I've never felt unloved. It must be a terrible feeling. Yesterday, in Tijuana, I took twelve year old Isidro shopping ... not for clothes or food but for an orphanage that he would feel comfortable in.
I don't like that kind of shopping.
What hurts most of all is that Isidro isn't a bad kid (yet.) He's a thin quiet boy who goes to school even though he isn't encouraged to. On off days you might find he and his buddy Luis working along a local dirt road, filling the big pot holes and hoping some drivers will give them a tip. They earned $4. one day. The other day he proudly showed me his watermelon plant and tomato plant near the house.
Twelve, the critical age.
He knows I like figs, so after I left he climbed a neighbor's fig tree and picked me a load of ripe figs, but I didn't return for about a week ... so much for the figs.
To his stepfather Isidro is a threat; to his alcoholic mother he's a liability. It seems the only one who really loves him is his dog.
At one point in the 'shopping' tour we sat alone in an orphanage and talked about the changes he would experience becoming part of an orphanage. The freedom he would have to give up, and the rules and discipline he would have to accept.
I told him very clearly; it's an orphanage or the street, you have to choose.
Isidro sat looking into my eyes and listening. No questions. No emotion.
In the afternoon we arrived back at the small shack he calls home, I told him to think things over and be sure of his decision. I'll be back Saturday, when he's to give me his decision.
As we got out of the car, his mother met us on the street. "Why did you bring him back? I thought you were going to leave him at an orphanage!"
How would you feel if you were Isidro?
My world is full of unloved and worthless kids ... but who really cares?
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
DOUBLE WHAMMY!
Double whammy is like saying, when it rains it pours!
In talking with several orphanage directors in Tijuana it becomes obvious that they're hurting, and hurting bad. The pipeline of prayer and financial support from the U.S. has all but dried up. The romance and fun of U.S. groups from local churches coming down to Tijuana for a day interacting with these little Mexican kids seems to be over ... along with it, the joy it brought. One by one the orphanages are finding themselves forgotten.
Some are closing down while others are trimming down.
The long standing three way turf war between the drug cartels and police have taken a toll on tourism, compounding an already bad Tijuana economy. High prices and no work forcing good men to go bad. Stealing and robbery have become an ugly and growing reality.
Our bad economy in the States has hit the church and forced many churches to rearrange their priorities and regroup by dropping short term missions and outside ministries. Sadly these kids across the border have been one of the first to go.
These two hits, no groups and no income, are forcing orphanages to let many of their kids to drop school and return to dysfunctional single parent families or, more literally, the dangerous streets of Tijuana ... where a kid can sell himself for a few bucks.
It's hard to see our churches so close yet so far away!
Compassion? Is that word still in our Bible dictionary?
In talking with several orphanage directors in Tijuana it becomes obvious that they're hurting, and hurting bad. The pipeline of prayer and financial support from the U.S. has all but dried up. The romance and fun of U.S. groups from local churches coming down to Tijuana for a day interacting with these little Mexican kids seems to be over ... along with it, the joy it brought. One by one the orphanages are finding themselves forgotten.
Some are closing down while others are trimming down.
The long standing three way turf war between the drug cartels and police have taken a toll on tourism, compounding an already bad Tijuana economy. High prices and no work forcing good men to go bad. Stealing and robbery have become an ugly and growing reality.
Our bad economy in the States has hit the church and forced many churches to rearrange their priorities and regroup by dropping short term missions and outside ministries. Sadly these kids across the border have been one of the first to go.
These two hits, no groups and no income, are forcing orphanages to let many of their kids to drop school and return to dysfunctional single parent families or, more literally, the dangerous streets of Tijuana ... where a kid can sell himself for a few bucks.
It's hard to see our churches so close yet so far away!
Compassion? Is that word still in our Bible dictionary?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
OVERWEIGHT CHRISTIANS OR HEAVYWEIGHT CHRISTIANS?
Our nation is plagued with obesity, at least that's what "they" say and who of us can dispute it? It's 'apparent', we see obesity everywhere.
Obesity isn't new to the Christian world either; we've been plagued with it for centuries. Pink, plump, tender and pampered over-weight Christians. Overweight Christians are also 'apparent' especially on Sundays where they can be found feasting on the Word.
Today we have an abundance of great chefs, the seminaries are pumping them out every year. The goal of every good chef is to feed us what we want and make it delicious ... we need a different diet.
Obesity isn't a matter of genetics with Christians; it's a rather simple problem ... the same old problem; ingesting too much food with too little exercise.
Let me repeat: too much food and too little exercise.
Can there be too much of a good thing? 'Apparently' so!
It's much easier and more convenient to cook, eat and fellowship than to be outside working off those 'divine' calories.
Unfortunately, in our society there will always be the many who live to eat and the few who eat to live, which is the healthier way to go. Unfortunately too, in our spiritual parallel the same perversion exists.
Churches by the score producing and reproducing obese Christians. Christians born into Church families with a dietary predisposition to ... obesity.
Cheers for the chef? ... I don't think so.
Many Christians can quote "II Tim 2:15" "Study the Word to show yourself approved unto God ..." but few can find and quote "James 1:22"..." be doers of the Word, not just hearers, that's deception."
Hearers of the Word and not doers leads to obesity!
"Show me a fat cook and I'll show you a good cook!" or so the saying goes ... unfortunately; more of a truism than a saying. Good cooks love food; love to eat it and love to share it. Look at the great food found in churches, seminaries (Cooking schools.) and books today. Resulting in the too well fed, fat and contented Christians we see waddling around today.
God's Divine calories turned "selfish" make for unhealthy fat!
No need for diets, just more time outside the Church building using the energy from God's good food to reach a needy and hurting world.
Obvious conclusion: Let's be doers of His Word! ... not just hearers.
Obesity isn't new to the Christian world either; we've been plagued with it for centuries. Pink, plump, tender and pampered over-weight Christians. Overweight Christians are also 'apparent' especially on Sundays where they can be found feasting on the Word.
Today we have an abundance of great chefs, the seminaries are pumping them out every year. The goal of every good chef is to feed us what we want and make it delicious ... we need a different diet.
Obesity isn't a matter of genetics with Christians; it's a rather simple problem ... the same old problem; ingesting too much food with too little exercise.
Let me repeat: too much food and too little exercise.
Can there be too much of a good thing? 'Apparently' so!
It's much easier and more convenient to cook, eat and fellowship than to be outside working off those 'divine' calories.
Unfortunately, in our society there will always be the many who live to eat and the few who eat to live, which is the healthier way to go. Unfortunately too, in our spiritual parallel the same perversion exists.
Churches by the score producing and reproducing obese Christians. Christians born into Church families with a dietary predisposition to ... obesity.
Cheers for the chef? ... I don't think so.
Many Christians can quote "II Tim 2:15" "Study the Word to show yourself approved unto God ..." but few can find and quote "James 1:22"..." be doers of the Word, not just hearers, that's deception."
Hearers of the Word and not doers leads to obesity!
"Show me a fat cook and I'll show you a good cook!" or so the saying goes ... unfortunately; more of a truism than a saying. Good cooks love food; love to eat it and love to share it. Look at the great food found in churches, seminaries (Cooking schools.) and books today. Resulting in the too well fed, fat and contented Christians we see waddling around today.
