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Friday, April 24, 2020

Flashback Friday - Oh My God I Can Fly - Conclusion

Yes, I have crazy friends and I wouldn't have it any other way. And, yes, she did jump out of that plane - with a parachute!  Here's the story on the way down.


 Oh My God I Can Fly - Conclusion
by June Botkin

Farmer is standing outside the plane on a ledge waiting for Wyatt and me, so he can get the pictures of me exiting the plane.  I duck, walk to the door with Wyatt attached to my back and look down at nothing but clouds and the next thing I know I am falling.  14,000 feet and 120 miles per hour.  My heart is in my shoes.  The wind is screaming by me.  The thoughts going through my head are "what the hell were you thinking?"  Wyatt taps me on the shoulder and tells me to spread my arms.

I AM FLYING!!!!!

We fall forever; turning summersaults above the clouds, when I look down I see a white fluffy blanket, what a rush.  Farmer is with us the whole time capturing on film this experience.  Every expression all the way down is captured for me to relive again and again.
Soon we hit the clouds and let me tell you they hurt.  The temperature drops and we begin to be pelted by ice pellets.  All around is whiteness.  Once we break the clouds the Noth Shore comes into view, the mountains, the ocean with whitecaps and the airfield where we will be landing.  Farmer waves goodbye as Wyatt opens our parachute and up we go.  Another change, this time to peace and calm.  I look straight down my body at the ground below.  It is like standing on a piece of glass and looking at the land far below your feet, that is when I realized that the only thing holding me in place is the harness I am wearing and being strapped to Wyatt.

I tease Wyatt about going right then left as he deftly steers the glider in circles.  He whispers in my ear that I am being cheeky and so that I should take over the controls and so I do.  I turn the glider in circles heading ever closer to the ground.  About 200 feet off the deck Wyatt takes over and we land on the button.  The landing is softer than jumping off a bar stool.  There are two guys there to grab the chute and unhitch me from Wyatt.  My feet are back on the ground and I am forever changed.  I did it, I actually did it.  I jumped out of an airplane!

Now weeks have passed since this experience.  I pull out the photos and go through the slideshow reliving every moment, still in awe that I actually accomplished this and yes it was really me parachuting out of an airplane.  I am not sure what my next personal challenge will be, but this will be hard to top.

I will end this by saying go out there and take the risk.  Do whatever it is that you have dreamed of doing, seize the moment and go for it and yes I would do it all over again.



Thanks so much June for an awesome story!  Seize the moment - what an inspiring thought to be left with.  What inspires you?
Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com



Take care, keep safe!

Ryshia



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Sunday, April 19, 2020

Social Distancing - Day 34

The days are falling into a routine. I can't believe it's Day 34 since I've been social distancing. As I've said before, that's a date that is my best approximation, the week when my MIL began lock-down in her care home. Since then, I do my best to keep her included, entertaining her with my daily phone calls. Today, I crafted an entertaining letter and together with a magazine I found in my "clean out the closets mode", dropped it in her mailbox.

For me, today was one of those days. I was getting antsy and I'd already baby stepped into gardening earlier in the week. Today, I hit it full force. But problems arose immediately and had earlier in the week too:


1) I need dirt! - no problem, there's a yard full of it. Earlier in the week I hauled in a plant pot full. Problem solved.

2) No containers! - I was going to improvise and lucked out. After cleaning the porch a week ago, I found a package from years past.

3) No seeds - Ah - cherry tomatoes that are past their best before date have seeds. And, one week later, voila, a group of spindly seedlings.
And, again that stash from years past provides an assorted but small selection of seeds.

A potato sprouting eyes, is next on the list for planting. It sits waiting on the counter.

But now I have other problems. Plants in little pots with big holes on the bottom. A watering disaster waiting to happen for the cardboard coke box that contains them won't hold water. But there was a big piece of tinfoil that came with my mom's Christmas cookies, add a piece of broken plastic and it's water tight. Okay, let's just go with it could well be The Titanic if pushed too far.


