Looking Into Forever Part 2

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Betsy Wuebker

Magical Moose

Photo by Peter Wuebker

Our recent trip to Minnesota’s North Shore was an opportunity to reflect, not only on the past, but also on what the future might hold.  We always do a fair amount of centering when we visit, and, like others who come to this magical place, return home reinvigorated and refreshed.  This time around, though, there were many signs to associate with deeper introspection.

“Regard heaven as your father, earth as your mother, and all things as your brothers and sisters.” – Native American Proverb

Map showing Moose distribution
Image via Wikipedia

Wherever we are in their habitat, we’re on the lookout for moose. As luck would have it, our only sighting of a bull moose has been as we circled a cloverleaf on a freeway north of Anchorage, Alaska, toward the Mat-Su Valley and Denali beyond.  On previous visits to the North Shore, a young cow ambled out in front of us by a marshy area west of Greenwood Lake, but traditional moose viewing locations along the Gunflint Trail had yielded only evidence that they’d been there previously.  (Not that Pete is ever reluctant to take a poop photo.  :) )

It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  After researching traditional lore about the appearance of animals and signs, I am comforted that our encounters in the wild acknowledged our most recent emotional journey together (the loss of Pete’s mother).  These encounters also affirmed that this is a time of transition and shift for us as we figure out what’s next.

Photo by Peter Wuebker

Our friend, Hinda Abrahamson, after hearing all the stories from this trip, provided us with information from her teacher, Grandmaster Professor Thomas Lin-Yun, on what we should know about the moose:  When a moose appears, it is considered a special sacred gift – a unique and sacred energy is opened; [the moose is a] symbol of primal feminine energies and the magic of life and death. How fitting, then, after losing Pete’s mother, that our first wildlife encounter on this trip should be with moose.

Photo by Peter Wuebker

On our first day up the Gunflint Trail, we visited the newly-opened Chik-Wauk Museum, which is a wonderful multi-sensory experience of this historically-rich region.  As we headed back down the Trail, I found myself craving a Trail Center Lodge burger.  Within ten minutes, though, we knew our highly-anticipated lunch was going to be delayed!  This mama moose and her baby were munching contentedly off the museum driveway, and we quickly halted to watch.  Our own lunch could wait!

The Manataka Indians and other tribes recognize the moose as a spiritual intuitive to man, acting as a totem or guide who carries a message from the Great Spirit: Our powerful moose cousin is a symbol of courage and determination. Those who know the moose spirit proudly walk with grace and have universal knowledge. The power of their presence is awesome and inspiring. The energy of the moose is said to bring recognition of one’s strengths and place in society.

Other cultures have used the moose as a symbol for traits as diverse as headstrong, unstoppable, longevity, value, and integrity.  The Manataka site shows characteristics of the moose which personify lessons and guidance in an uncanny synchronicity with our particular circumstances:

Photo by Peter Wuebker

Moose calves are born with their eyes open. Those who follow the moose medicine see life situations with clarity and can see into the beyond.

We continued down the Gunflint Trail to encounter another pair in the area of aptly-named Extortion Lake.  Again, another correlation:  Whenever someone suffers such as Pete’s mother had from cancer, the disease extorts from the sufferer and loved ones by inflicting unspeakable pain, and the subsequent relinquishment, while perhaps made willingly by all concerned, is attended by duress.  It is an exchange made only to achieve an end.

Photo by Peter Wuebker

Despite their great size, moose can camouflage itself very well and can move silently and quickly through its terrain. This teaches us ways to become invisible when necessary and not allow our powerful presence to become overbearing to others.

Invisibility ensures personal safety as well as inferring sensitivity to the effect we have on others.  Remaining unseen, or retreating into the woods to fight another, later day is a judicious tactic that spares and restores energy.

Photo by Peter Wuebker

The appearance of the moose is both awkward and graceful at the same time. These traits are translated in human terms as instruction in ways to be gracious and relaxed in our dealings with others.

We were most assuredly not relaxed as we began our trip, but as the miles passed and we drew further north, we literally left things where they were. When wounds are raw, any encounter can be excruciating.  Time spent just being, rather than doing, allows for healing to begin and more harmonious encounters once the process has been established.

We had begun our journey numbed by stress, conscious of our own fragile emotions and exhausted from recent events.  It is comforting even now to know that it is possible our encounters with the moose, which occurred very quickly after we set out to reconnect with our favorite places, were significant in the literal and spiritual sense.


The Manataka site informs us that the moose is a spirit guide who will often bring messages of future events unseen, and that those who walk with the moose will quickly discover their walk in life.