God's Divine calories turned "selfish" make for unhealthy fat!
No need for diets, just more time outside the Church building using the energy from God's good food to reach a needy and hurting world.
Obvious conclusion: Let's be doers of His Word! ... not just hearers.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
ALONE
In the orphanage and after our evening talk the teenagers filed out and into bed, all except fourteen year old Fernando, we asked him to stay back. "Take a seat Fernando."
It was lonely time!
This young boy is a Mexican Indian, placed in the orphanage by the Government. He doesn't speak much Spanish. He sat uncomfortably straight and stiff in his chair; his eyes avoiding ours. I know Fernando, he's very quiet and not close to anyone. A loner in the true sense of the word.
The kids call him "Indian."
I was asked to tell him that his little brother was dead.
No one wanted to tell him, neither did I. Fernando had asked about his little brother from time to time but the subject was always avoided. The Mexican Government had separated the two of them several years back, placing them in different orphanages. I knew about the situation but was waiting for information to come in as to what happened and where the young boy was buried. We only knew Fernando had no mother or father or even a relative, only his little brother, whom he loved ... and now his brother was dead. The government stonewalled us in trying to get the details.
It was time to tell him.
As we sat there, I broke the news to him as gently as I could. He took the news like the Indian he was, stoic; emotionless, his black eyes staring straight ahead. If he felt pain or loss, it didn't show.
He had no questions ... I had no answers.
I broke the silence by asked him if he liked it there at the orphanage, he paused and then whispered "no".
"Fernando, if there was anything in the world I could do for you or give you, what would it be?" ... After a long pause he whispered, "I wish I had a family."
He walked from the room ... truly alone.
It was lonely time!
This young boy is a Mexican Indian, placed in the orphanage by the Government. He doesn't speak much Spanish. He sat uncomfortably straight and stiff in his chair; his eyes avoiding ours. I know Fernando, he's very quiet and not close to anyone. A loner in the true sense of the word.
The kids call him "Indian."
I was asked to tell him that his little brother was dead.
No one wanted to tell him, neither did I. Fernando had asked about his little brother from time to time but the subject was always avoided. The Mexican Government had separated the two of them several years back, placing them in different orphanages. I knew about the situation but was waiting for information to come in as to what happened and where the young boy was buried. We only knew Fernando had no mother or father or even a relative, only his little brother, whom he loved ... and now his brother was dead. The government stonewalled us in trying to get the details.
It was time to tell him.
As we sat there, I broke the news to him as gently as I could. He took the news like the Indian he was, stoic; emotionless, his black eyes staring straight ahead. If he felt pain or loss, it didn't show.
He had no questions ... I had no answers.
I broke the silence by asked him if he liked it there at the orphanage, he paused and then whispered "no".
"Fernando, if there was anything in the world I could do for you or give you, what would it be?" ... After a long pause he whispered, "I wish I had a family."
He walked from the room ... truly alone.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
COPS 'N ROBBERS
Once again America works against itself.
When I was younger I remember hearing that crime didn't pay. Does crime pay? Of course crime pays, if it didn't, there wouldn't be so many free and rich criminals. Common sense here. More and more young potential criminals are catching on. Crime pays and it's exciting. It's an accepted and 'honored' profession, for those lacking purpose.
Thank our indolent politicians for that.
Let's face another truth, if Cops didn't have criminals, they wouldn't be needed. A Cop without a criminal is like a soldier without an enemy ... it's a love hate relationship. Cops need criminals and criminals need cops, sort of a perverted symbiotic relationship. Police have their job to do and prison's have they're job to do.
They have one thing in common; they both love their job.
It seems no one in this equation is seriously interested on cutting crime down. The Mayors, Governors, politicians and media all talk about it, but let's get real ... who's really serious?
Cops and robbers will continue as they have for centuries.
Prison; 'Crime 100' or 'Gladiator Academies'! The police have their academy, and the criminal has his academy; prison. Isn't it interesting that our prisons have done nothing to really confront and solve this problem? Is there a reason? Maybe it's because the prison bureaucracy's lifeblood comes from the prison system it's self. Every bureaucracy has to grow ... and so the prison system grows!
Prison and jail are excellent places for educating and motivating the criminal. Excellent post-educational benefits.
It's well known that our prison system is motivating and educating Muslim extremists. U.S. paid training for future terrorists. Are we doing anything about it? Don't make me laugh!
America's gangs collect and motivate potential criminals while our prisons educate and act like a catalyst. In prison you locate your friends, learn to fight and fix your future direction.
Oh, and there is graduation!
When you graduate from prison, no one will hire you, so you are forced to continue on in crime. You get caught, and again sent on a free, government expense paid post-grad course of your choice.
The solution (And there is one.) is too humbling and costly for us to pursue.
When I was younger I remember hearing that crime didn't pay. Does crime pay? Of course crime pays, if it didn't, there wouldn't be so many free and rich criminals. Common sense here. More and more young potential criminals are catching on. Crime pays and it's exciting. It's an accepted and 'honored' profession, for those lacking purpose.
Thank our indolent politicians for that.
Let's face another truth, if Cops didn't have criminals, they wouldn't be needed. A Cop without a criminal is like a soldier without an enemy ... it's a love hate relationship. Cops need criminals and criminals need cops, sort of a perverted symbiotic relationship. Police have their job to do and prison's have they're job to do.
They have one thing in common; they both love their job.
It seems no one in this equation is seriously interested on cutting crime down. The Mayors, Governors, politicians and media all talk about it, but let's get real ... who's really serious?
Cops and robbers will continue as they have for centuries.
Prison; 'Crime 100' or 'Gladiator Academies'! The police have their academy, and the criminal has his academy; prison. Isn't it interesting that our prisons have done nothing to really confront and solve this problem? Is there a reason? Maybe it's because the prison bureaucracy's lifeblood comes from the prison system it's self. Every bureaucracy has to grow ... and so the prison system grows!
Prison and jail are excellent places for educating and motivating the criminal. Excellent post-educational benefits.
It's well known that our prison system is motivating and educating Muslim extremists. U.S. paid training for future terrorists. Are we doing anything about it? Don't make me laugh!
America's gangs collect and motivate potential criminals while our prisons educate and act like a catalyst. In prison you locate your friends, learn to fight and fix your future direction.
Oh, and there is graduation!
When you graduate from prison, no one will hire you, so you are forced to continue on in crime. You get caught, and again sent on a free, government expense paid post-grad course of your choice.
The solution (And there is one.) is too humbling and costly for us to pursue.
Friday, July 24, 2009
MODEST
Modest? When was the last time you heard the word modest? It's an adjective no one uses any more. No matter what the context, the term modest just isn't used any more. It's actually out dated. Modest was never a term used for men; modest was used in the context of virtuous women.
Oh, and by the way, when was the last time you have heard the terms virtue or virtuous?
Today women have been liberated from old-fashioned 'modesty' and are free to exercise 'flaunt it' ... 'You got it? Flaunt it!' ... tease and tempt the men! Heat 'em up! That's today's dirty little game.