4) The Spanish Onion is sprouting and too big for any of my containers. I'm taking a risk here but my mini greenhouse - sheets of plastic with hoops - allows me to go direct to garden. One onion, one experiment. Fingers crossed it survives the weather which can still dip to below zero. If it survives that, I'm pretty sure the squirrels will leave it alone.


5) Speaking of squirrels, I see some biscuits are no longer fresh. Time to air dry and give my "yard pets" a treat.

On the writing front, I wrote my characters into trouble and back again. Like my gardening, they improvised as they danced one step ahead of danger. They left me exhausted and finally I ventured upstairs where a warm spring day was calling to me.

Outside, I'm guessing that, from the smell of wood smoke,
more than just me was taking advantage of the warm weather. The delicious smell of barbecue came from two different directions.

Spring has arrived and it might be different but it's still a relief after a long prairie winter.



Take care, keep safe!

Ryshia



My latest release - check it out!
What are you reading?
A mother's tragic diagnosis
A daughter's life on hold.
An ending and a new beginning...


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   ...a world you never imagined!

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Friday, April 17, 2020

Flashback Friday - Oh My God I Can Fly - Part Two

Here it is, Part Two. This would be the part where I would be gripping the doorframe so hard that there might be nail imprints in the metal. Seriously, I doubt if I'd get that close to the open doorway. In fact, I know I wouldn't. Go June!

 Oh My God I Can Fly - Part Two
by June Botkin

Saturday morning comes early, 5:30 a.m. and another overcast day.  I am leaving tomorrow and this has become an obsession.  Another small coffee and a bagel and we head off with my Last Will and Testament and code status in my backpack and my determination growing.  This time there are no driving mistakes and we make good time and arrive at the airfield at 7:30.  There are a few clouds, but it looks like it is going to be a very nice day.  My friend turns to me and says that I don't have to do this that I can walk away any time, but in my heart I know I have to do this and it will be a life changing experience.

Parked beside us is a van of young Chinese tourists from yesterday who have the same idea as me.  Three boys and a girl and they are all trying to bolster each others courage. We all head into the clubhouse to wait.  Soon the master divers begin to arrive and more people wanting to try this skydiving thing.  The energy is infectious and soon I am visiting with the pros who keep saying once you do this you will be back for more.

A dive schedule for the first jump is posted on the office window and I casually walk over to see who I am jumping with and who will be my photographer.  The Chinese group is now getting suited up with their harnesses and heading to a truck to take them to the plane.  I am still waiting wondering when my turn will coome.  I find out I am in the second load with the pros who are going to be doing a hot hop and some who are going to be doing some aerobatics.  We will jump last after they exit the plane.

Soon my dive master arrives and drops a harness in my hands and says jokingly, put that on and I will be right back.  Little did he know that I have worn a climbing harness for years as a scaffolder.  He and the other pros are surprised that I know how to put it on and the next thing you know I am one step closer to my jump.  Just then the loud speaker crackles to life - jumpers in 5 - and everyone looks to the heavens.  This is the Chinese group but they are no where in sight.  Soon some of the colourful chutes break through the clouds.  They did it!  I watch them land and see the smiles on their faces just as Wyatt nudges me and says its time to go.

Wyatt is going to be my tandem partner, the person who I have to trust to get us safely back to the ground.  I walk through the fence into the restricted area as my friend waves goodbye and readies her camera.  The plane is waiting at the end of the runway and there is a small set of steps.  The pros are clamoring to get into the plane and off the ground; they can't wait to get airborne!  I am straddling a bench right beside the door that soon will prove to be an amazing view of the ground.  Once everyone is inside, the pilot revs up the engines and speeds down the taxiway headed for the end of the runway.  A quick turn onto the runway and the next thing I know we are airborne and the thought of what the hell am I doing starts to race through my head.  There is also a tangible excitement coursing through my body.

