Cooking again

Once again I'm cooking with Paul. What will we eat today? I'm guessing we'll wrap spaghetti around meatballs and call them "hot yo-yos"! Actually, Paul is a very good professional chef. Where there's smoke, he's cooking.


Here's the menu for today!

Breakfast: Eggs, canned ham, fried potatoes

Lunch: Design plate, hard salami, crackers, cookies

Dinner: Oriental can delight, brown rice, cabbage salad, fortune cookies

Words of wisdom

Boswell writes in Life on April 28, 1778 the following: "A man should cultivate his mind so as to have that confidence and readiness without wine, which wine gives."

He also wrote in the Rambler 6; "he, who has so little knowledge of human nature, as to seek happiness by changing any thing, but his own dispositions, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove."

Obama debate

The election is nearing and I thought I would make a comment on the first debate between Obama and McCain. During the debate Obama wouldn't call McCain by his name or address him as "Senator McCain." In fact he called him Jim at one point and acted as though he didn't know him. I found this to be somewhat disrespectful, since McCain always called him Senator Obama.

Harry Truman said once, "In most of my campaigns, I find it best not to mention my opponent by name because, by doing so, it just gives him the chance to get into the headlines."

Okay, so Obama is politically smart. But can he run the country?

Up, up, and away

This fellow continues to fly over our house on weekends. It's never a problem although you can hear the engine noise. I checked into the cost of these and they're $7,500 without wheels and $10,000 with wheels. Who needs wheels when you're in the air?

Government

Ronald Reagan said about government that "One way to make sure crime doesn't pay would be to let the government run it." He was right.

Reagan also is quoted in Bob Dole's book, Great Political Wit, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" And he said, "I think governments tend not to solve problems, only rearrange them."

And we think government can run health care? Fat chance!

Dinner is served

Tomorrow, Paul and I are cooking. I'm on Paul's cook team. I had to watch this video on washing hands, and cleaning things, and setting up the kitchen. They also had suggestions on peeing in the river.

The photo is Paul and Nancy from the Colorado River (another trip), but not in the Grand Canyon. Here is our menu for tomorrow:

Breakfast: Spam, eggs, pop tarts, canned peaches

Lunch: Layover sack lunch

Dinner: Taco bean stew, Spanish cornbread, almond brittle

We must be nuts!

I think we Americans compartmentalize too much. In acting out of our own interests in one compartment, we ignore the damage we cause in another as a result. Both Democrats and Republicans propose solutions with little thought to the consequences of the action. Examples of this are nationalized health care, the economic bailout, and getting out of Iraq before we're done, or maybe getting into Iraq in the first place.

James Boswell wrote from Great Britain in 1779 in Taxation No Tyranny the following; "We are told, that the subjection of Americans may tend to the diminution of our own liberties: an event, which none but very perspicacious politicians are able to foresee. If slavery be thus fatally contagious, how is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?"

We wanted to be free, but what are the consequences of that? While freeing the slaves was a positive consequence, the civil war was harder to swallow. What are we going to do next? I certainly don't want to give up any of my freedoms.

Jesus walks on water

At one point during Jesus' time on earth, he "didn't do mighty works, because of their unbelief." Contrast that with the story below.

Then Jesus walked on water. The fishermen on the boat thought he was a ghost and were afraid of him. He came to these confused, blundering men, and calmed the sea. But these handful of men who, in spite of all their failure, in spite of all their faltering, in spite of all their shortcomings, were true to the light they had received. They maintained their faith. It was to them Jesus revealed himself.

Think about it for a minute. The boat was about to go down and they had turned it against the wind, which is hard to do. Why? Because he said, "cross to the other side." They pushed the prow of the boat in the direction he said. He came to them when they were literally sick with fear and was cheerful. "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."

Whatever difficulties we have found our way into, and we have generally found our way into more difficulties through disobedience to God than obedience, he is always there to help us out.

God's compassion

Matthew 9:36 says, "Seeing the people, He (Jesus) felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd."

Isaac Watts worked on the translation of the word "compassion." Knowing the word was insufficient, Watts took another word and wrote the following:

"Touched with a sympathy within,
He knows our feeble frame;
He knows what sore temptations
mean,
For He hath felt the same."

