The Mayo River State Park

A Quiet Walk in the Park

I'm not a native North Carolinian, but I have lived here over 30 years. It surprises me when I discover something new, but I often stumble across an out of the way little jewel hidden in the woods. As I was trekking my way to Stoneville last week, I passed a sign that read, 'Mayo River State Park'. Never heard of it, I thought, though I knew that the confluence of the Mayo and the Dan river were near the village of Mayodan.

After leaving Stoneville, I decided to explore the park, it was virtually enroute. Easily accessible off old highway 220, a paved road winded it's way through a dense forest to a cleared parking area nestled in next to a large pond surrounded by trees. Scattered around the pond were individual picnic tables in the trees, and there are shelters built to accommodate large groups. All of this is at the trailhead of a 3+ mile hiking trail that goes through the Mayo Mountain woods . Not that I am a big hiker, I once was, but the wanderlust has left my weary bones long ago.

This trail looked do-able for me, but I was not dressed for hiking, so I just wandered around the pond for about an hour. It was sunny, but not hot. A cooling breeze drifted across the small lake and rustled the leaves in the trees overhead. In the midst of this God-awful pandemic, it was an oasis in the center of the storm. Peace and tranquility prevailed. Just sitting at a picnic table in the shade eased my anxieties and brought a sweet peace over my soul.

Amy called from California as I was driving into the park and I had a very pleasant chat as I wandered through the trees and caught up with all that is happening with her boys. Life is truly short and we must learn to find joy everywhere we can find it. I found it in a park I didn't know existed, in a conversation with my sweet daughter on a call I was not expecting, and on a picnic table bench escaping from the realities of this life.

I'm taking my hiking boots next time, I read online that there is a waterfall on the northern trail of the park. 

It Was a God Thing

Like a pair of cardinals who mate for life, like peanut butter and jelly, like two peas in the same pod, physically and spiritually united, we were inseparable by an invisible bond that will last for an eternity. She was the answer to my prayer and God eventually revealed it to her also. When we first met, I knew she was the one, but she wasn't looking for anyone and I was just an interesting new person to her,

God doesn't always reveal his direction to us at the same time, I had prayed through and cast myself at His mercy to help me find that soulmate whom I yearned for. She had stabilized her life and really saw no need to clutter it up with a serious relationship. She approached me cautiously and reservedly. We liked each other immediately, and since I had read the message from God that this was her, I had to wait for her to catch up.  

I don't know if you have experienced a love that fused your very soul together with another, but we did. Over time we became clones of each other, we thought alike, we acted and responded alike, we even finished each other's sentences. We were not perfect but we worked hard to live in perfect harmony. I have never experienced such  feelings of complete and utter joy as I did in her company. I have never felt the comfort and peace that she brought to me. 

We had much in common, our beliefs, our family values, our expectations of life, our trust in one another and our God. If true love is built on a rock solid foundation then ours was built on the largest chunk of granite that you can imagine. Our love was simple and at the same time it was enormous. She was the best friend I ever had. Dear God, I love this woman still, though my heart has a prodigous vacuum that her life filled, I will love her forever till my dying day.

Several times each day I ask her what she asked me every day of our life together, "Have I told you today that I love you". My heart is broken beyond repair, her sweet memory will live as long as there is breath in me and, I will never love again as I loved her. I claim the great "Hope" that God promises to all Christians, eternal life in Heaven with all those belivers who have gone before us. I'll see you soon Sweetie.

Love Lives On 

Love lives on, no matter what,

If the seed is deeply sown,

And jointly nurtured through this life,

Never mind foul winds have blown,

Never mind the thousand things,

That try to rip and tear apart,

The joy that's shared by lovers true,

Two souls bound as one, in heart.

Life is short, there is no doubt,

But love will live forever,

No matter what the circumstance,

Love lives on, and fails us never.

For I have loved and lost, you see,

The one who met my every need,

Her spirit dwells within my heart,

For love lives on, no doubt, indeed.

Pisgah Covered Bridge

I like to go back to places where we went together and discovered something magical and special. Out on a land photography expedition 60 miles south of Greensboro a few years back, Cheryl and I saw a sign that read , "Pisgah Covered Bridge Ahead". I looked at her, and she at me, and we both smiled because we knew we could work a stop there enroute back from our destination. We took the photos of the land and as we retraced our path we turned in the direction of the bridge. It was a beautiful early Fall day and the temperature was quite pleasant.

