We have been married for 57 years and have celebrated your birthday on St. Patrick's Day many times for much fun and celebration. Today, we will do the same.
Best wishes for continued good health and happiness.
I love you, and so do many others.
Mike Garofalo Comments on Eight Ways
We have been married for 57 years and have celebrated your birthday on St. Patrick's Day many times for much fun and celebration. Today, we will do the same.
Best wishes for continued good health and happiness.
I love you, and so do many others.
The Fireplace Records, Chapter 47
Shoveling Up some Dharma
Caught on the Edges of the West: Highway 101
Shoveling Up Some Dharma
Mixing up with water a 60 pound bag of Redi-Mix cement, by hand, using a flat metal mixing bin, water hose, a flat-nosed shovel, and shoveling work efforts by me. We used the mixed concrete slush, "Mud", shovel by shovel full of "Mud" over and and over. The hand shoveled batch of concrete slush, carefully wetted for various building constrution projects, created over and over.
Repeated practice can improve one's skills, reduce workoad, and give to us the real life body-mind experences of working,
ways of being-in-the-world, when making things, producing things, doing things.
This sort of workday construction shoveling efforts for eight hours of work a day,
five days a week;
just think about it,
sink your analytical and feeling sharp teeth
into the feeling memories of when mixing concrete.
I never worked that hard.
[The back of my mind
was bounced around and hurt.]
My father bough two acres of a hillside property, with a clear wide view of the San Gabriel Valley, California, in 1957, in Hacienda Heights, He lived and worked there at "the ranch" for forty years from 1957-1997. In 1997 my dad died at age 82, of complications from congestive heart failure, old age, diabetes, and strokes.
In the 1960's I would do 8 to 12 hours of construction work at the ranch each week, attend Catholic High School, play high school team sports, and later attend college and work at the City of Commerce Public Library.
The land was in the Hacienda Heights, Puente Hills,
Turnbull Canyon, North Whittier Heights;
and Colima Road - Highway 30 Regions;
From Rolling Springs on High at the junction with the Angeles Crest Highway
south to Huntington Beach low tide,
85 miles, up to down, Snow to Surf, a scenic ride.
I'd take a bus from Hacienda Heights on Colima Road 30,
through the many southern cities,
Orange County Newer,
and ending at the Seashore at Huntington Beach CA.
I had cousins living in the Stanton suburban rectangles.
We lived within 25 miles of the Pacific Ocean at Huntington Beach.
I would walk a lot,
having all-weather awakenings.
Joining our summertime emblems:
kites and flapping canvas tens,
keeping wind and sand at bay;
Less clothing, showing more human flesh
and shape, feeling open in the sun;
Wet with Sea surf, boogie boarding or body surfing,
a cool satisfied wet body-mind,
seventeen and strong
[eighty now and fading on.]
Sitting huddled around a San Clemente State Beach campfire,
on a dark winter night, exploring youtful enjoyments.
Standing on wet piers, looking at the waves rocking below,
up and down, back and forth, steadily to the shore,
On some lost late autumn morning
long ago in the San Clemente Pier in a parking lot,
people sorting pier fishing gear, bait, food, drink, raingear, chairs ...
The Pacific, always calling, draws the fishermen nearer.
The jetties drew me, the Bays and harbors drew me,
the hard relentless winter strorm seas smashing
into the Bandon Oregon Sea Stacks and rocky cliffs
all drew me, inticiced me, startled me, the rivers drew me;
seeing the tide lines that mark at the shore,
living with these fluctuations, dying with these fluctuations,
doomed yet divine;
drawn to the Pacific, clinging to the Pacific
a lifeline, a sturdy vine, a factual mind
a poem, just hanging on, on a fisherman's line, sometimes rhymed.
1,000 Collaged Images of the Golden Gate Bridge in my brain.
Rolling in and out, past roadway signs
[Highway 101 at Port Angeles, Aberdeen, Astoria, Newport, Brookings,
Eureka, Redwoods, Santa Paula, San Francisco, San Jose,
Salinas, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Pedro, San Diego .]
Sitting now on a rocky cliff at Bandon. Below us are massive sea stacks
splattered with surf spray as huge waves come smashing into rock.
Powerful sights and sounds never forgotten.
Pacific Beach State Park, Washington
Yurt Camping, Pacific Beach, WA, February 12-15, 2024, Mike Garofalo solo camper. Cancelled due to poor health of Mike Garofalo.
Keeping Your Balance and Avoiding Falls
Safety Tips for Around Your House
For Older Persons, Seniors, Elderly:
Avoid clutter. Don't leave things on the floor. Pick up after yourself.