By the mid-term of our stay, we were beginning to get clear on what we wanted to do in the next phase of our life together. I believe it’s no accident that the moose appeared at first opportunity as a harbinger of the answers that would come.

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Posted in Great Lakes, Minnesota, Photography, Travel | 6 Comments

You Never Know What Someone is Going to Buy

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Betsy Wuebker

Pete has grown his Zazzle store, Your Shop of Shoppes, by leaps and bounds.  You’ll remember we discussed this online business activity during our series, Through a Glass Darkly (individual links on our About page).  We introduced our intentions to diversify and increase our income sources  in a post  almost two years ago, Proceeds.

Since then, we’ve been reminded time and time again that you never know what someone is going to buy.

In the 70′s (that would be the 1970′s, you whippersnappers) my first post-college job was in women’s specialty retail.  I, at the ripe age of 23, was  responsible for spending millions of dollars on inventory and then, of course, selling it within these large chain operations.  Even though it was my job, I never really knew what someone was going to buy.

One of my merchandise managers, whom I thought was a real sourpuss but was more than likely on to me, shook her head at me in almost every showroom.  Invariably, I would pick the style she thought had the least likelihood of selling.  She was a quality snob, and I had come from a more volume-based, moderate operation to work for her.  A very cute salesman that I adored working with in my previous job won her over by saying, “This fabric lay next to viyella in the factory.”  I had an inkling his blouses would sell again for me and thankfully, they did.

Then there was the infamous purchase I made of 1200 fake suede halter-back jumpsuits adorned with Cher-like beads and feathers.  Remember, this was Detroit in the late ’70′s, people.  My boss at that time, Arthur Epstein – a lovely man who escorted me to sites like the tops of the Empire State Building and yes, the World Trade Center, on my first day ever in NYC, because “you’ll be working so hard you won’t have time from now on to see anything” – about had a cow when he saw the order.  Thank God, those jumpsuits sold like hotcakes to every hoochie mama on 8 Mile in Detroit!  I was a genius.

Speaking of cows:  my luck did not extend to the denim order from an outfit called Happy Legs.  I ordered huge quantities of coordinates: jeans, jumpsuits, vests and what-have-you trimmed in cowhide.  Not cowhide with the hair removed, mind you, but brown and white spotted, hairy cowhide.  I couldn’t mark it down enough. I’m sure some of it is still around somewhere.  I was only about 30 years ahead of Gucci and Versace on this one.

How did I decide what to sell? Well, it should have been due to analytics. But more likely it was because I might have gone to see The Wiz on Broadway with Michael Jackson as a guest of the salesman  (true story), or I might have liked another rep’s voice on the phone.  When I actually got to New York and met the Happy Legs guy in his showroom at 1407 Broadway, I “plotzed” as they said in that world.  He weighed about 300 pounds and was very sweaty.  My happy legs couldn’t run away fast enough from that debacle.

But, as always, I digress.  :D

Pete and I envisioned the political categories would provide the best sellers in Your Shop of Shoppes, The Patriot’s Shoppe and The Tea Party Shoppe, and we haven’t been disappointed.  Ever one to take advantage of an opportunity, I am just saying that we could probably do even more business if we presented merchandise in a bipartisan fashion. Pete thinks that would “feel wrong.”  Whatever, it’s his store.

We also have done well with holiday cards and custom postage stamps in the It’s Christmas Shoppe. It’s not difficult to understand that whenever someone purchases an item in bulk, we are going to make more money.  So we tried to think of categories where that was likely to happen.

When do people send out greetings or responses en masse?  When something changes in life: a new baby, a wedding, a household move, during bereavement.  Okay.  We analyzed a little further.  Most new parents want a custom, pre-printed birth announcement with all the details.   Not for us to sell.  Same with wedding invitations (plus aren’t brides temporarily insane?  I found this out when I tried to sell wedding favors).  Bereavement felt creepy.  But we’ve moved?  “We’ve Moved” could work.

Pete had taken a photo of a funky building we had often joked about:  “Here’s our next home, dear!”  So he made it into a New Address announcement.  Over a year later, this is one of our best sellers. I’m glad he took the photo when he did as we recently saw the building again and it looks completely different now.  Way too bland.

Of course it took us a while to figure out we were on to something. We let a lot of time go by before we figured out that adding to the available selections might induce additional sales.  Doh!

This leads me to another adage from retailing:  “Narrow and deep.” You learn this as a buyer right after you learn how to calculate your Open To Buy = the amount of money you have available to spend on inventory.  You can increase your OTB any number of ways.  Alas, the most frequent is to mark down what you already have, which cuts into another number you live and die by: your Gross Margin.

