Daddy's Little Fatty

In 1946 Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded Fred Rose's Roly Poly.



Today I had KFC's Double Down.



This thing doesn't even look edible.



But don't let that fool you, I'm gonna be a man someday.

Where's my wifi?

I am currently between ISP's. It is quite sad. I'll have the internets again next week, but until then, think about this. Is there wifi in Heaven?

When in Houston

This weekend I was in Houston, Texas. I had a rental car and found 106.9, The Point on the radio. It was an 80's station and had a decent selection. One song that it played that I hadn't heard in ages was When In Rome's The Promise.




The chorus of the song is:

I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)
I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)
But if you'll wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me,
I promise, I promise you I will.

I have often expressed that I am quite poor at verbal communication. Given enough time I think I might find the right words to say, but chances are I'll probably just mess them up anyway.

Why not?

A few weeks ago I was in Xania, Crete. We made friends with a waiter at a nearby restaurant and regularly ate there. He would bring us extra food and beverages even when we didn't request them. He always comped them, but sometimes I would tell him "nothing for me." He would respond, "More food, more beverage, why not? why not!" I didn't have an answer so I partook.

So why not more music now instead of waiting until Friday? I lack a response.

This band is Five Iron Frenzy. A friend of mine introduced me to then about 5 years ago. I loved their music then and my love has only grown. Here is Oh Canada and Banner Year.

Shaver in the Court

In a news story that is only fitting for a country song, Billy Joe Shaver was acquitted in a Waco court today after testifying that he shot a man in the face outside a bar while acting in self defense. Willie Nelson and Robert Duvall went to support their friend. His attorney was the same attorney that represented David Koresh.

Steven Krytak tweeted from the courtroom and provides a very interesting take. You can read his tweets on his twitter. It includes great tidbits like "He may be a honky tonk hero and he may have written a lot of wonderful songs... but on that day, he was a honky tonk bully," Toben said or Toben asked if Shaver was jealous Wanda was talking to Coker. "I get more women than a passenger train can haul, I’m not jealous," Shaver said and Prosecutor Beth Toben is questioning Shaver. Asked him if he had broken his neck in a barroom brawl. Shaver said it was a friendly thing.

Here is Billy Joe Shaver and his son Eddy.

Breaking Free

The church I currently attend is named after the founder of the religion, John Wesley. However, my church has seemed to decided that we will no longer follow the methodical practices that Wesley taught in the Methodist Societies, though we will keep the name Wesley.

What Wonderous Love is This

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Oh Sudoku, how I love thee

On a long flight the other day I decided to do one of the "Very Hard" labeled Sudoku puzzles in my Sudoku puzzle book. This isn't just any Sudoku book, this is The Original Sudoku book by Nikoli Publishing.



They say that not only are these puzzle all hand made with the designer planning your every move, they also encourage you to admire and appreciate the beauty in the symmetrical layout of each puzzle.

OK, that's good and all, I just want to do the puzzle. Now, it took me a while to do this very hard puzzle, a little over an hour, and I can only attribute that to my being distracted by the beauty of the puzzle. Toward the end of the puzzle I hit what I thought was an impasse. I even went as far as writing the possible numbers in the corner of the box which I try to normally not do. Even after doing this I could not figure out the next move. I was about to quit and mail the puzzle back to the publishers, telling them I found the puzzle to be impossible, but then I saw it, the move that the book calls "Master Pattern 2." As I chuckled to myself for having missed such an easy pattern I realized that the guy who wrote this puzzle was also chuckling at me. Nikoli, you really did anticipate my every move.

North Country Map

The creak of the cabin door opening woke me from my sleep. It was another beautiful cool morning in the North Country with the clear skies brilliant with stars. I asked the other Rayado Ranger who was opening the door what time it was. 4:30 AM. It was time to get the Rowdies up. While standing up on the porch of French Henry Camp, I accidentally stepped on a Rowdy who was sleeping under the bench I had been sleeping on. He woke up and said “Are you trying to leave?” I responded “No, it’s 4:30, and it’s time for you to get up!” We got the rest of the crew up and left French.

