It’s been one month since the election, so I’ve had time to try to think things through and put them in a little perspective. My feeling about what the election means for our country hasn’t changed. I believe we’ve reached a tipping point where there are too many takers and not enough producers and givers. Politicians continue to pretend that we can tax the minority enough to support the majority, but as the supported class continues to grow, the productive class sees less and less reason to produce.
Now I know that just saying that marks me as one who hates the underclass and thinks that they’re all lazy. But nothing could be further from the truth. You don’t have to have a majority of dependent people to ruin a society. It’s a question of a culture that has slowly developed over the past half a century or so, and that has picked up tremendous speed in the last few years. Our country is in deep, deep economic turmoil, we are worse off now than we were four years ago, and yet we have handily reelected a man who has to bear the primary responsibility for it.
Bob Costas says that he is not against people having guns; he is worried about a gun culture, by which I assume he means a mentality whereby people think of guns as an integral part of society rather than as something that is occasionally needed to fix a temporary problem. That’s how I think of welfare. It’s great that our country is prosperous enough to help people fix a temporary unemployment problem, or who are simply incapable of working. But it seems that welfare has become a culture, or a state of permanent mind. It is not a temporary fix as it was intended. Entire generations of people grow up knowing no other way of life. Once that population gets large enough, it brings down the rest of society with it.
One of the founding fathers, I forget which one, said something to the effect that democracy only works until the people realize that they can vote anything they want for themselves. That’s where I’m afraid we are at.
The other thing that keeps intruding on my thoughts is the way in which Christianity is being bashed more and more every year. That’s also something that seems to have picked up speed in the past few years. When the Obama administration attempted to force religious employers to provide insurance for their employees that would guarantee them access to abortion, the employers naturally objected. The telling point is that the administration couldn’t even understand why they were objecting. That’s how ingrained anti-Christian thinking has become. The Chick-Fil-A fiasco was another telling incident the way some politicians and media people vehemently reacted to a business owner expressing his Christian viewpoint. They didn’t even care that there has never been any adverse action against any gay person; they just couldn’t tolerate the fact that someone could even have Christian thoughts on the subject.
There are many other examples of this sort of intolerance against Christians, and my point is not only that the number of instances of Christian bashing is increasing, but that they are becoming more and more extreme. As the secular mind becomes more and more entrenched in the world’s philosophy, it becomes more and more impossible for it to comprehend that there can even be another way of thinking. It seems like a prelude to persecution.
I truly believe that these two things, an entrenched culture of dependency and a virulent hatred of Christianity, are what is bringing our country down. Can this be reversed? Yes. Do I think it will be? No. Do I like it? Of course not. It scares the daylights out of me. But if the loss of our freedoms and the persecution of Christians are some of the things that need to happen before the Lord returns, then we will have to deal with it. And rejoice when the end comes.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
He's Alive
There's a song called He's Alive. The version I have is by Mark Murphy and is probably about 20 years old. Recently I heard a version by some other artist on the radio. When it first started playing, I thought, That's interesting, it starts out at a faster tempo than the Mark Murphy version, which starts out rather slow and almost recited rather than sung. But then as the song went on, I realized that the whole thing was in the same tempo; there's no build up, no anticipation; it's just several verses of a song. It just doesn't work.
The first 2:45 of the Murphy version is almost mournful as Peter doubts and speculates as to whether Jesus is really alive as Mary claims, especially in light of his recent denials of Jesus. Then the build up runs about 45 seconds: "Then suddenly the air was filled with a strange and sweet perfume/ A light that shone from everywhere drove shadows from the room/ Jesus stood before me with His arms held open wide/ And I fell down on my knees and just clung to Him and cried./ He raised me to my feet and as I looked into His eyes/ Love was shining out from Him like the sunlight from the skies/ Guilt and my confusion disappeared in sweet release/ Every fear I ever had just melted into peace."
And then the orchestra breaks into the crescendo and a powerful voice sings: He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive and I'm forgiven/ Heaven's gates are open wide; lines that are repeated twice more, seemingly more powerful each time. I find it impossible to listen to, or even think about it without feeling a great tearful swelling inside.
