Hail To The Chief II. -Concerning My Best Friends

The way of things is odd, to say the least.

When I got married, I married my best friend. After nearly ten years, she remains my best friend and my soul-mate. We have made it a point to grow closer together rather than drifting apart, as I have seen many couples do with the weathering of the years. At this point, it just seems natural to spend the time together that we do. Most people who meet us have no idea that we have been together for so long. I like it this way. I'm looking forward to the next decade with her and the one after that, so on and so forth.

If you are close friends with your family, i. e. parents, siblings, cousins, count yourself as fortunate. This is a blessing, and not to be taken for granted. My wife and I are very close to my brother and sister in law. I value their friendship and their place in my life. Granted, I may get annoyed at them from time to time, but that is the way of siblings, isn't it? If you don't get annoyed at them, you probably aren't that close.

All that being said, I come to inner-circle best friends. I have three best friends that don't fit into any of the above categories (arguably). I'm speaking of non-blood relatives that are close enough friends that they may as well be. These three friends in no particular order are Darren, Beej, and Sean. Something else that these three people share in common other than essentially being non-blood relatives to me is that they all three voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday, and I don't think any less of them for it.

I've known Beej since I was in second grade. Back then, she was a squirrelly little kid, and went by Bridget. Of course, I was also a squirrelly little kid, and I was known as Michael. Later, she decided to go by her initials, B. J. She found that this new moniker had mixed results, and her group of friends settled into calling her "Beej," even in written word. Beej is a highly gifted, highly intellectual individual that has had the most unique personal story that I can recall. But, I would have to let her tell you about that on her own time and motivation. When Jenni and I took up handgunning in January, 2008, it kind of scared Beej at first. She wanted to come for a range session with us just to see what it was about. After her first trip to the range, she was hooked and the disease took her over. She now has a Smith & Wesson revolver and a Sig 9mm and has been thinking about getting herself a shotgun and some formal training. She thoughtfully listens to and reads our conservative views, but doesn't embrace them on our word. I'm proud of her for that. If everyone could openly consider all viewpoints and come up with their own independently, the world would be a better place to live.

I've known Darren for nearly as long as Beej. I can't remember whether it was in late grade school or junior high when Darren and I met. Darren has done some really crazy stuff in his life. He has a cabin out in the woods, but currently leads the career military life with his wife who is a nurse for the United States. In high school, Darren and I chased after some of the same girls. We've always had our differences, and never let them bother us. I've always been an opinionated fan of Japanese cars, and he has always been vocal about his Pontiacs. There have been times that we poked fun at each other for such differences, but at the end of the day, we'll drink from the same scotch bottle. I think it was during the 2004 election that I discovered how vastly different our political views were. I have to admit that I was shocked at the time. Darren has had points in his life when I thought to myself, "Dear Lord, he's going to kill himself." But such is they way with young men, I suppose. This is how we grow into full-fledged, grown men. I can't help but wonder if he thought the same of me from time to time.

I have been friends with Sean for the shortest amount of time of any of these three dear friends. I met Sean about 7 years ago maybe? We were fast friends from day one. He and I were both driving (and modifying) 1983 Honda Civic Station Wagons. He had commented that he wanted to lower his. Without hesitation, I asked Sean to buy the supplies needed and to bring them to my house on my day off, and we would lower his car. I didn't really know the first thing about him, but he struck me as a good person. My first impression of him could not have been more right. Sean and I got to know each other over the engine compartments of many Japanese cars. Together, we fixed some basket cases, and screwed up perfectly good drivers in the pursuit of making them perform better. I have fond memories of some of those monstrosities, which took on personalities of their own and were usually unfit for public roads in their final forms. Sean is a metal man. He has a heart made of solid gold, a mind like a steel trap, iron convictions, and if I had a sister, I would do everything in my power to marry her off to him so we actually could be brothers.

