Did you know that?

 

The historic Clearwater sloop was not allowed to participate in the ships parade in NY harbor on July 4, 2026. It took part in the bicentennial sail parade in 1976!  The banners on its sail say "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, and Climate Solutions."

 

"In 1966, folk singer Pete Seeger and a group of activists decided to “build a boat to save the river,” envisioning that a sloop would bring people to the shoreline and inspire a movement to protect the Hudson River. Three years later, Clearwater set sail with a mission to save the Hudson through education, advocacy, and sailing. Today, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater remains resolute in this mission, and to date, more than half a million people have had the life-changing experience of sailing aboard the Clearwater. Learn more: https://www.clearwater.org/ "

Clearwater sailing in the 1976 Bicentennial. Credit: Nick DeWolf

The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater posted this:

"We’ve been moved by the outpouring of support, solidarity, and messages we’ve received over the past several days from across the Hudson Valley and beyond.

After being invited to participate by event organizers of Sail4th 250, Clearwater sailed in the July 3rd Class B Parade, and commenced sailing in the July 4 Parade of Sail. About an hour after the parade began, Clearwater was directed by the U.S. Coast Guard to leave the parade route. When asked why, they cited the presence of banners reading "Save the Clean Water Act" and "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions.” Neither the participation agreement nor the Captain's Handbook prohibited these banners, and we were never given the option to remove them and continue participating.

To learn more about what happened and how the day unfolded aboard the sloop, read our open letter from Executive Director David Toman and Captain Rory Kane.

Read the letter: https://www.clearwater.org/.../sail4th-250-parade-of.../

For more than 55 years, Clearwater has sailed the Hudson River carrying people, music, and a message of clean water, environmental stewardship, and hope. That work continues every time we set sail. Thank you for being part of this community and for standing with us."

Over 400 members of the Patriot Front neo-Nazi group march through Washington D.C. on the 4th of July. They're from Texas.

A bit of North Carolina lore and there's Black Mountain!

Helen, Linda and Judy take part in a conversation at Ole's Guacamole for lunch on Tuesday. Of course I'd only known Teresa and Helen would be there! Nice surprise to see others too, as a kind of going-away gathering.

Teresa and myself!

My lunch, chicken with spinach and mushrooms in a creamy sauce with rice...Pechugua Fundida

Teresa's salad, Rosita. I got a couple of the shrimp. That's what friends do!

Flat Creek lunch

 

We dined "al fresco" at the original Ole's Guacamole on Sunday. Flat Creek is behaving itself gurgling by.

The little bridge survived the flood 17 months ago... so residents of the motel can easily arrive at the restaurant. (Or full patrons might retire for a siesta at the motel!) When I moved here 19 years ago the restaurant was a southern specialty place, with their hot dogs well known.

And look what I saw across the creek, but a bed of daffodils!

The remains from cleanup continue to float down stream...many trees were down from the winds, and landslides, as well as floods of Hurricane Helene.

Sharing with Tom's Tuesday Treasures

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WE'RE AT WAR WITH IRAN

-MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

It could be a quick devastating war, or it could be a prolonged devastating war with consequences none of us can even imagine.

As you’re probably aware, the United States and Israel have begun a war with Iran. Full scale. No holding back. Very much for real.

Forget the Constitutional demand that the President go through Congress before declaring war, by the way. There’s no more even pretending now. The Constitution is little more to them than an administrative hindrance. Congressional debate is like a joke to those guys.

And now we are where we are. We are at war with Iran. It could be a quick devastating war, or it could be a prolonged devastating war with consequences none of us can even imagine.

Thousands of mothers and fathers are grasping their children now, trying to reassure them. Soldiers are dying who have no idea why we’re doing this. People who don’t have a political bone in their body are rushing into bomb shelters, praying for safety. Among the leaders involved, there are no good guys in any of this - only various gradations of the spiritually blind.

