So Much Hurry!

I went out for a drive today.  It’s very nice…about 70 degrees this late January day, so I took a spin in the pickup out to some of the more rural parts of Sedgwick County.  Oh, I know, there really is NO real rural area in this county, but there are wheat fields, some livestock, farmsteads, and some real dirt roads out there.  I found a couple of them.

Having the window down and the radio off, I soaked in the warmth and the scenery.  Admittedly, there isn’t as much of that in winter as in the other seasons of the year, but there were some things to see.  And the traffic, even in the rural areas was more than I thought it might be.  I’m not sure if it was because it was a nice day, or school was out and people were going home, or what.

It seemed like, though, that they were all in a hurry.  Now, maybe I was going a little too slowly…I went the speed limit where posted, and went about 40mph on the unpaved, washboardy roads.  But it seemed like folks just were in too much of a hurry today.  I don’t have a clue what was so important that they had to speed around me to get there, or impatiently wait behind me until I turned, they turned, or could pass.

You know, it seems like the world is in a hurry.  Not just the people this afternoon.  Everyone wants the line to move quickly, the food to heat right away, and instant coffee out of the Keurig.  Everyone wants their web page to load in ½ second or less, and they all want to be able to have green lights all the way.

Could it be…could it be that we hurry ourselves and busy ourselves intentionally, so we won’t have the time to stop and think?  Could it be that as long as we are distracted by busy-ness, we don’t have to think about the societal issues of the day, the world situation, and our own mortality and brokenness?  Could it be that if we have a few minutes alone with ourselves, quietly, we become nervous, unsettled, and even a little afraid?  Could it be that we’re trying to keep the wolf at bay by being busy?  That we can put off the time of reckoning, so to speak, and not have to be honest with ourselves or ponder the questions of, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?”

And maybe that’s why I sometimes like the quiet and the out-of-the-way.  I don’t mind pondering those questions because I know who I am.  I know why I am here.  And I know where I am going.  Because I’m an adopted child of the Living God of Heaven and Earth, I know the answers to those questions.  I’m not afraid to address them.  And I’m not nervously trying to put off the next chapter in my life through busy-ness.

I’m not perfect.  I have issues.  I don’t like to think about homelessness, human trafficking, and other societal ills.  I don’t like to hear about war, starvation, or genocide.  But I know enough to know that those things, one day, will be no more.  I know that I will be a part of that great crowd from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation that surrounds the throne of God.

This turned out to be a much more “religious” post than I originally planned for it to be.  So be it.  This is the reality.  To not write about it would be to do a disservice to you and to me.  So, take it or leave it…but make no mistake.  We WILL all one day know the answers to those eternal questions…if we don’t know now, we will in a time to come.  And the answer in the time to come just may not be what we want to hear.

Time to Man Up

I am amazed at the number of times I read or hear about someone colliding with another motorist, someone on a bicycle, or someone walking alongside the road, and then leaves the scene of the accident.  It happened again last night in Wichita.  Someone hit a person on a bicycle and fled the scene.  That person is in serious condition at a hospital.

My wife says I shouldn’t be so amazed; that the culture of self is alive and well; that it doesn’t take much to turn a person into someone very self-centered and, well, let’s just say it…ugly.

There could be any number of reasons why someone would choose to leave the scene of an accident and leave a victim lying on the roadway or in the ditch, injured or perhaps dead.  The perp could be driving illegally, not have a license, be driving a stolen vehicle, not have insurance, or be wanted on a warrant.  He/she could be inebriated by drugs or alcohol and either not realize he hit someone or the drugs make him not care.

The perp could just be selfish enough to not have any moral scruples about human life and obedience to the law.  Or he/she could be scared and not thinking right.  Whatever the reason, it is really no reason at all.

Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist and speaker, says that without acknowledgment of a higher power and transcendent moral code, there is no rational moral foundation upon which to build one’s world view.  Those who disagree say that morality is inherent within the human being and society through evolution and does not need a transcendent being to exist.

I’d ask you to take a look around and tell me what you honestly think.  Where did our moral foundation come from?  Why is it wrong to murder?  Rape?  Rob?  What difference does it make if I do those things if there is no overarching moral code and moral lawgiver to hold me accountable?  What difference does it make if I drive illegally and hit someone walking on the side of the road?  Who says that is wrong?  Where does that come from?

