Merry, uhh Happy,uhhh, Season's, uhhh, Have a Good One.

If you are a Christian, or at least if you believe in God, Christmas time is a great time for either just touching base with your faith or really connecting again as if for the first time.  It's a weird time because even the most pious Christians that Jesus might not want to hang out with are either looking forward to opening presents, eating well, or getting their newly charged Starbucks gift cards.  At least here in America.

There was a column in the Detroit News by Editor Nolan Finley.  He wrote as he was leaving a store after Christmas shopping, he held a door open for a lady entering and said, "Happy Holidays".  Finley wrote that the lady "barked" back," I say Merry Christmas!" in a tone more suited to a union strike vote or Congressional Debate in South Korea just before someone gets kung-fu'd.

Finley wrote that he is a Christian, and didn't mean anything more than to give her a pleasant greeting, but was taken aback by her.....almost militant behavior (my words not his).  I have to admit, I think some folks are getting a bit too worked up over words sometimes.

One of my favorite songs this time of year is "Happy Holidays" when sung by Andy Williams.  The song was recorded probably in the 1960's and nobody then was worried about the secular media, de-empahsizing of the Christian aspect of the season, etc.  It is a pleasant song and makes me smile. Williams also recorded "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" with something for toasting and marshmallows for roasting, etc. with nary a mention of Christmas.

 Now my favorite Christmas song is "O Holy Night" sung by virtually anyone, I suppose, even Young Jeezy if he does it straight.  Is he still Young Jeezy?  Or has he aged to the point of "Just Jeezy"?  I can tear up during a version of "Silent Night" I love "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and I enjoy reading Luke Chapter 2 verses 8-11.  It's Christmas, right?

Just a segway, here, or is it a segue?  Gotta check that.  Anyway, while I was going door-to-door with some church folk inviting parents to send their kids to church in our Bus Ministry a couple years ago, I spotted two teen girls listening to a rap song in a car.  I walked over, waited until the song ended, and asked, "who is that"?  Now, they knew we were church people, and on top of that we were all caucasian church people in an area of Detroit where most white folk were either cops or drug-buyers.  Really.

So the young lady says, "It's Young Jeezy."  It was a catchy tune, and I told her that and asked her to tell me about Young Jeezy.  She mentioned a couple of things I really can't remember, she didn't know too much about him, other than he was cute and the CD was very good.  Then she asked what we were doing there, and I said, "you told me about Young Jeezy and  we're telling people about this guy Young Jesus".  They actually were very polite when I shared a bit of faith with them, told 'em thanks for their time and went to the next house.  See, you don't have to hit people over the head with your faith, or cut off heads, I suppose.  When God gives you an opening, go ahead and walk through it with courtesy and love.  (And of course confidence because you are certain of your faith and even a Happy Holidays won't shake it).

So next time someone wishes you a Happy Holiday, go ahead and say "Merry Christmas" if you want, or say thanks, or even give 'em a handshake and pat on the shoulder.  But don't act like a spoiled brat or angry mob-inciter and growl out a Christmas greeting that sounds more like fightin' words.  And, hey, for most of us who claim to be Christian, maybe we should wish more people Merry Christmas every other part of the year except December and maybe they'll listen more.

Jesus had a couple issues with religious people.  First, they thought they knew everything about God and nobody else did.  Second, He was kinda cheesed that they seemed to try to BECOME the Almighty rather than WORSHIP the almighty.  Finally, He felt those religious types actually made it difficult for the "sinners" and normal folk to enjoy a relationship with God.  So, when Jesus got the most angry, it was with religious types. You could look it up.

For those of you who proclaim Christ as Lord;  If you indeed read your bible, you know that as time goes on, people will be less interested in an Almighty God and Savior, "the love of most will wax cold", etc.  These times are a sign for us to be extra certain to let people know that God is Love, and through that love He offers eternal life in His Son.  Don't chase people away by being a big cranky-pants at Christmas or any other time.

  Be relational, not religious, be personable, not pious, be a lover of people, not an arbiter of holiday greetings.  Show love, like Jesus did, and worry about the sematics later. With respect to people of all faiths, or none, Merry Christmas.

