Alright Folks, It's A Wrap!

"See Ya In The Funny Papers."

I started blogging November 22, 2010. I've decided to end my blog today. My decision to stop blogging is somewhat arbitrary, as was my decision to start blogging in the first place. I want to tell everyone who reads my blog how much I appreciate your help in keeping me engaged in the process. I have never had the diligence to keep a journal this long before, and the fact that someone is reading it has been invaluable in helping me keep it going as long as I did.

As you can see from my stats page, my readership has grown during the year. I had 16 page hits last November. So far this month, there are 630.

But I feel like I sometimes feel after overeating a large, good meal. I'm stuffed and satisfied, and done.

It seems appropriate to talk about Momentum since I've been discussing it all year. I think that I've made a lot of forward progress this year riding the wave of Momentum in my life. But the easiest way to measure that progress is by looking at the things I've left behind. I think that's good and healthy for me just now. I look forward to the continuing impact that Momentum brings to me and to that with which I have to do. May the Momentum continue, and continue to increase.

And as I bring this chapter of life to a close, I want to emphasize how much I have enjoyed the past year. I will always remember my blog time as one of the cool things I've done in life. But now I want to spend some time enjoying the Holidays, read more, think a little less, be more focused and productive at work and find my way back to the gym so I can try to lose 20 lbs. 

Thank You again for reading my blog. With all of my heart, I want to wish you well. May you realize your highest good and deepest joy in the days and years ahead.

Post Of The Year Award

"As the One Year mark for my blog approaches, I decided to pick what I think is the best post of the year and re-post it today. I'm surprised I haven't written more prose on my blog. This is the only poem that made the cut. I love its message, both literally and metaphorically with respect to the oxymoron around which my blog  revolves.

So without further adieu, give it up for Mr. Happy's Post of the Year."


OF FATHERS AND GAY SONS

There once was a father named Ray
Who found out his son, Chris, is gay.
He shouted and stammered and threw a big fit,
Let’s just say it ruined his day.
"What did I do? Where did I go wrong?
We never raised you this way!
We taught you what’s right. We showed you the Light.
How dare you turn out to be gay?!”

Now Chris is ashamed and embarrassed.
He’d tried so hard not to be careless.
And now all is lost. His father, the cost.
His life slipped from scary to hopeless.
"What can I do now? Someone show me how
To be what he wants me to be.
I’ve tried and I’ve prayed. These feelings have stayed.
There’s no way for me to be free.”

The tension between them grew worse over time.
A dad’s disappointment and son’s intertwine.
Ray doesn’t get it, and Chris can’t retreat.
There’s no way to say, “In the middle, let’s meet”.
If left unattended, this tension will flash,
Harsh words and actions will end in a clash.
There’s all kinds of wisdom and doctrines and such,
But heartache and sadness, none of them touch.

To Chris, let me say that your father’s not mad.
He’s scared for your future and should be. He’s Dad.
His children, you see, are the joy of his life,
Seconded only by love for his wife.
Gay life is sex, drugs, diseases and more.
To think of you living that life makes him roar!
From his point of view, you’re throwing away
That which is precious to choose to be gay.

So don’t be upset when he’s doing his job.
You want him beside you if you face a mob.
Fathers are bold, with the heart of a lion
That makes us proud. But sometimes means cryin’.
You know if you’re hurt or in trouble at all
He’ll be there beside you to cushion the fall.
So give him some leeway as he tries to cope
With issues and questions outside of his scope.

Oh Ray, can’t you see by the dawn’s early light
Your son is the same guy he was just last night.
Nothing about him has changed since before
You found out his secret. He isn’t a whore
Or druggie or anything else that you fear.
He’s still Chris, no matter what else you hear.
It’s so hard to tell you. It’s so hard to lie.
Now it’s all out there. Don’t make him cry.

So Ray, grab your son in a healing embrace!
Tell him you love him and get off his case!
It’s not like he planned this whole thing in advance,
What’s happened has happened. Maybe by chance
He’s not headed for hell or a doom and gloom life.
The last thing he needs now is this kind of strife.
Before he is anything else, good or bad,
He is your own son. Now you be the dad!

The Sacred Things

"Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

I know, Catholicism says there are seven Sacraments. Protestants only think three of them are important. Without any disrespect to them and without trying to devalue the Sacraments in any way, I want to broaden the definition of Sacred.

