The night MSNBC went apoplectic

Did you watch the Presidential debate last night? I did. Then I watched the post debate coverage by Fox, CNN and MSNBC. First, I think it was very clear that there was a consensus that Mitt Romney soundly won the debate. Fox said so, CNN said so, and, believe it or not, the MSNBC talking heads conceded that the president didn't do too well while going toe to toe with Mitt Romney.

The folks on MSNBC typically defend the Democrat positions and demonstrate strong affection for Barack Obama. Hardball's Chris Matthews once said that when Obama speaks that he gets a thrill up his leg. First off, I don't think that I am familiar with this particular sensation. Chris may need to get a real life or try to stop fawning over politicians, president or not. I was a big fan of Ronald Reagan but, even on one of the Gipper's best days and best speeches, I can't say that I ever experienced anything magical in any of my limbs. But then again, I don't adore or worship politicians.

The usual Obama defenders and apologists on MSNBC like Ed Shultz, and the aforementioned Matthews were beside themselves after the debate. I thought one of them was going to stroke out. I am sure that the Obama advocates were very confident, leading up to the debate, that Obama would wipe the floor with Romney. I believe that they were genuinely devastated that the President didn't trounce Romney.

24 hours later, after their blood pressure dropped back down to more normal levels, most of the commentators that are clearly non-neutral have regrouped and are back in attack mode against the Republican candidate. But they can't just ignore or dismiss what happened on Wednesday night.

What I find the most amazing is that there are some "likely voters" out there that are still not sure which candidate they will vote for. CNN had a group of "independent" or undecided voters that have watched the various Republican debates and have now watched the first presidential debate and still have not made up their minds. The differences between these two candidates could not be more stark. I'm not sure what criteria these voters are going to use to choose their candidate. I do think that some of these undecided voters enjoy all the attention that they receive by virtue of their self described great open-mindedness and contemplation. Deep thinkers no doubt...at least much more so than we sheep who mindlessly follow the candidate of our professed party affiliation.

What I know is that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney embrace dramatically different strategies for how to get the country moving forward. As important, these two candidates employ dramatically different tactics in how they go about implementing their strategies. I know which one I prefer.

Stay tuned until the next debate between the vice-presidential candidates. And MSNBC? You might want to  think about the possibility that this next debate may not go the way you want it to. You know, like last night.

ap·o·plec·tic/ˌapəˈplektik/

1. of, relating to, or causing a stroke.

2. affected with, inclined to, or showing symptoms of a stroke

3. how Ed Shultz and Chris Matthews looked after the first presidential debate

Can't see the steeple for the trees

First Baptist Church of Augusta steeple

There is a familiar idiom that goes like this- "he can't see the forest for the trees." We know it to mean that sometimes we get so caught up in the details that we miss the big picture.

Yesterday morning on my way to work, I took my usual route...left turn out of my driveway, right turn at the end of my street, another right turn at the four way intersection and about 70 yards later as the road curves to the left and heads downhill, over the trees I can see the very top part of the iconic steeple of my church- First Baptist Church of Augusta. It is only in view for a brief time because the road drops in elevation and eventually the steeple is lost behind the distant pine trees on the nearer horizon. But this morning, I noticed that I could no longer see the steeple at all. Those mighty pine trees have continued to grow taller every year and I am afraid that they have now reached  a height such that my view of the steeple is no more...at least from one of my favorite vantage points. I can't see the steeple for the trees.

The steeple of First Baptist Church is one of the most beautiful ones you'll find. It is no longer common for churches to be built in that architectural style and that beautiful spire, painted a lovely cream color, rises high into the air as if pointing towards God Himself. At the very top of the steeple sits a cross...that symbol of hope for Christians everywhere. First Baptist Church's sanctuary was built in the early 1980's and that massive steeple became and remains a very familiar landmark in our area. But to me, it is more than just a landmark. Whenever I see that steeple from the many vantage points in our town, it reminds me that I am close to home...yes it is true that my house is nearby but, that's not what I am talking about. I know that my church home is near.

This is the place where I walked the aisle to publicly profess my faith in Jesus Christ at the age of 28. It is where I was baptized as a believer (28 years after the emergency Catholic baptism I received a few hours after my premature birth.) It is where our children were dedicated as babies and where they later made their professions of faith and followed in baptism. It is where I was ordained as a deacon and hands were laid on me in prayer and affirmation. It is where we joyously celebrated our daughter's wedding and where we mourned the loss of friends that had passed.

Yesterday, I lost sight of the steeple...I couldn't see it because it had become obscured by the trees. I thought about that throughout the day yesterday and wondered if I don't sometimes find myself living that kind of faith journey. I said earlier that not seeing the forest because of the trees means missing the big picture...the most important things. What are the trees that are blocking my ability to see? Maybe I get caught up in all the "works" I do in and around the church...oh sure they can be important and good things. Maybe it is the committees and meetings I take part in. Maybe it is the prickly debates about denominational distinctions and theological doctrine that can obscure what is more important. Maybe it is a misguided attention to budgets and attendance figures and positive congregational feedback. Maybe it is the busy-ness of life and my lack of time with God. Maybe it is my myopic focus on what God can do for me while being blind to those in need around me. I have a lot of big trees in my life that, while not necessarily bad things (though some are,) can be blocking the view of that to which I should be focusing.

Matthew, in the 22nd chapter of his gospel, recounts the story of the Pharisees coming to Jesus asking Him a question in an attempt to trip Him up. Verses 36- 39 say: "'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?' Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"

How about you? Is there anything keeping you from "seeing" the steeple?

It was the summer we walked on the moon

Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin

There are events in our lives that are so sensational that we often identify that point in time by the event as much as the actual date or period of time. Those of us that were older than about 5 years old in 1969 will always remember the summer of 1969 as "the summer we walked on the moon." I would bet that Americans older than 55 vividly remember where they were when they heard the news that President Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, TX. The turbulent 1960's were also years we witnessed the tragic assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Younger Americans remember where they were on that fateful day in September of 2001 when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Brave passengers of a fourth airliner, Flight 93, stormed the cockpit preventing a similar result as that of the other three flights commandeered by terrorists. Those brave passengers sacrificed themselves to save the lives of countless others. We will remember September 11 for the rest of our lives.

July 20, 1969 was an historic date in human achievement. That was the day that the outrageously bold challenge offered by President John Kennedy was fulfilled. On May 25, 1961 Kennedy said, in a speech to a joint session of Congress, "First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." Only 20 days earlier, Alan B. Shepard aboard Freedom 7 had finally become the first American in space. His time in space had lasted all of 14.8 minutes. Now Kennedy says we need to go to the moon. What an amazing challenge.

The "space race" was an integral part of America's goal of achieving superiority over the Soviet Union, our Cold War nemesis. Our desire to show that the American way of life...free enterprise, capitalism and democracy was better than the Soviet Unions's iron-fisted socialist, communist state was embodied in the space program. While the Soviets had beaten us into space and beaten us with the first man in space, and even were the first to land (crash is more accurate) a spacecraft on the moon, we were determined that the first man to set foot on the moon would be wearing the stars and stripes on his space suit.

America began manned space flight with Project Mercury which consisted of seven total flights. Maybe you've seen the movie "The Right Stuff." That was followed by the Gemini program which consisted of ten 2-man flights. The Mercury and Gemini programs were geared to prepare us for moon landings under the Apollo program. Apollo 8 and 10 were missions that orbited the moon.

