The overhead lights were reflecting off of the wet pavement and the leafless trees as we sped down the quiet country road. I thought about the last time I had been to this home. Unlike the other officers on their way, I hadn’t been there for any previous calls. In fact, I hadn’t been there since I was about 15 years old. I was there to hang out with friends. They were there to deal with a mess. Now it was my turn. I had known Joey since kindergarten. His mom was my Sunday school teacher at about that same age.
When we first heard the radio call, I thought I recognized the address. When the dispatcher gave a description of the suspect, I put two and two together, and knew immediately we were going to Joey’s house. I remembered his mom and dad. His dad; who passed away years ago, had been a laborer at the auto plant. He worked hard to provide a home for his wife and child. He was a quiet man who worked hard and occasionally came to church with his wife and son. Joey’s mom always appeared slightly older than her age, however she was an elegant and soft-spoken woman. They were "good" people. A typical suburban family.I always thought Joey was somewhat spoiled. I guess he suffered from “only child” syndrome. He had potential though, just like the rest of us. I totally lost track of him and had not seen or heard of him in years. I knew he still lived in the area, and heard rumors that he had some alcohol problems. I never expected he was a bad off as he is.
We rolled into the drive behind another zone car that had arrived in time to already have Joey in custody. His mom sat on the couch with tears in her eyes, bleeding from both arms, but sitting up straight and elegantly. She paid close attention to the activities surrounding the arrest of her son. She said nothing, but nodded yes, when asked if she would press charges.
Joey; dressed in ripped jeans and a dirty work shirt appeared to be about 25 years older than he is. His eyes were cloudy and his mind was definitely saturated with years of alcohol abuse. He looked at me, and gave no indication of recognition.
We escorted Joey to the zone car, gave him the usual “watch your head” admonition as we placed him in the back seat. As we left the driveway, he muttered; “Thanks a lot Mom.”
When we arrived at the jail I took him out of the zone car. This time he appeared to have some sense of recognition as he looked at me, but his confused mind soon gave up, and he said nothing.
My partner and I returned to the house to photograph Joey’s mom and her injuries. It took her a long time to come to the door.
Despite her frailty, at 82 years old, she still had a look of elegance. Her eyes were still moist with tears as we photographed her. She said, she hoped that maybe Joey had finally “bottomed out” and would seek the help he needed. I said nothing except for a silent prayer for her and Joey. We gave her some domestic violence literature to read. She thanked us, and said; “ I won’t be reading these. I’m blind”. We helped her retrieve her walker and return to a chair in the living room. We locked her front door as we left the house.
We moved the zone car back into the street. I thought, “isn’t it odd, that a blind, 82 year-old woman, requiring a walker, is safer in her house alone, than with her adult son”? I thought about the tag on a beer commercial; “Drink responsibly”.
What happened to Joey?
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Check under the hood?
I remember when gas stations provided service. They pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield and checked your oil. They could do minor and major repairs. They sold tires, windshield washer blades and fluids. You could get your AC re-charged. Now,there are very few if any that do anything except allow you to pump your own gas. They sell beer. Most of them have signs that tell you not to drink and drive.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Worth The Wait
To fully understand todays post, you may want to read the following biblical passages...
Isaiah 2:1-5
Matthew 24:36-44
Prepare ye the way of the Lord… We hear these words a lot throughout the period of Advent. Today is the first Sunday in Advent; the Sunday of Expectation and Hope. And once again we hear the scriptures of expectation and hope; “In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Israel has had a difficult history. Wedged between large empires that were fighting for superiority, there were few times in her 700-year history in which Israel did not live under the threat of war. Not much has changed.
In the time of Isaiah, Judah was a state of Assyria. During Isaiah’s life, the Assyrians would sweep in and totally annihilate the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and threaten to do the same to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Judah; was ruled by leaders who saw it more politically expedient to appease the Empire than to be faithful to God. There were, however people like Isaiah who could envision a different circumstance. They hoped for a time when Israel would be faithful to God.
