Be Content

A few weeks ago a new friend we talked about whether it would be better rich or poor. His answer would be what most people would answer be rich, however, things would not change. I thought later the most important thing is to be content whether rich or poor. Of course, it is easier said than done.

I believe a lot of rich people find it hard to be content because they are concerned about the money they make. They not concern about the money they have made, but how they can make even more or make sure they don’t lose the money.

The poor may look at continue to be sure they can get by each day, and pay check to pay check. In some cases whether they can eat, and feed their children.

I believe a lot of people are somewhere in between being poor and rich especially here in the United States. The problem with each is how important money is. Many people spend all their money whether it is a lot or little. The secret is are we content whether we have little or much. I would say many are not.

Being content is not an easy thing to do. I find in some ways I am content, and in other ways I am not content. I would say besides money another thing is the circumstances we are in. It could be our health, or those of who we know whether family or friends. Another would be are we content with our job, or are we stressed out because of our job. My most recent job I was content in performing my duties, however, those in positions above me gave stress because I felt I had to do everything perfect. So the stress of the job outmatched the content I had in the job. Often it will make things awful, and make your health bad. Also, can’t wait to get off work and not looking forward going to work. I believe those most content at work do not let circumstances control their lives. They have a positive attitude under all circumstances.

I believe the most content are those who have great faith, and stand on it. Faith is believing in what you can’t see or understand. Regardless of the circumstances you know what you believe in. Continue working on our lives we can become content whether rich or poor.  Money is what we use, and not what the most important thing is. Being content along with our talents and gifting is what makes who we are. Other people can feed off of them. It is not easy to do; however, those close to us will appreciate it. 

No Title

Usually I write a title before writing my blog, however, this time decided not to and write about several things.

Last weekend Gig Harbor had its annual Arts Festival along with chalk art work on the sidewalks. The chalk art work is done by adults, children, and teenagers. A lot of them are quite creative while some will take a picture, and draw from it. I am not sure how long the Arts Festival has been going on but the amount of booths seem to increase each year. I expect there were about fifty booths. Though downtown Gig Harbor in its own a great place to go, I believe the city council is trying to increase the amount of people coming downtown since most of the shopping centers are up by the highway.

Saturday night Seattle had it’s torch light parade. I am not sure how many years it has been going on but it has for many years. Several hundred thousands show up each year. It is the start up what is called Seafair. Though Seattle has several events going on during the summer Seafair is the highlight of the season. Coming up this week will be the Blue Angels who have been performing many years as well. Last year they took  time off because of the government shut down, but they will be back better than ever this year. Also, around town this week will be the Seafair Pirates. They have been around a long time since I remember them when I was a kid. They were part of the torch  light parade as well along with visiting hospitals and other parades throughout the year. Seafair ends with the Hydroplane races on Sunday. It is a great time to visit Seattle, and children remember for many years.

This last week the weather was not the best with some rain, and lower temperatures. Having the forest fires in north-central and eastern Washington the rain was needed. Now the temperatures for the next week will be back to normal for summer. Most of the time Western Washington has the lowest temperatures in the country primarily in the 80s. I consider it ideal weather.

Baseball with only about fifty games remaining, and football training camp starting means summer is coming real close to the end. I was asked that on Saturday if I was looking forward to football. I said yes in some ways but it means baseball, and summer are close to coming to the end. Also, commercials for school shopping will be starting within a few days. For me summer was always the best time of the year. I could do what I wanted to do instead of what others wanted, and expected me to do.

I hope you enjoyed this no title blog. Next time I am sure I will have a title unless I decided to go with the sequel no title part 2. 

Summer Visits

This is the time of the year often families get together for reunions. Though it would be nice if families lived close together in many cases it is not happening. Some families like mine my mother and I live here in Gig Harbor, Washington. My sister and brother both live on the east coast. It is more common than it used to be where families live a lot of distances apart. Also, there are those who have come recently from other countries so they still have relatives back home.

Next weekend my brother and his youngest son Danny will be coming here for about a week. They not only will be visiting my mother and I my nephew Ian the middle son is here this summer doing an internship with Microsoft. When Ian is not working they will spend time with him. Of course, mother and I will plan on spending some time as well.  It really will be nice to spend time in Seattle, and I will write here on the blog about our time, and where we will go. Also, they will spend some time in Gig Harbor as well.

