Hope Happenings

By Bianca Durrant
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent

It's a new year and we are on the rise to longer days. A palpable shift has occurred as the clock ticks its way into the new decade. Hope is ready to greet the newness with trust and a wink, sticking to the cowboy's rule of hoping for the best and expecting, well, expecting that things don't always turn out the way you expect for them to, so we should be prepared for

Discovery Café On Hiatus

In light of Tito's passing, the Discovery Café will go on hiatus until April. But weep not dear readers, there will be a way to avoid making breakfast every day of the week, read on.

Bear Creek Lodge

Starting on Saturday, Jan. 9, Bowman's Bearcreek Lodge will offer breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Their regular dinner hours of 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Thursday through Sunday will continue all winter. Bowman's annual Hawaiian Luau will be on Saturday, Jan. 16, from 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. and will feature authentic food from the islands. The theme of the luau is Earhart's and Coconuts. Run with it. The Bowman's are also thrilled to be hosting musician Esther Golton in concert on Saturday, Jan. 23. Dinner will be served from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. with the show starting at 8:00 p.m. Esther is a fantastic talent living in Talkeetna who is heading to Hope for an intimate show that promises to be wonderful. The concert is free with donations requested for the artist. Cabins will be available for those of you who would like to make a getaway out of it. Feb.13 is the date for Bowman's annual Valentine's Dinner. Diners can expect a four-course meal and tables on this date will be available by reservation only. Call 782-3141 for more information.

It seems appropriate to wrap up this Hope Happenings with something from the writings of Persian poet and philosopher Rumi (see his poem, “I am Part of the Load” at right). May we be brave this year, do good work, and pursue that which makes our hearts sing.

I am part of the load

I am Part of the Load
Not rightly balanced
I drop off in the grass,
like the old Cave-sleepers, to browse
wherever I fall.

For hundreds of thousands of years I have been dust-grains
floating and flying in the will of the air,
often forgetting ever being
in that state, but in sleep
I migrate back. I spring loose
from the four-branched, time -and-space cross,
this waiting room.

I walk into a huge pasture
I nurse the milk of millennia

Everyone does this in different ways.
Knowing that conscious decisions
and personal memory
are much too small a place to live,
every human being streams at night
into the loving nowhere, or during the day,
in some absorbing work.

-Rumi

Email Hope Happenings with your story:
hopehappenings@live.com