again) who received multiple abrasions and contusions while boogey boarding. For the uninitiated, this happens when the surf slams you to the ocean floor minus your board.
Unwilling to give up my Garbage Grandma career while vacationing, on Sterling's birthday I picked up one loaf of bread, 2 cans of veggies, (how was I supposed to know the homeless people stash these things in the bushes for later consumption?) one Nantucket Nectar bottle, one wild cherry Pepsi bottle, one Sparklette Water bottle, one Orange Crush can, one Captain Morgan Spiced Rum bottle, (yo, ho, ho!) 4 Smirnoff Vodka bottles, a Doritos bag, 2 large paper clips and 5 socks. In Estes Park I pick up lost gloves. In Ventura I picked up lost socks, flip-flops and underware. You can easily see how this might happen when changing into a swimsuit at the beach. Just ask Luke.
Besides getting acquainted with Ventura, we visited Hollywood for Luke who was celebrating his 11th birthday, drove up to Simi Valley to visit the Reagan Presidential Library (highlight), and did the town with Morgan who also insisted on celebrating her birthday (#17), but really--who wants to live in a city on the beach in Southern California where there is a year-'round 5-degree temperature differential, and it's sunny all the time?
Always,
Winter
I could tell you some other interesting facts about Ventura like because it is located between the Ventura River and the Santa Clara River, it has the most fertile land in the whole state of California. Ever heard of Sunkist? Uh-huh. Headquartered there. Headquarters for Patagonia clothing too. Ever used to watch Perry Mason? A lawyer by the name of Erle Stanley Gardner, who with a last name like that probably should have worked for Sunkist, had his law practice there and created the iconic Mr. Mason. One of the most recognizable landmarks in Ventura is known as Two Trees. I'll leave the rest of that story to your imagination.
Ventura Harbor is very impressive and home to Channel Islands National Park Headquarters. That is the whole reason Sterling and Liza are in California. We got the royal tour which included packing all 12 of us into Sterling's office where there is a wonderful view of the ocean from his window. CINP has a great little visitor's center too. We stood on the deck of the Sea Ranger, the park service boat, and watched pelicans swoop into the harbor waters for lunch.
Ventura is known to have the best surfing in Southern California. Who would even care about that except the kids who asked before breakfast every morning, "When are we going to the beach?" Speaking of breakfast, on Sterling's birthday, Liza made Baked Oatmeal Alaska and THEN we went to the beach! Sterling and Liza like the beach at Oxnard, a shell's-throw down the road, so we barbequed there. It was VERY windy; oddly we had the whole park to ourselves. We had a good time unless you were Shawn who cut his foot on a piece of glass; Luke who sort of crushed his big toe in a longboard accident; Max, who totally scraped off his right kneecap in a scooter mishap; or Jonathan and Shawn (again) who received multiple abrasions and contusions while boogey boarding. For the uninitiated, this happens when the surf slams you to the ocean floor minus your board.
Unwilling to give up my Garbage Grandma career while vacationing, on Sterling's birthday I picked up one loaf of bread, 2 cans of veggies, (how was I supposed to know the homeless people stash these things in the bushes for later consumption?) one Nantucket Nectar bottle, one wild cherry Pepsi bottle, one Sparklette Water bottle, one Orange Crush can, one Captain Morgan Spiced Rum bottle, (yo, ho, ho!) 4 Smirnoff Vodka bottles, a Doritos bag, 2 large paper clips and 5 socks. In Estes Park I pick up lost gloves. In Ventura I picked up lost socks, flip-flops and underware. You can easily see how this might happen when changing into a swimsuit at the beach. Just ask Luke.
Besides getting acquainted with Ventura, we visited Hollywood for Luke who was celebrating his 11th birthday, drove up to Simi Valley to visit the Reagan Presidential Library (highlight), and did the town with Morgan who also insisted on celebrating her birthday (#17), but really--who wants to live in a city on the beach in Southern California where there is a year-'round 5-degree temperature differential, and it's sunny all the time?
Always,
Winter
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