"There's a buffalo at the bank Honey. Wanna go see it?" Well now, that's not a line you hear everyday - or every year for that matter. Yet, such was the line I heard from my wife as she called me on her way home from work. After laughing a bit, I said "Sure, why not." It had been a long, stressful day at school and I needed something unusual to get over the funk I was heading to. Seeing a buffalo at a bank sure fit the bill for being unusual. So, when my wife came home, off we went to the Plains Capital Bank building just down the road.
When we arrived, we saw a large group of people all dressed up in VERY nice suits (the guys) and dresses (the ladies). As we walked past these nicely dressed people, my wife started hanging back a bit - somewhat embarrassedly. It wasn't due to how we were dressed (we were both in business casual). I think it was just being nervous as to not knowing what was going on. Me? I was in my determined mood. I had come here to see a buffalo, and daggumit, I was going to see a buffalo. (Hey, as I said before, it was a long, stressful day).
As we stopped not too far away from the buffalo pen (Mo the Buffalo is the corporate symbol for the Plains National Bank Corporation), I told my wife we should ask someone what was going on. Why all the very well dressed people? I received my answer in a way I wasn't expecting - for out from the crowd I heard my name shouted. Turning to the source of the voice I saw someone making a beeline towards us - a pretty young woman who gave me a good hug while having a big smile on her face. Suddenly, my moment of seeing a buffalo turns into a moment from a Dan Fogelberg song (think SAME OLD LANG SYNE from 1980).
Heather, the young woman's name, is a good friend who helped me get through my communication classes at University of Texas - Arlington - UTA (where I received my Teacher's Certification). I hadn't seen her since the last day I attended school there over a year ago. Yet, she was someone who I thought of often. She had met my wife during my time UTA and was a confidant, study partner, and generally a friend in need at a time I was struggling with parts of my life. I would have never made it through UTA without her assistance and that of the other people we normally hung out with. To see her again, to have the chance to catch up, was a big morale booster for me. It was wonderful to hear her marriage and her career were going well. We talked for a few more minutes, then it came time to depart.
As I got into the car to go home, I started feeling envious. Here I was - a 47 year old man who is struggling to find a job that will pay me more than $100 dollars a day, who is trying to start a business as a Public Speaker/Motivator, fighting to keep his family's financial head above water let alone move forward - talking with someone who is much younger than me who has a well paying career being the HR Generalist/Staffing Specialist. It just hurt that after all of these years, I felt like I was watching my friends move forward while I was standing still. It hurt for a few minutes.
After a while of wallowing in my self pity party, I started hearing a small still voice in my heart. The voice reminded me that God doesn't work that way. I had just received a huge blessing - and I wasn't seeing it. I came to see a buffalo, and ended up seeing someone who thought so well of me that she shouted out my name in a crowd and took the time to talk with me. She is someone who thought well enough of me to give me a hug. At a time when I'm struggling - God gave me a reminder that I have touched some lives in a positive way, and now those people are my friends. They are my friends even when I don't see them for awhile. As I saw that aspect of all of this, my soul warmed up.
Okay, this is a bit sappy - maybe. But then - sometimes God gives us the sappy moments to remind us that being sappy is okay. It is human, and it is a gift that we can feel uplifted when we let others remind us that they think we are special to them. We need these moments more than we care to admit I believe. Think what you want - I'll take this sappy moment for what it was to me - a blessing, a moment of uplifting, and a great chance meeting to see someone who is the type of friend all of us need and need to be.
Mr. Keb
Friday, January 23, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Content of a Man's Heart
Just 3 days away from what many are considering to be the biggest day in American history. Just days away from what many people (at least those around me) are treating as the second coming of the Messiah. Of course I'm talking about the Inauguration of soon to be President Barack Obama.
Now, before anyone flames for what I am about to write, hear me out a bit. Let me state something right here and now: I am NOT anti-Obama. I voted FOR Obama in the Texas Primary - the famous "Texas Two-Step" (or "infamous Texas Two-Step" depending on your point of view). I thought he was the better of the two choices we had within the Democratic Party.
Yet, here I sit at my computer, not at all jumping with overflowing joy at his upcoming acceptance of the Presidency on January 20. Why? That is a question I've been asking myself since the election ended. I think I have finally come up with an answer: I do not like all the racism involved - from BOTH sides of the aisle.
The racism against Obama becoming President is well noted. It is there, we must accept it and aim to change it in the common area of shared ideas that forums such as the Internet provide for us. But there is another form of racism that is not being spoken against, and that worries me.
