My Ten Favorite Albums

I've been thinking for some time about what are my favorite records. I don't know why, maybe it is a little nostalgia thing, maybe a desire to know myself, I'm not sure. In some ways it may be a desire to step back and identify with and know my own generation and culture. Maybe it's the many great memories associated with each record. Seeing an artist perform the record live is also a big connector.

For some reason I would only allow one record per artist on the list - kind of arbitrary I know but I didn't want it to be dominated by the Beatles.

I am thinking here only of studio albums, too, otherwise Allman Brothers at Fillmore East would be number 2 or 3, and Jackson Brown's Solo Live Acoustic would have been in the list.

To get on the list 1) I had to own the record, 2) I had to be currently listening to the record, and 3) I had to take a kickback. These artists are all so interested in making my list :-).

Of the hundreds of records I love, how do I narrow it to a top ten? How do I choose between five different great Bob Dylan albums, five Beatles albums and so forth? I think in the end it has to with affection. I tend to have more affection for records that seem to hold together and have a sense of unity. It doesn't mean they have to be concept albums, but I tend to think of a record as a whole.

There may other albums with more great songs, but for some reason there isn't the connection for me with the whole. Obviously I have left out way more great albums than I have included.

The list does not reflect any idea of what albums I think are the greatest, the most important, or the most significant, but the records that seem to speak to me most now.

I bought Layla and Other assorted Love Songs when it was first released and have loved it ever sense. It got burned into my psyche I guess. It is a rough record, sounding more "live" than your average studio recording. It is 2-3 songs too long, those 2-3 being real lemons, but the rest of the record flows well. Thankfully the guys managed to get Duane Allman on board by the fourth song. The twin guitars on "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" send me to guitar heaven, and knowing the context makes the song interesting as well. This is the record that hooked me on the blues.

I was not ever that big a fan of Bruce Springsteen, well, except for his mellow music. I bought The rising right when it came out. It does not get the critical acclaim as other of his records. it holds together extremely well, and even songs he wrote before 9/11 work in this collection of songs written about and in honor of 9/11 and its impact on people. The Rising speaks to me very powerfully and intimately. I never tire of it. I like every song, and I saw the concert.

I more or less stopped listening to Led Zeppelin by the time I was 14 after a brief obsession with stairway to Heaven." But I have been listening to them a lot over the last 2-3 years, and I love talking Zep if you're ever interested. Zep fans love to debate which is their greatest album. I like all of them but their album I seem to listen to he most all the way through is their first. It's raw and muddled in parts, yet so full of energy. This is a great driving album and of all their records the one that seems to flow the best in my view.

Some of my choices would befuddle critics. I love so many Bob Dylan records, but I LOVE Modern Times, his most recent, a record on absolutely nobody's top twenty list of his greatest records. But it gives me joy; it makes me smile. I was tempted to put Slow Train Coming, The Times They are a Changing, or Highway 61 Revisited, but the smile won out :-)

Few people even know Iris Dement. What can I say, put on the record and pass the tissues. Tracy Chapman's debut record was close to making the list. "My Life" is her best flowing and most personal record, haunting in places. I have seen her now a couple of times which always adds to the experience of listening to a record.

I was pretty much a rocker-only when my oldest brother Mike gave me Jackson Browne's first record for my 17th birthday in August 1974. I think it is the gift I most treasure from my siblings and family over all these years.

I think the greatest bliss I know listening to modern music comes about 2/3's the way through Question 67 and 68. I think of early Chicago as the pinnacle of creative energy. if you ever see me walking down the road air conducting like a escape from the asylum, I'm probably listening to Chicago.

It is very hard to decide which Beatles record to include. For a very long time the Beatles record I would have called my favorite was the record almost universally considered the Beatles worst - Let it Be! It was the first Beatles album I bought. They broke up when I was 13 and I bought Let it Be when I was in eighth grade! I have a deep affection for it all the way through. But Abbey Road gets the nod now. it is from the first to the last note the one Beatles record I like the most and listen through the most.

I did not discover Astral Weeks until a couple of years ago. I'd have Moondance at #2 if not for Astral Weeks. Astral Weeks is so layered and brilliant, though put together in a hurry, and without great diversity within the album. I think of it as a symphony and the songs as movements. It pierces me.

There has really not been a competitor for number one for quite a long time. Not only do I have deep life long affection for Dark Side of the Moon (I bought it right when it came out in March 1973, about a month after the greatest snowstorm in the history of the universe (well, in the history of Columbia SC). I was in tenth grade. As a studio recording it is as close to perfect as I can imagine. Dark Side of the Moon is a record whose content speaks to me no matter how many times I listen to it, sort of like my favorite poems by GM Hopkins, or my favorite Psalms. Obviously the message of Dark Side of the Moon is ultimately darker and more forlorn, but in some way God uses it to point me to Himself as an answer to the questions raised. And I can't even put into words how Great Gig in the Sky connects with me. It's primordial. But over the primordial and confused bent world the Spirit broods....

Here’s the list…

10.Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek and the Dominos
9. The Rising - Bruce Springsteen
8. I - Led Zeppelin
7. Modern Times - Bob Dylan
6. My Life - Iris Dement
5. Jackson Browne --Jackson Browne
4. Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago Transit Authority
3. Abbey Road - The Beatles
2. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
1. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

My Top Ten Led Zeppelin Songs (this week)

Can you narrow it down to ten? I know, some of you could narrow it down to zero!

Unlike many groups lyrics are all but irrelevant in much of Led Zeppelin's best music. For me it is almost as if Robert Plant's voice is more of an instrument in itself. Their lyrics are completely forgettable and sometimes really dumb.

I tend toward favoring their blues and harder driving stuff the most, but that's just me. Well, not exclusively - I like D'Yer Maker. And I know, I don't have Kashmir in my top ten. Silly me.

Memories of playing pool in Greg Busdicker's awesome house on Sylvan Drive, Columbia. Phil Owens, Greg, and me shooting pool and jammin' to LZ for summer days on end. Where O where are Phil and Greg?

Here's the list...

1. Since I've Been Loving You (I can't stop listening to this song - anthemic)
2. When the Levee Breaks (Those harmonicas! Great adaptation)
3. Stairway to Heaven (Is there a bustle in YOUR hedgerow?)
4. Heartbreaker (Unbeatable air guitar song)
5. I Can't Quit You Baby (Oh man, those slow blues!)
6. How Many More Times (What an opening!)
7. Bring It On Home (A little Memphis blues, and then watch out!)
8. Rock and Roll (Still a top ten ever driving song)
9. D'Yer Mak'er (OK, a softee, but I like it)
10. You Shook Me (Totally groovin' simmering slow blues song)

An End to the Abortion Wars? I Don't Think So.

Yesterday while walking through the lobby of my office building I heard a very short bit on the lobby TV about Obama's abortion legislation. I didn't catch the whole piece and am not sure what Obama has in mind. But I do know that our President needs to proceed with great caution on this issue.

Americans have come - out of necessity on both sides - to a kind of fragile truce and fragile balance on the issue of abortion. Those passionate for abortion rights have their rights in almost all cases, with only the ban on partial birth abortion and some parental consent or waiting period requirements in various states. Roe v. Wade stands firm. And a Democratic President is in there for 4-8 years to watch over any new Supreme Court nominees.

Those passionate about the right of the unborn to life have had to concede that Roe V. Wade is not going anywhere. Pro-life advocates did at least achieve the ban on partial birth abortions, a barbaric procedure that most Americans oppose. Apart from that ban there isn't very much to celebrate on the pro-life side.