One pro jumps at a low elevation, about 6,000 feet, this is the hot hop.  We circle and watch him fall and the guys start to say why is he not opening his chute?  Finally his parachute opens and we begin to climb again.  This time it will be to 14,000 feet which is the height I will be jumping from.  We climb through the clouds and all landmasses disappear.  All that remains is a white fluffy blanket of clouds below us.  The pilot informs us that there will be only one pass and everyone must get out of the plane.  The pros first, then Wyatt, Farmer, the camera man and of course me.  The pros line up on the door ledge, four people holding onto each other then they just fall and are gone from my view.  Before I have time to think three more people run through the plane and dive out the door and are gone.

Now it is my turn!






I don't know about you but right now I'd be feeling more impending doom than excitement.  I admire someone that could jump - me I'd be welded to that plane.  Part three on the next Flashback Friday! Yes, we will make it out of this plane - virtually. Stay tuned.


Take care, keep safe!

Ryshia


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Sunday, April 12, 2020

Social Distancing - Day 27

 It's Easter weekend and a different weekend then we are used to. Easter with my mother this year involved a phone call as I walked along a path on the edge of the city. The wind was icy cold - strange for this time of year. What remains of winter couldn't melt away today, still too cold.

But back to that phone visit. It's strange to only share phone calls especially today. It would be better if we could at least see each other. Unfortunately, social distancing happened before I was able to set my mom up with Zoom or Skype or...  And, I'm not so sure if she's into me seeing her as she talks. Yesterday, she admitted to hanging out in her nightgown longer than normal. After all, there's no one stopping by.  I have to admit that the temptation to wear something so ugly that it's comfy or staying in your house coat for half the day looms. I mean, why not, there's no one that's going to catch you being lazy. There's not even the threat of a bottle drive crew knocking at the front door. The street is almost empty. No one, except another neighbour walking her dog. From the back, no one except the children down the easement jumping like crazy on their trampoline. Back to the front - no one except the neighbour's children dropping a homemade card in the mailbox. Okay - that was an assumption based on the card. I missed the delivery so I couldn't even wave at them through the window. But I can appreciate the thought behind the card every time I look at it.

The path I'm walking now winds for miles along the outskirts of the city.  It's become a favourite means of meditation and exercise these last weeks. So far, there's no social distancing required - it's empty, of people that is. Today, I did see a trio of robins and a
squirrel. I also had two kindly dogs bark at me. I gave them a quick hi as they remained safely distanced behind their fences and I continued on my way.

The playground equipment in an empty park caught my eye. The swings and teeter totter had caution tape across them and a barricade was placed in front of all of it. That just made me feel uneasy.  I left the park and headed toward the street and the easement beyond. Before I got there I saw one woman jogging, we did a polite across the street dodge and went on our way. Me turning to walk down the empty easement. It's rather eerie. Yesterday at least when I reached the end of one block, there had been the family walking down the street. I'd waited until they were on the intersecting street before heading down the next easement. I even waited longer than necessary but mostly because of a small boy dressed as a - I'm not sure, but I'm guessing, gopher. It was a full furry body suit, brown and covered everything including his head - I'm assuming that it didn't cover his face but I didn't get that close. I wanted to ask in the worst way, what he was pretending to be. But - the social distancing thing. Thus, I can't tell you for sure what animal he was pretending to be but I'm betting he was at least warm.

So after today's almost 4 kilometre walk, I think that I can cross my televised exercise crew off the list. After all I walked and it is Easter. Time to enjoy the rest of the day.

But before I close, I'm sharing this picture of the morning sky. It was gorgeous. There was no other word for it. It was a crisp blue with the clouds cutting across in a way that really could and should, have been painted.


Happy Easter!




Take care, keep safe!

