G. O. S. P. E. L.

I just watched this today after seeing it on Facebook. This is worth more than anything I could post here today. Please take 5 minutes of your time to watch it. It might be a life saver.

www.lifein6words.com/#sthash.LQP69q4B.dpbs

Sorry that I can't seem to make it clickable. Please copy and paste into your browser. You won't regret it.

LA DODGER FANS, LET ME COUNT THE WAYS.

I have been an SF Giants fan since they came to SF in 1958, and like all Giants fans, went through the  miseries of the 1962 World Series loss to the Yankees, the sweep by the A's in the 1989 World Series and most recently the comeback win by the Angels in 2002. My brother was a Dodger fan because the Giants weren't in SF when he married an LA girl, and he became an Angeleno, It is inbred in Giants and Dodger fans to “hate” each other. I don’t really hate anyone because that is a self-defeating point of view.

There are a couple of Dodger fans that are extremely difficult to not HATE. These two fans have over and over insulted me and my family, only because they are Dodger fans. I really don’t think most Dodger fans appreciate the kind of message board posting that these two engage in.

When Bryan Stow was so brutally and permanently injured at Dodger Stadium on opening day of the 2011 season, they expressed their delight at the injury and claimed that it was all Bryan’s fault. My grandson was one of the four that were attacked and injured to a much lesser degree. When he  died of anaphylactic shock just a few months later, they made indecent comments about him and have continued to do so every chance they get. I was accused of lying about his being my grandson. My grandson was accused of running away from the attack and not helping Bryan. All in all, these two are probably the most despicable persons I have ever known. 

Ironically, of the person I’m about to name has. in message board postings. claimed to be a devout Christian, among other things stating how terrible it is to malign other persons, no matter what the reason.

Who are these two? Well, I wish I could actually name them, but they post under the screen names of “billynono” and “RaytheDodger”. I have prayed many times for the strength to forgive them for their actions, and even if I haven’t forgiven them, I don’t “hate” them.

D Day June 6, 1944

Sixty-nine years ago, Allied troops invaded Normandy, France with 156000, American, British and Canadian troops. Thousands of our fathers and brothers lost their lives during this intense period of fighting. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.

There have been many movie films devoted to the bravery and sacrifice of so many young people from all the free world, but mainly from the US. Why were they there? Well, they were drafted in those days, but they were eager and willing to fight the common enemy, both European and Japanese. They fought to preserve a free world where in the US, the Constitution was honored, where citizen's privacy was protected. There aren't many of these brave heroes still living, but I wonder what they think of this country today, the country for which they risked and in some cases gave their lives.

What do they think of:

1. $832,000 of taxpayers money going to teach African natives to wash their genitals? (Not a bad idea perhaps, but how much does it really cost to teach them?

 2. The New York Times saying, "The administration has now lost all credibility". ?

3. All your phone records taken from the phone companies ?

4. The IRS concentrating on tax matters of  political critics?

On and on it goes, and it hasn't reached the end yet, I'm sure. For the record, while the items listed above are of a single party affiliation, I would be just as critical no matter who was responsible. I was critical of the Patriot Act when it was passed under Bush. It was very popular then because of 9/11, but people didn't realize just how much of an infringement of privacy it would be.

Tuesday's TalesI

I was originally calling this Monday’s Musings, but it just didn’t get written on Monday. I think this is just going to be some random thoughts that I’ve had for the last few days.

 The last few weeks here in the desert have been plagued by windstorms, and the “blow sand” that results in having to clean up our houses, swimming pools, and all of our landscaping. I have been appropriately ticked off about it. The end of the windy season brings one sort of relief, but brings triple-digit temperature. Right now, at noon, the outside temperature is 95 degree, expected to exceed 100 by mid afternoon. We all agree that the higher temps are better than the wind.

On the other hand, we watch all the tornado happenings in the Midwest, such terrible devastation, loss of property and life……….how fortunate we are that our only complaint is the hot weather. Resolved: No more complains about the weather.

My main “muse” is that I have so much to be happy about starting, of course, with my adorable wife. In a recent post, I mentioned that some unfavorable things had happened to me over the last 4 years. Everyone of them have strengthened me in my faith, and I am so grateful to God for seeing me through the worst of them. I will in the near future tell you all about them.

