Memorial Day - 2015

Well now, my problems with my computer seem to have been addressed and I am ready to continue. It is a problem with those of us who never had instructions in the first place and have no children at home to keep us abreast of the changes that seem to be happening constantly, while we remain asleep at the switch.

I have nothing in mind to say, except that it might be time to tell you of the events in my life over the past few months.  Had no idea that a change was due, but it happened - "in spades" as I used to say.

Starting where it all started, living with my grandparents, church was never an option.  I was "in church" for virtually all of my first seventeen years.  Not that I learned anything other that a few of he old songs and... well yes, I did enjoy reciting, standing in front of the church and reciting the monologues that seemed to go well with the congregation.  At 85+ years of age, I still do although the monologues have long since passed away, to be replaced by heart felt testimonies.

When I joined the Air Force - technically Army Air Corps in those days, I continued the "habit" on Sundays more often than not.  Not that I can recall any certain spiritual experiences.  When I returned to the States, after four years in the Far East, I would learn that wearing a uniform to civilian churches was a certain "chick magnet" and it beat hanging out in bars, competing with the much better paid civilians.

Leaving the Air Force to enter college, I soon discovered that the Georgia Tech student body seemed to spend their Sunday mornings at the First Methodist church in downtown Atlanta and I joined in.  I discovered a love for Church music from the Sunday evening; I even remember Harry Armstrong as the leader of the song sessions.  I remember the name of the Pastor as well, but I really do not care to mention it as I still recall listening to his counsel in personal conversations I had with him.  It was. however, an important past of my past as I wound up married to my first wife who I had met in a adult Sunday School class.  We tried to stay connected, but as time wore on, my interest waned and eventually, we had stopped attending church and then, there was the separation, leading to a divorce.

Leaving Georgia and  heading for California, I almost forgot about God and church.  I got much more involved in the bar scene and was - more often than not, too "hung over" to get up and go to church.

Noticing, however, that my new life style was leading nowhere, I decided I might be better off if I started back to church and - I discovered another wife.  This time I was more serious about church and I began to listen more often to the sermons and the lives of our friends.  Based on my own standards, I thought I was doing well.  I knew as much about the Bible as my friends, but the fact was I could not seem to get involved in reading it, much less studying it.  And the more I was convinced that I was finally getting "ahead" in life, the further I moved away from God and involvement with church.  When my life seemed to swirling into yet another marital crisis, I tried to enlist the wisdom of friends and the Elders in the church I was attending and got lost in what seemed - to me, their convoluted logic.  Then, I began to realize how terribly lost I was and seriously sought help.

Those of you who know me better, know that I would experience a dramatic encounter with God on my journey to find help with my life.  I left my "old" life behind and started in on a truly new life that would erase most of the old thoughts on what life should mean to His creation.  I was amazed by the fact I suddenly seemed to have an interest in the Bible and spent hours, not just reading it, but studying it as well.  I was living in the YMCA across the street from the public library and I found an interest in a study of religion as it agreed with everyday living, but always, challenging us to draw closer to God so as to "improve" our lives.  It began to take hold in my own.

I paid much more attention to the sermons I was hearing - three times a week, and how they were affecting my life and the lives of my new friends.  I found a real disparity.  I thought perhaps God was leading me to serve Him as an ordained Pastor or other "official" functions in the church.  And then I realized the Church was not at all interested in people who had been divorced as I had been, twice.  It made me wonder, but the fact is, such attitudes merely strengthened my resolve to continue walking with the God I knew had, as a matter of fact, rescued me from the pits I had dug in the preceding years.

Such revelation was almost forty years ago.  In the meantime, I concentrated on what I was continuing to learn from the Bible and from the events of the day and what a fascinating experience it has been.  Eventually, moving to Tennessee, I experienced a series of miracles in my life.  When I arrived in Nashville, on the very first day, I found a "job" in the local Rescue Mission - a job I had been seeking - in vain, in Orlando where I had lived for the previous several years.  A month later, I received a phone call from my (only) sister, telling me that she was in the area and would like to see me for a visit.  We had not even talked in some twenty-five years.  She knew where I was because of the faithfulness of an uncle.  Then, I realized she and our mother had also moved to the Nashville area within days of my arrival.  We would restore our relationship that continues to this hour, one that had hardly existed the years before our renewal.  Eventually, after our mother had passed away, we would live together until she moved back to California, but we are still in constant contact with one 

another.

