Smoke Signals 1986

SMOKE SIGNALS

from

Little Buck

A register containing the names and birth dates of every member of the John F. and Helen H. Baker family, their offspring and spouses, to and including the fifth generation (as of 1986) has been organized and will be maintained by John F. Baker.

During her lifetime, Helen H. Baker made special and extra effort, to the limit of her resources, to remember the birth dates of her family and friends with gifts of Love.

It is the desire and intention of John F. Baker to continue this family tradition by mailing checks to each family member and their spouses on their birth dates.

~B~ John F. Baker

Smoke Signals 1985

SMOKE SIGNALS

from

Little Buck's Teepee

Eating ShooFly pie, 1981

'Tis Christmas time, and the Forest Folk
Are expecting Santa to fill their poke
With fruits and nuts and mistletoe,
And seeds and plants and things that grow.

Our Forest Friends don't like toys
That flip or flop and make a noise.
Their great joy is things to eat,
Like grass that grows on hillside steep.

Deer like acorns and apples, too.
Squirrels like nuts, and hide a few.
Rabbits like grass and plants that thrive.
Birds like seeds and worms alive.

Nature's abundance is always ample.
For Forest Friends to use and sample.
So, all of us have a reason.
To wish all of you a Happy Season.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the Tribes.

I love you all

Little Buck ~B~ (his mark)
J. F. Baker 1985

n.b. This was Dad's Christmas Greeting which was embellished with Dorothy's art work.

Smoke Signals 1984

SMOKE SIGNALS

From Mountain Ranch

December 1984 Christmas Greetings

Chief Little Buck is now sleeping in a brand new TEEPEE;

at the end of a road;
 among pines, cedars, and oaks;
 under lots of stars (no smog);
 where many deer browse near-by.

Chief Little Buck is so happy here -
 Chief Little Buck feels like a kid that was
 kicked out of school and don't have to go back!

Lots of rain falls here;
 green grass grows fast;
 rainbows are visible from hill-top to hill-top.

Chief Little Buck goes foot-slogging into the woods
 everyday, counting trees;
 exploring old mule-pack train trails.

Chief Little Buck is very happy!

Little Buck sez:
 MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR
  with LOVE to ALL!

n.b. This was Dad's Christmas Greetings which Dorothy helped by drawing a picture of the things about which he wrote.

Christmas 1977

Santa, 1965

This form has been prepared for use by:

1. Persons who cannot write Christmas messages.
2. Persons who will not write Christmas messages.
3. Persons who have difficulties when writing Christmas messages.
4. Persons who are too lazy to write Christmas messages.

Directions for use:
Place a check-mark in the appropriate box and mail as designated (don't forget the 13c stamp).

◻ To all children and their spouses:

"A most glorious and Merry Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year!"

Dad Baker

* * *

◻ To all grandchildren and their spouses, and to all the beautiful great-grandchildren:

"May Christmas be a happy family time and may the New Year bring you much joy!"

And to the little ones: "May your Christmas stockings be overflowing with goodies!"

Grandpa Baker

* * *

◻ To all Mountain Men and their Squaws and to the peaceful tribes everywhere:

"May the Great Spirit bless and keep you. May your trails be easy and your campfires bright. May the streams be full with plenty of fish and the ski runs with plenty of snow. May the coming season bring much plew to all!"

Chief Little Buck

* * *

◻ To all relatives, near and far, kissin' cousins and old school chums:

"A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!"

Floyd Baker

* * *

◻ To all friends, neighbors, bankers, politicians, Escrow Indians, union leaders, fire fighters, pari-mutuel cashiers, and business associates:

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

J. F. Baker

* * *

◻ To I.R.S., S.S.A., D.M.V. Registrar of Voters and all other Legal Beagles:

"A carefree Christmas Holiday and a trouble-free New Year!"

John F. Baker

* * *

PUBLISHED BY THE MM PUBLISHING Co. All rights (and lefts) reserved.

Santa, 1965

Santa & Mrs Claus, 1965

Recipe for Living

1. Your Freedom of Choice is a God-given gift, cherish and protect it.

2. You were born with Freedom of Choice as a part of your being, without it, you would be a robot.

3. Freedom of Choice is the most valuable of all your possessions. No one can take it from you. Use it.

4. The more you use your Freedom of Choice, the greater the opportunity you will have for its use.

5. Freedom of Choice is the only thing you can take with you when you leave this plane of existence.

6. By controlling and directing your thinking, you create your life; you are free to think as you please.

7. Therefore: choose well: the good, the true, and the beautiful, with Love. Believe that you will receive NOW, and you will have a happier, healthier, and more prosperous life.

