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| Nancy (L) is 31 and Julie in white, is 48. Not bad !! So says Dad |
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Update #2: Nothing important in this post - just me talking about me, my family, my friends and my personal faith. Nice to know if you read this blog. Perspective and bias are always important, as you read the writings of anyone. Original Content:
69 year old blog editor with his two daughters, Nancy and Julie (on my left)
No one cares but I had one of the best Father's Day weeks of my life.
Red Caboose is a favorite diner - they make a mean "garden" omelet." Both girls are nurses; both valedictorians; both worship leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and, boy can they sing!!!!Me? If you heard me sing, you would become "atheist" almost immediately.
Things are soooo good, if I told you how good, you all would just get jealous. Talk to you later this afternoon.
Update #1: Here is the funny thing. My kids were raised in a home (23 years) that ended in one of the more hateful divorces of all time. While I am very much a believer, I am no "pietest." When angry, I pretty much say what I want to say, and such does not belong in the pulpit. Not bragging, just telling the truth. I have a beer/tomato juice (poor man's bloody mary) a couple of times a month. I am not a regular church attender but I go often. I am too old to get into fights, but I used to do that, as well. But anyone who knows me, will tell you that Christ and my sense of being a Christian is the more important issue in my life.
I was a general builder and engineering contractor for more than 30 years. When I would hire someone, I always gave them the same speech:
"I am a Christian BUT you are going to see me saying things a lot of Christian would never say, especially when I get mad. You and I are going to be working together 8 to 12 hours a day. I can't tell you what to think, of me, but I am telling you that I will not be judged as to how I feel about my God by what I say or do, or what you think of my faith. Hypocrite? Oh, you betcha. Do I care? Absolutely not. Spent too many years trying to be a suit and tie Christian. Just could not pull that off. Understand?"
All of my friends are real and Christian. I do not have friends who are not believers.
My children have my conscience for God in spite of my life, lived. Sooo, I guess I am saying, "My Children are all dedicated Christians, raised by the likes of me., at no obvious credit to myself. God is our center. We talk "plainly" to each other, and life is good."
I think that is a good thing. You might disagree.
Looks like the girls are gettin' a bit chubby and thick, like their dad.
ReplyDeleteI will send them your response. Be absolutely certain that you are "anonymous." I - their "dad" - have crossed their paths before. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Delete"All of my friends are real and Christian. I do not have friends who are not believers."
ReplyDeleteSmithson shows how divisive christianity can be.
69? My dad is 74 and you look like you could be HIS dad. Must have had a hard life, bad choices, bad diet. (Typical of most conservatives)
Good try. No one here, believes I look much older than 60, but who really cares. And, I have no clue why you think my comments demonstrate a divided Christianity. Of course it is, but that makes no diff to God.
DeleteWeight? You do know that muscle weighs more than fat, right? Of course I have a Bit of a pot-belly, but I curl 154 pounds and do leg presses with 700 pounds and ride an 800 pound man bike. I ran a 52.6 440 back in 1962, btw, and high jumped 6 feet. Have always been hard working, athletic and am a pretty stout old man, today. Wait til your scrawny ass turns 70. You will keep in touch, no?
Wow that's a fast 440. I haven't run that fast since I was in my mid 40s. Now at age 54, I'm happy to "run my age" in the quarter, but I'm usually 55 or 56.
DeleteWhen I ran, you were two. So give me a little credit for "1962/63." I also ran 10.4 to 10.6 in the 100 yd dash - fast for N California, at the time. Your time at 55 - got to admit, excellent. I have a replacement knee and a new ACL on the other knee. Competition is good for the soul. Hang in there. I would not mind following your competitions. You can email me at vpjohndavid@aol.com, or not.
DeleteMy dad is getting a new knee in 10 days. I got a new ACL in '91, it's been fine since.
DeleteI ran 10.2 100 yds = 11.1 100m in high school. I ran 11.8 in the 100m a few weeks ago. I've accepted the fact that I'll never be as fast as I was in high school, no matter how much I train. But, I'm closer to my youthful speed than most my age. Yes, competition is good. Next year I enter a new age group - M55. I hope to step it up and go to the Masters Nationals and World Championships.
You're strong, you might consider competing in masters track or senior games as a thrower.
Free squats (no weights); reps to exhaustion - 5 or 6 sets taking plenty of time to recover between each set; squating off edge of a chair to keep proper form - perhaps the best single exercise for increasing sprint speed out of blocks, throwing speed coming off a pitching mound, or speed of shot in wrestling.
DeleteI am thinking about boxing. Don't need legs for that. Your suggestion(s) , something I will give some thought. But my first love is tripping on my big bike. Summer after this summer, I plan to ride to Virginia/Tennessee. I have relatives buried there - working on my family tree.
Your 11.8 time converts to what in a 100 yd dash?
BTW, I am pretty sure I just came across as a know-it-all. You, of course, must have a great conditioning strategy. Did not mean to suggest otherwise. Its just that I have coached youth sports for more than 30 years with some success; kind of difficult to stop.
DeleteJust visited your "Paradise" site. Your mission statement, as it were, " What's on Bill's mind, under his fingers, or beneath his feet. Living a life less ordinary," puts us on the same existential trajectory but with very different results/interests. All good, btw. And you appear to be more a person of faith than you pretend to me, in your debate with me.
DeleteSalute.
Now, back to hating each others world view.
One last personal observation: it appears that two of your passions are classic guitar and your competitive sports. Besides my motorcycle travel, mine are theology and coaching (wrestling and baseball). Coaching has had its competitive rewards. My work as a evangelical "reformer" is documented at my blog, Bart(h) and the Boys, found here: http://barthandtheboyz.blogspot.com/.
DeleteI am thinking there is a certain spiritual sense to your classic guitar work. Might not be the case with you, but such is my experience in dealing with artistic/performer friends of mine. You appear to be a remarkable fellow which makes our core disagreements all the more a mystery.
Actually, I was brought up Catholic, I've studied the Christian faith extensively. Despite being an artist/athlete, my first studies in college were science. I was a geochemistry major before changing to music, so my brain is wired to think scientifically and critically. I consider myself a Pantheist, like many historical intellectuals - Jefferson, Einstein, etc... and I have recently enjoyed learning about the philosophy of the Bahai religion, which I consider to be one of the world's best and most evolved, although I do not consider their prophet 'divine', or any others for that matter. Traditional religion often loses sight of man's place in the universe and by our very nature, we elevate ourselves to an exaggerated level of importance. I take a broader view.
DeleteInteresting. Especially with issues of faith, where you begin has a lot to do with where your journey takes you.
Delete