These being the lines of a very fragile truce, energies have shifted to other tangential areas. No one is terribly happy with things as they stand; after all, this is a truce not a peace treaty. sometimes a truce is all you can hope for.

If Obama tries to break the truce by passing the Freedom of Choice Act, he will, in one wave of his hand, profoundly alienate a very large percentage of the American people and totally destroy any benefit of the doubt being extended to him by conservatives. He will have wrecked all hope of change in the way things are done in Washington.

If he thinks that passing FOCA will in some way end the abortion wars he is either not as smart as we think or he has plans to suppress dissent. For the voices of dissent will rise like a tsunami.

Instead of ending the abortion wars FOCA will fan a spark that has been simmering for a long time - and a new war will begin. There will be many many screams - and these won't be silent. Perhaps Obama does not know the depth of feeling and passion on the other side of this fragile truce.

I remember hearing Bill Clinton say during his wife's campaign that if pro-life people really thought abortion was murder they would be storming the clinics (or something like that). Well Mr. Clinton, many pro-life people do believe that abortion is a kind of murder, partial birth abortion being the most egregious expression of it. The reason we do not storm clinics and such is because we (most of us) adhere to the rule of law. We do not like anarchy or vigilantism.

It may not always be so. Legalizing again partial birth abortions will create a tidal wave of renewed passion on the issue of life. I worry that not everyone will submit to the rule of law and that bad things may happen. Maybe that is what the left wants...

But it will be war (morally and politically and culturally); and it will wage until a truce can be restored, if that would be possible.

Obama has a shooting war to wind down, major legislation to pass on the economy, and profound energy issues to address. Lift the ban on partial birth abortions and he will lose any good will that is now extended to him on the other side of the aisle. He will become - in a flash - a fearful specter - a heavy handed left leaning president who has a congressional majority. It will all but guarantee a Republican comeback in 2010.

And one more note about the fragile truce that exists now. I believe that it is in Obama's best political interest not to stir the nest and to keep that truce going if he can. But in the end this issue is much more significant than whether a mere country is divided. On this issue families divide, friends divide, workmates divide, and even churches divide.

If we have a fragile truce for a while it would be in our countries best interest to preserve it. Obama will find that out too late that he has exacerbated and not ended the abortion wars.

Clancy in the Kitchen

Clancy, 1971-1981, my buddy, my friend...

This is quite obviously not a great photo, nor was the photo in very good shape when I scanned it. I can say as regards this picture..."There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more But they didn't show your spirit quite as true." This picture captures the simple cheerfulness of my favorite pet growing up.

There is a "note" on the Flickr picture makes me think of how Clancy and I would often greet, well, after he got over the excitement. I would get down on all fours and we would nuzzle foreheads. It was a kind of "kiss." He very obviously understood it as a rite of affection.

I am one of those who thinks we have greatly underestimated the intelligence of animals, including their emotional intelligence. Though Irish Setters are normally high strung and less than brilliant, Clancy was a great friend, and we had a deep bond. I just wish our dogs lived as long as we do so we wouldn't have to go through so much grief at their departures.

OK, Does Anyone Know Where THIS ONE Is?

I had such success getting an ID on the other old picture I sent out that I thought I'd try this one. I found this picture in with a bunch of other pictures taken of my great great aunts back around 1910 or so. I had two great great aunts who had moved to Oakdale Tennessee where their husbands worked on the railroad, and their sisters in Kentucky would visit them. These are wonderful shots even if they are pocked up a bit. Based on other pictures it seems they took an outing along the railroad somewhere, so I think this is near Oakdale Tennessee, which is about an hour west of Knoxville. However, there is a note on the picture that could be taken to mean that the picture was taken in Virginia.

If you go to the photo on Flickr, click on "All Sizes" and you will get a larger view. I have never noticed until today that there is a person in the picture - lookin the top right quadrant! This is absolutely priceless. I just wish I knew where it was!

The Dream of America

I finally got to sit down last evening and see footage from the events of Tuesday January 20, 2009. A usual I have comments :-). Yes, I realize that my reflections are but a minuscule drop in a huge river...still...

As I await the unfolding of the Obama administration I do so as one with serious differences on several issues. I worry over the possible signing of the Freedom of Choice Act, the reversal of the the Defense of Marriage Act, and resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine.

Having said that, and being on record as having the opposite view than the Democratic Party on these and other issues, I offer some reflections upon the Inauguration of Barack Obama.

When I think of the idea of the the "American "Dream" I think not of bourgeois comfort and social values but of opportunity for all. Specifically I think of the opportunity that any person, of whatever race or socio-economic status or gender or creed - the opportunity that any person has to achieve great things. This is the hope that America offers. This is the hope embodied in Obama's election and inauguration.

Several recent events have given me a sense of peace in the moment, despite the passion I may have for the issues above.

First, there is the crash of US Airways Flight 1549 last week. It is nothing short of astounding to consider that a commercial airliner filled with 150 people could make an emergency landing on water with no serious casualties or fatalities. Yes, it is a dangerous thing to try to interpret Providence. But I had and have this sense that what happened with Flight 1549, coming as it did right at the end of the Bush administration and just before the Obama administration has significance, that it means something, and something good for our country. I cannot prove that and I may be wrong, but this is what is rolling around in my mind and heart.

Second, the fact that a million plus people could assemble in Washington DC and that there would be no arrests, no major injuries, and no attempts to do mischief also astounds me. Again, I ask, why?

Third, watching people all over the world watching and celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama is incredible to me. I think these people, our neighbors in other countries, are celebrating with us the amazing significance of a black American rising to the office of the President. It is almost as if Obama were the president of the world the way so many are celebrating. And maybe in a sense he is. It just seems right to me that he be our leader at this time.

Fourth, the graciousness of George and Laura Bush is noteworthy to me. I have always felt that George Bush a decent human being in a way many people are not. We needed his graciousness. Obama needed it. Obama has had - and still has - enough to worry about given all the issues we face as a nation. It is worth noting how unusual in the world today it is to have such a peaceful transition especially from one party to another. Again, this peaceful transition of power also embodies the hope that is the United States of America.

Fifth and finally President Obama said things in his inaugural address that needed to be said, things which only he could say with credibility. He was not merely sailing past us on the empty clouds of rhetoric. He was calling us all, rich and poor, black and white, male and female, Democrat and Republican to action, to responsibility, to united effort. In such times that is the right thing to do, and he did it very well.

These things all give me hope. Yes, if I wake up tomorrow and the Freedom of Choice Act is signed into law, the reversal of the the Defense of Marriage Act has succeeded, and the Fairness Doctrine is making itself to the President's desk, I will despair. I hope Obama finds the middle ground on these issues. We'll see. Mean time I watch, hopefully.

So Far So Good

I did not get to watch the inauguration today, though I read the text of the speech. I will read it over several times. A friend of mine encapsulated my feelings almost exactly:

"I read the inaugural speech ... I did not hear it presented, but it must have been something else. Whoever drafted the speech (I hear Obama is an excellent writer and has much influence in these matters) did an excellent job. Here's hoping he can deliver on 10-20% of his intentions ... if so, I think he will have a good run. I just hope those who see him as political 'messiah' will open their eyes to the reality of all our problems and the reality of how government works. Lots of pressure on that man."

He has my prayers.

