CONFLICT

198 – Friday, July 17, 2009

We invested our dinner hour discussing what happens when people, specifically family, get caught up in talking or, in our case-in-point, posting on the internet, about other family members in derogatory fashion. Thankfully, we were not talking about our immediate family – but that is not to say it cannot happen. Why do people, who should be mature, engage in such potentially damaging behaviors? Lots of reasons, not the least of which is we all have feelings and when they are abraded we tend to lash out in the fashion of a cornered animal. How do we diffuse such harmful misunderstandings? If left without address, this kind of a wound can rapidly and fester into a gangrenous cancer that can invade a family and even bleed over into other relationships, causing the cord of family unity to unravel and sever. With cool heads prevailing, the more mature of individuals must reach out to the wounded soul and offer honesty mingled with compassion and rationale. There are never guarantees that if one does the right thing and makes the proper approach that the results will always come out the way one has hoped, however, the likelihood is that all will turn out much better than the result of doing nothing, thus allowing the confusion, anger and bitterness to propagate themselves. The goal of personally involving ones self into such a scenario must be to restore harmony within the family. You may be called names for mixing in the process, but the risk is worth the reward, besides, there are certain advantages of being called names - The Bible says it this way, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” Matthew 5:9

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A CROC

197 – Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Washington Post reported today that the manufacturer of the popular footwear called ‘Crocs’ is in the same boat as many other businesses in our present economy. Having invested heavily two years ago in order to keep up with the burgeoning popularity and demand, the company pumped nearly $200 million to scale up production and distribution of the resin polymer clog/sandal/shoe that really put the ‘ugh’ in ugly - but everybody owns at least one pair, don’t they? My darling has three or four to coordinate with her chic outdoor wear whether for swimming or for pulling weeds, whatever ‘fashion’ calls for: red or blue, black or, her favorite, pink! Worn by presidents (Bush was known to wear them – the president of Crocs wore them with his tuxedo) and rock stars (Steven Tyler of Aerosmith), grandmothers and gurus, they are perfect for wet areas, especially like around our pool and Enchanted Garden as Cynthia likes to refer to it. Too bad that the company made $165 million a year ago but lost $186 million this year and are now unlikely to survive like so many others. Incredible success is no guarantee of sustainable success, especially now! Given the durability of the subject of this blog, it is unfortunate that the light-weight, open lattice-like colorful slip-ons are likely to outlast the corporate structure that created them.

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ENDEAVOR

196 – Wednesday, July 15, 2009

It was a picture-perfect lift-off and launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor. On the eve of the fortieth anniversary of the nation’s first lunar mission, I marveled at today’s television coverage and the quality of images broadcast over the airwaves – the clarity was undistorted and pristine for well over ten miles into the atmosphere as the cottony exhaust plume puffed out like a scared cat’s tail and twisted its incomparable signature arch across the wispy-clouded azure skies which, coupled with a couple of hydrogen leaks, had delayed the launch six times previously – only one delay short of a new record. At moments after six o’clock pm, Cynthia bolted through the front door and cast her gaze toward the eastern horizon with the anticipation of visually capturing its view as is possible on the clearest of days, but with no good fortune – her disappointment was evident when she returned, for the actual sight leaves an indelible memory. As Commander Mark Polansky and his crew prepare for their 16-day well-scripted voyage, my memory flashes back to the former years when every launch was a total unknown – we were ‘flying blind’ into the far reaches of ‘outer space’ ala Buck Rodgers. Those years saw Sci-fi films prolifically produce themselves in Hollywood studios decades before the wizardry of special effects and computer generated graphic images would add such reality to the latest genre making today’s productions virtually impossible to separate from actual video footage; yet, we were gobbling them all up with the voracity of a hungry hound dog. Still, forty years later, every launch is a compilation of gargantuan human effort and technological prowess of staggering proportion. Are you impressed? While it is every inch amazing, it does not even compare to the comprehension of the brain or its Creator, without whom, no space exploration or conquest would have ever moved from concept to completion. The ingenuity of man cannot be compared to the omniscience of the Father! Praise Him!

