Wednesday Wisdom

Monday Motivation

Go out.

Stop trying so hard.

Try a little softer today.

-- Ben Stringer, The Venues Pastor of Stoke

Summer

Fog was settled over the Ozarks as the sun rose on the first day summer. It's an indicator that we're in for a hot, humid day -- pretty much characteristic of summer in the Ozarks. I just returned from a visit to my mom's. We enjoyed each other's company, visited my uncle and aunt, ran a few errands, and ate -- a lot!

On the way to Metamora I met fellow blogger Mike and his wife at Ted Drewe's to deliver his Love Your Neighbor t-shirt from The Venues. 

During our hour+ socially distanced conversation in the parking lot it came up that I needed to buy a trailer for my riding mower. It turned out that he had one but no longer has a riding mower. On my way home yesterday I stopped in St Louis to pick up the trailer and a pull-behind lawn aerator. He got them out of his shed and I acquired some useful tools.

The cost -- he said from now on when we meet at Ted Drewe's I'm buying! Life time Ted Drewe's might seem like a lot, but since we've only met there three or four times in the past, I'm sure I came out ahead on the deal.

I might get a rattle-can and paint the trailer to match the tractor. I might not. We'll see. For now, I'll use it as is and start getting some more needed summer yard work done. As small as my blogging network is, knowing an old curmudgeon or two can come in handy!

It's the first full day of summer!

Enjoy it!

John

Coffee Conversations

Coffee Conversations is a label that I seldom use -- probably because I mostly enjoy quiet with my coffee. Yesterday afternoon I met with a friend over coffee. I may have to start making the occasional exception to my normal coffee and quiet time routine. It was such an uplifting visit!

The friend I met with pastors a Springfield church that is going through some big and exciting changes. It was such an uplifting and encouraging visit!

We (Chris and I) haven't been around at all since the world changed with the advancement of the coronavirus, so hearing her God stories and feeling the energy of her spirit was pretty cool. 

There will be much work ahead and I'm hoping that we will again be able to work with them as they continue to be Jesus to the community.

I wonder who will be my next coffee encounter and how long (or soon) it will be before that happens.

Any offers/takers?

John

Another Journey Around the Sun

It's  Monday, June 15th and the third day of my 61st trip around the sun. This venture begins in the same manner the last one ended -- in a type of self imposed isolation. I say it is self imposed because Missouri was one of the last states to impose any statewide restrictions on social gatherings due to coronavirus and one of the first to lift them. For many of the residents of Southwest MO, life is pretty much back to normal.

Not surprisingly, Missouri is also one of 24 states (yes, nearly half of the states) that is showing an upward trend of new COVID19 cases according to this article in Fortune. 

I believe that this is the first day of Missouri's final phase of returning to pre-coronavirus standards.

We are not yet ready to venture into public gatherings, especially since so many Southwest Missourians pay no attention to social distancing or simple prevention methods such as wearing masks. It doesn't bother me to stay at home, but I think the isolation is beginning to wear on Chris.

I do have some feelings (guilt) about our lack of involvement in the volunteer activities that we were participating in. I'm also feeling a little guilt about how easily I could continue on in this isolation.

In any case, this next year should be an interesting one.

No mail in voting in Missouri (surprise, surprise!), so I'll see you at the polls if not before.

John

Sixty

60

That's the number of times I've circled the sun.

21,916 spins on the earth's axis (days).

525,984 hours

31,559,040 minutes

1,893,542,400 seconds.

Numbers are strange.

It's taken me sixty years to accumulate 1.9 billion seconds, but Congress can vote to spend 1.9 billion dollars without much thought or consideration.

For my long-time blogger buddies -- I'm channeling our old friend from It's a Numeric Life.

John

LEAP -- Law Enforcement Assistance Program

I'm just going to say it:

Whoever came up with Defund the Police as a name for their program is one dumb mother-jacker! They (even a collective they) might be great activists, but they totally suck at marketing!

You don't think names matter?

The Republicans came up with The Patriot Act. Dang! That sounds good enough to pass without even reading it. Boom! Now the government can bypass the Constitution and spy on American Citizens.