What would life be like if everyone had their own moral code?  What kind of society would we live in?  How safe would you be in this society?  How secure would your children be venturing out beyond the boundaries of home?

Let’s take that down a notch or two.  What if everyone had their own set of traffic laws and rules that they followed for themselves?  What if some drove 35, some 65 and some 95 on Kellogg Avenue?  What if some stayed within the lines and some didn’t?  What if some went on green lights and some on red?  I think you’re probably saying something to the effect that these things are happening right now.  And you’re right.  And daily, we see the effects of this kind of thinking; wrecked vehicles and mangled bodies.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Everyone from time to time misses that car coming from the side street.  Everyone sometimes becomes distracted and fails to see a pedestrian or cyclist.  Most of the time, nothing bad happens.  But when it does, it’s time to “man up” (regardless of one’s gender) and own the situation.  It’s time to step up and admit an error.  It’s time to make right the wrong that one has created.  Selfishness and self-centeredness never fails to bite the hand that feeds it…never fails to get its due.

Time for a Nap

Sometimes, it pays to be a little more careful.

I am “baching” it tonight as the wife is doing orientation for adjunct nursing faculty this evening.  So in fixing supper (many call it dinner…I never did), which I do regularly, I got out a piece of beef from the freezer and quick-thawed in a pan on the stove.  Having watched it religiously, once it was thawed (I was able to stick a fork into it), I turned it to what I thought was a nice, simmering temperature, added a little water, covered it, and left it to finish cooking.

I was in the basement doing some things when the smoke alarms suddenly went off in the house.  They are connected together, so when one goes, they all go.  Assuming the issue was upstairs, as I went up the steps, I could smell the obvious odor of beef that was overcooked.

I got the smoking pan off of the stove and calmed it down quickly.  The noise soon went off as well.  I went through the haze to the garage, got a box fan, set it in a window in the living room, and turned it on exhaust, while opening the sliding door on the opposite side of the house.

It didn’t take long for most of the haze and smell to go away, but I know we’ll smell this for the next 24 hours or so as our house is very tight.

Now, I know I should have stayed up in the kitchen and monitored the stove.  After all, it was my supper that was in danger of overcooking, and I should have been more careful.  But I’d done this many times before and it always turned out OK.  What happened tonight I’m not sure as I turned the stove off quickly before stopping to look where I had really put the control.

I do know a couple of things, though.  First, the smoke alarms work just fine.  Second, it doesn’t take much to blacken meat instead of brown it.  Third, the exhaust fan routine works pretty well.

So there you have it.  An evening without the wife here and all this excitement.  I think it’s time for a nap now…

Relationships

It seems like I always get into a little more of a contemplative mood this time of the year than I do the rest of the year.  I’m not a ball of fire any other time, but this time of the year…between Christmas and the New Year…seems to cause me to do some pondering and thinking about many things; but mostly about relationships.

Yes, I think about the new year and the possibilities therein.  Yes, I think about things I can do better in the coming year, or something I’d like to get done maybe for the first time.  And yes, I certainly think about the time I’ve had here on the earth, and the time that I have left if I live a normal lifespan.  But mostly, I think about those people in my life who are related to me in some way…by blood, marriage, friendship, business relationship, or otherwise.

Some relationships have been dissolved by the passing of someone.  Sometimes one or more of the people in my life move out of the area, or jobs or work assignments are changed.  And sometimes, but not often, the relationship just isn’t there anymore for whatever the reason may be.

But most remain intact from year to year, and most all of them grow in some good way.  And I enjoy these relationships as well.  I like to observe younger ones succeed in their jobs.  I like to watch their families grow.  I watch them struggle from time to time, work through issues in their lives, and get back up after they fall down.  I like to watch older friends as they cope with the effects of aging and the certainty of not-so-many years left on the earth.

I can relate to most of them, as I am either experiencing much the same myself or have already been through the ups and downs that others are going through.  Oh, there are some things I’ve not experienced.  I’ve not had a medical diagnosis that was life-threatening.  I’ve not suffered a huge trauma injury.  I’ve not been through a divorce or had any domestic issues great enough to warrant family counseling.

