Posted in Life, sounds

There are some sounds I no longer hear

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Yesterday, I talked about all the sounds I heard in the distance, sounds that immediately brought images to mind. Today, I happened to think, “There are some sounds I don’t hear any more.”

  • Like a phone ringing. By that, I mean, the ringing of a phone hanging on the wall of my home when someone called. Ninety percent of the time, I’ve got the ringer on my phone turned off. It’s in my pocket and I feel a vibration when someone calls. But the phone automatically silences the majority of my calls, since they are from unknown numbers. Once in a great while (usually in church or a movie theater), someone’s ring tone will be that traditional harsh. It’s annoying. I don’t miss it at all.
  • I don’t hear the doorbell. I disconnected it. When we had one, the only time someone pressed the button was when someone was taking a nap. It could be me. It could be a grandchild. The dogs would go nuts, the kid would start crying, so I cut one of the wires inside the wall unit. Problem solved.
  • I don’t hear the sound of nails being hammered. All I hear at new home construction sites are nail guns run by noisy compressors. I suppose the carpenters have a hammer somewhere in the back of their truck, but I don’t hear it hitting a nail very often.
  • I no longer hear coffee percolating. Our coffee maker pushes hot water through a pod with a surprisingly quiet hissing sound. When we travel, it take about ten minutes to burp the water through an old Mr. Coffee. I don’t miss him at all.
  • And speaking of phones, I no longer get a busy signal when someone is on another call. Instead, I am sent immediately to voice mail.

The sounds I don’t hear tell an interesting story about innovation, technology, and our changing world.

Posted in sounds

You can see a lot just by listening

Posted on by William Douthwaite

As I sat outside to read and write early yesterday morning, I heard a woodpecker hammering away at a tree a few blocks away. In my mind’s eye, I could see what that sound meant.

The woodpeckers drill holes in the twenty-foot dead pine trees in search of insects. The trees are easy to spot since they’ve already dropped their needles. The bark is dotted with holes before it falls away. One good storm will bring the tree down. The woodpecker’s rapid rhythm prompts me to glance up and check for any dead trees near my house.

What other sounds in the distance grab my attention?

  • The revving diesel engine, squeaky brakes, and backup beeping of the garbage truck reminds me it’s trash and recycling collection day.
  • A different rhythmic hammering announces that another neighbor is getting a new roof. Each shingle is attached with a rapid pop-pop-pop from the nail gun.
  • The whine of a Japanese-made motorcycle shifting through its gears conjures up the image of a traffic-free stretch of interstate highway.
  • I always glance up when I hear the rotors of a helicopter overhead. Is it the medical transport? I’ll bet that’s why I heard sirens.
  • The squealing of a belt that needs to be replaced in someone’s car engine. How can they stand that sound?
  • The sound of a lawnmower makes me glance at my lawn. It is time to cut it again already?
  • The groans of heavy equipment and cracking tree trunks signals the clear of a wooded lot for new home construction.

I’m amazed how each sound generates a mental image of what is happening. You can see a lot just by listening.

Posted in dogs

Come on, let’s see what you’ve got!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Two unlikely opponents faced off in this morning’s tug-of-war championship.

“Ladies and gentlemen, in the white corner, hailing from the Tar Heel state of North Carolina, weighing in at twenty-two pounds, let’s hear it for Winstonnnnnnn the West Highlands White Terrier!”

“And in the tan corner, from Ocala, Florida, weighing in at eighty pounds, give it up for Willoooooooow the Great Dane!”

It’s a pretty unusual matchup. If Winston had a wrestling hero, it would be Rowdy Roddy Piper. Willow would be more of an Andre the Giant fan. Echoes of David and Goliath here.

All I have to do is toss the triple knotted blue rope out into the yard and they’re at it. There’s round after round of growling and tugging. But there’s no clear winner. Winston holds his own against an opponent four times bigger than he is. Willow finds it amusing that this little guy thinks he has a chance.

