Author: vangelifeblog

On the Bright side of things

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snow covered mountain during sunrise
Photo by Sagui Andrea on Pexels.com

Still the news is filled with people dying or infected by the virus. Seems the focus is always on someone getting infected or someone dying, almost like we’re supposed to believe that if someone is infected, they will die, but that’s not the case, still most people that get Covid end up recovering and most can recover at home.

Yes, this whole covid thing and people dying is very sorrowful, but sometimes good things come out of bad situations. Families that were too busy to spend quality time together finally had the opportunity. Yes, work is very important, but strip a person of everything and all you’re left with is a companion. In times of forced isolation, it becomes evident how valuable it is to have a companion, weather your spouse, sibling, parent, friend or pet, we need people. This has been a time to slow down from the hustle and bustle of life, to sit, relax, enjoy the company of loved ones and ponder life.

Happy Mother’s Day in Spirit

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Happy Mother’s to my Mom who passed away almost 3 years ago. She was not only my Mom, but my best friend. I loved spending time with her, even if she drove me crazy sometimes.

Her laugh, smile and voice was infectious, most especially, some of the phrases that came out of her mouth. Most of the crazy sayings was when she was mad, but my favorite of all was when a lady came to our house selling carpet stain remover. We had a lot of stains on our carpet so the sales lady kept on going from stain to stain showing how powerful the cleaner was. My Mom wanted her to leave, but instead of just telling her, she gave the lady an explanation of why. It was that time of the month for her. She came out from the family room into the living room hunched over while scratching her behind saying, “Please leave, I’m bleeding.” I’ll never forget the look on the sales lady’s face, but that got her out of the house quickly. Till this day, my sister and cousins continue her legacy of funny sayings. It’s no wonder I enjoyed spending time with her.

She passed away suddenly, weeks after finding out she had stage 4 cancer. It was the most heartbreaking experience in my life. I pleaded with God to spare her, but after wailing and screaming in tears, I came to the end of the road where I had only one healthy choice to make to get through it and that was to fully trust God. Knowing that my Mom loved the Lord and knew Him, my heart can rest in assurance that one day, when I leave my fleshly body and meet Jesus, I will once again see her.

I love you and miss you Mom & I know that you will receive this message from my heart. Until we meet again.

Isolation and Fear or Face Death

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We’ve been sheltering-in-place around the globe and it’s been intended to prevent the spread to those most vulnerable, but even those that may not seem vulnerable have died. I value the precautions and attempt to control the spread, but how long can we hide from a virus that can potentially kill us?

There are people that want to prevent the world from opening because of fear that it will spread further, but not all of us want to live in fear. Some, even much older, maybe in their 70’s are going out to parks and walking around. People should have a choice. Open up society, all the business, offices and parks, etc. and let those that are too afraid to go out, stay at home. For precautions, wear a mask in public places, but live life outside the house.

People need people and I can’t imagine those that live alone. How hard it must be. We need community, a virtual meeting is not enough than being around others. Isolation leads to loneliness and sometime can lead to suicide. Yes, isolation slows down the spread, but we can’t live in fear forever. There may be a second wave so eventually, we will need to face potential death.

Two big questions:

  1. Are you healthy enough to fight covid-19?
  2. Are you ready to die?

Fearing the News

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Since mid-March I started having to work from home. It was a relief not to be in the office and potentially get it. It was an even greater thing to not have to commute.

Before the shelter-in-place happened, I remember seeing news headlines being overtaken by the Corona Virus. From maybe 10% of the subject matter in most news media to about 99%. In the beginning of the shelter-in-place I tried to keep up with the news. I noticed that some news stations like MSNBC would focus on how horrible the virus is, all the people dying, the chaos in hospitals and how easy it is to get it. After a while, I just stopped watching the news, most especially MSNBC or abc. It’s almost as if scaring the hell out of people is their main objective.

Fleet Week

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Fleet Week in San Francisco
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
U.S. Navy Blue Angels
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying over the SF Bay
Fleet Week San Francisco

San Francisco, California

It was a tradition in my family to go to fleet week and watch the Blue Angels from the U.S. Navy. My Dad was in the Navy so he has tremendous support for them. He spent much time on a aircraft carrier ship. Although at times we couldn’t see the planes, the sound of them breaking the air was enough to get us excited. Somehow my sister and I came up with a tradition of doing things or going to places that bring back memories so birthdays started to be times of reminiscing.

We went to San Francisco to see Fleet Week. This brought us back to the time when we were little kids sitting and watching with our parents and brother. This time, we decided to watch Fleet Week in the middle of the bay on the San Francisco Belle. A few times the planes flew right over us. We couldn’t leave San Francisco without going to Over the Moon creamery, which has the creamiest ice-cream and for the first time, my sister tried House of Prime Rib, the best prime rib ever and it was worth the almost two hour wait to sit at the bar, at least for my sister. I had a headache from hunger so I didn’t eat much.

Hot Air Balloon Ride over Napa Valley

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Hot Air Balloon Ride in Napa, California
Balloon Ride by Vange over Napa Valley
Balloon Ride over Napa Valley
Balloon Ride over Napa Valley
Hot Air Balloon Ride in Napa, California
Grapevines in Napa Valley

Napa, California

Flying on a hot-air balloon required rescheduling about two times. We meet at around 6:30 in the morning by a coffee shop, then relocate to where the balloons and baskets are located. The crew was already blowing up the balloons with the hot air. We had to climb into the basket. It’s like a giant basket with thick stands weaved together. Tanks are located in the center of the basket to feed the fire for the hot air. People were in different compartments in the basket so no one could easily hop from one side to the next. Each basket fit around 10 people, while other smaller baskets, around 4. I was a bit scared of the thought of being high above the ground on a balloon at first, but once we were up it was smooth sailing.

It was very peaceful and quiet, next to no noise. The only time it was noisy was when they turned on the burners to blow more heat into the balloon. It was seriously floating in the air the entire time until we had to land.

We landed on a field of grass and did not hit the ground hard. We slowed down enough to have a decent landing. Some baskets capsized upon landing, but it wasn’t painful as almost everyone in the basket laughed at the situation. I didn’t want the ride to end. It’s probably the smoothest ride above grade.

Yellowstone

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Wyoming, USA

Yellowstone Wyoming
Geysers at Yellowstone National Park
Geysers at Yellowstone National Park
Geysers at Yellowstone National Park
Geysers at Yellowstone National Park
Grand Tetons in Jackson Hole Wyoming
Wyoming
Geysers at Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is a beautiful place with many wild animals. The last time I was at a picnic in the woods, I saw a huge grizzly bear digging through a garbage dumpster.