tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66775444222318486872024-03-08T03:59:01.930-05:00A Box of CurtainsRalphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-36991378710714154982015-03-24T16:23:00.003-04:002015-03-24T16:23:59.203-04:00Flowers for a February Wedding <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-50403228863703513882013-06-18T00:57:00.000-04:002013-06-18T00:57:02.913-04:00Visiting Otavalo and Cuicocha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-19798701317070056572013-06-18T00:31:00.000-04:002013-06-18T00:31:49.266-04:00Our Home Part2<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kathy creating something delightful in her kitchen.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like this scrumptious banquet we had one evening.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like the workbench, the grindstone, the lighting overhead. I have gotten a leather belt repaired and a couple other things done. Two basketballs still need patches on them as summer vacation starts. </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hated to take apart the boys' music room in the last house. It meant ending something when the basement band years were gone. Then while the visited us, Ben set up the new music room. Wow. </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text Matt-11-28" id="en-KJV-23488">Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. </span>Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Matt. 11: 28, 29</span></span></h3>
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Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-72529982160052443242013-06-17T21:24:00.000-04:002013-06-17T21:24:25.268-04:00Our New House - Pt1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Hardwood floor and skylight dress up this bedroom. A built-in study nook fills an opposite corner. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glad, so very glad to have our guest room full for a few weeks in May. Thanks boys!</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Priority One that Kathy established was transforming an office into our dining area. Great idea.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">A warming fire in the hearth can be as entertaining as watching the tube. More calming too.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Nana's quilt on the bed. A Pioneer receiver and Gerard turntable tell you that Levi is our retro guy.</span></h3>
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<br />Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-92041682568542995892011-01-02T08:03:00.005-05:002011-01-02T08:20:38.441-05:00Oh To Be A Tree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TSB425sBulI/AAAAAAAABBo/Af6pGz6s8NY/s1600/tree1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TSB425sBulI/AAAAAAAABBo/Af6pGz6s8NY/s320/tree1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557574824768944722" border="0" /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> 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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:200%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">He is <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%201&version=NIV">like a tree planted by streams of water</a>,</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The strength of a tree is such that it can break concrete. Then it lifts the weight. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is destructive to a sidewalk, but it serves to remind me of the psalmist’s words.<span style=""> </span>I am nourished by the Word, just as the tree is fed by waters in the soil by the side of the river. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">God’s strength is matched by the compassion He shows to frail beings such as I am. As <a href="http://johnmarkmcmillan.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-he-loves-david-crowder-and-sloppy.html">John Mark McMillan</a> wrote, “loves like a hurricane, I am a tree. Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Watered well and with a tap root way, way down into the soil, a tree.<span style=""> </span>Breaking the constraints that this temporal world’s values impose on me. And experiencing His Holy Spirit’s wind and the free gift of mercy. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">A tree</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">the Psalmist’s simile</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">I want Your wildness to blow through me</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">Your refuge too, is where I flee</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">I submit my all to Thee</p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TSB7dH279GI/AAAAAAAABCA/spnMkjeNPZk/s1600/tree2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TSB7dH279GI/AAAAAAAABCA/spnMkjeNPZk/s320/tree2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557577680431084642" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"></p>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-17284759279402928372010-12-24T23:03:00.007-05:002011-01-07T17:11:55.180-05:00And That's The Way It . . . 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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">He is young; he is bright, bilingual, ambitious. And he wants to be a journalist.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We have had lunch and talked (watch short video* now).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A soccer player, he aspires to sportscasting. I haven’t<span style=""> </span>doused his desire to reach ESPN. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Neither have I made all of this look easy (“like on TV”). <span style=""> </span>Many journalists exert the dogged diligence of toiling on in relative obscurity. <span style=""> </span>(Having served in ag journalism, I love the line about “pork belly futures . . .”) But this trait is unportrayed by the quick conflict/resolution plots of television and cinema. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The journalist was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/business/media/12pew.html?_r=1">negative</a>, more so than I have been. This is due in part to my young friend’s interest in sportscasting. Whereas people may starve themselves of news (especially international news, decimated by budget cuts) the appetite for sports coverage remains. “Seventy-five percent of what people come to the page for is sports,” observed Mr. C of the <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/home/">Deseret News.</a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Time was, sports formed a <span style="font-style: italic;">portion</span> of a newscast, even as the audience grabbed a view of the world from trusted voices – journalists’ voices. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/us/18cronkite.html">Walter Cronkite </a>comes to mind, of course.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">As my young friend attempts to learn something from me, the easier part is to evaluate journalism of the past. The harder part – as audiences continue fragmenting into niche segments – is to predict job possibilities and the future.