I am disappointed with the Drudge Report for running a headline entitled, I think, "Obama Flubs Oath." They have since taken that headline off - now it reads "Obama and Chief Justice flub oath of office...nerves as America swears in 44". It is a link to a clip of the little stumble in the second phrase of the oath. I thought the Chief Justice didn't do a very good job with it myself. But why does this have to be pointed out?

Anyway, I have no more stomach for the right doing this to Obama than I did with the left (and David Letterman) doing it to Bush.

Does Anybody Know Where This Is?

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad as a child. The actual photo is tiny and streaked and pocked with damage. This is about as good a rendering as I can come up with.

In the picture are my grandmother Mary Sue Gillespie (nee Andrews, and known as "Nanny" to us grandkinds), Curtis Claunch Gillespie Sr (called "Brother in Extended Family and Pop to grandkids), and Curtis Claunch Gillespie Jr. (called "Sonny" in extended family, or for me, just "Daddy") .

I cannot figure out where this picture was taken. Behind and in the distance is a river. I wonder if this may be near Chattanooga, or maybe Chimney Rock. I really have no idea. I'll give ten bucks to anyone who can tell me with accuracy where this is.

OK - I want to thank Roch Smith for discovering the identity of this rock - it is "Umbrella Rock" on Lookout Mountain Tennessee. Roch sent a link to an awesome picture taken of the rock during the civil war. The rock doesn't look quite the same, but the identity is certain. Here is a vintage picture taken of the same rock, and another and another. Sometimes you just have to love the internet.

Check out my Flickr photostream.

I Hear the Train a Comin'

The "9007" crossing the tracks at S Elm and McGee. I caught this from my fifth floor fire escape.

Yes, I did hear the train a comin', and yes, it was rollin' round the bend. The bend would be the big 90 degree curve running behind The Depot as the train goes from heading south to heading west, or the other way as the train goes from heading east to heading north. When the trains are coming- either down from the north or from the west - they start blowing their whistles as they approach downtown. They do this before they cross the bridge southbound over Washington Street, or before they cross S. Elm eastbound. So I can hear them coming. I can't always tell from which direction, but if I look out my window I can see if a train is coming southbound approaching the bridge over Washington Street. If I don't see it I go to the fire esc....OK, for real I just this second heard a whistle....OK, I'm back. That whistle just now was from a train that was coming from the west just crossing S Elm Street going east. I stood there on the fire escape until the engine was on the bridge over Washington Street, and the train had still not cleared S Elm Street!

Anyway, I love trains. I will never tire of hearing a train whistle, feeling the slow rumble, watching the engine and caboose and the shaking. OK, a story about trains....coming soon.

Train Behind The Depot, from 5th Floor Fire Escape, Guilford Building

I am not inclined to offer praise to my own pictures since I am a mediocre amateur at best. However, the chances are fairly decent that I would snap a good one every now and again, and this may be the coolest picture I've taken of downtown Greensboro. It looks to me like a photo of a model railroad, like a toy train and toy station. I took the picture through the rusted looking fire escape steps, which, due to their not being in focus highlighted even more the sharply focused train and station, giving it that model railroad look. You can see many more recent pictures of downtown in my set of downtown pictures, scroll to the bottom.

This Is For Real - Former JP Building in Glow of Sunset

Digital cameras are known to manipulate images or interpret light wrongly. It is hard to judge a photo anymore in terms of trueness to the real object being photographed. But in this picture the old JP building was in fact this exact color. I did not color correct. I took this over by the jail, near the drive through Wachovia "branch" on Washington Street. The other picture - to the right of this one - was taken five minutes later.

Diet and Exercise - Back to the Grind

It hit me yesterday. I may have been overly caffeinated, but still, the heart palpitations were unambiguous. I can feel it when my heart kicks into a different rhythm. My size 36 pants, falling off me a year ago this time, are now uncomfortable again. I suspect my blood sugar is pushing upward again too. I got into the dietary regimen 18 months ago because of hearth health and fear of diabetes. I cut out sugar and simple starches of all kinds, even certain kinds of fructose. I started exercising - walking at first and then busting my butt on the elliptical machine at a local gym. In 8 months I went from 126 to 180 pounds. Then I got sick. Actually I had been sick and did not know it. The last two months of working out meant a daily migraine and extreme tiredness. What I didn’t know was that my hemoglobin had crashed, and my iron stores were about nothing. I woke up one morning with a migraine and I could not stand up. The doctors surrounded me with urgent calls to have my GI tract checked. I hardly had any tiem to process anything. So I did all that, and it seems the culprit was two small ulcers in my stomach - not bacterial related. 

It took me months to recover. I started eating like crazy - including lots of foods rich in iron. I took iron pills. Finally many months later my hemoglobin was normal, and then soon after my iron stores were replenished. And I was fat again - the kind of fat the afflicts my gender - stomach, beer gut with no beer. 

I have gained 36 of the 46 pounds back. My dietary regimen over that year was good - I could eat whole grain breads, vegetables, meat of any kind, milk and dairy products, lots and lots of yogurt, and lots and lots of high bran cereal - dry. 

It has nothing to do with the new Year, but as of today I start back. I won't be able to use a gyn. I'll have to let the world be my gym, and do dumbbells and core exercises at home and in my office.

I figured out how to run or walk briskly downtown. I just head off and at every light I go where the sings say walk - a different route every time.  If I get to the border of downtown I just turn around. It's kind of fun.

My biggest challenge (next to laziness) is sweat - I don't like getting wet and then having to do office work, so I need to figure that out. Someone suggested baby wipes.

I went to a movie last night and bought popcorn. I savored the stuff because I won't be having pop corn again for months.

I don't care really how much I weigh, but my cardiologist says that exercise will cause the body to produce the very same kinds of chemicals as taking medication. he also told me not to rejoice too much that my congenital  mitral valve prolapse had stopped prolapsing. He said that my heart muscle was a little overweight too, and that as I lost weight my prolapse might return.

I choose not to get diabetes II. It scares me more than cancer for some reason. There is only one way to avoid it - exercise and diet.

So, if anyone sees me downtown running or power walking, I am not showboating, except to show off how out of shape I am - I am trying to get healthy.

I guess we'll see how it goes.

New Lincoln Building Through Glass Corridor, Greensboro

Taken on Tuesday December 30, 2008, from the Lindsay (Marriott) Parking Deck 

See some more new downtown pictures here. 

The Greatest Gift - Page One

When I taught public high school in the early-mid 1980's I was the faculty adviser to a Bible Study Group that met once a week in the morning. One year the group wanted to share an invitation – not to the bible study so much, but to Christ. A couple of the students and I worked on the letter, and the last day of school before Christmas break students handed out the letter above to all the other students as they came into the building. It was kind of cool.

To view in a larger size go to my Flickr Photostream, click on the picture of the letter, and then "all sizes."

The Greatest Gift - Page Two

When I taught public high school in the early-mid 1980's I was the faculty adviser to a Bible Study Group that met once a week in the morning. One year the group wanted to share an invitation – not to the bible study per se, but to Christ. A couple of the students and I worked on the letter, and the last day of school before Christmas break students handed out the letter above to all the other students as they came into the building. It was kind of cool. This is the second page.

To view this scanned document in a larger size, like if you want to read it, please go to my Flickr Photostream, click on the document, and then click on "all sizes."

Greetings from Toyland, 1962

My mother's father, Maurice Sanders, owned a combination toy store and sporting good store in Sherman Texas in the 1940's until his death in the mid 1960's. This is the front cover of the 1962 Christmas catalog. 