As I said before, all three of them voted for BHO. I find it incredibly interesting that I felt so very strongly about this election - that it was not a matter of black and white, or right and left but to me it had become a matter of right and wrong or good and evil - and yet, the three people that I would consider family except for the lack of blood relation each disagreed with me on this point. Of course, with the way my brain works, I'm trying to find correlation - some sort of cause-and-effect situation in or about my life that could explain what would seem to be such an odd coincidence. I have spoken with each of them in turn about the election. They all know that I'm opinionated and outspoken (that's just the nice way of saying a big-mouthed punk). A great friend will allow that and still care about you. Each of them has seemed hesitant to touch the issue to varying degrees, I suppose in fear that they would elicit my opinion maybe? I shudder to think that that could be the case!

Ultimately, I hope they find that I am proud that my friends think about things, and have individual beliefs and opinions. I hope they know that when it comes down to it, we agree on all of the important stuff. I believe that God's Will is the One Constant, and though different stuff happens because of what we as people do, His Plans will come about one way or another. I am a believer in the strength of the individual. I am a believer in unity in small groups. Once you really get down to it, these people - my immediate family, my extended family, and my adopted family - are more important than all the people in DC rolled up into one big, corrupt ball. As I wrote in my previous entry, I hope they are right and I am wrong on this one. I also hope that such petty things never damage friendships like these.

(By the way, I still think you guys voted wrong! ;-P)

Long Live Free Enterprise!

It seems to be a hot issue that people are following the Left so blindly. Look at what Poliwax or JAFO have to say about it.

It makes me sick when people take the attitude of, "You will prove that you are not a racist by voting for the black guy." Excuse me!?!??!?!? I'm going to prove that I'm not a racist by voting for the best guy for the job, regardless of his race! To do otherwise IS THE DEFINITION of racism!

The Dems try to argue that up is down, left is right, and the sky is green. They talk about "reasonable gun restrictions," "a woman's right to choose" and "spreading the wealth around" in generalized terms that sound noble on the surface and belie their true meanings of "disarm the population so they are easier to control," "guilt young women into murdering their unborn children" and "institute wide-spread socialism."

It's a frightening world we live in when such idiocy is threatening the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. This is supposed to be the Last Stand, the Haven for those who believe in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. And yet, they are trying to turn it into a "fair" place where everyone gets to go see the doctor regardless of what he or she gives to life or how one handles one's own resources. -a "fair" place where the most successful tow all the others behind them on a chain.

I don't WANT to have the richest of the rich subsidizing my lifestyle. I LIKE being middle-class, and I LIKE the opportunity to pull myself up by my own bootstraps. My household was not always middle-class. There was a time when we calculated our gross income and found that we were comfortably BELOW the poverty line. We were not only applicable for welfare assistance, we were GUARANTEED to get it if we had only applied. But, we were too F-ing proud, and still are. We were eating healthy, nutritious meals, we had clothing to wear, we had a warm, dry house to come home to, and we had love for each other - the three of us - and ambitions that kept us striving for better. We also had the Love of God, Who made sure our needs were met, no matter how poor we were.

Of our own determination and hard work, we rose to where we are today. If someone else had dragged us to where we are today (burdened to do so, or by their own choice), we would not have learned the lessons that we did along the way. I do not WANT the government to take away my opportunity for success or failure, because I INTEND to succeed ON MY OWN, by God's Grace. I don't WANT my success to come out of anyone else's pocket. I don't WANT to take the same opportunities away from anyone that is less fortunate than me. If I see someone who is truly struggling, I will not callously look on in disinterest, but I will not give them a hand-out that will not ULTIMATELY help them. I want to see them succeed too much for that.

Welfare should not be to support lifestyle. Welfare should be a temporary fix for those who are in the PROCESS of failing to a degree that they can never recover from it. I don't want anyone to take away my ability to fail, for in as much, he takes away my ability to succeed. Everyone should have such opportunity - to truly LIVE the American Dream.

Hurt

Those have most power to hurt us, that we love.

--Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, from The Maid's Tragedy. ref.