Occupy THIS

So we have the Occupy Movement.  I must admit, I remember this during the 60's in the campus unrest days.  You had the Berrigans bombing ROTC offices on campus, sit-ins, love-ins, some destruction and wanton rioting, you know.  But during all that unrest, the idea was to tell the government to keep their hands off freedoms.  The 60's were about reminding the "powers that be" that the real power was with the people.

Now, point one, I applaud peaceful protest, and even violent protest depending on the situation.  I applaud those excercising their rights as Americans and freedom to assemble and protest.  I think the concept of  this protest iteself is great.  The part of the Occupy Movement (or OM as I'll call it) that bothers me is that it seems this band of protesters, funded and backed by some big money (from big industry, I might add...George Soros anyone?) seem to WANT the government to take over banks, regulate industry and decide how to allocate wealth.  THAT' S scarier than Abbey Hoffman and the Chicago Six (or was it 7?).  It's scarier than the Black Panthers, the John Birch Society and Jehovah's Witnesses....

I fear that these people who would take from the rich and give to the not-so-rich forget, as they surf on their MacBook, update facebook status ("sitting in the rain smoking hookah") on their iPhones, listening to music on their iPods and tweeting such deep thoughts as ("some of the people are urinating out in the open") forget that corporate greed is in direct response to the need of the public to have all this cool stuff, them included.  AND, if you let the government spread the wealth, there won't be any except in the government (and the big businesses supporting those in power).

I'd like all the people in the OM to think a bit about how talented our senators, representatives, the President and his cabinet are at balancing a budget....Now you're thinking.  You really think they can spread the wealth to lift everybody up, or will most of us be taking a big step back?

Maybe instead of trying to bring down big business and big banking, we can switch money to credit unions, sure, fine.  Maybe instead of bringing down big corporations we will invest in those who, rather than squeeze every nickel out of their company to inflate stock prices and fill the pockets of big investors, they will invest in the neighborhoods where they operate, take a bit of a dividend loss to enrich the lives of their employees and others in ways other than financially. 

WE can stop buying stock and products in "evil companies".  Go ahead.  But don't think it's cool to buy goods from foreign companies because we've seen the sweatshops, melamine in formula and other examples by those companies.

Maybe it's time we the people took back our government.  Don't vote for the usual suspects.  Real grass roots involvment would be to find that person who is all about what's right versus who's right.  Hey!  Everyone should run for office for something somewhere.  Get actively involved.  Occupying a spot and spouting rhetoric (blogging) is fine, I give you points for some involvement.  But let's all get really involved and do the hard work to roust all the Republicans and Democrats and put Americans into offices.  Maybe one of those people will be you.  I announce now that I will run for something next time around.  Maybe I can still get some play for President this time around, you never know.  I challenge each of you to do it, too.

And, as always my friends, May God Bless you and keep you.  Know that beyond corporate bail-outs, partisan politics and just crazy-ass stuff in this world, there is One who you can count on.  When this stuff gets you down, cry out to Jesus, let him know you're scared or hurting or worried.  Wait on His Presence quietly.  And let Him lead you through the hard work it takes to make a world better.  See 'ya.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

So, it's a beautiful October day, I took a day off from work to enjoy a long weekend and I feel like blogging.  Nothing says got to blog like getting new license plate tabs, untangling a dental bill/insurance issue and setting up an appointment at the vet.  For the dog.  Not me. 

I'm leisurely perusing some newspaper articles from the last couple of weeks.  I gotta tell you, this stuff wasn't in the paper when I was a kid. 

One from today, in the Oakland Press via the AP wire service, was about a Viet Namese woman who cut off HALF her husbands' penis and threw it in a river.   The headline read "Viet Namese Woman Cuts off Taiwanese Husband's Penis." He had been out of work and messing around with another woman while the wife slaved as a singer in her parents' Karaoke bar.  You can't make this stuff up.  The wife, we'll call her BLADE, says she did it after her husband fell asleep after taking sleeping pills and drugs.  Tell 'ya what, Blade, I figure he did the drugs, you slipped him the sleeping pills.  And why cut off just half?  Was it longitudinal or lattitudinal?  It's not in the story.  She's been booked for assault.  If they're in the US there would be an ethnic intimidation charge, too.  Now, cutting off the guy's, you know, is a state charge, but the other one, that's Federal.

