REFLECTIONS

2006-11-23T09:39:00.001-05:00

THANKSGIVING

Freedom from Want - Painting © Norman Rockwell

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-09-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

REMEMBERING 9-11

Photo by James Nachtwey for TIME magazine.

On this date, five years ago, we experienced a great national tragedy in the United States. Not only in the lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks, the families torn asunder, and the emergency responders who are suffering terrible health problems as a result of working at the scene - but also in the way we view ourselves and our world.

The photo essays linked below (in the September 9 post) are a reminder of what we all went through on that fateful day.

I've written a longer reflection at my ministry blog.

2006-09-10T17:34:00.000-04:00

BILL BIGGART: REMEMBERING 9-11

Bill Biggart's final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.

You can read the story about Bill Biggart's last images and see an album of his last photos at The Digital Journalist.

You can see other 9-11 photo albums by Chip East, Peter Turnley, David Turnley, and Aris Economopoulos.

2006-08-24T22:36:00.000-04:00

PERSONALITY HEAT MAPS

Britney Spears Heat Map

I came across an interesting curiosity. The State University of New York at Stony Brook has been tracking the amount of exposure various personalities are getting in the news on a geographic basis. The results for March 2005 are available in a series of "heat maps". The more red in a given area of the country, the more news coverage that person received in that area.

Bill Clinton Heat Map

Some of the results are predictable and some aren't. It makes sense that former U.S. President Bill Clinton would get more coverage in the northeast since his wife Hillary is a Senator in New York. He also gets more coverage in his home state of Arkansas. But why is Britney Spears getting so much attention in the sparsely populated Rocky Mountain West? It is clear that Britney got a lot more coverage than Bill in the month this data was collected.

Bill Gates Heat Map

I would expect that bill Gates, head of Microsoft, would get a lot of news coverage in the state of Washington (home of Microsoft) and in financial and tech centers like New York and Silicon Valley, but why all the news about Bill in North and South Dakota?

You can ponder all of this and check out the heat maps for a long list of personalities. More information is here and you can look up the personality of your choice.

2006-07-04T13:22:00.000-04:00

THE 4th of JULY

Fireworks over Yukon, Oklahoma. Photo © Jim Doty, Jr.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

From the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). 3rd US President (1801-09).

To see an engraving of the original and George Washington's personal printed copy, go here.

The entire declaration follows.

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:

New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts

John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island

Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut

Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York

William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey

Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania

Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware

Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland

Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia

George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina

William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina

Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia

Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

SOURCE: Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington

2006-06-03T13:20:00.000-04:00

SAVE THE INTERNET 2

An open post from Representative Zoe Lofgren who is on our side in the Net Neutrality debate in Congress.

Guest post from Rep. Zoe Lofgren

May 26th, 2006

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 5417, the “Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006,” which I introduced with Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, Ranking Member John Conyers and Rep. Rick Boucher last week. This is the first bill with real protections for Net Neutrality that has passed any committee in Congress, and I am proud to be a part of it.

The bill requires broadband providers to operate their networks in a non-discriminatory manner and makes sure that the phone and cable companies cannot favor or block access to the Web sites or online services that they pick instead of the consumer. It will keep the Internet an open and free marketplace of ideas and services chosen by consumers instead of big corporations. It will also guard against those who own “the pipes” gleaning profits by creating a virtual toll road.

H.R. 5417 was introduced by a bipartisan coalition from the Judiciary Committee and passed out of the Committee by a vote of 20-13. Fourteen Democrats and six Republicans voted in favor of it, and 13 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat voted present.

The Internet has revolutionized the way Americans communicate with one another and do business. It’s only right to keep that revolution where it belongs — in the hands of Internet users instead of the phone and cable companies.

The next hurdle for Net Neutrality is whether we will have a full vote on the House floor. If you care about the freedom that Net Neutrality protects, contact your Member of Congress and ask that H.R. 5417 be scheduled to come before the full House of Representatives as either a separate bill or an amendment. Urge them to vote for Net Neutrality protection!

Source: http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/

2006-06-03T02:49:00.000-04:00

SAVE THE INTERNET

A plan before Congress, backed by big telecom dollars, could gut the internet's first amendment: Net Neutrality. What is at risk is your right to choose the internet sites you want to go to, and even your right to receive emails from whomever you want. Do your part today to protect your internet rights and save Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality means YOU choose the sites you want to visit, and they are provided to you without outside intereference.

Action could take place as early as next week in the House of Representatives to protect or take away your rights.

AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, AOL-Time Warner, and other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are spending millions of dollars lobbying Congress to gut Net Neutrality. If big telecom companies get their way, big subscribers can pay ISPs to have their web sites delivered to your computer in the "fast lane", and slow down or block other web sites from being served to your computer. You lose your power of choice.

The big telecoms could block you from viewing this blog simply because I am criticizing them.

Sound far fetched? It's already happening.

* In 2004, North Carolina ISP Madison River blocked their DSL customers from using any rival Web-based phone service.

* In 2005, Canada's telephone giant Telus blocked customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to the Telecommunications Workers Union during a labor dispute.

* In April, Time Warner's AOL blocked all emails that mentioned www.dearaol.com — an advocacy campaign opposing the company's pay-to-send e-mail scheme.

NPR and PBS have reported on these and other similar abuses.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has called for stronger Net Neutrality protections. Existing laws provide insufficient protection against these abuses. The FCC acts on the rules but congress makes them. If legislation before congress passes, we will have little or no protection from having our ISPs (internet service providers) decide what sites they will allow us to access, and how fast.

If big telecom companies get their way, the internet as we now know it will go away. Imagine you want to buy an item on the internet. Company A is selling it for $100 and Company B is selling it for $60. You go to Company B's web site but it loads very slowly or not at all. Why? Because Company A paid the telecom company to give them priority so your access to Company B is either dramatically slowed down or blocked completely. Big dollars, not your choices, will control the internet.

Who is on our side? Supporters of Net Neutrality include Amazon.com, Earthlink, EBay, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Skype, Vonage and Yahoo, the American Library Association, churches and hundreds of other non-profit organizations, political groups, bloggers, small businesses, thousands of small web site owners, and thousands of others who are opposed to the telecom backed plan now before congress. Also on our side are some of the computer scientists that developed the internet in the first place.

NPR and PBS have reported that several telecom executives have already announced their plans to decide which web sites get served to you in the fast lane (based on big buck payments to the telecoms), which web sites are served in the slow lane, and which ones won't be delivered at all. Big telecoms and other ISPs want this huge source of potential new income.

For big telecoms, the internet isn't a highway system where you choose to go in whatever vehicle you have Idial up, cable, DSL etc). Telecom execs refer to the internet as "big pipes" and they want to control what flows down the pipelines to your computer. And they will choose based on who pays them the biggest bucks to send their content to your computer.

A multi-million dollar ad campaign ("Hands Off the Internet") has been launched by the big telecoms to downplay the Net Neutrality cause. Do you trust the big telecoms to have your best interests at heart, or all the online companies, big and small, that want you to have equal access to the sites you want to visit on the internet?

The glory of the internet is neutrality. Any ordinary Joe or Jane can put up a website and anyone else can go to it. The pages on my web sites receive between 1,500 and 2,000 visits per day, and anyone can find me on Google or most any other search engine. If big telecom gets their way, I would have to pay them or they won't feed my site down "their big pipes" to your computer. I will be shunted off to one of "their little pipes" at really slow speeds or not at all.

For more information, go to SaveTheInternet.com. Be sure and read the FAQ, then write, call, and email your representatives in congress.

2006-04-06T22:17:00.000-04:00

MOVIE SCRIPTS

Four of us were watching "Lost in Translation". At the end of the movie, Bob whispers in Charlotte's ear. We re-ran the DVD but we were unable to figure out what Bob was saying. Curiosity led to an internet search which turned up the script and we now know what Bob said. Even better, we found hundreds of other movie scripts.

Want to read the the script of one of your favorite movies or check out a favorite scene? If it is a well know movie, odds are good that it is online.

So what did Bob say to Charlotte, at least according to the script? "I know. I'm going to miss you too."

Have fun looking for your own movie quote.

Links:

The Daily Script, scripts A-M

The Daily Script, scripts N-Z

Movie-Page, scripts A-M

Movie-Page, scripts N-Z

Links to more movie scripts

2006-03-20T12:30:00.000-05:00

GOOGLE MARS

Screen shot (reduced in size) from Google Mars showing Olympus Mons and the Tharsis area of Mars.

Just what you've always wanted, a color-coded, topographic map of the surface of Mars. Scroll across the surface, zoom in and out, and look at the surface of Mars in visible or infrared light. You can also search for surface features, spacecraft, and stories.

In the reduced size screen shot above, Olympus Mons is the large white volcano above and to the left of the three volcanoes in a row. It is the largest know volcano in our solar system at 374 miles in diameter (approximately the size of Arizona). It is 16 miles high with a caldera at the summit measuring 50 miles wide. NASA has more info on Olympus Mons here.

Have fun exploring.

Google Earth, Olympus Mons closeup, NASA JPL

2006-02-28T08:34:00.000-05:00

THE WHITE ROSE

Hans (left) and Sophie Scholl with Cristoph Probst (right), leaders of "The White Rose" resistance movement. Munich Germany, July 1942.

Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie were part of "The White Rose", a group that opposed Hitler and the Nazi party. Hans served as a medic on the Eastern (Russian) front from late July to October 1942. One month later, 300,000 Germans were trapped in Stalingrad and only 5,000 returned to Germany.

Hans and Sophie were arrested February 18, 1943 for distributing leaflets and indicted for treason. They were "tried" February 22, 1843 along with their friend Cristoph Probst, found guilty, and executed by guillotine later the same day. A moving account of the trial and visits with their parents during their last hours is toward the end of this article.

12 or so years ago, my son Jim acquired the above photo. He and his friend Eric wrote the following poem at that time.

--- --- ---

WHITE ROSE

They are the things of nursery rhymes
Such as ones you read to children –
Unknowing toddlers suffering parents’ crimes
And burned beneath the ashes of Dresden:
Petals falling to the ground.
Sophie stares darkly serious
With heavier weight than should be
Allowed for a woman on twenty-one.
But everyone carried burdens.
Three hundred thousand bodies
make the conscience sour,
Shameful that a much larger number
would be necessary to sate one man’s
Thirst, or earn
righteous vengeance.

For Hans, perhaps no healing powers
Ever learned could stop the burns and amputations
from the
EAST
Or mend the bleeding of a people
Once vast
Once proud
Once beautiful.
And more than beauty, the daisy
sits
Close to Sophie’s bosom,
In its last bastion of protection
Where life and beauty survive
If only for a moment –

Innocence lost, like blood drained and
Whitened leaving zombies in blind sleep;
Red sapped from passionate roses
Stifling growth,
Cultivating compliance,
Leaving only a single symbol
Of virginity
Of purity
On aninimity

White Rose

- Copyright © Eric Duckworth and Jim Doty III

--- --- ---

You can learn more about Hans, Sophie, and the White Rose here , here, and (if you speak German) here.

Sophie's story has been made into a critically acclaimed movie that will be released in major U.S cities between February and May. You can learn more about the movie here and here.

Current play dates are at the movie site.

2006-02-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS?

Photos on this site (as well as my other blogs) actually live in my albums at ImageEvent.com. When you view one of my posts, the photos are pulled off of ImageEvent's servers. They are running v-e-r-y slow today (which is unusual). That is why images are slow to show up here, or don't appear at all.

2006-02-16T11:20:00.000-05:00

ONLY 2 DAYS to SAVE OUR U.S. NATIONAL PARKS

From the National Council of Churches home page, February 16, 2006

You have until February 18 to do your part to save our National Parks. It will take you less than two minutes of your time if you use the form letter at the link below.

Proposed changes to the policies that have protected our National Parks can turn them into "A Noisy, Hazy, Off-road Nightmare." Keeping the 2001 NPS Management Policies would be much better for our parks than adopting the proposed changes.

