Chasing Rainbows

Stand up for What you Believe

Recently a fellow blogger posed the question:  Are you tired of 911 commemorative events ? Do you think there has been enough homage paid to the 911 tragedy and that we should move on ? The following is an email I received and I am posting it on the eve of 911 because I share in the majority of this woman's feelings.  You may agree or disagree, but you cannot deny that it occurred on our soil and against us!

Here's one woman who is telling it like it is...in her opinion!  Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like this is one angry lady!

"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001? Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Ko ran was "desecrated"  when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet...Hell, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.  In the meantime,
when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.  When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care. When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.


And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and -you guessed it: I don't care!!!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your e-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, and then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great
country!

And may I add:

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem."  Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add:

"If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a
nation gone under." also by... Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day: In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent
interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America, he said:

"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in, And how many want out."

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

1. Jesus Christ

2. The American G. I.

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

My Heart Cries

A heart once happy

Now in shreds

Life's reminder that I am different

I cannot share my love with another

It is true

The heart, is indeed, a lonely hunter.

My heart cries for what is lost

Thoughtful Reflections

1. I believe that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
2. I believe that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
3. I believe that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.  Same goes for love.
4. I believe that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
5. I believe that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
6. I believe that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.  It may be the last time you see them.
7. I believe ou can keep going long after you can't.
8. I believe that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
9. I believe that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
10. I believe that no matter how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
11. I believe that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
12. I believe that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
13. I believe that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
14. I believe that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.
15. I believe that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
16. I believe that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
17. I believe that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you have celebrated.
18. I believe that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.  Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
19. I believe that no matter how badly your heart is broken the world does not stop for your grief.
20. I believe that the background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
21. I believe that just because two people don't argue, it doesn't mean they love each other.  And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
22. I believe that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret.  It could change your life forever.
23. I believe that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
24. I believe that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you..
25. I believe that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out, you will find the strength to help.
26. I believe that credentials on a wall do not make you a decent human being.
27. I believe that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

House-Hunting

For those of you who read my entry some months ago regarding the "Expansion and Modernization" program for O'Hare International Airport, you will recall that the city of Chicago is forcing me to relocate.  This is because my current home obviously falls within the expansion domain. We have debated about the price and bickered about the time frame, but alas, the time has finally come for me to search for a new place to hang my hat and try to call home.  Now, let me tell you, this house-hunting mania isn't all that it is cracked up to be!  First of all, being physically challenged, I am house-hunting on the internet...looking at one-dimensional pictures and trying to "perceive" depth.  Next we have the specifications page that tells me all I want to know about room sizes. Oh really????  Do I look like an architect to you, or a skilled blueprint reader? What is "master bedroom...12x8" supposed to mean? Sounds kind of long and narrow to me!  Then there's the " full basement, partially finished, partial crawl."  Okay, now does this mean I have a basement crawl space that is partially finished, or does this mean I have a full basement the size of a crawl space?Who "finishes" a crawl space anyway?  Then there are the kitchen specs, the bathroom specs, the garage, the deck, etc., etc., etc.!  This past weekend alone, I viewed 335 homes and probably over 1200 homes since this whole charade began. It's not that I am overly picky, but I have to pay attention to things such as community surroundings, sidewalks, curb-cuts, doorway width, accessibility to all or most of the rooms, etc.  The likelihood of me ever moving again is slim to none, so this will be my final home. I don't know how people do it who are transfered from place to place in their jobs, always having to find new housing.  God bless them!  I just needed to vent some of my frustration.  My next post will not be as "whiney", I promise!

Introspection

Introspection:  A reflective looking inward : An examination of one's own thoughts and feelings.  It is a psychological term that refers to self-reassessment.  I have found myself "introspecting" a lot during this past month with emphasis on the events of this past week.  How often do we do things out of curiousity or out of our own need system?  Often we do things simply to be part of the larger picture.  Our flesh succumbs more readily than does our spirit, but in the long run, our spirit wins out because it carries within it the true essence of who we are, or more importantly, who God has called us to be. 

I have looked at what is important in my life and recently, I have been put into a position of prioritizing and re-structuring not only who I am, but what I was allowing myself to become involved in.  We are all comprised of many variables and when asked, I describe myself as being multi-faceted and resilient.  I am relying on my resiliency right now to get me through a very painful time.  Once I have cleared my head and exited the tunnel, I will grasp my spirituality with a fervor and resume my God directed life path.  Emotional pain can be a good thing if we use it to our advantage, i.e. to introspect and sort out what we find within, then re-prioritize our life path. 

The moral of this post today is to suggest that perhaps introspection is something each of us should do periodically in order to sweep away the unnecessary debris going on within us and re-focus on the higher plane of existence, that being our spirituality.