 I have said before that there are a lot of things, and places to go around here so I am sure we will visit additional places. I look forward to riding the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle if the time permits.

Last year at this time my brother and his wife moved near Washington D.C. where most of her family now lives. Danny spent last school year in Paris, France where he had a wonderful time and met some new friends as well learning French, and traveling the country of France. In another month he will start his freshmen year at Harvard University.

Ian when he finishes his internship at Microsoft he will go back to Harvard to finish his senior year in Computer Science. I am sure Danny will like having Ian around to show him the ropes of Harvard.

My sister Barb is looking to come here from Quebec, Canada in late September. Her work schedule doesn’t allow her to come right now. So it will be nice to spend time alone with her. Most likely we may do some different things when she comes.

I really hope you are able to spend time with family this summer. I have friends who have family real close so they spend more time together. The most important thing is to have quality time. Also, I know those who have family close by but do not see much of each other which I think it is really ashame. We need to realize that life is short, and we need to spend the most time together we can.

Have yourself a great weekend, and enjoy everyone that you are spending time with either family or friends. 

Forest Fires

While there is crisis in different parts of the world one of the biggest stories in the USA is right here in my home state of Washington in the north-central and eastern part of the state. Currently going on is the largest forest fire in history of Washington near the small town of Carlton, Washington. Carlton is situated near three different national forests so forestry fighters not only from Washington but other states have been fighting it for about three weeks along with a few other smaller fires.

Right now we are having a down pour of rain here the first for this month of July. It is not expected to be very long, and back to normal summer weather at least for the rest of July. Hopefully, Carlton area is getting some rain fall as well. Besides containing the fire there is worry that lightning storms may come, and start other fires as well.

Carlton is in Okanogan County, and is an area that is very popular during the summer especially for young families, and young people. A lot of people from Western Washington go there for camping during the summer. They have concern not only for the people living there, but also for the campers as well.

During the summer the temperatures get over hundred degrees very often. I pretty much stay away from that area because of the high temperatures. There are several wonderful lakes in the area so if I did go camping I would spend most of my time swimming so I would not get either sun burn or stroke. Being fair skinned it would be easy for me to burn.

If you can handle the sun, and the hot weather I would recommend it very highly. Most summers there are forest fires in the north-central, and eastern part of Washington, however, they are usually small, and contained very fast.

A few years ago I traveled through the area to visit my cousin Rob who lives in Vernon, British Columbia. It is another wonderful place to visit with several lakes as well. This is very true especially for those who really enjoy camping, and getting away from the big cities.

Washington State and British Columbia are both great places to live as well as to visit. They are both made up of a lot of small towns like Gig Harbor. There are so many that I do not know all the names of the towns. I guess I would say I will need to do more research by looking at maps. Until next time enjoy the rest of your week, and summer. 

I Continue Walking

I continue walking almost every day in Gig Harbor. One day last week I went off the main trail of Cushman Trail. There was this little dirt trail I had seen before mainly because I see sometimes others who either leave or enter the Cushman Trail at that spot. This day I decided to take the trail to see where it would go. It was not very long going only a few hundred feet. It went into a housing project, and than walking another few hundred feet I ended on Reid Road that I travel almost every day between home, and Gig Harbor itself.

The major thing I realized though Gig Harbor population, and houses have more than doubled in the last forty years there is still a lot of trees in the area. I know it is true, however, most of the time I do not think about it. It is amazing things you see, and think about when walking. So I walked along Reid Road until I got back to the shopping center where my car was it. Besides all the trees I saw how many streets say private road on the signs. So unless you are living down one of those streets, or know someone that you are visiting you can’t go down the street. There are a few streets you can down on, but most of them are private. The ones I have gone down before I have seen many different homes which is astonishing since the main road you see lots of trees. Most of the trees in Gig Harbor are Douglas Fire along with some maple trees. There are some other various trees as well.

