It’s been quite a while since JoeDog has passed along his views on subjects that pique his interest. Much has gone over the dam since my last note and I’m brimming with thoughts.

It’s probably a good idea to remind you that JoeDog’s name was given him by his Uncle Danny more that 25 years ago and has no relationship to the well known Pubs of that name in Canada and elsewhere, though JoeDog hopes someday to visit them and mooch a beer or two.

Today’s note is: Finally Grasping the Importance of Continuity in Life.

I don’t know why it takes some of us so long to realize that connections to our past – people, places, faith, even inanimate objects- are critical to our growth and well being through life. Experts tell us that these are the buildings block of our character, but what few mention is that these connections, if nurtured and even loosely maintained, ground us in times of stress and can even help guide us in periods of challenge.

As I’ve aged and the years have flown by since I left the kennel, I have come to realize that oft-times in my past I have abruptly altered my course – left family and friends in my rear view, forgotten many happy circumstances of my life and, neglected to dig deep into the reservoir of faith and family lore that provided past generations with the courage and fiber to carry through to the benefit of all around me.

Before you run for the hills, this is not some maudlin recasting of a life but rather a paen to the gifts of opportunity to self reflect and the time to do better. Recall that St. Francis is famous for saying ( I paraphrase), “while you have time do good”. I may be pretty old and certainly not all that healthy but I am awake and energized and grateful for the window I have.

In this space, I might offer my views on many topics – current events, politics, religion, family relations, etc., etc. In each instance, these subjects have hit a nerve and I hope to illuminate the topic even a bit with my thoughts. After all, my father once said: ” How will people know what you are thinking, if you don’t tell them? ( I promise to be a bit judicious in that.)

Here’s just a few thoughts that prompts me to do this:

I recently had a dream that someone who had been very close to me and significantly impacted my life had died. I checked it out online and learned that indeed it was so ( how crazy was that dream?). I also realized that we had unfinished business that was troubling me. So, after careful thought and helpful input from others, I decided that I was not going to let the host of past friends and family disappear from my life without an effort to reconnect. For sometime now I have been doing just that- even reaching back over 50 years. So far, every successful reconnection has been positive, rewarding and reinvigorating. Of course, it’s not only my fault that the connection had been broken over this long time – we each pursued careers, families, moved away ( some time often ) and made new contacts. But, so what?

I live in DC and Florida. Both places have lot’s of bamboo. Every time I see bamboo, I think of the many Summer mornings I rose at 5 AM to be fishing on the dock with my younger brother by 6AM. We rode our bikes to the West Sayville pier balancing our bamboo snapper poles and a metal bucket with enough coins to buy bait. One day, my brother kicked the pail so that the crabs we had caught spilled out all over Montauk Hwy. at rush hour, stopping traffic while we scrambled to put them back in the bucket! My mother found out when the local grocer told her ” your sons stopped traffic yesterday”. Could that be a more fun and happy memory of a simpler time and place? I’m still pondering the lesson in that, (Maybe, good balance?).

I expect to draw on my reacquired “wisdom” and experience to offer some comments on our shared current state of affairs and, of course, my own.

Hope we can share soon. JD