The forecast for the next couple of days is rain and then more rain. I can’t explain it; but when this happens, I find myself wanting to gather up all my C.S. Lewis books and go some place alone to read, study, and think. Oh, I need to think these days and listen for the Lord’s words of encouragement.

Meanwhile, here’s another quote from Lewis that was written to a friend: “I’m all for a planet without aches or pains or financial worries, but I doubt if I’d care for one of pure intelligence. No senses (no relish of smells, tastes), no affection, no nonsense. I must have a little fooling. I want to tickle a cat’s ears and sometimes have a slugging match with an impertinent squirrel. My lecture has proved a best seller and I’ve no copies left. . . . You’ve got it nearly right: the only error being that instead of saying the Great Divide came between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, I said at great length and emphatically that it didn’t.  But of course ‘not’ s a very small word and one can’t get every fine shade just right!”

There was such a real and practical side to Lewis.  May the same thing be true of me and of you.

A couple of weeks ago, several of us drove back to Neels Gap. The snow (at the time) was almost gone, but the cold weather had not changed. Hikers who were traveling through on the Appalachian Trail had stopped at the Mountain Crossings store at the Walasi-Yi to buy gear. The wind was blowing and I was grateful to be inside in the warmth for a few minutes. The day was winding down and everything at the gap was washed in a marvelous sunset glow.

When you see this sign, you know you are standing in a very adventurous place. 

On the way to work this morning, I looked up and saw this sign on the side of an old building. I had to photograph it. Somethings just beg for attention. This shouted, “Hello” in its best Southern voice. By the way, there really is a Shorty . . . somewhere.

Today Cocoa, and Chip, and I finished reading The Call of The Wild by Jack London. They loved it, and I’m still trying to decide why I put myself through it. Now, they want to read White Fang. I thought you would enjoy reading one of their favorite sections from The Call. Imagine them listening, wide-eyed, as they think about Buck (London’s lead character which is 100 percent all dog) and his adventures: “Buck was afraid that Thornton would pass out of his life as Perrault and Francosis and the Scotch half-breed had passed out. Even in the night in his dreams, he was haunted by this fear. At such times, he would shake off sleep and creep through the chill to the flap of the tent, where he would stand and listen to the sound of his master’s breathing . . . . Faithfulness and devotion, things born of fire and roof, were his; yet Buck retained his wildness and wiliness. He was a thing of the wild, come in from the wild to sit by John Thornton’s fire, rather than a dog of the soft Southland stamped with the marks of generations of civilization.”

After reading these words for the second and third time, I guess Cocoa is right, these words truly are words of deep feeling and meaning.

Earlier today as I was heading north of the city, I discovered a new wooden bridge, which crossed over train tracks that lead out of the city and on to South Carolina. I stopped, got out of the car, and took this photo really quick before something came speeding up the bridge behind me!