A History Lesson

Those that know me, know that I teach World History at the local high school. There's a history lesson I've been wanting to post here on this blog and one I've been putting off for quite a while, but I feel compelled, even driven, to go ahead...

You see, there's a line, that's been drawn down through the ages. And on that line, there stands an old rugged cross. And on that cross, there's a battle that's raging, for the gain of man's soul or its loss.

On one side, march the forces of evil, all the demons and devils in hell. On the other, the angels of glory. And they meet, on Golgotha's Hill.

The earth shakes, with the force of the conflict and the sun refuses to shine. For there hangs God's Son in the balance, and then, through the darkness He cries!!!

IT IS FINISHED!!! The battle is over!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! There'll be no more war!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! The end of the conflict!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! And Jesus is Lord!!!

Ok, so by now, some you might have recognized that these are the lyrics from "It Is Finished," made famous by the Gaither Vocal Band. Historians, not just the Gospels, write of the accuracy of the earthquake and the eclipse that occurred at the time of Christ's death, but there might be those who question, much like my students, "What does something that happened thousands of years ago have to do with today and more importantly, me?"

That's why the second verse is so important:

Still in my heart, the battle was still raging. Not all prisoners of war had come home. These were battlefields, of my own making. I didn't know, that the war had been won.

But then I heard, that the King of the Ages had fought all life's battles for me. And that victory was mine for the claiming. And now, praise His Name I am FREE!!!

IT IS FINISHED!!! The battle is over!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! There'll be no more war!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! The end of the conflict!!! IT IS FINISHED!!! And Jesus is Lord!!!


That's how it matters to you and to me. I know that there are those that doubt that God could ever love them because of all the things that they might have done or even continue to do. But it doesn't matter, He fought all life's battles, He paid the price, and now, praise His Name, we're free. That battle is over, IT IS FINISHED, Satan has lost and Jesus is Lord.

That brings up another lesson.

There are some Christians (and others) that refuse to watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ because of the violent depiction of Christ's death. They complain, and maybe rightly so, that it is too violent and too over the top, questioning why it must be so.

Why? Go watch the History Channel or the Discovery Channel or any of the others. There you will find some revisionist historian arguing that Christ really didn't die on the Cross, that He only fainted and was removed by the disciples and nursed back to health (or some other ludicrous explanation).

Are you serious?

That's why The Passion of the Christ had to show the brutal beating that Jesus endured, to show that ONLY three days after that He was made whole, save the scars in His hands, feet, and side. Think about this, would his disciples have followed a beaten and broken Christ, knowing that their belief could be a death sentence? No, they'd seen Him beaten and crucified, dying one of the most horrible deaths known, and yet three short days later, He stood amongst them, alive and WHOLE!!!

My only complaint is that the movie glosses over the the Resurrection, for without it, the Crucifixion would be just one of thousands that the Romans doled out. In fact, Crassus had crucified over 6,000 of Spartacus' followers on the Appian Way. For the reasons mentioned above, the Resurrection is as important, if not more important, than the Crucifixion.

So why do I choose this time to give you this lesson. In the words of a Kris Kristofferson song:

Try me Lord, if You think there's a way, I can try to repay, all I've taken from You. Maybe Lord, I can show someone else, what I've been through myself, on my way BACK to You.

A Little Cheese with that Wine

I've recently made a discovery, a cheese discovery, that I'm compelled by all that is good to share with you.

Pecorino Romano.

A had a recipe for braciole that called for this specific type of cheese, so I set out to locate it. Luckily, the local Wally-World actually carried it. However, it is a tad bit expensive, so when the recipe took far less than I'd purchased, the Scot in me was determined to find other uses.

So first, I sprinkled it on some zuccini that I'd grilled with excellent results. Tonight, however, I grilled my world-famous steaks and decided that they might could benefit from a little extra zing. So just before I pulled them off the grill, I sprinkled just a touch of the Pecorino Romano on each steak.

Now my steaks, in my own humble opinion and the opinion of dozens of others that have been fortunate enough to sample them, are truly a work of art. I've spent years creating the perfect blend of herbs and spices and mastering the art of grilling. Anytime you can get another man's wife to tell him that your steak is better than his, then you've accomplished something.

So what did the Pecorino Romano do for the steak?

Oh.

My.

God.

It took a really good steak and created a masterpiece worthy of Rafael or Van Gogh or... or... or...

Wow, just wow!