I found another wife and moved to Cookeville, TN, where we lived in love for almost seven years until she suddenly passed away and I was left - alone, in a city I hardly knew.

But as if to prove His power in the life of an individual, He began a move that still thrills me to this very hour.  First, He "connected" me with a Pastor friend I hardly knew and introduced me to another friend who has since that day, played an extremely important part of my life.  The Pastor would introduce me to a church that I claim to this day, "loved me back to life" from the funk that seemed to overwhelm me after my wife's passing.

And then, an even greater manifestation of the His miracle working powers would occur, to be the subject of the blog to follow.  Stay tuned

International Happiness Day is a good day, to.....

I spent a lot of my yesterday wondering what to say today and unfortunately, just realized I should have spent some time observing the giant goof I made in not taking a second look at my previous title.  See, I can spell International, I already have, twice today.  So let's see what I learned yesterday.

I get inputs into my life - and a lot of pure junk, from my faithful computer.  I have gone out of my way to make friends with people who obviously love to write as I do and they are a daily blessing to me, but this morning I got more than I was prepared to receive.  Typical of my life these days.  So after reading the article that was forwarded by the good folks at Entrepreneur magazine, I decided this was a good place to start,  Steve Tobak was the contributor and I have no idea of who he is, but I am indebted to him for his thoughts on - "10 Behaviors of Genuine People."  I could spend days writing about just those three words - behavior, genuine and people.

Most of you who know me best probably believe that I have spend most of my days trying to be genuine, after years of being less than.  But what was is no longer.  What has been is in the past.

I have often referred to my past by starting with to the fact I was not born into a genuine family.  I was blessed to have been sent to live with the most genuine folks I have ever know in all of my many years, but that did not ease the pain of a reality that they did not understand.  I was a child to be loved and they went out of their way to love me as they had with their own four children.  So, I did what would become a pattern for my life for far too many years, I ran away.  And I became good at that.

Being genuine was a quality that escaped me for a long, long time.  For example, Steve's first thought on folks being genuine escaped me for decades.  "They don't seek attention."  So, what did I do? I joined the Air Force and learned that if you do not seek attention, no one will ever notice you.  It took me a couple of years to learn this fact of life in the military, but I learned it well and was amply rewarded - I thought.  When I came  home to be with my family, I can not recall anyone with any interest in my experiences, even though I had spent four years in the Far East and I ached to tell others of the wonderful world I had discovered, just beyond our shores.  Steve is right, I was developing an ego that needed constant reinforcement.  I had yet to learn that genuine people are filled with self-confidence - AND, self-awareness.  I was as he suggests, "wasting my brain".

"They are not concerned with being liked."  I was overwhelmed with the idea that being "liked" could be proven as an ability to overwhelm others, especially the opposite sex.  Having girlfriends became my idea of success at my age.  Then, I met a truly genuine girl who had the kindest way of showing me how much I had to learn.  I was stationed on the Gulf Shores and she came back from a visit to tell me how much she loved me.  I was overwhelmed.  She took an apartment on the beach and spent her days, waiting for me to get back to her.  One day I was delayed because an important person had arrived from the Pentagon and was there to examine a proposal my group had sent to his office.  I was four hours late in getting to the beach and when I asked her apartment manager where she might be, I was told they had taken her to the hospital in Pensacola.  They had discovered her unconscious on her blanket after taking in those deadly rays.  They were that day.  She was DOA when she arrived at the hospital.  "Being liked" was no longer possible.  I hated myself and took on a attitude that others should share in my assessment.  Narcissism was not my problem, self-hatred took hold of my life and thoughts of relationships went out of the window,

"They can tell when others are full of it".  I was not just naive, I was living in a world of my own - where only fools dared to tread.  My last assignment in the USAF was under a Colonel who I had come to love when we were stationed together in Japan.  Six months later, I detested almost everything I knew about him and the die was cast, I had better move on.  I had discovered that I was the one who was full of it.

I was definitely not "comfortable in my own skin" as Steve offered as the next attribute of genuine people and it was't going to get any better.  I headed for Georgia and college in Atlanta where my mother lived and little I did realize at the time, the attitudes I held about her love for her son rose anew.  I began to realize I was not "comfortable in my own skin" and did not consider that I was my problem.  I had served seven years in the military and I knew it was my "duty" to move on, plow ahead, always assuming I was in charge of my own life, all others, take notice.  Steve quotes Thoreau's famous dictum, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."  The first time I read that came as I was preparing for a college exam and there were tears in my eyes.

