Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, & Nobody

 On Sunday and Monday I invested time in the yard raking off flower beds, picking up sticks & branches, and generating copious smoke by burning all that detritus. My burning was successful with my piles nearly totally consumed. I smelled pretty much like a salami but that was easily remedied. The major reward was that great feeling of completion of a job that is now off of the list. The secondary reward was checking my phone and discovering I clocked 3.6 miles on Sunday and 5.3 on Monday simply by doing basic chores. I didn’t even have to pay any monthly fees to make this happen.

Tuesday was outstanding. I started the day by seeing two grandboys, Emmit & TJ. Emmit was celebrating his 7^th birthday. He seemed a bit more excited about his birthday than I was with mine a few short days ago. Next year mine will have a 7 as the leading numeral. After dropping these guys at Milton West (the new drop-off is outstanding) I met my brother-in-law, Jeff, at the Firefly Coffeehouse & Artisan Cheese in Oregon. If you haven’t visited the Firefly, it is great. It’s right on Main St. Ambiance was nice and the triple latte very good. I noticed a great room with lots of toys for those with small children who want to savor a nice coffee but have a place where the kids would not get bored. Jeff and I used to double-date back in high school and early college days. It was a good thing back then but high schoolers today may not have a clue what I am talking about. I am not sure that kids even date in this day and age. When went “steady” and all that good stuff back then too. Anyway, Jeff and I seldom see each other any more so it was great to chat and catch up. It’s always fun to discover a new coffee shop as well.

When I arrived home the day was so great that I wanted to be outside but, after checking the wind speed & direction, decided against biking. That didn’t keep me from the trail. On my rides last week, I noticed several places that needed to have gravel swept away so I decided to tackle some of that. The most pressing need was just north of County N where the trail abuts Otter Creek Court. This street is a dead end cul-de-sac and is a great place to park if you want to access the trail there instead of riding from Milton. From there north into Fort the trail is nearly flat and descends gradually. For riders who are less experience or conditioned, this is a good part of the trail to ride. The problem this spring was that Otter Creek Court had oil & pea gravel applied last summer. During the winter a significant amount of that pea gravel was plowed onto the trail leaving about a nearly 100 yard length of trail literally covered with the stuff. Pea gravel is terrible stuff for bikes. With wider tires it is tolerable but for road bikers with narrow tires it is very hazardous.

This pea gravel on the trail is no one’s fault. It is simply the result of our climate and snow plowing. I had ridden this part of the trail three times last week moaning and groaning about the gravel every time. I don’t know why I thought it would disappear but that seemed to be where my mind was going. So yesterday, I packed up my brand new straw broom (purchased right in Milton at Dave’s Ace) along with a small flat shovel and drove out there. When I opened the car door I discovered a ripe, dead raccoon reclining right next to where I was parked so the shovel came in very handy for changing Mr. Raccoon’s final resting place to a location more private for him and less obtrusive for those parking there. Then I wielded my broom. I have attached a couple of pictures so you can get a bit of an idea of the scoop of this project. Two and a half hours later I finally finished. I swept constantly with no break. I had no idea it would take that long but it was a lot of gravel. Several bikers went by and all called out thanks for what I was doing. Another great sense of completion, great time spent in the sun, no one haranguing me, and some civic rent paid – the social compact as it were. And I removed a major dissatisfier for me and probably every biker who encountered this stuff. Additionally, my phone told me I had clocked more than 5 miles while sweeping.