It's a song that's meant to be experienced, not just heard.
The first 2:45 of the Murphy version is almost mournful as Peter doubts and speculates as to whether Jesus is really alive as Mary claims, especially in light of his recent denials of Jesus. Then the build up runs about 45 seconds: "Then suddenly the air was filled with a strange and sweet perfume/ A light that shone from everywhere drove shadows from the room/ Jesus stood before me with His arms held open wide/ And I fell down on my knees and just clung to Him and cried./ He raised me to my feet and as I looked into His eyes/ Love was shining out from Him like the sunlight from the skies/ Guilt and my confusion disappeared in sweet release/ Every fear I ever had just melted into peace."
And then the orchestra breaks into the crescendo and a powerful voice sings: He's Alive, He's Alive, He's Alive and I'm forgiven/ Heaven's gates are open wide; lines that are repeated twice more, seemingly more powerful each time. I find it impossible to listen to, or even think about it without feeling a great tearful swelling inside.
It's a song that's meant to be experienced, not just heard.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Coming Home
Because vacation was so good, we decided to take our time coming home. After we checked out of the resort, we went to the Lost Canyon and rode the horse drawn cart through the narrow canyon. The trip actually ends right about where the resort skyway goes over the canyon near the ziplines.
Then we drove over and visited with Liz for a few minutes and toured her house. I know it's Eric's house too, but writing "their house" didn't sound grammatically correct. We drove a while longer and decided to lunch at Culver's. It's actually pretty good, sort of an upscale McDonald's.
By this time I was concerned about Chicago traffic on a Friday afternoon, but we had no problem the route we took (thanks, Leah.) The problem began when we exited I-80 to go to US 30 to get to Warsaw where our motel was located. We exited I-80 earlier than we needed to so that we could avoid the construction heading into Indiana. Big mistake. Traffic on US 30 going into Indiana is horrific. And the traffic lights all seemed designed to create the longest traffic jams.
The rest of the day and most of the travel day Saturday was routine, until we got to the Days Inn in Sandusky. Without a doubt one of the worst motels I have ever been in. There was a terrible stench in the room, and since nothing in the room, like linens, curtains or rug smelled up close, we could only conclude that there must be mold or something growing in the walls. It was made worse by the fact that the air conditioner hadn't been turned on. We couldn't really complain because the couple at the check in desk spoke such broken English, it was difficult to communicate with them. We turned on the air full blast, emptied a can of Glade and went out to dinner. By the time we got back I could tolerate it, although Kim said this morning that it was the worst night's sleep she had on the whole trip. She's always been wary of Days Inn, and now I am cured as well.
The only reason we stayed there instead of driving straight home was so we could visit Kelley's Island on Sunday. That turned out to be fun. We took the Jet Express Ferry across from Sandusky, rented a golf cart and toured the island. There's not as much to do there is at Put-In-Bay, but the more relaxed atmosphere is definitely to my liking.
So now we're home, feverishly planning our next trip. Branson, maybe?
Then we drove over and visited with Liz for a few minutes and toured her house. I know it's Eric's house too, but writing "their house" didn't sound grammatically correct. We drove a while longer and decided to lunch at Culver's. It's actually pretty good, sort of an upscale McDonald's.
By this time I was concerned about Chicago traffic on a Friday afternoon, but we had no problem the route we took (thanks, Leah.) The problem began when we exited I-80 to go to US 30 to get to Warsaw where our motel was located. We exited I-80 earlier than we needed to so that we could avoid the construction heading into Indiana. Big mistake. Traffic on US 30 going into Indiana is horrific. And the traffic lights all seemed designed to create the longest traffic jams.