I had the privilege of being a Rayado Ranger during first session Rayado in 2004 for crew Rayado Men 3, RM3. The crew consisted of 7 Scouts from all across the country. Rayado, a descendent of the Kit Carson program, is a 3 week special trek which teaches youth, called Rowdies, advance backpacking skills, teamwork, and leadership, by challenging them physically, mentally, and spiritually. It was my second summer to work at Philmont Scout Ranch, having also been a Ranger the previous summer. We had hiked to French the day before and had originally planned to camp at the Aztec Mine; however, a rainstorm caused us to change our plans and instead crashed on the porch of the cabin. The Rowdies were sleeping on the porch while Will and I slept on the benches. They had bedded down expecting a good long sleep. Little did they know, today was going to be a long day.Leaving French Henry in the dark at about 5:00 AM, we made our way to Copper Park and took the old Greenwood Canyon Trail. Will and I had taken the trail earlier in the summer during Ranger Training when we hauled supplies up for the new repeater tower. The 25% slope trail wasn’t bad with just a pack on compared to hauling concrete in packs and batteries strapped to litters for the tower up. We stopped for breakfast on the ridge and Will informed the crew that our first destination was Baldy.

Breakfast on the ridge above Copper Park

After failing to impress our Rowdies with the repeater tower, we followed the ridge to the top of Baldy. As the day progressed, several thunder storms began to move into the area. We took in the beauty of the approaching storms from the exposed ridge top as we climbed up to the peak. On the peak, the scouts took pictures and took in the scenery while I took a nice Ranger Nap. After being woken up by my Rowdies, we left the peak just before the storms rolled in. We ended up dodging thunderstorms and hail all day. We had lunch on the saddle while the first storm began to roll over the peak. We were lucky enough to miss the 3 thunderstorms which rolled across the North Country that afternoon.

Storms from Baldy Saddle

Baldy Summit

Touch-me-Not from Baldy

After lunch, we let the Rowdies know that our next objective was to climb Touch-Me-Not. Our Rowdies loved the opportunity to bushwhack the mountain. After successfully climbing the peak, they enjoyed more scenery and took group shot on top of the peak.

RM 3 on Touch-me-Not

It was about 5PM when we headed down from Touch-Me-Not to begin going to Maxwell Camp, our camp for the night. The scouts had been talking about wanting to go to Baldy Town all day, so we gave them the option of taking the trail to Baldy Town or ‘shwacking to Maxwell. Much to our surprise, they decided to ‘shwack. We followed a creek that looked like it would be an easy 5-6 kilometer hike to Maxwell. About an hour later we had dinner in a nice meadow and continued our hiking. The Rowdies were enjoying the hike and one of our Rowdies, Scott, gave his usual response to everything on Rayado, that “it was amazing.” Darkness soon began to set in and we were forced to climb over deadfall and make probably a thousand stream crossings with only the aid of 4 working flashlights for the 9 of us. It was quite an adventurous hike, climbing over logs, under dead fall, and wading through the creek, all while trying to find a trail that crossed the creek. At about 11PM, we finally found the log bridge that crossed the creek for the trail which went into Maxwell. So much for the short 5-6 km hike! We got into camp shortly after and attempted to find the bear cables. Our Rowdies had been level-no-trace camping or crashing porches every night so far (including what I believe to be the first crew to camp in Mountain Lion Canyon) and had only used LNT bear rope techniques. After a 10 minute unsuccessful search, our Rowdies hung their bear rope between two trees and called it a night. They remained in good spirits and Scott as usual said “it was amazing.” After I took off my pack I realized that I had lost my North Country map.

When I hiked, I normally kept my map tucked into the hip belt of my pack for easy access. I had been using it on the shwack to read the topography of the creek to estimate our location. Somewhere along the hike, it slipped out. I figured I would never see the map again and felt somewhat guilty for breaking the Wilderness Pledge. Luckily we were headed for Sawmill the next day, and then continued south through the ranch so I would not need my North Country map. I borrowed an extra map from a fellow ranger upon my return to base camp and used it for the rest of the summer.

Later that summer, I had a crew from Fort Worth, TX. It was a great crew with a Ute Springs - Devil’s Wash Basin itinerary. Several of the scouts talked about how they wanted to come back and work on staff. One of those scouts, Keith, returned to Philmont as a Rayado participant in 2005 and made his dream a reality, becoming a ranger in 2006.

