Monday, April 16, 2007

So maybe not.......

Ok ....I was wrong ! I hate being wrong ! I am wrong alot though! I do have something else to say so I guess I will save my VERY VERY VERY last blog for another day ....after all tomorrow is another day right ? Or so some overwrought southern heroine would have us believe .....this is kinda heavy and serious and my next post will be about something light and fun I PROMISE

20 Hours In America.
The title is ripped off from THE WEST WING. Those who know the show ....you Get it!
This past Monday a young man in Virginia shot and killed 32 people and injured dozens more. Of course the debate will rage for months, if not years, about the why of what happened. Tuesday afternoon I watched a memorial service for the folks killed. I was both upset and angry . Upset that all of these people had to die for nothing. Nothing!! Upset that we live in a nation where the news media and the talking heads go on television and say things like " this was bound to happen" or "perhaps this boy who did the shootings is now serving his time in hell, right where he should be". Why is our nation so jaded to the point that we just naturally expect things like this to happen?? I dont get out of the bed each morning and wonder " Hmmmmmm what bad is going to happen today". FOX and CNN suck sometimes !

Clearly the guy who killed all these people had serious problems. I am a liberal democrat and I don't believe that gun control is the answer. He bought the weapons under Virginia gun laws and it was all legal. He was just someone who had problems and acted out on them in the most hurtful way possible. No excuses..... but I think that for people to now condemn him is the wrong way to go .
I watched on NBC as they interviewed this young man who's sister was killed in the school shooting at Columbine High School back in April 1999. He said that for years he was upset at God because he never had a chance to say goodbye to his sister. It ate away at him until one day he had a type of EUREKA ! moment. God wants us to choose him and to be close to his son Jesus Christ. God was waiting for this guy to turn and let him into his heart fully . Only then could his healing process start. He said he still misses his sister but he can do more today by talking about the Love of Christ than about the horrible events that took his sister away .....
I think we should adopt that type of thought....... Let the love of Jesus sooth us and make us feel better. It's hard to let things go .....to fully give them over to Christ. We fight it each and every day.....

Words during weeks like these seem like so little .......but I was so impressed by Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia at the memorial service. He said that as Christians we sometimes recall the prayers of Jesus when he said " My God , My God why have you forsaken me ?" He tells us that as Christians we are never forgotten..The entire world is watching and sending prayers and thoughts of love our way ......and while not everyone is a Christian, we can all take heart from the wonderful message of Jesus Christ and that message is Love!

I would like to close this post with the following from my favorite TV show ....THE WEST WING. I thought about this episode almost immediatly after the events of Monday.
Aaron Sorkin wrote an episode of West Wing that was meant to be a tribute to the spirit that we witnessed on and after 9/11. In that two part episode, some of the characters, who work at the White House, get lost in rural America and end up witnesses to the lives of real Americans. The sort of people that are hard-working but face problems and hardships that need to be dealt with....... Anyway, the main characters eventually realize that they’re the only ones who’ve been worried about politics and polling data, while everyone else they encountered was simply doing their best to get by. The reason they eventually make it back to DC after many hours is due to the kindness of strangers who were more than willing to help a couple of strangers.
At the end of the episode there is breaking news that pipe bombs went off at university swim meet and the explosions and resulting fire killed 44 people. Among those killed were some men and women who rushed into the fire to help people , just like the firefighters who ran into the towers on 9/11 and just like the teachers who barricaded the doors at VaTech. The episode ends with a speech delivered by Martin Sheen, who played the President on West Wing. The speech is perhaps one of the greatest pieces of writing in TV history. To me it is beautiful. But most importantly, the overall point of the speech is so true and moving.Given what happened this week I thought that this episode said alot about what is truly good in America. Our best days are ahead. The streets of heaven are indeed too crowded with angels.

Bartlet: ...restoring abundance amid an economic shortfall, securing peace in a time of global conflict, sustaining hope in this winter of anxiety and fear. More than any time in recent history, America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arive. 44 people were killed a couple of hours ago at Kennison State University. Three swimmers from the men's team were killed and two others are in critical condition, when, after having heard the explosion from their practice facility, they ran into the fire to help get people out. Ran into the fire. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight. They're our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels, but every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard. We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars. God bless their memory, God bless you and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

You could be working in the steam pipe trunk distribution venue


I love my job .....Let me say that right now before anyone says anything....Its just that we all get in a rut ...and I am in a rut. This too shall pass but right now I kinda feel like I am wondering around not getting anything done. But It could be worse .....
I also think my blog has surived for just about as long as it was supposed to survive . I really enjoy reading everyone elses blogs but I just dont seem to have enough to say to put out here anymore. I started this just about a year ago after I got back from a weekend trip to North Carolina. It was meant to be a way for me to just put some emotion on paper( or in cyberspace as it is ) and I did that and it really seemed to have helped . But now, I sometimes find myself trying to think of things to write about and its just not fun anymore . I want to read more , travel more, spend more time with my great group of LOST watching friends . Maybe you are saying ( hell does anyone even read this ) but maybe you are saying that I can do all those things and blog ....but here' s the deal I dont think I want to anymore.....It's maybe time for me to focus on other things in my life right now . A new place to live .....school........building or rebuilding relationships.....Blogging just does not seem that important to me right now .... I leave in about 8 hours for another long weekend trip to NC. I wish I could say that I am going and will be living there for good .....but its not to be right now but maybe someday soon.

In other news.....
Easter was ok but everything seemed rushed .....I miss hunting eggs !! Is that nuts or what ?

My health has been better lately .....appetite has been back to some extent but still not right ...I am glad to have lost some weight but thats just not the way to do it ....I have more doctor stuff to do next week ...so we shall see .

My buddy Mike got me a great early bday present this week ....A signed Auburn football from Tommy Tubberville!!!

If you have never listened to THIS AMERICAN LIFE on NPR then you are missing out on something special each week .....Luke and Jackie turned me on to it and WOW its really radio at its best.


Televison

LOST contiues to suprise me each and every week ....I know there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many questions left unanswered but each week the show seems to get better and better.

The best show on Television that you are not watching is FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. Go to the NBC website and catch a few episodes . Its the best writing and acting on Television.


Have a great weekend ....I am headed to the mountains !!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Happy Easter

So how have you been ? Things going good for ya ? Been pretty busy around my life lately....
But I can see that light at the end of the tunnel and guess what ...that light is Asheville North Carolina!!!!!
Here is the deal ....I have one of the best jobs in the entire world. It affords me with the chance to impact lives in some way (thats what we tell ourselves anyway). I have wonderful opprotunities to help others . My schedule is VERY flexible and If I get my work done then things are cool ......BUT........I cannot really enjoy major holidays. Easter and Christmas usually just turn out to be hectic times. The biggest times of the church year and folks who work in the church are so busy that usually the days are on us before we know it and BOOM ...it's all over!
Nick mentioned in his recent blog about how busy things are this week and I agree. But here's hoping you all have a great Holy Week.

I am giving serious thought to maybe moving to the Western North Carolina area......It"s just a great area and I so enjoy being up there ....Part of my reason for going next week is to just check things out .....I have not moved anywhere yet !!!!

I would like to suggest a really good book.....Team Of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
It tells the story of Abe Lincoln and how he brought together a fantastic team to run the country after his election in 1860. A good many folks in his cabinet were either Democrats or Republicans who ran against him and did not have a high regard for him. It's a great read!

Talk to yall soon