Short Term, Medium Term, and Long Term, Energy That Is, Swimming Pools...

Earlier this week (or was it last?) Ed Cone noted one of the problems associated with the "pro-drilling" argument. No matter how fast we move it will take a long time before new oil from offshore sites, or oil shale, or from ANWR, to come online.

This issue is one where I think we all have to compromise, and we all have to suffer together, and as much as possible question not only "special interests" and entrenched ideologies, but even in some cases to our own ideologies. I know, that's easy to say...

I just don't see us getting out of this energy mess from the left or the right.

I think we have to take a strong super short term, short term, medium term, and longer term approach, and everyone's special interest has to give - everyone's, yeah, even mine.

I don't think we will ever return to the days of cheap energy. I am not sure that is all bad. We have not been good stewards of cheap energy, and have wasted very precious resources we only get to use once. We can't simply blame that bad stewardship on the government or corporations. It's our collective fault. We'a culpa.

Now is our time, together, to have the wisdom to look not just a year ahead, or five or ten, but even twenty and fifty, yes, even one hundred years ahead. The well being of our children and their children depend on it. Our national security depends on it.

There is almost nothing "free" about the energy supply/demand "market." Both supply and demand are controlled and manipulated by powerful forces. And all the while real demand is growing as huge nations modernize. There is little we can do to stop that. There is little we should do. "Oh, India, we're sorry to inform you and your people but you have to stay poor while we use all the world's energy. It's for your own good." Yeah, right.

There is no short term fix that will take prices down to levels of a year ago. The best we can hope for is to decrease price increases. Perhaps changing the rules on how who gets to invest in oil futures, and how much "down" is required, would help. I try, but I do not understand this very well, and I don't think most Americans do, and it is hard for politicians and pundits to get this message across.

Leaning on suppliers to pump more, as Saudia Arabia seems willing to do, will marginally help. Perhaps opening up a portion of the strategic reserve would help a little.

I do not understand very well how the the value of the dollar, and thus Fed policy, impacts this issue, though lots of talking heads seem to think it does. They just disagree with each other on how and how much.

Somehow we are going to have to decrease consumption, increase domestic supply, all the while biding time for all the amazing and new forms of renewable energy awaiting us down the high tech highway.

But there are things we can do NOW however that, incrementally speaking, could lower our consumption and even if just slightly decrease the pressure our demand is placing on supply.

Of course, there are all the everyday ways that people can use less gas and electricity. The government could help by increasing incentives to replace low efficiency appliances, heating and cooling, electronic devices, etc. Perhaps there could be incentives for encouraging public transportation and carpooling.

We could also force all automakers who make OR sell cars and trucks in the US to increase efficiencies of their fleets. All of a sudden it's everybody's business what everybody drives, and it's in our national interest to force these changes.

Personally I would like to see us lower the highway speed limits to 55 or 60 again. This would have an immediate short term impact on our oil demand. Fuel efficiency of cars and trucks plummets as speeds increase above 55 or 60 mph. We did it once. We survived. We can do it again.

It costs money, and I am not sure where to get it, but it seems we have to start looking at a future with much more local and intermediate distance public transportation, which may mean a much increased investment in rail systems and such.

I'd go ahead with some, but not all, of the off shore drilling plans, as much as it pains me to say so. I have never supported offshore drilling, but the benefits as well as the weight of world wide evidence regarding the safety of offshore drilling forces me to conclude that we simply have to do this. It won't matter much today or tomorrow, but ten years from now our kids will thank us.

I'd stop the ethanol idiocy immediately. People need corn. Our air needs woods, not agricultural fields. This ethanol deal has been a political boondoggle and a human disaster. We need to stop it. People need that corn, period.

I can see designating a few out of the way places in the Rockies for oil shale. It ain't pretty, but it beats some of the options, especially if it can take some of the pressure off coal. The technology is there, and it's now financially realistic.

I cannot bring myself to support oil drilling in ANWR. I am not sure my opposition is fully rational as much as symbolic. I think we just need to leave ANWR alone.

Drilling for oil and natural gas will increase our domestic supply in the 8-25 year range, maybe longer. it's a stop gap.

I personally strongly advocate nuclear energy. Here we have a medium term (10-50 years) solution that would radically impact our energy independence. The more I read about the new generation of reactors in France and Japan the more encouraged I am about this option. Yes, there is the waste issue, but with a good breeder reactor system we can recycle a lot of the spent fuel. Other very environmentally conscious countries store the waste safely; I think we could too.

There is the huge advantage of cleaner air. There is also the advantage of reduction in need for more environmentally damaging energy sources, like coal. A new generation of nuclear reactors could gradually replace the need to burn as much coal, natural gas, and oil, clean up our air, and lower our carbon footprint at the same time.

But all of this is to bide time for our long term energy future, a future we cannot fully envision, but which will involve renewable energy sources like the sun, wind, chemical potential energy (new types of photovoltaic cells perhaps) , gravitational energy, and the mere energy of motion - whether lassoing the motion of a car as it slows down to recharge a battery, or that of the tides or rivers. We have just barely scratched the surface of alternative energy, and now that energy generally is more expensive, there is more and more incentive for the private sector to invest heavily in the next technology. This is the blessing of higher energy prices.

I would also be OK with a large investment of federal money into R&D, though recent calls for the nationalization of oil refineries make me nervous. But I think if we come up with strategic and efficient ways of incentivizing universities and other corporate research centers, then a large public investment in energy would be called for.

We're in a bind. For the long term, renewable energy is the only answer. But we can't get from here to there quickly. We don't even know what "there" is. Both for the sake of national security (and independence) and economic vitality we have to use the traditional means we have for the short and medium term as we prepare for a world most of us will never see.

I remind myself that it is those countries that are economically strong that have the means to be environmentally protective. If our economy tanks people will do what they have to, just as people everywhere do, to get by. And that usually is very bad for our fellow creatures, for clean air and water, and for protective habitats.

Perhaps this is the chief irony of environmentalism; to have a clean world that is good for people and which offers safe haven for all God's creatures takes economic vitality. And yet, at some level, obtaining that economic vitality has an environmental cost.

In the end it is a necessary cost for the good of mankind and the health of the earth; it's just hard for someone with a heart for the earth's good to pull the trigger on oil drilling or nuclear power or other traditional means of obtaining energy.

I just think we have to, if we want to get from here, where we don't want to be, to there, which we can't even see.

Obama Just Seems Like Same Ole Same Ole

I like him, and I don't care what color his skin is or how often he goes to church, and I am not writing this to support his opponent, but the more Obama is out there in the public arena, the more he just seems like same old same ole to me. He's a politician, a good one, and I don't begrudge him that. I just don't see the "new way." I think all that is just smoke and mirrors.

Two questions nip at my mental heels.

First, what would a new way of doing politics in Washington (or Greensboro) really look like, and not look like? What would be the signs, the signals, the actions, that shows that a person is doing politics differently?

Second, is it possible for a person to get elected who does not follow the "old way" (as compared say to someone who talks about not following the "old way")?

I wonder. But I am pretty sure whatever this "different way" is, I am not seeing it in this election.

Magnolia Blossom

Ah, can't you just smell it?

New Politics? For Real? Then End Earmarks?

For all their talk about bringing a new "way" to Washington, neither Obama nor McCain seem to doing too much that's new or different. So, I've been thinking, what would really BE different. How about agreeing to work between now and election day to pass bills putting an end to earmarks. If there is anything that tempts corruption in both parties, and snookers the public, it's earmarks. They just need to go. Period. Nothing ought to go into the a bill other than what the bill is about. Period. Shoot, the politicians don't even know what their voting for half the time.

Good for the People of Ireland

Homeland of my great great great grandfather Patrick Gillespie, a place I so want to visit (and live for a while?), the people stuck it to their own leaders, and the European establishment. Hurray for them.

Downtown Haze, Rain in North Greensboro

I was walking up South Elm Street yesterday (from the Green Bean back to my office), about 3:30 I think, and noticed the air. It's hard for me have a thought without wanting to write, and I was already composing a sentence with silly alliteration to describe it - "heavy humid haze hangs"....but my the time I got back to my office other things took front seat. Anyway, it was Columbiaesque outside, just not so hot. I was surprised today to read about the fire "down east" (as they say in these parts) bringing the smoky air back this way.

That itself would seem odd - a fire east of here effecting our air - but the storm in north Greensboro Thursday was similar. It was cool to watch from my office window. I could see the rain, the lightning, the ominous clouds drifting not west to east or south west to northeast, but east to west! I called home and yes, it was pouring they said. When I left the office not much later it was clear we had gotten creamed - Richland Creek was almost overflowing, trees were bent down from the weight of the water, many trees were split (hurray, a few more Bradford pears gone!), tree limbs of all kinds were down, and trash containers were strewn everywhere.

We have had three or four huge storms where we have been absolutely deluged by rain, and I have checked two days running and there has been no record of any rain at the airport. I would guess that we have had six inches more rain in the last month than they have had there.

