A Spring Day

Today was a spring day.

This morning I slept in a bit with the the sun shining in on my face and the cool breeze drifting through my window, blowing through my hair, as if an angel were tussling it between its fingers. Heading towards the university, I saw a town reawakening after a long and hard winter. Friends and lovers embraced as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time. All around life was springing forth, bringing with it the sights, sounds, and smells of the new season.

The promise of Resurrection, fulfilled on Easter Sunday, continues even now. Revitalized and refreshed, we face the end of a semester and the beginning of a new season filled with promise and opportunity.

Today was a spring day. I stood tall, with the sun in my face. I stood firm, with the wind blowing through my hair. I stood still, and for a moment did something I haven't done in quite awhile. I breathed in.

May God keep you this and every Spring night.

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time. ~Martin Luther

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

A Cold Rain

As I sit at my desk this evening, a cold rain is falling outside. The wind starts to whistle through the valley, and the wood in the apartment begins to groan and creak.

October is upon us, and with it Fall has stormed onto the scene. Nightfall is beginning to creep farther and farther forward. The wind and cold usher in a new sense of urgency in living creatures both human and animal. Plants, including my own, are retreating below ground.

As the wind cuts through the valley, putting that familiar nip in the air, we start to react in various ways. Some bundle up, some love the cold. We may start eating more, or focus on eating warmer things. Our survival instinct starts to stir and we start making preperations for winter.

Now, you may not exactly hibernate, nor do you put on extra weight for the winter. However, if you sit and think about it, you start to do something, consciously or subconsciously to prepare for the coming cold.

Myself, I'm going to start layering up. Break out those long woolly jackets that I look ever so good in. Scarfs and leather gloves complete the ensemble and I'm bracing for the harder winter which is to come.

Whatever you do to prepare, I wish you all the best in it. October is a crazy travel month and I will be reporting from various locations throughout the North American continent. It's time to rack up those frequent flier miles!

May God keep you this and every cold rainy night.

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.

~David Letterman

Shades of Tan

This is a poem that popped into my head driving in the rain this evening.

Shades of Tan

I live my life a shade of tan,
which you may think is kind of bland;
But I have friends near and dear to me,
who add a splash of color, see?

Some add red, and some add blue;
some even add a violet hue.
Some add brown and some add green,
and some add black when they are mean.

So when all these things are said and done,
my life can't help but have some fun.
So I live my life in shades of tan,
because my friends add all the color I can stand.

May God keep you and all your colorful friends this and every night.

Political Hypnosis

Perhaps you've noticed it. The channel on the television that has the capability to be simply mesmerizing. Whether it excites you to the edge of your seat, or nearly bores you to sleep you still cannot escape it. I, of course, am referring to C-SPAN.

On my cable line-up C-SPAN falls neatly in between the macho and the intriguing (Spike TV and the Travel Channel respectively). Inevitably as I'm flipping through my eye catches some old windbag standing behind a nice wooden podium (that we all paid for) thanking the Gentleman from Texas or the Gentlewoman, yes they use that term, from New York for presenting the motion that essentially thanks the other members of Congress for presenting a motion.

Now, I do enjoy a good debate every now and then...but what occurs in our legislative branch is absolutely ridiculous. I always seem to find myself angered at whatever debate seems to be occurring. If not the content of the debate itself, then it's the sickeningly sweet manner in which it is being carried out.

Another point of contention I find while watching C-SPAN is the relative low attendance rate of our elected representatives. Apparently they have not been informed of the existence of things like University or public school attendance policies. I'm paying these people to be there, argue, and vote...not hobnob around our nation's capitol.

If our Congress should model anything, I would like to see it more like the House of Commons in the UK. In the House of Commons, the high ranking officials (like our so called Speaker of the House) is in daily attendance! Yes...nearly daily! If you wish to see true debate...and sometimes flat-out arguments, then the House of Commons is the one to watch. Those folks have the double-edged statement down to an art. How anything can possibly get done in there I have no clue, but it does...and it's quite entertaining to watch.

