The Rhino

   
Someday - I'll own my own sailboat.  Until then, well, I've got a big model that inspires me - it's awesome.  I've had it for years.  It sits in the living room in front of the window to remind me to strive for 'something',  But I never had a name for it unitl my nephew named it today.
   
i love it.
  
"The Rhino"
  
Thanks buddy - it's just what I needed today.
 
Someday I'm gonna get me a lakehouse, and get a little sailboat.  It'll be called "The Rhino".  And we can sail, and sail, and sail - the wind will take us out far, and then it will blow us back to shore.  We'll tell the wind where to take us.  We'll go right, left, turn, straighten out.  We'll tip until we can tip no more.  We'll defy the wind and sail right into it - and then turn till it takes us fast back to the dock.
 
The Rhino.  Blind Faith.  Following the wind.  Fighting the wind.  Using the wind.  Free to take us no-where.
    

2 Weeks

My boy.
  
2 weeks from right now, he'll get married to the love of his life.  2 weeks from right now, I will officially have 3 married kids, 2 son-in-laws and 1 daughter-in-law.  There will be 8 of us.

I was just going over some of my old notes (thousands) - from day-timers I've kept over the years.  For instance I noted these things on these days:
 
1/29/10 - "Dagen came home from Waco to pick up his ring - the ring he designed - to give to Avery.  Shows us first - he won't propose for 2 more weeks - he's very excited."    
  
10/31/09 - "Dagen and I went to Starbucks for the morning to build his resume (created from scratch), then printed at the office - fun time together."
 
6/22/09 - "Dagen called me today at work, told me he looks at me as a 'warrior poet'.  Made me feel good - made my day."

8/09/08 - "Got postcard from Dagen today - picture of Tokyo, sent from Thailand,  it says 'thankyou for supporting me, I feel so loved and strong with you behind me'."  

5/26/08 - "Dagen's 20! Went shopping with Dagen for his birthday, Old Navy and DSW - spent $130, then lunch at Glorias' - on patio - awesome - then movie together - Indian Jones Crystal Skull."
    
8/10/07 - "Dagen left for Baylor - alone to Waco - will live in Elevate house for 1 week before moving into dorm room."
  
5/19/07 - "Dagen graduated tonight at PCA, then party at our house.  We made it to the 'jumbo tron' with Dagen."
  
12/03/06 - "Dagen wins State - Football Championship - in Waco.  vs. Houston Northland 46:14, he goes 14:0!"  Midnight yell back at school.
  
07/18/04 - "Dagen drove today for first time - alone - went to Wal-Mart and Stonebriar Mall."

06/17/04 - "Dagen coached today by Michael Irvin - he got in car excited!, and he leaves in three days for Hawaii."
 
09/26/03 - "We found out Dagen was in a fight today with 'Nick' - hit him hard in the face."
  
07/03/02 - "Dagen played soccer with the other 5 boys in the front yard in Rathmines - Dublin."

02/13/02: - "Dagen excited - someone told him he would probably play some Varsity football next year.  Dagen and I went to the Stars game, beat the NY Rangers 4-2."
    
07/09/01 - "Krispy Kreme and Best Buy with Dagen tonight."
 
06/21/00 - "Went deep sea fishing today with Dagen - Point Loma Sport Fishing."
  
05/21/99 - "Yellow sticky note from Dagen: 'can I go to Nathan's house? It's on High Brook and my bike will be in his front yard."

02/21/99 - "Johnny Rockets, milkshakes and fries - with Dagen in Georgetown, DC."

04/05/98 - "Bible Drill team at Chucks, then drill at Lakside Baptist - Dagen passed!"
03/27/98 - "Movie with Dagen - 'Mr. Magoo' - fun."  
03/01/98 - "Went to the Galleria with Dagen, for a YoYo and Starbucks."

12/06/97 - "Wrestling tournament in Irving - tough day for Dagen - his opponents were NOT rookies."    
05/26/97 - "Bought 'Extreme' Rollerblades for Dagen's birthday - very excited."
  
04/29/96 - "Rode bikes to Chevron with Dagen."
   
09/02/95 - "Dinner at 'islands' with Dagen - fun place."
07/08/95 - "Dagen and I went to Home Depot for big piece of wood for his science project."
06/10/95 - "Dagen went up on stage with Steve Green, for a picture - alone with Steve!"
02/15/95 - "Called home from Rio, talked to Dagen."

