This is not "Mission Accomplished"

    

   In the days that followed the Supreme Court decision to strike down the Roe v. Wade ruling from 1973, I have followed the reporting by the mass media, and it seemed to be filled with reports of anger about the new court's handling of the whole affair. 

   To those who are so angry about losing their "rights", I have but two questions: 

      "What about the baby?"

      "What about his/her Rights?"

   And I seem to remember a quote from somewhere:

      "A nation that kills its children will not long endure"

   But there is another reaction that I see when I look at my Facebook page. There are no postings about the new decision at all. Since my friends on Facebook are almost entirely Christian people, I want to say:

      Let Christians not be afraid to be happy about the SCOTUS decision, but may we thank God and rejoice, not to gloat in our righteous cause, but to be truly grateful and to celebrate the fact that those individuals who were the most vulnerable in our society may now have life.

      This decision seems to be a little like the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 in which President Lincoln freed the slaves who were in any state or part of a state that was under Confederate control. Slaves in border states were not included in this, nor any slaves still in the Union.

      Now we seem to have a situation that a child's chance at life may depend on the address of the mother. Some will have protection, but not all.

      Winston Churchill gave a speech to the British people at a time when the Battle of Britain, the air war in which the English held off the German invasion of their island nation, saying:

         "Now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

   So it is with The Right to Life, the work is not over. Some of the unborn will have the protection of state laws, but not all. 

   There is still much work to be done, and this may be the hardest part.

Post Scrip

    P.S. I forgot one item on the trip list that should be mentioned:

   DOWNTON ABBEY, The motion picture.

   One of our all time favorite TV series is Downton Abbey and the movie adaptation came to theaters while we were in Conway. Knowing this, Donna and Noel got tickets, and we had fantastic time.

  We have watched all the episodes probably 3 times at least, and it never ceases to entertain.

Senior Tripping

    Did you ever spend hours planning and then executing those plans for a trip? 

       Well, we did just that. We needed to go to 4 places, in 4 different states, over the period of about 4 weeks, coming home between each visit, and then hitting the road again for another. 

   We came home between stops to get our mail and keep the grass mowed to a reasonable length. We also got to sleep in our own bed for a few nights and renew our energies. 

   When we began this odyssey on a Thursday in mid-May we rejoiced in good health, a good travel car, and enough energy to pull it off. When we finished the last trip, to Blacksburg, we were still grateful for the health to do it, and the car which performed well, but wondering about the energy required.

   Let's run through our ports of call, the people we interacted with in these 4 places, and some realizations that came to mind as we came home from the last one.

       First trip, to Conway Arkansas. Leaving on a Thursday, spending 2 nights in an Airbnb, and driving home on Sunday.

   Our purpose was to celebrate the graduation of Cady Gray Murray, daughter of Noel and Donna, from Conway Senior High, with honors.

Noel, Cady Gray and Donna

     One fine day we explored Petit Jean State Park located on a small mountain just west of Conway. It was a nice day, no tourists, and a quiet time looking over the Arkansas Valley with the river flowing    through. 

After spending two days in Arkansas, it was back in the car, driving back home for a week before heading out again.      

Next stop Cornelius, NC

Our purpose here was to visit with Dwayne and Karen and then to attend an 8th grade graduation where we presented a scholarship, named for Mayre, to a rising 9th grade Woodlawn student, Claire Kendall.

   Karen and Carolyn 

Claire and Mr. B

One night in Cornelius then in the car to go back home for a few hours. After a day and a half, we were on the way to Atlanta to spend the night then to Georgetown, SC for a wedding. Rusty and Joan's youngest son was marrying his sweetheart, Eleanor, in a 300 year old church in Georgetown on Saturday with a reception held on an island just north of there. Jack is Carolyn's grandson and most of the Benton clan were in attendance.

Georgetown was nice, too, with a 200 year old Courthouse

Then home again on Sunday, cut grass on Monday and leave for Virginia on Tuesday. Doug and Dawn were off on a 27th anniversary trip to the Dominican Republic, and Carolyn and I were the grandparents in charge of the 3 teenagers left to guard the homestead. 

and the Dog, Maggie who must have longed for his parent guardians to come home. Although, to their credit, Lucy, Laken and David (left to right) took great care of the 4-legged member of that family.

We had traveled a couple of thousand miles, seen all of our 3 families, and safely arrived back home. We had God's protection on us and on those we were with. We had been blessed and were grateful for the time and opportunity.

