Dear Reader:

Friday night I found myself engrossed in yet another Ken Burns’ documentary on The National Parks. I have never seen a documentary by this amazing director/producer that didn’t touch me while at the same time educate me. (Just finished the history of Jazz documentary)

The history behind so many national parks’ creations were filled with dissent, politics at its worst, state rights vs federal laws….conflict upon conflict upon conflict. And yet now most Americans take these magnificent national parks for granted and marvel in their awe-inspiring splendor and grandeur. What in the world would our country be like without these “gifts” to humanity?

Of all the stories surrounding so many of the larger, more well-known national parks….it was one statement in the story of the Isle Royale National Park in Michigan that made me pause and reflect.

 Isle Royale National Park is only accessible by boat or seaplane, which explains why this gorgeous, isolated archipelago of islands in Lake Superior sees just 16,000 visitors per year. The misty main island, Isle Royale, is the perfect place to retreat from civilization. There are no roads here, and wheeled vehicles — including bikes — are not permitted in the park.

FDR approved this beautiful area as a national park but because of the limited transportation access to it and because there were and are no roads on it….FDR could never see it.

The documentary showed a “Road Ends” transportation sign as it explained that there were no roads on Isle Royale. Something clicked as I listened and watched that sign.

Isn’t that the way it feels sometimes in life for all of us? We think we have come to the end of a road, only to discover that one road’s ending is another path’s beginning?

I remember the first time I met Linda Carson, my oncologist nurse, she took me to the chemo treatment room and the first thing I noticed was a poem that I remember asking her if I could make a copy of and a cancer detour sign.

What Cancer Cannot Do

Submitted By: constancelynn

Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.

Author: Unknown

Since those early readings and thoughts about cancer and its life-altering entrance into one’s life….I have come to realize that there are no real road endings in this world. There aren’t even any dead-ends. This life, as we know it, will simply turn into “Heaven’s Highway” in another world.

In fact I have discovered that detours can sometimes become the new road we are to travel upon leaving the more populated highways behind….and I find myself liking the off-the-beaten paths….they give me more time to pause, reflect, rest, and talk to
God.

The most important road signs for me these days are crossroads or intersection signs. I see these as opportunities to intersect with God. My prayer is “Please intersect with me God.”

A crossroad can simply mean a point where two roads come together or it take on other meanings….a central meeting place  : a crucial point especially where a decision must be made.

I have certainly had my share of personal crossroads, just like you, as I have gone through life and I have  passed the various crossroads in a better place when I took time to let God guide me.

Maybe I will add Isle Royale to my personal bucket list because I would love to see a place where no roads existed….a rare phenomenon (for sure) in this world.

So until tomorrow: Let us never forget the close connection between beginnings and endings….and remember there are no real “dead-ends.” I find that quite comforting!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Don’t forget today is the first day of May so say “Rabbit” for good luck all month! (I decided to give Miss Rabbit an umbrella ) “April showers bring May flowers” – April didn’t bring us much rain but May is looking more promising.

*Yesterday Mollie, Kaitlyn, and I took Rutledge and Lachlan on the water taxi from Patriot’s Point. We had a ball….The driver let us use his seat and made Rutledge the honorary captain for the voyage.

We just stayed on the boat as it hit all the drop-offs and made the complete circle. Rutledge’s eyes were as big as saucers seeing a cruise ship up close, the USS Yorktown and the WWII submarine that was his favorite. So relaxing…while waiting for the next boat the boys played in the sand and had a grand time! A friend of Walsh and Mollie’s gave Rutledge a Scottish insignia shirt and he was very proud of it.

As you can see (from the last two photos above) Lachlan and I finally bonded. He is such a mama’s boy that he is usually terribly upset for most of the time I babysit him after Mollie leaves. But this time he was happy as a lark!

Lachlan, Rutledge, and I took a wagon trip around the neighborhood when Mollie and Kaitlyn left to join Tommy and Walsh for the fundraiser dinner following the golf tournament and silent auction that honors Tim Touchberry and raises money for Parkinson’s Disease. What a great cause!