And on top of all this....they continue to give themselves raises, in addition to all the um...(looking for a delicate word) lobbist....gifts....they receive.

Yes sir, after careful consideration, and countless instances of being mesmerized by C-SPAN I have decided that this teaching thing is too much like work....I think I'd rather be a Senator.

May God keep You, and the kind Gentleman from Texas, and the kind Gentlewoman from Illinois, and the kind gentleman from....this and every night.

It might be more worthwhile if we stopped wringing our hands and started ringing our congressmen. ~Author Unknown

Christmas is the time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell government what they want and their kids pay for it. ~Richard Lamm

The mistakes made by Congress wouldn't be so bad if the next Congress didn't keep trying to correct them. ~Cullen Hightower

In Memorandum

As I sit here at my desk this evening, Boone is quite. The university has been relatively quiet before the first summer session, and many townspeople are staying in on this rainy Monday. Most people are accustom to holding a Memorial Day cookout, filled with laughter, joy, and extra-large helpings of burgers, dogs, and steaks while partaking in sports or watching the Indianapolis 500.

In truth, however, a cool rainy Monday is perhaps best fitting for this holiday. It is on this day that we are to pause and remember those who died while in service to our country and have passed on. Regrettably, in recent times, this time of remembrance has been commercialized and belittled.

Originally, Memorial Day was not celebrated on May 30th which often fell during the middle of the week. In 1968, however, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved Washington's Birthday (now called President's Day), Veteran's Day, and Memorial Day all to Mondays so to create three-day weekends. This act also created a new holiday, Columbus Day, which increased the number of three-day weekends given to all federal workers to four.

While I will not even deny that I enjoy a three-day weekend, I do argue the fact that such a placement has drawn attention away from the true purposes of many of these holidays. I do not seek to disrupt the many positive experiences associated with these holidays, but rather to challenge all citizens of this nation to take a moment during each of these holidays to pause and reflect on their true meaning.

On this Memorial Day, pause and take a moment to reflect and be thankful for those who paid the ultimate price to ensure America's freedoms and liberties. Take a moment and truly remember those who's own red blood has paid for the red stripes on our flag.

May God keep you this and every night...

Who kept the faith and fought the fight;The glory theirs, the duty ours.
~Wallace Bruce

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye.
~Thomas Dunn English

An Evening Blessing

After working another entire day at Commencement ceremonies, I have been left quite tired and sore. So much so, that no profound words of wisdom are coming to mind. In fact, very few words are coming to mind, so I'll let a hymn do the blessing for me...


All Praise to Thee My God this Night~ Thomas Kin

All praise to Thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light!
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath Thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done,
That with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

O may my soul on Thee repose,
And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
Sleep that may me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.

Let my blest Guardian, while I sleep,
His watchful station near me keep;
My heart with love celestial fill,
And guard me from th' approach of ill.

May he celestial joys rehearse,
And thought in thought with me converse,
Or, in my stead, all the night long,
Sing to my God a grateful song.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.


May God keep you, this and every night. Amen.

Graduation Day Number One

Ahhh....Graduation.

Again...

When you have seen as many Graduations, or Commencement as it's known around here, then the "specialness" seems to begin to wear off. The calling of names and marching across the stage seems to just blur into one big long-winded event; but therin lies the danger.

Commencement is a very special event for many people, including those witnessing the event. The very name implies that a new phase of life is beginning for those who walk across that stage. It should be very important to all in attendance, but for some the glitter of the ceremony has started to fade.

This thought struck me today during the third of three ceremonies I was attending. With three still to go tomorrow, something has to be done, if for nothing more than my own sanity. It's been a long time back but the minister at church preached a sermon entitled "Remembering Your Baptism". What it basically boiled down to was that anytime you saw someone getting baptized or even just the baptismal font, you should pause and remember your own baptism.

