O’faithful breeze you caress our trees a seasonal key for restful needs signs of summer soon to believe blessings to all as calming seas beginning new life, birds and bees seeing it flow as sunset recedes reflecting its glow on shining new leaves serving for all, blessing reprieves.
Not often, but occasionally I see an article that I believe is worth sharing with those who may have similar likes as me. The following is reproduced from a Nice News (nicenews.com) subscription for non-commercial information purposes. Imho empathy is as essential to human life as the air we breath and hope you will find it as positive as I do…
Babies Begin Developing Empathy Around 18 Months, Study Says
Past research has shown that the human brain is hardwired for empathy and forming relationships, but at what point in our development do those characteristics emerge? A new study, published in the spring edition of the journal Cognitive Development, says it’s earlier than you may think — at about 18 months of age.
Around the same time that babies are learning words beyond “mama” and “dada,” walking on their own, and starting to feed themselves, they’re also developing the first inklings of “empathic concern,” the scientists say. They reached this conclusion by analyzing 127 mother-child pairs, bringing them in for behavioral experiments when the children were 6, 10, 14, and 18 months old, per a press release from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
The researchers tracked the children’s response to another person’s “simulated pain,” finding that their concern in reaction to the strangers’ “distress” was most pronounced by the 18 month point. They also discovered that a mother’s emotional intelligence affects the child’s.
“The more sensitively mothers responded to the needs of their infants, the greater the capacity of the children was in their second year of life to show empathic concern for a stranger,” the release reads, with study author Markus Paulus adding, “Children learn from [caregivers] how to deal with negative emotions. As a result, they are subsequently able to apply these lessons themselves.” (italics added)
Please Note the comment: ‘Children learn from caregivers!’
I left rather late in one afternoon and flew directly from Victoria airport over Georgia Straight and coastal mountains to the 108 airstrip. It was (is?) an excellent paved strip capable of handling larger airplanes as intended. However as the sun set I was amazed at the total absence of anyone in the vicinity, including a nearby store and golf course!? In fact even while I spent the night under the stars in a sleeping bag right on the golf course, yet I never saw a single person! To this day that is puzzling.
It was intended only as a quick educational trip to 108 ranch resort 300 miles from Vancouver B.C. Block Bros. Realty a well known Vancouver real estate firm beginning in 1960’s Vancouver, had sponsored, and financed this recreation retreat. In spite of considerable investment and promotion it never succeeded as hoped for several reasons. For more information on this project go here: http://108 Ranch Resort by Block Bros. Realty
Despite the reasons for its eventual failure, including driving distance from Vancouver, Henry Block * had developed notable features, 18-hole PGA golf course, clubhouse, swimming pool, restaurant and lounge, and a 20-room lodge, which were completed by 1972, to encourage investors.
I was very intrigued by it as a youthful Realtor in Vancouver. So sometime after acquiring my pilot’s license, and airplane, I decided to take a quick trip from my Victoria base to take a look at it.
In any case the next day, perhaps because of some disappointment at the 108, I decided to fly South before returning home. As I did I noticed a small airstrip next to Green Lake and decided to land and have a look. It was a very dry dusty landing, but just across the road there was a ‘dude ranch’* where a family from the lower mainland was vacationing that welcomed me! Somewhat overwhelmed by their hospitality, I ended up joining an evening around open camp fire, but not before a trail ride that was an experience of a lifetime in the afternoon! See this great video on the Flying U Ranch!: * * * Flying U dude ranch
With very limited ‘horse sense’, I was invited to join the family galloping (and I do mean full speed) through a forested area you could hardly call a trail! I hung on for dear life as small trees and bush brushed my legs and threatened to rip me off my steed, it really was the experience of a lifetime!
Afterward we drank some beers around a large and hospitable camp fire under a starry night. I could not believe how fortunate I was, and only wish I had my own family with me there. Once again I slept in my sleeping bag out in the open under an awesome Caribou sky as can only be fully seen far away from city lights.
The next morning I took off early in a huge cloud of fine dust from the short dirt airstrip, and after doing a low pass or two over the ranch, headed South to Vernon. At an airstrip shop there I found partners who had sold me a Mooney airplane previously. As fellow pilots, typically, they gave me the keys to a vehicle in order to briefly spend a few sunny moments on a lakeside beach! However, it was past time to head home and I did so that afternoon.
Only less than a two day experience, but as memorable as ever can be for me!
Tonight there was CBC news about the ‘demise’ of bowling alleys.