In fall 2006, I received a letter in the mail from Keith. He wrote about a hike-in that summer he had with another ranger. They had dropped off crews at Pueblano, hiked Wilson Mesa, crossed over to French Henry, ascended Baldy and went over to Touch-Me-Not. On their way down from Touch-Me-Not, they thought a nice ‘shwack was in order and followed a creek that flowed down to Maxwell. As I read the letter, I could see all of the places he talked about, because I had hiked those same paths, including the creek down Touch-Me-Not.

The letter that Keith sent me came in a large envelope. On the back on the envelope was written “I think you dropped this…” In the package with the letter, was the map. Keith had found the map while hiking the creek where I had lost my map 2 years earlier. The map was still is fair condition, considering that it had spent 2 years exposed to the elements. It was slightly faded where the sun had shined on it, and the ends were chewed on. My marks were still visible on the map where I had marked wells, meadow crash sites, and Stony Point. Also still clearly visible was where I had written “Clinton Woods, Ranger 2003.”

I Wanna Go Back to Philmont…

Happy at Home

The title of this translates as "I am very happy because I am finally back home."



Perhaps something is lost in the translation, but this is still strangely appealing and entertaining.

How to impress people

A few years ago, I was put in charge of a committee to determine the new mission statement for the school I was a teacher at. The first thing I did was read a text book from college that had a chapter dedicated to writing school mission statements. In the chapter it recommended using the phrase "prepare students to be ethical global citizens." The main justification for using the phrase was that administrators would be impressed with it. I included the statement with my proposal to the group and was able to preserve it until the draft was presented to the principal. The principal wrote back to the group that she liked the proposal, but really really liked the line "become ethical global citizens." When the proposal was sent out to the entire school faculty, the biggest response was to remove the line about global citizens as it didn't make much sense. The book was correct, the administrators were impressed, however it failed to mention that the statement was worthless.

There are lots of ways to impress people without actually having to be productive. I'll share a few of these.

First, when you give a presentation, use a pie chart. Your presentation doesn't need to require the pie chart, but including it will impress people. A friend of mine was giving a presentation and gave me a rough draft. I recommended that he add a pie chart. He said he didn't need it, which I agreed with. However, he conceded when I told him that people would like it. He added a pie chart that was quite meaningless and added nothing to the presentation. When he gave the presentation the feedback included the statement "great pie chart."

Second, make spreadsheets. People are impressed with Excel. Spreadsheets can be intimidating and therefore demand respect, so when you are able to use Excel, you are clearly one who must be listened to. It is highly recommended that when you prepare the spreadsheet that you do not organize the working portion of the spreadsheet. Leave that part messy and confusing. It adds to the intimidating aspect of spreadsheets. But make a highly organized, really neat box at the bottom with the results. They will also be impressed if you can insert inputs into the spreadsheet and have all the numbers change at once. It makes for a great show. If you find that the spreadsheet is not very necessary, add color to it. Everyone loves color. I created a pretty simple spreadsheet once that calculated how many teachers were needed to teach a subject based on the number of students taking the course. I could have just used a piece of paper to divide the number of students taking the class by the number of students allowed per teacher by the state, but instead I made a complex looking spreadsheet with an input and output box with some colored arrows decorating the blank spaces. The department head was so impressed with the Excel sheet that he recommended that I take over his position.

Finally, add Macros to your Excel and Word documents. The Macros needn't be necessary, they will be highly impressive for the very fact that they are Macros. If you don't know how to write Macros, find a document that already contains the desired Macro and cut and paste it. That is already more than most people can do, so you will be able to impress people despite your inability to create Macros. I once made a cover sheet that included a Macro that would determine the length of the underscored line in the "From:" line based on the length of the originator's name. This could have been done by using ctrl+u, but I used a Macro that I copied and pasted from another document I found. My boss was so impressed with the Macro on the cover sheet that she mandated that everyone had to use my cover sheet.

Utilizing these three easy methods will insure that you impress people without having to do anything productive.

Questions to Ponder

This past week I met with a pastor. He asked me questions that no pastor had ever asked me before, yet are questions that my pastor should ask me.

