Who says I cant?

One of the greatest joys in my life is being Granddad and being with all my grandchildren at once. This weekend we traveled to Connecticut to see our 4 year old soccer star show us her stuff (unfortunately she was on the disabled list-she got a bug) and was joined by daughter Sara and granddaughter Gwendolyn. Gwennie had the misfortune of falling from her swing and breaking her leg. She has a cast from hip to heel. According to the doctor she can't walk with this think. According to Gwen, "watch me!"

She doesn't just walk, she runs, climbs, scoots with the greatest of ease. She adjusted her gait to extend the cast forward and plant it to bring the flexible leg forward. Her aunt Lara pointed out that she walked like Mr. Tumnus from the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Gwen has a new nickname and a ride in Hudson's truck.

You play to win, Granny!

A few weeks ago our granddaughter Reese was here for a visit and as is her custom ensnared my child bride for a game. The set up the checkerboard in the kitchen and as is our experience when her family comes, there was much hubbub in every direction. As Ginger was distracted, Reese, in her indisputable 4.5 year old logic, determined that if Granny was not paying attention when it came her turn that should not slow down the game. She proceeded to continue taking her turns. When Granny turned back to the board she discovered that half of her checkers had been jumped and captured. When she registered her concern with the unusual rules for play Reese replied, "You play to win, Granny! You play to win!"

Fast forward to today. We surveyed the paper for something fun to do and found that people gathered at the city library to play scrabble. As we find our library a most enjoyable diversion we called our friend Ellie and decided to check it out. After all, G and I have been playing Scrabble online for several weeks now and enjoy it much.

We arrived at the library and found the site downstairs and met Stella and Connie. Stella gave us the ground rules and set up boards for two on two competition. Ginger was playing Stella-I squared off against Ellie. We began to play.

Stella it turned out to have a lot in common with our dear Reese. She plays to win. Not satisfied with a unilateral attack on Ginger she decided to coach Ellie between turns to increase her scoring potential. Twice she challenged words that I played on our board, even though she was playing another game, but refused to challenge an ineligible word that Ginger played because it set her up to score a load of points. Stella finished with a score of over 400 points and seldom made less that 20 points per word. She informed us that she once won a prize in a tournament for spelling a word using all her tiles that straddled two triple word score markers netting 212 points for one word. By the way, did I mention that Stella is in her 70's or 80's--we were afraid to ask.

At one point as she was helping Ellie in her quest to vanquish me I could not resist the urge to channel Marlon Brando and cried out, "STEL-LAH".

We walked away chuckling. What a great afternoon.

Fathers' Day

This Fathers' Day I am thankful for the fathers of my grandchildren. (Their mothers are awesome in their own right, but today is Fathers' day.) My grandchildren are among the most fortunate to have men in their lives who are worthy of the title "Daddy". We are all blessed because they understand the importance of being there for their kids. Thank you Adam. Thank you Emrys. Well done!

My own Personal Acronym

I am normally not a big fan of acronyms. They are particularly annoying when you don't know what they stand for. However, I have decided to take advantage of that reality and create my own acronym for strategic use in conversation. For those of you that read my blog, you will be in on the gambit, for others, oh well.

The root of my acronym is in a message I heard a few years back by Bill Johnson in which he said that he often times is asked for his opinion on things on which he has no opinion. Furthermore, he is not required to have an opinion on everything and is not required to state it even if he does. Brilliant!

To my acronym: IHNO (pronounced like "I Know") When conversation requires my obligatory response and I am not fully engaged or interested, I can put on a concerned/agreeable/distressed face, whichever is required by the situation, and say "IHNO". Which means of course, "I have no opinion." The duplicity is delicious. The conversation continues and I have extricated myself with two syllables.

If you are reading this, you are welcome to use my acronym. Who knows we may start a movement. Then again, you may just decide to respond IHNO!

A few of my favorite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers...oops! Wrong list.

There are things in life that are just so good. Why not list them?

Fish tacos! Don't knock them until you try them--especially with good salsa verde.
Fresh peaches! enough said.
Pandora. Internet radio where you can create your own radio stations.
Podcasts.

