And a new addict is made. Congrats. Nothing beats the smile on a kid's face as he pulls in his first catch.

Little Fisherman
 

Requiem, that is a great picture. It is something to look forward to when the kids grow up, for now we are enjoying mashed sweet potatoes.

Trapline, enjoy those fleeting days of babyhood. It goes too quickly! You'll be fishin' with your youngster before you know it. :)

1stindoor: yes, an addict is made. His grandpa is coming up for a visit and when fishing was mentioned, the new addict got out all the fishing gear. Gramps isn't even here yet... :D

Susan

Kid #5 had his first day a preschool and it went great.
We were a bit worried. He has autism and is speech-delayed.

Nonetheless, humans seem to have an amazing capacity to adapt and learn.
Just gotta throw 'em in and trust that the Creator knows what He's doing.

Right in the thick of this at the moment as well, actually, it's mashed whatever we are eating, if he hasn't pulled it out of our hands first. The attached picture should look famiiar to most parents on here :D (it's actually my daughter who is now 4, I have yet to catch my son with a perfect "what are you looking at" expression :D ).

The schedules finally meshed to where my husband and I got to spend some quality bonding time at the range, Monday. Nothing says I love you like spent brass and dead paper targets. :)

Submitted an original article to the Lancet, submitted an absract for presentation at the annual American Society of Hematology conference and reviewed an article for Blood today before heading home. I sen my wife off for a women's night out, played with the kids and then mowed the lawn. Finished the night off with a cigar and some single malt scotch to celebrate the birth of a colleague's son.

It was a good day, made possible through the sacrifices of those wearing the uniform. Thankful doesn't even begin to describe it.

The lake.
It just keeps generating happy thoughts.

Took a friend, his boys, and my kid #2 up lake this morning to visit Rainbow Bridge.
Not quite 50 miles one-way.

The pictures don't do it justice.
You aren't allowed to get very close and it is much bigger than it appears.

My friend is Navajo and keeps all the traditions; the trip was quite educational.
He told his boys of the tradition regarding Rainbow Bridge -- it quickly morphed into a lecture about the importance of doing homework properly. :D

GC, beautiful pictures. What did he share regarding Rainbow Bridge?

Ahem...I'm a bit too old for homework. :D

Thanks for the thought Dusty :D

Being that that was posted in the Los Angeles Times it speaks rather loudly.

Before answering that, let me preface by saying that "lost in translation" is an understatement for many things which go from Navajo to English.

Someone can look at an idea written on a chalkboard, and say "that's just a bunch of fragmented calcium sulfate and gypsum adhering to a slab of slate."
They would be technically correct, but would be missing the point.

Navajo history, religion, medicine, education, etc. don't compartmentalize in the same way as contemporary America.
The language expresses ideas in a radically different way than English, involving a different type of thinking, so it's not easily translated.

Meanings are highly dependent upon context.
Without being fluent in the language, it is difficult to understand the context.

Given that long-winded caviat, I'll try to relay what I was told.

**
Rainbow Bridge was formed when coyote ran across a beautiful rainbow, which turned the beautiful rainbow to stone.

My friend explained this as coyote being a "smart-ass" and going where he wasn't supposed to go.
Coyote's careless lack of self-restraint resulted in permanent destruction of the beauty (and left the record of his misdeed).

**
Posted at the end of the trail are signs which state that the monument is sacred to many tribes and should not be walked through nor approached.

My friend said that if people do walk through, they should walk back through the same way (not going around), and in exactly reverse order in the case of more than one person.
Doing otherwise disrupts their "hózhǫ", or "balance" in their life.

The admonitions against walking through aren't just about preserving the site.
They are genuinely meant to be warnings for the benefit of the visitor.

The "walking through in order" was the part my friend used for instructing his sons.
He spoke to them in Navajo, and didn't translate to me how he connected that idea to doing home work properly.

I know my friend and his sons, and have tutored his oldest in math.
Given that context, I can understand the idea, but can't really relay it effectively.

On the trip up, looking at the canyons and lake, we discussed geology, history, and religion.
Lake Powell is an amazing place.

We've known each other for nearly a decade, are close friends, and speak which each other almost every day.
The Navajo have a rich culture and history, much of which is locked behind (and arguably protected by) a difficult language barrier.

Thanks GC, I appreciate you typing all of that out. Your friend sounds like a very special man.

It sounds like a very spiritual place.

Happy thought of the day....16 days till I leave for SFAS.