Bird Droppings April 29, 2026
It is not always all in a name.

On February 3, 2003, I officially started calling, my daily emailing, and journaling Bird Droppings. I went back into my files and pulled up a few old thoughts and ideas. Along with my new name in 2003, I came across some other bits and pieces as I was reading: the local paper that day had a street poll asking locals about gas prices. I found another email from my mother about starting a gas war. It was a forward from my uncle to my mother. A simple concept: we, as consumers, stop buying gas from the two biggest gas companies and only buy from smaller ones, which will drive prices down. The idea was emailed to at least thirty people, which gets mailed to thirty more, sort of pyramid gas war tactics. I found it interesting that eleven years ago, we were still fussing about gas prices. As I turned the pages of my old Bird Droppings from 2003, one caught my attention. It was a quote from my middle son about my former principal. He had interviewed him for the school newspaper. I ended up emailing my dear friend and former principal last week.

Going back even further, it was roughly 2001 that I started using the name Bird Droppings and put out several issues of newsletters under that name, and sitting here this morning with an old copy in my hand. I thought at the time, back in 2001, Bird Droppings, that is a good title and subject for my daily meanderings. Looking back to that day in 2003, much was occurring around the nation as NASA tried to pick up pieces of a space shuttle and sort out the disaster that happened over East Texas. These explorers chose their profession and knew the risks. One crew member, remembered by a cousin, said she would prefer to die in space doing what she loved. Space was a passion for each member of the crew; it was about searching and inquiry.

I can remember the Challenger accident over twenty-five years ago, before some of you were even born. It was a shock just as this tragedy in 2003 was. But as a brother of a Challenger crew member said the morning after, “their work continues”. Often, events in our lives make no sense at the time they happen and later become clear as we go further in life. There is really no solace to a family when a loved one is lost, even when you know the risks they were involved in. I recall reading over the years such headlines as the services and memorials for the miners who perished in the West Virginia coal mine several years back. It is the thoughts and assurances of friends and family that can make the pain bearable.

Several years ago, my brother died during the night in his sleep. When I received the call at work, I was in shock and hurried to my parents’ home. Within moments, calls, emails, and faxes began arriving from my parents’ friends and family around the world. That support made that moment so much easier to bear. More recently, with the death of my father-in-law and my own father, the support of friends and family eased the pain and passing. I recall that day back in February 2003, when I was running a bit late that morning, listening to the news and watching a nation mourn seven heroes.

Today I found a quote that, for some, may not apply, and for others, who know as I do each day. Many years ago, I read a series of books by a sociocultural anthropologist about his studies of herbal medicine among the Yaqui Indians of Northern Mexico. He eventually found his way to a medicine man who used the Anglo name of Don Juan. After several trips and many years, he had become an apprentice to Don Juan in his efforts to become a Yaqui Medicine man. Carlos Castaneda wrote of the trials and tribulations of his adventure and studies, and his books are used in many classes as case studies. Today, there are many skeptics about the writings and reality of Castaneda’s work. Many claim it was pure fiction, albeit an elaborate fiction.

“We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same.”
Carlos Castaneda

One of the simple truths he found in his studies under Don Juan was how directly we ourselves are in our own situation. That sounds simple, but so often we blame the world around us for our plight. A student of life can only blame themselves for all choices made, as they are ours and no one else can make them. So, in effect, we make ourselves happy or sad, and only we can redirect the pathway. Those heroic astronauts who gave their lives over ten years ago could have chosen another path, a simpler path, and a less risky path, but they wanted and chose the direction that they were on and where they were to be. We can now choose how to continue their journey, ending in a crash or building upon that and going beyond the stars. Remember the families of those brave men and women who have died serving our country and nation and keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts, and always seek peace, and more importantly, always give thanks, Namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,
Mitakuye Oyasin
(We are all related)
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