Tinka

I have an aunt who lives in the great city of Louisville, KY with my uncle Bud, who I suspect is a curmudgeon.  I must confess that I wasn't even sure what a curmudgeon was until I was working the other day. 

My customer and I were discussing the change in personality that occurs as we age (well, you have to do something to make repairing a crack in a ceiling interesting.)  I commented that I could already feel it coming - I was going to be a grumpy old man.  It runs in the family, on my mother's side.

After a few moments of thought, my customer says "You will never be a curmudgeon."  After I asked her to define the word, her definition of which eludes me at the moment, I explained to her that she only sees my best side, and is mistaken about the fate of my old age personality.

Jump back to this post (this is a stream of consciousness sort of post, just for the record).  As I began this post about Tinka, my uncle appears in the sentence, and the word curmudgeon bursts forth onto the page, completely out of my control.  Out of respect, I look up the exact definition of the word so as not to slander his good name.

This is what I found.  I copied it directly off of this web page.  It is a quote from Jon Winokur:

"A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor.  . . . . .   They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment.   . . . . .   Nature, having failed to equip them with a serviceable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
      
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
      
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor."

Having read this, I realized that by this definition, the word fits my uncle perfectly. 

I also realized that I am probably a blossoming curmudgeon as well.  This is actually a great relief, as I have been thinking I was chronically depressed.  Now I realize that instead, I'm just one of these.



So, here is the actual meat of this post.  Tinka had a store in Louisville a while back.  This story ran in the newspaper. 

Tinka is the perfect balance for a curmudgeon.  She is the exact opposite in personality, which, fortunately for Bud, is what keeps him from completely losing his mind.

JJ Heller, The Boat Song

Last night, while Tina and I went with the boys to Asher's ball game, Grandpa and Grandma took Katherine and Sarah to Crossroad Community Church to see JJ Heller and Audrey Assad

Katherine was excited about this song by JJ and David Heller, which is based on Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny, a classic children's book, and a favorite of all our children.

This goes to prove several things:

• It is good to read to your children.
• Margaret Wise Brown should be on the reading list.
• You never know what impact your present actions will have on something in the future.  Reading Katherine the story when she was just a small child set the stage for her favorite moment (as a 16 year old) at the concert last night. 
• That holds true for the crappy stuff you do as well, but I'd prefer to not even know about those things.

Things You Learn From Kids

 While eating ice cream after dinner, Elias made the comment "It's a good thing humans are warm blooded.  If we were cold blooded, we would never have invented ice cream, because we wouldn't have wanted to eat something that would freeze our insides every time we ate it."

There you have it... The main benefit of being warm blooded.

Things That Happen in a Bar

I read a blog entry of a friend's, and felt compelled to respond.  Bill got back to me and suggested we meet for breakfast to discuss it.  A couple of weeks later, we did.

While there, we never got around to discussing the content of his blog entry.  Instead, he told me a fascinating story about some things currently going on with John Thompson, who, with Micheal Card, wrote the song "El Shaddai", which was recorded by Amy Grant and others.

John now lives in the area.  Among other things, he writes and performs with a local group "The Reminders" along with Ed Shockley and Kevin Short.  A while back, John had told a story about the song "El Shaddai" on Bill's morning show on 88.7 The Bridge (listen on As heard on The Bridge, January 27, 2011 and April 13, 2012). The story involves John going on a risky trip to the Soviet Union in 1985 to meet with Vladimir Slepak, who at the time was part of a group of Jews who had been denied exit visas and were being repressed by the Soviet government.

Bill filled me in on the details of how that story was about to be made into a movie.  Part of those details involved Christian recording artist John Waller, who was being considered for the part of John Thompson in the movie.

Near the end of our breakfast, Bill asked what I was doing Friday morning.  He was going to shoot a screen test for Waller in a little bar in Bridgeville, DE - Jeff's Tap Room.  The scene was meant to portray one which would have occurred in 1985 in the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN, with John Thompson describing his trip to Russia and singing a song which captured the essence of that experience.  Bill said he might need some extras sitting in the audience.

Friday morning, I found myself joining Andy Mason who was in the process of helping Bill set up his equipment.  We were soon joined by John Thompson and John Waller and his son Bailey.  Bill decided that John needed a small audience to speak and sing to, so Bailey and I sat in front of Waller as he told the Slepak story as the character John Thompson, and then sang Thompson's song "Love Has Spoken".

