Three People Died - Obama Salutes ONLY The Dictator of Venezuela

The past week has seen the death of at least three prominent people in the United States.  Of course there were many more deaths than this, and I suppose "prominent" is relative.  Anyone who loses a loved one believes (and rightly so) that the loved one was prominent.  But here I am talking about those persons that are either famous in their own right, infamous in their own right, or made prominent by the circumstances of their death (unfortunately instead of their life).

One person who passed away this past week was a very renowned pianist, probably one of the best of this century, maybe one of the best of all time.  Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr., or Van Cliburn, as the world knows him, played his music for presidents and kings, even for Soviet leaders...and the Soviet people as well.  Van Cliburn developed a love for the Russian people, and they loved his music.  He was loved in America as well.  He was a recognized and accomplished pianist by the age of twenty-three, still a young man when Liberace was in his prime.  Van Cliburn was not as flamboyant as Liberace, but certainly Liberace's equal in talent.  With Van Cliburn's passing, two nations that for the past sixty years have only eyed each other with suspicion, had to pause briefly in their mutual distrust as both nations mourned their great loss.  Van Cliburn will be missed, but of course his music lives on, and will only gain in appreciation with the passage of time.  Many "powerful" and "prominent" people attended Van Cliburn's funeral, with the keynote speaker being George W. Bush.

Another person who passed away last week was of the "infamous" variety, at least from my perspective, and that of many freedom lovers around the world, Hugo Chavez, the apparent President-For-Life of Venezuela and avowed adversary of the United States.  President Chavez, as is usual, came in to power heralding himself as the friend of the people, etc., but proceeded with a socialist agenda that curbed capitalism in Venezuela.  After reducing the freedom of the people, of commerce, and of politics in his own country, Mr. Chavez also did his best to foment revolutions in Columbia and Ecuador, causing strife in both of those nations.  He aligned himself with Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and of course the Castro Brothers in Cuba.  This "friend of the people" had by the turn of this century become the de facto dictator of Venezuela, and probably would have continued as such for another half-century, if he had not succumbed to cancer.  This dictator, who curtailed much freedom and caused much strife, was hailed by one US Congressman as a "liberator" and a "shining light" in South America.  Our own President, who did not acknowledge Van Cliburn's passing, sent a delegation of praise-dripping politicos to President Chavez's funeral.

Oh yes, there was one more person who passed away last week, who is very worthy of mention, and whose passing, like Van Cliburn's, went unnoticed by the President of the United States.  That man was Navy Seal Christopher Kyle, known as the Navy's Deadliest Sniper.  Chris Kyle was killed by a fellow veteran, a young man whom Mr. Kyle had befriended and was trying to help in adjusting to civilian life once again.  This man shot Kyle and another man, Chad Littlefield, while the young man was in some sort of mental distress.  Mr. Kyle, an honored member of our armed forces, had placed his life on the line many times over the years, fighting for the rights of the people, the same rights that President Chavez sought to curtail, for which our President felt deserved a US delegation.  Again, President Obama did nothing for and said nothing about Mr. Kyle, did not honor him in any way.  It is obvious where our President's values and priorities lie, and that is not with our own service men and women, or even our own famous and talented musicians.  No, Mr. Obama's sentiments and loyalties are with the dictators and political strong-men of the world.  I suppose this is no big wonder, given President Obama's disdain and continual disregard for the Constitution.  I wonder if President Obama will, in the coming years, be held in the same regard as the strongmen of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia - a position he seems so desperately to desire.

 

Meteor Explodes Over Russia - Meteorites Hit The Deck

In what will surely be one of the truly amazing natural events of this new century, a huge meteor smashed through the atmosphere over Asia then exploded while it was still over eighteen miles above the earth.  Pieces of the meteorite were found near Chelyabinsk, just about nine hundred miles east of Moscow.  Over one thousand people in Chelyabinsk were treated for various injuries, most for glass fragments in their bodies.  The force of the meteor's explosion was actually equal to that of several atomic bombs.

