Life's Little Ironies

Old Scouters Never Die
Tune and lyrics: based on the old army song;
“Old Soldiers Never Die”- Unknown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQLd18y0X70

Old Scouters never die
They just get carried away.

There is a cooking fire, not far away
Where we get dutch oven fare, three times a day
Beefsteak they never see, hidden without lock or key
And we just get carried away.

Old scouters never die
Never die, never die
Old scouters never die
They just get carried away.

Cub Scouts they love to cheer, most every day
Boy Scouts they love to hike, that’s what they say
Scout masters get a thrill; lead their boys up the hill
So we must get our thrills until they carry us away.

Baden Powell, what would he say?
New Eagle Scouts every day
When the dusty trail comes to an end
They’ll just fly us away.

Old scouters never die
Never die, never die
Old scouters never die
They just carry them away.

I remember watching the Film "MacArthur" with Gregory Peck some years ago and reading the book "Reminiscences" the autobiography of General Douglas MacArthur. There is a line from the book that quotes an old barracks ballad from WWI; "Old Soldiers never die, they just fade away". As you already know, I adapted the lyrics to fit in with something I really enjoy doing; being involved with scouting.

The funny thing is I found the song on youtube a while ago and tagged the link to my blog profile. Last night I was feeling a little down on myself and deleted most of my profile and edited the section on "about yourself". I typed in; I'm a nobody and in the interests section I put down that I had none that anyone would care to hear about. Yeah, I know, self pity is like buyer's remorse; once you perceive to have done something seemingly stupid or not, the guilt takes over and you kick yourself a few times. God knows it is something I have gotten good at over the years and it certainly does not help when you are unemployed and feeling lost in the world. I cannot imagine how Douglas MacArthur could have felt like he was fading away when he quoted the song in his farewell address at West Point. Even after his colorful and illustrious larger than life career, he seems to have felt like he was fading away. Maybe the image of ourselves is the last thing to go as age gets the better of us.

I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" tonight and the same theme seemed to pop out from the screen as the final credits rolled down my TV screen. Whether growing older or getting younger, we still face our own mortality. While growing older presents all the deteriorating side affects of life, I think Benjamin losing his mind and then finding one tiny piece of recognition in the end so ironic. Even though he could not express his fear or loss of a lifetime of memories, he grew old and died like Elizabeth did with few differences and as many regrets. Just goes to show how life is full of little ironies.

Ravens Gather

He lies beside a marbled edifice
In deepest repose
Slumbering
Hand, stilled yet ready
As if transfixed by his journey
Once clinging to a staff of life
Now captured in stone.

Which brought him home to immortality?
Frailty of man or sinner’s remorse
While ravens gather
To ravage sight and bone
And scatter ash before the altar
An unknown.

Pilgrim, whose earthly flesh
Gives way to mortal means
By Christ’s cross is saved
To roam the earth no more
Reclines before the tomb’s facade
And speaks no more
A man in need, alone.

A tribute to Felix-Joseph Barrias’ painting:
“Death of a Pilgrim”
The Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo, Ohio 5/13/09

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go along with my son Aaron’s sixth grade class to the Toledo Museum of Art. The assignment for the class was to pick out at least four pieces of art they liked, record the details of what, where, why and make a sketch. I found this to be a particular challenge to myself as I was responsible for chaperoning my son and two of his classmates. A fourth student was absent so I was able to use the extra assignment sheet for my own purposes.

Indeed, it did not take long for me to find a particularly imposing sculpture from Japan that captured my fancy. It was a fierce looking warrior at least eight feet in height and standing poised at the entrance way of an exhibition room. The description of the piece noted the title, “Rishamonten” and that it was missing a spear in the raised right hand and a miniature pagoda in the upturned left. The eyes were fixed in an evil “V” and the mouth set in an angry grin with legs, feet and torso arranged in a manner suggesting a fluid movement like a martial arts “kata”. I can tell you it was hard to miss which is why I am certain it was so strategically placed in the museum.

Further along, I noticed an oil painting by Felix-Joseph Barrias titled: “Death of a Pilgrim”. The first thing I noted was how two ravens stood out in the forefront with two leafless trees and several more birds in flight circling overhead. To the lower left was a structure of stone that resembled a temple or mausoleum. Lower still laid the upper portion of a man whose body was mostly obscured by a stone entrance way. His head was back and one forearm was raised at an angle with its hand limp suggesting he had died in a rather dramatic pose. A walking staff with a gold crucifix at the top leaned at a right angle and leather like pouch lay in the background on the far entrance stone. The scene suggested the end of a journey where the pilgrim had reached a point where he could go on no further and had laid down to rest. It is a scene that begs attention to detail as you might miss the image of the pilgrim all together.