My perspective is that any time the temporal, physical world overlaps and connects with the eternal world, that intersection is sacred. That happens, for example, anytime I pick up my guitar or sit down at my piano and begin to worship God with music. Whenever I close my eyes and go to God in prayer, that is a sacred thing. Sometimes I feel that whenever I get dressed to intentionally go out and do something that represents God and His character, even the act of getting dressed is sacred.

God told Moses to take off his shoes, for "THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE STANDING" is holy. Religious people feel that they have to go to someplace sacred or perform some ceremony to enter into sacred things. I think that everywhere I go is sacred - work, the bars, church, even sitting here writing, right now.

Life is sacred, and by design everything with which we have to do is sacred. The problem is in the implementation. Will I acknowledge that the place where I am standing is holy ground, treat it as such and honor the God who made it holy? Will I take off my shoes and eliminate the barriers that keep me from experiencing the holy, sacred nature of this place, right here, right now?

Or will i reject that perspective completely and consider the ground I am standing on as a resource to be consumed, an opportunity to take from it (and others who occupy it) whatever I want and whatever I think I can benefit from?

People who don't get the Christian story (and a hell of a lot of them are in church every week) don't understand that the place where we stand is owned by our family. As such, it already belongs to us. We don't have to take it, drain it, abuse it, steal it, milk it for everything it's worth because it is already our inheritance. Anything we do to extract its benefits for our own gain is counterproductive. We're burning down our own houses and stealing our own money.

The sacred things in life do not involve the transfer of pleasure, wealth, value or recognition from something else to us. From an accounting prospective, those transactions offset each other anyway.

Things are sacred because we recognize, honor, reflect and express the values and character of the One who created them into every nook and cranny of the life we have been given. So let's embrace the sacred things with joy and enthusiasm, knowing that today, this place, this time and this life are sacred.

The Special Things

"I'm on the top of the world and looking down on creation,"

Every now and then, life provides something really special: an event or a song or a thought or a relationship that lifts us our hearts and makes us feel like we're on the top of the world. Part of the worldview that life is not random is that I can hold these moments close and revisit them whenever I find myself slipping into depression or feeling the futility and drudgery of everyday routines.

Like a thermal draft that helps the eagle soar, these episodes and the thoughts that go with them lift our spirits and give us hope. I can still close my eyes and relive several moments from the bottom of the Grand Canyon that I actually experienced in 1989. I remember the day I was good enough, the time I won a fight with the IRS, the first time I rented a car at an airport and drove through a strange city to a new place (that might seem mundane to you, but in the context of my story it was an amazing, wonderful thing).

These special things don't just apply to each of us individually. They apply to our families, our nation, humanity and any subset thereof. With all that's wrong with our country, a sense of national pride permeates the problems and there is hope. This pride is based on our special moments as a country when the world was right and we did the right thing.

It's not in our best interests, individually or corporately, to allow these special things in life to be eroded by bitterness, anger, cynicism or any other such disease. We need these times because their antithesis will make itself known often enough. For Christians, the image of the empty tomb with the stone rolled away or the baby in a manger under the Christmas star are powerful, healing, necessary images.They give hope and reassurance not to be found anywhere else in life. Those who dismiss those images through skepticism or ridicule are denied their benefits.

For the rest of us, those images and all of the special moments in life serve to teach us that life is not futile or meaningless. On the contrary, these special things are but a foretaste of eternity.

So, let us rejoice and be thankful for the special things - the gifts from a loving God through a universe created to provide them. Let us hold on to and respect the special things in our past, and look forward to experiencing many more as life unfolds. The special things make life good, and creates something inside of us called happiness.

The Simple Thngs

"Love God Completely, Love People Unconditionally and Love Life Enthusiastically."

Is it really that simple? Well, yeah, kind of. When we make life more complicated that that, it gets harder. Thoughts, opinions, interpretations, worldviews and experience all add their two cents on how to keep it this simple, and by the time these things get all tangled up inside our heads, there's no place left for simple. At least that's how it works with me.

The embarrassing thing is that at first glance the barflies, druggies and homeless people are a lot better at this simple concept than those of us who believe in destiny, eternity, higher calling and a life of significance. The shallow meaning behind the quote above is along the same lines as, "Live and Let Live", "Don't Worry, Be Happy" or "It's All Good."