Then as we traveled home, reflecting on how were truly blessed people, one phone call with a friend in Blacksburg made us pause and think. True we had been blessed, but we were not "special people". There were folks that we knew that would have loved to be healthy and to be making visits to grandkids and others, but their physical bodies would not allow it. My friend Bruce, could hardly get out of bed. We had been tennis buddies and golf buddies, too, when we lived in Virginia now we could only talk on the phone for a few minutes while passing through.

A portion of our Boy's Group of old men with wives back when.

Makes you stop and think of what Life is all about.

                                                                                                                                      

                             

A Tale of Two Trees

   Back in 2019, I planted a tree in our backyard. Carolyn had wanted some more green color to hide the tangle of miscellaneous trees and bushes that formed the backdrop behind the rail fence at the back of the property. I chose a Leyland Cypress as a fast growing evergreen that would fill that bill and gave it to her on our first anniversary.

   She was, could I say, thrilled with the new addition, and gave it a name, CLYDE. Clyde has doubled his height in his two-year residency. He is a worthy anniversary present.

   When Bruce and Carolyn built their new home back in 1971, this area of the property was filled with pines planted by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) back in the Depression era. These softwoods were replaced with grass later on. 

   But, in this expanse of green grass, Clyde was a bit lonely. True, there was a Black Walnut that had survived the "pine tree era" and a maple that my wife had planted earlier in this century, but that was it for this section of the acreage.

   So, as a good husband always does, I kept my ears open for a hint, another gift that my lady would enjoy. 

   Enter George. a 6 foot ginkgo, a tree that will give my bride a colorful reminder of our marriage. 

   After all, what says love like a husband-dug planting hole, nourishing soil, water and a grand yellow tree to enjoy each Fall.

   Plus Clyde gets a friend.

The Firstborn Son

 FROM THIS:

TO THIS:

TO THIS:

TO THIS:

   Granny Lou would be proud of you and your family, and Carolyn and I are, too.

   HAPPY 60TH

Thoughts on Ukraine War

   

   We have watched quite a bit of the news from Ukraine over the past 2 weeks. Some images stand out in my mind.

      The image of baby strollers lined up in a Polish rail station, ready to be given to Ukrainian mothers carrying small ones across the border. A welcoming gift from the Polish people, a people ready to help mothers in a foreign land. A message that "you are not alone".

       A picture, taken from behind two Ukrainian men as they stand alone waving to their families across the tracks, leaving on a refugee train bound for safety in Poland. Men took their wives, children, and others to safety, then turned around and returned home to pick up arms and join the fight against the invaders.

      The looks of tearful anxiety line the faces of Ukrainian mothers, fathers and children, as they participate in one last group hug. The unknown staring each one in the face as they hold each other in a last goodbye. What will each life be like when they meet again, if they do?

   Sure, there are scenes of war's destruction that stay in my mind, and I bow my head in prayer, asking God for peace and safety for those caught up in both sides of that conflict, but it is the reflection of those mental images, the trauma those displaced people have seen and will see in the days ahead.

    Lord Jesus hold their hands tightly.

   The emotion builds up behind my eyes as I look at the TV screen and see that war as it takes place far away, but it also builds as I write this, because it is the people involved who will bear the scars, physical ones and mental ones, of this time.

   Let me end with a little story: A natural reaction to the above emotions is simple: "What Can I Do?"

   I read a short article about a lady in America who worked with airbnb to get funds to hosts in Ukraine to help them through this perilous time. She just realized that with all that was going on, a little cash might make a lot of difference. It was simple, as a traveler here would book a room, or apt. for a couple of nights, not with the intention of going there, but Not Going. The payment for the stays would be sent to the hosts in county by airbnb within 24 hours of the check in date of the traveler. No fees would be taken out by the organization, and the whole amount passed on. The only thing that traveled was the money.

   Now when we look at the news from Kiev, we search for a man with a special spring in his step and listen for the jingle of coins in his pocket.

   Here is a return message from this man:

      "Hello Don! Thank you very much for your kind support, it means a lot to us now :) Sorry, but unfortunately I don't have much free time to answer.

This money will be spent to pay little salaries to my employees who are now staying in Kyiv without a possibility to return home and to make donations to the needs of our army.
Hope to host you in the future! God bless you! Slava Ukraini 💛💙"

   A small contribution to a man who may be giving much more, his all.

   

   

One More Time

 Picture is worth 1,000 words

"Nuff Said