Remembering on Memorial Day

I have been enjoying this Memorial Weekend Holiday in the great outdoors with my daughter hiking trails, fishing, swimming, crafting and watching Leave It to Beaver re-runs.  I had a little time to organize my filing system and came across a picture of my dear Grandpa Jack. He's sitting on a trike in his  Army uniform looking like he's ready for some adventure.

The picture got me thinking about the reason why we celebrate Memorial Day. It is so easy to plan outings and barbeque's and focus on fun without even giving second thought to what the Holiday represents, this can especially be easy to forget for the civilian population. Memorial Day is about those that died while in service to their nation; quite sobering when you begin to think about what that really means. Thankfully, my Grandfather didn't die in his service during World War II and I have wonderful memories of him that I enjoy sharing with other family members.

So many things flood my mind as I write about remembering the service men that gave the ultimate sacrifice. It makes the words, 'thank you' seem so cheap. I think the best way we can celebrate this historic National Holiday is to talk and listen. What an honor to be able to listen to the stories of those that gave the ultimate price. Somehow the story is what keeps the sacrifice real. Maybe this is one reason why I love World War II history (besides letting a little of my Dad's passion rub off on me). I know we don't necessarily have the opportunity to discuss intimate details of life and death one on one with families that have experienced the loss of their son or daughter, so I suggest the next closest thing; pick up a Historical Biography of one of your favorite era's ( recent and ancient history are fraught with examples) and read the amazing true stories of real people fighting for freedom.

If you don't know where to begin, I have some suggestions for you...
1. Unbroken, by Laura Hillibrand
    World War II Airforce.

2. Fly Boys: A True Story of Courage, by James Bradley
     Covers the Pacific Theatre in World War II.

3. Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and The Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10, by Marcus Lutrell
    Afghanistan Theatre

Since the picture of my Grandpa in uniform inspired this post, I'd like to remember him by keeping the 'story' flame alive. I'm going to share a memory of my late Grandpa Jack, although not related to his service this story does give a picture of a man full of vibrant independence; or maybe better labeled, a rebellious streak.

I was eight years old and was fond of riding in my grandparents car when our large extended family caravaned from one place to another. This particular ride was on a Sunday. We were let out of church services and were heading down Wadsworth Boulevard in Grandpa Jack's sparkly, emerald green Buick with matching green fabric interior.

I was nestled in between Grandma El's yellow, damask back pillow and some Bibles on the seat meant for me to hold so they wouldn't fly all over the backseat. In these days, wearing a seat belt was pretty much optional, although buckle up billboards were cropping up everywhere. We lived by the seat of our pants in those days and none of us payed attention to the life saving warning.

Now Grandpa Jack was also known as Lead Foot Jack by friends and family. Speed limit signs were only suggestions, and even a red light or two fell under that category. We all agreed after careful consensus that he must have Angel's specifically posted on his bumpers because with his carefree, "what is this rear view mirror for" driving style and no incidents, that was the only logical conclusion one could come to.

We were probably clipping a good 55 down a 40 mile per hour lane when the sirens of a police car blared in our ears. Jack kept going through the intersection of Alameda and Wadsworth without slowing. I said, "Grandpa, don't you hear the police siren? I think you better pull over."

He retorted, " AA!" with a wave of his hand. Only when El piped in with a June Cleaver calm demeanor did Jack slow down and pull over.

The protocol commenced and the police officer in professional fashion asked, " Did you know how fast you were going, and may I see your license and registration?" My grandpa handed the paperwork over and watched silently as the officer went back to his car to log his information down.

The officer closed his car door and that's when my Grandpa turned his car on and took off like a bat out of hell, in disbelief I scolded," Grandpa, he has your license, you can't do that, it's breaking the law."

He retorted with his signature, "AA", and hand swipe.

I think Grandpa may have run a red light to make it to his hideout, but I'll never know because I had my head hidden under Grandma's back pillow the rest of the way home.

