Coffee with Tom and Jerry

With all the stuff that's going on right now - politics, financial crisis, lurking terrorism, climate change, creeping age.... I got to thinking how much easier it would be if we all lived in a cartoon world. Now, I know it didn't always go smoothly for Roger Rabbit, but things turned out well in the end, and, for the most part, cartoon characters generally have it pretty good. Even poor Wylie Coyote, after falling 1000 feet or being crushed by a boulder, just picks himself up and starts working on his next Acme scheme to get Road Runner.

Well, thanks to my "nephew-in-law," Philip, introducing me to the idea, I was able to Simpsonize myself to give this cartoon thing a try. Here's the old me and the Simpsonized version.

I'll let you know if this cartoon thing works out. In the mean time you can try it yourself by clicking here.

The Haricut

In recent years Kaleb has basically wanted one of two hairstyles: short-cropped or long with the sort of unkempt look. The last year or more he has preferred the longer look, but in pictures Jen posted recently, a haircut was in the works. Not sure whose idea it was, but the change is pretty drastic. Actually, I think he looks pretty good either way... good lookin' boy, that grandson. :-)

Here are a couple of "before" shots.

And, here are a couple of "after" shots.

And, what does sister Claire think about her brother's haircut? I think she likes it!!

Fun Hike

Yesterday morning Virginia and I got out for a trek over the hill to Contra Loma Park before it got too hot. It was really pleasant, and, as I've written here before, this outing is one of our favorites. We took a bit of a detour into an area I used to run but where VJ had not been before. The route traverses an area where cows often graze and runs alongside the golf course. At one point you climb a short but fairly steep hill. At the top there's a pretty good view that's a bit different from other spots around the park.

The first two below are looking out toward the city. If you look close enough you can see the river in the 2nd one. The third shot is looking back toward the golf course and the little lake on that property.

It's supposed to cool off a lot this week, making such outings even more pleasant!! :-)

Power Up

Last Sunday Brice started a series on The Story of God, how we join His story, not the other way around. This morning he talked about those characteristics of God that are totally other than we are... those characteristics that make Him God and us not... those characteristics that let us know that God is too big, too powerful, and too full of wonder for us to ever figure out. When we think about that only for a little while, we absolutely know it to be true. And that makes it all the more amazing that he invites us into relationship. I'm looking forward to further exploration of this old, old story.

And if you want to marvel at the wonder of God right now, just look into the face of a child. Below, Claire is really enjoying her dinner... with the enthusiasm and joy many adults have forgotten how to express.

Thank you, God, for giving us wonder and awe even in the everyday twists and turns of life.

Supporting the Kids

Back in late June a couple of families who live in our area experienced a tragic loss. The parents had gone on a trip together in a small plane, and during the return trip the plane crashed and all four were killed. One of the dads was a police officer for BART. The other was running for a seat as Contra Costa County Supervisor. The parents left behind 7 children ranging in age from 3 to 13. Both families were long-time residents of the area, and they had many friends through church and community activities. Their extended families have provided homes for the kids.

Today the community did an all day fund raiser at Prewett Family Water Park to with the proceeds going to the surviving children. Lots of donated items to raffle and for silent auction. Several eateries provided food. A DJ offered his services. There was a massage therapist. Of course, all the families who came had fun doing all the water park things. And there were also some volunteers there just to help out. Virginia and I were in that last group. We sold raffle tickets for about 3 hours and then walked around for a while.

Don't have any idea how much was raised for the 7 children, but it was pretty neat just to be part of such an effort. When people come together to selflessly give their time and resources to help others, whether they know it or not, I believe that is when they are most like God... and I like to think it makes Him smile.

Growing Up in the Lord

Remember that 1989 Acappella song, "Growin' Up in the Lord?" I always really liked it... the music and the idea of growing and getting closer to Jesus as time goes by.

On Sunday mornings I'm teaching a survey class about Christian thinkers through the centuries. This Sunday we'll take a look at Irenaeus of Lyon, who lived from the early to mid 2nd century until 202. He was born in modern day Turkey and later moved to Lyon where he likely was an elder in 177 during the severe Roman persecution.

He's most well-known for his arguments against gnosticism, but he had at least one other interesting view about the nature of man and his relationship with God. He believed that Adam and Eve were created as children and their disobedience in the garden was more of a petulant childhood "acting out" rather than a full-blown adult rebellion. Beginning at that point then, all of history, including all the evils in the world, are part of God's design to help mankind mature throughout history. We learn over the centuries, we mature, even the bad things help us grow and mature. Christ came mostly to show us the perfect way to live... just the opposite of Adam. Adam was disobedient; Christ was obedient. Adam disobeyed by eating from the wrong tree; Christ obeyed by being crucified on a tree... and so on. One other interesting thing Irenaeus believed was that Christ, in order to show us how to live in every stage of life, must have been crucified as an old man rather than a young one.

Pretty interesting stuff... even if a little off the wall. Hope my class thinks so. :-)

What did you say?

Abraham Lincoln once said, "'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

Some of the rhetoric of our current candidates makes me think they might be wise to take his advice.

Taste of Fall

Albert Camus once wrote, "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

Well, the leaves at Contra Loma aren't yet turning colors, but today we definitely had the taste of fall in the air. It was one of those beautiful days with sunshine, crisp air, and a cool breeze. Tonight after church it was even chilly!!

