Autumn

As the leaves turn golden yellow, days sparser, and nights colder, I cannot help but think the turning of the season is like life as I turn 50. As the slow days of summer ends, time accelerates like life, and you wonder where time has gone. Life can be akin to the seasons,

As summer drags on like youth, time is still, but as the season changes, so does life. Enjoy it and grasp every day of life with as much appreciation as you can. And as summer ends, and you get older, you can't help but have a little sadness that in a wisp it is gone.

The Tire Pump Ministry

I found myself at an air pump of a local convenience store, and encountered some travelers looking for information. I was able to Google the question and provided it to them pertaining to an address. A month or so later, I came across a family trying to change a tire due to the valve stem bursting open when the man was pumping air. He was struggling to turn the lug nuts with the wrench, but couldn't budge them. I came along, and managed to loosen them by standing on the wrench arm, and continued to assist in the changing of the tire. I was happy that the family was not stranded and to be of help.

It was funny how I could help people at an air pump station, but everyone has a ministry. It may not be a cathedral with giant spires, television with millions of viewers, a fancy title, or recognition. There's another ministry out there in the shadows, in plain sight, with people in need. The area by the air pump has become a ministry of sort, and glad I was able to help. Remember to look out for people reaching out in the least likeliest places.

Farewell to the Circus, Farewell to Childhood

The Clown Cries


Records, tapes, payphones, film, are but a few reminders of my childhood. Who knew such things would disappear from our landscape within a few decades? Now I hear the news that Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus will be closing down, as other circuses have dropped their tents for the last time.


An entertainment mode that relies on live acts of trapeze artists, clowns, and animal acts have fallen to virtual reality and on demand movies.


I think we lost a little, perhaps: our heritage, tradition, and memories of families and communities gathering together for entertainment.


Long gone are the days of the circus troupe arriving by train and parading through town marching among the cheering town folks who seen exotic animals for the first time. Now, no more ringmasters and their ballyhoo, the big tops, dazzling high wire artists, and of course, the clowns. The disappearance of the circus is another thread of our lives we cannot pass along to the next generation, but in stories. It is the time the clown cried for the last time.

A Good Summer

During the year, I listened to lot of campaign vitriol from pundits on cable tv, Twitter wars bashing opponents, and a definite unsocial vibe from "social media." In the electronic bubble, we can get caught up in the belief that this represents the world we live in: anger, hate, and yelling.

When I was able to take some vacation time, I took advantage of the beautiful country, its people, and visitors. The village of Foxburg has a lot of hospitality and culture in its small borders, with an inn, pizza shop, library/performance hall, art gallery, winery, trailhead for biking, and ice cream, coffee and gourmet chocolate shop, all on one block.

I enjoyed a night at a restaurant along the Allegheny River, enjoying the breeze off the water, and making new friends. The troubles of the day and the job disappeared as the laughter of new friends rang out. A chocolate and ice cream store was visited, inhabited by the delightful  young daughter of the owners and dressed in her Cinderella dress, and enticing others with her playful nature. Walking through the little village afterward, I was invited to come into a church for refreshments  and mingle with the parishioners. Finally, a walk along a trail across an old railroad trestle and meeting travelers from all over as they came on bikes and segue ways, or jogging.

There is joy and real pleasure away from the "social " media world and internet in general. We need to embrace it and the people in it.

My Place

I was looking for a place of solitude, a place where I could write, think, and enjoy a period of introspection. It was to have a great view, and to be a place of tranquility. Free from intrusions, noise, and judgment, a place I can stake out as my own slice of God's Universe and call my own, in a sense.

Observing from afar, I see Canadian geese flying in an arrow formation in the direction of their destination, and a deer swimming across the river for refreshment. In the distance, I hear the celebration from a wedding at an inn at a tourist spot, its participants unaware of the casual observer and faux guest from afar, wishing the couple Godspeed and good fortune. As I heard the music flow over the river to me, I wonder what life lay in store for the two and what will become of them.

Visitors hiking by, lovers strolling, and groups on bikes riding by, probably think in passing of the stranger by himself looking at the horizon, but I've long ago left the notion to be part of the crowd. I nod and smile as they pass as they do the same, compatriots in sharing the same peace and freedom.

Butter churned skies appear as the sun draws to a close, it's soon time to go back into the other world. As I reflect  upon it, I feel refreshed and ready for the coming night, whatever may come.

Technology has advanced; not so much us as a people

While watching a video on a popular site awhile ago, I seen a concert where young men were gathered around arguing, and a fight about to brew. Standing aside were several people witnessing this spectacle, not trying to deescalate the situation, but standing there recording it on their cellphones. Now, I can understand not wanting to get involved to some degree. In today's world, someone could have had a knife or a gun, and it just wasn't worth getting involved from that standpoint. However, there was a time someone might have tried to stop the fight or to ask them to separate. Instead, we had people just standing around recording the incident so they could play it on the Facebook pages.

Now we have selfies and  photo bombs, where we have to interject ourselves into everything. Every personal moment, reunion, surprise, and engagement now has to be documented for the world to see, share, and comment. There seem to be very little we can call private moments, and humility is no longer a virtue.

What is a Leader?

What is a Leader? Is it someone on top of an organizational table, or ornamentation on a collar? I had spent years in a campus security department, and then a younger guy with a lot of experience came in. His police background overshadowed mine, and felt I was being marginalized. Eventually I realized that in my own way, I could make a difference, and was really a blessing. I didn't get the headaches of administrative problems and related issues.


I felt when people seemed happy to see me, it was because they felt safe in my presence. When someone called me for help, they knew I would be there to assist them and make the situation right. Maybe I wasn't a leader among  my peers, but I felt I was among the people who looked to me for protection, and didn't need to prove anything. Maybe that is what really matters the most.