Ryshia


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Friday, April 10, 2020

Flashback Friday - Skydiving 101

Today is Flashback Friday and also Good Friday. Wishing everyone an insightful and blessed day no matter what your beliefs.


Today, I'm going back in time to a post a friend wrote for me after her first experience skydiving. As I'm writing right now a story that involves a few sky diving incidents, I thought this was a great post. Especially, as I have never sky-dived and have relied on some of my friend's "expertise". So sit back and enjoy the story - I know I will.  Ryshia



Oh My God I Can Fly
by June Botkin

So what possesses a person to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
No one in their right mind would do such a thing!
Well I did and it was an experience that has no words to truly express the feelings of flying.

So, here is the story of a jump that changed my life and made me stronger and more determined to enjoy life to its fullest and keep challenging myself to push beyond the safe and known into the unfamiliar and scary places we don't like to go.


Just to get away from the rat race of work I headed to Oahu with a friend to lie on a beach, read books and just relax, or so I thought.  There were no thoughts in my head about skydiving I just wanted some quiet time.  I had never been to Waikiki so had no idea what to expect, beautiful weather, a great view of the ocean, beautiful flowers and peace and quiet.  However, everywhere I went I saw brochures for tandem skydiving on the North Shore and a long buried desire started to stir.  I dutifully picked up and read pamphlets and brochures on what to do and where to go, but kept coming back to jumping out of a plane in paradise.

For years now I thought that I would do this at home in Saskatchewan, over the prairies, when I was ready!  It was just one of those things that sticks in your brain that never goes away and you know at some point you will do it.  There was one particular brochure that I kept coming back to and re-reading the article about a tandem jump and looking at the pictures of the peoples' faces as they flew through the air.  Next I was checking out Skydive Hawaii's Website and before I knew it I was planning my jump.

Yes I did write out a Last Will and Testament.  I even wrote out my code status should something terrible happen.  My hotel was right beside the International Market so I headed there to get more information and possibly book a jump.  I spoke to a tour faciliator and before I knew what was happening I was on the phone to Kevin and booking a jump for Friday, April 16 at 9 a.m.  Fear began to grip me and I started thinking what in hell are you thinking, you could die or break a leg.  But deep down I knew this was something that I had to do.

North Shore - Courtesy www.pachd.com
My travel companion who had lived on the island was willing to get up early and drive out ot the North Shore and offer support but there was no way she was going to be jumping out of an airplane.  Friday morning came way too early; I have a small coffee and a bagel and begin to prepare for this insane experience.  Of course all that could go wrong, does go wrong.  My friend for whatever reason gest lost, which makes us late for my scheduled jump time, so I call Kevin and push the time out.  Next we run into a rain storm with strong winds as we crest the mountain to look down over the North Shore.  The white caps on the ocean are huge but I am determined not to chicken out, but fear is beginning to grip my heart and I am questioning whether I should go through with this especially now that I have written my Will.

Finally we arrive at Dillingham Field.  There are only a few people there to jump and 85% of them are women.  I speak to the owner and find out that there is a front moving in and that there would be no jumps today, did I want to rebook for tomorrow?  The thought crosses my mind that I can get out of this, I can say I tried, but the weather did not cooperate, but I know that is not what is going to happen.  I rebook for April 17 at 8 a.m. and begin filling out the liability paperwork.  At the bottom of every page in big bold black letters is the statement:

Skydiving is a high risk sport.  You could be injuried or die!  

My friend and I leave the airfield and head off to do some sight seeing, but really my mind is only on one thing...the jump.



Does she do it?  Personally, I'd be concerned if there's any validity to the term "scared to death."  Continued next Flashback Friday...    Ryshia




Take care, keep safe!

Ryshia


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Thursday, April 9, 2020

Social Distancing - Day 24

It would have been nice to begin at the beginning - when all this started. But what day was that? Our lives have been shaken up and spun around. And, with all the craziness, blogging was thrown under the bus for the last few weeks of March and the first week of April. But, it was during those times that social distancing and isolation became the new norm.

