CASPER AT THE BEACH IN CORONADO

It was July 4. A patriotic picture perfect postcard Chamber of Commerce day. And I acting as Casper Milquetoast did in this 1924 comic strip Christmas card might have acted.

On the beach, a man asked if I would help put up his EZ Up, a tent for protection from the elements. Since we used to tail gate at STL Rams games with a similar version, I was well versed in how to set it up.

After we finished the task, he asked if I'd like a variety of alcoholic drinks he had as he rolled them off his tongue. My response, "You're not supposed to drink on the beach."

"Well, have some water then," he replied.

"No, I don't need any. Thanks."

Needless to say, that was the last discourse we had for the afternoon. I watched as he prepared drinks for his family and friends, right at the base of the lifeguard stand. He used his body, as a pro, to shield his activities and served his drinks in big red plastic cups for disguise. None of the party acted as if they had consumed any liquor.

But I felt pretty silly for my response. He told me he drove an hour to get to Coronado, so I thought maybe he didn't know about the alcohol ban on the beaches, only in its second or third year. But my lame response was almost in a scolding or righteous mode.

I felt so bad for not offering something else, that I was glad he was holding his baby and shielding himself from me when we left. I didn't even say goodbye. But maybe he saw the Casper in me, saw me packing up, and used the baby as a shield much like he did with his own body to the lifeguards.

I tell you, he was good.

7-4-09

As I look out at America 233 years after the birth of the nation, I see a different country than our forefathers anticipated.

No one at that Philadelphia convention could ever imagine the enormity, the expanse of the newly formed country. The world power, the most dominant country in the world sprung from that Declaration.

None at that convention could ever imagine that we would abandon religion. That Harvard,founded on Christian principles, would be so humanistic, so secular that religion is seen in a negative vein. Where we have become our own god because of our superior intelligence. Harvard still sets the way for other universities who try to compare themselves with the Ivy League.

None at that sweltering convention could ever imagine the sacrifices of so many. Oh, they had seen plenty themselves. But not on such a large scale, not on such massive numbers--33,000 killed at Gettysburg. Another 59,000 in Viet Nam. Two World Wars that took our nation's best.

None could ever imagine trillions of dollars in indebtness. None could imagine other tea parties. One today in MTV is entitled TEA for Taxed Enough Already.

None could ever imagine a President who is half Black/half White. Who was elected without ever governing over anything. Whose Senate record included not one bill he sponsored or even co-authored. Whose Senate voting record was primarily recorded as "Present".

But that's America as I see it today. Still a lot of good. Still the best place ever to live. But still with lots and lots of problems that I don't see going away anytime soon.

WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW?

And you better have an answer. If not, why not? If not now, when?

First you should be reading the Bible daily. Do I? For the most part. At least a devotional of some kind. I get a daily one from Pastor Rick Warren and I plunge into it. Once in awhile I find myself reading it too fast, thinking I know that scripture and the application. But every time I do that, I slow down, re-read, out of guilt but I find the blessing. The Word is God made flesh and not to read it, study it, cherish it, is to miss out on a closer relationship with Him. For an even better way to study scripture, get into a Bible study or two.

Second, you should be reading current events in your daily newspaper, at least. Keep in mind, it's not your Father's news. Back when Walter Cronkite was telling us "And that's the way it is..." he disguised his liberal leanings to the point that was professional journalism. Not so today. When you watch CNN, also balance that out with FOX. Vice versa. Don't rely on anyone giving you the news as they see it. Have an open, intelligent mind and decide what's right.

Third, read novels or historical fiction. Try autobiographies or literature of the real world. Read, read, read. It's still the single best way to improve your mind that I know of. Whether in paper or in text. A Kindle II works well, too.

I'm currently reading about a half dozen books in addition to the ESV Bible. The Mezzanine, The World's Best Golfer Who Never Was, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Faith of the First Ladies. I have a few others I'm ready to attack, but these should keep me busy for awhile.

Plus, if I never finish them, I'm better off having tackled them in the first place. Pick up a good book today. There will be no quiz, and if you don't like it, for Heaven's sake, put it down. So many books/too little time is true.

