Blog Posts

THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN AND THE LITTLE GIRL 6

11/17/2018

               THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN AND THE LITTLE GIRL   6

  It was a cold and very windy Saturday.
                                It was a couple of hundred yards
                                from warm car to warm building.

                                Nearing the steps of the library,
                                I was complementing myself for only having
                                a few more feet to go, thinking surely
                                I could hang in there without becoming the
                                abominable snowman.

    Suddenly a little girl age six or seven
                                hopped by, trying to skip her rope with
                                only fair to moderate success. She was
                                attired with coat, mittens, and stocking cap.

                               She seemed oblivious to the windy cold.
                               She was unconsciously concentrating,
                                seeking success, and enjoying herself.
                                And I, I was just trying to get inside quickly.

                                Hey! That little girl is going to make out okay!
                                Say, if she can make it, so can I.
                               Indeed, so can I, said the abominable snowman.

(First published on April 20, 1975)

KINDNESS 14

11/17/2018

    KINDNESS 14

                             Kindness is soft spoken
                             Kindness is gentle
                             Kindness defends the rights of others
                             Kindness goes far beyond correction
                             Kindness is caring
                             Kindness is sharing
                             Kindness pushes the other person’s weight around
                             Kindness encourages creativity
                             Kindness is patient
                             Kindness is consideration bathed in the perfume
                             of tenderness and love

(First published May 6,1975)

I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AWHOOOOPS!

11/11/2018

I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AWHOOOOPS!

I had just started my fourth week of recovery
from a fall in which I had a broken clavicle, a
broken scapula, and two broken ribs, all on my
left side. I was feeling pretty good, then on the
seventh of November, I was getting ready for
bed, fell on my right side and broke rib #10
and did some nerve damage to my left index
finger.

I am now in the second week of recovery phase
#2 and am slowly recovering. But , enough about
me, how are you all doing. Those many of you
that have busy lives and are running around trying
to be prepared for the holidays ahead.

May nothing get in your way. Full steam ahead as
you prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving-Christmas
seasons. And stay well my friends, stay well.

I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

11/4/2018

I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

   (Well, side saddle at least.) After my last
published article posted on October 21, 2018,
   I had a goodly spill down a portion of my home
stairs, in which I quickly accumulated a broken
clavicle, a fractured scapula and two broken ribs
(all on my left side).

Healing should take 4-8 weeks. I begin my third
  week of healing on November 7. No operations
are scheduled (my specialist thinks I'm too old.
He may be right, since I turned 80 this past
June.

This was one of those accidents that could have
tuned out much worse than it did. I suppose I was
fortunate not to have broken my neck or made
mush of my cranium.

I have been blessed by all of my concerned family members, many church and non church friends,
and by the prayers of many.

"I'm back in the saddle, again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly jimson weed
I'm back in the saddle, again"

(Thank you, Gene Autry and Ray Whitley.)

THE DEWS OF OCTOBER 544

10/21/2018

   THE DEWS OF OCTOBER 544

"The greatest operations, both in nature and
grace," wrote Richard Cecil, "are the most silent and
fury is soon exhausted, and its effects are but
partial and soon remedied."

"But, the dews, [though small, revive] the very life
  of large portions of the earth."

Oh, that we could learn a lesson from the soft silent
dews of an October morn... Giving life and refreshment,
struggled through the summer months to survive the
parching rays of the summer months.

Talk about revival! Silently, gently, majestically,
the moisture arrives daintily on tiptoe, reviving
  and revitalizing the sod... In quietness and in reverence...
of God. The dews of October.

(First published on October 31, 1978. Some revisions
on October 21, 2018)

15 ROUNDS 542

10/21/2018

15 ROUNDS

     "Feeling," wrote Libbie Fudim, "is a thought
that delivers a body blow."

Life is a fifteen-round Championship bout
  in which many blows to the head and body
  are given and received.

In every round, the challenger keeps coming
  at us with a devastating barrage of thoughts
  and feelings that contINuously batter us,
  and tangle us up in the ropes.

Fortunately, there's Someone in our corner
who is an experienced pugilist. He is willing
  to act as our manager, our trainer, and even
  our sparring partner when necessary.

If only we would listen to his advice as we sit
in our corner and gasp for fresh air in between
rounds.

He can show us how to roll with the punches.
He will encourage us to keep our guard up and
to hang in there... and to give it all we've got
  until the end of the fight... that we might win the
prize... of eternal life.

(First published on October 26, 1978 #542)

ISAIAH 47:4

10/14/2018

ISAIAH 47:4

As for our redeemer,
the Lord of hosts
is his name,
the Holy One
of Israel

OUT OF THE DUNGEON 541

10/14/2018

OUT OF THE DUNGEON 541

It was the famed Scottish minister, George
MacDonald who said that...

"The love of one's neighbor is the only door out
of the dungeon of self."

Have you ever noticed how many of us,
imprison ourselves within the solid walls of self?

Fame, fortune, wealth... all seem to have as
their aim... the enhancement of self.

Early in our lives, we fetter ourselves with so
many vain ambitious that by our middle years
we oft find time ourselves in solidarity confinement.

May we, from this day forth, have greater
trust in The One who opens every prison door and
sets every captive free...free to love our
neighbors... genuinely.

(First published on October 22,1978)

ANOTHER BEND IN THE ROAD

10/14/2018

  ANOTHER BEND IN THE ROAD

It looks as though I may be near
the end of the road
though I'm not entirely sure
I could be greatly mistaken
you see
For there just might be
another bend in the road
and then another and another
and another
perhaps way past
the century mark

I've been blessed
with great family and friends
with dozens of twists and turns

Yesterday was good
Today is great
And I believe
in a grand tomorrow
after today
is through

Quiet now, quiet
let my soul rest
as I canvas my past
It appears to me
that every road's bend
has been my friend
and I've picked up
a flower or two
and I shall think
kind thoughts
until my journey's
   through

(Written on October 9, 2018)

BLUSTERY WINDS

10/14/2018

   BLUSTERY WINDS

Blustery Winds
swept down
our street
today
Instantly turning
tree leaves
from ivy green
into beaver brown
and shining gold
With the wind
and rain heavily
   bearing down
there was more
than a hint
that many a tree
would soon be bare

(Written October 7, 2018)