Apollo 11 lifted off from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969 with its Saturn V rocket boosters generating 7.5 million pounds of thrust. The journey to the moon would encompass 240,250 one-way miles. Its crew consisted of Michael Collins, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, all three being NASA veterans who had previous space flight experience in the Gemini program.

On a black and white TV, watching anxiously in our living room in Berwick, Maine, I, along with millions of other people, were frighteningly mesmerized as we watched the lunar module touch down on the moon at 4:18pm our time. About six hours later, Neil Armstrong made his way down the ladder of Eagle and became the first human to set foot on the moon. Aldrin followed and the two spent about 2 hours on the lunar surface. An American flag purchased from Sears Roebuck was planted at Tranquility Base and Americans swelled with pride. People all over the world (well maybe not in the USSR) cheered this great human achievement.

Two days ago, Neil Armstrong died 20 days after his 82nd birthday. For an American kid coming of age in the 1960's, the astronauts of NASA were, and still are, genuine national heroes of mine. The bravery they exhibited in the quest for space is nothing short of amazing. Relying on technology that was still in its relative infancy guided by computer systems that didn't have the computing power of an iPhone, these men strapped themselves on top of ballistic missiles and left the earth behind. There was no guarantee that the lunar module that landed Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon would even be able to lift off from the moon's surface and return home. I heard on the radio today that then US President Richard Nixon had a speech prepared just in case he had to deliver tragic news. There was no plan B if the Eagle's rockets failed to get them back off the moon's surface. Michael Collins, who remained in the command module Columbia orbiting the moon, would have had no choice but to return home, leaving Armstrong and Aldrin to remain forever on the moon. Neil Armstrong and the summer of 1969 will always be a part of my life journey. I will always remember the summer we walked on the moon. Godspeed Neil Armstrong.

You can just go pound sand

Go pound sand. You know there are plenty of interesting phrases in the American lexicon. I have to admit...I know what this euphemism means when I hear it but, I wasn't really sure of this one's origin. In my investigation, I also discovered there are some pretty coarse variations of the phrase but, those won't add much value to the point I will try to make so, no need to elaborate.

Go pound sand. Take a hike. Get lost. Go play in the traffic. Go fly a kite. Go away. Get over it. Too bad. Tough luck. Go jump in a lake. Stick it in your ear. Drop dead. I will leave out the more graphic phrases that express the same basic sentiment.

As an adult, have you ever been told something like this? Have you ever been summarily dismissed by someone when you were trying to engage in a discussion? Or when you were expressing your opinion? Basically when things like this are said, you are being told "get away from me, I have no interest in your opinion or what you have to say."

In my former career, I was involved in doing customer satisfaction surveying. You know... you ask customers to rate your product or service as well as rate their experience dealing with your company. You may also provide a place for customers to comment or make suggestions. Here is something I know. If you have no intention of actually responding to or seriously considering any of the customer's suggestions...then don't ask them. As a customer I would rather you never ask my opinion than asking it then ignoring me. If you do that, you are effectively telling me to "pound sand."

One of the major sticking points regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) is that a majority of Americans disagree with the way it was passed as well as several parts of the legislation. But, the Democrat Party ignored the wishes of the citizenry. You may recall, prior to the legislation passing,  town hall meetings took place across the country on the subject. Many participants were outraged with the way they were ignored or pilloried by their Congressional representatives. This was a classic case of being told "we don't care what you think...we know better...go pound sand."

In the sleepy, southern town of Augusta, Georgia, there are two universities that have been ordered to consolidate by the Georgia University Board of Regents. The Medical College of Georgia (which was recently renamed Georgia Health Sciences University) is being consolidated with Augusta State University (known as Augusta College when I went there.) There will much work to do combining a medical university with a liberal arts university. One of the items needing consideration was what to call the new, consolidated entity. So, a team was put together to consider possible names for the new school. Many names were suggested and that list of names was pared down a few times until there was a manageable number of potential monikers. Some of the names that were considered were quite interesting, even if they were a bit unappealing.

There was even an in-state and national survey done (at a cost of about $45,000) to get opinions of the names that made it to the short list. Locally, many Augustans wanted the new name to include "Augusta." University of Augusta, Augusta University...hey, even keeping it Augusta State University. In fact, University of Augusta received the highest rating from both the in-state respondents to the survey as well as the national respondents. Guess what? Dr. Azziz, the president of the medical university (who will preside over the consolidated school) apparently isn't impressed with the name of the city in which he currently lives...and also doesn't want it to be a part of the new university's name. So, the Board of Regents (with some purported arm twisting by Dr. Azziz) chose to name the school after itself- Georgia Regents University (a name that finished 4th in the $45,000 survey.)

Hey, survey respondents- go pound sand. Hey, Augusta residents- go pound sand. How does it feel to be totally ignored...your opinion and input essentially disregarded?

Not so good.

What do the Olympics teach us?

Sweet

I've never competed in the Olympics. At least not THE Olympics. You want to know why? Because my athletic prowess, even in my prime, did not measure up to the best in the world. In fact, I wasn't even the best in my school or neighborhood. I competed in my share of sports growing up...baseball, football, and track as well as playing several others just for fun. I have (or had) a few trophies and ribbons but no bronze, silver or gold medals.

Why is this? Why do some people get to be Olympic athletes and most others not? Bill Toomey won the decathlon in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Despite sharing the same last name, I am not related to Bill Toomey so his athletic ability did not get passed down to me.

I love the Olympics because it is raw competition. In the case of team sports, if you lose enough games...you're out...no chance for a medal. If you compete in an individual event and don't qualify in the preliminary heats, it's over. You don't even get to run or swim (or whatever) in the final race for the medal. You're done.

Why does Michael Phelps swim so fast? He won 4 gold medals and 2 silvers in these Olympics. How does Usain Bolt outrun everyone he goes up against? He won a gold medal in all 3 events in which he competed. On the other hand,  Lolo Jones finished 4th in the 100m hurdles. You know what you get for 4th place? Nothing. She didn't win a medal. We all saw Jordyn Wieber in tears when she did not qualify for the women's gymnastics all-around finals because she scored lower than her teammates Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman. Oh, Jordyn had the 4th best score of all competitors in the preliminaries but the rules say only 2 people from each country can compete in the finals. This is a strange rule and I believe one of the few in the Olympics like this. In almost every other case, the top scoring people in the preliminaries or qualifying heats advance to the finals regardless of what country they represent. In fact, the US women (team A) played the US women (team B) in the beach volleyball final for the gold medal. Pretty much assured that the US wins the gold and silver medal.

Competition. There is something about (most of) us that loves to watch people compete athletically. I read today that NBC's coverage of the 2012 Olympics was the most-watched event in television history. We definitely tuned in.

Some are uncomfortable with all this competition. Winners...losers. Sounds pretty harsh. Is it fair that some athletes won and others didn't? The obvious answer is "yes" but, still, it gets some people squirming a little.

When I was a young guy and played sports, there were often trophies awarded to individual, standout players. If your team won, the entire team got a trophy. Runners-up sometimes got trophies too but, they were always smaller. Today, some youth leagues give trophies to everyone that "participates." What is that all about? I can get a trophy simply by participating? How meaningful is that? Is this something that you display with pride on your dresser at home? I think not.

I remember when you were invited to a birthday party as a kid, you brought a present for the birthday boy or girl because it was HIS or HER birthday...not yours. Today, it is often the case that everyone that comes to the party gets some small gift. When did this practice begin? If it is your birthday and someone throws a party for you, aren't you supposed to be the center of attention? I mean, it's only 1 day a year. Are we so concerned that the other kids there may feel left out that we give everyone a present?

