Sorry about the title. Deb and I kid a little about the subject of this post. I think I have been accused by her of conducting several small affairs in my life, but do not get all that worked up. I have always liked Emily Dickinson. For that matter I have a couple of other early American poets who for some reason have reached out over the years and touched me. Now you say how can this be. I mean all outside appearance would dictate the need for me to show the "man" side of life. I must confess however, that there is another side that has for many years delighted in the thought and artistry of people who know how to communicate ideas and thoughts. Of these people Emily Dickinson ranks at the top of my list. Allow me to post a few examples:
Upon the death of my grandfathers our family traveled back to Pella, Iowa to help the family make the arrangements for the funerals. Each of them passed quite suddenly when I was quite young. These being the first exposures I had encountered with the event of death, I was struck by the feelings in the homes as we first entered. I think for all of us we may remember similar events. For me the poem by Emily Dickinson best describes these feelings.
The Bustle in a House:
The bustle in a house
the morning after death
is the solemnest of industries
enacted upon earth-
The sweeping up the heart
and putting love away
We shall not want to see
Until eternity-
Some years later Deb and I faced the short life of our first two infant children (reflected in earlier postings.) Again the same poets words came to me. I recall going down the street from the hospital. I sat in a coffee shop and recalled these words.
My life closed twice before its close;
It remains to see
If immortality unveil
A third event to me
So huge so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.
Some of you know we did have a third event. I now know why I took the time to think about these poems. They somehow brought to me some definition in my moments of sorrow. Nothing really helps all that much in those type of times but for me it helped a little to have some words that went with the feelings. (I did have to look these up to get them right as I did not have all that good of accuracy in what I remembered. Turns out I had a few of the lines mixed up but the thoughts have kind of stayed with me.)
On a lighter note, I now think of the political environment and the self proclamation of all of the candidates who now claim to be the solution to all of our problems. (Same Poet)
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us - don't tell!
They'd banish us you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public like a frog
to tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
You see, Emily was a poet who wrote in a cryptic style. (to the point) She was somewhat of a recluse and used a few words to present what I feel are the striking moments of our human emotions. The words of people who have this talent go forward through the ages and they never really lose their relevance and their meaning. Abraham Lincoln could at times also lay claim to this talent as witnessed in some of his famous speeches and writings.
I have never been quite sure why some things have reached me through all these years. I can only say that certain moments in life have jumped off of the page for me. I have never had all that many girlfriends. In fact for me Deb has been the only one. I suppose that right now the events of life reach me in way that I find some solace in recalling a few writings that have touched me over the years. They are important to me even though I know that not everyone will be able to relate. Allow me to relay them at this time even though I know that for some some poems do not find way inside for everybody.
At the risk of boring you let me share a few more.
How Happy is the Little Stone
How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn't care about careers,
And exigencies never fears; (exigencies = needs and requirements)
Whose coat is of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.
I have one or two more. For those of you that choose to keep the sabbath at home let me give you this.
Some keep the sabbath going to church;
I keep it staying at home,
With a bobolink for a chorister,
And an orchid for a dome.
Some keep the the Sabbath in surplice, (white catholic garments worn by priest)
I just wear my wings;
And instead of tolling the bell for church,
Our little sexton sings,
God preaches -a noted clergyman-
And the sermon is never long;
And instead of getting to heaven at last,
I'm going all along!
I post this in the simple hope that the words of a person who was a true artist will somehow find you in a moment in which you can find some meaning. I must admit that recent times have brought me to the spot of needing to explore some of these thoughts. Let me close with this.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can stop one life from aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
It is with these thoughts I wish to correspond some feelings I have in these times. I think the world could learn something if they spent some time exploring some of these writings. They have for sure found me and had some meaning in a time that deserves the artistry of words that flow through the ages.
Until next time ........... Enjoy with me one of my other girlfriends.
Stan the Man
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Ranges and Changes
I feel like writing tonight. What is going to happen here is that some of you who read this are going to say "boy, I feel sorry for that Deb Hoksbergen she married a strange dude". Others are going to say "must be interesting to be hooked up with a guy who does not meet a very conventional profile". Still others might say "I am not sure why I am reading this stuff but a few of the things he has written have in some way either helped or entertained me". It is that third category of people to whom I am writing. Gotta tell ya I am not sure why but I feel a connection with some of the readers. It goes beyond words. Somehow that make me feel good, so let me get started.
Many years ago (before children) Deb and I had an interesting thing happen. We traveled to the State of Washington which is the home state of Deb's parents and family. It was for a reunion of many of her relatives. One of her uncles owns a large dairy farm. I cannot tell the story without first telling you that some years before, for reasons I cannot explain, I had taken it upon myself to memorize about 40 poems. Somehow for me these poems have struck a cord in my soul and to this day fragments of them have stayed with me. As we visited the farm I was struck with the fact that I was viewing a dimension of life that had not before been exposed to. Deb's cousin, who owned the farm, had a thriving business which was built around cows that had the ability to produce large quantities of milk. As I viewed the operation I was amazed that the cows had a tag on their ear. When they would enter the milking spot they would signal a machine that would drop the proper amount of feed into a holding tray. As the cow ate the feed she would be milked by a automated machine. In contrast to the things we hear about modern farmers this uncle had a feel for the the animals. Having never viewed anything like this before I was amazed by it and it brought to mind a poem I had memorized some year before. Let me give you a comment on cows.
Cows
Do nothing but browse
And drowse
And now and then moo
That's all they do
Yet even while grazing
They aren't lazing
Even while snacking
They aren't slacking
If not illustrious
They are inner industrious
Making milk with all their might
With every bite.
Cream too.
With every chew.
I'd like it fine
Could I combine
In such measure
Business with pleasure.
I was never sure why I remembered this poem but I thought of it on the day I visited this farm. I think they are still doing good. (That is the humans.) It was a splendid operation.
On that trip something else happened, One of Deb's other uncles owned a car business and invited us to a used car auction. What would happen here is that the used cars would come down a line at about the speed of a car wash. Various dealers would buy the cars and as I recall each used car would have about 15 second on the line to be purchased by about 40 or 50 dealers that were present. Deb's dad saw a nice blue station wagon come down the line and asked his brother to buy the thing if he could. He could use it in his business. As the car was coming down the line I started to wonder about the fact that we were in Washington and how did he think it was going to get back to Michigan. He told me that he thought that Deb and I would maybe have a good time if we drove it home. I remember him saying that if we had never made this trip it was something he thought we should do. The next thing I knew he had the thing bought for $4,500 and the next morning Deb and I traded in our round trip airline tickets (pre 9-11) for a trip in a station wagon across the country. Money was not hanging around on trees at this time and I do remember calculating the miles and the cash in the pocket and thinking we could maybe make it. We had enough to spare. This car had an eight track tape deck and it had a tape in that was stuck. It was a Johnny Cash tape and I hate country western music. But as the trip progressed and the road got longer Deb and I found ourselves memorizing the songs on this tape. To this day they are the only country western songs I know.
So we embarked on the journey. I recall the first night staying in a Cascade mountain cabin and waking up in a cloud. I recall the beauty of the drive and coming down out of the Cascades to a non-stop range of wheat fields that were being harvested by combines in rows similar to what you see on TV. I recall a stop at the Grand Cooley Dam which is perhaps the largest man made structure that I have seen to this day. I remember someplace along the line Deb saying "let's go down to Yellowstone". I think we were both maybe thinking of a park that fit into the "world of normal" but as we arrived we were overwhelmed by the fact that this thing is about 100 miles by 150 miles. We entered the park and a large elk was hanging around at the gate. The sign read "40 miles to Old Faithful'. We never did see Old Faithful due to the fact that we had one day to spend and elected to see some of the other things in the park. Might I just say that I encourage those who have not been there to do so. You will be a first hand witness to a creator who spares no price in creating a beauty that goes beyond description. Several other highlights from this trip but I will save them till a later post. Do let me say that we also enjoyed a trip through the Big Horn Mountains on the way home. The Big Horns are not talked about much but they were amazing to us. A 5000 ft. rising out of a flat land with a large plateau of many square miles at the top. It was my first time on an open range and the animals stood in the middle of the road as we drove by. At one point a large steer stood in the middle of the road. I stopped the car and yelled at the thing. He waved his large horns and meandered on his way but seemed somewhat bothered that I had yelled at him in his home. All in all it was a special trip.
So we had seen the ranges but how about the changes. Well, as we traveled we had this one tape and we must have heard about 50 times Johnny Cash singing "How High's the Water Mama". The song sings about the water rising to 2' than 3' and so on. I think we listened to it so many times on the 5 day trip that Deb and I have never really been able to get it out of our minds. Fact is that the water is getting a little deeper around here lately. I would say that events of late present a challenge for which we were not prepared.
I can recall very clearly the meeting when the surgeon came out and met with our family. I can even recall the positions that everyone sat in the room. I am here to tell you that if anyone was there that you would have left thinking that there was no way that survival would go beyond 3-4 months. I will never forget that Deb's dad met with me shortly after that meeting and told me that he did not think it would be possible for Deb to survive till the end of the year. From what I heard I thought the same. .