On a human level, this picture of God is that of a man who went into different cities, and into the villages, and looked at the people. What he saw made his whole inner physical life, as the sacramental symbol of the spiritual, move and burn. All of us know something about this; how in certain circumstances, in some great overwhelming fear we might have, or in some sudden sorrow, our very physical life, acting in harmony with our mental life, is filled with pain. "He was moved with compassion." He was moved to the agony of the physical by the pain of the spiritual.

What was behind it all? Going back to the translation we read. "He was moved with compassion." What is compassion? Feeling with, pain with, comradeship in sorrow, fellowship in agony, an "at-one-ment" so to speak between this King and those upon whom he looked, culminating at the cross for its outward expression. It existed in the heart of God long before the material cross was lifted up. And, it expressed itself in the suffering of the Son of God through all the years of his sympathy with man before he walked to that actual cross. He identified himself with the very issue of their pain, the very issue of their sin. Now, he identifies himself with your pain, and mine. That is compassion.

Rattlesnake!

Today Nancy and I went hiking on two brands trail. The weather was great. When we left the house it was 84 degrees in the shade! So it was probably over 90 on the trail. A couple of miles of hiking later and I nearly stepped on a rattlesnake! A runner had warned us that he saw a snake on the trail so we were on the lookout. About half a mile later and there it was. We made a wide circle around him and kept on going. Rattlesnakes seem rather common around here when the weather is warm. They come out and sun themselves.

On Hitchens book, Paines Rights of Man

I read Christopher Hitchens new book Thomas Paine's The Right's of Man. A quasi biography about Thomas Paine who profoundly influenced the thought of our founding fathers.

Hitchens says that part of Paine's purpose in writing the Rights of Man in the way he did, was to "reform or purify" the language of political discourse. Hitchens quotes Rudyard Kipling who writes a poem about a dying Norman aristocrat from the year 1100. He offers this advice to his son about Saxons.

'The Saxon is not like us Normans. His manners
are not so polite.
But he never means anything serious till he talks
about justice and right.
When he stands like an ox in the furrow - with his
sullen set eyes on your own,
And grumbles, 'This isn't fair dealing,' my son,
leave the Saxon alone.'

He also says that the Rights of Man, was an attempt to marry the ideas of the American and French Revolutions. The second part of Rights of Man was an attempt to take it to Britain. Considerable time is spent on the interesting debates with Edmund Burke.

A word of warning, Hitchens seems anti-Christian for some reason, much like Thomas Paine. His reasons have to do with a misunderstanding of the purpose of Christ entering the world and a basic acceptance of God's plan. He found it offensive. Perhaps Kierkegaard would help him here. The rest of the book was excellent.

Colorado Trail photos

Tyler gave me his photos for the Colorado Trail. Below are a couple that I thought were special. This one is of Tyler when they were on top of Mt. Massive. He was pleased because they got above the clouds. A rare event.

Not sure where this was taken, but it's an evening photo of some windblown trees, probably in the Ten Mile Range but I'm not exactly sure.

And of course, here is a nice photo of David his partner for well over 300 miles of the trail. I will get more of these to you later.

Words of Glory

Oh! in his rapture he was weeping even over those stars, which were shining to him from the abyss of space, and "he was not ashamed of that ecstasy." There seemed to be threads from all those innumerable worlds of God, liking his soul to them, and it was trembling all over "in contact with other worlds." He longed to forgive every one and for everything, and to beg forgiveness. Oh not for himself, but for all men, for all and for everything. "And others are praying for me too," echoed again in his soul. But with every instant he felt clearly and, as it were, tangibly, that something firm and unshakable as that vault of heaven had entered into his soul. It was as though some idea had seized the sovereignty of his mind - and it was for all his life and for ever and ever. He had fallen on the earth a weak boy, but he rose up a resolute champion, and he knew and felt it suddenly at the very moment of his ecstasy. And never, never, all his life long, could Alyosha forget that minute.

Taken from Alyosha and Cana of Galilee in The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The butterfly

When the butterfly departs from the cocoon - and gets wings - everything it loses, all its wrappings, is nothing; it loses nothing. It is all part of God's plan and order.