On Sunday, Russian scientists were already collecting samples of the meteorites.  For many scientists, as well as many laymen, this event - though extraordinary, and probably of the "once in a lifetime" variety, was quickly recognized for what it was - an extraordinary event.  A NATURAL event.  Yet many other Russians, particularly older folks, were convinced that World War III had started, that the United States had finally "pushed the button."  Others, convinced of this same thing, were not "hysterical old ladies" as one source quoted, but were young men and women who believed that their government is not telling them the truth. Hmmm...I wonder what ever gave them the idea that their government MIGHT lie to them.

As I was searching the 'Net for reliable information about the meteor, it was difficult not to find the other stories as well.  The truth is amazing enough: For example, it is believed that the meteor, before it exploded, weight over ten thousand pounds, or ten tons.  Of course the explosion, as terrifying as it was, actually saved the earth from any major damage.  Some of the meteorites found have measured over a meter across.  According to the Russian scientists, each separate meteorite still generated forces equal to several tons of TNT.

But what when the seemingly "unexplainable" happens, "explanations" that are less than credible abound.  For instance, one Russian conspiracy mill spread the word that the United States had tested a secret weapon - one that could produce limitless fire and explosions.  On the other hand, several elderly Russian ladies caught the local police chief and warned him through no uncertain terms that the end of the world was in progress as proven by "fire falling from the sky." Of course stories of "Alien Invasion" spread rapidly as well.

Unfortunately, there was one scenario that was proffered, and that WAS credible, and was VERY SCARY for the Russians, and for US, the United States, as well.  You see, this meteor crossed Russian skies in the morning, but yet in broad daylight, as the work day had just started.  The meteor streaking across the sky that morning resembled very closely a cruise missile.  Now you can see how this event took a scary and nearly disastrous turn.  The Russian defense network took this perceived threat very seriously.  Fortunately cool heads prevailed, as the speed and size of the object were taken into consideration.  A cruise missile does not weigh in at 10,000 tons nor does it travel at speeds exceeding 30,000 miles per hour.  These facts were already known before the meteor exploded.

I guess we will never know how close this event came to being an...er...world-changing event.  I can only imagine what the outcome would have been had the meteor exploded without having been tracked before the explosion, which was believed to have been at an altitude of over 18 miles above the Siberian country, another factor precluding the cruise missile attack theory.  But this once in a lifetime event could have had a more dire outcome.  In the three decades since the collapse of the old Soviet Union, a lot has changed.  Fortunately, one of those changes has been the more relaxed feelings, and maybe a little trust by both nations towards each other.  I grew up under the shadow of MAD, or "mutually assured destruction."  Since the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, both the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics stood poised to enact MAD, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year.  I am so thankful for the good meteor's decision not to fall over Siberia until the year 2013. 

So, instead of MAD, we were treated to the effects of a fairly large meteor crossing the skies in daylight, blowing up miles overhead, and raining fragments down on a city, all the while without causing a single fatality, that we know of.  Russian scientists now have a treasure trove of meteorites to examine, and the glass makers of Siberia have customers for at least the next year.  And we have a great example of how cool heads prevailed, cooperation and honesty between American and Russian authorities won the day, and MAD was held off for who knows how long.  The very thing could happen over this great nation of ours, and should this happen, I hope and pray that cool heads again will assess the situation, overcome the doubt and mistrust, and that the space rocks will fall without causing to much pain and suffering for those at "Ground Zero."

Gun Control, Sheriff Painter, and Selective Law Enforcment

This is my Letter To The Editor after reading an Op-Ed in Midland Reporter Telegram in which an editor criticized Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter after the Sheriff stated that he would not allow his deputies to enforce any federal gun control laws that might someday be enacted, if such laws violated the United States Constitution.  The MRT was right on top of this one, and tried to put Mr. Painter in his place.  But the Paper found itself at odds with its readers.  Too bad, subscription rates are on the decrease anyway.

My letter:

Dear Editor,
The Sheriff has every right and has the DUTY not to enforce any law that is patently unconstitutional. And, as usual, you Editors are attacking a local leader for standing against President Obama, the most unpatriotic and most law-breaking president we have ever had. Our President has taken it upon himself to decide when and where to murder American citizens via drone attack without allowing those citizens to avail themselves of their rights to due process. Sheriff Painter is correctly asserting that he will not allow his officers to enforce a law that on its very face would violate the Second Amendment as well as Fourth and Eighth Amendments. In fact, if local peace officers acted on the hypothetical gun confiscation law, they themselves would be arrested for violating the above Amendments.

