And now for something completely different……I can be a very recluse individual…or, the life of the party. My preference….solitude, nature, the wind and sky, the rain and water. I have since a young age of five…my first memories…felt a connection with the forces and gentleness of nature and all of God’s creatures.
Over the years that bond has been strengthened and shared in mutual respect and experiences that I often find hard to fathom my-self. The other day I was sharing some stories of the wood with my friend Jessie when hawks and eagles came up. I shared this post from 2008 with him….that was about two weeks ago, it was written in December of 2007 about an experience I had thirty-eight years ago while squirrel hunting with a Navy buddy.
This weekend it snowed here I live north of Charlotte, North Carolina in a rural area. It is common to have dozens of sparrows, cardinals and blue jays at the feeder…or see deer along the roads in the fields around Sun up and especially Sun down. But I’ve rarely seen much of any hawks. I guess a couple over the six or so years I’ve lived here, but none that stuck around.
So as I said it snowed pretty good here and as I was taking some pics out the back door I saw it. Surprised at first the ID escaped me, having first thought it to be an Osprey. But no…it was a hawk…and it was greyish white in color. It landed on the electric & communication pole across the street and just stood there…watching. I waited for minutes for it to fly and it never did…I wanted a video memory, but it was not to be. He sat there for over 10-15 minutes while I busied myself around the house, checking out the back door window every now and then. Then one check…he was gone…and I haven’t seen him since, but probably will later rather than sooner.
History, memories, experiences and sometimes chance meetings repeat themselves and this encounter was no accident. A memory was shared over thirty years ago and it was relived in the past week. I hope you enjoy this passage called Grey Hawk…"Fly happily towards the warmth and light of the Sun with Love in your heart and the darkness that surrounds the Moon will fade in the distance with its jealousy, hate and rage".
Grey Hawk (By hand Spring of 1980…Re-post from December 2007)
I saw a bird the other day.
Long and sleek with wings of an alabaster color.
He flew on high, not a care on his mind.
Sometimes he glided on the wind currents
Other times he beat his wings in a furry.
This bird was not very big, perhaps three feet or so
With a wing span to match
He was a beautiful creature to see.
I wish I could fly in the clouds
How cool, so long as you don’t get to close to the sun.
Now as I watched this bird, he continued to circle above me
And as I noticed, he was getting closer and closer.
So I thought I’d take a seat on a big log
And watch some more.
Much to my surprise he circled the heavens
And landed at the far end of the fallen tree.
He looked at me, and I at him
And for about a seven second span of time
I felt connected to him and he shared his vision
Of flight with me, although very short it was.
No I did not fly, but he shared with me the feeling
Of soaring the heavens and diving thru the clouds.
So I shared with him the feeling like to be a fish under water.
No I am not a fish, but I do scuba dive.
So the bird was grateful, and so was I.
After our short sharing he left me his name.
And his name was Grey Hawk and he was master of his domain.
To this day I look to the heavens and dream I could fly.
My wish has yet to come true.
But to Grey Hawk I will always be grateful,
For making my dream a bit closer to reality.
I just met my friend Jessie a couple weeks ago. To me he represents everything that is right with this country. Jessie is about to turn 18 years old and is trying to decide his path in life…(at least for the next few years). He is trying to decide between joining the military, chasing his music dreams, continuing school or start building a foundation in a chosen trade or profession. Exciting times for a young man. We share so much in common it scares me, for I was in the same spot around his age…some 40 years ago.
Jessie seemed to have his mind made up for the most part on the military and his preliminary interviews pointed him towards the Navy or the Army. We talked different aspects of both and I shared some of my Navy experiences with him. I left that day without really swaying his decision one way or the other. But a couple days later after I thought about it the answer was obvious…you see Jessie is an expert marksman in his ROTC group. I recommended he become a Navy sniper with the Seals, while still holding his music dear to his heart.
I am anxious to see what he decides to do…perhaps in 40 years he’ll look back on his decision and stand proud he made the right one…even in the face of personal confusion and social distractions.
© B.A.S. …:}… December 2007
Returned to flight...May 12th, 2008 1:00AM EST
Reconnected December 10, 2018 6:36AM EST
First book of John
Psalm 68
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