There's another story from the front page a couple weeks ago.  Now, the Oakland Press in Oakland County,MI is a real newspaper, just google 'em.  But they print some wacky stuff.  The next story was, indeed on the front page.  I believe the headline was "Man Dies after Sex and Drug Party at Chaplain's House".  So I had to read it.  It got better.  The Chaplain for the Ferndale Police Department was also gay, and a leading gay activist in the city Plus he leads a church congregation in the city.  You're jumping ahead, now, aren't you?  So apparently the chaplain has a guy come over, they inject methamphetamine to increase their libido or performance, or whatever, and the guy becomes unresponsive, not just to the sex part but TOTALLY unresponsive.  So the FERNDALE POLICE CHAPLAIN, activist and church pastor PHONES A FRIEND to come over.  The friend then calls the police and ambulance, the unresponsive guy dies.  So, Ferndale fires the chaplain, I don't know what his church will do.  I had a totally different idea going on in my head before I read the story.  So we can put this guy up with Ted Haggard, Jim Bakker and other pandering pastors, I suppose.  Oh, yeah, there are charges pending.

In that same paper on the front page was a story about bullies.  Scotch Elementary school in West Bloomfield, MI.  hosted a FunD run (FUND run,not just fun run, get it ?) against bullying.  The kids got pledges and ran around the school's track for about 20 minutes.  The article stated  "Proceeds this year will fund multiple character education initiatives that target bullying."  What was that, again?  Anyway, it seems like a good idea, builds cameraderie among the older and younger students and has one major benefit:  these kids, when chased by a bully, will be able to outlast him for up to 20 minutes.  Most bullies can't run that long, I'm guessing.  I'm pretty sure this program is more about outrunning bullies when character education initiatives prove fruitless.

Ahh, the world is indeed a changing place.  Character initiatives to target bullies, Police Chaplains having meth and sex parties, and another member amputation. This stuff probably was going on when I was 8 years old, I suppose, but we didn't read it in the papers.  I'm not sure we need the Chaplain and the Blade in the paper, really.  The anti-bully thing is a good thing, but if these character education initiatives involve water boarding or sensory deprivation, I think it'll end up on the front page again.

While I feel sorry for the unnamed man who died at the Chaplain's house, and the guy who ran afoul of Blade, and I wish no children be bullied, a simpler world sure allowed us to sleep peacefully, and without armor-plated undies.  Truth is stranger than fiction.  Until next time....Oh, yeah, click on the title for some fun.

Oil, Light Bulbs and Cafe Standards

Well, it has gone from cool damp spring to a rather hot summer around here.  When I was a kid, we didn't have air conditioning in the house, so the sounds of summer were the box fan in the hallway, crickets, trains, dogs barking, Mrs. Hartline's boyfriend running through the backyard, hopping fences to avoid Mr. Hartline, and the occasional hot-rodder.  Nowadays it's the constant humming of the neighborhood AC units.  Nowhere near as home-spun nor enjoyable, but very, very comfortable. 

When I was a kid, I thought it just natural that all the wood in the house was sticky in the summer and everyone went to sleep with a wet washcloth on their head. Of course all the doors and windows were open.  Heck, you might even sleep in the cool basement (with the lights on to avoid spiders and the walking dead that lived down there when the lights were off).

These days being what they are, I immediately started thinking about energy consumption.  Then I started to think about these absurd new curly-cue light bulbs, which throw about as much light versus a standard light bulb as a lightning bug versus a prison spotlight.  I think about the Federal Governments attempt to mandate 52 MILES PER GALLON for US automobiles (Cafe Standards)  Really?  Then I wonder why we don't drill for oil in the massive fields in the ocean off our shores or the Alaskan mountains.  Then my mind starts wandering and I head off to "crazy old man" country.....

See, it is my humble opinion that much of this global warming, tree-hugging energy running out stuff is not so much about saving the planet as it is about control.  Imagine if cars can get 52 miles per gallon but only can travel 200 miles.  Imagine all the curly-cue light bulbs not saving enough energy and instead of curly bulbs we begin to experience rationed utility use in the name of saving Mother Earth.  Imagine having to shut down industry, entertainment and even LOCAL governments in the name of saving energy for a time?  Perhaps the Feds will TAKE OVER various utilities and industries and ration work, production and energy in the name of the "common good".  Think it can't happen?  Ask GM and Chrysler. 

