Behind the Eight Ball

Buying the cheapest item often doesn’t pay.  I learned this lesson again today when the drain underneath the kitchen sink began to leak.  The problem was readily apparent.  The bolt holding the drain pipe to the sink had come undone.  I tried to screw it back on but the threads of either the bolt or attachment were stripped.  I called the plumber, and on first glance at the problem he said that the entire assembly including the bolt would have to be replaced.  The existing cheap assembly strips easily and cannot be repaired.  He had to remove it and install a new one.  Obviously, the cost of the repair far outweighed what the purchase of a quality part at the outset would have cost.  This falls into the category of cutting corners—not wanting to make the required investment in time, material, or money in the first place.  An adequate upfront investment is simply required to have the job done right.  Of necessity often the financially strapped find they must cut corners.  So, ironically, those who can least afford it eventually find themselves encumbered with additional and higher expenses.  This is a basic reason for a cruel truth: one has to be wealthy to afford poverty.

Print Page

Steadiness during Turbulence

Today I watched the film Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie was “about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted in that country following the dismantling of apartheid. Freeman and Damon play, respectively, South African President Nelson Mandela and François Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby union team the Springboks” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invictus_(film)).

I cried throughout most of the movie.  When people do the right thing even though it would be understandable and easier for them to do otherwise, it warms the heart tremendously.  When leaders do not turn away from leadership and become lackeys of current public opinion but press on with what is ultimately unifying and spiritually lifting, it shows much more than courage; it shows the innocent determination to achieve transformation.  The grace and graciousness of Nelson Mandela was built upon ironclad certainty of what was needed.  His 27 years in Robben Island prison did not break the man, but gave him confidence where true strength lies.  He had 27 years of class 101 Human Nature to study man’s behavior carefully and to map out its spiritual underpinnings.

Print Page

Hell No I Won’t Conform

The elephant in the room is the harm caused by alcohol.  When, I wonder, will the propaganda for alcohol be countered by the facts?  When will alcohol cease to be the sophisticated and cool drug of preference and be seen instead for the plain and evident harm it does?  Will it ever be as “uncool” to drink as it has become to smoke?  I hope and pray that it does.  Prohibition was a failure.  People rebelled against their freedom of choice being violated—as if alcohol were a victimless adventure in which no harm was ever perpetrated against innocents.  “Get real, Wayne, alcohol is here to stay.”  My retort:  “Yes indeed, it’s time to get real.”  I have come to hate alcohol and most especially the lying propaganda for it.  What kind of society yawns at ubiquitous falsehood blared into its living rooms?  Will the cry of the innocents ever be heard above the din of advertisements?  Money, it seems, can buy anything and cover a multitude of death and suffering with a sheen of intimidating deceit—if you’re against alcohol then you're uncool.  The quicker I learn that I’m not cool, never have been, and never will be cool, the better off I’ll be.  The quicker I learn that the truth is often viewed as uncool, the more I’ll appreciate the nonconformist.

Excerpts from a November 1, 2010, article regarding alcohol follows:

London, England (CNN) -- Alcohol ranks "most harmful" among a list of 20 drugs, beating out crack and heroin when assessed for its potential harm to the individual imbibing and harm to others, according to study results released by a British medical journal.

A panel of experts from the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs weighed the physical, psychological, and social problems caused by the drugs and determined that alcohol was the most harmful overall, according to an article on the study released by The Lancet on Sunday.

Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals, the study says, while alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others.

In the article, the panelists said their findings show that Britain's three-tiered drug classification system, which places drugs into different categories that determine criminal penalties for possession and dealing, has "little relation to the evidence of harm."

Panelists also noted that the rankings confirm other studies that say that "aggressively targeting alcohol harms is a valid and necessary public health strategy."

(Retrieved November 6, 2010: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/01/alcohol.harm/index.html)

Print Page

All Thumbs Strategy

Today at 4:00 pm I found myself helping on a job for which I have little talent.  The job sounds easy enough, and it seems to be for some people.  The job is to prepare the electrical hookups for Mayor’s Night Out—a meeting held each month at various recreation centers in different parts of town.  In these meetings the mayor, several council members, and key city staff from various departments meet the public in the evening. The settings are the gymnasiums in the recreation centers.  The afternoon of the event at the determined site, tables are set up along the walls and electric has to be run to each table.  This involves using Velcro to fasten electrical strips to the table legs, daisy chaining some of the strips, and running wires to wall outlets for current.  The final step is to tape over the wires on the floor to avoid a tripping hazard.  There is a neatness factor.  The excess wire lengths have to be coiled and arranged properly to give the setup a professional appearance.  For some reason, I find it very difficult to visualize what is needed—which wires best go in different locations for the best fit.  Also, the strips just don’t want to stay put when I attempt to Velcro them to the table legs.  When I try to tape down the wires, rather than getting a neat and straight run, mine tend to wander and the tape is crinkled rather than smooth.  So what do I do when faced with this situation?  I remember what my father said, “Do the best you can do, and that’s all you can do.”  So my technique is to be a helper rather than a leader.  I hold the wire straight along the floor so that another better adept at taping can do that.  I help set out the wires and strips at various tables.  I bring in a projector for presentations and the screen.  Finally, I hope that 5 o’clock will come soon—my quitting time.  I hope that no one will notice my ineptitude, and if they should will say “Well, he’s doing his best.”  Sometimes that’s the most I can hope for.

Print Page

We Need Another Billy Graham

The biggest challenge of today is to turn America away from greed and towards God.  The biggest problem today is that people seek spiritual fulfillment from unspiritual things.  They expect money, power, wealth, or an institution (often government or business enterprise) to fill the need that only God can fill.  They turn the spiritual need for salvation into a quest for material salvation. They place their hope in mammon not manna. It is incumbent upon the church to reassert its role in society.  The hour is late.  Only God and his eternal values and spiritual gifts can save America from a shallow grave.  Dead civilizations warn that self-destruction is the consequence when one makes idols of things and worships them. It is not too late.  America has fallen asleep, it has not forgotten. Wake up America.  Turn to God. Our spiritual crisis makes our financial crisis.  Our spiritual crisis makes our corruption crisis. Our spiritual crisis makes our power crisis.  Our spiritual crisis leaves us rudderless.  It is not too late.  Turn to God.

Print Page

Election Day – A Personal Reflection

Once every so often, elected officials must ask voting citizens for their endorsement.  Those challenging elected officials must do the same.  Neither of them is appointed by God.  Neither ascends to the throne automatically by divine right.  Both must submit themselves to an unseemly and sometimes cruel process in which they are vilified by the public, pundits, and the opposition.  Even if they win, they become labeled as a “politician” meaning they are essentially sleazy, selfish, and dishonest.  There is no job security.  What kind of person would possibly submit themselves to this?  One could guess that they are power hungry control freaks were it not for the fact that even as elected officials their ability to control policy and events is severely limited.  They seldom get credit for good outcomes and always get blamed for bad.  They must give up their anonymity and privacy.  They must face nut cases, citizens who earnestly complain that there are not enough squirrels in their neighborhood.  My question is why would anyone want to become a politician?  My answer must be that God has placed it in their hearts.    

Print Page

Notes upon seeing Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”

Self-discipline when sourced in humility is a form of love.  Perfection when offered as a gift indicates a pure heart.  True excellence derives from grace.  Harsh, tough tasks are carried lightly when done with a servant’s heart.  Extravagance is not extravagance when it derives from generosity.  Joy overflows from intentionally creating and contributing the unsurpassed.  The immediate gift is never the main gift—that flows outwardly from appreciation.  The good that men do has intrinsic, inherently timeless implications.

Print Page