Check out the "Editors" Comments

Incredible as it may seem, my piece on Dr. Martin Luther King, Ghandi and the Middle East has drawn the ire of the "Adirondack Editor". It's the first post from this bastion of liberalism on my blog, and I encourage you to take the time to read it, after you've read my piece first of course.

I'm not sure where all of the anger and hatred comes from, but the Editor seems to think that not only am I geographically and historically challenged, but I guess I'm also xenophobic.

Although I did my best not to not reply in kind and be sarcastic, I did slip once, maybe twice - ah, who's counting.

The main reason I'm writing this is because his reply surprised the heck out of me. I did not expect the virulent outburst against America, white men, Christians, Jews, and yours truly - though in all fairness verbal attacks on yourself are part of the price you pay if you wish to blog.

In case you hadn't noticed of late, I have been staying away from politics and trying to focus elsewhere - a simple matter of self-preservation. When you're dealing with clinical depression, politics is last place you want to focus!

One of the hardest things to learn and accept in this life is that not everyone is going to like you - no matter how hard you try, no matter what you might say or do; there will always be someone who thinks you're a jerk.

I will continue to write as my conscience and my heart dictate, to do otherwise is intellectual suicide. If you like what I have to say, that's fine, if you don't, that's fine too.

If you don't like what I have to say, just remember 2 things:

1.) I'm a practicing Catholic - the operative word be "practicing". Though I try to keep my responses to the point, I'm just as capable of sarcasm as anyone else.

2.) It's my blog and I will have the last word.

Is There An Arab Dr. King Anywhere?

"Civil disobedience is not only the natural right of a people, especially when they have no effective voice in their own Government, but that it is also a substitute for violence or armed rebellion."

Mahatma Ghandi

If there was any lesson that Dr. King may have taken from Ghandi, it was the effectiveness of civil disobedience to address social wrongs and set them right. Is there anyone who today would doubt the effectiveness of the message these two men brought to the world?

Apparently there are a fair number of people who have failed to learn the lessons of civil disobedience; specifically, Palestinians and other Arabs. Their reliance upon suicide bombers and their indiscriminate killing of men, women and children has become the focus of the world, not the issues that they themselves wish to have addressed.

Until such a leader emerges in the Arab world, even when there is legitimacy in the wrongs enumerated, the world will continue to focus on the psychotic actions of the zealots instead of the issues that have an everyday impact on the lives of millions of Arabs.

Remember President Nixon's "Silent Majority"? His supposition was that more Americans supported the Vietnam War than opposed it, but those that supported it were silent in their support - they didn't take to the streets like those opposed to the war. Many pundits and political observers seem to want apply this mantel of passive support to the Muslims around the world who never seem to protest the atrocities their brothers in Islam commit. We are assured that Islam is not a religion of violence and that the vast majority of Muslims are peace loving people.

If the rest of the world is ever to believe that, then a proponent of civil disobedience must arise in the Arab world and replace Bin Laden's message of hatred and killing. If the Arabs ever hope to swing world opinion and address the grievances they have suffered, the violence must end and a leader of uncommon fortitude and perseverance will be needed to achieve the peace that has eluded the region for the past two thousand years or so.

Give Me The Highway

After seeing my brother's response regarding God's sense of humor and my golf game, I noted again that he had honored me by choosing "Give Me The Highway" as his blog name. Of all the songs that I have authored, this is also one of my Dad's favorites. You're only going to get the lyrics - for now:

Give Me The Highway

I've hitch-hiked the miles of a hobo

Who's love is the open road

I know of the pain and the hunger

That time can't erase

I've seen the tar bubbles

That blister like feet driven too many miles

The lines of the road

You can see clearly etched on my face

In all of my travels

I've met a few women whose love I returned

Falling in love was as easy

As learning to breathe

The warmth of their arms

Beat the hell out of highways

On cold, lonely nights

But not enough

To let them put chains around me

Give me the highway - Don't let my feet settle down

I tried it a long time ago

But it didn't work out

I'm just a daydreamer, hoping that dreams never end

They never will just as long as I'm traveling about

Life on the blacktop

The world as your backdrop

The curtain comes up with the sun

Each day brings memories of good times we've had

Night brings the promise of good times to come

But sometimes late at night on the road

Can't help feeling all alone

Second thoughts come

As I dream of a life that might be

But then I see bright lights

A new town where I've never been before

Lord there is joy in a man

Who is footloose and free

Give me the highway - Don't let my feet settle down

I tried it a long time ago

But it didn't work out

I'm just a daydreamer, hoping that dreams never end

They never will just as long as I'm traveling about

How appropriate that I ended up in marketing - on the road to the tune of over 50,000 miles every year. Now it often seems difficult to remember what life was like without a laptop, a cell phone, blueberry, blacktooth, vice versa - whatever.

The big boys in Michigan are promising us cars that drive themselves within ten years - just think of all the work you can get done!

I'll be retiring, thank you very much.

God's Sense of Humor

It has occurred to me of late that for the most part, those of us who believe in God tend to view Him with reverence; we fear His retribution (with a tip of the hat to Garrison Keillor & Prairie Home Companion - gotta love those Minnesota Lutherans); we ask for His guidance; we offer up prayer in supplication - but we never seem to give Him credit for His sense of humor.

Though I am adamant about maintaining an open forum here, I must request that for the effort upon which we are about to embark that all atheists refrain from comment. You don't believe in Him, so it almost goes without saying that assigning a sense of humor to someone you don't believe exists is a rather fruitless exercise for you.