This all reminded me that when I was college age my parents, and I were invited over to a couple’s home near downtown Gig Harbor. I do not believe my brothers or sister were in town. They were off at college or living elsewhere. Anyway the couple were members of our church St.John’s Episcopal Church. They were elderly and wealthy, and no longer around for many years. I do not remember why we went other than we did have dinner along with other members of the church. I remember going to their backyard, and how large it was. It was though I entered the Wizard of Oz. I had never seen anyone with such a big backyard before. It is not true, however, at the time it seemed like to me Gig Harbor had just doubled in land size. They had many trees along with a beautiful garden. At the time I wondered if other homes in Gig Harbor had large backyards. I felt as though Gig Harbor was different than I had known. Since then until now I have not thought about that night.

Though Gig Harbor is still a small town by the standards it is much different than when I was growing up. Many of the homes are larger than the ones I knew. There are some homes that are stacked next to each other on the private roads, however, there are still others that have a few acres of land as well. It really makes me think how Gig Harbor will look in the next twenty to forty years. 

Pictures Tell a Thousand Words

They say pictures will tell the same as a thousand words. So this blog I have decided to show pictures. This will tell you why I love Gig Harbor so much.

Looking toward East Gig Harbor

Head of Gig Harbor looking toward the downtown waterfront with Mount Rainier in the background.

Another picture of Gig Harbor with Mt. Rainier looking bigger in the background

This is Shansie  Park I mention on previous Blog.

Living with Wild Animals

In the last forty years the human population of Gig Harbor has increased more than double. I am not sure if it is the same for wild animals. It does seem like we are seeing more of the wild animals than before, however, I think a lot of it has to do with the animals looking for food.

The most common animals are deer, raccoons, and bears. I haven’t seen bears; however, a lot of them have been reported by people. In fact, there are more reporting of bears around Gig Harbor than any other part of Washington State.  I have friends who have shown pictures of animals on social media primarily deer’s.  Some of them see the deer’s a lot on their property so they even have named them. Also, I have a deer walking down the street of Gig Harbor. They really feel they belong. It really shows that we are out in the country side. I like that the fact we are out in the country, however, the city is really close. We have the best of both worlds.

On the waterfront we see a lot of Canadian Geese, Sea Gulls, and Ducks. When I get the chance I will add pictures of them in the future on this blog.

Last Sunday I was at Skansie Park which is on the waterfront.  I talked to a lady who said to me that we must live in the most beautiful place in the world. I responded back that she is correct especially in the summer.  There are a lot of people who get discouraged during the winter, spring, and fall because of the rain, and cloudy skies. I guess I am used to it, however, I understand why people will live elsewhere during those seasons. I had another lady say she only here during the summer months because she is originally from England, and she says these months here are like England. She has had enough of that kind of weather.

I am sure most people enjoy the place that they live though there are exceptions.  I think kids especially don’t like living here except in the summer because they feel like there is not a lot to do. Also, I can understand that as well. Growing up in Gig Harbor I enjoyed all the times especially playing sports, and going out on our boats. We lived on the waterfront as well with all glass so we had probably the best view of all Gig Harbor. When we had visitors they always made comments about our beautiful view. I always enjoyed the snow when it came in during the winter. It really does not seem like we get as much snow now as back then. It is not like we had a lot of snow ever but now two or three inches at a time seems like a lot where we had about five inches. The most disappointing we never have a white Christmas.

I really hope you really enjoy the place that you live. Of course, most places are not perfect. Next time I will show some pictures I have taken of Gig Harbor. If you would like I recommend doing a search of Gig Harbor to find out more information. Of course, I will continue writing about Gig Harbor, and the other towns in Washington State. 

The World Cup

I want to first congratulate all of you in Germany for winning the World Cup. Your team played so good, and you have waited since 1990 to win the World Cup again.

I have to admit I am not a big fan of footbaal which we call soccer here in the USA; however, the World Cup is different because they are the best players in the world.  As far as watching footbaal I believe it is the best in person. Like most fans I am sure playing the game is better than watching.

Last year I went back to St. Louis, Missouri see my nephew Danny graduate from high school. Added plus my brother Jack, and I drove along with Danny to Springfield, Missouri to see him play on his club team in a state tournament. His team did not win the tournament; however, I really enjoyed watching him, and his team play.

Our local Major League Soccer team last night (Sunday) the Seattle Sounders played one of their rivals the Portland Timbers, and beating them 2-0. It must have been really exciting not only beating a rival, but, there were over 64,000 fans attending the game. Like fans in around the world that are into footbaal they go crazy.