A Terminally Ill Parent

With Father's Day approaching, my thoughts drifted back to when I was 10 years old.  At that time of my life I felt that I had everything a child my age would want.  I remember the good times we had together as a family:  the picnics, the amusement parks, the ponies, the dog, the cat, the pet calf, the pet crow, and the summer resort. Ohhhh that summer resort!!  What wonderful memories I have of our 83 acre resort near Hayward Wisconsin.  Each year, just before school ended, my dad would drive all the way up to the resort to open it up and make it ready for our summer guests.  I couldn't wait till he came back to get me, my sister and my mom.  The resort offered so many wonderful activities such as:  swimming, water skiing, fishing, horseback riding, archery, skeet shooting, hunting and of course those scrumptious meals and the entertainment!  Yes, I did believe that I was the luckiest kid in the world. 

Then things began to change.  After closing the resort for the winter and returning home, my dad woke up one morning all yellow and feeling very ill.  He went to see his doctor and my sister and I were told that we would be selling our beautiful home where we grew up to move closer to the city.  We were told that this was necessary because mom would now have to get a job and she wanted us to be close to the hospital that my dad would be staying in for a while.  Being in the era of the 50's, my sister and I were not allowed to visit our dad in his hospital room because children were not allowed on the floors.  My mother would take my sister and I into the hospital courtyard because my dad's room overlooked this area.  She would then go to his room and help him to the window where he would wave at his girls and throw us kisses and we would do the same in return.  When dad was finally allowed home after his first surgery, he sat with my sister and me and explained to us that he had cancer in his pancreas.  He told us that he would require numerous surgeries to help him get better.  My sister and I were afraid because we didn't understand and we saw how much pain our dad was experiencing.  In addition to this, he was losing a lot of weight. 

After 15 months had passed, my father became gravely ill and was hospitalized once again for a long period of time.  My sister and I were taken to our aunt's home because our mom wanted to stay at the hospital with dad.  Dad had one more surgery, but it didn't seem to do a lot of good.  I remember one evening when my dad called us on the phone and asked me to bring my sister to the phone with me.  I placed the phone between my sister and myself as requested and then dad told us he wanted to say the Lord's Prayer with us one more time.  After we prayed, he told us how very much he loved us and that we were the light of his life.  My sister and I still did not know that our father was terminally ill.  We knew he was very sick and not getting better, but no one told us that in one month we would no longer have him here with us. 

In December of 1957, my sister and I were taken to the hospital with my father's sister (our aunt) and we both thought it was strange that all of a sudden we were going to be allowed to visit at the hospital.  In the elevator on the way up to the third floor, our uncle told us that our father had died that morning.  When the elevator doors opened I saw my mom and other family members sitting on a couch weeping almost out of control.  I was in shock and I ran to a corner, as if to hide.  I didn't fully understand yet that I would never be with my father again and that all the good times with him were over. 

In retrospect, I find myself pondering the question:  "Would I have been better off knowing that my dad was terminally ill and that I was going to lose him soon?"  Or perhaps, it was best that I did not know.  I am not sure how differently I would have been or how differently I would  have acted with my dad if I had known.  I believe that, being so young, I probably would have tried to be with him more than I was but when he was home from the hospital, I took care of him as much as I could.  The question that I am posing is this:  "Do you think young children are capable of handling the truth about a terminally ill parent, or do you think it is best that they simply enjoy that parent everyday and then deal with the loss when it occurs? 

I would appreciate any input or thoughts that you may have regarding this controversy.  I do have to add that I do not feel "slighted" in any way for the way it was handled in my life.  I know that my mom would have never been the one to tell my sister and me the truth about my father's illness because, in retrospect, I realize that my mother was in serious denial.  Even after my dad died, my mother spoke of him as if he was still with us.  I do not blame her.   

What gods do we serve?

Exactly, who or what do you serve? Everybody worships something or someone. To best understand this statement, we need to be clear about the definition of the word "worship". Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines worship as: extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem;  a reverential awe of something or someone.  In the Hebrew language, worship is equated with fear and service also.

True worship of anything or anyone results in serving that individual or item.  The relationship that most people have with their gods is that we serve those gods that we think will best serve us.  The modern secularists, fearing the unknown and fate, diligently serve the gods of money and power desperately hoping they will at least delay the unknown and give at least temporary protection, health, pleasure and long life, according to Dr. Jerry Nelson in an article titled, Who Will We Serve?

Some individuals serve their jobs/professions. For others it may be money, new cars, bigger homes, sex/pornography, hobbies, jewels, etc. We are warned in the Bible about serving other gods:  We cannot have two masters because serving the Lord is not simply adding God to your "things to do" list.  True worship is about fear and service of only one God.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”  Worship “is an expression of total dependence and obedience is the fundamental expression of that total dependence” (VanGemeren in Vol 2 Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis p530).

Perhaps worship of the "wrong"  gods is part of the crisis that dwells within our social system today.  How can we possibly love one another when we are focused on self-gratification and the adoration of money and other materialistic things in our lives. How can we be our brother's keeper if we don't even look beyond our own selfish horizons to determine who my brother is?  The things of this earthly life are temporal.  God doesn't care how new your car is, how big your house is, how influential your job is nor how big your bank account may be.  He cares only about whether you hear his voice and follow His direction.  Examine what gods you serve and perhaps re-evaluate your priorities.  Find out what gods are in your lives that keep you from serving only the One true God.