I graduated from college with high honors, had been married along the way - as a way of getting away from my mother and her boyfriend, and it seemed that I had recovered from my past.  The only problem was that I was violating Steve's next thought about genuine people.  "They do what they say and say what they mean".  I don't even know whether others were onto me, but I was doing just the opposite.  I was doing what was best for me and meaning was not a factor in my life.  Commitments?

That was for others to believe and for me to ignore.

Well, I am about halfway through an excellent article that I wished others would take to heart as I am committed to do.  There's that word!  OK, I have given you no reason to read on, but please do.  I have a miracle to share with you, tomorrow.  I promise, the "real" me promises!

God's family tree

I have to believe, most of those who read these blogs know that I am a Christian,  You may not know, however, that I have moved my position somewhat.  I have joined the Mormon church, more accurately, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints.

I say that to say this, if you want to discuss my reasons for the move, I would love to hear what you have to ask - or state, as some have emphatically expressed their thoughts, on my decision.  We can talk - openly or if you prefer That is why I am posting my personal phone number - 1-931-528-7238.

All of that to say this, I received a blog from another friend, discussing - God's family tree and I will offer portions of what he had too say and probably, offer thoughts of my own.

The reason for my interest came about regarding the the Atonement, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It made me go back to the years when I was accumulating evidence for my belief that I really did not have a family tree.  As I suggested to a Pastor a few years ago, I thought I was more like a "twig" on a God forsaken, bramble bush.  "Touch me and you may get hurt,"  Along the way - for nearly 45 years, I hurt lots of people..

Pastor Burden, my recently acquired new friend, started his blog with this thought.  "God likes trees"   That caught my attention, immediately.  Most do not know but I was recently widowed and left "alone" in a city I hardly knew.  I had moved to this city a few years ago to marry her, but - as I would discover, she had "willed" her house to other relatives and I found myself - on the street.  Not only that, I was disenfranchised from most of my in-laws..

Searching for new home, I found an apartment - off the beaten path, two bedrooms, so I had a place for my rather extensive library and a place to write.  It was perfect, two windows facing Eastward, sort of, so I had the brilliance of the rising sun and the memories one can find in a sunset.  Immediately, in between, as I looked out, was a huge tree.

And this morning, as I look out, it fills my view.  Its leaves are soaked from yesterday's rains and now, the wing is causing them to dance.  What a sight!  To the left, I can barely see the tops of another tree in the yard, but its leaves are still.

Pardon my imagination, but it appears as though "my" tree is dancing for me!  Well, you don't have to believe that, but I have to believe you might be missing a grand lesson that God has prepared for all of us - if only, we would pause - as some say, to smell the flowers. In my opinion, they are more important to us than those who are merely passing by.

At my age, I have to consider the possibility that this place where I live today may become the last "home" away from the home to which I will be headed.

So, my task, is to fill it to overflowing with memories.  I realize that for most of my life, my places of residency,. as some suggest they are called, were little more than hotel or motel rooms.  Here today, gone tomorrow with hardly a thought as to their contribution to my life. Reminds me of my service years.  Almost seven years were spent in an assigned "cot", more often than not, sharing space with others, hundreds and hundreds of faces that have been long since been forgotten..

Therefore, I vow to fill this place with memories of love, good times shared with good people.  Enter as a neighbor or a passer-by and leave as a friend.

And when the others are gone, "my" tree remains, still dancing for me this morning.

So, my prayer today for you is that you will discover that place in your life that prompts you to learn or to recall the fact, you did not arrive in this world, merely to take up space. God had His reasons.  It took me almost forty five years to come to that conclusion and then, more years to prove to myself, He really does care are me - and for you!

In my case, He planted a seed, years ago, knowing that someone like me might stop long enough to admire His masterpiece part and become, part of His family tree.

Yet another, great day in Tennessee

So, here I am.  Fresh and alert.  Well, fresh anyway.  Up at 7AM and an inner urge to get back to the "work" I started yesterday.  First, the news.  Terrible train wreck, many dead.  Fodder for the news outlets, that they can be talking about it for days - at least, until another calamity.

Have you realized yet, they - those voices on the radio and on TV, may own your life, directing your thoughts away from the thoughts that God would have offered if you had been listening.  Oh yes, I am not talking to you.  I am talking to myself.  How easy it is - to lecture, when you have so much to say.