Your hypocrisy shouts out loudly, dear Editor. You are upbraiding the Sheriff for his stance on a law that has not been enacted while you remain so very LOUDLY MUTE on the President's ...er...selective FEDERAL law enforcement, and that of laws that ARE ON THE BOOKS.

On another issue, the MRT has been DEAFENLY SILENT as well, that being the President's God-like decision that he, or any president, has the right to decide when and where he will murder American citizens via the use of aerial drones. And this IS NOT HYPOTHETICAL. At least two American citizens have been killed by drones ON THE ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT, but the MRT chose to be SELECTIVE in its news coverage on this story. I might add here, Mr. Obama's actions are certainly impeachable. President Nixon only ordered an illegal burglary operation and chose to resign in front of the impeachment and removal that was headed his way.

I am curious why the MRT has SELECTED to denigrate Sheriff Painter by giving him his own special de-endorsement editorial but has been so MUTE on President Obama's selective Federal law enforcement (immigration, justice, border security, and the list could go on) and his criminal killing of two American citizens by Drone Attack. I suppose the MRT must shed light on the "important issues" like Sheriff Painter standing up for the United States Constitution. OMG...What was the Sheriff THINKING!


Read more: Editorial: Enforcing the law isn’t optional - Mywesttexas.com: Top Stories http://www.mywesttexas.com/top_stories/article_41007fb4-7b85-11e2-8673-0019bb2963f4.html?success=1#ixzz2LYG9Hoyy
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This Sunday At Church or A Four-Year-Old's Wisdom

In this past Sunday Morning's church service one of the men of the congregation told the story of a young girl who was only about four years old. Apparently just before Christmas the little girl's father explained to her the true meaning of that day, that God has sent his only son Jesus Christ to the earth. Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary in a manger in Bethlehem nearly 2000 years ago. The father went on to explain to his little girl that God had sent Jesus to be our Savior because God loved us so much. This is why, the father explained, that we give each other gifts on Christmas day, as a way of showing our love for each other.

It so happened a few days later as the father and his little girl were driving down one of the neighborhood streets they passed a church building. The little girl noticed that in front of this church building there was a sculpture of a man hanging on a cross.  The father explained to his daughter that Jesus was hung on the cross by the Roman soldiers because Jesus had traveled through Israel preaching the gospel. Jesus told the people that He was the only way to heaven and that He had come to the world to save all people from sin. Not only the Roman government, but the Jewish people wanted Jesus to stop preaching.  When he would not, he was crucified.  The father went on to explain to his daughter that Jesus became the sacrifice for all of us so that we could all be saved from our sins and that we could all go to heaven one day.

As they drove on, the little girl asked her father why she did not have to go to school that day. The girl's father explained to her that this was Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday celebrating the life and contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. Her father told her how Martin Luther King Jr. had had gone across the United States preaching the gospel and declaring that all men should learn to love each other and to get along in the world together. The little girl ask what happened to Martin Luther King, Jr? The father then very gently explained to his daughter that Mr. King had been assassinated because of the things he said and believed.  The little girl thought to herself for a moment then said
"But Daddy, isn't that what they did to Jesus?"

I have to tell you that this story brought the church to silence and maybe brought tears to the eyes of some of the people there. I have to admit that I had never thought of Martin Luther King Jr. in those terms.  I was a child when he was crusading, and of course I heard the White adults of my generation for the most part saying that Mr. King should "keep in his place."  I was only seven years old that day in April 1968 when the news reports started flooding our television.  Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. True, he was not hung upon the cross (literally) and true he was not the world's savior (literally), but MLK truly had a cross to bear, and in a sense, he was a kind of savior, as he was concerned for all people.