A number of retired employees of the National Park Service, each of whom served the National Park Service in executive level leadership positions, are opposed to the proposed changes and have explained their concerns in a detailed letter. The signers of the letter include three Deputy Directors that served between 1975 and 2002 and a long list of Regional, Associate, and Center Directors. Their letter will tell you most of what you need to know (see the "letter of protest" link below). They call the proposed changes "a drastic and dangerous departure from a longstanding national consensus." They go on to say "We are especially troubled by the omission from the opening sections of the Management Policies of their long-established emphasis upon the NPS’s overriding responsibility to preserve resources on behalf of all Americans, including those yet unborn."

Several senators are also opposed. The National Council of Churches (NCC) and FaithfulAmerica.org are calling on Americans to do their part to stop these changes. Surprisingly enough, it was an email this morning from the NCC that brought this issue to my attention.

If you are a photographer and you want to protect our National Parks from visual degradation, DO YOUR PART.

If you are a person of faith (no matter what religion) and you believe that stewardship of the earth and preserving the beauty of some of our national wonders is important, DO YOUR PART.

If you want your children and granchildren to be able to enjoy our National Parks in the future in the way that you have enjoyed them in the past, DO YOUR PART.

If you believe in the values of wilderness, tranquility, and peace, and you don't want our National Parks to sound more and more like amusement parks, DO YOUR PART.

If you use the form letter at the link below, it will take you less than two minutes to fill out and send. The NPS deadline for sending emails or post marking letters is February 18 at 11:59 pm MST.

While you are at it, write to your representatives in the House and Senate. Find your elect officials here.

Send an email to the NPS:

Send a message to the National Park Service with this online form letter from the Faithful America web site. Just fill in your name, email address, and mailing address and click "Send this message". You can edit the letter or write your own letter in the box provided.

You can also use the NPS comment form. You are limited to a 4,000 character message.

Or write to this NPS email address: waso_policy@nps.gov and use this subject line: "Comments on NPS Management Policies (ID: 12825)".

There is an online form letter you can log on and use at the Sierra Club web site and another online form at the National Parks Conservation Association web site.

Information Links:

The web site of Faithful America with more information about this issue.

Read the letter of protest to the NPS Director from National Park Service employees that served in executive level leadership positions with the park service prior to their retirement.

The National Parks Conservation Association is also opposed to the proposed NPS policy changes.

Some Republican and Democratic Senators oppose changes to proposed NPS policies changes.

The complete text of proposed revisions to National Park Service management policies.

National Council of Churches home page.

From the FaithfulAmerca.org web site, February 16, 2006.

2006-02-14T18:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Grocery store, February 14, late in the afternoon. Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

Ah! Valentine's Day. I was at a local grocery store about an hour ago and the flower section was packed with men and women doing some last minute shopping. The card section was packed too and the card shelves looked like a tornado had gone through.

Despite all the reports in the media about how stressful this day can be (Men: "What if I don't choose the PERFECT gift?" Women: "What should I wear?"), I like Valentine's Day. The flowers I bought are in a vase, the card purchased, the gift ready to go, and I will take my favorite girl out to dinner later this evening. It's a good day. Maybe this day is less stressful since I am less perfectionistic than I used to be (at least that is what I keep telling myself). So what if things aren't just perfect? Flowers orders can get lost, dinner reservations get mixed up, things can and do go wrong. So? What really matters is the people we care about.

If you haven't done so already (and it doesn't matter what day you read this post) it's a good day to call, write, or email some of the special people in your life and tell them how much they mean to you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2006-01-16T17:04:00.000-05:00

I HAVE A DREAM . . .

Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.

The text below is from the end of King's "I have a dream" speech, one of the most significant and powerful speeches of the 20th century. Links to the full speech and an audio file are below.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." [Isaiah 40:4-5]**

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

**Isaiah 40:4-5 (King James Version of the Holy Bible). Quotation marks are excluded from part of this moment in the text because King's rendering of Isaiah 40:4 does not precisely follow the KJV version from which he quotes (e.g., "hill" and "mountain" are reversed in the KJV). King's rendering of Isaiah 40:5, however, is precisely quoted from the KJV.

Martin Luther King Jr.

The complete text and a downloadable audio file of the whole speech can be found at American Rhetoric.

2006-01-07T14:27:00.000-05:00

HEATED MATTRESS PAD - FAILED MARRIAGE

" ... I originally bought this product for my ex Shoko Y_____ because she got cold even more easily than me and I wanted her to be happy…of course she left me later…I guess it takes more than a warm mattress pad to make a relationship work ... I wouldn’t suggest dating her, but I would highly suggest buying the mattress pad! "

I found these lines in the middle of an odd review of a heated mattress pad at Amazon.com. Without further comment, here is the full review.

"This product is so awesome!!! I bought this because I get cold very easy. I have Scandinavian blood in me and yet I get seasick and cold easy so I would have been a horrible Viking! But with this mattress pad, I am toasty warm come winter. It has an auto shut off, and has 20 different temperature settings from Low to 20. I find that on 5 it's quite warm and can't imagine going up to 15+ unless I lived in Minnesota (in which case I still wouldn't be a Viking, but would get to see them!...football joke). So if you buy this you will get something that keeps you warm, is safe, adjustable, easy to clean (I do simply put it in the wash and dryer...whatever), and something that for the last 3 years has been working very very well for me. Also, while this review is only me writing, I would love to rustle up some ex-girlfriends who could also attest to how wonderful this product is. In fact I originally bought this product for my ex Shoko Y_____ because she got cold even more easily than me and I wanted her to be happy...of course she left me later...I guess it takes more than a warm mattress pad to make a relationship work...things she apparently didn't have: like commitment, love in her heart, self-esteem, good communication, etc... Anyway, I wouldn't suggest dating her, but I would highly suggest buying the mattress pad! Good luck people of the world staying warm! Also, I sometimes take it for granted, but this product requires 120 volt electricity, which is not included! So if you live in the "developing world" you pretty much won't want to spend the difference on this product and I would suggest a normal mattress pad for your queen sized beds, maybe a pillow top and still save money, which I figure is good advice because you probably don't have very much anyway. Take care all, and those in the first world, once again, I highly suggest this product!!

Sam"

The original review is here.

2005-12-25T21:23:00.000-05:00

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

Merry Christmas to each one of you! May the coming year bring us closer to "Peace on Earth" (Luke 2:8-14) for all of God's children in every place and of every race.

2005-12-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

AMAZING CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

This is the most amazing Christmas light display by a home owner that I have ever seen. It is computer synchronized to the music and the most spectacular part is at the end. You will need a broadband connection and Windows Media Player. Go here.

Merry Christmas!

2005-11-26T17:04:00.000-05:00

DVD RECORDERS

DVDs are replacing videotapes. DVD Recorders are replacing VCRs which will probably go the way of the 8-track. Some DVD Recorders will record TV shows to a hard drive and allow you to edit out the commercials before you record to a DVD. You can slo record your videotapes to DVD with a DVD Recorder. If you are worried about your treasured videotapes wearing out or deteriorating over time, now is the time to convert them to DVDs.

Prices are going down and quality is going up. So how do you pick a good unit? A list of good review sites is here. The same site also has its own reviews.

2005-11-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

100 BEST PRODUCTS OF 2005

PC World has posted their list of the 100 Best Products of 2005. You can also look at the best products by category.

2005-09-24T21:05:00.000-04:00

YOU CAN HELP - PART TWO

Galveston residents wait in a broken down bus to be evacuated from Galveston, Texas, as Hurricane Rita heads for the Texas Gulf Coast on Thursday. AP Photo/David J. Phillip.

Just a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina devasted the Gulf coast, Hurricane Rita has hit land. Fortunately, Hurricane Rita has not been nearly as costly in terms of lives lost, but there has been a lot of property damage and a lot of people have been displaced. Help is needed for the victims of both hurricanes.

Give to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or the charity of your choice that is doing relief work in the aftermath of both hurricanes.

One of my favorite charities is "Oblation" via the Community of Christ. Oblation contributions in the month of September have gone go to relief efforts for the victims of Katrina and contributions are already going to help the victims of Hurricane Rita. You can donate online here and read more here and here .

A fire burns in downtown Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Rita approaches the coast Friday, Sept. 23, 2005. AP Photo/David J. Phillip.

2005-09-02T00:10:00.000-04:00

YOU CAN HELP!

A rescued baby cries in the arms of a policewoman after being brought to land on a boat from floodwaters in New Orleans September 1, 2005. (Jason Reed/Reuters)

You can help.

Give to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or the charity of your choice that is doing relief work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Bay St. Louis Emergency Management Agency volunteer crews rescue the Taylor family from the roof of their suburban, which became trapped on US 90 due to flooding during Hurricane Katrina on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (AP Photo/Ben Sklar)

2005-05-06T12:44:00.000-04:00

GOING BACK

This is not your typical "add a post every day" kind of blog. I write when I feel like it, providing I have the time when there is something I want to write about.

A recent email pointed out that an interesting link in one of my older posts was now dead. I went back to the post to update the link, only to find it quite difficult to locate where the linked article had moved to. The internet is very fluid. I made a note to myself to make a text copy of any interesting articles that I refer to by link.

While I was at it, I did something I have not done for some time. I went back to read a number of my older posts. Two years ago isn't that far back but it was still nice to read, especially the posts about family. Our first grandchild had just arrived a little over two years ago (and yes, I added a photo of him to the post).

I laughed again as I read the cattle truck post, and I pondered again my personal fears as I went to intervene when a young man was beating a young woman in a car. I thought about the posts that have had the highest number of email responses.

It wasn't long before I was correcting spelling errors, fixing grammer, adding pictures, adding to posts that were unclear, and changing posts that now feel too wordy. I moved some posts to other blogs.

I found one or two that instead of minor editing I would like to do a total re-write as a new post or expand upon in a more significant way. I am as concerned as ever that our congress is unable to control its spending binge. Disinformation on both sides of the political aisle is still disturbing.

It was an interesting journey, an enjoyable and sometimes thought provoking look back. I didn't read all of the posts, but I did catch some of the highlights.

2005-05-02T13:43:00.000-04:00

BEN STEIN'S LAST COLUMN

Ben Stein wrote "Monday Night at Mortons", a column at E! Online. I received a link to his final column, "How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?" It is a retrospective on his changing view of things and the real stars in our world.

You can read it here.

If the link fails or the column goes away, you can read the complete text below.

*** *** ***

Monday Night at Mortons, by Ben Stein
ben stein at hollywood's a-list table

How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?

As I begin to write this, I "slug" it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is "eonlineFINAL," and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started.

Lew Harris, who founded this great site, asked me to do it maybe seven or eight years ago, and I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.

But again, all things must pass, and my column for E! Online must pass. In a way, it is actually the perfect time for it to pass. Lew, whom I have known forever, was impressed that I knew so many stars at Morton's on Monday nights.

He could not get over it, in fact. So, he said I should write a column about the stars I saw at Morton's and what they had to say.

It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars.

I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie.

But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a "star" we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model?

Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer.

A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him.

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.
The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.

We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.

I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.

There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament. The policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive. The orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery. The teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children. The kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.

Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse.

Now you have my idea of a real hero.

Last column, I told you a few of the rules I had learned to keep my sanity. Well, here is a final one to help you keep your sanity and keep you in the running for stardom: We are puny, insignificant creatures.

We are not responsible for the operation of the universe, and what happens to us is not terribly important. God is real, not a fiction, and when we turn over our lives to Him, he takes far better care of us than we could ever do for ourselves.

In a word, we make ourselves sane when we fire ourselves as the directors of the movie of our lives and turn the power over to Him.

I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin--or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.

But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life.

I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.

This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.

As so many of you know, I am an avid Bush fan and a Republican. But I think the best guidance I ever got was from the inauguration speech of Democrat John F. Kennedy in January of 1961.

On a very cold and bright day in D.C., he said, "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth...asking His blessing and His help but knowing that here on Earth, God's work must surely be our own."