Israel was weary of war and threat, weary of the divisions that had torn her country apart after Solomon, weary of the instability of a world in which power and the oppression that it brings were the controlling factors in the world. Some like Isaiah knew that God’s vision of the world was much different. They knew that the God they served was the same God who had heard the cries of oppressed slaves in Egypt, and entered history to relieve their oppression. And they knew that because God was such a God, he would not tolerate oppression in the world forever. So they hoped. They dreamed. They dreamed of a time when God would enter the world and bring an end to war and suffering. They dreamed of a time when he would establish his reign on earth and restore all creation to what he intended it to be. They dreamed of a time when the division that had torn their people apart and divided them into north and south would be healed. They dreamed of a time when Israel would be a whole people under God. They dreamed of a time when “nation would not lift up sword against nation, and learn war no more.”
And here we are today. Some in our midst lived through WWII, The Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War. We know from our history books about WWI, the War of 1812, The Civil War, the Revolutionary War, the wars between England and Ireland, England and Scotland, and so on, and so on. Today we are all too aware of the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, conflicts in Korea, Somalia, Serbia, etc. We are bombarded by images of car bombings, suicide bombings, etc. We are reminded of man’s inhumanity to man every time we turn on the tv, radio, internet, or pick up a newspaper. And we become desperate like the early Israelites. And we cry to God; ”Come quickly”.
Then along comes Advent…our annual reminder that God answered our calls once with the birth of Jesus. (not an image on a toasted cheese sandwich- see Nov. 19 posting) Our holiday greeting cards are emblazoned with the phrase: “Peace On Earth”. Much like the early Israelites, we dream of a “new Jerusalem”. But like the Israelites we believe that maybe it is a vision for the distant future. Have we worked hard enough to make this vision a reality? Maybe we have depended a little too much on God transforming our swords while we are still swinging them at each other.
Isaiah knew that we would not be able to bring peace. He knew that the world would not yield to our individual efforts. Still he believed that peace would come. He believed in a future that was God’s future, a future in which the world would be restored to God’s intention. And he waited. And likewise,,. We wait.
Peace on Earth came 2000 years ago… It came in the birth of Jesus, and it was worth the wait. It was only a glimpse of what can be however. The fulfillment of the promise has become a new expectation. So today, we dream the same dream of Isaiah, that God will bring wholeness and peace. When? We don’t know. But we hope and wait expectantly. We know that he has come, and we know that he will come again.
When he does, Will we be “eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage”, will we be sleeping like the homeowner unaware that the thief has come in the night? Will we be dropping bombs and wielding swords? Or will we be hammering our swords into plowshares, and waiting expectantly for his arrival?
Whenever he comes, we are promised that it will have been worth the wait. “The Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
"Behold the day is coming, The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour… Come Lord Jesus, quickly come.
Isaiah 2:1-5
Matthew 24:36-44
Prepare ye the way of the Lord… We hear these words a lot throughout the period of Advent. Today is the first Sunday in Advent; the Sunday of Expectation and Hope. And once again we hear the scriptures of expectation and hope; “In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Israel has had a difficult history. Wedged between large empires that were fighting for superiority, there were few times in her 700-year history in which Israel did not live under the threat of war. Not much has changed.
In the time of Isaiah, Judah was a state of Assyria. During Isaiah’s life, the Assyrians would sweep in and totally annihilate the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and threaten to do the same to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Judah; was ruled by leaders who saw it more politically expedient to appease the Empire than to be faithful to God. There were, however people like Isaiah who could envision a different circumstance. They hoped for a time when Israel would be faithful to God.