I am not, however, here to lecture.  Relax.  I want to share with you, some of the "life" I have been led to follow in the forty years I mentioned yesterday.

A reminder came yesterday as I was enjoying a picnic lunch with two of my closest spiritual advisers. The purpose of the lunch was so that they could share a lesson from the scriptures with me and it was about - Words of Wisdom.  Fascinating.  We began to concentrate on the Ten Commandments and they were about to learn, it has been a long time since I had attempted to memorize them, ver batim, word by word.  A few years ago, I developed a new theory on how to "memorize" them and it goes like this.

The first one is all about God (Exodus 20:2-5) and it is summarized in Deuteronomy 10:12.  "What does God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Also, see Micah 6:8

The second through the ninth commandments (Exodus 20:6-16) all have to do with our actions: - love others, do not offer curses, observe the Sabbath, honor your parents, do not commit murder, nor adultery, nor steal, nor lie.  Many of these are also taught by parents who have little or nothing to do with church as we commonly know it to be.

Now comes the greatest stumbling block in the Bible (Exodus 20:17) "You shall not covet what belongs to others, their relationships, or anything else" - my paraphrase.  Covet means to desire the properties of others.  Reality has to include even the accomplishments of others.  We live in a world where "more" is the common denominator.  You cannot escape it.  It is everywhere.  There is nothing wrong with it, except that we are always going to be tempted to take a short cut, here and there, even if it just ignoring for a moment or two, violating a traffic law.

Back to the DNA, briefly discussed yesterday.  Have you ever realized that God had a purpose for you that came into being when He blessed the union between your parents?  The Bible makes it clear when Jesus relates to us as the sheep in a pasture.  Sheep may be docile to some, but they are also guilty of wanting what they want, when they want it.  Look closely at your mirror.  Before God, that was me and I believe it was you as well.  Listen to the voices all around you.  Listen even more closely to the commercial advertisements that abound in our society.

The DNA proves that you and I are not like the others, basically.  Of course, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" but that is no excuse for our abhorrent behavior.  We are loved. There can be no greater motivating factor than that fact.

Unless of course, you don't believe in God,

How sad!  All you have to is listen.  The voice from within and from without.  Observe the tree for example.  Why is it there?   Many see some of them as a source of food.   Mankind also uses the leaves, the bark, even the roots and the lumber for construction purposes.  I love them for a much more practical reason; they provide shade in the summer and the promise that summer is on its way. And I well remember being out on a desert where there are no trees and I longed to have just one to get out of the blazing sun.

A greater truth is this, long before we were conceived, there were trees and all sorts of foliage from of a billion or more other plants, designed to sustain our lives,

All of that because the Creator saw the need to sustain the lives of His greatest creation, you and I.

I could spend hours, in fact days, perhaps months, describing all that I have seen and learned more about in my eighty-five plus years and you and I would be together for longer than I probably have the breath left to describe them.

All you have to do is accept the love that God longs to shower upon you and act accordingly..

The neat thing, I find, are those who came before you and I were even thought of and so God, knowing we were on our way, entered the heart and mind of Joseph Smith to create a trust in Him and ask him to interpret some writings that had been waiting for such a person..  The rest is history and is found in the Book of Mormon.  A book that I have examined closely, from cover to cover and know that what I have read is true.  Others may say that it is not true, but there are more who would even claim that the book we call the Holy Bible is not factual.  So that you know, the Bible and the Book of Mormon are in accord with the greatest truth mankind has ever been confronted with and that is there is a Creator and to prove His love for all of us, He sent his only begotten Son to pay the price for the sins that might otherwise dominate our lives

I have heard the voice of the critic again and again in the past forty years - after leaving the "world" behind and placing my trust in Jesus Christ, and they will be around long after my grandchildren have grandchildren.  My very life is more than enough proof that He lives in reality and longs that you will join us.

Eternity is a long, long time and to waste away one's life, not believing what has proven to be true, is a lot like placing yourself in prison where few will acknowledge you and even fewer will care about your tomorrow.

It has been said before, I will say it again, the best time to make a right decision is when the facts have become obvious to you.

Great day in Tennessee

Absolutely, a gorgeous day.  Temperature in the low 80's, beautiful breeze, great day for a picnic, so I joined a couple of lovely ladies for one in a nearby park.