And then to paraphrase my favorite president, my boss and friend Richard Nixon, when he left the White House in August 1974, with me standing a few feet away, "This is not goodbye. The French have a word for it--au revoir. We'll see you again."

Au revoir, and thank you for reading me for so long. God bless every one of you. We'll see you again.

2005-04-02T19:08:00.000-05:00

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II, 1920-2005

In memory of a remarkable and loving man with deep convictions and high courage.

He sought to mend relationships with Orthodox Christians and he made the first papal visit to an Orthodox country since Christendom split into East and West nearly 1,000 years ago. He was the first Pope to visit a mosque and he sought to build bridges between Christians and Jews.

He was the first Pope to visit the White House and met with several U.S. presidents. He met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Before he became Pope, he stood against communism. Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said, "All that has happened in East Europe over these last few years would not have been possible without the presence of the Pope."

He was more than the leader of one billion Catholics, he was a strong and influential leader on the world stage.

The Los Angeles Times has several excellent photo albums.

Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa.
Calcutta, India, February, 1986. (AP File Photo)

2005-03-27T07:10:00.000-05:00

EASTER

May the joy of this season be yours!

2005-02-20T14:56:00.000-05:00

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVISITED

The big PMA (Photo Marketing Association) trade show starts today in Orlando. I was checking out the convention schedule and learned that Creedence Clearwater Revisited headlines the "Big Night" performance.

This will date me, but I grew up on Creedence Clearwater Revival (and a lot of other bands from that bygone era). So who is CC Revisited and are they any good?

As the story goes, two original members of Creedence Clearwater Revival missed playing the old CCR hits in a live performance. They got back together and found three more musicians to join them. The plan was just to play for friends at private parties. That led to public concerts, and then small tours, then performances around the world, and finally a double live CD album called "Recollection". It seems there are a lot of old CCR fans out there who would like to hear the music live and want a CD to remember the concert.

If you like "Suzie Q", "Down on the Corner", "Heard it through the Grapevine", "Bad Moon Rising", "Proud Mary", and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain", you can listen to all of these and more CCR hits at the Creedence Clearwater Revisited website.

All the songs on the double live CD are here and their home page is here.

2004-12-30T16:18:00.000-05:00

TSUNAMI RELIEF

Swirling ocean swells are seen along the flooded coast Sri Lanka in an image taken by DigitalGlobe's QuickBird satellite shortly after the area was hit by a Tsunami on December 26, 2004.

The recent tsunamis have created a disaster of staggering human proportions. It is a deeply tragic situation. You can help by donating to the agency of your choice. One possibility is the Amercian Red Cross. If you have an Amazon.com account, you can go to Amazon and use your credit card to donate to the American Red Cross.

Google.com has several ways to donate to help with Tsunami Relief.

However you decide to give, it is important that you give.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief (from the Amazon.com website):

At least 120,000 people have lost their lives in East Africa and South Asia in the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunamis on December 26. Thousands of people in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and Indonesia are still missing; many others have lost their homes and livelihoods. Sri Lanka and Indonesia suffered the highest number of deaths, but India, East Africa, Seychelles, Maldives, and Thailand were all affected by the tsunami waves, which reached as high as 20 feet. Aid workers and volunteers are focused on stopping the spread of disease and delivering food and drinking water to survivors. The American Red Cross reports that emergency assessment and first-aid teams were on the ground quickly and are already working with local groups to support relief efforts. Your financial donation will help provide medicine, clothing, food, and shelter for victims of the East Africa and South Asia earthquake and tsunami disaster. Thanks in advance for your participation during this critical time. The American Red Cross name is used with its permission. For more information about the American Red Cross, please call 1‑800 HELP NOW or e-mail info@usa.redcross.org.

2004-12-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

CHRISTMAS LINKS

Christmas jigsaw puzzle. Help Santa come down the chimney.

Down Christmas Lane, a collection of "old fashioned" Christmas images.

2004-12-24T01:02:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ski Island, Oklahoma. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

May the joys and blessings of this season be with you now and throughout the coming year.

2004-12-17T14:45:00.000-05:00

COMPLETE COMPUTER SCAN

This is THE place to go to find the complete guide to scanning your system for viruses,trojans, spy-ware, mal-ware and other computer infections:

Major Geeks Support Forums

2004-11-25T09:08:00.001-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

"Freedom from Want", Norman Rockwell

There is a very light dusting of snow this morning and soft, delicate flakes continue to fall. "Our children are nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugarplums . . . . ." oops, that's in a few more weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2004-10-17T23:47:00.000-04:00

FACT TWISTING

So who is playing fast and loose with the facts in the Presidential election campaign? Both Kerry and Bush. In fact, the amount of lies and misrepresetations on both sides is staggering. The highly respected, non-partisan website FactCheck.org blames both of them for an "avalache of misinformation".

I highly recommend you go to their website and read several of the articles.

Kerry said Bush "cut the Pell Grants". The truth? The number of grants and the amopunt of money both went up. The academic year before Bush became President, 3.9 million Pell Grants were awarded. In the most recent acadcemic year, 5.1 million Pell Grants were awarded, an increase of 1.3 million. $8 billion in Pell Grants were awarded in the year Bush took office. Three years later, Pell Grants were $12.7 billion, an increase of nearly 60%.

Bush says Kerry only passed five bills during his congressional career. Kerry claims 56. What is the truth? Eleven bills authored by Kerry have been passed into law.

Bush said most of his tax cuts went to "low- and middle-income Americans" when most cuts went to the richest 10 percent. All groups ended up with some degree of tax cuts. The top 20% of Americans in income still pay 81% of all income taxes.

Kerry claimed that "500,000 kids lost after-school programs" under Bush, but there were no cuts in after-school programs. A 40% cut was proposed by the Department of Education but Congress rejected it.

Bush botched the facts on the flu vaccine.

Kerry wrongly claimed Bush "hasn't met with the Black Congressional Caucus." Kerry got the name wrong, it's actually the Congressional Black Caucus. Bush met with them twice.

All of this great information comes from: FactCheck.org.

Here is some more:

*
Kerry twice claimed 1.6 million jobs have been lost under Bush, which is 1 million too high.
*
Bush said that in Iraq "We'll have 125,000 troops trained by the end of this year," which is wrong. Actually, the security forces being trained are a "mixed bag" of soldiers, border guards and even three-week "shake and bake" police officers, according to House testimony by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
*
Kerry again claimed "The jobs the president is creating pay $9,000 less than the jobs that we're losing," a fanciful figure based on industry averages that don't actually compare wages of jobs lost to those of newer jobs.
*
Bush claimed fear of lawsuits drives doctors to "the defensive practice of medicine that costs the federal government some $28 billion a year and costs our society between $60 billion and $100 billion a year," which is contrary to nearly all academic studies of the matter.
*
Kerry repeated that "I have a plan to cover all Americans" for health care. Actually, his plan wouldn't cover all Americans. It would increase the percentage who have coverage from 84% currently to an estimated 92% to 95%. But several million would still be left uninsured.
*
Bush again said Kerry "voted to increase taxes 98 times." But that total includes up to 16 votes on a single tax bill, and 43 votes on budget measures that set targets but don't actually legislate tax increases."

http://factcheck.org/article281.html

"A Kerry ad that claims to tell "the truth on taxes" falls short of doing so. It says that "after nearly four years under George Bush, the middle class is paying a bigger share of American's tax burden and the wealthiest are paying less."

That's true as far as it goes. However, the total federal tax burden on all income groups has been reduced, just more for some than for others. It's true that the top 20% of income earners now pay a smaller share of the reduced tax burden, but so do the bottom 40% of earners.

Those in the middle 20% now pay an average of 14.5% of their income for all federal taxes, a reduction 1.9 percentage points as a result of the Bush cuts. That middle group pays 10.5% of the reduced overall federal tax burden. That share has gone up as the Kerry ad says -- by 2/10ths of one percentage point."

http://factcheck.org/article280.html

"Bush stumbled when he denied making some remarks about Osama bin Laden that Kerry had accurately paraphrased. Bush accused Kerry of "one of those exaggerations."

In fact, Bush said almost exactly what Kerry quoted him as saying."

I highly recommend this site for checking on the facts as opposed to the distortions in the debates and on TV ads. Read more at:

http://factcheck.org/

Who is behind this great website? The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. This site takes equal shots at both parties and their distortions of the facts.

2004-10-17T23:21:00.000-04:00

CANDIDATES AND ISSUES

Which candidate most closely matches your stand on the issues? Take the quiz on this excellent website.

I learned why I am not overjoyed with either Bush or Kerry. I match Bush on only 30% of the issues and I match Kerry on only 30% of the issues.

Who is my closest candidate match? Senator Joe Lieberman with a 60% issues match. It is a shame Lieberman isn't running. Since there was only one Republican Presidential candidate, this site could not match me up with more Republican options.

George Bush on the issues is here.

John Kerry on the issues (along with his votes on some of the issues) is here.

You can also check out your Governor, Senators, and Representatives.

More quizzes are here.

This is an excellent site to see where candidates "say" they stand on the issues. Of course, they don't always do what they say.

2004-10-17T23:02:00.000-04:00

NATIONAL DEBT

The "deficit" (or surplus) is an annual figure based on how much more (or less) the government spent as compared to income for that fiscal year. The National Debt is the accumulated total of all deficits and surpluses to date. The current national debt is over $7 trillion.

National Debt

Corrected for inflation

Does the jump over the last 20 some years bother you? It does me. Who is to blame? The House and Senate for passing the bills that spend so much money and the Presidents who signed those bills. Want to do something about this? Write to the White House, your Senator, and your Representative in the House and tell them to change this unacceptable situation. If their votes don't reflect more fiscal responsibiltity, vote them out.

Data source: http://www.brillig.com/

2004-09-24T23:00:00.000-04:00

The Light Side of the Force

If you have seen the original (and wonderful) Stars Wars trilogy, you will remember the classic line "Come over to the Dark Side." Well, I did the opposite. I came over to the Light Side.

My office computer, really a quite respectable machine, is a PC running Windows XP and the usual Microsoft office suite. It is important in terms of compatibility with my office co-workers. I really don't have anything against Gates, Inc. Some of my favorite software is only available in a PC-Windows version. Whenever my computer and/or software run amok, my son Jared (who is also my computer guru) comes along and fixes things. Jared's desktop is a PC running Windows XP.

I go on a lot of trips and Jared decided I needed a small computer for saving all of the digital photos I take when I am on the road. The need for traveling as light as possible for an upcoming trip to Tahiti emphasized this need. After discussing the possibilities, he recommended an Apple iBook. I have now been using a 12 inch iBook for the last few weeks. WOW! I have come over to the light side of the force. How do I know? My PC is black (well, a very dark gray), and the iBook is white. Pretty clear, just like in 1950's westerns when the good guys wore white hats (or Darth Vader in black and Obi-Wan in white).

It was pretty strange at first. Different operating system. No right-click. Different layout. Different software. But as I get used to it, I really do like it. And it fires up so much faster than the Windows machine. In a lot of ways, I like it better. No wonder Mac-addicts are like they are.

So - will I leave PC Windows computers behind? No. I will still do my digital slide shows on SmoothShow, and use some of the other PC-only software that I am quite fond of. But I have seen the light. I sure do like to use the iBook. It will be great for travel, downloading and reviewing photos, and burning them to CD. Jared is spoiling me. He steared me right with excellent advice once again.

2004-09-14T11:10:00.000-04:00

PROTECT YOURSELF

Using your credit card number or stealing your identity are just two of the ways you can be taken advantage of. Several articles at MSN Money give excellent ways you can protect yourself. Some of the topics are:

22 ways to foil credit card thieves

How to fight spam, junk mail and sales calls

Protect your privacy: 10 simple steps

Is your financial data really safe?

10 ways to stop identity theft cold

Your safe deposit box may not be so safe

Read more here.

