The Light

My Mother's 103rd birthday would have been later this week. We lost her in 2021 at the age of 98. Mother had a way with. words and loved to write - sermons, blog posts, letters, and poems. This poem is one of my favorites. 

The Light

My father always left a light for me . . .

Against the nightime shadows . . .

Lovingly.

He left the door unlocked . . .

It opened wide

And I could safely find,

My way inside.

Beyond the grave

I see a light . . . I see

The Lights of home . . . 

God left a light for me.

So I can walk through death.

With faith . . . not fear.

I see the Lights of home,

And God is near.

- Ruth Baird Shaw 1978.

A Morning Walk With Clem, Ruth, & Suz

 

Walking with Clementine

 One of the great joys of my last trip top Vista, California was getting to take several nice long walks with my eldest granddaughter Clementine. Today, a Saturday, was our first opportunity for such a walk on this trip and what a nice walk we had.

We started by walking up the hill off of Anza to the huge water tank on Carillo Dr. There we met a neighbor, Ms. Juna, who showed us the beautiful view from her yard. We could barely make out a bit of the Pacific through the haze. On a clear day she says you can see one of the Channel Islands and even a bit of Catalina Island. 

Toward the bottom of Carrillo Dr. near Smith St. we met another neighbor, Will, walking his dog, and asked him to snap our picture.  

That's where we saw this beautiful Morning Glory.

From Carillo we walked across Smith to Townsite and then across Vista Way to the Nature Trail. There we saw Western Sycamores and talked about their "Christmas balls" and "naked limbs". We saw a hummingbird flitting about but not close enough to catch a good picture.

This Townsend's Warbler was a much more cooperative model...

...flitting from one nearby low branch to another... 

and pretty much completely ignoring us.

Very near the warbler three kids and their father came along. I asked Matteo to snap our picture.

We continued down the Nature Trail to Wildwood Park and then along Vista Way through the little memorial to service members to the old downtown section of Vista.

Vista has lots of public art. Clementine calls this sculpture "The Time Machine".  

At Danny's Donuts I decided to buy a dozen so we could take some back to the rest of the family. Clementine picked out some special ones-- a heart shaped one, and one topped by Oreos. But when we were ready to each eat one she chose a strawberry donut...

...and I chose a blueberry donut.

Right next to Danny's Donuts is a flower stand. Since this is Valentine's Day they were VERY busy. Clementine picked out a beautiful, bouquet to take back to her Granny and her Mom.

Just as we were nearing home again we saw TWO hawks, and while we were looking at the hawks Clem noticed that an airplane was writing a message in the sky. It turned out he had almost finished...

... but we got to see him cross his "A".

When we got home there was a Red Shouldered Hawk right there on a wire near the driveway!

A Poem: For Alex Jeffrey Pretti by Amanda Gorman

For Alex Jeffrey Pretti

Murdered by federal agents January 24, 2026

by Amanda Gorman

We wake with

no words, just woe

& wound. Our own country shoot

ing us in the back is not just brutal

ity; it’s jarring betrayal; not enforcement,

but execution. A message: Love your people & you

will die. Yet our greatest threat isn’t the outsiders

among us, but those among us who never look

within. Fear not the those without papers, but those

without conscience. Know that to care intensively,

united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today

& a profound, daring hope for tomorrow. We can feel

we have nothing to give, & still belove this world wait

ing, trembling to change. If we cannot find words, may

we find the will; if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our

humanity. The only undying thing is mercy, the courage to open

ourselves like doors, hug our neighbor,

& save one more bright, impossible life.