You can see a photo of the actual store, well, in 1951 anyway, HERE. It's really cool. Above the picture click on "all sizes" and look at it in large - the detail is really cool. This is the only picture I have of my grandfather Maurice Sanders at his wonderful toy and sporting goods store in downtown Sherman. He died in 1967. He was cool.

I have scanned and posted the entire catalog. Click here for my Flickr Phostream and scroll down just a tad.

Go Tigers

Clemson orange rocks! I went to this game with my dad (my one and only foray into Florida my whole life), and there took my favorite picture of my dad -farm1.static.flickr.com/110/310764108_3b39bf94e2.jpg.

I just found this button in a box of stuff.  It is about 2 1/2 inches across. I could not keep the edges from being cut off in the scan. 

My Photostream

Mountain Laurel Blossom

Thinking of spring/summer today. This is Kalmia latifolia better known as Mountain Laurel, taken while hiking on Cook's Wall Trail, Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, NC.

This flower is the inspiration for my third daughter's name. I was always a sucker for "botanical" names!

My Photostream

Monkey Bar Portraits

Sarah, Madeline, Liam, Rebekah, and Bremely , Bur-Mil park playground,  November, 2008. I would have preferred a blue sky rather than a white cloud as background, but this is kind of cool in its own way. For a view of the sky that day look here.

Bur-Mil is a great multi purpose park, and the managers of grounds and buildings do a fantastic job.

If you're interested in knowing how much a Tonka truck or Cooties cost in 1962, look here.

Clouds, and Lone Crow

Taken at Bur-Mil park Greensboro, NC, November 2008.

For more pictures of or from Bur-Mil, and for my photostream, look HERE.

Night Falls Over Moore's Wall - A Pensive Moment

Here at the office early on a Friday evening I feel pensive. This picture captures how I feel right now. It was taken from Hanging Rock proper after the sun had set over Moore's Wall. It got dark very fast afterward. We are blessed to have such a beautiful place so close.

My Photostream

My Dad's Reflections, upon Turning Fifty

My dad - Curtis Claunch Gillespie, Jr. - wrote this out on sketch pad in 1980 when he was fifty years old.  Note the references to Chapel Hill and the Gator Bowl of 1949. 

Reflections 

As I approach my own half century the reflections are awesome, vivid, and lovely – Why the reflections at this age – maybe fear, joy, or what? Am I afraid to pass this milestone – King of my Grammar School – the Jewish girl who could beat me up but love me – The fights as a twelve year old – Columbia and Woodrow Street – Hand, Dreher – Pawley’s Island – Drinking White Doves Beer at Davis’s – Falling off the back of the pavilion – The cashmere sweaters and pegged pants – Knocking down the door at the girl’s house party – I was bad but I guess normal – The Dark Horsemen, my girls, Woody’s Band at the Jefferson – The Parkway ??? - The Green Derby – The Cotton Patch – the Citadel & that beautiful redhead – My roommate pissing in the middle of the quadrangle & getting kicked out of school – the wonderful years at UNC – The Frat House – My brothers, many of whom are dead now – the Bowl games – The Gator  Bowl in ’49 which will never be topped – The Air Force -  My love for Maurine - our marriage   Denver - St. Louis – Our beautiful children in the 50’s – The Little League teams – The troubles and trials of growing children – My careers mostly successful – My art which I loved – The rest seems to glide by to now – Why am I scared – These reflections make it passable (?) so maybe instead of fear I should look forward to The second half – It could be the best of all – But of all these reflections the thing that made me the happiest were my father, my mother, my wife, my children, all individuals with different personalities and goals – I am sensitive and meditative about these people who I love so much – I have not given enough – But I am me – maybe I can reflect again when I approach 75 – The only regrets I really have is that I have not been able to love enough for I have so much in me

CCG

My dad died suddenly in a freak accident in June of 1989. He was 59. He never got to have those reflections he wanted to have approaching 75. He would have been 75 in 2005. 

My Flickr Photostream 

My Dad

This a great picture of my dad taken two months before he died. 

Dad's Doodles

My dad (Curtis Claunch Gillespie, Jr.), who was an accomplished painter of flowers - mostly roses ansd camelias - also enjoyed doodling. He had pretty much stopped painting by the time I was old enough to be aware of things and we were always trying to get him painting again. Alas, we failed, but he would humor us occasionally with his doodles. I like this doodle page. I remember him doing it.

My Photostream.

I Don't Believe in the Trinity

No, not THAT Trinity silly (I certainly do believe in that one). I mean the unholy trinity, or perhaps better said, the unholy triumvirate that holds our public school hostage to mediocrity -- that is, the triumvirate of the teachers unions, the university programs that oversee teacher certification, and the legislature that keep reform from being possible.

I got to thinking about this while reading the Time Magazine cover story about Michelle Rhee, the federally appointed superintendent of the Washington DC schools.

I have heretofore figured that our public school system is beyond reform, irredeemable, and hopeless. Its mediocrity is felt worse in places that need excellence the most – in our inner cities and areas of socio-economic decline. Why we don’t offer the poorest people the opportunity to escape the system and attend charter, magnet, or private schools is beyond my understanding.

The sentence that most got my attention in the Time Magazine article was this:

“Rhee is convinced that the answer to the U.S.’s education disaster is talent, in the form of outstanding teachers and principals.”

I agree. Don’t misunderstand me. There are a lot of talented and superb teachers in the system, despite low pay, chronic discipline issues, and little regard or professional respect by the general public. As the saying goes, “Those who can, do, those who can’t do, teach, and those who can’t teach, teach others to teach."

It doesn’t help matters to have salaries printed every year in one of our local papers, as if to prove how overly paid our teachers are. This is just ridiculous. Putting it in perspective, the highest paid teacher in Guilford County has a Ph.D., thirty five years experience, and National Board certification, and she makes less money than my daughter will make coming out of PA school, and much less money than the average bright twenty five year old person makes coming out of a quality MBA program.

Michelle Rhee wants to make the teachers in Washington DC the highest paid teachers in the nation, and in the process get rid of the weakest teachers. I would like to see the same right here in Guilford County.

Until we offer financial incentives by way of higher starting salary and higher top salaries, teaching will continue to attract the less talented and less bright college students. We need to grease the wheels for lateral entry to enable talented people who have worked in other industries for 20 years not to have to take a 50 percent or more pay cut in order o be a teacher.

And we need a way to weed out the teachers who just don’t cut it, or who have quit caring. The problem in the current system is that whereas it is very hard work being a good teacher, it is all to easy to be a bad teacher. That is not an easy matter to fix because it is hard to objectify the evaluation process. Interestingly however, principles and fellow teachers tend to know who the poor teachers are. Unfortunately, the reality of local school politics makes it difficult to weed out the poorest teachers by subjective observation alone. Plus many of the best teachers are mavericks who aren’t terribly submissive, and who don’t always cooperate with the mountain of administrative work heaped upon them. And sometimes the best teachers are a threat to the worst teachers.

Somehow we have to find a formula that includes objective criteria (improvement in student competence), and subjective opinion, the views of principles, students, and even parents. I think I could come up with a workable system, but the union would never allow it.

Despite all the usual excuses for bad school performance, I believe that with well paid motivated teachers and principals we could turn things around and give the next generation a fighting chance. We don’t have to consign our poorest families to our poorest schools.

There are three things I would voluntarily pay higher taxes for - 1) hiring more policemen and firemen and EMS type workers, 2) maintaining our public spaces such as parks and greenways and such, and 3) paying our teachers more - a LOT more. I would gladly see my taxes DOUBLE for these purposes.