When a guy gets to be in his late 80's, as I have, and now widowed, no car as I wrecked mine a few weeks ago,  he has lots of time to write.  The more I write, the more I am eager to do so.

And since tomorrow will be the 40th anniversary of that date when I - finally,  got my life on track, I thought I might share a bit with you.

It was the day after Mother's Day (1975) and I was on a bus headed for Tulsa, OK.  You really do not need all of the gory details, but I was hurting and hopefully, heading for a healing.  I had come from San Diego, CA, where my wife and the mother of our children was in prison, probably to spend the next twenty years - or so I thought at the time.  The man I was going to see, I thought, was a well known Pastor whose specialty seemed to be, healing the hurting.  And I was hurting!

But I was nervous, wondering how he - so very knowledgeable about the Bible, might address my problems as I was far from being knowledgeable about the scriptures, even though I had been going to church for the greater part of my - soon to be, 45 years of age.  I decided to open my Bible, but where to start?  Certainly not Genesis 1:1.  I knew that one by heart, testimony to the fact I had often tried and more often, failed to read the Bible as others thought I should.

I decided to start where Jesus started in His earthly mission, Matthew 4:17.  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Repent.  Repent?  I had no idea what that meant and after awhile, I thought I might ask God.  He had occasionally answered the prayers I had learned in Sunday School.  And so, I did.  I was almost asleep when I began to realize, my mind had gone back to those years when I came to hate my beginning in life.  My parents were newlyweds and he wanted a daughter.  I assumed he did not want me.  Then, my sister came along, but I had the measles, so they sent me to live with my grandparents on the farm.  It was 1932, things were not good for so many people and apparently it was true for my parents.  Anyway, from that day forward, it was as if I had been abandoned, even though I was much loved by my grandparents where I would spend most of my youth.  At 17, I literally ran away and joined the Army Air Corps.  The more I thought about my fate in life, my father had died and left me and I thought that was also true of my mother.  The fact was, I had begun to sow bad seeds and was now reaping an unhealthy harvest.

There on that bus, with my life whirling about in my head, I realized I had reason to repent and so, I did.  Tears streaming out my eyes, I begged God for another chance.  He gave me Jesus.

That is the shorter story.  It was about to end as when I stepped off of that bus in Tulsa, and vowed that I would never go back to living the kind of life I had embraced, hating others, fearful of my own future.  With God's help and the teaching offered by His Son, my Lord, Jesus Christ, I have kept that promise.  It has been a long journey, but day by day, often hour by hour, i have faced the future and forgotten the past, expecting the best and it has been showered upon me.

Oh wait, don't think it has been easy.  I had to learn a lot of things, starting with the fact that I was loved from the moment of my birth to this very moment.  And, since I was the recipient of love, I was obligated to extend it to everyone I would meet.  That took a lot of learning.  Even my contemporaries, the folks I would meet along the way as well as many of my "brothers" in the church, did not seem to agree with me.  I tried to get them not to debate with me, but to "hear" what our Lord had to say on the subject and even that did not work every time,  At least, I had sown some new seeds that if, well cultivated, could lead to eternal life

Along the way, the church I was attending decided that what we needed was the power that was to come from the baptism in the Holy Spirit made evident by the ability to "speak in tongues". They started having classes to teach how this was to be accomplished and to many, there was success. Not for me.  Try as I may, there were no "utterances" coming from my throat. Then, I ran into trouble with a couple of my Sunday School classmates and we met to talk about the problem I had apparently created.  I was hurt and as they talked back and forth, I chose to pray.  To my complete amazement and theirs, I offered my opinion in a "tongue", a language none of us understood and they believed that God had stepped in between us.  That was alright with me as I certainly did not want to hurt my friends.

What had happened sent me to my Bible to see, if what I had been hearing in those classes were scriptural or merely, the opinion of men.  Looking back, I was now beginning to grow.  My Bible study was beginning to become part of my daily routine.

It should have been - from the onset of my new life in Christ, but I was about to discover one of the fallacies of the churches I had been attending.  I had loved the fellowship, the music, the programs, the people, but as I sought counsel, I was easily dismissed and that began to trouble me.  So, I sought other churches and in one, in particular, I found a new wife.