So here we are:

An Easter Bunny from Easter's Past.
Day 24

Day 24 is rather an iffy number. But I'm using that number as an approximation as to how many days I've been social distancing. I was being careful before that but I can't pin a number to those earlier days.

Day 24, begins counting from the day that my MIL, affectionately known as Ma D, went into lockdown at her care home.  That was the day that I lucked out and saw her that morning. Because that afternoon, the lockdown was implemented. I don't like the idea of a lockdown but I know that it has to be done. It's been phone calls since than and reminiscing about the good old days.

Our conversations begin like this:

                        Me:  "How's it going. Whatcha doing?"
                        Ma D: "I'm reading the paper."

And so it goes from there. For Ma D lives in a world where television does not exist and hasn't since her first signs of dementia. Computer technology was something she somehow missed even though she would have been middle-aged when those first Commodores hit the market. So, we are left with her daily newspapers, daily phone calls and, of course, the awesome staff who keep her safe and keep her routine unchanged. I miss seeing her but while that could be made possible by the staff with an iPad or computer, I'm not sure that introducing foreign technology would work right now. So we stick to the telephone.

What do I miss in this new world.
1. Giving Ma D a hug.
2. Sunday breakfast with my mom.
3. Friday breakfast with friends.
4. Starbucks and Tims coffee dates.
5. Visits to the library.

Hmmm - Some Organization Is In Order.
The list of what I miss is long and I won't bore you with the details as I'm sure you have your own list. Despite that, it's not all bad. Here's, while not ideal, what I look forward to in my new - social distancing mode:
1. Telephone visits with my mom.
2. Telephone visits with Ma D.
3. Updates from my writer group on Facebook.
4. Coffee dates by computer or phone.
5. Visits to my backlog of books in the downstairs bookcases, now called, the library.



And here is the smile for the day. 

A Canadian couple from Saskatchewan get off the plane in a foreign country where they are asked where they are from, they answer:

"Saskatoon, Saskatchewan"

The other man turns to his friend and says:
"They don't speak English."

So, if bad jokes could fix anything...




Until later. 

Take care, keep safe!

Ryshia


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Friday, April 3, 2020

Flashback Friday - Inle Lake, Burma

Today we're traveling backwards in time to a post made on a trip to Myanmar. We're all traveling on a virtual seat - so let's take this one first class!  Sit back and enjoy!


Today my characters are taking me on a tour of Inle Lake, Burma or Myanmar as it is officially known. But someone is having memory issues. I think that might be the writer. What did the drive into Inle Lake feel like? I remember it as amazing. But the picture in my mind is not so clear.

Then I pull out that trusty travel journal. Written in penmanship that would give my early teachers hives, but the cramped and uneven writing is more a product of place rather than skill. Written on planes, in airports, in the backseat of cabs, it’s a window into the lives of another people and another country - a snapshot in time from the viewpoint of a voyeur.

I can see clearly the water buffalo that seemed to look right at me as he stood morosely in the field. I remember the speedometer of the cab settled so far left I thought it might be impossible to drive any slower. And then the transport truck appeared from nowhere on the narrow road meant only for one vehicle and it was a relief to know that the driver didn’t have a heavy foot as he pulled over and the truck passed so close that I could feel the heat from his engine through our open window. It was a truck filled to capacity with produce and passengers, they rode inside and outside wherever they could find a place. I remember the woman who waved before stepping down the wooden steps to the water filled ditch where she began to wash clothes. I can hear the shrieks of the little boys who ran naked, splashing in water filled ditches, their laughter echoing over the fields. And closer to town the ditches opened up into swampy grassland and the occasional fishing boat, and always the inevitable water buffalo.

What would a stranger’s travel journal say about you and the place you call home? 

Ryshia

Until later. 

Dream big and travel safe.


Ryshia


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