After a couple of miles, we turned into the visitor parking area and were immediately transformed into an idylic refuge of tall hardwood trees and a sparkling brook racing 'neath the century old covered bridge. We stopped and the world seemed to stop with us, all the struggles, the anxieties, the outright fears just dropped off behind us as we entered the serenity offered in this magical place. We had much on our minds and we felt an unseen arm wrap around us and tell us that everything was going to be allright.

You can walk through the bridge and then follow a trail that goes a few hundred yards alongside the creek and then crosses over and leads you back toward the parking area on the other side of the creek. It was a refreshing half hour communal with the creator and and his creation. I will never forget the first visit, and everytime I am reminded of it, my heart smiles with great joy. We parted with a bit of sadness because it had been such a delightful interlude in the midst of our storm.

Dakota was with me on another photographic expedition when I realized that we were close to the bridge South of Asheboro. I took him there and I think he enjoyed it also. as there is much nature to be discovered and admired.  He borrowed my camera and snapped a few of his own.

Imagine my surprise last week when I looked up and saw the same sign as I was headed for another photo opportunity South of Asheboro. Naturally, I routed myself home with the covered bridge enroute. It's not large, only a single wagon  wide a century ago and then a single auto when they were introduced in the early 20's. It hasn't been used for anything but a footbridge for many years, and juveniles have sprayed graffiti all over the inside walls, but it still offers a sanctuary from all the hustle and bustle and the cares of this world. It has been almost a year since we lost Cheryl, but reliving that special little moment in time lifted my spirits with sweet memories of her.

 

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TO WHERE YOU ARE

Who can say for certain
Maybe you're still here
I feel you all around me
Your memories so clear
Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You're still an inspiration
Can it be

That you are my
Forever love
And you are watching over me
From up above.

Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for a while
To know you're there
A breath away's not far to where you are.

Are you gently sleeping
Here inside my dream?
And isn't faith believing
All power can't be seen

As my heart holds you
Just one beat away
I cherish all you gave me
Everyday

Cause you are my
Forever love
Watching me
From up above

And I believe
That angels breathe
And that love will live on
And never leave

Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for a while
To know you're there
A breath away's not far to where you are.
I know you're there
A breath away's not far to where you are

Still takes my breath away

as sung by Josh Groban

Hello to the Bluebirds

 

Well, it's that time of year again, when birds survive the doldrums of winter and immediately go to work on mating with their partner, to bring forth a new generation that will propagate their species. None is more closely scrutinized than the eastern bluebird. Before the trees, plants and flowers are budding and blooming, but after the freezing temps are hopefully over, the bluebirds are checking out the available nesting boxes (bluebird houses). I have two in my yard and I usually only get one tenant each year. So it would seem this year, as a pair has already started building a nest in the newer box but none have entered the old one. This is the first week that the temp has not dropped below freezing overnight.

I am amused to read novices questions on birding sites about how to attract bluebirds to your yard, because Cheryl and I started doing it successfully 16 years ago. 

1. Put up a bluebird house in a spot that is not busy or noisy. Don't place it under or near a tree and protect it from predators with a baffle underneath. They like privacy.

2. Put up multiple meal worm feeders that are easily attainable from the nesting box. I use dried meal worms but I will not get into an argument over which is better, live or dried. I have used the dried ones successfully for over 16 years and they keep coming back.

3. Put out multiple sources of water that are readily available from the feeders and the box. They drink and bathe frequently all year round.

4. Leave them alone and don't do intrusive, invasive searches to satisfy your own curiosities while they are nesting. Let nature take it's course, I believe that God will sort things out, without my help.

The bluebirds are elegant and graceful and they are a pleasure to watch. Here, in North Carolina, we enjoy them everyday and we are privileged to provide anything we can to help them.

Here are some of this year's visitors.

