From a Tick to a Mountain Top, Let's Follow the President's Lead (and listen to the bug a fellow found under his watch)

Everyone likely realizes that President Barack Obama is now taking on some mountain challenge in Alaska, no less! As cool as that sounds, he's not (just) going for the fun and adventure. He's actually publicizing the

scary, severe state of not only our nation but of the world in terms of facing the realities of CLIMATE CHANGE! Is he yelling it from a mountain top while learning how to manage climbing up and down amazing landforms and comprehending the effects of the icebergs melting at alarming rates? If we listen we may hear him loud and clear as though he were speaking directly to US-All. I am trying to amplify that message and mention I've heard of Climate Change from a WPI commencement talk back in 2007 --8 years ago when activists were boycotting the head of Exxon as their graduation speaker. They did not attend their ceremony after four years of hard work (and study not only there but in faraway places such as Morocco before that was banned for a time). They were allowed to have their own guest speaker who candidly spoke of a toxic tank of material being checked and accepted as safe 'according to the meter' for many years. Then some bright person realized the Meter was Broken and a leak had been polluting the area for a decade (or two). That's the Analogy or comparison he used to help our much smaller audience realize that the people in charge often don't do enough intentionally or even accidentally to figure things our and employ best practices when it comes to handling environmental concerns or trends.

The other day a fellow who goes for a daily hike found a tick under his watch. The bug was a tiny tick and he took precautions by taking some antibiotics to cut his chances down on contracting Lyme Disease (or other tick-born ailment which also can be serious and sometimes come on suddenly..erlychiosis..I'll have to check the spelling but I'll share a story about a woman who had that. She stayed in bed with a fever and not knowing how serious her condition was and not well enough to even call in to work which she hadn't missed in years. Her work mates at a rather small outfit did not think to call her, but thankfully her dynamic daughter did once whe realized that her mom (who was in her 60s..) had not gotten to work. A tick was not match for a savvy, caring daughter who went over to her mother's home when she did not get an answer to her phone call. Her due diligence paid off sweetly by helping her mother get immediate care and maintain her status as a daughter of a living mother!

Now the hidden tick, small as the bug is, may have a bigger message for US-All by being hidden under a watch..such as KEEP WATCH. Check the time and what's left of the time..and right on time and over and Under Time? That may not make sense, but just let it speak to you when you are resting or dreaming. What Little Things may be bugging you about your own position on Climate Change? Don't really know what it is or why it's serious? See some of the other posts on Permaculture and get to www.gaia.org to find some solutions for you and your local friends as well as wider circles. See www.curiousity.com too for quick ways to Start Learning even about other things without hopping in a car or feeling 'it's futile'. Find a few friends to check in with for a few minutes weekly about projects you would like to pursue to  get feedback or support.

Those are called learning circles or guilds. That's one way to start any venture..even write things down and track your progress. Okay, need to dash along, but will share more as I can and encourage you to do the same. Write a letter to your newspaper about a concern from this blog or another or your own. Find a few ways to 'get the conversation rolling', network, and make plans to enjoy each season of the year and of your life with a lot of positive bench marks. Don't forget to look up at the full moon (or track the new one, a good time to make plans, and then watch them be fulfilled as the moon waxes some say). Check out a new book by Bill Phillips (Expect the Unexpected). Get inspired by #hangar1 or www.tomreed.info . Thom Reed just came back to Sheffield MA to help put a marker by the old covered bridge which is one of the sitings of a UFO 50 years ago according to Thom, his family and about 40 others who gathered there recently. We've had plenty of warnings about 'life not being the way we thought it was--or even should be'. We have choice about what to believe so why not explore the options for the practical possibilities when that could be helpful. Caring and Sharing are the New Cool Buzzwords which maybe could lead to the new Buzz.

People could get Back on Track toward sobriety and open-mindedness and even contribute to local efforts such as offered by Sharon  Recreation in CT to make a walking track. Donate as you can to good causes locally or share in this one which is the hometown of a teen hero who loved all things fun and adventure oriented..He like other unsung heroes can be remembered in positive ways. His name is Kaelan Palmer Paton and while he passed away trying to rescue a friend (as other posts recount) in June 2007, he is much loved and remembered by me and many whether having known him personally or through the news.

I hope to do more outreaches and welcome support along those lines, 'just in the nick of time' maybe to help more people by lending a hand while still on land, sharing good ideas and supporting caring communities throughout our land and world..and beyond. Thanks for all the good you do for yourself and others and kudos to the teamplayers we can all be and are on our better days, with love to those above and thanks for the divine help too. Good luck on your journeys, Prez and don't forget to check for ticks (another local story involved a private school taking a group of teens to Asia. Sadly one girl got bit by a tick and the school had to pay out $40 million in a suit since enough precautions were not taken, yet others have argued later that it was not a high risk area) and keep an eye on the time! See some interesting points by Tony Piel, former head of WHO, World Health Organization in the Lakeville Journal from CT for more good and erudite, timely reading!