I had to go to work the next day and others helped Deb in the hospital. I have to tell you that I am not normally all that emotional but on my way to my work the next day I had to pull off of the exit on the way. I took the floor mat out of the back of my car and I went out about a hundred yards into a cornfield and sat down on the mat and wept and reflected on the events of the present and the potential of the future. I recall very clearly the doctor telling me that we had just entered a club of which nobody would ever want to be a member. It is in this respect that I want to talk about "changes". As time has gone by we have started to understand things in terms of thinking about the disease as chronic rather than terminal. A wise person told us that when you think about things we are all terminal. I think I have mentioned before that as time has past we are encountering more people who have survived for years. At the same time it is evident that the new normal involves a flood of medical "events" and a real change in our lives.
I want to mention one thing here. There have been several of my friends who understand that along with the troubles that Deb now faces this whole thing has not been real easy for me. I know a friend who owns a local car dealership and he has been consistent in inviting me to get out and do some golfing with he and friends. I think the world of "man-dum" sometimes assumes that emotions are left to women. I have a friend who invites me to some of the Hope basketball games. A local banker whose wife had cancer prepared me for some of the things that were to come. A number of neighbors and friends who have been very understanding and supportive as the whole thing has unfolded. I have a true appreciation for those I have encountered who have at least asked how I am dealing with the situation. I have found that others have encountered similar events and their concern and expressions have had high value to me.
In the previous post I told a little about the book I am reading. The book is by C.S. Lewis and it is called "The Great Divorce", It has nothing to do with divorce from a spouse. Instead it details a fictional bus tour exploring the worlds of heaven and hell. On the tour Lewis observes a group of people who can gain anything they want just by wishing for it. Then he asks the reader where they think these people reside. I am not going to tell you his conclusions in this post but if I may I ask you to think about that. The challenges of life are really large right now and the temptation is to wish for something else. At the same time the richness of life right now seems high and the value of every day feels like it has new value.
Deb taught a class today for people who were expecting new infants. After 8 hours of teaching I picked her up and the her feet were having trouble going in front of each other. She was tired. I read the evaluations from the class and it seemed to me that the people who took the class had been touched with lessons on having children and raising children that could only come from one of her experience and talent. She felt it was a real accomplishment to have been able to teach the class today. She was satisfied. Would it not be great if we in such measure could combine our business with pleasure?
Thanks for listening...........See you in a few days.
Stan the Man
Many years ago (before children) Deb and I had an interesting thing happen. We traveled to the State of Washington which is the home state of Deb's parents and family. It was for a reunion of many of her relatives. One of her uncles owns a large dairy farm. I cannot tell the story without first telling you that some years before, for reasons I cannot explain, I had taken it upon myself to memorize about 40 poems. Somehow for me these poems have struck a cord in my soul and to this day fragments of them have stayed with me. As we visited the farm I was struck with the fact that I was viewing a dimension of life that had not before been exposed to. Deb's cousin, who owned the farm, had a thriving business which was built around cows that had the ability to produce large quantities of milk. As I viewed the operation I was amazed that the cows had a tag on their ear. When they would enter the milking spot they would signal a machine that would drop the proper amount of feed into a holding tray. As the cow ate the feed she would be milked by a automated machine. In contrast to the things we hear about modern farmers this uncle had a feel for the the animals. Having never viewed anything like this before I was amazed by it and it brought to mind a poem I had memorized some year before. Let me give you a comment on cows.
Cows
Do nothing but browse
And drowse
And now and then moo
That's all they do
Yet even while grazing
They aren't lazing
Even while snacking
They aren't slacking
If not illustrious
They are inner industrious
Making milk with all their might
With every bite.
Cream too.
With every chew.
I'd like it fine
Could I combine
In such measure
Business with pleasure.
I was never sure why I remembered this poem but I thought of it on the day I visited this farm. I think they are still doing good. (That is the humans.) It was a splendid operation.
On that trip something else happened, One of Deb's other uncles owned a car business and invited us to a used car auction. What would happen here is that the used cars would come down a line at about the speed of a car wash. Various dealers would buy the cars and as I recall each used car would have about 15 second on the line to be purchased by about 40 or 50 dealers that were present. Deb's dad saw a nice blue station wagon come down the line and asked his brother to buy the thing if he could. He could use it in his business. As the car was coming down the line I started to wonder about the fact that we were in Washington and how did he think it was going to get back to Michigan. He told me that he thought that Deb and I would maybe have a good time if we drove it home. I remember him saying that if we had never made this trip it was something he thought we should do. The next thing I knew he had the thing bought for $4,500 and the next morning Deb and I traded in our round trip airline tickets (pre 9-11) for a trip in a station wagon across the country. Money was not hanging around on trees at this time and I do remember calculating the miles and the cash in the pocket and thinking we could maybe make it. We had enough to spare. This car had an eight track tape deck and it had a tape in that was stuck. It was a Johnny Cash tape and I hate country western music. But as the trip progressed and the road got longer Deb and I found ourselves memorizing the songs on this tape. To this day they are the only country western songs I know.
So we embarked on the journey. I recall the first night staying in a Cascade mountain cabin and waking up in a cloud. I recall the beauty of the drive and coming down out of the Cascades to a non-stop range of wheat fields that were being harvested by combines in rows similar to what you see on TV. I recall a stop at the Grand Cooley Dam which is perhaps the largest man made structure that I have seen to this day. I remember someplace along the line Deb saying "let's go down to Yellowstone". I think we were both maybe thinking of a park that fit into the "world of normal" but as we arrived we were overwhelmed by the fact that this thing is about 100 miles by 150 miles. We entered the park and a large elk was hanging around at the gate. The sign read "40 miles to Old Faithful'. We never did see Old Faithful due to the fact that we had one day to spend and elected to see some of the other things in the park. Might I just say that I encourage those who have not been there to do so. You will be a first hand witness to a creator who spares no price in creating a beauty that goes beyond description. Several other highlights from this trip but I will save them till a later post. Do let me say that we also enjoyed a trip through the Big Horn Mountains on the way home. The Big Horns are not talked about much but they were amazing to us. A 5000 ft. rising out of a flat land with a large plateau of many square miles at the top. It was my first time on an open range and the animals stood in the middle of the road as we drove by. At one point a large steer stood in the middle of the road. I stopped the car and yelled at the thing. He waved his large horns and meandered on his way but seemed somewhat bothered that I had yelled at him in his home. All in all it was a special trip.
So we had seen the ranges but how about the changes. Well, as we traveled we had this one tape and we must have heard about 50 times Johnny Cash singing "How High's the Water Mama". The song sings about the water rising to 2' than 3' and so on. I think we listened to it so many times on the 5 day trip that Deb and I have never really been able to get it out of our minds. Fact is that the water is getting a little deeper around here lately. I would say that events of late present a challenge for which we were not prepared.
I can recall very clearly the meeting when the surgeon came out and met with our family. I can even recall the positions that everyone sat in the room. I am here to tell you that if anyone was there that you would have left thinking that there was no way that survival would go beyond 3-4 months. I will never forget that Deb's dad met with me shortly after that meeting and told me that he did not think it would be possible for Deb to survive till the end of the year. From what I heard I thought the same. .
I had to go to work the next day and others helped Deb in the hospital. I have to tell you that I am not normally all that emotional but on my way to my work the next day I had to pull off of the exit on the way. I took the floor mat out of the back of my car and I went out about a hundred yards into a cornfield and sat down on the mat and wept and reflected on the events of the present and the potential of the future. I recall very clearly the doctor telling me that we had just entered a club of which nobody would ever want to be a member. It is in this respect that I want to talk about "changes". As time has gone by we have started to understand things in terms of thinking about the disease as chronic rather than terminal. A wise person told us that when you think about things we are all terminal. I think I have mentioned before that as time has past we are encountering more people who have survived for years. At the same time it is evident that the new normal involves a flood of medical "events" and a real change in our lives.
I want to mention one thing here. There have been several of my friends who understand that along with the troubles that Deb now faces this whole thing has not been real easy for me. I know a friend who owns a local car dealership and he has been consistent in inviting me to get out and do some golfing with he and friends. I think the world of "man-dum" sometimes assumes that emotions are left to women. I have a friend who invites me to some of the Hope basketball games. A local banker whose wife had cancer prepared me for some of the things that were to come. A number of neighbors and friends who have been very understanding and supportive as the whole thing has unfolded. I have a true appreciation for those I have encountered who have at least asked how I am dealing with the situation. I have found that others have encountered similar events and their concern and expressions have had high value to me.
In the previous post I told a little about the book I am reading. The book is by C.S. Lewis and it is called "The Great Divorce", It has nothing to do with divorce from a spouse. Instead it details a fictional bus tour exploring the worlds of heaven and hell. On the tour Lewis observes a group of people who can gain anything they want just by wishing for it. Then he asks the reader where they think these people reside. I am not going to tell you his conclusions in this post but if I may I ask you to think about that. The challenges of life are really large right now and the temptation is to wish for something else. At the same time the richness of life right now seems high and the value of every day feels like it has new value.
Deb taught a class today for people who were expecting new infants. After 8 hours of teaching I picked her up and the her feet were having trouble going in front of each other. She was tired. I read the evaluations from the class and it seemed to me that the people who took the class had been touched with lessons on having children and raising children that could only come from one of her experience and talent. She felt it was a real accomplishment to have been able to teach the class today. She was satisfied. Would it not be great if we in such measure could combine our business with pleasure?
Thanks for listening...........See you in a few days.