So if you can find some Pecorino Romano, do yourself a huge favor and pick some up. It's worth every cent.

As far as the wine, the wife and I have been sampling a few that we though we should share. We tend to like our wines just a little on the sweet side, so if you don't, well... you might not like these. Here's a few of our faves:

1) Messina Hof Beau "Tribute to Beauty" - Tastes like fresh cherries dipped in dark chocolate. DO NOT chill, but serve at room temperature. Chilling kills the flavors and leaves this wine flat. This is our favorite, but we can't afford to drink it all the time. Around $9 at WM.

2) Llano Sweet Red - Another that is better at room temperature. Not as rich as the Beau, but still a good, rich, yet slightly sweet, red wine. Around $6 at WM.

3) St. Genevieve Sweet Red - A lot like the Llano, but at less cost. A good everyday, stand-by wine. Around $4 at WM.

4) Sutter Home Sweet Red - See #2 & #3. Around $5 at WM.

5) Twin Springs Sweet Red - This one benefits from being chilled. Very, very sweet, but without the tartness of a white zinfandel. Even people that proclaim they HATE wine love this one. Around $5.50 at WM.

Trying to please everyone...

... ends up pleasing no one.

Wednesday is Savannah's b-day, so Cas and I thought we'd treat her to a day at the mall with a friend, complete with shopping and a movie.

At least that was what we intended.

Somehow the other kids managed to get involved, to the point that we took Nate and Joe and Katie and one of her friends. This meant having to cut back on the time spent just with Vanna, as well as cutting back on the money spent.

So it ended up being a ho-hum day for everyone, instead of a very, very special day for just one...

Posting drunk, and I know it...

Too much wine (wow, did we really consume three bottles) will loosen the tongue and the keyboard.

So where to start.

I'm apparently in trouble with the one passed out on the bed behind me, snoring loudly BTW, because I told her that her @$$ was bigger than my computer screen.

Not that I expect her to remember it in the morning, but I know that her @$$ is bigger than this 17" screen. H#ll, the 9-year old step-daughter's @$$ is wider than 17 inches, much less anyone that has been through puberty or child-bearing, but try to tell that to a DRUNK wife.

Oh well, I've been in worse trouble.

Product Ponderings

Every once in a while, I'll come across a consumer product that makes me think

Whiskey

Tango

Foxtrot?

I had such an experience a few months back at the local Sam's Club. Now on the surface, this product seems innocuous enough, but on further reflection, I'm puzzled about its intended use.

The product I speak of is Ultra-Strong Charmin.

Now at first, this product's intended purpose would be quite clear, but when you really, really think about it, you start to wonder. See, I understand the purpose of Ultra-Soft Charmin (ultra-spicy burritos, anyone?), just not Ultra-Strong Charmin.

Seriously, do some people have poop so toxic that the regular Charmin can't handle it?

Maybe they use it to sand furniture?

Or maybe when a buddy's truck gets stuck in the mud, they'll tell 'em, "Nah, don't worry 'bout a chain, gotta roll of Ultra-Strong Charmin over here!"

This Means War!!

Those sadistic b@$terds with Al-Qaeda may have created the most nefarious weapon to ever threaten the average American male.

Building on such terror tools as flying hijacked planes into buildings and the infamous shoe bomb, they've gone a step further and created a weapon that will have every man in America quivering in fear: the exploding boobie.

As reported by British intelligence (which may or may not be an oxymoron, I'm not sure), plastic surgeons with Arabic sympathies from all over the globe are flying home, ostensibly to implant explosives in the chests of female volunteers.

Strip clubs, Spring Break, and Mardi Gras will never be the same. Now when a pretty girl starts to flash her t!t$, men will dive for cover instead of gawk and stare.

Where's JFK when you need him? As a man who had a fine-tuned appreciation for a nice set of h00ters, he'd be launching nukes at this latest threat. Heck, even Clinton would've "risen" to the occassion...

A Cold Day in Texas

We're expecting snow today, which according to forecasters is the earliest recorded instance of snow in this area. So much for global warming, huh?

Anyway, checked the outside faucets last night to make sure they were wrapped, which they weren't. I'm not worried about the other pipes, which are in the attic and are very well wrapped and are buried in blown-in insulation. Cas was at WM already, so I called and asked her to pick up some insulating wrap.

Seems like everyone else had the same idea.

So what to do? I came up with the ingenious plan of wrapping the faucets in plastic WM bags and then putting a coffee can over them to hold the wrap in place and keep it dry.

