Another Great Beach Time

In mid-May, Brenda and I got just over 11 days at Panama City Beach. This is our most consistent beach destination, having gone to Ft. Morgan, Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach over the last several years.

There are some real positives in returning to the same locale over and over. It’s comfortable, we know our way around. We went to many of the usual restaurant, but also a new one. Yes, we got to have our first, and hopefully not last, hamburger from Culver’s. Try it.

We had lots of seafood—well really lots of fish. But the key thing was time with friends. We got to spend a good bit of time w Jimmy and Burt, who along with us stayed 3.5 days after the others had left. But it was also good to spend time with David, Robert, Don, Alicia, Alan, Jeff, Richard, Lori, Estelline, Tessa, Stephanie, Elizabeth, Layla, Dawn, Melissa, Pam, and Bruce.

We both got some sun, though we had several cloudy days and some rain. I ran well until the next to last day when I aggravated my plantar facia. I thin walking so much in the sand, with no support irritated my right foot.

I did finish the book we will use in our Christian Faculty group on the fall, Hollywood Worldviews. It is a very good book, especially for movie aficionados. We visited Sunnyside First Baptist Church Sunday AM and enjoyed that. We made our rounds to the local thrift stores and bought Don two bottles of Tupelo honey.

Now it’s back to work!

Patience

 I am NOT a man of patience. As I have written before, I am a highly-scheduled, ever-busy, achievement-oriented guy. I do not like to waste time. I am impatient.

So, a few weeks back when my friend Bob had a hickory chopped down, I told him I would get the wood out quickly. The original plan was to cut it up, which I did, and load the pieces into my truck. We discovered that many of the pieces were far too heavy to load whole--we needed to split them. I had some wood already at home that needed splitting anyway. I'd borrow the splitter from Steve and get 'er done.

The splitter wasn't available and in the meantime I had a large menacing Bradford pear cut down that I was afraid would split and hit my house. I tried to start my saw to cut up the pear--to no avail.

So I took my saw to Steve, who not only loaned me the splitter but works on my lawnmowers and chainsaws. But Steve was tied up with family responsibilities and with his day-job.

So I wait. Last week I volunteered twice to help run the log-splitter for my friend, but to no avail. so the tree sits and Bob's and in my back yard. When will we get to the cutting and splitting?  Who knows? And I wait.

And I wait.

And I wait.

And I am learning patience. Perhaps that's what G^d intended after all.

James 1 says, "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

So, I count it all joy, as I wait.

Idolatry

 When I think of the word "idolatry" immediately images of stone, gold, silver, and bronze. I think of olden times and poor uneducated people.  But those images are in error.

Idolatry theses days, and for me lies in success, status, fame, money, and power. It is easy to lapse into worship of these idols, because such worship is so often encouraged by our culture and society. Of course we would never worship these, but we might devote hours and hours to pursue them. We would never worship them, but they may occupy our thinking for most of the time. We wouldn't seek any of these with all our hearts...well maybe some of our heart.

Yes, again it's time of confession. I do, on occasion, slip up and worship success. And success=status, to varying extents. And everybody needs a little money, and a little power. Yes, I am guilty of idolatry--violation of the first commandment. 

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

Notice that "...all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...".  

What you reckon that "all" means?

USA Privilege

 The word "privilege" has been coopted by the complainers in the USA to be always negative. I have enjoyed much privilege throughout my life and much of it comes from being wise enough to be born in the USA, as that song by Bruce Springsteen says it.

One of my privileges is to travel the world. What I have observed in many countries, is a desire to be in the USA. Even some folks who are outwardly hostile to the US would immigrate in a heartbeat, though they won't admit it.

Someone several years back said, "You can observe the quality of a country by how many people want in versus how many want out." There is a lot of truth there.

I find it odd that many of the most vocal critics of the USA choose NOT to emigrate.  Even some who promised to leave if some certain thing didn't happen politically are still here--much to my chagrin.

What is USA Privilege? It is the freedom to come and go. It is the opportunity to go to school, to learn a trade or get (not earn) a degree. It is the freedom to create a business (e.g. Microsoft), to escape caste and history. It is the opportunity to worship freely, speak freely, and protest freely. And, it is the opportunity to leave.

Is everybody the same in the USA?  No, we are a melting pot, a conglomeration of peoples from around the world. We do not all have the exact same opportunities--I will never play in the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, or do lots of other things. I am smarter than some, but less talented than others. But I do get the chance to fail, I do get the chance to explore, I do get to enjoy the fruits of others' labors.