Where are you in your walk with God?

What do you struggle with?

What can the church do for you?

Perhaps another question might be, why hasn't your pastor asked you these before?

Listening to Classic Literature

A few years ago I first heard this song Odysseus by Brian Keane.



Now I have never read read Homer's Odyssey, but thanks to Brian I am familiar with the story. Listening to this song might be as good as reading the Cliff notes on the book. The moral of the story is the same whether you read the book or listen to the song, Homer's Odyssey is jacked up.

Reliving War

Today I went to my first civil war reenactment, the Battle of Aiken.



The Battle of Aiken took place in February 1865 during Sherman's March to the Sea. General Kilpatrick led his troops into South Carolina and sought to take and then destroy Aiken, followed by moving in on Augusta, Georgia. However, the Confederate troops, led by General Wheeler, stopped Kilpatrick at Aiken.

The reenactment today staged the Rebels and Yankees on the battle field.






As expected for the area, the crowd cheered when the Confederates advanced and were able to take advantage on the battlefield. Confederate flags and uniforms abounded in the crowd. But in a way that may only be understood by Southerners, cheered loudly for both the Yankees and Rebels as they made their final passes to thank the crowd. Proud to be American and proud to be Southern.

Besides the reenactment, the reenactors had exhibits set up to talk about their craft, the life of a civil war soldier, and the weapons of war.



There were also some exhibits of more modern American warfare.



The gentleman on the right is wearing a WWI-era wool army uniform. At the exhibit, he showed up the gas masks used by soldiers in WWI and WWII.

I also spent some time talking to a Confederate Chaplain.



We talked about the life of a civil war chaplain, life in Antebellum South, and a book he is writing involving a plantation called Wexford.

It was very enjoyable and educational. Certainly a sad time in American history as brother fought brother, but let us never forget our past and the bravery exhibited by those seeking to ensure their rights and those fighting for their country.

Letters in the Mail

Bill Carlisle and Bobby Gregory wrote a famous song called No Letter in the Mail. Here it is performed by some Canucks, the Spinney Brothers.



I got a letter in the mail today. It was a very nice letter, a length correspondence from a friend of mine. This is the first personal correspondence I have received in the mail in a month. Now, I probably have received personal correspondences in the mail at a greater frequency in the past, but certainly never more than once every two weeks. Two summers I worked in a place that did not have regular internet access and I didn't have regular access to mail. There, I received hand delivered personal correspondence on almost a daily basis.

What is it about a physical letter that is so special? I receive personal correspondences in emails on almost a daily basis. I enjoy them and get excited when I see I have an email waiting for me from certain people, but not like when I get a letter in the mail. Emails may stay in my email inbox for a few days, possibly even months, but will soon be deleted. Currently in my inbox, the oldest personal correspondence is only 6 months old and will probably be deleted soon. But of letters that have been mailed to me, I have some dating back to 2003 and have no desire to ever throw them away. Why are they different?

The internet is great, it connects me to people, information, and allows me to do things that in the past would have required more time. Some of the people I am connected to are friends who are separated by distance, one of which is 6600 miles away and that is going over the pole. Even though we might talk about the exact same thing in an email, I value the physical letter that I get in my mailbox. The email will be read, probably several times, but soon deleted. The letter will be read multiple times, then placed in a box where I will every so often retrieve it and reread. Why the difference? Could it be that though the internet keeps me connected to those who I can not be physically with, I still value physical proximity? Could it be the physical letter brings me closer to the person than a virtual email could do? Could I just be old fashioned?

Everything's Round

Several years ago, I heard a song on the radio called "Hey Woodie Guthrie." The song was by a band called Leftover Salmon. Reading more about the band, I learned that the song was unique for them as they usually didn't go into such politic realms in their music. The great thing about the band though was that since they made up their own genre, Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass, they can do whatever they want.

I picked up their album Leftover Salmon and loved every song. One of them was Everything's round, written by Vince Herman, a member of the band.

Here, Vince performs Everything's Round and Mountain Top, both most excellent songs.

When all else fails, think!