Anyway, going narrow and deep means you capture more people who are specifically in the market for what you have to sell. Like those disco babes in their Cher jumpsuits.  But sometimes not, as in what happened to all the people I thought would just love that cowhide denim?  Turns out they hadn’t been born yet.  :D

Now, during our travels everywhere, we often pull off so Pete can snap a photo of a dilapidated building. “We’ve moved.”

We thought you’d get a kick out of some of the items in the ever-growing collection.  We’re selling even more now because we’re added more depth.

If you’ve moved to the lake, you might choose one of the waterfront images:

If you’ve relocated to wooded acreage, perhaps this selection would be suitable:

Or this one:

If you’re contemplating a more mobile lifestyle:

If you’re happy in your new, gated community, or perhaps you’ve decided upon more sustainable living:

You just never know what someone is going to buy.

Posted in What We Know | 3 Comments

New and Improved Spam

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Betsy Wuebker

Any blogger who uses the Akismet spam plug-in, which auto-magically dumps spammer comments out of your regular comment stream, knows that one of the fun things you can do upon return from an extended absence is to take a look at what got relegated to the pre-trash bin.

We looked at some of the more poetic spam moments a year ago in this post, but upon latest bulk perusal, I noticed a shift.  Spammers appear to be taking it up a notch. Our friend Barbara Swafford – Blogging Without A Blog, a great resource for new bloggers  as well as those who’ve been at it a while, noticed this recently, too.

Sharing with you some of the more insightful and interesting comments on their way down the permanent memory hole, along with my bracketed response:

———————————————-

I had got a desire to make my own firm, but I did not have got enough of cash to do it. Thank heaven my close dude proposed to use the loans. Therefore I used the financial loan and realized my desire.

[This is a new appropriation of "the" with respect to the phenomenon of adding it to infer some increased emphasis and somewhat scary importance.  "The" Internets, "The" Menopause, "The" (dreaded, sinking feeling that I may not qualify after all) Loans, "The" Student Loan, and ::insert really scary music:: "The" *financial* loan, the scariest loan of all.  And what about "close dude" as a career move?]

———————————————-

Hello,http://www.——.info – May i sex dating with you?

[This is really just direct marketing, using a variation of the old f2f joke where a guy would start at one end of the bar and ask the same question of each woman, invariably get his face slapped, and continue.  When asked why he continued the process with such dismal results, he was confident that eventually someone would take him up on the offer.]

————————————

I’ve got to hand it to you

[Hand what to me?  Again, I'm kinda scared.]

————————————

at 11:03 am on one post:

I just discovered your website on yahoo and see that you’ve got some wonderful thoughts in this post. I specifically appreciate the way you’ve been able to stick so really much believed into a fairly short submit (comparitively) which creates it an thoughtful post on your subject. IMHO you set a lot of good information in this upload not having all of the filler that most bloggers use just to make their posts look longer, that is perfect for a gal like me who doesn’t have a great deal time trigger I’m generally within the go. I often get so frustrated with so many with the final outcomes in the major SE’s due to the fact they often appear to mostly be filled with filler content that frequently isn’t quite sensible. If you don’t mind I am going to add this post and your weblog to my delicious favorites so I can write about it with my family. I look forward to coming back to study your long term posts too.

at 11:13 am on another:

Nice to be visiting your weblog again, it may be months for me. Nicely this post that i’ve been waited for so long. I need this post to total my assignment in the college, and it has same topic with your article. Many thanks, excellent write about.

[Time flies and all.]

————————————-

After studying the enthusiasm of Mallory, whose pre-eminent words in capacity to a lady of the press asking why he wanted to climb Everest

vibram five fingers flow.

[Exalting prose, evocative of "from whom all blessings" and whatnot.]

———————–

You know an odd feeling? Sitting on the toilet eating a chocolate candy bar.

[Odd?  What's odd about that?]

————————————-

from a site devoted to colon cleansing:

I bet you wish george bush was still president now

[well, yes, as a matter of fact I do, for reasons that might bear some affinity]

———————————

a comment from our post recommending John Hoff’s WordPress Defender

This really is my nevertheless my very first love, and I have not met a girl like her since (or had any relationships at all), even when I’ve not been so fond of her. We’re both strong characters, and we both just click together completely. I know I might not be the best judge right now, but I do nevertheless believe she may be the 1 for me. She hasn’t experienced any boyfriends since me, and I believe that’s significant, as we’ve in no way fallen out or gotten upset with each other.

[Romantic and chivalrous, sigh-worthy.]