2004-09-07T16:34:00.000-04:00

EVIL

Relatives mourn for Inna Kasumova, 16, a hostage killed in Russia's school siege, during her funeral in the town of Beslan, on September 7, 2004. (Photo (c) Grigory Dukor/Reuters)

Putting children at risk in the pursuit of a political or religious goal is a terrible evil. Good people of all faiths should rise up and denounce extremists of any sort, no matter who they are or where they are from.

Several years ago, I made two pilgrimmages to a small town in southern New Mexico to visit with Clyde Tombaugh who discovered the planet Pluto. He told me about the process of comparing hundreds of photos of the night sky in hopes of finding an as yet undiscovered planet in our solar system. He took me out in his back yard to show me the home made telescope that he used to do work that ultimately landed the job which resulted in the discovery.

During our second visit, I asked him what science had to say to religion. "God is bigger and more wonderful than you can possibly imagine" he answered.

"What does religon have to say to science?" I asked. He stunned me with his answer. "Absolutely nothing!" He went on: "Scientists don't kill each other over differences of beliefs."

He didn't need to explain. Recent news had reports from several places around the world where radical adherents of a variety of different religions were persecuting, oppressing, or killing people of different religions. Tombaugh's answer hurt at some primal level.

For centuries, a variety of folks have advocated the end of organized religion since it leads to bigotry, violence, and death. In too many cases, that has been true. Still, it could be argued that a great many good things have been accomplished throughout huistory because of wonderful spiritual motives by people in many of the world's great religons. No religion should be judged by the violent minority whose actions stray so far from the teachings of the founder of their religion.

Events in Russia show how far radical political or religious extremists will go in the pursuit of their cause. Other events in other places around the world show what happens when people are taught to hate other people who are different. Good people of faith should not only pray for an end to such violence and hate, but work to eradicate such evil. It can be found not very far from any one of us.

The deliberate killing of children is a monstrous evil, no matter the stated cause.

2004-07-19T11:26:00.000-04:00

Sullivan Ballou Letter

Major Sullivan Ballou

I have been moved by Sullivan Ballou's last letter to his wife ever since my daughter sent me a recording of it as a gift. A week after he wrote this letter, Ballou died at the first battle of Bull Run. The full text of the letter is bellow, the recorded version of the letter is shorter.

The letter was made justly famous when it was included as part of the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War. Here is an mp3 audio file:

Sullivan Ballou letter

The reading is by Paul Roebling (Ballou) and David McCullough (narrator). The background music is "Ashokan Farewell", written by Jay Ungar and performed by Jay Ungar & Molly Mason (more information is here).

The last two lines of the letter, not included in the documentary recording, are engraved on Ballou's grave marker which is located at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI.

The letter:

July the 14th, 1861
Washington D.C.

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days -- perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure -- and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing -- perfectly willing -- to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows -- when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children -- is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last, perhaps, before that of death -- and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal dart, am communing with God, my country, and thee.

I have sought most closely and diligently, and often in my breast, for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I loved and I could not find one. A pure love of my country and of the principles I have often advocated before the people and "the name of honor that I love more than I fear death" have called upon me, and I have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me -- perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar -- that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours -- always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father's love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God's blessing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

Listed Source: Brown University Alumni Quarterly (Nov. 1990): 38-42.

Online Sources:
http://users.ids.net/~tandem/sullivan.htm
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/23.htm
http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/ballou_letter.html (short version of the letter)

2004-06-06T13:21:00.000-04:00

D-DAY

Photo (c) Robert Capa. Taken June 6, 1944.

Today is the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Thousands of Americans lost their lives on this day alone. It was the beginning of an epic and at times horrendous struggle to free Europe from the grasp of Nazi-Germany. It was the second war to end all wars.

The D-Day story is told here and here.

The total WWII death toll from Europe alone is staggering:

Stats from www.angelfire.com/ct/ww2europe/stats.html

Still more gave their lives in Asia and the South Pacific.

My father fought in the South Pacific during WWII. He would not talk about the war and he is gone now. Thanks Dad. And thanks to the millions of others who went to war and fought to preserve human freedom and dignity. Thanks also to others who helped behind the lines and millions more who sacrificed at home to support the war effort. Thanks mom. And after the war, they set about building a better country and a better world. The WWII generation may very well deserve the title somtimes bestowed on them: "The Greatest Generation".

Give thanks to someone today, And give thanks to God.

And remember on this day that freedom is barely a dream for many on our planet. Hitler was not the last murderous tyrant. Over 5 million people "disappeared" over the last 20 years in Iraq. Every year at Christmas, million sing about Peace on Earth. There is much work to be done.

*** *** ***

WWII letter posted by PBS:

"Holland, February 22, 1945

Dear Ms. Troby,

...the gents that I speak of down here are usually known but to a few -- and ask no publicity. There are some of the officers and NCOs who live down there in hell -- just a few miles from here -- and they stay there days, weeks, and months, until they are killed. There are just a few. They teach men, feed them, protect them, and lead them sooner or later into the jaws of a hell that is the bloodiest, dirtiest, most vicious kind of murder that man, with all his machines, has been able to devise.

These men are loved with a kind of love that exists no place but on the battlefield -- and it is never talked about. These gents go for days without sleep, give away their clothes, go without food, keep going when they are sick, perform miraculous feats when they are wounded, and take the suicidal details rather than ask someone else to do it. They are never afraid, they are never cold, they never complain, and they spend all of their time trying to think of ways to help their men -- and to save them. I don't know if they are happy -- but if it isn't selflessness I never hope to see it.

And I don't mean to leave out the privates -- but the officers and non-coms are the ones I'm thinking of. Remember I said there were just a few like this. The stories come trickling in every once in a while. They usually stay there until they die. Surely they must be God's people. He was like that. I'm sure they swore and drank and did a lot of other things -- but I am sure God got them when they went away...

Bye you,
Whitney"

*** *** ***

A film strip of photos taken by Robert Capa on D-Day, June 6, 1944

2004-06-06T12:33:00.000-04:00

U.S. CASUALTIES FROM IRAQ

I am deeply moved by the photos of U.S. war dead returning from Iraq. They speak of sacrifice, loyalty, patriotism, commitment, sorrow, and the high price of war.

I posted one photo with some information about the photographer, Tami Silicio, and the story behind the photo in my May 16 post "ON THE WAY HOME" at my Photo Blog. If you missed that post, you can read more here and here.

Tami Silicio took the photos because she believed the families of the fallen soldiers would be comforted to see how much respect and care were shown to the remains of their loved ones. The photographer has a brief web page here.

Whatever your views on the situation in Iraq, the photos are worth looking at. I have not posted these photos as a protest. (Personally, I believe we should be in Irag but I don't we believe we have made all of the right policy decisions about what we are doing there.)

Of several hundred photos available, I have picked a handful to share. They are posted here.

If you want to see a complete set of photos, the Memory Hole has posted several albums of photos of flag-draped caskets arriving at Dover AFB. Due to very heavy internet traffic, several other sites have mirrored the photos, including this one.

2004-05-30T15:04:00.000-04:00

MARY'S SERMONS

I always look forward to Mary's sermons, even though I am not around to hear most of them. That is because I am in a lot of different places on Sunday morning, and only occasionally do I catch Mary on one of my Sunday's off.

Mary is one of a team of bivocational ministers in her congregation. She is both an ordained minister and a professional educator. Her communication skills come through in her sermons. She relates well to all ages. Most important, Mary's sermons are REAL. She relates the gospel to human life in ways that are clear, understandable, and also challenging. She tells stories.

In one of my favorite stories, Mary talked about a day with her young granddaughter. Emma is learning the word "duck". She can point to ducks on a pond, on TV, and in photos, and Emma will say "duck".

It so happens that Mary has a duck shaped tape dispenser. One day Emma pointed to it and said "duck". She was right of course.

Then one day Emma pointed to an ordinary tape dispense and said "duck". At her young age, she hasn't quite got the concept of "duck" figured out yet. In time she will learn the difference between a duck, a duck-shaped tape dispenser, and just a plain old tape dispenser. And just to keep things complicated, she will learn that "duck" is also a verb and learn to lower her head.

How many times does God look at us and say, "You haven't quite got it figured out yet"? Communication with God is complicated, and we are all still learning, both as individuals and as the human race. No one should be so bold as to say "I've got it all figured out." Honest, sincere God-followers can disagree on important matters. May we all be humble and kind toward one another.

God bless you Mary. God bless us every one.

2004-05-29T17:42:00.000-04:00

I'M MATTHEW

The schedule of events was a little off this afternoon at the Asian Festival in Columbus, so the emcee had to improvise until the next performing group was ready was ready. She asked if any children would like to come up on stage and tell a joke or do a trick. They were, as small children often are when in front of a crowd, delightful.

One boy about 3 years of age wandered up and stood next to the emcee.

MC: "Are you Filipino."

Boy: "No!" he said emphatically, "I am from Ohio."

MC: "I am Filipino so I think everyone looks Filipino."

Then she asked where his parents were. He pointed to them and they waved back. The father was Caucasian. The mother identified herself as Indonesian.

MC to boy: "So you are Indonesian."

Boy: "No! I am Matthew."

MC: "I know your name is Matthew but your ethnicity is Indonesian."

Boy: "No! I am Matthew from Ohio."

Ah, the confidence of a three year old. He KNOWS who he is and where he is from.

Life gets a little more uncertain as we get older. We know our name and where we have lived of course, but who are we REALLY, and why are we here? We ask more and deeper questions as life brings its inevitable collection of challenges, sorrow, and even tragedies. Blessed are they who grow mature and learn who they truly are, and perhaps "whose" they are.

2004-05-16T01:26:00.000-04:00

ON THE WAY HOME

Photo copyright 2004 Tami Silicio

"Flag-draped coffins are secured inside a cargo plane on April 7 at Kuwait International Airport. Military and civilian crews take great care with the remains of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq. Soldiers form an honor guard and say a prayer as, almost nightly, coffins are loaded for the trip home." The Seattle Times

This is the kind of photo that makes you think, about compassion, tenderness, loyalty, caring, commitment, patriotism, sacrifice, and the cost of war.

"Silicio said she never sought to put herself in the public spotlight. Instead, she said, she hoped the publication of the photo would help families of fallen soldiers understand the care and devotion that civilians and military crews dedicate to the task of returning the soldiers home." The Seattle Times, Thursday, April 22, 2004 (web edition).

Taking this photo cost Tami her job.

You can read more here and here.

2004-05-14T18:45:00.000-04:00

FOREIGNERS

I overheard a comment this afternoon that went something like this: "I've noticed that 3/4 of the crimes listed in the paper are committed people with names that sound like foreigners." The person went on with another comment that expressed his fear that life is worse in the U.S. due to the large influx of "foreigners".

I found the comments bothersome. First of all, a last name might be indicative of a person's ethnic background (Smith, Mercurio, Wong, Reznicek, Akpan, SantaLucia, just to name a few of my friends with widely different backgrounds) but a name tells me nothing about whether they are a foreigner of have been in this country for generations. I have no reason to suspect that foreigners commit 3/4 of the crimes where I live. There are areas of my metropolitan area with higher crime rates but those are not areas with high percentages of immigrants.

There are 10 different, major ethnic groups living within 2 miles of my home and my neighborhood is ethnically diverse. Does that make me nervous? No.

We are after all, mostly a nation of immigrants. My ancestors were foreigners when they came to this country which I am told was around the time of the Irish potato famine. Somewhere along the line, unless you are native American, your ancestors that cazme here were foreigners too.

The inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty is inspiring to me, ""Give me your tired, your poor . . ."

Part of the strength of our country is the rich diversity of the people who come hear. Some of the foreigners that come here value this country's ideals more highly than some of those who have been here for generations.

I suspect that the comment I overheard may have been born out of prejudice which feeds on fear. Our country is facing real problems, some of which relate to immigration, but those problems will be solved by thoughtfulness, not prejudice.

