Another note from Jose

Hola Tomas, Buenos Dias and all that stuff.  You know what I mean Amigo.

Just wondering what you been up to my friend.   Things got warm here in Racine, then they got cold , then they got wet again.   Went and seen my dad in New Mexico.  He just got back from Antarctica, its gonna get cold down there.  He says the penguins are doing good, seems that when all is said and done the global warming is doing them good after all.   It seems that the warmer waters has heated up reproductive activities, and more fish seem to be coming their way, especially the mackerel.

Talked to the boss he thinks maybe the end of next week we go back to work.   Like you say where you come from... Uff Da!
Hope to see you soon.

Your friend,
 Jose Jimenez

P.S.  Hey AMIGO can you bring the potato tortillas that you put butter and sugar on then roll it all up? leftovers or something you called it.  It was good.

Dear Jose,

Good to hear from you.  It sounds like you have the same weather there as we do here.   I may or may not be on your crew, they sent me to the training center to learn how to dig alongside the bomb.  It's a good thing to know yoga when you dig along side of pipe.     But maybe I will get sent back out west.   Hoping to get close to Williston or Watford City.   Do you remeber that lady from church?
Well she is becoming more special in my life, and she is even coming to visit Middle River again.  Seems as though she sort of likes the swamp and welcomes the look of leaves contrary to sage brush.
It's a good thing to have her as a friend.  Hmmmm.!?  I often wonder and hope for a brighter bigger picture with her.

It sounds like Hunter and Gracei had a good Spring season of ball.   Hunter and Gracei are both learning the fine art of throwing a pitch.  Although Hunter appeared to get a good talking to about control issues and beaning other opponents.

Going to pick some mushrooms tomorrow, so I have yo go to bed.
Buenos Noches My Friend

Tom

The Magic of Rainbows Present

   

  I was watching the birds in the yard yesterday.   I have quite a variety of birds visiting lately: blue jays, 2-3 different sparrows, dark eyed juncos, robins, flickers, woodpeckers, and a strange small red bird that i have not yet identified.   But the strangest thing I saw was when I was watching a deer sneaking in to the yard cautious and skittish as if it were being followed.
     I got my camera ready just in case something wonderful and amazing would appear, but just as fast as the deer appeared out of the brush, it got scared and ran off.  I stood and watched in anticipation.  I could just sense that something amazing and wonderful would happen.  Maybe a coyote would come running.  Maybe a bobcat or mountain lion would be on the prowl. Perhaps a timber-wolf or a bear was out cruising.  Nothing appeared.  I put the camera down and continued to do my daily chores.  It began to sprinkle.
     I listened to the rain for awhile, and during the rain times my thoughts seem to drift back to people and places I remember.  It just so happened that that one Beatles song came on the little radio in my kitchen, "In My Life."  As soon as the song was over and a little tear ran down my cheek, the sun came out and to the east across the the willow bog I saw a bent rainbow, faded and colorful, not too far away, and far enough to know that I could not walk there. Underneath this magnificent spectacle I thought what I saw in the grass evidence of stirring critters.
      I paid no attention to the long canary grass matted down at first.  Curiosity stirred the hunter and trapper in me.  Perhaps I would see a glimpse of a predator, maybe a baby predator.  Skunk? Raccoon?  I began to study and focus all my attention and senses underneath the rainbow.  The shifting in the grass was moving toward the yard.  Soon I knew with all the confidence in my heart that this great stirring underneath the grass was what caused the deer to leave.  I just knew it.
     A snowbank  still exists in a little band of trees between my yard and the willow swamp.   The life in the grass slowly was working its way to this snowbank.  I for sure would get a god glimpse of the creature as soon as he got on the bank.  I grabbed my camera. quietly exited my house, posted up for a good shot, and was truly astonished when the creatures appeared on the snowbank.  Click! I got it.

