No electric power tools or chainsaws for Felipé today. Trying to keep it all, simple. It is a day of concentrating on the dark facts. And most of the dark facts I can only face tangentially. Right now I am looking at the aftermath of the day, the late afternoon.

Here is Mark 15: 40-47 from The Message:

There were women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joses, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women followed and served him, and had come up with him to Jerusalem.
Late in the afternoon, since it was the Day of Preparation (that is Sabbath eve), Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Jewish Council, came. He was one who lived expectantly, on the lookout for the kingdom of God. Working up his courage, he went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate questioned whether he could be dead so soon, and called for the captain to verify that he was really dead. Assured by the captain, he gave Joseph the corpse.
Having already purchased a linen shroud, Joseph took him down, wrapped him in the shroud, placed him in the tomb that had been cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the opening. Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses, watched the burial.

There’s a big glass of sadness but I love the ever faithful women. I love this Joseph living expectantly and working up courage. This is what it looked like late that day.

saddest loves, Felipé.

In the old days the Church or at least my church called today Maundy Thursday but I haven’t heard that in a long time. Anyway, it is an important day in the series of days that is the Passion of Christ. I thought that I would copy a section of the Gospel of John from my trusty translation, The Message by Eugene Peterson. It is chapter 13, verses 1-17.

Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

Jesus knew that the Father put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t understand what I am doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”
Peter persisted, “You are not going to wash my feet ever – ever!”
Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I am doing.”
“Master!” said Peter. “Not only wash my feet then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”
Jesus said, “If you had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you will be clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness not hygiene. So now you are clean. But not everyone of you. (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not everyone of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.
Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I have done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master, an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I am telling you, act like it – and live a blessed life.

Maundy Thursday loves, Felipé.

Oh campers, my mind is ablur with all that is going on these daze. Of course the bad is so bad that that stands out like the proverbial sore thumb and captures and captivates us down to our deepest insides. We tend to dwell in it’s embrace, not that we want to but because we are somehow drawn to it like proverbial moths to the flame.

But there is the a flip side to all this. A new positive side is struggling toward it’s birth. There are signs and wonders appearing here and there like hopeful little flowers growing out of the cracks in the concrete. And my mind is ablur and aglow this morn with these visions of new ways and realities.

Below is a comment that came in today from Diego from down south, one of the group I lovingly call the Marauders. I really wish that he lived next door to me where I could talk to him whenever I felt the need. Well, of course that goes for all the Marauders and all the readers and supporters here at Caminoheads blog. Love you guys!

¡Hola peregrinos!
Great reflection this morning from Dynamic Catholic and Matthew Kelly…tying in with the themes out of Ravens Ranch today.
Traveling thru life, are we tourists or pilgrims? Are we just looking for souvenirs, attractive things and distractions? Saint James taught us The Way by taking Our Lord’s command all the way to “the ends of the earth”…looking for, listening to and waiting for God.
We peregrinos need to remember to continue to live, especially these days, expecting nothing but experiencing everything profoundly …knowing we are exactly where God wants us to be right now.
Throughout this life journey…Going back to help someone carry their burden by all means and thru prayer…is far greater than getting over with the stage on the map.
Maybe God put the world in this “time out” stage for all of us to take a breath and stop touring with our lives.
Good call on your seed selection. Hope it piles high on the roadside stand!
Avoiding distractions…
Diego

And so, that’s the way it looks for me this morn loves, Felipé.

I just asked My Rebecca who is my spelling coach, “How do you spell genius?” And then we both immediately cracked up! Ah, cheap trills, are alive and well, thank God!

Well, what to chew on today here at the blog? I really enjoyed Indiana Janet showing up with that dream yesterday. Wasn’t that terrific? Personally, I really want to hear more stuff like that. Casting off the negativity is the new essential business for all of us and that was a righteous example!

We are having some terrific spring weather here. High pressure and not a rain cloud anywhere. We have been outside as much as possible working around the ranch. Wiley is off from his job so we have been working on projects. He is the tractor operator and I am the ground guy. He is so smooth with the equipment moves, making me feel like a piker.

OK, I ordered the corn and clover seed last night. Geez, I waited too long and varies were very picked over and not everything was available in the appropriate amounts. Don’t remember if it is like that every year at this time or is there a run on seed because folks are planting more home gardens? Good question.

Anyway my standard corn succession method of the varieties: Sugar Buns, Bodacious and Golden Jubilee has been replaced with Sugar Buns and “Big n Tender”. Just two varieties, early and later instead of three. Well, that is what I am putting my money on this season. There is talk of putting up the roadside stand this year which we haven’t had up the last two years. That will be fun if we can share the burden.

Hey, whac-a-mole the fear and avoid the distractions or the pigs will get you and stay present! And most importantly, G-E-N-I-U-S!!!

A Tuesday in Holy Week loves, Felipé.