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And to sound authoritative and conclusive with a summarizing statement like, “That’s the way it will be . . .”<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;">*Video by: <a href="http://www.leegjertsenmalone.com/">Lee Gjertsen Malone</a></span>.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://tweetmeme.com/user/Lee_G_Malone"><br /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://tweetmeme.com/user/Lee_G_Malone"></a><br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <object width="480" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/embedded-xnl-stats.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/embedded-xnl-stats.swf" allowscriptaccess="always" width="1" height="1"></embed></object>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-59359842034807413882010-12-18T20:45:00.021-05:002013-06-17T23:26:32.827-04:00Some Shots From Ecuador's Coast<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRYfo2hOQ0I/AAAAAAAABAM/DAc1Pt0DIEU/s1600/same2010m.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554661977098175298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRYfo2hOQ0I/AAAAAAAABAM/DAc1Pt0DIEU/s640/same2010m.jpg" style="float: right; height: 300px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, </span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Your justice like the great deep. </span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">You, LORD, preserve both people and animals. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRVu6tJrkKI/AAAAAAAAA_s/DURan5SgdZ4/s1600/same2010c.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554467670263042210" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRVu6tJrkKI/AAAAAAAAA_s/DURan5SgdZ4/s640/same2010c.jpg" style="float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRZQC13mlEI/AAAAAAAABBc/pXVUlWPqIS0/s1600/same2010h.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554715200158340162" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRZQC13mlEI/AAAAAAAABBc/pXVUlWPqIS0/s640/same2010h.jpg" style="float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" width="640" /></a><br />
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Yes, he is in there . . . yeah, he's there. Possibly a<a href="http://www.puce.edu.ec/zoologia/vertebrados/reptiliawebec/reptilesecuador/sauria.html"> <span style="font-style: italic;">stenocercus iridescens</span></a>, or iguana to most of us.<br />
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Here . . . let's get closer. A LOT closer. Actually, I never got near him. I helped a small crab escape the swimming pool where someone had put it. Yeah, picked that out of the water.<br />
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As to the beached eel, I was willing to let it be. I pointed it out to a passing beachcomber, and with his stick, he flicked it into the water.<br />
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And what do you suppose is going on here?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRVvb0UJ1NI/AAAAAAAAA_8/k2MvkVDJWPo/s1600/same2010g.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554468239121700050" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRVvb0UJ1NI/AAAAAAAAA_8/k2MvkVDJWPo/s400/same2010g.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xl_Y6p5U6-c?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xl_Y6p5U6-c?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<span class="owner " type="INSERT"><em><a class="bps-event-selector bps-topic-link" href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/81716/brown-pelican" title="Pelecanus occidentalis"></a></em><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pelecanus occidentalis</span>, which is known as <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/449197/pelican">the brown pelican</a>, captures fish by a spectacular plunge from the air. Other species of pelicans swim in formation, driving small schools of fish into shoal water where they are scooped up by the birds</span>.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRYlxBoJWJI/AAAAAAAABBM/3N90rzDHQNc/s1600/same2010n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554668714588723346" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRYlxBoJWJI/AAAAAAAABBM/3N90rzDHQNc/s640/same2010n.jpg" style="float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRYmPNEuwrI/AAAAAAAABBU/sp1ur_yKBSk/s1600/same2010f.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554669233057481394" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TRYmPNEuwrI/AAAAAAAABBU/sp1ur_yKBSk/s640/same2010f.jpg" style="float: right; height: 300px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" width="640" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-7768079506636412632010-10-30T19:03:00.011-04:002010-11-01T09:40:30.007-04:00Places Where Our Patterns Were Set<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyltWa58GI/AAAAAAAAA-A/9tQi8se-5ME/s1600/USA+Summer+2010e.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyltWa58GI/AAAAAAAAA-A/9tQi8se-5ME/s400/USA+Summer+2010e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533980240662622306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyl71_Gk3I/AAAAAAAAA-I/oSYCFaHq7o8/s1600/USA+Summer+2010d.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyl71_Gk3I/AAAAAAAAA-I/oSYCFaHq7o8/s320/USA+Summer+2010d.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533980489654113138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TM7DB67KhgI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/5SJ9w-vlOD8/s1600/USA+Summer+2010g.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TM7DB67KhgI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/5SJ9w-vlOD8/s320/USA+Summer+2010g.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534575429849613826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TM7CvxV0F1I/AAAAAAAAA-Q/osHk4SW4nEo/s1600/USA+Summer+2010c.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TM7CvxV0F1I/AAAAAAAAA-Q/osHk4SW4nEo/s400/USA+Summer+2010c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534575118039390034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMylextNL4I/AAAAAAAAA94/pNt2EXSUVuw/s1600/USA+Summer+2010m.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMylextNL4I/AAAAAAAAA94/pNt2EXSUVuw/s400/USA+Summer+2010m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533979990289100674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMylPzIsG9I/AAAAAAAAA9w/BvsplGDFzNw/s1600/USA+Summer+2010n.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMylPzIsG9I/AAAAAAAAA9w/BvsplGDFzNw/s200/USA+Summer+2010n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533979732974771154" border="0" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-61453078463897999832010-10-30T18:38:00.012-04:002010-10-30T19:01:36.850-04:00Yellowstone National Park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyil_djxCI/AAAAAAAAA9g/DbMeaaYEFSM/s1600/yellowstone5.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyil_djxCI/AAAAAAAAA9g/DbMeaaYEFSM/s400/yellowstone5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533976815705768994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyfgV7IObI/AAAAAAAAA8g/-73i1CyjVE8/s1600/yellowstone2.