Dedication

I slept in this morning. I didn't get up until 530. Wow did that feel great. After stoking the fire in the house, I headed out to the greenhouse and got that one going again. It was about out but thanks to some fat lighter and a match, it was soon roaring and heating things up. Looks like the plants made it through another cold snap. Now it's time to get more wood ready and reorganize before the cold hits again. After getting the fires going, I settled into my chair with a hot cup of coffee to watch my favorite channel, The Weather Channel.

They were running a short segment this morning about Rock Climbing. It takes a lot of physical and mental ability to be a rock climber. More than that, it takes a lot of determination, dedication and guts. This segment was filmed at Yosemenie National Park at a particular rock face that is 3000 ft tall. My guess it is a very popular climbing spot as they showed a number of people on it at this particular time.

This is something that I have no interest in as I am afraid of these kind of heights. Hanging on the face of a rock by a rope is just not my cup of tea and my hat is off to anyone that can do it. These people had the best equipment though from their shoes to ropes and hooks and test them over and over before attempting such a daring feat. This wall is so challenging that it takes several days sometimes to climb it so they rig up something that lets them sleep and eat on the face of the rock and rest over night. Besides the expensive equipment, they train for months or even years before doing it. Some people even devote their entire lives to climbing rocks such as this. Wow impressive.

Me I just head off to work each day and maybe go fishing or swimming on the weekends. I am no thrill seeker trust me. This weekend we are doing something really challenging. We are going to do Adopt a Highway and pick up trash on our street. It is 10 miles long so we won't get it all done but we will hit the worst spots. It has become littered with trash which blew out of cars and trucks or was thrown out. We enjoy doing it and it teaches the boys something about responsibility.

There are almost 3000 people that live on this island but less than 20 that regularly pick up trash. We make 4 of the 20. Some people wave as they pass, some honk their horns and others just fly by us in disgust and see how close they can get to us. Once in a great while, someone will slow down and say thank you but it doesn't happen very often.

I wonder how many rock climbers or other devoted individuals live on this island. I know for a fact that there are many. There are rock climbers, runners, hunters, fishermen and who knows what else. These enthusiasts spend tons of money and time devoted to their sport of choice. And I am not saying that is a bad thing. I love to walk, run, go fishing just like the others but I devote a portion of my time trying to make this a better world. When we go to our favorite island, we swim and fish but always end our trip by picking up trash on the beach. Often we find birds, fish or turtles tangled up in the trash that people discarded into the ocean.

I hear a lot of talk these days about how the government is so messed up. People blame the leaders for many of the things that are wrong today. I agree that this country isn't going in a direction that I feel it needs to in many respects but then I am sure there are some positive things happening as well. I work in the power generation industry and you wouldn't believe the changes going on to improve emissions. Unfortunately few countries are following suit and big countries like China are making no advancements at all.

So ask yourself, are you so devoted to sports and self entertainment that you have lost sight of what really matters? What have you done to make this a better place to live? If we all pitch in, we can make a difference. And I think it is time to stop complaining about the President and get out and vote. Stop complaining about the trash and get out and pick it up. Stop complaining about hatred and violence and do something about it. Lets just stop complaining and do something. Enjoy your weekend but please do something positive.

Have a wonderful day,
Greg

PS, Honk if you read this post. :)