Heather at Graduation

This is one of my favorite pictures of my second daughter Heather. It was taken by my fourth daughter Anna (on the right in this picture) as we hid from the rain underneath the stadium overhang trying to do the graduation picture thing. I just love the candid take, and the joy that beams forth. Indeed, the picture would be sheer joy but for EVE. Perhaps it was appropriate after all that graduation day was gray and rainy. Despite dropping most of the program, there was still a remembrance of Eve Carson. 2008 will always be remembered for that event. It's still so hard to believe all that, almost too much to think about. Yet, amidst such sadness, life goes on, as do friendships and laughter.

Iris Dement at Cat's Cradle June 28

Iris Dement, one of the very best singer songwriters of our day, will be paying at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on June 28. I don't know if it's sold out. Last time she was there it was standing room only. I'm going with my daughter Heather, who went with me last time, two summers ago. I wrote a review of that concert on this blog, and would be most honored if you would read it.

For some Iris Dement is an acquired taste. I fell for her in an instant on the way home from church one day when I turned on Prairie Home Companion, and heard that voice. It's hard to know what genre to place her in - folk, alt-country, old-country. She has a high twangy singing voice for sure. Her songs are simple, but real, SO real, and she has a gift for turn of phrase and melody. She has a wry mischievous smile and a wonderful rhythmic southern speaking drawl. There is a melancholy streak in her music (as with mist good song writers). One just senses she has suffered more than her share in this life and knows of what she writes.

You can get a taste of her music at http://www.irisdement.com/mp3s.html. There are also several clips of her on You Tube.

Look, I'm a rocker, so if I like this twangy songwriter from the other side of the Ozarks, then she must be good! And for all you left leaning types out there, she has written one of the very best protest songs since the sixties - it's called Wasteland of the Free. It's not quite War Pigs, but it's good! I've pasted the lyrics below.

If you'd like to download ten songs from iTunes to get a feel for her music, and have a nice CD to boot, I might suggest the following:

Sweet Is the Melody - from My Life
Our Town - from Infamous Angel
When My Morning Comes Around - from The Way I Should (tissues needed)
Easy's Getting Harder Every Day - from My Life
He Reached Down - from Lifeline
I'll Take My Sorrow Straight - from The Way I Should
These Hills - from Infamous Angel (the first song of hers I heard - on PHC)
My Life - from My Life
Wasteland of the Free - from The Way I Should
No Time to Cry - from My Life

And if you have five more bucks to fill up a CD...

God Walks the Dark Hills - from Lifeline
You've Done Nothing Wrong - from My Life
Mama's Opry - from Infamous Angel
Calling for You - from My Life
Trouble - from The Way I Should (with Delbert McClinton)

Here are the lyrics to "Living In the Wasteland of the Free"

We got preachers dealing in politics and diamond mines
and their speech is growing increasingly unkind
They say they are Christ's disciples
but they don't look like Jesus to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got politicians running races on corporate cash
Now don't tell me they don't turn around and kiss them peoples' ass
You may call me old-fashioned
but that don't fit my picture of a true democracy
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got CEO's making two hundred times the workers' pay
but they'll fight like hell against raising the minimum wage
and If you don't like it, mister, they'll ship your job
to some third-world country 'cross the sea
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

Living in the wasteland of the free
where the poor have now become the enemy
Let's blame our troubles on the weak ones
Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
Living in the wasteland of the free

We got little kids with guns fighting inner city wars
So what do we do, we put these little kids behind prison doors
and we call ourselves the advanced civilization
that sounds like crap to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got high-school kids running 'round in Calvin Klein and Guess
who cannot pass a sixth-grade reading test
but if you ask them, they can tell you
the name of every crotch on MTV
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We kill for oil, then we throw a party when we win
Some guy refuses to fight, and we call that the sin
but he's standing up for what he believes in
and that seems pretty damned American to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

Living in the wasteland of the free
where the poor have now become the enemy
Let's blame our troubles on the weak ones
Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
Living in the wasteland of the free

While we sit gloating in our greatness
justice is sinking to the bottom of the sea
Living in the wasteland of the free
Living in the wasteland of the free
Living in the wasteland of the free

Friends

Me and Edward Waters taking in the view at Hanging Rock. Picture taken by our hiking buddy Mike Ehrhardt. Check out my Flickr photostream. Oh, and yes, that is a sheer drop of a couple of hundred feet just the other side of my knees! I love it out on the edge!

The Celtics Wake Up, While I Sleep!

When they got down by twenty I turned off the TV and went to bed. I can't stand the Lakers and really want KG to get his ring, and have always pulled for the Celtics for some reason. What a surprise to wake up to the news - good news to me - of their comeback. Too bad I missed it, but at least I don't have a migraine today!

Obama, Gaddafi, and Jerusalem

Muammar Gaddafi scolds Barack Obama for his statements regarding Jerusalem to pro Israel lobbyists last week. Has it been our position in pursuing peace talks that Jerusalem should be the undivided capital of Israel? have we encouraged that position? It seems to be a position that would make any Israeli-Palestinian peace process impossible, unless the UN has actual dominion over the city, in which case how is it really Israel's capitol? Does anyone have the skinny on this?

Gaddafi went on to say several other things that seemed to correlate with Thomas Friedman's piece in this morning's News and Record regarding the way people in Africa and the Middle east view Barack Obama, referring to Obama as "our Kenyan brother." That is sweet, but is good for Obama?

Jimmy Johns, 1000 Prints, Trumpet Vine, Green Space, Mini Stores

Just got back from Jimmy John's. It has become my favorite haunt when I don't have a lunch appointment that otherwise takes me away from downtown. I love their # 14 Club Tuna on 7 Grain Bread. Yum.

I tend to eat late when "I eat alone" (George Thorogood just came to mind), and I tend to like to read. I always concentrate better when there is noise around me. They always have good music at Jimmy John's - another plus.

On the way back I stopped at the corner of Washington and South Elm, just outside of 1000's of Prints, you know, the store on the corner with the vines all over the south wall. I had thought that all those vines were Virginia Creeper, but lo and behold there's a bunch of Trumpet Vine blooming. I love Trumpet Vine blossoms, especially the color - same color orange as the sweatshirt I am wearing now, which is a hoodie of an ACC school and NOT Virginia, Virginia Tech or Miami! A sweatshirt you say in this weather? Well, it isn't "this weather" in my building. It's freezing!

Anyway, I can also see the lovely orange trumpet vine outside my window - it's nice, especially set against all that green!

Speaking of green, there needs to be more of it downtown. I like the park several blocks north, but there remains a woeful lack of green space generally. City's need green spaces. These don't have to be big. Tiny little "parks" with grass and a couple of trees and benches are great. You find them all over many cities. There are enough empty lots that I think we could have more of these spaces. It would make the downtown experience more pleasant, especially for the pedestrian. Our city still is not very pedestrian friendly.

A couple of other business ideas. I hear that a grocery store is going to be built eventually in the site south of Lee. In the mean time, somewhere along Lee, I think there is need for "mini" versions of 1) a real grocery store, 2) a Kinko's type store, and 3) an Office Depot type store. Mini versions. I am sure the prices would be higher and the selection of course less, but it is for these things that I most often have to leave downtown. OK, a book store would be great too, but small bookstores seem to be a thing of the past. I wonder if Borders or Barnes and Noble could have like a small "satellite" downtown. That would be cool too.

Jakob Dylan Seeing Things

While listening to Pandora (well, while looking at the screen while listening), an ad popped up for Jakob Dylan's new record "Seeing Things" due out June 10 - that was yesterday right? Anyway, I clicked on the MySpace link and almost all the new songs are there on the site. It's an acoustic record, with that laid back passion I like about Jakob Dylan. It's a different sound than that of the Wallflowers, though I like them too. Check it out - Seeing Things.

All That Foreign Oil Controlling American Soil

Is nothing sacred.

I'm speaking of the Chrysler Building.

Yeah, ole Bob pretty much had it right 30 years ago:

All that foreign oil controlling American soil,
Look around you, it's just bound to make you embarrassed.
Sheiks walkin' around like kings, wearing fancy jewels and nose rings,
Deciding America's future from Amsterdam and to Paris
And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend.

But then, our own oil companies aren't doing too badly either. I'm not one to beat up on "big oil" as if they hold the key to evil in the universe, and I am no expert in things financial (to say the least), but it seems to me that the Republicans have screwed themselves by killing the recent "tax big oil" bill. There was more to that bill than a luxury profit tax I realize.

So, if supply/demand is part of the reason for higher oil prices, you'd think the oil suppliers would be getting most of the windfall. Are these companies the supplies? What is their relation to, say, the Saudi government? If it's speculators, well I don't understand who would get that windfall. Maybe somebody could explain that for me. Where do the oil companies make their money?

The only problem I can see having with the tax that was defeated is if the revenue just went into the general fund to be spent on whatever. Was it going to 1) used to fund alternative energy research, or 2) used to relieve consumers of higher gas prices? Maybe someone could tell me, or show me where I could find out.