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyfgV7IObI/AAAAAAAAA8g/-73i1CyjVE8/s400/yellowstone2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533973420121274802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyiIsWhpyI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/lvehZ1DKJ9Y/s1600/yellowstone1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyiIsWhpyI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/lvehZ1DKJ9Y/s200/yellowstone1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533976312359790370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyhXgrFzSI/AAAAAAAAA9A/qEFLbSxnEEk/s1600/yellowstone3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyhXgrFzSI/AAAAAAAAA9A/qEFLbSxnEEk/s320/yellowstone3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533975467411229986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyge_ebF8I/AAAAAAAAA8w/kgo0NQiw0Nc/s1600/yellowstone6.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TMyge_ebF8I/AAAAAAAAA8w/kgo0NQiw0Nc/s400/yellowstone6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533974496427055042" border="0" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-23292831918342811142010-07-22T20:31:00.021-04:002010-07-29T23:30:46.796-04:00Another Astoria, A Different Aberdeen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI3VUQsRwI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/IiLoqWGonCQ/s1600/wishkah7.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI3VUQsRwI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/IiLoqWGonCQ/s400/wishkah7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499518934328297218" /></a>It was a different Astoria than I'd known during my small town newspapering days of decades earlier. Crossing the long bridge, we entered the state of Washington. <br /><br />So too, it was a different Aberdeen than I'd known in my younger years working at a rock AM station. At Aberdeen, Washington we stopped & piled out of the van at the Young Street bridge over the Wishkah River. We read the plaque informing us (perhaps incorrectly?) that ashes of a rock star, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Muddy_Banks_of_the_Wishkah">Kurt Cobain</a>, had been scattered on the water after his premature death in the early 1990s. Amid the fame of his band, Nirvana, he was a self-confessed junkie.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI6mR4I76I/AAAAAAAAA64/CWXdd2AtQ-s/s1600/wishkah2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI6mR4I76I/AAAAAAAAA64/CWXdd2AtQ-s/s320/wishkah2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499522524281106338" /></a><br />After the trip, I am midway through <font style="font-style: italic;">Heavier Than Heaven</font>, a <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24507.Charles_R_Cross">Charles Cross</a> biography of the musician. Musically gifted and artistically brilliant, Cobain spiralled downward inside even as Nirvana's popularity careened ever higher.<br /><br />What went wrong? More specific to my own evangelical beliefs, what went wrong with Cobain's born again experience and exposure to Christianity years earlier during his teens? <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI4ngSV0eI/AAAAAAAAA6o/VonuAhoq_8I/s1600/wishkah5.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI4ngSV0eI/AAAAAAAAA6o/VonuAhoq_8I/s200/wishkah5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499520346305712610" /></a><br /><br />A photo shows Cobain in Olympia, Washington. Behind him is a billboard that admonishes Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and <a href="http://bible.cc/acts/16-31.htm">thou shalt be saved</a>. By that time, the message seemed lost on him, although he continued exploring spirituality in one form or another. In a relationship, he sought unconditional love just as we all do.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI7L1MBdII/AAAAAAAAA7A/plsqQLv73WA/s1600/wishkah3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI7L1MBdII/AAAAAAAAA7A/plsqQLv73WA/s400/wishkah3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499523169414902914" /></a><br /><br /><br />"Come As You Are" Cobain urged a generation of young people. It is a message we need to hear from the Church -- that Jesus welcomes sinners in need of God's grace. <br /><br /><br />God chooses to love me, not for what I do but because He simply chooses to. His grace is central to the gospel message. So too, the doctrine of santification warns me that while forgiveness is great, God urges me on to holy living. I may come as I am, but He will woo me and work for a better me, a more complete me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI5Cs_sUEI/AAAAAAAAA6w/UW9rqpKoXlw/s1600/wishkah4.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI5Cs_sUEI/AAAAAAAAA6w/UW9rqpKoXlw/s400/wishkah4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499520813573623874" /></a><br /><br />And another building block of Christianity - hope. Despite Cross' thorough reporting work in the book, I don't know just when it was that Kurt Cobain lost hold of hope.Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-34351276501620616632010-07-22T20:25:00.016-04:002010-07-30T20:58:15.394-04:00Fabulous Falls and a Grand Gorge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFJDzPAizRI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/V5UrtCjG-Uk/s1600/gorge10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFJDzPAizRI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/V5UrtCjG-Uk/s200/gorge10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499532642453998866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI0_UxahcI/AAAAAAAAA6I/jiTX0qeXu4Y/s1600/gorge3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI0_UxahcI/AAAAAAAAA6I/jiTX0qeXu4Y/s400/gorge3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499516357485168066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFH5YXgaVnI/AAAAAAAAA5o/MM6GjeBHXXg/s1600/gorge4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFH5YXgaVnI/AAAAAAAAA5o/MM6GjeBHXXg/s400/gorge4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499450817018222194" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFJGZJdSQTI/AAAAAAAAA7g/twfOkfY2a3M/s1600/gorge9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFJGZJdSQTI/AAAAAAAAA7g/twfOkfY2a3M/s400/gorge9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499535492822221106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI0klU1apI/AAAAAAAAA6A/AA_obTxiEL8/s1600/Gorge+in+Oregon2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFI0klU1apI/AAAAAAAAA6A/AA_obTxiEL8/s400/Gorge+in+Oregon2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499515898072230546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFH_Sn7IT0I/AAAAAAAAA5w/2RhjmF5ymBs/s1600/gorge6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TFH_Sn7IT0I/AAAAAAAAA5w/2RhjmF5ymBs/s320/gorge6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499457315415805762" border="0" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-65036571158088636602010-07-03T02:01:00.008-04:002010-07-03T02:35:06.036-04:00Posting from Portland . . .