USELESS OLD AGE

I recently have heard a statement similar to this:  "The older should step aside to allow the younger to fill his vacancy".  This suggests that older people mature into incompetence and raises several questions in my mind.  Am I in someone's way?  What process am I obstructing?  Is there a specific age where I crystallize into this obstruction?  At what age is the person of younger age being frustrated? 

If, in the past, I have been in the way it would have been nice to have been told.

If I am now in the way it would be nice to be told.

CHURCH MUSIC

Sometimes I find myself annoyed at church music which leads me to attempt the following definitions:
-- "Music leading":  Singer(s) performing the exact melody (note the phrase "exact melody") expected of the people being lead.
-- "Solo":  Lone singer singing melody with decorations as he/she feels inspired.  There is no expectation of leading the listeners while this is done.
-- "Dixieland":  An ensemble of 3 – 5 instruments simultaneously performing solo improvisations of the melody.  Note: Dixieland will always at least once clearly state the melody with all instruments in harmony.  This is done before the section using improvisation.
-- "Mess":  A group of singers, perhaps mixed with instruments, all improvising a melody together.
-- "Awful Mess": A group of singers, perhaps mixed with instruments, all improvising a melody together some out of tune.
-- "Dreadfully Awful Mess": A group of singers, perhaps mixed with instruments, all improvising a melody together all out of tune.

THERE IS EITHER MALE OR FEMALE

Here is a quote from Melissa Atkins Wardy as seen on Upworthy.com,  "There is no 'boy side' or 'girl side' to childhood," she told Upworthy, noting gender stereotypes can hinder a child's development by limiting their experiences. "Why would we tell a kid they can't like cars or pirates or fairies or pink?  . . ."

There is most definitely a "boy side" or "girl side" to childhood.  I would never want my male child or grandchild to have any confusion about his sex (operative words, "sex" and "he").  It would be no big deal to me if he liked the color pink, or green for that matter.

I would never want my female child or grandchild to have any confusion about her sex (operative words, "sex" and "she").  Incidentally my granddaughters less than six years old do like to play with the toy cars.  My older granddaughters actually drive real cars.

Physical hermaphrodites are extremely rare.  They are the only ones where the "girl side" or "boy side" issue may be confusing.

Most children are either MALE or FEMALE.  There is actually no shame in identifying yourself, or your child, as a MALE or FEMALE.  Nearly all adults and children know the difference. 

There is really no need to be afraid to tell a girl she is a girl, or a boy that he is a boy.

REPORT CARD

I saw three minutes of a PBS show where some rural Chinese parents had left their home to earn money to send back to the family.  Upon their return the first thing they wanted to see was the report card of their child.  The first thing they said was, "You were fifth in your class; why didn't you do better?"  I immediately felt sad and turned off the show.

What should have been the first emotion?  Should not it have been a gladness to see the child after being away?  They wanted the child to succeed (I suppose) but was their child's success only a token for their own success?  Was the only purpose of the child's existence to please the parents?

If I was the child I would have the deep feeling that no matter what I did it would never be good enough for my parents.  I would never really succeed.  Where do you suppose these feeling would lead?

I wonder what feelings the parents of the last place child had?

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK

Here is a quote from Sidney Madwed, an American author:

"Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives."

To be fair I do not know the context of this quote, but what is it really saying?
Is the thinking that is going on in our subconscious - - that has no humor, cannot distinguish real and imagined, that may not know the difference between thought or image - - always going to manifest in our lives?  Do we have no control? 

Is the “subconscious” real, or an idea, a concept?  If we are not aware of it, how do we know if it really exists - - just because some say that it does?  What really happens before an idea can be sensed enough to express it - - to put it into words, or to draw a picture of it?  And once we can express the idea then do we not have control of it?

I think once we can express it we have control over it.  Therefore we can apply humor to it and tell the difference between it and reality.  Unless we are mentally ill we always have control over our thoughts and actions.  We have a large degree of control of what we know.

The “subconscious” is a blame-boy that’s too easy to use.