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FRIENDSHIP

195 – Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Friendship – how does it happen? We meet tens of people nearly every day. Why is it that some remain strangers, some become acquaintances and others become friends? The answer is ‘choices’ – we receive an invitation to get together for dinner – we can say ‘yes’ or we can say ‘no’ – unless we accept the request we miss an opportunity. “Do you want to come for a family celebration?” ‘Yes’, we spend time together – ‘no’ we hold the relationship potential at bay. The more times we accept time together, the closer we can become because we begin to feel more comfortable with our newly formed connection. Connection turns into openness – openness begets trust and confidence and, before you have time to assess what has really happened, you begin to receive a return on your investment and reciprocity nurtures the enjoyment of time spent together – then more intimate settings – regular appointments that you miss terribly when life events interfere – cards on Saturdays, for example. We picked up our great friends at the airport today – they were returning from visiting their son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and the newest addition to their clan, a granddaughter, their first. We rejoiced that they were able to make the trip to Colorado – we rejoiced even more today when we picked them up. We functioned well while they were gone – we will do much better now that they are back within visitation range and we can resume our relationship building. In many ways, the scenario is similar to a marriage – every day you are presented occasion to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ at opening yourself up to becoming better companions and closer friends – the rewards come when you invest your own life into the life of another – the true fulfillment of how we are created – to have deep fellowship. Call a friend today and make them an offer – an opportunity to broaden an already good friendship. Call an acquaintance today and make them the same offer – you will be the one who gets the most out of it!!

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A HERO

194 – Monday, July 13, 2009

I have been a racing enthusiast since, as a boy, I heard the rev of engines sans mufflers and inhaled the aroma of spent petroleum products – since I was sprayed with muddy clay from the local dirt track and rooted for Chucky Russell, my hero, in his indescribable-shade-of-blue, dented jalopy, to vanquish all comers! NASCAR was a logical choice as I grew older, mesmerized by the likes of Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt (not Junior) as the sport garnered national attention and became the fastest growing fan-base in the sports arena. Working for Home Depot for the past 12 years, it only seemed proper to root for Tony Stewart, although I never really embraced his demeanor, he was a competitive driver who won a lot of races as well as two championships, but he left the big orange box just a little before I, and started his own Office Depot team (I guess sponsorship from one Depot is as good as another). He is doing well for himself in this, his inaugural season as an owner/driver, sitting firmly in the #1 seat just over half-way through the season. You would think that I might ‘stay with a winner’, but alas, I cannot, for I have never really liked Tony – he was just the driver for my company’s sponsored car. Now I have no company and no longer owe loyalty to either Depot or driver. Tony and the Depot did, however, introduce me to a real-life favorite – car owner, Joe Gibbs (yes, the same gentleman who coached pro football for 16 years – all with the Washington Redskins). As the third most successful coach in the history of the game, he is considered by most to be one of the most inspirational and motivational gurus of the game. Is that why I like Joe? He spent a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978, but that is not the reason. My reason is he is a gentleman’s gentleman! He always has been. A devout Christian and family man, he exemplifies character in a man and the inspiration one can bring to all who surround him – a real-time model of a person who I can look up to and desire to emulate. Who do you admire? Can you copy that person in all aspects of his or her personal life as well as professional and be an icon in your own sphere? I hope so!

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BIG BROTHER

193 – Sunday, July 12, 2009

In today’s paper, my sister-in-law ran across an item obscurely tucked away on page 4-A of the Nation and World section of the St. Petersburg Times. She brought it to me saying, “Here is some more information for your blog!” I have to oblige. The article heading was ‘Chips in official IDs could make the carrier traceable’ and covered a self-described ‘ethical hacker’ who, with the employment of about $200 worth of readily available electronics, is able to download onto his laptop unique serial numbers from chips on RFID tags. An all-new acronym meaning radio frequency identification, this technology is already in use in several states and endorsed by Homeland Security as well as other governmental agencies for the purpose of ‘easily tracking US citizens entering and leaving border states’ – get outta here! Now if the government could just find a way to implant these devices on illegal aliens, terrorists, and felons I would be 100% behind it, however, if an ‘ethical hacker’ can get personal information about law-abiding citizens, what is to keep those illegals, terrorists, or just plain criminals from doing the same? My brother has suggested that I may be growing more cynical and pessimistic as I grow older – he is possibly correct, but can someone help me see the upside in this RFID thing? Be careful what you say, however, big brother is watching!