But I can commiserate.  I can listen.  I can observe.  I can rely on similar experience and provide counsel if needed.  I can pray.  And the others who are in my life can do the same for me.  It’s a sort of symbiotic relationship.  I need those who are in my life.  And in a very real sense, they need me and others who are in their lives.

I don’t know if all of this thinking and pondering this time of the year is really beneficial to anyone, least of all me.  But I’d like to think that, at least on my end, the bonds are strengthened by my recall of relationships and friendships and what they mean to me.  And in the time I have left here, I will not only continue to cherish these bonds, but will work to watch them continue to grow and mature, even as I create new ones as the opportunity presents itself.

I thank God for the opportunity to relate to people.  This world would be a very lonely and cold place without them in my life.  I am blessed beyond measure!

What's Your Outlook?

Well, it’s been a year.  Ups and downs; highs and lows.  Things happened; people and life moved on.  Those of us who remain are another year older (but hopefully not deeper in debt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joo90ZWrUkU )

So what do we do?  Do we look back on what has happened and reminisce and replay the events of our lives?  Or do we look ahead?  And if we decide to look ahead, do we do so with apprehension and the fear of uncertainty?  Or do we do so with anticipation and longing?

How we approach life…looking back or looking ahead…looking with fear or looking with anticipation…largely sets our attitude and outlook on life.  We can be Joe Btfsplk and have the rain cloud follow us around all the time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Btfsplk ), or we can do as Paul did, forgetting what lies behind and “press on” to the future (Philippians 3:13-14).

It’s difficult, sometimes, to maintain a positive outlook on life.  Things happen.  Situations change.  People become ill.  Tragedy strikes.  Financial reversals come around.  Things just don’t work out like we want them to work out.  It’s easy to slip into a moribund, sullen outlook on life that is not at all what was intended by the One who created us to begin with.

I know we can’t all be happy and dancing around all the time.  I know there are times when we don’t feel good or have medical, emotional, or spiritual issues.  But we can have an inner joy and peace that comes from a proper relationship with our Creator, and we can develop an attitude of looking ahead with confidence and grace.

So, what is your outlook on the coming year 2015?  Do you choose to be the guy with the rain cloud?  Or do you choose to exude a quiet confidence, not in yourself, but in the Creator of us all, who promises to sustain and carry us through to the Hope that He is making ready for us?

Winter Words

Winter.  Cold.  Freeze.  Snow.  Chill.  Ice.  Wind.  These words and others are often used starting about now and continuing for the next three or four months.  It’s winter; maybe not by the calendar—winter officially begins around December 21.  But according to the temperature, the wind chill, and the discomfort, it’s winter.

As we age, we tend, I think, to look forward to winter less and less.  There’s more chance of our breaking something if we slip and fall.  We feel the cold a little more deeply in our bones each year.  The time change seems to affect us more than it used to.  And the chill and the dark remind us that we’ve lived far more years than the number of years we have left to go on this earth.

Winter means pneumonia.  It means broken bones.  It means falling.  It means colds and flu.  For those of us who are older, it’s not a really great time of the year.  Yet winter can have its beauty and its majesty.  Winter can be a time when our sinuses take a rest from making us miserable because the pollen and weeds are dead and gone.  Winter can be a time of family gatherings and seeing relatives and friends we seldom see otherwise.  And winter can be a time of renewal…a time when we plan for the coming seasons and take stock of where we’ve been.

I know I’m getting to where I like winter less and less, most of the time.  The cold seems deeper and the darkness seems more overwhelming than it used to.  If I’m fortunate to live a long life, I have about 20 winters to go.  I need to get over this notion of winter being a time that I don’t like (OK, “despise” is a better word), and begin to appreciate it more for what it is and the importance that it is to the environment.

For you see, without winter, there would be no spring.  Without winter snows, there would be fewer spring crops.  Without winter, the weather would be so boring and ordinary.  And what about Christmas?  What is Christmas without winter and the chance of a white Christmas?