Since we are celebrating the life Martin Luther King Jr the day before Obama becomes President of our great nation, it is highly appropriate that everyone take the time to go back and read (or reread) what I consider to be his greatest speech (in my view it is one of the most superb speeches ever given in history. So much so that I have a copy of it hanging in my classroom for all to see). Go ahead - take a few minutes to Google it and read it. I can wait a few moments while you do so......
You finished? Excellent. Now, go back to near the end of speech - where Dr. King Jr is saying what he dreams about. As you do so - you will read:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Read that again - and see the key words "Judged not" "By color of skin" "But by....content of their character." Dr. King Jr wanted all of us to see beyond the pigmentation of the epidermis to look inside what the heart of a person was. He was telling us he did not want us to base our decisions - good or bad - on what someone looked like on the outside. It is exactly this that has me concerned right now.
Every time I hear about the importance of the upcoming Inauguration, inevitably the reason has been given "It is because our first Black President is being sworn in." I heard throughout the election "Obama is the first Black Presidential candidate of a major party." "I'm voting for Obama because he is Black." I have been called racist when I tell people I am probably not going to watch the Inauguration Ceremony. (I have a teacher work day that day and need to get my room ready for my students the next day). I have been told I am a racist because I disagree with some of Obama's Cabinet choices. (Funny, I was called other names when I told people I voted for the man in the Primary too. )
"Not be judged by the color of their skin...." Are we so blind that each time we say "The first Black President" we are going against Dr. King Jr's dream? Each time we say this is a great event merely because we are seeing a "Black Man become President" we chip away more at Dr. King Jr's dream becoming a reality. To identify someone by the color of their skin is indeed racist is it not? Think about it for a moment. Ask yourself this: Barack Obama - a man who's ideas for this nation and his vision for this nation are strong and well grounded - is being celebrated because of his pigmentation - NOT because of the depth of his views.
It is time to stop identify someone by their color folks. As this Inauguration draws nearer, let us stop and remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on Monday. A work that was shared by many people of all colors and both genders to make true equality a reality. Let us not lose sight of that vision. A vision that is hindered each time we say "The first Black........" or "The first Jew......" or "The first Latino............" or "That Muslim guy........". Let us remember that Dr. King Jr's dream for his children is reminiscent of the song so many of us learned in Sunday School: "Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight. Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World." Not because of their pigmentation, but because He created each of us. He looks at our hearts, not our skin. Let us do the same.
Mr. KEB
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Go
Now, before anyone flames for what I am about to write, hear me out a bit. Let me state something right here and now: I am NOT anti-Obama. I voted FOR Obama in the Texas Primary - the famous "Texas Two-Step" (or "infamous Texas Two-Step" depending on your point of view). I thought he was the better of the two choices we had within the Democratic Party.
Yet, here I sit at my computer, not at all jumping with overflowing joy at his upcoming acceptance of the Presidency on January 20. Why? That is a question I've been asking myself since the election ended. I think I have finally come up with an answer: I do not like all the racism involved - from BOTH sides of the aisle.
The racism against Obama becoming President is well noted. It is there, we must accept it and aim to change it in the common area of shared ideas that forums such as the Internet provide for us. But there is another form of racism that is not being spoken against, and that worries me.
Since we are celebrating the life Martin Luther King Jr the day before Obama becomes President of our great nation, it is highly appropriate that everyone take the time to go back and read (or reread) what I consider to be his greatest speech (in my view it is one of the most superb speeches ever given in history. So much so that I have a copy of it hanging in my classroom for all to see). Go ahead - take a few minutes to Google it and read it. I can wait a few moments while you do so......
You finished? Excellent. Now, go back to near the end of speech - where Dr. King Jr is saying what he dreams about. As you do so - you will read:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Read that again - and see the key words "Judged not" "By color of skin" "But by....content of their character." Dr. King Jr wanted all of us to see beyond the pigmentation of the epidermis to look inside what the heart of a person was. He was telling us he did not want us to base our decisions - good or bad - on what someone looked like on the outside. It is exactly this that has me concerned right now.
Every time I hear about the importance of the upcoming Inauguration, inevitably the reason has been given "It is because our first Black President is being sworn in." I heard throughout the election "Obama is the first Black Presidential candidate of a major party." "I'm voting for Obama because he is Black." I have been called racist when I tell people I am probably not going to watch the Inauguration Ceremony. (I have a teacher work day that day and need to get my room ready for my students the next day). I have been told I am a racist because I disagree with some of Obama's Cabinet choices. (Funny, I was called other names when I told people I voted for the man in the Primary too. )
"Not be judged by the color of their skin...." Are we so blind that each time we say "The first Black President" we are going against Dr. King Jr's dream? Each time we say this is a great event merely because we are seeing a "Black Man become President" we chip away more at Dr. King Jr's dream becoming a reality. To identify someone by the color of their skin is indeed racist is it not? Think about it for a moment. Ask yourself this: Barack Obama - a man who's ideas for this nation and his vision for this nation are strong and well grounded - is being celebrated because of his pigmentation - NOT because of the depth of his views.