Imagine a young person and how he would like to live. Now imagine a dying person, how he would liked to have lived. You will discover they have opposite desires. The young person desires for this life (these seventy years or so). The dying person desires for eternity or that he had lived for eternity.

God's creation

Estes Park, CO is beautiful in the fall. Yesterday, Nancy and I went shopping and visited the Elk Fest in town. Afterward, we went for a short hike at Lumpy Ridge. The aspens were still changing and the colors were spectacular.

I remember climbing in the area before we moved to Memphis in '94. Below is a photo of one of the crags in the area called Twin Owls. A number of things in town are named after this huge rock outcropping which is commonly climbed by the locals. I'm so glad we came back to Colorado. It reminds me of the grandeur of God's creation.

In 1839 SK writes in his Journals, "Sometimes when the whole sky is overcast, one sees a little strip, a little patch, which seems to dream of a bliss of its own and to radiate a glory from within itself."

In 1848 SK wrote, "And when I go out under the arch of heaven, behold the myriad stars - I do not feel at all alien in this enormous world - for, truly, it is my Father's. Nor do I feel abandoned on the crossroad of life and in the misery of life, for I am always under my Father's eye."

Third Flatiron with Tyler

Tyler and I climbed the 3rd flatiron today. We left the house at 5:30a in order to be the first climbers on the 800 ft. route, but it wasn't meant to be. We were second on the route. However, we did pass the guys in front of us because they were so slow. We enjoyed some commanding views of Boulder and the cities along the front range.

On the summit, I took this photo of Tyler with the rest of the flatirons in the background. We had a great time and enjoyed this wonderful, casual climb early on Saturday morning.

Tyler took this photo of me getting ready for the rappel off the summit, which is a bit tricky. There is quite a bit of free air time, not to mention how awkward the first few feet of backing off can be on this descent.

Then, he came over and took this photo of me from right on the edge (notice I am tied in, he was not). He asked me not to tell his mother he took this photo. He assured me he was alright. It was the scariest part of the climb!

To get down safely, you really have to do three rappels. Tyler took this photo of me from the bottom of the first rappel. He had already gone 75 ft. down and was waiting for me. I can't begin to tell you how much fun it is to still be able to do these kinds of things with Tyler. Not sure I could have done it a year ago.

Who do you know in Alaska?

Today I called one of my franchise owners in Alaska, Wasilla to be exact. At the end of our conversation, I told him I was pulling for Sarah Palin tonight during the debates. I never liked Joe Biden. At any rate, my franchise owner reminded me about my last visit with him at their facility. They have a second building behind their main facility on the street and on the left side of it is his sister's hair salon. It seemed like a very nice place. He told me today that Sarah Palin is one of his sister's customers, and has been for years while Mayor. He said that his sister and father have known her for years since she was the Mayor. Of course they're very big Sarah Palin fans.

Last summer they invited me to go salmon fishing with them on the Copper River. They said we could use the salmon wheel. "Salmon wheel?" I said. Yes, it's a big wheel that's powered by the river's current. It has big baskets in it that scoop up the fish who are swimming upstream. When the fish get caught in the baskets, they fall out the sides and into holding tanks. The operators of this unique "fishing pole" sit in lawn chairs and watch the fish come in. The timing was wrong for me last August, but next summer I want to do this. It just sounded like too much fun.

On prayer

Why is it that when I sin I feel like God is right there watching me, paying close attention to my every thought and action? Yet, when I pray he often seems so far, so distant, and pays no attention. SK says "it still holds that in order to pray in truth to God out of an honest heart we cannot deceitfully hide anything in the secrecy of our being - not that we are trying to deceive God, but we do not have the courage to confide it to him."

I will continue to pray and pray with thanksgiving, because I know he has listened to me. He listens to every trivial thing, no matter how small. What's even more remarkable is that we have the prerogative of being able to talk with God.

SK also asks us to imagine a girl in love. "Which do you think she'll appreciate more, that the beloved remembers her and thinks of her on a Sunday when he's loafing and has nothing to do, or that the beloved has the time to think of her when he is busiest of all and yet without neglecting anything; in the same way prayer to God in the day of need is most cherished and well-pleasing."