Cool sighting

[johnboy]

Was walking the dog this morning at a little park down by the mouth of the Campbell River (The Spit) and had the fortune to be there just as a pod of orca went by. Really nice to watch them at about a hundred yards off the beach as they rolled, breached, tailed and generally fooled around for a half hour or so. Looked like a family group with one big bull, a couple of mature cows and a few juveniles. Best of all was a young calf of probably this years vintage that kept spyhopping to look at all the strange critters on the land. They are the most incredible creatures to see close up and I've been lucky to have a few close encounters when on the water but this was damm fine too.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Wow, now that's a cool Christmas present right there.
Are you waiting for the pictures to be developed?
BKB

[Thumper]

People still "develop" pictures? :confused:

[BarryBobPosthole]

Its the only thing I could come up with as a valid reason that they weren't posted already.

BKB

[Thumper]

You're getting weak in your old age. ;)

[Big Skyz]

I'd love to see something like that in my lifetime.

[quercus alba]

Once again I prove my uniqueness (oddness if you prefer) but I have no desire to see a pod of orcas, swim with dolphins, hunt in Africa or scale the great Teton mountains. As long as others are willing to do this on film or in print, I'm perfectly content to watch National Geographic or pick up a Capstick book. My wife says I'd live under a rock if it was possible.

She's probably right

[johnboy]

Sorry no pics. I just watched. QA, I acknowledge your uniquiness (sp?) but watching magnificent creatures like these is a special thing and it makes me appreciate how small we really are in the magnificent world we live in and on. Cherish Gaea.

[quercus alba]

You're right about that johnboy. I consider myself pretty insignificant. No fake humility, just accepting my considerable limitations. The world is a pretty awesome places when humans aren't involved

[johnboy]

A world without man would be a beautiful place but then who would appreciate it? It is up to us to adapt to the world instead of trying to force the world to adapt to us. We will always lose if we don't recognize our arrogance (hubris) and change our view of our place in the ecosystem.

You have asked me in the past what I believe in and I can tell you that I believe in Gaea, the Earth Mother in both a figurative and literal sense. I guess you would call me a pagan although I do believe in the teachings of Christ but not his divinity.

We are part of a 'whole' whether we will admit it or not and as we destroy the earths ability to support us we destroy ourselves. There will be an adjustment at some point and humanity will finally realize that we are not the arbiter of our destiny as we think. Earth abides but we may not be included.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Johnboy, that is about the best description I've heard of what I think of as my own spirituality. I don't know if that's the name of it or not but that is very close in description.
BKB

[Thumper]

Count me in also ... I guess we could be called the "The Three Musky-rears"! ;)

[johnboy]

For many years I never thought of myself as a 'spiritual' person. I knew that I intensely disliked the organized religions for their corruption and hypocrisy but really had no particular views other than 'there is no god' and if there is I don't like him.

As I've gotten older I've come to believe that there is 'something' more than just us. I've studied many of the old religions and even looked at Wicca (a new religion) which I had hoped might give me an insight into our place in the all but it disappointed me as just another structured, organised thought control process.

This is very difficult for me to express in words but what I most relate to is the old native views that each person communes with the 'other' in their own particular way. There are no priests, shamans or arbiters between us. I believe that the earth is alive and that we are a small part of it whether it is aware of us or not.

Wow, too much Bin 27.

[quercus alba]

Not trying to influence you in any way, I'm a firm believer that we're free moral agents capable of making our own decisions concerning what we believe in. However, there's a book called "Cold Case Christianity" by J. Warner Wallace who approaches it from a detective's point of view, much like a murder mystery. Believer or not, it presents some interesting points worthy of considering.

[johnboy]

Thanks. I'll look it up. Always open to different (to me) viewpoints.

[Arty]

That is indeed a cool sighting! I love seeing that kind of stuff, and hope to here in Virginia Beach very soon (whales are being spotted frequently now).

While I'm posting... I may as well say one other thing. Did Mother Earth create herself? If so, cool.
If not, then what did? I find it hard to believe that anyone could appreciate this beautiful earth without acknowledging the vast amount of order and detail that is involved to keep it safely spinning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Thumper]

That's really cool Johnboy. I've spent probably 98% of my life living in a coastal area (even lived right on the water for a few years) and have seen bazillions of whales, but still, they NEVER cease to amaze me. Each sighting seems as exciting as my first. I still get excited about dolphin sightings even, and they're extremely common! Great post! I can almost close my eyes and imagine being there with you. (Ummmm ... sorry, that sounds kind'a gay, huh?) ;)

I'm not sure how this morphed into a semi-religious discussion, but I can never resist getting sucked in. I think my main problem with religion is that NOBODY knows the answers as to how the universe was created. What turns me off the most is when somebody tries to convince me that they KNOW how it was done and who did it. The odd thing is, it borders on arrogance at times. Travel the world and you'll find that many cultures believe differently. I think when there's no known explanation of how something came to be, ancient peoples would come up with their own idea and after the "story" gets passed down through generations, it becomes fact in some people's minds. The problem is, depending on where you happened to be born, for the most part, determines what you believe. I have a huge problem with one group believing they're right and every other group on earth is wrong. If any deeply religious person born in this (predominately Christian) country had been born in the middle east, chances are they would believe just as strongly in the Muslim religion. Who the "F" has the right to tell ANYONE they're wrong just because they believe in something differently? Especially when neither can be PROVEN right or wrong?