But how do you watch a four year old wander out into the street in heavy traffic and not react intentionally, judgmentally and emotionally? How can I watch someone give his life to the guy that lives in a bottle of booze, knowing from experience the outcome of that, and not object strenuously? I can tell you absolutely that I will never say, "Live and Let Live" if I see a football coach rape a 10 year old in the shower. It isn't going to happen, and people can call me all the names they want to.

Sometimes it seems like "Love God Completely" and "Love People Unconditionally" are mutually exclusive statements. Over the past year, those who have followed my blog know that (from my perspective) a really good guy that I once highly respected, depended on and appreciated more than I can express has changed into something, well, other than that. Am I supposed to watch that and love him unconditionally? "Live and Let Live", and tell myself that it's none of my business?

If I did, how would that translate into either loving God or loving him?

We live in a world divided: Right and Wrong, Stupid and Wise, Light and Dark, Life and Death, Good and Evil, Beneficial and Self Destructive. I didn't create this paradigm, but to deny it is just a self delusional lie.

But the simplicity of the quote at the top of this post calls to me ever louder. Lay down the struggles, don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff), live my life with integrity and compassion, and let the chips fall where they may. Let God be God, and just focus on being me.

I wish I knew how to do this. Don't you? Why can't we all just get along?

The Small Things

"We cannot do great things in this life, only small things with great love."

I was half thinking that I've been borderline pissed off and feeling sorry for myself this week when I ran across the Mother Theresa quote above. It was at the bottom of my order confirmation when I ordered a few Obi Bands from BeadForLife.org. Obi means Heart, and this is a humanitarian organization helping women and children in Uganda and Nigeria. If I have to buy symbolic Christmas presents for a few guys, the proceeds might as well help someone. Plus, these bracelet things look cool. But I digress.

I was half thinking that I've been borderline pissed off and feeling sorry for myself this week when I got a call from a friend of the family who makes cigarettes for me. Several months ago, I started rolling my own. Then I found out that this family friend had purchased a machine like mine, and was rolling smokes for people to make just a little money. He's a painter by trade, has been doing it forever and is pretty good considering that he can't see as well as I can. Now he can't hardly work but still has a spouse, a granddaughter and her three kids to feed. By paying him to make my cigs, I help feed his family and still save $25 per carton.

I was half thinking that I've been borderline pissed off and feeling sorry for myself this week when I made arrangements to pick up cigs for mom and me, and I remembered that I had a couple of boxes of food left over from last Wednesday. I know my friend can use the food, but I don't want to humiliate him in any way. I asked him last night whether he knew anyone who needed some food, and (it being near the end of the month) he said he and his family could really use some. I'm glad I had some to give, in addition to the money for the smokes.

I was half thinking that I've been borderline pissed off and feeling sorry for myself this week when I realized that today is the day to pass out food again. I contrast these people's prospect for Thanksgiving dinner with mine, and realize that my family will be sitting around eating turkey and lamenting that nobody in my family can make dressing for shit while the homeless people I will see today will be thankful for anything at all to eat.

I was half thinking that I've been borderline pissed off and feeling sorry for myself this week when Nephew #1 of Six came by to borrow $200 basically because he didn't manage his money very well this summer and got behind on his electric bill. Of course, my bro is out of town. I either loaned him some money or gave him an early Christmas present. My bro would probably disapprove of the transaction, but I did the same for him over and over 20 years ago.

I was half thinking that I've been borderline pissed off and feeling sorry for myself this week when I ran across the Mother Theresa quote above. I began to realize how many small things I do with great love. It's always been that way, and I expect it always will. I know I'm an enigma, and not good enough. But there are thousands of small things that stand as evidence in my life that I have nothing to feel sorry for myself about, and much to be thankful for.

Retail Therapy

"$399, Now $250, Do I hear $225?"

Black Friday is almost here. Last September, I mentioned that I wanted a tablet computer but was waiting for the price wars to take hold before I bought one.

Thanks to Amazon and the Kindle Fire, as well as the next generation of tablets on the way, the price for the one I want will drop from $399 to $250 on Black Friday at Best Buy.

Since I can't see very well, the tablet world is a bit risky for me. The Nook 1 from Barnes and Noble was a really great feasibility test. I really love that thing. But a tablet, in addition to a backlit ereader, has a lot of other apps I think I could use - if I can see the damn thing.