<A href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7TT38Q6AI/AAAAAAAAA5I/tTBbmOv2Jbs/s1600/portland6.jpg"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489557334198904834 border=0 alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7TT38Q6AI/AAAAAAAAA5I/tTBbmOv2Jbs/s400/portland6.jpg"></A><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7ZVMWd85I/AAAAAAAAA5g/MkGG8hSLACI/s1600/portland11a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7ZVMWd85I/AAAAAAAAA5g/MkGG8hSLACI/s400/portland11a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489563953927156626" /></a><br /><br /><br /><A href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7TCA79Q_I/AAAAAAAAA5A/HmQrie0u1r0/s1600/portland2.jpg"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489557027375891442 border=0 alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7TCA79Q_I/AAAAAAAAA5A/HmQrie0u1r0/s320/portland2.jpg"></A> <br /><br /><A href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7UbuGGdgI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/gVEHgWu7Sd0/s1600/006.JPG"><IMG style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489558568506390018 border=0 alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7UbuGGdgI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/gVEHgWu7Sd0/s320/006.JPG"></A> <IMG style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489556314579288130 border=0 alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7SYhkAQEI/AAAAAAAAA4w/Vmn8lrjZWcQ/s400/portland8.jpg"><br /><br /> <A href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7SqNGMrGI/AAAAAAAAA44/6WumV3StNOw/s1600/portland3.jpg"><IMG style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489556618323209314 border=0 alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7SqNGMrGI/AAAAAAAAA44/6WumV3StNOw/s320/portland3.jpg"></A> <br /><br /><A href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7TrABQ5nI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/GGxeKaU4UXU/s1600/portland7.jpg"><IMG style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489557731504350834 border=0 alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TC7TrABQ5nI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/GGxeKaU4UXU/s400/portland7.jpg"></A>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-65726059998391904752010-06-07T21:20:00.024-04:002010-11-01T09:52:31.531-04:00Watching Tony's Toes<span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football<br />He got monkey finger, he shoot coca-cola</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><br />-J. Lennon / P. McCartney<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I promise that this will be my only toe jam blog entry. TMI (too much information!!) as the young people say.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">At a coffeehouse open-mic evening, I played with Rick and band (dubbed as "Rick S & the Beauty Queens" by some wag) . The lyrics of "Come Together" are . . . very interesting.</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyStk4rlM1Pfc1diqy6ZqGRC0LgaOQ8RkGmyKuICTXr_nqqMg89BIrMmtq_vF6F_bYhQdvuCrkqsRUcwluUkA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />"Toe jammed" again several days later, I watched as the main wheel of Toe Jam Music, <a href="http://www.tonymelendez.com/Main/Language.html">Tony Melendez</a>, strummed and picked his guitar on the floor . . . playing with his feet. For you see, Tony was born with no arms -- affected in the womb by the drug, Thalidamide.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwcgPZsSM70u5D0cpCHORCmXn3v9UzIXOEuyVVooYayNd43aeHZwPNmh7GPOSkiE71QLQrgz3EIYuGD9YOUEA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />With his feet, he also directed the crowd in doing "the wave" and tossed frisbees to us. Fun! His music ranged from </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Tu Eres Mi Dios</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > (You Are My God) to a Lennon/McCartney classic, "Let It Be" to Ritchie Valens' </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >La Bamba</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >.<br /><br />I'd been aware of Tony's story but his <a href="http://www.elcomercio.com/2010-05-31/Home/Entretenimiento-Secundarias/EC100531P23MELENDEZ.aspx">drummer</a>, Tim Pope, fascinated me with his one-handed drumming. He kept full purcussion going with his left hand while the right hand played "bass" on a keyboard.</span><div><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxgxr508C9uhDzkt88CFADMXw5w7bMMERb89hT2ueFraA9u8x2gl3L_AfR1429V9pZXZvCR_NVFmLVJueBc8Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Yikes! This band has no bass player!</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >I hold no illusions; I play average bass<br />Dispensable?<br />Produce or Be Replaced?<br /><br />Listen! to Tony's untiring message</span><div><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >urging me on<br />until one day when I see His face<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><br />the message in his life,<br />in his music<br />of God's<a href="http://aboxofcurtains.blogspot.com/2008/01/guitar-named-gracia.html"> fountain of grace</a>.<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><br /></div></div>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-17559762677912684792010-06-05T22:20:00.012-04:002010-06-14T13:09:05.793-04:00The View from the Mountaintop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2RhetG8gI/AAAAAAAAA4A/6JPdHh6Z9eI/s1600/pich6.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2RhetG8gI/AAAAAAAAA4A/6JPdHh6Z9eI/s400/pich6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480196325943734786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2RXcNPEII/AAAAAAAAA34/x_wB4dTl3Ss/s1600/pich5.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2RXcNPEII/AAAAAAAAA34/x_wB4dTl3Ss/s400/pich5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480196153474486402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2REAvfRPI/AAAAAAAAA3w/75DL_tDRgg8/s1600/pich4.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2REAvfRPI/AAAAAAAAA3w/75DL_tDRgg8/s400/pich4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480195819684447474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2Qp_MIHyI/AAAAAAAAA3o/fcJLjkdADcM/s1600/pich3.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2Qp_MIHyI/AAAAAAAAA3o/fcJLjkdADcM/s400/pich3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480195372591095586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2QQavPuCI/AAAAAAAAA3g/vt_mlHTqKVs/s1600/Cruz+Loma2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TA2QQavPuCI/AAAAAAAAA3g/vt_mlHTqKVs/s400/Cruz+Loma2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480194933309552674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TAsRlRsP8nI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/x7J58aC0PUc/s1600/pich1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/TAsRlRsP8nI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/x7J58aC0PUc/s400/pich1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479492703728169586" border="0" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-30365317025295733162010-05-16T18:42:00.020-04:002010-05-20T18:51:14.609-04:00Two-Dollar Dental Work at a Mobile Medical Clinic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_RsySV3H4I/AAAAAAAAA2g/-PfLczgiOHc/s1600/cusu4.