The Stars At Night...

Hi All !!
It's been over a month since the last post - so I figured it's time to fill you all in on the current state of affairs!!

I made it back out to the great floodlands with no issues...and the weather here is already warm - so things are looking up! I stayed in Pascagoula (actually Gulfport, MS - with Jon, Dory, LJ, and little Devi!) and we went for a really great dinner at the International Palace casino. I then saddled up and drove north!! (north-east, actually!) heading for Jen and John's for Mom's Day and my pending birthday. My Mom and I had actually departed Seattle on the same flight for Atlanta - and we didn't even plan it that way! Spent a really great weekend with Sis, Mom, John, and the incredible Master Luke! No doubt about it - he and I are "PALS!" (Jen wrote a really great blog about being the "little sister" and some of my antics for my birthday. It's a great read and a really great laugh - if you're so inclined! http://letshaveacocktail.blogspot.com/

I returned to Pascagoula on MON 11MAY and found our tues departure had been delayed for mechanical reasons. I also had the opportunity to meet the new Commanding Officer of the ship (the guy who I will be working for) and found him to be quite a breath of fresh NOAA Corps Air - so to speak! Great guy - little bit younger than I am - we share the same kinds of idealistic and systematic approaches to this job...and he is SMART!! I think I am going to be just fine down here in the "Bayou!" I have been enjoying this second go-around on this ship far more than the first due primarily to the departure of the old CO and the arrival of the new CO...really makes a difference - believe it or not!!

We headed out WED 12MAY morn and once we departed the Pascagoula river and it's entrance, the water started cleaning right up! First night on watch - full moon blazing - really stunning!

So, the title of the blog is "The stars at night..." and anyone who knows any kind of americana music knows the next line is "...are big and bright... deep in the heart of Texas." Well, let me tell you something...seeing stars from deep in the heart of Texas might be all well and good...BUT it DOES NOT hold a candle to the stars you'll see from deep in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!!

The first three days were nearly cloudless and we were blanketed by stars each of those nights. I have sailed ships all over the world and did not see this kind of star covering and density until I looked up last WED night - simply AMAZING!! Don't get me wrong - stars viewed from any venue are pretty cool - but this night sky...I thought space was out of "space" for all the stars nestled up in the heavens!!

I had a great time at home seeing everyone and actually making Emma's 11th birthday celebration...she's is growing up fast!! I did, however, fall short on my Coast Guard license exams...missed by two questions...TWO FREEKIN QUESTIONS...TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!! It's OK - I can take it again when I get back - this is a 90% pass exam and it is far more difficult than I expected. I WILL get it next time...FOR SURE!!

So, I was talking with a friend of mine last night who I have known pretty much my whole life now - and some truths were revealed. Both of us threw some cards on the table and the outcome was truly enlightening! She is an AMAZING woman - always has been...but in a really understated kind of way. She said a couple of things that were very profound and very applicable to all of us - and I'd like to share: We don't exist to live in a vaccum - we each have the tools to engage each other in some manner or fashion. To do so is to get involved with someone else's life - or to choose not to engage is also something within your power.

Everyone has a little different picture of success ingrained on their brain - we all know what that looks like: money; position; stuff; friends; family, ect... but the one thing that I have really come to realize it that each of those things require some form of attention...an INVESTMENT! Regardless of the medium - you have to invest something into each of these things in order to gain something from it...right?

It's no secret that I lived my early life a little loose and more than a little intoxicated... but 27JUL will mark 11 years of sobriety...I am not bragging by any means...God sobered me up so I could actually do some work for him. The work in progress is definitely me - and I still have a long way to go, and I do realize that. But God also implants figures and persons in each of our lives for our optimum growth - spiritually, personally, and professionally...and I am walking, talking PROOF of that. The old addage: a reason, a season, or a lifetime...applies readily here!! (google it...great stuff!)

The point of this being: I overlooked a lot of things earlier in my life. Either by immaturity, naievity, indifference, or just not living in the moment. I sailed in the Gulf of Mexico in 1986 and was OBLIVIOUS to the amount and beauty of the stars that were over my head EVERY DAY when I was here on the good ship VIGOROUS early in my Coast Guard career. It was there all along - but I wasn't able to see it. How much of that applies to the rest of my life?? Your life??!! I think it's all in God's good timing to reveal things to each of us...to open our eyes...to see the "Stars at night!!! I sure hope I'm seeing a lot more of thse "Stars" these days!

I have made a sincere and concerted effort to find people in my past that I feel I wronged in some kind of way and tried to make it right...all part of the process, right? With some I have been very successful - others...well, not so much. All of us have the power within us to do something - it may seem minor to us at the time - and we may never see the results of our input - but the impact and long-term effect of that seemingly small act might be something that changes the world!!

My friend is SO RIGHT - we do NOT exist on this planet to live in a vaccum!! You can do it if you so choose...but it seems like it would be far more work than it's worth!!

I have come to realize many things - and honestly far more than I ever thought I was capable of. So as I close the door on 41 and head into my 42nd year of existence on planet earth, I'm going to "borrow" a couple of lines from a song of an artist who I greatly admire...maybe this will help sum it up:

When I step into the light
My arms open widely...
When I step into the light
My eyes searching wildly...
Would you not like to be
Sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free??
Would you not like to be OK??

I can't believe that we would lie in our graves
Wondering if we had spent our living days well.
I can't believe that we would lie in our graves
Wondering what we might have been.....

I don't want to wonder about any of it!! I still want to embrace the world with that childlike amazement that does live in all of us!! I want to go out knowing as much as I can squeeze into my head...knowing that I love my friends and they love me...knowing that I did make the investment into other peoples lives and goals and dreams...I do want to know!!

Praise God for saving me...mostly from myself. And Praise God for friends like Julie (and I have many others who fit this bill as well!!) who are bold enough to throw it out there - you are truly an inspiration!! Julie: Thank you for listening to it all and being my friend through the thick and thin!! You are wise beyond your years!!

Thanks to all who sent me grand birthday wishes - I appreciate you remembering me!!

Much Love to All!! Thanks for indulging me! Start planning your trips down to Mississippi....Can't wait to see you!!

Donn