Let’s stop business a usual. As was said by someone in the recent campaign, let’s made education the Marshall Plan for the 21st century, or least for its first quarter century (the green revolution won’t happen unless we have enough people, taught and rained to carry it out).

Mr. Green, look to Michelle Rhee.

That’s where I’m coming from.

Joel Gillespie

Those Were The Days - Maurice Sanders Toyland

My mother's father, Maurice Sanders, owned a combination toy store and sporting goods store in Sherman Texas in the 1940's until his death in 1967. This is the front cover of the 1962 Christmas catalogue.

You can see a photograph of my granddad in the store, with two employees, and amazing detail of dolls and toys and sporting goods,  if you view it on large, here. To view it large click "all sizes" above the photo.

Look to the SE - Crescent Moon, Venus, and Jupiter

Dear Friend,

If you want to be awed at the beauty of this great solar system we're a part of - then go outside - right now. Whatever you’re doing is probably not as important at seeing this. Look to the SW sky – fairly low - see the crescent moon, only about 15% illuminated, with Venus and Jupiter just to the right. Really, you’ll be glad you saw this. It’s awesome!


Thanks to Betsy Clark for the Twitter tip!

It's 6:36 as I write.

Looking Up into Autumn

Taken on Cook's Wall Trail, Hanging Rock State Park, November 2, 2008

My Photostream

Putting Thor back into Thursday (Or Taking Him Out)

Every year a few weeks before Christmas I start getting those mass e-mails which I am supposed to then forward to every Christian I know, all regarding the great offense whereby the phrase “Merry Christmas” has been changed to “Happy Holidays.” I usually don’t participate.

I suspect that the “Christ” part of Christmas means little more to many people than the “Thor” part of Thursday does to us Christians. But regarding our Hindu and Jewish and Muslim and non Christian neighbor, well I understand the discomfort of the name of “Christ” being all over their celebration of a winter holiday. In a secular and diverse nation it is almost inevitable that this issue would erupt every year. I’m fine with "Happy Holidays" myself.

The change of names for the holiday season is of course deeply distressing to many believers in Jesus. The sands seem to have shifted and they are feeling more and more marginalized. Indeed, there has been a seismic cultural change and the influence of Christianity upon our culture and national psyche is in decline.

However, as much as this cultural shift may be upsetting to many Christians, I think Christians should be equally upset by the obscenity that our celebration of Christmas has become. I wish there were some way to separate Advent from Christmas so that our religious celebration of Advent would not be polluted by the grotesque commerciaiam of the Christmas season.

So, instead of trying to put Christ back into Christmas let’s do one better and take Christ out of Christmas altogether. Let’s give Christmas to the pagans and take our Advent elsewhere before we ourselves are crushed by the weight of the materialistic orgy it has become. Then we can celebrate the first Advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in a way that pleases Him. We can keep many of the customs and songs, just pick a different time. Maybe July? Then our Southern Hemisphere neighbors can have their own snowy Advent for a while! We don’t know exactly when Jesus was born, so it really does not matter when we celebrate the day of his birth.

To my pagan neighbors who may wish to change the name of the official national holiday from "Christmas" to some other thing, like maybe "Winter Solstice Day," well, let’s make a deal. How about we take Christ out of Christmas and you can agree to take Thor out of Thursday and Woden out of Wednesday and Tyr out of Tuesday (and so forth), just to make it fair. OK?

Save the Land

From Hanging Rock proper, Hanging Rock State Park, looking down at Route 2054, CC Camp Road, app. one mile away and 1000 feet below. 

See in Google Maps - maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=36....  

Compare - farm3.static.flickr.com/2281/2325459234_e8b0b92c15_b.jpg 

Looking at this picture made me think of the old BS&T's song that went "maybe I'll be there to share the land." That was BS&T's wasn't it?

My Photostream

Hope This Brings a Smile

I hope this brings a smile. Two brave hikers on the way up to Hanging Rock, November 2, 2008. Sisters no less. What would we do without children and animals to bring us happiness in this short life?

My Photostream...lots of fall color!

Local Film

A local friend just finished a short film and has submitted it to different film festivals - you can read about it at www.cautionfilm.com.

Alice Cooper Rocks

I never used to listen to the radio at night, but Rock 92 changed that by jumping on the Nights with Alice Cooper bandwagon. I love the show - the music is eclectic and well, I'm old enough to like the earlier stuff he plays. His commentary is funny and informative, and he knows things about various groups that the average person like me would not know. I now quite enjoy getting out in the car at night since I listen to the radio there mostly. I'm thinking of getting a decent small radio I can play at night at home via ear buds without it bothering everyone else.

The guy is a trip. The juxtaposition of his persona, as exemplified by his web site, and his convictions (Wikipedia has a good article on him) is a really interesting to me.

Radical Gay Group Crashes Church service

Check out this story from the Lansing State Journal. Is this what's ahead? I hope not.

Beautiful Days, and King Kong

Can you find King Kong?

I love this place.

Taken from Hanging Rock proper, Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, NC, Looking WNW - Taken by Hiking Buddy Mark Graham. The Blue Ridge escarpment in distance.

My Photostream.

Psalm 119:11 - Storing Up the Word in Your Heart

Normally I post these devotion type things at faithandpractice.org but I can't get access today for some reason. So here it is.

Today we will look at the third verse of the second stanza of Psalm 119. Remember that within each stanza, each verse (or line in Hebrew) starts with the same Hebrew letter. In this the second stanza each line starts with the second letter in the Hebrew alphabet, “beth.” I wish this could come through in the English but it just does not. Attempts to translate these lines starting with the corresponding English letters, in this case the letter “b,” are kind of lame.

As is my habit I will include each line in the stanza leading up to the present line. Psalm 119:9-11:

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

The Hebrew word translated as “stored up” is translated differently in different versions of the Bible. I think the varying translations help give us a feel for the richness of the word. For example, the NASV translates it as “treasured,” the NIV as “hidden,” the KJV as “hid.”

It is hard not to think of the parable of the hidden treasure (Matthew 13:44) when I read this verse:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

This is what the word of God is to be for us, a treasure, a treasure worth more than anything and everything we may have, for in this Word, we find not mere wisdom for living, but the living God Himself.

We get a sense of this treasure in Psalm 19, when after describing the merits of the precepts and law and commandments of the Lord, the Psalmist says of them:

“More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

Back when this Psalm was written it was quite normal that people would memorize letter-perfect all the existing Psalms as well as many other parts of the Bible, along with family stories and such. Not all the people were literate, and they had to memorize the Scripture to have it available to them at all times. It was much easier to memorize back then. It’s not because they were smarter (maybe wiser) but because we are deluged with so much written information it’s always there to fall back upon. People wonder if the ever increasing availability of information on the internet will in time change the way our brains work, making it even harder to memorize.

But the issue in Psalm 119:11 isn’t merely memorizing the Scripture; it is the attitude which we have toward it. Is it a treasure? Do we hide it away in our hearts so that we may turn to it over and over in time of need, as when we are tempted to sin?

It is very hard to go forward with sinning with the Word of God screaming in our minds and hearts. Rather we shove it to the dark reaches of our mind so our conscience can withstand the assault which sin is upon it.

Jesus promised to his apostles that after he departed that the Father would send “another comforter” who would, among other things, “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

That same Helper or Comforter is with us still, helping to bring to mind and heart the Word of God as we go through our lives day to day.