The contest ends in a draw when someone spots a squirrel and they team up to chase it off the fence. With a low center of gravity, Winston isn’t easy to budge. Willow is all muscle, easily able to hold her ground. It is so much fun to watch these two go at it.

I don’t know if Winston realizes that Willow isn’t done growing yet. He probably doesn’t care. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, right?

Posted in retirement

Suddenly, life is full

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

We were both standing at the kitchen island, working on our latest baking projects. My wife was cutting out sugar cookies to be baked and decorated for a granddaughter’s preschool graduation and nascent cottage food business. I was giving my sourdough a final stretch in preparation for an overnight in the fridge.

I chuckled and asked, “We had no idea we’d be doing this six months ago, did we?”

I’m coming up on two years of retirement and my wife has been easing into hers over the past six months. I was never able to come up with a really good answer for the question, “So what are you going to do?” Or, “What’s retirement going to look like for you?” She didn’t many good answers, either.

I think that’s because you just don’t know. You don’t know what opportunities, challenges, or people will show up until they do. In addition to baking and decorating cookies, we’re raising a Great Dane puppy, working on a wellness newsletter, and considering leading a small group. I’m going to lead an online Bible Study Fellowship group in the fall and teach a middle school Sunday School class once a month. None of these things were on the table even six months ago.

Yesterday, the pastor was preaching on Genesis 12. As that chapter unfolds, God says to Abram, “Go,” and “Abram went.” Talk about a bold step of faith. God’s command prompts all sorts of questions, but the only answer is, “I will show you.”

  • “Go.” “Where?” “I will show you.”
  • “I will make of you a great nation.” “How?” “I will show you.”
  • “I will bless you and make your name great.” “How are you going to do that?” “I will show you.”
  • “I will bless those who bless you…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” “What do you mean by that?” “I will show you.”

Over the next twenty-five years and eleven chapters of scripture, God does show Abram (Abraham) how he is able to do more than all we ask or imagine. In a lot of ways, the Lord has done the same thing for us. We’ve met great people, traveled to new places, and gotten involved in new ministries.

A lot of other people seemed to be concerned about our retirement life. I wasn’t. I kind of figured God would find a way to fill it up.

Posted in dogs

“I think I’ll have a cheeseburger.”

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My across-the-street neighbor was having a garage sale yesterday morning. Sadly, he’s selling his home and moving to be closer to family. He’s been a good friend and trusted neighbor for twenty years.

His daughter had come to help him and I knew she was a lover of dogs. She used to foster Labrador retrievers, but has downsized to French bulldogs as of late. I leashed up our six month old Great Dane puppy to go over and say hi.

Our eighty-pound puppy got a warm reception, but she found all the items out on the driveway very interesting. Especially a box with some old dog toys in it. She sniffed around for a bit and finally came out with this stuffed cheeseburger in her mouth.

God choice. It included all the fixings, was in pretty good shape, and the squeaker still worked! As they say, one dog’s trash is another dog’s treasure.

With her new toy in mouth, she was ready to go. We stayed a few more minutes as her wagging tail betrayed her joy, and then headed home.

As humans, we think that one dog toy is as good as the next. Not true. Dogs have their favorites. The cheeseburger arrived at just the right time. Our daughter’s dog, who came for a two-week visit, had chewed the stuffing out of a popular hedgehog and a two-foot long grinning dog. We needed something new, and we needed it now. Enter the cheeseburger.

As good as that cheeseburger looks, it hasn’t satisfied all our chewing needs. Our puppy has developed an appetite vinyl wicker chairs. A few minutes ago, as I was writing this, I caught her chewing on the extension cord I was using to charge the computer. I could have let her learn a shocking lesson, but decided to save her.

“Here. Chew your cheeseburger guy!”

Posted in garden

Suddenly the yard was filled with color

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Night was just about ready to give way to the dawn. It was just light enough for a yard full of purple flowers to catch my eye. I and the dogs walk by here several times a week. It’s like they appeared overnight. Some kind of daffodil? A wildflower?