The coming days will see many tears. On the other side of this - and that’s a huge theoretical - we must be willing to do things differently. And truly mean it. None of our hearts will be untouched by what is unfolding now. The drama of these days will either purify the human race, or it will end it.

In the words of John F. Kennedy, Jr., “Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.” We must learn to wage peace as effectively as we now wage war.

I saw, when I was running for President, how the pseudo-sophisticates in American politics and media treated the very idea of a Department of Peace. They treat such an idea with condescension and smirks, as though the merchants of war are the only grown-ups in the room. I saw widespread ignorance of the fact that peacebuilding is even a thing, much less with statistically proven results at preventing and reducing conflict. In truth, if we’d had a Department of Peace playing peace games over the last few years rather than just a Department of Defense playing war games, we would have a different world today.

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I’m thinking this morning about a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt called I Hate War, inscribed on the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington DC:

“I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.”

From the United States supporting Israels’ continued war on Gaza, to war between Russia and Ukraine, to the madness in the Sudan - and now this: an actual war with Iran - humanity is testing the fate of the human race. We cannot continue this way. In the words of A Course in Miracles, there is a “limit beyond which we cannot miscreate.”

All of hits is happening, of course, at the same time that Trump seems to be revving up to rig the 2026 midterm elections. I will have much to say about that, of course. It’s genuinely overwhelming. But as tempting as it might be to put our heads in the sand, friends do not let friends sit this out. These indeed are extraordinary times. Let’s thank God that we are extraordinary people. We do not serve Him, or each other, by pretending we are anything less. May our prayers, our thoughts and our behavior now reflect the inner greatness that is God’s gift to us all. The times are dark, but we are filled with Light.

Source: FB Sat. Feb. 28, 2026

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“All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.”

John Steinbeck

Marie Bashkirtseff - The Umbrella, 1883.

An imaginary trip

Considering

          mountains...

              and valleys ...

                          and rivers!

The attraction of the Appalachian mountains...the wonderful vistas.

In Colorado and Utah, hikes are working through different formations of rocks. Here son, Tai, and wife, Kendra, pause for a dual-selfie.

Tai is standing next to a little stream under a cliff.

Me standing near the overflow falls from Lake Susan which continue the path of Flat Creek from Montreat to Black Mountain NC.

Flat Creek in Black Mountain, a few summers ago, when it was behaving itself. It goes under a highway and joins the Swannanoa River waters, which definitely ran amok in September 2024.

Flat Creek when it flowed nicely by Ole's Guacamole restaurant, before 2024 when it flooded it for the second time. Ole's is being renovated at this time, and due to reopen.

A brilliant high school buddy, Jinni Stahl, spent her later years using scooters to help her get around after MS took so much of her mobility.

My other high school friend, Rosemary Beddingfield, had breast cancer that was in remission the last 5 years of her life. She always had a positive silly attitude. Both of these friends may be gone from walking the earth in their bodies, but their spirits are still part of my life. They both had birth anniversaries last week.

Son Russ and wife, Michelle seem to have found a way to cool off, maybe in FL.

And where our American adventures all began, when Giles Fitz Rogers came to Jamestown VA in 1664. (Here are replica ships moored in Jamestown VA, much as his would have been.)

And that reminds me to check out some Ancestry "hints" to see if there's any new information that can be substantiated. My cousin who's a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution thinks we descended from Giles' son, Peter, where I think it was more likely through his son John.

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Today's quote:

Incorporating human touch into our everyday lives is vital to the healing of our emotional and physical selves

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An old photo:

Granddaughter Cayenne and her Great Uncle Norm Dewolfe in 2011. Norm is husband to my ex's sister.

This the season!

 

The Christmas Coach by Norman Rockwell

Sharing with Thankful Thursday

Today's quote:

Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.