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_RsySV3H4I/AAAAAAAAA2g/-PfLczgiOHc/s400/cusu4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473119058334785410" border="0" /></a><br />As a kid, I would watch as my dentist sterilized his instrument on a small Bunsen burner before proceeding on my filling. No reclining chair, no humor and certainly no laughing gas. Those were dental visits from the history books.<div><br /></div><div>Eventually he moved into pre-retirement, spending more time grooming his yard and flower gardens with his wife. With this, he suggested that Mom seek a new dentist for me and my siblings. (Mom obliged by taking herself and Dad to a new dentist along with us kids.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Was it that cut-the-kids ruling (I learned of it decades later) that prompted my own desire for kids to wait outside the medical caravan truck? I don't know, but as I watched, I wondered when the ax would come from Dr. Reinaldo:</div><div><br /></div><div> "<i>Afuera por favor</i>." (Wait outside please.)</div><div><br /></div><div>As he worked on mouth after mouth, the verbal "boot" never was uttered, not even under his breath. Even the returning 5-year-old, Andres, did not warrant a reproof. Instead, Reinaldo put himself on a first-name basis with the boy and conversed with him. </div><div><br /></div><div>One girl stood and watch as Mom was attended to. Little Natalia came in unaccompanied, boldly acquanting herself with Reinaldo . . . until she was actually in the chair.</div><div><br /></div><div> Cleanings took the longest; extractions were quickest. Extraction, filling, or profilaxis cost $2. The biggest currency that was pressed into my hand was a $10 bill, and by then I had enough in the coffee cup to make change. Part of the joy of this job was giving a Gospel of John to people as they left.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most had just one procedure. But Edison, a young man with hand-drawn tattoos on his arms (yeah, I still notice) had two extractions one afternoon, then returned for another pulling the next day. Another man's smile revealed decorative gold framing his front teeth -- the handiwork of an earlier dentist elsewhere.</div><div><br /></div><div>Reinaldo also did a few consults and charged the patients nothing for those. Beginning at 10 a.m., we saw 21 patients by 4 p.m. that day, then we, the two docs, and Ian packed up everything and backed the caravan off of the blocks.</div><div><br /></div><div> Jofre moved the caravan to a new location nearby. </div><div><br /></div><div>There were likely kids there too. And plenty of dental and medical needs. </div><div><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwdsAFWY4xTgmQdqUodeft8JPkR2IALGxHsetiCKR6jZsB2QF8fp2QniQa-skHgv5L48zjHdIVVPHaHRl1rCg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwE4-V1pIYMMfx_ghtAVuIvNSXmVqTL4WdrC268So41ky--Xf2K_KLKx9hZH8xu6GAYaWwlMA0dxD_abHPhuw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:11px;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_B3azNwhvI/AAAAAAAAA14/mqu2449fbO0/s1600/cusu3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_B3azNwhvI/AAAAAAAAA14/mqu2449fbO0/s320/cusu3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472004849563371250" border="0" /></a></span><br /><div>Another dental diary is <a href="http://aboxofcurtains.blogspot.com/2010/02/dental-assistant-for-day.html">here</a>.<br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_RuPC4HDnI/AAAAAAAAA2o/pn6b0U2iLGA/s1600/cusu1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_RuPC4HDnI/AAAAAAAAA2o/pn6b0U2iLGA/s320/cusu1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473120651911302770" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-86758231322591345332010-05-08T19:54:00.005-04:002010-05-10T06:17:45.048-04:00The Need To Read<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kathy writes:</span><br /><br />I have read several books in the past few months.<br /><br />One was <a href="http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/peace_like_a_river1.asp"><span style="font-style: italic;">Peace like a River</span></a>, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Los Angeles Times</span> Best Book of the Year.<br /><br />The Midwestern family in this novel has miracles happen every few months.<br />It has me thinking about what kind of things our kids will remeber from their<br />childhood. Are Ralph and I reminding them often enough of the LORD's<br />miracles we have witnessed?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S-fdFIIpJrI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/v98KjvJEhkw/s1600/kesey.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S-fdFIIpJrI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/v98KjvJEhkw/s200/kesey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469583352617576114" /></a><br /><br />Another was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_%28novel%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">One Flew over the Cookoo's Nest</span></a>. Painful reading at times, knowing the tragic ending to come. Yet, I couldn't put it down.<br /><br />Laurie Halse Anderson's historical fiction work, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever_1793">Fever 1793</a>, </span>was another one that had me hooked from beginning to end.<br /><br />Phillip Yancey's<span style="font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Was-Just-Wondering-Philip-Yancey/dp/0802846122">I Was Just Wondering</a></span> is the one that currently has my attention.<br />I read a long time each night before bed, while the supper is cooking, and<br />any other time I can catch a few minutes.<br /><br />After explaining to students their assignments, I have been able to read<br />quite a bit while substitute teaching.<br /><br />Various times the students would ask me about the book I was reading.<br />I was saddened to learn that so many of the kids never read, or only read<br />what they absolutely have to for a passing grade.<br /><br />In the 8th grade English class, the kids had two months to read<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Tremain"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Johnny</span><br /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Tremain"> Tremain</a>. </span>The day I had to sub was the 100 question test over that book. Many<br />of them complained as I was handing it out. "But I'm not ready"- "But I<br />didn't read it after the first 5 pages", etc.Some even joked about it and<br />seemed proud that they had not read it.<br /><br />Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I started reading aloud<br />to our kids when they were infants. I thank God that they all enjoy reading<br />for pleasure now. We have enough books in our home to start a library. When<br />I think of the books that I have read just in April, and all the things I<br />have learned, and how I have been challenged and encouraged in my walk with<br />Christ, I am overwhelmed.<br /><br />To think that so many of the students I work with every day are missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures saddens me.<br /><br />I have decided that talking about my current read is going to be a regular<br />part of my "good morning, class. Mr. So-and-So is ill today" speech.