I almost bought the Nook Color, and now Barnes and Noble has announced a real tablet. I've been holding out for the Asus eee Transformer mainly because of the 10.1 inch screen. Just trying to hedge my bet a little.

Today it came out that Best Buy is running a Black Friday special on the eee Transformer for $250 and the matching keyboard/docking station deal for $99.

Hmmm. Somebody will surely beat that. Soon - before Black Friday. If not, I'll be standing in line at Best Buy at Midnight on Thanksgiving to get mine.

God, I hope I love it as much as I love my Nook.

Ain't Christmas shopping fun?

Maybe I Should Be More Pathetic

"Maestro, please queue the violins..."

I find myself unable to be pathetic enough to make appointments to spend time with someone seven to ten days in advance, only to have them cancelled at the last minute.

This is my latest addition to the list of things I am not pathetic enough to endure.

At the top of the list is not being good enough when everyone else on the planet is.

The list also includes:

trying to relate to ghetto-fags at the bars,

spending time with guys who can no longer make it at the bars but still want to,

embracing guys who found their way to church only after the 'gay lifestyle' has eaten so much of their minds, hearts and souls that there just isn't anything left,

40+ year old guys who have no clue what they want to do with their lives, who they are or what they stand for,

Oh Yeah, I've also learned not to dig through another man's trash. It's sitting on the curb for a reason.

I have the growing feeling that unless I learn to be more pathetic, lower my expectations and rid myself of any sense of self-worth, I will never really be part of the gay world. I did a Google search to find an online study program in proficient patheticism, but didn't come up with anything.

Maybe I could spend the next few years of my life letting down people who care about me (and who I care about too). Would that help me be more pathetic? It seems to have worked for others.

I think I'll just shake my head and move on...again.

Sad But True?

"Come on, it ain't THAT bad. Or is it?"

They sent my Tax Return back! AGAIN!!!

In response to the question: "List all dependents?", I replied -

12 million illegal immigrants
3 million crack heads
42 million unemployable people on food stamps
2 million people in over 243 prisons
Half of Mexico
535 fools in the U.S. House and Senate

Apparently, this was NOT an acceptable answer.

Geese And Ganders

"Man, Did I hit a raw nerve or what?"

I had no idea the comparison between the scandals at Penn State and the Catholic Church would be such a hot topic yesterday. Within four hours, my post on that subject received more page hits than anything I've ever posted before. By the end of the day, yesterday's post had received five times as many views as any previous post. Wow. I was totally unprepared for that.

I know that I am appalled by the goings on at Penn State. I was appalled at the Catholic Priest abuse scandal too. But I had not idea that so many people were relating the two together.

For the record, all Catholics - or even all Catholic Priests - should not be held accountable for the perverse and unthinkable actions of a few. Not all Arabs or Muslims should be considered terrorists. It is bogus to associate the Penn State football fans, obviously disappointed by Paterno's termination, with the terrible things that happened there.

This is exactly what Catholics and other conservative groups have done to the gay world forever. And it's just wrong.

There are indeed creepy gay guys, just as there are really creepy straight guys, really creepy Catholic priests, really creepy Muslim terrorists and really creepy football coaches. But to associate the whole people group with the creepiest elements of that group is always a catastrophic error.

There are really good, quality Catholics (and Priests), football coaches, Muslims and gay guys. We need to look for these guys and give them the respect and acclaim they deserve. To cut these people down to the level of the creepy people inside of any ethos means we miss out on a lot of good things that good people from all walks of life have to offer.

Is Penn State A Catholic School?

"Performance NEVER Replaces Character. Not in Religion, Football, Higher Education, Charitable Foundations or Life."

The way that the Penn State fans were carrying on after Jo Pa's termination, one has to wonder how many of them think it's okay to repeatedly rape a bunch of disadvantaged and underprivileged kids so long as football goes well.

Is that what they think? They must be a bunch of Catholics.

The Penn State scandal has all of the ingredients. Cover ups, sweeping things under the rug, lack of disclosure, lack of proper disciplinary measures, lack of accountability, etc. Apparently this stuff has been going on up there for years, on Paterno's watch. Not only abuse by his staff but pimping out kids to wealthy doners to the program.