In his letter to the Colossians Paul urged the Colossian believers to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

This was an encouragement to the whole church. The body of Christ as a whole is to make a suitable home for the Word of Christ and for the Scriptures generally. This abiding word, living in the community, provides the basis for mutual encouragement and teaching and admonition.

But nowhere do we see this principle lived out as with Mary the mother of the Lord. After the birth of Jesus when the angels found the baby Jesus and gave testimony about all they had seen and heard from the angelic host, it says that Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

After leaving Jerusalem and realizing that Jesus was nowhere to be found, Joseph and Mary went back into the city to look for him. They found him in the temple talking with the rabbis there, and gave him a bit of a talking to. His reply was cryptic. “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

As the passage says, they did not understand what he was saying, but he left the city and went back to Nazareth with them.

And Mary? It says of her, “And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.”

Our verse today tells us of just one of the many benefits of treasuring up the word of God in our hearts – “that I might not sin against you.” However we may understand “’sin,” that is, as falling short, missing the mark, or being “twisted” away from our purpose as human beings, it brings harm to ourselves and others, it dishonors God, and it causes others to dishonor God. If it is true, as I think that it is, that we are created to reflect the glory of God and to bring glory to Him, well, sin keeps us from realizing our highest purpose, and it puts distance between ourselves and our Maker. Bridging that distance came at great cost, and we are not to disrespect the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, and, as it were, spurn the Son of God and profane the blood of the covenant.

The Christian is reminded in Hebrews 10 that, “The Lord will judge his people.” As he goes on to say, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

It is much better to be good soil in which the word of the kingdom can live and grow and bear great fruit. When we hide up or treasure the word of God in our hearts we are being that kind of soil.

Such “treasuring up” is much greater than memorizing the Scripture, but it is not less. We need the Scripture in our minds and in our hearts that we may call it to mind and “treasure it,” and thus live by it.

I wouldn’t start memorizing with Psalm 119, but maybe Psalm 1 would be a good place to start.

God bless,

Joel

Great Minds Think Alike

Jim Schlosser were on the same wavelength this weekend! Check out his article on this amazing tree.

I came to love Ginkgo trees wandering around the state house grounds in Columbia. And there was a Ginkgo at Clemson that I particularly loved. As Jim's article suggests, and as you can see from this picture from my Clemson days, the leaves do tend to fall all at once.

My Photostream - more fall color!

Hanging Rock Sunset

Taken from Hanging Rock proper, as the sun set in the "saddle" across the valley, over the Moore's Wall ridge.

My Photostream.

Pray for Obama to Be the Most Successful President Ever? Well, No.

There was an op ed of sorts in the religion section of the N&R today by Reverend Joseph Moore entitled "Will Conservative Christians Pray for President Obama?"

Rev. Moore rightly reminded Christians of the necessity and requirement that (among other things) we honor our leaders - in this case now President Obama. He cited 1 Peter 1:17, rightly noting our habit (going back to our founding) of ignoring the last bit:

1 Peter 2:17 "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

And yes, this includes honoring leaders of all parties. Why? Because the civil authority is ordained by God. It is ordained with a purpose by God (Romans 13:1ff). Therefore I will pray for that purpose to be realized.

The last two Presidents have each been dishonored to such a degree it has been shameful. It is hard to dishonor the person without dishonoring the office, and, in either case there is a requirement incumbent upon the Christian to honor our leaders, even leaders like Nero.

As I have written on several occasions it is the duty of the Christian to pray for all who lead and exercise authority over men. We have been doing this in our church for fifteen years, for Republicans and Democrats alike.

This is explicitly commanded in Paul's letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I have recently written myself about the need to pray for President Obama. The problems before him are stupendous in magnitude, and it is in all of our interest that he do well in addressing them.

But I take issue with Rev. Moore's closing comments:

"Our obligation is to pray fervently that that President Obama will be the most successful president in history. Our civic duty requires no less. Our religious faith may require much more."

Well, to say the least, that closing exhortation goes well beyond the requirement of the passages cited.

I will pray that President Obama have wisdom, strength, and safety. I will pray that his administration fulfills his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States of America. This is the oath he will take. I pray that he will do as he will vow to do.

But pray for his success? What does that mean? Am I to pray that he succeeds in his stated intent to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act? Am I to pray that he succeeds in his stated intention to reverse the ban on Partial Birth Abortion? Am I to pray that he succeeds in establishing a domestic security force? Am I to pray that he succeeds in re-instituting the Fairness Doctrine? I could go on and on.

Well, I cannot possibly pray such things. The only way I can pray that he be the most successful president in US history would be for him to have a radical reversal of many of his stated intentions and policies. So, yeah, if praying for his success means such a reversal, then fine.

I think it is right that all Americans give their presidents an opportunity to reveal their intentions and to have a crack at our common problems in a way consistent with their own political philosophy. I have been ashamed at how most Presidents in my lifetime have been disrespected. This goes back to the first President I voted for - Jimmy Carter.

Obama has huge challenges ahead, the primary one being the economy. Yes, of course I hope he can do some things that will help us all in that regard, but Presidents have less power in controlling the economy than is generally assumed, in my opinion. Obama will have huge pressure to "deliver" for the Democratic Party base, which is its more liberal side. I cannot possibly pray that they, working through him, will be successful.

I will pray that Obama successfully upholds his public oath of office, and I will pray daily and sincerely for his wisdom, strength, and safety.

But, no, I cannot really pray for Obama's success in the manner in which Rev. Moore exhorts me to do. And neither is that my obligation.

Abortion - The Legal and the Moral

I was particularly impressed today by the words of Cal Thomas, words I read in our very own N&R. You can find the same column online today at the Jewish World Review.

A friend of mine wrote me yesterday about the move at the UN by radical abortion rights activists to create, in effect, a kind of Roe v. Wade all over the world, a universal right to abortion. I think such a move will fail because there are a very large number of countries with much stronger opposition to abortion than we find among enlightened westerners. But we'll see.

What was of more significance to me was my friend's level of profound angst. The first line of the e-mail was "it's starting already." There is fear post-election, realistic or not, that there will be a massive onslaught of such things.

I think that is is hard for many progressive folks who would want more liberal abortion laws to really "get" the horror that abortion is to so many people - people who are not wackos or weirdos or right wing nut jobs, but who are just very normal people.

This angst or even horror might be similar to what a true pacifist feels inside when we undertake a war which does not seem necessary, or how a deeply passionate lover of nature would feel if they went to see the great redwoods and found that they had all been cut down, or perhaps how people feel watching footage of the clubbing to death of baby seals. "No!, Stop!" we find ourselves crying out at the TV.

I do believe that as American citizens, conservative Christians and people of other religions have a voice that should be equal to the voice of the non religious or to the progressive or "liberal" versions of their faith which are usually more in sync with progressive or liberal politics. But like Cal Thomas, I don't think in the long run that the legal battle on these issues is going to be successful.

The legal window may be closing but the moral window is not. Cal Thomas talks about the change of heart that comes with Christian conversion. I agree. Until hearts are changed there will be little progress on the political side as regards many of these issues. But the process of seeking to teach people about the Jesus Christ of the New Testament should never be motivated by any sort of political or even cultural goal, even if the result of a new great awakening would include significant cultural change, as such awakenings tend to do.

And, I reminded my friend, it was Reagan and Bush Supreme Court appointees that chose to uphold Roe v. Wade when the window of opportunity was open to do so.