When we lived in Arkansas we loved the fall because that was the one time of the year with California weather. And even in Houston we had California weather once in a while. Well, we get it here a lot.

It'll probably get warm again before fall weather sets in for good, but today's coolness reminds me that crisp air and colorful leaves are just around the corner... followed by our winter rains and a greening of the hills. Seasons are fun, even if they are a little mixed up here.

Oversight?

If indeed it is the job of government in general and congress in particular to provide enough oversight of the private sector to keep the most greedy from putting the entire system in jeopardy, then perhaps this quote from one of our founding fathers still has merit.

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress. - John Adams

Ieee-yi-y...Ike

I know many of you are probably following what Ike has done to the Galveston/Houston area. A good resource for local info is the local NBC affiliate. They have been doing live round-the-clock coverage on their web site at this link.

Power if off all over and the emergency services people are just now able to begin to get out. An old Houston downtown landmark restaurant, Brennen's, burned during the night and a famous Galveston landmark was taken out by storm surge.

We've heard from some of our friends via text message, and they seem to be OK. Now begins the assessment, cleanup, repair, and rebuilding. One newscaster said after Alicia in 1983 it took 8 months to get all the debris cleaned up.

I'm thankful that property damage is the leading story instead of massive loss of life.

Casting the Vote

William E. ("Bill") Vaughan (October 8, 1915 – February 25, 1977) was an American columnist and author. Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, he wrote a syndicated column for the Kansas City Star from 1946 until his death in 1977. Perhaps best known for his folksy wit, his quotations can easily be found in book collections and on Internet sites. He died at age 61 of lung cancer.


Here's one of his quotes, "A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election." I remember that many of my generation, disillusioned by Viet Nam and Watergate, just quit voting, hence, I'm guessing, this quote.


I don't know, but it seems to me times have changed in terms of people getting excited about the coming election and desiring to vote. Granted, part of that is the ongoing partisan bickering that has replaced substantive conversation about issues, but there also just seems to be more of a desire to participate... to make a difference by voting.


I've read that there are millions of new registered voters, many of them young. Perhaps having candidates who are post baby boomer (Palin and Obama) has contributed to that interest. Or, maybe the younger generation is just engaging the process.

Murphy's Other Laws

Our friend, Karen, sent these to us in an email. I guess I should check with our nephew-in-law (is that really a relationship?) to see if they're authentic. Well, here are the ones I liked the best:

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.


2. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.


3. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.


4. A day without sunshine is like, well, night.


5. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.


6. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.


7. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.


8. The things that come to those that wait, may be the things left by those who got there first.


9. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.


10. When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Sooo... which one is your favorite?

Random Reflections

Watched the Stand Up to Cancer 1-hour telethon on the big three networks tonight. Well... actually we just watched in on one of the networks. I gotta say, more good stuff was said, more "big names" willingly took a back seat, and undoubtedly more good was accomplished in that one hour than during the 8 full nights of prime time viewing at the two recent political conventions.

Speaking of political conventions, how about that $3000 dress and $240,000 ear rings Cindy McCain was wearing on opening night. It looked really nice, but I wonder how that'll play in middle America. Hmmm...

At 9:00 tonight there was a 4.2 magnitude earthquake not far from us that appears to have been felt north, south, and west of the epicenter. We're sort of northeast, and we didn't feel a thing. How about you?

I'll close with a couple of quotes I noticed today:

• When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it's time for others to laugh at him. - Thomas Szasz

• You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty. - Sacha Guitry

Reunion Bug

Last week, a few days after we returned home from our SoCal trip to my 40th class reunion, I developed a mild sore throat. It wasn't too bad, and there were no other symptoms, so I just figured it was allergy drainage. Well, by Sunday morning my voice was beginning to be affected, and I could feel it in my head. Thankfully, my voice did fine through worship and class, but by Sunday evening it was going away.

Well, Monday and Tuesday I felt pretty rugged. Yesterday was some better, and today there was incremental improvement as well. My head is still pretty plugged, but I'm hoping to avoid a sinus infection.

Where did this unpleasant bug come from? Not sure, but I have a suspicion. At the reunion Saturday night one of the guys I talked with for a few minutes had no sense of personal space whatsoever (perhaps due to one too many trips to the bar), and he seemed to be sick. My guess is I brought his SoCal bug north. Oh well, at least it was a legal migration... and Virginia hasn't seemed to contract it.

Political Reflection

If you've followed the campaigns even marginally over the last year or so, you know that several potential historic outcomes are possible.

• It's the first time we have two seated senators running against each other in a really long time.
• We have the first black candidate leading a major party ticket.
• If elected, McCain will be the oldest president to take a first term oath.
• At one point it was possible that for a minimum of 24 years either a Bush or a Clinton was living in the White House.
• The Republicans have nominated their first woman VP candidate.
• The left is asking questions about her ability to be a "working mom," and the right is talking about balancing career and family as if they really believe it.
• We will have either our first black president or our first woman vice president.

While all of this sounds almost strange to me, Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "In politics, absurdity is not a handicap." It makes me think that all the historic twists and turns of our current presidential race may not be as unique as we think. What do you think?