Wonderful Christmas Gift

Lydia graduated this past Saturday from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. The family is very proud of her and thankful for her endurance and determination. She will be student teaching in Champaign this Spring and living at home.

Crunchy Night

I stepped off of our back patio and onto the crunchy grass and looked up. There, in all of his glory, was Orion the Hunter. His sword dangled from his belt and glowed with the light from M42, the Orion Nebula. It was easily visible through my binoculars. It was 9:45 at night and the temperature was 17. The sky was glorious, even staggering. Mars was glowing rust red and rising in the East. The Pleiades or Seven Sisters was straight overhead forming a patch of blue diamonds. Again, from the East, came Castor and Pollux, the twins. Through the binoculars I swept through the constellation Auriga, the charioteer, and saw in the midst of it three smudges of light: M38, M36, and M37, three open clusters of stars. Taurus the Bull preceded Orion in the march across the sky and is marked by the amazing reddish star Aldebaran. It is 44 times larger than our sun. Near Cassiopeia, the constellation that looks like a large elongated "W" is one of my favorites - the Double Cluster. I can just make out their glow with my naked eye. They were very pretty through the binoculars. They are stunning through a telescope.

This whole tour took me thirty minutes. It cost me next to nothing. The binoculars were purchased for less than $60.00. I think everyone should own a pair of binoculars. But, you don't need binoculars to drink in the amazing glory that passes overhead night afer night. All it takes is a little time and no clouds. Don't miss it.

Tailights

This morning I watched the taillights of the Taurus as it pulled out of the driveway and headed south. And, to my surprise, I wept. Not for the car. But for the transition. Not necessarily out of sadness but out of the change. Andrew was on his way. We have been through transitions before. The move to college, the move to Springfield as he worked on his masters. But this one, it feels different. There is a real possibility of permanence with this move, as it should be. I am very thankful for the job. I am very thankful for the move. I am very thankful for the man he has become. But, still, on this day at this hour I sense a certain melancholy. He needed to go, he should go, it is right for him to go. And, in going he grows. 6 hours is really not far. But, those 6 hours represent a real change for all of us. The Lord goes with him and before him and behind him. It is an adventure and I will be excited to see how the Lord works. Already He has taken care. Andrew plowed through a deer Sunday evening. His car may be totaled. In the mean time, we had about $700.00 work done on the Taurus the week before getting it in shape, never knowing it would be heading to Kentucky. PTL.

Indecision!

Please forgive the close up. BTW, I talked to my wife for 10 minutes or so all the while looking just like this and she never noticed. Hmmm.

Change

Connie, Aaron, and I spent this Thanksgiving in Louisiana. My brother, his wife, and daughter showed us great hospitality. They opened their home and saw to our every need. It was great to spend time with them and we were very appreciative. And, I had a delicious oyster po-boy! Awesome.

But, I must confess, there was a bit of sadness that accompanied the trip. We went down to the home were my brother and I grew up and for the first time in my 51 years, someone else lived there besides my family. It looked different - whose car is that parked in OUR driveway? Who chopped down the bush my mother planted? Why have they not mowed the barnyard? And, there was a visit to the graveyard. I just cannot imagine that both my parents now lie buried in Melder, Louisiana. Places come and go, but parents and family . . .

While we were out riding around, I decided to drop by one of my favorite spots. It is called Hogan's Hole. It was our summer time vacation spot. Hogan's Hole was only five miles or so from my home. As kids, we spent hours and hours there. It was a Redneck Rivera. But, to look at it now, it is not so inviting. It has filled in, the brush has grown up, and someone is now dumping garbage there.

Some changes are good. Edith was married to my dad during the last years of his life. She provided amazing care for him and went far above the call of duty. She served sacrificially and we are indebted to her for it. Now, she has a very nice home at a nice location. She has made new friends and has found a new church. It was good to visit her.

One thing that did not change - it was awesome to get home!

Trying New Things

Skyline Chili. I was in Cincinnati, Ohio this week. Well, actually I stayed in Hebron, Kentucky which is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. My reason for being there involves a rather long story. Regardless, I was there with friend and I had been told that I must try the Skyline Chili. Skyline is a chain of restaurants. Their chili is well known because of the "secret" recipe. I do not know all that was in it, but I do know it has cocoa and cinnamon. Cocoa and cinnamon sound good, but not necessarily together in a bowl of chili and cheese. But, it was surprisingly good - different - but good. It is good to try new things. We all get stuck in routines. Care must be given to not simply use boredom as an excuse to indulge sin. But, there are plenty of things out there that we can try that are different from our norm. Here is an example, I use to love to make mayonnaise sandwiches and dip them in chocolate milk. Don't knock it till you have tried it!

Next time you are near Cincinnati - try the Skyline Chili. Or, if you are really adventurous, try a mayo and chocolate milk lunch. Yum!

Frustration!

This week my dear wife fixed pancakes for breakfast. If you were to come to my home for breakfast, I could pretty much tell you what you would have to eat on any given day. Monday is not a good day - it is usually cereal. Tuesday is pancake or french toast day. Wednesday is Waffle Wednesday. Thursday is Egg Sandwich day. Friday is Home-Made Cinamon Roll Friday. Saturday is Biscuits and Gravy. Sunday is bought cinnamon roll day.

On Tuesday, she had fixed pancakes and I wanted syrup on them. Most people do. I made a significant tactical error, however, by waiting to open the bottle of syrup after my pancake was done. It was a new bottle which meant I had to risk my fingers by cutting off a hard plastic seal that covered the bottle cap. The plastic used is wretched stuff, stiff and sharp when taken off. Next, I had to take off the bottle cap which had been screwed onto the bottle by a 600 pound gorilla. The reason I had to take the cap off was to get at a paper and foil seal that covered the top of the bottle that has a little tab that is almost impossible to raise to get the seal off. So, usually I grab a knife and stab the seal to enable me to remove it. I then had to screw the broken cap back on (the flapper on it had broken when I was wrestling with removing it) so I could finally dispense the syrup on my now cold pancake!

Two or three thoughts went through my head. How do elderly people or people with disabilities get their syrup? Secondly, I am beginning to wonder if the producer of the product does not want me using the product. Or, maybe the grocer is afraid of people stealing the syrup out of the bottles while they are sitting on the shelves. No wonder we are all almost incapacitated with fear. Even eating syrup communicates to us that we are embarking on a very risky odyssey. Hanging over the pleasure of a delicious breakfast is the risk of poisoning!

Gone are the days of buying a bottle of syrup, taking it home and pouring onto a warm, buttery pancake. Better safe than sorry? Remember this, if you plan to have syrup on your pancake - be sure and OPEN THE BOTTLE THE DAY BEFORE.