July 31, 2006

Hope- A Poem

Garden Patio at the Rectory of St Elizabeths Church Eureka Springs AR


Hope is with you when you believe,
The Earth is not a dream but living flesh
That sight,touch, and hearing do not lie,
That all things that you have ever seen here
Are like a garden looked at from a gate

You cannot enter. But you're sure it's there
Could we but look more clearly and wisely
We might discover somwhere in the garden
A strange new flower,and an unnamed star

Some people say we should not trust our eyes
That there is nothing, just a seeming
These are the ones who have no hope
They think that the moment we turn away
The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist
As if snatched up by the hands of thieves


Czeslaw Milosz Nobel Lauriete

Woody walking past a garden gate Crescent Hotel Eureka Springs

July 30, 2006

Micah 6-What Does The Lord Require of Us?

Sailors Take Warning! Stormy Skies over PanamaCity Beach Florida.....


Hear now what the Lord says:

"Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, O you mountains, the Lord's complaint,
And you strong foundations of the earth;
For the Lord has a complaint against His people,
And He will contend with Israel.


3 "O My people, what have I done to you?
And how have I wearied you?
Testify against Me.
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage;
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O My people, remember now
What Balak king of Moab counseled,
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
From *Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
That you may know the righteousness of the Lord."


6 With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

July 27, 2006

Change in the Weather

cloud strewn sky taken on my break walk a few days ago

Written 7-22-06 10 pm

The weather has finally changed, cooling off after a week of days over 100f temperatures. I have spent a lot of my time at home out on the lanai enjoying the cooler air. The green leafy trees sigh in the wind like the forest is breathing...Which of course it is...

We are breathing too, a sigh of relief that its cooler and also that other changes are afoot that I think will make things better for both Woody and I

Woody has been working at the car lot in this horrible heat all month. He's only made two sales... one to himself. After last month's banner sales this is a bit disapointing, but who in their right mind shops for a car in 110 degree heat? The three dealerships had not had a sale in 8 business days. Its real bad and going to be worse with low inventory and the high gas prices...now the war...

I only found out yesterday that Woody took a tumble in the parking lot last week. It was a bad fall, but he's ok, only his pride and his clothes were the worse for wear. But the manager felt it was heat related and sent him to the company doctor. The bill of health was clear, blood pressure good blood sugar really good and hes down 25 pounds. But that and Woody's confronting them on two deals that he should have been paid for early this month..(including the sale of our old van) lead to his being terminated yesterday.

I feel bad for his pride but deep inside we both know that he is well away from these scoundrels that have done little to help us, by way of helping Woody get deals written. Many of our friends have come in to buy a car from him only to not get the deal done because the dealership was too chintzy to pony up the incentive, or make a reasonable trade in offer. The 70 hour weeks, the complaining about any time off was taking a toll...

The timing is good and bad Good as there seems to be a million jobs available right now. Bad as I am in a situation that may mean my time at "thisplace" is ending in the next 6-8 weeks. Our account has begun to demand the enforcement of an agreement in the contract that demands a on time delivery average of 98%. If this is not acheived and kept there by the end of August they will be taking their business elsewhere....

I was shocked when I first heard of this figure... We are talking about transportation here... you know trucking...things happen. Drivers go AWOL, there are accidents and during the summer peak shipping season...like NOW you are going to have fall off once in a while, and with our volume 10 percent late is a normal average. But to do what they are asking of us would mean that only 1 load a day from each person could be late...I looked at the woman speaking at the large group"huddle" and mouthed "we're doomed" silently...

I have whipped my carriers into shape and currently have the longest running No No Shows or lates of anyone. 9 business days of sweat and anxiety, and I know this wont keep up...its not possible. We are being set up to fail, and there will be heads sacrificed.

Several things have come along that I have applied for, and Woody is starting to look. I hope this week to get the quote on the studio, finally so I can start building. But mostly, I want to do what God wants me to be doing.

