Tom Thompson In Orbit

Big Frank is a big fan of Troy Jollimore. He's put in a few of his poems before. This one is on the theme of unrequited love; a topic of some interest to Big Frank. More on that in posts to come. For now - let's take a look at this poem. The images of the moon with its face turned perpetually towards the earth and its face turned to the sun but unable to be with it does a wonderful job of capturing unrequited love. Enough - on to the poem.

Tom Thomson in Orbit
by Troy Jollimore

His enemies take comfort in his pain.
So tries to hide it from them. Hides himself,
for pain is of himself the visible part,
It is the craters and the so-called seas
(for they are dry as chalk and bone dust) whose
expanses occupy his surface. Poor Tom,
he is an open sore, orbiting round
an earth he though was sun, until he found
she was in orbit round a man she could
not have, nor he bear. O it doth blow his mind,
this revolution of Copernican
dimensions. no wonder his path in life's
so hard to calculate. (He keeps his face
always to her.) No shock he can't think straight.

The Finch Arboretum

Big Frank is into trees. He can't really identify all that many, but perhaps with time and after taking enough photos of them that will change. Visiting arboretums is a good way to learn about trees, because you can find a large variety of them in one place. Spokane is lucky to have a beautiful arboretum: the John A. Finch Arboretum. It was started when about a mile long strip of land was set aside and then in 1949 planting officially began. Today there are over 2,000 labeled trees and shrubs with over 600 species represented! It covers 65 acres and is a beautiful place to walk among the trees. When Big Frank was there yesterday he had the entire arboretum to himself. June will be a good time to visit - you can see the following flowering displays then: locust, beauty bush, catalpa, rhododendron, tulip tree, viburnum, spierea, and azalea. Bring you camera, and watch out for the gopher holes.

Wow

The beauty that surrounds is astounding. Big Frank shot these clouds today from Hauser, Idaho looking west. These are pretty majorly beautiful clouds. Dramatic and hugely dominating; yet it is almost as if the sky doesn't matter. Big Frank wonders how many people even noticed, and surely there were not more than perhaps 20 people who brought this image and their reaction into any conversation. Those who saw it were enriched. Those who did not may not have been impoverished, but in some way they lost something. This is the SKY: it is all around us and it changes hour by hour, and day by day - never the same. So then the thought comes to mind - if this is missed, what other source of beauty and wonder is there that Big Frank is oblivious to. Big Frank is thinking down - what's going on in that ground. Looking down here, boss:)

Lake Coeur d'Alane boats

Big Frank has never been all that big on boats. He means that he has never really understood why it is that so many people want to spend their spare time riding around on lakes or rivers in motorized boats. It is clear that ships serve a purpose, and there is some skill involved in sailing or paddling a canoe or kayak. However, sitting in the back of a motorboat and buzzing around a lake? Big Frank does not get it. Still, that does not mean that he will not take photos of boats at rest and buzzing around Lake Coeur d'Alane. However, he can't help messing with them just a little.

People Watching

Big Franks's shots of people on a weekend some days past:

PACK RIGHT

Oh, no; I forgot to pack it - now what??

How familiar is that? Big Frank has looked soooo many times when on the road in search of this that or the other, only to find it not there. Here's a small list of the things that he has forgotten on trips: pants (not just a particular pair, but ALL pants, phone recharger, deoderant, shaving cream, athletic socks, gloves, scarf, sleeping pills (essential for long flights, and to combat unexpectantly nasty cases of jet lag), snacks (especially the hot tamales), ties, money clip, camera, . . . (it goes on and on). The eyes always widen when the recognition dawns on him that an essential item was left behind, then they narrow as he realizes that most of these things can be purchased in most cities and most countries. However, this posting is to help all you other travelers avoid that wide-eyed woe-be-gone look of loss (OK, that's little melodramatic, but so what).

Here are the tips: get OR-GAN-IZ-IZED! Yeah, all have to do with being and getting and staying organized (yes, Big Frank DOES know how to spell that word, but he has an affinity to a less organized spelling).

Tip - website number one is called the Universal Packing List. It's all done online, and through a series of questions on the kind of trip, the place, the length, the time of year, what size bag(s), and the electronic stuff you have etc. etc. You give it the info and it gives you the way to pack.

You can also go to Independent Traveler for lots of help. They have a list of more than 100 commonly packed items separated into categories. Online, you then check off the items you need and then add up to 10 additional itmes of your own.

If you find yourself in need of some travel clothing, suitcases, travel gear, special packing organizers etc. then go to Magellans. It has everything you could need and more - even special packing stuff to take wine with you!

Finally, for those who like to travel light - take a look at this recent slideshow from the New York Times on how to pack for 10 days in a Carry-on. The key thing is not to fold your clothes, but to roll them up.
OK - next time Big Frank will NOT have that WTF-I-was-sure-I-packed-that look in his eyes!

Beyond Belief

[Photo: Big Frank Dickinson]

Beyond Belief
---- Big Frank Dickinson

Where credulity fears to tred
The road you thought untaken.
Beyond expectation, til now
When you catch yourself saying,

"It's beyond belief", beyond belief is true.
Not above, nor under
But, beyond - the yonderland
Where the unexpected exists unbelievably free.

Unlike heaven (one place for all,we're told)
Each has his singular "Beyond Beliefland",
Where cocksure alone beyond relief,
Beyond sure we stand beyond belief.

Behind the phrase belief tarries,
Like angels at the gates of hell
Envious of the shackles thrown off
But still not beyond enough to rebel.

And ahead past creed and tenet
Are creatures who belie the blest
Like devils past the gates of hell
They're way beyond unrest.