Sharing Natural Pest Control idea

After Maci's great Presentation, I wanted to share a man who has many great ideas for natural pest control.

I have not tried all his ideas, but I would like to, as I think we are overly reliant on chemical solutions.

Enjoy!

Mike Lohre

https://youtu.be/BDJG1T0ZbHA

Journal 6 Maci

Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work is a story founded by Dave Isay. It is a compilation of stories from a variety of individuals who present inspirational and unforgettable stories about working at the jobs they love. The stories are divided into five sections: Dreamers, Generations, Healers, Philosophers, and Groundbreakers. Individuals are classified by the meaning derived within the context of work, not by rank or job type. Focusing on specific chapters from the sections Generations and Healers, there are many things that readers are able to compare and contrast. 

            The section Generations in Callings is named because it deals with family members talking to one another about their occupations, the chapter I chose is Firefighter Dekalb Jr. talking with his son Dekalb Walcott Ⅲ (Callings 55). This story talks about a man who came form a poor family who took an opportunity to improve his life for the better. Dekalb Jr. found his passion in becoming a firefighter and in doing so he was able to be a great role model for his son. Dekalb Walcott Ⅲ grew up wanting to become a firefighter just like his dad, “I was a kid who wanted to grow up and be just like his daddy” (Callings 56), and so he did. Dekalb Ⅲ grew up and became a firefighter and worked side by side with his father. Dekalb Jr. paved a rode for his future family to come and showed that you do not have to follow the same path as your ancestors before you. This story shows the true opportunity given and shown throughout the generations of the Walcott family. 

The section Healers in Callings is named because it encases doctors, nurses, teachers, and others dedicated to helping, the chapter I chose is Ironworker Kerry Davis talking with his coworker Ken Hopper (Callings 121). This chapter introduces two men whose job as maintenance workers of the Golden Gate Bridge also includes preventing suicide attempters from jumping. It shows how your job can have many other duties to it besides what its title suggests. These men whose title suggests they only deal with a bridge are able to point out the signs of someone who’s suicidal and try to talk to them and save them are true hero’s, “Some have even called us Guardians of the Gate…” (Callings 124). This blend of engineering and critical emotional support is a riveting combination and their title as healers fits perfectly. 

            These two chapters in comparison deal with people who have complete passion and commitment to their jobs and the impact they have on others. In Dekalb story, if he were have never to stray from the path, he nor his son would have followed their callings in becoming firefighters and loving their jobs. This compares to if Kerry and Ken would have never found their passion in being Ironworkers, they would not be able to leave their impact on suicide attempters. It is important within the two stories to find the job that makes you happy and within it you are able to help others. 

In contrast the two stories are very diverse. Some people like Dalkb Ⅲ discover their path early on and others found theirs later in life like Kerry and Ken helping suicidal people. Kerry and Ken did not become Ironworkers knowing that their job would include helping and seeing people who jump from the bridge. The story about the firefighters shows the impact on generations and the story about the Ironworkers shows the healing of other people just like the sections of the book suggests. Both stories have powerful meaning but deal with separate people who they impact. 

Callings is a verbal recounting of those who have found ways to integrate their work into all aspects of their lives. These stories demonstrate that work is much more than simply making a living. Chasing dreams and finding inspiration can transform a job into a calling and a higher pursuit and personal gratification can be found in any kind of work. Much of the book talks about pride in work and how shifting perspective will help one to realize the meaning of their work and greater purpose. No matter what the profession, meaning can always be found. Running through Callings are shared threads of honor, integrity, passion, and commitment. These elements bring forth a deeper meaning and a greater satisfaction to every aspect of a person’s life. It is a book of reflection and is dedicated to everyone working to find their passion and to follow their calling. In essence, Callings asks the questions: What is our greater purpose in life? What is our mission here on earth? Why do we work? Where is the meaning in our day to day tasks? This book provides the necessary tools to answer these questions.