10/15/94 - "Dagen and I went to Farm Village for dedication service, lunch at coffee shop in Kaufman, bought pumpkins." 
07/15/94 - "pics with Dagen at Knotts Berry Farm."

12/27/93 - "Dagen's ear very sore - needs to see a doctor." 
04/09/93 - "Dagen and I did BIG grocery shopping together at Albertsons tonight."
01/08/93 - "Went bowling tonight - RCN team - Dagen came along."  
  
09/25/92 - "Dagen visits me at office in Los Colinas."
09/10/92 - "Dagen broke his arm today."
06/27/92 - "Changed spark plugs on Trooper - Dagen helped!"
04/25/92 - "I worked all day (saturday) at Andersen Consulting, then Museum Arts - Dagen spent whole day with me - then dinner at McDonalds."
  
09/03/91 - "Dagen's first day of 'school' at Richardson Heights."
08/22/91 - "Dagen spent 'lunch time' with me Museum Arts while Dina went to '3 Marathas'."
02/16/91 - "Dagen's emergency day - 911 - we called ambulence, spent afternoon at hospital. Traumatic."
 
12/09/90 - "Dagen sang on stage - church Christmas special - real cute."
10/31/90 - "Dagen was a Clown tonight for Halloween."
10/06/90 - "Breakfast at IHOP with Dagen, then haircuts at Pro-Cuts."
09/26/90 - "Dagen 'pottied' for the first time!"
05/26/90 - "Dagen's 2 years old! - he got a red car."

10/13/89 - "Dinner at Red Lobster - good - but Dagen was upset."
08/25/89 - "Seaworld today - San Antonio - dinner at Shoneys - 'all you can eat fish night' - movie in hotel room, swimming - Dagen having fun!"
05/27/89 - "Dagen's birthday party - #1 - it was yesterday but party today - Snows, Owens, plus others... in our new house on Forest Grove."
 
11/12/88 - "Brunch at Barbecs - the 5 of us.  Then tonight we went to the Wayne Watson concert - just Dagen came with Dina and I - just us."
09/21/88 - "Dagen got shots today.  Got a fever because of shots."
06/26/88 - "Dagen's 1-Month old today!"
06/04/88 - "Bought a stroller tonight at Service Merchandise for Dagen."

05/26/88 - "Dagen Gray Kanaley:  5:11pm, 7 lbs, 4 oz.  19 3/4 inches.  Called everyone"

-------------------------------------------
It was like 2 weeks ago.

Summer

Yesterday was the first day of summer.  wow!  It feels like it too.
 
It's hot, of course.

But there's more:
1) baby birds have hatched on the back porch, a couple chicks made it, a couple didn't
2) the pool is using an extraordinary amount of chlorine now
3) wasps are nesting up around the rafters
4) my son is taking 'summer courses' at college
5) there's a wedding every weekend
6) the neighborhood smells of BBQ 24x7 and the lawnmowers never stop their buzz
7) when we go out in the evening for chips, salsa and lemonade, we always request the patio
8) we talk about buying a lake house - alot - again  (see picture)
9) 'cheapcarribbean.com' and 'pueblobonito.com' are 2 websites I search hourly for deals
10) the A/C unit never stops running - the bills gonna be a whopper
11) my skin is turning golden brown, the way I like it
12) everyones cologne is called 'suntan lotion' - the best
13) plans are being made for the 4th
14) I'm looking for the perfect book to read on the beach - whether or not I actually go to the beach
15) sunsets are spectacular
16) it's t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops
17) I review my list of things I saved to do during the summer, but now its too hot to do them
   
These are the kinds of things that happen in the summer.  And it sometimes feels to me that what we do in the summer sets the stage for the rest of the year, like a jumping off point to our lives.  Even the short summer vacations give us the energy and motivation to move forward to the rest of the year. 
 
Like Solomon says in Proverbs 10:5 - "He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son."
    
So what 'crops' are we to gather?   Maybe we're to prepare for the fall, the winter, the cold dark months ahead.  Maybe we should be finding that new job now, or that new place to live.
 
Or, planning for a new way of living.  Plan for fun; plan to be productive and fruitful;  plan for a meaningful existence - before it's too late. 
  

 

"Lost" - and Wasted

I was a 'Lost' fan for 6 years.  And it ended last night with the 4.5 hour grand finale.  It may go down as the biggest dissappointment in the history of TV series endings.  What was propped-up and 4-walled as the most significant ending to any series ever - was a complete disaster.
     