Within 30 minutes of overhearing the comment about foreigners, I was in one of the self-checkout lanes at the store. One of my sacks slid off the counter and crashed to the floor. An 8 or 9 year old girl rushed over from a neighboring lane to help me pick up my groceries. I thanked her when she showed up to help and I said "Thank-you very much" again when we had everything picked up. She was obviously oriental. Was she a foreigner or has her family been here for generations? I don't know. What I know is she was thoughtful and helpful. Someone is raising her well. I'm glad she is here.

*** *** ***

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

"The New Colossus", by the nineteenth-century American poet Emma Lazarus.

2004-05-04T18:19:00.000-04:00

FRED ROGERS

I was driving home from the office on a gorgeous afternoon and found myself singing out loud "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day . . . ." Millions of children and their parents have listened to that song on the PBS show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

I'm not quite sure why that song popped into my head. It has been a long time since my children, all grown now, watched Fred Rogers on TV.

My brother-in-law will sometimes start singing this theme song for no apparent reason, and I confess, I do it too. It was a beautiful day, but the song is about more than that, it is about friends and caring and community, and I had just finished spending a weekend at a retreat with a number of friends both old and new. Perhaps my subconscious put 2 and 2 together and out came the song as I drove the interstate loop towards home.

I do miss Fred Rogers. It was a sad day in the neighborhood when he died a little over a year ago. Mr. Rogers stood for lots of good things and he made the world for children a better place.

Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister. His PBS TV show was not a religious show, but Fred Rogers clearly taught a lot of values upheld by Christianity and other major world religions. He did it gently in his soft spoken voice, and with grace. He was immensely popular. A PBS station in a major city once hosted a "meet Mister Rogers" event and expected a few hundred children to come. 50,000 children showed up to meet Rogers. Children loved him.

"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" began in an early form in 1963 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp and moved to Pittsburgh's WQED in 1967. A year later, PBS picked it up. The last original show aired in 2001, making it PBS's longest-running program ever.

He lives on in reruns and at the show's website, but he lives on in others ways too, especially in what he bropught into children's lives.

Fred Rogers life was well lived.

2004-04-09T17:20:00.000-04:00

Google Gmail

Thinking about starting an email account with Google? Be careful.

Read more here.

You should also read the article (scroll down the page a bit) about Google cookies here. It explains why you should delete the cookie before and after you fill in a Google online form.

2004-03-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

Battan Memorial Death March

Today my son Jared completed the 26.2 mile Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. It was dusty and sandy in the southern New Mexico desert, and hot once the sun came up. He has never walked that far before, but he is in good shape.

In the spring of 1942, thousands of American and Philipino prisoners of war died in a days-long forced march through hot Philippine jungles. The Bataan Memorial Death March is to remember that event, 62 years ago. Jared learned about the memorial march in a magazine article and decided to go.

It took him 8 hours to complete the march, an average time for most participants. There was one uphill stretch that is several miles long and it really took it out of the participants. By then the sun was up and it was getting warm. The route doubles back on itself. At one point, Jared was about 8 miles and 2 hours into the walk when some people started going by the other direction that had already covered 20 miles in the same 2 hours. Some of them had 50 plus marathons to their credit, one in each state. A few had completed at least 3 marathons in each of the 50 states.

One of the real challenges is that part of the route is sandy, like walking or running on a sandy beach - very tiring. For true marathoners, times are slower than on a more usual course. Most people in the event were there to walk however. Many of the military who participate in the march carry small or heavy packs to remember their comrades of 60 plus years ago. Everyone was pretty well worn out by the end.

One of the highlights for Jared was meeting several survivors of the original Bataan Death March. About 10 showed up for the event today. They lined up at the end of the course and greeted every one of the participants who finished.

It is interesting how a magazine article triggered an idea that ended up with my son driving two days to walk 26 miles in the desert - and glad he did it. Now he will drive two days to get back to work.

You can find Jared here (Place: 854, Number 2232). Over 3100 started the march/walk/race.

Read more about the memorial march here.

What interesting idea is floating around in the back of your head? Why not go for it?

2004-03-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

IN MEMORIAM

Captain John "Hans" Kurth and his son John Aleksander

Saturday, March 13, Captain Kurth was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Tikrit, Iraq. Also killed was Kurth's driver, Spc. Jason Ford.

Capt. Kurth was one of my son's friends. They were at West Point together and graduated in 1995. More recently they were stationed together in Schweinfurt, Germany, and they both served in Kosovo.

Capt. Kurth had been in Iraq less than a month. You can read more here and here and here.

Let us remember the families and friends in our prayers.

Photo by Steve Liewer/S&S. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sinclair, and Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Pallister salute two fallen comrades from their unit: Capt. John “Hans” Kurth, 31, and his driver, Spc. Jason Ford, 21. They were killed early Saturday as they patrolled in Tikrit.

2004-03-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

Zoo Quotes

A keeper was filling a black rhino's water tank with a hose from safely behind bars. The rhino was snorting, pawing dirt, and bluff charging the keeper. A young boy said, "That is the coolest animal ever." The same boy moments later: "I bet it is as big as a T-rex."

Man to a girl riding on his shoulders, "Megan, you ARE getting HEAVIER."

A girl to her mother: "Mom, the gorilla slapped the glass window and everyone jumped back except me." I didn't understand the true significance of this quote until a few minutes later. A big silverback gorilla watched more and more people gather against a large plate glass window at an observation area. Lots of people were pressed up against the glass with cameras or carrying small children. When the window was packed with people, the silverback ran across the enclosure, jumped and grabbed a rope and swung toward the window. He let go of the rope and went splat against the window with his whole body as he slapped the glass with open paws. The startled and somewhat frightened crowd jumped back as the whole window shook. I don't know how gorillas think, but I think he looked pleased. I watched for a while, a new crowd gathered and he repeated the performance. Out of sight and from several exhibits away, we again heard that distinctive slap and the squeals of the crowd and we knew he had done it again.

At the lion exhibit, a small girl said, "Mommy is that Simba?" And the mother said "Maybe it is Scar." The girl didn't like that, so that mother said "It is probably Simba."

At one of the primate exhibits "Mommy, I just saw a monkey butt."

At another primate exhibit the species on display had irridescent pastel blue and pink colored bottoms. A young boy said: "What's up with that?"

Small child watching two animals mating. "Daddy, what are they doing?" . . . . . . No answer from the father.

Several times from lots of children: "I'm hungry."

One of my favorite quotes of the day from a small youngster: "Why did God make it look like that?"

2004-03-01T07:05:00.000-05:00

LOTR: 11 Oscars

Lord of the Rings picked up 11 Oscars at the Academy Awards last night. Quite an impressive showing. Even if the LOTR trilogy didn't pick up any Oscars, you should see the movies anyway. I am not a movie critic, but I do recognize the telling of a great story in an epic style. As a child of the 60's, I was entranced by Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and 2001. These movies do the best job of strutting their stuff on the widescreen - the bigger the better, and with the best sound systems.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is no exception. Buy or rent the first two movies and head for whatever friend has the best home movie system and enjoy (not on the same night - they are long). Then go to the theatre and catch the third movie. Like many others, I thought the Return of the King had too many endings (you think the movie has reached its grand finale - and what's this?! - another grand finale), but it is still epic story telling at its best.

The evocative power in this series comes from J.R.R. Tolkien's wonderful set of novels. They are filled with vivid imagery and life images, flavored by Tolkein's religious and moral concerns. Peter Jackson and company spent 7 or more years bringing them to life in a way that is both faithful to Tolkien's books and a stunning cinematic tour-de-force.

You can learn more about Tolkien from the Tolkien Society.

2004-02-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

Photo (c) Ted Gaskins

Bataan Memorial Death March

If you are in great shape, you can do this 26.2 miles walk (run?) in the southern New Mexico desert this March 21. If not, maybe you can be in shape by next year. You might even be able to meet some of the survivors of the original death march. If you have never heard of the Bataan Death March in WWII, read this.

The freedoms we enjoy were purchased by some at a terrible price.

2004-02-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

EARTH WOBBLE

ARe you getting dizzy?

The earth wobbles as it revolves around the sun, much like a toy top begins to wobble as it slows down. The point directly above the north pole is about 1 degree away from the "North Star" but this variues by a tiny bit over time. Technically put, this is the "Earth Orientation." This must be important to someone since the Earth Orientation is carefully mapped over time. The image above maps our wobble from 1996-2000. Technical information about all of this is here. I just thought some of you would like to know. Try not to feel a little tipsy as we wobble through space.

2004-02-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

VALENTINE'S DAY

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. Merchants happily sold huge quantities of cards, flowers, and sweets - especially chocolate. I took my favorite girl to the movies. We thought we would catch a 1 PM show and beat the crowds. The rest of the world must have had the same idea.

We went to SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE. It really is a great movie. There are a lot of very funny scenes plus some poignant ones. It is a good date movie, especially for those of us that are "of a certain age." Folks in their 20s and 30s will find the movie funny and enjoyable but those of us with a couple more decades of life experience will truly be able to savor its richer undertones.

The closeups of Diane Keaton are so refreshing because they reveal a woman that has not fallen to the usual Hollywood temptation to "Joan Riverize" her face. Her portrayal of a woman that thinks romance has long since fled her life is excellent. She can't see why her daughter (Amanda Peet) would be interested in someone of Jack Nicholson's age, only to turn around and find herself dating a young admirer. Jack Nicholson's comedic charms are as well developed as his very dramatic presence. The rest of the cast deliver fine performances.

In short, two adults "of a certain age" struggle with their own identity, date persons two or three decades younger, and learn to discover or re-discover, with quite a few pitfalls along the way, who they really are.

Find a good friend and go. If you have a sweetheart to take, that would be even better.

After the movie we went to one of our favorite restaurants, only to find that even at 3:30 in the afternoon there was a 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait. Ahhh! Valentine's Day. Our romantic dinner will wait until another day.

2004-02-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

Sumo Wrestling, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

CURFEW

The following column is from the humorist who wrote "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter." When you are done reading this column, I suggest you check out his website. I should add that it is difficult to identify with the story below since I NEVER did anything to embarass my children when they were teenagers.

THE CURSE OF CURFEW
By W. Bruce Cameron

My eyelids snap open at exactly twenty-two hundred hours, responding to an inner alarm that sounds whenever a daughter is out on a school night. Curfew has darkened the land, and any children caught outside the perimeter are now subject to arrest and the torture of telephone deprivation.

I pad down the stairs to my daughter's bedroom. Every light is on and her stereo is blaring, sure signs that
she's not home. It is now two minutes after ten o'clock, and normally I'd call 911 but those people got surly with me last time because I phoned it in as a "possible child abduction" due to the fact that my daughter's date wore an earring.

I glance out the window and freeze: The boy's car is in the driveway.

Well okay. I flick on the outside lights, helpfully flipping them on and off a few dozen times so the occupants of the car will know what time it is.

There's no reaction. I peer at the vehicle, but the windows are dark and pitiless, coated with the light mist that is falling. What are they doing out there?

Well, that was a bad question to ask myself! I try another burst of light-flicking just to give myself something to do, but I know the only way I'm going to be able to settle this matter is to go out there, knock politely on the window, and spray the two of them with the garden hose.

I'm not garbed for such a diplomatic undertaking--I have on a pair of pajama bottoms and nothing else. What I need is some protection against the elements, something waterproof. With chains and hooks hanging from it. And grenades.

Okay. I open the coat closet and discover where my son put all the junk last time he cleaned the living room. I could try my own bedroom closet, but I don't want to take the time. For my bare feet I find a pair of duck slippers--big, puffy clunkers with plastic duck heads on them. There are no umbrellas, but I do find a hat--one of those hunter caps with ear flaps that tie under the chin. This one is an incandescent orange so that fellow hunters won't think that maybe they ought to open fire on the thing wearing the ear flaps in case it is a deer. The hat is so bright it seems to be giving off its own light--I look like a cross between Elmer Fudd and a road flare.

Naturally, even though I am searching through a coat closet in my house, none of my own coats are available. I finally decide to struggle into one of my kids' old jackets, a nylon job with a picture of Daffy Duck on the back. I have something of an outdoors motif going.