If the men take the game too far, it's their problem! Never the temptress, right? Ah, this progressive world.
It might be painful to accept this, but the way women dress and walk pretty well defines their character. Cheap women using their physical assets to attract cheap attention, are just that, cheap!
Beautiful but empty broads! A cheap lot! You can find them anywhere.
The women who are a cut-above, are women who dress modestly and act modestly. A quality person. A rare woman of virtue! A lady! As God puts it, a jewel.
Where is even the modest and virtuous mother?
It's apparent that our society doesn't want to deal with modesty or virtue ... or morals.
Caution, you liberal women! In your efforts to attract men, you've also attracted God. God will deal with those who make up this immodest generation, in His time and in His way.
Oh, and by the way, when was the last time you have heard the terms virtue or virtuous?
Today women have been liberated from old-fashioned 'modesty' and are free to exercise 'flaunt it' ... 'You got it? Flaunt it!' ... tease and tempt the men! Heat 'em up! That's today's dirty little game.
If the men take the game too far, it's their problem! Never the temptress, right? Ah, this progressive world.
It might be painful to accept this, but the way women dress and walk pretty well defines their character. Cheap women using their physical assets to attract cheap attention, are just that, cheap!
Beautiful but empty broads! A cheap lot! You can find them anywhere.
The women who are a cut-above, are women who dress modestly and act modestly. A quality person. A rare woman of virtue! A lady! As God puts it, a jewel.
Where is even the modest and virtuous mother?
It's apparent that our society doesn't want to deal with modesty or virtue ... or morals.
Caution, you liberal women! In your efforts to attract men, you've also attracted God. God will deal with those who make up this immodest generation, in His time and in His way.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
ARE WE TO BE ALLOWED OUR ROOTS?
It seems most every ethnic group at some level wants to remain true to they're roots. They bring with them their past, their religion and colorful culture, and we accept it graciously. America is diverse. America is free; America is America!
However, when it comes to our own roots and culture, well, that's another story ... our own roots are non grata, today, why? Somehow, in this case, "our" roots are a different story. Why? Because our country's cultural roots are founded on a "Judeo Christian" ethic. Biblical roots are simply not acceptable in today's America!
A firm belief in almighty God and His Bible, was woven into the very fabric of our nation. The Judeo Christian ethic is what made us different from other nations. The Judeo Christian ethic is what made us great! No one can question the success of America; the most powerful nation on earth.
Our Judeo Christian ethic gave us, as a people, a unique and strong inner integrity. We had a higher accountability, serving a living God.
I speak in a past tense, because it seems we are dedicated to restructure our nation, in our image ... leaving out the very essential that made us great in the first place. We have pulled the Christian ethic out, along with the God that has so blessed us.
"One Nation under Obama..."
"In Obama we trust."
Is this the beginning of the Obama nation?
... where God is now past tense and spelled 'god'. A nation where our sovereign God was, but is no more!
In God's view, will we become an abomination?
Which will result in a ... God-damned-nation!
I, for one, fear!
However, when it comes to our own roots and culture, well, that's another story ... our own roots are non grata, today, why? Somehow, in this case, "our" roots are a different story. Why? Because our country's cultural roots are founded on a "Judeo Christian" ethic. Biblical roots are simply not acceptable in today's America!
A firm belief in almighty God and His Bible, was woven into the very fabric of our nation. The Judeo Christian ethic is what made us different from other nations. The Judeo Christian ethic is what made us great! No one can question the success of America; the most powerful nation on earth.
Our Judeo Christian ethic gave us, as a people, a unique and strong inner integrity. We had a higher accountability, serving a living God.
I speak in a past tense, because it seems we are dedicated to restructure our nation, in our image ... leaving out the very essential that made us great in the first place. We have pulled the Christian ethic out, along with the God that has so blessed us.
"One Nation under Obama..."
"In Obama we trust."
Is this the beginning of the Obama nation?
... where God is now past tense and spelled 'god'. A nation where our sovereign God was, but is no more!
In God's view, will we become an abomination?
Which will result in a ... God-damned-nation!
I, for one, fear!
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
EVIL-CENTRIC
Evil, the deadly disease carried by men, has always been an influence in society. God, His message and messengers have always resisted evil, but it seems, little by little evil is overtaking good.
God is not "in" anymore. His good, love and beauty are out in favor of ugly raw evil.
God's observation; man hates the light of God; he prefers darkness because his deeds are evil. (John 3:19)
Fact! Today evil is in. Look around. It's in for adults, it's in for teens, it's in for kids ... today evil is cool! You see it on tee shirts, bumper stickers, tattoos, concerts, T.V and movies. You literally see evil displayed and in-acted everywhere. Evil proudly and openly swaggers through the streets of every city.
The disease of evil is pandemic!
With a growing number of kids evil and destruction are a sign of courage, with death as the ultimate thrill. Evil's mammal of choice, of course, is the vampire! Talk about twisted minds.
Evil thrives in the environment of violence and anarchy! Evil's two favorite colors are black and red ... the black of darkness and red of blood.
Does there come a time where this fantasy of evil becomes an ugly reality to contend?
If so ... where are the few with the courage to confront this ugly trend?
God is not "in" anymore. His good, love and beauty are out in favor of ugly raw evil.
God's observation; man hates the light of God; he prefers darkness because his deeds are evil. (John 3:19)
Fact! Today evil is in. Look around. It's in for adults, it's in for teens, it's in for kids ... today evil is cool! You see it on tee shirts, bumper stickers, tattoos, concerts, T.V and movies. You literally see evil displayed and in-acted everywhere. Evil proudly and openly swaggers through the streets of every city.
The disease of evil is pandemic!
With a growing number of kids evil and destruction are a sign of courage, with death as the ultimate thrill. Evil's mammal of choice, of course, is the vampire! Talk about twisted minds.
Evil thrives in the environment of violence and anarchy! Evil's two favorite colors are black and red ... the black of darkness and red of blood.
Does there come a time where this fantasy of evil becomes an ugly reality to contend?
If so ... where are the few with the courage to confront this ugly trend?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
... ACCORDING TO STATISTICS
Is it just me, or do others see a radical increase in the media use of polls, studies, surveys, and research? It seems these impressive and magic "question-me-not" numbers are everywhere, giving credibility to anything and everything! Wild numbers combined with percentages seem to be flying from every direction; just connect your statement to a "poll" or a "survey" and you have proof positive that your statement is factual.
The media is literally satiated with polls, studies and statistics.
Take a look at these impressive studies, which take thousands of dollars and multiple thousands of hours to complete! Profound questions like ... (*Do men between the age of fifty and seventy have less energy than men between the age of twenty and forty? *Do women actually have higher voices than men? *Are accident's with small cars more deadly than accidents with a larger car? *A recent survey of 5000 mothers indicated that 90% of the mothers surveyed thought that children under the age of four were not qualified to drive a car. Surprising statistics!)
Simple 'common sense' answers most of these profound mysteries ... so why the study? Why the research on senseless questions?
Take a quick look at political polls; many of which are created to give a predictable answer! One poll states one thing while another poll confirms the opposite. Could polls actually be manipulated?