I haven't read anything about it this morning, or heard anything on the radio.  I'm talking from my gut here with no outside influence on a Monday morning.  The shows ending proved to me, once again, that there really is a lack of imagination in the world when it comes to 'the big things'.  The story writers hit on a nerve early on, but 'lost' control and meaning as the show progressed - and finally gave up the goose in the end, throwing their collective pens and paper and ideas - in the air.  It was sad to see. 

The show's conclusion was:

Very Universal.
Very Shallow.
Very All Inclusive.
Very Weak.
Very Boring.
Very Stupid.
            
Those are some hours I wish I could get back.
  
Don't get me wrong - I wasn't expecting the flight survivors to be standing around the camp fire singing kumbaya or anything.  I didn't expect that Jesus would appear and explain what had happened to them.  But I AM a believer in The Way - the JC Way.  The moment they entered the church scene and very predominately displayed the stained glass window depicting all religions of the world - my hopes and aspirations for the show were destroyed.

It was as if they had reached their hands into by chest and ripped out my heart.  A quick reminder (to self) to stop putting my faith in the hands of some Hollywood producer - it just doesn't work.

You see - I would have been cool if they had even picked one of the religions of the world to promote as 'right' and the final answer to the big question of 'WHY'?.  That would have taken guts, fortitude, courage, strength, grit - big kahunas.  It could have been Budhism, Ying/Yang, Islam, whatever ....  but no, they went politically correct (and religious correct), and went with them all.  A big shallow pool of mud and death.
   
Weaklings.
 

And if there's any doubt out there about being lost, don't forget what Jesus said in John 14:6 - "Jesus answered, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  NO one comes to the Father except through ME."
  
(picture at Zandvoort - beach town west of Amsterdam, where I felt very lost once)

In Peace

If there's one thing I've learned about myself over the years, it's that I'm a city guy.  Noise.  I kinda like some white noise to make me feel secure.  I grew up in the city, lots of cities. Noisy, dirty, crowded and busy cities.  I wouldn't do well in rural America for long.
      
But, I know too, that I need some peace & quiet now and then (more so as I get older).  With summer coming I'm thinking about one thing:  a vacation in the sun, on the sand, by the surf.  I like surf and sand, that's not too far from the city.

 As much as I wish I lived near the ocean and the beach, there's something about NOT living there all year that makes you yearn for it even more, enjoy it more, and appreciate it more, when you get there.  I took this picture 12 years ago at one of my favorite beaches.  When I look at it, my blood pressure drops about 85 points (give or take).

It reminds me that we need to learn to live at peace, in peace - with a sense of calm - always (not just during summer vacations on the beach).  Believers are suppose to be role models for joy - and your joy brings peace - naturally.
 
In Eccleciates 4, it says: "Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil."   I'm not a theologion, but I think that means we should live with less material ambition and stop trying to get more stuff, because it just creates trouble.  Strive for 'tranquility' - it's better than 'toil' anyday.
    
And in 2 Thesalonians 3, Paul says:  "May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way."   That's a good one, as if to say having a sense of 'peace', is what it's all about.

I'm looking for more peace.   Are you?      
     


  

Big Porches

When I build my own house, it'll have a big porch.  I mean a BIG porch - wrap around job, deep, part screened, part open.

What good is it if you don't have a respectable porch to sit on anyway, to watch the cars going by, waving at your neighbors, drinking some lemonade in the summer and hot coffee in the evening, playing cards, gazing at the sky, counting shooting stars?
  
You can chew on some straw, sleep in a rocker, play fetch with the dog - shoot squirrels - whatever.  
 
This is a porch we sat on for 2 days in Louisiana last weekend - visiting MawMaw at 103 years old.  Good times.  You could smell spring in the air.  The days were warm and the evenings were cool.  The towns people didn't know us from Adam, but they waved just the same as they drove by. 
   
When are we going to start sitting on the porch more often?  It's time to do - nothing.  As Paul instructs in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 - "Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands."

  

My New Boots

Well, they're not for me - they're for some little kid someday.  But I think they look cool next to mine!  He's gonna be a Texan, for sure.
  
I figure we'll go to the rodeo together in the Spring.  We'll go to the Fair in the Fall.  We'll go camping all year round.  Go dirt bik'in in the summer.
      
Maybe we'll just kick some rocks, look for girls to pester.  I'm always digin holes, he can help with that.
  
Whatever - they'll look good and clean up nice.