I survey myself in the mirror before heading out. Regrettably, the tight hem of the jacket falls a couple inches short of bridging the gap to my pajama waist, creating the odd illusion that my stomach sticks out in a roll of belly flesh. I toy with the idea of tying the ear flaps under my chin, but decide not to go that formal. I grab a flashlight and step
out into the rain.

I'd forgotten that my duck slippers quack when I walk in them, which threatens to ruin the element of surprise. Actually, it is less a "quack" then a "wheeze," as if the ducks are lifetime smokers.

I bang on the implacable car windows, wait a moment, and then yank the door open, the car alarm splitting the night air.

No one is inside.

When I get back into the house, my daughter and her date are standing in the kitchen, looking concerned as
I quack in out of the rain.

"Hi!" I call cheerfully.

"I just needed to use the telephone..." the boy stammers uncertainly. With a quick glance back at my daughter, he scampers out of the house.

"Oh, Dad, how could you do that?" my daughter demands, whirling and bolting from the room.

I stand there in the middle of the kitchen, scratching my head.

How could I do WHAT?

The Cameron Column, A Free Internet Newsletter
Copyright W. Bruce Cameron 2003
www.wbrucecameron.com

2004-02-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

Dunk Tank, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

TOO CHEERFUL LATELY?

OK, you've noticed the signs already. Laughing too much, finding the good in everything, seeing the glass as half full (rather than half empty). You've even started to find a silver lining around a few clouds. You knew you were close to the edge when you started quoting cliches such as "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

Optimism! Enthusiam! Commitment! The motivational posters at work are starting to get to you.

What should you do?

There is hope.

Take counter measures NOW before things go too far. There are wonderful sources of discouragement and despair out there. Tap into them! Remind yourself that there is only so much that you can do.

You can only go so far.

Thinking outside the box can be dangerous.

Learn to be comfortable in your own little world.

Keep things in perspective at work.

Once you tap into the right sources, your normal pessimistic view of the world will return. Trust me! It can be done. But you must take action now!

Just go to Despair.com. The good folks there will help you out.

Ok, I admit that I do like the usual motivational posters with the glorious photography and uplifting messages. But this stuff (they call it de-motivational) was just too funny to pass by. Check out their website for posters cards, calendars and more. You may find just the perfect gift for someone you know that spends too much time on "the sunny side of life."

2004-02-10T14:51:00.000-05:00

ELEPHANTS

After all of the big fuss on TV news over Janet Jackson's big moment at the Super Bowl, I decided I had had enough and changed channels. I found a program about a woman who had somehow acquired a baby elephant and trained it to do tricks. She and her elephant went around and performed at a variety of venues.

As her elephant aged, she had this dream of creating an elephant preserve in Tennessee where elephants could go and live when they were too old to perform any more. Somehow she managed to do this. That is the place where I tuned in the program.

Down at a zoo in Louisiana, Solomon was the keeper for Shirley, an elephant too old for the zoo to keep any longer. Solomon's tenderness toward Shirley was evident as she was leg chained and he coaxed her little by little onto the truck that would take Shirley to the elephant preserve in Tennesee. Solomon had cared for Shirley for 25 years and they had both grown old together at the zoo.

They made the long overnight trip to Tennessee. There was such caring as Solomon washed Shirley down with a hose and gave her a bath for the last time. It was clear how much he loved her. He was sad to leave he but he was also very happy for Shirley and glad she was in her new home. For the first time in 25 years, Shirley would see and be around other elephants.

That night there was a lot of noise in the elephant barn. The next morning they found that Shirley and Ginny had bent the 6 inch thick steel pipes that separated their enclosures in an attempt to get closer to each other. They found out that when Shirley was a baby elephant 25 years earlier, she had been in a circus with Ginny before she was sold to the zoo in Lousianna. According to folks on the TV progrm, these two elephants remembered each other after 25 years.

They let Ginny and Shirley out of the elephant barn so they could wander the fields together. They walked together and nuzzled each other and intertwined their trunks. They were clearly happy to be with each other.

The whole show was both moving and refreshing to watch.

Oh yes, we did turn back to catch the last exciting quarter of the Super Bowl.

2004-02-06T01:45:00.000-05:00

STATES I HAVE LIVED IN

create your own map

UPDATE: My apologies. The site that provided the U.S. maps on this post and the next has apparently gone down.

My father was going to school at Kansas University when I was born. When he graduated, we moved to Walsenburg, Colorado for his first teaching job. In an interesting coincidence, I was in Walsenburg a few years ago on my way to western Colorado. I stopped at a gas station and was visiting with the owner. It turns out my dad was one of his high school teachers in the early 1950's.

Dad changed occupations between my junior and senior year of high school and we found ourselves living in Nebraska. That is where I went to college, met my wife, started a family, and taught school (as a band director) for 11 years.

We moved to Missouri so I could go to seminary. After seminary, we moved to Oklahoma where I was assigned to Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas as a travelling, executive minister. Later assignments sent me to Michigan and Ohio where my travel territory includes much of the northeastern U.S., parts of Ontario, and the southern fringes of eastern Canada. It means I get to see a lot of our wonderful country, as you can see from the map below.

2004-02-06T01:18:00.000-05:00

STATES I HAVE VISITED

create your own visited states map

There has always been a bit of wanderlust in my soul. I probably got that from my parents who took my brother and I all over the country on vacations and other trips.

Vacations often meant heading for the Colorado high country which was good for my asthma. There was always the annual summer trip to Arkansas to see grandma (who lived in the hot, humid rice country with giant mosquitos), and the annual Christmas trip to northern Colorado to see grandpa and the rest of my mother's family.

My brother and I in the mid-1950's

We went on some long trips too.

In 1960 my father was chosen as a delegate to a national teacher's convention in Los Angeles. We drove to Arkansas, picked up my grandmother and headed west across Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. This was before Interstate-40. You drove through every little dinky town so it was a long trip. This was also before cars had built in air-conditioners so it was really hot in the summer as we crossed the California desert.

We had one of those little evaporative coolers that hung in the car window. We had one of those canvas water bags that folks would hang on the front of their cars. Even with the cooler going it was pretty warm in the car. Grandma was unimpressed with the heat. "I've chopped cotton in hotter weather than this!" We stopped in Needles at 9 AM for gas. We stepped out of the car and grandma said "whoooopeeee!" It was about 117 degrees in the shade. When we got back in the car, grandma retracted her statement. The car never really cooled down after that stop. After that, "I've chopped cotton . . ." has begun a number of family story telling sessions.

While dad went to the teacher's convention, we went to the less famous tourist sites. When the convention was over, we stayed several more days and went to Disneyland (only five years old), Knott's Berry Farm, some kind of big acquarium, Forest Lawn Cemetery, and other Los Angeles places. It was a great trip.

As a boy, I loved Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park, but I wanted to see Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. As a high school graduation present, we headed west on another long jaunt. Dad picked up grandma in Fisher, Arkansas, we picked up grandpa in Haxtun, Colorado and headed west. We crossed Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho on the way to Oregon where my uncle lives in The Dalles.

In Wyoming we crossed a ridge, and came upon about a dozen antelope. Grandma's eyesight was pretty bad, so dad said "Look out your window mom, there are some antelope." She looked but she couldn't see them. They were too similar in color to the yellowed grass. A few hundred yards down the road we came upon a large herd of cattle. Grandma said, "I see them now, there are a lot of them." We didn't tell her.

My uncle worked for the railroad, so we boarded a freight train one night just across the river in Washington. We were going south to Bend, Oregon. The trip took all night. Riding in the caboose, my uncle would spotlight remote rivers in the mountains where we could see deer and other wild animals. My uncle would control which cars we would pick up and drop off along the route. We reached Bend the next morning, picked up a whole new bunch of freight cars and began the long ride back north.

We went sight seeing in Oregon and Washington, and visited my cousin up in Seattle where I had the best and cheapest fried clams ever.

When we left Oregon, we drove across Idaho and up into Montana to spend time at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

We stopped to see the wonderful Prince of Whales Hotel, and then drove to our campsight by a large lake that straddled the border. The campground was at the Canadaina end. It was the first time in my life that a bear wandered through our camp at night. One evening I got within 10 feet of a cow moose to take her picture with an instamatic camera (not a good thing to do). My brother and I rented a canoe and paddled around and did some fishing.

We left Canada/Montana and headed south for Yellowstone National Park. People did really foolish things around the bears by the road. We camped, we watched Old Faithful, went to a bunch of hot springs, and saw many of the other great Yellowstone attractions.

When we left Yellowstone, we saw the Grand Tetons, but only from a distance. I want to get closer some day.

It was another great and memorable trip.

We have tried to warp our own children in a similar way, taking them from one end of the country to the other. There is so much to see and do!

Most of the states I have been to east of the Mississippi have been the result of job related trips. I have never gone to a state just to say I have been there. That seems to violate the purpose of going to a state in the first place. That is too much like the couple that pulls up to the first Grand Canyon overlook, takes one snapshot and says "We can cross the Grand Canyon off our list," and drives down the road to the next site. You don't really see Rocky Mountain National Park in a short afternoon drive. You spend several days and get out and hike around. In fact, you can go back year after year.

I will see a new state this month. I am a guest minister at a church retreat on Alabama's Gulf coast. Someday, I hope to get up into New England. Melissa and I both want to go to Hawaii. I suppose there is some reason to go to North Dakota. I may have to make an exception and go there just to cross it off my list (I suppose I just offended someone).

It's a great country. Get out and go somewhere you've never been before!

2004-02-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

In Memoriam: The Crew of the Shuttle Columbia

The Crew of Columbia, STS-107: Seated in front are Commander Rick D. Husband, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla and Pilot William C. McCool. Standing are Mission Specialists David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark and Michael P. Anderson, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon

Saturday morning, February 1, 2003, over north central Texas, the Space Shuttle Columbia and all seven astronauts were lost during reentry from orbit. Columbia was returning to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., after a 16-day scientific research mission.

"High Flight"

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God."

- John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

It has been one year. Family and friends will be remembering that day. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Pilot John Magee, who wrote "High Flight", died at the age of 19 when his Spitfire crashed over England, December11, 1941.

2004-01-29T00:23:00.000-05:00

Las Vegas, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

Intervention and Violence

So when do you intervene in the lives of total strangers? I saw a man beating a women in a car in a parking lot. What would you do?

It was December 26, the day after Christmas, and I was going to take advantage of the after Christmas sales. I was in a great mood. Our children would be arriving late that night and we would celebrate Christmas the next day.

I parked my car and headed toward Kohl's. Three persons came out of a nearby music store and headed for their car. There was a middle aged woman (MAW), a young man (YM) and a young woman. My guess was the MAW was the mother and the YM and YW were either married, boyfriend and girlfriend, or brother and sister. The YM was yelling and angry.

YM: "She called me stupid at the check out counter. I'm going to beat her when we get home."

MAW: "No you aren't."

YM: "She had no right no make me look dumb in front of all of those people."

MAW: "You are 20 years old. It is about time you grew up and acted like a man."

YM: "I'm going to beat her like you used to beat me when I was little."

MAW: "You are not!"

YM: " . . . . . ." (Expletives deleted.)

They are now at their car and I am opening the door at Kohl's.

Two young woman were standing just outside Kohl's door, waiting for a ride. As I walked in the door, one of the young women exclaimed "Oh my God, look!" and she pointed.

I stepped back outside and looked. The young man was in the driver's seat, reaching over into the back seat and beating the young woman with closed fists. The middle aged woman, sitting next to him was trying to stop him and receiving some of the blows herself.

I headed for the car, not quite sure what I would do when I got there. It is dangerous enough interferring in someone else's domestic fight. The three people in the car were of a different race than me, further complicating the situation. But two women were being hit, someone had to do something.

As I headed toward the car, about 200 feet away, I grabbed my mobile phone, thinking about calling the police.