Life is hard. We go through many painful experiences in life. Most of those that I've been through I would not trade for anything. The experience of being poor and having to figure out how to better myself for example - nobody should be denied that life-shaping experience. There is something about the privilege of facing hopelessness and working one's way out of it successfully that is entirely too rewarding to take away with welfare or inheritance or someone else bailing one out in some way or another. These experiences are character-building. The most beautiful flowers grow on active volcanoes, and the colorful beta lives in polluted, dirty water that you might not think would be fit for habitation.

On the other hand, there are painful experiences that do not make us stronger, but leave us weaker with scars that last years after the fact. These are what I think of as gunslinger's scars. Even after what seems like ages since the incident, these injuries may still be tender and sensitive. No matter how the original injury was inflicted, these scars are those that we keep most secret and the most well-guarded - and for good reason. Nobody wants these injuries to be opened up again. Nothing good came from them in the first place, and we will avoid a recurrence of the experience nearly at any cost.

With this latter type of injury, of course it is those that we love who will irritate the old injury by the very virtue of these people being close. We don't put up our guard against our loved ones as we do strangers or acquaintances for good reason. When a loved one hurts us in one of these sensitive areas, they do not mean to, if the love is requited. But, out of clumsiness or carelessness they are inevitably bound to cause further injury at one time or another. The will to forgive cannot change the pain inflicted. The conundrum therein is that which is most difficult to explain because it sound insincere. "I forgive you, but it still hurts." Rather than the truth that it is, it comes across as sounding like lip-service served with a side of holding it over the other's head. I don't want to think of these as "permanent" scars so much as "persistent" scars. I keep mine well hidden and well protected for the most part. Once in a great while though, a loved-one will brush against these wounds and they hurt in all the bleeding agony as they did when they were first, violently inflicted.

Once in a great while, a product or good is damaged to the point that it must return to the place of manufacture. There are various repair shops at which you can have virtually any high-quality product repaired. However, if your Swiss watch was run over by a truck and shattered, a trip to the local jewelry shop might be as effective as putting a band-aid on third-degree burns. No amount of a run of the mill watchmaker's skill is going to make that watch as it once was. At that point, it might be about time to send the watch back to the manufacturer in Europe to have the original maker see what they can do with it. Sometimes, we experience such deep pain as this. That is why I offer this prayer:

Dear LORD,

Please allow my heart peace. Heal the wounds that I am unable to heal on my own. Comfort my loved ones in the knowledge that I am not embittered against them, but that I do forgive them, and please help them to not irritate the scars any more. I cannot make this journey without you. If the pain never goes away, please give me the strength to bear it. I am not big enough and strong enough to do this on my own, so I go to The Original Maker for repairs. I put my life in your hands.

Amen

This Just in - Stingray Boots Cause Rain

As Rachel Lucas is currently doing, I have gone round and round with atheists at one time or another. I largely refuse to get involved in these discussions anymore, because it's pointless and worthless. I would like to highlight one point that I've come to time and time again.

I have stated on multiple occasions that I don't believe in coincidence. This is a blanket statement. It's like "I've never met a man I didn't like" or "There are no atheists in foxholes." Sure, there are occasions in which things just happen at the same time, seemingly without correlation, but the vast majority of perceived correlations are correlations indeed. I believe in cause and effect, action and consequence. I believe in the Laws of Thermodynamics.

I observe the world around me and how it works. I observe sociology, climatology, chemistry, biology, and other otherwise formal studies. I like seeing how things work. I like how a horridly loud exhaust on a car will make some people smile and others get angry, whereas a quiet vehicle goes unnoticed by the masses. I enjoy learning about creatures and plants that I didn't previously know existed. I love that scientists decoded the Platypus' genome to determine whether it is truly more of a mammal, reptile, or bird; only to discover that it is kind of a bird-reptile-mammal. Frankly, I don't know whether that supports the belief in evolution, or in creation. I know for sure that the results of the genome project are humorous regardless of personal beliefs. I like to observe things that cannot be readily explained by any type of science that I understand. Not being a scientist of any kind, I do run across these things from time to time.