Awards and ribbons and medals and trophies should be earned. You shouldn't get one just for showing up. I dare say that the Usain Bolts and Michael Phelpses and Gabby Douglases worked countless hours honing their skills. They sacrificed when others were out enjoying their free time. They were committed to achieving something special and they did what was necessary to become the best they could be in their sport. There is no doubt that some of these athletes have been blessed with amazing physical abilities that they received from Mom's and Dad's DNA. It's no coincidence that the sons of the former great quarterback Archie Manning are both standout NFL quarterbacks. But, I bet both Peyton and Eli spent hours and hours throwing footballs in the backyard with Dad.

Back to my own athletic journey. Did I have the same opportunity as Usain Bolt to earn an Olympic gold medal in track? Yes. (Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980 would have been MY Olympics...of course , Jimmy Carter boycotted the 1980 Olympics.) When I was in high school I ran the mile, 2-mile and I pole vaulted. I was pretty good....only pretty good. I finished first in a few meets but, I was not the best runner/ vaulter on my team... I won no state championships... no regional championships. Why not? I didn't work as hard as other athletes I competed against. Sure, some were better physical specimens than I but, that's not the primary reason I didn't excel.

Competitive sports can teach us a lot. We learn that being the best requires sacrifice and hard work and that applies regardless of whether you are trying to be the best gymnast or be successful in your career. Just showing up does not typically result in great success. But some folks want the same rewards regardless of the effort required for those rewards. We see people pointing fingers at others that are successful and say NOT FAIR! Just like in the Olympics sometimes you get only one real shot at winning the prize. Don't miss those opportunities. Why not, when you see a successful athlete or a successful business person or a successful married couple, not allow it to make you jealous or envious but, rather, allow it to motivate you to be the best you can be at whatever you pursue. That's gold right there. And let's stop with the participation trophies!

Nations, races and denominations

If you are watching the XXX London England 2012 Olympic Games, you must have noticed that there are many nations represented. I think the number is 204. 204 flags, 204 national anthems, 204 sets of uniforms and insignia/logos. During the opening ceremonies, each of the delegations from the participating countries paraded through the Olympic Stadium with their respective fans and countrymen cheering with great pride. National pride. It seems these days that, aside from sports, embracing your national heritage is so 19th/20th century. I mean, we have entities like the United Nations, NATO, World Trade Organization, the European Union, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations,) and the signatories of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to name just a few of the cross-national groups/ affiliations. There are many that advocate minimizing the significance of national borders and national sovereignty. But, national pride is alive and well at the Olympics. But also, look at what happened after the downfall of the Soviet Union. Just as an example...the former Yugoslavia, which was roughly the size of Oregon is now Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia. How did that happen? While there is an ethnic element to the restoration of these countries after the fall of communism, nationalism was a major factor. A look at the very complex Israeli- Palestinian conflict shows the desire for people to have a national identity and geography. Many years ago we began to hear about a movement towards a "one world government." I'm not so sure about there being an underground conspiracy to migrate to "one government." I am confident that there are many people that would find that appealing since many are critical of the whole idea of nationalism as we know it today.

If you have ever filled out a US government form that included demographic data, you likely had to indicate your racial identity. A 2005 government form gave the following choices (but it said check as many as apply??)

American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian
Black or African-American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White

That list didn't seem to be very exhaustive. Some of those "races" sounded more like colors than races. White? Didn't this used to be called Caucasian? Sixty years ago, "Black or African-American would have been labeled "Negro" (Spanish word that means black.) That being the case, why weren't "whites" described as "Blanco." Hmmm.

The 2010 US Census expanded the racial labels:
White
Black, African-American, Negro
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Other Asian (it lists some examples)
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro (I had to Google this one)
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander (once again some examples are offered)

Then, I love this last category (which is a fill-in-the-blank):

"Some other race"  ...yes, that's what is says on the form..then you write something in.

Hey, Mom, what race am I? "Some other race" she says. That will leave you beaming with pride.

But, there is such a thing as racial pride. Thankfully, we see people of all persuasions showing pride in their racial heritage. Even "whites" who have the least exciting racial identifier (sounds more like a setting on the washing machine than a race) have some pride (I like to embrace my Irish roots.) As more and more children are born to parents from different races, these racial identifiers become a bit more complicated. Tiger Woods' ethnicity is pretty diverse. Even our president has some hyphens in his racial identity. Is race something we should take pride in? Some think not. Ethnic or racial pride can be misconstrued as racism...a feeling of superiority by virtue of race alone. This same feeling of exceptionalism or superiority based on national identification does not typically generate the same type of reaction. We hear shouts of "USA, USA, USA" at the Olympics but we would cringe more than a bit if we heard loud chants of  "White, White, White."  Some would say that there is a history of oppression that is based solely on race so that's why there is sensitivity. Nations oppressing other nations isn't really a historical issue so it's OK for the British to chant "UK, UK, UK" when playing against the team from India. Really? Hey, I'm just asking the question.

So, let's tackle the issue of religious denominations. In the US, we have many religions...Catholicism, Protestantism (more on this), Judaism, Islam, Wiccan/Pagan/Druidism, Unitarian Universalism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'ism, New Age, Scientology, Taoism  and many, many more. The Protestants can be broken down to include Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist/Wesleyan, Baptist (more on this), Episcopalian/Anglican, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Congregational, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter Day Saints/ Mormon, Assemblies of God and a few more.

Baptist. Do you mean American Baptists, Southern Baptists, Evangelical Free Baptists, Full Gospel Baptists, Alliance of Baptists, American Baptists USA, Reformed Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Primitive Baptists??? (There are too many to list...you may get where I'm going) Is there some pride involved in what religion (or no religion) you may identify with? You think? Just watch the River Street Methodist Church play the First Baptist Church in a church league softball or basketball game. You'd think you were at the World Cup final. I can hear the chants of "FBC, FBC, FBC." And don't forget the occasional sniping that you might hear in the respective pulpits. Unfortunately we do see and hear Christian churches/groups "attacking" or mocking other Christian churches/groups. I thought that Jesus established THE church...HIS church. Look what we've done to it. Looks more like a softball league now with fans shouting across the field at each other. Is there a place for different denominations in the church of Jesus Christ? I'll have to dive deeper on that one in another blog.

204 countries participating in the Olympics representing dozens of racial groups that may or may not identify with what could be one of hundreds of different religious denominations. What I love about the Olympics is that we get to shout and show the pride we have for our favorite country, our favorite sport (sorry, badminton does not count), our family athlete favorite and, at the end of the day, genuine respect and sportsmanship almost always prevails. We are who we are. It should be OK to shout that out boldly.

If the athletes in London can get this right, why can't we? Can we show pride in our nations, our racial/ ethnicity and our religions without fear of being perceived wrongly and/or generating ill will with people that have different backgrounds? It does take some responsibility on our part. We shouldn't exhibit that pride with feelings of being "better than" anyone that does not have the same identification. We can be better AT something (like swimming and basketball) without thinking we are better than somebody. There is a difference.

So, who are you? I am thankful to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ who expresses my faith in the Baptist tradition...I'm a white guy that is mostly Irish and French Canadian, who is an American (and I love the Georgia Bulldogs.) Somehow I need to come up with a chant that includes "JESUS", "Erin go bragh" USA, and Go Dawgs! I'll work on that one.

I wrote an earlier blog about labels. You might find that article interesting to read if you found this one worth your time.

Could we please ratchet it down a notch?