Stan the Man
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Starting up Again
OK, you're right, I just could not stand it. Somewhere inside is the need to do some writing. I am not sure what it is going to be about this time. Perhaps I could share some things about feelings related to all the the recent happenings with medical problems Deb faces right now. I am sure that will find its way in somewhere along the line. For now I would like to share some things that I have found interesting over the years. Deb will sometimes comment that I see things that others do not see and vice-versa. Please allow me to make comments on a few of those things. If you find them interesting enjoy the reading. If you don't, I suppose an option is to not read them. How is that for an astute observation?
Several years ago Deb and I visited a business in Naples, Florida. It was called "Best of Everything". The business did not have everything. It only sold jewelry and it had table after table of about every type of watch, bracelet, ring, necklace or anything else you could imagine to adorn either a man or a women. The store was crawling with people and the prices seemed amazingly low. It seemed like everything you would pick up you would think of someone who would look good wearing it. You would be taken back for a moment at the low price. They had people on raised platforms looking over the place to make sure stuff was not getting stolen. Many people would be at the counter buying multiple items. We even bought some things and later gave them as gifts. I think the idea was that the people who ran the store would travel outside of the country and buy handmade jewelry and bring it back here and sell it. Whatever country they bought this stuff in must have had a lot of silver because it seems like most of the things had some silver in them.
On the long drive home from Florida I started thinking a little about that store and that name. It was obvious to me that the stuff they sold was not really the best of everything. It was not even the best of anything. What it was was a group of people who had found a way to make a living by bringing in reasonably attractive items and selling them at a price that was affordable. They would display it in such a way that the atmosphere and the selection of the items kind of put you in the mood to buy something. Many of the the items were unique and the place was just plain fun and interesting.
More than the items in the store I have never been really able to get the name out of my head. What would things be like if we could really have the the "best of everything". Once in while I observe a marriage that fits into this category. We have an old guy in our church who is a very smart guy. Some years ago his wife started to show early signs of Alzheimer's disease and now she has digressed to the spot of needing full time care. She is not able to respond hardly at all. This gentleman has cared for her and brought her in a wheelchair to church every single week. He is now is his 90's. They both still live in their home and he has not shown one note of discouragement over the whole matter. I think he views the thing as part of what he signed up for many years ago when he and she were married. In that way I think maybe they have both have experienced the best of everything. Things are hard for them right now but as I reflect I might say that this marriage is one of the best I have witnessed. Just the best.
I wonder if you did have the best of everything what type of car you would drive. I always kind of wanted to crawl behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce. Always kind of pictured myself in one. I with a chauffeur cap and my wife and kids in the backseat. I nickel balanced on the hood. Once in a while my wife would send a queen like wave to people driving by admiring the car. But as time has past I seem to covet more a car that is paid for. For now I might say that if you are driving one of the paid for models you might be enjoying the best of everything. Except maybe for a paid for Rolls Royce.
We went out for our 37th anniversary on Feb 8. We went to "The Piper" here in Holland. Hard to beat that place in the food department. As I thought about the setting and consumed the food I thought for a moment about if it might be possible that at least around here I was living in a moment that might represent the best of everything. I checked that night on the percentage of people married that last to the 37 year point. A little better than I thought. About 30%. Percentages start to drop at around 40 years. I have always thought about the contrast when people get their picture in the paper from their wedding day to the 40 year anniversary. The pictures look better at 40 years than on the day they were married. Starts to decline a bit at 50 years and the theory goes out the window at 60 years. Anyway, The Piper has a nice setting on the lake and they serve the food just right. At the end the waitress came over and told us that one of our friends had arranged for us to have dessert on their tab. So we even had the chance to enjoy an extension of the night with a great choice of dessert. A fine night overall. Nice to live in a few moments that at least come close to the best.
I was thinking the other day about what happens if you are in the position of having all of the best of everything. My guess is that most times it does not change the outcome all that much. I think now of the recent death of Steve Jobs. I am reasonably certain that with his wealth and access to information he was able to research and afford the very best care available to humans as he dealt with his condition. Yet it is very true that the outcome for him did not result in continued life on this planet. Feeling helpless in the dealing with cancer makes me worry about this right now. Best plans, best brains, most money etc might all be traded for pushing a broom someplace as long as life could find a way to continue.
It seems to me that all of the political commercials right now do not fall in to the class of the best. In fact I fear they are somehow bringing out the worst. Seems to me that many of the people who strive to one day lead our country spend large amounts of money in the act of slandering the other and creating fear. Like little children in a fight they play for our votes by promising the best of everything. How could they ever deliver on those promises when their actions and adds play out to the worst fears in all of us. They use nothing more than trivial slams on each other. We have a local guy here who was in congress who played an add that not only had racial overtones but played the name of one of our senators and changed it from Stabenow to Spenditnow. Slandering a persons name is a strong form of disrespect and it is directed at a decent person. It comes from one who sometimes is invited speak in our local churches. He puts forth views that might lead one to think it is done in the name of Christianity. Time for him to get some of the "best of everything" going again. I think deep down he is a decent person who just got carried away on this one. I promise she will not do the same as they try to be elected.
I recently read a book written by C.S. Lewis. In it he has a dream and is on a bus going on a tour of heaven and hell. No conclusions in this book but some very thought provoking ideas and illustrations and characters. I think many of us who strive to reach a point where we experience the best of everything tend to have formulated thoughts about a life beyond this one that will achieve just that. But as I read further I started to think that actually ever experiencing the best of everything might be an illusive idea. But then again I wonder if we look around a little we might think that we are all living in a time and a country where the best of everything is something that has been achieved. I think many in the world might look at our homes, our cars, our food, our schools, our clothes and the rest, and say that we live in and arena that somehow represents the best of everything.
The next time you are near Naples visit the store. (Or look it up on line if you wish.) But for now think with me a moment about the times in your life that represent what for you were the moments where you felt that you were experiencing the best of everything. For all of us I speculate that those times are illusive. If we look around a little I still think we will all can experience those moments. I knew a happy person that once told me that his philosophy on life included an idea that he had adopted. He told me that what he did was "never complain and never explain". I wonder if we were able to do this we might all experience a little more of the best of everything. If you own a Rolls Royce please come over and give me a ride. For now I will just drive my paid for Ford and hope that you and I can experience more of the best of everything.
Stan the Man
Several years ago Deb and I visited a business in Naples, Florida. It was called "Best of Everything". The business did not have everything. It only sold jewelry and it had table after table of about every type of watch, bracelet, ring, necklace or anything else you could imagine to adorn either a man or a women. The store was crawling with people and the prices seemed amazingly low. It seemed like everything you would pick up you would think of someone who would look good wearing it. You would be taken back for a moment at the low price. They had people on raised platforms looking over the place to make sure stuff was not getting stolen. Many people would be at the counter buying multiple items. We even bought some things and later gave them as gifts. I think the idea was that the people who ran the store would travel outside of the country and buy handmade jewelry and bring it back here and sell it. Whatever country they bought this stuff in must have had a lot of silver because it seems like most of the things had some silver in them.
On the long drive home from Florida I started thinking a little about that store and that name. It was obvious to me that the stuff they sold was not really the best of everything. It was not even the best of anything. What it was was a group of people who had found a way to make a living by bringing in reasonably attractive items and selling them at a price that was affordable. They would display it in such a way that the atmosphere and the selection of the items kind of put you in the mood to buy something. Many of the the items were unique and the place was just plain fun and interesting.
More than the items in the store I have never been really able to get the name out of my head. What would things be like if we could really have the the "best of everything". Once in while I observe a marriage that fits into this category. We have an old guy in our church who is a very smart guy. Some years ago his wife started to show early signs of Alzheimer's disease and now she has digressed to the spot of needing full time care. She is not able to respond hardly at all. This gentleman has cared for her and brought her in a wheelchair to church every single week. He is now is his 90's. They both still live in their home and he has not shown one note of discouragement over the whole matter. I think he views the thing as part of what he signed up for many years ago when he and she were married. In that way I think maybe they have both have experienced the best of everything. Things are hard for them right now but as I reflect I might say that this marriage is one of the best I have witnessed. Just the best.
I wonder if you did have the best of everything what type of car you would drive. I always kind of wanted to crawl behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce. Always kind of pictured myself in one. I with a chauffeur cap and my wife and kids in the backseat. I nickel balanced on the hood. Once in a while my wife would send a queen like wave to people driving by admiring the car. But as time has past I seem to covet more a car that is paid for. For now I might say that if you are driving one of the paid for models you might be enjoying the best of everything. Except maybe for a paid for Rolls Royce.
We went out for our 37th anniversary on Feb 8. We went to "The Piper" here in Holland. Hard to beat that place in the food department. As I thought about the setting and consumed the food I thought for a moment about if it might be possible that at least around here I was living in a moment that might represent the best of everything. I checked that night on the percentage of people married that last to the 37 year point. A little better than I thought. About 30%. Percentages start to drop at around 40 years. I have always thought about the contrast when people get their picture in the paper from their wedding day to the 40 year anniversary. The pictures look better at 40 years than on the day they were married. Starts to decline a bit at 50 years and the theory goes out the window at 60 years. Anyway, The Piper has a nice setting on the lake and they serve the food just right. At the end the waitress came over and told us that one of our friends had arranged for us to have dessert on their tab. So we even had the chance to enjoy an extension of the night with a great choice of dessert. A fine night overall. Nice to live in a few moments that at least come close to the best.
I was thinking the other day about what happens if you are in the position of having all of the best of everything. My guess is that most times it does not change the outcome all that much. I think now of the recent death of Steve Jobs. I am reasonably certain that with his wealth and access to information he was able to research and afford the very best care available to humans as he dealt with his condition. Yet it is very true that the outcome for him did not result in continued life on this planet. Feeling helpless in the dealing with cancer makes me worry about this right now. Best plans, best brains, most money etc might all be traded for pushing a broom someplace as long as life could find a way to continue.