The main reason I am not into footbaal or soccer, it was not a big sport when I was growing up. I did have a few friends growing up who played the sport, but most kids did not play. We sometimes would play during physical education class, but, I generally was put on the defensive side which for me was disappointing since all the other sports I enjoyed the offensive side of the games. It wasn't only playing defensive the team I played on was always seemed to me to be on the offensive side of the field. If I was going to play defensive I at least wanted to hit the ball which I did not get the chance. Also, I felt disrespected playing defense because I thought I was being considered a poor player. I don’t think I was a bad player because I was never was given the chance to play offense. I believe it was more I was not liked. It was another part of childhood I did not like.

I am sure if I played today things would be much different. It would be nice to go out and hit the ball around. It is sad how kids can be labeled.

Again I want to congratulate the German team.

  

Retiring Community

So-called experts say that Gig Harbor will be eighty percent retirees in the next ten to twenty years which means I will be one of those people.  I am not sure they will be correct; however, they have built a few new assistant living, and senior housing centers.   If this is true than more centers for seniors will be built. It is contrary to what has been going on in Gig Harbor. I would say when I was growing up Gig Harbor was likely eighty percent young families.  I do now see that there are less young families, however, I am not sure if it will increase to eighty percent. I would say closer to sixty percent.  If it does go up to eighty percent I would say less houses will be built. Most likely the young families that would still be in the area looking to purchase a home would be looking to remodel those home that need work to be done.

There is a town called Sequim (pronounced skuim) which is about 90 minute drive north of Gig Harbor. I would say it is likely close to eighty percent retirees.  Besides Gig Harbor I recommend visiting Sequim. It is an inlet on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  I consider it a great place to visit for the day.  The two places I would visit at Sequim is the Olympic Game Farm, and Dungeness Spit. The Olympic Game Farm has animals that have been used on Disney shows and movies.  It is a place where you drive threw, and likely the buffaloes will come along the side of your car. I would recommend keeping your window up at least at that point because buffaloes like to slobber, and I am sure you don’t want to get a wet one. The Dungeness Spit is world famous for the Dungeness Crab.  There is a five mile hike along the Dungeness Spit. When I was a young kid our family visited the Dungeness Spit my older brother Dick went way ahead of us. My younger brother and I were both hungry so we decided to go eat, and let Dick continue his walk. I don’t think at the time we could even see him, and we figured we go back to find him when we finished eating. When we went back to find him he was walking along the highway without a care in the world. We still laugh about it today.

Sequim has a lot of retirees because it not only a beautiful place, but it has at least half the rain that Gig Harbor has for the year. They say the amount of rain is about the same as Los Angeles less than sixteen inches a year.  As far as population goes it is about the same as Gig Harbor, however, the area is much different. For the retirees they do have several golf courses to play nearby. What makes it really amazing about the rainfall is that Sequim is near the Olympic Rain Forest which has more rain than any other rain forests in the United States.  I recommend going there as well during the summer time.  You may find it raining but not nearly like it would be the rest of the year.  

I feel anyone visiting the Olympic Peninsula for at least a week will have a wonderful experience. I believe it will be something you will remember the rest of your life. Get yourself a map, and see many places to visit on the Olympic Peninsula. 

What Comes to Mind

Last weekend I realized that my sister lives near and works in Ottawa, Ontario; my brother lives near and works Washington D.C. If you guess right like me they are in the capital of Canada, and capital of USA.  

I still live in our small town of Gig Harbor, Washington. We may think as far as influence goes Ottawa, and Washington D.C.  seem to be more than Gig Harbor because the difference of large cities, and a small town.  It is really true, however, Gig Harbor has about ten thousand people they also have a lot of influential people too. My old   neighborhood on the waterfront the average home is around a million dollars, however, many people travel to many different parts of the world as far as business.  I am saying this as a point to say we can be influential no matter whether we have a   lot of money or not.

I believe the most influence has to be whether we are open to other people or not.  Both my sister and brother have influence mainly because of their jobs. My sister is a paralegal for a law firm primarily dealing with patents, and copyrights while my brother is a business consultant.  They deal with the same type of people. My sister law firm defends clients who have established a product, or an idea where someone else comes along with a possible product, or idea that may is the same.  Both sides have to defend themselves for the judge to decide whether they are or not. My brother as business consultant will help to find if the product or idea can be sold successfully.  There are a lot of things that go into it, for example, where to sell the product as well if they can make a profit.  Also, they may have an existing product that they may want to expand to another market. In both cases their experience and advice will decide what their client will decide.