<br /><br />It's my small way of trying to get the IM/Facebook generation back into books!<br /></span>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-45861474683268534612010-05-08T14:18:00.009-04:002010-05-24T14:54:26.983-04:00Vehicle InspectionMore info (in Spanish) is <a href="http://www.elcomercio.com/2010-03-19/Noticias/Quito/Relacionados/Corpaire.aspx">here</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_rH8b75WcI/AAAAAAAAA3A/XP1wEzJo0h8/s1600/car2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 304px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_rH8b75WcI/AAAAAAAAA3A/XP1wEzJo0h8/s320/car2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474908138127317442" /></a><br /><br />Check emission gasses.<br /><br /><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sure hope the Jeep passes.<br /><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Seven-thirty was late.<br />So</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> a two-hour wait.</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br />My second time around.<br /></span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Where vendors abound.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_rIQia0HSI/AAAAAAAAA3I/XGPTGZtPNUg/s1600/car3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_rIQia0HSI/AAAAAAAAA3I/XGPTGZtPNUg/s320/car3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474908483464994082" /></a><br /><br />The vehicle now inspected.<br /></span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Few(er) problems detected.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br />Yes! </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It passed the inspection at last.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br />Finally!<br /><br />Success!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_rHFcGZ-kI/AAAAAAAAA24/dufygaVlTCo/s1600/car1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 80px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S_rHFcGZ-kI/AAAAAAAAA24/dufygaVlTCo/s200/car1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474907193278593602" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />but . . . . vehicle registration is next.</span></span></span>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-65936625935591261762010-03-16T13:59:00.009-04:002010-04-01T06:30:51.420-04:00When People Go Away . . .<i>"Why does everyone want to go away? I love being home,"</i> was Beth March's query to her sister, Jo, in the movie "Little Women." The phrase has been on my mind with the departures from our community in recent months. We have shared sad news of a deportation, a drowning, and other deaths. These are not people who wanted to go away; circumstances simply took them.<div><br /></div><div>We move ahead but the emotional burden adds up. One begins to feel the weight of mortality; the shoulders sag a bit.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>First chair in the saxaphone section was vacant (see video clip). Kay had played earlier, but now was off bidding good-bye to classmates. Her visa difficulties had prompted this parting. Rob's send-off message encouraged listeners to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Carpe Aeternitatem <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">or Seize Eternity (this clip is even shorter.)</span></span></div><div><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyndsehpAS9863nKxs_hO-QGOi5UhQApgv8k8cRg_KHrc-lwNJLdDjj_er4M3wwgPf5PJtu89MZ-uzllLLTZw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /></div><div>In the wider community, we lost three members of a family to a car crash over the Carnival weekend. And so, just weeks after Kay's special graduation, the chapel filled again for a memorial service for Emilio and Ana and their young son, Asaf. </div><div><br /></div><div>These were people who seized eternity; they lived with a view to eternity. Amid the routine, there was a reasoned response to Jesus' claim that "he who loses his life for My sake, will find it." They lost themselves in something bigger (SomeONE bigger) than their own existence and so the tragedy of that weekend served as mere transition. Their eternity looks different to them now . . . but we don't know just how different it looks. They apparently saw it clearly before, even if "through a glass darkly."</div><div><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyJz_AhdQvwb6aAn1YoyGEXvWg_aQ4Ivb-QAA6VQ7XahLXrbXVJ-87S1LpWJupgEeVlkgQ35Y_m-aygdzl3' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Not long from now, a few dozen more will leave us for far flung places of the planet. No matter how the commencement speaker challenges these young people, I hope there has been, is and will continue to be an underlying theme of their years with us: <i>Carpe Aeternitatem</i>. Seize Eternity.</div><div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-46673249588722038912010-03-15T22:50:00.021-04:002010-03-20T06:47:30.420-04:00Russians Are Coming? No, Not Really<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S6SnWtl5J8I/AAAAAAAAA1E/e9QvtsKK7Ws/s1600-h/georgia.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S6SnWtl5J8I/AAAAAAAAA1E/e9QvtsKK7Ws/s320/georgia.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450665457662633922" /></a><br />It will just <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> work to falsely report that your country is being invaded.<br /><br />Afterthought attempts at damage control will see only limited success. Your media outlet will face angry accusations decrying that the independent media (pro-gov, anti-gov - no matter) is irresponsible.<div><br /><br />A recent example occurred in the republic of Georgia, where an Imedi TV broadcast showed images of what could happen <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8568762.stm">if the Russians invaded</a>. The director of Imedi Media Holding, Giorgi Arveladze, at once apologized for, and rationalized, the controversial broadcast.<br /><br />"We wanted to show something that we never want to happen," he said. As I watched, I noticed no disclaimer across the bottom of the screen.<br /><br />Possible misinterpretations?<br /><br />A true event.<br /><br />Or perhaps nationalistic fervor overriding journalistic integrity.<br /><br />Or maybe political opportunism on the part of the instigators.<br /><br />Entertainment (ever growing as news content) also plays into such coverage. History shows that the martian invasion fantasy of New Jersey prompted public panic in the 1938 radio version of The War of the Worlds (reprises in Chile in the mid 40s and in Ecuador --<a href="http://aboxofcurtains.blogspot.com/2008/10/worldwide-web-of-martian-reports.html">with reprisals</a> -- in 1949).<br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:navy;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:navy;" ></span></span>Re-broadcasts can even go awry. One month after and again one year after horrifying tornadoes whipped through Louisville, KY, <a href="http://www.lkyradio.com/WHASairchecks.htm">WHAS</a> radio attempted to rebroadcast audio describing funnel clouds that dropped down for devastating results. On both occasions, public panic prompted the coverage (which was to later win multiple journalism awards for WHAS) had to be pulled from the broadcast.