I could not help picturing this scene in my mind and how it reflects life’s journey. Sure, I could have just briefly scanned the painting and moved on, but it drew me in much differently than the warrior in the next room. There was something that said “look a little closer” and it spoke to me. There was a poem here that was leaping from the canvas and I took a few notes as the feelings and words fell over me like a gentle wave of water. Now that you have read the poem and read the story behind it, take a few moments to breath deeply and ponder the image of your life as that of a pilgrim. We all know we are on a journey and that it will end some day, but where do we want it to end? Speaking for myself, I would like to think that I would be found still poised and ready to continue on despite the hardships I found along the way and with the cross of Jesus still in sight. In this painting I am reminded of my own mortality and the fact that faith is what drives me on and will bring me home to the place God has prepared; his mansion in heaven.

The Greatest Gift

I have spent considerable time lately thinking about the state of things in the world. It is a kind of journey that began right here in this small town and continues outward. I try so hard not to worry about my own family’s situation; the bills that need paid and the monthly calls from banks and credit card companies wondering why their money is late. All I can say over the phone is “when I have the money, you’ll get yours.” But that does nothing to stop the late fees from accumulating and the debt from piling ever higher. Jobs are scarce and hopes are high that faith will get us through another tough time. It brings me to the brink of screaming sometimes but I cannot let it keep me from the greatest gift of all.

We hear a lot these days in church about giving of our time, talent and treasure in service to others who need ministered to. They may be homeless, hungry or home bound; hopeless, lost or simply in need of a hand to hold on to. For me, in spite of personal struggles, there is a profound need to be useful in a way that mere compensation just does not apply. It goes beyond the self absorbed and secular nature of modern day society. It calls from within to serve. When I can get beyond myself there is a freedom no desire can subdue or worry condemn; it is in knowing a difference has been made despite the cruel conditions of a harsh economic environment or pull of self preservation. And so I say it is not in serving the needs of structure or property, institutions or man made devices that I serve; it is God alone.

And so I pray: Lord, do not let our hearts be troubled. Whatever it is that keeps us from knowing, loving and serving you be plucked from our minds and replaced with the spirit of love for one another. Extinguish the fires of hatred in our enemies, heal the hurts of injustice done by governments or man made policies and let all those who are able serve the needs of their brother and sister. Bring us together by the light of truth that we are all your children; frail, flawed and in need of your presence to show the way home to you. Make the gift of service to one another outweigh any burden that hinders your love from shining through the darkness.

In the end, what will be the legacy of human kind? What great monuments to sacrifice through war and tragedy will be built by future generations? My hope is that the gifts we share today in our giving will far outshine the ill conceived plans of selfish men to oppress and harm the innocent. May the good that we do and the time that we have be a testament to the glory of our creator in heaven. Let the greatest gift of all, joyful service, be our banner as we march onward to victory over death. Amen.

Early to Rise

I remember those first days in Army basic training oh so clearly. The morning sounds of drill sergeants coming down the hallway of our barracks yelling and carrying on about getting out to first formation still fill my ears. As time went on I would wake up a few minutes early and be ready for the flash of fluorescent lights and clanging trash cans. But there were mornings when I stood out in first squad of third platoon, A company, fourth battalion, third training brigade with eyes closed; hoping to catch a few more precious moments of sleep before calisthenics and two mile run. I did not realize then how much the experience would influence my life down the road. I can now say I know the meaning of the phrase “early to rise…”

A few days ago my spiritual director challenged me to see myself as the son of a loving Father God. This awakening acknowledgement that I was his son, loved and cared for just as Christ Jesus stirred in me like a clanging trash can or drill sergeant’s voice in an early Missouri morning. Stunned, I sat emotionless and quiet as a deer caught in headlights. Then, I heard a voice say again, “you are that son.” Imagine for a moment that you are his beloved son or daughter. Does it ring true or is there a sense of denial echoing somewhere in the past? Is there a painful experience gnawing at you like a child’s crude remark or a parent’s booming voice causing you to shrink into seeming oblivion? Let it go and rest assured he knows your pain just like he accepted the nails and scourging of his passion and death on the cross.

You do not have to be a soldier to realize at one point in your life that in order to be a responsible adult, a tearing down and building up is what you need. I sight my own experience now because it was brought back to me by the soft and caring voice of someone who knew what I needed to hear. I sit here today wondering how the bills are going to get paid or when a new job will come along. It is the unknowing of uncertain times that burdens me, but I cannot let this down turn keep me from realizing I have a purpose and meaning to fulfill in this world. Yes, I have two sons who depend on me and a wife who needs my support now more than ever, but there is another calling. I must be ready to answer it at any hour of the day or night. The father never reveals his purpose too soon, for he knows best our hearts and when he needs us most. We must pray unceasing and allow that purpose to arise in us just as the rising sun greets the dawn. So, early to bed, early to rise really does make us healthy, wealthy and wise. Witt.

In the Market Place of Prayer

photos: David & Martha Dearinger 2007.