Though my sister and brother will influence people in the business world we can help influence and encourage people on the personal side. We can do so with our friends, family, fellow employees, and new people we meet at a coffee shop, restaurant, walking along the waterfront, or in the park.  I believe most people like someone give them a smile, or listen to them.  We are all looking to have relationships with others.  The biggest problem is most people are very busy in life, and want to go home after work. What I like about a small town like Gig Harbor is everything goes at a slower pace than a city like Ottawa, or Washington D.C...If you have close friends at work I suggest going out together for few minutes. I know with my damaged heart it is so easy be stressful during the day, and would be great to unwind for those few minutes.  

Continue Encouraging Others

I sometimes wonder if I will run out of something to write about. I think it is important to write about some things over again, but in another way. This is likely since I have written since the beginning of 2014 about making changes and using our talents. A lot of it has to be about encouraging others. If we use our talents at the fullest it is to help others. Our talents are not left to be used for selfish gain which is common in our world. Not only will it help others we will feel more fulfilling. For example, Bill Gates no matter how you feel about him being so rich he is using a lot of his money to help others.  In my opinion many non-profit organizations should go to him to be helped instead of the average person who is trying to get by.

I know several couples who have moved from Gig Harbor to help others.  The first couple Steve and Patti Gray moved from Gig Harbor to Italy over twenty years ago while they had small children. They both felt God was calling Steve to be a pastor in Italy. It was odd because they were not Catholic, and Italy is made up of so many Catholics.  Steve pastors an international church through Assembly of God where all the people who go to the church come to Italy from other countries around the world.  A young man Rick of Gig Harbor, his wife, and children are helping out at the church as well. Speaking to his parents last week they are there for the long haul as well.  Patti is not only helping her husband she is involved in running a school at the church as well. They ask young people not only from United States but other countries to come, and commit one year of teaching at the school.  I would like someday to visit them to see their talents at work.

Another couple I know Brian and Savvy along with their four children moved to Kep, Cambodia last September. They really felt that God wanted them to move there about ten years ago, but waited for the right timing. Actually Savvy was born in Cambodia, and moved to the Seattle area as a young child. The plan is to work with orphans, and they have opened a coffee shop as well to raise funds, and to live on.

A third couple I know Paul and Tabitha along with their four children will be going to Nepal. They are looking to work with orphans as well.  They don’t have a time frame how long they will be in Nepal for; however, they do plan it to be their live work. They both work in the medical field so what they will do will help many of these children out.

We do not have to go to another country to use our talents and to encourage others. Sometimes it is hard to know what our talents are, but use whatever we have.  Many times we have to just try something. Also, I know others who have come to Gig Harbor from other countries as well. So it not only works one way. It used to be that the United States was the largest country to send missionaries to other parts of the world, however, now other countries like South Africa are sending people to the United States. As you likely know I want to travel to other parts of the world; it possibly maybe on a small mission trip for a few weeks, or to live in another country. I will always consider Gig Harbor my home; however, I want to help others in many other places.  Of course, I believe encouraging others like you to encourage others is part of helping others.

I believe the number one thing you can do is beginning with helping your neighbor. It could easily be starting with a smile, or saying hello. I am sure I will write more about this while more ideas come to my mind. I will write about others as well who are helping people whether in United States or in another country. 

Independence

July 4 is when the people of the United States of the America celebrate the independence and founding of their country. Right now it is the most powerful nation in the world though it has been around less than most countries of the world.  Of course, it does not mean that it will stay that way.

I believe the main reason it is the most powerful nation right is the ideas and concepts of the founding fathers.  We have heard throughout history that powerful governments have fallen mostly from within. Our government is not perfect by any means but has nothing to do with the ideas and concepts but with those within the government.  Like I said any government will fall because of what is happening within. What I like about the government it is democratic so people have a voice to decide what happens.  There are check and balances that keep it that way, however, if the people decide to turn away and act in a very bad manner than falling within is possible.