But with the war in Iraq going "better" (relatively speaking) these days, and with the economy, though sluggish, refusing to go into recession, oil prices may end up being the biggest issue of the campaign. It impacts everybody, and everybody hard. I filled up my Spectra the other day with regular - $50! It's killing me! Our 15 year old Nissan van holds 16 gallons. Do the math.

So this is an issue that is hitting everyone hard, and as far as I can see it, the Republicans just handed a V to the Democrats. We may as well just call it now and spare ourselves five MORE months of this seemingly endless process.

The "Softball" Prejudice of Low Expectations

Along the way I've heard the phrase "The soft prejudice of low expectations" many times, usually in political campaigns. I've always had a tendency to nod "yes," without much thought, thinking of it mostly as it applies to education.

On Saturday, in a conversation with a softball parent, I realized that I have been articulating the same principle for years, but just didn't put the principle and the phrase together.

I'm talking about girls rec league softball.

The softball folks in Summerfield and in the "NW League" have been complaining for years about how the girls don't have as much field time, how their fields aren't as nice, their budgets aren't as big and so forth as the boys. I don't know how much of that is true. What I do know is that they don't deserve equal treatment and equal facilities and equal opportunities - not yet. Why? Because they don't take the game seriously enough to deserve equal treatment.

What cred do I have? Well, I have had five daughters who have each played years of rec softball. Three of them have also played school softball, two have played travel ball, and one was an outstanding high school softball player who would have been an outstanding college softball player were it not for a career ending shoulder injury. She was amazingly good. And she played rec league baseball one year. I have coached several rec softball teams, and assisted on several others. I've also watched the boys practice and play - a lot.

OK, first, let me address you non sports fans. Some of you just don't like sports. Fine. Some of you were treated terribly by coaches or teams along the way. I am sorry. Some of you sucked at sports and you've had a chip on your shoulder all your life for being picked last at recess. I am very sorry for that, but don't take it out on me, OK?

The reason the girls rec teams don't deserve equal treatment is because neither they, their parents, nor their coaches expect them to excel. The girls are not really expected to know the game, to know or learn how to catch, throw, swing the bat, know what to do with the ball when they get it, know whether they need to tag or runner or touch the base, etc. They are not expected to pay close attention to the game while it's in progress.

Girls coaches are not really expected to know how to coach. They aren't really expected to teach the girls the fundamentals of the game. They aren't expected to know how to run a practice.

Nobody cares terribly much if at the end of the season any particular girl still cannot hit the ball, cannot catch the ball, cannot throw the ball, is clueless on the bases, has very little idea of what to do when the ball comes to her in the field. Well, deep down the girl cares, because it is no fun being no good.

Ah, the pathetic parent says, "it's not about winning, it's about having fun." Well, I never said anything about winning, and will get to that in a moment. But I can say with authority that it is no fun to suck. It is no fun to strike out over and over. It is no fun to miss simple pop flies. It is no fun not to be able to catch balls thrown to you. It is no fun not to know what to do with the ball. It is no fun to be in a panic because you're on base and you have no idea whether to run, and everyone is yelling. It is no fun when the pitcher walks every batter. It is no fun to lose because your team is pathetic.

I'll tell you what is fun. Swinging the bat with the right body motion and making solid contact with the ball is fun. Fielding a grounder and throwing a runner out is fun. Catching a fly ball is fun. Knowing that you have to tag that runner coming at you and doing so is fun. Dramatic competitive games played well are fun, no matter who wins.

I coached a girl one time who had no more business on a softball field than I would have fixing your car. Swinging a bat to her meant letting it drop from her shoulder. Throwing to her was little more than dropping the ball hard. Catching the ball? Are you kidding? We prayed no balls would be hit to her lest she be killed. We'll call her Mandy.

I ran a fast paced practice with the team divided into groups. I'm no genius - I read the equivalent of "Coaching Softball for Dummies." I patiently taught Mandy how to hold her glove with the ball coming toward her. Slowly she learned how to catch. Patiently we drilled her in how to stand and how to hold and swing the bat. Gradually she improved. She was a fast runner but we had to teach her when to run and when not to. Through very laborious drills taught to our team by a UNCG player, she learned bit by bit how to throw the ball.

Mandy was afraid of the softball. That is the kiss of death in baseball or softball. So I had made up a drill which the mothers hated and which proved to work wonders. I pick three girls at a time and place them about twenty feet away from each other right up against the backstop. I would get two other guys who could throw the ball hard. With me included we would have three throwers and three "catchers." I would say out loud, so that everyone would understand, that our goal was to hit each girl right on the nose, and that her goal was to keep us from doing that, NOT by moving her body or head, but by catching the ball. Some of the mothers objected. I explained that the reflexes in the head are amazingly quick and it would be almost impossible to actually hit anybody in the head from forty feet away. Then we would start. We would throw hard. At first, the girls would be jumpy, moving their bodies away, holding out their gloves. "No!" I would shout. Don't move your body. Your glove is your friend." I'm telling you, by the end of the season not one girl on my team would flinch at a ball coming at her head. Flip the glove up. Pop. Throw the ball back. Now that's fun.

Even with all that, half way through the season and Mandy still had not caught a regular hit ball, hit a pitched ball, or thrown a ball straight to another player. She played right field or left depending on who was pitching.

One day she was up to bat in a close game with runners on. I was coaching third (and pacing, and maybe praying). The pitcher was good. Mandy was at least swinging level by now. Then it happened - bat met ball, a low liner just over the bag at first and down the right field line, a stand up triple. I was so happy for Mandy I think I cried. The whole season was worth that one moment. She was beaming. Now THAT was fun! I think we lost the game. Who cared.

The next game she was in right field. The batter hit a high fly to right. Mandy had to drift back, resisting the instinct to run up on the ball. She put up her glove. The sound of the ball sinking into her mitt was as beautiful as Beethoven's fifth. I was the happiest man alive. Mandy was beaming. Again, THAT was fun.

Sadly, such is not the norm. I got frustrated coaching rec teams because the travel teams stole the best players toward the end of the season and the teams disintegrated.

But all in all, expectations for girls, as compared to boys, are very very low. And this I believe to be a form of profound prejudice and a radical disservice to them. It's not the case in high school programs. My daughter Shannon's coach at North West had very high expectations. But younger, at the rec level, as compared to the boys, the expectations for girls are just not there, and that's not fair.

And now I think I understand better the real meaning of this principle in other more important areas of life.

Looking Down from Hanging Rock

I was trying to get a good line on a mixed patch of rhododendron and mountain laurel below, but the pictures didn't turn out well. The shot of me was taking by my hiking bud Mike Ehrhardt. For more pictures from our May 25, 2008 hike, look here.

Bremely

From a Covenant Fellowship Cook Out/Picnic at beautiful Bur-Mil Park, Sunday May 18.

Greensboro Wiki

Early this week a Clemson student found some pictures on my Flikr site of Clemson in the mid 1970's. He made lots of neat comments. In one of the comments he made reference to ClemsonWiki, a site he had checked out to find out more about Issaqueena Dam, a favorite playground in my Clemson days. See the ClemsonWiki article about Issaqueena Dam here.

Anyway, poking around ClemsonWiki revived an idea I had floated a while back about us having a local Greensboro Wiki site. I had put a fair amount of time into our church sponsored site The Back Porch, but because (I think) of it being sponsored by our church, it was just really hard to find people to contribute articles and expertise to it.

I would love to be a part of a true community wiki site, and would gladly devote considerable time and effort to such an effort. I do NOT have the computer know how to set it up and maintain it though. I would be happy to serve, perhaps with a couple of others, on an oversight board, or maintenance group, or whatever they call it. There is this sentence on Clemson's site - "ClemsonWiki.com is currently maintained by C. mark Sublette, Evilphoenix, Darvian, Levine, 3toes, and Victor." I think you have to have a few folks to keep mischief away, like a flood of articles about the best local strippers, or articles in praise of the local Klan leaders, or just total nonsense. I am not sure how that is dealt with in Wikipedia but there must be some way to take out the trash. And there would need to be the computer software maintenance I am sure as well.

I looked up "GreensboroWiki" and it looks like the domain has lapsed. One could go with Triad Wiki or GuilfordWiki I suppose if not.

I think having such a site would be an asset to our community, and would draw in the expertise of a lot of people.

I am moving into a new phase of my work in my job and community and this is one project I would love to be a part of. I would gladly give ALL of my backporch.org content to it, whatever is deemed worthy, as we phase out that site (or not, if GreensboroWiki doesn't happen).

Anyone interested?

Idol Surprise

As everyone in my house knows, I have been pulling for David Cook all season to win American Idol, but I was certain - certain - that David Archuleta would was going to actually win the thing. The kid has an incredible voice, and I thought the young teenage girls would absolutely swarm the phones with votes. As my daughter says, "He is so cute!"