We really did not wait for the Lord's blessing.  We were blessed by the fellowship we were enjoying and we studied together as we had come from different religious backgrounds. We really believed, "love conquers all" but we were both to learn, that depends on whose love. And then she got sick and eventually died,

That was an amazing experience for me as I was hurt, but not sad at her passing.  I began to question my own faith and pray - and pray, and pray.  Then, one day, out of the blue, after I had been praying for something, or someone, I really forget what I was trying to convey, but my prayers were answered.  It was as if God had entered the room where I was praying and I began to have thoughts in my mind that had never been there before.  It was as if He was trying to tell me I was on the wrong path in life, that in my efforts to tell others of the changes in my life since I had been "born again", I was not really paying much attention to the lives of those with whom I was making contacts.  I had begun to believe, I was responsible for their change.

I was wrong.  I cannot change anyone.  My only task was to continue loving people of course, but as I met people, I was not to try to convince them of anything; merely to reflect His grace at work in my life.  "If they are hungry, they will come,"

That was when He reminded me that in this world of 7+ billion others, each one of us has a different DNA.  We may resemble one another, but we are not alike.  The proof is in our DNA. If we are to believe that God is author of life, all life, as I do, our operating mechanism to help others discover what we have discovered are those two appendages on the sides of our heads. We are to listen and then we talk, if there are questions.  They have a right to their privacy.

Have you ever noticed, Jesus operated on that principle.  He taught that others might inquire but he sought others by listening and explaining life as it was meant to be.

It is not as many want to believe, our knowledge that is required for us to respond to others, it is our empathy, our understanding of the other person's reality.

I could spend a lot more time on this subject and you can believe, I will.  Not today.  Probably tomorrow.  I hope I will find you there, willing to listen.

It may be early, but it certainly is not too late

I know, it's early in the month of May, 1015, but the most important election in the history of our nation is not that far into the future.  Mark your calendars, October, 2016

Yes, you ought to know that I am talking about next year's Presidential election.

Turn on your TV for a dew minutes and you will see the candidates already lining up for the grand prize, the opportunity to be hated by most of our citizens.  No matter who wins, the die has been cast every since we decided to elect a black man to the White House.  They started lying almost him before he and his family had even moved to Washington.  Surely you remember the claims that he was not a legal citizen and we wasted away weeks and months, before the claims disappeared from the headlines of our manor newspapers.

And did you realize, that was only the first salvo in the hundreds to come in the war against the party in power, waged by those who were deprived of the power?  That was the game his opponents played over and over again.

Well, that war is almost over.  The new crop of "wanna be powerful" is beginning to emerge.

Now, It is time for the proverbial "all good men, and women" to come to the air of their country.  It may be our last chance.  I hope to see this coming election, but I doubt seriously if I will live to see another.  I intend to vote.  I have to ask, are you prepared to vote?

It is a two-step process; you register to vote and then you do so on election day.  It is critical that you do as it may be your last opportunity, as well.

In the last election, they tell me, less than a third of eligible voters cast their ballots.

I keep reminding forks, our Constitution starts with the premise, "We, the people,,,"  We, the people, not the rich and powerful.  When they win, we lose.  All we have to do is for anyone who cares for his or her country is to start - TODAY, preparing yourself for the battle to come.  The rich and powerful are willing to risk millions upon millions to put their friends in office.  All "We, the people..." have to do is convince ten others to vote, who will convince ten others, who will convince ten others, who will convince ten others, who will convince ten others, who will convince ten others, who will convince ten others and finally, convince ten others.  100 million Americans saying "Enough is enough, we are tired of being told what we can or can not do. Our fore-fathers envisioned a nation where freedom reigns, not bureaucracies, nor billionaires whose only real goal is to make themselves richer."

This is the answer, the only real answer.  We do not need any more fancy campaigns and meaningless slogans.  One will do -"We" vote and they lose!"

There is time to launch that effort as  our "diligent duty to God and country"

Who will we vote for?  That is not important, today.  If we have already read our history books, as we should have over the years, at the right time, the right man or woman will appear.

Make your children and your grandchildren proud, protect their future

Happy Mother's Day tribute for a grand Mother

When they talked about this Sunday being Mother's Day, I suddenly felt sorrow that my Mother was no longer with us and I bowed my head, asking God to forgive me for the attitudes i far too often had expressed about her.  It was then I heard a voice, "But you had a grand Mother!"

And the more I thought about it, that was true.  So for those of you might not understand, here is a little background.