For the record, I have no problem whatsoever with religion. Where I have a problem is when one group insists another is wrong. Heck, even in the Christian faith, how many different sects are there? Who's 100% right and who's 100% wrong? That said, who can honestly say they are even 1% correct in their beliefs? I grew up in an extremely religious family. Most all of my dad's side were preachers (including my grandfather). At an early age, I started questioning what I was being taught and eventually cried "B/S"! Needless to say, my questioning (and doubting) nature didn't go over too well, but hey ... to each his own. Heck, I have a 3-year old niece who swears the Easter Bunny is real. She was "taught" by society that there is an Easter bunny, Santa Clause and a tooth fairy. I put religion in the same category. The difference is, as you grow older, you learn the difference between fairy-tales and fact, because it can easily be proven the Easter bunny doesn't really exist. The complicated part about religious beliefs is, you're convinced as a child (I'm speaking generalities here) that there's a Supreme Being "up in the sky" who created anything and everything that you can't explain. The only difference (to me) between the Easter Bunny and God is that we can prove one doesn't exist, so we write him (her?) off as a fable. The existence of God is a different story and we hang onto our belief for lack of proof that He is a fictional character to be thrown into the same category as the tooth fairy. Maybe some day, we'll know the true answers (most likely through science). Until that time, please don't tell me I'm going to Hell because I don't quite buy into the bill of goods you're trying to sell me. (again, I'm not addressing anyone here, I'm just trying to express MY feelings).

The question remains. Who ... (or what?) created the first atoms and molecules? I have no clue (and "you" don't either). But I suppose I could speculate, pass my speculation on to others and convince them I'm right, then open a church and create my own religion! Who knows? Before long, I could be wearing a Rolex and driving a Rolls Royce! ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Johnboy, I was just talking about this very topic just a couple weeks ago. There are more people than you think that are starting to think that what we used to label as 'animism' is actually probably not as far fetched as it is often described. To me it doesn't mean that everything in nature is alive as much as it means we're all made out of the same bunch (193 these days) of atoms just arranged differently. And when we die our physical being actually becomes part of the atoms that make up something else. Now what happens to our spiritual being is whole nother deal and is what makes it hard to know what happens. But there is a universal law of matter and energy. And our spirit does go SOMEWHERE. Where? I have no effing idea.

BKB

[Big Muddy]

Day'um, ya'll talking some deep sheeit, this morning....and, I already know exactly where my soul/spirit is headed, when I kick the bucket....that being said, I do love whales and watching whales....saw tons of them off the coast of Alaska....they are some big smart mofo's.

[Thumper]

When I die, IF I get buried, I think the worms will eat me and I'll end up helping the grass grow.

If I'm cremated (99% my preference right now), I have a buddy who has promised to spread some of my ashes in Thailand (a country I really do love). If any family members want a sample, they're welcome to it. I wouldn't mind the ocean breezes taking a bit of me wherever they happen to go. I spent a lot of time in the mountains of Western N.C. and wouldn't mind a part of me being dropped into the mountain spring that supplies my grandparent's old homestead. That would kill two birds with one stone as it eventually flows into the Tuckasegee River where I spent many, many hours of my childhood. As for my soul, or spirit? I have no clue. I would hope pieces would be passed on through friends, family or strangers I may have "touched" in some way while I was LIVING. Once I become worm or fish food, I'm not so sure there's anything left TBH. But who knows? I may come back as a mean old tomcat for all I know ... and I could scare the piss out'ta ol' Ticboy! ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

We've been discussing cremation as well. There are two small cemeteries in Arkansas where both sides of my family are mainly buried. I'm not sure what those monuments mean any more. Being one of the men cousins, I get called on for pall bearer duty a lot it seems and every time I go to one of those services i think about it. Its cool to see the markers of generations past, but part of me asks, Really? That's what it boils down to? I think I'd prefer adding to the phosphorous content of the Fourche La Fave River. Like the chicken doo doo does, only it'd be me. So when people hang up in diddymo, they can say 'Goddamn that Barry Bruton'.

BKB

[Thumper]

P-hole, I know persactly what you're saying and it kinda relates to something I'm dealing with right now. Many years ago, Lynn's dad bought 6 cemetery plots ... one for himself, Lynn's mom, Lynn and her 3 brothers. Since that time, her mom and dad went through a divorce and he later passed away (he's buried in one of the plots). Once he passed, the ownership of the plots went to Lynn's mom. Everyone on Lynn's dad's side of the family is scattered all across the country and buried where THEIR families are located. There was one uncle (dad's brother) whom Mom gave a plot to and he's buried there also (he had no other family). So, mom now owns 6 plots, side-by-side, with an ex-husband and his brother buried in two of them. ONE of Lynn's brothers has already passed (cancer) and he wanted to be cremated, so he's now in an urn at mom's house. All family members now have their own family members, wives, kids, etc, so it's not really a good fit for them as they would rather do their own thing.

Mom has no desire to be buried with her EX-husband and his brother, but she has a row of 6 plots (4 still available). When we visited her last month, we went out to the cemetery to get a copy of the certificate of ownership and I've taken on the responsibility of trying to sell the plots for her. Anybody here want a good deal on a plot (or 4) in a group of 6 ... next to a coupl'a dudes named Yamamoto? ;)

One thing I've learned through this process is, purchasing a group of family burial plots may sound like a very responsible thing to do at the time, but in the long run, it can be highly impractical.

I did learn one thing while at the cemetery gathering paperwork. I had no idea it was even legal, but each of those plots can actually contain TWO caskets ... one on top of the other! So, those 6 plots "could" actually be 12 plots!

[Captain]

Hell no! We don't need your ashes in NC!