Wow...it was an interesting time in the franchise restaurant world this past week. Thousands of people descended upon their local Chick-fil-A restaurant on Wednesday in response to Mike Huckabee's declaration of August 1st being Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. You know the story. Dan Cathy's controversial comments about his views on marriage coupled with his personal donations to several organizations that are pro-traditional marriage (or anti-gay, hate organizations depending on your point of view) sparked responses by many people including some high ranking government officials who promised to do everything they could to prevent Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants in their cities/ districts. People didn't like that. Thought this was using government power in an illegal way. Then the LGBTQ (I may have this acronym wrong but I think it is correct...the Q, I believe, stands for "questioning") community suggested that folks go to Chick-fil-A on Friday and have a same-sex "kiss-in" to protest and show their resolve and solidarity.

OK....are we done with Chick-fil-A as a battleground? Can we let them get back to their cow commercials and let Dan Cathy have his own opinion and spend his personal money as he sees fit regardless of how much you dislike his positions?

Sure, many, if not most, of the people on Wednesday were there in support of free speech. I am 100% in your corner. Unfortunately, on Wednesday there were also plenty of people there that wanted to shake their fist at the gay community and with the strength of numbers and its resulting anonymity, by their presence, shout that [choose one or more] gays are pushy, gays are horrible, gays are evil, gays should just crawl into a hole somewhere and die. Because this is and was the case, I had no intention of showing up at Chick-fil-A on Wednesday. That doesn't mean my heart was in the right place. If you were there on Wednesday, I hope in retrospect that you have looked at your motives in a very honest way. And I also made no plans to show up on Friday to somehow be present to let the gay folks there know that I do not hate them. Those that were there wouldn't have believed me anyway.

Now that we have these publicity stunts over with for now, can we get back to behaving like respectful adults?

You know, the majority of people, regardless of their sexuality, are nice, respectful people who are just trying to live their lives the best they can. But what we seem to hear the most are the most obnoxious, folks on both sides of this conversation (and I sure wish it could be a conversation, not a shouting match.) Both sides in this debate seem to be characterized by the worst of the bunch. Roseanne Barr wished cancer on people that eat at Chick-fil-A (she renamed it) and are against gay marriage. Don't get me started on Westboro Baptist Church whose website contains "godhatesfags" in the url. Don't tell me your "side" is behaving appropriately, whichever side you are on.

Some "straight" people do not like gay people. Some people even hate gay people. I just have to say, I find this incredulous. They call them names and say terrible things about them (usually in the form of gay jokes to their heterosexual friends.) Oh, I don't think these people know a specific gay person that they do not like or even hate...they just feel this way generally because, of course, all gay people are alike. You know...gays are sinful, disgusting people.

Then there the holy ones that are making sure that they are personally going to wield God's judgement hammer and crusade against these people of the abomination (POTA) and they have the scripture verses to back it up. You know what I call these holy folks? ...sinful, disgusting people.

Some ugly, nasty people showed up on Wednesday and some ugly, nasty people showed up on Friday. In the aftermath, I have heard all the cogent arguments about why what happened those days was justifiable and right. But in the attempt to prove a point, we saw the worst of people.

A guy named Adam Smith (CFO for a large company) was downright nasty to a young lady in the drive-thru (said encounter which he chose to video and upload on You Tube) and thought he was going to prove his point that Chick-fil-A was evil. He ended up looking like a very small, mean-spirited person. So bad, in fact, that his company fired him and put out a press release condemning his actions. They wanted to ensure that everyone knows that he didn't speak on behalf of that organization.

Then there were the Christians that showed up to lock arms with fellow Christian Dan Cathy as a sign of solidarity. Others made statements to the news media, logged Facebook updates and tweeted about the sinfulness of homosexuality and God's condemnation on them that was sure to follow. (I do find it interesting that the one behavior mentioned in the Bible that most Christians are not tempted to do is the one that some focus the most attention on and condemn the most...just a coincidence I'm sure.) Adam Smith got fired because he embarrassed his boss. There are some Christians that, if God ran His world like bosses run their companies, should be fired for embarrassing their Boss.

Fortunately, God is so much greater and higher than His Creation. He does not judge like we judge. His judgement is out of perfect love. He doesn't fire us either for embarrassing Him. If He did, we would all have the employment status that Adam Smith has today. Standing up for our convictions is a good thing...most of the time. But, if standing up for our convictions causes us to break the commandment that Jesus Christ gave us (and he only gave us 2) then maybe we need to reconsider what we are doing and what is going on in our hearts. By the way, I believe that if we break Jesus' second commandment, then we are technically breaking the first one along with it.

I am a sinner. You are a sinner. God loves me. God loves you (and by you, I mean everyone other than me.)

I hope as many Christians that showed up at Chick-fil-A this week to support their cause show up tomorrow morning to worship the One we say we love and serve. And may God's grace and mercy rain down on us and change us...not to what we want to be but what He wants us to be.

UPDATE TO MY BLOG POSTING- I am encouraged by recent events since all the noise in August 2012. Read this!

You mean there are actually laws concerning marriage?

Marriage license ... looks antiquated

I was reading an article the other day on the internet and discovered that there are many rules and laws in the United States concerning who you can and can't marry. Did you now that each of the states have rules about how old you have to be to get married? These rules differ by state, though. Most states require you to be 18 to get married but, you can marry at a younger age if you can get your parents to agree. In Massachusetts, you can get married as a 7th grader (12 years old) if your parents agree. I don't think you can marry your homeroom teacher though because that would violate a rule about teachers having "relations" with students.

Apparently there are also laws concerning marriage between family members that vary by state. No state lets you marry your brother or sister. Several states let you marry your first cousin and/ or your first cousin once removed (the state of Maine requires betrothed cousins to attend genetic testing and counseling so they will understand the risks of this kind of human inbreeding.) Contrary to common opinion (and lots of jokes), it's not primarily the southern states that allow these "family affairs." By the way, your first cousin once removed is the child of your first cousin as in my mother's brother's son's daughter. Second cousins? Fair game in all 50 states.

I read a post by someone named Liz who asks the question "why can't I marry my brother?" Now, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree but, I think her post was written as satire. I don't think she really wants to marry her brother but, she makes some pretty good arguments about why it should be OK. She claims that both she and her brother are sterile so the possibility of ever reproducing does not exist because it isn't physically possible (but they could always adopt.) She claims that she is madly in love with him  (and not just in a sisterly way) and wants them to live as a married couple. She has a good job with health insurance...her brother is unemployed and has none. If they could get married, she could add him onto her healthcare plan. She obviously loves her brother very much and knows that many people find that kind of brother/sister love offensive and morally wrong but she doesn't see why someone else's moral beliefs should hinder her from enjoying all the marriage liberties that non-sibling marriages have. There must be thousands of other sibling couples out there (some say it could be 10-12% of the population...I think that's exaggerated) that would love to get married but those antiquated marriage laws are discriminatory. Years ago, they kept their feeling towards each other a secret from others because so many people would be offended or would think it was wrong. Haters.

Did you know that Brigham Young isn't just the name of a university? I should have realized that the school was named after an actual person. Brigham Young was a very famous Mormon who led his band of fellow Mormons out west to Utah to escape the religious persecution they experienced in places like Ohio. I know there is an HBO series about another marriage issue but I thought it was just a fictional, made for TV thing. Did you know that at one time, Mormons were in favor of having multiple wives and many actually did? I know from reading the Bible that others did this a long time ago. Solomon had lots of wives I think. In the United States, we have laws that prohibit having multiple spouses. Some Mormons secretly do have multiple wives and would love to be able to come out about it. I don't really understand why a guy would want more than one wife. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife very much but... good grief, the thought of having two of them? or more? Geesh!