It seems to me that all of the political commercials right now do not fall in to the class of the best. In fact I fear they are somehow bringing out the worst. Seems to me that many of the people who strive to one day lead our country spend large amounts of money in the act of slandering the other and creating fear. Like little children in a fight they play for our votes by promising the best of everything. How could they ever deliver on those promises when their actions and adds play out to the worst fears in all of us. They use nothing more than trivial slams on each other. We have a local guy here who was in congress who played an add that not only had racial overtones but played the name of one of our senators and changed it from Stabenow to Spenditnow. Slandering a persons name is a strong form of disrespect and it is directed at a decent person. It comes from one who sometimes is invited speak in our local churches. He puts forth views that might lead one to think it is done in the name of Christianity. Time for him to get some of the "best of everything" going again. I think deep down he is a decent person who just got carried away on this one. I promise she will not do the same as they try to be elected.
I recently read a book written by C.S. Lewis. In it he has a dream and is on a bus going on a tour of heaven and hell. No conclusions in this book but some very thought provoking ideas and illustrations and characters. I think many of us who strive to reach a point where we experience the best of everything tend to have formulated thoughts about a life beyond this one that will achieve just that. But as I read further I started to think that actually ever experiencing the best of everything might be an illusive idea. But then again I wonder if we look around a little we might think that we are all living in a time and a country where the best of everything is something that has been achieved. I think many in the world might look at our homes, our cars, our food, our schools, our clothes and the rest, and say that we live in and arena that somehow represents the best of everything.
The next time you are near Naples visit the store. (Or look it up on line if you wish.) But for now think with me a moment about the times in your life that represent what for you were the moments where you felt that you were experiencing the best of everything. For all of us I speculate that those times are illusive. If we look around a little I still think we will all can experience those moments. I knew a happy person that once told me that his philosophy on life included an idea that he had adopted. He told me that what he did was "never complain and never explain". I wonder if we were able to do this we might all experience a little more of the best of everything. If you own a Rolls Royce please come over and give me a ride. For now I will just drive my paid for Ford and hope that you and I can experience more of the best of everything.
Stan the Man
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A nice life with a good wife!
As I come to the close of these writings I wanted to do one that is just a little different. This one is going to kind of go all over the place but perhaps you can get the flavor of some fond and fun memories of some interesting times. You might think this strange. But here it goes. I had one friend say they liked some of the stories about the Dutch days and this even has a little of that.
About 25 years ago we moved from Lansing to Holland. One of the nice things that happens on the drive from Lansing is that a little after you get past the Hudsonville exit you start coming down a hill and the next thing you see are the lights of Holland and Zeeland. I am not sure why but for me this has always been kind of a special and welcoming view that happens on I-196. Occasionally there is a cop parked on the downside of that hill but other than that it is a nice experience.
What I have done over the years as I make this drive is reflect on things. It is my tradition to make this drive bring back memories. Here are a few. I recall as a young kid going around the town of Pella, Iowa with my grandfather. He was amazed upon our return from the Netherlands that we could speak the Dutch language. He would take me around the town and when he would see one of his friends he would want me to demonstrate this skill. Because the town had a tradition of Dutch heritage many of the people spoke enough of the Dutch language to be dangerous but it was kind of a mix between English and Dutch. I think you might call it Yankee Dutch. When you are a little kid you are just not always sure how to act and what to say. It seemed a little annoying to me that I was being dragged around and asked to speak Dutch to everyone we encountered. I soon learned that none of the people knew Dutch well enough to really know what I was saying. After a couple of these forced conversations the third lady got something like this. U hebt een veer in uw hoed en u vergat em het poeder vit de barsten in uw gesicht schoon te maken. (You have a feather in your hat and you forgot to clean the powder out of the cracks in your face.) I am not sure this lady understood this but I have worried about it now for about 50 years. She did say "Oh how cute" so I hope to this day she did not quite get it.
My Grandfather on my mothers side always had an interesting kind of logic. He directed several choirs and had some decent musical talent. He would take my brother and I around with him when we were there and have us sit and listen to these practices. At that time it was popular for some churches to locate the organ in the rear of the church and he did not like this. He would always say that if God wanted the organ in the back of church he would have put our ears on our head the other way around. He had this and a lot of other sayings like this and when you are a kid it kind of makes some sense. He was worried about gun control but did not own a gun. He somehow was worried that the Chinese were going to invade Pella and he was concerned that with gun control there would be nothing to defend the town. He was worried about a parachute invasion. On another front he was very kind. If he would drive past a Dairy Queen and see a kid outside without an ice cream cone he would stop and buy him one. I was always kind of fun to spend some time with him. I still do kind of chuckle whenever I see an organ in the back of a church.
When Deb and I moved to Holland it still had some things that reminded me of Pella. People would complain about the traffic and to us there was none. The first night we moved here we were hungry and went to eat at the OBI. We did not have much cash and the place, to our surprise, did not take credit cards. The owner told us not to worry about it. Just take the bill home and the next time we came in pay him. I recently had to have a knee replaced and still today the cafe of at Zeeland Hospital sometimes is not attended and you just leave your money on the counter near the register. It has really been a wonderful place to raise a family. People around here who have never lived in another place might not appreciate it to the full degree that we do. But then again maybe they do. At least they have never moved away.
Some years ago now the music director at our church came up with the idea of having a concert with four Grand Piano's. I think Deb has never considered herself in the league with some of the other players who played that night but she worked on it for hours in our house and took her place at one of these instruments. I think she was a little nervous but I was really proud that she dared to take this on and as that concert went on that night I let the music soak in to my soul. Later she and Ross would play in our living room. Once in while Alden would play his horn and Mieke would sing. In years gone by I would play (or try to play) my trombone with them. In whatever direction the present issue of this cancer takes us, the memories of these moments will never fade. We did argue on more than one occasion. Ross whould say "To you guys time is just a magazine". We never went on the road. It has always been a home full of music and I have Deb to thank for this. It has been a good life and she has been a good wife.
I conclude now these writings. But before that happens I want to thank some people. I thank our friends who have taught us something about Christian love and concern. I thank our relatives who have both endured these stories and provided some of the material for many of them. Also, their outpouring of support during these past months. I thank my own children who have expressed in a unique way their love for their mother in a way that is generally not done as meaningfully during normal times. But most of all I thank Deb. She has faced what she does now with a courage that is second to none. She values life to such a high degree that she will do anything to have it continue. At the same time she has told me many times that she does not fear death. She is a strong women and in whatever course this present event leads she is confident that the outcome will be one that she is able to endure. 36 years and counting and hoping for many more.
Ik genoot ervan u te schrijven en id wil u laten weten dat er zelfs in de stormen van het leven altijd enn beetje humor te vinden valt. Goede dag en moge God u allen zegenen. (I enjoyed writing to you and I want you to know that even in the storms of life you can always find a little humor. Good day and may God bless you all.)
Stan the Man, Next time a few pictures and then on to something else. I will keep you posted.................
Thanks for reading!!!!!!!
About 25 years ago we moved from Lansing to Holland. One of the nice things that happens on the drive from Lansing is that a little after you get past the Hudsonville exit you start coming down a hill and the next thing you see are the lights of Holland and Zeeland. I am not sure why but for me this has always been kind of a special and welcoming view that happens on I-196. Occasionally there is a cop parked on the downside of that hill but other than that it is a nice experience.
What I have done over the years as I make this drive is reflect on things. It is my tradition to make this drive bring back memories. Here are a few. I recall as a young kid going around the town of Pella, Iowa with my grandfather. He was amazed upon our return from the Netherlands that we could speak the Dutch language. He would take me around the town and when he would see one of his friends he would want me to demonstrate this skill. Because the town had a tradition of Dutch heritage many of the people spoke enough of the Dutch language to be dangerous but it was kind of a mix between English and Dutch. I think you might call it Yankee Dutch. When you are a little kid you are just not always sure how to act and what to say. It seemed a little annoying to me that I was being dragged around and asked to speak Dutch to everyone we encountered. I soon learned that none of the people knew Dutch well enough to really know what I was saying. After a couple of these forced conversations the third lady got something like this. U hebt een veer in uw hoed en u vergat em het poeder vit de barsten in uw gesicht schoon te maken. (You have a feather in your hat and you forgot to clean the powder out of the cracks in your face.) I am not sure this lady understood this but I have worried about it now for about 50 years. She did say "Oh how cute" so I hope to this day she did not quite get it.
My Grandfather on my mothers side always had an interesting kind of logic. He directed several choirs and had some decent musical talent. He would take my brother and I around with him when we were there and have us sit and listen to these practices. At that time it was popular for some churches to locate the organ in the rear of the church and he did not like this. He would always say that if God wanted the organ in the back of church he would have put our ears on our head the other way around. He had this and a lot of other sayings like this and when you are a kid it kind of makes some sense. He was worried about gun control but did not own a gun. He somehow was worried that the Chinese were going to invade Pella and he was concerned that with gun control there would be nothing to defend the town. He was worried about a parachute invasion. On another front he was very kind. If he would drive past a Dairy Queen and see a kid outside without an ice cream cone he would stop and buy him one. I was always kind of fun to spend some time with him. I still do kind of chuckle whenever I see an organ in the back of a church.