Israel was weary of war and threat, weary of the divisions that had torn her country apart after Solomon, weary of the instability of a world in which power and the oppression that it brings were the controlling factors in the world. Some like Isaiah knew that God’s vision of the world was much different. They knew that the God they served was the same God who had heard the cries of oppressed slaves in Egypt, and entered history to relieve their oppression. And they knew that because God was such a God, he would not tolerate oppression in the world forever. So they hoped. They dreamed. They dreamed of a time when God would enter the world and bring an end to war and suffering. They dreamed of a time when he would establish his reign on earth and restore all creation to what he intended it to be. They dreamed of a time when the division that had torn their people apart and divided them into north and south would be healed. They dreamed of a time when Israel would be a whole people under God. They dreamed of a time when “nation would not lift up sword against nation, and learn war no more.”
And here we are today. Some in our midst lived through WWII, The Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War. We know from our history books about WWI, the War of 1812, The Civil War, the Revolutionary War, the wars between England and Ireland, England and Scotland, and so on, and so on. Today we are all too aware of the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, conflicts in Korea, Somalia, Serbia, etc. We are bombarded by images of car bombings, suicide bombings, etc. We are reminded of man’s inhumanity to man every time we turn on the tv, radio, internet, or pick up a newspaper. And we become desperate like the early Israelites. And we cry to God; ”Come quickly”.
Then along comes Advent…our annual reminder that God answered our calls once with the birth of Jesus. (not an image on a toasted cheese sandwich- see Nov. 19 posting) Our holiday greeting cards are emblazoned with the phrase: “Peace On Earth”. Much like the early Israelites, we dream of a “new Jerusalem”. But like the Israelites we believe that maybe it is a vision for the distant future. Have we worked hard enough to make this vision a reality? Maybe we have depended a little too much on God transforming our swords while we are still swinging them at each other.
Isaiah knew that we would not be able to bring peace. He knew that the world would not yield to our individual efforts. Still he believed that peace would come. He believed in a future that was God’s future, a future in which the world would be restored to God’s intention. And he waited. And likewise,,. We wait.
Peace on Earth came 2000 years ago… It came in the birth of Jesus, and it was worth the wait. It was only a glimpse of what can be however. The fulfillment of the promise has become a new expectation. So today, we dream the same dream of Isaiah, that God will bring wholeness and peace. When? We don’t know. But we hope and wait expectantly. We know that he has come, and we know that he will come again.
When he does, Will we be “eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage”, will we be sleeping like the homeowner unaware that the thief has come in the night? Will we be dropping bombs and wielding swords? Or will we be hammering our swords into plowshares, and waiting expectantly for his arrival?
Whenever he comes, we are promised that it will have been worth the wait. “The Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
"Behold the day is coming, The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour… Come Lord Jesus, quickly come.
Friday, November 26, 2004
Don't be late for dinner...
My parents live in a wooded area that plays host to about 30 white tail deer. Year after year, we have enjoyed watching them feed on the cracked corn that Dad puts out for them. This year, however, Mom and Dad have stopped feeding the deer.” Why” I asked. Mom explained that the deer come in herds, usually 10 or 12 at a time. They put out the feed. The first herd comes and eats all the corn. Then, the next herd comes and there isn’t any food for them. Consequently, Mom feels bad for them. Rather than disappoint some of them, she has chosen not feed any of them. She went on to explain; “if they would just all come at the same time, I would continue to feed them, but if they aren’t going to come at the same time… forget it. “ My brother and I made sure that we arrived for Thanks Giving dinner at the same time.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Thanks Giving Day, not Turkey Day
Amid football, parades, sales, Santa, and all the other distractions of the day, let’s actually take time to give thanks to God for the blessings of our lives.
Come ye thankful people come, raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied,
come to God’s own temple come, raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God’s own field, fruit s praise to God we yield;
Wheat and tares together sown are to joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home;
From the field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in the garner ever-more.
Even so, Lord quickly come, bring thy final harvest home;
Gather thou thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in they presence to abide;
Come, with all thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.
- George J. Elvey 1858
Come ye thankful people come, raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied,
come to God’s own temple come, raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God’s own field, fruit s praise to God we yield;
Wheat and tares together sown are to joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home;
From the field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in the garner ever-more.
Even so, Lord quickly come, bring thy final harvest home;
Gather thou thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in they presence to abide;
Come, with all thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.
