Back In Time

 The human mind often goes into places in the past, especially when prompted in some way by a sight, sound, or smell.  As one gets older, it seems that forays into the past become a little more frequent, and things that one normally would not think would be remembered come out of the cobwebs of the mind into the light of day.  It's really rather amazing the things that one thinks of, and with the advent of the Internet, search engines, and YouTube one can often connect a memory with photos, written material, or even YouTube videos having to do with the memory.

Recently, I've been thinking about living at home as a teen.  Even then I was fascinated by railroads, and often liked to go to the north side of town where the main Santa Fe main line and yard were and do some train watching.  That line was, and still is the main line from Chicago to Los Angeles.  It did, and still does carry dozens...upwards of 100...trains a day.  There no longer is a switching yard there,  The yard, up until about 1990, served as a 24-hour switching yard, making up and breaking down trains that would peel off of the main line in Harper and go to Anthony or Hutchinson and back.  There also are no more spur lines spinning off at Harper going to Anthony or Kingman.  Trains fly through and never stop anymore except to let other trains possibly pass them.  The main line has been double-tracked, resulting in less congestion.

In those years (1950s and 1960s) we had passenger service as well as the services of a “Doodlebug,” which would, I believe, come down from Wichita on the old Orient line which roughly paralleled Highways 2 and 42 from Wichita to Harper.  It would spend some time in Harper, then go on, I believe to Anthony and beyond.

If you're old enough, you've probably heard of the “old days” when trains would pick up and deliver various commodities for small towns in a sort of “milk run.”  According to Wikipedia, one use of the term “milk run” was where it was used to describe a train that made frequent stops to pick up farmers' milk cans for shipment to local dairies for processing and bottling.  They would also pick up and deliver various kinds of freight, as well as the occasional passenger.

The Doodlebug was the ideal way to accomplish this in the years when it was done.  It's schedule and run went through many local, small communities and originated and ended, at least in our part of the world, in Wichita where there were dairies, freight lines, and so on.

I recall on one occasion, I was riding with a friend and his dad in their pickup truck.  They were farmers, and had a small dairy.  They stopped at the rail depot in Harper, and dropped off a couple of five-gallon insulated cream cans filled with cream.  The agent there ticketed the cans, accepted them and moved them into the depot.  The dad said, in response to my question, that the cans would be taken by train to Wichita to a dairy.  They had sold the cream to the dairy.

The passenger train would stop only if someone wanted to get on or off.  That person had to be ready to board or de-board quickly, because the train barely came to a stop for just a few seconds, then took off again.  During that time person and baggage had to be transferred quickly.

Additionally, many of the passenger trains had a Railway Post Office car in the consist.  A rolling postal sorting and mail facility, the post office car employees would sort mail while on the go, and would drop off or pick up mail at many of the smaller towns.  They did the drop off and pick up on the go, never stopping.

Mail sacks would be kicked off of the car near the depot, and mail would be picked up by means of a hook that was extended off of the side of the car which “caught” a bag of outgoing mail that had been attached to a standard near the track.

I recall watching that mail transfer more than once, marveling at how it was done.  Moving at over 70 miles an hour (the main line at that time was good for 89mph), the hook would snag the bag and they'd pull it into the postal car right after they'd kick out the outgoing mail bag.  A postal employee would pick up the kicked-out bag and take it to the local post office.

I have other memories of trains.  We had a spur line adjacent to our property which terminated at a grain elevator which also abutted our property.  In my childhood days, it was always a treat to watch the engines come up the spur line either to drop off a few cars or pick up a few.  They did a little switching there as well.  We could stand at the fence about 25 feet from the track and often did to watch.  At least once I recall a steam engine bringing cars for the elevator.  Most of the time, however, it was either a diesel engine or sometimes the doodlebug that came to service the elevator.

Sometimes as a child I would have a nightmare of a train engine coming off of the track and coming after me.  These were some of the most terrifying of my nightmares as I felt completely helpless.  However, it didn't deter me from train-watching and enjoying seeing them in action.

I hope you enjoyed going back in time with me for a few minutes.  May your day be blessed.

The Reality Is

 This weekend, we will be watching most of the Wichita grand kids while Mom, Dad, and one or two older kids take care of some weekend business.  It’s a big change for us to suddenly have four or five additional people, let alone kids, among us for a couple of days.  I have to admit that it takes some getting used to for me, and that it’s kind of nice when they go back to their parents.  I’m used to the peace and quiet of semi-retirement and of not having anyone around except the wife.  That won’t happen, however, this weekend, so I’m mentally gearing up for it already this week.