When I heard of the unprecedented high number of votes I was even more sure of it.

I was happy that the two people I identified two months ago as the two best actually made it to the finals. That was a first for me.

I talked to my daughter Heather Wednesday afternoon. I said that my take on Tuesday night's finale was that David Cook just wasn't the sort of guy to try to win by singing the BIG songs that would be needed to wow the audience. In fact, I said, I thought that he thought that the other David was going to win, and that he was cool with that. I actually really liked all three of his songs Tuesday night, even though they weren't "blow you away" type songs. He did a great job with "I still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," a song picked for him by Clive Davis, which he sang in a very cool reflective manner. The new and just written second song "Dream Big" I thought was really good as well, but again, not a show stopper type song. And his version of "The World I Know!" was sublime and beautiful, yet, again, restrained. I would buy a CD of his in a New York minute, well, if I had any money.

Archuleto could not have done better Tuesday night. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a big crowd pleasing kind of song, and he sang it perfectly and with nuance and passion. He really has an amazing voice. I was most impressed by the second song, the "new" song "In This Moment." It was, simply put, beautiful, if possibly a little self indulgent. But he knocked it out of the park. I wasn't as impressed with his take on "Imagine" but everyone else seemed to be.

Archuleto has more vocal range (as in being able to hit more notes on the scale) and a silkier voice. Cook has more vocal range as in being able to sing all sorts of genres well, and a more powerful voice.

I agreed with Simon - either of them would have perfectly deserving.

But I wanted Cook because I personally just love his voice and the kinds of music he seems drawn to sing, and because I like him personally.

I have been really touched by his friendship with the other contestants, especially how he has taken Archuleto under his wing. I really enjoyed watching him grab David A and pull him over and kind of nuggy him. They seemed to really admire and respect each other. That has not always been the case with Idol contestants. It may not make for good television drama. But I like it.

I have a feeling that Cook thought Archuleto was going to win, and he was cool with that, and didn't want to steal the stage. That's my read. Archuleto could not have done better Tuesday night. In the end some grown ups and older teens and maybe even some boys must have voted.

I wish both David's great success.

Changes at Willow Creek

OK, I am glad to hear about projected changes in Willow Creek, the quintessential consumerist superficial baby boomer church. But do they really care more about the historic orthodox biblical Christian faith (and true Christian discipleship) or do they care more about keeping the coffers full. One wonders. What do you think?

Heather after Graduation Sunday

See more pictures of Heather's wet May 11 UNC Graduation here.

As If to Prove My Point

Barack Obama had a chance today to make a substantive argument regarding Bush's comments about Iran, and he didn't if I can trust the reporting at breitbart.com.

Here is what he said according to breitbart.com:

Barack Obama rebuked Republican rival John McCain and President Bush for "dishonest, divisive" attacks in hinting that the Democratic presidential candidate would appease terrorists, staunchly defending his national security credentials for the general election campaign.

Obama responded Friday to Bush's speech Thursday to the Israeli Knesset. The president referred to the leader of Iran, who has called for the destruction of the U.S. ally, and then said some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals—comments Obama and Democrats said were directed at them. McCain subsequently said Obama must explain why he wants to talk with rogue leaders.

"I'm a strong believer in civility and I'm a strong believer in a bipartisan foreign policy, but that cause is not served with dishonest, divisive attacks of the sort that we've seen out of George Bush and John McCain over the last couple days, " Obama told about 2,000 voters at a town hall-style meeting in a livestock barn.

Give me a break. So, to make a case against Obama's positions is being "divisive" and "uncivil." He is being a baby. If he has a real argument, he should make it, and quit whining about the tone and civility of Bush's comments. And McCain's question is perfectly reasonable. Maybe McCain is wrong. Maybe Bush is wrong. So make a case why they are wrong, and quiting acting so above it all. Good grief.

Shaking Off The Dust and Ashes - Or Not

In a post back in April regarding Barack Obama (Thoughts on Obama's Woes) I raised questions about what Obama really does believe, and how much Jeremiah Wright's theology had informed his political sense. I actually wrote in that post...

I cannot believe I am saying this, but I have done a big 180 turn. I hope Hillary finds a way to win the nomination, as much as the idea of another Clinton (or Bush) in the White House makes me sick. I am not saying this because I think McCain will win against her more easily. I am not sure that that is true. I am saying that if I had to choose between Obama and Hillary, if those were my two choices, at this point I would choose Hillary.

Well, along with everyone else I have been trying to figure out why she fights on. The only two answers I come up with are either 1) she is not able to accept reality, or 2) she is positioning herself for 2012. In either case, I have found her ongoing hopeless bid just lacking in good form. If she really wants to see Obama lose in 2008 then that really stinks. If she is in la la land that stinks too.

So, I was just getting ready to repent in dust and ashes for what I wrote above, when Obama's camp expressed such outrage over Bush's comments in Israel, when Bush compared the idea of meeting with Iran's leaders (and other terrorist state's leaders) as tantamount to appeasement, bringing to mind Chamberlain's famously inept meetings with Hitler.

It's one thing to come out and express disagreement. Do so. Disagree. State your case. But to cry "foul," as if Bush's comments amounted to political dirty tricks, to me is plain wimpy. Is Obama going cry "foul" every time McCain disagrees with him, or describes his positions as being unwise or inappropriate. Good grief.

I think Bush's view has merit. He may be wrong, and goodness knows he is almost pathologically incapable of articulating vision and making a reasonable case for anything. But a reasonable case can be made that for our President to meet with the likes of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be to legitimize Ahmadinejad and empower him, especially amongst his own population.

How do you sit down and talk with someone committed (according to his statements) to wiping Israel off the face of the earth? How do you sit down as "equal" parties with a dictator who is funding terrorism all over the Middle East? Maybe we should ask the good people of Beirut what they think about that?

It is minimally a valid question. It is also valid to compare doing so with appeasement of dictators, since, well, Ahmadinejad is, along with the conservative Iranian clerics, a dictator.

One may disagree with Bush's view. If so, disagree. Make a case. Explain why talking to Ahmadinejad isn't like appeasement. But don't cry "foul." Don't be a big baby. This is real life big time politics and real life grown up stuff.

Are we in for an election season where Obama will cry foul every time his positions are criticized or characterized in a way he does not like? Is this the strategy - trying to act so "different" and "above the fray" that real political discourse is not allowed? Is this going to be a "wus" campaign of the highest order? I dread it.

I was all ready to repent in dust and ashes of expressing support for Hillary, given her ongoing deluded or self obsessed campaign, and then I was ready to repent of so repenting when Obama's people played the baby card, and then Hillary went and followed suit. Now I don't know what to do.

Back to Obama - that seems to be the strategy - be very very very nice to me or I'll use the media to make you put to be a very mean person (all the while doing the same thing of course).

Will a REAL leader please stand up here?

Graduation Blues

I think the light stripes in the pink bag really draw out the light tan in the pants, don't you?

This was graduation Sunday at UNC Chapel Hill - cold, wet, miserable, but thankfully perhaps the shortest graduation ceremony ever!

Grasshoppers Postgame Fireworks 4-25

Taken at the April 25 Greensboro Grasshoppers game, downtown Greensboro, NC. I have more fireworks pictures here.

2007 4 by 800 4 A Champs!

The State 4A Track Championships are Saturday May 10 at NC A&T. Looking ahead it made me think of last year.

Last year about this time Anna Gillespie, Brook Howertone , Sarah Bowen, and Chelsea Holinlgsworth came from behind and won the North Carolina State 4A 4 x 800 Championship, to their and everyone else's surprise! They were finally awarded their championship rings the following fall 2007 at the conference Cross Country finals at Hagen Stone Park. Apparently it was a humdinger of a race! I would have liked to have seen it but my daughter Madeline and I were sitting in the car on Yanceyville waiting for the longest train in the history of the world to pass - the one and only time I've ever had to stop at the Yanceyville RR Crossing. Oh well.

Brook is out this year with an injury so it's hard to know how it will go, but they did win the 4A midwest Regionals in Charlotte last weekend.

Heather

Heather, my second daughter, graduates from UNC Chapel Hill this weekend. Seems like she just started there yesterday. Shoot, it seems like she was just born yesterday! She's a great kid.

This picture was taken during Spring break 2007 at Linville Falls. We had taken a little Father/Daughter day to drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

You can see other pictures of the family along the way here.

OK, I was all set to be composed about all this, but Have You Ever Seen the Rain just started playing on Pandora. Of all the very many songs Heather and I each like, I think that may be number one.

And it seems appropriate to the moment. It's a sunny day, and I'm all smiles, but the rain is falling, inside.

Good Bye, Mohawk We Will Miss You

A little over fifteen years ago my wife and four young daughters went to the city animal shelter and picked out a little white kitten to bring home as our first family pet. Back then the little kittne had a strip of black hair down the middle of her head, and so we named her Mohawk.

Mohawk has been a good and faithful pet. In my first years of work here I was out it seemed almost every night and Mohawk kept my wife company after the kids went to bed.