We have laughed about the situation... Bill and Gloria Gaither, the gospel singers are hosting a cruise to Alaska in the beginning of September... Woody wanted to know if I was wanting to go... I said "Sure...but the minute that you pay the money, then my job will be secure, and I wont be able to go"... Such is life

The heat will come again and the summer will thunder on through to fall, but change seems to come to us the way the leaves change on the trees. It is a certainty...just as a change in the weather is certain...its just that you dont know what the change will bring, and thats what keeps life interesting...

July 23, 2006

John 12 :20-50 Believe In The Light

A Country Barn SW Missiouri

Jesus Predicts His Death
20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, "Sir, we want to meet Jesus." 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, "The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. 24 The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone-a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels-a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who despise their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them. 27 Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, `Father, save me from what lies ahead'? But that is the very reason why I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name."
Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, "I have already brought it glory, and I will do it again." 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, "The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time of judgment for the world has come, when the prince of this world* will be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up on the cross,* I will draw everyone to myself." 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
34 "Die?" asked the crowd. "We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. Why are you saying the Son of Man will die? Who is this Son of Man you are talking about?"
35 Jesus replied, "My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, so you will not stumble when the darkness falls. If you walk in the darkness, you cannot see where you are going. 36 Believe in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light." After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.


The Unbelief of the People
37 But despite all the miraculous signs he had done, most of the people did not believe in him. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:


"Lord, who has believed our message?
To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power?"*
(IS 53:1)

39 But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said,


40
"The Lord has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts-
so their eyes cannot see,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them."*
(IS6:10)

41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, because he was given a vision of the Messiah's glory. 42 Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in him. But they wouldn't admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, "If you trust me, you are really trusting God who sent me. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone hears me and doesn't obey me, I am not his judge-for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49 I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me gave me his own instructions as to what I should say. 50 And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say!"

July 20, 2006

One Small Step for a Man... revised

One Small Step, Neil Armstrong's Foot print



I wrote this post back in 2004 prior to having the ability to post photos. I post it again with some photos sent to me by a reader who works for NASA. Thanks

Thirty Five years ago today, our world changed, We had, through an effort not seen outside of wartime experience, pushed back the frontiers and landed on another world. It was a monumental achievement, due in large part to the vision of what we now call " The Greatest Generation". From first flight to space flight in less than a century is flat out amazing. I don't believe we today have the vaguest notion of the blessing and benefits of this effort, nor the staggering costs in money materials and human life and potential that went into the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Programs.

When I speak of the cost of human life, yes, I do mean the Astronauts that have died in flight and on the ground, but I mostly mean the men and women that worked themselves to death literally to meet a deadline...To win the "Space Race" that really was a real war fought against the Russians, to be the first to the moon and to secure it against the communist threat... This was a very real threat...The very thought that a weapons platform could be built and used to launch nuclear missiles was a real possibility and one of the uses that the Space Shuttle was designed for... But I digress.


Lift Off Apolo 11 lifting off at Cape Kennedy Space Center Florida July 1969



How do I know all of this... I and my family were a part of the human wreckage left behind. My father, caught up in the vision of this incredible idea that we could send men into space and get them home again safely, was all consuming and for nearly 10 years he devoted his entire life to the research and development phases of the environmental and propulsion systems of these space craft. He ate, slept, and lived for this... And not only him, but thousands of people did. People slept in offices and lounges, had meals for days and days brought in and worked at this war effort with a single mindedness that dot commers in the 90's spoke of with admiration...What was the fruit of this effort, beyond the "one small step for a man..." And the thousands upon thousands of modern conveniences we take for granted each day....

On the other hand there were darker realities...

At the firm in California where my father worked there were three deaths a week, at least one of those was a suicide....

People died, from heart attacks, sleeping drug overdoses, and alcohol abuse... People divorced, relationship deteriorated and fell by the wayside, I remember my fathers secretary coming to our house black and blue from her manager husbands beating, I was four and I shall never forget the haunted look of the disillusioned... She went home the next day to find him dead in his car in the garage, overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning. Children were neglected grew into despondent and angry teens and joined others of their kind in the 60's counter culture, where drugs and the hippie lifestyle were a stark contrast to the white shirt and tie world of NASA and the government/military culture of their parents.