Let's apply the same for graduation. What if anytime you attended a graduation, heard Pomp and Circumstance, or saw a commencement gown you paused and remembered your own graduation or your child's graduation? Think back to that time when the world seemed so bright and open. When dreams had come true, wishes had been fulfilled, and probably many prayers be answered. Remember that moment, that feeling of accomplishment, that idea that you had made it. Remember? It was that time when you were ready to take on the world and that each morning seemed like a new chance to conquer the world.

Think back to that time and hold on to that feeling. In a world like today, we all can certainly benefit from carrying around a little bit of that graduation magic with us.

Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference. ~Arie Pencovici

It is indeed ironic that we spend our school days yearning to graduate and our remaining days waxing nostalgic about our school days. ~Isabel Waxman

Another Year, Another Birthday

My my...It was my Birthday today. Looking at the clock I would have been about an hour and a half old at this point 23 years ago. It would not be too much longer until I would be racing up the mountain towards Asheville in an ambulance for an emergency blood transfusion. You see...I almost didn't make it.

It was in that spirit that I spent most of the day it seems. I got some fantastic cupcakes this morning from Dr. Snodgrass and her husband Greg and after a great lunch with my brother at Makoto's I raced down the mountain towards Charlotte on an errand for the School of Music. I wasn't racing for an emergency blood transfusion, but it sure felt like an emergency to get there.

Upon returning back I attended a recital and then worked in the lab until closing. There were no huge banners, no parades in my honor, no fanfares. My birthday snuck up on me...then quietly slipped away...and that's just fine.

That's just fine because I realize how lucky I am to even be here. I realize that each day is a gift and that each day could be celebrated as my birthday, for it is another day that I have been allowed to live.

I don't need fancy parties or big to-dos. No sir...I'm quite happy to receive the smile and hug from a friend wishing me a happy birthday. I will gladly take chocolate-chocolate cupcakes given with a smile and a heartfelt sentiment. I revel in reading the 80 some odd messages on facebook from friends I saw yesterday, and friends I haven't seen in years. Those are the moments that stick with you. Those are the moments that truly celebrate your life and existence.

So Happy Birthday me. Here's to a great 23 so far...and hopefully many more to come.

May God keep you, this and every birthday night.

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. ~Larry Lorenzoni

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman

A Short Poem

We did a writing exercise the other night in Philosophy of Music that ended up in a poem. I don't consider myself a poet, but I thought I would share what I came up with.

Past the buildings and the statue, past all the smiling faces
past the tall spires sits a man,
longing for balance, basking in the warmth of the foliage of his dream.

In his world, the shadows fall on the ups and downs.
In a strange landscape filled with natural elegance,
he sees a religion that is for his eyes only.

Like the artist playing with the contrasts, his dream is ever growing and changing.
For in this dream lies the quilted truth.
In this dream, someone is always reaching, and someone is always witnessing.

In a way it's a shame, for when the dream ends it becomes our story now
and when we look back there's nothing really left...

....just the sky.

May God keep you, this and every poetic night.

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out.... Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure. ~A.E. Housman

In the Face of the Coming Storm

I sit here tonight prepared. Boone has received a dusting of snow, and more is supposedly on the way. The University always seems to look fantastic in the snow, especially fresh snow. I imagine that after the initial storm has passed, the University will once again look crisp and beautiful in a blanket of white.

I am awaiting the storm with anticipation, hoping that it will not let me down. It's been awhile since I've seen a really big snow..and 2-4 inches isn't exactly a blizzard...it's a start. I went out and got a bit of extra food, ran my errands, and prepared myself. So, come what may...barring a power outage...I'm ready to hunker down a bit.

Certainly one could retreat from the storms, be they actual physical storms or metaphorical ones, but why? What does one learn from retreat? In turning your back on it, do you not just expose your vulnerabilities to it? Whether we are prepared or not, the storm is coming. I'm standing firm to meet it head on and if it knocks me down..then...oh well. I've always enjoyed body-sledding anyway.