Let's jump to medicine. Surveys and studies flourish in medicines. Heart trouble, joint pain, diabetes start an endless list of diseases and afflictions woven together by authentic statistics. Unfortunately these statistics form a constant flux of contradictions. What are we to believe?
It seems "percentages" of some type make any statement or argument more authoritative and authentic.
By the way, who ever checks on these whipped up statistics? We just glibly swallow them; after all they're in the newspapers and on the evening news.
Media, give us a break, cut down on your senseless studies and manipulated polls. Give us credit for having common sense. We're on to you.
(*Like many statistics, pure fiction.)
The media is literally satiated with polls, studies and statistics.
Take a look at these impressive studies, which take thousands of dollars and multiple thousands of hours to complete! Profound questions like ... (*Do men between the age of fifty and seventy have less energy than men between the age of twenty and forty? *Do women actually have higher voices than men? *Are accident's with small cars more deadly than accidents with a larger car? *A recent survey of 5000 mothers indicated that 90% of the mothers surveyed thought that children under the age of four were not qualified to drive a car. Surprising statistics!)
Simple 'common sense' answers most of these profound mysteries ... so why the study? Why the research on senseless questions?
Take a quick look at political polls; many of which are created to give a predictable answer! One poll states one thing while another poll confirms the opposite. Could polls actually be manipulated?
Let's jump to medicine. Surveys and studies flourish in medicines. Heart trouble, joint pain, diabetes start an endless list of diseases and afflictions woven together by authentic statistics. Unfortunately these statistics form a constant flux of contradictions. What are we to believe?
It seems "percentages" of some type make any statement or argument more authoritative and authentic.
By the way, who ever checks on these whipped up statistics? We just glibly swallow them; after all they're in the newspapers and on the evening news.
Media, give us a break, cut down on your senseless studies and manipulated polls. Give us credit for having common sense. We're on to you.
(*Like many statistics, pure fiction.)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
CAN'T AFFORD TO DIE
I'm really frustrated, I'm over eighty now, and simply can't afford to die ... it's too expensive!
Some time ago my sister died and I came face to face with the American death business. There's a politically correct way to die and be buried, and of course we all want to die and finish in the correct way. However, rather than a large lavish funeral with all of today's bells and whistles, we wanted to have a small, quiet, inexpensive funeral ... not necessarily a do-it-yourself, backyard thing, but the next step up. That's when I found that an “inexpensive funeral” was an oxymoron.
There is a proper way to die and it must be followed down to the very last dollar. First, of course, there is to be a certificate from the bureaucracy, that assures you, your friends and the State that you are indeed dead, or more politically correct, deceased. The next big step, and major decision ... cremation or burial? Cremation is a more inexpensive option, with some objecting to the heat. Burial, it seems, is the culturally correct way to go.
My sister wanted to be buried and so it was. First to the cemetery to choose a lovely quiet plot, preferably near a shade tree and with a nice view. (The nice funeral director pointed this out to us, especially the view.) He assured us that we got both at a very “reasonable” price. Next, was to choose a lovely, yet functional (and comfortable) casket. And, more importantly, one that would last. This took a lot of thought.
The funeral director was reluctant to let me try out a few of his caskets. (I'm one who likes to try, before I buy; if you know what I mean.) The dollars kept adding up. The big black hearse, and of course the police escort, the room rental, memory book full of names the deceased will never look at, even a cement slab that covers the casket in case of severe rain.
My sister didn't have to do the paperwork or pay the bills, that's the good thing about being the die'ee, you don't have to worry about that silly stuff and ... you get to attended your funeral in absentia.
Yep! I'm over eighty and holding off dying simply because it costs too much! Oh, for an old fashioned backyard funeral and celebration ... two pieces of wood and three nails, now that I can afford.
Some time ago my sister died and I came face to face with the American death business. There's a politically correct way to die and be buried, and of course we all want to die and finish in the correct way. However, rather than a large lavish funeral with all of today's bells and whistles, we wanted to have a small, quiet, inexpensive funeral ... not necessarily a do-it-yourself, backyard thing, but the next step up. That's when I found that an “inexpensive funeral” was an oxymoron.
There is a proper way to die and it must be followed down to the very last dollar. First, of course, there is to be a certificate from the bureaucracy, that assures you, your friends and the State that you are indeed dead, or more politically correct, deceased. The next big step, and major decision ... cremation or burial? Cremation is a more inexpensive option, with some objecting to the heat. Burial, it seems, is the culturally correct way to go.
My sister wanted to be buried and so it was. First to the cemetery to choose a lovely quiet plot, preferably near a shade tree and with a nice view. (The nice funeral director pointed this out to us, especially the view.) He assured us that we got both at a very “reasonable” price. Next, was to choose a lovely, yet functional (and comfortable) casket. And, more importantly, one that would last. This took a lot of thought.
The funeral director was reluctant to let me try out a few of his caskets. (I'm one who likes to try, before I buy; if you know what I mean.) The dollars kept adding up. The big black hearse, and of course the police escort, the room rental, memory book full of names the deceased will never look at, even a cement slab that covers the casket in case of severe rain.
My sister didn't have to do the paperwork or pay the bills, that's the good thing about being the die'ee, you don't have to worry about that silly stuff and ... you get to attended your funeral in absentia.
Yep! I'm over eighty and holding off dying simply because it costs too much! Oh, for an old fashioned backyard funeral and celebration ... two pieces of wood and three nails, now that I can afford.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
JIHAD!
Jihad? I've always believed the Muslims when they said they were at war. Jews, Americans, Christians are just their priorities. The Muslims overall quest, as they readily admit, is winning the world to their religion, their way, their god, the god of fire! They're serious about this god given mandate.
Win, or if necessary, conquer! Blood. JIHAD!
The Muslims are serious. The Muslims are devout. Their strategies are many and varied and certainly effective. They're slow and persistent. All Muslims? Not all, but the vast majority of millions upon millions of Muslims are actively or passively engaged in this quest. It is their hope. It's their divine mandate!
We just can't believe this!
The Muslim's most effective approach is similar to a cancer ... find a weak and unsuspecting host and quietly enter. The key word here is "host." Enter these host nations; live and grow sucking life from the host until you ultimately kill it. The freedom and openness of most civilized nations provide a great environment for this barbaric Muslim cancer to thrive. They know it and they're exploiting it. These barbarians are not dumb barbarians!
(Why didn't we catch this deadly cancer in it's early stages? Ask our leaders, they will be held responsible.)
Mr. Obama; trying to negotiate with Muslims is like trying to negotiate with cancer ... There is only one way to deal with a cancer of this type ... but it simply costs too much.
Win, or if necessary, conquer! Blood. JIHAD!
The Muslims are serious. The Muslims are devout. Their strategies are many and varied and certainly effective. They're slow and persistent. All Muslims? Not all, but the vast majority of millions upon millions of Muslims are actively or passively engaged in this quest. It is their hope. It's their divine mandate!
We just can't believe this!