I wonder what those Penn State students rioting because their beloved coach was shitcanned are studying in school. Did Michael Jackson ever attend Penn State? At least he got his kids drunk first.

The most disgusting part of this whole story is the 28 year old (at the time) assistant coach who walked in on the abuse in progress and did nothing to stop it. He went home and told his daddy, and was all distraught. Why didn't he interrupt the proceedings and beat the shit out of Sandusky on the spot? If he was distraught, what about the 10 year old being abused right in front of him? And the reason he still has a job at Penn State is ... ?

The next day, he tells one of the most successful, well respected coaches in NCAA Football what's going on and Paterno sticks his thumbs in his ears and closes his eyes to the situation. Both of these guys should be publicly horsewhipped than hanged.

Instead, Penn State students and fans riot in protest? The world has gone mad.

At least the Catholics have enough money to buy their way out of their sins. I wonder how much Penn State has? I bet we find out before this is all said and done.

I Have A New Silk Purse

"Who says you can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse?"

I invited a friend to dinner last night. The plan was to go to Saints, a little Irish Pub and Eatery down in the revitalized Plaza district. The place was recommended by a another friend, and I have never been there. Last night was an exercise in spontaneous food experimentation, And it was basically a flop. The place was too loud. We sat down, looked at each other and changed courses.

So my friend suggests another Irish place not far away. We drove over by St Anthony's hospital to a nice area of town that has also recently been overhauled. It used to be a dump. We step up to put our name on the waiting list (at around 7:30 on Wednesday night!). the wait time is a little over an hour. Huh? Again the look, again the mutual veto. Strike Two.

"Screw This," says my friend. "We're going to my favorite place."

I had the absolute best mushroom soup ever, some fried green beans, the Fillet, mashed potatoes, sauteed asparagus and a glass of wine. I was stuffed. My friend had the rib-eye and three glasses of wine, and then paid the bill. We both had a really fun, enjoyable evening. I very highly recommend the Paseo Grill. Home Run.

It was a great evening, for which I am very thankful.

World Hunger In OKC

"It is silly for me to be doing this."

Today is my second day to go out to a homeless camp and hand out food. This week is supposed to be the larger of the two camps we visit. I'm looking forward to it on several levels.

Most importantly is the "Bridge To Tomorrow" concept I discussed last week. Everyone deserves at least this much, especially here in the U.S. and especially in Oklahoma City.

I'm also looking forward to the distraction from work. It's cool to be able to take time off and do this without worrying about it. That's the advantage to working at a family business that is successful enough to pay its bills and more.

It's also great to be 'on the team', working with people who have a heart and a passion for doing this little bit to make the lives of complete strangers just a little better. I'm honored and thankful to be around people like this.

It's also a reminder to be thankful for the life I have. I am fully aware that except for God's grace, I would be homeless and hungry. So many people are just a few paychecks or less from exactly this life, and yet they spend their days despising their jobs and pissing and moaning about this or that.

But having said all of that, and more besides, my thoughts today are about how silly it is for me to go do this when there are so many people more qualified with more resources that could do this so much better. But they're too busy building their mansions.

On a larger scale, world hunger seems to me to be a man made problem. The world has the capacity to make enough food for everyone a thousand times over. There is no actual lack of food. The lack is economic, which is not a naturally occurring event like famine or drought. It is a scenario caused by humans who spend their lives trying to get more for themselves and being rewarded for their efforts at the expense of starving people who cannot pay enough.

Does our government really pay farmers not to plant crops? As far in debt as our nation is, and considering that around one-third of the world goes to bed hungry, is that really a wise course of action? I think it would take me all of about 45 seconds to think of a better plan, yet this one has been going on for decades. Gawd.

The Morning Broken

"Some things just don't belong in a Morning."

Friday, I painted my best picture of Morning and This Morning, and compared the two things to the two worlds in which we occupy space simultaneously, which are the temporal, physical world and the eternal, spiritual world. They are different things, and not everyone believes in the second.

Pretty much everybody can get their mind around 'This Morning', but the scope of 'Morning' as a never ceasing, ever changing, constant, not only on earth but on every planet that orbits every star in the universe is too much for some. Therefore, the proposed analogy sounds like gibberish. I don't know how to address that, or even if I should. It seems self evident to 95% of the people on earth.