RACHEL NAOMI REMEN

The Grinch at the old Ole's Guacamole's Restaurant 2023

Today's art

.Andrew Loomis, Magazine illustration, 1931

Today on Open Yesterday's Pages: Jamestown Wives

The new Ole's Guacamole

 Black Mountain Ole's Guacamole, one of my favorite restaurants, was eaten alive by Flat Creek on Sept. 27 thanks to unnamed storm and Hurricane Helene. The creek usually flows back where the trees are.

Even more unfortunate for the owners, their Asheville location was also flooded by these storms. Asheville Regional Airport recorded 14.19 inches of rain from Helene and the two days preceding the storm, according to the National Weather Service.

There was a catering location which had, in the last year, been purchased by the family. So they cleared out all the furniture in the old Ole's and worked to turn this new building into an Ole's - and they were  able to open it last week.

Of course my friends and I had to go support them, and enjoy a meal made just they way they always had at the other location. Without many tourists this fall, the  restaurants and other shops depend upon the locals to keep going. I'm afraid many will close their doors by January.

We found parking right near the door. This building once had been another Mexican style restaurant, but it had closed several years ago.

Seating was on new booths, but the tables that were very similar to those that had been in the old restaurant. Perhaps a good cleaning was all they needed.

A large group of police persons were enjoying their lunch. 

Directly next door on US 70 are the remains of the Coach House Restaurant. Apparently they had a lot of damage from the flood, as there is a little creek which overflowed between both the buildings, probably behind that fence on the right. It's strange that it had so much damage when the "new Ole's" didn't. But it could be because of the way it was constructed...I don't know.

No I didn't have anything great to eat, just a taco salad with grilled shrimp. When I order something special I'll share with you.

Hang in there and be like Snoopy!

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Oh, adding this to Tom's Signs2 meme, as the first photo has a sign in it! And the new site just got their sign today!

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Today's inspirational words:

Fear of the future can paralyze us, but we can allow it to unfold easily when we keep to the present moment.

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A Harvest of People, also known as the Vegetable Prayer.

From Rev. Max Coots:

Let us give thanks for a bounty of people:

For children who are our second planting, and,

though they grow like weeds and

the wind too soon blows them away,

may they forgive us our cultivation

and fondly remember where their roots are.

Let us give thanks for generous friends,

with hearts, and smiles as bright as their blossoms;

For feisty friends as tart as apples;

For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers,

keep reminding us that we’ve had them;

For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;

For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants

and as elegant as a row of corn,

and the others, as plain as potatoes and as good for you;

For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and

as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and serious friends,

as complex as cauliflowers and as intricate as onions;

For friends as unpretentious as cabbages,

as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley,

as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini, and

who, like parsnips, can be counted on

to see you throughout the winter;

For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening time,

and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;

For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils

and hold us,

despite our blights, wilts, and witherings;

And, finally, for those friends now gone,

like gardens past that have been harvested,

and who fed us in their times

that we might have life thereafter;

For all these we give thanks.

The Journal Project - Week 3

 Mon/ Aug 29, 2022 start of Journal Project week 3/4  

This will be my last post of a weekly journal. Sorry, just seems too repetitive.

Date with Helen and Teresa for lunch had been planned for months. Since Teresa is off from her job only on Mon. that was our limitation! Helen picked me up, and the restaurant we'd chosen didn't open till four...staffing issues. We ended up going to Ole's, which is my favorite restaurant as any of my readers know already.

And there were three other friends to surprise me with all the birthday party hoopla! A crown for me, flowers and little bags of presents. Which meant I wore the crown and opened the presents first. More on a blog about this great birthday event!

I'm at the far end of the group, wearing a tiara!

Afternoon a friend from church took me to look at cars in local dealer lots...and I found one of interest, that looked really good up front, low mileage and price in my range. But I wanted to drive it and have my mechanic check it out. Couldn't schedule with him till the next day. 

