The Muse is Loose

In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.....

The declaration goes on to mentioning all the injustices placed upon them by the King of England. Finally, there is the time of commitment; signing this document. It is each one's death warrant if the new country falters and falls. These fifty-six signers were all members of the Continental Congress. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin at 70. The youngest were Thomas Lynch and Edward Rutledge, both 26. Most of the signers are men forgotten in history, but some went on to be great leaders; John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Benjamin Harrison, and Thomas Jefferson. They knew what they believed and put their lives and fortunes and families on the line for those beliefs.

Isn't that what we do when we become Believers? Our commitment to Jesus Christ should be nothing less than the kind made by these fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence. We have no way of knowing if all these men would have stood tall when facing death for their beliefs. We have no way of knowing about ourselves and others if challenged for our Christian beliefs. I think we would each hope and pray we would stand tall in our own adversity. HAPPY FOURTH!

How would you like to be awakened at 12.01 on a Wednesday morning by someone offering you millions of dollars? It happened to some of the NBA free agents. These are guys that are free to sign with another team to play basketball. Jason Kidd was met at the door by Mark Cuban, Dallas billionaire, and owner of the Mavericks. What did he offer at this midnight hour? We are not given that privileged information. In Orlando Marcin Gortat heard a rap on his door and ushered in Houston Rockets General Manager, Daryl Morey, with a pocket-full of big bills. It happened in other places as well. Wednesday was the first day for free agent signings. It appears none of them signed at that early hour. Their agents have to get in the act. It is an interesting phenomenon in the sporting world.

Over in College Station was another person up at midnight. It was Texas A & M University Chancellor, Mike McKinney. He received word of a "no confidence" vote from the Faculty Senate. This came just weeks after the President of A & M resigned. Rumors have it they are thinking of combining the two lucrative jobs to save some money. So, while some institutions are seeking ways to save money, other entities are working to spend it.

Over in Waco their newspaper will now be printed in Austin! Shades of green and orange! What is this world coming to? Anyway, times they are a changing. By the way, America's best-selling car for the fifth year in a row??? Toyota Camry!

Two thousand two hundred thirty will be a red-letter day for Bernard Madoff. On that day he can walk, or be rolled out of prison, a free man. He will be 221 year old. The courts gave him a 150 year sentence with no parole. All of this seems to me a bit of a farce. How and why are sentences so ridiculously long, and mean so little? It's the court system that has gradually gone haywire. In Goliad, Texas, where our son-in-law and family are soon moving, there is a large live oak tree on the court house lawn. It is an historically true "hanging tree". Court was held inside and justice was rendered outside, often on the same day. This man Madoff committed what some are calling the largest financial fraud in history. Thousands have lost all their life savings. Institutions who trusted him have been bilked. His crimes are murderous. He should receive a murderer's penalty. Of course we are heavily in to wrist-slapping in our wimp-courts. Corpus Christi is finally getting ready to enforce a law they have had for some time. They will sue parents for damages caused by graffiti artist teen- agers who have done multiple thousands of dollars damage in defacing the city. Of course, many of those parents will admit they have no control over the actions of their baggy-pants hoodlums. It is for repeaters, by the way. Why not the first time? Maybe a parent could be invited to spend an evening with their little angel in the cross-bar hotel.

A final word about unpleasant events: Check your fresh asparagus and potatoes for pot residue. Immigration officials with dog-sniffers uncovered two separate trucks loaded with marijuana at the Sarita checkpoint. Each truck had almost a ton of the stuff. One load was potatoes; the other asparagus. Three million dollars worth ,street value. Explain to me: Did they float it across the Rio Grande and scale the "wall"? Did someone at the border check-stop at the river take a few bucks and wave them through. Take your guess. All of this has given me a headache. Where is my Tylenol? Oh no! It says here the Feds are after Tylenol! What's the world coming to? Do we have any aspirin?

You ever bothered by your memory...or lack of it? It used to be limited to older adults but it seems to have afflicted a lot of younger folks today. I have lapses at awkward moments, like when I am introducing a person I have known for a lifetime. Here is a joke from Paul Powell's book, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Retirement"

An elderly couple was sitting on the porch one evening and the wife said, "You know what I'd like?"
The husband said,"No", and she said, "I'd like some vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top." The old man said, "Okay, I'll get you some.". His wife said, "You better write it down or you'll forget!". He said, "I won't write it down and I won't forget."

In a few minutes he came back to the front porch and had a plate with two scrambled eggs and an order of toast. The old lady disgustedly said, "I TOLD YOU TO WRITE IT DOWN! YOU FORGOT THE BACON!"

Have you forgotten anything lately?