But I would like to talk about all of the things that are a part of 'This Morning' that don't fit in the realm of 'Morning'. For example, courage, compassion, loyalty, honor, respect and a thousand other things intuitively belong to Morning and This Morning alike. Morning refreshes and renews these things, and creates hope in people who embrace them.

But what about child abuse? How does the twelve year old whose drunk dad beat the shit out of him last night experience Morning? Even This Morning seems cruel. What about hunger? Consider the mom who is so hungry she can't produce milk for her baby that starved to death in her arms last night. How can she connect with Morning when even facing This Morning seems impossible?

It seems to me that there has been an ongoing discussion about this forever. And there are only two possible conclusions: The first is that the analogy is bullshit. There is no benevolent, loving God and no eternal, spiritual realm, and no hope in Morning and no value in virtue, and the twelve year old, the drunk dad, the starving mom and the dead baby are as meaningless as all of this talk about God.

The other conclusion is that each of us needs to equip ourselves and take up the task of bringing Morning to This Morning for a hurting world. We need to become soldiers of Morning and ambassadors of light in a dark world. We need to do something to help the mom, the baby, the kid and the drunk dad. We need to get our shit together and cast off the material things and empty ambitions that occupy us, and pay attention to and exploit opportunities to shine the light of Morning, the goodness of God, into that part of the temporal, physical world that intersects our lives.

In other words, we need to practice Christianity. Not in a religious, legalistic, judgmental way, but in a way that makes people's lives better. We need to spread the Good News about Morning, and the hope and renewal it represents. We need to help people connect with Morning and know that it is a gift from God as well as an invitation to live life on His level, in His shadow and be a part of His family.

Earthquake? In Oklahoma? WTF?

"If this is someone's idea of a joke, I am not amused."

We don't do earthquakes here. Until now, that is.

At 2:12 Saturday morning, my whole house shook - just once, but it was enough to wake me up. I thought my nephew did something, so I got up ready to kick some nephew butt when he staggers out of his bedroom and asks me what I did to shake the whole damn house. The last thing to cross our mind was that we had just experienced a real live earthquake.

OK, it was a baby earthquake. 4.7 magnitude. But still...This is Oklahoma, not California.

That's odd, but not odd enough to interrupt a good night's sleep. We went back to bed.

Then 'the big one' hit at 10:53 Saturday night. Wow! 5.6. That's big time for us. This one lasted a long time too. Pictures rattled, the floor shook. I actually had time to wonder what to do. Do I go outside? Stand under a door jam? Cover my head? Get under a table? I know what to do for a tornado, but earthquakes don't happen here. This was actually the biggest earthquake in Oklahoma's recorded history.

I think I''d rather take my chances with tornadoes. At least you can see them coming.

I have officially decided that I don't like earthquakes.

Morning And This Morning

"O Lord, In the morning will I direct my prayers unto Thee and will look up."

A recurring theme in my blog is how much I enjoy my morning coffee and hot tub time. Mornings are my recharge and detox time. It's always been that way. I'll do pretty much whatever anyone asks of me all day, but give me my morning.

This morning is no exception. It is special and unique in that today is our first freeze, which means saying good-bye to the flowers and the flies. It's a cold crisp morning, which makes the hot tub hotter, and the coffee that much more satisfying. This morning is indeed a great morning.

But this morning is not unique in its greatness or its uniqueness. There have been some four billion mornings, and morning is happening somewhere on the planet all the time. Morning is more than 'this morning', or even the sum total of all of the mornings combined. Morning, since the first morning, is an ongoing, never ceasing, always changing, constant.

Morning is not unique to the earth. Every planet in every solar system experiences morning at all times. Morning is so much more than this morning it is hard to grasp the scope of Morning. But it is so easy and wonderful to enjoy this morning.

Maybe understanding the distinction (and similarity) between Morning and This Morning can help us understand the relationship between this physical, temporal world and the eternal world that God calls us to be a part of. There's some really heady, deep stuff in thinking along these lines, and some of it I'm quite sure cannot be encapsulated into words.

But somehow, we're supposed to learn to appreciate This Morning in the context of Morning, and vise versa. We're supposed to live in this world, knowing that our true citizenship is in a world as distinct from this one as Morning is from This Morning. And at the same time, we are to experience this world, just as we experience This Morning, fully participating in and enjoying each and every image or taste of the world to come.