WARTIME

I was in the Vietnam War.  I went for two reasons: 1) I always wanted to sail on a big ship and 2) I would have been drafted and I wanted to serve in the Navy rather than on land or air.  I became a radioman on an Oiler, the USS Ponchatoula.  Our job was to refuel other ships off the coast of Vietnam.  These ships included aircraft carriers from which planes flew to bomb the Vietcong.  We operated day and night.  At night the planes would fly with their running lights on, dive down and drop the bombs.  You could see the flashes and a few seconds hear the boom-boom-boom.

I liked being in the Navy and liked the job I did.  I did not drop the bombs, but without my ship (and therefore me) the rest of the fleet could not conduct operations.  I was not, and am not, sorry for my Navy time.

When I got out I never talked with anyone about my Navy time because it appeared that most people did not support the war or our government’s participation in it.  It didn’t seem as if people believed this war accomplished what other wars have, like WWII, Afghanistan and Iraq.  I felt I would have little respect from most people for having been part of the military in the Vietnam era.

I am proud of, and thankful for, our men and women in the military.  I believe their work is keeping me and my family reasonably safe.

REALIZE YOUR BLESSINGS

I am realizing I am a blessed man this morning.

• I have a faithful (and faith-filled), loving, loyal wife.
• I have productive, upright sons who are high quality family men.
• I have no trouble paying all my bills, and no reason to think I might not become unable.
• I have survived colon cancer and am presently in good health.
• I am benefiting from a good education and good life-long work experiences.
• I live in a fine neighborhood and have peaceful neighbors.
• I live in the USA and benefit from it’s history, laws and traditions.
• But fundamental to all: I know who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for me and the world, and know what he will yet do. 

There are many other things I could also list.

MAN-IN-THE-MIDDLE

If you will notice, the Bible describes many times where God wants to directly use someone or to directly speak to someone yet the person (or group of people) want someone else between them and God, or them and the task.  You can see an early example of this in Exodus 4 where God wants Moses to speak to Pharaoh yet Moses begs off because he thinks he won’t be good enough for the task.  So instead of what God really wants, Moses to speak directly to Pharaoh, we end up with a man-in-the-middle:  Moses speaks to Aaron who speaks to Pharaoh.  Notice how Moses resists God:

"Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
12  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
13  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
14  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15  And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
16  And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God."


Another - - and sadder - - example is in Exodus 20 when God would have spoken directly to the people but they want Moses to hear what God has to say and come back and tell them.  Instead of the people hearing directly from God they make Moses the man-in-the-middle.

"Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

This is what we tend to do in the Church; instead of listening to God ourselves - - through reading the Bible or prayer - - we put a man-in-the-middle.  We depend on the priest or pastor or rabbi, or a certain denomination or sect.  It seems easier to let someone else think for you than to think for yourself.  Other people are important to listen to - - and we should listen to others - - but we should not depend on others to be the-man-in-the-middle between us and God.

THE GRANDFATHER

As I was sitting on the front porch this morning a man pulled up in a black Mustang with a rumbling engine and dark opaque windows.  Who could be inside this car?  Was this a drug dealer?  Was his hair thick and black and combed back in greasy neat rows?  Did he have on a sports jacket concealing a .45 caliber?  Was he wearing sunglasses and did he have a smirk on his face?  What was he here for and who was he going to see?

Would it end well for the one he would visit?

Then - - -

The driver's door opened.  A grandfather got out to bring the forgotten lunch to his granddaughter at the school across the street.

BUY AMERICAN

Buy American.  Bring manufacturing back to our shores.

Avoid things that are made in China.  That does not mean you should throw out your iPhones and computers.  Sometimes you will not be able to find items that are not "made in China".  But many times you can make a choice .  So look on the labels and avoid "made in China" when you can.

If enough of us do this, and the months and  years pass, we will bring our manufacturing base back to this country.