If you have any stories to share about your family whether they served or not, I'd love to 'hear' them.



 

Grandpa Jack Koch, Armed Forces, World War II, stationed in Hawaii

"History is nothing but a series of stories, whether it be world history or family history."
Bill Mooney and David Holt, The Storyteller’s Guide.

The Vine Impostor

Photo from Everystock Photo

I love my backyard, it is a little oasis for my family. We love sitting with our morning coffee while listening to the birds or sipping a glass of wine on the deck in the evening putting our feet up to relax. Our property backs up to a natural gas pipeline and all sorts of vegetation grows outside of the fence line. Much of our time working in the yard is combating the creeping weeds that wants to sneak in but this is a story of how we let one impostor take residence.

When we first moved in I surveyed the area and was pleased to see two grapevines growing against two fence posts. I wondered what variety they were as they were not listed on the detailed list of vegetation the previous owner took effort in providing us.

I watched as the ornamental peach burst forth with flowers, the crape myrtles bloomed and the jasmine scent wafted through the air. I was astounded at the fast growth of the grapevine and let it take over some of the fence line to support the expected  abundance of grapes, even to the point it began to inter mesh with the trumpet vine, but I wanted to yield as much fruit as I could so I let it grow.

The season for harvesting grapes came and went and I went out to the fence, put my hand on my hip and with disappointment started cutting back the vines. I thought, "maybe the previous owner didn't properly prune them last year," and that was the cause for not one single cluster of grapes. I got them to a manageable point and thought, "next year will be the year."

Next year came and again no fruit was to be found. That's when I had it and just cut the vines all the way to the ground, yanking and pulling the tendrils and leaves into a huge pile for the trash bin. I thought, "what useless grapevines."

I decided to take the dog on a walk down the pipeline one day and noticed many other fences had these same grapevines and even a few trees and scrub bushes had them too. That's when I finally realized these vines were impersonators. In reality they were a weed and people here in Texas call them wild grapes. I found that deceivingly odd, since they don't even have wild fruit, just the look of the real leaves and vine. I did some head slapping and guffawing at my failure to notice the counterfeit.

Today, as I was tending to these impersonators I found myself talking to God about how false religions acts in the same manner or another way of looking at it; how anything outside of His will and character acts in the same manner.

How beautiful the impostor looks, how enchanting to the senses it feels, how wonderful the perception of what you'll gain. It strokes emotion, it has elements of the real deal, you tend it, you let it grow because of the expectations you put on it. The end result is one overgrown mess that chokes out anything healthy and real trying to grow up around it. The crushing blow is it bears no fruit, leaving you empty handed, hungry and obviously not satisfied.

The tragedy lies in the impostors blinding deception, it becomes a circular habit; as most don't tear down the impostor but tend to it futilly year after year hoping to squeeze blood from a turnip. (ha, just had to use that one) The blinders don't allow for the real vine with abundant fruit to be experienced.

And this is where the beauty of Jesus shines on the situation. How can we know the real from the impostor? How can we be free from the reaching tendrils of deception? It is through God's Son and submission to Him.

How could I not end this post with John 15...Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener..."

The Age of Tainted Light

I just finished reading a very well written biography on Thomas Paine by Jack Fruchtmann, Jr. called Thomas Paine, The Apostle of Freedom. I felt it was thorough and balanced in giving an objective picture of a very controversial figure. After reading about this revolutionary iconoclast I could not let some thoughts rest, before I hash through some of the thoughts I better give some background first.

Paine's influence spread in America from his boisterous call to stand against oppression and tyranny through his pamphlet Common Sense. He has been considered the Father of the American Revolution and a supporter and instigator in the French Revolution. He spent much of his time in France where he wrote The Rights of Man. Paine wielded his pen like a sword to the extent his birth country, England, wanted him arrested and brought  to trial. He even wanted to help Ireland start a revolution of their own. In short, he was a great agitator.

