Visit From Woodstock Friend

 Yesterday I received a phone call from Judy Schiller Landry. She is a violinist friend/ acquaintance from my 3 years at Woodstock School in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains near Mussoorie, India. If you read my blog you understand that both of us are of very ripe age. When she was about 17 and I was about 14 my father requested that she further my instruction in violin which turned out for several months when our family rather suddenly returned to America because my father's deteriorating health.

We met each other again at a Woodstock School reunion just about it was over and then several times again to play in a trio or other grouping  at a function of the reunion. She has a daughter near Richmond ,Va. and we have kept in touch annually by Christmas letters. She lives in Tennessee, and was in town to an orchestra performance and wanted to visit and that's how it all came together. It was a fine visit and we traced out our lives and compared anecdotes from our ancient times at Woodstock to the present as time permitted. Her daughter and my wife interpolated their life experiences also.

Today, a mild winter snow event passed through. We had about 2.5 inches until noon or so. I had some honey do tasks to complete but wanted to complete this entry to my blog for posterity. Life is interesting and mine I thank God for the memories of interesting people I have met along my journey.

More Snow...'

 Pardon me but the boy in me is relishing the winter scenery since this is the first real winter experienced in several years. Facebook is full of neighbors' and family pics. These are for my own enjoyment.The top four are from our kitchen window early in the morning looking west and the bottom one is from our living room looking east. Tempature around 30 degrees F.

January 6th, 2025 Snow!

 Last night there was a winter warning posted, the first in quite some time. In Midlothian, Virginia near Richmond we had scarcely any measurable snow for several years. I really believe that we are into an earth warming cycle perhaps aggravated by extra CO2 and other gases. I will be interested in seeing if we have considerable more snow and normal cold for this "winter". I remember years in Roanoke in the 1960's where it was not uncommon to have decent snows a little after Thanksgiving. It began snowing here around 6:47 pm last night. I filmed several videos and took several photos. It must have continued some of the night because there was about 2 inches+ on surfaces except the road.

This was a slow day for Lib and I. Not much exciting happening. I took more pics and videos and thought to record it here, for my own entertainment. We did get a phone call from son in law, Jeff Miles, that after Cathy went to work they lost power.... it came back on several hours later. It's supposed to get colder and more snow tonight.

 I'll try to add more if it shows up tonight.....also got a phone call from a church lady who wanted to wish Lib and I a Happy 2025. There was no significant additional snow. 

More Ramblings July 17,2024

 The night draws nigh and souls who are in transition mode whisper their last musings into their personal beings. Did I pre exist and if so, do I return? If  "I" didn't then do I dissolve at death. Where did that energy we call the soul go? And the void doesn't respond.

A man named Jesus spoke great words of comfort to His people. They had spoken of this mysterious power in their journey up from Egyptian slavery, "I AM" it spoke." MAKE NO LIKENESS OF ME" so they spun this story calling it shepherd leading sheep and other allegorical likenesses in words.Jesus called it something even more familiar, Father. And some of the Jews from ancient days believed they were "chosen" and had this Being calling them "My Chosen People" and Paul from visions enlargening that to include the rest of us as "adopted". We were admonished to love this Being with heart, soul, and mind and our neighbors as our selves.

Loren Eiseley, a favorite writer of mine runs the story of man backwards. His specialty is explaining how we became human. In stories from his book, "The Immense Journey " he runs through the skulls of sentient man. As we join the descent we watch the pitiful spectacle of man losing the ability to speak, where Nature is fearful and he has no guides to show him the way. In his small mind there is no past and no future, just the present. 

Eiseley gently guides us further down into the depths of the sea from whence all life emerged. But, Eiseley just leaves the enigma there. The clues stops there. Now after Eiseley's death, we the inheritors of this "life force" seem driven to create mechanical minds that behave like sentient humans with or without bodies. 

So,just as cosmic "beings" announced the birth of Jesus, there is renewed interest in His promise to return. It speaks to mankind's dream of living forever, to somehow make sense of the purpose of our existance here.

Well, it's getting late this middle of July evening and I'm about mused out. Had a good music session with my guitar buddy yesterday. Glad we can still make satisfying music together. Nitey nite 

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MY 87 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

 On my birthday our daughter, Cathy's family took us out for supper. It was a very happy occasion. The food and conversation were delicious and interesting. Top pic is Devin (grandson), and son in law, Jeff.Middle pic is my wife Lib and me, and  last pic is Lib, me, and our daughter, Cathy.This may be one of my last blogs. It's getting increasingly difficult to find and follow directions learning a new skill. I wanted to put these 3 on my blog and it took me some time to discover how do it. We used to be able to drag and drop, not any more.

So blessings to anyone who follows me here. I'm also on FaceBook. Bill Kinzie

July 2,2024 Feeling much better!

 Been icing my lower back and really being careful about walking and bending.Listening to my body and trying to be careful. Yesterday I drove 20 minutes round trip for pizza supper. No serious pangs. Slept well and again cautious about my walking style.No serious pangs, but it still lets me know to treat it with respect. This afternoon I drove to Publix about 4 miles one way and did a normal Tuesday grocery run. Arrived back home and stepped up leading with my left foot....it growled a little as if to say " don't you dare do that again!" Lib helped put the groceries away and I'll ice it again.

Beginning to feel much more normal again and less dubious about the near future. My birthday is on the 5th and my loving family is going to treat Lib and I to a supper! Yay! Stay tuned here for details as they develop.

More ramblings (A little more urgent)

 Sunday morning June 31-2024.

I suspect a few of you are reading this ... so for your edification here goes!

Most of you are aware of the Thursday night debate debacle, especially if you're capable of arriving here. I see myself in that situation so hope to complete some more thoughts on my condition....while my mind still remembers and works.

I notice as does Lib, my short term memory is fading fast. Rather than a few blanks every few days, it's a multitude of blanks daily as she needs to remind me frequently what I started to do as she instructed .(That may come from woman's ability to multitask, still I should be cognizant of that weakness in my mental capacity.) You might say, "But Bill, you can still navigate to here and add to your blog. You write with college level wording and spell correctly." That's why I'm writing now, while I still have that ability. 

So let me bring you up to date since my last entry. I did an exercise that pulled a muscle in my back, one self diagnosis corroborated by my doctor and Lib's PT person. I also wonder if it is the return of a lower backbone (laminectopy) operation several decades ago because of age related degeneration of the spine. In either case that really impacts on walking from the pain it can generate! We'll see whether skillfully applied PT may fix that, because that directly affects other necessary life activities such as:

1. Driving: Not being able to drive is a major hurdle when I must be the grocery shopper! By itself it puts that task and doctor's visits on somebody else.Right now Cathy has assumed some of that.

2. If it gets so bad that I can't function in our home that becomes another major caretaking problem for someone. That either is a very probable outcome is a scary scenario. It's a regression to child and babyhood if one continues to live. Not a pleasant thing to contemplate.

3. I wonder whether these problems will accelerate or just move slowly and inexorably on. 

So these are the thoughts I share here for those of my inner circle of Facebook friends who may have some interest or advice, Respond at wkinzie@gmail.com . Cheerio and God bless!

So