It is time to stop identify someone by their color folks. As this Inauguration draws nearer, let us stop and remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on Monday. A work that was shared by many people of all colors and both genders to make true equality a reality. Let us not lose sight of that vision. A vision that is hindered each time we say "The first Black........" or "The first Jew......" or "The first Latino............" or "That Muslim guy........". Let us remember that Dr. King Jr's dream for his children is reminiscent of the song so many of us learned in Sunday School: "Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight. Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World." Not because of their pigmentation, but because He created each of us. He looks at our hearts, not our skin. Let us do the same.
Mr. KEB
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Go
Monday, January 12, 2009
Hanging On
I remember a time when I was 8 maybe 9 years old. My parents took us to upstate New York to spend a winter vacation in a huge cabin with other families. During the vacation, I took my first ever toboggan ride. Now - imagine a 8-9 year old, wearing big, thick, black-rimmed classes dressed with so many layers that movement became an interesting venture getting on a toboggan. Not only on one, but in the very front of a five seater.
When I asked what I should do, I was simply told: "No matter what happens, hang on tight." To what? "To the front of the toboggan." So, putting my mitten covered hands on the front of this contraption, I held on. Within just a few seconds after being pushed off, the snow coming from the front of this sliding vehicle had covered my glasses making everything else impossible to see. I could hear all of the screaming coming from those behind me - for a few moments at least. It turns out all of them fell off along the way. I was the only one to make it all the way down - because I followed the advice given to me at the top of the hill - "No matter what happens, hang on tight."
Now, hear I sit, 39 years later, being reminded of that lesson. Instead of a toboggan I'm needing to hang on to, it is my dreams I'm hanging on tight to.
It has been a long, tough, week for both my wife and me. The week was filled with a lot of tough edges, ones that led me to doubt if I was on the right path, doing the right things, heading in the right direction. You get the idea right? Yet, through it all, there has been this small, still, voice in my heart telling me: "Remember the toboggan? Hang on to your dreams even tighter. That is why you are given them. To have something to hold on to when you can't see what is going on or can't understand it. Hang on to the dreams I've given you. As you do so, remember to hang on to me too." I am a Christian, and I know that small still voice is from the Master I serve.
Sometimes, our dreams seem to be so far away or slipping away. Our perception can be wrong. The recent week has brought to mind that dreams only slip away when I let them. They are a gift, and can only be given away if I chose to. As a gift from God, my dreams are not for circumstances to rip out of my hands. This is a time to simply tell myself "No matter what happens, hang on tight."
Mr. KEB
When I asked what I should do, I was simply told: "No matter what happens, hang on tight." To what? "To the front of the toboggan." So, putting my mitten covered hands on the front of this contraption, I held on. Within just a few seconds after being pushed off, the snow coming from the front of this sliding vehicle had covered my glasses making everything else impossible to see. I could hear all of the screaming coming from those behind me - for a few moments at least. It turns out all of them fell off along the way. I was the only one to make it all the way down - because I followed the advice given to me at the top of the hill - "No matter what happens, hang on tight."
Now, hear I sit, 39 years later, being reminded of that lesson. Instead of a toboggan I'm needing to hang on to, it is my dreams I'm hanging on tight to.
It has been a long, tough, week for both my wife and me. The week was filled with a lot of tough edges, ones that led me to doubt if I was on the right path, doing the right things, heading in the right direction. You get the idea right? Yet, through it all, there has been this small, still, voice in my heart telling me: "Remember the toboggan? Hang on to your dreams even tighter. That is why you are given them. To have something to hold on to when you can't see what is going on or can't understand it. Hang on to the dreams I've given you. As you do so, remember to hang on to me too." I am a Christian, and I know that small still voice is from the Master I serve.
Sometimes, our dreams seem to be so far away or slipping away. Our perception can be wrong. The recent week has brought to mind that dreams only slip away when I let them. They are a gift, and can only be given away if I chose to. As a gift from God, my dreams are not for circumstances to rip out of my hands. This is a time to simply tell myself "No matter what happens, hang on tight."
Mr. KEB
Friday, January 9, 2009
Ready Made Non-Thinkers
Here I am - sitting at my computer - waiting for my wife to come home after she worked the late shift tonight. When she gets home, we will have dinner. Yep, I am the cook - but not the preparer. Nope, my wife has that distinction. On her lunch break, she came home and got everything prepared so all I had to do was turn on the oven at the right time, and put in the main dish so it could bake for the right amount of time. I even put on the timer to remind myself to check on it after the correct amount of time of elapsed.