I just finished reading a book called Aircraft Down! Evading Capture in WWII Europe by General Philip Caine. The book is a collection of 6 true stories of Allied pilots and aircrew that went down in occupied Europe or Italy and evaded capture and made it back to friendly forces. It does a great job depicting the loneliness they felt, their heart-felt thankfulness to the Europeans who risked everything to aid them, and describing their journey from the beginning of their final flight to their ultimate return home.

In the final chapter of the book, General Caine writes about what made the evaders successful. The success comes down to a few common traits, to will to survive, trust, patience, ability to adjust, confidence, perseverance, positive attitude, good judgment, and thinking. His assessment is very similar to the assessment in the National Geographic Adventure article, Terrorists at the Tea Party. The ability to think and control one's mind and body is vital in emergency situations.

I like to think that I have many of these characteristics, but it is hard to know until one is tested by fire. If anything, I at least acknowledge the need to have these skills and characteristics. Now I just have to wait until all else fails and see if I can think.

Thinking without knowledge

I found these statistics from England interesting.

33% of school children think their teacher is an alien
75% of school children think aliens exist
72% of school children think aliens are friendly
< 10% of school children can name all 8 planets in the solar system

They are thinking, but do they have knowledge?

Looking in the mirror

When I was younger, I use to think that people in their mid to upper 20's looked uglier than they did in their teens and 30's. Looking in the mirror at myself, I still agree with my assessment.

A Song to get Dressed to: This Week's Song of the Week

It is once again Friday and time for our somewhat weekly Song of the Week. How could this week's not be General Larry Platt's original song, Pants on the Ground?




USA Today has a great article on the General, General Larry Platt: A Closer Look. The General is a civil rights worker with quite a storied past. September 4, 2001 was even Larry Platt Day in Atlanta to honor his work.

A great song and certainly an even greater man.

It's OK to Think

Todd Snider has a song called Keep of the Grass. The song is about a world full of rules. You can read all of the lyrics here.




We have a lot of rules in life. Anytime something goes wrong, it is almost a guarantee that a new rule or law will be made to correct what happened. Is our problem a lack of rules?

In New York City, they have rules on what can be used in food. Now granted some rules should probably be used,The Jungle showed us that. But New York's rules go further than just not allowing people to be ground up and sold as lard. Restaurants in the city cannot use trans fats. They are currently looking at reducing the amount of salt that can be in food. Now, yes these things may be unhealthy, but do we really require a rule to be healthy?

With all these rules, we are missing two very important ones. The first rule, law, or instruction should be "Think." It is very easy for people to get by without thinking. After all, when something goes wrong, we just make a new rule. There wouldn't be a need for a new rule every time if people think. The second rule should be "Do what needs to be done." This would require the person to do for themselves what needs to be done and to do for others what needs to be done. If one thinks and acts, the rules become unnecessary. With these extraneous rules, it removes and even impedes thinking as the person is not required and sometimes even punishes the person who thinks because they act outside of the rules. Things would still go wrong. This would be OK though, as long as the person thinks. As with any rules though, they must have some sort of enforcement. The enforcement would be simple, "A person will be responsible for what happens because of their actions."

It should be OK to think, however, it seems that we would rather just have rules and laws.

You'll fly the way we want you to fly

I enjoy adventures and this week was full of adventures in the skies.

I took a plane trip from Georgia to Texas, including a leg of flying between Hartsfield-Jackson and DFW. The day I flew to Texas, there was a bad weather system over Dallas. The storm dumped snow, created ice on the roads and runways, and had heavy winds. As a result, the airport was reduced to one runway and we were delayed 4 hours leaving ATL. Once in the air, we proceeded to DFW. Upon arriving in the airspace, we were informed that the airport had closed its last runway and we were put in a holding pattern making left turns out east of Dallas. After an hour, the captain informed us that we were out of fuel and were being diverted to Houston Intercontinental to take on more fuel. We landed in Houston, took on fuel, and were told that DFW had reopened one runway. We flew to DFW and landed, 8 hours late. Since it was so late, my rental car company was closed and I had to find another rental. I left DFW about 9 hours later than planned.