Why is it against the law though to have more than one wife or husband? Has it always been this way? Who cares how many wives you have? I had a truck driver that worked for me many years ago who was rumored to have two wives in different cities and children from both wives. Since he was on the road most of the time I guess his "home" could be anywhere without anyone being suspicious. I guess as long as he is a good husband, father, and provider, some could argue that he is doing something pretty worthy. Why should we judge? Why all these rules?

Here are some other marriage rules:

Marriage by proxy. Four states allow a couple to be married by having a proxy stand in for the ceremony. If your groom-to-be is in the U.S. Armed Forces and can't be present for the ceremony, someone else can stand in for the marriage ceremony. In Montana, both the military bride and military groom can have stand-ins. That wedding photo album is probably a waste of money though.

In Kentucky a woman cannot marry the same man 4 times. You know.... marry Harlan, divorce Harlan, marry Harlan, divorce Harlan, marry Harlan, divorce Harlan.....marry Harlan again? Nope...go marry your cousin.

In South Carolina it is a crime for a man over the age of 16 to propose to a woman and not mean it. It is a misdemeanor under the Offenses Against Morality and Decency Act....and, it's downright mean anyway.

In New Orleans it is illegal for palm readers, fortune tellers and mystics to perform marriage ceremonies. Now, let's think about this one...wouldn't it make sense for people that know our futures to be the best judges of whether we should get married? And they wouldn't have to ask all those pesky questions..."do you promise to...? because wouldn't they already know the answer?

And, for heaven's sake, don't have a palm reader perform the ceremony while you marry your brother (for the 4th time) and your 11 year old first cousin at Chick fil-A. That would just be wrong (and probably against their corporate policy.)

Marriage...

If you don't like it...change it.

The U.S. Constitution. Ratified on March 4, 1789, it has been the supreme law of the land for over 223 years. By 1791, the first ten amendments (known as the Bill of Rights) had been ratified and the Constitution has been amended 17 more times since then. The 27th Amendment was passed in 1992. This somewhat unusual amendment, called the "Congressional Compensation Amendment of 1789"  was passed more than 200 years after it was first submitted. The Constitution allows for a process (read Article 5 of the Constitution) for changes to be made and 27 times it has been amended. Amending the Constitution does require clearing a pretty high hurdle. Passage by two-thirds of both Houses of Congress is required to propose an amendment and three-fourths of the States must approve it for the amendment to be ratified. It does not require the signature of the President. The Supreme Court does not need to be consulted in the matter. An alternate method is for two-thirds of the states' legislatures to call for a national convention to propose amendments however, this process has never been used.

There are many Americans (and likely many foreigners) that do not like certain provision of the Constitution. There is a process to change it, though. 33 total amendments have been proposed, with 27 having been ratified. The other six were never ratified by the states. Americans could amend the Constitution to change the requirements for amending the Constitution...but that amendment would require adherence to Article 5.

Congress passes laws that are supposed to be within the scope of what the Constitution allows. In response to lawsuits filed by many states' attorneys general, the Supreme Court recently reviewed and ruled on the constitutionality of certain aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also referred to as "Obamacare." Considered unpopular by many Americans, the Supreme Court ruled in a very controversial opinion written by the Chief Justice that the so-called individual mandate to purchase health insurance or pay a fine was constitutional by virtue of Congress' constitutional taxing authority.

Many conservatives believe that Justice Roberts was wrong in his vote which allowed the more liberal justices' vote to prevail 5-4. Justice Roberts said that he tried very hard to find a constitutional basis for Congress' law because he believes that overturning a law passed by both Houses of Congress, regardless of its unpopularity with a large number of citizens, is not something that the Supreme Court should do lightly. I happen to agree with that statement.

We can't have it both ways. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. If Americans believe that it needs modification, then change it. It's not easy though. You need super-majorities in Congress and the States. If you don't like a law passed by Congress or you think we need a new law passed, you can tell your members of Congress. If they don't do what you want, vote them out of office. It is not the job of the Supreme Court to do the job that is supposed to rest in the hands of voters.

It is also not  the job of the President and Executive Branch to usurp or overturn or write new laws by virtue of executive order. The Executive Branch is also not supposed to refuse to enforce duly passed laws. If they do this, then you have an opportunity every 4 years to do something about it.

Throwing rocks in the street or shouting at one another on cable TV might be fun but it doesn't change the law. As much as I may disagree with laws passed by Congress, if my side of the debate does not prevail, then I just have to work harder next time to convince my fellow citizens to vote for like minded candidates.

In the news even today we hear about displeasure with the 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms...gun ownership) and the laws concerning definition of marriage (among other things.) If you don't agree with or like those laws, change them. But you better have enough Americans that agree with you. That's just the way it works.

We want to know why

Life is full of events and circumstances that generate the question, "why?" Humans have a yearning to understand things. We ask "why?" a lot.

The massacre at a Colorado movie theater has us asking this question again. What happens in the human mind and soul that compels a person to do a heinous act like that? Some say that he must just be crazy. What is crazy? I'm sure that psychiatrists have a definition but I doubt they still use the word "crazy" ...that's for us laymen.

We want answers. Why did he do this? How can we prevent this from ever happening again? What influences in his life stimulated this violence? THERE HAS TO BE A REASON!

Even in these few days since the shooting, opinions are flying around like gnats at a Georgia picnic.

Some have said that the newest Batman/Dark Knight Rises movie that was premiering at the theater was to blame. The shooter must have been obsessed with one of the violent movie characters. Others have suggested that our ultra-discourteous, partisan, downright mean public discourse is to blame (even Rush Limbaugh was singled out as a cause.) I think I read that someone was blaming the Tea Party. There is a picture floating around on Facebook that alleges to be James Holmes being hauled away at an Occupy San Diego protest (it is a hoax, I believe.) It's the Republicans' fault...no it's the Democrats' fault. Obama is to blame...no, Romney is to blame.

This sounds like a school yard argument.

Of course, the 2nd Amendment is once again being dragged into the discussion. That pesky Constitutional right that our forefathers were compelled to add to the Constitution is being characterized as the scapegoat. If people were not able to have access to all these guns, people would stop shooting each other (they say.) I've seen the statistics of the gun deaths in other countries that have gun control laws compared to those in the United States. Looks pretty clear to me...guns have made Americans violent, crazy and murderous. Right. On the other hand, gun rights advocates say that if there was someone else in that theater that had a carry permit and was actually carrying a gun (the theater chain does not allow guns in their theaters even with a permit) maybe the shooter could have been stopped before he did as much harm. We'll never know.

Just like in other instances when we see the worst of human behavior, we quickly jump to the answers that fit our own ideological biases. Political types want to know whether he leaned to the Democrat side or the Republican side as if that would allow them to brag that their political opponent's platform is causing mass murder. Shameful thinking. Someone in a dark room is wondering how this can be used in an advertisement to make their political opponent look bad. News anchors and talking heads are falling all over themselves to get the better news scoop so that their ratings and paychecks will move in the same direction. Disgusting.

There are families in Aurora, Colorado that are hurting in ways most of us can never comprehend. In the meantime, the rest of us are posting Facebook pictures with edgy captions about the incident that we think cleverly answer the why question. Twitterland, I'm sure, is full of 140 character epiphanies about the reasons for the tragedy. It's like we have come up on a wreck on the Interstate and we can't help but rubberneck...and do our 15 second evaluations... "must have been driving too fast", "Oh, I'm sure he was drinking", "I bet she was sending a text message." And I am writing this blog so I guess, I'm no better...

