“Carpe Diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.” ~ Horace ~

The photos are a Sunrise at “Recaptured Pocket” were we finally made it at 5:00 in the morning. morning light makes all the difference. The video is part I of III of our past ride through “Valley of the Gods”. Part II was in the previous entry, part III will happen when I have a better connection. The thoughts… well, they just appear… We were sitting amongst the giant soldiers of “Valley of the Gods” when this was written.

Amazing Life. Lance and my Dear Friend Bill are not yet ready to see me. Impatient yesterday, I called the Urology Clinic and the sweet sounding voice of the Nurse reassured me, expressed, voiced, all in that one uplifting sentence that my biopsy did not show any trace of Cancer. I cannot put into words how I felt within that moment. I know I choked, jumped, tears and more than I can remember. The door of Life wide opened up, the path suddenly was lined so smoothly. I could not think, I only looked up suddenly realizing I had been watched over and had received the fruit of the so many well wishes and prayers you all so gently and thoughtfully had expressed. I only felt bad within that moment while remembering the words replaying from another with whom I tried to share my Life “It is not of my best interest to pursue… “. I think I will always remember those words, they sounded so loud, icy cold, and yet, they were announced before my biopsy results. Some have no Faith… Sad.

As I sit here this morning amongst the tall soldiers of "Valley of the Gods", it came to mind how fitting it is for us, with my wagging tailed Buddy Spirit, as he also knows, spending the night and express my “Thanks” and renew my Faith in this Life of ours. For all men out there of a certain age as myself, you need to know that a PSA of 19 and a Free/PSA of 13% (should be 25% and more) does not mean Cancer. I am the living proof of such results.

A couple days have now passed and I am still on cloud nine as they say. I have no idea why they call it “cloud nine”, but if that is the one, well, we are on it! We had to run up to Moab for some provisions and some coffee, a very uneventful trip, mainly very hot and humid when arriving, we are so late in the season getting up North. "Old Faithful" now decided since I am well, to herself give me some trouble. I have no idea what could be wrong, some foreign noises where the drive shaft and transmission meet. Gear noises when shifting, input shaft… output shaft… ??? An e mail from a Friend that lives near by Tucson arrived, he suggested the best BMW mechanic around, Frank, we talked, it is all arranged, we will backtrack starting Monday through again Show Low and arrive in Tucson in the early hours of Tuesday to avoid the heat. We have a place to stay.

Of course it is an inconvenience. No doubt. Yet, we are alive, what else matters! We live on the road, there is no schedule, we will get “there” when we get “there” and experience the lessons while. I have been thinking a lot about our Karma lately, it has been on my mind, constantly. The path that Life has put us on, as today it hit me hard, good, some aspects of it unbelievable. One has to live right, do well for others, for themselves and all will come back. Life has the good and the bad, it is “Yin Yang”, there is no doubt toward that personal belief of mine including “acceptance” which yet I often still have a hard time with when thinking about Lance.

Events. I can go back these past years, but I will start with our arrival in Show Low with the thought of visiting Dean and Pam for one night only. The weather turned bad, we decided to stay a couple more days while having such also a good time in their kitchen. Then the news of my high PSA and Free/PSA tests came in. The bad… and the good. Dean drove me to Tucson for the biopsy, 440 miles round trip and waited in that waiting room for close to 3 hours as complications ensued. With a smile. I had to sell my two cameras to pay for the biopsy. Of course another inconvenience, but, so little for the price to pay to know if one will live or what? No Cancer. The cameras were not selling. I then so published them on a motorcycle Forum and a Gentleman wrote to me, he buys and sells cameras, Nikon only however, but will do me the favor to buy both. The cameras arrived, he wrote to me that one had the mirror come apart. I was responsible of course and suggested he would mail it to “Canon Repair” in Irvine, California. Who knows, maybe even out of warranty they would repair it for free.

He happens to live 5 minutes from the facility! He took in both cameras, they replaced both mirrors at no charge! My sponsor turns around and sends me a new camera, the one I always dreamed off… Faith… But there is more. “Canidae” Dog Food did a write up on us a while back, they are now officially sponsoring us for Spirit’s Dog Food and clothing. More Faith… and more. The repairs I know will be expensive. Somehow I know we will manage… The Good!

My good Friend Michael wrote me this comment a couple days ago “Ara never forget you live a life filled with Treasure. You are one of the “Richest” men I have ever had the pleasure of sharing a fire with. Measure your life by the sunrises and sunsets you will never forget and friendships that will always endure. Rejoice in the challenges you place in your path, both the ones you have overcome and the ones you still work on. Celebrate the rich tapestry of Life that you weave for yourself and anyone that wishes to look inward. You share the currency of your Kingdom with open arms, thanks Brother.”

Yes, I am on that cloud, if it is “cloud nine”, well, let it be it…

"I have had a great deal of interest in my photography over the years, for which I am grateful. Their sales are of much importance funding this Journal. Yes, please feel free to purchase one or two… or a few. I have been adding some photos lately, there will be more as I sift through about 100,000 of them. Take a look. Also for merchandise also “Smugmug” stands for quality. For contributions to defer the always rising Internet costs please use the toolbar above. “Zen Gallery” is slowly filling up with new photos. Thank you for your help.”

Ara & Spirit

Be Safe and well
Peace, Love, Courage

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 12th, 2011 at 6:46 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.