Never say Never

 Chances are....if you say you will never, ever.........you will!!!

1. Go in a cave or any other smallish place...again. (I visited Marvel Cave at seven years of age, and have had nightmares about it, ever since.The stairs, oh the stairs!) However, I did enter a cave, for yet again another tour, 60 years later. Went in, went out, and didn't cry once.

2. Get on and ride a Zip Line. (First time this summer.) I screamed a lot, but finished the ride safely.

3. Eat fish with the head attached. (It isn't so bad, if you don't look it in the eye.)

4. Go to the top of the Liberty Memorial Tower, in KC. (The guard rail is so high, you can't look down...just out. Not really too frightening, considering it's over 23 stories tall.)

5. Go camping again, now that I am in my seventies. (Did 8 days in a tent and slept in a pick-up truck bed, this summer. Lived to tell about it..)

6. Walk into a bar, solo. (My mother had warned me that "only hussies do that.") It was kind of satisfying. 

My point here is, you're never, ever too old to do something new or something again. Keep moving and enjoy life. Do something every day that makes you uncomfortable. It's going to keep you young and interested and interesting.

....................................................................................................................................................................

                                                    Lord. I want to be Your servant.

"There would be such wonderful things to do."

 Do you have a special place? I'm thinking about a certain kind of geographical spot, that brings you good memories or warm feelings. Some place, from long ago that was and will always be, "your" place.

When I need some extra happy memories, my mind always goes back to the neighborhood park, of my childhood. When I was a kid, this place was magical. It had a couple of immensely tall metal "slippperyslides" and a round disk ride that more often than not, flung little riders, off into the distant grass! There were swings, too. Several different sizes, all with heavy wood seats. No seat belts, safety harnesses or guard rails for my generation.

My childhood park featured a small lake, that was once used to water mules that transported dirt and coal, for the coal mines in the area. When the land around it became a city park, the lake was used for fishing, in the warm months, and ice skating, in the winter.

As a kid, I recall visiting the park at least a couple of times a week. In the summer we rode our bikes to the park, and usually stayed there until we got hungry or it started to get dark. Nobody, ever had their parents drive them to the lake. You would almost always run into some kids you knew, already playing on the equipment, skating or fishing. It was a kids' place. We hung out at the park.

The worst thing that ever happened at the park, was a broken arm or two. I fell off of the tallest side, once, and lived to tell about it. Sometimes a kid would fall or jump in the lake. Usually, that ended in a spanking, for getting your clothes wet!

Now, through luck or fate, I have a similar small lake, in my backyard. It's a beautiful place to sit, to walk around and to just enjoy the outdoors. I love it.

..........................................................................................................................................................................

Dear God. Life involves a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns. Sometimes, we come right back to where we started. And that's just fine.You are our Constant.

"In Flanders Fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row."

 Because, I regularly volunteer, at the only nationally recognized World War I Museum and Memorial, Veterans Day holds a very special place in my heart. I volunteer at this particular facility because I have always harbored a genuine love of history and family. My grandfather and his two younger brothers, were all veterans of WWI. They were the Wintle Boys of Pittsburg, Kansas. Tom, Harry and Walter. Veterans Day was first celebrated as the day that their war, WWI, ended. It was first called Armistice Day....11/11. The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day.

Then, as time passed and the "War to End All Wars" wasn't, we chose to set aside a day to honor all veterans, "Veterans Day".

The veterans of WWII are all but gone, now. My father-in-law, Stillwater Bill Kincaid, served in the Pacific Theater, of that war. John Cresap, my father Michael Keller, and others like Red Hines, Joe Tognascioli, Bill and Kay Scully, Bernice Williams and the three Stewart brothers of Mulberry, Kansas. All gone now, and all were veterans of WWII. One Stewart brother, Raymond, lost his life on the beach at Normandy, and my father's best friend, Jimmy McCarrens, lost his life on the battleship, Arizona.

Then, along came Korea. My friend Joe Carter is a veteran of that war. My childhood friends and classmates fought in the Vietnamese Conflict, and then came the Gulf Wars.  It seems the United States has always been involved in some type of conflict. Unfortunately, the Great War (1914-1918), was not the "War to End All Wars". 

But, veterans, from all eras, should be honored and celebrated. Don't ever forget those who fought and fight currently, for our right to live and thrive, in this nation. Don't forget to honor Veterans.

 In Flanders Fields

By John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Lord, we are people, who should remember. We should remember and not repeat our mistakes. Remind us to listen and learn. Wisdom is so hard to acquire. We ask guidance, through Your Holy Name.

Love Always Wins

First of all, let me affirm that I am an American. I voted. I believe all people have value and that my beliefs are personal. 

For the last few months, I have read unpleasant comments and posts from many folks that I admire and love. The words these folks have written, have been extremely judgemental......mean and hurtful. From them, I've learned that half of the people in this country will "never again be respected". They've been called every vile name imaginable. The other half of the electorate, has been just as vocal, and their predictions have been dire.  Garbage has been thrown, by both sides.

Readers.....written words cannot be taken back. You just can't write something nasty and then say "I misspoke". Life doesn't work that way. Words hurt.

