Gone for awhile

She's gone again!


Doggone!

Good Buddies, there is a lot going on right now. While it's all good, it looks like blogging is going to be sacrificed for a little while.

May your month of August be filled with blessings and opportunities to bless.

See you after Labor Day (that's early in September for world-wide readers).

"Strangers loved me"

Unified sharing, unified caring.

A retired military chaplain sent this video. It's dear.

The small and the large

Named after Enrico Fermi,

Italian physicist

My nephew is thrilled to have a summer internship at Fermilab.

The summer has almost ended, and he will be leaving soon to continue his studies in physics.

This very thoughtful young man invited his grandparents and me to a tour of Fermilab yesterday. Did you know tours are open to the public? And free? And you can take all the photos you want? And Fermilab maintains a small herd of buffalo?

Snapshot of a photon collision

Apparently Fermilab is about protons and anti-protons shooting around a four-mile circular vacuum in opposite directions and colliding at nearly the speed of light. The physicists are excited about seeing what kind of particles form as a result of these collisions.

Don’t take the movie “Angels and Demons” too seriously, these scientists say. They haven’t found a way to contain a microscopic speck of anti-matter without its self-destructing, much less gather a whole gram of it for nefarious purposes.

Fermilab is also about international good-will and communication and sharing among world scientists.

Flags of nations represented

at Fermilab

It’s also where they discover more about the very small (atoms and quarks) by looking at the very large (galaxies and the universe).

One of the Psalmists who spent a lot of time studying the night sky, maybe David, mused,

“I look up at your macro-skies,

dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why do you take a second look?
(The Message)

God's chisel

Have you ever wanted something really, really badly, and thought, "I'd do anything to have... whatever."

Or have you ever been at the end of your rope and prayed, "Tell me what you want me to do, God," or "Just tell me what I need to change, and I'll do it!" or "My life is really a mess, dear Lord. If you can use me, take my life; do anything you want."

This fun skit is about a guy who thinks he wants a spiritual re-make.

Connected by God's grace

Thought you might be interested in this little history and music lesson. And a great rendition of an old favorite.

Instruments for the journey

Instrument panel in my brother's plane

A small twin-engine plane has some basic instruments to help the pilot fly safely.

They display important information regarding the relative altitude, attitude, location, and speed of the plane. Pilots learn to trust and depend on the instrument readings.

Wouldn't it be useful to have such instruments to guide us safely here on the ground?

In a way, we do. It’s called prayer – asking God to keep our thoughts at a spiritual altitude safe above destructive emotions, where we can more easily see solutions; asking God to keep us in safe and orderly relationship to our environment.

And then comes our part of the deal: trusting the readings that give us the needed adjustments, and making those adjustments.

And for a compass it’s good to remember that, in spite of sometimes contentious relations, it is mankind’s nature to be attracted to good, and only to good.

We all have an inner moral compass that keeps us on our flight plan and let’s us know when we are veering off track. Found in every major religion, Christians call it the Golden Rule: Take the initiative; treat others the way you would like them to treat you.

Special Family Time

Second cousins bonding

Last weekend, our family gathered for our fourth Family Reunion in, oh, probably 20 years.

While they have not been evenly spaced, each has been wonderful. Maybe this past was the best of all. (Of course, I felt that way after the last one too.) What a great bunch of people!

31 of us showed up, and we had a wonderful time. There were bikes and water activities for the kids. Talented women brought their craft and party skills for spontaneous events.

One spouse makes beautiful glass beads as a hobby, and brought a sampling available for purcase at modest prices.

One couple brought their incomparable pizza/salad skills.

Skilled hands make great pizza!

Dinners were organized by men’s night, women’s night, and catered night.

An uncle, for whom this was his first reunion, commented with happy surprise, “Our extended family is comprised of warm, intelligent, and supportive people...”

I would add to that, “funny” people. One of my impressions is that we laughed for three days straight.

Now the principles of respect, joy, caring, sharing, and unselfed love that brought one family together in harmony and brotherly love are universal principles. They operate impartially for the whole family of man.

Selfishness, criticism, and gossip are foes to peace, harmony, and good-will. They have no place in families, reunion plans, or gatherings of any sort.

One of my prayers in preparation for this family occasion was to honor God, the source of all good, as responsible for gathering those who would be blessed.

Can you imagine my gratitude for the harmony, spontaneity, and good-will expressed?

Walter Cronkite

" And that's the way it is."

Warmth and respect flood America's emotions with news of Walter Cronkite's passing yesterday.

For decades he held the unsought title of "The most trusted man in America."

CBS evening news anchor for many years, Uncle Walter's integrity, humility, and affable manner endeared him to a nation. He set a high journalism standard, pretty much forgotten today - except for a few media such as The Chrsitian Science Monitor.

(OK, I'm prejudiced -- but the Monitor is one of the few remaining media that speaks with integrity and caring.)

Cronkite is a legend, an icon, a father-figure. He will be missed.

The three "C"s

My friend, Wilma, has a son who was in the Miami-Dade Police Force for some years.

One time after a hard day, he commented to his mom that people today are missing the three "C"s.

1. Common sense
2. Common courtesy
3. Common decency

His astute observation gave me pause.

These qualities are called "common" because it is so obviously the nature of man in God's likeness to express good sense which plays out in respect for oneself and for others.

Lack of these is not natural, should be, in fact, uncommon.

So what can I do about it? I can start with myself, with a little self-examination:

• I can double-check my own words and decisions to make sure they are fair, sensible, and honest.
• I can be more patient and courteous.
• I think decency follows as a natural result of patience and courtesy.

And because it is mankind's nature to desire fairness and courteous and decent treatment at the hands of others, then this is a kind of prayer that the Creator answers in ways each of us can understand.

As we change our habits and behaviors to be more unselfish, we find these changes opening opportunities and paths we hadn't seen before.

That's just the way Life works.

perservence

This came in an email -- apparently an ad for hair products -- illustrating the importance of perseverence. It speaks in a universal language of facing adversity with a heart to go forward.

It speaks of finding your talent for making the world a better place and pursuing it -- sometimes against all odds.