My father had many demons, He was a high school grad that worked his way into aero space through the assembly lines at Hughes aircraft. He was driven by many demons. He was an angry man, bent on proving his value to the world. He was also a perfectionist who clung to guilt like a life line. This sort of person is so exploitable... He took on more and more projects. (At the time that he left North American Aviation in 1969, he had 33 end items or projects on his desk. He was replaced by 4 engineers, 4 designers and 3 draftsmen.)This was a profession fraught with problems and possibilities, there were many things that nobody really knew how it was going to turn out. And some things, which we saw in "Apollo 13" that were creative but required reworking... I read a memo that Dad had saved that said, "Call Roberts at Downey R&D, he has the answered to problems that we haven't even thought of yet..."

And sometimes they that called upon his inventiveness listened, and sometimes they did not...He knew that the oxygen enriched atmosphere in the space capsule was a death wish waiting to happen. He was told that it would be looked into and when the fateful day came for that trial run and those poor men burned to death on the pad in front of a stunned helpless group of well meaning but exhausted scientists, it spurred him into a greater frenzy of activity. We never saw him at home...


Cap Com Mission Control




My brother told me once that he didn't know really who our father was until he was 4 or 5 . That was when my mother collapsed and was hospitalized and Dad had to give up the space race for a month and look after us. I remember during that period, one day, being picked up at school being taken home, dressed in a fancy party dress and being taken to a NASA staff meeting. I remember sitting in the back of the room listing to all of this discussion, then later going the the local watering hole, where I was fussed over and treated like the little princess... Perhaps that is how I developed my taste for older men...


Salute the Flag


Never eating, living on alcohol and sleeping pills, Pushing and pushing himself mentally and physically to meet the demands, then he was told that he needed to "take some time off" and was handed a pink slip. The next day was Landing and that fateful afternoon, July 20, 1969...Seeing Neil Armstrong climb down that ladder was a stunning moment...We stared all four of us, at the TV, then I noticed the tears. My father's tears. It was the first time I had ever seen him cry. My mother took us away we went to our rooms and for the next three weeks we were house bound. Drapes drawn and silent as my father collapsed into a mental breakdown that he never recovered from. He attempted suicide, and begged my mother for the pistol that she had secreted away months ago. She never gave out what happened during that event, but I do know that he tore the house up and beat her for the first and only time in 30 years of marriage. The "Long Night" as I call it, ended, when he agreed to enter a mental hospital. He weighed 125 lbs and was so malnourished and ill that the doctors there said that if they could keep him alive two weeks the could help him.

He returned to us two years later, broken in spirit, not the man he was at all, and still a bonafied alcoholic with a drug habit. Unable to work, to cope with any strife or conflict, or to be a husband or father, he lived with us for 20 more years and died of multiple cancers and arterial sclerosis from smoking...he was 64.

Many people ask me when they find out about my background, "hey, what about Mars?" "What do you think about the Space Station?" I smile and say... "We are not committed enough. We lost two Shuttles for this lack of commitment to the program and they are so outdated technologically that I have my doubts about their future." We have no commitments to the effort as a people or a government. Until the Space program is of national interest, and we are in a position to pay the cost and I do mean all of the costs and the sacrifices needed, we will not see that day. Its a bigger effort than most can comprehend, and for those of us that have paid the price, we are not sure we want to pay it again...


lift off Space Shuttle Discovery

Postscript

See this very good article from MSN on this subject

I wrote this on the fly, and I have ajusted some of the data. I also realized that I had more to say...(Thanks Smooth for the Comment)

I think that the reason that my father had his breakdown on the physical he was a dead man walking, he was in such bad shape. Runners doing marathons sometimes just colapse at the finish line and have been semiconcious for a while but keep on running...on the emotional level, I think he felt his life was over. It was all that he had lived for all that gave him value. I never heard him say this, but I think I understand having gone through a similar but less harrowing, experience, that broke my health, and really has damaged my relationships including that with my God. We cannot as humans, use anything outside of the Divine to measure our worth. We are created in His image, and in my faith I believe that He paid the Ultimate price for my eternal security. As far as I can tell, my father paid lip service to his Creator, never placing his trust in Him, prefering to have faith in alcohol, antidepressants, and my mother's piety to make his way in this world and the next. That is the ultimate tragedy to me...As he lay dying, in a isolation ward, of a rabid infection in a body that wouldnt heal, I held his hand and begged God for mercy. Beyond confession, I dont know what became of him on the eternal level, but as I wrote in a post a few weeks ago, his feeling and mine is that when you love someone and dont forget that love, you never truly die..