This isn't to say I am opposed to cooking. I can get around a kitchen pretty well - especially Chinese food. I just prefer my wife's cooking over mine. She has a gift for it. She knows how to prepare a tasty meal on the tight budget we have. She even does it in a way that helps us to stay on our diet. I need to lose some weight. I have toes, but that is about all I see when I look down. I assume the toes have feet attached to them, which are in turn connected to my ankles because they (my toes) don't get left behind anywhere when I walk.
I am grateful for my wife's ability to cook, and I tell her so often. As I was putting the main dish (a hamburger casserole) into the oven, I was thinking how glad I was to have a ready made dish of food to cook and later on (after I finish this post) enjoy with my wife. How easy my life is - my wife has things ready for me to cook. If she was too tired, we would simply pull something out of the freezer and put it into the oven - again a ready made meal.
Hmmm - we do live in a ready made world nowadays don't we? We have easy bake meals, easy make drinks, easy make entertainment through the Internet, TV, and easy to obtain movies that are even mailed to us thanks to NetFlix and Blockbuster. We even have ready to make ideas sometimes.
Ooops. How did that serious note get in here? Could it be due to the fact that I am a teacher of middle school students who has had a long week? Could it be due to the fact that I feel that in all of this ready made world we live in, we are hindering our own creativeness sometimes?
I think about my students - and see them asking for answers that - with a little bit of research - they could find on their own. I see some of my students failing open book tests and quizzes. I see students in college who beg their teachers for the test questions so they know exactly questions will be on the test? Then I see them struggling to pass the test anyway. In our ready made world - have we made it so easy to do things that we shoot the ability to think things through and figure out solutions to challenges?
I am not against making things simpler. I just wonder if we are making things so simple we are failing to inspire real thinking.
My wife is home - time to go eat the meal she had ready made for me to pop into the oven. That is - after she took the time to think through which ingredients to put into the dish in their appropriate amounts and decide where to put the instructions where I would find them.
Again - Hmmmmm. For us to have things ready made for our ease - someone needed to think it all through. So, do I want to be a thinker or a Non-Thinker? I'll have to think about that. Right now - it is time for dinner.
Keb
This isn't to say I am opposed to cooking. I can get around a kitchen pretty well - especially Chinese food. I just prefer my wife's cooking over mine. She has a gift for it. She knows how to prepare a tasty meal on the tight budget we have. She even does it in a way that helps us to stay on our diet. I need to lose some weight. I have toes, but that is about all I see when I look down. I assume the toes have feet attached to them, which are in turn connected to my ankles because they (my toes) don't get left behind anywhere when I walk.
I am grateful for my wife's ability to cook, and I tell her so often. As I was putting the main dish (a hamburger casserole) into the oven, I was thinking how glad I was to have a ready made dish of food to cook and later on (after I finish this post) enjoy with my wife. How easy my life is - my wife has things ready for me to cook. If she was too tired, we would simply pull something out of the freezer and put it into the oven - again a ready made meal.
Hmmm - we do live in a ready made world nowadays don't we? We have easy bake meals, easy make drinks, easy make entertainment through the Internet, TV, and easy to obtain movies that are even mailed to us thanks to NetFlix and Blockbuster. We even have ready to make ideas sometimes.
Ooops. How did that serious note get in here? Could it be due to the fact that I am a teacher of middle school students who has had a long week? Could it be due to the fact that I feel that in all of this ready made world we live in, we are hindering our own creativeness sometimes?
I think about my students - and see them asking for answers that - with a little bit of research - they could find on their own. I see some of my students failing open book tests and quizzes. I see students in college who beg their teachers for the test questions so they know exactly questions will be on the test? Then I see them struggling to pass the test anyway. In our ready made world - have we made it so easy to do things that we shoot the ability to think things through and figure out solutions to challenges?
I am not against making things simpler. I just wonder if we are making things so simple we are failing to inspire real thinking.
My wife is home - time to go eat the meal she had ready made for me to pop into the oven. That is - after she took the time to think through which ingredients to put into the dish in their appropriate amounts and decide where to put the instructions where I would find them.
Again - Hmmmmm. For us to have things ready made for our ease - someone needed to think it all through. So, do I want to be a thinker or a Non-Thinker? I'll have to think about that. Right now - it is time for dinner.
Keb
Thursday, January 8, 2009
So now I have entered the world of blogging - for the second time. My first venture took more time than I was expecting, so I let it slid away to get other things done. Now, I am wading into the waters again. I feel I have something to say. I have a lot of ideas that I want to get out there. I am open to hearing others' comments on what I write. I want the dialog to happen. I have a strong belief that through effective communication, we can and will make this world a safer, better place to live.
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