When Deb and I moved to Holland it still had some things that reminded me of Pella. People would complain about the traffic and to us there was none. The first night we moved here we were hungry and went to eat at the OBI. We did not have much cash and the place, to our surprise, did not take credit cards. The owner told us not to worry about it. Just take the bill home and the next time we came in pay him. I recently had to have a knee replaced and still today the cafe of at Zeeland Hospital sometimes is not attended and you just leave your money on the counter near the register. It has really been a wonderful place to raise a family. People around here who have never lived in another place might not appreciate it to the full degree that we do. But then again maybe they do. At least they have never moved away.
Some years ago now the music director at our church came up with the idea of having a concert with four Grand Piano's. I think Deb has never considered herself in the league with some of the other players who played that night but she worked on it for hours in our house and took her place at one of these instruments. I think she was a little nervous but I was really proud that she dared to take this on and as that concert went on that night I let the music soak in to my soul. Later she and Ross would play in our living room. Once in while Alden would play his horn and Mieke would sing. In years gone by I would play (or try to play) my trombone with them. In whatever direction the present issue of this cancer takes us, the memories of these moments will never fade. We did argue on more than one occasion. Ross whould say "To you guys time is just a magazine". We never went on the road. It has always been a home full of music and I have Deb to thank for this. It has been a good life and she has been a good wife.
I conclude now these writings. But before that happens I want to thank some people. I thank our friends who have taught us something about Christian love and concern. I thank our relatives who have both endured these stories and provided some of the material for many of them. Also, their outpouring of support during these past months. I thank my own children who have expressed in a unique way their love for their mother in a way that is generally not done as meaningfully during normal times. But most of all I thank Deb. She has faced what she does now with a courage that is second to none. She values life to such a high degree that she will do anything to have it continue. At the same time she has told me many times that she does not fear death. She is a strong women and in whatever course this present event leads she is confident that the outcome will be one that she is able to endure. 36 years and counting and hoping for many more.
Ik genoot ervan u te schrijven en id wil u laten weten dat er zelfs in de stormen van het leven altijd enn beetje humor te vinden valt. Goede dag en moge God u allen zegenen. (I enjoyed writing to you and I want you to know that even in the storms of life you can always find a little humor. Good day and may God bless you all.)
Stan the Man, Next time a few pictures and then on to something else. I will keep you posted.................
Thanks for reading!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Eureka, here is one about Mieke
This is the 27th Post since I started these. Turns out there is some sibling rivalry going on. Each one of the kids has told me that if I write about them to make sure it is better than the last one. Lots of blogging pressure for me. I am going to finish them at the 30th post. I am thinking about doing some more writing after that, on another subject. Truth is I have enjoyed doing these things. I am somehow going to copy them and keep them in a binder for our family and someday somebody might get them out and enjoy some of the stories.
Before I get to Mieke allow me to tell about a sad event that happened in between Alden and Mieke. In earlier writing, I talked about the events surrounding the birth and deaths of our first two babies. But now there was a test they could during the pregnancy do to determine if the baby could survive. We had decided to try again. Somehow at an earlier point we pictured raising 3 children. So it was with anxious anticipation that Deb and I traveled to the doctors office to get the ultrasound that would determine the outcome. You can kind of tell in the room when the technicians are doing the test what is happening. In this case things got real silent. I think they save the news for the doctor to give you but things here did not look good right from the start. We were told that because of our history with 2 other children with the same condition any children with the same condition had no chance to survive. It was decided at the 4 1/2 month point to induce labor and end the pregnancy. There were two memorable events with this. The body is not ready to go in to labor and the drugs they use are strong. At one point I became very worried. Debs temperature was very high and I will tell you of all the events she has had to endure this one was the very hardest. I remember it taking about 6 hours and at one point I was worried she might not survive. Soon after the baby was born they allowed me to hold the baby which fit neatly in the palm of my hand. It was amazing to me how developed the fetus is at this point. No movement and no life but still a part of a creation process that is truly amazing. We named the baby Grant and donated his body to U of M for medical study. In the same cemetery that we used for the others there is a nice board with a large number of plaques listing names of similar circumstance births. On that plaque is the name of Grant Hoksbergen. I will tell you that when events like this happen you do not always know what to do but you feel you must do something. Every 4-5 years as we are traveling by that area we stop and find the graves and this plaque. The tears are gone now but the memory of these days will never go away. As I report these things it seems like just yesterday. I do think when you endure events such as this it makes one more thankful when things go well.
About 2 years later we found ourselves at about the 4th month point of Deb's final pregnancy. The test were done, we knew it was a girl and that she was OK. Somehow Deb and I were watching the Indy 500. We are not racing fans so I have no idea why we were watching. It always seems to me that watching a couple of hours of left hand turns gets a little old. The guy who was winning was named Arie Luyendyke. He was from the Netherlands and had never won before. The ABC camera was watching him go around the track and as the end was getting close they would show his wife holding a clipboard and writing down his lap count and position. Her name was Mieke. I had never heard the name before but I asked Deb how she liked it. The name grew on us. Shortly thereafter I saw in the paper a picture of a Zeeland girl by the name of Mieke. I called that girl and asked her if she liked her name and she said she did. Mieke it was. She hung around in the womb for several more months and then on November 13 was born in what the easiest and least stressful of all of our birth events (at least for me). Now the job of raising two boys and a girl. I know it does not work out this way for all families and I am sensitive to this. At the same time we are thankful for this mix and might I say thankful for a special relationship that Deb and Mieke have always had.
In the early days of Mieke's history it started to become apparent that a passion for two things were surfacing. First was a strong like for crafts. Anything that had to do with beads, boards, strings, ornaments, decorations and the like, started to appear in any area we would give her in the home. With this a strong love for the Christmas season. Sometimes it all got a little hard to keep track of as one project after another was somewhere in mid-stream. And then in the later years as a teenager a strong love for children. We had a girl in our neighborhood that babysat for Mieke in the early years. Her name was Leah and I think Mieke learned this art from her. Mieke stays real busy. She is now in her last year of an education major at Hope and has a real passion for teaching. She seems to never tire of being with children and when they are with her I think they all learn something. The other day she was busy with many things and I offered to take care of one of her charges for a couple of hours. He was a nice kid and wanted me to read for him some books. I have always read to our kids and always made up a page right in the middle of the story and somehow put them in the story. Our kids always liked this and after a while knew when this was going to happen. I read for him several books. After a little while he looked at me and said "I just cannot figure out how I got in all of these books". After a while he started catching on and I think he liked the pages he was in. When he comes over now he wants a story. He is a cute little kid who now resides inside of some of the stories of the childrens books at our home. Just like all kids who come over.
You know this post about Mieke would not be complete without mentioning a couple of more things. In the Bible is a verse about we becoming the "salt of the earth". In this sense Mieke has always been salty to a higher degree than all other members of the family. She is always willing to verbalize her faith and is confident enough to introduce others to it in a very nice way. She loves music and participates whenever she can in leadership of music at our church with both adults and children. Whoever encounters her is going to find a person that has faith beyond what the average person is able to have. Several years ago I attended a play she was in. In that play was a guy that I could kind of sense had some of those same qualities. He was playing a big dumb guy in that play but it turns out he is anything but that. Other than the fact that he is a Packer fan we have enjoyed the relationship they have had now for 3 1/5 years. Can't wait for him to come over. My guess is that this relationship will go forward and you could not find a couple of parents more happy about the whole thing.
P.S. I wrote this on Thursday morning and was going to post it sometime on Friday. On Thursday night we were invited to Aaron's parents home and were sitting on their back porch. Mieke and Aaron walked up and she had a nice engagement ring on her finger and they told us about their plans to become married. Thinking about sometime next fall. A couple of happy kids and 4 happy parents. What a day!!!!!!
From sadness to gladness. I guess that this post is one of those......Whatever it is please know that the storms of life also bring with them some moments to be thankful and to realize that there can be some humor in the middle of it all..........Till next time........3 left.
Stan the Man
Before I get to Mieke allow me to tell about a sad event that happened in between Alden and Mieke. In earlier writing, I talked about the events surrounding the birth and deaths of our first two babies. But now there was a test they could during the pregnancy do to determine if the baby could survive. We had decided to try again. Somehow at an earlier point we pictured raising 3 children. So it was with anxious anticipation that Deb and I traveled to the doctors office to get the ultrasound that would determine the outcome. You can kind of tell in the room when the technicians are doing the test what is happening. In this case things got real silent. I think they save the news for the doctor to give you but things here did not look good right from the start. We were told that because of our history with 2 other children with the same condition any children with the same condition had no chance to survive. It was decided at the 4 1/2 month point to induce labor and end the pregnancy. There were two memorable events with this. The body is not ready to go in to labor and the drugs they use are strong. At one point I became very worried. Debs temperature was very high and I will tell you of all the events she has had to endure this one was the very hardest. I remember it taking about 6 hours and at one point I was worried she might not survive. Soon after the baby was born they allowed me to hold the baby which fit neatly in the palm of my hand. It was amazing to me how developed the fetus is at this point. No movement and no life but still a part of a creation process that is truly amazing. We named the baby Grant and donated his body to U of M for medical study. In the same cemetery that we used for the others there is a nice board with a large number of plaques listing names of similar circumstance births. On that plaque is the name of Grant Hoksbergen. I will tell you that when events like this happen you do not always know what to do but you feel you must do something. Every 4-5 years as we are traveling by that area we stop and find the graves and this plaque. The tears are gone now but the memory of these days will never go away. As I report these things it seems like just yesterday. I do think when you endure events such as this it makes one more thankful when things go well.