I was listening to my Sirius/XM radio on the "Bridge" station.  They played a Jackson Browne song and the announcer said that Browne would appear at a "safe energy" rally or concert as he had at the very first one.  Then I laughed out loud.  Then the lady next to me at the traffic light looked at me like I was drunk, or weird.  Then I laughed louder and spat out my Trident.

I laughed because of the term "safe energy".  Just the creation of power for various uses can be described as "unsafe".  Wind turbines produce electricity through movement that produces "dangerous" electricty and heat from friction.  Nuclear has it's drawbacks, burning coal, oil, etc. has natural drawbacks, but all produce energy that at it's core is dangerous when used incorrectly.  There is no safe energy, some is cleaner that others, some with less natural disaster possibilities.  Take wind versus oil.  If you have an oil spill, it can be quite disasterous.  Windmills, not so much danger (but don't try to put them up in the sightlines of a Kennedy).

You know, we should just allow drilling in the mountains and oceans for a finite period, say, 30 years.  Then mandate a tear down of those facilities.  In thirty years we should be able to figure out how to safely dispose of nuclear waste, or use solar, wind, geothermal and other technologies better, safer and more economically than available now.  In thirty years I think we can figure out how to light our homes without curly cues or incandescent lights, run our cars on other fuels, our manufacturing with less-damaging side-effects. 

And you know what?  We can spur more pure research, more profit-minded new companies racing for the best mousetrap.  And you know what?  It becomes the AMERICAN way.  We could be leaders again, but many seem to be embarrassed or ashamed of being in a nation that was once a leader in peace, yes, in war, in research, manufacturing and prosperity.  We shouldn't be ashamed of wanting to be great, none of us individually nor collectively as a nation. 

Global warming, curly bulbs, cafe standards....All designed to create a governmental control of it's people.  And as our nation and other nations begin the take-over, many of us sit quietly, believing "saving the world is good".  Many sit by saying, "you're a crazy old man".  Many just go on with Dr. Phil, Oprah, ESPN and TMZ and let their liberties be not-so-quietly spirited away.

Just think.  How many in our government in any party you pick are career politicians?  They've nary worked a day in their lives, they've just been face-first in the public trough their entire adult lives.  They figure they will always have unlimited energy, unlimited access to gas-guzzlers and private airliners, because they are the ELITE. 

Well folks, this energy stuff is about control.  If a public is controlled by the amount of energy they can use, the distance they can travel and the amounts they have to pay for just the simplest things, they are very easily controlled.  Remember the old Soviet Union and other "Socialist" or Communist nations?  You always read of bread shortages, meat shortages, gas shortages.  It wasn't so much about not being able to produce, it was about controlling production to control a public.  And make sure you belong to the correct political party, or good luck with even the bare essentials.

Anyway, I encourage everyone to read Ayn Rand...an anti-communist atheist who wrote Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead and Anthem.  Great reads.  A great look into mankind, all three.  As a Christian, I once struggled with the fact I so enjoyed an atheist's works.  Then, as I look into her characters, her "good guys" are filled with a certain, spirit I guess.  She might rally in the wonder of man's own spirit, I look at that spirit as the spark given by an amazing creator.  The spark all of us have, to use for rising up and out, the creator's very desire for us to use all the God-given talents we have to achieve for ourselves and to serve  each other.

Hey!  Join me and my atheist friend Ayn Rand and motivate that spirit within you to do something good, or noble, or selfless, or gallant.  Good night, my friends.  Take control of your life with the spirit that dwells within you.  Keep the ELITE from shepherding your lives.  Dare to be great.  God Bless.

Forgive us our debts....

So, we've weathered a debt crisis for now. Standard and Poor's has been demonized for lowering our previously perfect credit rating and much of the public and politicos are bashing S&P.  Isn't that just like us?  I mean S&P stated, and I paraphrase, that the US credit rating was lowered do to the lack of long-term planning and the contentious nature of our Congress.  Is that not true?  Japan just received similar notice for the same general reasons.

