This post is dedicated to Elise and Aaron, Ben and Sandy, Tina and Richard,

George and Sandy, Julie and Barton, David and son Jacob, Susan and Thomas, Diane and Tim, and the rest of the close, essential and very helpful support team of Dot and Dr. Guay and others I may have forgotten....

"Thank you, and God Bless You All"

Click Here to hear Neil Young sing "From Hank to Hendrix"

"From Hank To Hendrix"

From Hank to Hendrix
I walked these streets with you
Here I am with this old guitar
Doin' what I do.

I always expected
That you should see me through
I never believed in much
But I believed in you.

Can we get it together
Can we still stand side by side
Can we make it last
Like a musical ride?

From Marilyn to Madonna
I always loved your smile
Now we're headed
for the big divorce
California-style.

I found myself singin'
Like a long-lost friend
The same thing that makes you live
Can kill you in the end.

Can we get it together
Can we still stand side by side
Can we make it last
Like a musical ride?

Sometime it's distorted
Not clear to you
Sometimes the beauty of love
Just comes ringin' through.

New glass in the window
New leaf on the tree
New distance between us
You and me.

Can we get it together
Can we still walk side by side
Can we make it last
Like a musical ride?

from...

The Duro-Raft, A Psychotic’s Journey

By John G. Margoles

Chapter Six

The Forks in the River

I assume that by now you’ve run off and tried out your new Duro-Raft, and now that your feet are wet, it’s maybe a good time to really consider your route down the River of Life.  As you may have already encountered, there are many forks in the River of Life where you have to decide which way to steer your raft.  The introduction to the Owner’s Manual may have glossed over this problem with its magical “general direction.”

Actually your general direction is only that, general.  On your journey down the river, in fact each foot of the way, you are constantly required to steer your raft this way or that.  You are making a lot of little changes in direction, or decisions that somehow combine to form a general direction.  It’s sort of like a maze, where you kind of know where you’re heading, but you don’t see it and you have to keep moving.  Or do you…

At this point, it seems good to introduce two very common navigational practices for your consideration.  The first is called Whirlpooling, and it works something like this.  As you are approaching a fork in the River Life, and are contemplating which route to take, you first tend to slow down.  At that point, if a decision is not forthcoming (as may often be the case at some of Life’s larger forks), it seems wise to begin Whirlpooling.  In Whirlpooling, you sort of hang back from the fork by steering your raft around and around in gentle little circles.  In this fashion, the current of life goes past, as usual, but you sort of gain some time.

This is a very sound navigational practice if used in moderation.  The danger lies in excessive use of Whirlpooling.  If you keep going around in circles too long, the whirlpool effect will tear at your raft, and as time goes on, it can destroy your raft and plunge you into the water suddenly.

An added danger here is that for some unknown reason, those wild dragons can sense where a whirlpool is building;  usually, if a whirlpool topples a traveler, the dragons are waiting close by.

This leads to the second navigational practice that can be used judiciously at Life’s Forks.  After a moderate amount of Whirlpooling, and it’s up to each traveler to sort of sense the limits of is Duro-Raft, it may be necessary to resort to Grounding. 

Grounding is probably the most helpful navigational practice that you can master, for no matter what they say about “he who hesitates is lost,” it is clear that God put those sandbars and sandy beaches along the River Life for a reason.

Grounding is simply doing what the name says.  All it takes to ground your Duro-Raft is to pull out of a whirlpool, steer your raft to some sandbar or beach, and stretch out.  It’s as simple as that.  Yes, with all the currents and the waves and the splashing, it’s sure nice to know that God has so designed the River Life that we can simply get out and get dry anytime we want.

Once you are grounded, the current of life is still going past as usual, but who cares.  You  are on a journey, not in a race.  And if you want to sit on the beach and look back over your course, or look ahead at that large fork in Life River, then it’s certainly your god given freedom to do so.  When you’re grounded, you tend to fully examine your general direction, and this type of an overhaul takes time and patience.  Here, as in any complex process, haste makes waste.

When a traveler decides to ground his raft, almost all his fellow travelers become somewhat concerned.  It is a sad truth that a small percentage of grounded rafts never return to the River Life.  In the process of overhauling their rafts, some people decide it’s not really worth the effort, and they sort of clam up on the shore forever.  These travelers may also become crabs.

Usually, when a traveler resorts to grounding, those that want to travel together with the grounded raft become very impatient.  They often stay out in the river, doing whirlpools, urging the grounded raft to come along.  If the rafts have been very close and have journeyed together for a long time, it becomes even more complex.

Being strictly grounded can be somewhat boring, and really you can’t find your new general direction by just sitting on the sand alone. So if it’s one of life’s really big forks, your grounding gets a little more flexible.  You can sort of set up a base camp on the shore, and take small sallies (Sallys) out in Life River to get close to others and in that way consider your general direction from a different perspective…

“Individual growth can’t take precedence over relationships; it can’t because it ceases to be growth in the attempt.”

-Hugh Prather

Many times when travelers take those little sallies, they see afresh the complexities that occur when rafts steers very close.  This can refresh, but also confuse and frighten.  Fear is common during periods of grounding anyway, and in fact any time we really examine our general direction.  Any direction you choose carries dangers; there are simply not totally safe routes down the River of Life.

Another important factor to remember is that in such a situation, it is only fair to give the grounded raft the time it needs.  Lots of thing happened to force a raft to ground itself; being grounded allows the traveler the chance to really look over their journey.  It is good to examine the past during grounding, and understand what has been pulling, through the whirlpool and to the shore.  All fellow travelers should respect a grounded raft and allow it the time it needs, and not pressure it to come back to the fork before it’s time.

Many anchors get thrown to grounded raft, to try and pull them along too soon.  If you have been traveling close to some raft, that raft may call out that they are drowning, to make you come and save them.  This can be a most complex situation, because we all despise drowning.  But there are many lifeguards along the River, and if you’ve gotten to the shore, it’s important to concentrate on your own Duro-Raft.

There are many truly complex decisions that you will face as you journey down the River of Life.  Grounding is probably the only answer in a tough choice.  Look back, and look at the fork, and do it again.  Then again.  Take mini-excursions; go back to base camp and reflect.  Look back, look at the fork, and do it again.  Let your fellow travelers all whirlpool for a while.  If they really want to travel with you, they’ll wait, and not pressure, and not drown, fer sure.

This decision date is past.  The next fork in the river is September 1, 2017.  All will be reconsidered anew at that time....The health insurance open enrollment period will be closer then, and the federal government may be close to settling on a workable "repair" to the ACA and/or Medicare.  Hopefully, the choices will be clearer then. and understood before a move to North Carolina...until then we persevere.   Love, Dad, John.