Joke?

For lack of anything else of importance at this time here's a joke from The Huffington Post

Bush at the Pearly Gates

Einstein dies and goes to heaven. At the Pearly Gates, Saint Peter tells him, "You look like Einstein, but you have NO idea the lengths that some people will go to sneak into Heaven. Can you prove who you really are?"

Einstein ponders for a few seconds and asks, "Could I have a blackboard and some chalk?"

Saint Peter snaps his fingers and a blackboard and chalk instantly appear. Einstein proceeds to describe with arcane mathematics and symbols his theory of relativity. Saint Peter is suitably impressed. "You really ARE Einstein!" he says. "Welcome to heaven!"

The next to arrive is Picasso. Once again, Saint Peter asks for credentials. Picasso asks, "Mind if I use that blackboard and chalk?" Saint Peter says, "Go ahead." Picasso erases Einstein's equations and sketches a truly stunning mural with just a few strokes of chalk. Saint Peter claps. "Surely you are the great artist you claim to be!" he says. "Come on in!"

Then Saint Peter looks up and sees George W. Bush. Saint Peter scratches his head and says, "Einstein and Picasso both managed to prove their identity. How can you prove yours?"

George W. looks bewildered and says, "Who are Einstein and Picasso?"

Saint Peter sighs and says, "Come on in, George."

George Bush and the Queen

While visiting England, George Bush is invited to tea with the Queen. He asks her what her leadership philosophy is. She says that it is to surround herself with intelligent people.

Bush asks how she knows if they're intelligent.

"I do so by asking them the right questions," says the Queen. "Allow me to demonstrate."

Bush watches as the Queen phones Tony Blair and says, "Mr. Prime Minister, please answer this question: your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or sister. Who is it?"

Tony Blair responds, "It's me, ma'am."

"Correct. Thank you and good-bye, sir," says the Queen. She hangs up and says, "Did you get that, Mr. Bush?"

Bush nods: "Yes ma'am. Thanks a lot. I'll definitely be using that!"

Bush, upon returning to Washington, decides he'd better put the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the test. Bush summons Jesse Helms to the White House and says, "Senator Helms, I wonder if you can answer a question for me."

"Why, of course, sir. What's on your mind?"

Bush poses the question: "Uhh, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Helms hems and haws and finally asks, "Can I think about it and get back to you?"

Bush agrees, and Helms leaves. He immediately calls a meeting of other senior Republican senators, and they puzzle over the question for several hours, but nobody can come up with an answer. Finally, in desperation, Helms calls Colin Powell at the State Department and explains his problem.

"Now lookee here, son, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Powell answers immediately, "It's me, of course."

Much relieved, Helms rushes back to the White House, finds George Bush, and exclaims, "I know the answer, sir! I know who it is! It's Colin Powell!"

And Bush replies in disgust, "Wrong, it's Tony Blair!"

View from the kitchen

For the last several days as I have stood at the kitchen sink this apple blossom has called to me. All of the other blossoms have long since dropped off, and I assume are about the business of "making apples". I can only think of how much joy this single beauty would have brought to Betty. Now that she is gone I'm the one who spends time at the sink washing up yesterdays dishes. And enjoying its purity. Long may she bloom.

We were young & carefree - Once

I've always loved this picture. It was taken somewhere at a reststop/picnic area on the Oregon Coast as we were traveling to Bandon for a visit in the summer of 1985. Betty would have been 59 and I would have been 60. We were, indeed, still young and carefree. We took the hats with us as they somehow spoke to our joy together. That beautiful smile of Betty's is in nearly every picture I have of her including all of the pictures taken at our wedding and reception.

Ancient Letter

May 1, 2007

The stuff you find when going through old files. E.g. this letter to my mother on Air Corps stationary over 63 years ago. And I have one written a year earlier while I was still in High School just before turning 18. It pretty much decried the War. Here’s the later one.

Hamilton Field
11 November 1943

Dear Mother:

Armistice Day! That strikes a familiar tone doesn’t it? No School. Banks closed. Stores closed all or part of the day. But not so on Hamilton Field. Work goes on just the same in striving for another day. Not an Armistice day, but a day of unconditional surrender. On this day twenty-five years ago the order to “cease firing” went down the line, but not today. The order is fire and fire again. Push the enemy back relentlessly until he gives in to utter defeat. Twenty five years ago the munitions factories began to shut down; their task done. Now the order is to “work harder” and increase production towards victory. Still we paused today for a minute to pay tribute to those who lost their lives over two decades ago that there might not be another war, and, ironically, to those who have given their lives in this war the result of the last. At eleven o’clock every man and woman on the post stood at attention while taps was played and then went back to work to help bring about a day of peace. One short minute of tribute and many days of sweat to resolve that those “dead shall not have died in vain.”
Chaplain Shiery got his orders yesterday and moves on to the Chaplain’s replacement pool at Lowery Field, Denver, Saturday.
Everything has been distressingly quiet around here today,. Fred is still in the hospital and Chaplain Close is out on a trip to the satellite bases. Chaplain Smith has been in and out all day and Chaplain Burke (Catholic) is in “frisco so his ass’t isn’t here either. I’ve just had the Chapel to myself most of the day. There hasn’t even been many calls, although I did take a call from a woman who is the head of the Christian Endeavour for Marin County and she wants me to see if I can get some fellows to speak at the 1st Congregational Church for a special program for Service Personnel. I may do it myself if I can get out. It’s been so long since I spoke before a group that it would be a pleasure to do a little something. The trouble is getting a pass. I may be able to get one through the Chapel.
Well, I don’t have any more news and I really should go up to visit Fred so I’ll close for now.
Love,
James


Fred was a fellow from Little Washington, PA. Not sure why he was in hospital. I was at Hamilton for over seas replacement, but by the end of the Month had been discharged and sent home. I got duty as a Chaplain's Assistant. It beat the heck out of other kinds of KP, etc. one had to do while waiting decisions.

On Eating out

Tonight I was by myself since Pete was out to a Bar-B-Cue with friends. K-Mart had a special on soda (Pepsi) and also had advertised Turf Builder +2 in this morning's paper. I thought to buy that stuff and go on out to dinner. The fertilizer was not available so I went down to Lowe's and found that they had the stuff in a spray bottle. Much easier to use than getting out the spreader. Since I was in the territory I decided to go to Red Lobster and try the shrimp special. It was very filling and good.

The only thing wrong with the evening is that I was alone. The last time I was there was a couple of years ago with Annie, Pete, and Betty. The last time I was out to eat was with David and Pete at Famous Dave's. Before that it was nearly a year ago at Perkins with Willie and Karyn and David following Jimmy's funeral and I had driven them to Billings to catch a plane. I'm here to tell you that eating out alone is not pleasant. I kept thinking of how long Betty took to eat her salad. The meal always came before she had finished. I kept looking across the table and there was nothing but empty space. Supper at home by myself isn't so bad. It is unlikely that I will go out on the town soon for supper. Guess I should have just gone to Arby's for take out and brought it home.

Waiting

I've sent this out recently to family, but thought to share it again with any who happen to read this Blog. April 14, 2007

I have a lot of correspondence and stuff from years past that I look at once in a while. Here’s another stab at poetry. It is dated 5/17/51: I was at Penn State and Betty was in Ceredo with her parents and our first son, Kenneth. She joined me toward the end of June. We moved to Davenport, IA later that summer.

Darling,

We wait for a lot of little things.

Wait for subways, busses;

Wait for phones to ring;

Wait for the cloudy day to pass.

Wait for night to come, and

Wait for it to go.

Wait for summer’s sun, and

Wait for winter’s snow.

Wait for things that matter;

Wait for those that don’t.

Wait with anticipation,

Wait with aching heart.

Wait, and curse the waiting

Wait for you.

Wait!

Fifty eight years ago this day I was privileged to marry this lovely young lady. We shared our life together for just over 56 years when she died after a brief battle with leukemia just a few short weeks after her 80th birthday. I will be forever grateful that all 7 of our children were with us when we celebrated the birthday. A number of them were here for the Thanksgiving that followed and 3 of them with spouses and childrenn were with us in ICU when her gracious heart stopped beating. Just a few months later I lost a son who had been fighting lung cancer for a number of years. It is a good feeling to know that he was with us for the Birthday and Thanksgiving, and that he is now with his Mother. It is also a source of strength to know that I still have a big, loving family of children, daughters and son in-law, and grandchildren. I cherish them all, and I cherish life.

US Constitution

I saw an interesting bumper sticker this afternoon as I was coming out of the grocery store parking lot: "Repeal the 17th amendment". I had to admit to myself that I surely did not know what the 17th amendment was all about. Putting US Constitution in Google brought up multiple sites. No problem, but the problem of why one would want it amended. It simply says that Senators shall be elected by popular vote.

Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4/8/1913.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

The only reason I can think of as to why there might be such a movement is the obscene amount of money being raised by
Senators and Representatives to "buy" their way into office. In particular PAC money.

Doctor's Visit

I've just returned from a visit with my Internist. All the stuff about Medicare and uncaring doctors is given the shift by my man. He was originally Betty's doc and I started going to him when my Cardiologist suggested it might be well to have a "regular" doctor. My appointment was for 9:30 a.m. and I was called into the office on time. Instead of the 5-10 minutes often mentioned by others I was tested throrougly and passed pretty well. I left the office around 10:10 a.m. My Cholesterol was a total of 157. These are better figures than ever before. The LDL was 110 with a reference range of 0-159. HDL was 34, in the low end of the range. Trilycerides were at 65 which is in the middle of the normal range. The results in total blood work were all within normal range considering I had fasted for 14 hours. Lungs sounded good and BP was 120/71. I see him again in October.