And the wisdom in all of this is to learn to live our Best Life, here and now, starting This Morning. Making quality decisions, developing solid relationships, contributing and creating good in the world around us, and encouraging each other to embrace and appreciate This Morning because of its relationship to Morning and this day because of its relationship to eternity.

I am so thankful for Morning, and This Morning in particular. It just can't help but be a great day!

Everybody Deserves A Bridge To Tomorrow

"Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope"

I finally got hooked up with the program at church that takes food to homeless camps every week. I've wanted to do that since the inception of the program, but there were always plenty of volunteers. Suddenly they needed help and I jumped in. I must've done OK, cause it looks like I've got the job from now on.

We took a truck full of food from the Oklahoma Food Bank and some case workers from the Homeless Alliance, Be The Change and a couple of other organizations. There really are a lot of resources here for hurting, disenfranchised people. We parked close enough for people to walk over to where we were. They would come and the case workers would find out how many people they had to feed, whether they needed any other services (ranging from counseling to basic health care), etc..

We passed out food and blankets. I listened and absorbed.

I can't figure out how to say any more about it without appearing to be condescending, which I absolutely am not. These guys needed and appreciated the food and blankets. I was excited and thankful to be able to participate in it.

I think we would be amazed at the number of people in Oklahoma City, or anywhere else for that matter who are much closer to the homeless life than they know. If I lose my income and can't pay my house payment, it would take the bank a matter of months or years to foreclose. But people who rent apartments are much more vulnerable. They can stay about 30 days without paying and they're out.

Now they have to find a job, accumulate first and last month's rent, eat, stay warm and figure out how to stay clean and look presentable without a house, bathroom, kitchen,etc. It's really an uphill road.

And they need a bridge to tomorrow.

And, albeit in a very small way, I was glad to help with that.

I'll Fly Away

"Do as I say, not as I do."

To my friend with whom I had the discussion last night about the past...

I know I'm the last person on earth with the clout to say this, but...

That bird isn't going to fly anywhere so long as it tries to take the tree with it. Neither will you until you let go of the past.

Let go of the past, and fly over the rainbow. Be thankful for your wings, and use them with passion and purpose.

(The tree won't care, I promise.)



It took me for frickin ever to learn that.



That's all I have to say about that. But the picture is pretty.

You Spent WHAT?

"Give 'em an inch..."

Yesterday at work was like an episode of The Honeymooners. I hate it when life makes me act like Jackie Gleason and bellow at my bro. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the sitcom from the 1950's, Gleason plays Ralph Kramden who is very short tempered, frequently resorting to bellowing, insults and hollow threats. His role became the inspiration for Fred Flintstone. He is the spitting image of my late uncle who could yell loud enough to rattle glass in the windows. The guy woulda been proud of me.

I sounded just like him when my bro handed me the receipt from the auction we participated in last weekend. I was warned that the auction contained stuff that we wanted to buy, and was prepared for them to spend $75K. The receipt (with the check stub attached) showed $162,600 and I about shit a brick!

I bitched and hollered and squealed like a stuck pig, and suggested that they HURRY to the Magic Wand store to see if my warranty replacement had arrived yet. "Gawd Dammitt! This is Halloween, not April Fool's.

"What's the point to me sitting here like Ebenezer Scrooge, stacking up the silver coins and counting them out one by one if you guys are going to play Russian Roulette with the checking account? Is this how November is going to start?"

I even bounced up and down melodramatically for effect, and I think I turned red.

And it was all an act, and my bro saw right through it and didn't buy it for a second.

Don't get me wrong. It's not a good thing that they spent way more money than the budget called for, or that they went to some steak house and spent $900 on dinner and showed up at the auction Saturday with hangovers. I do not appreciate anybody on the planet meeting me at the door on Monday morning and telling me that they took $162K out of the checking account. I don't keep that kind of money sitting around, and it isn't the best way to start my week.

It is stressful. But it is not unmanageable. I can cope with it. And thus I have the very first thing on a long list of things to be thankful for as the calendar slides into the season of Thanksgiving. Never before in my life have I been able to deal with a $85,000 surprise. I won't say I like it, but I am very aware of how things have changed for our family and business over the past few years. And it feels really good to be thankful for that.

But if they do it again, Heads Will Roll, Gawd Dammitt!