     Immediately I broke down into tears of joy and laughter.  Three winters ago when I moved back to my dad's farm,  his penguins had disappeared.  I put an advertisement in the local paper, but no one responded. "Lost: two breeding pair of penguins last seen heading north toward Middle River."  It was the last time I had seen or heard of dad's penguins since he built the great fence for them.  Yet from underneath the rainbow two baby penguins appeared as if to tell me in person, "We are alright.  Today everything is all right."
     They left, and immediately I wrote a letter to my friend Jose Jimenez.  I told of my kids ball games and how we are finally getting some green grass, and how we would soon be back to work.   I sent him the picture to share with his dad in Antarctica.  I named the two penguins Bobby and Tommy.  The picture should explain why; two buddies traveling along, taking a break on their journey and talking it out whatever matters are on their hearts,  wondering which way to go next.
     Hopefully the two babies will get along with the geese that are making my pond home.

Laid Off

     Being laid off stinks, plain and simple, especially for me. It isn't the lack of income.  I got a couple dollars saved for a little bit.  It's the ," what should i do now" thoughts that come to my head.  Believe me when I tell the reader that my mind is sometimes not a good place to go exploring.  Here are the top 5 genius ideas I have generated since I have been home.

5.   Kick a 21 year old kid out of my house because he wants to drink beer and won't come with me to church.  No discussion just put on the old size 13. Boot! Bam!  Come back when you want to get it right. 1 John 4: 7  Beloved let us love one another.

4.  Invite some old buddies over for coffee.  Are you kidding me... coffee,  they don't drink coffee, and neither do I.  Better yet invite them all over for some male bonding and see if anything is different this time.  Or how about better yet: Go down to the local watering hole and see what they are still up to!

3.  Take a road trip.  Oh yeah, that might require some planning and a destination. The last time I took a road trip I didn't come home for a few weeks, not that it was all bad, but I just don't remember it.  The movies The Hangover,  Road Trip, and Animal House about sum up that experience.Galatians 5:21 Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

2.  Tear apart the house.  That's right.  I already did that and put it back together.  I have already completely rid my home of the essence of unclassy femininity with extreme prejudice.  My best friend says I have to say it this way.  Like I am better? Rom 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.

1.  Overhaul my home with new appliances and gadgets. The kitchen could use a few things. New microwave, fridge, stove.  Oh and I wouldn't be in vogue unless i had a toilet bowl fish tank.  Why not a new t.v. computers. While I am at it, a brand new truck.  Might as well then build a garage.   Since I am at it, I should add on a 3 season porch right now....Romans 12: 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
   
     Differentiating between genius and insanity is hard.  Genius getting the ideas, and insanity would be acting on them and expecting a positive result.    ( Acts 26:24-25And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.”  But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.)  Obviously even great people had problems with thinking too.
    In lieu of the grandiosity, those thoughts come to pass quickly now days.  Thank God!  Coming home has actually been serene.  Card game in the evening with Hunter...  Playing catch with Gracei...Talking of the future season with Skylar...  Visiting with friends...  Visiting mom and grandma...  going through pictures... making plans to visit my lady Brenda...  paying the bills... hauling kids around... Attend church...Swamp time with Ryan and Dakota... Spending time in prayer and meditation feeling God's presence.  Talking things out with like minded people.  Blog.
     Fortunately,  I can recognize my own strange thoughts now, have peace with my life and have something called Faith that just lets me know things are o.k. and as exactly as they should be even when I get toxic thoughts.  (Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.)
     Guess being laid off isn't so bad.  I think a coat of paint in the kitchen will be just fine.  After all in the big picture, I am just living right now in an overgrown hunting shack, on a piece of overgrown hunting land, during another hunting adventure called life.

   

