Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

This morning I am sitting in my room looking out on the beach at Fort Lauderdale. It is a beautiful day and it is a beautiful beach. The sand stretches for miles. There are also hotels on this beach, but still, it is gorgeous. I love the beauty of the earth and the loveliness of the places that God has given us.

Today was one of those days when I sat at a window and looked out the window and was transformed into a figure that didn’t do much. I was transformed by the sight of America gliding away underneath me. It was beautiful, seen from 35,000 feet. What a beautiful country we have. Mountains, swamps, snow, plains, cloud banks, and cities were laid out before me. I was moved to tears to see the great land of ours. Oh Beautiful For Spacious Skies and Amber Waves of Grain.

I talked all spring about how cold and miserable it was. Now, it is noon and 103 outside. Of course, I am in Mesquite and it is supposed to be 110 before the day is over. Still, I am not going to complain. I have waited for summer, I have wanted the warmth, and I deserve the heat to be here. I am not going to complain because this is what I wanted, right? Well, sometimes you wonder about the extremes. Why can’t the weather be whatever you want for that particular day? Isn’t that what we all deserve? I think it is what the doctor has ordered. Ratchet it down a little OK.

Arrived in Florida yesterday. During the winter in particular I do believe that I could stay here. It was great walking the sidewalks of Miami and just enjoying shirt sleeve weather. I felt like I was in Paradise. It was great to be away from snow and slush and mess. Move me to the tropics.

I haven’t entered anything into this blog for many a month. I vow to change.

It is New Years Day. I sit here in the solitude of my office, waiting for the sun to peak over the snow covered cold hills outside. Gods creations are beautiful. A good friend of mine posted on his blog about interesting music. That got me to thinking about listening to music and I sit here listening to Crosby, Stills, and Nash. I think of warm Caribbean beaches that less than a month ago Bonnie and I strolled on. I love my wife, and I love this earth. What variety we have.

A comment on my friends blog made me think. He and another spoke of a rock being perfect. What a perfect creation that God has created. We are blessed to live in this world. Let us leave it to our descendents better than we found it.

There seems to be places where if something can go wrong for you, it will. Put Rawlins, Wyoming on my list. I have had car break downs here. I have had almost fatal auto accidents here, and today, we are kept from our family in Cheyenne by closed roads. The frustrating thing is that Rawlins is dry, sunny, and actually quite warm. What seems to be wrong with the rest of the way.

If I stay someplace overnight in a hotel that I hadn’t planned on staying on, it is Rawlins. If I have had to make unplanned auto repairs, it is Rawlins. Rawlins, why do you hate me?

America wrote a song called the Horse with no Name. In the song, they referrenced that the Ocean is a Desert with it’s life underground the perfect disguise above. That was a real good description of the trip we took. No life sighted. Also, there isn’t as much life in the ocean as you might expect even though it is a water world.

We are sitting on the beach. I think most of us always dream of waking up to a room with a view of the beach. Well, here we are and I love it. The water is gorgeous, the setting perfect. What better place to be than in Fort Lauderdale with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean out there. I love the surf. I love having a chance to recharge my batteries.

On my recent trip to Alaska I noticed one thing that has become more and more evident over the past 10-20 years. In the wild, in National Parks or just plain out in the wilds, there is a lot less wildlife that there used to be. While Alaska is noted for its wildlife, on our recent trip it was very difficult to see whales, mountain goats, bears, or anything that was wild. It was disheartening in a way, but I believe it is from the encroachment of man on their natural habitats, and probably because their populations are dying out. It is a matter of concern, and I am concerned that my grandchildren will come into a world where wildlife has mostly disappeared. What a sad commentary on this world. We need animals in places outside of zoos.

The biggest disappointment of my cruise to Alaska was not seeing the Northern Lights. I have always wanted to see that wonder of nature. However, 8 straight days of nothing but mostly cloudy skies or complete cloud cover made it so I couldn’t fulfill that dream. I guess I have a reason for going to Alaska again.