Deck the Halls

Now that it’s the Christmas season it’s time for Christmas carols.  Enjoy this creative version of ‘Deck the Halls.’

December 7, 1941

We arrived at the USS ARIZONA (BB39) Memorial visitor center on a beautiful, Oahu day.  Years before, in 1971, I had seen the Memorial from my ship, THE USS WILLIAM H. STANDLEY (DLG32) as we came into and left Pearl Harbor on our way to Vietnam.  It was tradition then for Navy ships to salute the Memorial any time it was passed.  I always wanted to come back to actually visit and spend some time there. 

We bought our tickets for the boat ride out to the Memorial.  Tickets are sold for specific times so we had some time to look around the visitor center.

Betty took a picture of me standing next to the Arizona’s anchor. It’s huge.  The pictures we saw in the center were of a time that seems so different from the world we live in.  It’s hard to imagine what everyone went through on that Sunday morning so long ago.  Their lives were turned upside down and for many it was their last hours and even minutes left here on earth.

We stood out on the beautifully manicured grounds of the visitor center and the gleaming white of the Memorial looked so small in the distance.  In the same view you can see the USS MISSOURI (BB63).  In that one view you can see a Memorial to where World War II started and a Memorial to where it ended.

Finally, it was time for us to board the boat to take us out to the Memorial.  A guide gave us some information as we went out and there was some expectant talk on the way.

We arrived at the little pier and climbed the steps up to the white Memorial.  You walk down a long hallway before actually getting to the ship.  The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was.  There was a reverent silence – even the few children who were there were unusually quiet.  If people speak at all they speak in quiet whispers.

The first thing you see as you get to the center of the Memorial is the end wall where he names and ranks/rates of the 1,177 Sailors and Marines who died on the Arizona are engraved.  You stop because of the enormity of the loss comes home in all the names that are there.  Without thinking about it I checked to see if there were any Cookseys listed, but there were none.  For a long time you stare at the wall.

Then you notice people on each side at large openings where you can actually see the ship in the water below you.  You notice there are flowers floating on the water.  Many people bring their leis and throw the flowers from them onto the water as a tribute.  I’m sorry we didn’t know to do that.

Looking closer you see little reddish-brown bubbles coming up to the surface of the water.  After all these years the Arizona still bleeds her oil.  It’s almost as if you’re watching a heart still beating and slowly giving up her life.  You stand there and contemplate that so many young men are still within this ship.  Even though she’s battered and broken, she’s not a hulk – she’s still a ship caring for her crew to this day.

Then it’s time to go.  The boat ride back to the visitor center is very quiet.

I can’t speak for others, but that visit was a life changing experience for me.

Monday Video–Power of the Sun

We all know that the sun which gives life in many ways can also be dangerous and that’s why many of us wear sunscreen when we’re out in the hot summer sun.  And, if you were a kid of my day you could also see the power of the sun when we focused it through a hand-held magnifying glass.  We could set leaves and small pieces of wood on fire and, if you were the meanie sort, you could roast ants – but I never did that.

Here’s a BBC video that shows how using a larger magnifying glass, but still not that large, the sun’s incredible power can be even more focused.  By the way, the temperature in Centigrade that the scientist mentions is about 6,300 degrees F.

Enjoy.

Sunday Reflection–Joy

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.  Let earth receive her king.”

Tis the season of joy as we approach the celebration of our Lord’s birth.  We sing of joy.  We see the word joy in many different places.  We talk of joy.  But what do we really mean?

I think we most often equate joy with happiness – i.e., my circumstances are good so I am happy; I am joyful.  There is no question (at least in my mind) that our happiness is directly associated with our circumstances.  If things are going well I am happy.  If things are not going well I am not happy.

If being happy is the true meaning of joy then these verses from the Bible are difficult to reconcile.

Then I would still have this consolation — my joy in unrelenting pain — that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. (Job 6:10)

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. (Psalms 126:5)

No, I don’t think joy is the same as being happy.  There is no question that we can be both happy and joyful at the same time.  But how can we have ‘unrelenting pain,’ or ‘sow in tears’ and still experience joy?

