Author Archives: Patrick Cole

About Patrick Cole

Husband, parent and writer. Sharing stories with a little humor and wisdom along the way.

High Coo – August 11 – Decoding Pee-Mail

High Coo – August 10 – Spoil Your Dog Day

Today is a Wednesday and every Wednesday morning I walk rescued dogs at a downtown facility in St. Louis, Missouri. I’ve been walking dogs for a year now and it is always a celebration when one of the nearly 100 dogs served here is adopted or fostered. So often this liberation from the kennel leads to a “furever” home where the dog can thrive and not need to compete with other animals for attention.

Unfortunately, there are occasions where a dog is returned after a couple of days, weeks or even months. Whatever the reason for the return, it is better that they return then stay somewhere where they and/or their companion(s) are not happy.

Wayne, a gregarious bundle of joy, is one such returnee. (See my January 13 post “Look Out World!” for more information on this beautiful boy.) It was a sad but happy reunion between us this morning. I did enjoy walking him again but hope that he gets another chance for a “furever” home soon.

Here’s today’s haiku: Spoil Your Dog Day

Unconditional

love provided here and now;

your dog is waiting

High Coo – August 9 – National Book Lovers Day

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One of four floor-to-ceiling book walls in our house 🙂

I think we qualify as book lovers. My partner and I collect, gift and write books. The written word is very valuable to us.

As the National Book Lovers Day website proclaims, there are many reasons to love books and collecting books has been around for a long time. See: https://nationaltoday.com/national-book-lovers-day/

Here’s today’s haiku: National Book Lovers Day

You told me, thank you

You wrote me, I will read this

again and again

We even collect puzzles like this book spine edition 🙂

High Coo – August 8 – Intl’ Cat Day

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I grew up in a dog-loving home and never experienced a cat companion. My partner grew up with cats and dogs and has introduced me to the joys of cat companionship. We now have two rescued cats and dogs in our home and we often begin our evenings with all six of us sitting on a couch together.

Today is International Cat Day and there is some very interesting information that is new for me. Did you know that cats have been human companions for 9,500 years, a cat successfully flew into space in 1963 AND petting a cat can produce stress-reducing hormones to improve our mental health? Check it out here: https://nationaltoday.com/international-cat-day/

Here’s today’s haiku for International Cat Day

Silently walking

she brushes up against me

furry love surprise

And here is Lexie and her sister Leezy sharing a living room chair.

High Coo – August 7 – National Lighthouse Day

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I was born in the beautiful tourist town of Traverse City, Michigan. There are many nearby lighthouses that serve as beacons of light to point out the rocky shorelines of Lake Michigan. Mission Point is the lighthouse I have visited most often.

As stated on their website, “Built in 1870, this historic lighthouse is now a museum of local history and culture, and an interesting feature is its unique location. Situated at exactly the 45th parallel between the North Pole and the Equator, the lighthouse was an important warning system for the ships and boats about the treacherous shoals off the coast into the Grand Traverse Bay.” https://cityseeker.com/traverse-city-mi/892742-mission-point-lighthouse

Here is today’s haiku:

A Lighthouse

May we find our light

and serve as a beacon of

hope to each other

High Coo – August 6 – Tree Hugging

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Me tree hugging in Forest Park Forever in St. Louis Missouri

In Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, Happiness, he identifies Tree Hugging as a happiness practice. Along with describing his own practice with various tree types, he sums up with the statement, “When we touch a tree, we receive something beautiful and refreshing back. Trees are wonderful! They are also solid, even in a storm. We can learn a lot from trees.” (p.155)

Here’s today’s haiku: Tree Hugging

Oxygen sources

life-giving necessity

so grateful for trees

For more information on how much oxygen trees produce see: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-oxygen-trees-make-1343498

For more information on my favorite tree conservancy see: https://www.forestparkforever.org/

https://www.forestparkforever.org/conservation

Life Matters – August 6 – Happiness

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Photo by Lina Trochez | https://tricy.cl/3ylxv3V

Some of you may have noticed the subtitle for this blog, “We can find the joy – together.”

Coincidentally, I came across a great article from Tricycle magazine which then led to my latest version of The Dhammapada – A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic (c) 2005 by Egil Fronsdal (https://www.amazon.com/Dhammapada-Translation-Buddhist-Classic-Annotations/dp/1590303806.)

First, the Tricycle article, Where to Find Joy and How to Cultivate It, (August 27, 2021) is co-authored by Christina Feldman and Jaya Rudgard, both mindfulness teachers in the Insight Meditation community. One of their main points is: the best way to find joy is to create it. Their 1,500 wordcount article can be found in its entirety here: https://tricycle.org/article/cultivating-joyfulness/

Second, the authors make a reference to The Dhammapada; specifically, verses 197 – 198 on Happiness. My copy of this book, see translation mentioned above, says:

“Ah, so happily we live, without hate among those with hate. Among people who hate we live without hate.

Ah, so happily we live, without misery among those in misery. Among people in misery we live without misery.” p.53

The point of the article, the quote and this post is that we are very unlikely to find ourselves in a perfect place, with perfect people all enjoying perfect joy. More likely we will need to work with ourselves and with a small group of kindred spirits to cultivate joy for one another.

I welcome your thoughts and your translations on how you find joy …. individually and together with others.

With gratitude for you, dear reader.

https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-by-gil-fronsdal/

High Coo – August 5 – Thank You Sir Alec

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A blue plaque commemorates his birthplace in Maida Vale, London

Today we remember the passing of Sir Alec Guinness, famous British actor most known for one of his final roles: Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars films. I certainly enjoyed him in that role, but my favorite of his performances was Colonel Nicholson in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. He won both an Oscar and the BAFTA Best Actor Awards for that role.

Sir Alec received many awards and many more award nominations. See his Wikipedia biography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Guinness#Awards_and_honours

Here’s today’s haiku:

Thank You Sir Alec

Your acting career

lasted over sixty years –

your art continues

Drawing by Nicholas Volpe after Guinness won an Oscar in 1957 for his role in *The Bridge on the River Kwai*

High Coo – August 4 – National White Wine Day

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Today is white wine day. I’m not a wine connoisseur or sommelier but I know someone who is. This is a gentle callout to Dr Brian Metters aka Dr B, the author of a very fine book It’s Not About the Wine! (c) 2020. I haven’t finished his book yet but he’s already mentioned many fine white wines. I wonder what his recommendation might be for today.

Today’s haiku is based on a quote from Dr B’s book and, more specifically, Olivier Magny, (p.10 and 305).

National White Wine Day

Many wines to taste

but the people, the moment,

make the difference.

Here’s to you Dr B.

For more information about this holiday see: https://nationaltoday.com/national-white-wine-day/

For more information about Dr B’s book see: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-About-Wine-philosophy/