The song touched something in my spirit.  What I heard was not just John Thompson's experience, but an experience of humanity as a whole. I took the story and the song to be about the motivation for people doing extraordinary things without reasonable explanation.  It gave that experience a title - calling it "Love Speaking".

The idea of "Love Speaking" is a universal theme familiar to many.  While the underlying source of the sentiment may be a little different depending on the person, the key is that the effect of it is extraordinary.  A believer in Christ would call that source God living in the hearts of His people, and He speaks His presence into the world.  It is God speaking, not some emotion we call “love”.

That's the kind of life most of us desire to live.  Anything less is just common.

Things Kids Do With Cameras

Japanese Red Maple by Sarah

Things Kids Learn from Movies

Asher and I were driving to Bridgeville in my truck early on a Sunday morning.  We went through the intersection, and were rounding a corner.  There were two lanes of traffic, and we were on the outside lane.  Another car was on the inside lane, slightly behind us.  I noticed that Asher was staring at the car intently.

I asked him what he was looking at.  "I wanted to see if the car was catching up."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I heard that when two cars are going around a corner, the one on the inside has a shorter path, and will go around the corner faster.  So I was seeing if the car was doing that."

"Where did you you learn that son?"

"I saw it on Curious George.  No wait, it wasn't Curious George, it was in the movie "Cars II"."

Asher's first response of "Curious George" was an honest mistake, as he had learned many interesting things growing up watching that show, such as the word for the color "burgundy".

In either case, this reveals a conspiracy to educate our children through seemingly mindless videos.  What next?  Rocket science?

Note:  This entry was approved by Asher.

Things that Happen on Mondays.

A day in the life of a contractor.

1. Your kids are on Easter break, but you go to work anyway, at the tail end of an upper respiratory thing.  You would rather take the day off.
2. You are trying to get started on a big job for a friend, which you have been pushing back because other things keep coming up.  You are finally on the job.
3. You are finishing up a small roof which needed new shingles.  You are on top of a step ladder, the wind blowing at 45mph gusts. (o.k., so this is a slight exaggeration.)
4. You see that you have missed a call from an old customer.  This particular customer always needs everything done ASAP.  Your wife volunteers to handle the customer.
5. You commit to helping a different customer install a door, not because they make demands, but because they are good friends of yours.  This will take a day out of the week, off the job of the previous friend.
6. You get another call from an old customer.  This particular customer also needs everything done ASAP, wants to know exactly when that ASAP will be, and also wants to know about what it will cost while talking on the phone.  You commit to do the 2 hour job next Monday.
7. You get a call from a family member who is concerned about another family member's health.
8. You found out last night that of the two medications you have been taking for the past 6 months, one has not produced the intended results.  This doesn't do anything to improve your mood.
9. You get a call from your wife telling you your son bopped his right elbow.  She is debating about whether to take him to the doctor.  This is the son who aspires to be a (right-handed) pitcher.

Finally, it's noon. You say to yourself, "Well, at least I'm needed."

Tears in Heaven

Eric Clapton recorded "Tears in heaven" about the death of his 4 year old son in 1991.

Tears in Heaven

Eric Clapton and Will Jennings

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?

I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.

Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.

Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/

In 1995, Dana Key released "Dear Mr. Clapton" as a sort of response to that song.  Dana died in 2010 at the age of 56.

Dear Mr. Clapton
Dana Key

Dear Mr. Clapton,
I have learned of your loss.
Tears in heaven,
It’s a beautiful song.

I know your bleeding
Won’t cease with my words.
They’re just a cool drink
To help you along.

Through Saturdays with no noise,
Baseballs and untouched toys.
They leave an empty feeling in your soul.

He is in heaven’s care.
There are no tears up there, cuz,
Jesus loves children more than we will ever know.
He loves those children more than we will ever know.

Dear Mr. Clapton,
You are not without hope.
The door to heaven
lies beyond the grave

If you would only
believe as a child,
someday this pain
will be washed away.

Of, memories of holidays,
That small angelic face.
They leave an empty feeling in your soul.

CHORUS

Dear Mr. Clapton,
I have learned of your loss.

Asher Pitching

Asher and Elias just started practices for little league.  Asher has been wanting to pitch since Fall Ball last September.  He has gotten his wish the last two practices.

I am using a borrowed Canon digital SLR.  Took these from behind first base.