I got part way to the car when an elderly woman got out of a car that was very close to the fight. She was the same race as the three people inside the car. She walked up to the car, started pounding on the hood of the car, and I mean really POUNDING. She yelled, " YOU STOP THAT! YOU CUT THAT OUT! YOU STOP THAT NOW!"

The young man quit hitting the other two, threw the car into gear and drove off in a rage, tires spinning and gravel flying. He almost hit the woman who had been yelling at him.

God bless that woman. That wonderful, spunky, sixty-something, grandmotherly-looking woman. She went instantly into action. I was impressed. She got back into her car and left. If I could have, I would have thanked her.

I also had knots in my stomach. Partly because of what I had just watched. Growing up in the 50's, I was taught that a man never hit a woman, no matter what. Not everyone in my generation lives by that "life commandment" but I have. The knot was also there because what the two women would face when they get home.

But the sick feeling in my guts was also due to me and the unknown. What if that woman hadn't been there.? What would I have done or said when I got to the car? How would the young man have reacted? If I had called the police on the way to the car, odds are they would not be anywhere around when I got there. What if the young man had a gun in the car? Fear. Uncertainty. What ifs. Doubt. And inside the car, Violence and Rage.

It took a while for the knot to go away. Almost a month later, I still think back to that incident.

My children did arrive late that same evening, and we had a wonderful Christmas celebration the next day. I thank God for my children and the kind of young adults they have become.

A few days later I wrote a little about Christmas amd what it means to me (see below or in the archives for the December 31 entry). I think about lots of joy filled Christmas memories. And I think about the parking lot moment and about violence in our world, and women and men who suffer. What a contrast.

This I know, the world needs more people like that courageous woman.

"Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10

2004-01-29T00:10:00.000-05:00

Black Rhinoceros, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

PHISHING, COMPUTER WORM

Protect your personal information. Scroll down to the January 28 post at my photo blog. Information on the new computer worm, "MyDoom," is posted on the same date.

2004-01-26T13:56:00.000-05:00

Angela, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

SNOW SHOVELING ETHICS

As a child, I was taught that I should always shovel several feet of snow off of each of our adjacent neighbor's sidewalks. "It is the nice thing to do."

In Colorado, we got a lot of snow and we did not have a powered snowblower. I'm not sure anyone else on our block owned one either. This meant shoveling snow really was work and I was tired enough that when our walk and driveway was finished, the thought of shoveling a few feet of our adjacent neighbors sidewalks was not appealing. My parents insisted that it was the neighborly thing to do.

I noticed that the neighbors would always shovel a few feet of our walk if they were out there first. It soon occured to me that if I put off shoveling long enough, the neighbors whould shovel first and my job would be easier. I thought of it as "practical" more than "selfish". This notion didn't fly at all with my parents, I would be "taking advantage of my neighbors". If it was my turn to shovel, I was to be out there before my neighbors at least half the time if not more.

Now it looked to me like keeping score. Did I do my neighbor's sidewalks as often as they did ours? But my folks said it was not a matter of keeping score, it was a matter of "being thoughtful". They told me keeping score often leads to frustration, disappointment, and even being upset. I bet some marriage counselors would say amen to that. (I should add that we are talking about doing nice things for one another and not about basic fairness in relationships. Some people are basically unfair with others and we need to becareful in our dealings them - - a different topic altogether.)

It dawned on me over time that my folks were teaching me a lot more than just the ethics of snow shoveling. It had more to do with kindness and generosity. One wonderful snow day with no school, it snowed until the early afternoon. Instead of doing just a few feet, I did our neighbor's entire sidewalks. I did it for the joy of the surprise they would have when they got home from work. I was "getting" the lesson I was being taught, not just in snow shoveling, but in life.

It snowed a lot the night before last, and both of my neighbors shoveled before I did. I looked outside and one neighbor had cleared the extra 10 feet of my sidewalk between his property line and my driveway. My neighbor on the other side had done another 7 or 8 feet of my walk. Not good I thought to myself. The scorekeeper had reared its ugly head. Then I reminded myself, "It is not about keeping score, it is about being nice." It is ok to let my neighbors be nice to me.

It snowed again last night and my neighbors left for the day without clearing their sidewalks. I fired up the snowblower (aren't they wonderful!) and I did my sidewalk and driveway, and then I ran all the way up and down the full length of my neighbor's sidewalks. It was fun. It was good to do. It is also much easier with a snowblower and a hand shovel.

I am still trying to live by those lessons learned while growing up in Colorado. It is, after all, not about shoveling snow. It is about life. Whether it is neighbors, friends, or husband and wife, it is blessed to give joyfully. It is also blessed to receive graciously.

2004-01-22T18:00:00.000-05:00

Melissa in High School

REALITY TV

Melissa met a "reality show" celebrity yesterday.

Some of you may remember a show with a title that was something like "Will You Marry Our Dad." Don, a single man in a good place financially, spent time with and dated a number of women. At the end of each round his children (they are grown up) decided which woman would be eliminated. Theoretically, the last woman and Don would fall in love and get married. I was impressed with his children and agreed with most of their choices until the last one. In my opinion, they might have been unduly swayed at the end by who DON wanted instead of who THEY thought was best for him.

Melissa met Don at work yesterday. He stopped at the clinic to visit his step mother who works with Melissa. He is just as bald and tan as he looked on the TV show. He is VERY physically fit.

The show was taped in just three weeks with the edited TV episodes strung out over several weeks time. Don said all of the emotions you saw on the show were real.

Three weeks of taping edited down to several hours worth of TV leaves out a lot. During the taping, the producers brought in the ex-boyfriends of the women. The point was for them to fill Don in on what each of these women is like. Things got so nasty between the women and their ex-boyfriends that none of that was aired on the show.

Don really liked the lie detector guy. The fellow running the lie detector has his own private detective agency. If you watched the show, lie detector tests were periodically given to the various women, one of the highlights of the show. A lot was revealed about the women as Don's kids grilled them during the tests. I remember questions like "Are you falling for our dad?" (answer: yes), and "Would you date our dad if he wasn't so financially well off?" (the truth was she wouldn't and she was eliminated).

Don said that, although the feelings portrayed on the show were real, none of the women really were "right" for him as a marriage partner, so he is still looking.

Melissa said it was obvious why the producers picked him for the show. He is very likable, easy to talk to and communicates well.

Don was in in town yesterday for a blind date. He lives a few hours away. As you may have guessed, he quit dating the "finalist" sometime after the show was taped. After TV, he is back to reality.

When I watched the show, it occurred to me that Don put a lot of trust in the choices of his children. As Melissa and I talked about the show last night, an interesting thought came to me relative to our own children (I am working up to a complement).

I am not single, or tall, or bald (thank goodness), or tanned, handsome, and "very physically fit" - nor do I want to be (well, maybe handsome and fit). But if I was all of those things, I would NOT go on a reality TV show like "Will You Marry Our Dad." That is not my cup of tea. But if I WAS on such a show, I know that I think very highly of our children and I would trust the wisdom of their collective judgment.

Fortunately for all of us, I made a very wise choice 35 years ago this winter. My children don't need to pick out a wife for me. Now if I can just figure out how to be tall and handsome.

Well, back to reality.

2003-12-31T13:56:00.000-05:00

Ski Island, Oklahoma City, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

CHRISTMAS

I love Christmas. Why? Probably because Christmas brings up a lot of happy memories.

Growing up, Christmas almost always meant driving to northern Colorado to spend a few days with grandpa, grandma (who passed away when I was too young), aunts and uncles (10 of them) and cousins. Those days were filled with enjoyable times spent with a wonderful extended family.

There was always the traditional Christmas feast which would include wild game if grandpa had been fortunate on his most recent hunting trip through the fields of northeast Colorado. A few times we got to go along. We always had a blessing, and it would often be sung: "Be with us at our table Lord . . ."

We would often open gifts after Christmas dinner. Getting gifts was nice but having fun with the family was a lot more important. Sitting in grandpa's lap, playing horsey on uncle Ken's back, wrestling with whoever, making mud pies with cousin Linda. We went home from our annual Christmas pilgrimmage with lots of gifts, but mostly with lots of happy memories.

Packing a big family into grandpa's house was a trick. Every bed, hide-a-bed, and sofa was put to use. When we were small, they would put several of us cousins in one bed lined up like cord wood. One night I woke up in absolute darkness, standing in a room somwhere in the basement (I had walked in my sleep). I heard strange noises coming from in front of me (someone snoring). I reached out ahead of me and felt a bed, but it wasn't mine. I turned to the side and bumped into a table. I reached out and my hand went into a glass of water and I felt - - - teeth! Yeccch! I did not want to wake the person in front of me, so I lay down on the floor and went to sleep. The next moring I was back in bed where I started, squashed between several of my cousins. I don't know if I walked back in my sleep, or if someone put me back.

In the pantry on the back porch was a box of chocolate chips. Along with the other cousins, we would sneak out on the back porch and steal just a few chips. Not too many though, lest it be obvious. We did not learn until many years later at grandpa's funeral that our parents were sneaking chocolate chips too. Then we found out grandpa was actually buying several boxes of chips each year to keep up with the demand. 20 or more people stealing chips is a lot!

Each year brought the annual Christmas program at church. When we were young we had a chance to be a sheep. Later on we cold be a cow. If we were lucky, we became angels or shepherds in our teen years. Young adults played Mary and Joseph, older men were the wise men.

High school brought band and orchestra concerts at Christmas time, filled with all of those wonderful arrangments of Christmas music. I loved rehearsing for those concerts, and the concerts themselves were even better.

There was caroling on frosty December nights, followed by hot spiced cicer and hot chocolate back at church.

Diagonally across the street from our church in Pueblo, Colorado was an older home which would always be decorated in a way that looked splendid to our young eyes. There was a choir of carolers, Santa and elves, the traditional nativity scene, huge candles, and Christmas lights all over the house and in every tree. Christmas music played through outside speakers. After church on Sunday and Wednesday nights in December, I would walk to the corner of the church lot with the other kids and look across the street and listen in wonder. Bright stars twinkled overhead in the night sky, as well as one big one over the manger scene across the street.

Marriage, a job as a band director, and children brought more Christmas memories. Some years we had very little money for presents, but we did have good memories. We still have most of our first Christmas tree. A styrofoam base, a very large pinecone, and a string of inexpensive beads to wrap around the cone. Only the foil metallic angel that set on top has disappeared since we bought our first "tree" for less than a dollar, many years ago.

As a band director in Louisville, Nebraska I always hoped for an early first snow fall. On that day, I would hand out Christmas music and we would play to our hearts content. The Christmas concerts were always a treat. A few days later school would be out and we would head for North Platte and Denver for Christmas with my family and Melissa's.

After buying gifts one year for the children, we had less than $6 between us. Melissa took her $2.87 (more or less) and bought a gift for me at a drug store in North Platte, Nebraska. When she came out with her littel sack, I took the remaining $2.87 (more or less) and bought her gift.

We would buy the $1 Christmas albums that tire stores sold in the late 60's and early 70's. Tapes of those old albums are still family favorites and our children (ages 26 to 31) still look forward to us playing the same music each year while we open presents and have Christmas dinner.

All of our children were home some time or other this Christmas season. We had one Christmas celebration with two of them on December 26, and another celebration with two of them today. They all have spouses or significant others with families to spend time with.

I will end this little trip down memory lane. I hope you have a collection of memories that brighten this season for you. If not, I hope you begin some happy memories.

What a blessed season this can be. May there yet be Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward all of God's children.

Merry Christmas!

2003-10-22T23:53:00.000-04:00

Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

Simon & Garfunkel

There is nothing like being there in person. The music, the coordinated light show, the ambiance, the big video screens, the energy of the crowd, the artists live on stage.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed tonight in Columbus, Ohio. Melissa and I dug deep in our pockets, scarfed up two tickets for a small fortune, and went. After all, how often do you get to hear these two in person? What a treat! As children of the 60's, Simon and Garfunkel's music is somehow written deep into a lot of our psyches. The music is infectious, fun (or should I say "groovy"?), thoughtful, meditative, poignant, and at times, profound. It was good to be there tonight. Part of it is nostalgia of course, but there is much more to it than that, something deeper. Something about some of their music gets into your soul and resonates. They are poets and troubadors. They spoke to a generation of youth, more than one generation in fact.