I returned to Georgia today. Leaving DFW this morning was delayed by about 45 minutes because a part was broken. They ended up swapping out our plane. We made it to ATL and the captain came over and said he would appreciate it if those who did not have to make an immediate connecting flight remained in their seats and let those of us who did go. I had 45 minutes to make my flight, so I stood. I remained standing for 15 minutes on the plane. The jetway broke and they had to bring in an electrician to fix it so we could deboard. Now with 30 minutes to make it, and 4 terminals to go, I hot footed it to my connecting flight, making it after the entire plane was loaded. I got to the gate and couldn't find an agent, so I walked down the jetway to find one. I found one, but she was not happy to see me. I was chastised for walking down the jetway. Returning to the counter, I gave her my ticket and she then admonished me for being late. Finding that my explanation that I was looking for an agent and I was late because of multiple mechanical failures involving my last flight was not satisfactory for her, I promised to not do such things in the future and boarded the plane, just as they locked the door.

I love adventures!

The Saga Continues

In July, we met Dave Carroll and the Sons of Maxwell who sang United Breaks Guitars, a true song outlining the frustrations they experienced when Dave's guitar was broken on a United flight. The story continues with another song by Dave. This chapter focuses on his relationship with Ms. Irlwig of United. Ladies and Gentlemen, United Breaks Guitars Song 2!

How did you do? Terrible

This past Sunday I taught Sunday school. The lesson went well and afterwards, many people gave me positive feedback, including a round of applause that broke out. But if you asked me how it went, I wouldn't give such positive feedback. I would instead think that it didn't go well and that it wasn't a good lesson.

This is a typical response of mine whenever I give any sort of presentation or have my work critiqued. As a teacher, I rarely felt a lesson went well, even if the students responded well or if teachers or my principal were present and gave positive feedback. I always felt I could do better and that what I presented was not good. When I take tests, I rarely walk out of a test feeling that I did well or knew the material, even if I do exceptionally well on the test. Sometimes it even seems that the better I do at something, the lower my view of my performance is.

I tend to think that this response is OK if not even good. I think it prevents me from being overly arrogant of my work. But if it prevents me from doing things that I am capable of, it is counter-productive. It is an odd balance of humbleness and confidence.

I do a terrible job at it.

It's all about the music

I love the Christmas season. The decorations, the cool weather, but mainly, the music. I really like a lot of Christmas music. A lot I do not! Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmas is a song that causes me to turn off the radio or run from the stores playing it. Santa Baby is a very creepy song. But there are lots of good songs. Let's take a look at some of them.

I enjoy some secular songs that have little to do with Christmas. They either are about Santa or the weather. But I do like them.

One is the Overture from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.



Another secular song I really enjoy is Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride.



I really like some of the songs that truly are about Christmas.

One of these songs is commonly song during Advent, the season leading up to Christmas. O Come O Come Emmanuel.



Another one has had its name change. Here we will listen to it in the original name, that is Good Christian Men Rejoice. This version is in Latin.



Another song I enjoy is God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman.



Finally, a song that for a long time I didn't know what a Christmas song. I first heard this song in middle school when we played it in band. I loved the tune, but had no idea it was a Christmas song until I heard it with its words last year. I wrote about it at the time. Here is, I Wonder as I Wander.



As great as the music is though, isn't it really all about Jesus?

I Don't Understand You

I have a hard time understanding people. I do not do well when I try to anticipate what someone will do or try to find the hidden meaning in what they say or do. I have tried to get better at this and to spend time analyzing their actions and to be able to anticipate their next action or to determine how they feel about something or to perhaps even read their mind. What I end up with instead are guesses that are based on preconceived notions that have a very low probability of being right. I do not understand why you do what you do and I will not be able to know what you will do next.

Art Among Us

This morning a friend of mine and I went for a walk along the Augusta Canal. We walked from the pavillian to the water works and back. Along the way we saw lots of birds, enjoyed a nice walk through the woods, and watched the sun shine on another day. At the water works park was a CSX rail bridge. Below are some photos from it.

The War has Begun!

The war on Christmas has begun! The AFA has released their Naught or Nice list, a list of companies who either embrace Christmas in their advertising or not. Not, contrary to what one would think, the AFA lists a 'naughty' company as one that does not include Christmas in their advertising. It seems that they prefer to see the commercialization of Christmas that has taken place.

I have written about this in the past, so we will combine a few posts on why I do not think we should embrace Christmas in the retail world.

