bierkergaard

IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period. So writes Charles Dickens in his epic novel "A Tale of Two Cities." Not much has changed except I think the pace of the times. It used to be the horse drawing the carriage of clock, now it is a plane, train, or automobile. Or is the clock pulling us? I wonder. Space and Time are related in some Einsteinian manner. The faster we travel in space, the more time literally flies. We are always going. Books are a way to be, to set aside a period, to be metered by something else than the digitization of

I have good friends, a couple, who have a skinny almost all-white cat named Sock Monkey. Actually, that is my name for him. I think his real name is Wolfgang. I call him Sock Monkey because, well, he looks like a Sock Monkey. The other week I was chilling at their place and Sock Monkey was getting pretty chummy with me. I mean he was purring when I was petting him, all sweet and cozy. It was a love fest. I had a cat named Barnabas who was about the sweetest animal of all time. He had all the wonderful traits of a dog--namely a people pleaser who liked to be pet--without the bark. Plus, I could leave him alone while away for a weekend and he would be fine. Although, the 11 days I left him alone in my apartment in Lancaster was pretty wrong. I think, based of the size of the turds in the litter box, that he ate all of his allotted food in three days. He was a bit ticked when I finally got home. I truly was not a good nominee of Frisky Buffet's Cat Owner of the Year Award. So,

Proverbs 23:9 Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it. I have about the best commute to work scenery-wise. Through Penn's Woods in all her glory, on a back way up to my school. Sometimes, I have to remind myself of how pretty Pennsylvania is. It is not all I know but I am here most of the time so the beautiful becomes routine. Ah, to see things with fresh eyes. All in all, it is quite a serene way to begin the day. I have prayed much through the trees and branches in the last 20 years. About the only thing that wrecks the peace of the commute is a fellow driver behind me too close to my bumper, as if I am a magnet and they are the metal. I have tried various strategies in the past. Pull over. I have gotten hit doing so. Go faster. All that typically happens is the driver behind me accelerates. Neither  approach seems to work. Within the last year, I have tried another plan. Just adjust the rearview upwards so I can no longer see the mirror. It keep

Ecclesiastes 9:11 Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them. "The ox is slow but the ground is patient." I made a comment the other day on a Facebook Group comprised of those on the older side who are still trying to stay fit physically that I felt as if I had done my previous 4 mile run that day like a slow ox. Someone chimed in with this quote then disavowed any knowledge about what it meant. The group is called "Use It or Lose It." I had not run in two months. Since surgery, I had been taking it easy. Not running or lifting--and I have the girth to prove it. But, the day my surgeon stated where I could resume all activities was March 9th. Thus, this week I have completed the 4 mile run three times. And it has hurt. So, the FB group could be titled "Lost It, Trying to Find It.&