Oh, how we long for those carefree days prior to Covid-19. Waiting for the bell to ring, sports played in noisy gyms while family and community cheer from the stands, tedious homework along with the usual trivial social drama.
This too shall pass…
hay·mow/ˈhāmō/noun
Hay mow (or, hay loft) basketball is a foreign concept to many young, up and coming basketball players these days. Back in the day when big red barns were more of a farm standard, the hay mow was the closest thing young people had to basketball skills camp. I’m sure the reffing was questionable and rules may have been bent, adapted or even eliminated. How did they ever survive?
This lucky young man along with his siblings and cousins have spent many hours playing basketball in this hay mow. Memories made and life lessons learned.
What are YOUR memories of games or shenanigans in the hay mow?
Red is the Pemble color and it is only fitting that my dad is depicted with red socks and shirt. The scene is from a trip to Mexico after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He passed away a few months later.
Chester Ward Pemble was born in 1917 during WWI. I was told that at delivery the doctor exclaimed, “You’ve got yourself a little Buddy!” ( Battle buddy was a term used in WW I to describe a partner assigned to a soldier in the U.S. Army.) His father nicknamed all the children so he was referred to as Bud for the rest of his life.
Growing up during the depression in the region of Hawick/Paynesville, MN couldn’t have been easy for Dad’s family and I feel this experience was the driving force behind his determination to succeed in business and life.
Looking in the mirror, I can see that I resemble my father much more than my mother. While I did not inherit his math and business skills, I am confident that I am similar to his sisters who were teachers. Dad held teachers in high regard and was proud that I chose that career path. Teaching matched my gifts in life and was the most fulfilling career choice I could have made. For this I am thankful. I have also inherited his love of travel along with an appreciation of solitude.
I just received the results from my DNA test through Ancestry.com and according to them I am 49% Scandinavian, 30% Scottish, 6% Iberian, 5% Europe South, 4% Europe West, 2% Great Britain, 2% Middle East, less than 1% Europe East and less than 1% European Jewish.
Hmm… By the looks of it, I’d say the 6% Iberian Peninsula came from him.
The class of 2018 is cruising down the home stretch and ready to complete their final lap. Be proud of your glory days as they represent a time in your life that can never be repeated. You are probably in peak physical condition due to the rigors of training along with youthful resilience, and have shared bonding experiences with teammates you have probably known and played alongside since elementary school. When this time comes to an end you may feel an unusual combination of accomplishment and sadness.
Are we really saying farewell to the glory days? You couldn’t forget these experiences and memories if you tried. Rather, it’s a time to say to yourself, Wow, wasn’t that incredible?
To quote football coach, Lou Holtz: The answer to three questions will determine your success or failure:
1 – Can people trust me to do my best?
2 – Am I committed to the task in hand?
3 – Do I care about other people and show it?
If the answers to all three questions are yes, there is no way you can fail.
So, be thankful for the experiences, apply the lessons learned and make sure to find a way to make the future even better than the past.
I had no plans of creating the final composite product when I shot these images, but sometimes things just develop and ideas flow. Hmmm. What if…?
Three rambunctious boys ride their scooters down my driveway.
Swap images in to add their sister and improve expressions. 
Add a colorful sky scene I captured in the Pyrenees back in 2014 (Looks like the South Dakota hills).
Road dust colored in by using Photoshop brushes and finished it off with Topaz edits.
Final product: The Dusty Sunset Gang!
Nostalgia was the theme of the day for me on August 15, 2017. For 26 years I drove this route from early August until the end of May as I prepared and taught a new group of students each year at Grant-Deuel School located in Revillo, South Dakota.
Cheer, cheer for GDHS!
Wake up the echoes cheering their best,
Send the loyal cheers on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky,
What though the odds be great or small,
The blue and white will win over all,
While our loyal sons are marching forward to victory, Fight!
Blessed be the memory…
The parched prairie remains vibrant along this hillside near Gary, South Dakota. We work hard yet still find time to play hard…
Window light casts its shadow upon this young woman, as it did her mother and grandmother, as she reflects upon the history contained within these walls. The old wooden ironing board leans against the wall holding memories, laughter and tears of generations past.
…summer on the prairie.
9-14-2016: It’s a dreary Tuesday and we bid farewell to Randy who is taking a bus from Burgos to Madrid to catch his flight home.
We trudge through parque El Parral which, we decided, was the park in the film, The Way.
As you can see by the map, it isn’t totally flat terrain, yet. We are expecting much flatter terrain, but find the ups and downs to be just fine.
This man reminds us of Randy as he is so proud of the hair brush he found along the way. Joan is not jealous as she already has a nice comb.
No reservations, but we have our minds set on Albergue Hornillos so we hustle along and get in line for a bed. Joan and I are lucky and snatch the 2nd and 3rd to the last beds while Alabama John (Young man with the cowboy style hat on the video) gets the very last bed. Bonus is a grocery store nearby and little old church to tour next door.The Camino did provide!
Our beds are near this kitchen where we drink our wine, cook supper and visit with the other pilgrims. These experiences are some of my favorites of the camino – listening to other perspectives and journeys in life.
Joan is in a tiny room with another lady next to this dorm room and I enjoy this view from a top bunk near them. Nice and cozy. I listen to the conversations in the kitchen from my bed and soon I am lulled to sleep. Buenas Noches!
Top three photo picks of the day:
RJMeyerArts 