While listening to the radio one morning, a DJ in Kerrville was reading an essay about the "war on Christmas." In the essay, the DJ chastised retail shops for not using the word Christmas in their advertising campaigns. He encouraged everyone to say merry Christmas and not happy holidays. This is just a sample of the numerous claims of an attack on Christmas, usually dealing with retail stores.

The American Family Association, AFA, annually calls for boycotts of stores that do not include the word Christmas in their advertising. This year, they are calling for the boycott of Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. You can read about the fight here. Gap is guilty of having 172 references of "holiday" in their stores and websites but onyl 3 references of "Christmas."

Has Christmas really become so materialistic that Christian organizations are upset that it is losing its materialism? Is the AFA really complaining because the word Christmas is not used in the secular sense? Stores are not using Christmas to spread the message of Jesus, but instead to make money! Is this what God really wants out of his holiday? A fight over if we can get a Wii or not? A fight over if the sign at Walmart says Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Is that why Jesus was born 2000 years ago?

Many people are quite upset about retail stores not saying Merry Christmas or using Christmas in there advertisements. I am not one of those. I usually do not say Merry Christmas at the retail store. Here's why.

First, the goal of the retail store is to make money. This is not bad, I have no problem with them wanting to make money. This however is not the reason for Christmas. The reason for Christmas is to remember to coming of our Savior. I am not reminded of it when I am given a new shirt wrapped in pretty paper.

Second, I love Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride. I hear it in just about every store. However, it does not remind me of the coming of Jesus. It reminds me of what an awesome piece of music it is, or perhaps how someday I too would like to go for a sleigh ride. I do not like the song Santa Baby. I find it weird. It also doesn't remind me of the coming of Christ. Songs like Joy to the World, or Hark! the Herald Angels Sing do remind me of Christmas. But I rarely hear those songs in the store.

Third, I am not really that big on the presents. Maybe I am just a scrooge about it. I enjoy giving presents, but not so much the receiving. I do it because I care for the people, but find that giving to charities or the needy to be a much better endeavor.

Many people say Merry Christmas at the retail stores. That's great! I will say "thank you" when you give me my receipt instead. I am not trying to keep Christ out of Christmas, just the opposite, I am trying to keep him in it.

2000 years ago a child was given to us. A child that was prophesied about for hundreds of years. Isaiah wrote

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Luke tells us that during the reign of Caesar Augustus, Joseph took his virgin bride-to-be (who was with child) to Bethlehem to be registered. During the time, Mary gave birth to a child who was called Jesus, which means He will save. And he did save! This child grew up to be the most perfect man to ever live. This man, whose biological father was God himself, came to save us from our sins and allow us to have ever lasting life. 33 years after his birth in a stable, he was hung on a cross. His death was the atonement for our sins, allowing us to be reconciled to God, from whom our sins separated us. His resurrection 3 days later conquered death and gave us eternal life, all who believe in him and take him as their savior. For without Easter, there would be no Christmas. King Jesus now reigns in heaven and in our hearts, having overcome the prince of this world, Satan.

What are people really fighting for? Are we fighting so that God's name will be known throughout the world or that we can feel powerful. Are we fighting for God's glory or our own? To fight for the word Christmas to be placed in store advertising is to fight for your own glory. To fight through prayer and devotion to prepare for the coming of the Christ child is to fight for God's glory.

What are you fighting for?

Now let's go get ready for Thanksgiving.

It is good!

This week, Bishop Woodie White has an article in the United Methodist Reporter titled REFLECTIONS: Focus on good news! In it, Bishop White urges us to remember that there is not only bad in the world, but also good. He recalls as a child a news commentator who would begin with “There’s good news tonight!” Should we not remember this mantra today?

He comments that to some, bad news is the only desirable news there is. Any good news must be twisted into a way that reflects poorly on someone or something. Some do this for political reasons. Listen to any political commentator and you will hear this. A politician from the opposite side of the aisle could come up with a cure for cancer, end world hunger, and bring world peace and the political commentator will find someway to change it into bad news. Others do this for money. Listen to an advertisement for gold and you will think that the total destruction of any form of government was imminent. Still others do it just because they have a negative attitude about life.

