32: A Place to Be

Dear Friend,

Where has your week taken you? I don’t necessarily mean geographically. Obviously, you’ve come quite far in your lifetime, whether you’ve left your hometown, or not. Would you agree that by adapting to newness, a form of travel has undeniably happened, change has occurred, and sometimes there is ‘no going back?’

When I recall the beginning of last week, it feels like a year ago. A lot has changed for Frank and me but it’s nothing that you’d notice just looking at us. It’s about stuff. We had to move everything in our storage unit down the hall into another storage unit, down-sizing even further. (I’ll speak for myself, I had little memory of some things until I saw them again and then, wow).

We’ve all heard that we should get rid of something if it doesn’t bring us joy. I suppose that works with ‘things.’ We’ve all sluffed off a lot of things. And, thanks, but honestly, even though sometimes my memory doesn’t bring me joy, that doesn’t mean that I want to get rid of my brains. Discomfort is part of shifting, adapting… I think that living through and dealing with ‘stuff’ is ebb and flow, part of life, and growing. It’s a conversation, a back and forth.

Like sound waves and the changes that take place as vibrations travel through an instrument, how the sound waves of that instrument communicate with those of other instruments, and with listeners, too, music is a conversation.

My sister, Lee Hoffman, and I had an opportunity to play one last time together in person before we both moved on to different parts of the planet. Of course, she and I were both present that day, and an iPhone captured the session, but we were there only to deliver the motion required to bring sound to our instruments. The resulting back and forth duet feels melancholy, the mood of the conversation was, indeed, impacted by the knowledge that it might be years before we meet again. But there was no rehearsal, nothing practiced, just an organic conversation between two instruments, her piano and my flute, life-long friends.

Another sort of conversation comes to mind, between my brother-in-law, Mark, and fish. He had a great love and respect for them. Yes, he was a fisherman, but with him, the relationship was much deeper than that, he really knew these underwater creatures, how vital their role in the environment, how delicate, each one, fragile beings in an ever changing, watery world.

Frank and I camped near a high mountain stream a couple of weeks back. In the stream, just feet from our trailer, within the shadows of a fallen tree, a school of trout swam freely, avoiding capture by one fisherperson’s attempt after another. If Mark could have been there, (and I’m not entirely sure that he wasn’t) he would have smiled, applauding each dart and dodge with delight. He loved them, the way they were, their tenacity to live out their purpose even though the end, for them, could be around the next bend. And he believed that every creature deserved a safe place to be.

In this video, A Place to Be, Trout in Fall Colors,

Frank has captured moments in time, as he and the fish experienced an Autumn afternoon. The music is that last conversation between my sister’s piano and my flute, adding to the memory of my brother-in-law, Mark, and his beaming smile as he talked of fish, especially the ones he didn’t catch. A time for change, for feeling things that aren’t easy, part of growing and embracing newness, and, sometimes, for celebrating the ones that got away.

There is a lot to really knowing about fish. Experience is the best teacher, but I’m not at all a fisherperson. So, after reading through many articles about trout and other lake fish, I’m going to share a random list of facts that I found interesting.

•I learned that there are more than fifty separate species of trout in the world and that they are very adaptable, meaning they can reproduce with other species, which explains the large, difficult to classify, variety. •Trout aren’t allowed in every waterway and at the same time, some places exclude trout from the list of fish that can be fished. •Trout have teeth on the roof of their mouth called ‘vomerine’ which are part of the sinus division in their skull and help them gulp prey. They also have sharp teeth on their upper and lower jaw which are recurved, meaning they are curved backwards to hold onto prey. •Trout are carnivores at all stages of life, (insects count). A large hungry trout can even eat a mouse. •Trout are able to see both behind and ahead; the elliptical shape of their eyes allows them to avoid predators while they are hunting. •Trout are very sensitive to temperature change but have no internal way of regulating their body temperature so they are the temperature of their environment (which can be deadly, warm or cold). •They live an average long life of 6 to 7 years, that’s certainly dodging a lot of hazards! But just think of what one trout must have experienced in its record, 23-year lifetime; most trout don’t even live a year. •There are thousands of scales on each fish. The scales have ‘growth rings,’ and like trees, these can help determine the age of the fish.

Nature is so incredible.

And though the natural world often seems raw and unforgiving, everyone still deserves a safe place to be.   

We’re grateful that you are here! Thank you for reading Tracks by the Post. Please write when you have a moment, we always enjoy hearing from you!

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank