The War Horse

A number of years ago, my pastor preached a sermon on a subject that is now frankly a bit hazy in my memory, but a key element of it remained in my brain. At times it was kind of buried in the recesses of my mind, shoved aside by all of the other big problems of the day. Then again, it could occupy the center stage of my thoughts, refusing to be diminished no matter how hard I tried. He was talking about the concept of service to humankind, and posed this question--- " If you had your choice of being Donald Trump or Mother Teresa, which one would you choose?" Not a single disparaging remark was made about Mr. Trump when this question was asked. In our upper middle class church congregation, I recalled that things got to where you could almost hear the squirming in the seats. If the pastor had stopped to actually hear everyone's individual answer at that point, I believe that CPR and oxygen could not have helped some folks.

For my part, I could never get this question out of my mind. Over the years, I have chastised my pastor for causing more than one sleepless night over this issue. Of course what has really happened is that I have been forced to come to grips with my own answer. I could never hope to achieve the record of financial success of "The Donald" or be as revered as the Mother to the poor masses, but I choose to at least aim for having some sort of positive impact of service to others before my life ends.

Which one would you rather be?

" God hasn't called me to be successful. He's called me to be faithful"
- Mother Teresa

" I like making deals, preferably big deals. That's how I get my kicks."
- Donald Trump

See you later.

Tim

My wife and I recently put a new bird feeder in our backyard. We can have morning coffee on the back porch and watch as all of the bird species of this area feed including hummingbirds which love the sugary syrup that my wife makes for them. When I bought the stand and feeder, the nice lady who owns the specialty bird store predicted that I would be back to buy a squirrel "baffle" designed to keep those pesky varmints out. Sure enough, after several days of coming home to a near empty feeder, I figured we either had a flock of birds that could star in the old Hitchcock movie or that furry friends were at work. After a chance observation of one of them eating away, off to the bird shop I went.

I observed that there were several types of baffles. One looked like a disc that you see on cables that tie ships to the dock. Those are to keep rats from going on board. I asked the owner which one she recommended, and settled on the one pictured above. She said that the long, smooth cylinder with no good point for gripping had proved very effective in thwarting Rocky and his buddies.

Today, I observed a squirrel who had been eating seeds the birds had dropped on the ground take a long, hard look at the feeder above. He climbed up the pole inside the cylinder and realized that he couldn't get through. He jumped up on the top of our fence and sat staring at the feeder for over fifteen minutes, seemingly totally focused on the problem at hand. So far, I have seen no squirrel successful at getting past the obstacle in the way.

All of this reminded me of how we all encounter baffling obstacles that sometimes keep us from achieving a goal. Like the squirrel, we make unsuccessful attempts at solving problems, and then go back to quiet contemplation to figure out new possible solutions. As evidenced by the fact that manufacturers have made some baffles more effective than others, the squirrels must eventually figure out how to "solve the problem". I find myself almost(but not quite!) rooting for some newcomer squirrel to figure out the formidable challenge of the current baffle.

It would be so easy to surrender to life's "baffles", when perserverance and determination become painful and discouragement comes easy. Just remember that what we see as major "baffles" in America would be laughed at by those in countries where slavery and genocide still exist and human rights are denied by ruthless leaders. Keep looking for a way to reach your goal---- never give up!

Hey---- wait a minute!- What's that furry ball with the twitching tail doing hanging from my feeder?

" Perserverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."
--- Walter Elliot

See you later.

Tim

I shot this picture on a visit to the small North Carolina coastal town of Beaufort. It was July 4, and numerous boats were docked at the waterfront in anticipation of seeing the Tall Ships visiting the area. The image gave me pause well beyond thoughts of just "cute". I speculated that the young boy, unfettered by adult fears and biases, was experiencing the unmitigated joy of fishing on a beautiful morning truly filled with "Amazing Grace". One can only hope that progress can be made in America toward a vision where we can all work toward achieving the full potential we have as the greatest country on Earth. The shrill racket of competing political factions pushing their own agendas selfishly forward without regard for concensus building has become the order of the day in America. Somehow we must all make progress toward reclaiming the spirit of teamwork that in the past has allowed people with widely varying opinions to agree on courses of action to solve problems.