July 17, 2006

Driving Home

Country Roads, take me home... County road 264 west near Cave Springs Arkansas

I had to work again this saturday... I well and truly hate it as I would much rather be in my home taking care of things...But one thing I try to do is to use the time that I have after work to have an adventure.

..

Down by the River side. This stream actually runs right in front of the Lakeview Southern Baptist Church in Highfill Arkansas. The stream has bee diverted a few feet and through a culvert under the tiny parking lot and the highway dumping into a stream bed accross the road. I though that is was very interesting. I stood on the church steps to take the shot
..
Its amzing the openess and the expance of this land...Manytimes I just stand and look at it, this child of the closed in city

Fields of Gold Hay fields ready for the years first cut. This was taken near Vaugn, Arkansas, by the Regional Airport. Once all ranch land like this, farms are being bought up and subdivided like crazy. Every time I drive through here there are more houses.


People dispare of the increase in people I am finding that I feel the same. I hope that we can preserve the life that once was here
..



The Emerald Land. The grass is a brilliant green after cutting... It has turned golden again

I find myself praying on these journeys. It is a hard daily grind day in and day out at thisplace, but having the time to just meander along the roadside heals my soul. I put a bit of music on sometimes or just listen to the sound of the roadway under neath.

..
A beautiful Victorian house up for auction in Vaugan Arkansas. I drove past it and felt the tug to turn around and go back and preserve the house on film I am sure that it and the surrounding farmland will be bulldozed up for yet another McMansion subdivision

I am so enchanted by the beauty of this place, it never seems to fail to delight me and I indulge myself often in the contemplation of the nature around me... Weither it is as I take my daily walks or as I drive through the countryside I see that God has dne all things well and life is good

July 16, 2006

Ezekiel 38-A Message to Ponder

The Battlefield from the High Ground. Pea Ridge National Military Park

Ezekiel 38


This is another message that came to me from the Lord: "Son of man, prophesy against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy! I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws to lead you out to your destruction. I will mobilize your troops and cavalry and make you a vast and mighty horde, all fully armed. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya* will join you, too, with all their weapons. Gomer and all its hordes will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north and many others.
"Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be lying in peace after her recovery from war and after the return of her people from many lands. You and all your allies-a vast and awesome horde-will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.
"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, `Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence! I will go to those once-desolate cities that are again filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder and take many slaves, for the people are rich with cattle now, and they think the whole world revolves around them!' But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, `Who are you to rob them of silver and gold? Who are you to drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?'
"Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself.* You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, and you will cover the land like a cloud. This will happen in the distant future. I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord.
"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through Israel's prophets that in future days I would bring you against my people. But when Gog invades the land of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, my fury will rise! For in my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day. All living things-all the fish, birds, animals, and people-will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth. I will summon the sword against you throughout Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn against each other in mortal combat. I will punish you and your hordes with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! Thus will I show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord!

July 12, 2006

Fitting In

The singing bridge Hilo Hawaii...It was a drizzly sort of day, misty and out of focus, like a dream

In my dream, in that fuzzy sort of way one has of seeing in a dream, I realized that I was too large to fit in my world, and that there was no place for me. Chairs were blocked, either by other furniture, or stuff that was piled up within...Rooms were chocked full of stuff and I could hardly get through the doors... I somehow knew that I could no longer fit in our cars and so,couldnt drive, couldnt go to work. But at work the elevator would have been too small for me... the offices chairs diminutive...the narrow hallways were stifling...

