2:00am Travel @ JFK

 Another week of travel is not off to a good start.  Coast to coast connections, jostling for positions, picking through airline food, and then mind numbing delays.  Mercifully, I finally arrive at 2am and wearily make my way thru the maze I've come to affectionately refer to as JFK.  As I'm dragging myself out of jetway and into the terminal, a New Yorker with that distinctive Long Island accent approaches me and asks how to navigate the terminals, concourses, baggage and train. Too tired to engage in conversation, I tell him to just follow me.   Along the way I'm thinking...this day is certainly ending in irony; me giving directions to a New Yorker

 

 

So as me and my new friend are winding our way out, he asks me where I'm from. In my exhaustion I mumble that I'm from Utah. With a puzzled look he asks... where's Utah?.  I paused for a second or two, pondering various responses I could give. (In the months of coming here, I realize I have slowly taken on that New York "state of mind" and typically just want to get where I'm going without having to deal with any impediments)  I finally decide on the response which should bring our conversation to a close....I tell him,  "Utah is a city in New Jersey".  Wow, that worked perfectly! He just gave me a quizzical look and didn't ask me another question as we made our way out (ok all of you who think I was rude....did I mention it was 2:00am?  Don't Judge!).

A few weary minutes later we made it up to the transfer station outside the terminal.  While standing on the platform waiting for the train, I hear a soft voice behind me say....."you lied". 

Turning around, I'm face to face with a Jewish man with Yeshivish clothing and his peyos curling out from under his hat. I'm thinking to myself, this really isn't my best travel day. With my finest 2am smile I ask, "excuse me"?   He repeats that I lied to my New York friend.  I pause again, pondering over the many conceivable responses I might give.

 

Finally as the train arrives and were boarding,  I lean over and remind him...."Jacob also deceived Isaac, and that turned out ok".   To which my new Jewish friend exclaimed something in Yiddish (or some language I didn't understand)... which I translated as Touché and shook my hand.

 Never a dull day (Errr, night) in New York

Rock, meets the rock

 

spoiler alert, not the real ship

So work was quiet this afternoon/evening and I decide to drive over to Plymouth to catch the historical sites. In my mind I've always pictured Plymouth Rock to be this mighty bulwark jutting out from the water and providing a safe and strong place for the Pilgrims to establish a home for themselves, their families, future generations, and eventually a new nation. Such was my "vision" of these events. 

My how ships have change

As I pulled up to the harbor, I strained to see this great monument to our history. Hmmm, it must be just out of view, so I park the car and get out to commence my own search for our new beginnings. As the harbor becomes fully into view, I still can't see that rock. Ah, I see a tourist sign that says its just ahead up around a bend. The anticipation builds, my spirit quickens at the realization I'm about to come face to face with the very spot that began it all. I round the bend, and surprisingly there is no dramatic rock in my view. 

Yeah, we all said the same thing

Strangely there is a crowd around a Roman style enclosure with grand columns. As I get closer to this peculiar site, I pass a sign that says "Plymouth Rock" (which by the way has a hearse parked next to it....um, not sure).

Quizzically I approach the Roman monument and look in. There sitting in a hole is a plain ole rock with 1620 chiseled into it. Now is it just me? or did most of you expect that Plymouth Rock was some great outcropping that welcomed the Pilgrims and gave them a memorial spot to take their first steps? I'm staring at this stupid rock sitting in a hole and the romance of this whole historical story is just fading out with the retreating tide.

  Dejected, I turned and made my way back out of the park. Passing the Plymouth Rock sign still wondering why a hearse is sitting there with the door open. Perhaps it's to revive disappointed tourists.  

And why is there a hearse?

 Apparently the story of Plymouth Rock actually goes that the Pilgrims didn't land ON it, rather they anchored by it and stepped on it from their boat.  In fact, the pilgrims didn't even identify it as an important spot at the time. It was 100 years later when someone decided that this overgrown pebble should be memorialized for all time and made a big deal of pulling the rock onto the beach and taking steps to protect it.



Yup, this is it.

So my American History books deceived me just a bit, and I am left tonight to deal with the fact that sometimes our imagination can create a vision far grander than reality.