- George J. Elvey 1858
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Like A Rock
I refer to mini-vans as “the great emasculator of the American male”. Think about it. Your are cruizin’ around in your Firebird Trans-Am, or your Z-28 Camaro. Then one day, your wife tells you she is pregnant. The next thing you know, you’ve traded in the Camaro on a “Grand Voyager”. Nice vehicle, but it is not a Camaro. Anyhow, you’re driving around in your “Grand Voyager” trying to look cool. It just doesn’t work. But then, somebody needs something moved from point A to point B, so in order to get back any vestige of testosterone; you quickly remove the seats from your mini-van, and volunteer the services of your “truck”. There is only one problem. It ain’t a truck. It’s a mini-van. Give it up man. Someday, the kids will grow up and they might let you borrow their Camaro.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Give till it hurts
I received my “Red Cross Volunteer Blood Donor Card” in the mail.It's really nice. It has the same weight and feel of a credit card. So what am I supposed to do with it? Can I get discounts on blood and plasma? I tried to use it at Bob Evans to pay for breakfast. They wouldn’t accept it.
So, how did they figure out that you could safely remove a pint of blood from a human for donation purposes? Who did they experiment on to determine one pint was safe, whereas two pints, three pints, etc. were too much....“Whoops, I guess that was too much.”
So, how did they figure out that you could safely remove a pint of blood from a human for donation purposes? Who did they experiment on to determine one pint was safe, whereas two pints, three pints, etc. were too much....“Whoops, I guess that was too much.”
Monday, November 22, 2004
That's Entertainment!
I have a real problem with the Media. Particularly TV.
People watch way too much TV. It has been called “a wasteland”. That is probably too complimentary. People who are too poor to eat properly, can’t pay their bills, have no money to educate their kids, will have a TV in every room and spend every free moment watching it. Wouldn’t their time be better spent, reading, working, exercising, building an income source? I call TV “The great American income reducer”.
TV News is the worst. Manufactured stories abound. For instance...
Have you ever really known anyone who was involved in a fire because they answered their cell phone while fueling their car? Me neither.But TV news reports would have you believe that people are going up in flames on a daily basis. Now we have local news anchors stripping during the news hour.
Do yourself a favor. Mark on your calendar when “sweeps week” is, and make a vow that you won’t believe anything you hear on TV that week.
There is no such thing as TV News. It’s all entertainment.
People watch way too much TV. It has been called “a wasteland”. That is probably too complimentary. People who are too poor to eat properly, can’t pay their bills, have no money to educate their kids, will have a TV in every room and spend every free moment watching it. Wouldn’t their time be better spent, reading, working, exercising, building an income source? I call TV “The great American income reducer”.
TV News is the worst. Manufactured stories abound. For instance...
Have you ever really known anyone who was involved in a fire because they answered their cell phone while fueling their car? Me neither.But TV news reports would have you believe that people are going up in flames on a daily basis. Now we have local news anchors stripping during the news hour.
Do yourself a favor. Mark on your calendar when “sweeps week” is, and make a vow that you won’t believe anything you hear on TV that week.
There is no such thing as TV News. It’s all entertainment.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Sex, Lies, and Video Tape
SEX
When I was 12, I would have paid $20.00 for the Victoria’s Secret catalogs that now arrive free, by mail at our house every other day. God Bless America!
LIES
I ordered a new pair of glasses recently. I specifically chose a store that had signs reading: “Glasses while you wait.” I thought that meant, I could wait for them and take them home that day. What it really means is; they will make them and you will wait. It’s been two weeks, now, so I guess the sign is accurate.
VIDEO TAPE
What happened to my $100 lifelong membership at the video store that I bought in 1981? I haven't received a benefit disclosure in a long time.
When I was 12, I would have paid $20.00 for the Victoria’s Secret catalogs that now arrive free, by mail at our house every other day. God Bless America!