Decades later, I can look back on MLK and what he stood for in my own eyes, from my own point of view, separate from the attitudes of most of White America at that earlier time, and outside the shadows cast on this man by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.  And I was glad to be in the church service that Sunday morning, to hear what Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for, in the eyes of that little girl.  I guess in the Sixties most people could not hear Martin Luther King Jr's real message because of their own attitudes, prejudices, and fears.  As I sat in that church building, it seemed like I could hear Mr. King in that clear, ringing voice saying:

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Mr. King bore a cross, and that cross was the message he made his mission to spread, that we were all children of God and that God loved all of us equally.  That being the truth, then it followed that all men and women should be treated equally, not just under "the law," but in God's sight as well.  Mr. King's message was one that many leaders as well as many of the common people did not want to hear at the time.  Some people hated Mr. King's message so much that they began to hate the man as well. Persecution followed, both by the government and by the people.  But Mr. King carried his message on, no matter the cost to himself.  And what many people of the time did not want to acknowledge was that Mr. King was doing the Lord's work as well, spreading the Gospel along with the call for equal rights and fairness for everyone.  Above all, Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned and longed for a time when all the people could live and love united.

Like Jesus, it is very likely that Martin Luther King, Jr. saw the inevitability of his own death, his blood shed for the message he brought. Just before Mr. King was murdered, he made another famous speech that included these words:

And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? ... Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't really matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.^[1]

MLK had a shining quality about him, and a grand vision of which he never lost sight.  He truly feared death no longer, because he had somehow seen that glorious place that waited for him over that mountaintop.  As amazing as was the man and the life he led, as well as the death he died, was the insight of this four-year-old girl. With the innocence of the young, she saw the blessing that Mr. King left all of us.  True, the gift of the Good Shepherd of course outshines anything on this side of heaven, but how blessed was that church congregation this past Sunday, to see the brightness of MLK's reflection in the face of this little child.

Rogue Ex-Cop Christoper Dorner Was The VICTIM?

One of the darkest incidents in law enforcement history came to a fiery close last week with the death of former LA cop Christoper Dorner.  Dorner, a Black man, had come to believe during his time with the LA PD that he had been the victim of both racism and police corruption within that department.  Apparently at least a few others believed this, as well.  Even as the cabin in Big Bear Lake, California still smoldered, Dorner supporters were "rallying" at LA PD headquarters.  One man said he disagreed with Dorner's "methods" of making his point, but agreed that Dorner had tried to overcome the supposed racism and favoritism he encountered in his police career in Los Angeles.  This same gentleman decried the fact that the officers who pursued Dorner into that wooden cabin had become "the prosecutor, judge, and jury," a reference to the fact that Dorner died of a gun shot wound during the standoff.

Of course I, and the gentleman mentioned above for that matter, have no personal knowledge of whether or not Dorner was mistreated by LA PD.  But the entire nation knows from Dorner's own words that he HIMSELF had become prosecutor, judge, and jury of all the people he WANTED to kill, as well the several people that he did kill prior to his own demise.  Dorner has a website with his "manifesto" regarding his mistreatment and also his plans for revenge.  I suppose this website could shed more information, but I for one refuse to give his website another "hit."  Nothing he has to say on the website could be SO PROFOUND as to justify his "vengeance." 

Here is what I do know about this poor excuse for a police officer:
He made it a point during his killing spree never to face a police officer in a gunfight, but rather to ambush his targets at their most vulnerable moment.  For instance, Dorner bravely ambushed the daughter of a police officer and her boyfriend, who was also a police officer.  Evidence found by police showed that Dorner had obtained as much information about both the young lady and the young police officer as he could, and that he had even gone so far as to to stake them out and study their daily habits.  He killed the officer (who, by the way, had nothing to do with the LA PD Review Board that upheld Dorner's termination) and the young woman while they stood outside their cars talking to each other, apparently having just come home from work.  They were simply executed. Dorner faced no danger in that murder.

Later on, for you worshippers of Dorner, your HERO pulled up beside a patrol car at a red light.  The two officers in that vehicle were not involved in the Review Board, were not related to anyone on the LA police force, NOR were they LA cops.  Dorner coolly fired a shot into the driver officer's head, killing him on the spot.  He shot the other officer as well.  This officer went down from the shot, but survived. Meanwhile, Dorner calmly drove away into the night.  In fact, the only officer Dorner killed in a "heads up" situation was a San Bernardino Sheriff's Deputy who was part of the group of officers closing in on Dorner at Big Bear Lake.  Even this murder was not really "face to face" as Dorner fired wildly at several officers as he HID in the cabin that became his fiery grave.

