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Friday, February 8, 2008

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We were waiting at a stoplight, just across the street from some railroad tracks. The gates by the track were up and no lights were flashing. There was no train coming. But just beyond the railroad crossing was one of those little rail inspection vehicles, fitted with the wheels that allow them to ride on the tracks. On the side it said, "Union Pacific." But believe me, this was no train. Suddenly, we heard this obnoxious and continuous honking on a horn that sounded like a train horn. The little vehicle wanted to proceed through the railroad crossing, and he was nowhere big enough to trigger the gates or the lights so the traffic would stop. So the operator just kept leaning on the horn as he passed through the intersection, hoping we would all stop for him as we would for a train. We did stop, but we weren't fooled. This was no train. This was a train wannabe!

Friday, February 1, 2008

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Chaco Culture National Historical Park - it's situated in a remote corner of New Mexico. It's a place where a thousand years ago, the ancient ancestors of some of today's Indian tribes enjoyed this thriving civilization. They were, as a recent article in USA Today reported, "astronomically observant." For modern visitors, it's still a great spot to be astronomically observant; a place where you can see the heavens without the interference of the artificial light that's all around us much of the time. Several years ago, a woman came to the visitor's center desk to report something remarkable that she'd seen in the sky. The ranger held his breath for another "UFO sighting," only to be surprised by the woman's excited description of a "lane of white powder" she said that she had seen spanning the heavens above her campsite. The ranger had the great pleasure of informing this lady that, for the first time in her life, she had actually seen the Milky Way.

Friday, January 11, 2008

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There's just something fascinating about a lighthouse. I saw this feature on the evening news recently about a photographer who has decided he loves the seagull perspective on lighthouses. In this little customized aircraft, he flies over Maine's many picturesque lighthouses, shooting unusual aerial photos of them. They're beautiful; they're even inspiring. He's seen them and photographed them in all kinds of settings: sunshine, clouds, storms, high tide, and low tide. He summarized what he's seen this way: "The lighthouse is always there, but everything else is changing."

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

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My wife and I were on a flight headed for a speaking commitment and I was in the window seat working on my messages. She was in the aisle seat with headphones on, listening to one of the airline entertainment channels. And, man, was she laughing! Which made it a little hard to focus on my work. Finally, I asked her what she was listening to; what she was laughing at. It was actually Bill Cosby talking about life at 50, including this hilarious description of an all too familiar experience - getting up to get something from another room, forgetting what you went in there for, going back and sitting down, and then remembering what it was, and so on. You forget and you wander. My wife was laughing because she says that's us. Well, I don't know if it's because my brain is fuller than ever or because my memory is going, but there's a lot I don't remember these days. You may say, "Well, yeah, that's a problem for you old people." Actually, memory loss is a problem for all ages.

Monday, December 31, 2007

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Flowers are always special. They just seem even more special in the winter. A lady who works in my end of our ministry offices had some flowers on her desk. I stopped by to pick up some work, and there I saw these beautiful flowers in a vase. That's pretty significant. After all, how many times do the words "man" and "notice" ever go together in the same sentence, right? I actually noticed a few more times as I hustled down the hall past her door. Then I actually put on the brakes for a moment and I stuck my head in to smell the flowers on her desk. It wasn't worth the stop. No smell. They're fake!

Friday, December 28, 2007

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I just don't understand why this beautiful girl at college didn't have love at first sight. When she met me, that is. It wasn't even love at second sight, or tenth sight. We met at college, and it wasn't as if she was exactly holed up in her room studying all the time. She was very active socially - especially in dating some of the most sought-after guys on campus. I knew getting her wasn't going to be easy. So I carefully planned my comings and goings so I would be places that I thought she would be. I thought about things I could say that might impress her, and I ultimately let her know that I had more than a casual friendship in my mind. There were challenges, but there was no way I was going to lose her. I loved her, I relentlessly pursued her, and I got her! And what a wonderful life we have had together!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

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The Christmas tree has always been a big deal at our house. The boys go on our annual pilgrimage to pick it out. Then we have the annual decorating ceremony, and we're pretty good at it if I do say so myself. The lights, the beautiful decorations accumulated over the years, the bright star on the top. Our Christmas tree is the center of our family life all during the Christmas season, and then comes January. The decorations come off and the tree comes down. After which, I unceremoniously carry it out to the curb for the garbage man to dispose of. The ugly secret is painfully obvious that day. Even though that tree has been glowing with decorations, it was dead all along!

Monday, December 24, 2007

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It was the biggest event of the year in the little town of Cornwall. It was the annual Christmas pageant, staring many of the people of the town. When it came time for casting the various parts, every parent wanted their son or daughter to be included, of course. On audition day, it didn't take long to match every part with just the right person. But then there was Harold. The little guy really wanted a part, but because of his learning disabilities, the directors kept passing him over. But Harold just kept popping up again, asking for a part. Finally, the directors gave in and they gave him what they judged to be a no-risk part - the innkeeper who comes to the door and tells Mary and Joseph the inn is full. It was a part with only one simple line. Little did they know that the stage had been set for the most memorable Christmas pageant they had ever seen.

Friday, December 21, 2007

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If you made a list of places you might like to be for Christmas, the hospital emergency room probably wouldn't be on your list. Mine either. But that's what happened the Christmas that our sons got a new football. It was this extraordinary 60-degree Christmas day, so we had to go out and play with that new ball, of course. I went deep for a pass. I caught it on the end of my finger! And the next thing I knew, I was spending a painful Christmas in the emergency room getting a broken finger repaired. Nice way to spend Christmas, huh?

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

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When our family was with us one Christmas, I walked into the family room and saw our cute little two-year-old granddaughter with a sword in her hand. Sounds shocking, I know. But before you begin to question the parental competence of our children, I should tell you that it was a kind of sword I had never seen before. The "blade" was made entirely of feathers. It turns out that on her favorite children's TV show is this happy pirate who carries one of these feather swords. We tried the sword on me - it doesn't hurt. It tickles. I'd hate to be in any kind of a real battle with it. It's a little difficult to be intimidating as you're waving your feather sword!

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