May God keep you this and every snowy night.

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. ~George Carlin

For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously. ~George Gissing, "Winter," The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, 1903

New Semester, New President

My goodness....

We're finally back at school after Christmas break, which means it's time to get started up writing again. I've sat and watched the reactions of all the students here to President Obama's inauguration. Many were thrilled and either watched the ceremony in class or skipped class to see it. However, I think the most interesting part was what happened the next day. For all intents and purposes, the day was normal. There was not a huge spiritual or emotional rally or upswing, nor was there one in the opposite direction. People just went about there lives.

Once thing that I found interesting about the ceremony is that apparently you have to swear more to become Vice President than you do President. Joe Biden had to go through a huge spiel of how he was entering this of his own free will and with a sound mind. Not to mention the part about defending and upholding the Constitution. Then when it was President Obama's turn, his was "defend and uphold the Constitution, So help me God". That's it?!! What happened to the "own free will" and "of sound mind". Of course, I guess they believe that anyone crazy enough to take on the Presidency is already devoid of that "sound mind".

Most analysts and historians say that the first 100 days in office are a measure to the success of the President. Quite frankly, I'm pulling from him. Not because he's a Democrat. Not because he's young. Not because he's African American. Frankly, none of that matters. I'm pulling for President Obama because this country can't afford for him to fail. I'm pulling for him because America...and I...need him to succeed. Period.

May God keep you and the new President, this and every night.

"Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong." ~James Bryce

Writer's Block

The Dr. is reporting to you live this evening from Shelby North Carolina.  I have been down here the past few days hanging out with Taylor and will be playing for a wedding later on today. I have been thinking all night of anything inspirational or interesting to write about...but I can't.

I have writers block.

If I wrote greeting cards, I would be in major trouble. I wouldn't be able to come up with the catchy phrases or slogans that everyone enjoys reading when they open their birthday/holiday/wedding/thank you/I'm sorry/get well soon/funeral cards.

I can hear the trucks passing by outside as the house creaks and settles. Taylor and his girlfriend are talking about taxes and I just can't seem to get into the Christmas swing of things. I think perhaps a little snow would help.

Tonight I leave you with no parting words of wisdom, nor deep thoughts. Just a request to enjoy the holidays and embrace your time with family and friends. Tis the season for...for....

...stupid writer's block.

May God keep you this and every night.

The only cure for writer's block is insomnia~ Merit Antares

A Familar Place

Tonight as I sit here writing, I find myself in an all too familiar place. We have arrived at the end of the semester, and as I look at the mounting pile of assignments and the diminishing time to do them in, I find myself exactly at the same place where I have been every year about this time.

It's a stressful place, a hectic place, both uncomfortable and irritating; much like an itchy wool sweater that you can't take off. However, like that sweater there is a comfort in it. There is a warmth and security, a sense that I've been here before and made it...and I can do it again.

Boone is growing less and less populated, which I just how I like it. Snow falls every now and then and all the Christmas decorations are up, leaving a lingering sense of joy and lightheartedness in those who see them. Christmas carols are being sung and there are multiple papers and projects to do. Yes...I'm familiar with this place. I never quite get used to it..but I suppose I never will.

So the question becomes, what to do. How do I face this familiar place and make it out once again? The answer is quite simple. Work. I work tirelessly, pouring my heart and soul into every effort no matter how great or small for it is in the times of adversity that one truly displays and molds their character. I like to believe I'm forging mine a bit stronger each time I visit this place...

May God keep you, this and every night..

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. ~Jewish Proverb

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. ~Jewish Proverb

Lo, How A Rose E're Blooming

Lo, how a rose e're blooming, from tender stem hath sprung...