Today, was much colder with snow predicted in the afternoon (it did arrive). After my Wednesday Men's Breakfast enjoying good camaraderie and a great Bible study I, once again, decided to head out with broom & shovel. Remember, I like completion and I had my thoughts on a couple of more places that were begging for a broom. There is a small woods between the Klug Road cul-de-sac and the Otter Creek Bridge. A tree had fallen there during the winter. It had been removed but there was still a lot of “stuff” still on the trail. It's gone now. The Otter Creek Bridge is literally right next to Highway 26. The north end of the bridge area always gets a gift of plowed gravel during the winter. That deposit is now gone. Finally there are a couple of gravel driveways north of County N (remember, there is no “Freeway Status” for 26 in that area so there are several driveways) where there is always gravel washed onto the trail at the close of winter or after a major downpour in the warmer weather. Those dissatisfiers have been remedied. My need for completion was met. I had some great outside time before it became cold & snowy, and I clocked 4.5 miles on my phone

It seems appropriate to share this story I ran across the other day. It is attributed to Chuck Swindoll, but I found it in a devotional book, Meeting the WORD in the World, written by my friend and nearly life-time acquaintance, Rev. Glen Warner. Chances are you have heard it before but here it is.

“This is a story about four people name Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to do and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”

So what is my point? I talk to people every day who bemoan the fact that they are bored and don’t know what to do. Boy do I have some ideas. I spent needless time & energy complaining about the condition of the trail sort of expecting some magic outcome. Well, it doesn’t work that way. I need to focus on what I can do to fix things that nearly any of us can do but nobody does. I invite you to join me as I try to actively walk down this road. If you’re bored, or not, and want to join me on some bike trail or community maintenance like sweeping gravel, picking up litter, and things of that sort, let me know. You can comment in the comments section or I'm not hard to find at jcruzan@charter.net. #cruzan4milton#WAM

Before

In Progess

After

Espresso Shots Welcomes You

Welcome to my new blog, Espresso Shots.  This idea has been germinating in my mind for a number of years.  I simply have never taken the steps to make it real.  Now seems to be the time.  Why today?  Because spring landed on me like a shot in the arm.  Milton, my city & home, came through in an election supporting kids & our future, and, in my opinion, appropriate candidates were elected to both the City Council and the Board of Education. A, long, dark winter signaled its retreat in a plethora of ways, many of my own making.  The power of our own minds and thoughts is so intriguing.

Unlike Kids Matter and Cruz’n for Kindness, my topic specific blogs, Espresso Shots will not have a specific agenda but will be the meandering of my mind on things that strike me, resonate with me, motivate me, or make me sad or happy as I go about my life in Milton.  My habits of walking and biking provide great opportunity for introspection, observation, and reflection.  This occasional blog will be a sharing of some of the product of those activities. 

So, why would I want to share any of this? What is the sense of that? Am I trying to show off, to provoke reaction?  Does anybody care? Does it matter if anyone cares?  No it doesn’t matter. I expect my readership will be nearly non-existent. My purpose is simply that self-publishing will provide me with an aspect of my own self-care; something that most of us need desperately.

So, what’s up with the name, Espresso Shots?  I love coffee, nearly every aspect of it. Sue and I owned an RV that we named Espresso.  Espresso’s vanity plate was 3xLATTE for one of my favorite coffee drinks, the delectable triple latte.  We owned a small scooter/motorcycle which we hauled on the back of Espresso for use when we were set up in a campground and needed to “scoot” into town for something.  We named the scooter, Latte, which sported the vanity plate, LATTE.  My bicycle was feeling left out so I bestowed on it the name, Double Shot.  A Starbucks Double Shot on ice is my go-to coffee drink especially in warmer weather but so good any time.  Double Shot seemed to fit my bike well. So, don’t you think it is completely logical that my blog would be called Espresso Shots?  Well, it is logical to me and this is my blog so there you go.

Welcome to Espresso Shots.  I’d love your readership and comments but really don’t expect either.  Remember this is self-care.  It is good for me to get some of this on paper as it helps my sanity.