We needn't ignore the bad in the world. Bishop White tells us "To be sure, it is important to be informed of the events that reveal flaws of leaders, nations and individuals. These must be addressed forcefully and effectively. Our desired end is the common good, freedom, justice and fairness for all. We must correct all that would dehumanize or seek to destroy our common humanity and desire for community." We have much work to do. God gives us this as our challenge. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help the imprisoned, give water to the thirsty, cure the sick, fight for justice, take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. But we must not ignore the good that God is doing. "But it is the good in people and the good of people that makes the world a better place. To overlook or minimize this good, as evidenced in deeds or works, is to forget who we are as a people and the children of a God. Not a bad God, but a good God!" Indeed, the very message of salvation, the Gospel, is Good News.

What good is going on in your life?

The Wall was Torn Down

20 years ago the Berlin Wall fell. I remember seeing it on the news, probably one of my earliest recollections of an international event.

It marked the end of the Cold War, and ushered in what was thought to be a new era of peace. One that was soon interrupted by activity in the Middle East when Saddam Hussein rolled his tanks into Kuwait. And in the Middle East our attention has been since.

What better way to remember the end of the Cold War that a German anti-Cold War song, Nena's 99 Luftballons!

History Repeats

Recently, I have had several posts that have been repeats of previous posts. Today is no different. Yesterday I was riding in my truck with a friend listening to Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static.



He asked about the song and I told him my interpretation of it being an anti-Iraq war song. While discussing the song, I mentioned that I felt it was a much better anti-war song than John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change. I wrote about that song almost a year ago. You can read my thoughts here.

Coincidentally, these repeats have all been about a year after the original post. This has not been because I looked up what was happening a year ago, but because history repeats itself. I now have a way of looking into my past. Now if only I make the correct choice this time around.

Come Fly With Me

My friend Jamie loves to fly.



I have rarely talked to her without her talking about flying. If you ask her what she loves to do, her response is "to get high." Today, she took me to get high.



Jamie flies a Cessna 150 Commuter. After introducing me to her plane, we went over a pre-flight check. She showed me the various parts of the plane and how to inspect it before flight. After she was made ready for flight, we taxied to the runway.




We took off on runway 36. Runways are numbers based on the first two numbers of their magnetic heading. So runway 36 has a magnetic heading of 360 or 000. Another thing Jamie taught me about aviation.



We took off and spent about an hour in the air, flying between 500' and 3500', soaring over lakes and swamps, bays and shorelines, watching children and dolphins play, bouncing on the wind, getting high.



She loves to share her enthusiasm of flying with everyone. That extended to letting me get my hands on the controls and flying the plane.



What a thrill! No wonder Jamie talks about it all the time.

She took back the controls and demonstrated what the plane is capable of, doing steep turns and a power-off stall.



After over an hour of flight, it was time for us to come down from our high. We returned to the airport, landing on runway 36.



Jamie loves getting high. Can you blame her?

The Pensacola Lighthouse

The Pensacola Lighthouse sits on the grounds of NAS Pensacola, shining its light as a beacon to mariners entering the Pensacola Bay.



I have seen the lighthouse everyday while in Pensacola, but had not visited it. Yesterday I made the 177 step climb to the top of the tower. It is well worth it.

Tours of the lighthouse occur every Saturday, from 12 - 4, May through October.



The current lighthouse was lit in 1859. It stayed manned until 1965 when it was automated. The Keepers' Quarters were next door and housed the Keeper and family, as well as the Assistant Keeper and family.



Supposedly at some point in its past, someone was murdered in the southeast bedroom. The floor is said to be stained with blood that never came out. Do you see it?



Through out the night, the Keeper would climb 177 steps to the top of the lighthouse to keep the light going. We followed in his footsteps.



As you climb the steps, you pass various windows, each offering a new perspective in elevation and bearing.






177 steps, wrapped around the center pole, climbing 191 feet above the water.



Upon reaching the last step, you come to the light, the purpose of the lighthouse, shining 27 miles into the night.



But for us today, the purpose of the lighthouse is two fold. To walk in the footsteps of the lighthouse keeper who kept the light to protect ships and their crew, and to enjoy the views offered by the lighthouse.