The rest of the day and most of the travel day Saturday was routine, until we got to the Days Inn in Sandusky. Without a doubt one of the worst motels I have ever been in. There was a terrible stench in the room, and since nothing in the room, like linens, curtains or rug smelled up close, we could only conclude that there must be mold or something growing in the walls. It was made worse by the fact that the air conditioner hadn't been turned on. We couldn't really complain because the couple at the check in desk spoke such broken English, it was difficult to communicate with them. We turned on the air full blast, emptied a can of Glade and went out to dinner. By the time we got back I could tolerate it, although Kim said this morning that it was the worst night's sleep she had on the whole trip. She's always been wary of Days Inn, and now I am cured as well.
The only reason we stayed there instead of driving straight home was so we could visit Kelley's Island on Sunday. That turned out to be fun. We took the Jet Express Ferry across from Sandusky, rented a golf cart and toured the island. There's not as much to do there is at Put-In-Bay, but the more relaxed atmosphere is definitely to my liking.
So now we're home, feverishly planning our next trip. Branson, maybe?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Post Visit
There's not a lot to say about our recent stay at the resort in Wisconsin, because the people I care about the most were all there, so they all know what a great time it was. My only regret was not having more energy to be able to keep up with them. But I guess when you're the old patriarch, allowances have to be made.
After the girls and their husbands were gone, we discovered that there is even more to the Wilderness than we thought. The part we had walked and thought we were at the end really wasn't even half of it. That place is just humungous. So we did more walking, but never did cover the whole place.
We did more old people stuff, like walking around the mall, driving down to a state park, and riding a horse drawn wagon. We wanted to hike on one of the trails at the park, without realizing how difficult it was going to be. It was marked "moderate" on the map and was only a few miles long, but the change in elevation turned out to be at least several hundred feet, and much of it was spent climbing up rocks. It was exhausting. I'm really glad we didn't try one of the "difficult" trails.
Checking out was difficult, but that's life. Vacations end, and one always has to get back to reality. But it was really great to see everyone.
After the girls and their husbands were gone, we discovered that there is even more to the Wilderness than we thought. The part we had walked and thought we were at the end really wasn't even half of it. That place is just humungous. So we did more walking, but never did cover the whole place.
We did more old people stuff, like walking around the mall, driving down to a state park, and riding a horse drawn wagon. We wanted to hike on one of the trails at the park, without realizing how difficult it was going to be. It was marked "moderate" on the map and was only a few miles long, but the change in elevation turned out to be at least several hundred feet, and much of it was spent climbing up rocks. It was exhausting. I'm really glad we didn't try one of the "difficult" trails.
Checking out was difficult, but that's life. Vacations end, and one always has to get back to reality. But it was really great to see everyone.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
A Better Way
I guess it's been a long time, and there's so many things I could write about that have happened in the past 10 months. There's been so much going on, but I guess that's it. Many of the things happening are things that impact my job, or rather the thought of losing it, and so my thoughts are often occupied with things I don't really want to write about.
This week, however, I've had a thoroughly wonderful vacation trip, and so I wanted to describe it. However, on the way up to Wisconsin, and now on the way back, the thing that is currently pressed on my mind goes back to my job. As a turnpike toll collector in Ohio, I constantly live with the threat that the turnpike will be leased or sold. If this happens, there are a number of scenarios that could play out, none of which could be interpreted as good to the employees there.
I think of myself as a Republican and I voted for John Kasich. In general, I support his efforts to find ways to bring Ohio's budget back under control, and to plug any shortfalls. However, there are right ways and wrong ways to do things, and to simply give away one of the state's most valuable assets for the paltry sum of 2.5 billion dollars net is about as shortsighted as one can get.
Notice, I'm not even making the argument here, as some have, that the turnpike is NOT a state asset. Others have argued that case persuavely. I'll just concede the point and move on. There is a much better way to deal with the turnpike that would put it in state hands, and make a whole lot more money. It's called High Speed Tolls.
I discovered this while driving around Chicago last week, and I think it's a most marvelous thing. I had seen a High Speed Toll plaza in Pennsylvania near the Ohio border the last time I drove through there, and while I thought it was kind of cool, I didn't think much more than that. But the Illinois Tollway has taken that concept to a whole new level. With High Speed Tolls, drivers with transponders simply drive through the plaza area, and their transponders are automatically read without them having to even slow down from highway speed. People without transponders have to pull off down a ramp to pay in cash and then reenter the roadway. I don't know exactly how many of these on-road plazas there are, but there's a lot of them.