You know, as I think about it, maybe winter isn’t so bad after all.  Maybe winter can be a time of recovery, renewal, and anticipation.  Maybe winter can be a time when we recover a sense of balance in life, renew relationships, and anticipate the spring to come.

Winter.  Opportunity.  Renewal.  Balance.  Relationships.  Anticipation.  I think I like those words better.

The Moments of Today

There’s a definite chill in the air.  The leaves are yellowing and falling off of the trees.  The grass is turning brown.  Days are much shorter.  And nature is beginning the process of yet another winter of slumber and hunkering down against the cold that is sure to come.

We humans also prepare for the winter to come.  We get out the hot chocolate, break out the sweaters and winter clothes, and make sure the car has the right level of antifreeze in it.  We bring in sensitive plants, roll up our garden hoses, and find books to read and games to play during the long winter nights.

But all is not quiet in nature.  Winter birds take over territory previously occupied by their summer friends.  Turkey, deer, and other animals stay all winter, foraging on what is left over from the summer growing season.  Other animals burrow underground or hibernate for the winter so they can be ready for the coming spring.

It is, or rather should be, a time for people to remain active as well.  There are school plays, basketball games, and other winter sports.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner, and the long winter months of January and February are broken up by winter trips, playing in the snow, and enjoying the cold weather.

There are places on the earth that are perpetually cold.  There other places that are perpetually warm.  But there is a huge swath of the earth that is, as we say, temperate.  The climate changes from warm to cold and back again.  There is a definite change of seasons and with it changes in human activities, moods, and feelings.  S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder is real.

We can go outside and look at the brown grass, the bare trees, and the cold breeze, and long for spring.  And I do that sometimes.  But I can learn to appreciate the autumn season and the winter that comes after.  I can also appreciate the God who in His wisdom made it this way and called His creation good.

I have to also remember that I have many more winters in my past than I will have in my future.  There will come a day when I’ll no longer be concerned about the leaves falling or the extreme cold.  And that day will come for me sooner than later.  I must cherish the moments of today and the promises of God for tomorrow…and understand that I am on a journey toward forever.  And it’s what I do and think in this life in this time that will determine just how I will experience that forever.

"I Just Might Be In There."

We had a wedding in our family over the past weekend.  Our older son married his long-time friend and fiancé.  We traveled to the Kansas City area on Thursday, and spent most of Thursday afternoon and Friday helping finish up the arrangements.

We were in the Shawnee area of the Kansas City metro area, and the wedding was just east of the little bedroom community of Basehor.  We had two churches involved in the planning and the event; the 151^st Street Church of Christ, which was our son’s background, and the Risen Savior Lutheran Church at Basehor, which was the bride’s background.

I don’t know how many cities I traveled in or through during my time there.  I lost count at eight.  There was Olathe, Shawnee, Overland Park, Basehor, Kansas City, and several others.  And as you may well know, it’s virtually impossible to know with any certainty, unless you just know, which city you are in at the moment.  They all run together in that area, and unlike Eastborough and Wichita, there is no defining physical thing that tells you where you are.  I’m not even sure which city our motel was in.  All I know is it is in the Kansas City area.

Do you ever feel like that in life?  You know where you are, but on the other hand, you aren’t really sure?  I’m reminded of the old Foghorn Leghorn cartoon of many years ago.  I’ve written about it in a prior blog.

This Looney Tunes cartoon from years ago tells the story of when Foghorn woos Miss Prissy the hen in order to have a nice place to call home and keep warm in the winter. The plot goes something like this. (Credit Wikipedia for the synopsis. I changed it some to reflect my recall of the story.)

Foghorn reads a newspaper story in the Barnyard News predicting a cold winter. To avoid freezing in his shack, he decides to woo Miss Prissy ("I need your love to keep me warm."), who lives in a warm, cozy cottage across the way. Miss Prissy is flattered by Foghorn's brief courtship, but tells him that, in order to prove his worthiness, he needs to show that he can be a good father to her nerdy son.

The little boy - Egghead Jr., is dressed in a stocking cap and oversized glasses – and would rather read about "Splitting the Fourth Dimension" than engage in typical little boy games. Foghorn, intelligent rooster that he is, catches on to this and sets out to win Miss Prissy’s heart by showing Egghead Jr. how to play various sports games.