In regards to my family my father’s ancestors came to the United States about a hundred years after independence. So his family came over from England; my grandfather came over in 1904 from Birmingham, England, and started working for Tacoma Light Company.  When he came he had a sister living in Bellingham, Washington, however, there were other relatives who came over twenty or thirty years before him.  On my mother’s side of the family my maternal grandmother’s family came over from England in the 1700s, however, they were pro-British so they went from Virginia to Canada. I am not sure exactly when my maternal grandfather’s family went to Canada from Scotland. I am not sure when they came over but it likely was in 1700s as well.  My maternal grandmother lived in Nova Scotia while my maternal grandfather lived in Montreal, Quebec. They met in Western Canada; my grandfather was a banker, and my grandmother a school teacher.

So as a citizen of the United States I am second generation on my father’s side, and first generation on my mother’s side.  I am very blessed to be born and raised in the United States.  I would really like to visit more of Canada along with England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, South Africa, and Cambodia among them.  I hope I can get the money to do so and write about my travels. I have relatives in Canada, England, France, Australia, and South Africa. Also, I have close friends who now live in Italy and Cambodia. I have been to Germany before so it would be nice to go back again. My brother Jack lived in Frankfurt, Germany for two years.  I am very happy there are those who are reading this blog in Russia, and Ukraine so I would love to see those countries as well.  Actually it would be nice to make a trip around the world. I am not sure if I will be able to make all those places but I sure like too. 

It’s Hot

July started out as a bang with a hot day in the low 90s. Unlike many places it is not common to have the temperatures in 90s during the summer. I could imagine what the temperatures were everywhere else in the USA since we generally have the lowest temperatures. The rest of the week it will be in the mid to upper 70s which is what the temperatures generally are in the summer time here.

I don’t remember the temperatures getting into the 90s as a kid either. I would say I likely would not have survived childhood if it did. Being very fair skinned I had to wear sun tan lotion on a regular basis. I had to be careful not to get sunburned. I feel very thankful now because I should not have to worry about skin cancer.  I am sure the young people would like to continue be in the 90s, however, the rest of us are fine being the 70s. The importance to me is the sun will still be out.

Since sport is mention in the title of the blog I will speak about them now. Growing up my older and younger brother were very smart. In fact, my older was so smart that my younger was always compared with him as well. I really had to find my own way, and it was in sports. Though I tried not to compare myself with my brothers other kids especially sure did. Just like today kids can be mean at times. The mean ones would say why are you so stupid, and not smart like your brothers.  It sure made me feel less than them. Looking back on it I was likely smarter than the kids that told me that I was stupid. 

Right now my hometown major league baseball team the Seattle Mariners is as hot as the weather. They have won 9 out of the last 11 games. They are eight games above 500 hundred, and in third place in their division. Only one other team the Detroit Tigers has a better record in the American League. The Mariners have not been a good team for the last ten years so most people are not in favor of them yet. If you are a true fan like me you are enjoying the ride.  The Mariners are a young team so I am sure they are not thinking of the past, and are building confidence with each game. The people were the same way when the Seahawks started winning as well.  I believe the Mariners learned a lot about winning from the Seahawks.  I am not sure how good they will be because they have really good pitching right now, however, they are weak on the hitting though they have scored a lot of runs in last two or three games. They really need a couple more good batters.

Also I enjoyed watching the World Cup between the USA and Belgium. I have to admit I am not a big fan of the sport; however, the World Cup is the highest level of the sport.  It is sad the USA lost the game though they played very well.  My lack of knowledge of the sport I see that luck has to do a lot with scoring goals in most levels of the sport, however, they seem to be unlucky a lot of the time when goals are not made. What I saw in this game was how the offense was looking to draw the goalie out of position to be able to score easier; however, sometimes the defense was very good along with some bad luck.  I don’t think the sport is very good to watch on television on most levels of the sport; however, watching in person would be exciting.  Last year I went, and watched my nephew Danny on his Club team play in a tournament in Springfield, Missouri. I had a really good time watching them all.

I would say most sports are best playing then watching in person before watching on television. I think every kids should get a shot at playing at a sport even those who are not very good. At some degree or another most of us have a competitive edge to us.  The most important thing to see if we will rise or fall in a sport; another importance is not take it so serious at a young age.  Of course, parents should not take it so serious either.  Let them play, and not think you are living a second childhood in them.