Make sure you have good lighting for both night and day.
Keep furniture and tables to a minimum. Leave room for walking.
Keep areas beside the bed and into a toilet clear and uncluttered.
Use hand bars beside toilet and shower.
Have a strong small ladder for reaching up to higher shelves.
Wear good shoes indoors.
Make sure rugs and runners are secure on the floor.
Watch out if you have steps into your garage or rooms.
Be careful, slow down, be alert!
Use your cane or walker as needed.
Be aware if medicines you take make you feel lightheaded or dizzy.
If sitting for a long time, stand up slowly and carefully.
Move carefully on arthritic or injured limbs.
Use tips and techniques for standing up carefully and safely.
Exercise each day to improve strength, flexibility, and balance.
Make sure all chairs, seats, and tables are in good working order.
Use it, or slowly but surely loose it.
Keep all cabinet drawers or doors pushed and closed properly.
Let others help you or pay for services.
Know you own strengths, limitations, or weaknesses.
If you are obese, it will impair your balance skills. Loose weight!
Do exercises to improve the strength of your legs and hips.
See a physician for serious dizziness.
Practice Tai Chi Chuan to improve your balance skills.
- Michael P. Garofalo, Balance
Aging Well Information, Bibliography, Quotes, Notes, Links
"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size." - Gertrude S. Wister
The Fireplace Records, Chapter 46
Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty
Caught on the Edges of the West: Highway 101
By Michael P. Garofalo
When young I climbed mountains;
Now old I walk beaches.
My heart has new limits;
My mind explores inside limits.
I saunter effortlessly;
I struggle to understand The Root.
Reading the Vegetable Root Verses; (1)
I fell asleep and dreamt I was awake.
I thought three times;
then moved one way.
I took three steps;
then clearly envisioned the next 333 steps.
From confusion emerged distinctions;
Naming points to a way out of chaos.
By words we find new ways to see;
New ways to discover truths or falsity.
Confucius said, Buddha said, Epictetus said,
the Bible said, the Sufi's said, the Yogi's said:;
Maybe they did or did not - it is said;
Kwan Yin did not say, but helped in some way. (2)
The roaring surf, a splashing chorus;
Reflects my inner concerto of words.
Moving with intention and concentration is fire;
Escaping to an excess of quietude is ashes.
Knowing when enough is enough
and too little is too little;
we light a candle in honor of wisdom.
I could not walk down and up the steep steps to the shore;
my legs too weak and wobbly anymore.
I watched the winter surf crashing on sea stacks;
So I just sat and stared, with my mind quite slack.
Booms of thunder, pouring rain, windy, and cold;
Breakfast at a Bandon cafe, warm, out of the showers.
Reading Lama Sura Das on awakening a Buddha mind;
Thinking of New Year, Jade Rabbits, Spring Festival rhymes;
Thankful for the eggs and hash browns - enjoying this time.
Bullards Beach is not Grayland Beach; (3)
They are both the same - out of my reach.
When I move the roaring surf calls;
When still the silent marsh recalls.
At the south jetty's edge, a damp delightful altar on a rocky perch:
little statutes, plastic flowers,
The two jetties remind me of the Anjali Mudra, Gassho.
The north jetting is my right hand, the south jetty my left,
The Coquille River is the Qi energy between my Prayer Hands:
flowing Cloud Hands, Namaste Hands, Energized Hands, Promising Hands.
Playing with analogies and Gassho hands; I bow where I stand.
Touching the spiritual memories between my hands; I bow where I stand.
Honored by the good intentions between our hands; I bow where I stand.
Low tide, high tide - the yin/yang way;
Heart tenses, relaxes - the yang/yin way.
My heart's a flutter, I'm out of breath;
I'm content with life,
and accept my death.
The sand blows up the dunes and down;
The seasons follow the sun, round and round.
Between Heaven and Earth the seagull stands;
While I play Taijiquan, slogging over dry sand. (4)
We both come and go, then are no more;
Full then Empty are close to Life's Core.
The immense Oceans are undrinkable, and
in some ways unthinkable.
No fresh water begets death, and
Water is Life.
Words from the Heart Scripture went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden. (5)
Something evolves from Something Else, and
nothing evolves from nothing.
Beings emerge from Beings, and
emptiness disappears into emptiness.
"Nothing" is not a noun-thing, and
"Somethings" are dependent relationships.
Forms are Full, and
Fullness begets Forms.
Somethings created my body-mind, and
my body-mind created somethings.
The Dao marries Yin-Yang, and
some of their step-children are Black Holes.