As a young teen I worked as a ‘pin setter’ in a Vancouver East side Kingsway Bowling Alley on weekends. It was possible to earn a fair wage, for a teen, if you were called upon. You had to patiently wait in a lounge area until business dictated the need, I think that’s where I began smoking cigarettes unfortunately. Of course this was in the 50’s, well before automated setting machines came into use.
Eventually, with experience, I was able to quickly reset ‘two’ lanes of 10 pins at once, competing with other pin-setters when there was intense bowling team competitions, no easy feat, I had just enough hand-span to pickup four pins per time! Of course 5 pins were much easier. It was actually quite dangerous sitting feet up between two lanes of flying pins which sometimes struck you. But the rewards seemed to make it worth the risk.
One night a couple of late gambling bowlers just wouldn’t quit, the only ones bowling. I was their pinsetter and exhausted. My older brother Jim came by since it was getting late. When he saw my situation he demanded an end, but Wally the manager, wouldn’t interrupt paying customers. Anyway I survived. Overall the pin-setting experience was, perhaps, a worthwhile youth learning lesson of some kind. Maybe my grandchildren can learn from that experience.?
Clipping the edges of thick cloud over the mighty Columbia River gorge, I headed for a former USAF airstrip in Eastern Washington State near the Canadian border.
Sadly this would be my last flight in Mooney N1060B.
The adventure began a few years earlier as I searched for a bargain-priced airplane, straining my eyes on those tiny Aviation Plane ads. With a little extra cash sale of a fixer-upper real estate project burning a hole in my pocket, I was hoping to pursue much loved flying hobby after several years of absence.
Eureka! There it was. A vintage Mooney, the very same wood-wing 20A model I had previously owned, and at a bargain price! Of course the reason was obvious; it ‘needed work’.
Far from discouraging me however, this was an added incentive! Having owned two previous early-model M20A’s, one with a wood wing and tail, and one with a converted metal wing and tail, this fixer-upper held no undue concerns for me.
Soon I was on an American Airlines DC-10 streaking for Louisville Kentucky and a date with a car dealer, owner of several airplanes.
Although he looked a little skeptical when he met me at the airport, possibly because I was younger that his own age of approximately 40. Still, he immediately loaned me one of his used car lot vehicles, saying he would need a day or two to get the plane ready for my intended cross-country return flight to California – only after verifying my bank draft check mind you.
The next day, after returning to the airport to recover my Canadian re-routed baggage, I tried in vain to be interested in touring the Louisville area. However my mind remained focused on the purpose at hand.
Joining up with the seller on the second day, we drove over the bridge to an airplane parts supply store in Indiana. Back at the local airport garage I watched and handed tools as he confidently rolled up his sleeves and proceeded to install new piston rings in the venerable 180 h.p. Lycoming I0-360 engine.
It was quite evident Mooney N1060B had not been flown for quite some time. “Don’t worry” the seller assured me, “I’ll test fly it before you take off for home.” Always the optimist, I was only slightly less sure of his mechanical abilities when he broke one of the new oil rings he was installing!
However, true to his word, the next day he took off and briefly circled the Louisville airport without incident. I was ready to go the next morning, but bad weather brought a solid layer of clouds and drizzling rain, preventing a normal VFR (visual flight rules) takeoff.
After waiting another full day, regularly checking aviation weather reports by telephone, I felt I could not be away from wife and children any longer – never a safe reason for making a go or no-go flight decision.
Taxiing out to the runway for the obligatory runup, I proceeded to read back an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) clearance dictated by the control tower before rolling down the runway full throttle and lifting off. In a flash I pulled the familiar Johnson bar landing gear handle retracting the landing gear, and proceeded to punch through the persistent overcast cloud.
Soon I was ‘on top’ above the clouds in glorious sunshine! A fresh boost of pilot confidence bolstered my spirits. (While not recommended, in the USA it is legal for VFR pilots like me to fly above the cloud deck in US airspace.)
Now at 8,000 feet, visibility was CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited). I was ecstatically heading South in my ‘new’ 1950’s vintage airplane.
Before leaving home I had carefully plotted and mapped a return course, leaving a copy with my wife. Now I was en route to my first refueling stop at Little Rock Arkansas, about 500 miles South of Louisville. Running at a modest cruise rpm, I diligently checked my compass heading, radio aids, oil pressure, exhaust gas temperature, and fuel consumption, moment by moment. Happily the engine sounded good and appeared stable, so I truly exulted in the always gratification of human flight!
Unreservedly I sang out loudly, praising God for my good fortune and blessings. There is definitely something about flying, especially solo flying, that heightens your spiritual awareness. It’s clearly a ‘nearer to God’ experience.