In the end, this story was not about a rock, but rather about a group of people who set out to be free & live their lives without oppression and onerous government burdens placed upon them.  I wondered what they would think if they could see what has become of their hopes and dreams?  I'm guessing they would be amazed by much, and yet simultaneously perplexed by the burdens we once again carry.  I know there was another civilization on this land before the Pilgrims, and perhaps other civilizations before them.  Annals record that there were events in our nations history that were not our proudest moments.  Nevertheless as a people we have seen this nation bring admirable good to many, righted terrible wrongs, and healed many wounds.  We could have done more, but sometimes our "vision" of what we could/should have done takes on a grander view than what actual good we really have done.  So for a few minutes I was deflated about this Plymouth Rock memorial really just turning out to be a mere stepping stone.  But as I thought about it, there certainly is a grander view that took place as each person departed that ship and stepped onto that rock. 



Here is the real story!

The real view was not what I had;  facing east toward the harbor and looking at the rock, but rather when I turned around to the west to leave and saw a vast landscape spread out in front of me.  This was the view the Pilgrims had before them.  The vision of a new life, new freedoms, new opportunities, and the generations who's lives would be forever altered from the moment those adventurers feet touched that stone.   



Not sure why everyone is dancing?

My vision is too often short sighted and limited by fears & pessimism.  Thank you William Bradford for helping me to turn around from my limited vantage point to see the imaginings of what would unfold out ahead for you and your fellow voyagers. 

I guess a rock isn't a bad symbol to begin a nation on.

 

Dallas Is Moving On

Twenty three years ago Dallas made his entrance onto our family stage.  With five other children to compete with, he had to fight his own way through the crazy atmosphere that was our home.  That kind of became a theme for his life.  As he grew, he was intent on following his own path and direction.  He wanted to open each and every door that appeared along the way just to see what might be there.   Mom and Dad had to watch with terror, tears, and joy as he navigated the journey.  It has been quite a ride with this kid!



 

This weekend, a new passage begins for him.  Kelli has become the love of his life.  He could not have asked for anyone who is better matched to his spirit and soul.  She is a blessing in his life, and ours.  In reflection, Michele and I are watching one more sunset in our life.  For Dallas and Kelli, a new sunrise is just peaking over the horizon where adventures and life's experiences will fill them for decades to come.

 

So our doorstep will be a little quieter, and the days ahead a bit more reflective.  Memories will slowly fade, and new experiences will soon  replace them in our life.  So Dallas, don't forget to drop by from time to time.  We are slowly getting older, and need that energy, excitement, and adventure you carry with you.  Just remember, were not as quick and agile as we used to be.

 

It's kind of amazing when you think your life is in some far off place, and unexpectedly something comes along to turn it completely around, and before you know it, you find yourself.  It's tough to sum up a life in 4 minutes, but this video kind of does that in a little way for us.

                                                            

Jill

 

As we have watched our kids grow into adults, and thus we became older, we got just a little nostalgic about the years of watching our kids grow up and sharing the excitement of what each day would bring. So, we decided to put together a video of each of our kids that would be a short but poignant view of what their life meant to us.

Our first child was a bit of a surprise.  Many even thought she was a "mistake" because she wasn't planned.  Well, she certainly wasn't planned that's true.  However with her birth she became the single most important bond for two young and scared "kids".   Her arrival turned what was a rudderless relationship into a family with a focus on what was important.    Jill was the trial and error child. Being new to this baby process, we tried out our parenting skills out on her, and she let us know if it was an error....which it all to often was. I know our other kids must be shocked to find out we were not always the perfect parents they grew up with...but it's true. We sucked at it and Jill unfortunately had to suffer through with us while we found out how it worked.

Not only was Jill the first child into our home, she was also the first to leave. I think bringing her into our home was hard for Michele. Watching her leave our home was hardest on her dad. There goes my life was a song that so clearly defined how two parents felt to watch a child be born, grow, and then head out on her own. One Day Chase will head out on his own, and then Jill will comprehend what happens to a parents heart. Enjoy the slide show.