Serves: All who digest this recipe.

J. F. Baker (1985)

MM

Chief Little Buck, 1981

Sunday 22, No Rain Moon

To: White Squaw with machine which paints turkey tracks on leaves of bark.

From: Me, Chief of Tribe, with plenty plew but no wampum.

Roll of bark come teepee Chief Little Buck. White Squaw make marks on piece of bark. Trading time comes, tribe has heap much wampum in hollow tree, Chief Little Buck trade wampum for White Squaw's piece of bark. Turkey track painting machine gets owl feather.

I have spoken,
Chief Little Buck ~B~

(1961)
_____
Translation provided by Chief White Water (Phill):

The White Squaw = Virginia
Machine which paints, etc. = typewriter
Wampum = money
No Rain Moon = some month which hasn't delivered rain
Plew = Something of value he uses to trade
Roll of Bark = paper
Hollow tree = bank
Owl feather = a reward of some kind

Evidently, Grandpa gave her a piece that he had written and she typed it so
that he could submit it and receive money for it. Probably something like a
submission to Reader's Digest. If he got paid, then he would deposit the
money in the bank and reimburse my mother for some expenses.

I Have A Friend

In the High Sierras, 1980

I have a friend. It's nice to have a friend. I hike the trails and roads through the forest every day. Since the weather turned warm, I like to sit on a stump and rest; listen to the birds sing, watch the flowers grow, and enjoy the silence of the forest.

One such stump is located near the Calaveras Ranch gate. The first few days I sat there, I noticed a large black bird flying back and forth, back and forth, watching what I was doing. This bird has a name that sounds like "Pixselated" woodpecker. As I can't say his real name, I call him "Pixselated".

Then I first saw the stump, it was covered by the usual forest debris of pine needles, oak leaves, etc. I brushed away some of it before sitting down. After a few days, I noticed the stump had been completely cleaned. Did the bird do it with his wings, or did a squirrel do it bit by bit? I don't know, but I do know I have a friend—a friend who wishes me to be comfortable on the stump.

Then a few days later, I found another sign that I have a friend among the little folks of the forest. Right smack dab in the middle of the stump was an acorn. A ripe acorn, one that had either been buried in the ground last fall before the first snow fell, or had been hid in a hollow tree all winter. There are no acorns on the ground this time of year, so it is quite obvious that my very good friend not only wishes me to be comfortable, but desires to share his food supply with me. Which is it? The bird, or the squirrel, or both?

Because I wanted to say "thank you," I placed a small white stone where my friend had placed the acorn. Tomorrow, I will return to see what happened to the stone. I have a very good friend.

Grandpa Baker

July 1985

p.s. the stone is still there

p.p.s. much later - the stone is gone

1985

Frank Kraft, Dorothy, cousin Hazel Kraft,
John Baker (Dad), Virginia at Mountain Ranch 1985

The fire bells rang,
Clangity-clang,
Sixty seven years ago.

Roses are red
And so were you,
Sixty seven years ago.

Sugar and spice
And everything nice,
Sixty seven years ago.

A bundle of Love,
Just like a bud,
Sixty seven years ago.

Now it's later,
Just a little later,
A joyous time of year.

It's Birthday Time,
A Happy Time,
For Rose Bud, so Dear.

Happy Birthday, Dorothy!

I Love you!

Dad

November 10, 1985

The Fireman's Report

As I was going down the street,
Who do you suppose I chanced to meet?
A man whose coattails were on fire,
The smoke was rising higher and higher.

As I drove up in my fire bus,
Says he to me, "What's all this fuss?"
Says I to him, "Your coat's a smoking."
Says he to me, "You must be joking."

Just then the fire got very hot,
And he began to feel the spot.
And he turns to me and raves and rants,
"Fireman, fireman, save my pants."

Now a fireman's duty, so I've been told,
Is to fight a fire, so brave and bold.
So I got out the fire hose,
And knocked that fire right on the nose.

The fire's out.
Investigatin',
Reveals the fact
He's Johnny Aiken.

