An Indian Version of the 23rd Psalm

The Great father above a Shepherd Chief is.
I am His, and with Him I want not.
He throws to me a rope, and the name of the rope is love.
He draws and draws me to where the grass is green and the water is dangerous not.
I eat and lie down and am satisfied.
Sometimes my heart is very weak and falls down,
but he lifts me up again and draws me into a good road.
His name is Wonderful.

Sometime, it may be very soon, it may be many many moons,
He will draw me into a valley.
It is dark there but I'll be afraid not,
for it is between those mountains that the Shepherd Chief will meet me
and the hunger that I have in my heart all through this life
will be satisfied.

Sometimes He makes the love rope into a whip,
but afterward He gives me a staff to lean upon.
He spreads a table before me with all kinds of foods.
He puts His hand upon my head and all the "tired" is gone.
My cup He fills till it runs over.
What I tell is true. i lie not.
These roads that are "away ahead" will stay with me through this life,
and afterward I will go to live in the Big Tepee
and sit down with the Shepherd Chief forever.

Author Unknown

I Miss This Place!

I have a lot of favorite places that I have visited in my lifetime. One of those special places is represented by the photographs above. The first pic is a photo of the old barn that stands in Eloy's Meadow, the second image is a view of Hermit's Peak. Both are "landmarks" that any Camp Blue Haven alumnus would know well.

Camp Blue Haven was my home away from home during the summers of 1986, 1987, and 1988. During these summers I worked at Blue Haven as a pot washer. For 10 weeks during each of these summers I had the time of my life. I washed lots and lots of pots and mopped lots and lots of floors, but I made many lifelong friends, and have countless special memories of campfires, hiking trips, volleyball games, practical jokes, zip lines, Hobo meals, talent shows, singing nights, pretty girls! and so much more.

The past 20 years haven't given me much time to get back to Camp Blue Haven. I do drop by every so often, usually only to drive through the campus, but my love for the place is still as warm as it was on that day in June 1986 that I first arrived there. My goal for years has been to return as a teacher during one of the sessions, and hopefully at some point that dream can be realized.

And, yes, that's me! A long, long time ago!

Tomorrow's Way

I know not if tomorrow's way
Be steep or rough;
But when his hand is guiding me,
That is enough.

And so, although the veil has hid
Tomorrow's way,
I walk with perfect faith and trust
Through each today.

The love of God has hung a veil
Around tomorrow
That we may not its beauty see
Nor trouble borrow.

But oh! tis sweeter far to trust
His unseen hand,
And know that all the paths of life
His wisdom planned.

Author Unknown

Calvin & the Raccoon

I stopped reading the comics page in the newspaper when Bill Watterson and Gary Larson retired their Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side strips, respectively, and following the death of Charles Schultz. These three geniuses of the art have no peers.

Here is one of my favorite Calvin & Hobbes strip series.

Wisdom from the Ages

A collection of old proverbs as published in Five Thousand Quotations for All Occasions, 1945.

• I find the medicine worse than the malady. (Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher, early 17th C.)
• First come, first served. (Beaumont & Fletcher)
• One good turn deserves another. (Beaumont & Fletcher)
• Hit the nail on the head. (Beaumont & Fletcher)
• Curses are like young chickens, and still come home to roost! (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 18th C.)
• Set a beggar on horseback, and he will ride a gallop. (Robert Burton, early 17th C.)
• No rule is so general, which admits not some exception. (Burton)
• Look before you ere you leap. (Samuel Butler, late 19th C.)
• He that is down can fall no lower. (Samuel Butler)
• Better halfe a loafe than no bread. (William Camden, late 16th C.)
• No man is a hero to his valet-de-chambre (slave). (Marshal Catinat)
• All that glistens is gold. (Miguel de Cervantes, late 16th C.)
• Leap out of the frying pan into the fire. (Cervantes, Don Quixote)
• Imitation is the sincerest of flattery. (Charles Colton, early 19th C.)
• The mill cannot grind with water that has past. (Sarah Doudney, late 19th C.)
• Life is short, yet sweet. (Euripides, 5th C. B.C.)
• Tall oaks from little acorns grow. (David Everett, late 18th C.)
• If you would be loved, love and be lovable. (Benjamin Franklin, 18th C.)
• Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. (Franklin)
• Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead. (Franklin)
• Where there's a marriage without love there will be love without marriage. (Franklin)
• Silence gives consent. (Thomas Fuller, 17th C.)
• Handsome is that handsome does. (Oliver Goldsmith, 18th C.)
• Out of sight, out of mind. (Barnabe Googe, 16th C.)
• Go West, young man, and grow up with the country. (Horace Greeley, 19th C.)
• Wouldst thou both eat thy cake and have it? (George Herbert, early 17th C.)
• God's mill grinds slow but sure. (Herbert)
• Half the world knows not how the other half lives. (Herbert)
• Whose house is of glass, must not throw stones at another. (Herbert)
• Robbe Peter and pay Paule. (John Heywood, early 16th C.)
• Set the cart before the horse. (Heywood)
• Two heads are better than one. (Heywood)
• Give an inch, he'll take an ell. (Thomas Hobbes, early 17th C.)
• Fitted him to a T. (Samuel Johnson, 18th C.)
• Man proposes, but God disposes. (Thomas 's Kempis, early 15th C.)
• Facts are stubborn things. (Alain Rene' Le Sage, early 18th C.)
• There can no great smoke arise, but there must be some fire. (John Lyly, late 16th C.)
• Hold their noses to the grindstone. (Thomas Middleton, early 17th C.)
• Strike the iron whilst it is hot. (Francois Rabelais, early 16th C.)
• Every man is the architect of his own fortunes. (Sallust, 1st C. B.C.)
• Blood is thicker than water. (Walter Scott, early 19th C.)
• All's well that ends well. (William Shakespeare, late 16th C.)
• Brevity is the soul of wit. (Shakespeare)
• It is a wise father that knows his own child. (Shakespeare)
• A rolling stone gathers no moss. (Publius Syrus, 1st C.)
• Familiarity breeds contempt. (Syrus)

Old Quotes

As I was unpacking my library for our move into our new residence, I ran across a book of quotations published in 1945. Here follows a listing of interesting quotations from this book.

