Just Because

Just because it is cold doesn’t

   mean there is snow.

Just because there is sunshine doesn’t

   mean it is warm.

Just because there are words doesn’t

   mean it is poetry.

Just because words exist

   there is memory.

Just because there is memory

   there is hope.

Just because there is hope

   there are Valentines.

Just because I am incompetent

   doesn’t mean I despair.

Just because the snow melts

   snow drops bloom.

Just because snow drops bloom

   winter dissolves.

Just because winter dissolves

   I am here.

Just because I am here

   I ask, “Will you be my Valentine?”

Just because?

Lake Pend Oreille

         
           8. Another beautiful lake for which I am thankful is Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho. I’ve heard it said, but I’m not sure it’s true, that Lake Pend Oreille is the largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi in the United States. I have every reason to believe this is true because except for the Great Salt Lake (which obviously doesn’t count as fresh water) I see no other such large bodies of water on the map.

            Because of its great size and dept Pend Oreille has a rich history in our nation’s presence in World War II. And because of where it is that history is largely unknown to the rest of the country. During the war it served as the second largest naval base in the country mainly for submarine testing. Because of its isolation it was felt that it would go undetected by the Axis powers. That proved to work for us. Farragut Naval Base on the southwestern shores of the lake is now a popular state park but part of the old base is still used for testing on the edge of the park in tiny Bayview, Idaho. The only building left of the huge naval facility is the brig. The rest of the buildings were all hastily erected of green lumber which warped and twisted with the drying of age so they were all torn down.

            My childhood memories of the lake were mainly just trips to or beyond Sandpoint and the drive over the long bridge that extends south of Sandpoint toward Coeur d’Alene. As an adult my memories are of cross country races at Farragut State Park and weddings on the beach in Hope. Unlike the other lakes of North Idaho, I haven’t spent hours swimming in its waters or hiking its shores. I know its beauty more from the seat of a car than anything. On the North shore the mountains are slightly removed from the shores but in the south of Farragut they jut majestically out of the black waters that seem to penetrate to the center of the earth.

            Most of the lake is largely unpopulated and the east side is not easily accessed. Sure Clark Fork, Hope, Bayview and Sandpoint rest on its shores but the lake is huge. And most of it looms large in my imagination because I’ve never been to those distant shores. While I do hope to visit those areas, I also love how it reflects Idaho and remains aloof from human distraction. That intese beauty brought from water, mountains and isolation is what makes me such a huge lover of Lake Pend Oreille. 

February Running

So here is a bit of my winter life as a runner:

1 February 2017 Wednesday

            So I got brave last Thursday and I went down to the park for a run. I decided to go to the park and just run over a mile because it had been over a month since my last run. They plow the walking path in the park and since it has been warm enough in the days to thaw I figured the path would be clear. For the most part it was and I found it easy to avoid the few ice patches in the shaded areas.

            The run felt good. I kept the pace slow and easy and I enjoyed the snowy scenery. On Saturday I was feeling muscles in my legs that the last month had almost made me forget but it was good to be reminded that I have muscular legs. I thought I’d run again on Sunday but it got busy and I didn’t push the issue so it didn’t happen. Oh well. Monday will work.

            On Monday morning I awoke to four inches of beautiful new snow that later in the day turned to wet slop. And the trail in the park didn’t get plowed so I didn’t run again. But I shoveled snow. Quite a bit of it.

2 February 2017 Thursday

            And then on Wednesday I ran again. It was late afternoon, about 3:30 and the sun was low on the horizon. All those little melty spots against the pavement in the park began to freeze even as I ran so that on the first lap what was a puddle became black ice on the second lap. I kept running though, just taking little zigs and zags here and there to keep off the bigger ice patches. Only once did I feel a little bit of a slip. So I think I’m ready to cautiously get back in shape to run a few miles. I think it’s time to think about Bloomsday. There’s just one little hindrance and it is my hernia. I’m going to schedule a surgery today. We’ll see what that does to my plans.

6 February 2017 Monday

            So I didn’t get anymore running in over the weekend because of Super Bowl and away high school basketball and rain and dark. Now I am at the point where I have to schedule it. So I’m scheduling it in my afternoon today. It’s going to be a busy day because it is Monday. But I’m going to get my butt back in shape. I’m going to schedule it just like a hernia surgery.

            I have to schedule it because I already know I’m going to have a small relapse when I get my surgery. I’m going to go backwards again. But I’ve been around the block enough times to know that sometimes you’ve got to go backwards a bit to gain the momentum to go forward. And that’s what we have to do is go forward.