——————-

Merited to the economic lay of the land encompassing the cosmos sundry people have master condensed times. They are either living paycheck to paycheck or are currently behind on bills and scarcity a fast course to assail c promote cash. There are monotonous people that secure been recently laid mistaken from their jobs without a system “B” to fall ago on. According to CNNMoney.com “The percentage of those claiming that jobs are currently petrified to become infected with reached stylish principal of 49.6%, while the bevy of consumers claiming that jobs are “productive” thwack a revitalized low at 3.4%.” And according to the expectation guide of whether the circumstances compel get excel declined from 73.7 to 65.7 matrix month. And those in the club the job demand to climb up better went from 18% to 16.3%. The economists suggest that Christmas spending will be down and that consumers wishes not regain spending confidence until time spring of next year.

What does that surely to us? It means that things disposition simply be bruited about worst and multitudinous people are comparing this to the extensive dejection when people were borrowing folding money from the banks to invest in the inventory market. When the variety deal in crashed they were not qualified to pay back the banks the bread, which had a spill down effect. Today since so diverse mortgages are prevailing vile the banks accept tightened their lending which is slowing down the economy. How has the frugality attacked you? Be sound!

[This is post-worthy economic advice.  Perhaps we will discuss this further.  Seriously.]

—————————-

and finally, just this morning:

Not spending superfluous words.

[Well, alrighty then!]

———————

Spammers appear to be getting more creative, more polite, and a little better at possibly disguising their evil intent. Or is this latest permutation really less evil? Are they still  just trying to make a buck or hack into our computers or infect us with a virus? Or is the prospect of clicking any spam fraught with infinite danger?

Is spam still scary?

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Looking Into Forever

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Betsy Wuebker

Part 1, A Pre-Eminent Sign – The Eagle

We’re back from our days hanging around the Minnesota North Shore and inland among forests and Boundary Waters.  And although it doesn’t seem like we’ve been gone that long at all, things are very different.

You’ll remember we packed up and left for reasons of mental respite.  We intended to take stock and envision how the next was going to take shape. And in and amongst the fun of exploring, enjoying traditional events in the Grands (Marais and Portage, along the shores of Lake Superior), and on the Trails and trails, we managed just that.  I’m going to tell the stories about how everything all happened, but not all at once, because there is still very much to think about and sort out.

When we get up in those parts it’s a must to wander way back off the grid via primitive access just to see what we might encounter.  Both of us had felt heavy with emotions and burdens of the psyche when we set out on this trip, but as the days passed the rawness began to wane.

A favorite spot of ours is a Forest Service helipad overlook high up over the Pigeon River, which forms the Minnesota Canadian border.  This is one of several staging areas in Cook County for firefighters and their equipment to be flown and dropped in when the wilderness sets ablaze.  The helipad excursion was something we could fit in before we headed up to the Grand Portage Rendezvous during the final weekend of our stay. Pete wanted to get a better shot of the view than he had last time and I was happy to go along to see as far as I could see.

Otter Lake Forestry Road rambles off the Arrowhead Trail past its namesake in an easterly direction toward the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, skirting Superior National Forest and Swamp River Wildlife Management Area.  There’s a turn to the left after about 10 miles of this rambling, where you head north to the border and the helipad site.  Fortunately, this turn-off is easily found.  Continue too far east toward the Grand Portage Reservation line and you are admonished by posted threats; it’s a Federal offense to trespass on Indian lands without a permit.

It was a blustery morning, and the hot summer temperatures had blissfully cooled.  The shadows of cloud formations raced ahead of us, dappling and bathing the world in light and shadow.  New growth in these forests, appearing after events triggered by man and nature alike in the form of cutting and fire, tends to be dense.  It can feel like a close embrace on either side of the Jeep.

There is the unmistakable tinkling music of branches, twigs and leaves brushing against your vehicle as you pass through.  To me, this sound is as peaceful as a windchime or a carillon in the distance.  I like to venture through these enclosed places with the window down and my arm resting lightly on its frame.

Somewhere before the turn northward we were traveling through such a place, filled with the brightness of the sun against the silver undersides of the leaves as they turned in the wind.  We were coming upon a break in the young, dense woods: a clearing on either side.  We slowed in anticipation, for in these types of places it’s easy to glimpse a critter or two.

Just as the Jeep’s hood crossed the line of the clearing, flying past in a slow-mo dream-like happenstance, an enormous bald eagle crossed our path. Within ten feet in front of us, and no higher than six feet off the ground – much closer than the video I found online to try and show you here.  So close, we could hear the languid whooshing sound of his magnificent wingspan as it displaced the air. So close as to notice his puffy white-feathered legs with strong yellow talons that could have scratched the front grill or put out a headlight.  So close as to arrest our breathing and beating hearts.  The curve of his beak and a glimpse of a fierce eye.  No more than three whooshes from right to left across our field of vision, and he was gone.