I walked into our bedroom and Woody was sleeping on a narrow bed that only he fit in. I tried to lay down and couldnt fit and Woody couldn't spare enough space to let me so he pushed me away,and I fell off my world, plunging downward

then I woke up

I woke up begging Woody to not push me off... He was crowding me and he knew it and moved over... But Life is crowding me too. Those things that make me feel most alive are pushed out by activities that are not life affirming..... And its going to get worse.

I have a strong sense that prior to starting my own business, I am to be doing something else. I think its another job or vocation but I am not rushing this but rather I am praying things through. Something is comming, and I am ready for it... I am being pushed out of my current state and into an exciting time

July 09, 2006

Luke 17:11-19 Gratitude

Quiet Pavillion Lilioukalani Park Hilo Hawaii


Luke 17:11-19

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."

July 07, 2006

My Room With a View

My room with a veiw, protected from bugs and creatures of the night, over looking the forest

Written July 4th 2006

The Air is hot and steaming and full of the smells of the forest. Its 100 degrees and has just rained, poured with gusting wind that had us looking to the skies to see if a twister was headed our way. Arkansas never felt more like Hilo than it does now. The grey skies threaten and off in the distance, the hills to the north, we can hear another band of booming thunderstorms rolling in over the battlefield of Pea Ridge, the thunder nickmaned "rebel guns" after the long ago cannon fire that rang through these hills, on that long ago March day. Today, firecrackers pop between the booms, and you have the eerie feeling of a battlefield surrounding you.

Woody and I both had the day off and I would have puttered around the house but he wanted to take a drive in his NEW CAR... new to us that is.
Stock Photo of a Chrysler LHS 2001 model Woody's is the silver color like this one

I told you he bought his own birthday present. He traded in our Toyota van and 3000.00 cash. It is is in mint condition and has 50,000 on it So its a good deal, I was just shocked that he would do it and not consult me. He even signed my name on the title to the van like it was no big deal... I would never spend a chunk of money like that with out at least consulting him. I have sounded off about it, but I am holding my peace. He has spend a pile on me over the years, so whats the deal I guess...

We drove into Oaklahoma to Grove, a resort town on Grand Lake. Its lovely really. Reminds me a bit like the seaside resort places we have been to over the years. I drove here one saturday and really liked the place. We ate at a BBQ place had local fare pork BBQ and chilli really good. We watched the sky... as two large storm cells had passed over us while we were driving towards Grove. We pulled over once to see if we could see a tornado forming as the sky grew very dark suddenly. We drove on and found a turn out in a fold of a hill where we would be somewhat protected and waited for a bit till the pelting rain passed us by and the sky brightened. This area is notorious for twisters forming suddenly, but it is also quite beautiful with its rolling fields of grass and cattle grazing peacefully, rivers and streams and deer along the road side.

Deer are a roaming around these days. Driving is a hazzard and at night we drive slowly here near the house. I spooked a doe and her tiny fawn from a copse of scrubby trees near the roadside where I walk at work, on monday. I was afraid the frightened Mama would run out onto the busy freeway, but good sense prevailed as she got about a quarter mile away to a new group of trees and quickly laid down in the tallgrass hiding from my view, just at the edge of the busy highway. My guess is that she stayed there till evening and then came back out there are woods and farms all around the office park where I work. Im sure she will find safety there.

We have deer passing through our back yard too Some today but as I went to get my camera a firecracker went off and spooked them. Oh well someday I will get them on film until then I will sit here in my room with a view surrounded by this place that I am growing to love...

Grand Lake taken at Honey Creek State Park Grove OK

July 05, 2006

Two is For Togetherness

2004 Ohio Trip Woody and I trying not to freeze our buns off at lake Erie

Two for Togetherness
I saw this on another blog to complete this about Woody in honor of his 57th birthday today. I feel like I never say anything good about him, and there is a lot to love and even like about this guy...