LIES
I ordered a new pair of glasses recently. I specifically chose a store that had signs reading: “Glasses while you wait.” I thought that meant, I could wait for them and take them home that day. What it really means is; they will make them and you will wait. It’s been two weeks, now, so I guess the sign is accurate.
VIDEO TAPE
What happened to my $100 lifelong membership at the video store that I bought in 1981? I haven't received a benefit disclosure in a long time.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Boys Pants, half-off
Have you ever seen an old shoe on the side of the road? So what happens, someone is driving along and suddenly just gets irritated with one of their shoes and tosses it out the window? I saw a pair of pants on the side of the road last night. Think about that for a minute.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Toasted Cheese
So another appearance of the Virgin Mary is revealed.
First, God creates the Earth and all that is in/on it in 7 days.
We're told in the Old Testament of a time when God decides it is time to start over. He instructs Noah to build an Ark, and to gather up two of each species. He then causes 40 days of rain until the world is flooded. After 40 days, The water recedes and God makes a covenant with Man, that he will never again destroy the world through flood.
2000 years ago, God is once again "unhappy" with the affairs of man. He decides to do something drastic. He sends his only son into the world to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Jesus, the Christ is crucified, dies, and is buried. Then miraculously three days later, he rises from the dead justifying the rest of the world through his blood and ressurection.
2004... God places the image of The Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich grilled in the home of a Hollywood, Florida woman.
I think that God has better things to do than manipulate a piece of melted cheese.
I would also like to know; To the best of my knowlege, there were no cameras available when Mary walked this earth. So how do we know that the image on the cheese sandwich isn't somebody else? or no one? or Maybe... IT'S JUST CHEESE.
Worse yet, some idiot pays a ton of money to own this "miracle". What is wrong with these people?
First, God creates the Earth and all that is in/on it in 7 days.
We're told in the Old Testament of a time when God decides it is time to start over. He instructs Noah to build an Ark, and to gather up two of each species. He then causes 40 days of rain until the world is flooded. After 40 days, The water recedes and God makes a covenant with Man, that he will never again destroy the world through flood.
2000 years ago, God is once again "unhappy" with the affairs of man. He decides to do something drastic. He sends his only son into the world to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Jesus, the Christ is crucified, dies, and is buried. Then miraculously three days later, he rises from the dead justifying the rest of the world through his blood and ressurection.
2004... God places the image of The Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich grilled in the home of a Hollywood, Florida woman.
I think that God has better things to do than manipulate a piece of melted cheese.
I would also like to know; To the best of my knowlege, there were no cameras available when Mary walked this earth. So how do we know that the image on the cheese sandwich isn't somebody else? or no one? or Maybe... IT'S JUST CHEESE.
Worse yet, some idiot pays a ton of money to own this "miracle". What is wrong with these people?
The eye's have it
I visited the eye doctor the other day. I noticed that all of the storage drawers were labeled. Most of the drawers had optical stuff. One drawer had screwdrivers. I guess sometimes the Doc needs to make adjustments to his equipment, so that made sense. One drawer bothered me. It said; “catheters”. I’ve been to a lot of eye doctors. At what point in an eye exam, is it necessary to insert a catheter?
Eye doctors have some weird equipment. I don’t think any of those machines actually do anything. They’re just something to play with and help the doctor look like he is doing something. Which is better… 1 or 2? 2 or 3? 3 or 4? They all look the same after awhile.
Eye drops are cool. Everyone leaves the eye doctor looking like a heroin addict.
Eye doctors have some weird equipment. I don’t think any of those machines actually do anything. They’re just something to play with and help the doctor look like he is doing something. Which is better… 1 or 2? 2 or 3? 3 or 4? They all look the same after awhile.
Eye drops are cool. Everyone leaves the eye doctor looking like a heroin addict.
Day One
Here it is. The beginning of a blog. Why? Why not? I have all this stuff that rolls around in my head. Last December, I started writing it down. Some of it is pretty good. Some of it isn't. I have to do something with it, so here goes....
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