Maybe James Holmes will eventually articulate why he did what he did. Doctors may eventually determine that he is mentally ill.

In the meantime, I will accept what I already know from what my Bible and 56 years of living tell me. Evil exists. Humans are capable of doing things that most of us cannot understand. It has happened before. Unfortunately, it will happen again.

In the meantime, let's lift up these Aurora families in prayer. Pray also that people all around the world will come to know Jesus, the Prince of Peace and that, through that re-birth, human hearts will change. That's the only real solution.

Some things I know

Jessica and Matt

I have been away from my blog so long that Amazon sent me a notice yesterday that they would drop my blog from their "inventory" of blogs available by subscription for the Kindle if I went much longer without writing something. My subscribers expect fresh content they say. Really? Two people are subscribed...my wife and son and they didn't even subscribe on their own...I signed them up. However, it is time to write some stuff I guess.

My wife Carol, son Michael and I just returned from an 10 day trip to Korea. Many of you know that our daughter and son-in-law live there. On the last leg of our journey home from the Augusta airport we were talking about the trip and what we liked about Korea. While we were so glad to have gone, Korea probably would not have otherwise been on our list of most desired world travel destinations. I have never heard anyone say "Hey, guess where we are traveling for vacation? Korea!" We were there for one reason.

We experienced the "out in the country" Korean landscape with flooded rice paddies everywhere. There was also corn and a host of other crops planted on every square inch of available land. Aside from the large Army base and the little "ville" of Anjeong-ri that sits just outside of it, the area where Matt and Jessica live is farmland and some light industry.

To get a taste of the city, you would travel to Pyeongtaek, a few miles to the north. Pyeongtaek Station is where you catch the train that runs to Seoul, about a 50 minute train ride even farther north. Cost of one way ticket...about $3.75 or approx 4300 Won.

Pyeongtaek Station is surrounded by AK Plaza, a modern shopping mall full of stores and full of Korean shoppers.

KoRail is a very modern, well run mass transit system that alleviates the need to get out and about with the less-than-traffic law adhering Korean drivers. Traffic control devices such as red lights, stop signs, speed limit signs, etc. are merely suggestions I guess. Just don't run a red light where there are the very well marked CCTV cameras. Apparently, you will receive a ticket in the mail.

One evening we were returning home from Seoul Station or Yongsan Station and we realized that we had forgotten to previously purchase our return tickets for the train. All the seats had been sold for the last train but we could buy tickets for standing...yeah... for an hour long train ride. No problem, Matt said, we could head for the "party car." The party car has only a few seats in front of video gambling consoles but does have a concession counter where you can purchase chips, candy, sushi, soft and "harder" drinks. Most folks were sitting on the floor of the car pecking away on their smartphones or listening to music. It seems like about 60% of the folks in Korea have earphones in their ears and are holding some sort of electronic device. You don't see many iPhones or iPads...you are in Samsung territory now. One gentleman in particular stood out. He looked like a businessman returning home on Friday evening after a hard week of work. I noticed him as soon as he got on the train. He had evidently gotten into the soju earlier in the day.

Soju is the very popular colorless Korean beverage made from rice that is about 25% alcohol by volume. Soju is usually consumed by the shot and Korean tradition states that you do not fill your own glass. You also do not refill a glass unless it is completely empty but you do fill it as soon as your drinking buddy's glass is empty. In Korea, it is considered rude to not fill someone's glass when empty, regardless of what you are drinking. "Drunk Korean dude on train" (as I called him) must have been some sort of acrobat/ balancing artist because for the life of me, I could not figure out how he was able to stay erect for 50 minutes. He would occasionally do a spontaneous "bend" from the knees or the lower back as the "hinge" would come loose but he was always able to lock back up before hitting the floor. He was my source of entertainment for the train ride.

It will take multiple blogs to describe 10 days in Korea. I will try my best to make my recollections interesting.

The title of this blog is "Some things I know." After 10 days halfway around the world, here are a few things I know.

• You should get out and explore the world if given the chance. This was my second trip to Asia (experienced China and Korea on a business trip in 2005.) People of other cultures are fascinating and strange, friendly and a bit skeptical, and in most ways, just like you and I.

• Just like you and I because I see Moms and Dads, brothers and sisters that love each other and are living life the best way they know how. Doesn't matter if they prefer kimchi and squid or pot roast and potatos, whether they speak English or Korean or "Engrish" or whatever the heck I sounded like trying to say an-nyeong-ha-se-yo (hello) or gam-sa-hap-ni-da (thank you.) 

• The love of family is important beyond words. Those bonds of love that hold us together are stronger than armies, higher than mountains. I wrote in an earlier blog asking the question "where's home?" Home is wherever I can be to love on my family. For the last 10 days, home was in Korea. And it was good to be home.

Germs

Germs (not cooties) have been in the news a lot lately. A West Georgia college student is hospitalized here in Augusta due to a zip line accident that has ultimately led to multiple amputations. She remains in critical condition but has thankfully made some progress. She has been a victim of necrotizing fasciitis (also referred to as "flesh-eating bacteria.") This condition is caused by Group A Streptococcus (GAS)  which generally do not cause infections that lead to serious illness. But under certain conditions and/or with patients with weakened immune systems or other conditions, it can wreak havoc. The bacteria don't actually "eat" the flesh...they release a toxin into the tissue which can start a cascade of destruction of skin and muscle. Two more people in as many weeks have been treated for this same condition resulting from completely different circumstances, however.

I certainly would not make light of the seriousness of these folks' conditions and health struggles. On the contrary, I think, as 21st century folks, we have taken a pretty casual attitude towards certain health risks.

The era of germ theory as explanation for disease dates back to the 1800's ..some postulating similar explanations as early as the 1500's. Once physicians recognized that certain diseases were caused by microorganisms, medical treatments radically changed. Today we know that bacteria and viruses cause a host of illnesses. But once the medical community was able to identify causes and the discovery of penicillin and vaccines, many diseases that once could wipe out entire communities are almost completely eradicated. But that doesn't mean that the germs have gone away. And it doesn't mean that we can take for granted that they can no longer do us harm. It also doesn't mean that there aren't any other bad guys out there (or in there.)

On the one hand we are almost compulsive when it comes to antibacterial agents. We have hand sanitizers, antibacterial versions of hand soap, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, household cleaners, hand wipes, baby cleaning products and the list goes on and on. We are encouraged to wash our hands as often as reasonably possible since germs can spread through physical contact. I certainly don't want to shake hands with someone that has just sneezed into theirs.

But I am afraid that we have come to believe that we will no longer get seriously ill or infected by those spooky sounding bacteria and viruses. Influenza epidemics used to wipe out millions of people. Today we have given it the simple nickname...the flu. It's like a cold only more serious. If you have ever had a full blown version of the flu, you know what deathly sick feels like. People in the United States and other developed countries still die from influenza.

We also seem to take cuts, sores, and bruises pretty lightly. We have all that over-the-counter wound cleaning stuff (remember Bactine?) and Band-Aids so what's the big deal?

I've had my share of scares. A badly scraped lower leg resulting from unwisely trying to stretch a single into a double on the softball field became badly infected. My doctor also had an ultrasound performed to ensure that no blood clots had formed as a result of the trauma...I thought it was just a bad scrape.