This election will have consequences. Let's hope for the best for our country! I'm concerned because I am now reading a lot of "na na na na nas------I'm going to be hoping for the worst!" Truthfully, that attitude is not going to help anyone in this country, or the world. It's time we all came together. Life is way too short, to harbor such a grudge.

I, for one, am going to try to forget what I have read, from both sides. We Baby Boomers have preached and preached about "no name calling", using your "positive words", and not be hateful. Just,"Let it Go", and try to become the best human beings we can be.

...........................................................................................................................................................................

Dear Lord, we need You. You are the only One in charge and it's time we begin to realize it. You are our Constant. Guide us.

"Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits."

All of us have memories of childhood experiences. And, often we never know when they will suddenly manifest themselves. to remind us of times long ago.

It's autumn, and today, I found myself in the country, in an unplowed field, next to a barbed wire fence. I had hopped out of the car to open a gate, for our car and driver.

The memory was of hunting, with my dad. Between the ages of 4 and 6, when my mother was at her day, job, my dad, a nighttime worker, was my main caretaker. He was a squirrel and rabbit hunter, and he took me along, with him. Maybe he thought I liked hunting. But, more likely, he didn't have anyone to take care of me. He was being the best parent he could be. So, a-hunting we would go.

I remember I always wore a wool, one piece, maroon colored snowsuit. It did not bend at the elbows, knees or any other joint, on my little chubby body. That itchy, cumbersome suit, made it impossible for me to climb through the barbed wire fence, that my dad tried to make me crawl through. This problem was always solved by him grabbing my snowsuit collar and hefting me over the fence, dropping me a bit roughly, on the other side. Then, I would watch as he casually and nimbly jumped over the fence. He made it seem so easy.

Next, we would find a place for him to take the perfect shot.  I was told to be absolutely quiet and sit (I couldn't do that very easily in my snowsuit, either) perfectly still. I did. And, I would watch for him to raise his shotgun. Invariably, I would then yell, "Wait." Because, I had to cover my ears, from the sound of the gun, firing. By that time, the rabbit or squirrel was long gone. Losing the shot never made him happy!

Hunting with my Dad, is not the best memory from my childhood. But, it's a memory, and I do believe that your experiences, good or bad, make you a stronger person. 

......................................................................................................................................................................

Lord. Thank you for lessons learned, for fears conquered, for challenges faced. Give us the strength to be the best we can be. You are our Perfect Example.

"The Autumn Leaves drift by my window."

 We had our first freeze of the season, last night. Frost, that was heavy enough to linger until eight or nine o'clock. That's a sure sign that Autumn, has truly arrived. And, later in the day, as I drove North, along Ward Parkway, the leaves on the trees seemed to be instantly turning from green, to red and brown, as I passed them. Someone recently told me that the Fall Foliage colors, here in the Midwest, are nothing compared to those of the Maine and Vermont. Maybe, or maybe not. But, Holy Cow, no one can deny that the Ozarks are simply stunning in the Fall.

Fall is, and always will be, my favorite season. Kansas Citians do not boast about their cold winters or stifling hot, muggy summers. In truth we know that Minnesota, has harsher winters and Florida has muggier summers. We tolerate our weather, along with some normal complaining. But, we proudly expound about chilly evenings, fires in the fireplace, apple orchards, pumpkin patches and of course s'mores. 

Welcome Fall.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Lord. Your blessings are many.

"A was once an Apple Pie. Piedy, Widey, nice Insidy, Apple Pie."

 One of the recurring themes in this Blog has been CHANGE. I'm a proponent of trying new things, experiencing new challenges and moving on. That's been my life, for almost three years now.

I've discovered that Change is constantly with us, whether we realize it or not. Take for instance, food. Tomatoes, to be exact. Along about February, buy a pretty, perfectly round, red tomato at your local grocery store. It's a beauty, but it doesn't taste at all like the home-grown one you had, in August. Seasonal Change.

Or, sweet corn. I bought ears of corn at Walmart, in July, for 33 cents, an ear. The corn was almost, to a kernel, perfectly formed. Whole ears of evenly sized, cream and yellow corn kernels. Never once was there a worm or unformed, unripe kernels. Well, it wasn't like that, when I was growing up. Every other ear wasn't perfect. Big, ugly worms appeared when you husked the ears. Half-eaten ears were common. And, it tasted like corn........not sugar. Nutritional Change

Finally, I have been thinking about apples. My mom had a very limited, choice of apple varieties. She could buy Jonathan (tart, named after Johnny Appleseed) for cooking or Delicious (sweet, pointy ends on the bottom) for eating or occasionally Granny Smith (I think they were green or maybe yellow skinned).  I looked up varieties of apples, on the Web, because the apples, at the store, had names that were totally foreign to me. Well, no wonder. Currently, there are 7,500 varieties of apples. Who knew? Apples must be big business. Change.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Lord: Help us to embrace the changes in our lives. Your steadfast Love endures forever.

"Oh, the Lord's been good to me.

And, so I thank the Lord.

For giving me the things I need,

The sun, the rain and the apple seed.

The Lord's been good to me."