Perhaps because she was taken away from her siblings at such a young age Mohawk never really learned how to "play bite." So, horsing around with Mohawk has always been a dicey matter. When she bites, even in play, it draws blood!

But it's fun to "box" with her. She has no front claws, and she likes to stand up on her haunches and bat your hand as you play box with her. When she was younger you could also chase her around the house on your hands and knees. She would "hide" and pounce out at you from behind a door or between a chair and table. That was always fun.

I wish pets lived longer and we didn't have to go through the inevitable so many times over the course of life. I have a high view of animal life and their dignity - without being a neurotic pet owner. I think the relationship bonds we form with animals are real and significant. It is truly hard when we have to say goodbye.

Mohawk's body is no longer working as it ought; she seems very stressed (mostly by our other cats), and it is hard to pet or hold her without it seeming to cause pain. She has lost a lot of weight. We have to keep her in the bathroom more and more just to keep her from ruining the rest of the house. It's time, and that is very sad.

We'll have a few more days with her and then I will take her in. I've had to do this many times in my life. It's never easy, but there is a kind of honor in it.

Mohawk has been with us for all of my 11 year old daughter's life, most of my 17 year old daughter's life, and was my oldest daughter's first pet. She has been a great and constant companion for my wife all these years. There will be many tears in my house in the days ahead.

For more pictures of our felines past and present look here.

Bill Mallonee Concert - Wanna Go?

Bill Mallonee and Muriah Rose will be playing at The Evening Muse in Charlotte on Friday May 23 at 8:00pm. I'd love to go down with a van full of folks - or more! Tickets are $9.00 in advance.

We'd need to leave by around 6:15. Check out Bill's music at his MySpace site - http://www.myspace.com/billmallonee. He has some great deals going on his music at the store of his primary web site. I recommend Summershine, Audible Sigh, Locket Full of Moonlight, and Circa (his newest). Very much worth the money! he may well be the best singer songwriter in the US that you've not yet listened to.

If you're interested and want to ride down or caravan e-mail me at jsgillespie@mindspring.com.

Joel

Contentent Equals Recession

Well, any day now I should get my tax relief check. I don’t begrudge the people who hatched this plan though it seems very shallow and superficial. Mine will go right into paying off a small part of a line of credit. Sorry, no economic stimulus from me.

This whole “economic stimulus package” deal has brought back into my mind one of my greatest disappointments with the present administration, which really is a disappointment with our culture, and points to one reason that it is in decline.

When, after 9/11 we were exhorted as “patriots” not to let the terrorists cause us to be afraid or to change our way of life, and instead show them how undeterred we were and go "shop until we drop," well, my heart sank. Here, in the face of what I believe was a real war and a real enemy, we’re challenged not to sacrifice or volunteer but to shop. Well, it trivialized the whole deal.

As a Christian pastor I have often said to my congregation that if Christians in the United States were to hear and listen to their own Scriptures the nation would almost certainly enter into recession. Our economy is built upon the foundational principle of normal everyday people being discontent with what they have and thus spending money on what they don’t need.

What if, I wonder, those who profess to be Christians really listened to and heeded words such as the following:

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrew 13:5).

“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (I Timothy 6:6-10).

"Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:31-33)

So imagine people refusing to buy what they don’t need, keeping things longer without upgrading or trading in, living on less, doing without, living in smaller houses, driving smaller cars, God forbid, not even having the full cable package, and, gasp, even saving some money and having more money to give away to others in need. The economy would tank.

But in the end we would be stronger and better off I think. I'm tired of the trivialization of life by those who profit by creating a sense of discontentedness, these drug dealers and pushers selling the rush that comes with imagining and buying shiny new things.

Enough is enough already.

I think we the American people, despite the growing demand for oil in China and India, could impact the price of oil by buying less of it. But we’re drunk on it. We can’t stop. We scream and yell at the big bad oil companies, and maybe they are, but we can’t let ourselves off the hook. We the people have power if we would use it. We could buy less.

We scream and yell at the big bad mortgage companies and banks for letting us borrow more than we should. Well, we don’t have to borrow to the limit of what we are allowed by the banks. They tell me I could afford a $350,000 house. Are you kidding? Are they crazy?

I don’t know much about monetary policy but I would imagine that our dollar would be stronger if we all saved more money and borrowed less.

I am one of those folks right in the economic “class” that Barach Obama likes to talk about. Even doing pretty well I have a bunch of kids and we have incurred a lot of medical debt. I am thankful I have insurance or we’d be really sunk. I realize that when it comes to medical policy normal supply and demand rules don’t apply, since the doctors and insurance companies in some ways both control supply and dictate demand. But even here we the people are not helpless. If we got serious about how we’re killing ourselves with obesity and tobacco and sugar and lack of exercise, and if we ourselves took more responsibility for preventative care, we could take back some power in the supply/demand monopoly held by the power brokers of the medical world.

And back to contentment. There is a joy that comes with living within one’s means, a great sense of satisfaction. We’ve lost that joy. We need to reclaim it.

We’re not lab rats and Pavlovian dogs. We don’t have to say “how high” when the merchants of discontent say “jump.” We need to tell them to go to hell.

We the ordinary American people have power; let’s use it. We control more than meets the eye. Let’s tell Madison Avenue where to stick it and start living like we are responsible and free moral agents.

I know, we the people can’t by ourselves allocate billions of dollars for R&D for alternative energy. We can't build refineries. We can't do a lot of things. There are things only elected officials can do. But we can send pretty powerful signals, not just by words and votes, but even more perhaps by actions.

When patriotism is reduced to “shopping” we’re in deep trouble. Enough is enough. Let’s give ourselves a bitter pill of a good recession on purpose. We’ll get through it. On the other side we’ll be stronger if in fact we have taken back more power and responsibility.

So, damn the torpedoes, let's swallow the bitter pill together. We'll be better off in the long run.

Small Church Blessings

I just updated a very out of date home page on our church web site, and wrote this little blurb. Maybe there is some food for thought here....

Greetings in Christ!

Welcome to the home page of Covenant Fellowship Church, an evangelical Presbyterian Church in beautiful Greensboro, North Carolina.

Back in the 1970's E. F. Schumacher wrote an amazing book that was both very popular and very challenging to the status quo of his day. It was entitled "Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered." It is one of those books I think everyone should read, and which is perhaps more relevant today than ever.

I'd like to see someone write a book called "Small is Beautiful: Doing Church as if People Mattered."

It's hard to try to convey the virtues of being a smaller church (most churches are in fact "smaller" churches - we're about a hundred people) without it sounding like excuse for failure - such is the state of things today in McMansionland.

At Covenant Fellowship we're not trying to be small just to be small; we're trying to go about being the church in a way that mirrors as closely as possible what we read about in the book of Acts and the New Testament letters, and we're trying to do church in a way that focuses on the most essential things.

In Acts chapter two it says of the new church that "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers....And all who believed were together and held all things in common."

There are many such glimpses we get into the life of the early church. When asked by folks what are we really trying to do, when all is said and done, the best answer often is simply that we are "just trying to be the church."

Good small churches don't try to be big churches. They don't aspire to be big churches. Big churches offer many services and ministries and programs a small church cannot offer. Small churches offer many qualities a big church cannot offer. The way to be a good small church is to embrace the smallness as a virtue.

For example, in our church we have very little overhead other than support of the pastor and rental of the Sunday worship space. Thus our members are free to throw themselves into the service of one another and of their neighbors in the community and world with no regard whatsoever as to whether it "grows the church" financially or numerically. This is amazingly freeing. It is wonderful.

In a church of our size all the people know each other, or can realistically know each other, including the little children knowing the retirees, and the single people being friends with couples and families. We don't need name tags. We know who is a visitor and who is a regular. We're not all divided up into a million sub groups. We're like an extended family. This is such a blessing. Our teens actually talk to and know and love our adults - amazing!

Children read Scriptures in public service and everyone has a chance to participate and speak their mind. On a recent Sunday we had a season of open prayer and several very young children - and I mean three to five years old - prayed along with the oldest among us. It was beautiful.

Our services are not rushed. There is no hype. There is plenty of time to catch up and reconnect. There is plenty of time to devote to the apostles' teaching, to prayer, to the breaking of bread, and to loving on another.

Despite our being small God has blessed us with an amazing array of gifted and talented and capable people whom he uses to encourage us in our life and worship.

We commend this way of doing church to anyone coming to our web site. Feel free to browse around, and feel free to visit with us on Sunday at any time. We hope that something in our site will be of encouragement and blessing to you,

In Christ,

Joel Gillespie,
Pastor, Covenant Fellowship

Oh Well

The only bond I really wanted to see passed (Parks and Rec) is one of the only ones that failed. And the two I really wanted to see fail, well, they passed. Hmm.