Right to Work

Hell yeah! Everyone wants the right to work! But that's not what it's really about.

Defund the Police 

If it means doing away with local law enforcement, I'm definitely opposed to it. 

That's not what its purpose is, but everyone that you need to hear you out has already stopped listening because you picked the most controversial name and the one name that gives any opposition a flamethrower to burn down your good ideas.

If you want to divert funds into social services, mental health programs, addiction rehabilitation, crisis family services, and other needed programs -- all of which would reduce the need for police action and violence -- why not find a name that emphasizes the positives rather than one that is basically picking a fight.

I like my name (it took me about two minutes to come up with something way less stupid than Defund the Police). The police are only part of the problem and even less a part of the solution. If you want to sell a program that funds areas that benefit the community and relieve the police of handling situations they are not equipped to handle -- Law Enforcement Assistance Program. You even get a cool acronym -- LEAP. (Sorry, I had a career in government work. They have acronyms for everything.)

Anyway, before you say something stupid about the idea behind Defund the Police, do yourself a favor and read up on it.

If you want to say something about the stupid name -- come on. There is more stupid in that name than I can cover in a single rant.

John

Getting Settled

We are getting settled into our home and trying to find our rhythm. It's a little odd with the social distancing of the COVID-19 pandemic thrown into it. As I have shared before, the impact of staying away from social gatherings has a greater impact on Chris than on me. I am definitely more content at home most of the time than she is. The peace of sitting on the back porch and listening to the birds throughout the day suits me well. I really haven't even missed watching baseball or hockey that much. If I'm not mindful of other things, I could easily spend entire days sitting on the porch, reading, writing, thinking, enjoying a cigar, or even watching a little TV (yeah, I put one out here).

But, there is work to be done.

We continue to work on making the house our home and it is coming together. We've met most of our neighbors and everyone seems to be very nice. We even spent a little late-night driveway time with our next door neighbors on Sunday night -- just snacks, drinks, and getting to know each other while their two little kids slept.

The yard (meaning the area immediately around the house and not the 5 acre field) is going to be a major project. Due to the slope and early heavy rains, much of the topsoil and grass seed washed away leaving behind the typical rocky ground of southwest Missouri. It makes me think that it will take a couple of years (and a bunch of money) to get the nice lawn that we'd like to have. I'm not even sure where to begin. I guess I should start with slowing down the water runoffs where I can so that new soil and seed won't be washed away as well. 

It took several years to get our last lawn the way we liked it. Maybe I'll be spending the next few years working on this one. No worries. I have the time.

The morning is slipping away. I should probably get busy before it gets too warm. Mid 80s to 90 (28-30C) temps are forecast for the rest of the week. I guess we'll be turning on the a/c.

I hope you can find a place of peace during these chaotic times.

John

Monday Motivation

It is June first and another beautiful day in the Ozarks.

The sun is shining. The sky is nearly cloudless. The birds are singing. And the coffee is good.

My little corner of the world is peaceful.

I know it's not like that everywhere.

June 1, 2020, dawns on smoldering ruins in cities across the country. 

Social media and news outlets are full of people that are angry -- angry at cops, angry at protesters, angry at the system that oppresses people of color, and angry with anyone that disagrees with them.

"If you think _____ is okay, unfriend me now!" is a statement I've seen a number of times on Facebook this past week. 

Yeah, I have to admit that I've dropped friends over negative comments and disagreements in the past, but those have mostly been from poor behavior on my pages rather than just disagreements over politics, religion, or personal philosophies. 

Sure, most of my social media friends have similar beliefs to mine, but there are a few that hold very different -- even opposing -- views to my own beliefs. We acknowledge our differences and love each other anyway. That seems to be a much healthier relationship than "unfriend me," or "you're dead to me" (a regrettable comment from my own past).

My encouragement for today is for us to listen so that we can understand.

Don't listen to reply.

Don't try to share our own thoughts.

Don't try to be understood.

Just listen to understand the life of someone other than yourself.

Think about things through the eyes and heart of someone else.

John