About 2 years later we found ourselves at about the 4th month point of Deb's final pregnancy. The test were done, we knew it was a girl and that she was OK. Somehow Deb and I were watching the Indy 500. We are not racing fans so I have no idea why we were watching. It always seems to me that watching a couple of hours of left hand turns gets a little old. The guy who was winning was named Arie Luyendyke. He was from the Netherlands and had never won before. The ABC camera was watching him go around the track and as the end was getting close they would show his wife holding a clipboard and writing down his lap count and position. Her name was Mieke. I had never heard the name before but I asked Deb how she liked it. The name grew on us. Shortly thereafter I saw in the paper a picture of a Zeeland girl by the name of Mieke. I called that girl and asked her if she liked her name and she said she did. Mieke it was. She hung around in the womb for several more months and then on November 13 was born in what the easiest and least stressful of all of our birth events (at least for me). Now the job of raising two boys and a girl. I know it does not work out this way for all families and I am sensitive to this. At the same time we are thankful for this mix and might I say thankful for a special relationship that Deb and Mieke have always had.
In the early days of Mieke's history it started to become apparent that a passion for two things were surfacing. First was a strong like for crafts. Anything that had to do with beads, boards, strings, ornaments, decorations and the like, started to appear in any area we would give her in the home. With this a strong love for the Christmas season. Sometimes it all got a little hard to keep track of as one project after another was somewhere in mid-stream. And then in the later years as a teenager a strong love for children. We had a girl in our neighborhood that babysat for Mieke in the early years. Her name was Leah and I think Mieke learned this art from her. Mieke stays real busy. She is now in her last year of an education major at Hope and has a real passion for teaching. She seems to never tire of being with children and when they are with her I think they all learn something. The other day she was busy with many things and I offered to take care of one of her charges for a couple of hours. He was a nice kid and wanted me to read for him some books. I have always read to our kids and always made up a page right in the middle of the story and somehow put them in the story. Our kids always liked this and after a while knew when this was going to happen. I read for him several books. After a little while he looked at me and said "I just cannot figure out how I got in all of these books". After a while he started catching on and I think he liked the pages he was in. When he comes over now he wants a story. He is a cute little kid who now resides inside of some of the stories of the childrens books at our home. Just like all kids who come over.
You know this post about Mieke would not be complete without mentioning a couple of more things. In the Bible is a verse about we becoming the "salt of the earth". In this sense Mieke has always been salty to a higher degree than all other members of the family. She is always willing to verbalize her faith and is confident enough to introduce others to it in a very nice way. She loves music and participates whenever she can in leadership of music at our church with both adults and children. Whoever encounters her is going to find a person that has faith beyond what the average person is able to have. Several years ago I attended a play she was in. In that play was a guy that I could kind of sense had some of those same qualities. He was playing a big dumb guy in that play but it turns out he is anything but that. Other than the fact that he is a Packer fan we have enjoyed the relationship they have had now for 3 1/5 years. Can't wait for him to come over. My guess is that this relationship will go forward and you could not find a couple of parents more happy about the whole thing.
P.S. I wrote this on Thursday morning and was going to post it sometime on Friday. On Thursday night we were invited to Aaron's parents home and were sitting on their back porch. Mieke and Aaron walked up and she had a nice engagement ring on her finger and they told us about their plans to become married. Thinking about sometime next fall. A couple of happy kids and 4 happy parents. What a day!!!!!!
From sadness to gladness. I guess that this post is one of those......Whatever it is please know that the storms of life also bring with them some moments to be thankful and to realize that there can be some humor in the middle of it all..........Till next time........3 left.
Stan the Man
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Jungle football
The animals in the jungle were playing a game of football one day. The game was going along pretty good except for one thing. The alligator would flip the ball off of his tail and the giraffe would catch it in his mouth in the end zone. The game was kind of being wrecked by the rhino. Every time the other team would kick off the rhino would catch the ball on his horn and lumber down the field and none of the animals could take him down so he would score every time. It was just not a fair game. The second half started and the alligator team kicked off and the rhino caught the ball and started to lumber down the field. At the 50 yard line the rhino came down in a heap. The refs helped the animals off the pile and at the bottom they found a centipede. He had a smile on his face and it was obvious he had made the tackle. The monkey, who was the coach, asked the centipede where he had been the whole first half. He told the coach, " I was still tying my shoes" .
Marlin Vis told this story before his first sermon he preached at our church. He has an amazing way of illustrating his sermons with a story that for me would make the sermon stick in my head. For me this was right up my alley. He talked that morning about getting in the game. He encouraged our congregation to not sit in the locker room and tie shoes but to get in the game of life and church and to start moving forward.
I think Marlin kind of thought of me as a strange duck. He would occasionally ask me for an opinion on something and I would always ask him if he wanted to know something about how I really thought or if he wanted me to say something that would make him feel good. I find this an interesting question for all of life. I find that most people want to hear what will make them feel good and are not all that interested in the truth. I have learned that many questions are always answered with yes. Do you like the way I look in this dress? Do you think these shoes match this outfit? Did you like the way I handled that meeting with our kids teacher? Do you think I am right in the controversy we are having with our neighbor? Yes, yes and more yes. Sometimes no is the answer. Are you noticing that my face is getting more wrinkles? Are you seeing that my hair is turning a little gray? Do you think that so and so's relationship has more spark than ours? No, no and more no. On some things the truth is not always the best option. Ever been with someone who is brutally honest? Most of them do not have many friends. I have always thought that Fox news has an interesting version of the truth. I never knew that the news they bring was meant to be taken all that seriously. It seems to me to be a bit one sided and it has some venom mixed in with it. Always thought the truth is kind of far away when I watch the stuff they put out there. But then again are any of us that different. The truth is always illusive.
With Marlin you could go to the truth but it would always take a few days for both of us to get over it. I am not sure we ever saw eye to eye but I always loved the way he would illustrate his sermons. He was a solid thinker and a true man of faith. I do recall at one point I asked he and his wife Sally to come out on a boat we owned. Our kids were still young and a couple of weeks previous we had been out. While we were going out of the channel one time a huge yacht was coming in. One of the boys asked me why we had such a small boat in comparison. I told the boys that the only reason anybody would need a boat so large is if they had a short.......... At this point I got a look from Deb that would kill a normal man. I changed what I was going to say to thumb. Sure enough when we went out with Marlin another one of these 56 footers came past us and one of my boys told Marlin that the guy that owned the thing must have a couple of short thumbs. Marlin figured this out right away. He told me he could see I was teaching my boys well in the ways of this world.
It was interesting that about eight weeks ago now that we had the post surgery meeting with the doctor who is handling Deb's case. He is around 60 and it seems to me he is a real pro. When Deb had her surgery which was expected to go 4 hours I kind of knew that when the call came in that they were done in 2 hours it might not be good news. When he met with our family he came in the room and told us about the tough nature of the case. We wanted to have something positive to grab on to but it did not work this way. He just brought forward the facts and very frankly they were not good. The next morning he came up to Deb's room and told us he had stopped by his office that morning and he had looked in the file of a case he had that was very similar. He told Deb that case had taken place some years previous and the lady was still living. He said "I thought about it last night and I did not have one thing positive to say to you guys but I wanted you to know about this case." Then his assistant told us while they were explaining chemo procedure that we had just joined a club to which nobody wants to be a member. I gotta tell ya now that this thing has been tough. On the other hand we are starting to see some signs and learn of more and more people who have risen above the disease and are still on this side of the ground. Deb is a real fighter and I will assure you that if it can be done, she will do it.
A lady crossed the border of one of the communist block countries every morning on a red motorcycle. She was searched each morning. The saddlebags, the backpack, her pockets and purse were all searched. She would return each night on a different crossing. The guards were absolutely convinced she was smuggling something. Each day they would intensify the search and could find nothing. After many months they were so exasperated that they offered to let her have immunity if she would just tell them what she was smuggling. She looked them in the eye and told them it was easy. She said she was smuggling motorcycles.
Marlin used this story to say that some things are so obvious and right in front of your eyes as it relates to the faith. Everyone should be able to see them. He had a good sermon that day. What is in front of us right now are two facts. One is the fact that the disease Deb faces right now is serious. The other is that it can be overcome and we want to tell you all that we appreciate very much the expressions of love and support that you all have extended. We want to tell you now that the red motorcycle in our lives is the warmth and care that the people that surround us have shown.
Thanks to all.................Got a good post for next time......It is about a young lady by the name of Mieke.....And folks it will not be boring................Till then....
Marlin Vis told this story before his first sermon he preached at our church. He has an amazing way of illustrating his sermons with a story that for me would make the sermon stick in my head. For me this was right up my alley. He talked that morning about getting in the game. He encouraged our congregation to not sit in the locker room and tie shoes but to get in the game of life and church and to start moving forward.