The solid blanket of cloud below gradually broke open as I headed South by SW. By the time I reached Little Rock, visibility allowed for a normal VFR landing and I didn’t waste any time getting airborne again after refueling. After take-off I reported a good-sized funnel cloud in the area, what we pilots call a ‘pirep’ (pilot report).
My next refueling stop was Abilene Texas. By that time I was tired, but decided to continue on and make the most of good flying conditions. Finally, just after sunset, I landed at Deming, New Mexico, a non-control tower airport. The local service provider immediately handed me the keys to his pickup truck so I could travel the short distance into town and find a restaurant. That trusted pilot fraternity exists everywhere you fly, and it’s truly heart warming.
Returning later I slept under a wing on the ground in my sleeping bag, it was a warm summer night. Gazing up at the star-filled sky, with great humility, I was truly grateful to God that things had gone so well.
The next morning I took off with three full fuel tanks and an overly optimistic plan to make it to the Los Angeles basin in one hop, not a good decision as it turned out! In spite of scrupulously leaning the fuel mixture and running at an economical cruise speed of about 135 mph, by the time I reached California, fuel was running very low. To make matters worse, horizontal visibility was reduced to perhaps a mile or less in smog. Descending to less than 1500 feet I strained to locate an airport, any airport!
After long minutes, with fuel critically low, my heart rate was beginning to rival engine rpm. It was definitely time to swallow pride and call for help. The L.A. traffic controller responded swiftly and efficiently, ordering me to go to the emergency frequency of 121.5.
Once in contact there he ordered me to “turn right for radar identification”, i.e. to get a sharper radar reflection and direct me to the nearest safe landing site. But the problem was that at my low altitude it was difficult for them to target me. While they were attempting to do so, mercifully, the Palm Springs airport suddenly came into view nearby!
The controller immediately cleared me with the tower for a straight in landing approach. With a huge sigh of relief I landed and taxied directly to fuel pumps, it was like an oasis in a hot dessert. My good fortune and gratitude re-doubled when refueling added up to the maximum fuel capacity of the Mooney!
After a much needed bathroom break, and a required phone call to L.A. traffic control to explain my reason for declaring an emergency, namely; ‘smog reduced visibility’, I continued on with a short hop over to Oxnard airport. It was my plan to obtain a full examination of my newly acquired gem, including air frame and engine, by a recommended shop there.
But now my solid string of good fortune was interrupted! As I landed at Oxnard airport the Mooney brakes were virtually non-existent. They had been unneeded for prior landings, but now I was directed by the control tower to turn off the runway to a taxiway. Since I couldn’t slow down enough to do so, I made a hasty decision to turn off the main runway on the grass in between taxiways, attempting to climb back onto the main taxiway which was somewhat elevated. Since the Mooney only has an 8.5″ prop clearance from tip to ground, it struck the raised asphalt taxiway!
The damage resulting in a slightly twisted prop tip. However after receiving some gratus remedial straightening by the local shop, I was once again able to depart without incident. Finally landing at a temporary California airstrip location, with a friend flying escort in his Cessna 172.
The Louisville Seller was quite joyful that I reached my destination safely! A satisfying conclusion to this highly memorable flight. Indeed it was truly a ‘flight to remember’ for me!
But now, many months later, it was time to return my beloved Mooney back to the USA, after being completely frustrated by Canadian Transport regulations, ah but that’s another story…
I was only a beginner, home on annual two week leave from the RCN. My older brother was an instructor and partner in a scuba shop on Kingsway in Vancouver. With his basic instruction in a large tank there, I soon dove with a group of experienced divers at Horse Shoe bay, a fair distance away from the ferry terminal there.
In those days divers wore basic lead belts to obtain neutral buoyancy at about 30′ depth. Following divers down in the cold clear water with comforting wet suit on, I spotted a large cod fish and tried to sneak up on it. It appeared to be sitting on a rock unconcerned, but sensed me about 10′ away, so before I could even load my spear gun it took off like a rocket, as only fish can.
Below me I observed a pair of our experienced divers squirting some kind of powder material into what appeared to be a small cavern on the bottom. To my amazement they were soon able to pull a fairly large octopus out! They had located its liar by the tidy pile of empty shells outside it. I don’t know what they used, but it apparently numbed the the hapless creature to relax and let go of its protection.
However I suddenly realized that my fascination with their activity had allowed me to descend below neutral buoyancy. Reaching a lower than equilibrium depth meant I was beginning to sink rapidly!
I didn’t even think about dropping my weight belt, which would have been the right course if I couldn’t manage to swim upward. However I began pumping my flippers as hard as I could to return to the surface from about 90′ depth.