<br /><br />We could all learn a lesson from Georgia (in Euro Asia), but just watch. We will do it again.<br /><br />Very soon in fact, we will do it again . . . as some fools stage an April Fool's Day "newscast" that will indeed fool those who still trust the media.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-73953116585171207122010-03-01T19:40:00.009-05:002010-03-20T06:52:22.118-04:00Surgeons Volunteer Time, Talents for Kids<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ixtUlVUgaeM&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ixtUlVUgaeM&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><p>Around a table are people from Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S.</p> <p>But it’s not for a conference. These are friends who’ve come to Quito, Ecuador. And they’re not sharing a meal together either. Laughter, stories and food will come later—after the work is done.</p> <p>Instead, they’ve gathered around a young patient on the operating table, just as this team of surgical specialists did a year earlier, and the year before that.</p> <p>“They do it because of their friendship and because it’s interesting,” said Dr. Eckehart Wolff of HCJB Global Hands.</p> <p>In the operating room at Hospital Vozandes-Quito, he takes a few moments to answer this reporter’s questions before hustling off to assist with another surgery. “They’re all specialists,” he said, “teaching at universities in their countries.”</p> <p>Different techniques are considered as each team member brings something to the table. “We have learned a lot, especially from the Colombians,” said Wolff, a German physician who has served in Ecuador with his wife, Klaudia, since 1989.</p> <p>Months before the arrival of each international surgical team, led by 71-year-old surgeon Dr. Jim Gage, Wolff does much of the preparation work. He studies the cases of several dozen Ecuadorian and Peruvian children whose mobility has been severely curtailed by cerebral palsy or other maladies and injuries.</p> <p>Then in the months after the team leaves, Wolff watches the miracles of mobility occur during his follow-up care of the children. On the most recent trip in January, team members operated on 34 needy children. <br /></p><p> <span style="font-style: italic;">(Story and video segment by Ralph)</span><br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S4yBThl2EyI/AAAAAAAAA08/l90upfOlH8o/s1600-h/rmedium.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S4yBThl2EyI/AAAAAAAAA08/l90upfOlH8o/s320/rmedium.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443868222018687778" border="0" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-78426176512003916512010-02-28T12:40:00.006-05:002010-02-28T23:14:54.350-05:00Dental Assistant for a Day<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Some instructions on sterilization<br />After an hour's drive, I'd say<br />sees us receiving our first patient by ten<br />I am dental assistant for a day<br /><br />Scrub and sterilize instruments for re-use,<br />disposing of needles with care.<br />Set up Dr. Monica with all of the tools<br />before the next patient climbs into the chair</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S3AFbTbdqmI/AAAAAAAAA0k/VwlMKG9aU1Y/s1600-h/IMG_2269.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S3AFbTbdqmI/AAAAAAAAA0k/VwlMKG9aU1Y/s320/IMG_2269.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435850716866259554" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Receptionist, cashier, supplies</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">--all part of the job as well</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One of the names stumps me</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">a name </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">la doctora</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> helps me spell</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Both doctors meanwhile, see oodles of kids</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">whose parents had brought them around</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">to find good care and the gospel</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">when the medical caravan has come to town.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S4s49WKgHwI/AAAAAAAAA0s/95ow2Y2e73I/s1600-h/IMG_2273.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S4s49WKgHwI/AAAAAAAAA0s/95ow2Y2e73I/s400/IMG_2273.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443507201180180226" /></a>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-72526978996556990302010-02-09T23:21:00.003-05:002010-02-09T23:40:59.040-05:00Facing Catastrophe With An Eternal Hope<span style="font-style: italic;">When the mountains are falling</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When the waters are rising</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I shall be safe in You</span><br />-M. Redman<br /><br />Please see the video that our friend, Martin, put together after his return from Haiti.<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4b6nZwD5Guk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4b6nZwD5Guk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-39676693042869417652010-01-19T21:44:00.005-05:002010-01-20T21:18:16.654-05:00HCJB Global Hands Aids Haiti Quake Victims<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I set out the Marantz recorder and began showing its features to Martin, who would fly out for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region> the next morning (Thursday, 14 January) with our disaster response team.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The recorder, microphone and mic cable lay beside small model planes on an airstrip that Martin and his young son had built together.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This little coincidence wasn’t lost on me less than 24 hours later when Martin wrote from <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:state>, </span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Big problem is getting to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Airspace is clogged with aid flights and very limited parking space at airport in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Fuel shortage also means that FAA have halted flights into <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region> for now. It looks increasingly probable that we will fly in tomorrow now.”</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">On Friday, the team arrived in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to relieve a surgical team that had already put in 48 hours. Sheila tells of her team's work :</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jLd8kxoRLEk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jLd8kxoRLEk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size:100%;">Martin, who has kept communications flowing, along with his real specialty – water.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tMJ2ms7pxF4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tMJ2ms7pxF4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have helped to tell this story, mostly with a computer screen in front of me or a phone receiver to my ear.