A few years ago I found what looked like a spider bite on the inside of my leg down near my knee. The weird thing was that I had another one on the other leg in almost the exact same spot. I had recently slept in an old sleeping bag and I do sleep on my side sorta in a fetal position so I just assumed that the spider looked up and bit and then looked down and bit. The problem was that over the next several days I found "bites" all down my legs and the older ones went from itchy to painful like a bruise would feel. Prior to making an appointment with my doctor I did some research online, I found that it could certainly be multiple spider bites. But it could also be a staph infection and possibly the scary MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) a strain of the staph bacteria that does not respond well to commonly used antibiotics. Treatment confirmed that it was a staph infection. Left untreated. MRSA can result in necrotizing fasciitis.

If you get a cut, abrasion or a puncture wound, treat it as if it is going to get infected. Even a serious bruise can result in complications to include unleashing bacteria already in your body to begin the attack on the traumatized tissue.

Wash your hands often and keep your house cleaned with antibacterial cleaners. But, maybe more importantly,  also use good judgement when you get sick or injured. Germs are still out there and they still can hurt you.

July 12, 2012 UPDATE- Check out this article in the NY Times:  click here

I'm going to sue you!

Professional football players are suing the NFL because, in the course of playing football, their helmets hit other players helmets (in some cases, quite hard) and they have discovered that the numerous blows to the head were not good for them.

This out-of-left-field revelation that severe impacts to the head could result in long term issues has prompted these former players to blame it on the football league. The players had no idea this might be harmful. Didn't most professional football players attend at least 3-4 years at institutions of higher learning? But they had no idea. Bizarre. As Rod Serling would have said, "that's the signpost up ahead --your next stop, the Twilight Zone."

Players suing the NFL because playing football could cause head injuries would be like professional swimmers suing their governing body because swimming could lead to wetness.

I wonder if professional boxers are aware that having your head pounded by a fist covered with 16 ounce leather gloves might be a little harmful when done in 15 round increments over many years. Then there is the Ultimate Fighting leagues and Mixed Martial Arts contests where they literally just punch, elbow and kick the crapola out of each other until someone either gets knocked out, passes out, taps out or the fight actually comes to it's appointed ending. I think they should sue.

We have obese people suing fast food restaurants because they didn't know eating 2 Double Whoppers, a super-sized order of french fries and a trash can size cup of Mountain Dew four times a week might not be very good for you. Or people sue McDonalds because their hot coffee is actually hot and if you place the cup between your legs and some of it spills it might burn you. Cigarette smokers sue tobacco companies because they didn't know that inhaling burning tobacco leaves might cause some problems with their mouth, throat and lungs. Ever sit by a campfire and the wind direction changes, blowing all the smoke your way? Yeah, that makes me want to just sit still and savor the burning acrid fumes into my eyes, nose and throat. But maybe you smoked those cooling menthol brands of cigarettes. That would be more like a campfire that was burning Halls Mentho-Lyptus logs I guess. I think there have been warnings about tobacco usage for much of the last century. Yet, smokers didn't know.

If I fall off my bike I guess I can sue the bike manufacturer or, better yet... gravity. Maybe after growing up and discovering that my life isn't perfect, I could sue my parents for malpractice.

When I was still with E-Z-GO I was deposed during a preliminary proceeding involving a product liability lawsuit. There was a tragic accident involving a golf car and an SUV... on a highway...at night. The teenager driving the golf car was shuttling people across this rural South Carolina highway to attend a high school graduation party put on by a Dad who was a prominent doctor in the community. People parked across the highway and the golf cars provided a ride to the party. When the accident occurred, only the young driver was in the golf car. Alcoholic beverages were being consumed by  most of the attendees, adults and high schoolers alike. The plaintiff's attorneys argued that the golf car was not properly equipped to cross a highway at night. I did not disagree with that point. The golf car clearly states that it is for non-highway use only. They argued that the golf car should have been equipped with headlights and taillights so it could have been seen on the highway. We said that the operating instructions on the dash clearly stated that the golf car was for NON-HIGHWAY USE ONLY. We also indicated that a very large percentage of all golf is played in the daytime making lights on fleet golf cars unnecessary. E-Z-GO does make other models of vehicle that have uses other than golf and they are equipped differently. But this was a used golf car rented by the hosts from a local dealer (who was also being sued.) A young man was killed in a very unfortunate but avoidable accident. And somebody needed to be sued because it certainly had to be someone's fault (fault = you must pay me) other than the young man or the adults that held the party and provided the golf car for him to drive. The driver of the SUV was also sued for not seeing a 12 mph golf car with no lights crossing a 55 mph speed limit highway at night. They may have even sued the sun for setting because darkness may have also been at fault.

The point is that many people today do not take responsibility for their own actions and decisions. Professional football players are paid an obscene amount of money to play a very violent sport. That non-existent touch football league doesn't quite draw the same crowds or television revenue as its full contact cousin. Football players know that they risk injury including head and neck injuries. And hockey? Oh yeah, there's a safer sport. Fisticuffs are a vital element of the game. I think they should sue for millions for each missing tooth.

This would probably be a good point to tell you a great lawyer joke...but I won't. Now, don't get me wrong. There are plenty of people that get hurt or killed through no fault of their own. It is caused by a defective product, improper procedure, negligence or a host of other reasons. These people should have the ability to seek compensation for their losses. But every bad thing that might happen to you shouldn't be looked at as an immediate opportunity to sue somebody.

A patient goes in to see a doctor and says, "Hey Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor replies, "stop doing that." Good advice. If you are doing something that you know is bad for you..stop doing it... or quit whining about the consequences. And for heaven's sake stop looking for someone to sue.

Where's home?

We live in such a mobile society these days that the question "where's home?" no longer necessarily means "where is your house located?" I'll be 57 later this year and I have (as best I can remember) lived in 15 different houses/ apartments in 6 different states. Where's home? Facebook provides a place to indicate the current city in which you live as well as a declaration of your hometown so, I guess, those aren't necessarily the same thing (not that what Facebook thinks carries that much weight mind you...) Growing up in a military family, some of the places we lived were rental or military housing so, I never really got overly attached to houses. Still don't. Carol's maternal grandparents owned farm land in north Georgia and that house was always thought of as the "home place." It held great emotional value to her family for many years. Today that house looks pretty broken down and we don't even know who owns it now.

What makes a place home? There is a saying "home is where the heart is." I've never really understood exactly what that means, though. When we travel, we normally refer to the return trip as "heading home." So, the logical answer is that home is where you currently live. Right now, home for my daughter and son-in-law is a foreign country 7,000 miles away. Certainly they can't feel like they are at home can they? I mean, home must be our house or our son-in-law's parent's house...right?

They have a very nice, very new and modern apartment with some nice furnishings. After a long day of teaching (her) and flying helicopters (him) I am sure they both look forward to heading to their home. But they admit that they get homesick from time to time. So, where's home?

I think all of us have a longing for "home." But a street address can't be all there is to it. There is something more powerful than that to describe "home."

Carol and I are having an interesting conversation (debate) about what to do when we retire. I have floated the idea of selling the house, buying a motor home and hitting the road. We would certainly need to test this lifestyle out for a few months before making any long term decisions but, that's my idea. Carol's not diggin' my idea though...she isn't willing to not have a house of our own that doesn't have wheels under it. The idea that the location of "home" may be written in pencil is just not something she is prepared to do. (I figure I have about 5-6 more years to work on this plan to win her over...  I estimate my odds are 70/30 AGAINST)

As I have gotten older my longing for "home" has not diminished. It, in fact, has become more acute. But I now realize that my longing for home has everything to do with "who" and a lot less to do with "where." For me the who is Carol. Where she is is home to me. But there is another "who" that I long to be with. As beautiful a home as God has created for us here on earth, this is not "home" to me. There is a groaning I experience. Mark Buchanan, in his book "Things Unseen" attempts to describe it. He says that "groaning is holy speech." He says that "groaning is homesickness."