These photos were taken in Wurzburg Germany in 2007. I was stationed there between 1982-1984. I found this web album by David and Martha Dearinger; a couple who had been stationed at the same military installation as I was only a few years earlier. These images bring back memories. If you would like to see more pictures of this beautiful Bavarian city, here is the link: http://wurzburg-photos.com/

I walk on cobble stone
Seemingly alone
Unlike the smooth and level space of home
Each step imperiled with weather or slope
Carried by hope
Sometimes slick with rain or steep terrain
As I approach the castle keep
Ready to leap
Where vendors display
A whole array
Farm fresh and floral spray
Gathered from a hillside
Or field below the meadow
I feel the yearning as a pull
Upon a heart string offered
In the market place of prayer.

Always a Sower

There is something about spring that inspires in me a sense of excitement; a feeling of being called outdoors to experience a rebirth in a world that has been held dormant in snow and ice over the long winter months. Perhaps it is the immigrant farmer ancestry in my blood that calls me to become a sower once more. I think this is precisely why Easter comes around every year at this time. How appropriately that God and the church work in harmony to teach us about our faith and the good works we are called to perform each day of our lives.

Any life long farmer will tell you that it is more than just planting seeds in the ground and then sitting back to watch what comes up; it is about cultivating, fertilizing and being mindful of what is occurring during the growing process that can make or break a profitable harvest. There are times when we have to adjust how much effort we put into the crop and when we can rest easy for a while as the rain and summer sun work their wonders. Rest assured, there is more behind this natural process than what ends up on the kitchen table. Even as the last row of corn or beans is gathered up into storage, we are called to carry on the process in our hearts and in our communities. Though there may be snow on the rooftop and ice on the pond; we must carry on with each other what Christ instilled in us with his teaching and death on the cross. We come to know the pains and suffering of life as well as the joy of knowing we are sent to go forth and share the good news as his apostles did. What worry have we “if Christ is for us, who can be against us?” But we also know that despite our efforts, bad times will inevitably come. So, the question arises, “what are we to do?”

Our survival instincts normally kick in about this time and we tend to go with whatever means sustained us in the past. But there will come a time when these tried and true methods fail to satisfy; that is why we need to look somewhere else to get us through. This cannot begin to occur unless we surrender ourselves and allow faith in God to open new avenues of opportunity. Yes, it is good to appreciate the good we were able to do in the past, but in order to survive we must look to the future with new eyes which means we have to let go and let God be our guide.

So, what am I driving at here? Well, to begin with, I believe we need to acknowledge that change is inevitable and that we have to be willing to think differently. After all, we are more than the property we live on or the building we inhabit. Our children are born, grow and learn by our example how to be successful or just plain endure whatever life deals out. We must continue to be sowers no matter how bad things get and do whatever it takes to survive. If that means changing our whole approach, so be it, life will go on and all will stand to gain from the process. Witt.

View from the Rooftop

I recently was given the opportunity to assist my brother in law with his business. He was short handed one day and asked if I could help out; little did I know what this entailed as I drove over to a nearby town where the job site was located. It was a food processing plant that utilized numerous filtration units to cool and circulate clean air throughout the plant. Of course these units were located on the roof and it was my brother in law’s task to change the filters in many of the units; a job some might consider too much of a hassle to mess with as it required climbing up to the rooftop and lugging boxes of replacement filters to several locations. You would have a good understanding of the life of a mountain goat after spending a couple of days of this and I got first hand experience. It did not take long for me to realize how different things look when viewed from a different angle. High above the noise and common place sights gave me a perspective of the world I rarely see and so I feel compelled to share.

Funny, how your thinking can be broadened by a view from the rooftop. For me, it only confirms what I already have been trying to do in my daily life as it pertains to faith and personal integrity. You see, I find it troubling that the world is so caught up in hoarding wealth, power and control over people. It seems like many people just want to get out of life what they can get for themselves and the heck with everybody else. It is so self evident in the labor movement, the so called new “equal rights” agenda and even in our government run amok with wasteful spending of tax payer money. What they fail to see is the ripple effect this attitude will have on future generations and the impact it has on the younger generation of today. When a child is given everything it desires, more than not, all you end up with is a spoiled child demanding more of your time, talent and treasure. What should be the focus is teaching the child over time to be disciplined in fulfilling needs, wants and desires; not in seeing how much can be squeezed out of the patience of a desperate parent.

The rooftop not only gives us a new perspective, but it provides the additional light and fresh air we need to appreciate what God promises every day; a new beginning and a second chance to “get right” with him; to put straight our path and view his creation in a way far from the reaches of selfishness and the need for power. The “big picture” is what God sees and most often what we fail to notice in our own small space upon the ground. And so I challenge anyone who happens by this page today to take a moment and seek the rooftop; to put their trust in faith that God will provide all their earthly needs no matter the course life seems to be leading them to. It is truly amazing what a change in perspective can do once you are willing to put fear aside and just climb to the heights of new life. Witt.