The Big Picture Painted in a Little Swamp

     Today  I travelled out to the swamp.  It's not a swamp like Hollywood would portray; rather, a junk of overgrown prairie mixed with oak savanna on glacial till ridges, mixed with boreal deciduous and conifer.  In between these ridges lies small tracts of peat bog, willows, slough grass, and cattails.   For those who know me that is where my family hunts whitetail deer.  What we were doing out there was scouting for next season.   The details are secret.  These secrets are a common courtesy that all avid deer hunters would not dare ask for they know what we were doing and would be impolite to ask any more details of where and exactly what, and how.
     We travelled on snowmobiles down abandoned roads and logging trails.  Funny thing is that this area northwest of Middle River has never been logged.  Since the arrival of the white man it probably has never been burned off enough.   Every time i go back to the swamp, I travel back in time.  I travel to a time when life was maybe simpler.  A time when immigrants took a few deer and grouse for a staple.  A harsher time than now when people cut a few cords of wood to burn in pot belly stoves to keep a small house comfortable if someone would tend the fire a couple times in the middle of the nights.  This time also included no electricity and people actually took the time to write a letter back to Norway by light of a kerosene lamp instead of shooting off an e-mail.   It is hard for me to imagine such a time in history, but I like to, and some parts of my life i have even tried living out  a fantasy of trying to live in old ways, actually earning a good portion of my income in the winter months by trapping fur.
     But what enthuses  me most are the kids.   I find myself telling stories to these kids of places in the swamp where we got a big buck or saw a bear or wolf one time.  Today one of my sons was telling me stories of his hunt while I was out on the pipeline this year.  We had scouted all summer and decided to place an observation post near one of our sacred hunting spots, "The Tamarack Strip."  Last November he called me with great enthusiasm to tell me how his planning had paid off.  my heart soared knowing he loved to tell the story and today he retold it to his fellow hunters young an old out in the middle of the swamp.
     We ended the day with a comradely run race of snowmobiles all the way from the corral to the cabin.  Yes the swamp atmosphere can get competitive.
       Today was a little different for me.  Nothing has changed really out in the swamp.  Yet, I never get tired of it or bored.  I was feel like I belong there, but the trees didn't seem to be dancing as lively.  I never grow tired of this swamp and I have not learned all its secrets, yet although the swamp was welcoming me home so to speak, it was almost as if the willows were mourning knowing I would be departing again. 
     When I go out to the swamp I often pray, " Heavenly Creator, whose voice I hear in the wind...."  Today the wind was more of a gentle breeze and the voice more of a whisper,  "Peace I give you until I see you again. We missed you, will miss you and we will welcome you again."
     Times change, but the core of the soul doesn't.  In the big picture, my adventures, my scouting may not always be a swamp.  It could be the gorges of White Earth Valley, Mouse River, or possibly the bluffs of the upper Missouri and Yellowstone River in Western north Dakota.  The adventurer in me takes mental notes of how I would hunt the open plains versus the confined forests.  It pulls on me the thought of hunting different deer, possibly antelope.  My soul seems to be shifting.  I owe it to those like me that have come before and similar hearts that are coming and have yet to come, to take on this new adventure with enthusiasm and the spirit of the hunter and explorer. 
     The big picture seems to be opening up many new doors and at the same time not slamming old ones shut.  Closing windows that lead in and down and leaving windows open that lead out and up.  It almost that time to to explore the big picture of my life as it is with its serious endeavors also,  and welcome any changes that may come.  I can not ignore the voice I hear when out on the Great Plains, during this time in America's history during this time of great change, "Come!"

Got an email from my friend Jose Jimenez today.

April 1, 2013

Hola Tomas,
     I made it back to mi casa ok.  Uff Da! What a drive man.  Still no green grass here and Peace Willow and Rainbow Joy are really itching to play some softball.  So  gringo, green we will go.  ha ha !  Heading to Albuquerque to see my dad and shag a few balls for the girls.  
     Dad will be leaving soon for Antarctica to catch the end of summer there.  Sounds like the hatch has been good with the penguins , but there seems to be a shortage of fish. So he is a little concerned.
Him and mom fight all the time about about this climate change thing.  Penguins more promiscuous, and prosperous, but the food supply seems to be running low for the little birds.  To me I cant figure out if penguins are a bird or a fish.  They both swim. They eat other fish, but a penguin has a beak, no? 
     Anyway Muchas gracias for the burrito the other day it was good, but i like more chicken and less beans.   We should still try to get our girls together for them to play some ball.  should be about another week here, but we are going to fly down to New Mexico anyway this weekend.

