Here She Comes

Late this afternoon my wife & I witnessed the transition of power from Alaska's most famous daughter to newly sworn in Sean Parnell in downtown Fairbanks. I can think of zero other people in my thirty something years of room & board on this big blue marble that evoke such intensely polarizing emotions as Governor Sarah Palin. I also continue to be astounded at the relentless calculated attacks on this woman & her family.

Beyond shameful & inexcuseable.

Good people will always disagree with one another on the issue of politics. No surprise there. Most however, (granted, not all, but most) will criticize a politician on their platform, NOT their latest irrelevant hairstyle, equally irrelevant wardrobe, or worst & most disturbing of all, sacred offspring.

A wise psychologist from the Amarillo, TX region once told me "People can't help but tell on themselves." So when these classless snipers continue to verbally as well as legally assault this brave woman & her children I cannot help but be reminded of the fact that no military commander would EVER use a highly mobile M1 Abrams tank to take out a mosquito. Translation: If she were genuinely no threat, the opposition wouldn't be wasting its time.

End of an era? Think again. Hell hath no furry like a provoked momma grizzly.

Act II: Scene II: "The Reckoning."

Here she comes.

Lawter Road

Lawter Road was an old country road just north of a small quiet western Oklahoma town in which I spent my college years.

When living the dream of a lowly freshman with a minuscule bank account & precious few resources, I quickly learned you must become creative in finding cheap alternatives to self coping mechanisms or risk sinking further into a dark, emotional abyss...at least that's what they tell me. ;-)

Many summer evenings, golden autumn mornings, bleak, snowy weekends & lazy spring Saturdays, would find me on this therapeutic pathway driving well under the speed limit playing music in my car stereo while trying to summon every free moment I could afford to gather myself, my thoughts, & the courage to dig back in to the never ending demands of college life.

Time always seemed to stand still on Lawter Road, giving no thought or concern to its travelers or their circumstances. That was the beauty of it. And from its vantage point one could always easily gaze back toward the community & see the college standing firmly on the hill. I admit it sounds too good to be true, but a simple change in perspective was often just the ingredient needed to gain fresh insight & motivation to confront lingering issues.

Some say western Oklahoma is a repulsive eyesore with its red dirt & pancake terrain. I've even heard it jokingly referred to as "The backside of Mars." I couldn't disagree more. While maybe an acquired taste for some, those harvested wheat fields & grain elevators provided the perfect backdrop in every season of my college experience. Everyone needs a Lawter Road at some point or another in their life. If you haven't found yours, I hope you do.

The Eagle Has Landed

"Houston, Tranquility base here...the eagle has landed." Hard to believe it's been forty years to date since we heard those words transmitted from Neil Armstrong on the surface of the Moon that would forever change the world. As I type, Space Shuttle Endeavor is currently docked with the International Space Station orbiting the Earth. The Space Shuttle fleet will be retiring next year. Then...finally, we set our sights back to the Moon & beyond to the red planet. It's time. It's more than time. Whether a lunar surface or a cold Atlantic shore, there are lessons to be learned & vast knowledge to be gained from pushing the boundaries of our confines. And I for one cannot wait. Congratulations NASA. Here's to the next 40 years of exploring the final frontier.

1 and 0

Say goodbye to single digits! Happy birthday Kristen! Ten today! Huray!!

Friday's the official sleepover party (or should I say "anything but sleep...over"). I have been informed that part of today's festivities will include a trip to some exquisite dining at the luxurious world renowned five star restaurant- Long John Silver's, her new found love (despite the deplorable service & stale tea we always seem to be the victims of). Takes after her grandmother in that regard in her strange admiration for that eating establishment.

Oh well. What's there not to love? A girl only turns ten once in her life & we've got boneless chicken planks & hush puppies to devour! Here's hoping your day is special & the Lord brings you many more birthdays to come. We love you dearly.

She Sells Sea Shells

Took the fam to the beach several days ago. I am still in disbelief how the outside temperature can be well over a hundred; yet if you happen to find yourself lounging in a chair in the sand, sipping girly beverages watching ceaseless waves heading straight toward you, all is amazingly right with the world (even for this easily overheated pudgy white boy with Norwegian ancestry I'm guessing).

It is also intriguing how surprisingly gratifying it is to simply sit & gaze for hours upon hours at the fruit of my loins (reader: "thanks for the visual" me: "no problem") playing in the sand, digging holes, filling the holes with ocean water, adding to their sea shell collection, laughing when waves catch them off balance, & creating small kingdoms out of mere sand, water, & buckets.

The structure you see in the picture was conceived & erected by my VERY soon to be ten year old daughter, Kristen. Today it's sand castles. Tomorrow, who knows. Cherish each moment & the journey as well. Indeed, they grow up entirely too fast.

Don't Tread On Me

"Oh beautiful for spacious skies...but now those skies are threatening" sung Eagle great Don Henley in his song "End of the Innocence." I find those words highly appropriate to brood given the date of this blog entry & the distress our nation currently faces internally & abroad.

Tonight after enjoying a grand fireworks display with the fam, I noticed an older gentleman's shirt in the massive sea of people slowly exiting the park. It was bright red with yellow lettering (hard to miss). The caption on the front read... "CHANGE." The "C" in the word "change" consisted of the all too familiar haunting hammer & sickle symbol we saw for decades on the Soviet Union flag. Regardless your political convictions, you would be hard pressed to deny change has indeed come to America, just as promised.

I realize it is human nature to pin blame on those in or seeking leadership (be it the leader of the free world, to the CEO of a major company, right down to the small town pastor in the tiny rural community struggling to keep the church doors open & electric bills paid). Easy targets they are. So if you don't enjoy the sight of your own blood, avoid any form of leadership at all costs.

That being acknowledged, clearly, we are in uncharted waters.

Take just a moment & reflect on a handful of values YOU believe made this nation great. Now ask yourself if our current trajectory will afford those values you listed the proper environment to sustain, grow & thrive. If you answered "yes,'' then rest well. All will be fine. But if there is any room for doubt, education is the answer.

Start by making yourself comfortably uncomfortable. How? Listen to those with opposing views. Discover why you believe what you believe & be able to defend it. Be a student of American history. And whatever the cost gather your source of news from multiple, multiple (& did I mention multiple?) sources. Then draw YOUR OWN conclusions (like a certain cable news station with phenomenal ratings reiterates daily if not hourly). Finally, don't be afraid if you find your viewpoints unpopular. Have courage, take heart & be not afraid to go it alone. To quote my father-in-law "Nothing hard is ever easy." (ha!) Besides, running with the uninformed, uneducated crowd is not only costly, but entirely overrated!

Demand honesty, integrity, transparency, & only the sharpest, creative minds to lead this nation our founding fathers dreamed up 233 years ago this day in that hot & stuffy room in downtown Philly.

What are you prepared to do?

"...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

-Thomas Jefferson, July 4th, 1776 (final draft) ;-)