I AM ALLOWED TO SAY, "THE BIBLE SAYS"

If I say, “the Bible says . . .” I am not shutting down conversation. I am simply stating something about which the Bible makes a statement. The hearer is allowed to disagree with any statement I, or the Bible, make. And I am also allowed to disagree with any statement he may make. I will not be troubled if the hearer thinks I am a fool or somehow less intelligent.

We all must have some ultimate authority upon which we base our beliefs. While some may choose to rely on the many various man-made theories, I choose to believe the Bible is the ultimate authority. It speaks for itself.

If “context is really important” for us to understand or interpret the Bible, whose context are we accepting? Are we relying on the Bible, or are we relying on many opinions of disparate groups of people (churchmen and humanists alike).

I look at the Grand Canyon and say, “Here evidence of a world wide, catastrophic, hydrologic event.” Some others say, “Here is evidence of millions of years of lying down of sediment, followed by other millions of years of the carving away of a channel by the Colorado River. If the Bible says God created the earth (and everything else) is six days I believe it.

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE . . .

Neighborhoods these days build walls facing the main street going by them.  When there is a neighborhood on each side of the road it  has the appearance of driving down a canyon; there is no view, nothing to see.  For this reason I hate these walls.

If I lived by a busy street I would like a wall there to keep out street noise.  Also it would be safer to keep children from wandering into danger, and to keep unwanted people from wondering onto your property.  For this reason I like these walls.

Since I don't live by a busy street I hate these walls.  If I did, I would like these walls.

". . . HE WILL BE KING . . ."

Americans know not the concept of “king” or “aristocracy” except as defined in a dictionary. They don’t have the experiences connected with these words as some European Nations have. We did away with all that garbage at the Revolution.

Though they would not use those words, a few of the rich and some politicians like the concepts of “king” and “aristocracy”. If they actually publicly used those words we would be aware of their intentions and prevent them from implementing that kind of government. Some large Corporations like the concept of absolute control too. Therefore we also have to be vigilant against their establishing similar types of domination.

God is the only entity worthy - - and capable - - of being a perfect King. Some earthly kings have sought power at the expense of their subjects. In contrast, God has all power by his very nature, and exercises that power for the benefit of his subjects.

TIME WELL SPENT??

As I do crosswords I keep track of clue answers that could fill the numbers of squares that the answer requires. Many times I find there could be two or more words that will both answer the clue and exactly fill the squares.  I mark these sets of words on the bottom of each crossword I complete and later transfer them into a spreadsheet.  If the set of words contains two words (like “melt” and “thaw) I enter two rows on the spreadsheet.  One row will have “melt” in the first column and “thaw” in the second column.  The next row will have “thaw” in the first column and “melt” in the second column.  A set of three words will take three rows.

Over the years I have built up the list to 1456 rows.  There are 1276 sets of entries.  42 rows have six columns per row (7 sets of six words).  Many rows have only two columns filled (2 sets of two words).

Here is an example from the list:

WORD 1    WORD 2    WORD 3    WORD 4    WORD 5
Abase    Abuse    Shame      
Abide    Allow          
Ablaze    Aflame          
Abode    House          
Abuse    Shame    Abase      
Accosted    Ambushed          
Ace    One    Pro    Win  
Ache    Pain    Pang    Sore    Hurt

MAYBE IT'S MY FAULT AFTER ALL

With respect to LOUD CHURCH MUSIC:  it my be my fault.  See the two quotes I ran into below:

"Tinnitus could be the result of the brain’s neural circuits trying to adapt to the loss of sensory hair cells by turning up the sensitivity to sound. This would explain why some people with tinnitus are oversensitive to loud noise."

"Noise-induced hearing loss, the result of damage to the sensory hair cells of the inner ear, is one of the most common causes of tinnitus. Anything you can do to limit your exposure to loud noise - - by moving away from the sound, turning down the volume, or wearing earplugs or earmuffs - - will help prevent tinnitus or keep it from getting worse."

So it looks like I still must avoid (what seems to me) LOUD MUSIC.