I am not a cold weather biker.  Double Shot gets hung on the hooks in the garage or installed on the trainer in my basement about late October and doesn’t see the light until spring comes around.  “Real” bikers ride all year round.  I am not in that category.  I brought Double Shot out of the basement a few days ago and readied him for riding.  Tires pumped, lights charged, batteries working in the computer – all that well-intentioned stuff.  But then I procrastinated – too chilly, too windy, too cloudy, not enough time, should do something else – lots of moaning and groaning but little action.  I was caught in a psychological hump where one could stay for a long time if one let themselves.  Today, April 3, I broke out. I donned the biking clothes, filled the water bottle, strapped on the helmet, cleated in, and pedaled from my garage out E. High Street, north on Sunnyside, East on Storr’s Lake Road, and then north onto the Glacial River Bike Trail. What an asset this trail is to our area and only a mere mile from my driveway. I walk and bike the trail often.  I love it and try to take care of it to the degree within my power (picking up litter when I walk, sweeping gravel off in the spring from winter runoff and plowing, bringing to the attention of proper authorities issues such as washouts or drainage things that pose a hazard if they present).  I like to do these things and gain fulfillment from them.  It’s another way of paying my civic rent.

My ride went well today, seemingly too easy for an out-of-condition 69 year old who was carrying extra tubes around his middle even though he had spare tubes in his bag.  I rode about seven miles out to the north edge of Rock County.  This is almost right at the Stagecoach Inn location.  Wisely, I chose to reverse at that point as I quickly realized the wind was not my friend on the return trip.

Several observations today.  I was warmer (quite comfortable actually) than I thought I would be. My body did well for being out of condition. I remembered how much I love being on Double Shot. I saw wooly bears. I saw cranes, geese, sea gulls of some kind which I think were eating frogs or frog-like creatures in the run-off sea that has formed at the Klug Road cul-de-sac.  People were walking with strollers and unleashed dogs.  Today, these dogs and their adults were well-behaved and exhibited good trail manners – not always the case.  One of my more interesting observations was my buddy Ernie Fisher.  I saw his “classic” truck (I don’t think he has named it but maybe he should) parked at the end of a driveway right on Highway 26.  I thought he was trying to sell his beloved truck but then realized how unlikely that would be.  Then I saw Ernie digging a hole of some kind not far from the truck.  That’s Ernie, diligent about completing his chores and here I was riding bike with plenty of chores waiting at home.  (Remember the self-help thing?  Good because I find there are always chores aplenty). I hollered to Ernie as I sailed by and I think he heard me all the way across the highway.  It’s always nice to encounter a friend.  My ride was just what I needed – I clocked just under 15 miles and felt so righteous.

God, being God, behaved as a true, good father today.  Very early this morning, he slapped me right across the face to arrest my attention.  At 5 a.m., I was reporting to the Gifts Men’s Shelter in Janesville to fulfill my volunteer early morning and breakfast shift.  I had not been to the new building before so as I entered the enclosed vestibule to be “buzzed” inside I was concentrating on how to get someone’s attention to obtain access. While waiting I heard a noise behind me. I turned and there on the floor sleeping soundly were two homeless men.  I had not even seen them when I entered the vestibule. Because of my own thoughts, and because I did not have eyes for homeless men (even though I was at the homeless shelter) I didn’t even see them.  I felt bad and even embarrassed.  (You should know that these men were not supposed to be there but that is beside the point).  Do we only see that for which we are looking?  Are our eyes open enough to the life issues that exist in our community even though they may seem far away from our daily lives.  I’m afraid I’m in that category and I find it troubling.  I will become better.  So God started his work on me early with a jolt of self-realization.  Then God, being God, rewarded me with great news from the Milton community. He provided a sense of fulfillment and affirmation that actions and behaviors do matter.  Then God gave me that shot in the arm of my first bike ride of spring, the wooly bears, the cranes, the warmth of the sun, good friends, the stuff of life.  He reminded me that I need to have eyes with which to see all that is in front of me and to be thankful for the wonderful life that I have.

Thanks for coming along for the maiden voyage of Espresso Shots. Looking forward to seeing you again.