They try baseball and flying paper airplanes first, to no avail. Then they play hide and seek. Foghorn hides in a feedbox. However, Egghead uses a slide rule (anyone younger than 40 won’t know what that is) and determines mathematically that Foghorn is buried in the ground. He uses a shovel to dig a hole, and pries Foghorn out of the hole with the shovel.

Foghorn is totally befuddled at this turn of events, knowing that he hid in the feedbox, not in a hole in the ground. He looks over at the feedbox, however, and decides to not look in it because, “I just might be in there.”

Sometimes, we catch ourselves coming and going, busy as all get-out, but never sure of where we really are.  I think we do that in part because we’ve been taught that busy-ness equals productivity, and busy-ness means you don’t have to think seriously about things that seem to get in the way of that productivity, like the eternal questions of “Who am I?  Why am I here?  Where am I going?”

Next time you catch yourself in a place where you aren’t really sure where you are, stop for a moment and let life catch up to you.  You have no business being like Foghorn Leghorn…who just might be some place where he doesn’t want to know.

Celestial Show

Did you see the eclipse this morning?  Having woke up at about 4am and not being able to go back to sleep, I decided to get up about 5am and go out to view the celestial show.  My wife had already gotten out of bed and gone to the couch in the living room.  She does that from time to time to be more comfortable, so I wasn’t bothering her by rambling around at that hour.  I got around and did a short version of my morning routine, then turning off the porch light that I keep on all night, I went outside.

The air was crisp and cool, but not cold.  The moon was over the neighbor’s house and was not as I expected.  It was dark on the left side, and gradually got brighter toward the right.  I had expected a more solid color (or non-color).  After looking at it for a minute or so, I began to look around and take in my surroundings.  After all, I don’t often see this time of day.

The noise of the traffic on West Kellogg wafted into the neighborhood, a little louder than I might have expected.  Other porch lights were on up and down the street, but no one was much stirring.  In the sky, besides the moon, I was able to make out several constellations and some stars.  Sirius, the dog star was one of the brighter objects in the sky.  Orion was rather clear, and I could also see his sword, which doesn’t often happen in the light pollution of the city.  The North Star was visible, and I could even see the Seven Sisters, albeit faintly.  Venus was a bright morning star in the east, but the Big and Little Dippers were washed out.

The newspaper was on the drive.  After a bit, one of the neighbor’s garage doors opened, and she left for work.  A jet traveled east to west directly toward the eclipsed moon, with the noise of the engines following some distance behind.

I decided while I was out to stroll through the neighborhood.  Heading out, I noticed that not many homes were lit up yet.  One neighbor was up and had the front door open.  Inside, I could see the TV on and a shot of the eclipsed moon on the screen.  A dog or two started barking in the distance, and as I got closer to Maize Road, I noticed the air getting noticeably warmer.  I’ve noticed that phenomenon before.  We are not far from Cowskin Creek, and the park is directly behind us.  I presume that the combination of a low lying area by the creek, and the flora and fauna make our immediate area a little cooler.

I continued on toward Maize Road, and noticed that there were not many newspapers in the driveways.  People don’t much read the newspaper anymore, it seems.  There are several of us older folks in my immediate area who subscribe, but many of the younger families in the less expensive homes by Maize Road don’t, evidently.

I was out for about 25 minutes, and as I came back in, I picked up our newspaper and came in the house after viewing the moon one last time.  Going to the basement in order to not wake the wife, I got on the computer and am now typing this…as she is getting up and around.

I don’t know about you, but eclipses are one of the greatest solar shows ever, in my opinion.  And it’s kind of nice to see a side of the day that one normally doesn’t see, as well.  I’ll probably turn into a pumpkin about 8:30 tonight.  Oh well.  That’s lfe.

No Do-Overs

This evening, I watched the last few minutes of a re-run of the Lawrence Welk Show.  In case you don’t know, public television has been running old Welk shows for many years now, and it seems that their popularity hasn’t waned over the years.

I don’t often watch them, but when they come around and there’s nothing much else on, I enjoy the shows.  There is never anything on the shows that is off-color or something I don’t want to see, and the music is pretty good, too.