How do we fix this?  Demand Congress acts long-term and with the best interests of the United States rather than political platforms in mind.  Demand our elected officials get out of the trough, stop filling bills with pork, end the practice of pensions and healthcare for themselves.  Go to work!  You should not be career politicians, you should be career employees of other companies or your own businesses and SERVE the public, not keep pulling dollars out of our pockets.

While we must be careful to look after the neediest of Americans, namely minor children and the aged, we must also stop supporting "poor people" who live in single family homes, have satellite television or premium cable, existing government health care, either through Medicare or Medicaid, get food stamps and always manage to buy cigarettes, weed and booze, and are able-bodied and able to work.  Now, I know times are tough job-wise.  But you can find work out there that will pay at least what is received in assistance.  It's just lowering one's standards to work at Wal-Mart or McDonald's or some job that is below your personal standards, which include taking money for nothing from the government coffers (my pockets) and many times living in places which are best described as hovels.  You know, the average "poor" person in America is still among the top 10% or so of the income earners in the world.  You could look it up.

How about if all of us go out and vote for any politican in a party other than Republican or Democrat?  You can't do Communist, either, because their platform and the Democrats are too similar.  No Tea Party either, too similar to Republicans.  So you have Libertarians, Green Party (ugh!), Independents and others.  Hey, I like Joe Lieberman as an independent, he'd make a pretty good President, I think.  A true American who looks at "what is right" rather than "who is right".

How about if many of us decide to run for office in our cities, our counties and beyond?  Yeah, you need some money, but the internet is a great way to drum up interest and dollars.  You can even Tweet your way to office if done properly.  (You probably have to hire Steve Martin or Robin Williams).

Americans have to decide if all our pet projects that we want the government to subsidize, including global warming, government funded abortions, able-bodied welfare recipients, unions (see stimulus funds), oil company tax breaks, lifetime health care and pensions for Congress members (Presidents are okay, tough job even if you suck at it) are really worth selling our futures, and our childrens'.  We have to look at public employee pensions, our state and civic leaders' deals and the rest.

It's true that everyone will have to take a hit to right the boat.  Yup, that means we probably gotta pay more in taxes, at least for a time. Yup, that means most of the free rides will have to end.  We might have to end our desires to try to legislate that everyone gets to share in wealth, we will always have poor.  We have to demand that elected officials do something constructive for the city, state or nation they're elected to serve.  And we have to decide if we want to do anything to make the changes, or end like so many sheep, or lemmings or turkeys. I once read that turkeys are so, stupid, I guess, that they will actually look up to the sky when it rains, open their mouths and drown.  Now, that might have been in National Geographic or Mad Magazine, I'm not sure which.  Lets' not be turkeys.

A Big Month and some Big Ideas

So, the above photo was shot at sunset on the ocean in Naples, Florida the night before my daughter married a wonderful young man.  Ah yes, who will ever forget May 22, 2011?  As you parents who have married children know, it all goes by so fast, and that includes the wedding.

Short story is it was really three great days of fun for family and friends.  Most of the attendees were friends of my daughter and son-in-law so it was a young crowd, and a great bunch to celebrate with. It was like a family vacation with you and 20 kids, all the same age. Really fun, and great memories.  And a lot of time with just me and my wonderful wife.

So, I start thinking about how you have to give your kids away when they get married.  And, yes, you're not losing a daughter, son, etc.  you're gaining one, I know.  But I'm not THE GUY for my daughter anymore.  Her husband is.  And it's tough.  Like when she went away to college and I missed her so much for so long.  Watching your kids get married is wonderful, but it's also sort of the end of an era, or even a death of sorts.

You have to be realistic about giving things up when it's time, even people.  You can't hold on to days past;  sure they're great memories but that's what they are.  You have to go forward to continue to experience new things, to appreciate what you have now, to grow.  I have to grow, looking FORWARD to holidays with a larger family, maybe grandchildren, and more.  Many of us have lost loved ones to death, both young and old.  While the memories are to be cherished you can't live in the death of the person but relish in the life you had with them and remember how they would like you to grieve less and live more.