• Freakonomics
• The God Journey
• Mars Hill
• Bethel weekly message

Laughing so hard your eyes leak.
Going to restaurants with Josh. (It is like having your own tour guide who knows the local language.)

To be continued--I am still alive, you know.

Inaccurate Labeling

lib·er·al
   /ˈlɪbərəl, ˈlɪbrəl/ Show Spelled[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl] favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.

con·serv·a·tive
   /kənˈsɜrvətɪv/ Show Spelled[kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv] Show IPA
–adjective
1.
disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.

In a recent discussion of the Arizona law pertaining to illegal immigration I discovered the weakness of current labels to accurately define a persons perspective on difficult issues. The discussion was with one of my friends who I would describe as "Liberal". I suspect that most people would describe me as "conservative".

His argument was as follows:

1. The constitution protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure.
2. Enabling law enforcement officers to request documentation constitutes unreasonable search and seizure.
3. Therefore the AZ law is unconstitutional.

My response was:

1. If a person is in the country illegally they are not a citizen of this country.
2. If they are not a citizen of this country, they are not protected under the constitution.

He agreed with my assessment. He went on to say that determining the status of their citizenship would require the law enforcement personnel to make assumptions and act in a way that would violate that protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

My response: If they are not citizens they are entitled to no such protection.

His response: But how will the enforcement officials know whether they are citizens.

My response: We have a constitutional conundrum.

His response: I agree.

So now I am confused. My "Liberal" friend is being conservative by definition in adhering to the spirit of the constitution. I am being liberal in that I want to protect the liberties of citizens of this country but not necessarily extend them to criminal elements that may be here illegally. Oy vey!

In virtually every country on the planet, documentation of citizenship is something that is required. I am not sure if papers are carried and available for inspection on demand in all countries. I do know that most countries take extraordinary precautions to protect their borders from intruders. The United States does not.

Last week a sheriff's deputy was shot with an automatic rifle by drug smugglers and left bleeding just south of Phoenix. Texas, Arizona, and California have thousands of miles of borders that are essentially unsecured. Estimates are that 11 million illegals are in this country now. And we have a conundrum. If we grant amnesty to all that are here now, there is no mechanism in place to prevent more illegals from coming and no plan in place to secure the border.

In the meantime these illegals work here, many for cash with no taxes. They are eligible for social services for which citizens pay. What's not to like about that set up? Granted, most are hard working people of good character. But some are drug smugglers, murderers and thieves. Immigration and our Southern border may well be one of the defining issues of the 21st Century with far reaching ramifications on all aspects of the political, social and economic fabric of our country. It will force a resolution to the constitutional conundrum that will likely require a restriction on the liberty we now enjoy in order to preserve a future liberty that may well be at risk. As our politicians fiddle, the issue burns and burns out of control. Would that we would have an intelligent discussion of this on a national basis and bring it to resolution.

Nothing Left Unsaid

I recently celebrated my 59^th birthday. Granted we all live in 24 hour compartments and they are the same length for each of us. But when you have tallied up enough days you begin to realize that the supply is not unlimited. I have known people who died young and that is a tragedy. I have seen and known people who lived too long and that too is tragic in its own way.

Ten years ago this summer my sister died. She was 59. Sis and I always had a special relationship. I was the youngest of three. She was ten years older. She was actively involved in my care when I was young. We were always close. She was a wonderful woman who lived an extraordinary life when faced with tragic and difficult circumstances. I learned from watching her that a person can survive even the greatest trials. She always looked out for me.

One of the things I learned from her is to not leave things left unsaid. My feelings for those close to me are strong. I care deeply. I often am unable to articulate those feelings. I think it is a guy thing. As I traverse the milestone that is my 59^th year, I have a desire to live in such a way that nothing is left unsaid. One of my guiding principles comes from the Bible in the book of Ephesians. “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29)

I have great admiration for the people in my life. I am surrounded by extraordinarily gifted and talented individuals. My wife, my children, my grandchildren and coworkers are amazing people. They need to know—I need to tell them.