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Monday, January 5, 2004

It was one of those primitive science experiments that a lot of boys try. OK, it's a sunny winter day. You lay out a board out on the ground - this is what I did anyway. Now you can leave it there all day with the sun beating down on it. It won't even get warm. Now comes the exciting part of the experiment. You take a piece of glass and you focus the sun's rays on one spot on that board. Same sun, same board - very different result. Eventually, that board starts to get hot - and you've got smoke - maybe even fire going there. Amazing, huh?

Friday, January 2, 2004

Somewhere on cable or late night TV, you might run into my old hero. He's a masked man who rides on a white horse, who shoots silver bullets and always brings in the bad guys. Every episode ends with someone asking, "Who was that Masked Man?" And as the exciting William Tell Overture crescendos in the background, someone will say, "It's the Lone Ranger!" I'm getting all emotional here. Now there was one other thing about the Lone Ranger. He had a faithful sidekick, that Indian man in buckskins, Tonto. He's the one who got famous calling the Lone Ranger "Kemo Sabe." I never did know what that meant. Maybe the Lone Ranger didn't know either. Maybe that's a good thing. But there is one thing about the Lone Ranger that always seemed a little hard to understanding - even the Lone Ranger wasn't alone.

Thursday, January 1, 2004

There are some things that are just tough to advertise - like things people need but don't want to think about. Like insurance to pay your funeral expenses some day. Now, a local insurance agency gave it a good try recently in a newspaper ad they ran. In bold letters it said, "Final Payment." It went on to make a case for doing something now to take care of the last obligation of your life. Of course, that ad had a serious inaccuracy.

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

When a police officer shows up for his shift, he has no idea where he's going to end up that day. That's not really up to him. His car is connected to headquarters by way of radio - and on the other end sits that person who will tell him where he's going next - the dispatcher. An officer can be cruising along peacefully one minute and the next minute racing full speed to the scene of a crime. Police officers don't decide where they're going to go next, they go wherever the dispatcher sends them. It's that voice from headquarters who sends an officer to where he or she needs to be next.

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

So how much would you pay for a piece of cardboard - $100, $500, $2,000? Actually, people do it all the time, if that cardboard is a valuable baseball card. Now, my sons have really profited from collecting that cardboard strategically. They tried to anticipate rookies who would be stars and bought their cards before there was much demand. Later, when lots of people wanted those cards and there weren't many to be found, our guys cleaned up. Our oldest son did so well that his cards actually helped pay his way through college. He didn't have any of those cards that sell for thousands. They're most valuable for one reason. There just aren't many of them. You have something like that.

Friday, December 19, 2003

It's time to wash the bathrobes again - for the boys to wear in the Christmas pageant. Like thousands of boys at Christmastime, I, too, was drafted into being one of those shepherds. I'm not sure my bathrobe got washed any other time of the year actually. Not to be petty, but I always thought the guys playing the wise men had a better deal. They got to wear some fancy clothes, and they had something to give to Baby Jesus when they came - I think we used to call it gold, frankenstein, and myyrh. But not us shepherds. Oh, no! Since the Bible doesn't describe any specific gift the shepherds brought, we came empty handed. I thought we looked a little cheap. But I've learned something since then.

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Actor Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion," has broken new ground for Hollywood - and triggered a firestorm of controversy. "The Passion" tells the story of the day of Jesus' death with an attempt at Biblical accuracy that is seemingly unprecedented in movie-making history. The dialog is even spoken in the languages spoken at that time. And the portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ is said to be intensely realistic, following as closely as possible the Bible's description of what happened that day on a place called Skull Hill. The controversy revolves around the portrayal of the role of the Jewish leaders on that day in conspiring to have Jesus crucified by the Romans and their statement inviting His blood to be "upon us and our children." So, for centuries, Jews have been wrongly persecuted as "Christ-killers," allegedly guilty of "deicide." What a tragic mistake! The truth of why Jesus died so brutally on that cross is far more shocking.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Hurricane Isabel was roaring up the East Coast, bringing with her 100 mile-an-hour winds, flooding deluges of rain, and a trail of destruction. As the storm moved from North Carolina toward Virginia and Washington D.C., something unprecedented happened at one of America's most hallowed sights. At Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place of many of the nation's honored dead, there stands the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded proudly by military sentinels, day and night. For some seventy years, the guards have been there, marching with impressive precision, their rifle on their shoulder. But with a violent storm headed that way, the guards were given the unprecedented option of leaving their post long enough to seek shelter. They refused.

Friday, November 14, 2003

Recently I met a man from St. Joseph, Missouri, and I surprised him with my trivia knowledge when I said, "Pony Express country, right?" He confirmed my recollection that his town was the beginning of the famous Pony Express. Those guys rode their way right into the history books. They're practically legends of the Old West - riding endless hours through hostile territory, risking their lives to deliver the mail to the West Coast. You probably know that part. What you may not know is how many guys we're talking about here in this legendary operation - just 80 riders, and only one mail delivery was ever lost. How long did the Pony Express run? Only 18 months! It only took a few people a short time to make a great impact!

Thursday, November 13, 2003

The day is about to end. I invite my wife to go for a romantic walk with me as we look toward the West at the beautiful colors of the - well, you'll probably say sunset, right? And so would I. But we would be scientifically incorrect. Since when does the sun set? The sun doesn't go anywhere; it's the earth that's moving! So, "Honey, let's go for a romantic walk and watch the beautiful ... earth set?" No, I don't think so! Well, actually, the American Scientific Association discovered in a survey that 21% of the Americans they asked thought the sun orbited around the earth, and 7% didn't know! That's almost one out of three Americans who's confused about what is revolving around what!

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