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CLASSMATES

192 – Saturday, July 11, 2009

Early on in my search for a new career, I received information suggesting that in order to gain visibility, I should establish a presence in efforts to ‘network’, a proven necessity in the current climate of economic woes and thousands of applicants for every job opening. This fact is an endorsement of the old adage that it is not what you know, it’s who you know. I knew nothing of how to go about it, however, one successful presence led to another, then another. One of my more exciting discoveries along the way was a site named classmates.com, where I reconnected with several classmates from both Wiley High School and Indiana State University. I found many of them were as anxious to reestablish contact as I. I asked one of the ladies I found if she thought this phenomenon was a result of the years gone by or the new technologies that are now available to us all. Her reply was exactly what you might expect of a 1966 female graduate of our high school – she said it could not possibly be our age, therefore it must be the technology!

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PSALMS AND PROVERBS

191 – Friday, July 10, 2009

A wise counselor once told me that if a man would read two books of the Bible he could sustain himself through any difficulty. Those two books are Psalms and Proverbs, right smack in the middle of the Bible. His suggestion was actually “Read Proverbs in the morning for wisdom and Psalms in the evening for peace.” Peace and wisdom – now there’s something we could all probably use a tablespoonful more of to help soothe the inner beast. To make it even more simple, there are 31 chapters of Proverbs – one for each day of the month. Just read the chapter that corresponds to the date. Get your Bible out – even if you have to dust it off, it’s okay – and start to follow his suggestion every single day for a month and then tell me after that time if you don’t have more peace and sleep better or that you don’t start your morning feeling wiser and making better decisions throughout your day!

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NO WHINING

190 – Thursday, July 9, 2009

Of course you know the subject of today’s blog if you are a regular follower – every Thursday, Cynthia and I go to our son and daughter-in-law’s to take care of our grandson while “Mommy” and “Daddy” go to work. Isaac is pretty clear as he forms those two words during his mock-conversations with his Grannie and Poppie – we go along with him, needing to pretend less and less all the time, for he is becoming rather adept at being able to communicate his rapturous enjoyment or, occasionally, his lack thereof. My heart melts when he giggles as I feast on belly-button kisses, but within a few minutes, if Poppie is in his protector mode and not giving in to his every little whim, the whining begins to leak out. We are very patient with him in this newest of his maturation process knowing that if we just do not give in to his drone, he will soon abandon it, realizing the futility and the fact that it does not produce the desired results. How like this child we are as adults interacting with our loving Heavenly Father! Everything is giggles and fun so long as He is giving us what we want, but the moment we fail to get what WE think is desirable, even though His granting of said wishes might lead to our harm or even destruction, little tirades result. How fickle we are, with our juxtaposed tantrum/adoration behaviors that relegate us to the status of ‘child’ – now if we could just use that status to focus our ‘child-like’ faith, fulfillment and joy would be waiting at our threshold!

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MAXIMUM EFFORT

189 - Wednesday, July 8, 2009 Ecclesiastes9:10 - Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with all thy might…

There is a measure of excellence that should be expected in any undertaking. This thought occurred to me as I watched Cynthia prepare a promotional board for her upcoming instructional seminars – it was a top level, commercial grade production using only her home-bound technologies – outstanding quality through superior exertion. As a young man, my parents seeded this principle well into my mind where it eventually sprouted. During my elementary education, my father would accept any grade I received without any reproach so long as that mark represented my maximum effort – nothing less was acceptable. Throughout my years of maturing, however, this standard has caused me a great deal of internal turmoil – not for the reason you may think, but rather for what seems to be a general lack of quality effort on the part of many who apply less than their best efforts. There is little that can be said to inspire those who feel that a ‘lick and a promise’ is sufficient, for if they cannot see for themselves the benefit of maximum effort, then why would they even care what I thought? I do not pretend that what I think will ever make any difference to anyone, however, I am thankful that I hold the value of diligence and attention to detail are now well entrenched within Cynthia and me.

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CHROME

188 – Tuesday, July 7, 2009

It would appear that on the horizon is emerging the next new challenge to Bill Gates’ empire and the 90% market share currently enjoyed by Microsoft. Bearing the operating system name of Google Chrome, this new OS is reported to be a web-based structure that will be introduced next year mainly on netbooks and then spreading to notebooks and desktops as it gains acceptance. Reportedly a back-to-the-basics approach, the new opportunity will be leaner and faster than its predecessor since it was built from the ground up with a focus on the internet that did not exist at the time present technology emerged. A beta version has already been successful in the mobile phone market, promising great prospects in the future advancements from this lightweight gazelle. One thing for certain – this new pioneering effort will offer a win-win for all of us in that it will force a competitive environment which usually spells more ‘bang’ for our bucks. A wait-and-see observation posture will be adopted by all and we should keep our eye on this development. You can bet your boots, however, that no matter how much money we might ‘save’, there will be a lot ‘made’ by someone, and my bet is on the G-men – hey, with a name like GOOGLE, how can you miss?

