Random Thoughts

I thought I would do this next blog about a series of random thoughts and observations I’ve made in the past few days and as not to forget them its better I notate them as soon as possible.

I was recently at a minor league baseball game watching the Durham Bulls play the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs? What kind of a bizarre name is that for a ball club; Iron Pigs. (Never mind that they swept us in a three game series) That’s not really my observation I wanted to make but it is strange just the same. The thing I did notice was when the national anthem was performed I watched the crowd and yes I know I was supposed to gaze upon the stars and stripes and I did go back and forth but what struck me was watching who was actually singing along and who was not. I noticed that by enlarge the old timers 65+ were almost all singing and doing it proudly while many folks my age had no perception or even interest in what those words mean or just how important that message was/is to the freedoms we now take for granted. The older people know because many of them lived the struggles. Many individuals these days just numbly ride around in their Beemers and think the whole world revolves around them. They should occasionally listen to the national anthem and perhaps even sing a few bars and try to understand just what its message conveys.

Another random thought. About a week or so ago I drove up to my daughter’s new elementary school to see her classroom and help her move some furniture around even though she ended up changing it entirely as women have a tendency of doing. This will be her second year of teaching and it’s just a fact about her. This is a hard issue to formulate into words but I’ll try. Everyone who knows Linda and me is aware of how proud we are of Marlee and her accomplishments. What I seemed to experience for that short time in her new room was something more than pride. It was the realization of just how time has transformed my little girl into a woman who is not only very passionate about what she does but is also very talented. When she is in her classroom she displays a type of confidence and competence that still awes me. Many average people have no idea what it takes to be a teacher in both personal sacrifice and resources but she has deftly made me aware of that over these past couple of years. The next time you see a teacher thank them. You are most likely successful at whatever you are doing, in part, because of some great teachers. They hear a lot of things over a year but thanks are never said enough.

Why do people stop attending church during the summer? At least in my area and denomination, it seems to be an excuse to stay away. Does God take the summer off? Do you stop sinning over the summer so your soul will be spared the extra weight? Priorities are priorities and I see know reason to put your faith below summertime. That’s just something that has bugged me over the years. Everyone seems to accept the fact that church crowds will be smaller during summer and I guess I just don’t understand it.

Oh one more thing about the ballgame. Anyone who goes to pro ball games expects the smell of hotdogs wafting through the seating and that experience was there for me but I had one more very strange smell wafting and no it wasn’t me! (I just heard my cousin asking that so thought I would get it out of the way) In front of us we had the oriental version of the Waltons. There was Grandma & Grandpa, Mom & Dad and I think at least two and possibly three children. Not unusual to have a large family in front of us but what was unusual at the time is something I want to describe as the ballpark fare. Mom pulled out what seemed to be two or three large bags from her tote and carefully opened a couple of containers of sushi to spread amongst her family. They sat in front of us with their wasabi and sushi and ate as if they had not eaten for a week. They then spent the rest of the evening buying additional food and drink. It seemed as though whenever any vendor came near them, they raised their hand and bought something else. Sushi is something you don’t expect at a ballgame.

That’s it for now. I’m sure I will have some more political thoughts soon as things seem to be developing over seas and commenting will become necessary.