Those Pesky Bonds

I don’t get to vote in the primaries (being neither Republican or Democrat) but I do get to vote on the bond issues. I’ve been thinking about them for weeks, going back and forth in my mind. There was a time when I approved almost all local bond referendums. The slight increase in taxes didn’t impact me much, and I figured that the local leaders knew what we needed. Well, things are different now.

Here's what I think I am going to do. Feel free to try to change my mind!

1. Parks and Recreation (20.2 million). In terms of bang for the buck I think Parks and Recreation dollars serve the public good more than most other items that appear on bond issues, and I think the particular projects in this bond issue are worth the relatively small price tag. I vote yes.

2. Guilford County Jail (114 million). I am all for more people downtown :-) and I am sympathetic to the plight of folks having to bunk in hallways, but I am not convinced either that all reasonable alternatives have been exhausted, that the reason not to renovate has been adequately made clear, or that the impact on downtown parking and ongoing upkeep costs have been fully explained. I wonder too if the entire governmental complex needs a makeover. It is so ugly it is a blight upon a downtown makign a great comeback. I am hesitant on this, but for now, I vote no.

3. GTCC (79.5 million). I think GTCC holds many keys to the success of our area. Both our public schools and our colleges and universities are failing to provide the technical education needed for so many in our area to have the skills needed for decent jobs, and for us to be able to provide skilled workers for a growing and changing economy. I vote yes.

4. Guilford County Schools (412 million). I know of little else other than police and fire protection, and building and highway safety that is more important for a local government to provide than quality education for its citizen’s children. I am a huge advocate of a strong public school system, and the need for quality education for our children, especially in reading. Yet I find it ironic that a project deemed so necessary for our children will burden them with so much debt down the line. Personally, if we had to invest 412 million dollars in our schools I would put it elsewhere than in brick and mortar. In the end, good teachers, good curriculum, and good parent-school communication, and not nice buildings, are the most important things. I taught public school for five years myself. I think I was in five different rooms of greatly varying quality!

The quality of the room or facility was way less important than my knowledge of and love for the subject, my creativity, and my interest in, indeed my earnest care for the students. For me, the bottom line is that I do not trust our school board or central office to allocate and spend our bond money in an efficient and effective manner. Perhaps it is Terry Grier hangover. And we know the way the system works that this 412 million can easily become much greater, and we also know that plans can change and we may not get what we approve anyway. Until we somehow break the stranglehold that the great triumvirate (the teachers “union” – even if it isn’t really, the college education departments, and the local school districts have over teacher certification, until we shake off “One Child Left Behind” which has killed teacher creativity and morale, until we start paying teachers as if we really think what they do is significant, until we stop doing stupid stuff to boost the reputation of our superintendents rather than the well being of our students (like making students take AP classes), and until we offer more and better schooling options for families in the most ill served areas, I won’t approve any more large school bond referendums. I vote no.

5. Eastern High school (45 million). I can’t see 45 mil for a high school, and why it is that we do not have our major infrastructure facilities insured at replacement cost I have no clue, but the folks in the eastern part of our county need a new high school – it’s not their fault they are without a school building, and rented facilities will only work for so long. With suspicion about the cost, I vote yes.

My Dad's Birthday

My dad, Curtis Claunch Gillespie, Jr. This picture was taken at the Gator Bowl in 1979 I think, when Clemson played and got stomped by Pitt. I have always loved this picture. My dad was 48 or 49.

Today April 30, 2008 would have been my dad's 78th birthday. He died a rather unusual accidental lonely death in June of 1989, a few days before I moved to Greensboro. I think of the line in "Mr. Bojangles" as describing myself - "after 20 years he still grieves."

My dad was a "man's man," a big burly fellow, very athletic in his days at Dreher High school in Columbia, with an entrepreneurial spirit and an artist's touch. He was a Southern gentleman. As I type I am looking at three amazingly beautiful roses he painted, which are framed and hanging on my living room wall above the piano. He was outgoing, and hit it off well with almost everyone.

He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill, in 195o I think, with a major in commerce. He met my mom while serving in the Air Force, stationed at the base outside Sherman Texas, her home town.

When I was about 10 years old he stepped away from a 15 year career in the insurance industry to start a dry cleaning business, which, with four kids, was a pretty gutsy move. I worked at Gillespie Cleaners all through Jr. High and High School, and off and on afterward. His mantra, "the customer is always right," has stuck with me over the years. So has the way he treated his employees, regardless of race or gender or economic class, or whatever. He had people working for him for twenty years, and I am talking "in the back" at a dry cleaners where it is hot and loud. I think that says a lot right there. They were like family to him, and to me. I miss them too.

When he died my brother Bobby took over the business. Bobby treated folks the same way.

Many people know that my dad had become a binge alcoholic by the time I was in Junior High school. He would be sober for several months, and then for whatever reason would slip, have a beer, and usually try to hide that he had, but we could always tell. That began a two or three week binge. He would end up on straight vodka, by the quart, totally passed out for a week or so. The stories I could tell! It wasn't fun, though there were a few funny episodes.

Some people who knew me then think of my dad or define him in those terms. But he was much much more than that, and I remember now mostly the good things. I feel compassion for him, in my memory, as to his problems. He went through terrible cycles, and I sat with him over the years as he went through unbelievable terrible withdrawals. I am amazed that they didn't kill him. It got better as he got older, thankfully.

He was a gambling man. Since he was always betting on some game, we were always listening to and watching sports. And he was all Tar Heel. Tar Heel blue ran deep to the core. So he was always betting on the Tar Heels. We had radios of all kinds, so even if North Carolina (the name we South Carolinians give to your state school) were playing in Alaska, he would find it on the radio. He waited a long time for a basketball championship between 1957 and 1982. I was there with my good friend Jim Hamrick in my dad's den watching the game with him and my mom in 1982. It was a happy moment.

He had a temper and could cuss like a sailer (like when he couldn't find his keys or a pen or his glasses, or when we had our music on way too loud), and he had no clue how to deal with children who came to age in the sixties, but he and I were always close, even when we argued. He always encouraged me, always told me he loved me, always hugged me when I left to go back to college or even just left to go back to my house, after I had left home.

We watched a lot of TV, and despite the fact that I was 13 in 1970, and was already into rock music, there was a lot of music we loved together - Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, and Bobby Darin, for example. We watched Johnny Carson a lot together too. We went to see John Denver together in 1976. And movies - we went to a ton of movies, many of which I had no business seeing!

I miss him more than I can say. I dream of him at least every week. My new employer at the time demanded I report to duty on July 1, a few days after he died, and I felt I never got to grieve. But then, I guess I always will, grieve, I mean.

I have many memories of my dad, and so much more I'd love to share, but this will do for now.

I wish you were here Dad.

You can see more pictures of my dad here.

God's Judgment and Our History

I wanted to address an issue that came up in each of my last two posts, and that is the issue of God's judgment on our nation (or any nation for that matter)

I address this as an historic orthodox Christian, affirming with other historic Orthodox Christians my belief in Jesus Christ as the risen/resurrected Lord of all who will return as King and Judge. This was the clear unambiguous teaching of Jesus Himself, and of the Apostles. The later (so called) Apostles' Creed puts it this way "from From thence he shall come again to judge the living and the dead." That line could have taken straight from just about any sermon in the book of Acts. It was the belief and teaching from he beginning.

I realize that those who are not Christians don't believe this, and I realize that more theologically liberal Christians don't much believe this either. I have no intention to persuade; I am only affirming a theological premise for what follows.

The Christian looks to what he refers to as the Old Testament and sees God in a very special covenant relationship with one particular nation of the earth - Israel. Along with the blessings of being in relationship with God, Israel also bore the burden of being under potential covenant curse or blessing according to how she lived according to the stipulations of the covenant. Curses and blessings were part and parcel of the Covenant itself.

But now (from the Christin point of view), God is not in a unique covenant relationship with any of the current nations of the earth. The Christian looks and works toward the ongoing preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ to all of the people/languages/nations of the earth equally. There is not really one nation that has a "special status," unless in some way, Israel does. (According to the Christian writers, the God of Israel, though seeing the purpose and point of Israel fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus, nevertheless has an ongoing special affection for the descendants of Abraham according to promise, i.e., via Isaac).

The Christian also sees the church itself (and possibly individual churches) as in a kind of covenant relationship with God where they may a level of blessing or cursing according to obedience or disobedience (see Revelation 2 and 3). Plus the Christian sees a large world-wide judgment of God against evil and rebellion when Jesus returns.

One also sees an ongoing battle as it were between the power of the state and the power of the state-sanctioned civil religion (on the one hand), and the people of God (on the other hand). If the book of Revelation says anything it says that over the course of history as a whole, good will win, God will win, His people will be vindicated, and death and sin and curse will be destroyed.

Again, a person who is not a Christian would not agree with any of this. I'm still laying groundwork for my point.

Here is the point. In the here and now of life in a fallen world we do not know God's secret counsel; we do not know "why" specific or particular bad things happen (whether the people be "good" or not), and we do not know whenever there is a disaster that it is due to God's special judgment upon a nation or a people. So, we don't know, Reverend Wright, if what happened on 9/11 was a matter of God's judgment in the "what goes around comes around sense." Nor do we know, Mr Cizic, whether God will judge America for not passing sufficient legislation regarding global warming. We do not know. we cannot know.