I think Marlin kind of thought of me as a strange duck. He would occasionally ask me for an opinion on something and I would always ask him if he wanted to know something about how I really thought or if he wanted me to say something that would make him feel good. I find this an interesting question for all of life. I find that most people want to hear what will make them feel good and are not all that interested in the truth. I have learned that many questions are always answered with yes. Do you like the way I look in this dress? Do you think these shoes match this outfit? Did you like the way I handled that meeting with our kids teacher? Do you think I am right in the controversy we are having with our neighbor? Yes, yes and more yes. Sometimes no is the answer. Are you noticing that my face is getting more wrinkles? Are you seeing that my hair is turning a little gray? Do you think that so and so's relationship has more spark than ours? No, no and more no. On some things the truth is not always the best option. Ever been with someone who is brutally honest? Most of them do not have many friends. I have always thought that Fox news has an interesting version of the truth. I never knew that the news they bring was meant to be taken all that seriously. It seems to me to be a bit one sided and it has some venom mixed in with it. Always thought the truth is kind of far away when I watch the stuff they put out there. But then again are any of us that different. The truth is always illusive.
With Marlin you could go to the truth but it would always take a few days for both of us to get over it. I am not sure we ever saw eye to eye but I always loved the way he would illustrate his sermons. He was a solid thinker and a true man of faith. I do recall at one point I asked he and his wife Sally to come out on a boat we owned. Our kids were still young and a couple of weeks previous we had been out. While we were going out of the channel one time a huge yacht was coming in. One of the boys asked me why we had such a small boat in comparison. I told the boys that the only reason anybody would need a boat so large is if they had a short.......... At this point I got a look from Deb that would kill a normal man. I changed what I was going to say to thumb. Sure enough when we went out with Marlin another one of these 56 footers came past us and one of my boys told Marlin that the guy that owned the thing must have a couple of short thumbs. Marlin figured this out right away. He told me he could see I was teaching my boys well in the ways of this world.
It was interesting that about eight weeks ago now that we had the post surgery meeting with the doctor who is handling Deb's case. He is around 60 and it seems to me he is a real pro. When Deb had her surgery which was expected to go 4 hours I kind of knew that when the call came in that they were done in 2 hours it might not be good news. When he met with our family he came in the room and told us about the tough nature of the case. We wanted to have something positive to grab on to but it did not work this way. He just brought forward the facts and very frankly they were not good. The next morning he came up to Deb's room and told us he had stopped by his office that morning and he had looked in the file of a case he had that was very similar. He told Deb that case had taken place some years previous and the lady was still living. He said "I thought about it last night and I did not have one thing positive to say to you guys but I wanted you to know about this case." Then his assistant told us while they were explaining chemo procedure that we had just joined a club to which nobody wants to be a member. I gotta tell ya now that this thing has been tough. On the other hand we are starting to see some signs and learn of more and more people who have risen above the disease and are still on this side of the ground. Deb is a real fighter and I will assure you that if it can be done, she will do it.
A lady crossed the border of one of the communist block countries every morning on a red motorcycle. She was searched each morning. The saddlebags, the backpack, her pockets and purse were all searched. She would return each night on a different crossing. The guards were absolutely convinced she was smuggling something. Each day they would intensify the search and could find nothing. After many months they were so exasperated that they offered to let her have immunity if she would just tell them what she was smuggling. She looked them in the eye and told them it was easy. She said she was smuggling motorcycles.
Marlin used this story to say that some things are so obvious and right in front of your eyes as it relates to the faith. Everyone should be able to see them. He had a good sermon that day. What is in front of us right now are two facts. One is the fact that the disease Deb faces right now is serious. The other is that it can be overcome and we want to tell you all that we appreciate very much the expressions of love and support that you all have extended. We want to tell you now that the red motorcycle in our lives is the warmth and care that the people that surround us have shown.
Thanks to all.................Got a good post for next time......It is about a young lady by the name of Mieke.....And folks it will not be boring................Till then....
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Pastors, Presidents and Residents
One of the interesting things that has been with us all of our lives is the influence the pastors of our churches have had on us. Let me in a moment talk about that. First another observation.
I have always had large interest in presidential politics. I am not sure all that much changes from president to president. Small percentage changes in unemployment, small shifts in the way foreign policy is handled, small shifts in the polls in the like/dislike approve/disapprove ratings. It seems to me that every president goes along pretty good for about a year and then people start to get mad about something. Ratings go down, news guys are quick to point out that "he is in trouble" and then when the next election comes everybody votes. It is usually close and the next guy comes in with all the new ideas and the machine goes down the road at about the same speed and looks about the same coming and going. I am thinking that the machine these guys are driving is perhaps a little bigger than they know how to steer. Other than the fact that you get a nice airplane I often wonder who in their right mind would want that job? Seems to me it is a head of gray hair waiting to happen.
Back to pastors. In contrast to presidents, pastors have a good chance of changing lives. I know a little about this because I grew up in the home of a pastor. At that time pastors did not have large staffs. Nowadays most of these churches have a pastor for about everything. Preaching, youth, caring, music, administration, addiction and evangelism, campus etc. are all covered by another pastor. When my dad started, one guy did it all. When you are a kid in one of these pastor homes you learn some things. By the nature of the calls that come in you can hear enough to know that we live in a world that has a broken dimension to it. It seems to me that one of the other problems with pastoring is that when you decide to become a pastor you are going in to a field where the problem resolution can be very difficult. Another thing is that every 7 days you find yourself in front of a large group trying to explain something that really does not have a definitive explanation. Plus you always have a nut or two (or more) in your audience that think they know a little more than you do about the subject. I think my dad went to school for 8 years to learn how to do this job. He took it all pretty seriously but at the same time had a good sense of humor. He would once in a while get in a little trouble. On one Sunday morning we had a large sewer project going on right in the parking lot of the church. On the way to church he wondered if he should say something about it. The hole was about 30 feet deep. So before church he did announce it. He said "if a kid falls into that hole we will help the parents fish him out. If an adult falls in I want you to know that the Bible says that you are not to drag your ox or your ass out of a hole on Sunday". I think the point did get across.
He and his dad (my grandfather) always kind of had an earthy dimension to them. I am not sure it fit precisely with a conforming christian profile. I have them to blame for a lifetime of using a little "salt" in my dialect. That way I can transfer the sin. I first learned the art of non-conformance when I was just a little kid. When we would travel back to Pella my grandfather, Isaac, would take us fishing on some farm ponds in Iowa. We would fish for bullheads. I caught a nice fish who had swallowed the hook deep enough so that nobody could get it out. My Grandpa held that thing up and announced to us that the hook was so deep he could see it coming out of the rectum. He used a term for this this that started with A and had two syllables. Once the ice was broken on this term we learned a few more new words during the day. We could not wait to get home and tell Grandma the new vocabulary we had learned while fishing. She cooked those fish for dinner and after the opening prayer we thought it might be a good idea to tell her about all the new things we had learned that day. She would often speak in a broken Dutch especially when she did not think anybody else could understand. She told him "u bent ouder in de kerk en nu hebt u uw gaat kleinkindren hebben die enkel als u spreken". (you are an elder in the church and now you are going to have grandchildren that talk just like you do.) He kind of lowered his head in what I thought at first was a moment of shame. Then out of the corner of his eye he winked his left eye at me. There are some family moments you never forget.
When we moved to Holland we used the yellow pages and noticed that we had the choice of 52 CRC and/or RCA churches that we could choose from. It was a literal gold mine of liturgical livation. I suggested to Deb that we go to one every week in one year and then pick one out. At that time Deb would sit in our living room and play the piano. She did have a way of making religious music have a certain kind of rock and swing to it . As the tunes floated out the screen door we saw a man standing at our front door. He was good looking guy that I thought could be a Mormon but there was only one of him. He announced himself as a neighbor and noted that he had heard some music coming out of the home. He said "I do not want to sound bold because I just met you guys but I could sure use some help from somebody who knows how to play the piano". A slightly puzzled look came over Deb's face. I think she was also thinking she might be in for a gig at the local Later Day Saints outfit. He went on "my name is Dave Breen and I am the pastor of Beechwood Reformed and I need some help from a piano player that is willing to play with our children's choir". Seeing my visits to 51 other churches disappear in front of my eyes Deb agreed to do this. I said to Deb "are you nuts", we talked about this we were not going to get so involved the first week we are here. Deb told me that she liked this guy. I mean who else would have the fortitude to do something like that 3 days after we move in. Dave Breen just had this way with people and to this day our families have interacted with each other in a special way. When Deb was diagnosed he was a huge help to us as he himself has had a battle with cancer over these past years. From a pastor perspective he has served 2 large churches in between his tenure as our pastor. I think he might read these so let me say thanks to both Dave and Linda.
I think as pastors go so go the sons. I think it is the required job of every pastors offspring to let their parents know that a little bit of the devil still does exist in the world. Their young son went missing one day. Many of the neighborhood people were involved in the search. Hours later we found him in the backseat of their car and when he emerged I think his motivation was to engage in a large game of hide and seek with he the only one knowing we were playing. I do recall the large relief when he was found and I do recall the scolding when things all came out. I think Dave's sermon the following Sunday was on "Love and Justice".
It was shortly thereafter that we had a teenager sitting on our front porch. He spoke with an accent. It turns out that he had signed out to be an Opare with a local family and for different reasons things were not working. He asked if he could stay a night or two as he made arrangement's to go back to Denmark.
Deb and I talked this over and this guy also had kind of a likable quality to him. His name was Morten. We thought that if we paid him 50 bucks a week he could help us in the home and do some baby sitting. We did have him do some of this but it kind of ended up that we gained some experience with teenagers and what we might expect in the future with our own children. Let me just say that his domestic skills were not very well developed. Deb left for work one morning and had carefully explained for him to put a tray of fish in the oven at 5. She did not tell him to remove the cellophane.