I thought about letting my thoughts bounce around in my head and leave it at that, but a recent chat with my Dad impressed me to go ahead and put them on paper. Sometimes a discussion can give relevance for the need to write things down. My Dad and I can touch on many subjects while we talk and two topics that we like to linger on are History and the Bible. He was reading a biography on Bonhoeffer and I was telling him about Paine. We love comparing and contrasting details and relate them to the current events. When we do that our conversation always comes to the topic of mankind's position in the grand scheme of things. The figures written about throughout history all have the opportunity to deal with the position mankind faces. The way in which they choose to submit or not submit to the position is what makes their lives a learning tool for future generations.

I've been studying various times in History as a hobby for some time now and one question I have in the back of my head as I read historical accounts is this: Is the thinking in our modern age of progress and technology any different from ages past? Is our thinking advanced, taking us to higher places as the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Century seem to love laying claim to?

Photo By: Undy

I'll pick on the 18th Century because this has been my focus lately. Reading about the Age of Enlightenment parallels the 21st century quite nicely. According to Kant, The Enlightenment was "Mankind's final coming of age, the emancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error." Thomas Paine was the climactic figure of this statement, he sums it up in his book The Age of Reason. This was his "enlightened" masterpiece, his tribute to progress. His arrival into the realm of liberation and freedom was to attack the Word of God, throw out all 'superstitious' miraculous sections, annihilate the prophets, and reduce Jesus to a good teacher and the Holy Spirit to an absurd ghost story. The Bible was merely a book to entertain with a few good moral stories. Paine went on to declare Science as the ultimate gavel for judging what was real and what was not.

One would think Paine was an atheist with his vehement onslaught on the Bible but on the contrary, he was a deist. He did believe there was a God, in fact, Paine created his own religion called Theophilanthropism, meaning: God, Love, Man. His goal was to : "heighten the spirituality of all people, to bring them to harmony with themselves, their fellow human beings, the universe and ultimately God." Paine also took part in a sect called the Illuminists, "writers were to transform the world by simultaneously being centers of light and a body of resistance and to be legislators of the universe." Another club Paine frequented was called "Le Cercle Social" meaning circle of light. This excerpt from Fruchtman's book explains the nature of their ideals. "France had been fully enmeshed in a series of radical changes in lifestyle, which followed on the heels of vast political change...Religious ceremonies took on an earthly quality. A return to things natural, to nature herself, meant that ceremonies were regarded as festivals where statues of Dame Nature became the centerpiece. Festivals celebrated the new model of nature and light. An enlightened populace had set off a spark of revolution...time, place and all humanity were fully subsumed by nature and the seasons." (pages 377-379-various quotes taken from these pages)

This was elitist thinking of the 18th Century, the currents ran deep in Europe and were subtle in America but alive and kicking. Many of the Founding Fathers leaned towards Enlightened thinking. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and yes, George Washington were influenced to some degree by the ideology of the time.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and look closely at the political and cultural structure. You don't have to look hard to find The New Age movement is an obvious product of the Enlightenment. It takes all religions and makes them acceptable and they tout "light" as their feel good mantra. If you are on the path to knowing your true self, you will know God. Go back and read Paine's goal for his idea of religion. Eerily similar. The only difference is it is more widespread and open and called many different names.

How many times have you heard Oprah, talk like that? Have you seen this type of talk in your community or in your church? The Earth and nature and the study of natural laws (science) take center stage in our modern culture. (Worshiping the creation instead of the Creator.)

If you look at the past 200 years not much has changed, the progression is found in the widespread acceptance of an ideology opposite of what God tells us is truth, which is in reality a form of idolatry. Where's the "light" in that?

Paine, like many others, decided to reject the truth of man's position and make up his own rules (religion). For a man who hung his hat on hating religion, he found himself caught up in the web of it by creating his own. Doesn't this sound familiar? Read Isaiah 14:12-15, the first rejection and rebellion against truth. Let me clarify what 'position' am I talking about? The position of man is that we are sinful and in need of a savior. This is fact whether we like it or not (Romans 3:10). If one can come to terms with this and submit to the fact of our depraved state, the Word of God becomes our lifeline that points to the One (Jesus) who could (and did) change our fate.