That got me thinking about how we hold on to things too long.  Here in Michigan, it took a decade to knock down an old ball park, Tiger Stadium.  It was the field where baseball legends like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson played, along with Hammerin' Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer and Al Kaline.  It was the ball park I walked into through the dark tunnel into a sun-drenched carpet of green with bright white uniforms on the players and the aromas only old outdoor ball parks have, like Wrigley and Fenway.  But, it had been neglected for years, trees were growing in the seats, the place was falling apart, scavengers were stripping the old lady of all her past glory, and any valuable copper.  But people couldn't let go of their childhood memories.

I watch my friends go to concerts and watch senior citizens like Steve Tyler and Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, who has been around so long people refer to him as "former Wings' front man", forgetting the Beatles were a fairly popular foursome, and wonder why they keep shelling out hundreds to see these guys. Now, I've enjoyed their music, add in the Allman Brothers, the Stones, Bob Seger, Bruce and the rest, and there were great times as kids.  And it's okay to still like the music but if you're in your fifties you should not get fece-faced drunk and high as Timothy Leary on a work night.  Hey, it's over, grow up.  Let go, enjoy the Black Keys, Lil' Wayne, Eminem, Kid Rock, Jay-Z.  Try it, you might like it.  Make new music memories.

Then, of course I think about how so many of us have trouble really embracing the whole Jesus Saves thing.  See, Jesus SOUNDS cool, but if I have to give up Seinfeld reruns, Friends re-runs, R movies, songs with questionable lyrics, my nightly glass of wine, the occasional Jack Daniels rocks and other things I've held on to with great fervor and passion, I don't want any part of it.  I want to sit in old Tiger Stadium listening to "Stairway to Heaven" without religious overtones, wearing my throwback Converse All-Stars, drinking my old school Pepsi "now with real sugar" for Petes' sake, hoping I can hold on to everything and still have everything else. 

Well, my suggestion is to remember that everyone dies, you too.  There is an afterlife or so many religions wouldn't be hawking their ideas, rhetoric and merchandise.  Life is really a worthless excercise if this time on Earth is everything, isn't it really?  I believe One God did create it, and has given us free will to choose all the iPads, iPods, Jimmy Chus, Mercedes, Cartiers, etc. or Him.  God probably won't ask you to give up anything.  You may find as you give Jesus a chance to really be part of your life that some things won't seem as important anymore.  Heck, you might stop dressing up as Darth Vader and standing in line at Loew's two weeks ahead of the next Star Wars sequel and do something good for someone, which might even be giving up your Darth Vader costume to someone who could use it.  It might be skipping one new generation of smart phones to donate to Habitat for Humanity, or the Tuscaloosa relief fund, or heading to the urban area nearest you and feeding some folks or teaching some kids.  Who knows?  And those new things will probably be the most rewarding and valuable things in your life.

For a plant to grow a seed has to die.  If you hold onto the seed you'll never reap the harvest, or enjoy the shade, or colorful blooms.  Just even as Jesus died and buried sin in the ground, raising up in triumph over death (that we can share), sometimes you have to bury the past, plant that seed, and let your life grow to it's full measure.  Have a great day!

Ahh yes, I remember it well

These photos were taken a week ago while walking my dog.  I took a Friday off, kind of a mental health day.  We took a walk around noon time, and it was really the first day spring was breaking here in Metro Detroit.  I was surrounded with yellows, whites, pinks, lavenders and all kinds of shades of green with a few reds sprinkled in.

Up here in these parts we take a lot of pride in our fall colors, and if you do head UP NORTH from here, the colors can be as beautiful a scene as you will ever experience.  But last Friday, almost for the first time, I realized how beautiful is spring.  Now, one week later, it's rained a couple of times and most of these blossoms are on the ground.  Everything is leafing and turning "summer green".   This splash of nature's beauty goes by so fast here, its' easy to miss as you see those first blooms and immediately start thinking about summer.

Life is like that, no?  I think of all the preparation for my wedding some 32 years ago.  Before I knew it, we were on a plane for our honeymoon, then back to work.  I really have to think hard to remember the ceremony itself (it wasn't hotter than hell, but it was just a few blocks north), and then all the details of the reception.  Christmas, anniversaries, even a great dinner cooked at home; all the build up, then it's over, and we almost forget what happened.  All of a sudden there's a pile of dishes, a pile of wrapping paper, a pile of cards, and I almost forget what it was all about to begin with.