I didn't even use duct tape...

Has it been a year already?

Wow!

Today is my first wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it's been a year, but things have flown by very, very quickly. Staying busy tends to have that effect.

Which is my excuse for the extreme lack of posts, I've been busy.

So sue me.

Live Like You Were Dying

Sorry I haven't blogged in quite a while, but things have been fairly busy around here. Luckily, I'm on Spring Break this week, so I have a few extra minutes.

Even Spring Break has been hectic, trying to get caught up on the "to-do" list around the house and with the fire department. Yesterday, I managed to combine fire department duties with having fun. The rescue boat had not been in the water for several months and desperately needed to be run, so my brother and I loaded it up, along with his son and my youngest daughter, and headed to the lake.

We motored around the lake for the better part of two hours, stopping for a few minutes on an island out in the middle so the kids could do some exploring. It was there that I saw something that few people ever see, at least in the wild - a bald eagle.

It was perched high in a pine tree and we watched it for several minutes before it took off, to be joined by another as they circled over the lake.

Check that one off the list...

A Christmas to Remember

The last few days have been a whirlwind. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents opening gifts, then went to Cassie's mom's house for Christmas dinner and gifts there. Somewhere in between, we opened gifts here at the house and I got sick. Very, very sick.

So bad that Cas had to drive home last night from her mom's. I'm lying in the front seat, feeling like someone had went after my tonsils with a steel brush and some guy named Tony or Sal or Vinnie has taken a baseball bat to my knees. I, to put it lightly, was miserable.

At that point, I look over at my wife in the front seat, my son Natthan in the second-row, and my daughter Savannah, who was curled up in the third row, fast asleep. Joe was in there somewhere, but he was sitting directly behind me, so I couldn't see him. I realized that I had had the best Christmas ever.

The more things change...

Seems the "change" promised by Obama during his campaign is just a return to the same-old, same-old. So far the majority of his appointments have ties to the Clinton Administration. Hmmmm... wonder if the Obamaites wished they had asked what he meant by "change."

Can't say I didn't try and warn them. Seems like we've been sold a pig-in-a-poke.

Oh, and I'm tired. 4:00AM structure fire calls will do that to you.

Pointing Fingers

After reading this e-mail sent to me

Be afraid, be very afraid…

To those of you who voted for the Republicans and John McCain be afraid, be very afraid. The country has elected an educated, smart, thoughtful, man who weights his decisions calmly and decidedly after careful consideration of all sides and a great deal of deliberation even from opposing views.

Those of you who haven't read a book all year, watch trash TV, listen to Rush, follow Nascar and complain about the Mexicans, be afraid be very afraid. The world is leaving you behind. Your main concern is the right to life question yet, you support the death penalty and an ill-conceived war in the Middle East that has killed tens of thousands of people that never were our enemies. You make judgments based on your belief yet, deny someone else to do the same. You are right and no one else is allowed an opinion. Only you know what God meant. You quote the Bible yet, live as far away from the Christian life as anyone can get. The vile and hatred that comes out of your mouth and your computers is beyond anyone's imagination. We are promised that how we judge others is the way God will judge us. Be afraid, be very afraid.

After 8 years of a President that has trashed the constitution, lied to the nation and those around him, brought down our economy, left us with trillions of dollars of debt and cost us our standing in the world, be afraid, be very afraid. The world is changing and leaving you behind.

Stay in your double- wides with your guns, stay ignorant, don't think a new thought, condemn those who dare to say what if and hate all those who don't believe exactly as you do and be afraid, be very afraid because there is no place left for you to go.

I felt compelled to respond in kind:

As a party that has preached it is a time to unite, a time when all opinions matter, what do we see but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid upset with Senator Joe Lieberman because he spoke his opinion at the Republican National Convention. Upset enough to suggest stripping him of his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship. This isn’t unity, it’s a vendetta!

The article you quote paints all conservatives as being uneducated rednecks, so who is judging whom here? I don’t watch NASCAR, I don’t listen to Rush, I certainly don’t watch trash TV, and I’ve read a multitude of books in the last year. I don’t complain about Mexicans, only illegal immigrants, regardless of where they are from. I’m not a perfect Christian and seldom ever quote the Bible and despise those who do and I certainly don’t know what God meant and won’t till I meet him face-to-face. However, I do support the death penalty and am privately right-to-life (how someone can be against killing a hardened criminal yet think it’s perfectly alright to snuff out the life of an unborn child is beyond me), BUT I also support a woman’s right to choose. I don’t want the government telling me what I can or can’t do with my own body (or in my own bedroom) and certainly don’t believe it should do the same to anyone else.

