THE OPEN ROAD

HAVE YOU ANY METTLE?

7/1/2020

   HAVE YOU ANY METTLE?

  My fellow Americans,

   This is the time that challenges our mettle and our resolve,
for there are now many men and women who desire
to destroy our country and abolish the liberties and
freedoms we enjoy as set up at the beginning of our
country.

Fifty-nine years ago, thousands of our sons and daughters
went to war on two fronts:Europe and the Pacific. Many
of them sacrificed their lives and never returned home.

Today, we are at war again. But, this time the enemy
is not on foreign soil, but rather, resides within the
the very shores of the United States of America.
Presently, there is a very large contingency that is
planning and plotting the destruction of our country.

This evil mass of malcontents is bent on destroying
every business, church, and statue they encounter.
They have no regard for a human life, nor for a person's
homes or lands, or property.

These thugs do not care about our Constitution, or the Bill of Rights contained therein. Laws and
the rule of laws mean nothing to them.

The burden of our country's defense is presently
carried on the shoulders of the police in each of
our cities, President Trump, and a few Republicans.
For personal gain, the Democrats, in total, support
and encourage the vandals.

These vandals must either be eradicated, incarcerated
   or redeemed. There is no other course.
Time is short. The river of our generation
is about to flow into the ocean of history.

Now is the time to act and free our land
of these despots.

AMERICA (Thought One)

6/28/2020

   AMERICA (Thought One)

                                                          A is for our avenues of adventure,
                                                               and the open roads of creativity
                                                          M is for the many who have fought
                                                               and died that we might live and enjoy
                                                               the freedom and beauty of this land
                                                          E is for the energy and enthusiasm
                                                               of an optimistic people
                                                          R is for our religious heritage,
                                                               the foundation of our freedom
                                                          I is for the independence of
                                                              body, mind and spirit
                                                             guaranteed by constitutional law
                                                          C is for the chance to change
                                                              and to be, and to become
                                                              what we will
                                                          A is for the affection we feel
                                                               toward the country we love

                                                               We can "taste" America...
                                                              and it is grand

(Written on June 8, 1975)

TRAINING IS EVERYTHING

6/28/2020

"Training is everything," wrote Mark Twain.

"The peach was once a bitter almond. Cauliflower
is nothing but cabbage with a college education."

Parenthetically, we might also include: "A prune
is a plum with great potential pathetically gone dry."

Our children are trained by everything we do or
don't. By our every word or silence. By our every
action or reaction. By our absence or attendance to
the duties of child-rearing, our children will be trained.

Plan now for "great" grandchildren. Train up your
children in the way they should go.

(First published on May 24, 1979)

FATHER'S DAY (1981) 907

6/20/2020

FATHER'S DAY (1981) 907

O father dear
We still do see
Ourselves when
We were small

And how we
Used to wonder
At your height
And wish that
We were tall

The years so quickly
Have flown away
Our lives
Have changed a lot

The summer's gone
When we were young
Memories now are
All we've got

Your walk, your talk
You had a certain style
But of all your graces
We seek to emulate
It has to be your smile

It's your day, Pop
You'll face it
With a grin

This is our salute to you
Courage and honor personified
Our father and our friend

(First published June 21, 1981 #907)

PROVERBS 4:9,11,12,13

6/14/2020

PROVERBS 4 9,11,12,13

Wisdom shall give to thine head
an ornament of grace: a crown
of glory shall she deliver to thee

I have taught thee in the way
of wisdom; I have led thee
in right paths

When thou goest, thy steps shall
not be hampered; and when thou
runnest, thou shalt not stumble

Take fast hold of instruction; let her
not go: keep her, for she is thy life

SUMMER OF '79 635

6/10/2020

SUMMER OF '79 635

It simply doth amaze us
The way the days fly by
How spring turns into summer
With hardly a whimper or a sigh.

In simplicity and in quietness
The days so gently glide
As the temperature grows warmer
And daylight lengthens out her stride.

Ah, The days aren't getting shorter
Though the calendar may tell us so
For as we leave our youth behind us
Our times of reflecting and refining grow

In this Summer of our lives, O Lord
Let our praises to Thee flow
Let us enjoy our time together
While the days keep moving slow

(First published on June 21, 1979)

HIS POINT 634

6/3/2020

HIS POINT 634

"The dice of God," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson,
"are always loaded."

To further explain this metaphor, Mr. Emerson
continued..."The world looks like a mathematical
equation, which, turn it how you will, balances itself."

"Take what figure you will, its exact value still
returns to you. Every secret is told, every crime
is punished, every virtue rewarded."

We suspect Mr. Emerson is trying to tell us this...
"God always makes His point." Nothing good, nor
nothing bad, is ever hidden from the eyes of the Lord.

And, we would be the most wretched of men if we did
not have the faith and the hope that the dice of God
have been loaded with the grace and the mercy of Christ.

(First published on June 14,1979)

SIMPLICITY

6/3/2020

SIMPLICITY

"Simplicity of character," wrote William
Hazlitt, "is the natural result of profound
thought."

Trying to expound on these lines
through words or phrases is a formidable
task.

But, in our mind's eye we can see the lives
of men such as Thoreau, Ghandi, Lincoln,
Moses and Christ...and our understanding
becomes illuminated.

These men continually took the right course
of action at the right time, in the right way
for the right reason...
and they left their moth-eaten contemporaries
behind.

To be profound is to be simple
To be simple is to be profound.

(First published in July 2012)

A SIMPLE PRAYER (7)

6/2/2020

   A SIMPLE PRAYER (7)

Help me O Lord
to relax in thee

Help me O Lord
to be calm in thee

Help me O Lord
to rejoice in thee

Help me O Lord
to be all in thee

(Written on May 28, 20200,
first published June 2, 2020)

Other Simple Prayers in the Open Road
1. June 25, 2015
2. October 15, 2015
   3. February 04, 2016
4. May 26,2016
   5. June 28, 2017
                                   6. August 24, 2019
7. June 2, 2020

GIANTS IN THE LAND 616

5/24/2020

GIANTS IN THE LAND 616

Are there any giants
In the land
Willing to be loyal
And ready to stand
  For that which is
                          trustworthy and true

                          Are there any giants
In the land
                          With souls filled
                           With striking courage
Could one of them
Be you?

                            Are there any giants
  In the land, if so,
                            Rise up, be counted
                            For the challenge
                            Is great
                            And the hours
                           Are few

                            Are there any giants
      In the land
                            Make yourselves know
                            Arise, the fate
                            Of the country
                            Rests in your hands
                            (First published on May 6, 1979,
                           with revisions added on May 24, 2020.)