Hasta la vista....
Jose


April 4, 2013

     Buenos dias my friend.  No grass here either, just snow.  Gracei was just expressing to me her frustrations also about the conditions of the field where she plays.  and by the way many thousand thanks for the sandwich.  I don't particularly care for white bread, but the extra corned beef and cheese still made it delightful for the palate.
     It's funny you mention penguins.  My dad once built a fence for penguins.  He even talked about raising them.  Some people tell me that he actually did have some at one time.   So i really like hearing about penguins and would so one day like to meet your father.  
     I made it home too, and it is nice to have a little time off to be with the kids.  Been cleaning house in more ways than one you know.  So amigo,  stay in touch!  Good to hear from you.    I truly believe that God puts people together for a reason, and it is usually for a season or a lifetime.  Truly my brother, I hope our reason is for the latter.

truly
Tom

This Little Light of Mine

     "This little light of mine,  I'm gonna let it shine."  I remember as a child singing the song with confidence and enthusiasm.   As I got older I joyed in the little kids singing it in front of anyone.  Catchy tune, good words, simple tune make this song a favorite among youngsters.
     Some people live it and in others the light becomes dimmer.  Some you know the light is there but don't always see it.  I was in a friend's house the other day.  One of the rooms had a lighthouse theme. The walls had pictues of light houses and the shelves had little light house figurines.  It made me wonder why this person was into lighthouses so much.  When I asked her she didn't know.  On the way home it dawned on me.  
     A lighthouse  has its light shining all the time.  During the day we can not see it very well. Humble, they may just appear to be another building standing tall with a certain purpose to stand tall and look unique.  Something which is good in itself.  But where a lighthouse really performs is on the darkest stormiest nights. When no one else is around looking they stand out.  They stand even taller and brighter when ships are in turmoil and look for the bright light in the darkness from miles away.
     Some people are just like that lighthouse.  Day after day, they are their standing with their light mostly unseen.  But when it is their time to shine  they stand out brighter than ever, guiding that ship and marking land's boundaries.   The land they stand on represents to the panicked passengers and crew need most.   On the stormiest of nights it is the boundaries we look for.  What we all want to come home and set foot on solid ground.  The lighthouse shows us which direction to go.
     I met a lady out here who is like a lighthouse, a short person in stature, but who stands tall in her walk of life with her constant light shining toward others.   Let it shine. Let it shine Brenda.  Let it shine.

Mi Amor

"Amid the gloom and travail of existence suddenly to behold a beautiful being; and as instantaneously to feel an overwhelming conviction, that with that fair form, our destinies must be entwined, this is love."  unknown

     Sometimes the glamor of the pipeline isn't so glamorous.   A guy left for home today and explained he was having family problems.Most the guys are from somewhere else.  My friend Jose Jimenez is from Racine WI.  Rather than talk about the sad situation of our fellow crew member, we decided to share about something positive. Today he was telling me about his kids.  George is expecting a rare butterfly from India,  Rainbow Joy and Peace Willow are sad because softball season has started and they are forced to practice in the gym still.  They can't wait to get out on the green grass.  Much like my daughter Gracei.  His wife is struggling with the hustle and bustle of shuffling the kids around.  The days out here get monotonous doing the same job all the time,  and the conditions don't seem to ever improve.  I like him am just getting tired and need a break.
    To break the monotony, we tell stories.  We share our lives with each other, our dreams, our troubles.  We talk about love.  I asked him the other day because I was curious about his family. His dad lives in Alamogordo, NM.  His mother lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  I asked how they met.
     Their love is interesting.  His mother is a climatologist.  His father is a research biologist.  She was studying climate change, and he was gathering reproductive data on penguins at a research facility in Antarctica.   Two intelligent people alone in a cold place.... Hmmmm.  They just knew.  Love at first beak.  As for him and his wife,  She belongs to the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin.   They met at a pow-wow at Thunder Bay where his mom is from.  His dad hasnt the time to get a passport so mom flies to New Mexico for the Winter.   They make it work.
     I tell him of my new love,  Brenda.  She is from Williston, and I am from Middle River.  We met at church.  She shows me around Williston, and bakes me cookies.  I shovel her sidewalk.  We make it work.  Jose likes her cookies.  He says they are better than "Mi Amor."
     Funny,  what guys talk about about over a baloney sandwich to break up the monotony, out here while energizing America.  Nothing is gloomy about love, a common ice-breaker out here on the line.  And it happens in the most unique places.