Ha, there, off to a running start today. Have the morning walk in minutes but wanted to write something uplifting. You remember uplifting? We have been talking about dreams lately and there importance. And also about how we were sensing a rise in reported cases these days. I have been active on FaceBook recently, more than normal just because it is one of my connections to our collective energy and wisdom.

One of my FB friends is Janet from Indiana, the upper Heartland. She posted an amazing dream yesterday that I have been thinking about. It is so pure and precious while my dreams tend to be about heavy lifting my personal garbage around. But that is a necessary job also I guess.
But anyway let’s be more like Janet!

I am just going to attempt to copy and paste it here. It really doesn’t need any explanation except to say that this a direct steal from FB.

AMAZING DREAM

When I woke up yesterday morning, I had a little tune in my head that I was humming, and then I realized a few minutes later that it was from a dream I just had before awaking!

In the dream, a multitude of people and myself are lying on the floor in sleeping bags like sardines, one next to another in a large, stark space. It’s dingy and dim in there, with an atmosphere of some hopelessness, downtroddenness, and fear. The sounds of people’s murmuring is filling the space.

At one point, still lying there in my sleeping bag, I reach my arms up and I start to sing. (In real life I’m not a good singer but I love to sing anyway.) So I start off singing softly: “I will lift my eyes, hallelujah….I will lift my voice, hallelujah…” over and over, then I sing louder so it can be heard above the murmuring, and the guy next to me hears it and starts singing with me, and soon the whole place is singing with me, “I will lift my eyes, hallelujah, I will lift my voice, hallelujah….” It sounds so beautiful and I’m feeling inside like, wow, I got all those people singing with me and the whole atmosphere changed!

I think this is God’s strategy for us against fear. Just lift your voice and worship. It will change your atmosphere. Sing a new little song today!

So we happily carry on through thick and thin, that’s what pilgrims do right? I think that we will be hearing more from Janet in the future but for the present BE PRESENT!!

nothing more to say loves, bless you loves, Felipé.

It does come in handy during these times of lockdown, being easy to please that is. Not every darn thing is available for starters. There is shortage and rationing. But creativity kicks in and things start to happen. My Rebecca whipped out two meatloafs yesterday out of components we rounded up from the chest freezer. One for us and one for the crew next door.

Now that’s not steak or prime rib but we are extremely happy. And the best part is the leftovers. Say the phrase “meatloaf sandwiches” and everyone is this neighborhood smiles a big grin. And the comeback is, “Yea with ketchup!” That’s how it works.

So, times are harder but there seems to be a way to figure out solutions. And getting back to basics with our likes takes some of the stress off the system. Learning to be happy with a lot less. Wait didn’t we learn that on the Camino?

That reminds me of the miracle of the little piece of soap, a little itty bitty sort of miracle. I remember, don’t ask me where, going into the bathroom to wash up and realizing that I didn’t have any soap. Well maybe, just maybe there is some here somewhere. And on one of the sinks was a tiny piece of white soap on the white porcelain, almost hidden in plain sight. Normally, that would not even qualify to fit the definition of a piece, just the size of a finger nail. Well, there is MY soap I had to come to, so I washed up and I’ll be darned if there wasn’t still a “piece” when I got done. Normally, it would be swept into the waste can or go down the drain but I lovingly placed it back on the flat part of the sink where it would be safe for the next needy pilgrim. I had to shake my head at this loaves and fishes encounter but you see I’m easy to please.

So, I participated in the Virtual Camino yesterday. I was present for one of the two Q and A’s Annie O’Neil was holding in conjunction with the showing of Phil’s Camino. I am walking my trail here in a minute with friend and Mass partner Catherine which is our substitute church service.

Palm Sunday loves, Felipé.

The Virtual Camino project started this morning. It is a, well it’s hard to explain really. It is a virtual walk from beginning to end of the Camino Frances in Northern Spain. This is the main line or truck of the Camino de Santiago, the 500 mile pilgrimage. So, now that we are all housebound and the the Way is shut down this is what’s happening.

It operates as a FaceBook group under that title Virtual Camino. This is the brainchild of Laurie Duperier a pilgrim that runs tours of the Camino in Spain in normal times. Annie O’Neil is with her riding shotgun on this virtual one. As I understand it is a journey of the mind and spirit with numerous facets, maybe programs on art, foods and history of the various regions that you go through.

Today they are showing Phil’s Camino, the 27 minute documentary film as a opener to have folks get the idea of the everyday camino or a backyard camino idea. In other words how do you get some of the benefits of walking the Camino when you are not in reality there? Seems we are experts on doing this. Annie just had a Q and A on Zoom at 9 AM PT and I was lucky enough to catch it and participate. There is supposed to be another at 3 PM PT. So the film is showing all day and you can access it through the Virtual Camino FB group.

So, that is the big happening today in my world. We are all finding ways to cope and keep life moving along. We will get through this pandemic and most assuredly it won’t be pretty but it is doable. It will have some very rough spots as we are already starting to glimpse.
But getting out the other side in a month or two or three or a year maybe in some places we will have a new appreciation for life and be searching for ways to rebuild our bodies, minds and spirits individually and as neighborhoods, countries and beyond. I am afraid we have embarked on a big journey, a Camino as it were, that will both scar us and educate us.