Now Johnny smokes good old Bull,
And needless to say, his pipe was full.
And when he met Miss June Hocket,
He slipped his pipe within his pocket.

With dire results.
I must confess,
I saved his pants,
But lost his vest.

J. F. Baker - 1925

n.b. This is a copy of an actual report filed in the Los Angeles County Fire Department of an incident as described.

The Birds of Thought

The birds of thought
Rest and nest
In the tree of Spiritual Knowledge,
From whence they fly to other trees
Which have protective foliage.

To receive good thoughts
One must provide
A tree of strength and brightness,
Of faith, of hope, of trust,
And with abundant leaves of loving kindness

* * *

A tree with the lakes, streams and mountains
where it grows is a symbol of the Loving Kindness
of the Great Spirit. It provides food, fuel,
shelter, strength and beauty for all.

Paleface better stop destroying it or Paleface
will lose all contact with the Great Spirit.
_________

Little Buck

Member of the congregation

of the Great Outdoors

(1972)

War and Peace

At Lake Tahoe, 1985

In considering this subject, we must first realize who and what we are.

We must believe and be fully conscious of the fact that we are children of our heavenly Father; that the Spirit of God dwells within us and is as close as our next thought; and that the only way in which the Spirit of God may be manifest in the physical realm is through the thinking and action of His children. Thus, man may think into the Universal Mind of God anything he wishes, so long as it does not harm another or violate any commandments of our Father and it will be made manifest in the physical realm.

If war and peace are considered as two separate entities it is clearly evident that the thinker has placed a boundary line between these entities in his thinking. As one writer expressed it, "a boundary line soon becomes a battle-line." Thus the thinker takes sides and is fighting or resisting one side or the other. This is not the way of LOVE.

God is Love. God is Peace. God does not know anything about war. The idea of war exists as an erroneous thought of man. (As in the case of the prodigal son making a trip into a far country.) War could be made manifest in the physical realm as a result of group or mass thinking into Universal or Infinite Mind. Man does suffer the consequences of his own thinking. If man thinks thoughts of war, he suffers as a result.

On the other hand, many people have lived through two or more incidents of war, or similar disturbances, in a lifetime without suffering anything but a little inconvenience, because of their concerted efforts to think nothing but thoughts of Love, Peace and Happiness for all men.

If then, God and man are considered as one in the Spiritual Realm, war and peace must be considered as one in the physical realm, or as opposite ends of the same thing.

How, then, can we avert war and establish peace? We cannot because to do so, we are trying to separate the two poles of the one which destroys both.

Praying for "peace" is a waste of time and effort. It is like asking God to be God. God is peace—love, abundance, health, and all good things. As a child of God, we are immersed in a sea of all good. We need only to reach out (mentally) and take that which is ours. Simple? Yes. Easy? Not for those who have habits of "wrong" [negative] thinking.

What then? "Change your thinking and you change your life" and help change the world.

Jesus, the greatest teacher of all times, gave us a clear command: "Resist not evil." He also gave us the parable of tares and wheat, which clearly outlines the treatment of any "opposite pairs," e.g., opposite poles of the one. Applying these precepts to all of our thinking is an important step in the right direction. Avoid taking sides, even by taking an aggressive attitude for peace, or demonstrate
a fear that war will overtake us. By thinking about the "whole" including both sides of the opposite pairs, calmly, quietly; and by entering into the silence within and talking with (not to) the Spirit within, we receive intuitive ideas, intelligent instructions, correct answers, and perfect solutions to all problems, challenges, and situations encountered on the physical realm, including "war" and "peace."

Trust is the key here. By implicit faith and trust in the Spirit within (God), we find that the correct thinking pattern easier to attain and clear ideas, solutions and answered are received.

Avoid outlining or thinking the way you want it to work. Let God do it. "Let go and let God." Be not concerned about the "what," the "where," or the "when." Be expectant as a child of the Holy Spirit. Instruction and guidance is your heritage. Claim it. Receive it. Accept it.

Be grateful. Thank your Father for all you have and are about to receive. When you reach the point in thinking where you have a calm, clear sense of ease, of assurance and completion, then, you can forget about "war" and "peace" or any other "opposite pairs." Then, celebrate—"make a joyful noise unto the Lord."

John F Baker - 1985