The Muslim's most effective approach is similar to a cancer ... find a weak and unsuspecting host and quietly enter. The key word here is "host." Enter these host nations; live and grow sucking life from the host until you ultimately kill it. The freedom and openness of most civilized nations provide a great environment for this barbaric Muslim cancer to thrive. They know it and they're exploiting it. These barbarians are not dumb barbarians!
(Why didn't we catch this deadly cancer in it's early stages? Ask our leaders, they will be held responsible.)
Mr. Obama; trying to negotiate with Muslims is like trying to negotiate with cancer ... There is only one way to deal with a cancer of this type ... but it simply costs too much.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
SOLOMAN RENAMES MONOPOLY
As a kid I remember spending hours playing the game of Monopoly with my friends. I don't know which family bought the game, I do know that we were too poor to buy the game. Monopoly, for this poor boy, was fun and addictive. If the dice rolled right and I made the right decisions, I became rich! I remember well the day I was the wealthiest man on the board. I had my fist full of money ... Monopoly money! Then the game ended and reality set in. Instantly the money I had, returned to the worthless paper it always was.
I left the game as poor as I entered.
Monopoly is a lot like the game of life isn't it? Chance and paper in the right combination brings out the greed and makes for the illusion of wealth.
In another sense I wonder if God isn't viewing us from a similar perspective in our pursuit of money and all it can buy. The quest for the good life ... the American dream!
Solomon was honest with us when he called the game "folly."
God calls, our time is up, the games over. We leave just as we entered, with nothing ... and not that much smarter!
Life must be more than a divine roll of the dice.
When man takes God out of the equation, life becomes a meaningless game ... but with terrible consequences.
I left the game as poor as I entered.
Monopoly is a lot like the game of life isn't it? Chance and paper in the right combination brings out the greed and makes for the illusion of wealth.
In another sense I wonder if God isn't viewing us from a similar perspective in our pursuit of money and all it can buy. The quest for the good life ... the American dream!
Solomon was honest with us when he called the game "folly."
God calls, our time is up, the games over. We leave just as we entered, with nothing ... and not that much smarter!
Life must be more than a divine roll of the dice.
When man takes God out of the equation, life becomes a meaningless game ... but with terrible consequences.
Friday, May 29, 2009
WANTED: A SOLUTION!
I smile, when I shouldn't smile. I smile at the futility of mans devices; at his confidence in the midst of pending disaster. How arrogant. How foolish man is. How foolish our leaders!
He creates his own problems, which only multiply and then tries to solve these problems which only cause more problems ... and man thinks he's so smart.
As far as technology goes, man comes up with a pretty good grade, A+, but when it comes to living in peace with himself he always comes up with a flat painful failure!
It seems all the physiologists, psychiatrists, philosophers and social workers in our world can't put "humpty-dumpty together again" but still they try.
Humpty-Dumpty has been broken a long time!
The forever failure of trying to legislate morality and mass behavior, especially when there is no consensus on what morality is, afflicts us all. Our legal box of liberty gets smaller and smaller. Our freedoms restricted!
Indeed man gravitates toward doing what's right in his own eyes not necessarily what's right in societies eyes. Laws work pretty well when there's a cop around. We can arrest the law breaker, and simply shuttle the problem away into a postponement camp. Man's solution? More cops. Bigger cops. Better guns. More lawyers. More judges and courts. longer fences. More and larger camps.
Laws made to control man's behavior have never been a solution to the behavioral change of an individual; only a temporary fear of punishment, or death. The key word here is solution. Admittedly there is no man made law that goes to the solution of changing the core of an individuals behavior; it's the heart of man that's the true prompter of his behavior. Common sense says this. God says this. History says this!
It's true that education, example and culture may affect man's behavior but truer still these influences will never change his heart. God calls man's heart evil, and evil it is.
God has the only solution to evil; it's available; it's free.
But man, being man, will continue to willfully and arrogantly bypass God in his "search" for another solution to his dilemma: controlling the effects of man's dark side ... the evil side of mankind.
Got any solutions?
He creates his own problems, which only multiply and then tries to solve these problems which only cause more problems ... and man thinks he's so smart.
As far as technology goes, man comes up with a pretty good grade, A+, but when it comes to living in peace with himself he always comes up with a flat painful failure!
It seems all the physiologists, psychiatrists, philosophers and social workers in our world can't put "humpty-dumpty together again" but still they try.
Humpty-Dumpty has been broken a long time!
The forever failure of trying to legislate morality and mass behavior, especially when there is no consensus on what morality is, afflicts us all. Our legal box of liberty gets smaller and smaller. Our freedoms restricted!
Indeed man gravitates toward doing what's right in his own eyes not necessarily what's right in societies eyes. Laws work pretty well when there's a cop around. We can arrest the law breaker, and simply shuttle the problem away into a postponement camp. Man's solution? More cops. Bigger cops. Better guns. More lawyers. More judges and courts. longer fences. More and larger camps.
Laws made to control man's behavior have never been a solution to the behavioral change of an individual; only a temporary fear of punishment, or death. The key word here is solution. Admittedly there is no man made law that goes to the solution of changing the core of an individuals behavior; it's the heart of man that's the true prompter of his behavior. Common sense says this. God says this. History says this!
It's true that education, example and culture may affect man's behavior but truer still these influences will never change his heart. God calls man's heart evil, and evil it is.
God has the only solution to evil; it's available; it's free.
But man, being man, will continue to willfully and arrogantly bypass God in his "search" for another solution to his dilemma: controlling the effects of man's dark side ... the evil side of mankind.
Got any solutions?
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
WAR? WHAT WAR?
"Onward Christians soldiers" is a hymn we used to sing in the old days. We don't sing it much anymore. It's no longer popular and it never was politically correct. Not the best subject either; war was never popular in Christian circles. The hymn uses too many controversial words, words like ... Soldier? Christian? Onward? War? Battle? Enemy? The hymn implies we're in a war with an enemy. The old hymn also implies the wrong direction; forward. Today we're into "Retreats" more than victories ... and the way I see it, there can be no victory with out a struggle. Forward into battle? No wonder the hymn isn't sung much anymore. Better by far to ignore the enemy than confront him ... right?
By the way, we're having another "retreat" ... next weekend.
By the way, we're having another "retreat" ... next weekend.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
TEACHERS WHO MOLEST AND RAPE THEIR STUDENTS
For years liberal and progressive teachers have infiltrated our schools; colleges and universities becoming full of tenured liabilities. I've always thought that a teacher was hired to teach her subject not her bias. A true teacher is there to motivate students to learn, and in that environment, educate her students not indoctrinate them. A teacher indoctrinating students with her particular political philosophies, life philosophies or even religious convictions is simply wrong. Let all hired public school teachers keep to their given subject and teach it well. The true teacher's goal should be motivating and teaching ... not tenure.
Remember teachers, you have the bully platform! You influence the lives of your students; every teacher should carry this responsibility honestly and responsibly.
Exploiting the minds of young idealistic students and molesting their minds in the name of education should be high crime. No true teacher with integrity would do such a thing!
In high school, years ago, I had an old tenured teacher who would take our class period each day to preach his communistic philosophy. He would spin his lessons in History class with communistic thought. He was just one of many diseased teachers in the California School system. A teacher who should have been fired, but this was California and progressive California likes teachers like that.