I encourage those of you who read this to share your thoughts on God's sense of humor.

Personally, I'd have to start with Mel Brooks. He may not believe in Jesus Christ, and his takeoff on the Inquisition is scandalous (funnier than hell though), but if God didn't have a sense of humor, would He let the Jews have Mel Brooks and give us CarrotTop?

Baldness - now that's funny. Only because I still have most of my hair and my brother Joe doesn't. It doesn't make up for the fact that he whoops my butt every time we hit a golf course, and it is only a matter of genetics - but it should remain a viable source of irritation for him until I progress further down Hairless Lane.

Pugs.

Being the proud owner of said species of canine, I can attest to the fact that they are indeed ugly, and to make matters worse, the damn things snore - at least ours does. The joke is that He made people that actually love these things. I am one of those people, but I want it known that I was dragged there, kicking and screaming all the way. We just got an Australian Cattle Dog a few weeks ago, a puppy, and she makes #4 - I'll let you know how that works out after she learns about outside latrine duty and I get the dog crap out from between my toes.

So to recap, my first three selections that prove God has a sense of humor:

1.) Mel Brooks
2.) Baldness
3.) Pugs

I hope you'll take a few minutes and share your thoughts, as I'm sure there are as many ways to show God's sense of humor as there are stars in the heavens.

Amazing Grace

As I write this, I'm preparing to leave for another funeral in about an hour. I'll be singing two songs at the funeral, one of which is "Amazing Grace". It is a song that I have been singing at funerals for family all too often of late.

My 36 year old cousin was killed in a snowmobile accident last Saturday morning, leaving behind a wife, a brother, sisters, and two parents who have just joined the club that none of us ever wanted to be a member of: Parents Who Bury Their Children. As members of that club, my wife and I can only offer what everyone offered us during our time: our love, our prayers, and our support.

One of the gifts that God gave to me was the ability to play music. I have put that gift aside for some time now because I could find no joy in playing. I realize now that just because God gives us a gift, it doesn't necessarily mean that the gift has to always bring joy to us. I dread standing up in front of all of those people this afternoon, but they are my family, so no matter what happens, they will continue to love me. Having that thought pop into my head just takes the worry away.

When I write songs, the lyrics always come first, or almost always. Since my job includes long hours behind the wheel of my car, I often write lyrics as I drive. That's what I did yesterday.

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of death, I decided to be just a bit cavalier about the whole thing, thus the lyrics below to a song I've titled "That's All She Wrote". Not to make things too complicated, and with apologies to Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry, as you read the words, imagine a variation of "Blue Suede Shoes":

THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE

IT’S ONE – YOU’RE BORN, TWO – YOU DIE
WE ONLY COUNT TO THREE SO YOU CAN SAY BYE-BYE
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU’LL PLAY YOUR FINAL NOTE
AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE

GOD SAID TO NOAH “BEST BUILD YOURSELF A BOAT”
NOAH SAID “GOD! WHAT IF THE BOAT DON’T FLOAT”
WELL THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE
BETTER BUILD IT WATERTIGHT AND YOU’D BETTER DO IT RIGHT
OR THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE

A KING IN HIS CASTLE, THE MAN ON THE STREET
BOTH TAKE NOTHIN’ WITH THEM WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE
‘CAUSE THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE
YOU CAN SAVE IT IF YOU LIKE, BUT I’D RATHER DIE BROKE
‘CAUSE THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE

And that, my friends, is all she wrote for today - if you love someone - tell them!

Blessings!

Poetry

In my never ending effort to bring something a little different to the blog, I recently received this beautiful poem about winter from my friend Heather G. I hope you find it as succinct and appropriate as I did:

Winter

A Poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

Shit - it's cold!

Okay, its not all that cold today and its supposed to be in the 50's by Tuesday, but this is Northern New York, so don't put away the longjohns just yet.

Now this next item is not poetry, unless you happen to be on the receiving end of unattended children, in which case it not only qualifies as poetry, it should also be considered as an ammendment to the constitution:

I'd be willing to throw in a kitty with litter box as well.

...And We're Off...

In an effort to make sure that our grandson enjoyed a New Year celebration, my wife and I, along with our 21 year old son, agreed to play a game of "Family Guy" Monopoly. We all wore appropriate "Family Guy" clothing and we had a rousing game in progress until a little after 10pm.

My son decided to admit defeat and said he was going to his room for a little while. He was sound asleep within 30 minutes.

Part of my recovery from depression has been the ability to finally get a good nights sleep on a consistent basis. This has only been achieved through the miracle of modern science, a miracle I decided to forgo in order to be awake at midnight to celebrate with my wife and grandson. I did take the medication around 11:30, which was shortly before both my grandson and my wife were asleep - in that order.

So who was the only person awake to celebrate the New Year? Who was the only person awake at 1:30 am?

I would normally consider this an inauspicious beginning but for the fact that I'm so glad that 2007 is finally over with.

I have had new year celebrations in the past where the next day I felt anything but new. Just imagine yourself in the shape you need to be in to feel that way. Now imagine that you're at the party the night before at the house of a friend. Well on your way to alcohol bliss, you walk into your friends bathroom, not having been forewarned that the floor was repainted:

I don't know about you, but this point I would have emptied my stomach of its contents in a rather dramatic fashion.

The start of the new year signals hope, even when you're digging out of snow, so I pray that the hope of the new year infuses your soul throughout the year.

Now on to Iowa.