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"... So out there in this pristine, shall we say, land where everybody wants to go and see and be for a little while, that's the beauty of a place and sometimes, there's people there who are so unintrusive that you don't even see them. They've acclimated to the place. They live there with it as part of it. And that's the people who have a knowledge."
-- Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation; Interview with Bill Moyers; 1991.
When we moved into this house in 1995, some of the few nearby neighbors stopped over to welcome us. I learned that another, who lived across the road, had lived in the house some seventy years earlier. His name was Fred, though my four year old daughter called him "Old Fred," convinced he was the character from the Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine." As Fred was in his early 90s, I don't think he minded.
I rarely saw Fred outside, and when I did, he was usually walking home after spending time at the waterfalls. A c0-worker at the mental health clinic had grown up in the neighborhood, and so I asked her about him. She said she knew his children from school, but could only remember seeing him a couple of times. "He's a hermit, you know," she said. "And he has been for a long time.
Soon, I began taking produce from my garden to Fred's door -- not frequently enough to be a pest, but to use those opportunities to ask him about local history. Eventually, he became comfortable answering my questions. I remember one winter's day, after a significant snow storm, he and I were shoveling out our mailboxes, along with a couple neighbors' which were next to our's. When he took a break -- being in his 90's! -- he explained that as a young man, he learned local history from the old men, born after the Civil War. In turn, he said, they had learned from the old men before them.
Fred remained a hermit for his remaining years, but seemed to enjoy talking to me and granted full access for us to swim at his waterfalls across the road. His only request was that we leave no trash, something we would never have done anyhow. He told me how he used to camp out next to the falls when he was young, because he loved the sound of the flowing water.
This reminds me of conversations that I had over the years with another elder when we sat near creeks and streams. Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman told me about how, as a kid, he liked to sit on a hillside and drink spring water as it gurgled from the ground. That was something my late brother and I did as kids, when we took breaks from clearing stones from the hillside pasture -- after clearing brush.
One night, Paul's daughter told me that he had suffered a stroke, and that I should visit him in the hospital the following day. I was expecting the worst as I made my way to his hospital room, but was happily surprised that he was awake and talking to several nurses. As we talked, I thought I'd do an interview with him for a newspaper I wrote for. I wanted people to learn from another point of view not often even mentioned in the mainstream media. In time, I would do four interviews for publication that I thought were pretty darned good. More, my supervisor at work -- a former English teacher -- said that they represented the best record of a past era that the current society needed to read and understand. I will include a few things Paul said that may relate to these troubling times.
In the first interview, keeping in mind the quote from Oren, I asked how long the Onondaga had lived here? "The first words spoken by my people were the names of the alligator and of the turtle. How old are these animals? And how long have they lived here, on this land? We have ceremonies with dances where these animals are involved. Think about that, and you'll understand how old the Onondaga are, and how long we've lived here."
As the year 2000 approached, a lot of people were concerned that Y2K would cause wide-spread computer failures, resulting in a global crisis. I asked Paul about this? "Listen: if the Creator wants to bring dinosaurs back, they'll be on your front lawn tomorrow. And if he wants to end the world, he will."
At a time when many religious people were praying for divine intervention, I asked Paul what he thought? "Be a good neighbor. If my garden is ready before yours, we should share mine now, and yours later. Too many people don't understand the power of sharing. You have to rememmber that all of the earth is the Creator's garden, and he shares it with us. That's why I say that sharing is divine intervention."
The last question of the final interview was about what message he had for readers? "Live. Don't be afraid to live. We can live through this.
"I did reburials at the Penn Site. Germ warfare killed them. At the Bloody Hill Site, it was small pox. Some of the burials were of parents and their children. They were holding hands. That seems to happen when germ warfare kills families.
"But we are here today. It's our turn to live now. And if you're reading this, it's your turn as well. Make the most of it. Enjoy your family."
Since a number
Mr.Bill
(24,253 posts)who were older than me. I like to think some of them appreciated my youthful view of things as much as I liked their wisdom and experience.
Only problem is, now that I'm in my late 60s, I'm going to more funerals than I want to.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)the same generation. Thus, you might like this.
Three nights ago, I dreamed I was in a boxing dressing room, warming up to get back in the ring after many decades. I was exactly as old as I am now, but instead of inhabiting this tired, sore bag of bones I find myself in, I was in perfect shape. Perfect! As I started warming up, I could feel myself becoming the fighter I once was.
Then I woke up, bitterly disappointed to find myself in this sad excuse for a body. But then I thought about it: indeed, I am perfect -- just as you and everyone reading this is -- to fight the intense struggle that our country and much of the world is right now. Indeed, as those of our generation might remember Linda Scott singing, "Never in a million years, will there be another you." Proof we are called for this very moment!
cilla4progress
(24,718 posts)a moving, inspirational, thought-provoking post.
Thank you! 🙏
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)I find myself thinking of these things quite a bit. Recently, I've had conversations with three of my wonderful sisters -- including on DU -- about the aging process, and what Elders have to offer.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,816 posts)
and He shares it with Us.
Thank you and your wise and kind friends for reminding us, H2O Man.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)that guy Putin on the television screen, I'm reminded of conversations with Rubin about the higher meaning of the commandment "Thou shall not kill." And of the theft that Putin and his ilk are guilty of when they think they have the right to decide if others live or die.
Kid Berwyn
(14,816 posts)Same for all the great religions: treat others how you would like to be treated. Our time here is a test to develop and measure character.