I will not mention this murderer's name again in this blog or any future one.  He called himself a policeman but was in the end just a thug and a murderer.  I hope most of the people of this nation will share in the grief that the loved ones of all these victims are feeling right now.  I hope that those who hold this murderer up as a hero will someday come to realize that this "hero" chose to kill four innocent people rather than pursue his desire for vindication through the normal and legal channels available to him.  Was he treated unjustly by LA PD? Most of us will never know, but we all know that LA PD is one of the most lawsuit bound law enforcement agencies in the nation.  Surely this murderer knew he had several LEGAL alternatives to his cruel, heartless, and most cowardly actions.  With the target of his anger being LA PD, no doubt many a high-profile attorney would have accepted such a lawsuit "pro bono" just to give that organization another black eye.

I use this blog to honor the victims of this murderer, both the police officers and the citizen who died only because she was related to a police officer.  And I honor those officers, who in the very Shadow of Death, faced this murderer and put an end to his rampage before this man could kill other innocent people.  Was the murderer a VICTIM? No, he was just a common killer in the end; he was certainly no hero, either.  More importantly, were those officers acting as this murderer's judge, jury, and executioner? NO SIR! They were NOT!  These brave officers were simply doing their job.  They were protecting you and me from a most dangerous person.  Yes, these officers were ready to use deadly force to stop the threat and to defend themselves, but it was the murderer himself who completed their job.  He used the minimum force necessary to stop a deadly situation.  If only he had resorted to this deadly force BEFORE killing those four innocent persons.  As for the victims, those real people murdered by this man, may they rest in peace in the arms of the Good Shepherd.

I pray for the safety of police officers all over this nation, as they face dangerous and deadly situations day in and day out.  Some will be placed in that moment of decision before the "ink" on this page has dried this very morning.

 

 

Another Dinner With Child A and Child B

I had the special pleasure of dining with Child A and Child B this past Sunday night.  These dinners with my children are always pleasant, with the subjects of conversation most interesting and varied.  The dinner would have been even more interesting if my lovely bride had attended, but she was under the weather, as they say.  The site chosen for this dinner was Rosa's, the new one out near Midland International Airport.  I was really hungry, too, as I had not eaten since breakfast time.

At the appointed hour, I picked up Child A, who lives near us.  He and I drove to the eastern edge of Odessa.  Child B, who resides in Odessa, was nearly there.  Just before we arrived at Rosa's, Child A and I saw ahead of us several police and fire vehicles at what proved to be a major car accident.  The terrible thought struck Child A and I at the same time:  What if Child B is involved in that mess!  I called Child B immediately on my cell phone.  In a moment almost out of Final Destination, the ringing of Child B's phone distracted her just as she realized there was a major car accident ahead of her.  Luckily, Child B answered the phone while keeping her eyes on the road and thus arrived safely at Rosa's.

As if the events prior to our evening meal were not omen enough, the service (or lack thereof) should have tipped us off that tonight's supper was going to be something other than typical.  But really, ALL of our dinner nights end up being "other than typical."  For example, the first topic of conversation was regarding the fact that my lovely bride had "wimped out" in the words of Child B.  She is always "wimps out," adds Child A.  In fact, my lovely bride is a fighter and does not wimp out of these things lightly.  I just smiled and told the children that their mother was tired and was also battling a severely upset stomach.  The children both lamented that these dinners were more fun when their mother attended, and I had to agree.

Then on to the next topic of conversation: Whether Child A and Child B had a father who was abducted by aliens as a child.  I kid you not! It seems that the father of Child A and B exhibits symptoms of having been abducted by extraterrestrials as a child, and er...um...was "studied."  This studying possibly went on for several years, with the alien "scientists" periodically re-abducting the subject.  It was at this point in the conversation that I revealed to both Child A and Child B that I had in fact taken a test I found on the Internet, the point of said test being to show the likelihood of one having been "abducted."  Follow this link (if you dare!) http://www.stealthskater.com/Documents/Abduction_1.pdf

I took and passed this test several months ago, so there is actually a great possibility that I am a former abductee and study subject for some unknown race from the great beyond. 
(Disclaimer: I am probably NOT an abductee...and even if I were, I am OK, really!  So boss, and future bosses - please do not give any credence to this alien abduction stuff.  Unless you TOO were abducted.)