If you fail to understand your position, then you remain spiritually dead, and the outcome is similar to the ravings of The Age of Reason. Romans 1:18-32 Explains this in perfect detail. Verse 25  is loud and clear, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator..."

When you are spiritually dead, you can not understand the things of God.( Romans 1:19, Ephesians 4:18). Paine was an obvious example of this. How ironic a hired pen, a writer by trade, couldn't even begin to comprehend the theme of the Bible. From the very beginning The Book explains a problem; sin entered a perfect world causing a dilemma. and throughout the text which spans hundreds of years with real people used as God's messengers; some of which were contemporaries and some who did not know of each other, to reveal God's solution to the problem through His Son Jesus. Over three hundred prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament have been fulfilled in the New Testament, this cohesiveness over such a long time period is a miracle in itself. One more small point and then I'll shut up, it is not hard to pinpoint an authors style, once you read Tennyson or Grisham or pick any of your favorite authors, you can see their unique stamp on the page. The Bible has God's unique, divine stamp throughout the pages of His Word, and once you KNOW Jesus through personal relationship just as the author's of the Bible did you can see Him everywhere.

I'll make my last statement short. Aside from the true light; only found in Jesus, one can only lack luster and the tainted light will eventually lead you down a path where you'll find yourself lost.

Jesus: "I AM the LIGHT of the world. John 8:12

Which "light" illuminates your path?














  

Great Museum Experience- Austin Capitol

Photo by: cogdogblog



Great Museum Experience- Austin Capitol -The Seal of Texas

By: Alexandra Brown

When I went to the Austin Capitol, I learned that the Texas State Seal is hidden all over the building. I was able to locate the Seal on the outside corners of the building and on the tiles set in the floor.

The Texas State Seal is a circle with a silver star in the center. Surrounding the star is a live oak branch to the left and an olive branch to the right. The words, ‘State of Texas’ curve over the top of the star. The live oak branch represents strength and the olive branch represents peace. The seal also has a reverse side depicting The Six flags flown over Texas and the words, ‘Remember the Alamo’.

The Texas Seal is used to make a document official and shows it is from the State of Texas.

Source: www.lsjunction.com

Photos By: Chandra Brown
The Rotunda

Louis Braille: Father of Literacy For The Blind

Alex Brown's Presentation of the Life of Louis Braille

Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France on January 4, 1806. Louis had four siblings; three sisters and one brother. Louis’ father owned a saddle and harness shop when Louis was three his father left him unattended in the shop. Louis tried to poke a hole through a piece of material with a sharp tool, he did not have the strength to pierce the leather and he accidentally stabbed his eye. The wound became infected due to delayed professional medical attention. The infection soon spread to his other eye causing Louis Braille to lose his sight.

A priest named Jacques Paully voluntarily taught Louis until he was afforded a scholarship to a school called, The Royal Institute for the Blind. Louis found great pleasure in the outlet of music; he was also skilled at knitting and slipper making. In 1836 Louis invented a writing called raphigraphy which used raised dots that formed the letters of the alphabet. Louis got the idea in his school system through an art form called embossing. He was able to simplify reading for the blind with his six dot system. Louis even wrote a few books with his new system to add to the school library. Sadly, his invention was suppressed by the head master of the school. Through the persistence and demand of the students, Louis’ system was kept alive. Despite opposition, Louis was faithful to his school through his devotion to adding more books to the library as well as teaching.

Louis was dedicated to his work and he spent his life giving the gift of literacy to the blind. Due to his constant work pace and poor living conditions he contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of forty-three.

            Louis’ legacy made it to the United States when Braille was first introduced in1860 at the Missouri School for the Blind.

Source: The World at His Fingertips: A Story about Louis Braille, by Barabara O'Conner.