More of the Normal and Weird

Another semi-quiet day. Diane resting on the couch while I just relax — good for both of us. 

She’s been home for less than a week from almost a month  in the hospital and rehab. She seems happy, but we need to exercise more, so she can continue rebuilding her strength.  I think I’ll also help her take another shower today. That should make her feel even better. 

Our friend, Pat, made a serving of chicken parmesan for Diane yesterday, delivered by Pat's husband, Larry.  I decided to serve it for lunch today. That, too, should make Diane happy…it did!

Then I got a text from another Bible Study friend, Phyllis, who wants to present us with a nice chicken dinner. That'll happen on Thursday, since tomorrow is my day to cook something for the two of us, something Dear Diane might actually want to eat. My cooking improves...but agonizingly slowly.

Everything else around us is so busy and strange. Illness, weakness, lots of meds, physical therapy, visiting nurses, appointments with specialists whom we've never met...it all overwhelms. We're left with so many unanswered questions...

And so, we conclude that we don’t know the future, at least not much of it, but what we do know is always good, although it might occasionally be sad. 

For example, I just heard that Dolly Parton died today at 80. Sad indeed, but also joyful. Those who knew her, those who loved her, will miss her, but she’s where she wants to be, where she planned to be, with her God and with those she loved, especially her husband of 59 years, Carl Dean,  who died last year. 

What a loss to our nation! Dolly Parton was a brilliant, talented, humble, and extraordinarily kind and generous human being. She was a woman who lived the Christian faith she received from her parents and her family and community. She grew up in material poverty, but was the recipient of true spiritual wealth and never forgot it. 

I’d like to hear what the so-called Democrat Socialists have to say about Dolly Parton, who grabbed the American dream and ran with it. She did not let her impoverished roots in Appalachia — the 4th of 12 children of an illiterate share cropper — decide her future. She used her intelligence, talents, and drive to make herself into one of the most successful women in the country. One suspects the socialists — who always lie — will stupidly ignore her death, or attribute her success to “white privilege”. Can’t wait to see what happens.

In any event, all of this drove my thoughts back to events I experienced years ago during the war in Vietnam. Back then we were told to kill communists. Most of us didn’t object because those communists were trying to kill us. Also, they were brutal in their treatment of civilians and of our POWs who, like so many of us, were mostly aviators. Close to 50,000 Americans died in Vietnam, but at least a half-million died among the communists in both North and South Vietnam. 

This caused me to reflect on what I see as a great contradiction: In both Korea and Vietnam -- from the 1950s through the 1970s -- Americans in the armed forces were told to kill communists, but now, rather surprisingly, we’re told to elect them. And we're encouraged to do the latter by many seemingly mainstream politicians. Believe me, this new crop of American “socialists” are truly full-fledged communists. They follow the communist line to the letter. Anyway, I find it all very strange. 

As I mentioned above, the left always lies. For example, when they claim to want to eliminate prisons, they’re lying. In truth, the left always expands prisons because they need to imprison all those who disagree with or threaten them in any way. Don’t believe me? Just look at the history of leftist nations.

Please don’t think this deacon is advocating the killing of socialists or communists…not at all! I simply encourage folks to pray for them. Let God change the world; we certainly can't do it. But I also think it a bit bizarre that the world, and the attitudes and awareness of many Americans, has changed so radically during my lifetime.

Enough for now. Keep praying for Diane and me...and our nation.

God Thinks Us

 Thought into Being

I shave my face.

The stubble there

carries me to 

the scratch of life.

Just simple things:

to touch and taste,

to know I live.

For what? To hope?

Was life my choice?

Unasked, it came,

answered no plan

of mine; but His?

I live, not through

theology.

My senses sense

His will in all.

My life, His thought,

brought to being

as the cosmos

sang its creative hymn of joy.

 

Ok, What’s Up in the USA?

I don’t often comment, at least not overtly, on politics. I suppose it’s a deacon thing: best not to speak too often about secular subjects that might skew opinions of me and my words on the important stuff, causing those who think otherwise to consider me a jerk...or far worse. But the American political scene has become very strange indeed, so I just can’t help myself. I must say something.

I’ll begin by stating something everyone seems to ignore. The battle we see taking place all round us is not a political battle; it’s a spiritual battle. The so-called Democratic Socialists are not in any way democratic and neither are they like the mild-mannered but incompetent Western European socialists. When we listen to their words we quickly conclude they are full-fledged communists. And believe me, communists are driven by a special kind of evil. It’s an evil that despises God, especially the Judeo-Christian God that the vast majority of our nation has worshipped throughout our history. 

Now, I'm not saying that large numbers -- at least among registered Democrats -- who support the Democratic Socialists are all evil. No, they're really more akin to what Vladimir Lenin reportedly labeled, "useful idiots." Far too many haven't a clue about the consistent failures of socialism and communism wherever and whenever they've been tried. And so these nodding supporters are essentially political "idiots" or perhaps more kindly, just grossly uninformed. They are also very useful to those seeking power since they vote based on their ignorance. 

