Blog archive
April 2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
A Tiny Droplet
By Edward A. RinderlePosted: 11/14/2021
Written by Ed Rinderle, including editorial suggestions by his son, Bert. June 2013
The endless sea ebbs, flows, rolls on and on, from horizon to horizon, from sunrise to sunrise. Sometimes it lies like a vast pane of glass, peaceful and undisturbed. At other times, it twists and writhes, pushing wave after wave upward from deep within. From the crest of each wave, it flings a portion of its watery essence skyward.
A tiny droplet, one of many, soars violently upward. It awakens with a start. The initial shock
soon gives way to a feeling of awe as the little droplet sails on the breeze, climbing ever higher, banking back and forth in a seemingly endless dance.
Soon the little droplet’s joy is tempered with a vague uneasiness. Unaware of what is happening inside, the tiny droplet begins to grow. Gradually it becomes too heavy for the cool, refreshing air to hold it. It begins to fall, slowly and gently, until it nestles onto a little leaf near the top of a tree. Engulfed by a sense of calm and well-being, the little droplet rests.
After a time, the little droplet awakens. It reaches out to taste the world into which it has fallen: the glossy green smoothness of the leaf, other leaves stretching in all directions, majestic trees beyond, the fresh forest smell all around, and overhead the ethereal blue of the sky. The little droplet is overwhelmed, filled to the brim with the goodness pouring in from all sides. It only hopes that somehow it can give in return something of the bounty it is receiving.
Time rolls on. Then one day, the tiny droplet feels itself moving. Fears mount as it slides toward the edge of the leaf. Over the edge it goes, and once again it plunges through the cool air. Fortunately, the fall is brief. The little droplet comes to rest on a larger leaf, and once more it feels that sense of calm and wonder.
The process repeats: sliding toward the edge, a moment of fear, a brief fall, and rest on a new leaf. With each repetition of this cycle, the droplet’s anxiety decreases, and the subsequent rest and sense of well-being intensify.
As the years pass, the cycle seems to slow down, and the little droplet begins to wonder when, or if, it will end. A sense of foreboding creeps in among the leaves of the great tree. Perhaps these leaves, this tree, this forest are not all there is.
Then one day, after another brief plunge through the cool air, the little droplet lands not on a leaf, but on a much harder surface. It begins to slide almost immediately. The fear returns, greater than before, threatening to drown the little droplet. Then a vaguely familiar sound echoes gently through the forest. It is the sound of a distant roar, rising and falling in rhythm. The roar grows, and as it does it seems to call to the tiny droplet: “Come. I bring a more profound rest, a more enduring peace.”
The tiny droplet slides to the very edge of the rocky cliff. It clings indecisively for one last instant to the cliff’s massive security, and then lets go.