I cannot, however, listen to the closing song and credits without my mind going back to those years when I lived at home and the Welk show was on TV every Saturday evening.  Dad enjoyed the show and mom watched it as well.  Besides Gunsmoke on Saturdays, the Welk show was a staple for many years.

And when I listen to those closing credits and am carried back to that simpler time, I always get a little nostalgic and briefly long for those times again.  Dad in his chair, Mom ironing or folding clothes, and kids are in various stages of baths, bedtime, or homework.  Church is the next day, and then the week to come.  But come every Saturday night, Mr. Welk comes on and provides some diversion and a little class to this lower-middle class family.

That, of course, is a time long ago and far away.  So much water under the bridge in the intervening fifty or more years.  So many departures from what we thought we would be and do.  So many folks now gone from the face of the earth.  And all that remains of those times are the mental and emotional ties in the form of memories that are triggered with a certain smell…a certain theme song…a certain visual cue…a certain word or words spoken.

It’s easy to see how folks can dwell on such memories to the extent that they begin to live in the past.  They go retro.  It becomes a way of life for them.  It is indeed alluring to be taken back to a simpler time when there weren’t all of the pressures…all of the decisions…all of the troubles.  But it’s just like it is when we go back to our hometown for whatever reason for an hour or more.  The thought of moving back there is indeed a lure…until we go over the overpass that runs over the railroad and head out of town.  And that way of life quickly becomes a “whole ‘nuther world” that we really have no part of anymore; nor do we really wish for it.

We’re happy here.  We’re content with where God has put us.  And we’ll (hopefully) continue to make our home and be content wherever He takes us and whatever our circumstance.  There’s no going back.  There’s no do-overs.  There’s no magic time machine.  And that’s the way it should be.

Only Imagine

Thirty years ago, in August of 1984, we moved our family to Harper, Kansas from Oklahoma City.  We had been in OKC for a little over a year while I attended school there.  Before that, we had a disastrous two years at Ardmore, Oklahoma, where I was a youth minister.  Oklahoma City was a time of healing and putting things back together.  We were looking forward to several years there while I pursued a degree.

However, it wasn’t to be.  In earlier 1984, my mother had a series of debilitating strokes that left her in a semi-conscious, almost vegetative state.  She was totally dependent, could not move on her own, could not communicate, and had to be fed via feeding tube.  Dad was not in the best of health, so we decided to move back home to help care for them.

Looking back on all of that, I have to marvel at the things that happened to get us there and while we were there that still have an effect on us to this day.  Either life is full of coincidence, or there is a greater power at work in the lives of people the world over.  There is no other explanation for what happened and why.

I won’t go into detail on any of those things, except to say that friendships we made then are still there today.  Lessons we learned there are with us to this day.  Who we are (and who our kids are) is in large part due to the 16 years we spent there raising our family.  We matured as parents and as participants in the work place.  We developed a better understanding of who God is and what His plan is for us.  We re-connected with the place that I called home for the first 18 years of my life.  And we made memories that only we know, but continue to cherish all these years later.

I was reminded of all of this when I heard via Facebook that a casual friend from there was in the hospital in Wichita about to undergo a serious spine surgery today.  Last evening, I went to visit her.  I hadn’t seen her in over 14 years, and she was not a great friend…but a casual one, and a co-worker in the public safety sector along with me.

We visited for a time and I caught up on her condition and what they would be doing.  We talked just a little about retirement and how she was handling the prospect of major (and somewhat risky) surgery.  And at the end, I prayed with her for the day today.

I may never see her again.  Our paths may never cross again.  But for one hour last evening, we reconnected to something that is quickly becoming all too uncommon nowadays.  We reconnected to the tie that binds people in common purpose and common circumstance.  We reconnected to the recognition of the value and worth of each other in our respective vocations.  And we reconnected in the common value of humanity and the human condition.

I can only imagine (to use lyrics from a popular Christian song) what it will be like in that great re-connection to come where people from all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples will gather together and re-connect with one-another as we give thanks and praise to the One who made it all possible.