Two things you compliment your spouse on while in his presence:

1. He's always making me laugh...
2. He thinks I can do anything I want to do and tells me that
3. Then he will go out to pave the way for me to try what ever it is that I want to try to do

Two compliments you make about your spouse to your friends:

1. He's a wonderful person. People love being around him.
2. If I am in a corner about something he backs me up no matter what

Two traits you married him for:

1. He was honest about how he felt about me.
2. His persistance in courting me after many obstacles were thrown in his way. I like that he knew what he wanted

Two days you cherished the most with your husband being together:

1. The day he said "Yes, we are buying the house on the Big Island and moving to Hawaii"
2. " The day we left Hawaii, he promised that "I would never regret it" and he has kept his word


Two material things you could give your husband if you just inherited a fortune:
1. Woody is not really driven by material things, So I would commence our retirement and a lifetime of travel and adventure.

Two things you would miss the most if she/he left for two weeks:
1. Being grounded (not the in-trouble kind, but being grounded like having someone to keep me on the straight and narrow).
2. Not having anyone to fight with.

Two thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw your spouse:

1. Who is this person, and why did he just glom onto me and keep dropping names, which drives me crazy?...I snuck out of the holiday party we were attending just to get away.
2. Why is this nutcase older guy following me around?

Two favorite dates:1. When we were first together I took him to my favorite botanical garden and it became our place.
2. Anytime we get to go out driving and exploring together. We call it Having an adventure!

Two funny odd things you love:
1. The way he loves our cats. He is not affectionate on the whole but with them he treats them like little babies
2. I love the odd way something will touch him, and he gets all teary eyed.

Two places you have lived with your spouse:

1. At a house I called "Midway 'round the Bend" in Bellflower CA. This 85 year old wooden shack was our first "project" If Woody and I dont have a project going we really struggle as a couple. We renovated it from the ground up, and it fetched triple its purchase price of 80,000 (cheap for So Cal) when we sold it and moved to Hawaii.Life for us wasnt easy there, but we stuck it out and made things work which many people didnt think was possible. I miss my 75 rose bushes that I had there...

2. At Hale Pu'uhounua, Near Pahoa, Big Island of Hawaii. for nearly four years I lived out a dream, and while it was never easy I dont regret a day spent trying to make things work out. This home was the largest, most beautifully appointed home I have ever lived in, but it was never home. I never felt settled, and knew deep down that we werent going to live there forever

3.Our home now is in between the two in size and appointments, but I feel that we are really happy here for the first time in our marriage. That says something. We talk about living in this house for the rest of our lives, which never happened before .

Two favorite vacations:
1. Hawaii (anytime).We traveled there 12 times in 3 1/2 years before moving there
2. Our Farwell/Post 9-11 trip through the southwest. We drove for nearly one month while waiting to leave for Hawaii.
3. 0ur 1999 Virgina/Washington DC trip, fabulous
4. Anytime we pack a suitcase... Woody is a great travel companion.
5. it wasnt a vacation but the three weeks in Ohio were a blast check it out at My Wide Green Fields


Two People I am tagging: (No tags...just hope that you enjoyed it and choose to try this meme...Happy Birthday Woody!)

July 04, 2006

Let Freedom Ring!

Flag over the newly constructed Veteren's Memorial, Holiday Island, Arkansas

Today we make our own again,
The hope which Christ our life has sown
In fertile fields and streets of stone
Let freedom ring!

Green Valley near Garfield Arkansas

Where justice works amid the weed
Of rampant want and choking greed
To loose the voice of human need
Let freedom ring!


Return from Duty Military funeral

Where mercy's fingers slashed and torn
Untangle love from twisted thorn
Of anger disbelief and scorn
Let freedom ring

Folding the colors that had draped a coffin with the remains of a serviceman,returned from Afganistan

Where heart's imprisioned toil and weep
Our founder's dreams stilll trouble sleep
With harvest we have yet to reap
Let freedom ring



rebuilding after Katrina, Waveland MS



In Christ we tend what God has planned
With justice mercy truth in hand
Till joy sings out throughout the land
Let Freedom ring!



Flag over ruined Waveland MS

July 03, 2006

The Daily Walk

Shore Break Punalu'u Beach Park Kau... I wish I was there at least once a day...this is likely my favorite spot on earth...