Chaos is not emptiness, and
the Void provides Space for Somethings.
Somethings are transitory, ephemeral, and
They are Not empty illusions or unreal.
Time is the crux of the matter, and
Somethings come and go, appear and disappear.
"Nothing" is the absence of Something
we desire, and
not the presence of something.
Somethings are Appearances, and
Appearances are Somethings.
Is or is not, true or false, real or unreal,
something or nothing, be Careful, and
sometimes choose the Middle Way of Maybe So.
Pointing to Nothing, and
slogging through a muddy muddle of Mu.
Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Open the Door to Wonderous Beings.
Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Embrace Body-Mind-Spirit.
Cast off emptiness and the void.
Gate Gate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha, and
some Lotus plants died in a drought. Oh No!
Words from the Heart went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden. (5)
(1) Master of the Three Ways. By Hung Ying-ming. Translated by William Scott Wilson. 2012.
(2) The Kwan Yin Transmission Book: Healing Guidance from Our Universal Mother. By Alana Fairchild. Llewellyn, 2019.
(3) Bullards Beach State Park is close to Bandon, Oregon. Grayland Beach State Park is near Westport, Washington. Bandon has many sea stacks, and a small rocky shoreline near the 200 foot high cliffs overlooking the sea. Westport to Tokeland consists of flat sandy beaches, sand dunes, and shore pines, shrubs, and grasses. There are no steep rocky cliffs at Grayland Beach. Totally different coastal terrain types in Grayland and Bandon; except for rolling sand dunes covered in grasses.
Bullard's Beach State Park is north across the bridge over the Coquille River from Bandon, Oregon. A large State Park with many sand dunes and ocean beaches with lots of driftwood and items of interest to beachcombers.
Any person can easily drive, bicycle, or walk to the south and north jetties at the conjunction of the Pacific Ocean and the Coquille River. There is an old lighthouse at the north jetty side. There are many miles, on either side of the river, of rock dykes and dirt packed dykes to control the flooding Coquille River. There are many dramatic sea stacks that are south of the two jetties.
Further east from the coast at Bandon, on road 42S, east to Coquille city 42 and Myrtle Point city, was extensive flooding in January of 2023. The entire valley floor farm fields were covered in water for miles on end. Low lying fog made driving the winding country road a bit dicey.
(4) Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan by Michael Garofalo, Vancouver, Washington.
(5) The Heart Sutra and The Threefold Lotus Sutra. Experiences of "emptiness" are often a case of not finding something we desire in the complex world of Somethings. Something desired seems or is missing. We want a drink of water and the glass is empty. Mu,
Poetry - Bibliography, Links, Resources, Guides
Uncle Mike's Cellphone Poetry Series
Meetings with Taoist Master Chang San-Feng
Shifu Miao Zhang Points the Way
The Fireplace Records, Chapter 45
Dancing with the Dao
In a short lecture by Alan Watts, titled "Walking on the Wheel," he contrasts those who favor listening to music with those who favor dancing to music. Both are enjoyable, beneficial, pleasurable, and healthy.
Some Christians and Platonic disciplinarians are disdainful of music, dancing, plays, jokes, games of chance, literature, etc. They contend that such arts corrupt the soul, lead one into vice, overindulge the senses, are sinful, encourage laziness, and take us away from the contemplation of the Divine. Secular pleasures are rejected, puritan attitudes prevail, and contempt for worldly pastimes are demanded.
My wife told me her Church of Christ fundamentalist parents would not allow any Christmas celebrations, not allow her to go to movies or dances, favored only church hymns, would not allow any musical instruments in church services, and condemned secular cultural pastimes. Probably, Islamic parents do the same these days.
Most people ignore the ascetic and disciplinary path to salvation and to the magical after-life. They enjoy both listening to music, playing music, and dancing to a variety of musical types.
A person with a more passive, quiet, contemplative nature enjoys relaxing and listening to music. They settle into stillness and auditory indulgence. These folks also might favor silent still meditation, standing meditation, yin yoga, and Qi Gong practices.
I enjoy dancing, tai chi chuan, and walking while listening to music. I enjoy playing the harmonica. Doing and making with my body-mind has provided me with a lifetime of pleasures and enjoyment.
Comments, Sources, Observations, Koans, Poems, Quips:
Dance, laugh, sing, and smile your way to vibrant health.
The Dao enjoys Dancing.
636 Riddles, Jokes, Witticisms, Humor
Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories.
Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans
Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information
Pulling Onions Over 1,043 One-line Sayings, Quips, Maxims, Humor
Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans
The Fireplace Records (Blog Version) By Michael P. Garofalo