Snapshot Four: Travel from Maci

Zoombezi Bays Cyclone water slide

     When I think of a place I traveled to, I think of my first time getting to go to Zoombezi Bay when I was about 9 years old. This place is monumentally important to me because it’s the only memory I have of my entire family (Mom Dad and both sisters) together. We were never very close of a family, and we never went out to a restaurant together let alone traveled anywhere. We were fortunate enough to get tickets to Zoombezi Bay from my moms work, otherwise we would have never went at all. It was a busy day and I remember all of us waiting in line for the Cyclone. It was so hot that day it was almost as if you could catch on fire and the sun was so bright it was blinding but we were all so excited to get on the ride. We could hear the screams of people going down the slide getting louder as we got closer and closer to the top of the ride and the smell of chlorine getting stronger made everyone more anxious. We finally made it to the top and everyone climbed into the raft and I remember everyone smiling and laughing the whole way down. I remember my dad complaining that water went into places he didn’t want it to, and everyone bursted into a laughing frenzy. We all got slushees afterwards and I remember the blueberry slushee being so cold it was like it came from Antarctica and it gave me a brain freeze. The drive home later that evening was peaceful. My sisters, Summer and Mariah, as well as my mother fell asleep and it was just my Dad and I awake the whole way home. I remember the cool sensation of the air conditioner on my sunburnt arms as I listened to my Dad sing quietly to whatever was on the radio. I would do anything to go back to this day full of laughter and having everyone together. We never went anywhere as a family after this. This day gave me what if felt like to actually be a family, even if it was only for a day.

Image of Italy

  I have not traveled enough in my lifetime to develop a full idea of my dream adventure. I guess a place I have always wanted to travel to would have to be Italy. I would love to go their to meet different types of people and to learn about their lifestyles. To figure out how different their lives are from ours. I have always taking a liking to the boot-shaped country, I’m not particularly sure why. When I would see images of Italy I always thought of how much I would love to travel their and walk the streets of Rome. One day i hope I do make it there, and I hope that I meet people and make memories that will last me a lifetime.

Journal 5, Maddy

When I first heard about the virus, I never thought it would be as dangerous and serious as it has been. I just thought it was something more like the flu. The Coronavirus has caused the challenge of staying home more for me. I work in food services and our restaurant is currently shut down until the virus is more contained. A long with being home from work classes are now more challenging for me due to them all being online. With being home and not in the classroom environment I feel as if I have more responsibility and that it is easier to forget about an assignment and class with it all being online and just the struggle with not having a professor to ask face to face questions to. Another big challenge for me right now is just staying inside. I live with my grandparents and they are both very high risk due to medical reasons. We are the type of family who spends time together as a whole, but right now no one is able to come visit my grandparents like they normally would and its really bothering them not being able to see their children and grandchildren. Staying inside so much when you’re used to being able to freely go out whenever and wherever I feel like this is a big challenge for all of us right now. 

Though there are challenges there are also opportunities that can be made from those challenges. With the stay at home order you can focus more on school rather than going out with friends and in some cases trying to balance work and school into a tight schedule. I think that most of us could come out of this with a better work ethic. This time can be used to read more, pick up a new hobby, and even get started on things you’ve been putting off for some time (in my case it would be my spring cleaning). I truly believe that it will get worse before it gets better. And I think that it can get better if we all do our part to make it better. 

The story that Thomas McGarvey shared in Callings showed the theme of adaptation. McGarvey comes from a large family with 12 siblings and both of his parents in life until his fathers passing occurs early on. With the passing of his father each other the children had to go to work and give their mother half of what they earned. McGarvey was 12 when this happened, but it forced him and his siblings to deal with adapting to life without their father and life without their childhood it seems like. As a child it was probably a lot to adapt to, especially for the older siblings stepping up more. His mother had promised their father that they would all get through high school McGarvey did and wanted more, but didn't know what he wanted until a Navy recruiter offered him a dental technician spot. He said he knew right away that he was supposed to go into dentistry. He found everything about it interesting, his intuition led him to the right path. When he had told his mother that he wanted to go to school to be a dentist she was thrown off in what seemed to be a doubtful way because as he said "We had never talked like that in our family. We didn't have those kind of sights." I believe that shows adaptation too because he was adapting to his new life style with people who could see more of him than his family knew he could accomplish.