I have a pair of stingray hide cowboy boots that were made in Texas. They are wild-looking. The first time I saw stingrays in the western store, I couldn't imagine wearing a pair! I stumbled across a pair that were on clearance because the size was mis-marked, and I could not resist giving them a chance. I've found that I wear them a whole lot more often that I initially thought I would. They are sparkly and black, and look wonderful with a suit when I go to a Christmas party. They look equally good with a pair of jeans. It seems like there is a correlation between me wearing my stingray boots and rainy weather.

I don't literally believe that there is a correlation, as I believe that it is my perception that it rains when I wear these boots. I wore them yesterday, and there was flooding in much of the Okc metro area. This has become something of a little joke to me, but it doesn't rain every time I wear that pair of boots, nor do I wear the boots every time it rains. If it were otherwise, I might believe that there was something to it. If it rained every time I wore the boots, and it did not rain unless I wore them, I would have cause and need to formulate a hypothesis. The hypothesis might be that my boots cause it to rain, or it might be that the incoming rain causes me to wear the boots.

I know that people are sensitive to forces on a subconscious level that they don't necessarily perceive in their conscious minds. For instance, my subconscious mind may perceive a barometric pressure and humidity level that is indicitave of incoming rain. It may be that the first couple of times I wore the boots it was rainy weather. Therefore, my subconscious mind draws a correlation between the perception of incoming rain and the normality of wearing those particular boots in wet weather. Or, it could be that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

My point is that because a man's DNA is however many percent similar to that of an ape does in no way indicate that men were once apes. It does indicate that we came from the same source however. I don't see how it could be possible that we came from any source without an intelligent designer. Perhaps Carl Sagan is a lot smarter than me, or perhaps he's a self-loving, God-hating humanist that will grasp at straws to justify his sin, and lean upon his intelligence and persuasiveness as a crutch to comfort him in his spiritual rebellion. I don't know, and I'm certainly not here to judge.

But the evolutionist's point is that they are being called out by nay-sayers to explain things.

If the teaching of weaknesses is mandated, a textbook might be forced to say that evolution has an “inability to explain the Cambrian Explosion,” according to the group Texans for Better Science Education, which questions evolution.

I understand the question on the Cambrian Explosion, but I'm more concerned about evolution's inability to explain the origin of species, or even more importantly, the origin of life.

Look at my post on The Male "Species" if you need to better understand what makes a species. In order for a new species to occur according to Darwinian theory under sexual reproduction, at least two viable examples must exist, and be genetically diverse enough from their predecessors that they cannot produce fertile offspring with the same kind as their predecessors, and yet can produce fertile offspring with each other. This new type of creature must be able to multiply and survive. I don't buy it. With asexual reproduction, it's a different story as whatever offspring splits off could survive and split off with whatever mutation that made it what it is. But in the previous example, what are the sheer chances that this would happen enough times to create every species known to man?

I have seen it argued with parallel universes, that with infinite possible parallels, there arguably must be at least one in which anything and everything is possible, no matter what the odds, by the very definition of the odds. Ok. So, what is the evidence that there are parallel universes? Well, we are here, aren't we? By that rational, if it rained each and every time I wore my stingray boots without fail, and there was never even a drop of rain when I was not wearing them, it is still coincidence by the rational that we just happen to be in the right parallel universe where it has worked out that way.

Origin of life? It just happened. The artistic, precision engineering of a complex life form that the collective intelligence of man has not been able to match in the culmination of the history of man? It just happened. There were amino acids that turned into viruses that turned into the first cells. The cells turned into other stuff, then came sexual reproduction, fish, lizards, monkeys, and finally you and I.