One small thing that I plan to do is to demand that those prevailing on my time to espouse their ideas be required to put forth their own action plans for solving problems before they may criticize others. Of course this would eliminate listening to some rather well known characters such as James Carville or Rush Limbaugh, but I won't miss them. Let's eliminate the lucrative fertile ground such people now have where they can ridicule others and get paid for it. Decide on an issue based on careful study rather than on who shouts the loudest.

Here's to the hope for an even better America. Little boy--- dare to be great, educate yourself, appreciate the country you live in, respect your parents and others, and experience Amazing Grace!

" In this century freedom has received more tributes than ever before. There has been public debate on every sort of freedom, economic, political, religious. Yet there has not been a corresponding increase in independence of mind."
___ E.J. Oliver

See you later.

Tim

I saw a recent TV ad for a new show called "Ghost Whisperer". I sincerely hope that ghosts are real even though I've never personally seen or talked to one. I firmly believe they exist because there is no other explanation for why I can never find the remote for the TV. As a ghost, I plan to do things like making loud noises so some people have trouble going to sleep or hiding car keys. If I were already a ghost, I would be making life tough for a selected few folks. For example, I would make whistling noises into Rush Limbaugh's microphone. Oh well, I really hope that my "ghosthood" will be delayed for awhile!

Have you ever noticed that over the years everyone looks different except for yourself and Dick Clark? I recently met, purely by accident, a woman who I had not seen in over twenty years. I would not have recognized her if my life depended on it. I guess we all get used to looking at our own "mugs" in the mirror, and don't think about the changes like we do when we see others after a long period of absence. My next high school reunion is coming up in 2007. Maybe I could take my yearbook to one of those experts who project by computer how someone would look years later. It would prepare me in advance so that I wouldn't say something stupid like" Gee, Sally, you sure look pretty for a fat woman." Honey, do you think that Rogaine stuff really works?

I wonder which gene really determines a person's sense of direction. Mine is horrible. We used to live in a small town with one fork in the road. I always asked my wife which way to get downtown whenever we came to that crossroad. Maybe a surgeon could implant one of those tracking systems in my head, and I would be "cured". With my luck the satellite would go on the blink while I was on the way to an important meeting or appointment. I envy people who can go to a place once, and remember even years later how to get back. I just thought of something--- maybe people like me are the ones looking for Osama Bin Laden!

" You may not have saved a lot of money in your life, but if you have saved a lot of heartaches for other folks, you are a pretty rich person."

__ Seth Parker

See you later.

Tim

This is a test. The above picture is:
a. Damage from the tsunami
b. My yard during our renovations
Well, the answer is "a", but you would really be close if you guessed "b". It doesn't help that I have become a fanatic about keeping things related to construction neat and presentable. I blame some of that on my former boss who is a dear friend of mine. I was in charge of renovating an old cotton mill which took over a year. I will never forget his obsession with keeping the bathrooms clean during the renovation. I would be wiping the bathroom fixtures with Lysol as good ole boy construction workers were still spitting on the floors! I guess that six weeks will pass quickly if my wife and I can keep from killing the workers or each other. Watch out! Here come Larry, Daryl, and his other brother Daryl.

Have you ever noticed the pictures that appear with obituaries in your local paper? If your paper is like mine, you'll see, for example, a picture of a young woman in her late twenties, and the obituary will say " The late Sally Jones went to her heavenly reward yesterday after a brief illness. Mrs. Jones, born in 1904,-------". Now wait a minute--- that makes the dear woman 102 years old! At first I thought this might be a "female" thing, but then you'll see a young blade in his army uniform and find out he's 88, and the picture is from WWII. Maybe these folks just didn't get into much picture taking after their moms and dads quit bragging about how beautiful or handsome they looked. Or, maybe they always felt they were like Dick Clark, and never looked a day over 39. I plan to solve the whole problem by not having a picture in the paper at all. That way my friends will have to remember the way I was the last time they saw me in person. (That's a great reason for never attending your high school reunion!) Dear, have you seen that picture of me at my college graduation---yes, the one with hair!