Tues Aug. 30, 2022

Early to car place, where the car of interest had a flat tire, but when they opened, they blew it up again, and I took it (with my advisor and trusty ride provider) to my mechanic. Mechanic said absolutely no...the bottom had too much rust. So we took it back and I went home. A couple hours later I met a good friend for brunch. I've know her since I lived in Tallahassee in the 70s! It's always good when we can see each other, though times are further apart these days. I look pretty tired (on the left) while M. looks cheerful.

Home for a nap...and looking on Craig's list for car listings. Big push to get the monthly newsletter for church finished for the proof reader and then published for tomorrow. 

Wed. Aug 31

Finally received money from insurance, to be wired to my checking account. At least I did the on line transfer and it should take effect within the next 2 days.

It's laundry day...for anyone's edification! Home chores to take care of. Audio book by Patti Calahan  "Becoming Mrs. Lewis" (fiction about C. S. Lewis getting married.)  Very good read (or listen as the case may be.)

Thurs Sept 1, 2022

Out at 9 to go look at two car dealer lots. There were 2 cars available in the first (which had another getting serviced whatever that means. Didn't consider either of them seriously.

At the second were 2 possibles, and one was really right for me. So again drive it (a long ways) to mechanic, who liked it. But oops, some fluid coming out of either transmission or steering. So I said to the dealer, if you fix that I'd like it. The dealer said they'd take care of it, and call me. I wonder if they will.. When I got home today around 4 (we'd had a nice Thai lunch somewhere in the driving around) I went straight to bed and slept till 6:30 pm. Got up and had the leftovers of Thai lunch.

 

Fri Sept 2. 2022

Nice and cool morning! I'm so tired of "Big Google" knowing everything about me. I recently was on the phone with a pharmacist and mentioned a new diagnosis I have, and the next day it appeared on my Facebook ads. Sometimes I'm more tolerant than others.

Today I put a deposit on a used car. I won't bother recording details here. I've been helped immensely by friends who've driven me to see cars, test driving a few, getting a few checked by my mechanic...and I think the one I've chosen will be great to own and drive. The dealer is fixing the problem my mechanic spotted, and I've put a down payment on it...and the cost is doable for me.

Friend brought me some fresh fruit, and a favorite treat, Pringles. I could eat the whole can at once...but am going to portion them out so I can enjoy how that salt hits me. Yes, I'm supposed to have low sodium diet...which is why I crave these so much. I figure once a week to have 6-7 Pringles won't kill me, and if it does, I'll die happy!

Saturday, Sept. 3 2022

And my blog life almost always does a Sepia Saturday blog on this day. Many of the photos come from historic postings on FB. Shrug. They put them out in public, I like them! I share them. Everyone knows I didn't take them!

Went to a pot luck lunch that the residents had here. I didn't eat a hot dog. But nibbled at other things and desert of banana pudding with lots of cool-whip!

Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022

Thoughts go to 43 years ago when I gave birth to my youngest son. I raised him alone, since his father wasn't in the picture. And I had a community of my friends and church groups who offered many activities for us to do...as well as good teachers in different schools. I moved frequently, since I was trying to support us and jobs for my skills were sometimes difficult to find. Finally I found I had a knack for helping senior citizens.. By then of course he'd moved on in his adult life. It really was hard for him growing up, and I have that regret, of moving and having to make new friends over and over. But he's now got friends from his young adulthood which stay in touch with him. I'm glad of that. And I'm very proud of the man he now is, with a great job, a wonderful wife, and two little animal pets, and their own home in CO. Yes, I've dedicated a blog to him on Sept. 4.

Neighbor's cat visiting for a drink of water. She didn't tongue it up like most cats, but stuck her chin in the water and then tried several times to swallow. I wonder if her collar is too tight. I'll mention it to her "benefactor" who feeds her (she used to be totally feral.)

Today's quote:

In the past, I have been a cloud, river and the air. And I was a rock. I was the minerals in the water. This is not a question of belief in reincarnation. This is the history of life on earth.

Thich Nhat Hanh,