While the World Sleeps

 While the world sleeps and shelters in to avoid this heinous disease that wraps its tentacles around the lives of those it touches, some of us are sitting by hopelessly with the knowledge that someone we love is indeed in the clutches of this terror.  I have never felt more helpless in my life. My brother Ted was infected with Covid-19 virus, and he was 1100 miles away from North Carolina in Texas. I am 76 years old and travelling in any fashion was not an option under the current lockdown rules, and besides that, I wouldn’t have been allowed to see him in the hospital if I was there. I am forced to rely on our shared faith in a heavenly father who hears our prayers. One thing that we believe is to “Hope” in God’s word and His Spirit leading us to believe that He is faithful and will hear our prayers. I have prayed with great hope, without ceasing, for Ted throughout this ordeal he is facing.

When I called him a few weeks ago he was already ill, telling me that he had been diagnosed with “walking pneumonia”. He had been to an emergency clinic near his home in Burleson, Texas and they had sent him home. Two days after I called, his wife Fay called to say that he had been admitted to a hospital on the SW side of Ft Worth because his blood sugar was highly elevated to almost 500 (Normal is 120-150) and his cough had not subsided. They administered a Covid-19 test kit and it came back on that Friday as positive. Fay had told him good-bye at the hospital door and was told that he couldn’t call out, so she, like the rest of us was isolated from contact with him.

After a couple of days I was able to get him on the phone in his room and we had a good talk. Same thing the next day and then it was another day before I spoke with him. His voice was weak and he was not happy with the treatment he was receiving, his cough was deep and raspy and he was not getting better. For some reason, the hospital had him in ICU, but not on a ventilator. I became genuinely concerned about his treatment and his recovery probability. The next day Fay advised that the hospital was going to release him and send him home for her to care for him.

That was a none-starter proposition for a multitude of reasons, some of which are.

1. Ted was still in need of constant care that only a hospital can deliver

2. Fay is in the highest risk category of catching this infectious disease

3. He had never been offered the use of a ventilator by the hospital.

4. Fay had recently suffered a major fall and was only barely recovered enough to be able to care for herself.

Fay’s daughter and Fay objected to his release and delayed the hospital for 3 days, after which, Ted was released without concurrence by the family, into the care of Fay in their home. She said they called and said, “He has been released and you need to come pick him up now”. She did and brought him to their home. He was still in need of major care and she quickly realized that she was not capable of meeting his needs. Ted was irrational in sound judgement and physically incontinent with his normal routine. He was having an extremely hard time breathing with excruciating pain and obviously in need of care that could not be provided at home. After calling Ted’s family doctor, he agreed and sent out an EMS team to take him to a different hospital the following morning. Subsequently, Fay was now quarantined to her home from exposure to a known Covid-19 victim, pending the results of a test kit in the future. (Miraculously her test came back negative)

Ted was immediately sedated and placed on a ventilator in the ICU. He has never recovered sufficiently to be removed completely from sedation or from the ventilator. This hospital was much better than the first, calling with updates to Fay twice a day, but they managed to commit a terrible fiasco. Fay’s daughter Julie called the hospital for her mom and the hospital misinterpreted her request to speak with Ted, and connected her to another patient with a similar name. This resulted in Fay thinking that she was talking to a conscious Ted even though he sounded groggy. She and Julie spoke to this wrong person and thought he sounded like Ted on drugs. He had been removed from the ventilator and moved to a step-down ICU ward in the hospital. When Fay shared this with the family, we were ecstatic and praising God for this miraculous improvement. In like manner, we were crushed to discover the error the following day and learn that Ted was still under sedation and still on the ventilator in ICU. The doctors and the hospital apologized profusely, but the damage was already done to the family. It was like a great burden had been lifted from your back, and then suddenly, been thrust back onto your shoulders. It was agonizing to all, but especially to Fay.

He had been on the ventilator for several days and the hospital tried to remove it and get him back to breathing on his own. He suffered a panic attack that led to a heart attack and they had to resuscitate him. His situation worsened and he was unable to even attempt removal of the ventilator without fear of another heart attack. Finally the family agreed to remove the ventilator and issued a DNR certificate. Within a day he lost his battle for life on this earth and stepped into  Heaven’s glory.

A kinder, gentler man I never knew, he was without guile, and pure of heart with all he met. He did not deserve the excruciatingly painful process that led to his demise, he did not deserve the agony, the mis-treatment, the mis-direction and the evil virus that accompanied his journey. But he did, and now he is gone. To a better place for sure and he surely will not suffer anymore. Ted was a wonderful man, respected by all and he will be forever loved.

He now sleeps without pain or suffering in a place far from this noisy place. God rest his soul in peace.