Actually I do feel good health wise, and am glad to be able to do my every day activities inspite of the knee conditions. I started to say "knee pain", but that would not be quite true. It is periodic and not severe and it is a rare occasion when I take acetominophin.

Two Lips

After Pete shoveled the 8 plus inches of yesterday's snow off the driveway we drove to Mark's and Rosanna's place in the hills south of the Yellowstone. I had been hesitant about this drive earlier because of the snow, but brother John called and offered us a ride. Well, if he can make it so can I. Actually the snowplows had been out, it was warming up, and the drive was basically without consequence. We had a good visit with family and by 11 o'clock as we headed home the snow was pretty much gone from the roads, and some were actually dry.

When we got home as I got the mail I noticed the above tulips in bloom next to the house. What to do, but to get a picture to share with all.

I am not a gardener!

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

If this thing works you will see what kind of flower I am although the quiz philappa posted is obviously for the opposite sex. At least the Canna post says something about my curmudgedness. The "preview" shows that it works.

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

Snow

It was i the mid-70's in Billings, MT last Sunday when a friend asked if we were through with snow for the year. I reminded him that we still had to get through April. My memory goes back several years to a truly heavy snowfall in mid-April which covered most of Eastern Montana, and with a temperture in the sub-zero range, much of early Spring growth had to start all over again.

Well, we didn' t have to wait for April, of course. When I got up this morning the ground was white and it was snowing heavily. Now, about noon, the sun is shining and the snow is not long for this land. At least it was a wet one and so the promise of using the lawn mower in late April has some merit. It has been pretty dry around here for much of the Winter and any moisture is welcome - especially when we don't have to shovel it.

Peace

For the last several years I have been a member of the Board of the Institute for Peace Studies at Rocky Mountain College. I have served as Secretary for the Board since 2002. Tonight we will be having a Spring Fling banquet as a money raiser to benefit our various projects such as an annual Festival of Cultures on Peace Sunday in June to celebrate the diverse population of this area; an annual Peace Camp for youngsters who need to learn how to deal with conflict in their lives; a mid-winter symposian for women in the area so that they can learn to deal with finances and live comfortably even though their wages are often less than that of men in comparable jobs. We have also held periodic Symposia dealing with understanding international conflict -such as the Palestinian problem. This is a part of our educational focus. We attempt to educate and not "take a stand".

This Blog all started bcause I have been thinking of how Jeanette Rankin of Montana voted against the US going to war both at the time of WW I and again WW II. That was during in epoch when the Congress could vote on whether or not we go to War. Rankin was, of course, outvoted, but each year the Institute has awarded a Jeanette Rankin Peace award to some person with close ties to Montana. The first to receive this award was Sen. Mike Mansfield. Most recently it has gone to a local lady who has worked diligently for fellow black citizens in Billings including serving as a prison chaplain. A couple of years ago I was able to nominate Sen. George McGovern who has a home in Stevensville, MT as well as in South Dakota. He was a gracious recipient. The Billings Gazette has declared this Award as one of the most prestigious in Montana.

My own prayer is for Peace. Several years ago I was asked to lead the Invocation at one of our Board Meetings. It went like this:

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; God of Jesus, Mary and Joseph; God of Sharon and Arafat; Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth; we pray for your presence in the lives of all, and we pray that the peace that passes understanding might prevail in our lives, and in a world torn by war and genocide. We seek your blessing and your guidance in our work as an Institute for Peace. In the Spirit of the Christ we pray. Amen.

Update

But not much to update. I suppose one does not have to add a title. I spent most of the morning in West Billings doing some shopping. Some coupons to cash in at Costco. And a need to stop off to get some milk. Went past the Par-3 golf couse where I've spent a lot of time in past years, but not since my left knee went bad. That showed up mostly on our trip to upstate NY for the Taylor Family Reunion in 2005. Anyway - the parking lot at the course was pretty full. It seemed that most of the players were on the driving range warming up. I did my chores yesterday by raking the evergreen cones off the front yard. The neighbors have a really big evergreen which gives me a lot of shade in the late afteroon so raking is not to bad in recompense. This afternoon it is Coffee with my Democrat friends and then to the Court House to liscence the car. One of my fondest memories is Betty and I each writing a substantial check for the '05 Honda Accord two years ago for the trip east. the '95 which we had bought 12 years ago this month is still running in good order.