Its hot here in the Ozarks 90-95 every day, I get up and walk three times a day at work, 10 minutes 9 12 and 2pm. I am getting a Hawaiian looking tan, People find my story more plausable the browner I get.

The building complex is surrounded by open fields and just beyond is the highway, There are service roads encircling the buildings, all day long there are joggers and walkers using the area so I am safe.

The fields are full of life, birds small animals and even a deer or two in the cover of tall grass and the bushy trees. The few moments outside makes the increasingly stressfilled hours more bareable. The skies filled with clouds, sometimes huge and meanecing other times reminding me of a heard of fluffy sheep scattered before a sheepdog... I have befriended a pair of sissortailed flycatchers, atleast they let me within 15 feet of them. once I get close enough to take a good photo I will

Going back into the office, my new bossman always asks..."well how is it out there?" I always dread the question because I know this cyclist ag major hates being shut away from the sun. So do I

Its horrid at work, as most of the freight is comming from the plants in Californina we call it California burning, There is so much work that it cannot be done, so the California people are always behind. On the other had me and the other man that is handling cargo out of the midwest are not as pressured but it is comming. As agroup we are a much better team than what I was on before,and I feel like I can cope with the work, Boss man is no micro manager and somewhat of a yes man, so I just push on and keep going.I tell him little sometimes not speaking to him all day about work. Then when I am ready, I walk out, without a huge guilt trip being laid on me. They are working on a rotation for saturdays, and I am ok with that. If Im not, at the time, I may just not go in...

My Mother is stable but according to the surgeon that inserted the IV stint and the feeding tube, it isnt at all like Terri Schaivo, rather we are keeping her comfortable, she is not long for this world and as things continue to break down there will be less and less that can be done. He told me that while he couldnt predict how long it "wasnt going to be long" I pray that this is so

Its the time of year that I start thinking about what I am going to write about for 9-11 on my blog Lux AeternaAs I was pondering...I actaully have a topic in mind, and have begun work on the "service".. I was encourged by a freind to sign up and write for the blogging project "2996"This project's goal is for all of the 2996 victims of the 9-11 attacks to be memorialized on this the fifth anniversary of the attacks. I contacted the people in charge they signed me up and I will be writing a memorial for a victim selected at random by a computer. I received the name of a 34 year old firefighter, a father, with little available on line about him so I will be doing a bit of reasearch. Even if I am not able to finish it on time I will write as much as I can learn about him. I along with the originators of this idea feel that these people deserve to be remembered. Please if you have an intrest check this out and perhaps get involved...





This week will be an interesting one with the holiday and Woody's birthday...hes bought his own birthday present, wait till you see it...

July 02, 2006

Habakkuk 3- Praise and Prayer

Pele's window...a "skylight" where the glowing lava is clearly visible HVO Photo




The Prophet's Prayer

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet.


O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.


God came from Teman,
The Holy One from Mount Paran.
Selah


His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
His brightness was like the light;
He had rays flashing from His hand,
And there His power was hidden.
Before Him went pestilence,
And fever followed at His feet.


He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
And the everlasting mountains were scattered,
The perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.


O Lord, were You displeased with the rivers,
Was Your anger against the rivers,
Was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
Your chariots of salvation?
Your bow was made quite ready;
Oaths were sworn over Your *arrows.
Selah


You divided the earth with rivers.
The mountains saw You and trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And lifted its hands on high.
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation;
At the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.


You marched through the land in indignation;
You trampled the nations in anger.
You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For salvation with Your Anointed.
You struck the head from the house of the wicked,
By laying bare from foundation to neck.
Selah


You thrust through with his own arrows
The head of his villages.
They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;
Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.
You walked through the sea with Your horses,
Through the heap of great waters.


When I heard, my body trembled;
My lips quivered at the voice;
Rottenness entered my bones;
And I trembled in myself,
That I might rest in the day of trouble.
When he comes up to the people,
He will invade them with his troops.


A Hymn of Faith

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls--
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.


*The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer's feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.