ROCK-CONCERT-LOUD

Yesterday we had yet another church experience.  The church we tried had ROCK-CONCERT-LOUD music.  We tried four (that’s 4) churches the Sunday before and they each had ROCK-CONCERT-LOUD music.  We also tried a church where the music was not too loud, and the message was reasonably good, but we know the people there.  We know they disapprove of what we do - - have a glass of wine in the evening, and perhaps a glass of beer when we dine out.

So in many churches you can not have contemporary music and must refrain from alcohol, even though there is no danger of becoming an alcoholic.  And in many others you can have contemporary music IF you are willing to damage yourself, that is your sense of hearing.

I’ll add another comment:  I have never found that Rock-and-Roll or Jazz music had driven me to illicit sex, or to drugs, or to drinking, or to terrorist actions, or even to disobeying my Mother.

LOUD ALL OVER

Last Sunday (that is the last Sunday after the previous last Sunday I wrote about before: so, I am  speaking about the latest last Sunday) (the most recent one, not the one before; that is, the last last one) we went to three churches in a row and all of them had music that was too loud.  I really wonder if there a church we can go to.

This music is so loud that the congregations can not possibly hear either themselves or those next to them sing.  What then is the point of congregational singing if the congregation can not hear themselves?  Is not the singing portion of the service for the congregation to sing?  In this atmosphere of loudness the congregation does not sing.  Let us not kid ourselves, these events are not events of congregational participation, but events of performer-audience.  The performers act and the audience listens.

(or plugs their ears).

HEARING AND THE AUDIO MAN

Last Sunday we went to a church that was meeting in a school.  As we walked in the people there were very friendly and welcoming.  The only problem was the music was too loud, even in the foyer.  They very courteously tried to usher us in but even with my hearing aids turned off the music was way too loud.  We turned and left.

We will never know if the preaching was good, if it was true to the Bible, if it would have made us more effective in our Christian life.  We will never know if there were good and lasting friends to meet there.  We will never have the opportunity to contribute our knowledge built up over 41 years of a faithful Christian marriage.  We will never be able to participate in the music.  We will never be able to encourage the believers there to read the Bible every day as we have done all our married life.  We will miss any encouragement there may have been there for us, or the new lessons we needed to learn.

All this because the music was too loud.  No one in that congregation could have heard themselves singing the songs or heard others around them singing.  Some would have been discouraged from singing.

I would have liked to attend a small church with contemporary music, even if they never sang the old hymns or even owned hymn books.  I like up-beat music.  I like rock-and-roll.  I grew up on rock-and-roll.  I like jazz too.  The radio in my car would never be tuned to a classical station; classical music is OK, I just do not prefer it.

But the volume of the music at that church will never be turned down.  That’s because the audio guys like it that way.  They like it loud.  They can stand it either because they are already deaf, or because they are wearing earphones and are not effected by it.  They control the volume, not the musicians, singers or the pastor.  He who turns the dial has the power.

And the congregation there must like it too because they stay.

Some might say, “Just get over it and learn to be immersed in the experience.”  I wear hearing aids because I have poor hearing.  I have had poor hearing all my life.  I have spent six thousand dollars on hearing aids just so I can hear somewhat better yet I still struggle to hear.  I refuse to allow some audio-jockey to bore out my ears and destroy what hearing I have left.

Someone said, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.”  I guess I am.

TAMING SOFTWARE

The only effective way to approach software:

LEADING FROM THE BACK

In some blog I got to somehow the timpanist of a major orchestra spoke of his responsibility as “leading from the back”

Having played in orchestras I would never dare say the percussion “leads from the back”.  The conductor leads.  Even in Big Band work the percussion does not lead, he (she) is part of the ensemble - - part of a group that is lead.  In Big Band work the leader is often not the drummer.  It’s the leader, or conductor, who decides the timing and tenor of the musical piece to be played.  The drummer (or percussionist) never “leads from the back” (unless he’s Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa or Ginger Baker).

Tell the conductor you are “leading from the back” and you will be “leaving out the back” (door).