 

The Fear Road.

     This morning at about 5:30 a.m. I received a call from the boss telling me not to drive to work.  No, I wasn't run off.  We were in a blizzard again.  No pipe getting put in the ground today.  I don't like driving when I can not see.  It makes me afraid.
     There was much talk of the violence that occurred over the weekend.  Apparently, two men were killed.  One in front of a strip club.   The other  was stabbed right here at my camp.  Fortunately I didn't witness or know anyone who did.
     At breakfast yesterday here is what I saw.  I saw a small group of men and women smiling with their Bibles open.    Awhile later  I saw about a hundred people singing praise and giving worship.   I listened to a pastor challenging his congregation to invite people to come to church and to help build a place where all  would like to come.     I saw people sharing their testimony of their path to Christ.   I saw families welcoming others into their homes to share Sunday dinner, and elderly telling stories of life.  My how things have changed.
     Or have they?  People are still finding their way to Christ.   Families are loving one another.   God is moving in people's hearts.  There seems to be an odor of fear out here.    The news seems to project it anyway,  and I know it weighs on many hearts.   Weather, foreign people,  patchy pasts,  housing,  economics,  crime,  seems that's all the news reports.   When we live in our fears, let them control us, make decisions on them.  Its like keeping our blinders on in narrow focus.  We only see the negativity and the enemy tries to suck us in.  When we let our fears rest in God,  He gives us the power to open our eyes and see what is really going on.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice, and be glad in it.
     The same paths are open to all.  We choose which one to take:  the path of the blind, or the path of  wakedness.   Fear- Gate A same old same old... Joy Gate B.  The world of countless possibilities.  The sun is out now,  I can see a little better.  Maybe my friend Jose Jimenez would like to take a drive back to town and  hang out for awhile.  He said he was looking for something special to bring home to his kids. 

Welcome to My World

     Welcome to my first ever blog.  What I will bring to the reader are tales from the Bakken oil patch....  the great things that are happening,  the trials of the men and women actually out here doing it, the sobering words from the people back home, and my friends "who have always been here." 

     It has been said, "Ain't nothing finer than a pipeliner."  My girlfriend would agree, but my two ex-wives may have a different opinion.   It's all good.   I'm not telling their stories.  These are my stories.  

     These are stories from real people, real lives, real outcomes.  I am just a heavy equipment operator out here, on the Tioga Lateral Project, a 12 inch pipeline,  going from Tioga to Sherwood, North Dakota. I am just one of the 10 guys on a coating crew. My story is typical of those who come out here.  We are all just coming and coming and coming to find a decent wage for an honest day’s work.  We come from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas, and Tennessee.  It's a trip.

     The days are getting longer now, which is good and bad. It means home soon to be with my kids, but less money to do something fun with them. Got a message from the new grandson today,  he just was showing me a peace sign.  So I sent one back at him via Haley's phone or some other gadget.  Sounds like me and him will get to come home about the same time.  God has a plan.  He is already answering our prayers.

     I have met a good friend, Jose Jimenez.  Jose comes from an interesting background.  I feel that I must intimate to the reader his tales also and the friendship that is developing.  My friend Jose and I drove to Williston today. Did our usual, had a bite to eat, went to church and visited our friends. I have to go pick him up shortly and bring him back to camp. I invited him to attend church with me at New Hope Wesleyan. He declined because he didn't want to fall out of favor with the new pope. Figures he's got a clean slate with the new dude, so in the pope he hopes. Speaking of New Hope, wasn't that the name of the Star Wars original? Read in the paper today that there was an altercation the night my friend Jose went to town to pick up some guys from our crew at the bar. A man is still at large with a heart tattoo on his neck. I asked him if he knew or saw anything that night. He just said, “Uff Da ! Mi amo Jose Jimenez.... No hablo ingles. Soy trabajo,"