Paul and Art met 50 years ago in 1953 when they were both in their 6th grade class play, Alice in Wonderland. They were eleven when they met, began singing together at 13 and had their first recording at 16. They bought cheap tickets to London and sang ballads for donations in Leicester Square. They kept an eye out for the bobbies since you aren't supposed to sing for money on the streets (something that is still true decades later as a good friend of mine found out when she and another college friend played French horns on the streets of London just three years ago.) Art and Paul honed their craft. The rest, as they say, is history.

Decades later, Paul and Art's appeal is still obvious. I looked around at 16,000 plus other fans, many of whom also grew up in the 50s and 60s and 70s, plus a whole raft of much younger fans. Pre-concert energy was high and when the lights finally went out and the video screens showed old clips from 40 something years ago, the roar of the crowd began. When Art and Paul stepped into the spotlights at the end of the video clips, the place exploded.

They began with "Old Friends," the tour theme. Unfortunately, their opening notes were pretty shaky. Attacks were a bit ragged and vocal quality left something to be desired. Oh no, I thought, I hope that they haven't totally lost it. But hey! It is still Simon and Garfunklel, and for the first time I was hearing them in person.

With the next few songs, things improved. Vocal quality got much better. Attacks became cleaner. Their voices are older of course, they won't sound quite like they did back then, but they are still very good.

They did almost all of the old favorites. Some of them with a pleasant twist to the usual arrangements. The back up band was excellent, with some stunning solo performances by individual band members which you don't get on the albums. All around me, people were mouthing the words. Many of the people there knew most of the words to most of the songs. At some points, thousands would join in for some of the choruses.

The huge surprise of the evening was when Don and Phil, the Everly Brothers, came on stage and did a set of their own classic numbers while Art and Paul took a break. Folks just went wild. At the end, Paul and Art came back on stage to join them for one song together before Don and Phil left the stage.

There were lots and lots of good moments, a ton of old memories stirred up, and some very powerful musical moments. Scarborough Fair and Sounds of Silence were quiet and evocative, other songs were pulsating and driving. At the end of the concert (before the encores) the strong closing chords and vocals at the end of Bridge Over Troubled Waters were absolutely electric.

Paul and Art stood a little distance apart for most of the evening. At the end, however, something was a little different. Art reached over at one moment as Paul was turning to walk off stage, and touched him on the shoulder. In the second encore, they sat closer together, and at one point Paul put his arm around Art's shoulders. Here and there, a few folks lit their Bics. Shame that I don't carry a lighter for such moments. Something died when Paul and Art split up years ago. One can only hope some of the old hurts are healing. It was good to see them together again.

I left with several souvenirs. Memories of the evening, a "No Cameras Allowed" poster, one of the tour t-shirts they were hawking out in the parking lots, and some mostly blurry photos.

Tunes are still running through my head, and good memories of a wonderful evening. We had a great time tonight, and for a little while, Melissa and I were back in the 60s. It was a strange and troubled time, with hopes and fears and the cold war and Viet Nam, and turmoil in the streets and riots on campuses. But in some ways it was a very good time. People were very passionate about some of the right things, even if they couldn't find the best ways to express it. Paul and Art's music spoke through it all with a distinctive and evocative voice. Thanks Simon and Garfunkel. I'm glad you are back together, if only for a little while.

2003-09-29T10:49:00.000-04:00

Don't Pass A Cattle Truck With Your Windows Down

I've known this rule for a long time, but I was reminded of it anew on a recent trip.

If you have ever watched a cow relieve itself, you know the deluge can be quite impressive. If you haven't been in the country enough to have seen this sight, trust me, the volume of liquid delivered and the length of time it takes to deliver it, are both something to behold.

Couple this bit of information with how cattle trucks are constructed and you should be aware of the apparent dangers. If a cow happens to be backed up against the side of the truck and is aligned just right with one of the slots in the side of the truck, well . . . you can imagine.

On a recent trip to Colorado, I approached a cattle truck on I-80 in Nebraska. My windows were up. As I passed the truck, one of the cows found that to be an an opportune moment for a bodily function. The cow was not well aligned with the slots in the side of the truck, so my car was sprayed with just a little light mist. My windshield wipers took care of the immediate visibility problem and a stop at the car wash solved the remaining problem.

As I said, I learned my lesson some years ago.

I was driving through a small town in western Oklahoma on old U.S. 66 which was the four lane main street through the middle of town. It was a beautiful, drive with your windows down, kind of day. I pulled up behind some vehicles stopped at a traffic light. A cattle truck was in the right hand lane. Two or three cars were ahead of me in the left hand lane. Immediately ahead of me was a couple in a convertible. (I can tell that you are getting ahead of me!)

The convertible was even with the back half of the trailer of the cattle truck. As we waited at the red light, one of the cows let fly. It was an amazing, horrifying, aweful, and hilariously funny sight - depending, of course, on where you happened to be sitting. The cow released a virtual flood upon the unsuspecting couple. There was no excape. They were trapped between me and the car ahead of them. I could not back up because of the car behind me. All I could do was watch with rapt attention. As to the couple in the convertible, it must have been like one of those nightmares that plays out in exceedingly slow motion - with the added agony of being awake. I am sure you can imagine what it must have been like to sit there and watch the whole scene. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to clean out their car later.

A word to the wise is sufficient. Don't pass (or sit next to) a cattle truck with your windows or top down.

2003-07-15T22:35:00.000-04:00

My Family in the 1950's

Family

A good friend of mine told me that she couldn't understand why people got all goofy over their grandchildren. Then she saw her first grandchild, and suddenly, "goofiness set in." Our grandson was born four months ago in Germany. We have anxiously awaited the chance to see him. Our daughter-in-law and grandson finally flew here last week. Well, goofiness has set in. Laughter, giggles, silliness, wierd voices and making faces and everything else that being a grandparent means. What a joy!

Our son will leave Kosovo and fly here sometime in August. He has been there since October (his second Army tour in Kosovo) so he is very anxious to get back to the U.S. and to his wife and son. We are so anxious to see him too.

One by one, the rest of our children have come here to visit this summer. What a great summer it has been. Children are one of life's great treasures. I was driving across the country last week and had one of those "father moments" and I called all of our children to tell them I love them.

We have saved one phone message from each of our children on our answering machine. A press of a button anytime day or night and we can hear each one of them saying hello. Of course, hearing their voices means we want to chat for real, something that we do often.

Have I shown you pictures of my family? Go here. A personal favorite is the page of photos of our children growing up at O'Haver Lake. Our new grandson is here and here.

Parents are treasures too. I lost both of mine over a decade ago. I still miss them. Probably always will.

Brothers and sisters are treasures too. So are aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews. One just sent me an email a little while ago.

Just a little while ago, my wife called her mother to say "I love you."

Go ahead. Pick up the phone and call someone today. Tell them you love them.

2003-04-10T00:40:00.000-04:00

ELIE WIESEL AND THE WAR ON IRAQ

On March 11, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel, urged direct intervention in Iraq. His L.A. Times article is reproduced at this U.S. Embassy web site.

UPDATE: The above link is dead. The text of the article follows below.

It can also be found here.

Elie Wiesel was born in 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania, now a part of Romania. He was fifteen years old when he and his family were deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz. His mother and younger sister perished, his two older sisters survived. Elie and his father were later transported to Buchenwald, where his father died shortly before the camp was liberated in April 1945.

His web site is here.

*** *** ***

The following column by Elie Wiesel, "Peace Isn't Possible in Evil's Face," was published in The Los Angeles Times on March 11, 2003. Copyright (c) 2003 Elie Wiesel.

Rational people must intervene against the likes of Hussein.

Under normal circumstances, I might have joined those peace marchers who, here and abroad, staged public demonstrations against an invasion of Iraq. After all, I have seen enough of the brutality, the ugliness, of war to oppose it heart and soul. Isn't war forever cruel, the ultimate form of violence? It inevitably generates not only loss of innocence but endless sorrow and mourning. How could one not reject it as an option?

And yet, this time I support President Bush's policy of intervention to eradicate international terrorism, which, most civilized nations agree, is the greatest threat facing us today. Bush has placed the Iraqi war into that context; Saddam Hussein is the ruthless leader of a rogue state to be disarmed by whatever means is necessary if he does not comply fully with the United Nations' mandates to disarm. If we fail to do this, we expose ourselves to terrifying consequences.

In other words: Though I oppose war, I am in favor of intervention when, as in this case because of Hussein's equivocations and procrastinations, no other option remains.

The recent past shows that only military intervention stopped bloodshed in the Balkans and destroyed the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Moreover, had the international community intervened in Rwanda, more than 800,000 men, women and children would not have perished there.

Had Europe's great powers intervened against Adolf Hitler's aggressive ambitions in 1938 instead of appeasing him in Munich, humanity would have been spared the unprecedented horrors of World War II.

Does this apply to the present situation in Iraq? It does. Hussein must be stopped and disarmed. Even our European allies who oppose us now agree in principle, though they insist on waiting.

But time always plays in dictators' favor. Having managed to hide his biological weapons, Hussein's goal is to be able to choose the time and the place for using them. Surely that is why he threw out the U.N. inspectors four years ago. If he now appears to offer episodic minor concessions, just as surely that is because American troops are massing at his borders.

In certain political circles, one hears demands for proof that Hussein is still in possession of forbidden weapons. Some European governments evidently do not believe Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's statement that Hussein has such weapons, but I do, and here is why:

Powell is a great soldier and one who does not like war. It was he who prevailed upon then-President Bush in 1991 not to enter Baghdad. It was he who advised the current president not to bypass the U.N. system. If he says that he has proof of Hussein's criminal disregard of the U.N. resolutions, I believe him. I believe that a man of his standing would not jeopardize his name, his career, his prestige, his past and his honor.

We have known for a long time that the Iraqi ruler is a mass murderer. In the late 1980s, he ordered tens of thousands of his own citizens gassed to death. In 1990, he invaded Kuwait. After his defeat, he set its oil fields on fire, thus causing the worst ecological disaster in history. He also launched Scud missiles on Israel, which was not a participant in that war. He should have been indicted then for crimes against humanity. Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic was arrested and brought to trial for less.

Add to the evidence against him Hussein's conversation with CBS anchor Dan Rather. Listening to him declaring that Iraq was not defeated in 1991 made one wonder about his sanity; he appears to live a world of fantasy and hallucination.

The nightmarish question of what such a man might do with his arsenal of unconventional weaponry is why, more than ever, some of us believe in intervention. We must deal sooner rather than later with this madman whose possession of weapons of mass destruction threatens to provoke an ever-widening conflagration.

What it comes down to is this: We have a moral obligation to intervene where evil is in control. Today, that place is Iraq.

2003-03-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

Grandfather Thoughts

Drew

Having never been a grandfather before, this is a new thing. And a wonderful thing. My web site is about photography, but I am am going to diverge from that here. A blog can be, after all, a personal thing. I believe we should lives in gratitude to God, not just on Sunday, but every day. Today I am thankful for family and memories and special moments in the present.

Our son called from Germany today and we spent over two hours talking about many things, but mostly about his new son, and about family, and about family memories. It was a wonderful treat. When he is in Kosovo, our contact with him is limited.

We talked a lot about the hours leading up to and following Drew's birth. We also talked about his life going back to when he was a young child.

My mother told me once "When you become a parent you will know what life is all about." When our first child was born, she said "When you become a grandparent you will really know what live is all about." My mother passed away over 12 years ago, but if she had been around now I know what she would say, "When you become a great grandparent . . ." You are right mom.

A family is one of life's most precious gifts. I hope you do something special soon for someone in your family.

God bless each of us, and God bless our families.