“Whoaaa,” said Pete.

Did that really just happen? We were frozen, motionless, pondering.  Slowly we drove into the clearing, and looked in vain to see where the eagle had disappeared.

Now, we’ve both been fortunate to have seen bald eagles many times in the wild, soaring about over open land – even in the Twin Cities metro area, migrating down the Mississippi Flyway along Hawk Ridge in Duluth, nesting close to the Wuebker cabin on Woman Lake, and even on a caretaker’s leather-wrapped arm at the National Eagle Center.  But never like this.  This was such a magnificent experience that we took it for a sign. Of what, we had no idea.

It was glorious to gaze from the helipad, looking northward into Canada, watching cloud patterns shift and fade as they raced across miles of forests.  This is the view I could imagine the eagle sees: a world filled with possibility, updrafts and downdrafts, alternating shadow and light, a world in which to survey, target, feast, perch and soar.  My husband made the shot he had been waiting over a year to get and it was time to head on.

Our dear friend Hinda (who writes the Living Your Intention newsletter, which I heartily recommend), is a person who recognizes meaning in many things.  When I told her the story of the eagle, and other signs we encountered, she said, “I will send you what I know about what it all means.”  Hinda wrote to me quickly: “The Eagle: symbol of spiritual power and illumination; their energy is healing and aids in creation.”

The Ancients believed there is meaning to be derived when we encounter members of the animal kingdom, and the eagle symbolically appears across many beliefs and philosophies:  The Eagle represents spiritual protection, carries prayers, and brings strength, courage, wisdom, illumination of spirit, healing, creation, and a knowledge of magic. The eagle has an ability to see hidden spiritual truths, rising above the material to see the spiritual. The eagle has an ability to see the overall pattern, and the connection to spirit guides and teachers. The eagle represents great power and balance, dignity with grace, a connection with higher truths, intuition and a creative spirit grace achieved through knowledge and hard work. – Eagle Spirit Ministry

We had come north seeking guidance and answers as we connected with nature, intending to look into our forever.  It seems that this was acknowledged and affirmed.

Posted in Travel, What We Know | 21 Comments

Knowing What We Know Now

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Betsy Wuebker

Turnagain Arm, AlaskaMany of you know that we’ve experienced a death in the family. Over the 4th of July holiday, Pete’s mom was taken ill, hospitalized and quickly transitioned from curative care into hospice once a clear diagnosis was made.  She passed on July 8th.  Although she had been battling this latest occurrence of her cancer for well over a year, these events still came as an unexpected shock.  We want to thank all of you who have been so supportive and concerned. It means a very great deal to know how much you care.

Navigating the most highly-charged experiences we face in life can lead to a greater degree of clarity. Now that we’ve dealt with the most pressing details and logistics, we are at the beginning of such a transition.  All things are in heightened focus as we see them from a different perspective.  We’re looking at everything with new eyes. This is a bittersweet blessing, coming as it does from loss.

We had planned to celebrate Passing Thru’s two year anniversary this month by inaugurating an e-newsletter.  There are many topics in our posting folder that never make it to the blog, so we think enhancing our journey together in this format makes sense.  Our first issue is nearly complete, and we’d love it if you’d join us by subscribing. If you’re reading via RSS, you may have to click into the post to do so.

While losing someone so close is still very raw, we’re looking ahead. Part of our processing is going to be re-prioritizing, as we identify the lessons and seek meaning from the experience.  We’ve already made some general decisions and are accelerating certain plans.  We’re going to narrow our choices to those that resonate most deeply, and do our best to reduce our “somedays” into “soon” and “now.”  Life is most definitely too short to do otherwise.

So, we’ll be taking a temporary break from blogging as we heal and redefine what means the most to us moving forward.  Knowing what we know now, we’re very conscious of how precious our journey is, and we’ll definitely be back to share how it takes shape with you.

One of the things Pete’s mother will be remembered for is her incomparable talent for gourmet cooking.  Not surprisingly, her most favorite movie was Babette’s Feast.  Her eulogy was closed with this quote from the screenplay:

You must also know that I shall be with you every day that is granted to me from now on. Every evening I shall sit down to dine with you. Not with my body, which is of no importance, but with my soul. Because this evening I have learned, my dear, that in this beautiful world of ours, all things are possible.

See you soon.

Posted in Family, History, What We Know | 17 Comments