Memorial Day 2013

What are we all doing on Memorial Day? I've been watching the Giants lose to the A's and reading a James Patterson novel. One of the characters was musing about his past and how after being injured in the British army and discharged, he had turned to the bottle trying to chase the demons away. How many of our homeless today are victims of PTSD or other disability and are not receiving appropriate treatment? I know this.....we have reduced the amount of money available for disabled veterans while we're sending gobs of money to other countries around the world. Why aren't we taking better care of our veterans?

Is it because we've become inured to war itself? I guess WWII was the last popular war in which our freedoms and our country itself were in danger. The Korean "police action" was not for our personal benefit, nor was Vietnam, nor was Bosnia. The first Gulf was perhaps not so much about oil, but to try to stabilize the Middle East. The invasion of Iraq was arguably based on faulty intelligence. Afghanistan was supposedly to capture/kill Osama, which after 9 years or so, we finally did. We don't even seem to publically protest the recent wars as was done during Vietnam.

It is impossible for me to feel the same emotions of those who have been in boots on the ground combat. I saw plenty of the havoc of war during my Navy service during Korea, but not the kind that our troops have seeing in the jungles and in the desert. Not the kind of death and destruction that comes from such things as IED's.

I think what I'm feeling right now is a mixture of anger and sorrow, anger at war itself, and deep, deep sorrow for those who have died (needlessly ?) . Should we celebrate today as we do Independence Day, or should we be thanking God for those who have served and praying for their safety.

This is one of the last times I saw my #1 (first born) grandson alive. Matthew Lee (12/24/1984-7/31/2011. Matthew had attended Grossmont College in San Diego, choosing it among other reasons for it's reputation for it's baseball program.

Matt was a good baseball player throughout high school and had high hopes for a baseball career; however, he suffered a shoulder injury which prevented him from even being scouted. Nonetheless, he continued his education and was to enter Sacramento State for his senior year in September, 2011.

One of the few things I've had problems dealing with is my anger over how Matt died. He and his two brothers have had both peanut and tree nut allergies their entire lives and everyone knew it. Even so, he was served a salad containing some kind of nut oil, and immediately went into  analphylactic shock, a completely unnecessary death in the beginning of adulthood with a great life and career to look forward to. Matt had professed belief and trust in Jesus some years previously and so it is with hope that he and I will be reunited some day. 

Matt's funeral was attended by at least 200 persons, many of which were friends of his in high school, but also many came up from San Diego who had worked with him at Target. Matt was loved by everyone who knew him. 

Miss you #1, and always will.

Rather than going into the gory details of my hip injury now, (that means it will come later), I'll just say that I have come a long way physically from where I was 2 years ago. Although I still have pain and stiffness, it is so incredibly better than it was. I can walk but I need a cane if it's for some distance, I can do my "man chores" around the house and yard. I have stopped doing rehab type exercises, but just go about my life in as normal a way as possible. I have reached what I call the "new normal", and I'm grateful that I've come that far. If I continue to get mobility, that's just that much more to be thankful for.

Persons who know me well constantly comment on how cheerful I always seem to be. One of my pastors whom I regard as the ultimate pastor and who I respect more than any other man I've known, wrote me a note stating that I'd "been an inspiration" to him. I didn't know quite what to make of that, but my closest family assured me that it was because I wasn't pissin' and moanin' about my situation and blaming God and all that stuff. This from a man had had been and continues to be an inspiration to me. So there you are.

Does everyone have a "bucket list'"?  I sure did. It was to see the SF Giants win a World Series before I left this earth. I not only was able to scratch it off the list in November 2010, but did it again in November 2012. It's no longer on my bucket list, but I sure do hope they get another ring. After all, the 49ers have 5, and almost had a 6th one this past season.

How interesting that I came across this old endeavor of mine 4 years to the day  since my last post.. So much has happened in my life since then, so much that I feel compelled to write about them so that I can remember and revisualize both the good and the bad. The reader might wonder why I might want to remember the bad happenings, but as I think about them I also remember that Almighty God was in control, He knew my pain, and He helped me to cope with the negative and turn them into the positive. He comforted me, He healed me, He was always there to talk to me, and He blessed me throughout the entire 4 years.

The most memorable negative occurrences went from prostate cancer, a "mini" stroke, the loss of my beloved grandson, a broken hip, to a life threatening infection. There were new friends gained and old friends lost, relationships enriched, relationships weakened, financial resources gained, and financial resources VVVV, but again through all, I remembered that as God's child, He would never leave me or desert me.

More tomorrow, if I can see this in print and still want to do it. LOL