The fish that night had a slightly plastic flavor. Deb had a bad day that day. I do remember him apologizing to her for this. I also recall Deb telling him that sorry was not good enough. As we ate our fish dinner that night at Russ's I can only think of what Deb told him on the way home. She told him that by the time he went back to Denmark she would teach him how to run a home. The next day I was leaving for work. I saw a car going down Ottawa Beech road in reverse. It had no driver but it did have a kid in the passenger seat that looked very much like Alden. Morten had stopped at the local gas station and had forgotten to put the car in park before entering the store to pay. When he came out the car was gone. Somehow this car lodged up against a curb about a quarter mile down the street. As we face the situation we do today this is one of the reasons I believe in miracles. Everybody was OK.
That night I talked more with Deb. We talked about how to best handle the situation. Deb suggested that it might be a valuable experience for him to live with us for a year. She used that year to love him like a son and train him in the ways of running a home. Today he owns a couple of companies and I think is a multimillionaire. He is married and does some of the cooking. When he puts the fish in the oven he always remembers to garnish the edges and remove the cellophane. He came back to visit us once and we still communicate via email.
When he was here we took him to church with us. Dave Breen was preaching a sermon. He made one of the points and he looked up in the balcony where we and Morten were sitting. Morten had kind of stayed out late the night before, he was a little groggy. We had trouble getting him up that morning and were a little late. Dave was talking about how a Christian family works. He looked up in the balcony and stopped his sermon and he said "Morten, this goes for you too". I am not sure Morton understood all of this back then. I do know that Dave Breen has never given up on anybody. Somewhere in the dictionary is the word evangelism and next to it a picture of the pastor who knocked on our door about 25 years ago.
I have a few more things on pastors for the next time......For now I am wondering how I got on all these topics in one post but I will let it stand with the idea that we all know there is a little humor in every storm...................Till next time...
Stan the Man
I have always had large interest in presidential politics. I am not sure all that much changes from president to president. Small percentage changes in unemployment, small shifts in the way foreign policy is handled, small shifts in the polls in the like/dislike approve/disapprove ratings. It seems to me that every president goes along pretty good for about a year and then people start to get mad about something. Ratings go down, news guys are quick to point out that "he is in trouble" and then when the next election comes everybody votes. It is usually close and the next guy comes in with all the new ideas and the machine goes down the road at about the same speed and looks about the same coming and going. I am thinking that the machine these guys are driving is perhaps a little bigger than they know how to steer. Other than the fact that you get a nice airplane I often wonder who in their right mind would want that job? Seems to me it is a head of gray hair waiting to happen.
Back to pastors. In contrast to presidents, pastors have a good chance of changing lives. I know a little about this because I grew up in the home of a pastor. At that time pastors did not have large staffs. Nowadays most of these churches have a pastor for about everything. Preaching, youth, caring, music, administration, addiction and evangelism, campus etc. are all covered by another pastor. When my dad started, one guy did it all. When you are a kid in one of these pastor homes you learn some things. By the nature of the calls that come in you can hear enough to know that we live in a world that has a broken dimension to it. It seems to me that one of the other problems with pastoring is that when you decide to become a pastor you are going in to a field where the problem resolution can be very difficult. Another thing is that every 7 days you find yourself in front of a large group trying to explain something that really does not have a definitive explanation. Plus you always have a nut or two (or more) in your audience that think they know a little more than you do about the subject. I think my dad went to school for 8 years to learn how to do this job. He took it all pretty seriously but at the same time had a good sense of humor. He would once in a while get in a little trouble. On one Sunday morning we had a large sewer project going on right in the parking lot of the church. On the way to church he wondered if he should say something about it. The hole was about 30 feet deep. So before church he did announce it. He said "if a kid falls into that hole we will help the parents fish him out. If an adult falls in I want you to know that the Bible says that you are not to drag your ox or your ass out of a hole on Sunday". I think the point did get across.
He and his dad (my grandfather) always kind of had an earthy dimension to them. I am not sure it fit precisely with a conforming christian profile. I have them to blame for a lifetime of using a little "salt" in my dialect. That way I can transfer the sin. I first learned the art of non-conformance when I was just a little kid. When we would travel back to Pella my grandfather, Isaac, would take us fishing on some farm ponds in Iowa. We would fish for bullheads. I caught a nice fish who had swallowed the hook deep enough so that nobody could get it out. My Grandpa held that thing up and announced to us that the hook was so deep he could see it coming out of the rectum. He used a term for this this that started with A and had two syllables. Once the ice was broken on this term we learned a few more new words during the day. We could not wait to get home and tell Grandma the new vocabulary we had learned while fishing. She cooked those fish for dinner and after the opening prayer we thought it might be a good idea to tell her about all the new things we had learned that day. She would often speak in a broken Dutch especially when she did not think anybody else could understand. She told him "u bent ouder in de kerk en nu hebt u uw gaat kleinkindren hebben die enkel als u spreken". (you are an elder in the church and now you are going to have grandchildren that talk just like you do.) He kind of lowered his head in what I thought at first was a moment of shame. Then out of the corner of his eye he winked his left eye at me. There are some family moments you never forget.
When we moved to Holland we used the yellow pages and noticed that we had the choice of 52 CRC and/or RCA churches that we could choose from. It was a literal gold mine of liturgical livation. I suggested to Deb that we go to one every week in one year and then pick one out. At that time Deb would sit in our living room and play the piano. She did have a way of making religious music have a certain kind of rock and swing to it . As the tunes floated out the screen door we saw a man standing at our front door. He was good looking guy that I thought could be a Mormon but there was only one of him. He announced himself as a neighbor and noted that he had heard some music coming out of the home. He said "I do not want to sound bold because I just met you guys but I could sure use some help from somebody who knows how to play the piano". A slightly puzzled look came over Deb's face. I think she was also thinking she might be in for a gig at the local Later Day Saints outfit. He went on "my name is Dave Breen and I am the pastor of Beechwood Reformed and I need some help from a piano player that is willing to play with our children's choir". Seeing my visits to 51 other churches disappear in front of my eyes Deb agreed to do this. I said to Deb "are you nuts", we talked about this we were not going to get so involved the first week we are here. Deb told me that she liked this guy. I mean who else would have the fortitude to do something like that 3 days after we move in. Dave Breen just had this way with people and to this day our families have interacted with each other in a special way. When Deb was diagnosed he was a huge help to us as he himself has had a battle with cancer over these past years. From a pastor perspective he has served 2 large churches in between his tenure as our pastor. I think he might read these so let me say thanks to both Dave and Linda.
I think as pastors go so go the sons. I think it is the required job of every pastors offspring to let their parents know that a little bit of the devil still does exist in the world. Their young son went missing one day. Many of the neighborhood people were involved in the search. Hours later we found him in the backseat of their car and when he emerged I think his motivation was to engage in a large game of hide and seek with he the only one knowing we were playing. I do recall the large relief when he was found and I do recall the scolding when things all came out. I think Dave's sermon the following Sunday was on "Love and Justice".
It was shortly thereafter that we had a teenager sitting on our front porch. He spoke with an accent. It turns out that he had signed out to be an Opare with a local family and for different reasons things were not working. He asked if he could stay a night or two as he made arrangement's to go back to Denmark.
Deb and I talked this over and this guy also had kind of a likable quality to him. His name was Morten. We thought that if we paid him 50 bucks a week he could help us in the home and do some baby sitting. We did have him do some of this but it kind of ended up that we gained some experience with teenagers and what we might expect in the future with our own children. Let me just say that his domestic skills were not very well developed. Deb left for work one morning and had carefully explained for him to put a tray of fish in the oven at 5. She did not tell him to remove the cellophane.
The fish that night had a slightly plastic flavor. Deb had a bad day that day. I do remember him apologizing to her for this. I also recall Deb telling him that sorry was not good enough. As we ate our fish dinner that night at Russ's I can only think of what Deb told him on the way home. She told him that by the time he went back to Denmark she would teach him how to run a home. The next day I was leaving for work. I saw a car going down Ottawa Beech road in reverse. It had no driver but it did have a kid in the passenger seat that looked very much like Alden. Morten had stopped at the local gas station and had forgotten to put the car in park before entering the store to pay. When he came out the car was gone. Somehow this car lodged up against a curb about a quarter mile down the street. As we face the situation we do today this is one of the reasons I believe in miracles. Everybody was OK.
That night I talked more with Deb. We talked about how to best handle the situation. Deb suggested that it might be a valuable experience for him to live with us for a year. She used that year to love him like a son and train him in the ways of running a home. Today he owns a couple of companies and I think is a multimillionaire. He is married and does some of the cooking. When he puts the fish in the oven he always remembers to garnish the edges and remove the cellophane. He came back to visit us once and we still communicate via email.
When he was here we took him to church with us. Dave Breen was preaching a sermon. He made one of the points and he looked up in the balcony where we and Morten were sitting. Morten had kind of stayed out late the night before, he was a little groggy. We had trouble getting him up that morning and were a little late. Dave was talking about how a Christian family works. He looked up in the balcony and stopped his sermon and he said "Morten, this goes for you too". I am not sure Morton understood all of this back then. I do know that Dave Breen has never given up on anybody. Somewhere in the dictionary is the word evangelism and next to it a picture of the pastor who knocked on our door about 25 years ago.
I have a few more things on pastors for the next time......For now I am wondering how I got on all these topics in one post but I will let it stand with the idea that we all know there is a little humor in every storm...................Till next time...
Stan the Man
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