Our Corpus Christi paper used to carry two puzzles daily. One was from Chicago, the other New York. Now there is only one. It is the puzzle from the New York Times. Early in the week it is almost workable for me. Later in the week it becomes extremely difficult. By Sunday this puzzle is impossible...for me. I know I am old, and not a member of Mensa, but how many out there know the answers to most of the Time's clues? Let me give you some from last Sunday's puzzle:
Kapa haka dancer-5 letters; Pair in an ellipse-4 letters; Vatican rules - 8 letters;"Eva is leaving" -8 letters. Exsiccate - 5 letters; Pele's real first name - 5 down; Kerfuffle - 3 letters. Enough? Did you get them all? Even the computer underlined some of these words, thinking they were misspelled.

In a time when the newspaper business is up against the wall it seems not a good time to rid themselves of folks like myself who mainly want the paper for Pickles, Sudoku, and the crossword puzzle. That's my cross word for the week.

I tried last evening to write a BLOG, and to my utter amazement, I discovered my former Pastor, and still friend, had turned his site, which I use to BLOG, into a site for purchasing "cheap" (They used the word) womens purses, luggage, and even economy airline tickets. It was hard to believe that Charles had deserted his calling to begin selling trash. Had it been Neiman-Marcus stuff it would have been far more acceptable. We had a good laugh about it and service is now restored.

What makes or allows these phenomenal machines to suddenly do things they are not invited to do? Do you understand? If you do, don't bother to explain it to me for I would not get it.

Yesterday was a wonderful one in celebrating Dr. Robert Edwards and Dolores' fiftieth wedding anniversary. These dear folks who spent most of their married years in Colombia as Medical Missionaries have become fast friends. Ann and I are grateful to share their love and friendship. They had missionaries and family from across the country. In spite of all these folks being here they took time to come by to see Ann who could not go. It helped her spirits and mine.

James Duprie accepted the position of Offensive Coordinator for Goliad High School. Goliad is an historic old city. Today it is ranching country, with oil and gas and some uranium. The school is AAA and they play in their district, Cuero, Edna, Gonzales, Palacios, and Yoakum. Their head coach is Greg Althof. Cuero is picked number one in district and number nine in state.Goliad is picked for next to last in district. Not a bad place to be before it all begins. We are proud for James and excited our kids will get to live in this place. It is ONE HOUR from our front door so that is nice too.Still no rain in Rockport. This drought is SEVERE for this area. It is almost total crop failure for the farms. We know rains will come but are anxious about what they might bring with them from the Gulf Of Mexico.

Elvis surely was the king of Rock n Roll. He died a premature death. His music, however, is almost as popular today as it ever was. He was a good guy, but with little guidance when he really needed it. He proudly answered the draft call and was sent to serve in Germany just after I left there. Michael Jackson was also king in his field. He was a dancing demon. Who hasn't tried to do that scoot across the floor! I remember him as a kid singing in the Jackson Five. His sister became a big star. I am not sure what Michael became, except a rather tragic person. I have always hoped the charges against him really were not true, but I guess we will never really know. He wasn't a good singer in my estimation. His squeaky, high-pitched voice was not great. He was a showman. Someone behind the scenes saw to that. His record sales were phenomenal. Then, like a comet, it all plunged to earth and he was through. There were plans for a come-back, but we will never know about that. The show-biz spotlight has a way of burning folks. Look at the tragic ending of Judy Garland. There are others. The Bible simply says: "Pride goes before destruction." That is true for others outside the Hollywood scene.

This has not been a better day for Ann, but she has improved. She has been sick some and has felt bad, probably because of high blood pressure and medications, but the bleeding has almost stopped. She will possibly get to come home tomorrow. She will not be on her coumadin for several days so we will have to be careful. Right now, things look better. Thanks for your interest and prayers.

Yesterday we were moving along in a normal way as family. Today Ann is in the Hospital in Corpus Christi with what is being called colitis, and infection in the colon. This is causing a rather extensive bleeding for her. She also has a great deal of discomfort. Laura took Ann to the hospital late Monday evening while I slept! I had birded all day with Emily and was worn down. Didn't know about it until I arose early this morning. We still await a gastro-enterologist, (hope I got it right.) She will possibly have a colonoscopy to check it all out. Will be in the hospital a couple of days for sure. I don't like BLOGS like this. Neither do you.

It just happened! Sunday, June 21, is the longest day of this year. Did it seem like a long day? It just depends on what one is doing, or not doing. Alaskan days in the summer can go to nearly midnight. At the North Pole the sun only rises once each year. Long days are not always judged by hours and daylight but by events. You have had those times in ER or even at school when it seems time has ceased. Ever waited for a call from loved ones about their well-being? Minutes seem like hours. So it is. Our time clocks,and days and nights, are not always like God's. He has fined tuned this marvelous universe to the second. Our little clocks and timers are not so well tuned. In the Bible there is an event where God changed it all for a day. The sun stood still! That is not possible! You are right..... except where it involves the timeless Creator of time.