I believe the Ohio Turnpike could be retrofitted to accomodate high speed tolling, placing plazas along the roadway every 20-40 miles. Some of the current toll plazas could be eliminated completely, and others would be reduced to partial plazas. Now that the turnpike EZ Pass system has been in place for nearly two years, people are aware of it, and have gotten used to it, and even many more would apply for a transponder if this change were made, thus streamlining the system even more.
What about the loss of jobs that would result? Not to worry, because this system should also be instituted on other interstates in Ohio, particularly I71 and I75. About 15-20 years ago, the federal government was advocating that states build more toll roads. Some states did. Ohio did not. I never thought that it was practical to convert existing interstates into toll roads. But with high speed tolling, most of the obstacles disappear.
If the governor would institute such a plan, instead of settling for the shortsighted plan he has, Ohio would be much better off.
This week, however, I've had a thoroughly wonderful vacation trip, and so I wanted to describe it. However, on the way up to Wisconsin, and now on the way back, the thing that is currently pressed on my mind goes back to my job. As a turnpike toll collector in Ohio, I constantly live with the threat that the turnpike will be leased or sold. If this happens, there are a number of scenarios that could play out, none of which could be interpreted as good to the employees there.
I think of myself as a Republican and I voted for John Kasich. In general, I support his efforts to find ways to bring Ohio's budget back under control, and to plug any shortfalls. However, there are right ways and wrong ways to do things, and to simply give away one of the state's most valuable assets for the paltry sum of 2.5 billion dollars net is about as shortsighted as one can get.
Notice, I'm not even making the argument here, as some have, that the turnpike is NOT a state asset. Others have argued that case persuavely. I'll just concede the point and move on. There is a much better way to deal with the turnpike that would put it in state hands, and make a whole lot more money. It's called High Speed Tolls.
I discovered this while driving around Chicago last week, and I think it's a most marvelous thing. I had seen a High Speed Toll plaza in Pennsylvania near the Ohio border the last time I drove through there, and while I thought it was kind of cool, I didn't think much more than that. But the Illinois Tollway has taken that concept to a whole new level. With High Speed Tolls, drivers with transponders simply drive through the plaza area, and their transponders are automatically read without them having to even slow down from highway speed. People without transponders have to pull off down a ramp to pay in cash and then reenter the roadway. I don't know exactly how many of these on-road plazas there are, but there's a lot of them.
I believe the Ohio Turnpike could be retrofitted to accomodate high speed tolling, placing plazas along the roadway every 20-40 miles. Some of the current toll plazas could be eliminated completely, and others would be reduced to partial plazas. Now that the turnpike EZ Pass system has been in place for nearly two years, people are aware of it, and have gotten used to it, and even many more would apply for a transponder if this change were made, thus streamlining the system even more.
What about the loss of jobs that would result? Not to worry, because this system should also be instituted on other interstates in Ohio, particularly I71 and I75. About 15-20 years ago, the federal government was advocating that states build more toll roads. Some states did. Ohio did not. I never thought that it was practical to convert existing interstates into toll roads. But with high speed tolling, most of the obstacles disappear.
If the governor would institute such a plan, instead of settling for the shortsighted plan he has, Ohio would be much better off.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Frustrations
Frustrations come in many forms. When they involve playing a game, they can normally be set aside as unimportant or irrelevant. Nevertheless....
There were only a handful of video games that ever interested me, and my favorite was Super Mario Brothers 3. When I owned it about 15 years ago, I got to be pretty good at it. I never got bored with it even after beating it became somewhat routine. A few months ago, I discovered that it had been re-released for the Wii. I tried playing against my daughter when visiting her once and discovered that I couldn't complete even a single level in world 1. So naturally, I had to download it onto my own Wii to practice.