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MILITARY PRESENCE

187 – Monday, July 6, 2009

We sat in a booth near the entrance of our ‘breakfast joint’ adjacent to a table of six men who were discussing world affairs – you know, where the armchair would-be world leaders pass their opinions over a cup of joe and applaud themselves for being smarter than your average politician – a feat not all that noteworthy these days. I overheard one of the younger gentlemen state that we had troops in more than 150 countries, a fact that gave me pause - in reality, sort of caused the hair on the nape of my neck to bristle just a bit. I know we have the ongoing conflict in Iraq and that, of necessity, mandates the mustering of some troops in nearby locales, but 150 countries? Could it really be that we truly do have that much world presence? I was compelled to charge home and right away mount my trusty computer to search the internet in a query for myself – the site I found was http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5564 and when I perused it, I became stunned! With United States military bases in a multitude of countries, our installations now number somewhere between 700 and 800 outside of the US. At a cost of about a thousand dollars for every man, woman, and child, I have to wonder just how much of that might is necessary to maintain our freedom and how much is mandated as a draining force on our economic stability by those pressed from a sense of global paranoia. Military budgets have grown enormous, in just the past decade more than 70%. Yes, I am the same guy who wrote just a couple of days ago extolling the virtues of freedom granted me by our Declaration, but I also wrote about the cost and value of eternal vigilance. I am not an isolationist by a long shot. Neither am I a dove who does not understand the need for a strong and well equipped armed forces – but I do harbor a lot of questions! Where is there an end in sight? What is the nature of that end? Is our fate the same as so many of the former ‘world powers’ that have attended ruin because of their rapacious need of conquest? What will become of our beloved nation? All I know is, when the Bible records ‘the end’ we are not even mentioned in the chronicle. God help us all!

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MILESTONE

186 – Sunday, July 5, 2009

There have been times when I have fallen behind in my blogs and this is one of those times. I am rejoicing today, however, for somewhere between blog 182 and 183, I completed the milestone of one-half year doing a daily observation – a thought that occurred to me. When I first began, I sought to find, through searching the internet, what a blog was and found that it was pretty much what you defined it to be, so long as it was posted on the internet and visible to a myriad of people. I have done that – even though the preponderance of readers to my thoughts (listen to me, preponderance – it sounds like I have a following of a million people – believe me, it is a rather short list) receive my blogs via email. I have tagged the body of the emails with links that would allow you all to find my postings on networking and blogging sites, however, my posts on the sites seldom get ‘hits’ so I assume that you prefer to get the emails so you can easily print them (my mother has a three-ring binder that she keeps, of course, she IS my mother) or, just as easily, you can save the trees by using the ‘delete’ key. Either way, I am gratified to have reached this mile marker indicating that I am half-way – yeeehaaa!!! I know that some of my writings are better than others – you have heard of writer’s block, haven’t you? So go easy on me – and put it into context, if you will – I wager there are a few of you who have not brushed your teeth and combed your hair and made your bed 186 times so far this year – did I strike a nerve there? Have a brilliant day and I will give you another piece of my mind – tomorrow!

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ETERNAL VIGILANCE

185 – Saturday, July 4, 2009

On this fine Saturday, 233 years after fifty-six brave men affixed their signature to the Declaration of Independence, we remain free. What does that cost? The more pressing question might be what is that freedom worth? Over the decades and centuries the investment has been countless souls – men and women who have determined that our freedom as a people were worth more than an individual life – they adopted the posture that the good of the many outweighs the needs of the few or the one. How true! How vital! Vital for us to remember this Independence Day as we have men and women stationed all over the world, still engaged in the preservation of our, my sovereignty – my license to decide how I live, where I move, who I choose to do it with – make personal choices regarding every single aspect of my existence. No man forces me to do anything I do not elect to do! While the majority of our world despises our country and place we have taken on the international stage, the one thing they all seem to envy, beyond even their grasp, is our autonomy – our certificate to be self-directed. As asked earlier, what does that cost? In his letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush dated September 23, 1800, Thomas Jefferson eloquently and briefly stated that the “price of freedom is eternal vigilance” – (eternal) never-ending awareness (vigilance). Just how aware is the average American? I fear, as a nation, we are growing weary in taking responsibility for retaining our freedom and, if not re-invigorated, may be lulled into giving up some if not all of the most precious of prized possessions, our liberty as described by our founding fathers – and that, in my opinion, would be a disastrous price to pay!