He recalls Emerson's words "[w]hen God wants to carry a point with his children, He plants His argument into the instincts."

Buchanan further writes:

"You want to go home. The instinct for heaven is just that: "homesickness, ancient as night, urgent as daybreak. All your longings--for the place you grew up, for the taste of raspberry tarts that your mother once pulled hot from the oven, for that bend in the river where your father took you fishing as a child, where the water was dark and swirling and the caddis flies hovered in the deep shade-- all these longings are a homesickness, a wanting in full what all these things only hint at, only prick you with. These are the things seen that conjure up in our emotions the Things Unseen. 'He has set eternity in the hearts of men' the writer of Ecclesiastes said; 'yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end' (3:11). Groaning is the lexicon and grammar of our dis-location, our sense of being in the wrong place. It is our mother tongue, the speech we fall back on when we can't recall the words to speak in earthly language, that foreign tongue we're trying to learn to speak fluently but keep garbling."

So, where's home? We were designed by our Creator to be in relationship. Where we go to experience and nurture those relationships...that's home. In the meantime, I groan.

Things Unseen by Mark Buchanan- Multnomah Publishers Copyright 2002 by Mark Buchanan

I am woman!

Helen Reddy's 1971 classic song by the same title was embraced as a song of solidarity for women's rights and the feminist movement. "I am woman hear me roar in numbers too big to ignore. And I know too much to go back an' pretend..." I am never surprised by the issues that make it into the presidential election rhetoric. We have heard about contraception, gas prices, wealth, taxes, unemployment, the economy, citizenship, immigration, GSA spending, and a host of other topics.

Now the discussion is centered on the "war on women." I don't know which party is actually waging this war but it doesn't seem to be limited to the opposite sex waging the war (as you would expect.) Seems as though some women have issues with other women's "woman-ness."

For centuries, women were dominated by men. Religions allowed or even required it; cultures embraced and practiced it; and, even in modern times, we see evidence of inequality between men and women practiced and condoned. Laws have been passed in the US disallowing gender discrimination but, the dirty little reality is that it still exits today. While I would love to delve into this aspect of the conversation, this isn't what I want to discuss in this post. Maybe next time.

Hilary Rosen, lobbyist, Democrat strategist and pundit, made a comment about Ann Romney, the wife of the likely Republican candidate that has stirred up the conversation concerning women. Mitt Romney stated that he sought his wife's counsel on economic issues. Ms. Rosen took issue with this by saying, "Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day of her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why do we worry about their future."

Ms. Rosen eventually apologized for her poor choice of words and the seeming attack on Ann Romney who is generally perceived as a non-controversial figure. The talking heads on both sides of the political and ideological spectrum have chimed in on the issue. So, I might as well join in.

Rosen may have had a legitimate argument that Mitt's wife may not really know what it is like to be in the economic shoes of most American women simply because the Romneys are very wealthy (I don't believe the Romneys have always lived the opulent lifestyle, however, the memories of Ramen Noodles for supper are probably a distant memory.) But that's not the point from which she qualified her remarks. She said that Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life. Wow. One should be skeptical when you hear people use words like all, never, always, everyone, etc. because these absolute words are often used in an inaccurate, adolescent fashion. "Mom, you never let me go anywhere!" Of course we expect more from people like Hilary Rosen...she is, after all, a professional.

Is there a perception by some women that a woman who has not pursued a professional career is somehow a lesser woman? Are people simply being patronizing when they say that they applaud stay-at-home wives or moms? What about some other possible qualifiers. Do "real women" need to eventually marry? Can you be a "real woman" if you never have children? We know that these stereotypes also exist.

In my view, the crux of Hilary Rosen's remarks were that a woman must have a career in order to be qualified to participate in "serious" conversations. Oh sure, non-career woman can discuss their favorite brand of vacuum cleaner, best spray starch and  most effective laundry detergent but don't you dare have anything to say about the federal deficit or the problem with mortgage backed securities. Sure, you stay-at-home moms can discuss poopy diapers, the best remedy for colic and sibling rivalry but you should just butt out of the adult discussions about world politics and national security. Unfortunately, feminine elitism is alive and well.

I'm a guy so, it is obvious that I am not really qualified to say what it takes to be a woman. But, I have been surrounded by many remarkable women my entire life. My grandmother was a nursing home owner and was like a mother to me, my sister is an executive with an insurance company, my daughter is a certified schoolteacher, my wife Carol was a self-employed master barber before she became a 20+ year stay-at-home Mom who also home schooled both our children and is now a media clerk at a middle school. Carol's value and standing as a competent, smart woman was not and is not determined by her marital status, her occupation or her childbearing. Being married to me simply gave her the additional titles of "wife and partner." Having Jessica and Michael added "Mama" to her titles. But, she is 100% woman with no further accreditation required by either you or me because that's what God made her to be. And she has every bit as much right to engage in any discussion she feels competent to participate in.

ATTENTION: Turn signals do not lower your MPG

If you have filled your car up with gasoline lately, you have probably experienced sticker shock. Gasoline prices are near or, in some states, over $4.00 per gallon. My truck holds 22 gallons of gas. Do the math. The first new car I ever bought ( that came with a payment coupon book) was a 1974 aqua blue Chevrolet Camaro. My monthly payments were $134 a month. I now spend more in gas for my truck each month than what I used to pay to buy an entire car.

People are concerned with their fuel mileage. Some have traded in their older vehicles for newer models or hybrids or electric cars to lower their fuel costs.

Apparently, some drivers think they can conserve fuel by not using some of the comfort features of their cars. We all know that using your air conditioner puts added strain on the engine, thereby using more fuel. Now, I'm no electrical or mechanical engineer but I am pretty certain that not using you radio won't do much to help your car's fuel efficiency. Based on the extremely loud thumping sounds I hear from some vehicles with very tall, shiny rims, most folks continue to "turn it up."

But, did anyone advise people to not use their turn signals?

What the heck is up with people and turn signals? I know that it is incredibly inconvenient to use them. I mean, you have to lean across the seat, open the glove box and push a button to activate them. Oh wait, that's not right...the turn signal lever is on the steering column 1.786 inches from your hand. Gee, what an effort that requires.

Many drivers today have no common courtesy (or common sense.) Georgia law requires that you turn on your headlights when it is raining. The law also requires that you use your turn signals when you turn or change lanes. I think the reason that many drivers ignore these two mandates is because headlights when raining and turn signals don't actually benefit them...it is for the benefit of other drivers. And really, who gives a rat's chapeau about other drivers anymore?

Have you ever been at a stop sign trying to make a right hand turn and had to wait for the traffic coming from your left to pass so that you could make your move? Of course you have. But there is always that car approaching from your left that is moving fast enough that you believe that it is going straight so you wait. And then the car (with no turn signal on) turns right onto your street. Had you known, you could have already turned. But you didn't and now there are more cars coming and you still can't turn. Maybe they didn't put turn signals on that particular model of car. Sure.

I asked someone one time why they didn't use their turn signals (I still call them blinkers)...told me they were saving gas by using less electricity. You know, there should be some intelligence testing element to the driving test.

Hey, if you are going to turn your vehicle, how about letting us know about it...and not just 2 yards before you actually do it? Also, don't ride around with your turn signals on if you are NOT turning. That's even worse.

Thank you. I feel better