CHARLESTON

                                                            CHARLESTON

I was saddened to hear of the shootings in that church in Charleston a few weeks back. It seems not a week goes by and sometimes not even days or hours between such incidents, where another person takes it upon his/her self to take someone’s life, just because they represent something to him or her they don’t like. But despite all of the nonsensical arguments of the gun lobby blocking background checks and the other side of the aisle that wants all of our guns taken away, the real problem lies in the hatred that runs unabated in this country. It is utterly foolish to think we can strip away all of the means that someone can use to hurt someone. It is equally foolish to think that if you strap that big iron on your hip you’re safe.

A couple of days after the shootings I listened to the friends and relatives of the victims, as it seemed they almost felt more sorry for the shooter, then for their loss. I could only shake my head and say. “My God I wish I could be that forgiving of people who have harmed me or my loved ones.” What faith-- what an example to this weary screwed up nation, filled with hate and erupting egos. What’s also a shame is despite those of us who profess to be Christians-- and by the way for me, that is where that attitude of forgiveness was first introduced, that we seem to be shocked to see that happen. Here were forgiving people, walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

I would pray that those who feel that hate is the way to solve our problems in this country, would follow the example of those humble people in Charleston. Those who gave us all an example of how to live. I am often drawn in my life to the prayer of St Francis of Assisi when he prayed, “Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury pardon.” Think of what I just quoted and then think of what those people said to that man who killed their loved ones and tell me you can’t draw a parallel there.

Life seems to be some days a battle between humility and arrogance. Greed and selfishness, against love and caring. People hate others they know nothing about, for no other reason then simply because they are different then them. Their own selfish twisted minds, for some crazy reason, think they are the poster boys for all that is good in this world, when in reality its actually visa versa. Annj Somany said and I quote,” There is no respect between the souls of two individuals if their minds can’t trust each other and there is no trust between them, if there hearts can’t except the truth of each other.”

We are a nation of immigrants from all over the world. We have to accept that there is going to be great differences in how we look, how we worship, the languages we speak and even the food we eat. That’s what was supposed to make this nation great. That we would be this great melting pot and in a more perfect world we would draw strength and wisdom from each other and maybe somewhere down the road-- we would be a more perfect society, carved out of the best of everyone and that we would love and respect each other. It hasn’t worked out that way because acceptance and humility doesn’t seem to be in our nature.

A WEDDING

                                                            

So today is my Grandsons wedding. Today is the day when his life changes and he now becomes responsible for another person. The day when #1 is not he anymore but she, and he, and today he tells her this in front of his family and friends and they become one. It’s also the day when they both leave their parents and start this wonderful journey through life together, in this institution that we call marriage.

I remember back to the day when my son, his father, took that step and from that relationship with his mom, came him and his siblings. I remember even farther back when I took his grandmother for my bride and it pains my heart today that she didn’t live to see this but it also makes me proud that she played a big part in this day. That in Mike’s genes lays snippets of her genetic makeup and I hope and pray that some of her goodness that we all learned to love and cherish will carry on.

When you think about it, this is probably the most serious commitment he will ever make in his life, when he joins with her and asks to share their lives in harmony. To someday, maybe, make more branches on the family tree by bringing new life into this world. A life that will be an extension of both of them. That day you not only become a parent but a teacher, through your good example. For both of them their own parents long ago cast the die and they only need to keep it going.

I think for a grandfather a day like this is bittersweet. You think back to the night he was born and from that day on, life came at you in fast motion. Each time you saw him he was an inch taller and five pounds heavier. His parents lived downstairs from us, while his dad built their new home and you could hear him laugh and cry through the floors and there was always that bubble of pride when you realized “That’s my namesake, my grandson I hear.” You remember the days of swimming and fishing and hunting together and going to his football games and Christmas’s and then all to fast-- graduation and those first steps out into the world and now this today.

I have a picture of him, along with all of my grandchildren displayed on the wall right over my head where I write. I call it my wall of pride. Each year his mom would give us a new picture and each year we would tuck the old one behind it and today I took the frame down and followed his life backwards from adulthood to his baby picture and then I shed a few tears because I was so thankful for the life God gave both of us and that we were able to take this journey together. That through all the years he was kept safe and now he has found someone to love, who loves him back and I hope that someday he will be where I am now-- and know just what I am talking about. I know that all over this world, this scene plays out over and over again and for many of you readers you are nodding your heads and saying, “I know just how you feel. I have been there and done that.”