I have to tell you, though, those grand kids grow up so quickly.  What seemed like only a year or two ago, they were 2, 4, 6 years old and now there are two teens, a near teen, and all are in school.  The older teen will be 18 in just a year and a half.  So much has passed by our lives and so quickly.  I’m reminded of that Bible verse about our lives being but a vapor.  How does that verse go?

The book of James is where that is found.  The writer says this, : Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.   What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  In the Psalms, one poet said this:  “You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You.  Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath.”

For many years now, I have been cognizant of the fact that I have many more years behind me than I have ahead of me.  That realization began in my mid 40’s and has only intensified over the years.  The year 2031 when I will turn 80 years old, should I live that long, is only a few skips into the future.  There is much to see and do in the intervening time, and I find that time period growing smaller and smaller.  The days sometimes seem to drag on forever, but the months and years are flying by.

I’m guessing it’s the same for you whether you’re 30 or 70 years old or somewhere in between.  We never seem to have enough hours in the day or days in the year or years in a lifetime to see and do all we’d like.  So we have to sometimes pick and choose, and just say something to the effect of, “I’ll probably never get that done,” or, “We probably won’t be back this way again, so we need to enjoy this place and time.”

My wife and I actually have been doing this some over the past few years.  We’ve taken trips to places where we pretty much knew we would never go back.  We’re planning to go places, the Lord willing, this year and in the future where we probably will not ever be going back due to our ages, health, and even financial situation.

And there are things I know I’ve done in the past that I’ve said, “I’m not doing that anymore,” and have just quietly dropped that thing from my list of things I can and will do.  I won’t crawl into attics or under houses anymore as I used to do from time to time to make repairs to plumbing or electrical.  I won’t get on the roof of my home anymore without someone there to watch out for me.  I no longer will help someone install drywall, otherwise known as sheetrock.  I won’t change my own oil anymore.  Nor will I use a push mower to cut the grass.  The list is longer than that, but you get the idea.

Depending on one’s point of view, we often live long and fruitful lives.  We accomplish a lot, have descendants, and make a real difference in the lives of many.  Or, from another point of view, our lives are as a puff of vapor in the great scheme of things.  We are here, then we’re gone and after a time remembered no more by anyone.  The wise man of Ecclesiastes said this:  “The wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten.  Like the fool, the wise too must die!”

Now, with all that I’ve said, I don’t mean to be morbid and sound defeated in life.  There is surely much good to be found in life and living.  There is much good in the creation.  There is much to do and see in the time we have, and God has blessed us abundantly.  However, we also need to keep our thinking straight and understand that even though things may seem to be very important in the here and now, and we ourselves may seem to be very important people in the here and now, over the long haul…over the eons…our lives are just a speck on the timeline.

The real importance is eternity.  The reality is our destiny.  The goal is living life as our Creator would have us live it.  The result is our adoption as brothers and sisters of the risen Christ.  That, friend, is the reality.

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kindness 101

 Good afternoon and welcome to another Thursday thought.

 I haven’t been feeling well the past several days.  It started late last week…just feeling not quite normal and not a hundred percent.  You know the feeling…almost, but not quite.  Sunday afternoon it got worse, and by Monday morning, I was down for the count.  I originally thought Sunday it was a common cold, but by Monday morning I knew it was something a little different.

The wife thought I had gotten a touch of a flu bug, even though I had gotten a flu shot earlier in the fall.  I slept most of the day Monday and also during that night.  Tuesday, I contacted my provider and asked if she would order an anti-viral.  She did and I started taking it.  Today, Thursday, I’m much better and feel almost back to normal.

My time in flu purgatory was relatively brief, and I seem to be recovering nicely.  For that I am thankful because for older folks, these kinds of things can turn into more serious situations rather easily.  Also, I’m not a very good patient as my wife will attest.  I don’t like to have to stay inside all the time and not go anywhere.  I do my share of moaning and groaning if the circumstances allow.  I think sometimes she’s doing well to be in the same house with me.

I have a couple of takeaways from that recent experience that I’d like to share with you today.  First, I’m not sure what I’d do if I had no one to help me through my illness.  Pat did a great job keeping up the house and doing what needed to be done.  Jackie at GraceMed provided the anti-viral authorization based on my phone call and past experience with her as my medical provider.  My pharmacist didn’t have the medication on hand, but transferred the prescription to a place that did so Pat could pick it up that day and I could start the regimen.  Eric at work handled some things there that I should have been doing those days.  And I’m sure there were others who helped in some way or another…people I don’t know about.  I’m grateful for them all.

