Having a Heat Attack

Several bank thermometers read 103 when we rode into Bowling Green, KY on Friday afternoon, August 13th.  It was like riding motorcycles on the inside of a blow dryer.  My dear friend Kent and I were in BG to visit my oldest son Andrew.  We had met in Lebanon, Indiana and cruised down two lane roads to Bowling Green.  It had taken us about 10 hours.  We were in no rush.  But, the heat became brutal.  I felt light headed and thought my brain was being boiled like an egg in a pot.  I was feeling poached.  But,  seeing Andrew made enduring the heat worth while. 

We had a good visit and saw some interesting things.  The points of interest which we visited included the Lost River - a river which runs through a cave system under BG, National Corvette Museum (Chevrolet Corvettes are made in BG), a portion of Mammoth Cave National Park, and an aviation display which contained 1 plane!  And, we ate more than we should have.  Andrew took us to the Montana Grill, to a delicious bar-b-que place called the Split Tree, and to a wonderful Mexican restaurant called Puerto Vallarta, I think.  I had fish tacos - wow.

When it was time to leave, the weather had moderated.  We rolled out at 5:00 a.m. due to confusion between central and eastern time.  I made it back to Gibson City in the early afternoon of Monday.  I rode almost 800 miles without incident.  The bike was covered with bugs and I could not stand it to be so dirty.  When I moved it to wash it I left the kick stand up and dropped it on concrete breaking the left foot peg - costing me about 125.00 for parts.  Haste makes waste.

It was great to see Andrew and to spend time with him. And, I would recommend Bowling Green to you.  It is a beautiful town with a great university and some wonderful old homes.  There are some nice attractions worth seeing and plenty of great places to eat.  And, they have a fantastic news paper!  Be sure and pick up a copy up while there.

King's Brass Concert

Last night, July 5th, our church hosted Tim Zimmerman and the King's Brass at a pavilion located in our city park. It was a beautiful summer evening. The crowd of over 500 seemed to enjoy the experience. There were several things that helped make the evening a blessing. 1. The setting - the North Park Pavilion is an wonderful structure that is fantastic for brass music. The ambiance of the evening hearkened back to "Music in the Park" - a series of summer concerts once held in the N.P. Pavilion. The pavilion was decorated with all sorts of Americana - which added to the whole of the ambiance. 2. July 5th, an outdoor concert, grilled hamburgers, and a great brass band that plays hymns, spiritual songs, and American classics is an awesome combination. 3. The weather was great. I was concerned about summer storms, but the Lord took care. And, it was not so hot.  4. The King's Brass is an very talented group. They work very hard to present music that is honoring to the Lord and enjoyable to people. They are inspiring. 5. Volunteers - there were a lot of people investing a lot of time and energy in making the concert work and I think their investment paid off.

Several folks suggested this should be an annual event.  That is something we need to consider. 

Waves

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This is a short video of the Atlantic made from Kitty Hawk, N.C. What is it about waves that we (I?) find so refreshing, so relaxing? I do not buy into the bosh that we love the water because we originated from the water. But, for me, there is nothing quite as soothing as watching and listening to the waves. The mountains are great and I love the woods. I don't like the blazing noon day sun on the beach. But early in the morning and late in the afternoon - waves are a massage for the soul.

Pride

Wilbur and Orville were men who changed the world.  Their ingenuity, tenacity, and courage resulted in  man rising from the sand dunes of the Outer Banks and powering through the air.  That act has impacted all of our lives.  The machines that resulted and the capacity they have has brought great blessing and sorrow.  I doubt that they could have envisioned all that would come of December 17, 1903.

The original flight path is marked by stone markers indicating the direction and landing spot of the first efforts.  The length of the first flight was shorter than the wing span of some modern aircraft.  But, it was an amazing accomplishment, not the least of which was controllability.  That was the crux of the matter - how to control the machine once it got into the air.  They did so through a process called "wing warping".  A bit of controversy still surrounds just who thought of wing warping first.  Glenn Curtis or the Wrights.

There is a large and quite impressive memorial which stands as a sentinental over the field in which all of this takes place.  It is inscribed with the words: In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable.  Frankly, that is a bit of overstatement.  Can it truly be said that man has conquered the air?  Sorry for the nitpicking and I certainly do not want to take away from what the Wrights accomplished.  I was and am in awe.  But, it is just like man to proclaim that he has conquered something when in reality he has, at least, learned to work with it and in it as an environment.  Pride goes before a fall.  I am not sure Orville and Wilbur felt like they conquered anything.  They discovered that man can fly.  But, the air can still win if we do not respect the laws of God and believe that we are invincible.

Romantic Get Away

After 28 years of marriage, my wife and I decided to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  We did so by driving 1000 miles to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  This was the first time in our married life when just the two of us went on a trip that did not involve a conference.  And, it was wonderful.  We took our time driving out and with no squabbling coming from the back seat found the ride quite enjoyable. 

We spent some quality time with some friends, ate some delicious sea food (although the hush puppies in N.C. contain no green onions - much to my dismay), and visited a wonderful aviation museum - I had to drag my wife away.

The trip gave us plenty of time for uninterupted talk and some much needed relaxation.  If the Lord is willing, we plan to do this sort of thing more often.  I highly recommend it to you.

Memorial Day Prayer

For what it is worth, this is the prayer I wrote for the Memorial Day Service held yesterday in Gibson:

Eternal and Sovereign and Gracious God, the One Who raises up Kings and sets down Kings, the One Who establishes nations and brings down nations, to You we offer praise and thanksgiving for Your gracious gift of our nation.  We cast ourselves onto Your continued mercies and faithfulness pleading with You to continue to bless us.  God, please bless America, it is the land that we love.  Stand beside her and guide her through our night with Your light from above.  God, please bless America, our home, sweet home.

Thank You for providng us with sons and daughters who have given their lives for our peace and prosperity.  Help us  to never forget that they would have chosen to have experienced the beaty of this day, but instead lie beneath the earth, their lives topped short, their dreams unfulfilled, their time cut short.  Bless their famlies who still live with the pain of their absence.

Help us to never forget that the beauty of our spacious skies, our purple mountain majesties, our fruited plains have come because You have shed Your grace on us.  Please continue to give us that grace because we do know, one great and glorious day, our eyes will see the glory of the coming of the Lord and that You will be trampling out the vintage where the grapes of Your wrath are stored and that You will loose the fateful lightining of Your terrible and swift sword - help us in that day to be found walking in Your grace, seeking Your face, and thankful forYour mercies and truth.

Almost, But Not Quite

I keep trying.  This shot was made last evening, May 25th, at 9:00 P.M. (ish).  It was shot with a Nikon D40 through an Astro Tech 102ED refractor.  The hardest part is to get the focus right.  If you look closely, the focus is off just enough to make the photo a bit soft.  Here is another

To do astrophotography well requires a lot more money to be spent that I am currently willing to invest.  One of the largest expenses is to acquire the right mount. 

Here is a sun shot:

It is an okay shot, but still not quite there.  I hope, one of these days, to get it just right.  For now, I am having fun.