What I Learned Last Week

I wear the chain I forged in life...

I made it link by link and yard by

yard; I girded it on of my own free

will, and of my own free will I wore it.

from: A Christmas Carol

by: Charles Dickens

Desert Cliffs has no guests to hike with this week.  tear
And now I am catching myself reflecting back to the 2 previous weeks we enjoyed of extreme hiking.
And more specifically Im thinking of a particular guest...remember me speaking of Jorge?

I admit...we at Desert Cliffs enjoy the company of outstanding people.  I can count on one hand the 'downer' guests.  But thats a tale for another time.
For the last 2 weeks we had the pleasure and honor of entertaining and being entertained by dear Jorge.  Jorge is the consummate gentleman.
I have been enlightened these last 2 weeks...with a concise and interesting history of Switzerland and the Swiss Guard.  I've learned the benefits of swabbing ones feet with a solution of formaldehyde to thicken the skin.  Ive enjoyed a beautiful window into life in Bozeman, Montana and around the world.  I've heard the story of his sweethearts' escape from Germany as a young women...and on and on it went.  I never tired of listening and learning from Jorge.
Here is a gentleman with great wealth...but he never wore it on his sleeve.
He is highly educated...but never flaunted it.  (a PHd in Organic Chemistry)
He had great standing in the corporate world...but I learned this only through deduction.
How grateful I am that there are so many good and dear, generous people on the planet. People that make this world a better place....because they can and because they set out to do so.


OH yea---did i forget to mention that Jorge is 75!!??
(just keep mov'in, just keep mov'in...and I too can be just like him some day.  Swooshing down the ski slopes, past the punks and wanna bes.)

And speaking of punks...
People are also sometimes base and shady. Duh.  But we rarely get these types hiking with us. There are rare exceptions...of course.
Trying to find the good qualities is difficult sometimes. Being with folks that caused me to want to go home and shower afterwards (like after being on the streets of Vegas) is a whole new experience for me.  The juxtaposition I felt was amazing.  There are some strange and twisted people out there folks....dont we know!!! (to be fair...there was goodness in them...but the worldliness and longing to be noticed  overshadowed the light.)

So what I've learned this week:

Money doesnt buy contentment. It can buy a LOT...thats for sure...but not contentment and joy.  Truly there are people out there lacking both; and searching for it places and with behaviors that bring anything but the desired results.
Persons holding Phd's can be kind and not aloof; they can be encouraging and not degrading or condescending  of those less "smart" than themselves.
You can spend 2 weeks with someone and truly come to love and appreciate them..and cry tears of gratitude for having the opportunity to know them a little.
And you can spend one day with someone...and know that they are bad news.  Thank heavens 'bad news' doesnt happen very often.

Peace to You Friends!!!


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