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

184 – Friday, July 3, 2009

Brothers are a great source of bringing a sense of well-being and love – I highly recommend them! In my recent blog, you may recall my difficulties with Internet Explorer when a version 8 prompt popped up on my computer and the subsequent download proved itself unusable with multiple issues, rendering my internet access virtually impossible. It was then that John, my baby brother, sent me an email outlining that he had abandoned Explorer and gone with FireFox by Mozilla some time ago. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I loaded it up and set FireFox as my default browser – the good news, it worked – the great news, it worked better than my IE ever had, faster, smoother, with tabs and everything – there you go, Microsoft, eat your heart out!! And a big kudo to my little brother – Thanks, John! You, like FireFox, are the very best!!! I highly recommend them – both of them!!

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EVERLASTING ARMS

183 – Thursday, July 02, 2009

‘Tis Thursday, and this day’s topic is ever reserved for observations of our grandson and the respective inspiration that befalls as a result of our sitting time with him – today was no exception. As his Poppie eased his creaking knees to the floor to become playmate for an hour or two, Isaac decided he would use the ‘human scaffolding’, since it had presented itself so handily. First mounting my sorest knee with two bare feet, he proceeded to vault from there to the plastic guard fencing that extended across the sill of the window to retard his access to said window – it obviously was failing its assigned duty. No longer sufficient to bar him from his leap, his feet were suddenly on top of the colorful neoprene wall as he stretched his little hands to grasp the top frame of the bottom pane and, ‘voila!’, he was standing IN the window, reaching through the slats of the mini-blinds to access the locks on the top of the frame, an action he had earlier observed, probably only once, from watching an adult. The kid knows no fear! He fell from his precarious perch twice in his effort to gain a broader view of his universe, but of course, his Poppie was his safety net and Isaac actually thought this was funny, each time repeating the same action until he was ultimately perched where his desire had compelled him! It made me realize, however, how much he was like we are as adults - we are under-girded by the Everlasting Arms of Our Heavenly Father as we explore our amazing cosmos. He is perpetually vigilant as we take all kinds of chances, both physically and emotionally, while venturing outside our vulnerable personal comfort zone to discover new worlds with all the associated experiences. How oblivious we are to His presence, yet, without His silent vigilance we would surely crash and hurt or even maim ourselves. Let us each take pause to acknowledge Him for his omni-presence and reliability, providing us the security we need to repeat our performances, even when, at first, we fall flat.

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CATCHING CHICKENS

182 – Wednesday, July 1, 2009

People can be so cruel at times. Cinnie and I were watching a short segment on TV while drinking our morning coffee and there aired an interview with Jermaine Jackson, eldest brother of Michael. The interviewer asked invading questions, as they always seem to do – pointedly implying that there must be a story that everyone needs to know but has been purposely hidden away as a skeleton that should come out now that the legendary performer is dead. It was as if to say, ‘C’mon, Jermaine, give us some smut that might smear more mud on a deceased icon.’ A couple of minutes after that, there was another video clip of America’s Got Talent, where the panel interviewed a self-described ‘chicken catcher’ – the audience joined the judges in laughing at the man and poking fun at him which continued until the initial strums of his guitar and the first notes of his performance emerged from his heart – then their mouths were agape and awe struck their faces. Stirring music poured forth from the gentle man’s soul and, to the last person, the jeers turned to tears and their emotions were stirred. He showed them – he has talent! Everyone has some kind of value – and each one of us has felt the throes of piercing ridicule when it has been aimed at us. We think little of it when this behavior is propagated by children, but it becomes abusively abrasive when it emanates from those supposed to be adults and mature enough to know better. A personal challenge from me to you – never be one of the crowd who joins in the harassment of a fellow human being with feelings and a need to retain personal worth. I don’t know about you, but my house would be severely lacking dietary fulfillment if there were no one to catch chickens.

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