Soccer and the Election

George and I attended a soccer game on Election Evening. Our granddaughter, Jordyn (#21), was playing in the semi-finals game of the Oregon high school championships.

Exciting times.

And judging from the serious expressions, a little scary, maybe?
Or perhaps they were reviewing the game plan and their parts in it.

There was an impressive line-up and introduction of the teams,
 ironically dressed in red and blue.

A pre-game show of unity.

Game on.

It was a hard fought game, not without controversial calls,
including a goal kicked in and counted after the ball had gone out of bounds.
Final score, 0-2. Blue won. And went on to win the state championship.
There was celebration and there were tears on that field after the game.
Ah, Life....there will always be joy and sorrow in this world, from athletics to all that life entails. 
My prayer is that these young women will learn this lesson and not be drawn into the lie that life owes them all that they determine they deserve.
Strive for excellence, rejoice in the wins, be gracious in defeat, grieve a little after the losses, reevaluate your role in the game, make changes if necessary.
 Then move ahead, stronger and more determined to see joy in life. Win or lose.

I almost deleted this out-of-focus shot from my photo collection.
But as I looked at it five days after the game and the election, to my mind came the thought that it, too, shows something of both.
In the heat of the battle things can get out of focus. The game plan and our role on the team can be forgotten as our opponent presses in. Passes go awry, the ball gets kicked high and without forethought. There is a soccer term I have learned and it is sometimes even shouted from the spectators' section.

"Settle:The process of receiving the ball and causing it to stop at or near one’s feet using one's feet, head, chest, thigh or any other way legally touched. May be from a pass, a punt, a header, etc."

Settle. In other words, regain control. Calm down. Think. Go back to the game plan.
This morning my heart heard the call to "Settle". Get out of the chaos of the election news. God has this all under control. Not my job.
OK. What is MY game plan? What do I need to Settle into?
I have the greatest possible Coach!
He gently brought to my mind two very specific entries in the Playbook:

Micah 6:8
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

And the Book of James, where it gets specific.

For the next month I plan to read that book daily.

Instead of being constantly distracted into the unfocused, unprincipled, blurry realm of this past election cycle and what it means, I determine to study the perfect Game Plan and get out on the field of life.
There is a war to fight.
God's way. With His help. We win.

West Virginia, Four: Norton

We moved north again, to work at a small town, Norton, that is near Elkins. The closest RV Park was twenty-five miles away and not really "big-rig" friendly, so we got permission to park at the mill. This mill had two sets of carriage rails to be restored, so this was home for two weeks.  At this time in our lives, "home is where we park it", as the saying goes.

All of the mills George worked at in West Virginia this trip
are owned by Allegheny Wood Products.

We parked on the edge of all the activity.

Up the hill from the previous picture was a log yard that became the Paulee-walk area. It was large and secluded from the mill activity so she could be leash free and get in a little running. We did have to keep her in the clearing, however, because we were told the ticks are thick in the brush. Deer sightings were common in the evening.

Log sorting language.
All the logs in this yard were destined for other mills.

George's corner of the mill.

This old truck was still being used around the mill.
I would have loved to bring the Mack Bulldog hood ornament home with me.
 The newer ones are much smaller.

Free firewood for the workers.

Too bad we live so far away.
I'm sure George would fill his truck with this clean, easy to stack hardwood!

 Exploring time!

My favorite "statue" in nearby Elkins,
because I think crows are fascinating creatures.
And their bouncy, loping manner of moving on the ground amuses me. 

Local Civil War history

The old buildings in the small, dying coal towns always catch my eye.
I like the company name on this one. 

It always makes me sad to see them falling into disrepair.

After spending several weeks in areas of WV where open land is scarce it was refreshing to drive through an area of farmland.

We went into a small combination hardware and thrift store where this (to me) disturbing picture was hanging on the wall. I did a little research; it is titled "Hope". Hmmmm.
In the lower section of the linked article you will find some recent history regarding the picture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_(painting)
I identify with G.K. Chesterton that a better title would be "Despair".

I saw this sign at the beginning of a driveway on a little backroad and George pulled over so I could "capture" it. As I was focusing, we heard someone holler, "HEY!" We left. Quickly. No desire to be spoken to in 12 gauge. 

Just because.

"Groundhog Day"

I noticed Paulee staring intently out the window.

Here's what she was so interested in.

It hung around for quite some time, munching the grass,
and then disappeared into the brush, much to Paulee's disappointment.

But then.....

...it was back, with Mommy!
We didn't see them again for several days but they did return once while we were there.

And in closing some

 Mill Yard Beauty

West Virginia, Three: Cowen

Our driveway to home for four days

The neighbors on the left had a nice garden, from which she shared some of their first picking of yellow squash. She was an interesting person to visit with; she had been a long haul truck driver for years. Her husband was born about five miles down the road. His father died in a coal mining accident; a brother was killed in a brawl of some kind. They said he never backed down from a fight. Yikes. They were friendly people and offered help if we might need it.

I picked this up on the roadside when I took the driveway photo.
Coal.
That's another post. An angry, sad post. 