Sorry, I don't buy it. I'll give the origin of life a head start. Let's take my stingray boots, composed of many complex proteins. Let's put my boots in the "ideal" conditions, separated from life, and see what happens. Let's take some bets on how long those amino acids in the hides, glues, and lemon pegs finally combine and come to life. The Second Law of Thermodynamics proves that order eventually settles to chaos. History will show us that the rapid extinction of species that are not being replaced by new species at a similar rate proves the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Do species eventually become better and stronger as their lines move forward and their genotypes are trimmed and edited by their phenotypes? No. They become inbred. Look at the California condor. Look at the panda. Look at man. Ouch, I went there!

But I digress. The reason Theological Creationists get bent out of shape on the whole evolutionary eduction argument is that it is not scientific. The theory of evolution is no more scientific than spontaneous generation or alchemy. Granted, when spontaneous generation, or abiogenesis was a commonly accepted fact (as evolution currently is), little was known about science by today's standards. And in their defense, those involved in alchemy included some brilliant minds such as a little-known man by the name of Benjamin Franklin or another obscure character known as Sir Isaac Newton.

I'm not at all saying that evolutionists are not intelligent. I am saying that they are zealots of their own religion, trying to force it on others. Here's what bothers me about that: If you think I'm dumb because I believe in God, the worst that can happen to me is that I'll be ignorant. The worst that can happen to you if I'm right is that you will go to hell. Yes, I'm going to share my views. Yes, I'm going to share my beliefs. I don't want anyone to suffer because of my lack of trying. Am I going to force it down your throat? No. All I ask is similar courtesy. Let's keep ALL religion out of the classroom - the theistic kind AND the atheistic.

The Moral Line in the Sand

I just read this. Go ahead and read it, as it is short and sweet. The thing that this issue says to me is that there are no boundaries. I could compare homosexuality and the toleration of it to pedophilia. What if someone made a stand for illustrated child pornography? It doesn't hurt anyone, does it? There were no victims if there were no models for the artwork. But, the argument against it is that it hurts society as a whole. It is a perversion, pure and simple, and is not socially-acceptable enough to deny as a perversion - unlike homosexuality, or promiscuity for that matter! I would like to see more people break it down like I have done above to really put the perspective on where we as a society have drawn the lines, versus where they should be. The inconsistencies will bely the social boundaries through such arguments. I have more thoughts on this that I will have to get into later.

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?

A few days ago, my wife brought this to my attention. I think it's interesting that I have been seeing the start of a grassroots movement toward old-fashioned, traditional values. I'm an old-fashioned kind of guy, and have been sickened by modern society for some time. I feel that the above link ties in nicely with my Truck Nuts Entry. For that matter, it ties in well with several of my entries. I'm getting so sick and tired of people with the victim complex, trying to assert their "rights." If people would stop and evaluate whether what they perceive as their rights infringe on anyone else's rights, many of the world's problems would simply vanish. If I feel like I have a right to a bigger, nicer car, but realize that you worked hard and paid for your car, and have a right to keep it, I'm not going to steal it from you. Similarly, if I feel that I have the right to do whatever I want to my body, but understand that the baby growing inside me has his or her own rights, I might think twice about killing him or her. Ouch. I went there. Fortunately, I don't stand much chance of ever personally being in that position, due to the fact that I'm a man. --not an altered woman on Oprah at that!

But, I'll now get back to my point. I hold doors for women. Heck, I hold doors for other men. My Bible says to love my neighbor as myself, but treat others as if they are better than me. This is not to say that everyone is to have an inferiority complex, quite the contrary. If I am nice to you, and feel that you have been such a great friend to me that I can never repay your kindness, and you feel the same towards me, nothing will come between us. Plus, my God has given me a responsibility to be His light in this world. I'm not always successful, but I do try.

I treat my wife with respect. I may give her a hard time every now and then, but it's always in good fun and full of love. I don't believe that I am better than her, but I do know that I am stronger, and that it is one of my life's duties to take care of her and keep her safe. It is also one of my life's duties to instill these values into my son, so he can grow up to be a man and not a criminal. He is well on his way to becoming a good man (Thank you, God!).