Thankfully being in good physical condition in those days I gradually ascended, I was now below the two divers that had pulled the dazed octopus out of its den. As they ascended above me I could see the limp creature held between them. It appeared to lazily wrap its multi legs around those two divers, a very memorable view, but my focus was on simply returning to the surface as a priority!
Evidently an octopus cannot survive for very long out of its watery element, having no physical bone structure etc, so its virtually anathema to be removed to our human environment. Sorry to say this was the outcome that day. How sad is that?
Einstein is famously quoted as saying ‘imagination is greater than intelligence!’ So what really is ‘imagination’ we may ask? A good definition is: ‘the faculty of forming new ideas, images or concepts not present to the senses’. Space-time was ‘imagined’ by Einstein in ways most of us may not. However should the concept of imagination be considered?
For example, how difficult is it to imagine life on earth is the creation of a vastly superior, although unseen, entity?
(Romans 1:20) puts it this way: “…his invisible qualities are clearly seen’ from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable.”
The context shows that those unable or unwilling to recognize by simple observation a Creator of all things are truly ‘inexcusable’, in other words lacking imagination!
Science is defined as ‘truth’, so what does factual science teach us? Indeed real science confirms that all life on earth is unique. That’s not speculation, or theory!
Clearly anyone failing to acknowledge all life on earth, and the earth itself, as a very special creation, must be described as ‘inexcusable’. Especially so as more and more universal discoveries of stars and galaxies via new space telescopes are now being made every day!
However there are, sad to say, those who will stubbornly deny that human, plant, and animal observation is, of itself, sufficient evidence of creation In reality imagination is lacking in such ones. Ironically those self same persons will describe themselves as informed or enlightened, they are failing to acknowledge the obvious wisdom, and creative power in plain view.
Make no mistake, God himself describes such ones as ‘inexcusable’, because of willful blindness to acknowledge observable truth. Indeed all life has a message for us, from flora and fauna, birds to whales, ants to elephants, and earth’s amazing environmental cycles, to name just a few things;; all teach us about the love and wisdom of a far, far, superior intelligence and unfathomable power of our creator; if we simply exercise humble imagination!
Today’s weather report for Denver triggered memory of an unforgettable experience year’s ago traveling to Oklahoma City from BC.
As I reached the mile-high city of Denver a major snowstorm engulfed my old Mazda sedan. Doggedly I kept trucking on until past Denver elevated in the mountains. Huge snowflakes were falling so fast I could barely see as far as my headlights were showing.
For awhile I managed to follow a few other cars, but the road was soon completely invisible. All we could do is hope the lead car we were following was still on the road, although the speed of the group was erratic to say the least.
As we came over a sudden hill I was rapidly over-taking the car in front of me and had to ease off so quickly the heavy old Mazda began a long heart stopping uncontrolled slide right off the road! Miraculously hitting what appeared to be a short guard rail, (who knows what was beyond that barrier). The car literally bounced and slid back to what hopefully was the center of the road!
There was no way to determine if I was even on the road now. All sense of position was gone, but at least there was absolutely no traffic in the opposite direction. In fact soon there was no traffic visible of any kind, not even cars to follow. I have no idea where others had gone. But now I was completely alone in a snowstorm of the century. I believed I had to keep going or they likely wouldn’t have found my frozen body until spring!
The snow was several feet deep after only a few hours from beginning to fall. I drove on all night at about 30 mph with my eyes as big as saucers in a purely brainless survival mode. Finally. the highway began a long gradual decline down from the mountains. ]
After hours of blind travel I found myself in bright morning sunshine with no snow in sight and soon caught up to miles of bumper to bumper two lane highway traffic. Where they had all come from I could not even guess.
Perhaps because I was in a near catatonic state of mind after my night-long white-out travel, and because all that traffic was barely moving, I decided to travel down the opposite lane! I began flying past miles of barely moving bumper to bumper jammed traffic in the wrong lane, thankfully there was no oncoming traffic at all. Probably no one was heading up the road to snow-bound Denver.
Exhaust from my oil-burning high mileage Mazda was leaving a well marked trail, like an old steam locomotive. I could not fully understanding why no one else was doing the same thing, in that empty opposite lane!?
After passing several miles of crawling cars I realized I was sticking out like a sore thumb traveling in the wrong lane! Sure enough a highway patrol sheriffs’ car was coming up fast behind me with multi lights flashing so I quickly inserted myself in the right lane, finding a small gap in front of an 18 wheeler.
Pulling over and stopping on the shoulder of the road, trying to hide, didn’t work. The State trooper had me cold. I can’t remember now if he gave me a ticket, or a warning, since technically all I did was legally pass everything on the road! However I do seem to remember a slight smirk on his face, apparently traveling down the wrong side of the highway passing everything on the road, for miles, leaving a telltale smoke trail isn’t exactly approved, even though I thankfully never encountered any conflicting traffic!