Second, on Tuesday I needed to just step out of the house for some air.  I wasn’t feeling well, but needed to get out, even if for just a few moments.  I stepped out on our back deck into the sun and breeze.  In the park just behind our house there was an older gentleman and a young girl walking on the path.  He appeared to be well into his sixties, and she no more than four or five years old.  My presumption was this was a grand father and his grand daughter going for a walk in the park.  We see that kind of thing quite often here.  Families of various kinds and makeups enjoying the outdoors in the park.  Nothing unusual about that.

However, as they were going along, suddenly the girl released her hand from his and started skipping down the path…as far as I could tell, there was no particular reason for her to do that…she just felt like skipping for a time.  Grand dad followed along and increased his walking gait a bit in order not to get too far behind.  She eventually began walking again and they got together again.

Again, nothing out of the ordinary here, except I was struck by the girl’s skipping.  She seemed to just be happy to be in the park with her grandpa, and was expressing that joy through the act of skipping down the path.  The sight of that brought some joy to me as well.  I thought about what I had seen several times during the day that day and how just the little things can bring about happiness and peace in a life that often is fraught with illness, trouble, and pain.  And this girl doesn’t know it…they didn’t even know I was watching them…but she brought some joy to my day by what she did.

I know I’ve preached on this before…but I’ll say it again.  One never, ever knows how much good just a little kindness…a little joy…a little happiness…will do for others who may be in the middle of some kind of trial, illness, or difficult situation in life.  This little girl made a difference in my day by doing what came naturally for her to do at that moment.  Think what kind of a difference you might make in someone’s day if you were intentional in your actions.

Train yourself to begin to look for ways you can make the life of someone else better or easier.  Unless you’re a hermit, you’ll probably find several such opportunities in the course of a normal day.  Then take advantage of one or more of those opportunities.  Spread a little kindness and cheer to others.  Start today.

 

Blessings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Encouragement is Free

 

Good morning.

 Once in a while I like to email television personalities and encourage them in some way.  Most of those who work for the local stations are younger and newer in the business.  Additionally, most of them will be here a few years to get some experience and decide if they want to make on-air work a career, then move on to a larger market or, if they find the unusual hours and work days too burdensome, move on to another line of work.

 I like to watch the local news, and don’t have a favorite of the local outlets, so who I watch can easily vary among all three of the Wichita stations.  And, it seems that every few weeks, a new face pops up during the half-hour.

 I recently emailed a younger woman who does the weather sometimes for one of the local stations.  She came to Wichita less than a year ago.  Her presentation is nothing to write home about, but she has a pleasing personality when on-air and does a decent job of presenting the weather.

 This is what I said to her in the email:  I've been meaning to email for some time, but you know how that goes sometimes.  I was reminded just this evening that I need to do that.  I enjoy your on-air broadcasts.  You show personality, and it's as if you're just visiting with us about the weather.  As a former on-air radio/TV personality (1970's) myself, it is important to me now to encourage young talent.  Well done.  I understand you're young in your career.  Keep on learning and growing in it.  You'll do well.

 This was her response an hour or so later.  Thank you so much for the kind words!  I was having a rough day at work but you completely turned it around.  It's always nice to get a kind email every now and then rather than rude viewer ones, which I'm sure you also received during your career.  Kind regards,

 I will say at the outset that since we didn’t have email in the 1970’s, I never received any emails from viewers, as she alluded to in her response.  I extend grace on this point, however, and bear in mind that this woman has never seen a day without email or the Internet.  But I do know what rude comments are, and know also how debilitating they can be, however they may be transmitted.

 I tell you this to say that one never knows how much effect one might have just by doing some kind deed or saying some kind words.  I don’t know this young woman.  She may well be far from her family in a part of the country that seems rather foreign to her.  She probably had no one in this area that she knew when she moved here.  She is working on her career in a business that can be very rewarding, and can also be very cruel.  She is always on public display, is open to constant criticism from the public, and her employer watches her work very carefully.  Her pay grade isn’t the best as a newbie in a sometimes cutthroat business.  In short, what you see on your screen when you watch the weather or news is usually a façade hiding the normal pains of work, career, health, relationships, and self-esteem.

 It doesn’t cost anything to say an encouraging word.  It usually takes very little time to do a kindness for someone.  I’m reminded of the verse in the Bible that Paul wrote long years ago.  The old King James translation goes like this:  “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.”

 Try it.  Maybe offer an encouraging word to someone.  As you’ve seen in this post, it doesn’t even have to be someone you know.  Or maybe pay it forward in the pickup line at the Wendys or Starbucks.  Perhaps all you need to do is smile and say “Hello,” to someone who crosses your path, or compliment a co-worker in some way.  There are hundreds of ways to make a difference in someone’s life and their outlook on life.

 Kindness, encouragement, compassion, tenderheartedness, and perhaps most of all forgiveness are the attributes of someone who knows life and knows what is truly important in the everyday.