Lent and Easter

Dave Russell is an American Baptist Pastor in Ames, Iowa. He publishes his sermons regularly on Geocities at the following address: http://www.geocities.com/fbcames/ I look at them regularly because he typically follows the Lectionary which my own Pastor does not. I'm not sure he even knows that there is one.

For the 1st Sunday in Lent Russell calls our attention to Jesus' temptation in the wilderness for 40 days. He points out a fact of interest that it is the Devil who tempts Jesus. The middle temptation is for power. It is suggested that we Americans often fall short here because we think of our selves as a powerful nation. Jesus, of course, turned the Devil down. He would not be the "decider" and at the same time worshp at the shrine of evil. Makes one wonder as to what temptations to power our own President has.

Another thing Russell said of particular interest to me was that Jesus never told his Disciples "what to believe". He simply asked them to "follow me!" Our newly proposed by-laws at First Baptist talk at length about what to do with those whose beliefs may differ greatly from the majority. I can accept the fact that my own beliefs (for example about "gay unions" and "abortion") probably differ from the majority, but I'm not going to get in a big fight about it in the congregation. But I can't see "churching" a person because his or her beliefs are outside the main stream.

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!

A good visit

This picture was taken Saturday February 3, 2007. Left to right are Annie, David, Ken, Jim and Pete. David came for a visit the previous Monday night and left for Texas early Sunday morning. He works with Sally Beauty in Denton, TX. Ken came down from Helena on Thursday for a couple of nights. Annie came in Saturday morning with husband, Bill, and Pete lives with me at the present time. The cause for this Saturday gathering was a promise to take them all to Lunch Saturday so we could be together for at least a brief time. We did all get to lunch after which Ken left for home. Annie took David and me and Bill to supper that evening. Pete was working at Jake's Restaurant recently mentioned in TIME magazine as one of Montana's finest steak restaurants. I took most of them to Famous Dave's for David's birthday dinner. He will be 51 come Saturday - a birthday he shared with his older brother, Jimmy, who succumbed to lung cancer last August. Jimmy would have been 53 this week. David took Ken and Dad to dinner at Santa Fe Red's Friday night. That's a fairly new place in town. We'd call it "West-Mex." It is no stretch of truth to state that I ate to much.

Now they are all gone, but it was a great week and Mom would have loved it.

Bible Quiz

As did Annie, Ken, Pete, and David - I also took the challenge. Here's their answer:

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ken credits Handel for his 100%. I guess as a Seminary grad I had better scored high. I remember answering a question to identify various OT people on the final in Old Testament that the guy whose donkey spoke as "He road a smart ass." No response from the Prof, but I did pass the course.

Fuel Prices

I filled up my 2005 Honda Accord the other day at COSTCO at $1.949 per gallon. Lacking little else to do this evening I looked at some notes about vacation travels in the recent and not so recent past. First was a trip to Cacapon State Park in eastern West Virginia the summer of 1993. We put 5763 miles on our 1987 Honda and paid an average of $1.16 per gallon for gasoline. In the summer of 2005 we drove 5656 miles in an almost new '05 Honda and paid an average of 2.223 per gallon. At least the price has come down from 2 1/2 years ago, but it is a long way from cheap - as least what we citizens would tend to think of as cheap.

It has been a fairly busy day for a change. A 9 a.m. Church Endowment Committee, a noon Seniors Lunch at the Church, the class I am auditing this semester from 3-5 pm, a quick visit to a funeral home to visit with long time friends at the death of their mother, and the annual Candle Light dinner at Rocky Mountain College in celebration of the first meal on campus when someone forgot to turn on the electricity so the students as cold meat and potatoes by candlelight. It is celebrated every year in late January and is probably the only time students get to sing the Alma Mater - "Rocky Mountain we all love thee, Alma Mater of the West. We raise our cry to glorify the College we love best."

It's now been over 12 years since I retired, but this Dinner is always a chance to greet friends of yore. (None of us are "old friends")

Please address me as:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: The Most Honourable Jim the Inchoate of Chignall Duntisbourne Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Tag, You're It

Thursday January 18, 2007
I've Been Tagged!

Philippa tagged me with this: Seven Things.

1. Name a book that you want to share so much that you keep giving away copies:
“Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albon - if I had them. I refuse to give my only copy: or even lend it.

2. Name a piece of music that changed the way you listen to music: Overture to 1812

3. Name a film you can watch again and again without fatigue: Not a movie goer.

4. Name a performer for whom you suspend of all disbelief: Judi Dench

5. Name a work of art you’d like to live with:

Michelangelo's The Pieta. Having seen this piece of work in real life, it is nothing short of miraculous in its beauty.
It works for me. I saw it many years ago at St. Pats in NYC

6. Name a work of fiction which has penetrated your real life:
The Da Vinci Code - It’s fiction. Let it rest.

7. Name a punch line that always makes you laugh: I laugh a lot.