 It’s a beautiful day here at the lake today. The sun is shining and July has never been lovelier. Lilly’s are blooming in the garden and the hostas are sending up their blooms too. The breeze that blows across the lake today, for me, is the winds of change. But for today they are all just garnish on the over-all picture, for this day belongs to Mike and Page, and now I have to leave. I have a wedding to attend.

LAWS

I firmly believe that sometime in the near future, the religious freedoms that our founding fathers left their homes in England to pursue in a new world, will be challenged. Already there are signs of this and tough talk from those who wish to redefine the way Christians live. In the years that I have been upon this earth I have seen a steady erosion of the principals that defined the constitution that those brave people set up, as rules to live by. Over the years changes have been made to the amendments but almost always as an addendum to the existing rules, to keep up with changing times. Now they’re talking about gutting the first amendment. The first amendment to the constitution clearly states, “That congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there of.” To force religious people to do things that are against their values is a breach of this amendment to the constitution, yet there are those who want it changed. Keep in mind the amendment says, “Congress shall make,” and not the “Supreme Court shall make” and there -in lies the problem.

I have lived my entire life under the direction and influence of two sets of laws. Man’s laws and Gods laws. Man’s laws are mostly mandatory and the consequences of not obeying them are spelled out and evident. Many of us obey them, not because we always respect them but because we are fearful of the punishment we will receive if we don’t. As I stated, they are mandatory so there is no option to ignore them and live as you please but there is an option to voice your opinion, as to whether you like them or not and I have. There is one other thing about mans laws that is different from Gods laws and that is, they are never set in stone. The amendments to the constitution of the United States are a good example. They don’t even resemble what our founding fathers meant them to be. They have been litigated to pieces and more changes are coming such as I talked about above.

God’s laws however were set in stone and not subject to change or misinterpreting. If you want your just reward you have to follow the rules he laid out for you in the scriptures.  Take it or leave it, an up or down vote. God doesn’t have a supreme court for you to appeal to and after you die, you are on your own. Your legal counsel can’t follow you or speak for you. Once again you are free to voice your opinion but remember there is no such thing as a constitution here to argue about. The rules are the rules. But there is an exception in case you do stray and it’s called forgiveness.

It’s a shame when a country that was founded on religious principals is asked to abandon that line of thinking because a new wave has descended upon us and we must be sensitive to their needs, even at the expense of our own needs and beliefs. We live in turbulent times with racial hatred, financial problems that have the power to ruin the country and the constant drums of war ringing in our ears. We have a broken political system that has given us a do nothing congress, engaged in constant greedy political battles and a supreme court that most people, believe oversteps it’s bounds. All of these problems need to be fixed and need our attention now but instead, all of our attention is being focused on social differences that effect a minute segment of our population.

BASEBALL AND ME

From the time I was a young man old enough to swing a bat, and agile enough to catch and throw a baseball, I lived for the sport. I was just a little guy when it came to sports. Football and basketball were out of my league, but size has no boundaries when it comes to baseball. I was quicker than the big guys, a smaller target at home plate, and I held my own on the diamond. I spent countless hours throwing the ball at the neighbor’s cement garage wall—into a twelve-inch target I painted on the wall—fielding it when it bounced back to me, and throwing to an imaginary first base. I went down to the gravel pits and hit rocks that I threw up in the air. All of the time, that imaginary noise of the crowd was in my head. Then, one summer, a badly broken leg ended my career and I never caught up again, but I never lost my love for the game. I still lived and breathed baseball. I moved to the cities and Killibrew, Oliva, and Mud Cat Grant became my heroes. I got out to the old Met whenever I could to watch my beloved Twins. Then they moved to the Metro Dome and life became too busy for me. So, for fifteen years I coached and went to a game or so a year. The twins, until 1987, basically sucked.

But today, for the first time in four years, I have dug out my old Twins tee shirts and sweat clothes. There has been an epiphany of sorts, and at least for now, our Twins are winning again. We know how to lose, in Minnesota, in almost every sport you choose to support. Yes, the baseball season is only one third over, but for now, I get a little giddy when we talk about our Twins and I remember 1987 and 1991.

