Gossip

I watched the movie "Doubt" again last night. The 2008 movie starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Viola Davis and Philip Hoffman is based on John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize winning stage play "Doubt: A Parable" and brings up many disturbing and thought-provoking issues. And like any good work of art, it evokes new insights each time you revisit it!

Last night I was struck by one of the sermons Father Flynn preached about GOSSIP:

A woman had casually repeated a bit of unkind gossip she had heard about a man she really didn't even know. She knew her action was wrong and it started troubling her...so much that she had a dream one night of a large hand hovering over her and pointing an accusing finger at her.
She decided that this must be the hand of God pointing out her transgression and she needed to go to her priest, confess and seek forgiveness.
After admitting her hurtful deed, she asked to be pardoned for her actions. The priest gave her an usual penance. She was to go home, take a pillow and knife and go up to the roof of her apartment. Once there she was to open the pillow with the knife and then return to the priest. She did as she had been instructed.
The priest asked her what had happened when she did as he had told her. She told how even the slightest breeze took the feathers and blew them everywhere! The priest then told her, "Now go back and retrieve each and every feather."
"But I cannot do that!" she cried. "I have no idea where the wind may have carried each feather! It would be impossible to retrieve them all!"
"Ah," said the priest, "Such is GOSSIP!"


Such an amazing allegory! We must guard against even casual GOSSIP ~ one never knows how far it may grow and we will never be able to get it back!

A Wee Bit O' Magic!

So it's St. Paddy's Day again and thought I'd share a memory of a funny friend and the Wee Bit O' Magic he would create for his three small children.
Now you know with a name like Patrick he was well versed in Irish stories and wanted to share that enchantment with his kids.
Oh, and he also had a bit of the Blarney in him...

Of course leprechauns figured in a lot of those stories. He spun wonderful stories of their comings and goings. He told the kids how they would sneek in and out of people's houses at night. But on St. Patrick's Day, they brought their gold with them! Anyone lucky enough to catch a leprechaun would be rich beyond their wildest dreams! He would help his kids set up various traps to see if they could capture their own leprechaun and that famous pot of gold.

All kinds of crazy contraptions were made and armed for the evening. It was so much fun trying to think of the best way to catch one of these elusive creatures! The kids would go to sleep with visions of their victory first thing on the morrow!




Next morning, sure enough some of the traps would had been tripped! But, alas, all they could find were these gold nuggets of gum! Daddy would explain how when these clever little green guys were really scared, they spilled some of their golden treasure. But to ensure that no one could ever get their hands on their precious gold, they made the gold turn into bubblegum!

Ah sad, but truly sweet!

Did I mention this was the same guy who ran toy motorcyle wheels through sparkling dust to make tracks on a child's pillow to prove the Tooth Fairy had been there?

Well, end of tale. Hope you all enjoy St. Patrick's Day ~ the one day we all get to be a little Irish!

Go Make a Difference

Once again, a celebrity has died, and the media makes some sort of saint of them! Really? I don't get it!

Seems they took the gifts and talents they were given and threw them away for fame and money and bad living. Sad? You bet!

But why are there people hanging around to view a funeral of someone they never knew?
They are burying Whitney Houston today and strangers are gathering around to get a view...

They leave flowers and gifts that will never be enjoyed by a living person.

They cry and wail like their best friend has passed.
Now THAT is sad!

I always wonder why these people don't take that energy and concern and make go make a real difference in the world?

There are so many LIVING people in need of a helping hand. There are hungry waiting for something to eat. There are homeless waiting for safe shelter. There are desperate waiting for a hand up. Children waiting for a loving touch. Elderly waiting for a visit.

What if only one in ten of those people hanging around decided to go make a real difference in the world?

Mother Teresa once said, "God has not called us to see through each other, but to see each other through." And even Dr. Suess told us, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not!"

Go out and make a difference in the world! That's the only thing that will matter in the end!

Give What You Have

No man is so poor as to have nothing worth giving. Give what you have...To someone it may be better than you dare to think. ~H.W. Longfellow~

Watching Hopkins 24/7 this morning and the medical students were expressing their profound thanks for the people whose bodies had been donated to their program. They said there was no way to learn all they needed to learn without hands-on experience these bodies give them. And they took a moment to remember these were a human beings, not just anonymous remains. One student team even said a prayer for their "person" and his family and friends. Made me think of Byron's brother, Bruce. Being a teaching tool in a medical university was his final contribution to the world!

Bruce was the third of the seven Robinson boys. From the beginning it would appear that he always marched to his own drum. Mom reported he was often sad and moody. He seemed to prefer his solitude. Difficulty in school caused him to be retained a year. After one of his outbursts of anger, he could be found "camping out" in an old car . In later years, as the adult brothers would fondly recall childhood adventures and mischievious deeds at the old family homestead, Bruce would claim no such happy memories.

He had some good qualities: He was a hard worker and was willing to teach his skills to others. He loved his children. He was a true horseman and loved everything about ranch living. He started a lot of enterprises that had great potential.

