AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

Made it out for a Sunday evening walk but decided to head home instead of doing my usual little night drive.  Too many clouds obscured the starry night sky.  But the evening sky was very picturesque. 

 A JET'S CONTRAIL ADDS TO THE CLOUD PATTERNS

 DID YOU NOTICE THE HAPPY LITTLE SUN FACE WAVING TO YOU

After thinking about something for a very long time, I reached deep inside myself today and was able to get a good grip on myself and pull myself out of myself long enough to drive myself to the Bayfield Community Center and attend an introductory class on Taoist Tai Chi.  Now, this isn't new to me, having completed a beginner's course twenty-five years ago in St. Marys, Ontario.  And I remember starting another beginner's class again a dozen years or so ago in Bayfield, but I have no recollection of having completed that one.  Maybe it was because we headed off to the Southwest that year earlier than planned.  With my normal short-term memory problem being even more compromised at the age of nearly eighty-two, I'm not so sure I'm up for the challenge because re-learning one hundred and eight continuous Taoist Tai Chi moves will especially be an even bigger challenge for me now than it was back then.  Years ago, when I attended many AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, I learned a little prayer that is spoken at all meetings.  Before walking into that Bayfield Community Center this afternoon at 1:30, I had to repeat The Serenity Prayer several times. "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change.  Courage to change the things I can.  And the Wisdom to know the difference."  And with that under my belt, into the Community Center I went.......

 A FEW COTTAGES AND HOMES NEAR BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK TODAY

Okay, I wrote the previous paragraph this morning pre-Tai Chi decision, and here's how it went.  Yes, I did make it into the building and up the stairs to the second floor of the Bayfield Community Center, with every step of the way wanting to turn around, go home, and crawl back into my secure and safe little cave.  However, I persisted and walked through the door into a room of strangers.  Always one of my biggest fears these last bunch of years.  Two nice ladies came over right away and made me feel welcome, and that, of course, was a big help.  There was a core group of about ten Tai Chi folks there, and with this being an introductory class, there were four other newcomers beside myself.  With we Newbies taking a seat, several Tai Chi members spoke before putting on a demonstration, often called a set.  Sitting there watching the folks go through the Tai Chi moves, my confidence began to stir with thoughts like, 'Yes, I think I can do this again.  But that positive thought didn't last long.  Soon we Newbies were up on the floor being shown the warm-up exercises and the first three opening Tai Chi moves.  And it was here that my confidence left me.  I had wrongly assumed that, like riding a bicycle, things would come back to me, despite it being so many years since I had last done Taoist Tai Chi.  Not one single thing came back to me, not even the warm-up exercises.  Nothing, zero, zilch.  I was once again totally a fish out of water.  And to think that twenty-five years ago, after successfully completing an introductory course in St. Marys and then attending Tai Chi classes in Stratford Ontario, for a while, I was asked if I would be interested in going further with an eye on being trained as an instructor. I had a lot of things going on in my life at that time, plus the idea of being an instructor scared me.  The basic line was simply this....I had grown a little bit of confidence in myself, but not that much confidence to be an instructor. By the time today's demonstration concluded, I was so disappointed in myself that I was eyeing the door.  But I decided to stay and watch the core group go through one more set of exercises. But still, I just couldn't see myself being able to do this anymore, so when the class wrapped up, I walked over to the registration table.....and signed up for the full four-month Tai Chi class beginning full tilt next Monday. 

Al's Music Box: Monday Monday by the Mamas and the Papas.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A California Highway Patrolman pulled a car over and told the driver that because he had been wearing his seat belt, he had just won $5,000 in the statewide safety competition. "What are you going to do with the money?" asked the policeman. "Well, I guess I'm going to get a driver's license," he answered. "Oh, don't listen to him," yelled a woman in the passenger seat. "He's always a smart aleck when he's drunk." This woke up the guy in the back seat, who took one look at the cop and moaned, "I knew we wouldn't get far in a stolen car." At that moment, there was a knock from the trunk and a voice said, in Spanish, "Are we over the border yet?"

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Why did the British cross the Atlantic?
To get to the other tide!

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Men say that women should come with instructions. What's the point of that? Have you ever seen a man actually read the instructions?

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A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas. A friend of his said, "I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-wheel-drive vehicles." "She did," he replied. "But where in the world was I gonna find a fake Jeep?"

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I’m on a plane and the lunch choices are white meat chicken or German sausage. Unfortunately, I’m seated in the last row and I’m hoping for the breast, but preparing for the wurst.
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I ain't afraid of the cops around Santa Ana, California. You seen some of these guys? What, cops on bicycles? How intimidating is this: Alright, buddy, pull it over. Ching-ching-ching? What do they do when they arrest somebody? "Alright, get in the basket!!

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Al's Doggy World

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