I'm risking some feminist flames here, but in our household when we make decisions, I get a slightly heavier vote than Jenni. This is not because I'm better, wiser, or more intelligent. This is because someone has to be assigned as the tie-breaker. To date, I have not "put my foot down" on any issue. On the rare occasion that there has ever been a disagreement between Jenni and me, we have talked our way through it and come up with a compromise. Indeed, the head-of-household vote is not something that I take lightly, but we have assigned it for the worst-case-scenario impasse where we must make a decision, and simply cannot agree on what that should be.

I don't know why society is the way it is now. People in general don't believe in personal responsibility, gender roles, or the rights of others; and yet they do believe everything that they see on T. V. It makes me sick. I believe though, that we are on the cusp of a revolution - for the better or for the worse. I would personally like to think that it will be for the better, that in the end people will come out thinking analytically and taking responsibility for their bad decisions without beating themselves up over it. Then, there will be men in our society again.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

This week has been an odd one for sure. First of all, I am the shipping and receiving departments at the manufacturing company where I work. We have equipment that we are taking to the FDIC trade show in IN next week. Needless to say, this has made my life complicated at work. The stuff has to ship out tomorrow, and it looks like most of the work is done at this point. So, that's a relief.

Yesterday afternoon, I started to have some sinus discomfort. I had a hard time sleeping last night, so I was really tired and grumpy today. The reason I say this is that I'm surprised I was able to accomplish so much at work today, and I was REALLY ready to be home this evening.

So, Jen and I got to the school to pick up the kiddo. We walked into the computer lab, where all the kids are after school, and peered toward the front, trying to identify our kid. I know that sounds terrible, but let me explain. The computer desks are arranged in rows, all facing the front of the classroom. The door is at the back of the classroom. It seems like all the boys have THE SAME haircut, and most of them are brown-headed, like our son.

I swept over the classroom at all the little brown heads, poking up from behind CRT-monitors all over the classroom, trying to pick the right one. Quickly, I identified my kid on the front row. He had the headphones on, and was playing some game on some kid's website. There was a little, curly-blond-haired girl sitting next to him. Sometimes, we will just holler at him when we get there. Usually, he can hear us through the headphones. Other times, we will sneak up behind him and try to startle him (which is really funny for all three of us, I might add). Today, I decided to walk around the front and put myself in his range of view on the other side of his monitor.

I walked to the front of the classroom, and started tapping my fingernails on the case of his monitor, and he started shutting down applications in response. This is when Curly-Sue addressed me.

"You must be Isaac's dad," she said inquisitively.

I paused for a moment. It always kind of freaks me out when the other kids address me when we are dropping off or picking up. It's not like it bothers me, per se. It's just that I never expect it, and I never know how to react to them. But with a smile, I answered, "Yes, I am."

"Well, I have a dad," she then said, "but he's not a Christian."

How the hell am I supposed to react to that? I had had a busy, unpleasant day, and all I wanted to do was to go home, and weird little girl was getting all personal with me. Regardless, I kept my composure and asked her, "Would you like me to pray for him?" I mean, honestly! What was I SUPPOSED to say?

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "That's OK. I have a step-dad too."

"Well, that's good," I told her. Then, I returned to the welcome solitude of my family, and we went to hunt for his hoodie that he left somewhere when the temperatures were high today.

Seriously, kids can be so odd. I don't think that there was anything at all wrong with this little girl, but adults don't typically tell personal issues to complete strangers on their second sentence unless they have some serious mental/emotional issues (or if it's over the internet! ;-P). What causes us to gain inhibitions that we lacked when we were young? It would be great if we could just be that open with other people without assumptions of serious baggage.

As a matter of fact, before this time next week, I intend to say something really inappropriate to someone else. I don't know what it will be, or who to. But, I'll have to let you know about it afterwards. For that matter, I will extend the invitation to all of you that bother to read me on the intertron to say something highly uncomfortable sometime within the next 168-hours, and tell me about your experience in my comments section. Come on, you can do it!