Wordless Wednesday: Cool Cat Having Ice Cream!

Wordless Wednesday: Pirates Cove Sunset

Wish I could live my life watching this everyday!

Wordless Wednesday: Sailboat at Red Bridge

My Dad

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! For those men that are truly 'fathers,' you should be proud of fatherhood, and all the privileges that come with being a dad.

Today, my heart is heavy as I think about my father. He died when I was just fifteen. My dad was an unusual man. A grade school education is all he had. He sounded like a hillbilly when he spoke. Old fashioned and strict, things were simply black and white. He believed in discipline, respect for your elders, politeness and common courtesy. As a young teenager, I found his ways difficult and outdated. He truly was from a different generation.

My father was a consummate gentleman, setting a high bar for me in how he treated my mother. Such love I rarely witness today. His love for my mother was among the strongest things I've ever witnessed. He had his faults, and he struggled with things that were beyond his control. His health kept him from being financially secure, and was hard on himself for not being able to provide for his family like he thought he should have.

He was a devout man of faith, and believed the scriptures to be the inerrant Word of God. As a young man I had countless hours of conversations and debates with him. Ultimately, I found him to be right more often than wrong. He would be considered entirely politically incorrect by today's standards. He wouldn't have cared. He reflected a simple belief that Christians should be as much like Christ as possible.

And as stubborn and inflexible as he may have seemed, he was actually a man of incredible love and compassion. He loved others who had wronged him. He fiercely loved his wife & children in such an incomparable way. He demonstrated compassion and empathy for others, especially for the underdogs and those who had nothing. My dad loved animals, and taught us how to care for those beings who needed us.

My father had a crazy sense of humor. I can remember his hearty laugh to this day. It was genuine and contagious. And I miss it sorely.

Compared to the benchmarks of worldly success, my dad wouldn't have measured up very well. He taught me that materialism and temporal things are insignificant. Our focus should be on the Eternal. What we do with what we have in this life will make all the difference in the next. My father was a man of principal, and believed that one's values and morals speak far more about who you are than money and fame.

The older I get, I find myself saying the same things he said. Every day that passes, I realize how much he taught me (I must have actually listened at some point). As a young, self-absorbed teenager, I thought my dad was irrelevant. I often compared him to other friend's dads, and thought how lucky they were to have the comfortable lives they had. To an extent, I had allowed growing up poor to created a covetous mindset. How wrong I was. My father had given me a priceless inheritance. After his death, I began to realize those intangible things that couldn't be bought.

 As a husband and father, I've missed the mark many times. I can only hope to be the kind of man my father was. I miss you, dad.

Human Trafficking of the Disabled

I came across this blog post today, and had to share. Slavery still exists. Heartbreaking and sobering to say the least. 

http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2013/04/human-trafficking-of-mentally-and.html

Wordless Wednesday: Potato Anyone?

A couple of weeks back, the Idaho Potato Folks came to my town. I'm thinking that would make one big batch of French Fries!

By the way...I had to think about the spelling of potato (think: Dan Quayle, circa 1992). It's misspelled more than you think!

The Big Idaho Potato Tour

****

Can You Be Sued for Sending a Text? Or for Writing a Blog?

Heard something interesting while listening to a talk radio show yesterday (and, yes, I happened to be driving at the time). It seems our wonderful accident attorneys have found a new revenue source. There have been recent court cases in which lawyers argued third parties have responsibility for car accidents, even though they were nowhere near the crash. Their logic goes something like this: a person sending a text message is potentially causing a hazardous distraction. If the person receiving the text is driving and becomes involved in an accident while reading the text message, the person sending the text should be held as equally responsible as the driver causing the crash.

Lots of questions and implications here, if these lawsuits set a precedence. Smart phone are ubiquitous. People get email on their phones. People read web sites on their phones.  Could it be extrapolated that should someone who reads this blog post while driving and happens to get into a car accident, mean that I am now responsible for the resulting damages or worse? (DISCLAIMER:  I hereby absolve myself of any liability for anyone who decides to read my blog while driving--DO NOT READ MY BLOG WHILE DRIVING). I initially thought I was being humorous in putting up the disclaimer. Maybe not so funny in retrospect?

What about companies who send emails to their employees? And how can it be proven that the recipient actually read the text (or email) while driving? It may pop up on their phone, but that doesn't necessarily prove they actually read it.

Taking out a page from the the lawyers who sue gun manufacturers, attorneys now can try to sue any entity for which they attempt to assign blame or responsibility for tragedies. They have a previously untapped reservoir of people and groups to sue, and lord knows how much money they can rake in. What about large cell phone companies? Could they be the newest target of class-action lawsuits? Gives a whole new meaning to 'Can you hear me now?' doesn't it?

Perhaps I can sue a silverware company for being the third-party responsible for my being fat, or for my high cholesterol and high blood pressure?

No, of course not. Seriously, I understand personal responsibility for my own actions and behavior. Perhaps it's time that we all try to understand this, and put a limit to the encroachment of needless litigation and finding as many people to blame for tragic circumstances. Personal responsibility: a very limited commodity in a land of vast foolishness.

***

Wordless Wednesday: Julie's Peony

My wife took this picture of one of her many flowers this evening....thought she captured it rather nicely. 

Is There Hope?

This past week there has been much heartache & loss in my community. A young middle-school student was found dead by a teacher and a group of students. She had apparently hung herself from the bleachers.