The alien conversation somehow led to a discussion of Anime and what are some of the better shows that Child A and B enjoy on television these days.  The Anime talk led to a discussion of movies and TV in general.  It was during this conversation we overheard a man at a table all the way across the restaurant.  His laugh was loud and had a booming quality, but also, it seemed to be fake laughter.  We then noticed that the man was wearing a lot of "bling" and talking in Spanish.  With this information and also due to the fact that the other people at this man's table seemed to laugh in unison, but only after waiting a respectable length of time after the first man laughed, Child A and B decided the man must be a drug lord, the head of a local cartel.  I added my two cents about all the things that made this man appear to be a crime kingpin. 

Just about this time the man let out a loud, and obviously fake, laugh.  I mentioned that the man laughed just like Ed McMahon.  MISTAKE!  Child A and Child B said in unison, "Who's Ed McMan?!"  Oops.  Awkward, for me!  So I said, "Oh, he was the straight man for Johnny Carson!"  Child A and Child B looked at each other in a puzzled manner, then looked at me.  Yes, you guessed it.  "Who is Johnny Carson?"  The sad thing is that they were serious.  Neither Child A nor Child B had any idea who were Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon!!!  It was at this point that I realized, once again, I AM GETTING OLD!  So I had to explain it all to them.  How humiliating!

But we all recovered from the awkward situation.  Child A and Child B are such great dinner guests.  It was about this time that a deaf man selling writing pens appeared at our table.  His sales method is to place two pens on one's table along with a small note explaining that he is deaf and supports himself by selling pens.  Two pens equal four dollars.  Other than my debit card, I was dead broke, as was Child A.  Child B, however, came up with enough money to by one pen.  We left the other for the deaf man to collect as he passed by again later on.  Shortly after purchasing the pen, we put it to the test, which it failed miserably!

Child A, Child B, and I were discussing different and unconventional ways we could make money.  I revealed to them that I often fantasized that the actor Robert Duvall somehow discovered BAILEY BLACK and decided on the spot that this story would be the source of a great movie!  I would then live off the royalties for the remainder of my life, probably in the Bahamas.  Child B then said something (unfortunately I cannot remember what she said) that was so funny I wanted to use it as a line in an upcoming (and so far unthought of) book.  I said "Give me that pen.  I need to write this down!"  I took the pen and began to write on a piece of paper.  Nothing!   The pen Child B had just bought WOULD NOT WRITE! 

Child B took the pen and said, "I'll MAKE it work!"  She began drawing feverishly on my napkin.  Nothing happened!  The pen simply would not write.  Child B took the pen apart.  Lo and behold, there was no ink in the cartridge!  "Snaps!" said Child B.  I told her not to worry, we could simply get a refund.  But in fact, the deaf salesman was nowhere to be found.  "Haw Haw Haw Haw Haw" said the drug kingpin.  "Ed McMahon," said I.  "Who's ED McMAHON," shouted Child A and Child B in unison.  I could not bear to go through the explanation again.  "Never mind," I said.  "That's okay," said Child A, "The man sounds like Jabba the Hut."  We all laughed.  By now it was 10:30 PM.  "I am sorry, kids, but your father has missed his bedtime."  We said our goodbyes, gave our hugs, and parted ways.  Child A and I returned to Midland, while Child B made her way back to Odessa.

I really love these family dinners.  I really love the way that Child A and Child B BOTH think their father is still tolerably cool and fun to dine with.  I love the way our conversations touch on any subject except the expected ones.  Most of all, I love the way they still think of me as some sort of hero.  Many children similar to the age of my own have long since concluded THEIR parents were no longer "cool."  That makes it so much more of a treat to have dinner with them.  I hope you, if you are old like I am, still have the pleasure of an occasional visit or meal with your grown children.  I hope they think you are still cool.  I hope that...er, never mind.  It is late, past my bed time.  I think I hear those aliens approaching.  Hmmm, maybe it is time for another...er...exam!