I had my first up-close-and-personal experience with communism in 1951. (I was a seven-year-old.) My dad was an Army officer stationed in West Germany, and he took his family with him. At some point Dad decided we should visit Berlin for a few days. Berlin was a divided city completely surrounded by communist East Germany. The communists ruled East Berlin while the Allies governed West Berlin. 

We boarded a train in West Germany, passed through a good hunk of communist East Germany, and arrived in West Berlin. On the train we encountered armed Soviet soldiers, apparently there to ensure all passengers were "legitimate". They were not pleasant, obviously trained to intimidate.

Dad had arranged for Mom, my elder brother, and me to take an Army Special Services bus tour of East Berlin. (This was almost a decade before the infamous Berlin wall was built.) As we passed from West to East Berlin, the difference was apparent. West Berlin was booming in the midst of remarkable rebuilding to erase the horrendous damage of World War II. That half of the city was experiencing a true economic miracle. East Berlin, though, was just a pile of rubble, with only one exception. Some buildings that faced west were built as phony facades that appeared to be newly built or rebuilt buildings. But there was nothing behind the facades. A beautiful example of an essential element of the communist's public persona: they must lie...about everything.

Far worse, though, was what we encountered as we looked through the windows of our bus. On every corner we saw a pair of armed Soviet soldiers. As the bus approached, they lowered their AK-47s and aimed them directly at the bus. They followed us with their gun barrels until the bus approached the pair on the next corner. This was repeated throughout the "tour." It's relevant to mention the bus was filled almost exclusively with dependents, women and children, who were apparently seen as a threat. To communists any threat, whether great or negligible must be eliminated.   

Here we have an example of another essential element of the communist public persona: out-threat the threat; i.e., the only effective rule is one that presents a believable threat to any person or group that might resist or disagree. And if the threat continues, pull the trigger.

Yes, indeed, I learned a lot that day as a child of seven. The images are fixed deep in my memory and will always remain there to color my beliefs.

Looking at the American left we find it rarely argues effectively for its policies, because its policies have consistently failed. They, therefore, do two things. First, they simply lie about them, speaking either in meaningless generalities or tossing brash statements designed to get attention, but words they can laughingly renounce later. Second, they attack their opponents, usually with baseless ad hominem attacks. Note how the left tends to attack President Trump personally rather than present any solid, believable arguments for their policies. They also tend to avoid real debates, especially with intelligent, knowledgeable opponents who can expose their lies.  

And their latest tactic? They don't hide their beliefs, even if they can't defend them. They just toss them out there, expecting enough folks to respond enthusiastically and VOTE. 

If you watch and listen closely, you will also discover that the far left despises Christianity in any orthodox form. We've already seen how they have attacked Judaism, under the false excuse that they only oppose Netanyahu. This, of course, is a lie. They hate Judaism, Israel, and really all Jews because their continued existence on earth is a manifestation of God's power. But they know their greatest threat is the one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church, the Church founded by Jesus Christ. And so, they try to replace the one, true God, Who created everything, with an impossible Marxist version they have created in their troubled minds. 

I've been fortunate to travel throughout much of the world and sadly have witnessed the ravages and pain caused by communism. It's all about power, folks, and the evil application of money to gain and retain power.

Ok...that's enough, at least for now. I suspect I'll take more than a few hits, but I'm at the age where I really don't care.

Catching Up

I know...it's been a while. But I've been a caregiver (a very small pat on the back) as Dear Diane makes her way through a difficult time medically. It's just been one challenging series of problems after another, but we seem to be arriving at a good point in this strange progress. 

The poor girl has suffered much in recent months and, as I too often let her know, I been right there with her. I won't bore you with the medical issues, and Diane would be very upset if I focused on her, so I'll just say it's been hard for her and a joy for me. That's right...caring for her has been a true joy, something I never expected after almost 58 years of marriage. It calls to mind all the time she spent just doing everything for me while I was off flying in the Navy or traveling the world in my consulting work. Believe it or not, I was amazingly self-centered and just expected her to do everything. As I sit here today I realize how God reveals the truth to us, and does so in His time. Thank you, Dear Diane, and than you, Dear Lord.

Late this afternoon Diane was moved to the UF Health Rehab Facility on the fifth floor of our wonderful hospital here in The Villages. This is probably the best rehab facility, among many, in the area...so I am really pleased that she's there. We've been there before, know the staff, and love them all. 

Today was a bit strange. For many years, I have suspended my parish Bible Study for the summer months because we have so many "snow birds" among our parishioners. To appease the year-round locals, I always schedule a course in August. Some months ago, long before Diane encountered her current health issues, I scheduled a survey course on Ecclesiology beginning today. It will run for five 90-minute sessions on each Monday of August. I think the first session went well, even though I was remarkably unprepared. 

If you're interested in the course, I have included some course content -- PowerPoint and "handouts" -- on my parish Bible Study website. Here's the link: 

    www.catholic-scripture.com/courses

Just scroll down to view the info on the 2006 Ecclesiology Course.

Life goes on, folks. God is good and He prunes His olive trees as needed.

Blessings and God's peace...