I don't have children; if I did I would home teach or move out of California.
Years ago San Francisco was just a progressive city in California; it has now become California! When will it become our nation?
Parents, and the church have the right and responsibility of teaching and influencing their children in the area of morals, ethics, and character, and integrity along with religious and political views.
There should be some outrage! Don't molest my children; physically or intellectually! Indoctrination has no part in our public schools.
We need more intelligent kids and less confused ones!
For years liberal and progressive teachers have infiltrated our schools; colleges and universities becoming full of tenured liabilities. I've always thought that a teacher was hired to teach her subject not her bias. A true teacher is there to motivate students to learn, and in that environment, educate her students not indoctrinate them. A teacher indoctrinating students with her particular political philosophies, life philosophies or even religious convictions is simply wrong. Let all hired public school teachers keep to their given subject and teach it well. The true teacher's goal should be motivating and teaching ... not tenure.
Remember teachers, you have the bully platform! You influence the lives of your students; every teacher should carry this responsibility honestly and responsibly.
Exploiting the minds of young idealistic students and molesting their minds in the name of education should be high crime. No true teacher with integrity would do such a thing!
Publish Post
In high school, years ago, I had an old tenured teacher who would take our class period each day to preach his communistic philosophy. He would spin his lessons in History class with communistic thought. He was just one of many diseased teachers in the California School system. A teacher who should have been fired, but this was California and progressive California likes teachers like that.
I don't have children; if I did I would home teach or move out of California.
Years ago San Francisco was just a progressive city in California; it has now become California! When will it become our nation?
Parents, and the church have the right and responsibility of teaching and influencing their children in the area of morals, ethics, and character, and integrity along with religious and political views.
There should be some outrage! Don't molest my children; physically or intellectually! Indoctrination has no part in our public schools.
We need more intelligent kids and less confused ones!
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
SOME CHRISTIANS ARE FOOLS
Years ago I was visiting a Wycliffe tribal missionary in the jungles of Bolivia working with his tribe. This handful of Indians were the remnant of large tribe; a man several wives and his large family were all that were left. This missionary was willing to invest five to ten years living in the jungle with his family to bring the Gospel to these few people.
The nationals saw them as a group of dirty thieves.
In speaking one day here in the U.S, I brought this example up as an illustration of dedication and commitment. Later a friend of mine pulled me aside to give me his take on this missionary. My friend was a "mature" Christian, intelligent, wealthy ... and an engineer. He was logical and pragmatic in his perspective ... so his response was as follows
"Von, why does this missionary invest his time and our money on so few people? It would make more sense to become a pastor of a church here, that way he could work with a hundred, two hundred or three hundred people. His so called investment just doesn't make sense."
Most of us Christians claim that even if we were the only sinner on earth, Christ would have willingly sacrificed His life for us. We're satisfied with that pious answer. Yet this missionary willing to invest his life in this handful of primitive people to give them the Gospel, an education, medical help ... well, it doesn't make sense.
Or does it?
Our missionary brother was called to do God's will and that's what he was doing in the middle of the hot humid jungle.
Indeed God's ways are not our ways. God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Isaiah writes it this way. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah. 55:9)
... and God is not willing that any should perish! (II Peter 3:9)
Ahh secular Christians, making their hasty judgments based on bang for the buck!
The nationals saw them as a group of dirty thieves.
In speaking one day here in the U.S, I brought this example up as an illustration of dedication and commitment. Later a friend of mine pulled me aside to give me his take on this missionary. My friend was a "mature" Christian, intelligent, wealthy ... and an engineer. He was logical and pragmatic in his perspective ... so his response was as follows
"Von, why does this missionary invest his time and our money on so few people? It would make more sense to become a pastor of a church here, that way he could work with a hundred, two hundred or three hundred people. His so called investment just doesn't make sense."
Most of us Christians claim that even if we were the only sinner on earth, Christ would have willingly sacrificed His life for us. We're satisfied with that pious answer. Yet this missionary willing to invest his life in this handful of primitive people to give them the Gospel, an education, medical help ... well, it doesn't make sense.
Or does it?
Our missionary brother was called to do God's will and that's what he was doing in the middle of the hot humid jungle.
Indeed God's ways are not our ways. God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Isaiah writes it this way. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah. 55:9)
... and God is not willing that any should perish! (II Peter 3:9)
Ahh secular Christians, making their hasty judgments based on bang for the buck!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
OUR HUNGER FOR HIGH!
We're a nation of rich pampered and unhappy people. Oh, we have our poor, that's true, but our "poor" is not the "poor" we find in Haiti, India or Africa. That poor is real poor.
We rich North Americans have become not only unhappy but unhealthy too.
Unhealthy? I'm not talking food or height to weight ratio here but a more accurate yet invisible standard; I'm talking pharmacy here. I'm talking pills, capsules, sprays, ointments, vitamins. There's over the counter medicine for the "do it yourself" crew and behind the counter medicine for the doctor's more "impatient patients". Pharmaceuticals; literally a ton of variety packed on a growing variety of shelving. Each little bottle jar or box offering no solution, simply a promise of symptomatic relief for pain or discomfort. Relief in a matter of minutes! Ahh ...
In my day the little old drug stores of the past were more limited. There weren't many of them in the town or city. Over the counter medicines offered little more than a bottle of aspirin and behind the counter and the man in white, were the syringes and pills. We simply took pain and discomfort as a part of life. Sounds strange doesn't it?
We got hooked on Coke ... Coca-Cola early. Our nations first true addiction.
Today we want to feel good. Our healthy and natural endorphins are no longer enough, we want to push it! This attitude makes a candidate ... for addiction.
We want a legitimate high. We expect it ... it's our right as Americans to be "happy and high". In fact what makes the whole thing so dangerous is that we, as a people, have addicted ourselves to "high and happy". We are searching for a "high and happy" that is as elusive as the treasure at the end of a beautiful rainbow.
Still, we search the shelves ... looking for high!
We have let ourselves and our children become candidates for a "high" and "happy" lifestyle that doesn't exist.
We rich North Americans have become not only unhappy but unhealthy too.
Unhealthy? I'm not talking food or height to weight ratio here but a more accurate yet invisible standard; I'm talking pharmacy here. I'm talking pills, capsules, sprays, ointments, vitamins. There's over the counter medicine for the "do it yourself" crew and behind the counter medicine for the doctor's more "impatient patients". Pharmaceuticals; literally a ton of variety packed on a growing variety of shelving. Each little bottle jar or box offering no solution, simply a promise of symptomatic relief for pain or discomfort. Relief in a matter of minutes! Ahh ...
In my day the little old drug stores of the past were more limited. There weren't many of them in the town or city. Over the counter medicines offered little more than a bottle of aspirin and behind the counter and the man in white, were the syringes and pills. We simply took pain and discomfort as a part of life. Sounds strange doesn't it?
We got hooked on Coke ... Coca-Cola early. Our nations first true addiction.
Today we want to feel good. Our healthy and natural endorphins are no longer enough, we want to push it! This attitude makes a candidate ... for addiction.
