Ken,

We have fond memories of the body of water in your shadow created by the
Atlantic rushing at you as the deisel.  This particular pond is a much smaller
source of smaller moments.  It never even occured to me that it was a remedy for
stress...just a source of moments that did not require work or reason.

One of my earliest memories is of a huricane having its way with Long Island.
An autumn thunder snow storm on Superior as a young man compounds and enriches
my memories of storm.  Every young man needs to stand in the path of a thunder
snow gale lunging across hills and open water.  The lasting impression
impression is beneficial, even if the maturity to act upon the lesson is a few
years away.

These moments do not appear to have purpose.  Appearances are misleading.

-jc



Ken Follett wrote:

> In a message dated 10/21/00 8:23:26 AM Central Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> << Have you the power to gaze out beyond your 'puter, through the window
>  and across a small mist covered pond?  >>
>
> John,
>
> Where I live we call that the Atlantic... just outside the house a bit of a
> walk and a short swim -- can hear when standing in the front yard the waves
> roaring sometimes like a muffled diesel locomotive -- and when I do get
> stressed from city power, and crap and psychopathic self absorbed customers,
> I'll take a very early Saturday AM walk on the beach... can't stand it when
> people are there. Must not be quite stressed enough as it has been a while
> since I have gone off to the mist covered pond. Cripes, I guess I just prefer
> hurricanes to mist. Alternative... schedule a day trip to northwestern CT and
> take the ferry across the sound. Otherwise, the blinds on the office window,
> my mongo enriched cubicle, remain closed as the backyard of the city houses
> is not all that inspiring. Have to admit, most of my nature is in looking at
> clouds while driving & trying not to run over brave squirrels. Which reminds
> me, my son a while back ran over a Tyrannsaurus Rex... a BIG plastic mother
> bounced around under the car for a few feet. Bet you don't have that problem
> in paradise. ;-)
>
> ][<en