As this year begins to draw to a close, we are reminded that it's not the end..but rather another beginning. Sure, the flowers and trees are not their brightest, but they're just resting. Waiting until it's their turn again to explode with life and color in the spring and summer. Animals have stored away food and bunkered down in their burrows and nests to rest and stay safe from the cold. I have noticed that even we humans still stay true to our natural instincts. We bundle up if we have to go out, stay in if at all possible and I have noticed I have an increased desire to eat and sleep.

Yes, the hard season of winter is upon us, but we are still called to prepare. For even now a Rose is begginning to bloom. In this season of advent we are called upon to prepare ourselves and our lives for the coming Child. We are called upon to recount the longing that Israel had for a Savior, and how that longing still exists in the world today. We are called upon by the prophets of old to be anticipating the birth of the one who would bear the burdens of the world upon his shoulders.

In the harsh, bitter cold of this winter season, let us resists the urge to hibernate. Let us stand anxious, awaiting the arrival of our savior. For even in the dead of winter, a Rose still blooms.

May God keep you this and every night.

Christmas has lost its meaning for us because we have lost the spirit of expectancy. We cannot prepare for an observance. We must prepare for an experience. ~Handel Brown

In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God~ Isaiah 40:3

A Holiday Irony

Merry Thanksgiving..I mean Happy Christmas..no no...that's still not right. You see, as of late, the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas have become nearly inseparable. In fact, we now are seeing Christmas decorations alongside Halloween candy. It's quite something when one moment you're standing in front of a huge blowup bloody skull, and right across the isle is Santa and his elves. Makes me wonder if the skull is staring out of jealousy...

The issue in this post however, is not the continual push for the "holiday" season to start earlier and earlier...it is the huge irony that just occurred this past week. Perhaps irony is too light a word, travesty, would be more fitting.

On November 26th, a day decreed by the great Abraham Lincoln, Americans celebrated Thanksgiving. A day entirely devoted to remembering our country's humble roots in it's early settlers and religious pilgrims. Many of which died for the dream of this country. They died, often out of starvation or illnesses we don't give a second thought to in today's modern age. It is an entire twenty-four hours set aside to be thankful for our blessings. To be thankful for what we have and have been given. This is not the tragedy. The real tragedy comes the next day.

On November 27th, a little before 5 AM, a 34 year old man was trampled to death at a Wal-Mart in Long Island New York. Details have not yet been released about this man but let me tell you what I imagine...

I imagine a 34 year old man, hit hard by the downturn in the economy. He takes a temporary, perhaps even second or third, job at Wal-Mart to help make ends meet. He celebrated Thanksgiving with his family, hugged his parents and kissed his wife. He played catch with his little boy and told his little girl she was his princess before he tucked them into bed that evening. Then, having hardly attained any sleep he got up at 3:30 AM to get ready and go to work for the store opening at 5. He didn't want to, but he looked at his wife and kids...and knew he had to, for them. At 4:45, the crowd outside was restless. Somehow the lot had fallen to him to open the door.. At almost 5 AM, the crowd could no longer take it. As he tried to open the door, the tore them apart, stampeded over him, and trampled him to death while his family lay sleeping.

The tragedy is that in less than five hours....five...after all of America celebrated and gave thanks for the blessings that they had..this man was needlessly murdered, by a crowd wanting more stuff. Wanting, more and more, so badly..they killed for it.

The question now is, what will it take? What will it take for the "good" people of this country to say that enough is enough. When will a group finally stop praising the almighty dollar long to say that we will not have this happen again. Some of the faith say they are waiting for the battle call. I say we've already missed it. The call came long ago, perhaps when they took prayer out of school, or when they keep trying to take commandments out of courthouses. We in the faith aren't losing because we're outnumbered. We're losing because we're not even fighting...

May God keep you, and especially the family of that young man, this night and every night

"I think the enemy is here before us.... I think the enemy is simple selfishness and compulsive greed.... I think he stole our earth from us, destroyed our wealth, and ravaged and despoiled our land. " ~Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again, 1949

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ~Edmund Burke