We want a legitimate high. We expect it ... it's our right as Americans to be "happy and high". In fact what makes the whole thing so dangerous is that we, as a people, have addicted ourselves to "high and happy". We are searching for a "high and happy" that is as elusive as the treasure at the end of a beautiful rainbow.
Still, we search the shelves ... looking for high!
We have let ourselves and our children become candidates for a "high" and "happy" lifestyle that doesn't exist.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
WHEN DOES PROTECTION BECOME DANGEROUS?
We are living in a society obsessed with protection. It seems quite apparent. Safety is the big thing from schools to industry, we hear the word constantly. Safety hats, safety shoes, safety glasses to kids having to wear safety helmets, knee-pads safety belts on and on it goes penetrating every aspect of our society ... but can "protection" become dangerous? When does protection actually weaken the individual? When does well meaning, even necessary protection make us vulnerable to the realities of life? Living carefree in a beautiful protective bubble shields us from a real and dangerous world, a world of billions of tough, strong and alert people.
A thought along that line.
As a young girl my mother lived on a farm. She had opportunities to watch little chicks hatch. Oh how the chicks struggled as they slowly worked their way out of their eggshell. Her heart went out to these little struggling chicks, so small and helpless. In time emotion got the best of her. Why couldn't she help the chicks? She was strong able and willing ... so she started helping the chicks, eliminating their struggle, only to find that what she really did was to cripple many of the chicks, in fact a few died.
At her young age my kind hearted mother didn't understand what she was doing; instead of helping she actually was crippling and killing those she loved. She didn't understand that the tough eggshell and process of struggling was all part of a well laid out divine plan to strengthen the new chick and prepare him for life. The struggle was necessary. The struggle was essential ... but the struggle was hard to watch.
Like my mother, our well meaning leaders have become obsessed with eliminating the struggle in life, thus weakening and dumbing down the very individuals they are leading. No more thorns, spikes, sharp-edges. No more bare feet or painful falls: a smoothing of the path into fantasy land ... the great American bubble.
I see this thing played out with so many loving mothers and their children. Mothers innocently crippling the very kids they love simply because they aren't really thinking this thing out. Over protection of a child can only produce a weak man or woman ... and weak men and women produce a weak America.
Unfortunately, too often emotion trumps common sense to the hurt of us all. Don't over protect!
A thought along that line.
As a young girl my mother lived on a farm. She had opportunities to watch little chicks hatch. Oh how the chicks struggled as they slowly worked their way out of their eggshell. Her heart went out to these little struggling chicks, so small and helpless. In time emotion got the best of her. Why couldn't she help the chicks? She was strong able and willing ... so she started helping the chicks, eliminating their struggle, only to find that what she really did was to cripple many of the chicks, in fact a few died.
At her young age my kind hearted mother didn't understand what she was doing; instead of helping she actually was crippling and killing those she loved. She didn't understand that the tough eggshell and process of struggling was all part of a well laid out divine plan to strengthen the new chick and prepare him for life. The struggle was necessary. The struggle was essential ... but the struggle was hard to watch.
Like my mother, our well meaning leaders have become obsessed with eliminating the struggle in life, thus weakening and dumbing down the very individuals they are leading. No more thorns, spikes, sharp-edges. No more bare feet or painful falls: a smoothing of the path into fantasy land ... the great American bubble.
I see this thing played out with so many loving mothers and their children. Mothers innocently crippling the very kids they love simply because they aren't really thinking this thing out. Over protection of a child can only produce a weak man or woman ... and weak men and women produce a weak America.
Unfortunately, too often emotion trumps common sense to the hurt of us all. Don't over protect!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
THE ANATOMY OF A LEECH
Last week I bought a small can of spray paint. $4.99 the label said. I took the can to the counter and paid for it. I didn't think much about it until I looked at the receipt. The price of the paint was indeed $4.99 but I paid $5.39. Well 39c won't kill me but ...
I started thinking about little taxes. Today taxes are like a spreading virus, they're everywhere. City taxes, State taxes, Federal taxes not just big taxes like property tax and the April 15th variety but the ever increasing small taxes and the micro-taxes that are built into every part of every little thing we buy. These little taxes are relatively painless until we think about them. Man, these slimy politicians even tax death!
How many ways can our government suck blood out of us? Taxes are a lot like small leeches, thousands of them, and leeches go for the blood!
Just a little more revenue ... The leech's mantra is MORE!
I remember a hot humid night in Assam India. We were on a hunt quietly winding through the bush; our guides were barefoot, wearing shorts and tee shirts. I was wearing tennis, tee shirt and long pants. In an hour or so we paused and I noted our guides scraping their legs with small sticks. They were scraping off the ugly leeches they had collected on our hike. I was fascinated, I had never seen leeches, I'm a California boy. These leeches, large and small were ugly, like varicose veins out of control. The guides were scraping them off leaving their lower legs bloody and bleeding.
As I watched, suddenly the thought came to me ... what about my legs? I pulled my pants up and sure enough my legs were loaded with large and small leeches. Leeches I never knew I had, rather painless until ... the flashlight revealed it all. Those slimy leeches were after my blood.
An analogy came to mind.
Little taxes, like leeches, come on so gradually and even painlessly we aren't aware that they're sucking our life blood. The leech starts small, it quietly and persistently starts sucking and then begins growing larger and larger! Yes! Ever larger! (Sound familiar?)
This analogy, as in all analogies, breaks down.
The leech, unlike the government will stop growing and when it's full will drop off. The government leech, well, it will continue growing and develop a life of it's own. And true enough the government does something for all it's blood sucking, however the more it grows the more corrupt, incompetent and cumbersome it gets, that's the very nature of the government leech. There's just something about parasites I don't like.
Could it be that the ultimate end of a parasite is to cripple and destroy it's host?
I started thinking about little taxes. Today taxes are like a spreading virus, they're everywhere. City taxes, State taxes, Federal taxes not just big taxes like property tax and the April 15th variety but the ever increasing small taxes and the micro-taxes that are built into every part of every little thing we buy. These little taxes are relatively painless until we think about them. Man, these slimy politicians even tax death!
How many ways can our government suck blood out of us? Taxes are a lot like small leeches, thousands of them, and leeches go for the blood!
Just a little more revenue ... The leech's mantra is MORE!
I remember a hot humid night in Assam India. We were on a hunt quietly winding through the bush; our guides were barefoot, wearing shorts and tee shirts. I was wearing tennis, tee shirt and long pants. In an hour or so we paused and I noted our guides scraping their legs with small sticks. They were scraping off the ugly leeches they had collected on our hike. I was fascinated, I had never seen leeches, I'm a California boy. These leeches, large and small were ugly, like varicose veins out of control. The guides were scraping them off leaving their lower legs bloody and bleeding.
As I watched, suddenly the thought came to me ... what about my legs? I pulled my pants up and sure enough my legs were loaded with large and small leeches. Leeches I never knew I had, rather painless until ... the flashlight revealed it all. Those slimy leeches were after my blood.
An analogy came to mind.
Little taxes, like leeches, come on so gradually and even painlessly we aren't aware that they're sucking our life blood. The leech starts small, it quietly and persistently starts sucking and then begins growing larger and larger! Yes! Ever larger! (Sound familiar?)