President Bush certainly doesn’t have the market cornered on lying to the nation. Nancy Pelosi stood in the hallowed halls of Congress less than eight weeks ago and blamed the Bush Administration and its policy of de-regulation (supposedly via the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, signed by Bill Clinton) for the mortgage industry fiasco, when Clinton himself even disagreed with this assumption. However, no mention was made of the fact that the Administration in 2005 requested legislation to create a new agency to oversee the mortgage industry. House Democrats, led by Barney Frank, killed this in committee, with Frank even going as far as to say that there was nothing wrong with the industry and it was all just Administration scare tactics. Do an Internet search if you think I’m lying! And while economics is far too complex to blame the current collapse on one issue, the sub-prime loan fiasco, caused by giving home loans to those who most likely should not have gotten them, is a major cause. Lay that one squarely on the feet of Clinton and the Democrats as they pressured Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to relax their draconian lending standards so that more people could be able to purchase a home. Once again, do the research if you don’t believe me.

The author’s diatribe was laced with stereotypes that if directed toward anyone but white conservatives, would have been quickly condemned! What if someone had told blacks to stay in their ghettos, living off welfare, and eating fried chicken and watermelon? That person would have been verbally stoned on the spot, but the author uses generalizations that are every bit as strong.

The author needs to do a little reading and assuage his or her own ignorance. Economic theory would be a good place to start. Most economists will tell you that the changes brought about by economic policy aren’t felt for more than ten years, meaning that many of the issues that Bush dealt with were the product of Clinton’s policies. You don’t have to take my word on it (despite the fact that I do have a MBA), go do the research. I do hate that the debt tripled, but losing the support of the Germans and French, both of which had back-room, under-the-table dealings with Saddam Hussein… well, I’m not mourning.

And I’ll agree that many innocent lives have been lost in both Iraq and Afghanistan (as has been the case with war throughout history), but it also eliminated many extremists that would gladly kill you or me, and have done so in the past and continue to do so. Did you miss the news where Christian missionaries have been killed in both countries, their only crime was spreading the Gospel?

I do believe that we did elect an educated, intelligent, and thoughtful man to be President, but I also believe the same could have been said for the other candidate. I didn’t support Obama the candidate because I disagree with some of his policies (a tax increase, no matter which segment is targeted, has historically NEVER had positive results), but now that he is our President, I will support him to the best of my ability. I might not always agree with him and will question when I think necessary, but I will support him. It sickens my stomach to see the way some conservatives have reacted to Obama’s election (particularly the racist comments), but the I can say the same for some liberals. The biggest object of my disgust with regards to liberals is the double-standard they wish to apply, that nothing negative can be said about the President-elect, yet they’ve spent the last eight years disparaging the outgoing President (see below for an example).

The article does a lot of finger-pointing, but remember, when you point fingers, there’s four pointing back at you.

I Like Ike... NOT!!!

We had a most unwanted visitor over the weekend, fellow by the name of Ike. Came in, raining on everyone's parade, blowing a lot of air around, and just generally trashing the place. Everyone was glad to see him go and hopes no one like him comes around here for quite awhile.
.
Now we have to clean up the mess he made and it's going to be awhile, since he even managed to knock out the power. Luckily, we have generators and the phone (and Internet) is still working. The biggest problem is finding fuel to keep the generator running.

But we'll make it, just like it did when a little b!t&h named Rita paid us a visit.

Four Months to the Day...

... was the last time I posted in this blog.

It has been a very, very busy summer.

I worked most of the summer running a tractor, cutting and baling hay, getting a really, really good tan.

I spent the first part of August moving into a new house, combining a household with my fiance. My family went from two to six overnight, which would be an overwhelming change, except that I let most of it slide off onto someone whose shoulders are much broader than mine.

And no, I'm not talking about my fiance.

Stealing my Foundation

Sorry I've not posted in quite awhile, but it seems that every time I feel like posting, it concerns politics and the current Presidential primaries. In order to preserve my sanity and keep my blood pressure to manageable levels, I've avoided posting.

It seems that the Democratic candidates are engaged in a titanic battle to see just who can insult the general public's intelligence, including mine.

