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Wed 20 Aug 2008

dog days of summer…

Well it’s official. The dog days of summer have arrived. After 26 years in West Texas I thought I knew something about the heat. I always thought that the “dry heat” versus “damp heat” thing was mostly psychological - but I think I was wrong.

I’ve lived in some hot environments before but never inside a broiler oven. Whew! It’s time to find a cool spot, a tall cold drink, and a way to keep from looking like a lobster. I wanted to quickly retreat to my “Harry Potter Closet” of an office and sit under the fan. (Yes - I actually do maintain an office under the stairs.)

I know it’s hot for the humans, but the dogs have to be feeling it too. Imagine a fur coat that you can’t take off and being dependent upon someone else to make sure that you stayed hydrated and out of the heat as much as possible.

The Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department put on their official Dog Days of Summer Event at Cannonsburgh today. Laura Woods invited me several weeks ago and I promised her that I’d make it. I’m glad that I keep promises because the heat almost drove me back indoors. The dogs honestly seemed to enjoy it. Of course these are animals owned by people who care enough about them to brave the day so that the dogs could have a good time and a social experience. What some people do for their pets. My little Pappillion was grateful that I cared enough about her to let her stay under the A/C and forget the rest.

One young man had taught his little terrier to ride the skateboard with him. After a while the little dog figured how to get a free ride on his own. Don’t let anyone tell you that dogs aren’t smart. It’s fun to watch a boy and his dog. You could sense the love that existed….and it ran both ways.

Overall I’d say that the day was a success. A good time was had by the four legged ones as well as their bi-ped companions. Despite the burdensome heat everyone had a smile on their faces (at least I think it was a smile - a pant can look very similar). Maybe it won’t be so hot during next summer’s dog days.

One of my favorite images from the day was the young daughter of a friend of a friend. She was hot…sleepy…and ready to cool off like the rest of us, however, she seemed to be taking it all in through those dark little eyes.

Fri 9 May 2008

the social creature

Some new friends, Bob and Arlene, had invited me over to discuss their computer and camera issues as they prepare for a wonderful summer adventure in Maine. We’re still getting to know each other and they found out that we have a Papillon. Being in the process of possibly getting one themselves, they wondered if I’d might bring Tessa with me. I’m sure they were wanting to check out the disposition and attitude of the breed. In the back of my mind I’m thinking, “Oh goodness, some puppy’s future home depends upon how this animal behaves.” Needless to say, she wasn’t feeling any pressure…she was just glad to be away from the cat for a while.

Tessa considered it quite an adventure.

You know how you’re always concerned about how a pet (or a child for that matter) will behave in public? Well Ms. Tessa acquitted herself beautifully.She went for a nice long walk with Arlene, met the neighbors, and allowed herself to be petted and played with. While we were talking she sat quietly and listened in. She couldn’t have been sweeter.

I think that she could have stayed with them for a few days and been perfectly content.

Wed 7 May 2008

life is what happens…

Posted by David under Photography , Family , Friends , Thoughts
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Some days just overflow with activity. It is so easy sometime to look back at the end of a day and wonder “What did I accomplish today?”. Sometimes we feel that we are so busy doing stuff that we feel that we aren’t really doing anything pertinent.

Other times we think that our time just slips past without purpose or value. It is often easy to think that, if we haven’t accomplished some major purpose or goal that day that it has been wasted and our lives are ineffective.

I read once that “the unexamined life isn’t worth living.” So tonight, when I finally got home and relaxed for a few minutes, I spent some time reflecting on my day - the flurry of events and the demands from every quarter. It’s amazing what I found.

The Recap
The morning started with a coaching session for my trap team. I was frustrated because most of the team didn’t make this particular practice. I know…it was at an odd time on an irregular day and the communication was poor between myself and the kids. I’m sure that the fault lies more with me than them - so I just worked with the few that showed up, including one young man who is technically on the team of one of our competitors. He has shot with us several times and seems to feel more at home with us than with his own team. We had a decent small practice and enjoyed our time together. My son and daughter, Emma, were both there, shot fairly well, and seemed to enjoy the day.

After lunch my son Nathan, his friend Matt, and I went car shopping. We drove about 100 miles, surveyed at least a dozen dealerships, and only found a couple of real possibilities. Of course Nathan has some ideas of his own but I’m not sure if some of them will work out.

We did find a few that we’ll return to look at again and have made a list of more that we need to investigate. Sometime over the next few weeks we’ll find him his new ride.

On the way home we decided that Mom would probably like some live flowers for Mother’s Day. Cut flowers are beautiful, but we’d been working on adding some color to the patio over the last few weeks and decided that some additions in that area would make her happiest. It turned out we were right.

When I got home from car shopping I had some time to just relax. I got a book and a blanket, and decided to take the dog for a short walk and sit outside under the trees and read for a little while. After a little while, Emma Kate, my young next door neighbor and her mother came outside to play and pet Tessa. She brought out a couple of jars of the soapy water mixture used to blow bubbles.