Again, the legal battle may be over for the most part (well, not as regards partial birth abortions), but the moral battle is not. Within the framework of existing law, we still have freedom to make the moral case for the sanctity of unborn human life, and this case is not purely a religious one. Many atheists oppose abortion on moral grounds. It is within everybody's pay grade to understand the seamless transition of life from conception to birth; modern biology has made this case easier, not harder, to make.

And so, in my view, and speaking to those passionate about this issue, now is the time to put resources into making the moral case and to risk disapproval by all sorts of friends and neighbors. Human beings have consciences, and these consciences are still persuadable as to the sanctity of human life growing in the womb.

It is both less personal and less risky to address this and other issues purely on the political side. Yes, there will be legal battles to wage, such as if Congress tries to overturn the present ban on partial birth abortion. I kind of hope they will try as the American people will push back I believe pretty hard on that one.

In the mean time we must love our neighbors, and since the category of neighbor includes the unborn, one aspect of this love will include making the moral case on various levels for the sanctity of all human life. No matter how gentle we are in making the case some of our adult neighbors will take offense, and perhaps dislike us very much, but such is the cost of taking a stand. That is the risk.

We Evangelical Christians also need to make common cause with pro-life movements within other cultural or legal groups. The first "March for Life" I ever participated in was led by an activist pro-life Jewish group in Columbia. The first crisis pregnancy center I was a part of was run by Catholics. And a keynote speaker in another March for Life I attended was a professed atheist. In making the moral case, and in protesting the current million + forced deaths a year of unborn human beings, we need all the co-belligerents we can find.

Between 40 and 35 years ago the United States experienced what Christians would call an "Awakening" - of huge proportions. It took root mainly in the youth of that era. Millions upon millions of teenage kids were walking around one day as vague agnostics or extremely nominal church goers or even rabid atheists, and then, bam, the next day their lives were flipped all around and turned inside out. I know, because I was one of them. We must pray that this will happen again.

Once the conscience is awakened to the sanctity of human life, all human life, from conception unto death, life of every race and creed and gender, one cannot look at these issues the same way again.

We've been lazy. It's time to get to work.

I Didn't Think I Would Ever Agree with a Chinese Government Official

Well, at least with the headline...

Sourwood Tree, from atop Hanging Rock

Oxydendrum arboreum

Looking down from atop Hanging Rock proper, Hanging Rock State Park, North Carolina

GM Hopkins' God's Grandeur

The juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness surrounds and befuddles me. Being somewhat "sensitive" to beauty, yet also sensitive to ugliness (especially the ugliness of human behavior), I bounce back and forth each day from joy to sorrow, over and over. Sometimes I wish I were just jaded. It would make life easier, at least emotionally! But I am not. No matter what we as a species do to mess things up, and to hurt each other, life and beauty keep popping up, almost as if there is an inexorable force behind it. Even the ants and weeds in a ghetto sidewalk give me joy, while the sufferings all around cause me sorrow. But that's life. There was a guy who said it better...

God's Grandeur

GM Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Two Blessings in One Week - A Hanging Rock Sunset and a Bill Mallonee House Concert

I have been fortunate this week to have had two particularly blessed moments.

The first came Sunday as a group of us sat up at Hanging Rock watching the sun set over the Moore's Wall Ridge saddle. The day could not have been nicer, and the colors were the best I've seen in all these 19 years of goign to Hanging Rock. I said to my compadres, "No matter what else is going on in your life, or what your struggles are, this is a beautiful moment. We are sitting up here on an incredibly beautiful autumn day watching the sun set as friends who love one another, and nothing can take this away from us. Soak it in. We don't get to do this every day."

The second came Thursday evening at the apartment of Charlie and Ruth Jones on S Elm Street, where singer songwriter Bill Mallonee and his wife Muriah Rose did a house concert for 30-40 folks. One thing that made this event memorable was the manner in which Bill annotated his songs with stories and reflections on art. Several very familiar songs took on a new and deeper meaning for me. He sang all original songs except for the encore which was an early Neil Young song the name of which escapes me at the moment. I had for a moment a sense of being in a little hangout in Greenwich Village in 1963 or so listening to Bob Dylan. There were a few goose bump moments. I love good live music.

For Bill Mallonee fans - I can't remember the whole set list but off the top these songs come to mind:

Solar System
Nothing Like a Train
Cloth of Life
Skin
Flowers
Blister Soul
Resplendent
High and Lonesome

"Flowers" was the highlight for me, but it was all good.

Cheif of Staff - Please Help Me Understand

I do not understand Obama's choice for chief of staff. Rep. Rahm Emanuel certainly seems like a competent person, yet, from the standpoint of partisa ship, or rather the ideal of bipartisanship, it seems sort of like McCain choosing Dick Cheney or Karl Rove. It doesn't seem to fit the ideal of bringing change to the way Washington works. I am open to persuasion.

Hanging Rock Sunset Silhouette

Mark Graham, on Hanging Rock proper, Hanging Rock State Park, sunset, Sunday November 2, 2008.

My Photostream

Music Transcending Politics - Bill Mallonee Tonight on S Elm

Hey Friends (especially those of you in the Piedmont Triad),

This Wednesday night we are fortunate enough to have the talents of singer/songwriter Bill Mallonee come to S. Elm Street. His is a wonderful blend of folk/rock/soul, with a little jangly Brit pop thrown in for good measure. If you like Neil Young or Bob Dylan or Tom Petty or Bruce Pringsteen... you'll love Bill. His music is very personal and crosses many boundaries of genre. The Concert is in the outrageously huge apartment of Charlie and Ruth Jones, 614 S. Elm St., 27406, just a half a block north of Lee. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Cover charge is $10 if you can, and we will pass the hat as well. For links to sample Bill's music see:

http://profile.myspace.com/billmallonee
or his web page:
http://www.billmallonee.net/index.htm

If you can come, drop Charlie a note - his info is below. Or you can e-mail me at jsgillespie@mindspring.com.

Charlie & Ruth Jones
614 S. Elm St.
Greensboro, NC 27406-1328

charlie@peculiarpeople.com

Congratulations Barack Obama

Congratulations to Barack Obama. He ran a great campaign. He excited and energized great numbers of people to vote. His victory has helped heal and cleanse one of the great stains upon our national history and character. His victory has proven the inherent greatness of the idea of America.

I remember vividly 34 years ago when I worked as a volunteer for the election of Charles “Pug” Ravenel, a Democrat running for governor of South Carolina. I remember how much I was energized and excited about being a part of that campaign. I was not yet even old enough to vote, yet there I was canvassing neighborhoods, and sitting in living rooms (complete with my long hair) talking with older couples and anyone who would listen about the issues of the day! That experience impacted my whole life.

I have seen the excitement of young people pulling for Obama. I saw tonight the sheer exuberance of so many African Americans. I doubt I can ever really understand the significance to African Americans of Obama's victory. I am happy for my African American neighbors. I hope the momentum of young people and the previously alienated or disenfranchised being engaged will continue.

I wrote Tuesday of my fears. I had over the course of the last few months moved from openness to Obama's candidacy to opposition to his candidacy. I had seen an undercurrent of anger, and had a sense of radical views that caused me deep concern. It is possible that what I have perceived as anger is but a quirk of his style, or the urgency of his battle for the Presidency. I hope so.

It is my hope in the days and weeks and months ahead that I will be proven wrong. I hope that Obama will indeed do what he has said he will do, and that is, bring a different way of doing business in Washington. I worry more over the House and Senate and I will hope that Obama will not be their patsy. Thinking of Pelosi and Reid I am inclined to say, "Good luck with that." It won't be easy.