I am now working part time at a large law firm in the downtown area of my town. I'm called a "runner". A runner does a lot of neat stuff like filing papers at the Courthouse or delivering papers to City Hall, or hauling mumbo jumbo legal documents back and forth. I plan to put a pedometer on myself to see how many miles I walk in a week. At my age the job should be called "walker" instead of runner. The other runners are young folks getting ready to go to law school except for my friend who has me by a few years. He also knows everybody in every downtown building since he worked as a paralegal for several years. He's trying hard to show me the ropes. Move over Perry Mason---- here I come!

"Everything passes; everything wears out; everything breaks."
--- French proverb

See you later.

Tim

I was in the parking lot of a local bank, and was talking to a young woman who had driven up in a New Volkswagen Beetle. Of course she could hardly identify with the old "Bug". No air condition, a heater that was operated by turning a knob on the floor, and of course no automatic transmission were all standard back then. I loved our pale green vintage 60's model. I learned how to slide it around corners , at times going up on two wheels without a disaster--- that is until I slid it into the driveway, not realizing that my Dad had come home early from work that day. My driving was curtailed for quite awhile. It's too bad that the new version is known for quality problems given its appeal to those in the Boomer Generation who can certainly tell stories about their nostalgic experiences with them. ( I can do without the flower vase!)

What do you think of those metal detecting devices that you see people using to find hidden treasures at the beach or a park or wherever a lot of folks have gathered? I doubt whether anyone should quit their day job and try to make a living of it, but it looks like fun. Of course, I don't need one because my thing is to explore under the cushions of my favorite chair. About once a month, a good "shakedown" will yield enough coinage for a Happy Meal at Mc Cafe and if you add the take found in the washing machine and dryer, you could be in BigMac territory. I wonder if Bill Gates and Michael Jordan leave many hundred dollar bills in pants that go through the wash? Hey Michael, need anyone to take that hamper to the laundry?

My favorite Chinese restaurant (owned by Alan) has little paper placemats that have Chinese signs of the Zodiac. All of their signs are represented by animals, and I am very appropriately the Ox. I guess that's why I am so clumsy with anything more than tightening a screw. The latest advice was that I should not marry a snake, which I guess some men do, so instead I married a "Tiger". Hmmmmm? Maybe George Bush is a great guy after all given that he is a "Dog", and I knew this stuff was right on the money when it turns out that Cheney was---- You guessed it--- a snake! Let's also provide those guys with one of those black 8-balls; you remember, you asked it a question, flipped it over, and read the answer in a little window where the message floated. (the ball was filled with water). Let's see--- Where are the weapons of mass destruction to be found? Well, enough of that--- Hey, Rumsfeld, bring the tea leaves in here, would you?

"The same man is not skilled in everything; each has his own special excellence."
___ Euripides

See you later.

Tim

I'm not the greatest photographer in the world, but when you're taking pictures of some of the Creator's best work you hardly have to work at it to get some nice scenes. This one is shot from the balcony where our second home is on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The pier you see in the distance is no longer there, the victim of a hurricane. Whenever I am here, the weight of the world gets much lighter, and there is a serenity that is hard to describe without using spiritual terms. The time of year after the beginning of school in September to about the end of May is my favorite for the same reason that everyone else is opposite. Suntan oil, searing heat, heavier traffic, and all of those people are what I like least, and walking the beach with a cool breeze, hunting shells, fishing, and watching the dolphins go by is what I like most.

Since I have experienced this for about nine years not including the countless vacations we spent in the area before we got our place, I have noticed that even the weather makes no difference in my mood. A good storm or a fog and once even a bit of snow were just as beautiful as a sunny day. I guess it's the real appreciation of the power of the sea that plays a part in that.

This weekend, my wife and Lucy The WonderDog are enjoying their stay there, while I oversee the new concrete walkways being set up here at home. Which one would you rather be doing? Maybe I could train the WonderDog to bark commands at the workmen? I guess not. I will show you and comment on some of my favorite places at Pine Knoll Shores, N.C. later. Hey, Darnell, drop that grade a few degrees, would you?

"Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul."
__ Marcus Aurelius

See you later.

Tim