Google identified them as Zephyranthes, sometimes called a Zephyrlily or Rain Lily. It’s a bulb that thrives in subtropical climates like ours. They tend to appear after a rain shower.

The thing I found interesting is that this wasn’t a garden. It’s a front yard. These bulbs were planted, propagated, and sprung up through the lawn. Okay, so that lawn wasn’t that great. But the flowers were!

My dad had lots of flowering bulbs in his gardens. The crocuses would show up first, sometimes while there was still a little snow on the ground in the early spring. Tulips and hyacinths would follow, filling the front yard gardens with bright colors. But only for a week or two. Then they disappeared till the following spring.

That was up north. Garden life is different in Florida. The only flowers from bulbs I’ve seen here are amaryllis. But now I’ve seen the rain lilies. I would love to have a whole bunch of them sprout up overnight!

Posted in angels

A front yard angel takes a knee

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The front yard angel keeps a silent, steady watch over the house. Day and night, rain or shine, through blistering heat and hurricane winds, this angel’s vigil never fails.

Though the dogs and I often walk by this house, I’ve never met the folks who live here. Do you think there’s a story behind this angel?

  • Scripture reminds us that the Lord “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Angels are rarely seen, so we may forget about their presence. A small statue can be a powerful reminder of angelic protection. This home doubles down with a security light and camera. You can’t be too careful.
  • It looks like there used to be a tree where this angel sits. Maybe that tree fell and narrowly missed the house. Something knocked out that boarded-up window in the background. Good luck? Coincidence? Or supernatural protection? Never forget the probability of that last one.
  • With eyes closed, head bowed, and hands folded, this angel takes a knee in prayer. The angels of the bible make announcements, fight battles, blow trumpets, and proclaim praises. I don’t remember any who prayed. But they do bow in worship.

I’ve seen many statues of Mary, St. Francis preaching to birds and squirrels, a few lions, and an Easter island guy. But I’m pretty sure this is the only angel I’ve seen in my neighborhood.

I’m glad this statue is here. It reminds me For me of angels in the bible. Like the ones going up and down in Jacob’s dream. Or the angels who saved Daniel by shutting the mouths of lions. Or the angels who proclaimed the birth of Christ to the shepherds. Or the angels sitting at the empty tomb who told the women, “He is not here; he has risen!”

Posted in Stories

“There’s a pig.”

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We decided to take the dogs out on a different route for their daily walk today. A different loop through a nearby neighborhood would give us a new selection of homes and landscaping to check out.

Walking along a busy road on the way to the loop, my wife stopped and said, “There’s a pig.” Her words didn’t immediately register, but I paused to look my left and sure enough, a pig was rooting around in a backyard.

While our city prohibits most farm animals, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs are classified and allowed as pets. This guy was a big guy, a lot larger than others I’ve seen. He looked happy, but the yard and the house were a mess. Maybe that’s why the city has a lot of rules about animals.

It’s been twenty-eight years since we lived in Iowa. That’s where this city boy learned most of what he knows about farming. In Iowa, drive time radio was all about weather and farm futures. Back then, market-ready pigs grew to 250 pounds in 250 days. Hog farming and pork production was a big deal.

Here in Florida, though, wild hogs are a nuisance and pot-bellied pigs are a novelty and good for a laugh.

Posted in senses

The wind chimes

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Helen Potter on Unsplash

The wind chimes that hang by our front door are not fancy. Plain metal tubes, all different lengths, hang in a circle. They are silent until a breeze from the northeast moves the striker, filling the air with calm and soothing sounds.

And yet, a breeze from the northeast precedes a storm where we live. Notes from the wind chimes wrap a weather warning in relaxing song.

Some say the sound of carefully crafted wind chimes releases stress and improves sleep. Others say it is nothing more than unwanted, irritating noise pollution. For some they generate a feeling of peace. Others can’t stand them.

When I listen to wind chimes, I hear familiar melodies within the random sounds. We used to ask Siri to play them for us at night. After a while, she wised up and wanted to charge us for the privilege.