The USA has plenty of problems, but so does every country. Those of us who live here ought to recognize our privilege and make the most of it--not apologize for it.

And, for those who desire to move elsewhere, the late Lewis Grizzard, columnist for the Atlanta Journal quoted, "Delta is ready when you are!"

Roe v. Wade

 Wow, things they are achangin'. Apparently the Supremes are poised to overturn Roe v. Wade which has, to some extent, enabled the killing of 60 million babies (not feti) since 1973. And a lot of folks are NOT going to be happy that these lives will be changed.

"But a woman has the right to control her own body doesn't she?"

Yes, up to the point wherein another life is at stake--her unborn child.

"Yes, but how about that young gal who is impregnated by rape?"

I will concede that abortion assuming that rape charges have been filed in court. I think one of the early mistakes of us anti-abortion folks was demanding NO abortions regardless of circumstances. Our obstinance has resulted in the loss of millions of babies, since rape contributes only a tiny fraction of the abortions.

Clearly leaving this to the states will not end all late-term abortions, but will certainly reduce the number.

I truly feel sorrow for women who have abortions at any stage for any reason. It would seem that the guilt many women would feel would follow them as long as they lived. I can imagine the second-guessing that could ensue.

I do have compassion for women who are pregnant with unwanted children. That is a sad state of affairs. but, I feel even more compassion for those little girls in utero who never will get the chance to experience life.

I understand that there are many women who cannot even discuss this rationally. That is no surprise. But regardless, I rejoice at the many children who will get the chance at life, even in tough circumstances, because of this new ruling.

May G^d have mercy on us all.

Some STEM Advantages

 After thinking about higher education for a long time, I am ready to conclude that STEM majors are really the key ones to pursue. And it is not only about jobs, it's about worldview.

In STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) courses, we must deal with reality, and not with the lofty world of "ideas". Not to say that STEM folks don't have ideas, and plenty of them, rather it's whether you spend most all your time just in that world of ideas.

In STEM subjects things have to work. The postmodern worldview doesn't work if there is no truth in statics and dynamics, in strength of materials, in statistics and accounting and life sciences. We can't talk about what "should be" or what is "just" or what is "fair". We must talk about what the data show, and what this means to our tested hypothesis.

I am sure we need the arts, and language and history and geography. I encourage you to read books on these topics, visit museums, enjoy music and other art. Likewise, students I encourage you to major in STEM topics. Your personal philosophy will be better for it.

Learning from a Baby Bird

 I recently watched a survival show wherein the two contestants found a baby bird. After two days of attempting to feed and nurture the little bird the baby died and they survivalists ate it. The response to their act has been mostly negative. People care about baby birds very much, apparently.

I have NO way of knowing for sure, but I would bet that many of the baby bird defenders are perfectly happy if a baby person is killed in utero. Now before you object to the comparison, I do recognize differences between oviparous and viviparous birthing. I also recognize the difference between baby birds and baby people.

That said, I do support abortion IF the mother's life is highly threatened by birthing the baby. And, before you go crazy on me, I have given money to support adoption and do support caring for mothers and children after birth as well as before. And I support my beliefs with money, not just talk.

How do you feel about keeping baby birds alive and keeping baby humans alive? It's not the same.

Life Review: Teaching at U of AL

 I have written before about how much I loved my job at U of AL. Yesterday I was chatting with a young school teacher and we were talking about teaching. I told him that I was surprised at how much I had truly loved the students I taught--even the undergrads. One of the best things about Univ. teaching is, no matter how badly you screwed up, the next term you get a whole bunch of new undergrad students and you get to start anew. Your reputation may precede you, or it may not, but every term is a new attempt.

Undergrad students I typically taught only once, on a rare occasion I taught them twice. I once had a student, with whom I am still friends, who failed my class--then took it the next term. The grad students I typically had for two or three or even more classes.

Also I loved the rhythm of teaching. You start, have a mid-term and then low and behold, the term ends. Most jobs, as I have noted previously, are just one long non-ending stream. Academics, at all levels, starts and stops. We begin and from that moment, we know there will be an end. Got a bad student/teacher, this too shall pass.

I loved my job and all my students. I loved the extreme challenge of trying to learn to be an effective teacher. The guy yesterday who had heard me teach in church noted that I used atypical pronunciations for some words. I was happy he recalled that, as I think that is a useful way to help people recall things. 

I miss teaching, but count myself Blessed to have made that my profession. I truly believe i was called by G^d to this task, and I believe He created me for it. It brought me great joy, and the memories still give me joy.

Thanks be to G^d.