Whether you're 18 or 80, there's still time to relish those events of life.  Every spring, every fall, every first frost, first tulip, first kiss, first love, first everything.  And then the second and so forth.  Many people I've met have some great memories, but they never mention  the perfume of the magnolia blossoms as they bloom.  They never mention the flaming orange maple leaves in October, or the work of Jack Frost on the kitchen window that first frozen morning of winter.  They don't mention the sun-sent golden sparkles dancing on the summer lakes' waves.  They don't mention the first feel of summer-warmed beach sand between their toes, the way the air caresses your face that first warm spring day.  They forget the best cup of hot chocolate ever after buildling a snowman on a cold winter morning.  They can't even remember the crisp autumn air at a Big Ten football game, the greatest smells EVER the first time they walked into Old Tiger Stadium or Fenway or Wrigley.

I thought of how easy I've neglected the beauty of spring lo these many years.  I thought how easy it was to take everything in stride, one moment just a piece of your life fitting together into your own personal jigsaw puzzle.  You're glad there's another piece, but when you finish it, do you remember the small moments, or just the fact that you've built the picture?

Here's to the smell of the first warm spring rain each year.  Here's to the smell of the neighbor's fireplace on a cold Sunday evening in October.  Here's to each January icicle, shining, sparkling and adorning the house like a diamond necklace.  Here's to the beauty of a Northern Michigan summer sunset, the sky just turning dark as the time nears 10:00. 

Here's to my daughter's first steps, my son's first words, my wife's first homemade birthday cake.  Here's to the first hug I ever remember getting from my dad.  Here's my mom's loving back rubs when I was sick as a child.  Here's to the first time I knew God is real.

And then, here's to the second steps, the second words, the next cake (all very tasty, dear).  Here's to every spring, summer, fall and winter smell, sight, and feel.  Here's to every kiss, every touch every taste.  Here's to every prayer, every dream, every effort everytime.

As I near 54 years of age, it amazes me when I have to say, "well FORTY years ago...."  Really?  Forty years ago?  I was 14, I remember 1971 very well.  My sister graduated from High School.  My dad and I put tile, paneling and a ceiling in the basement.  The Viet Nam war was still going on, you could still get gasoline for 19.9 cents a gallon when competing stations would have a price war.  My dad would say "fill it with ethyl" when we'd take the car on long trips to the Upper Peninsula.  Richard Nixon was President.  The Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain were real.  Forty years? 

Now I'm trying to remember that High School Graduation.  It was an evening event at the football field where my graduation would be 4 years later.  Tim Laing was the Valedictorian, my sister was Salutatorian.  I liked her speech.  My mom and dad were there, one of the last times when we would do anything as a family.  The Maverick gas station at Middlebelt and Merriman would have that low priced gas to spur business.  I remember the young man, with his "garage blue" pants and jacket, a shop rag hanging out of his back pocket checking the oil and squeezing every last drop of gas into that Chrysler Newport.  The Berlin wall and the Iron Curtain were ominous names, something to be feared, something to remind us of how good we have it in the U.S.

My daughter's wedding is coming up one week from today.  Both my children graduated from Michigan State University last spring, it was just yesterday (2004 and 2006) when I watched them both graduate from High School.  It was just last week when I shared an orange pop and bowl of popcorn with my daughter the night after my son was born and he and my wife were still in the hospital.  It was just last month when, about a month after we moved into our first house my wife told me she was pregnant with our daughter.  It was just last year when I dropped my date off at her home on a summer's night and KNEW I was in love.  It was just a couple years ago when my mom, dad and sister would spend two weeks at my Aunt Ty and Uncle Happy's house.  Yup, Ty and Hap. 

I look out the window on this rainy Sunday and the pink and white blossoms have been washed from the trees, it's hard to remember how pretty they were just yesterday morning.  I'm glad I have the pictures.  It's kind of chilly and I can't smell the magnolia tree in my front yard.  I just had dinner with my cousins, of whom I am the youngest.   Yikes.

Take time to smell the roses, smell the coffee, hug your kids, love your spouse, take in all this world has to offer.  Time doesn't wait for anyone, right?  So don't you wait till you "have the time" to enjoy all that life, and our Lord, offers.  See ya'.  Just for kicks, click on the title of this post and enjoy.