R E S P E C T

I am facebook friends with one of my teachers from elementary and high school.  She’s well up in years, but still active and in relatively good health.  She posted this evening that she would be off line for a short time while she packs and moves from a home into independent living.

I responded to her with good wishes, and called her by her last name in my post.  I just didn’t feel comfortable calling her by her first name, even after almost 50 years have passed since she was my teacher.

It has been that way for me my entire life.  When we moved back to Harper County some years ago, there were several retired teachers of mine still living, and a principal as well.  I could never bring myself to call any of them by their first names at any time for any reason.  It just didn’t seem right to me then, and it still doesn’t seem right to me now.

I wonder if anyone else has this hang up.  I know there is no longer the teacher-pupil relationship, and goodness knows I’m no spring chicken anymore.  I’ve long since raised our kids, and have grandkids in school.  But for some reason…

I suppose it has something to do with an ingrained sense of “oughtness” that makes me do it.  It also could be the continuing respect I have for these people who gave up the best years of their lives so I could have an education and make something of myself.  Or it could be that nagging thing in the back of my head that tells me that my mom and dad might just come back from the grave and give me the what-for if I called these people anything besides what I am supposed to call them.

Respect is a multi-faceted thing.  It’s a function of an office, position, or occupation that someone holds.  It’s also a function of ability, competence, and willingness to do.  And it’s a function of the kind of life lived…a life of giving, service, deference, and yes, love for fellow-man.

Respect is earned.  It’s also ingrained into position or office.  And it depends on relationships that either foster a continuing respect, or dampen any ingrained respect one may have for another.

I also tend to call those I don’t know well “sir” or “ma’am.”  I didn’t grow up that way, but developed the habit over the course of time; especially since I spent a lot of my career in business and industry that is primarily female-driven (health care).  It was necessary for me to show respect for those I worked with, and maintain a business-like attitude and demeanor.  That seemed like a good way to foster that kind of relationship.

I don’t know if we’re becoming more crude as some people seem to think or not.  I do know that it never hurts to be respectful and polite.  It never hurts to acknowledge the individual and his or her self-worth.  And it never hurts to continue to show respect long after the relationship changes in some way.

It’s worth considering.

Labor Day

Yesterday was Labor Day.  I think most of us didn’t do much laboring yesterday, at least in the normal sense of the word.  Mostly, we traveled, ate, boated, visited, swam, and any of 83 other things people normally do on a summer holiday.  Laboring was probably rather far from the minds of most of us.

Yet I can recall as a kid that Labor Day was nothing really special.  It was before it was a Monday holiday, but people did get off work to celebrate the day.  We, on the other hand, just did pretty much what we would normally have done had it not been a holiday at all.

Dad did some farming as well as work in plumbing and heating.  Labor Day was a time of working with the irrigation system, herding cattle, springtoothing the wheat ground, or getting the drill ready for yet another planting season.  Sometimes it involved fixing fence, mowing, putting up hay, or moving farm equipment.  Seldom did it mean a day at home with nothing to do.  No, make that “Never did it mean a day at home with nothing to do.”

We labored on Labor Day, the same as we labored on Independence Day, Washington’s Birthday (there was no Presidents Day yet), or Columbus Day.  Oh, we did take time off on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and also took a little time on Memorial Day (Decoration Day back then) to celebrate.

I never, though, thought I was somehow deprived of an indispensible part of life and living.  I may not have enjoyed carrying irrigation pipe through a field of almost ripe milo (we didn’t have center-pivots then…we had to move pipe by hand to the new setting in the field), but I never really thought it was the end of the world.  We were too busy making ends meet to worry much about things like boats, travel, and golf games.

So, whatever you may have done on this Labor Day, and however you may recall your younger days and the holiday, it’s all good, I guess.  We do what we have to do to survive.  We do what we have to do to get to the next day.  Some of us have life pretty much handed to us.  Others of us continue to work for the next day’s provision.

Whatever your lot in life, I suspect that if you’re reading this, you have a better life and outlook on life than many of us did some years ago, and much better than many people of the world have even today.  Because you’re reading this on the Internet…that wondrous, marvelous thing that connects people from all over.  And if you have Internet access, you can’t be very needy…compared to most of the world’s population.