I find some hope that perhaps Obama has learned much from the tendency in the past of the left to over reach in such times. Frankly I still really don’t know what Obama is about, and I hope and pray that he will have great wisdom in the days ahead, and remember that he is the President of all of us.

I feel a kind of odd happiness as I write. Maybe it is just relief over the end of this longest of campaigns in the history of the world (or so it felt - has campaigning already started for 2010?). Maybe it is because I believe that conservatives now will have to regroup and rediscover who and what they are. I have a hope that articulate conservative voices arise from these ashes and bring a better and more accessible set of ideas to the table. Maybe I feel a sense of peace because I trust in the providence of God and look beyond the politics of the day for my hope and joy. Maybe it's all of the above.

In short, congratulations Barack Obama. My Lord tells me to pray for all who lead and exercise authority over us, and I will pray for you. Every leader needs more wisdom, energy, and creativity and grace than seem available to any one person, and I pray that God answers your own prayer, the one you left in the wall in Jerusalem:

"Lord _ Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will,"

Looking Up Into Autumn

On the Cooks Wall Trail, Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, North Carolina. More Hiking Pictures

Eulogy for a World Gone By

It’s 1:30PM on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 – Election Day! I have already voted so I don’t have to fight the crowds today. I’m glad. I’m not fond of standing in long lines.

I have a little tiny ray of hope that I won’t hear the words that I expect to hear early this evening, but it’s tiny, very very tiny.

I voted for George W Bush, and I think that history will look more kindly upon him than current opinion polls do. It is no small feat in my view that we have been spared another terrorist attack within our national borders, and Bush’s dogged single minded determination has had a lot to do with it. I really think that we have not been grateful enough for that, even given his other failings.

On the other hand, between the costs of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the costs related to two major hurricanes, the passing of budgets that contained too much spending, the bursting of the housing bubble, and the unprecedented “bailout” plans, well, to say the least our economy is in need of a “correction” which will, I think, be long and painful. It is not just our leaders’ fault. Our buy-now-pay-later culture is in need of a massive correction as well. The American people need to find a different way. I have often said that if just the Christian folks in the United States started to get serious about addressing their own materialism and hunger for affluence we would go into a deep recession if not a depression. Contentment does not high consumer spending numbers make.

In my mind George Bush’s greatest failure has been his inability to articulate vision or explain things well or motivate the American people. There was a time when his grammatical shenanigans were merely embarrassing and a little funny. We past that point long ago (shout out, JB). We need a president who can speak in complete sentences.

I am not really all that hot about MCain/Palin. I do think McCain would make a good president, but he has run a very odd and awkward campaign. My vote this year was more a vote against than a vote for.

When I first started hearing and paying attention to Obama I was attracted to him as a person and as a candidate and as a leader. Then there was a point during the primaries when I felt that I saw into him. I also saw how he was subtly using the race card to manipulate voters, and my support went over to Hillary Clinton. But by then it was too late.

What I have seen in Obama the last several months worries me very much. No, I don’t think he is a Muslim, and other than the fact that he has said he is a Christian, I wouldn’t really care either way if he were a Muslim. His race is not an issue for me, except that it makes me slightly more inclined to feel a little glad that as a country we are at the cusp of electing an African American president. I would rather it were a different African American president; but still, it truly is an historic moment in our nation’s history. If anything I would more inclined to vote for him because he is black.

What bothers me most about Obama is that I believe that he has gone to great lengths to hide from the American people who he truly is as a person and politician. That he has done this in the bright light of day speaks to a profoundly keen political acumen.

For me the highlight of the whole election process was his interview with Bill O’Reilly. I thought Obama did an incredibly good job. That was one of the best political interviews I have ever watched. Obama was impressive to me at many levels.

Bu when I see Obama now I see a divider, not a uniter. I see a person who is much more politically radical than he projects himself to be. I don’t mean “radical” as a compliment, though I sometimes do mean the word that way. In Obama I see a person riven by a deep anger. He is smooth and articulate and charming and composed, but underneath all that is an extreme agenda which seems to me to be rooted in anger.

Despite his great skill as a political campaigner, he has slipped up, and between his slip ups and information uncovered about him, a foreboding picture emerges for me. What is it? Well, it is his remarks about rural and small town folk to his radically liberal buddies in San Francisco. It is his plan to create some sort of domestic security force with funding and ability to match our military. It is his history of association with radical leftist characters. It is his now very clear desire to redistribute wealth. It is his particular plan to increase the tax burden upon businesses. It is the ease in which he accepts adulation of a messianic nature. It is his hubris in Denver with the columns; his hubris in planning a massive victory party weeks before the election was over. It is the specter of the “Fairness” doctrine. It is his radical views regarding late term abortions and the disingenuous manner in which he has wiggled around that issue. It is purported non support of gay marriage while actually taking positions politically, such as opposing the Defense of Marriage act, that are tantamount to complete and radical support of gay marriage. I think, in short, that Obama is a much more radical leftist ideologue than he comes across, and somewhere along the line, maybe about the hundredth time that he complained (in his patronizing manner) that his words “were being taken out of context,” I stopped listening to his answers.

I don’t know if Obama is sincere when he talks about a “different way to do business” in Washington. I think in fact that he is sincere, which worries me greatly, because what I think he means by it is profoundly different than what the American people mean by it.

I think we’re in for a tsunami of radical left wing legislation coming forth from Congress, signed by Obama, and forced upon an American people the majority of whom (even in voting for him) are intending and desiring something less radical. Eventually the left will over extend, during which time conservatives perhaps will have found leaders who can articulate a political conservatism for the 21st century. Whatever it means to be conservative in a secular nation undergoing significant cultural change in the midst of massive economic globalization has yet to be determined.

The current Republican Party can’t decide what it is or what it stands for. The current Republican President has failed either to articulate or to act consistently with any clear political vision. I would hope that any President would be able to compromise and reach across the aisle (as they say), and I am not keen about left wing or right wing ideologues. If one is going to reach across the aisle one should know from what and from where they are reaching, and so should the American people.

So, anticipating left wing control of all three branches of government I am filled with foreboding. I am glad that my own personal life hope does not rest in the powers and principalities of this age. Yet still I do feel some fear, mostly for my children and their children, fear for how they will deal with the economic mess we are giving over to them already, and fear for how they will fare in the new world being created (as it were) this day, this very day, this very moment, fear for the culture of death they will inherit. There will be a lasting legacy, I think more for ill than for good.

Meanwhile, as Hopkins wrote, “the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.” Beauty and goodness are to be found every day and in all kinds of unexpected places, and in the eyes of human beings whom I find unceasingly interesting, their stories, their lives, their quirks and interests and gifts.

So, life goes on, for me with more trepidation than before, yet wanting irregardless the political winds to do good, to seek justice, to celebrate the world God has created, and to try to point people beyond themselves, and beyond political parties and election decisions to deeper and more abiding realities. I hope I can. I want to.

Joel Gillespie
November 4, 2008

Fall Colors, for Republicans and Democrats Alike

Taken from atop Hanging Rock proper, Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes County, NC. It was a perfect day in every way. We stayed until the sun set over the "saddle" across the valley, and walked down in the dark.

My daughter Madeline took this picture with our dated little Canon Powershot A85.

More hike pictures...

Hanging Rock Sunset

Taken from atop Hanging Rock proper, sun setting over the saddle on Moore's Wall Ridge, Sunday November 2, 2008

My Flickr Photostream