But his life was troubled: He married and divorced twice. He had three children whom he abandoned before they reached adulthood. He started the family business, but walked away before it was a success. He struggled greatly with financial matters and was convinced the world was out to defeat him. Bruce always seemed to be chasing that golden carrot that was dangling just out of his grasp...and wasn't too happy about it either!

Bruce's last few years left his family puzzled and sad. He and his female companion drifted from place to place in the Northwest. They never had anything of their own and ran from a few brushes with the legal system. There were a number of people looking for them to settle money and business matters. And his poor mother worried constantly about him. She once said, "Bruce starts up the river of life, and then not only quits rowing, but throws the paddles overboard!"

Then Bruce called with the news of bone cancer. Without any money or medical insurance he depended on the state hospital for treatment. The end was painful and involved. When it was over, the hospital told Bruce's companion that because he was "a ward of the state" his body would be donated to the medical program there for study. She has no legal standing to protest...and Bruce made his final contribution to the world.

His final years may have been fruitless in so many other ways, but it is comforting to think that final gift has made a difference in the lives of the medical students and in the lives of the future patients they went on to serve.

And it would be nice to think those students said a little prayer for Bruce and for his family....

R.I.P. Bruce!

Footprints On My Heart

Do you know what these are? Look closely...can you see them?

No, not just footprints! They are proof that my family has been here and had a good time!



They were in the pool and they were back and forth in the house. They were in the kitchen getting snacks and into the cooler for cold drinks. They were taking a shower or even taking a nap. There was food and laughter, fun and love.

If you listen (yes, listen) you can hear the giggles and shrieks, the stories shared and the memories being made.

They are evidence that a happy family has been through here, and left not only footprints in the hall...

... but Footprints On My Heart! Blessings indeed!

Can One Make a Difference?

Have you ever thought about it - can one person really make a difference? Here is a modern fable from "The Carabou" by Kurt Kauter:




"Tell me the weight of a snowflake," the coal mouse asked the wild dove.

"Why, nothing more than nothing!" was the answer.





"In that case I must tell you a marvelous story," the coal mouse said. "I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow. Not heavily, not in a giant blizzard, no, just like in a dream, without any violence. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952!"




"When the next snowflake dropped gently onto the branch - nothing more than nothing, as you say - the branch broke off."

Having said that, the little coal mouse flew away. The dove, since Noah's time an authority on the matter, thought about the story for a while and finally said to herself: "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come into the world."


One persons voice, one persons actions can make a difference! One person who, as Mother Teresa said, cares enough to do some small thing in a great way. She told us, "God has not called us to see through each other, but to see each other through."

Think about it, then go make a difference...You can do it!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better.

It's not. ~Dr. Seuss~

Up, Up and Away

On the way to church last Sunday, we saw several hot air balloons inflating, getting ready for an early morning flight. Byron and I started laughing remembering an early November morning and an unexpected surprise!























On a clear bright Saturday about a week after Thanksgiving, we had the front door open enjoying the cool morning breeze. Drinking our coffee and reading the paper, the dog suddenly started barking and we could hear a strange "fshoosh
fshoosh" out front. When we went out to investigate, a large hot air balloon was settling down in front of our house!

We are fairly rural up here and don't have too many neighbors, but quite a few were gathering out front. They must have heard the excitement too!

The balloon pilots were very friendly and told us they were getting ready for an upcoming "Fox and Hounds" run, which is like a relay race. They were checking out our location as a landing spot. They gladly answered everyone's questions and demonstrated the equipment on their balloon.

Among the group gathered was a little brother and sister, about 5 and 7 years old. They were with their grandparents who were keeping them for the day. They were so excited to be so close to such an amazing thing! When one of the pilots asked, "Who would like a ride?" they started jumping up and down with their hands raised high. "Can we Grandma, please? Please?"

Neither of the grandparent's were able to get in the basket, so Byron volunteered to go up as the "adult" on board. Secretly, he would have been waving his hand too! The two little ones were helped into the basket and then Byron stepped in and they closed the basket door. As they started to rise, the little boy said, "Boy, mom and dad are NEVER going to believe this!"

I thought about the Polaroid instant camera setting in the office. The boys had used it the day before to take some work pictures. As I ran to retrieve it, I hoped there was also some film left. What luck - there were two shots left! I grabbed the camera and ran back out front.

The special balloon ride was fairly high over the desert in front of the house, and the two little ones were waving and calling down to their grandparents. The pilot started the descent and as soon as I could clearly see their beaming faces, but still see the balloon in the air, I snapped two quick pictures, and set them aside to develope. When they stepped out of the basket I handed each of them a picture and told them, "Now mom and dad will believe you had a great balloon ride!" The grandma thanked me with tears in her eyes.

The pilots were getting ready to give a few other neighbors a ride as the family walked back to their home. Byron said he had pointed out several landmarks for the kids, including grandma's house. What a great day and what a great experience for everyone!

Up, up and away - you never know what surprises may happen in your own front yard!