Strategy

May 8

I am thankful for strategy. Strategy allows us to develop a plan of action, provided a fixed set of circumstances, which will work to achieve a goal. Wikipedia defines strategy as "a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty." Strategies differentiate us from the "willy-nilly" approach, which is to just impulsively react impulsively or haphazardly to stimuli.

Today's photo is of a glass chess set that I have at my house. I think it is beautiful. I am not much of a game player, probably because I am not very good at them, but I do like strategic games like chess and backgammon. I am not great at chess but I admire people who are. Remember the American chess genious Bobby Fisher who took the world by storm by defeating the Russian chess wizard Boris Spassky for the World Championship in Chess in 1972? Chess is the perfect strategy game - you are given a goal: to essentially capture (Checkmate) the opposing players King; you are given the rules and situation: the game is played on a board of 64 squares with 16 pieces to each player and specifically defined moves allowed each piece. Then it is up to the players to strategize their way to victory, loss, or stalemate. In life it is similar: we are given the "playing ground", the rules, and a vast variety of "moves". The main difference is that we decide our own goals. Reaching those goals can be "willy-nilly" stimulus-response or plannned and strategized. In my research I found that Bobby Fisher developed a new game of chess called Chess960. In that game, to eliminate the possibility of memorizing a long string of moves,  the chessboard is randomly set up for each game, with certain guidlines. I have never played the game that way but it is perhaps truer to life, in that everybody inherits different circumstances in their life, or "setups".

I am not too bad at developing a very limited short range chess strategy in my head but often fail to take into account the plans of the opponent which put one of my pieces in jeopardy. Such lack of complete stategy is often harmful to me in the game and generally results in the loss of a valuable piece in the attainment of my strategy. So it is in life: failure to strategize well enough can lead to mistakes, blunders, or failures. But more often than not, we cannot plan for life's obstacles, which generally appear out of the blue. It is our ability to adapt to them and slightly alter our strategy in the moment that sometimes separates success from failure.

pawns

pawns are limited

and can do very little

but they are the advance guard

vulnerable and brittle

with sacrifice

but with advantage of numbers

they storm the opposition

and opponents they encumber

but should one break through

make it to the other side unseen

that one is crowned

and metamorphosed into a queen.

© rt tulley

Levees

May 7

I am thankful for levees. Without levees, it's unimaginable where south Louisiana would be. All you have to do is look at what happened in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina when the levees failed. New Orleans, being basically under sea water level, was devastated. Baton Rouge, although higher, still has had some close calls and major flooding before the levees were built, such as that described in Randy Newman's song Louisiana 1927 ("louisiana, louisiana; they're tryin' to wash us away, they're tryin' to wash us away").

The photo is of the Baton Rouge Mississippi River waterfront, with the USS Kidd in the foreground and the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge in the background. The steps were built onto the levee so that people could sit and watch the 4th of July fireworks which annually take place over the river. Each spring, we watch with bated breath as the river rises when waters from up north pour towards the Gulf of Mexico. It is fairly high this year but it has been much, much higher in the past. A few years back there were some leaks in the levee not far from here which had to be sandbagged. But all turned out well in the end. Thank goodness for levees and the spillway system which takes much of the pressure off our levees.

levee

i’ve built a levee sanctum

around my very inner soul

to keep the rushing waters

from taking their impending toll

built of layers of soil and rock

built very high and strong

it will keep the onslaught at bay

it will keep me safe for long

rushing waters don’t breach my failsafe

don’t push over and pass on by me

so take your muddy waters over

and go straight down to the sea

should it break down my guards

and happen to spring a leak

i’ll fill my sandbags to plug the holes

so as not to show me tired and weak

rushing waters may claim me still

that i would no more to hide

and keep all others away

with the waning of the tide.

© rt tulley

Avery Island

May 6

I am thankful for Avery Island. Located near New Iberia, Louisiana, it is the home of the Tobasco Hot Sauce, which was invented by Edmund McIlhenny in the 1860s. It has grown in popularity over the years, is the world's best selling hot sauce, and may be Louisiana's most famous product. The sauce, obtained from the Capsicum frutescens pepper is aged up to three years in oak barrels. Avery Island istself is a large salt dome, so salt is another one of its products. Just 3 miles from Vermillion Bay, the island is surrounded by Bayou Petit Anse (Little Cove) to the west, a salt marsh, and swampland. It's Jungle Gardens is a beautiful garden and bird sanctuary. It was established by Edmund McIlhenny's son E.A. (Ned) in 1935. Along with the factory there is a visitor's center, a gift shop and the gardens.

The photo is of one of the area's in Avery Island's Jungle Gardens. The prominant feature of this area is the 900 year old Buddha housed in the pavilion in the background and the arched stone bridge spanning the lagoon. It is a beautiful place.

the spice of life

for many

the spice of life

is music, poetry, or prose

for others

the spice of life

is a beautiful flower

such as iris, lily, or rose

for many

the spice of life

is a willing and beautiful escort

for others

it is the opera

the theater, a movie, or sport

for many

the spice of life

is an exotic piece of art

for others

the spice of life

are intense matters of the heart

but for the me of now

the spice of life

no matter where i may go

is a sprinkle of tony chachere’s

and a dash of tabasco.

© rt tulley