Memories of spending hours with my own children blowing bubbles in the backyard flooded my thoughts. I could see my Emma and Nathan blowing bubbles of their own or chasing the ones that I blew for them. Their laughter still rings in those recesses of my mind where the most valuable of my memories are stored. I still find it amazing how much fun can come out of a $0.29 cent bottle of soapy water.

Lisa, my wife, had been spending some time with her mom and dad today so that I could spend time with Nathan. We decided to go on a short adventure together. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and we needed to get her mom some new telephones. Just for fun we decided to take the motorcycle.

We had a little extra time so we chose to see if we could find the Black Fox Spring. It’s a very historic area, but the spring itself is off the beaten path somewhat - hidden in the middle of a developed area but wonderfully preserved and disguised. A couple of days ago a friend had told me a little about it and we thought that it would make an interesting side trip. After a couple of hours searching we were rewarded with the discovery of the “blue hole” near sunset.

sunset at black fox spring

We only had few minutes there but were rewarded with watching large bass jump, frogs croak, crickets chirp, and the promise of an even more wonderful experience when we planned more time on our next visit. Even the occasional mosquito didn’t dampen our spirits. After our outing to the spring, food was definitely in order.

We pondered for a few moments and decided that a nice quiet dinner on the patio at Applebee’s would be a fitting way for us to celebrate the fact that we actually got to spend some time alone. The day was too beautiful to retreat to the artificially lighted interior of some enclosed restaurant.

$Lisa @ Applebee\$
A nice relaxing meal with the one you love is a great way to spend some time. You get to talk - not necessarily about anything vitally important - but about the little stuff that becomes more important the longer you’re together. In our nearly 24 years of married life we’ve learned to treasure the quiet times - because they seem to come so seldom.

After dinner, we got the phones for her mother for Mother’s Day and took on a little project. I’ve always tried to be sure that my kids were able to give their mother something on Mother’s Day. I began to wonder if little Emma Kate had someone to help her do that, too. After all, two years old is a very important time for a little girl.

Lisa and I took some of the pictures that I had taken of Emma Kate and her mom, put them in a little collage frame, and made plans to give them to her so that she has a present for her mom. It was simple, quick, and easy. A fast trip to WalMart for the frame and a few minutes at WalGreens for the prints. It turned out cute. I hope that she likes it.

There are dozens of “important” things on my to do list that need to be done - and none of them got done today. I could have easily spent the day today working on a multitude of priority projects that have deadlines that are looming closer and closer. So looking back on a day filled with many small activities, what did I find?

Lessons Learned
1) Most of the critically important things in life have nothing to do with business.
2) Volunteering your time for a good cause is healthy…and it’s not about you…it’s about them. Realizing that is healthy, too.
3) Time spent with children is valuable - not just for the kids, but for you, too. The truth be known, you’ll probably get more out if it than they do.
4) The time you spend laughing and enjoying the company of those you love is never lost or wasted.
5) Flowers make you smile…and are a wonderful way to say “I love you!”
6) Bubbles are fun and everyone should spend some time blowing them as well as watching a two year old enjoy their ephemeral nature.
7) Your own kids grow up too fast so do everything you can spend as much time with them as possible.
8) Celebrations don’ t have to be planned…routine errands don’t have to be boring. Lisa loves to talk about the succulent life where you squeeze all of the joy you can out of each minute. Maybe that is what we did today.
9) Glorious times and wonderful memories are made even on routine days. We simply must become aware of the wonder that exists within the ordinary. Learning to recognize that can take a lifetime.

I’m sure that there are other lessons that I can learn from today…but if not, maybe these are enough.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”
John Lennon

Wed 16 Apr 2008

He does hear

Posted by David under Bible , Friends , Thoughts
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“I called for help and you listened to my cry.”
Jonah 2:2bEveryone struggles with issues and circumstances. Everyone has someone they can turn to for comfort - but not everyone does.

Last night I spoke with a friend who is struggling with some huge issues in their life. We talked, we laughed, we shared, and we comforted each other. I believe it was therapeutic for both of us.

Unfortunately many Christians feel that they can’t admit problems and struggles in their own lives without admitting some kind of failure of faith.

I don’t know where it started that some well meaning brother or sister who’s life hadn’t yet been tempered with their own problems said “If your life isn’t perfect, then you simply don’t have enough faith.” I don’t know where they are but I’d like to find them and give them a swift kick of brotherly love. The damage that can result from making someone who is struggling feel that they also need to bear the burden of guilt is tremendous.

Don’t get me wrong. Maybe sometimes there is a temporary faith crisis occuring. More often than not though it is simply life happening to us and around us.

Kids…husbands…wives…family…work…church…friends…enemies…money…past mistakes…

Start adding all of the things that are going on in our lives and you sometimes wonder how you ever get out of bed in the morning. And we have to remember that some folks don’t.

Issues and struggles happen to everyone. Thank goodness and God that they generally don’t happen to everyone at the same time. We need each other. We need someone to hold us when we cry. We need someone strong around when we’re weak. We need someone to pick us up when we’re down. And we need to be there for others when the roles are reversed…and they will be.

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Friends

dog days of summer…

the social creature

life is what happens…

He does hear

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