Our best estimate is the universe is about 13.8 billion years old. It puts our short times here in perspective about 1/200,000,000th of time since the Big Bang.
The future of something so wondrous has no time for evil. It has better things to do and become.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)that humanity has to recognize that we are the highest level of the earth's consciousness. And that eternity is Now -- always has been, always will be. He loved the science that was beginning to have amazing insights into the universe.
NBachers
(17,087 posts)San Francisco.
There's a log I can sit on, and I hear one waterfall upstream in one ear, and another waterfall downstream in my other ear. I can close my eyes and let the stereo waterfalls cleanse my innards.
The creek runs into the Pacific Ocean. It runs past an abandoned cemetery which has been restored; the only remnant of a thriving town which once existed there. The cemetery is being purposed as a natural burial site, where people can be buried in balance with nature. A beautiful location with visible but low-impact graves. I'm looking into a site there- the creek, the mountains, the ocean; a beautiful setting.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)Thank you for sharing this! I just had a text from a non-DU member who loved the picture and description.
The dog and I have walked out to the pond twice today. She finds the springs running open on the ground of great interest, and took a drink out of one of them. But she was primarily interested in sniffing the deer tracks in the mud. She gets frustrated that deer on our lawn don't come inside to play with her like other dogs do.
livetohike
(22,126 posts)waterfall today. Rapp Falls. 🙂
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H2O Man
(73,513 posts)Nice picture!
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)H2O Man
(73,513 posts)SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)Ty again!
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)writing the OP. And I was fortunate to know Paul for decades. I remember back when he was one of the lone voices in the US saying that it is wrong for "progress" to destroy Native cemeteries and Sacred Sites.
gademocrat7
(10,645 posts)Very inspiring post.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)Paul was a fascinating human being. He used to be quiet, almost shy at meetings at the Longhouse. But as I got to know him, he had a great sense of humor. He took his role in representing the Turtle Clan on the Onondaga Coucil of Chiefs, and the Iroquois Grand Council, very seriously.
BobTheSubgenius
(11,560 posts)H2O Man
(73,513 posts)murielm99
(30,718 posts)It is an old farmhouse, built around 1900. We have refurbished it extensively.
The man who sold it to us was sixty-seven at the time. He had farmed here, and now wanted to live in town. His family had homesteaded here. He was the youngest of five sons and the only one who wanted to stay on the farm.
He still loved his home, but it was too much for him to care for. I used to visit him. He taught me a lot of local history. I learned about what the town was like when he was young. He taught me about the Blackhawk War, that crossed right over our property. The country school on the corner is now owned by the historical society. General Stillman made a stand on that corner during that war.
Mr. D. was glad someone liked to listen to him. He was a staunch Democrat. He was glad to sell his home place to Democrats.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)The main part of the house was a stage coach station on the "western front" shortly after the Revolutionary War. There was a doctor's office and a post office here for a bit. Then it became a farm in the early 1800s, with a blacksmith's shop across the former turnpike/ current driveway. It was previously owned by a relative from my extended family.
AllaN01Bear
(18,022 posts)deserves a hat tip from me .
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)AllaN01Bear
(18,022 posts)doh.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)called many, many things over the years, my Friend!
AllaN01Bear
(18,022 posts)and still wear that badge w pride.
Saoirse9
(3,676 posts)He sounds like a wonderful man to have known.
Now, we are the elders, the wise people.
If you were to impart some of your hard earned wisdom to the next generation, what would you say?
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)You would have loved Paul.
I agree that I am getting old and you are getting wise.
If there's one thing I know, it's that there have been countless wise people, and that I have known and still know some. I can tell people things that I learned from them. And that people should take advantage of a free press. There might be a lot of gutter waste on television and the internet. But if you want to learn what's real, go to your library and do research.
Hekate
(90,565 posts)my children have noticed that I am repeating myself more as I age, so we'll be hearing it again and again! (grin)
TheBlackAdder
(28,169 posts).
Wall Street would have closed as it would have impacted every financial institution and bank.
It was either fix it or go out of business. Medium and larger forms dedicated scores of staff, tens of millions of dollars and 3 years of time correcting the thousand or more programs they use for their various aspects of the firms. Hardware upgrades, OS upgrades, vendor patches and network infrastructures were all impacted. The fact that there were no major issues is an testament to the 6-7 day 12-16 hour workdays staff put in and the scores of weekend dry runs performed internally and with clients.
Yes, they were able to change the clocks on the computers to Y2K and watch the sparks fly in their test environments. Special clock manipulation software was installed and compares of before & after data were performed to verify the data was accurate and to test and validate fixes before moving to actual non-production Quality testing, client testing and production environments.
Since many of these changes involved programs that fed dozens of others, coordination of program and database, file changes had to be made at the same time.
.
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)as I knew a heck of a lot less about technology & the internet back then than I do now. And even today, I really don't have a clue, and frequently need to wait until one of my children stops by and helps me. I'm sure that it could have resulted in very serious problems. I think that somewhat similar problems -- potentially very severe -- could take place if Putin's supporters attacked the grids in Europe & North America.
TheBlackAdder
(28,169 posts)H2O Man
(73,513 posts)I remember at the time, my oldest son trying to explain it to me. I remember that it was, like most technology, way over my head. I asked him if it was going to be a problem, and he said it could be, but that he didn't know.
7wo7rees
(5,128 posts)Thank you so much!
H2O Man
(73,513 posts)That means a lot to me!