While working at it over the past few months, I'm slowly getting better, but it frustrates me that it's taking so long. Granted, I'm not spending hours and hours doing it, but I can't be getting THAT old, that my reflexes have become so slow.
The two things that give me the most trouble are the note boxes and the sliding duck. For the most part, the note boxes are not vital to the game and I can do them well enough to at least get by. But the sliding duck is crucial at certain levels, and my inability to make it work more than once in every 15-20 tries (it's probably actually worse than that) is getting me down.
The second fortress in world 6 is one of those crucial places that I've been working on lately. There's a spot in there that if you can't make it through, then even if you do continue on and make it to Boom-Boom's hall, it will be as small Mario, and since he's one of the more trickier ones in the game, he's tough to beat when you're small.
There were only a handful of video games that ever interested me, and my favorite was Super Mario Brothers 3. When I owned it about 15 years ago, I got to be pretty good at it. I never got bored with it even after beating it became somewhat routine. A few months ago, I discovered that it had been re-released for the Wii. I tried playing against my daughter when visiting her once and discovered that I couldn't complete even a single level in world 1. So naturally, I had to download it onto my own Wii to practice.
While working at it over the past few months, I'm slowly getting better, but it frustrates me that it's taking so long. Granted, I'm not spending hours and hours doing it, but I can't be getting THAT old, that my reflexes have become so slow.
The two things that give me the most trouble are the note boxes and the sliding duck. For the most part, the note boxes are not vital to the game and I can do them well enough to at least get by. But the sliding duck is crucial at certain levels, and my inability to make it work more than once in every 15-20 tries (it's probably actually worse than that) is getting me down.
The second fortress in world 6 is one of those crucial places that I've been working on lately. There's a spot in there that if you can't make it through, then even if you do continue on and make it to Boom-Boom's hall, it will be as small Mario, and since he's one of the more trickier ones in the game, he's tough to beat when you're small.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Fond Baseball Memory
One of my fondest memories is of when I was 8 years old and my uncle took be to an Indians' game against the Yankees. I had been to one game with my father the previous year when I was 7, but that was a day game and the only thing I remember about it was that the Indians won against, I think, the Tigers. Because memory is such a tricky thing, I tried to research the game to see how much of my memory is trustworthy. Turns out I had a few things wrong. I thought it was on September 8th on a Wednesday, but it was actually on September 9th on a Tuesday. I also thought Billy Martin was on the Indians and was actually the last batter in the game, but he didn't actually play for the Indians until the following season. And I thought the Indians scored 10 runs in the fifth, but it was only 8.
Those minor things aside, my basic memory was correct. It was a night game. I got to see Mickey Mantle hit a home run, and I remembered that the Indians catcher Russ Nixon hit two home runs in that game. The Indians were behind 2-1 when they came up in the bottom of the fifth. They proceeded to score 8 runs. They had the bases loaded with 2 outs and whoever the batter was (I thought it was Martin, but I guess it couldn't have been) had a 2-2 count when it started pouring rain and the umpires stopped play.
We sat for exactly one hour until the game was officially ended due to the rain. This caused me to believe that there was a rule that if a game was stopped for rain, they would wait one hour, and then call it. Funny the conclusions you draw from experience as a kid. The Indians won since they were the home team and were ahead in the bottom of the fifth.
It seems as I get older, memories such as that become more precious.
Those minor things aside, my basic memory was correct. It was a night game. I got to see Mickey Mantle hit a home run, and I remembered that the Indians catcher Russ Nixon hit two home runs in that game. The Indians were behind 2-1 when they came up in the bottom of the fifth. They proceeded to score 8 runs. They had the bases loaded with 2 outs and whoever the batter was (I thought it was Martin, but I guess it couldn't have been) had a 2-2 count when it started pouring rain and the umpires stopped play.
We sat for exactly one hour until the game was officially ended due to the rain. This caused me to believe that there was a rule that if a game was stopped for rain, they would wait one hour, and then call it. Funny the conclusions you draw from experience as a kid. The Indians won since they were the home team and were ahead in the bottom of the fifth.
It seems as I get older, memories such as that become more precious.
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