So I'd much rather deal with something truly comic. Tonight I'm listening to the local sheriff's dispatcher on the radio in my truck when I hear the following, "Need you to public service this lady who insists on speaking with a deputy concerning the theft of the foundation from underneath her home."

Whiskey

Tango

Foxtrot?

Then from the backseat opines my sixteen-year old, "Who would steal a foundation from under a house?"

I'm seriously considering going to the pharmacy and picking up one of those home drug tests.

Re-affirmations

Ever notice how a series of events can occur that will re-affirm that which you already knew. For instance, in the last several weeks I've had several of my theories about how the world works blatantly confirmed:

1) Having money does not necessarily mean that you are intelligent, especially if you marry or are born into it.

2) Having an education also does not mean that you are intelligent.

3) Hard work and progress are not always rewarded, especially by those who have no real concept of what truly is hard work (see #1).

4) It only takes one or two dumb@$$es to frak up the work of ten others.

5) There are those who will readily take the glory for your successes and blame you for their failures.

6) There are those who don't know when something is going right nor do they have a clue when it is going wrong. I like to refer to these people as "ostriches."

7) The vast majority of the world's problems could be solved by a good old-fashioned East Texas @$$whuppin'.

Just some observations of an evil genius. Those mentioned above will be the first lined up against the wall when I become Supreme Overlord of the planet.

Reverend Wright... or Wrong?!?

Much has been said in the media over the few days about Barack Obama's pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and his "God Damn America" sermon. While there has been an uproar over a few select snippets, many taken out of context, when you view the sermon as a whole, you realize that it is even more sinister than it initially appeared.

Aside from taking a decidedly erroneous revisionist view of history, the most disturbing view of the sermon is the Reverend Wright's continuation of one of the greatest pitfalls facing society today: the inability of a people to be accountable for their own circumstances. Even scarier, instead of lauding those who are successful, he proceeds to lambaste them.

What kind of society do when live in, when those who rise above their circumstances are spoken of derogatorily and those who wallow in quagmires of their own making are pardoned of their sins?

What the Reverend Wright gave was a political speech from the pulpit, decidedly blurring the line between state and religion, yet no one has called him on this. He spoke of people, using words that were decidedly unfavorable, yet no one has taken him to task for this. Had he been a politician, his career would have been over, yet no one has held him accountable because he was a preacher supposedly preaching a sermon, though the context of the sermon was decidedly political.

Amazingly, the media is making a bigger deal out of snippets taken out of context. That's like pointing out the smoke while ignoring the fire.

Fiddling While Rome Burns

Two hundred and thirty years ago, a group of brave men decided to go against the odds, to wager personal fortunes and their lives for a cause they deemed worth fighting for. They placed the greater good above their own personal wants and desires and changed history.

Two thousand years ago, the average Roman did the same, placing their wants and desires secondary to the glory of Rome. Within a few short centuries, through the courage and determination of its citizens, Rome ruled an empire.

Then a terrible thing happened. The average Roman allowed their wants and desires to overrule the greater good as the glory of Rome was placed secondary to these wants and desires. Within a few short centuries, Rome was gone.

Now we stand facing the same scenario as our ancient Roman brethren. Two centuries ago, average American citizens placed America first, starting us on our journey to greatness. Now, the average American is more concerned about his or her wants and desires, not about what America needs. Need proof? Listen to the presidential candidates as they promise to take care of your needs, not America's needs.

And while we're being taken care of, Rome is falling around us...

To Post or Not to Post...

... that is the question? Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of those who post quantity instead of quality, or to take up the keyboard and vanquish them.

To sleep, perchance to write. And by writing, we mean the writing that gives credence to our very existence,that offers a glimpse into our hearts and our souls. The writing that opens up the very same and invites criticism and praise, heartbreak and fame, that oftentimes gives nothing in return for our labors.

For writing is a window into our dreams, our emotions, our lives. It's easy to sit back and read and criticize, and much more difficult to bare it all.

To write, perchance to dream...

An Ode to Saint Valentine

Historically speaking, there probably never was a saint by that name or there may have been several. How appropriate that we celebrate this day proclaiming love, that amorphous and often ephemeral concept, for our dearly beloved. Ask anyone to define love and they'll begin to stutter and stammer, finally proclaiming, "you'll know it when you feel it."

So what is love? I'm not sure there is one definitive answer, but for me, the true indicator is when you simply cannot imagine being separated from that person. This Valentine's Day will be the first in a long while that I can openly celebrate such love.