• You cannot make a crab walk straight. (Aristophanes)
• No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person. (Willa Cather)
• No one can be made a patriot on an empty stomach. (W. C. Brann)
• Peace rules the day, where reason rules the mind. (William Collins)
• He who is the most slow in making a promise is the most faithful in the performance of it. (Rousseau)
• You may prove anything by figures. (Carlyle)
• The instinct of ownership is fundamental in man's nature. (William James)
• I hate the man who builds his name of ruins of another's fame. (Gay)
• Fatigue is the best pillow. (Benjamin Franklin)
• Learning without thought is labor lost. (Confucious)
• The mind grows by what it feeds on. (J. G. Holland)
• It is better to have a hen tomorrow than an egg today. (Thomas Fuller)
• I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves. (Chesterfield)
• Whatever we conceive well we express clearly. (Boileau)
• The remedy for wrongs is to forget them. (Syrus)
• In God we trust; all others must pay cash. (American saying)
• Some statesmen go to congress and some go to jail. It is the same thing, after all. (Eugene Field)
• Democracy arose from men thinking that if they are equal in any respect they are equal in all respects. (Aristotle)

Some Favorite Calvin & Hobbes' Stips

Contriteness Doesn't Often Get a Fair Hearing

Contriteness is a rather personal feeling (and behavior), isn't it?

Contriteness is the recognition of a personal error, a misstep, a mistake . . . of sin. More than mere acknowledgement, though, it is sorrow expressed for committing the action that was out of bounds and hurtful and offensive to others. Contriteness is complete when that sorrow motivates change . . . corrective action.

Contriteness is rather personal, however. Genuine sorrow, though deeply felt, cannot always be adequately expressed to others or be received by them enthusiastically. There are always cynics and those quick to dismiss the contrite of heart as insincere, opportunists, and calculating.

Consider Tiger Woods. His predicament is well known and the details need no re-airing here. Is he contrite? Were his words of apology sincere, today? Is the shame he spoke of real? Is he committed to changed behavior? Or, was he merely seeking to defuse the situation? . . . finesse his way out of a tight spot? . . . somehow manage to rebuild his shattered image?

Many have been quick to dismiss Woods entirely and give him no room for penance. Many are quick to castigate him as an incorrigible liar and as someone beyond rehabilitation. Will Tiger Woods ever be able to recapture the esteem he once enjoyed? Can the pieces ever be put back together, again? What will it take to win over the hearts and minds of the general populace? And, more, will he win over the heart of the women he so hurt?

I suppose the point I'm getting to is this . . . is the measure of one's contriteness the product of public opinion? Is the genuineness of one's sorrow left to the perspective of others to determine? For the sake of us all, I certainly hope not. Public opinion is often uninformed and almost always emotional, not rational . . . selfish, not out of real concern for the other. The perspective of others cannot easily see within the confines of your heart . . . or, of mine . . . or, of Tiger Woods!

Again, I don't know if Tiger Woods is genuine in his sorrow over the sins he has committed against his wife and family, or not. And, that lack of knowledge is my point: I don't know one way or another! I cannot know. I am not the reader of man's souls. I am not God!

Of course, the application of this point goes much farther afield than Tiger Woods. It is relevant to everyday living and germain to all the relationships in which we find ourselves.

Remember, Jesus taught, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6.37-38).

When David cried out in Psalm 51, "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (v. 10), I am certain the family of Uriah scoffed! But, God heard him! And, he hears and sees the contriteness of our hearts, as well! Even if so many others refuse to hear and see themselves.

Fortunately, for you and me, contriteness is not reliant upon public opinion, it is a matter between myself/yourself and God. And, let us show that deference to those who sin against us!

Some Questions

Some questions are filling my mind today.

Will the skies stay clear for our trek back to New Mexico on Sunday? And, will I enjoy more snowfall during my two weeks back in Gallup?

Facebook now claims 400,000,000 distinct and active users. Can it be true that approximately 1 out of 18 people on the planet is a Facebook user? Short of religion, has there ever been such a large percentage of the world's populace engaged in a similar activity?

What happens when policies and procedures are made to take precedence over people. Some efficiencies may be gained, and perhaps some profit realized, but at what expense? The loss of morale? The loss of genuineness? The loss of soul? What is gained that outweighs these?

Why does a $50 a night hotel offer a scrumptious breakfast buffet while a $100 per night outfit charge another $10 for a bagel and coffee (oh, and a banana for added comfort)?

Am I gonna make it to Taco Villa tomorrow? I MUST have my Villa fix before returning to Dinetah on Sunday. Fortunately, Rosa's is already on the itinerary. But, I must carve out a time for the next best thing in fast-casual Mexican food!

How can a boss lead and inspire a staff when he sits behind a wall and orders his staff by memo?

Why has God blessed me so richly when I have so often strayed from the course that brings honor to Him?