As I mercifully managed to continue on to OK city, I was totally exhausted and falling asleep at the wheel, no matter how hard I fought to stay awake. Entering city limits on a multi-lane freeway in the far right lane, with an 18 wheeler at my side. He must have noticed my somewhat erratic driving and realized I was falling asleep at the wheel. Thankfully his rapidly blasting loud horn just barely managed to help me keep my head up and avoid going under his wheels. The truth is the driver of that rig saved my life!
End of story.
This is about life, not war, not disease, just plain life, not only human life but observed nature.
It’s important to acknowledge the adaptability of literally ‘all’ life on earth. Yes I do mean adaptability, not evolution, which is a totally ‘unnatural’ concept.
Adaptability is, rather, a well proven and observable characteristic of perhaps all living things, including plants and animals. Yes, ability to adapt to changing, even very challenging environmental conditions, good or bad, is not exclusive to humans.
The simple basic truth is; our earth is the only place in the physical universe known to support life, period. What adaptability implies is that life on earth is well designed, exclusively designed for earth’s environs! Nowhere else in the cosmos, has it been shown that humans, animals, or any life on earth could adapt and survive in very difficult conditions, as often happens on our planet!
That said, exceptional ability to adapt to change has nearly reached a tipping point owing to long-term damage done to earth’s environment. In other words there are now foreseeable ‘red lines’ as to how much further life on earth can adapt to centuries of negative impacts on the environment! Concerns about potential ‘extinction events’ are already becoming a mute point!
Living on the moon or mars is now well known to be a completely foreign concept, very far from practical reality for any of earth’s (adaptable) life forms. Knowledge gained about those environments is more and more evidence that all life as we know it is designed exclusively for earth alone! The well known expression ‘mother earth’ is therefore not without substance.
Isn’t it time to humbly acknowledge this basic truth?
Such honest acknowledgment is an essential ‘beginning’ to appreciate an all wise and loving Creator who has generously granted all life on earth even with great ability to live and adapt to change… within limits!
It has to be admitted that many beneficial labor-saving devices are now taken for granted, from refrigerators to washing machines and the like., however there are at least an equal number of examples of the misuse of technology such as the development of fearsome weapons of war; machine guns, bombs, chemical and biological weapons; atomic weapons; rockets, cruise missiles, drones, and laser space-weapons to name a few! And these developments are ever increasing as nations strive for domination over one another at the expense of world peace and security for their populace.
Arguably, development of weapons has been and continues to be the priority of technological development, beginning in the 18th Century and continuing down to this day! Our planet functions on a series of well-balanced systems, systems that have clearly been damaged by technology!
Does that not indicate the destruction of human lives has been a greater focus than any ‘benefits’ of technology? Tens of millions of people have been the victims of such developments, a great many of them, perhaps a majority, have been innocent non-combatants.
Added to that sad fact, neither has any economic prosperity from technology made people lastingly happier, nor provided safety and peace of mind! Therefore surely the question should be asked; ‘do the benefits of scientific technology developments outweigh it’s detriments to society?’
Such thoughts are being expressed more and more by thoughtful people, such as renowned scientist, environmentalist René Dubos. In fact its fair to say that much of the distressing aspects of the modern world originate with the Industrial Revolution. The reality is that increased control over nature is actually a ‘zero sum game’.
Another knowledgeable authority, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said;
“For too long, we have been waging a senseless and suicidal war on nature. The result is three interlinked environmental crises: climate disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution that threaten our viability as a species.”
Enzo Maiorca (famous ocean diver) said after rescuing a pregnant dolphin caught in a fish net and gratefully touched by its mate well said: “Until man learns to respect and communicate with the animal world, he will never be able to know his true role on this Earth.”
In the view of Science professor Mary Eleanor Clark, “In our rush to embrace technology we have adopted a very temporal system: A hedonistic society that ignores the future.” “In America and other advanced cultures, belief in technology has become a religious faith.”
To that point, Martin Luther King said: “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”
Computer scientist Jacques Vallee feels that ‘high technology has acquired a momentum of its own, and it is now controlling society as much as society is controlling high technology.’How scary is that!
Like the apprentice’s broomstick in the fairy tale, ‘the Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, technology is a powerful tool that could serve the greater good of mankind. But it has not been properly controlled, and grossly misused, causing disastrous consequences, we are seeing more every day.
If you are seeking a better world, one with people of ‘good will’, living in peace, with plenty for all. I invite you to further visit my blog here…
