Sympathies to Still Stacy

It's a sad day in the blogosphere. The always insightful and entertaining Stacy has lost her mother. Consider visiting her site and paying your respects.

People of Good Will

The Anchoress is back at the keyboard, much to the delight of many. Her latest post, Dave Gorman and Men of Goodwill is a particularly timely missive. This passage, in particular caught my eye: “People of Good Will are the people who take another person at face-value, who do not immediately label, categorize, and quickly shelve those they encounter based on their perceived income, politics, philosophy, or appearance. People of Goodwill give the other guy the benefit of a doubt, they choose to receive another person with the expectation that that person is someone worthy of respectful attention and friendly regard - until that person proves otherwise.”
Read the entire article over at her site.

Removing a speed bump on the Hershey Highway

Ah, the joys of early middle age. I must say the effects of Demerol almost makes up for the inconvenience of having a live video feed originating from inside my large intestine. This was my second colonoscopy; the first one showed a pink, healthy bowel. I know this because I convinced the doctor that I wanted to remain unsedated to watch the proceedings. I found it quite interesting - once. It was not exactly painful, but having traffic moving the wrong way on a one way road was in this instance both unnerving and uncomfortable.
This time, I decided to limit the audience to the professionals and allowed the nurse to bring on the drugs. And wouldn't you know it. I missed the doc finding a polyp. I now have to wait a few days to see whether or not it is cancerous (best bet is not.)

Whew! What a week!

Anybody happening by here may have noticed the paucity of posts lately.
Last week I provided emotional and logistical support for a bride to be and her mother, then shared the task of walking said bride down the aisle with her "other Dad."
I have been reading some of my favorite blogs and have to pass along this one from Still Stacy. I think what really attracts me to the blogs I read regularly is the high quality of the writing (and often the thought behind those words.) Like Stacy, I am getting a bit weary of all the America-bashing we hear around the world (not to mention in the halls of Congress.) I do understand that we have differences of opinion on many issues, but when partisan advantage trumps national security, I have to wonder how history will judge.

Who knew a Prius could do 100?

Still Stacy offers a moving discussion on Al Gore's reaction to his son's DUI. It's a must read.

Get it here:
http://www.stillstacy.com/?p=1128

Wonder how this will become Bush's fault?
Just askin'

Well, that didn't work out so great

Iowahawk offers a superb piece of satire at his site.
Check it out: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/11509/19749526

Remembering 1986

One of my favorite TV shows in the 1980s was "Moonlighting" starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis.
This dream sequence featuring a Billy Joel tune is a rare example of quality network TV.

Would you like fries with that?

These thoughts come as a result of the happy outcome of the request for prayers over at The Anchoress.
How often do we hear people bemoan that they have prayed for something but that God did not respond? It seems we often take up prayer in much the same we we place an order at the take out window, expecting a specific response. There's the story of the man trapped on the roof of his house during a flood. He prays to God that he might be saved. Shortly, some men approach in a boat and offer his rescue. He says to them, "No thanks, God will rescue me."
Later a helicopter hovers overhead, offering a lift to safety, and again the man shoos them off saying. No thanks, God will rescue me." Finally, as the flood waters are about to engulf the very top of the roof and sweep the man away, the clouds part and a pure white light shines down on the man. "Oh God, my prayers are answered. You have come to rescue me." The Lord replies, "Actually no. I wanted to see why you refused the both the boat and the helicopter I sent in response to your plea."
The bottom line here is that God does answer our prayers, but not in the manner nor the response we expect.

Asking for directions

On road trips, I am often called upon to serve as navigator. One colleague recently asked, “Do you have a GPS in your head?” My ability is much more low tech; I can read a map. In years past, the publication of the annual Rand McNally Road Atlas provided me with hours of entertainment and education, as I traveled vicariously across the United States and Canada. These days, Google Maps and Google Earth have replaced the paper maps, giving me the opportunity to explore the world. In practical terms, these electronic maps allow me to study primary and alternate routs of travel, identify landmarks, and otherwise help me avoid the dreaded need to stop and ask for directions.

My journey in faith has been a bit more complicated, and on a number of occasions, the (often unsolicited) assistance in navigation by others has helped me find my way toward the right direction. Recently, I discovered a most insightful blog that has offered such insight and direction. The Anchoress is a wise and wonderful human being, evidenced by this post on her blog. She asks your help, not for her, but for another family in dire need. She says this family needs the help of angels. I would suggest one is already on the job.

(Still trying to figure out Trackback. Bear with me.)

http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/06/26/a-family-in-crisis-and-in-need-of-prayers/trackback/

This blog entry has no title

Back in the office, following back to back road trips and a break over the weekend at home to enjoy “Thunder in the Valley.” One of the bands, “The British Invasion” (a local group, not this one) put on a wonderful two hour set of Kinks, Stones, Beatles, Led Zep and other Brit bands from the days when my hair was brown, thick, and long.

Family obligations (a wedding!) and one final class to officially complete my MBA will occupy much of my otherwise free time over the next several weeks, so expect this blog to be rather light on content for awhile.