On being taken down

After last week's bike crash my first reaction was rage. It happened again

In the blink of an eye the world changed. I have known this before. The list of sudden unexpected accidents affecting my life include being hit by a train in 1977, my first wife losing her life in a car crash in 1991 and another bike crash in 2004. That 2004 bike crash left my right shoulder permanently dislocated and left me in chronic pain for the rest of my life.

Vulnerability is a characteristic of life. It's part of life. I remember last Thursday evening laying in the road and screaming, "how could this happen?"

Of course I already knew the answer. It can happen anytime. In the next moment, it can happen. To anyone, it can happen.

I went down, fast

Last Whine & Dine Ride. Photo by: Clyde Butt

One week ago tomorrow I was in a serious bicycle crash. I was accidentally struck from behind by another cyclist. My bike GPS computer recorded my speed as 23.6 mph when I was jettisoned off my bike and onto the pavement, landing on my right hip. This came from a blind side. I never saw it coming.

It took several days to determine the extent of my injuries. I have four fractures. My pelvis is fractured in two places, my left wrist is broken as is one of my ribs on the right side. It has been the most pain I have ever had in my life.

What hurt the most is, it caused me to miss my brother-in-law's memorial last Saturday. My sister has cancer and I really wanted to be there for her with my family. But, what's done is done. Now, I am working on getting back up, slowly.

Trip to Australia - Day 4: Mar 27, 2015

Click here to see photos in Flickr

Today we went on a full day tour to the Blue Mountains, about 1.5 hours out of Sydney. Our first stop was at Featherdale Wildlife Park. Arriving early our tour group had the place to ourselves as we wandered among the kangaroos and all the other animals. Sue pet a Koala!

The Blue Mountains and the famous 3 Sisters rock formations were beautiful. We saw the mountains, 3 Sisters, and waterfalls from lots of different lookouts and trails throughout the day. The expanse of the canyons were pretty amazing – it reminded me of the Grand Canyon but full of trees.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and met an interesting international couple from Ireland and England on their honeymoon.

Tonite in Sydney we made our way over to Darling Harbor. It was a pretty place to walk through with an interesting mix of locals decked out to attend the theater, the local business crowd hanging out after work, and tourists. We enjoyed the great people watching and restaurant choices in a pretty harbor setting.

Trip to Australia - Day 3: Mar 26, 2015

Click Here To See More Photos On Flickr

This morning our day began with a city tour of Sydney. We saw the beautiful Sydney harbor from new perspectives including Mrs MacQuarie’s Chair. Loved seeing and spending time at Bondi beach – it’s amazing to see such beautiful beaches and surf with wonderful warm water right in a major city.

In the afternoon we took a ferry to Manly beach. The sites on the ferry rider were lovely and Manly beach was absolutely spectacular. The approach from the leaving the ferry, strolling across a bustling pedestrian walkway, to the picturesque beach and landscape emerging ahead of you was amazing.  Arriving back in Sydney we walked through the beautiful Botanical Gardens and a very charming part of the city by Hyde Park.

My turn at the pulpit

Sunday, April 26, at CSL (Center for Spiritual Living) I gave my Insight Talk.

It's a feature of the CSL service where a member of the community shares a story of how their spirituality has impacted their lives. I spoke at both the 9.30 and the 11.00 service.  I am told it's well worth watching both, they were off-the-cuff (no notes) so each one was slighly different.

For the 11.00 service, forward to 28.43 minutes into the service and watch until 32.18 when Reverend David starts speaking:

Link Here To Video

Trip to Australia, Day 2

Click on the following link to set of photos from March 25, 2015---> the second day of our trip to Australia.

Trip to Australia, Day 1

Follow this link to a related set of photos on Flickr.

Trip to Australia, Day 1 - March 23, 2015

Amy took us to the San Jose airport to begin our journey with a Southwest flight to LAX. After a long layover we switched to our international flight on Qantas from LAX to Sydney.  So glad we upgraded to Premium Economy. The 747 was really impressive. And nice seats, service, great food, champagne, entertainment, and just enough pampering – much appreciated on the 14 hour plane ride. Our first glimpses of Australia were of beautiful rolling green hills and then more and more water as we approached Sydney. Tired but very happy to arrive!

Follow this link to a related set of photos on Flickr.

Sue's retirement party

Yesterday was Sue's retirement party. More photos are here on Flickr.

Funny Taekwondo lesson by Madison and Jacob

This was such a great afternoon!