There are so many Christians who see America as having a "special nation status" with God, and who, as they see moral decay as evidenced by abortion and pornography and family breakdown and conspicuous consumption, expect God's imminent judgment. There are many Christians who see the United States as the focal point of evil in the world, and which can expect judgment at any time for its sins of greed and war mongering and environmental degradation and inattention to the poor, etc.

But we cannot read God's mind. We do not know the "why's" for many things that happen. Speculative after the fact comments like Jeremiah Wright's, or speculative ahead of time warnings like Cizic's really are just blowing smoke. They do now know. They cannot know.

In fact all human beings, including Christians, have a responsibility to do right, to pursue justice, and to seek the good of others. This applies everywhere to every nation (The Christian believes). But ours is just one of the many nations. As citizens and as a body politic we have responsibilities, and when we act stupidly or unjustly there may well be predictable consequences which are bad, or, as is often the case, we or some other nation may get away with evil for a very long time. Such has been the story of world history. Just how God's judgment intersects with our history we just do not know and will not know until the story is over.

For the Old Testament Psalmist as well as the New Testament Christian, the idea of God's coming in judgment was great news. Finally and at long last things will be made right. For the psalmist this was such good news he could see the trees clapping their hands with joy. For the Christian this is simply a basic core principle of life and prayer - "Thy Kingdom Come," or put another way, "Come, Lord Jesus."

I confess I can get grumpy at the anti intellectualism of our day that has led so many Christians, especially protestant Evangelical ones, to be so ignorant of their own faith. I even wish non Christians would become more knowledgeable of historic orthodox Christianity, just as I need to become more knowledgeable regarding Islam and Hinduism and modern Judaism, not just out of respect, but also so we can at least have an intelligent conversation. I still hold out hope.

In the mean time I wish Christian leaders, whether liberal or conservative, would quit invoking God's judgment (maybe "evoking" would also be true here), especially when their own theological hobby horse is involved. It's bad form.

Thoughts on Obama's Woes

I have wanted to offer a few thoughts on the Obama - Jeremiah Wright story, and a few other Obama matters, and since I am wide awake at 11:30pm I think I'll do it now. I'll try to be brief - just ten short paragraphs!

First, putting aside Wright's more outrageous comments and his visit to Libya, well, and his theology generally, it is NOT the job of a Christian pastor to be "patriotic," whatever that means. It is the pastor/preacher's job to preach and teach what is true, and for the Christian pastor this generally means the truth of the Scriptures, and whether that sits well with the political status quo or any sort of civil religion or nationalism is irrelevant. Jesus talked about the destruction of his people's most cherished national shrine, their temple, which made him about as low on the patriot scale as one could get. Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, and Micah (some of Israel's great prophets) certainly would not have been considered patriots. This is an important matter for me personally, speaking to the core of religious liberty and the separation of church and state.

Second, as to God damning America I am reminded of Jesus' words. He was asked about the people who had been killed by Pilate. Were they worse sinners than others? He was asked about the 18 who died when the tower of Siloam fell upon them. Were they worse offenders than others? Jesus answer in both cases was the same - "unless you repent you will likewise perish." In other words, worry about yourself and don't speculate about those others and "why" they died. Jesus certainly did not say "yes" to the disciples' assumption that those people died specifically as judgment for their sins. Jeremiah Wright does not know that 9/11 was a matter of "what goes around comes around." He simply does not know that. Whether one is a right wing conservative or a left wing liberal, assuming one knows why things happen vis a vis God's judgment is risky business. I posted Thursday about an Evangelical Christian who was invoking God's judgment on America because of her inattention to global warming. He knows that how?

Third, Jeremiah Wright has been a long time advocate of what is called "Liberation Theology." Google the phrase and read the Wikipedia article. It's pretty accurate. Liberation Theology was really big back in the last two decades of the cold war, and since it sees social justice (and the achieving of social justice through political and oft times revolutionary means) as the essence of the gospel, many Liberation Theologians have tended towards Socialism of various kinds. Liberation Theologians have been generally anti-capitalistic and thus anti-American, so the marriage of Liberation Theology and Socialism was natural and convenient one. Liberation Theology was very big in Latin America as Socialism made a big move there.

Fourth, it has always been pretty run of the mill for Liberation Theology types to be also anti Israel. They look at the situation in Palestine and see the plight of the Palestinian people under Israeli control, and seem to have blinders about the dangers faced by Israel. I wonder how much Barach Obama absorbed Liberation Theology. I wonder how much it is in his head when he talks about himself as a Christian. I am pretty confident based on my years of reading the Gospels, and trying to understand them in their historical context, that Jesus would have rejected Liberation Theology out of hand (as much as he cared for the sick and poor and demon possessed).

Fifth, Jeremiah Wright's church is a mostly African American church within a very theological liberal mostly white denomination. Generally if a church group has the word "united" in it's name it means that it has decided that one can believe pretty much anything and be a part of it. We have long been in a situation where words that used to have a certain common meaning don't have their meanings anymore, especially religious, and even more especially traditional Christian words. This is certainly the case in "liberal" theology (which should not be confused with "liberal" politics). Liberal theology is, at its essence, anthropology; it is more about what people along the way have thought or said about God and less about what God has said about Himself.

Sixth, I don't buy the networking/climb-the-ladder argument as to Obama's reasons for attending that Jeremiah Wright's church. He just seems too smart and straight up to me for that. He must have actually agreed with many of the basic tenets of Wright's teaching, and since Wright was an advocate of Liberation Theology, I can't help but think Obama was sympathetic to that theology. I wouldn't even care except that people carry their deep convictions with them.

Seventh, without any question the person running for office that I personally like the most and am most drawn to is Barach Obama. But I simply do not know what he really stands for, especially how of much these Liberation Theology ideas he carries with him. It may not be the pastor's job to be a patriot, but a President of the United States has a profound duty to serve and protect the citizens of the United States (and, I hope the other free peoples of the world, such as Israel).

Eighth, it does bother me that Obama did not (not "has not recently" but "did not then") denounce William Ayers' post 9/11 comments. Those comments were not made 40 years ago when Obama was a child, and by Obama's own admission he has known Ayers in Chicago for many years. Ayers' comments post 9/11 should have been denounced by Obama apart from any political pressure to do so. It is an offense to the people who died on that terrible day that he did not.

Ninth, Obama's record is extremely non bipartisan. Has anyone running for President actually achieved bipartisan success other than McCain?

Tenth, and I cannot believe I am saying this, but I have done a big 180 turn. I hope Hillary finds a way to win the nomination, as much as the idea of another Clinton (or Bush) in the White House makes me sick. I am not saying this because I think McCain will win against her more easily. I am not sure that that is true. I am saying that if I had to choose between Obama and Hillary, if those were my two choices, at this point I would choose Hillary.

And seeing her put down those shots was a key moment for me :-)

All, for now.

Craving Liver

Ahhh, it's nice to be fiddling in Blogger again. I've been away a while. In fact, I've been pretty much down and out for a few weeks and just did my first decent walk - wow, spring has sprung in Greensboro! I saw four or five species of butterflies in my little 1.4 mile slow walk. One goal for this year is to learn my butterflies.

But for now all I can think about is liver.

Two weeks ago this coming Friday I awoke with a horrific migraine. Actually, I had had a spate of them that week. I didn't know why then. Now I do.

Anyway that Friday along with the normal bells and whistles that go with migraine I developed very bad vertigo - a whole new migraine symptom for me, or so I thought. I had to crawl around the house for two days - could not stand up. I felt off the chart terrible. Seems I was also dehydrated which kind of goes with migraine territory - more fluid leaving than coming in. I felt better as I hydrated and thought the dizziness was just due to that.

But it hung around, the dizziness, the malaise, so I finally went to see the doctor, my cardiologist, since I was most concerned about low BP and this awful loud "swooshing" sound in my head every time my heart beat. It was good check up, but he said I looked pale, and almost as an afterthought suggested I go to the lab and have some blood drawn to check for anemia.

The next morning they called to tell me my hemoglobin was 8.6, and would I go see a GI specialist that afternoon. So I went. They took more blood which then identified the problem as iron deficiency anemia, and recommended an endoscopy and colonoscopy. I was lying down or sleeping most of last week I was so fatigued and dizzy.

I had the colonoscopy and endoscopy this Tuesday. Getting ready for those tests is loads of fun. The main purpose of doing this was to rule out a BIG BAD cause and possibly detect one less dramatic one.

As far as the colososcopy, things down there are as clear as could be. Not a hint of a red mark, polyp, anything. I was supposed to be "out of it" but was totally lucid and enjoyed the tour of my bowels. I am a geek that way. So for now, colon cancer is out of the picture. As far as the endoscopy, there were two small ulcers in my stomach. They are small and were not bleeding at the time of the endoscopy. The doctor took a sample for biopsy to try to identify the cause. Usually there is a bacteria involved that can be treated once identified.