This analogy, as in all analogies, breaks down.
The leech, unlike the government will stop growing and when it's full will drop off. The government leech, well, it will continue growing and develop a life of it's own. And true enough the government does something for all it's blood sucking, however the more it grows the more corrupt, incompetent and cumbersome it gets, that's the very nature of the government leech. There's just something about parasites I don't like.
Could it be that the ultimate end of a parasite is to cripple and destroy it's host?
Monday, March 09, 2009
"VON, DON'T TAKE LIFE SO SERIOUSLY"
People have often give me advice. "Von, you need to be thinking about your future." "What you need is a hobby; you need a day off, take a vacation." "Von, don't take life so seriously, after all" ... etc., etc. These friends are well-meaning. Their advice is sincere and I understand where they are coming from ... however, I doubt whether they understand where I'm coming from. I wish they did.
May I be honest? I find it hard to buy into advice like that no matter how logical and well-meaning it might be. Why? I guess I have seen too much of the world ... the real world. The plight of the poor. The vivid pictures I've seen of an unfair world have colored my philosophy. What I have seen has truly affected my life. Both my philosophy and my perspective are not "normal." How can I not take life seriously? Life on earth is limited. I'm here to do what I can't do in heaven. Do I indeed have the time and money to pursue an amusing hobby when so much needs to be done by so few? Retirement? I don't think so. It's true, with what I've seen and experienced, I have a hard time defining "balance."
In Mexico they have a saying, "What I don't see doesn't exist". Which is to say, "If I see it I am somehow responsible for what I see, so I simply look the other way and I'm off the hook." What a comforting perspective. I only have to keep my eyes focused on the beautiful blue horizon above the ugliness of reality and maintain a positive attitude. True, life is indeed great ... if you don't look down! The mindset of "What I don't see doesn't exist" is as deceptive as it is popular. The flip side of this perspective is actually more truthful, " What I do see does exist!"
The images that haunt me weren't gotten from the television or the pages of a book nor did they come from secondhand illustrations. They were created in three-dimension from the permanent and smelly stuff of reality ...right before my eyes!
Every week more uninvited images come my way. Frustrating and unfair, they're images that rip out the very concept of our American "balanced life".
The little mother standing before me asks for money to buy milk for her children. Her husband has been in the U.S for over two years now. She's received no word from him. She is holding her infant in one arm and her one year old boy in another. (She has another man "paying the rent") Her thin, barefoot six year old boy stands next to his little sister holding her hand. All of them are looking at me. They are hungry. They are waiting for my answer.
If you look closely you can see that Emilia had once been an attractive lady. Now she's older and is no longer as attractive. A barrio prostitute, and at her age she makes very little money. Emilia has no husband. Her thin, bastard son who's dirty and unkempt is sitting in the corner against an equally dirty fence. He is more of a vegetable than a young man. He and his mother live together in a small shack. Inhaling paint thinner has produced his vacant stare. She stands, avoiding my eyes as she asks for some money for groceries.
Enrique is always there. He is big. He is quiet. His thinking and speech are slow. He just stands there on his two swollen legs that are always infected. They drain into his dirty socks. Enrique has walked over a mile on those painful legs for some free produce. He is upset because his teenage son and his wife are sleeping together. He's asking for some money also.
Young teenage Carlos in tears confides to me that their living is hard. They haven't much money anymore. "My mom is old and the men don't want her anymore." (Referring to his prostitute mother, whom he loves.)
Maria presents me with her two year old son Felipe. "What am I to do?", she asks. "Will you help me?" Her sons eyes are not focused. She tells me how the doctors had operated on him. "Look", she says as she brushes his hair back to reveal the many scars. I'm looking at a warm, human vegetable. Maria wants some hope, some help and some money to buy his milk. You see, that's all she can feed him. She squirts the milk into his umbilici with a syringe several times each day. I look at her as she walks away with Felipe in her arms ... I could only buy her milk; I could do no more.
I would like to look the other way, but somehow, I can't.
May I be honest? I find it hard to buy into advice like that no matter how logical and well-meaning it might be. Why? I guess I have seen too much of the world ... the real world. The plight of the poor. The vivid pictures I've seen of an unfair world have colored my philosophy. What I have seen has truly affected my life. Both my philosophy and my perspective are not "normal." How can I not take life seriously? Life on earth is limited. I'm here to do what I can't do in heaven. Do I indeed have the time and money to pursue an amusing hobby when so much needs to be done by so few? Retirement? I don't think so. It's true, with what I've seen and experienced, I have a hard time defining "balance."
In Mexico they have a saying, "What I don't see doesn't exist". Which is to say, "If I see it I am somehow responsible for what I see, so I simply look the other way and I'm off the hook." What a comforting perspective. I only have to keep my eyes focused on the beautiful blue horizon above the ugliness of reality and maintain a positive attitude. True, life is indeed great ... if you don't look down! The mindset of "What I don't see doesn't exist" is as deceptive as it is popular. The flip side of this perspective is actually more truthful, " What I do see does exist!"
The images that haunt me weren't gotten from the television or the pages of a book nor did they come from secondhand illustrations. They were created in three-dimension from the permanent and smelly stuff of reality ...right before my eyes!
Every week more uninvited images come my way. Frustrating and unfair, they're images that rip out the very concept of our American "balanced life".
The little mother standing before me asks for money to buy milk for her children. Her husband has been in the U.S for over two years now. She's received no word from him. She is holding her infant in one arm and her one year old boy in another. (She has another man "paying the rent") Her thin, barefoot six year old boy stands next to his little sister holding her hand. All of them are looking at me. They are hungry. They are waiting for my answer.
If you look closely you can see that Emilia had once been an attractive lady. Now she's older and is no longer as attractive. A barrio prostitute, and at her age she makes very little money. Emilia has no husband. Her thin, bastard son who's dirty and unkempt is sitting in the corner against an equally dirty fence. He is more of a vegetable than a young man. He and his mother live together in a small shack. Inhaling paint thinner has produced his vacant stare. She stands, avoiding my eyes as she asks for some money for groceries.
Enrique is always there. He is big. He is quiet. His thinking and speech are slow. He just stands there on his two swollen legs that are always infected. They drain into his dirty socks. Enrique has walked over a mile on those painful legs for some free produce. He is upset because his teenage son and his wife are sleeping together. He's asking for some money also.
Young teenage Carlos in tears confides to me that their living is hard. They haven't much money anymore. "My mom is old and the men don't want her anymore." (Referring to his prostitute mother, whom he loves.)
Maria presents me with her two year old son Felipe. "What am I to do?", she asks. "Will you help me?" Her sons eyes are not focused. She tells me how the doctors had operated on him. "Look", she says as she brushes his hair back to reveal the many scars. I'm looking at a warm, human vegetable. Maria wants some hope, some help and some money to buy his milk. You see, that's all she can feed him. She squirts the milk into his umbilici with a syringe several times each day. I look at her as she walks away with Felipe in her arms ... I could only buy her milk; I could do no more.
I would like to look the other way, but somehow, I can't.
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