Sweet Surrender

One of my favorite songs of all time is a song written by John Denver and sang so very well by him.  It is a song called Sweet Surrender.  My favorite version of that song is on John Denver's most popular album, Back Home Again, an album that has sold over 3,000,000 copies to date.  If you are old enough to remember way back then (the late 1970's) you probably know that Back Home Again featured a famous picture of John Denver posed with his first wife, Annie Martell.  John was very much in love with Annie, and in fact wrote at least two songs devoted to her.  One was of course Annie's Song, which started with the words "You fill up my senses...."  John also wrote a song, Annie's Other Song, which included this course:

I'm bringing me home to you
It's all that I have to give...
My Life, My Love, My Everything...
It's you I choose to be with.

I love both of Annie's songs, but as I said, my favorite song on that entire album was (and IS) "Sweet Surrender."  As a teenager, I used to sing this song over and over (of course well out of earshot of any living human being!) and related so well to the words:

Lost and alone on some forgotten highway, travelled by many remembered by few
Looking for something that I can believe in...
Looking for something that I'd like to do with my life.
There's nothing behind me and nothing that ties me to something that might have been true yesterday,
Tomorrow is open and right now it seems to be more than enough to just be here today

And I don't what the future is holding in store
I don't know where I'm going, I'm not sure where I've been
But there's a Spirit that guides me
A Light that shines for me
My life is worth the living I don't need to see the end.....

I like the words to this song, but what I loved most was the chorus toward the end of the song where a beautiful alto singer's voice becomes very prominent during the singing.  If you listen to the end of the song you will know what I am talking about.  I loved that song, but I was only about sixteen at the time it came out.  Certainly I did not have much behind me.  It was not hard to figure out where I had been because I had not been anywhere, really. 

Fast forward in my life to over thirty years later.  I still love this song, Sweet Surrender, but a lot has happened over the intervening years.  For one thing, John Denver, for all the love he had for Annie, eventually left her.  His song of long ago was most prophetic for him, as he seemed to forget where he had been, and had no idea where he was going.  He continued singing but his songs were no longer quite so heartfelt.  He performed around the world, yet floundered in his personal life and seemed in the end to have totally lost his direction.  He was desperately trying to get the world to follow his messages in song, yet he himself was adrift in life.  John's audience, perhaps sensing his confusion, had begun to fall away by the time of his tragic death in a plane crash in 1997.

I myself have come to empathize with John Denver, with that feeling of "lost and alone on some forgotten highway..."  I have certainly made some mistakes along the way, and I have come to realize that in many ways "I don't know where I'm going, I'm not sure where I've been..."  Life, as I have known it for many years, has changed.  I find myself listening to this song quite often once again, contemplating those haunting words, and remembering the many times I have driven along so many beautiful country roads in Central Texas, roads once travelled by many, now remembered by few.  Many of the ties were broken (mostly by me) yet there are others still intact.  Most of all, I find that while there are some uncertainties and some hard times ahead, "my life is worth the living, I don't need to see the end."  I listen to John's rich, full voice sing the words, and to that haunting female alto voice that joins the group in the final choruses, and I am full of wonder, eagerness, and at the same time fear, regret, and uncertainty.  Most of all, I am full of the desire to continue on.

A person's life is what he makes it, but no one lives in a vacuum.  A person's actions effect others immediately, as well as cause ripples in the life scape that continue in ever growing circles, touching who knows who and who knows where.  Sometimes the reflections of those ripples come back as blessings, sometimes as troubles to others and troubles to one's self.  I find myself now in the awkward position of reaping what I have sown over the years, yet some of what I am reaping is certainly good.  Instead of running from it all or trying to hide, I find that I am in the Sweet Surrender mode.  I am not living totally without care, but I am living with the knowledge that even someone so lost as I feel at times can still find the old ties and can create new ties.  I find that life is still truly worth the living, right up to the very end.  And I find that I am wiser in only one way: I am wise enough to know that I can advise no one on how to go, and can judge no one because of the way he or she has been.  I still feel lost, but I feel too the Sweet Surrender that John sang about, that releases one from his past ways and points to an unknown, but eagerly anticipated journey full of hope and excitement that still awaits its completion.