There has been much speculation in news stories & social media about what may have driven this young lady to end her precious life. Lots of discussions about bullying in schools.

I didn't know the girl or her family. But as a parent, my heart breaks for them. I can't begin to imagine what her family must be going through. What goes on in the mind of a young teenager (or anyone) that leads them to conclude suicide is better than life? That tomorrow will not be any better?

Adolescence has never been easy. But kids today face things that were unimaginable when I was their age. Bullies prey on those who are often the most vulnerable. Children with special needs, kids that are overweight, kids who, for whatever reason, are perceived to be different, are most often the target. And it occurs not only at school--use of social media is ubiquitous. Cruelty can be exponentially viewed and shared by thousands of people.

Kids are exposed to things they shouldn't see and hear. Oftentimes, they are forced to grow up much too soon.  I would argue we cannot overstate the impact of Hollywood & the entertainment industry's obsession with 'perfect people,' sexuality, and violence have on our children. Kids will compare themselves to the images they see.

Today's families have unprecedented challenges. Economic uncertainty, financial strain, infidelity, greed, self-destructive behaviors, divorce, and shifting values and morals are re-shaping our cultural identity. Once a prominent place in American life, the Christian faith is now relegated to some long-forgotten shelf of yesteryear. So many perfidious things compete for our time, money, and interest.

We not the same country we once were. Some will say that's a good thing. I'm not so sure. We are today, undoubtedly, more jaded, skeptical, and cynical.

I recently read that many of us now no longer believe in the American Dream. Many in my age group that believe their children will not do as well as we have. Although many would never verbalize it, a lot of people believe that our best days are behind us. We are constantly bombarded by news stories confirming our worst fears. An unsettling despondency plagues many hearts and families. Hope seems to be on the extinction list.

Hope is not something tangible you can hold in your hands. Although it can't be seen or physically touched, it is nonetheless 'real.'  Hope, much like faith, is something that you must believe in. And if one has lost all hope, life becomes a burden. A burden that sometimes becomes too much to keep carrying. Hope is a precious commodity that is needed now more than ever. Although it may seem to be a limited resource, it is renewable and sustainable.

Our children need to believe their future is bright. They need to have hope. They need to believe that each passing day leads to better things. If, as adults, we do not believe such things, our children are perceptive enough to know. Our mentality becomes theirs. Our hopelessness is contagious.

As a parent, a neighbor, a community, and as our 'brother's keeper,' we should understand and empathize with the pain and turmoil that occurs in the lives of many in our midst, often silently and unspoken. We need to demonstrate concern and love, and intervene before tragic events happen.

Is there hope? I am compelled and persuaded to believe the answer is, simply, yes. Life is way too miraculous, precious, fragile, and short to concur otherwise. We cannot let fear, doubt and evil triumph. Events like what happened this week in my town, in which a precious 14 year old young lady deliberately ends her own life, should not become commonplace. Kids need to know that someone cares.



Psalms 34:24

***

Wordless Wednesday: Brown County, Indiana

Wordless Wednesday: Modoc's

Favorite Quotes of Margaret Thatcher

I've always thought Margaret Thatcher was the quintessential British lady. She was tough, outspoken, and a lightening rod of criticism by her adversaries. I am a collector of quotations...I've included a few of my favorites from the 'Iron Lady.'

“If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to 

compromise on anything at anytime, and would achieve 

nothing. ” 

“Do you know that one of the great problems of our age is 

that we are governed by people who care more about feelings 

than they do about thoughts and ideas.” 

“Watch your thoughts for they become words.

Watch your words for they become actions.


Watch your actions for they become habits.


Watch your habits for they become your character.


And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.


What we think, we become.


My father always said that... and I think I am fine.” 

“Consensus: “The process of abandoning all beliefs, 

principles, values, and policies in search of something in 

which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the 

process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, 

merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. 

What great cause would have been fought and won under the 

banner: ‘I stand for consensus?” 

 “Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” 

“When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business, it'll be 

called rent-a-spine” 

http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details.cfm?SDAN=DFSC8301267&JPGPath=/Assets/1983/Air_Force/DF-SC-83-01267.JPG

“If you set out to be liked, you will accomplish nothing.” 

“I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without 

hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the 

top, but it will get you pretty near.” 

***

Note: All photos courtesy of WikiCommons, which are in the public domain. 

Forgotten Lore: Post Three

Forgotten Lore

(A Quaint and Curious Volume)

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle 

slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without 

milestones, without signposts,

...Your affectionate uncle, 

Screwtape.” 

 ***

Here are the uncomplicated rules: 

• I will provide a line or two from a book (perhaps from famous or popular authors, and maybe sometimes from lesser known folks who penned a good line). 

• YOU take a guess at the author and the book. 

• And, if you'd like, provide a line from your own favorite novel/author.  

Wordless Wednesday: Staying on Track

Forgotten Lore: Post Two

Forgotten Lore

(A Quaint & Curious Volume)

"The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: --It continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definiteness --until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears."

 ***

Here are the uncomplicated rules: 

• I will provide a line or two from a book (perhaps from famous or popular authors, and maybe sometimes from lesser known folks who penned a good line). 

• YOU take a guess at the author and the book. 

• And, if you'd like, provide a line from your own favorite novel/author.