Our backyard, right along the Gauley River
I found this poem a few years ago. Follow the link at the end for some interesting facts regarding this author's connection with Edgar Allan Poe.

     Gauley River

by Thomas Dunn English

The waters of Gauley, 

    Wild waters and brown, 

Through the hill-bounded valley; 

     Sweep onward and down; 

Over rocks, over shallows, 

     Through shaded ravines, 

Where the beautiful hallows 

     Wild, varying scenes; 

Where the tulip tree scatters 

     Its blossoms in Spring 

And the bank-swallow spaters 

     With foam its sweet wing; 

Where the dun deer is stooping 

     Bears down on his prey— 

Brown waters of Gauley, 

     That sweep past the shore— 

Dark waters of Gauley 

     That move evermore.

Brown waters of Gauley, 

     At eve on your tide, 

My log canoe slowly 

     And careless I guide. 

The world and its troubles 

     I leave on the shore 

I seek the wild torrent 

     And shout to its roar. 

The pike glides before me 

     In impulse of fear, 

In dread of the motion 

     That speaks of the spear— 

Proud lord of these waters, 

     He fears lest I be 

A robber rapacious 

     And cruel as he. 

He is off to his eddy, 

     In wait for his prey; 

He is off to his ambush, 

     And there let him stay.

Brown waters of Gauley, 

     Impatient ye glide, 

To seek the Kanawha, 

     And mix with its tide— 

Past hillside and meadow, 

     Past cliff and moralls, 

Receiving the tribute, 

     Of streams as ye pass, 

Ye heed not the being, 

     Who floats on your breast, 

Too earnest your hurry, 

     Too fierce your unrest. 

His, his is the duty 

     As plain as your own; 

But he feels a dullness 

     Ye never have known. 

He pauses in action, 

     He faints and gives, o'er; 

Brown waters of Gauley, 

     Ye move evermore.

Brown waters of Gauley, 

     My fingers I lave 

In the foam that lies scattered 

     Upon your brown wave. 

From sunlight to shadow, 

     To shadow more dark, 

'Neath the low-bending birches 

     I guide my rude barque; 

Through the shallows whose brawling 

     Falls full on my ear, 

Through the sharp, mossy masses, 

     My vessel I steer 

What care I for honors, 

     The world might bestow, 

What care I for gold, 

     With its glare and its glow: 

The world and its troubles 

     I leave on the shore 

Of the waters of Gauley, 

     That move evermore.

 http://littlebitsofhistory.blogspot.com/2010/11/logan-logan-county-wv.html

Here is the river level when we arrived.
The rains came again.

Taken from the same location after several hours of rain.

From the motorhome window. 
We were not far from the rising river!

I must admit I was ready to leave when the job was finished! 
Two of the possible three routes to the next job were closed by landslides and flooding.

Before the rains began we took a drive to Webster Springs, about eight miles from the campground. It is literally in a hole, completely surrounded by mountains. Steep streets!

Beautiful lawn ornaments, the living kind. There were two of these little fawns and the strange thing was, they were with a buck. Did not see a doe.

The river is rising.
Two days later the roads into the town were closed by flooding and landslides, one of which flooded the basement of the little hospital in town.

I took this picture just because the precarious looking little building on the side of the hill caught my eye.
I have no idea what its purpose is.

Water from the rock brought Moses to mind.

And finally, some shy beauties.

This was taken before the river turned brown and wild.
These ducks moved so fast I had a hard time "catching" them!

West Virginia, Two: Beckley

A nice RV park, close to work! It was a comfortable place to call home for nine days.

And the downpours began. Or as I remember my Dad saying, the goose-drowners.

A wet Fourth of July

All that rain made for a lot of hardy and happy mushrooms.

One of the things we enjoy doing when we have some free time is to go to the local thrift shops. I had to get my camera from the truck when I spotted this sign posted in one :)
(double-click to read the fine print)

We finally had a break in the rain, so we drove to the nearby New River Gorge Bridge, featured on the WV State Commemorative Quarter. We had been here on an earlier trip, but had viewed it only from the Visitor's Center that is located near the top of the bridge. Here's the view going across the bridge. Note the bridge spanning the river at the bottom. This time we decided to see it from the bottom of the Gorge.

We zigzagged our way down narrow, bumpy roads...

...past numerous little waterfalls fed by the recent rains...

...and sparkling, rain washed rhododendrons.

There was a place to pull off the road so we took a walk through the woods and on to this bridge that crossed the fast running stream below. A jogger came across with her dog, which brought Janine to mind. We smiled as we commented on how she and Zoey would enjoy this trail!

George stopped here so I could take the next photo, where the GPS kept instructing us to "Turn left".

It went pretty much straight down. A long way.
Maybe it was confused from all the twists and turns. 

We made it!
This is the bridge that could be seen from the top of the Gorge.

The view from the bottom.

In all the grandeur of the big picture, I almost missed the beauty beneath my feet.

I am easily entertained when God's natural creation is involved.
I'm a big fan of His artwork.

Up the other side of the Gorge

Wild raspberries, within reach. Yum!

Back to the top!
And back to work!