Bicycles

Alright folks, let's clear up a misconception. If you are driving a car, especially in the city, and you are attempting to make a right turn onto a cross street against a light or stop sign the fact that there is no longer anyone coming from your left does not mean the entire road is clear. There is still a crosswalk which may have pedestrians or CYCLISTS in it.

Of course this would not require addressing if people weren't in the habit of looking in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION from that in which they are traveling while in a car. Just a note; THAT'S A BAD HABIT!

Why, you may ask, do you, Gary, seem to find this subject so near and dear to your heart? Good question; I'm glad you brought it up. Here's the answer. Yesterday I got hit, for the second time in my life, by a fellow who didn't seem to think looking in front of his car before pressing the accelerator is a key component to driving.

The first time this happened to me I got broadsided by a guy pulling out from a side street. I was thrown onto his hood, whereupon he slammed on his brakes and threw me out into traffic. I survived with little damage to myself. This time I was crossing with the light at a major intersection and a guy making a right turn against the light hit the back of my bike. Luckily I don't have clip pedals and was able to lift my leg out of the way. In both cases my bike was rendered unridable.

So, in all seriousness, watch for cyclists when you're driving. An absent-minded moment on your part can result in their death, and that's to be avoided, eh?

Everyone Should Be So Happy

Today is the anniversary of that splendid day when my Beloved took all leave of her senses and said "I do". We have struggles aplenty and there is much I would change about where we are in our lives, but I can truly and honestly say we have a great marriage. In the thirteen years we have now been married I have only grown to appreciate and love her more.

In most of my jobs I've worked with a cross section of young and old and ethnicities from every walk of life. Time and again I've heard men and women alike complain about their relationships. He does this to me. She said that last night. He/she is such a...

This makes me sad. I can't begin to describe to these people what I have with my Beloved. They just don't get it, or they don't believe me. You can see it in their eyes. That hooded look as they nod their heads while inside their saying, "Yeah sure, buddy, what's the real story?"

The real story is this; there was no lightening bolt of love at first sight or a sign from God. It took two engagements for me to stick with it. There have been tears and yelling. There has been pain. Yet, through it all we have reached toward one another even when we would rather have turned our backs to each other. We have hammered at our differences, sometimes again and again and again, until we have figured out how to communicate in a way that the other will understand. She has shared in my joy even when she couldn't begin to understand the subject of my excitement. I have shared in her pain even when I would rather have boxed it up and hid it from sight so that we could move on.

In short, we have tried. Tried to be the person the other needed and tried to understand when the other wasn't all we would have hoped.

I don't know why many others fail at this while we have enjoyed such success. Perhaps God truly meant us for one another. Perhaps there's something in each of us that others lack. Perhaps it's luck. If you know me I'm sure you know which one I believe...so, thank you, God, for the love of my life. And thank you, Beloved, for giving yourself to me thirteen years ago. I will continue to try to be worthy of the gift you and my Lord have so richly bestowed on me. Happy Anniversary.

A Joyful Sound

This is a band I found while searching for medieval music. Now, they are an overtly pagan band with all of the trappings and, when they're using a language I can understand, the lyrics. For that matter I'm sure the lyrics I can't understand fall within the same category. So, as a good Christian lad I cannot recommend them on the basis of content. However, if you want some rousing, joyful music you could do worse.

Which is often the case, finding rousing, joyful music that is not Christian, I mean...and that bothers me. Not that a non-Christian should make joyful music, but that Christians make so little of it. I'm sorry if this makes me a heretic but worship music makes me yawn. Repeatedly.

Now, don't get me wrong. God is awesome, in the non-hang-ten sense of the word. He is deserving of worship, and the lyrics to many hymns are inspired. Certainly when focusing on the all-powerful creator of the heavens there is a place for the serene, the calm. However, there is also a place for joy and exuberance, but Christians seem to struggle with that other half. I don't know if it's fear of appearing sinful, or maybe they think God's peace manifests in an always tranquil demeanor. All I'm sure of is that I have been to many a church and hung out with many a Christian brother or sister, and, more often than not, the joy and excitement seem to be missing.

Once again don't mistake me. I'm not saying most Christians I know are unhappy, far from it. Let me explain it another way. Have you ever gotten up early in the morning as the sky was just beginning to lighten and the air was cool and crisp? Your senses seem heightened. You see every leaf, every blade of grass. You can smell the earth and its richness. Your body trembles with pent up energy and the whole world seems rife with a nearly magical potential. On such a morning you feel as if you could climb the highest mountain or swim across the ocean or just head out the door and run to the ends of the earth.

Have you felt that kind of joy? I have. On those days I whisper a thanks to God for his bountiful creation and for my ability to enjoy it. Every Christian should feel that way about his God's wonderful providence.

So, why do I have to find a pagan band to discover the music that embodies this?

Even Scoundrels Get a Break

I got this quote from here: http://www.survivalblog.com/quote-of-the-day/.

"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all." - H. L. Mencken

Yeah, What He Said...

"[A] wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." - Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

These Poor Saps

When I was in the active duty Air Force there were many annual events and activities that rolled around year after year that just became another part of military life. One of them was the "charity drive". It had another name, but that's what it was, a charity drive. At McConnell AFB each of the squadrons would put homemade plywood billboards along the main street of the base showing how much money each had raised during the month or so the drive was going on. I remember that each of us would receive a giant list of charities to which we could donate. There was everything from Susan G. Komen fighting breast cancer to the American Indian College Fund.