AT YOUR COOKOUT

If you don't cook out on July 4, then that's being un-American. Being sort of a public servant, I offer 2 tips for barbecuing on Friday.

Clean your grill with Arm and Hammer baking soda. It really cuts through grease build up when used with a scraper. Just sprinkle some some baking soda, fire up the grill and scrape off the residue of previous cook outs.

Then spray Pam Grilling, not Original or Baking, but Grilling. Don't be shy; spray a lot of the stuff. Your chops or brats or steaks won't stick. Guaranteed. And your meat will be clean. Be sure to let it cook off before throwing on the old meat. Whatever you do, and this should have been the first thing I mentioned, don't play with your food. That is, allow the brats, steaks, chops, or especially hamburgers cook without constant flipping. Even with the Pam, they can fall apart. The rule to go by--if you think they need turned, they don't. At least not that much.

They Tedbits work. You'll be a hit. People will leave full bellied and thinking you are one great chef. Cook it and celebrate our 223rd birthday.

IT'S 4TH OF JULY WEEK

Which mean fireworks, barbecues, and beaches. Swimming and eating and ballgames. Picnics and homemade ice cream, and snakes.

They were the perhaps the stupidest of fireworks. They came in a match box size container. They looked like little fat black pills. You held a match at the side or over the top of them and they let off a pungent odor, yellow/green in color, as they curled up taking the snake shape.

And that was it. If one ever went unbroken in its shape, you had one good snake. Most of them broke in two or three places. A real dud, five. But what did you have if the snake skin stayed in tact? Nothing really. Just a shell of a stinky black pill when burned at high temp.

But we loved them. Not quite as much as bottle rockets (my personal favorite) or cherry bombs (number 2) or even lady fingers, but snakes were cool.

Maybe because they scarred our driveways and we could look back in fond remembrance on, say the middle of July. Unless a gully washer had left no traces of July 4th fun.

AT THE WATER TOWER

Standing like a sentinel on guard, the water tower gives a feeling of permanence to a town. Almost like a lighthouse, it may not guide, but it secures. It says, "This is home. This is my city."

I like water towers. I like the big ketchup bottle water tower in Collinsville, IL and the orange and black school colors one next to the MTV campus. I like the old ones, some skinny as a praying mantis. I also like the brand new ones, white as cotton but brighter after that fresh new coat lacquered on for prominent display.

What purpose they serve is for someone else to explain. I know: they hold water in their abdomen tanks. But how does one get the water out? And why do they have to be so elevated?

Ah, but that stuff's for the engineers and scientists. The poet in me just sees the calling. The beacon. The stability that a water tower brings.

MY MAIN MAN GEORGE

My first vote for a US Presidential candidate: George McGovern. My last vote for a US Presidential candidate: John McCain.

"Can the United States stand 4 more years of Richard Nixon?" That was the rally call of George McGovern. Called a "wild eyed radical" by the right, McGovern spoke the only words of the campaign I listened to back then when he called for an immediate end of US troops in Viet Nam.

Having used up my student deferment and rumors of losing my teaching deferment, I was on the threshold of being drafted. Holding the Number 9 pick in the lottery, I was bound for the Army.

Had I been old enough to vote when Nixon won previously, I would have voted for him. But he had had 4 years to end our involvement and had escalated instead. So it was McGovern for me.

Fortunately, the war ended without my being drafted. Did I serve my country? Only as a veteran teacher of 30 years. Some would say that was not service: others would say it was.

But McGovern was right about one thing--the country couldn't stand 4 more years of President Nixon. Only 2.

FACE IT

We as a country are mush under this admin. Someone from France said we were the new France.

Are you kidding me? All we can do, and that took over a week, is to scold the Iranian government for their actions and tell them "the world is watching".

Take a look in that mirror, Mr. President. The world is watching us, too. When you have a dictator who threatens to wipe out Israel and who also threatens the US and Gentiles everywhere, and we stand by giving no support to the protesters, well yes, we look weak.

In the information age when bloggers and facebook and twitters and text messaging are readily available, and we give no more support to them, nothing more than wagging a finger at Ahmadinejad and asking him to play nice, well yes, we look weak.

When we don't follow the path of Ronald Reagan, but instead choose the hand wringing path of Jimmy Carter, then well yes, we are weak.