It was 1929 and my father and mother were expecting their first daughter.  He had been married before, had two sons, and as the story goes, he yearned for a daughter.  After he was divorced, he married my mother and so I was told, he was elated at the thought of having a daughter.  Those were the days when the nation idolized young starlets and foremost among all of them, was Shirley Temple.  Their new baby was named before it was even born.

I sa it because, I was it!  I have heard that they searched for a "matching" name and someone mentioned that the name of their bank President was Sherwood Recor.  It became Sherwood.  But what about a middle name, what "rhymed" with Sherwood?  They decided on our grandmother's maiden name, - Brown.  Sherwood Brown!  Hey, it might have been Pink!

After the great Stock Market crash of 1929, life moved on as they did.  Detroit, Toledo, OH and then, Lakewood, OH, and mother was pregnant again.  This time they got my father's fondest wish, a girl, and yes, she was named Shirley, Shirley Lou.

But as the story goes, they had a problem and it was, Sherwood.  They could not bring Shirley Lou home as Sherwood, had the measles.  The solution was at hand in that mother's mother was there for the new baby and she seized the opportunity to take her first grandson home with her to the farm in Yale, Michigan.

And there Sherwood would stay, except for a brief period of time after the family moved back to Detroit and he would live there for a year or so until his father passed out on his way home from work.  Another problem and Sherwood was on his way "home" to the farm where he would live until he joined the Army Air Corps in 1946, three and a half weeks after his 17th birthday.

Life on the farm was great for a growing boy, lots of room to play with a friend, a beautiful Collie dog named, Tippy, and of course, his grandparents and their son, Blake.  I really did not miss my parents.  Father died from the results of that fall and I never got to know him.  Mother and Shiley lived in Detroit and occasionally, came to the farm for weekend visits.  Other than that, I would grow up, never really knowing my mother either, except that I thought she was beautiful and always smelled nice when she came to visit.

But that seemed to be OK, after all I had my grandparents to care for me and that turned out to be one of the greatest experiences in my lifetime - now in my 85th year, reaching out for more.

Grandpa was always Grandpa.  Wonderful man, who worked from 4:30AM every day until the sun went down, except for Sundays.  He taught me many things, not because he took the time to discuss life in general, he just personified integrity and was highly respected in the community.

Grandma was never grandma, or grand mother, or "old lady".  She was - Nan!  And she loved her first grandson.  Most of us think that was because she had lost a son, still born, a couple of years before I came along and all the love she had prepared for her second son, was showered on me.  She was my "rock" as Grandpa was usually too busy and my mother lived too far away.  I learned what it meant to love and to be loved, unconditionally.  The only time I ever remember scolding me was when I complained that my mother, really did not love me, only my sister.  She made my bed, washed my clothes and wiped away my tears when there was no one else around.  And then she cried when I decided to leave High School and join the Air Force.

I was in Japan when I received what would be a package every month or so - typically filled with the cookies she knew I loved and then, one day, the package contained two quart jars filled with chunks of venison (deer meet) and I would become best of friends with the Mess cook who helped me eat them.

One of my uncles had shot the deer she said, but later on, another box arrived with more venison, but no comment as to who had shot the deer.  It was way past the deer season. Years later, I was back in Yale for my grandmother's funeral and stopped by Evans and Knapp, the town butcher and learned she had bought the venison meat after noticing they had some on sale.

That was my grand mother, the only real Mother I would ever know and love.  I'll close with this final episode.  I was back in the States, in Illinois, and received a telegram, "Mother is dying. B.L." That was Mother telling me about Nan.  I was on my way the next morning.  Driving about 80 mph on the highway leading into Indianapolis, I was stopped by a patrol man.  "In a hurry, Sarge," was his greeting as I handed him the telegram laying on the seat beside me.  'Well, let's see if we can help you get home," and told me to follow him - at 85 mph, past Indianapolis and all the way to the Michigan border, where we were met by the Michigan police, waiting in a diner.  They had my lunch waiting for me and offered to escort me further.  As they kept talking about my mother, I had to explain that "B.L." was my mother, she was talking about my grandmother.  "OK" the patrolman answered, "no more escort, but if you have any trouble along the way, call the number on my card."

I got home OK, to hear my grandmother's voice in her bedroom.  "Is that Sherwood?" and when they said it was, she was out of bed and wrapped me in her arms, tears pouring out of her eyes.  I was home!  With my Grand mother, the only mother I wold ever really know.