Now, recently I've been having some fun debates with some friends on Facebook, and more than once we have taken sides concerning the subject of government's role in, well, just about everything. Being the staunch conservative (not Republican, by the way) I am I have been vocally in favor of a very limited government that stays out of things like health care and education. My, what lovely discussions that stance has sparked, too. There is one recurring theme that seems to exist in the arguments of those who oppose my conservative views, and that is this; my not wanting the government to redistribute my money to all the poor saps who need help means I must not want to help these poor saps. It's a fallacious conclusion with only emotional and no logical basis...and it's a bit offensive.

The reason I have told you about the Air Force charity drive is because I recently recalled that long list of charities and something occurred to me. There is an organization trying to raise money for just about every need in existence. These people work tirelessly to spread awareness about their causes. They hold fundraisers and hit folks up for money all the time. Many people give to these organizations to help their fellow man. Any of the many people I have been debating with along with many others I have seen post comments in online newsrooms, other blogs and on social networks like Facebook could easily give to these charities if they wish to help those in need. They could even help in the effort of spreading the word about the needs and where to go to lend a hand.

However, in lieu of these things they wish instead to have the government oversee such "charity" and accomplish the actual work by taking everyone's money to redistribute to the poor saps. So, on the one hand we have charity provided freely by those who wish to help others and on the other hand we have those who advocate forcing everyone to donate money whether they wish to or not.

Or, to put it more simply, on the one hand we have altruism, and on the other hand we have legalized theft.

So, an exercise in honesty; for those who think the government should be using tax dollars for social reform, if you were standing on the sidewalk with four friends and a man aproached you asking for $25 to buy gas so he could get his family to the next city where he has a job waiting would you give him the money or demand that each of your friends give him $5 to help him on his way? Just curious.

Joyful Burden

So, most people who have seen me set myself to a task say I have a good work ethic or that I'm a hard worker...or that I'm OCD. Even the last one is said with a good natured respect, though. My internal reaction is usually a 50/50 shot between a swell of pride that I try to quickly stiffle so that I don't get cocky and look like an ass and a jolt of shame that this poor person has been duped into thinking I'm doing a good job when there is so much I've missed or didn't get to. Sometimes I even have both together.

Over the long term, however, a third reaction has set in. I look around at the job in question, look at the person who is so impressed with my performance and try to figure out what he thinks is so special about what I'm doing. Now don't get me wrong, this is not a false modesty in some attempt to look humble or fish for compliments. I have truly wondered why what I consider to be, at best, an acceptable level of performance is considered by so many others to be exceptional, and I think I've figured it out. Rather, I've figured out why there are so few performing at the same level so that employers and supervisors find MY level of effort so remarkable.

Most people haven't learned how to enjoy work.

By that I don't mean they haven't found work they enjoy. I mean they haven't learned how to enjoy any given work they might be doing. This IS a lesson I've been taught and I thank my father for it. As with many lessons from our youth I did not appreciate it at the time, but now I'm glad my father gave me many chores to perform as a youth. Some were physically difficult. Some were tedious. Some were both. Few were required to be done only once.

One fine example is the trash barrels. My father used to get empty, used, 55-gallon drums to use for trash barrels. The lids to these were sealed making them very poor trash barrels in their initial state. What my father had me do to fix this state of affairs was take a hammer and chisel, beat the chisel through the edge of the lid, pull it back out, place it next to the newly created slit and repeat. I would painstakingly work my way around the edge of the lid until its contact with the barrel was completey severed and it fell through.

Once that barrel got rusted and weak from exposure to the elements it was deposited with its last load of trash at the dump and the process would begin again with a new barrel. Remember, this is just one of many chores. Now, rest assured I did not enjoy many of these tasks I was given while growing up. However, my father brooked no shirking, and if I was given a task it was a given that I must finish it, sooner rather than later. So, I would trudge out, tools in hand, often with many a great and dramatic sigh, to slave away for the awful ogre who ruled our house.

Yet, over the course of time performing many a given task, and over the course of years performing many tasks, a strange thing happened. I began to find that doing the task was less distasteful than having it hanging over my head. I also noticed that as I became used to some of my tasks I could fall into a familiar rhythm that made them seem almost effortless. Too, for those tasks that seemed especially tedious and difficult I was sometimes able to find a way to perform them more efficiently, or I might find it a challenge to just knuckle down and see how quickly I could power through to the end.

Along with the mere completion of a task the quality of the work was also important to my father. Quite often he seemed more upset at a poor quality product than at a task not yet started. Invariably I was required to repeat the task until he was satisfied. It quickly became my goal to avoid the negative feedback and garner the rare compliment, the old stick and carrot motivation. To this day I respond much better to the carrot, as long as it is sincere, than to the stick, though both will spur me.

The end result of all of this is...I enjoy work. I enjoy striving to please the person who gave me the task. I enjoy the challenge of finding the best way to accomplish a task. When possible I enjoy the familiar rhythm of a task at which I've become proficient or skilled. I enjoy pushing to see if I can do better this time than the last time I performed the task. Now, don't get me wrong, there are things I don't like to do. Also, there are times when I just don't feel like doing even those tasks I enjoy most. Yet, on the whole I like the act of being productive whether I am producing a tangible or providing a service.

And the nice thing is, even if I didn't gain anything else from it I would still have more fun at work than most people.