The doctor also took a small amount of tissue from the lining of the duodenum (uppermost part of the small intestine) in order to do a test to see if the cilia there are absorbing iron.

Oh, the really fun part was the audio - the colonoscopy after-effects. They have to push air in to inflate the bowel in order to see it clearly, and then, well, that air has to come out. So the nurse ordered me, ordered me mind you, to lie there and fart. She said the "f" word. I am still in shock.

Unfortunately my bowel didn't totally cooperate and decided to get rid of the air once I got home. That was kind of fun actually. It was better than those fart web sites!

So for now the plan is to try to get my iron levels up using iron supplements and some dietary additions. I have a physical in five weeks and that should give the docs a chance to know if the supplements and dietary additions are helping. It is kind of a slow process. Also, once the culprit is identified in the stomach there will be specific treatment for that too.

I got the sense the GI doctor remains worried about my having lost 40 pounds over the last 10 months, but I have radically changed my diet to eliminate simple starches and sugars, have been eating less generally, and exercising a whole lot more.

If none of that works then the next thing to do is test the bone marrow. We’ll hope and pray for the best. Right now all I can think about is liver.

An Early Spring Wildflower

Lamium, growing in my yard. For more photos of March 2008 in the Triad look here.

Evangelicals and the Environment

I wrote this as a reply to a piece on HumbleORadio. Check it out. It's a reflection about comments made about global warming and God's judgment by Rev. Richard Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals’ vice-president of governmental affairs.

Here's my comment:

It's hard anymore to define what "Evangelical" means. I have about given up trying. So many people have so many different associations with the word it almost just does not mean anything anymore. So, putting aside that rubric for a moment, there is in fact a growing sense amongst historic orthodox Christians (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox) that concern for the glory of God and the good of man must include concern for the health of God's world. I am certainly one of those, being what many would call an evangelical Protestant. But I am uneasy about Cizik's position for several reasons. First, even assuming he is right on the science of global warming, how does he know America will face judgment from God if we don't attend to global warming? There are many sins, even environmental ones, that I think might be closer to the front of the line as to God's judgment. That's just empty talk. Just blather. He doesn't know that. The phrase "destroyers of the earth" in Revelation 11:18 could possibly be, but probably is not, a reference to environmental degradations. However, Israel's disregard for the land, their failure to give sabbath rest to the land, was one of the reasons for the time-length of their exile. God does care about his earth. Third, (and OK, I expect to get it here), as passionate an environmentalist as I am, I am not convinced as to the extent or causes of global warming, and I fear that many very real tangible environmental issues that involve public health - and the integrity and beauty of creation - are being put aside amidst all the global warming hoopla. Fourthly, Cizik speaks for himself. Certainly not for me.

We do have reason to believe as Christians that the "fall" included the fall of the whole of the created order. And yes, we also affirm and believe in a "new heaven and new earth." Until this earth is renewed by the events of those days, we have a responsibility to love God and love our neighbor, which means caring for God's creation motivated by both loves. And Cizik is right that evangelical Christian citizens should not care only about abortion and gay marriage. Many other issues matter in the ongoing role we have as lovers of God and neighbor, and even as we seek to present the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot preach the gospel with integrity to our neighbor if we are killing him with our waste products. And pray tell, how many people do you know, when they need retreat, when they need to get away and pray and be with their God, prefer parking lots and freeways and such? We need special places, not only for the sake of God's glory (as their beauty reflect back to him) and for the sake of the creatures (which God declared to be "good" and which he blessed), but also for the sake of our own spirits as we seek to hear God amidst the din of this noisy and dirty world.

China Pretty Much Sucks

"Athletes who display Tibetan flags at Olympic venues — including in their own rooms — could be expelled from this summer’s Games in Beijing under anti-propaganda rules."

...as quoted in The Sun, April 11.

If this is accurate, then I stand by my title.

I hope all our athletes, to a person, displays a Tibetan flag.

Elm Street, Greensboro, NC

Looking up South Elm from 9th Floor of Guilford Building, Greensboro, NC. Check out my Flickr photostream here.

Out on a .....Rock

Looking N NE into Virginia, as compared to the photo below which is looking SW. Note the garnet sweatshirt! (the other SC school I attended)

Check out my Flickr Photostream here.

Greensboro as Seen from Hanging Rock

It's about 35 miles as the crow flies, well, if the crow flies straight! Can you make out the buildings? Taken with a Nikon 18-200mm lens.

To see Winston Salem from Hanging Rock, and other photos in my Flickr photostream, click here.

Early Spring Red Maple Blossom

Early Spring in Greensboro.

Please explore my Flickr photostream.

No Country For Old Men - Wow

I saw No Country for Old Men last night. I had seen it once already over Thanksgiving holiday. I liked it then. I liked it better second time around, especially the cinematography and Tommy Lee Jones' character, Sheriff Bell. Jones just seems to get better and better as an actor the older he gets.

The story takes place in desolate places which are nonetheless beautiful. I have recently been preaching through the temptation narratives in Luke where Jesus is guided out into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. The wilderness is an empty and barren place despite its beauty. There is little there to support the human soul. The sparseness of the landscape in No Country seems a fitting place for this story about the emptiness of the human spirit and the corrupting influence of money and drugs, and never ending and oft times overwhelming badness of badness.

The film gets a lot of talk for its violence and for its really really bad guy. But there is way more to it. The dialogue is sparse but brilliant - witty, funny, sad, profound, and downright crazy. I don't want to give away the lines. You'll enjoy a lot of them the first time you see the movie and more the second. There are several cases of the same line being used in different situations ironically to mean a different thing.

The movie plot is at once simple and complex. Decent guy (Josh Brolin's character) is out hunting, stumbles across a drug deal gone bad (lots of dead bodies and one almost dead guy), finds money, takes it, has a fit of conscience, goes back to scene to give lone survivor water, gets chased away by yahoos, leaves truck behind, identity gets discovered by bad guys (on both sides) who want money back, and by sheriff, and then the chase is on. It is harrowing in parts. One is reminded a little of The Perfect Plan, not nearly as good a movie, but with a similar plot.

Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh is one of the most ruthless and persistent bad men in movie history, at times almost appearing freakish or Frankenstein-ish. But he has his principles.

I am not a movie reviewer by trade and don't have the verbal and descriptive tools in my kit. All I can say is that from the opening frames which are nothing short of utterly beautiful, and the opening monologue by Tommy Lee Jones character which is, well, pure art for me, beautiful words perfectly spoken, all the way through the unfolding plot to the non Hollywood ending, the movie just draws you into its brilliance as a movie.

For myself, well, it draws me into something else which I cannot put my finger on exactly. I don't want to cheapen my experience of the movie or the movie by throwing out cliche-like phrases to describe it. But as I watch No Country, I sense I am touching on something important, significant, metaphysical, touching on something "real."

Not exactly the kind of real as in Lord of the Rings where the whole story/movie seems in a way more real than real life itself. In the case of Lord of the Rings that seems the case for me, because, deep down, I believe Tolkien to be telling the "real" story of life, a story all but lost amidst the noise and murkiness of this world

"No Country" doesn't do all that, but it touches something close to real nonetheless, real as parable, real as metaphor. It is real only in part, in that it only tells (to me) part of the story. But it is a true part, a real part. The story rings true to the nature of life in this vale of tears, and in a typical American version of this vale of tears. Yes, this is an American fable after all, an American version of a universal story, so it must take place on American soil, in an American desert, with America (and Mexican) figures, not in Middle Earth, or New Zealand, with make believe figures.

I think in the end that that is what this movie is about, the desert. I think that's it. But I will have to go see again to be sure.

Simkins PAC For Dummies

The more I read about Project Homestead, Mitchell Johnson, David Wray, Robbie Perkins, Jim Melvin, The Pulpit Forum, and The Simkins PAC, the more the dots are seeming to connect. Yet, I find I just don't have enough of a bird's eye view for it to make sense or to to be able to make a really informed judgment. I would love to read a carefully crafted summation - maybe about two pages - just to provide the simple story in overview form. I realize that any such summation would have an angle and could not possibly be long enough to provide necessary footnotes and supporting documentation. There is enough of that stuff in the multitude of blogs all over the place. It might be useful to read such summations from more than one perspective. In order to protect oneself from slander and such, the summation could begin with, "As I understand things at this point..." Perhaps also such an overview could be put into PDF form for printing. Joe, David, Troublemaker, Anthony, any of you up for this? Anyone else? I think it would help us plebeians out here.

Anticipation

Greensboro Summer

Paul Potts

Well, everybody else in the world may have heard of him, but I first heard and saw his You Tube clip tonight, and found myself awed, and teraing up. It is amazing. Get inspired. Listen.

Flapper

My grandmother "Nanny" as a fashionable young lady in the mid 1920's