Thoughts during December 2015

All of a sudden it’s mid December. How did this happen? Well, it happens every year, I know, but this year seems different, perhaps special. The reason isn’t apparent at this time, yet the feeling is evident, noticeable and obvious.

December allows us to close the year, reflect on the past 12 months, and this will happen in two weeks in this column. Still there are several thoughts flowing through my mind needing to be discussed and thrashed about at this time.

Class reunion

The Moses Lake High School Great Class of 1965 held their 50th Class Reunion in August. We continue to glow in the aftermath of visiting with friends from long ago.

A closed Facebook page was established in February. Closed means each person needs to be invited to join. Plus the content is closely monitored.

This page grew to 150 members and served a significant and important purpose. The page allowed classmates to clear the cobwebs of 50 years. The catching up which usually takes place during the first night of a class reunion was eliminated, because the page allowed this to take place online. The bantering was enlightening, educational and just plain fun.

The reunion was scheduled for a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. After a comment about Chico’s Pizza was posted on the page, Classmate John Walsh said he wanted to go to Chico’s and have pizza. I mentioned we have a dinner set for Friday and Saturday evenings, so an evening of pizza would be difficult to arrange. I suggested classmates arrive on Thursday and we could enjoy a pizza night.

A great percentage of classmates changed motel reservation from a Friday night arrival to a Thursday arrival. We planned on 50 people, but over 100 converged at Chico’s. The Friday night picnic saw 150 people visiting and we planned on 150 for dinner on Saturday, but 166 meals were served.

The visiting continues on the Facebook page and the plan is to maintain the page until…well forever. I highly recommend this avenue for future classes.

My wife, Garnet, and I belong to three organizations involving writing; Northwest Outdoor Writers’ Association, Outdoor Writers’ Association of America and Professional Outdoor Media Association.

Each has a monthly newsletter containing current news and, sometimes, helpful tips. The most helpful tip gleaned over the years is the use of the word “that.”

Readers will notice this word is seldom, if ever, used in my writings these days. There is no reason to have it in a story/column. There are better, more significant, words in our language. Try removing this word from your writings. If you hit a roadblock while using “that,” give me a call and we will discuss other possibilities.

Packie War

There have been a few of my columns which begin with, “So there I was, minding my own business, when …” The plan is to write several more of these and combine them in book form sometime in the future.

The past two columns provided a 99 percent true story about The Packie War, a war containing several battles between a pack rat and me. This was an enjoyable story to write and submit.

The surprise, a pleasant one, is the number of positive comments received about the story. The most common remark centers around this idea, “Can’t wait for the next chapter,” or “When do you plan to write the rest of The Packie War?”

This story was originally planned as one column, but quickly expanded into a second. A third column about Packie was not planned or even considered. Now, however, more writings about this delinquent rat may be in the works, by popular demand.

Readers can expect more columns beginning with “So there I was, minding my own business, when …” for sure. You want them, I’ll provide them.

Enjoy the outdoors

Venture into the great outdoors and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer. This is easy to say, but some people spend only a minimum amount of time taking advantage of this fantastic opportunity.

Adults should realize it is their responsibility to instruct youngsters about the ins-and-outs of nature. An adult who didn’t learn as a youngster can become educated alongside the youth, the two learning together.

Example: Birding is a fun pastime. Purchase a bird-identification book and keep a list of the birds sighted and identified. A word of caution here, this endeavor can be addictive.

Of course camping, fishing, wildlife viewing, hunting and geocaching can also be pursued. Every spark of interest demonstrated by our youth should be explored.

These are all activities which can last a lifetime and will create memories which will be remembered and passed along to generation after generation.