 

The choice is clear, Christ’s love is compelling – he gave his life.

The cost is great - your life, and the result is eternal.

Who do you choose?

Excerpts from, "Who Do We Serve",  by Dr. Jerry Nelson.

Phil Spector: Death of a Legend

Let me begin by clarifying that the term "Death" in the title is not to be taken literally.  The term "Death" as used here, refers to his stature in the recording industry and his following by fans.  Phil Spector is very much alive and is, in fact, currently awaiting his trial for the murder of actress/model Lana Clarkson.  Spector was indicted in September of 2003 for this crime and finally his case will come to trial soon.  This post is not intended to discuss his guilt or innocence.  It is, instead, focused on what his crime(s) mean to those of us who thought of him as an icon in the early years of Rock n'  Roll.  Many of my readers may not even recognize Spector's name, but for those of us who were teenagers in the very late 50's and throughout the 60's Spector's name was almost a household word in the arena of music and recording.  Spector gave us the Motown sound and many of the early female Do-Wop groups such as the Ronettes.  Ronnie Spector was the wife of Phil in the 60's.  In case you don't remember, the Ronettes gave us the big hit "Be my Baby".  Phil Spector crossed all racial lines and gave equal opportunities to any Rock n' Roll groups whose sound he believed the public would like or want. 

Somehow I feel cheated.  I feel as if a large chunk of my wonderful teenage memories has been stolen from me.  Spector's name was associated with just about everything new on the music front.  I am disappointed and shocked to find that one whom I held in such high regard has committed such a heinous crime of murder.  I wonder, however, if equal to that crime is the crime of desiccating the memories of teenagers nationwide.  Perhaps I am over-reacting, but I get angry when things that I feel about profoundly are suddenly and unexpectedly taken from me or drastically altered.  To many this may not be important at all, but to me it is for I have lost a very fond memory... no, more than lost...I feel violated.

Theory on Divorce

Having been a counselor for numerous years, I have seen and heard a plethra of reasons that people cannot sustain a relationship and/or marriage.  However, the more I listened, the more it became evident to me that one of the main variables in the breakup of relationships is a lack of excitement and/or anticipation of excitement.  This query motivated me to conduct an informal survey based on my counseling notes and my own observations.  I believe that a marriage needs something to look forward to such as the husband and wife's first sexual encounter together and I believe that when two people co-habitate prior to their marriage they have robbed themselves of the excitement and anticipation of sharing the most intimate part of themselves with their new life-long mate.  There is no passion to look forward to and there is very little left to learn of each other.  This learning process as well as the first intimacies together help to establish a special bondding that occurs between a husband and a wife.  I have also postulated that the decline in social morals is another contributing factor in the breakup of marriages.  Commercials on TV as well as the blatant sexual content of prime-time shows continuosly expose us to sexually-orientated material and, over time creates almost an apathetic attitude towards sexually related things.  My mother use to say if you see it all the time then there is no desire for it.  I have to agree with her wisdom.  Many of the couples that I worked with stated that they just didn't desire each other anymore.  I blame this on the over-exposure of sexual material and a lack of self-respect for the bodies that God has given us.  The bottom line, in my humble opinion, is that over exposure to a good thing is the culprit that nullifies the excitement once created by the good thing.  Perhaps God had already figured out that to stay together a man and a woman needed to retain the passion they once had before their first sexual encounter.  I am not hypothesizing that this is the only reason that divorces occur.  I am, however, convinced that this over-exposure definitely plays a large role in the breakup of relatiionships. 

Declining Work Ethics: Reliability in the Work Force

As an individual who interviews, hires, and terminates employees, I have noticed a steady decline in work ethics and behaviors.  In particular, the two work behaviors that seem to evidence the decline most are punctuality and reliability.  Contrary to the fact that it is an employer's market in todays World of Work, employees are still demonstrating a lack of respect for punctuality and reliability.  Most of the employees that I hire understand that my priorities include the above mentioned work behaviors and they understand that my situation warrants adherence to these behaviors.  Still, they arrive for work whenever they get here and any excuse is good enough to not show up at all.  I question why this lack of respect for the job as well as the employer has become so prevalent in our society today.  It seems that workers have lost their own self- respect and all that matters is how much am I going to be paid instead of how can I be a contribution to this person or to this organization?  This lack of self-respect on the job spills over into other areas of employment.  An example of this is in the fast food industry.  How many times have you placed your order and when you got home with the food items were left out or simply not what you ordered.  Personally, I am frustrated with having to check every item and every order for its accuracy.  Many corporations actually offer work ethics training to their employees, but many report negligible changes in their staff performance levels.  I don't know the answer, but I do know that it is a reflection of our social mores and the changes that are necessary have to come from within each individual worker.