In my mind, I go back to 1991 when I was still living in the cities and our Twins were in the World Series with the Atlanta Braves and it was game six.. I had sat glued to the TV set that night and tears had run down my speechless face when Kirby Pucket had climbed the plexi glass to take away a home run from Ron Gant. Then, my hero capped it all off by hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning. I was rendered speechless and I went in and woke up my sleeping wife, who just shook her head like she felt sorry for me, and put the pillow over her head. Things like this just didn’t happen in Minnesota. Four games had been decided by one run, but none was better than this one. I tried to drive downtown to join the celebration that night, but all the roads were blocked. I just wanted someone to celebrate with and ended up going home unfulfilled.

Then, the next night it was game seven and how was anything going to top game six? This was for all the marbles, and it was the Twins Jack Morris against John Smoltz. The grizzled old veteran, for the Twins, against the young rising star for the Braves. They dueled each other for nine innings and it was still scoreless. Then in the tenth, the Braves brought in their closer, Pena. The rest is history. Dan Gladden got a hit and moved to third, then Gene Larkin hit the ball over the drawn-in outfield and the Twins were the World Champions and I was flabbergasted. This kind of thing happens in New York or L.A, but not in Minnesota.

I have in my mind a list of regrets. Things that happened during my lifetime that, not only am I ashamed of, but so very sorry for. But, not one to beat up on myself, I have a matching list of highlights. I think it’s only fair to do that. Somewhere, in those highlights, are those two nights of baseball in 1991. Can it happen again? Let’s hope.

WHAT DOES THE FOURTH OF JULY MEAN TO YOU ?

                                     

I have always remembered a particular 4th of July celebration when I was a youngster growing up in Staples Minnesota back in the fifties. That year the National Guard brought a tank to be in the annual parade. It was the biggest war machine I had ever seen, coming down old highway 10 on rubber treads, with its own contingent of soldiers behind it. Just before it got to the semaphore that used to be at fourth street north, they shot off that big gun. It was a blank charge for sure, because had it not been, it probably would have blown up the Farmers Oil Station on the west end of town. As it was, the concussion, rattled and broke store windows downtown. The doors to the Legion and Vets club slammed open and startled World War II vets came running out into the afternoon sun. They were sure the peace they had fought so hard for, was in jeopardy again.

It’s hard to imagine what it sounds like when a tank shoots off that big gun, unless you have heard it. It’s hard to imagine, shooting that cannon at other people but they often did, in the heat of battle. That day the big gun was shot of in a celebratory way because only a few years before our country had won the biggest war of all time. Yes our freedom, our very way of life, had been threatened and we stiffened and bristled at the foe and said, “Not as long as we remember what freedom is all about.”

We have threats against our country almost every day now, but they seem minuscule to what we faced then. Not that they’re aren’t serious threats against our country now but our whole attitude has changed and left me wondering, if freedom isn’t valued today, the same way it was back then. We have had many wars since then but they seemed to be more of a distraction to people then a threat. Some of them were politicians wars and some of them were in response to a threat against us but in the end there never was a victory celebration and you know what?  Maybe that was because there never was a clear-cut victory and maybe it was because when your house is divided against itself, as ours was then, and is now, no one really gives a rip. No one but the brave soldiers who died, just as dead in Korea and Vietnam and the Middle East as those who were cut down and bobbed in the surf at Normandy and Iwo Jima. No one was hurt more then those who came home from Viet Nam to be spit on and scourged, by an ungrateful public.

In a few years we will bury the last of the World War II veterans. We will forget about Rosie the Riveter and ration stamps and liberty ships and flying fortresses. We will forget about young men and women who lied their ages for a chance to go off to war, out of a sense of duty. We will forget about Gold Star Mothers who proudly wore their lapel pins, wet with their tears of sorrow and pride. History books will abbreviate the story, because well--it just won’t be that much of a story anymore. Gravestones will be forgotten and covered with moss. Why is it that you have to be at the point of losing your freedoms, before they become important to you again? This Fourth of July, People   will go to the lake to shoot off bottle rockets and ewe and awe at the fireworks. They will drive by shuttered Legion and Vets clubs, as the ones in Staples are and the thing they will celebrate the most-- is the four-day weekend.