It is my belief that our pilgrim sensibilities will be part of the reconstruction. Really! That is what I am sensing. What we have learned in our journeys will be vital to society as a whole. I don’t know how this is going to work but I think that we have already glimpsed the future.

Off I go loves, Felipé.

I have never played Whac-A-Mole,the game, but the idea of it intrigues me. Sure that it was hours of fun for over-sugared kids. But the idea of it is what I want to get to. The game has a surface and has 16 or 25 holes each housing a mole that will randomly pop up to get in your face. The player has to wack them as quickly as possible to be ready for the next one coming from who knows where. Somehow maybe there is a score involved.

This activity is me fighting my fears. It is a constant battle to keep the the little twits in line, to beat them back to their holes. Of, course the amount of activity varies, comes and goes but it never really stops. It can flare with a doubt, with a memory, with negativity, you know a trigger.

I strive for peace which is a place of no fear ideally. I’ve identified prayer as a place for me to find peace and thus to avoid fear and it’s buddy anxiety. That’s a good one but let’s see what else. Knowledge is good. The more I know about fear the more I am aware of ways to lessen it or tamp it down beating back into it’s hole where it won’t show it’s ugly head for a while.

The more I learn about myself the more I am aware of gaps in my defenses. Having more time to contemplate these days is an opportunity to work on this. How can I understand myself better? How can I understand my place in the web of things? And how can I understand my place in the “new” world in which I find myself/we find ourselves?

let our love pop up iunexpected ways and places, Felipé.

Yes, so glad that you made it to the blog today, don’t be a stranger. Just listened to So Glad You Made It a great Blues Brothers tune. Actually this version is by a cover band that Peter (callsign Elwood) a friend of ours was in for a while. Peter came down with the virus but it has been a while so maybe he is almost getting through it. Hang tough Peter!

But again, so glad that YOU made it right here and right now. So, the news is that I successfully got through my doctor’s appointment and testing with Nugget yesterday and was cleared for another three weeks of life as a test pilot on the clinical trial. Help me celebrate that! My trip was hampered by the ferries being on their emergency two boat schedule which means fewer runs and by having the West Seattle Bridge closed, a major link in my standard route. But that was balanced by traffic being amazingly light to almost bring on giddiness. And the hospital was amazing empty as they have eliminated all non essential activities to concentrate on the vitals. So I was in and out of there in a heart beat.

So that’s all good for sure. Right in the middle of all that an old hunting buddy Curt calls me on the cell. He lives over on the mainland but I see him fairly often. Seems he has a pilot friend a Marine that is setting up a way to supply all his Marine buddies on Vashon with any needed supplies that they might be lacking. The plan is to fly in loads of goods to the small grass airstrip located just a mile north of us at the old Wax Orchards property where we could pick them up, just place an order. This all sounded kind of overengineered and far flung when Curt first explained it for here I was at the moment on a trip to Seattle and obviously not homebound. So I thanked him and said that I think that we were doing OK for the present but hey who knows what next week might bring. So I kind of put him off but tried to be gracious about it.

Anyway, this morning on thinking about Curt’s gesture I was so moved to be included in this plan, this thought, this care. It brought a tear to think how creative friends can get. I must email Curt back with profuse thanks and two or three atta boys.

And neighbors are showing up with homemade meals for little old us. Last night we had yummy elk stew from Brad and Amy. People are coming out of the woodwork to help out.

Well, the Thursday walk is coming up in a minute. This is my favorite day of the week to say the rosary on as I meditate on the Luminous Mysteries. We need to talk about those soon.

luminous mysterious loves, Felipé.

In the walking news, there is the good news and bad news. First the bad. It seems as though the thing for me to do is to have Phil’s Camino closed for another month.

PHIL’s CAMINO CLOSED THROUGH APRIL

But the good news is that we will open again at some point as yet to be determined. And that of course will be a huge party. In preparation our friend Diego from Lake Arrowhead, CA has produced 250 of the awesome Phil’s Camino Passports. We ran out of the original batch ages ago and here we are with enough for a long while. Way to go Diego!

In the laughing news, well not that that is totally separate from walking news. We walk while we laugh a lot actually. But My Rebecca and I watched an old episode or Saturday Night Live last night that was a treasure of laughs. It was in season three which is the late 70’s.
This one show included two Songs by the Blues Brothers (Belushi and Aykoyd), a dance routine with Steve Martin and Gilda Radner and ended with Martin singing his fabulous song King Tut (“He gave his life for tourism”). Wow, just wall to wall talent and big laughs!

Well, we trundle on. Some of us are muddling on but either way we will eventually get to the end of this. We have more to learn and practice before we get released to the Promised Land.

walk on, laugh on loves, Felipé.