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S1ZvHt-ilII/AAAAAAAAA0c/-ggQ31ZJeK0/s1600-h/haiti1small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S1ZvHt-ilII/AAAAAAAAA0c/-ggQ31ZJeK0/s400/haiti1small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428648579233387650" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Martin's photos are displayed as part of his "Aid Worker's Diary" on the BBC website. Please click <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8466989.stm">here</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal">See more of the Haiti medical response by clicking <a href="http://www.hcjb.org">here</a>.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-51026757275573990092010-01-03T19:52:00.008-05:002010-01-04T17:52:23.554-05:00What I Did During Vacation<span style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;font-size:130%;" >Billy wants a pair of skates; Susie wants a dolly.</span><div style="font-family: times new roman; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Sally wants a story book; she thinks dolls are folly.</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">=</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwISS1eX8chzrNMFWtcd0wyhfD1seWxYq27gZQsQm1Mt0XKrN2P3WqyPZjaE3SG9wg66uMGOWQfAyl_6r_0LA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span><div style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman;"><div><span style="font-size:130%;">And the trombone player wants a trombone shiny and new</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Not the old one that her brother always blew</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Her dad's suggestion: "Let's repair and renew."</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">There is, of course, the question of the "how-to" </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Quite honestly, Dad had not even a clue.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">And so it was that Billy (not the one mentioned above, but pictured above) instructed me how I might remove the lacquer from the trombone, then proceed, shining it up with Brasso, applying degreaser, then spraying on a new layer of lacquer.<br /><br />He also loaned me an unrepairable that cannot be damaged by my experiment. </span></div></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S0FDbYLW-lI/AAAAAAAAAzs/N6IC8CREJD8/s1600-h/trombone2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S0FDbYLW-lI/AAAAAAAAAzs/N6IC8CREJD8/s320/trombone2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422689563956410962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">(The steel wool was my own solution to stubborn lacquer, but likely would not be endorsed by a professional restorer.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I have made a start on this project. So far it convinces me that there may be an easier (albeit costlier) to give our daughter a "new" horn.</span><br /></span>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677544422231848687.post-80787744922699769832009-12-23T23:19:00.021-05:002010-05-28T10:29:50.130-04:00ReKINDLEd Love for Printed Pages<span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">Am I a candidate for a <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10422032-1.html">Kindle</a> purchase?<br /><br />To get four textbooks from North America to here for another synchronous online classroom has put me in touch with:<br /><br />-five different book distributors<br />-four separate couriers to bring the books at no cost.<br /><br />To make these arrangements:<br /><br />-loads of messages in two different e-mail accounts<br /><br />So far:<br /><br />-one missed deadline on a courier's departure<br />-one book listed but not in stock<br /><br />What looks much simpler than my present craziness? Purchase the Kindle electronic reader, then go to Amazon.com and buy and download to the mobile device the textbooks* as pdf files.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S0J2B26NclI/AAAAAAAAAz0/vvUdAQz7BH0/s1600-h/printedpages.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2NhqE4umquY/S0J2B26NclI/AAAAAAAAAz0/vvUdAQz7BH0/s400/printedpages.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423026675599110738" /></a><br /><br />But wait . . . and here a line from the movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness_%281985_film%29">"Witness"</a> seems to fit:<br /><br />"You're plain, John Book."<br /><br />Book is a streetwise Newark detective brought by circumstances into a cultural clash with Eli Lapp, a wizened elder of a religious community known as the Amish. At Lapp's farming community where cows are milked by hand and homes are lighted by lanterns, Book and Lapp's grandson find refuge from corrupt cops bent on destroying the witness to a murder. Book too, becomes "plain" like the Amish.<br /></span><div><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Books are "plain"compared to flashy digital technologies like the Kindle a gal showed me in conversation at the airport several months ago. She told of its adjustable font size for easier reading. She displayed the lighted screen and mentioned the free books she'd downloaded. Shelves full of books, newspaper subscriptions fit onto a Kindle's memory.<br /><br />Still, I am sporadically "Amish"on the world's techno wonders, liking the old ways. My love affair with pages began decades ago.<br /><br />I face a growing list that needs to be transferred to a digital format: audio heirlooms (on cassette), Miles Davis jazz (on LP), radio productions and other prizes. (Some available from I-tunes, of course.)<br /><br />Hopes ran high for a viewing method after I acquired some used, LP record-sized, digital-format disks of the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/">civil rights movement</a> in the United States. But I finally disposed of them, the information a prisoner of a short-lived technology. Our collection of VHS-format movies, well we still use those . . . for how long we don't know.<br /><br />These technologies are from my lifetime. In contrast, my oldest book, by a pastor named Henry Ward Beecher, was published in 1854.<br /><br />It still works as well as it did when it came off the press.<br /><br />Book, I know you. I can judge you by your cover, in spite of the old expression that says otherwise. I open the cover and begin interacting with the content. The interaction is thorough; I use a highlighting pen.<br /><br />Book, you are dressed in black and white.<br /><br />Book you have no buttons.<br /><br />Book, you are plain.<br /><br />I like that.<br /><br />(Just for fun, here is a video on Youtube called "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ">Helpdesk in the Middle Ages</a>." A similar one explains features of Book on this <a href="http://www.leerestademoda.com">site</a> for website visitors who speak Spanish.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*none were available in Kindle format, although other textbooks are. Of 20 textbooks I´ve used over the last couple of years, five are available as Kindle books.</span><br /><br /><br /></span></div><div style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Ralphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16184271230665536902noreply@blogger.com0