For me C. S. Lewis has the answer.  Lewis is the British theologian who wrote many Christian classics such as ‘Mere Christianity’ and ‘The Screwtape Letters’ as well as Christian fiction such as ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’

Lewis wrote a book called ‘Surprised by Joy’ in which he recounts how he became a committed Christian.  Lewis was a happy boy playing with and confiding in his brother William.  He recalls that as a time not only of happiness but also one of joy.  At the time he couldn’t explain it but even as a boy he knew that joy was something different than happiness. This joy was shattered when his mother died and he went through many years trying to recapture not only the happiness of his childhood but the joy as well.

It was only in his coming to Christ that Lewis experienced the joy of his youth and now as an adult he came to understand what joy really is.  By joy, Lewis meant not mere pleasure but a sublime experience of the transcendent, the glimpse of the eternal that is only fleetingly available in earthly loves and aesthetics. It is, for Lewis, a joy to be found only in the Creator who himself invented both world and word, person and personality. It is He alone who redeems his fallen creation and provides them joy.  For Lewis joy is a longing for something greater than ourselves, greater than this world – a longing for coming home to our real home – a longing for coming home to our real Father.

We see this idea of the transcendent in Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12-13)

In the midst of our patience in affliction and through our faithful prayer we can experience joy in the transcendence of our hope in Christ.

James goes even further and tells us that joy can be found even in the midst of all our trials.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2-4)

So is this kind of transcendent joy something we can generate out of our will?  No way.  As humans we are not strong enough, pure enough or holy enough to create joy in our hearts and minds.  Joy is a gift from our Creator.

The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy… (Galatians 5:22)

We are given the gift of joy through the gift of the Holy.  As a contemporary Christmas song says, “The Father gave the Son and the Son gave the Spirit.”  And, the Spirit gives us joy.

So, in this season of joy I hope and pray it is a happy time for you - that your circumstances bring you happiness.  But, even if they don’t you can always know joy, no matter your circumstances, through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Joy to the world.

Winter Stuff

One of the nice things about winter in Corrales is we’re on the flyway for several migrating bird species.  We have seen lots of Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes and we’ve even seen several Snow Geese this year.

Most of the birds are on their way South to areas along the Rio Grande, especially an area called Bosque del Apache (Woods of the Apache) which is a bird sanctuary.  However, several dozen or more Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes winter in Corrales.

I was driving down to the post office this morning and saw these Cranes in one of the fields where they like to hang out.  The Cranes are in the field behind the section where the Angus calves are hanging out.

I made these pictures with the camera on my phone so this is about as close up as I can get.

They make a racket and this field is probably five miles from our house and I can hear them in the morning when I go out to feed the horses.  I can’t imagine how loud they are to the houses close to this field.

Still pretty neat.

Friday Funny–Greatest Cartoon

There is no doubt in my mind that ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ was and still is the greatest cartoon of all time.  It killed my soul when it stopped.  However, they are still running it so I can get my daily Calvin fix.  He’s the little boy I always wished I had been and Hobbes is certainly the friend we all wish we had when we were children.

Life–Update

Betty and I met with the doctor yesterday to talk some more about the cancer and how to deal with it.  As we expected, we decided on surgery to remove the prostate as the best choice.

The surgery is set for Wednesday, December 29 which allows us to go through with our Christmas plans.  We’re driving to Fort Collins to spend a long weekend, early Christmas with our kids and grandkids December 10 – 14.  We’re home for three days during which time Betty will have a routine bone scan on Wednesday, and on Thursday I’ll have a preop session at the hospital to do all the tests they need to do and then another meeting with our surgeon on Friday.

One interesting thing is I’m having the surgery done at the Lovelace Women’s Hospital as it’s across the street from our doctor’s office and he often does surgeries there.  That’s nice as it’s closer and easier to get to from our house.  Also, it will be kind of fun to be one of the few men in a women’s hospital.

On Saturday, December 18 we’ll fly to Nashville to spend Christmas with our family (not looking forward to the security issues).  We return home on Monday, December 27.  On Tuesday, I’ll flush out my system and the operation will be the next day.

I’ll be in the hospital for 2 to 3 days and recovery should take about 2 months.  During that time and afterwards I’ll have some tests to see if the cancer has spread.  If it has then we’ll deal with that as well.

So, prayers are appreciated for me and especially for Betty as she walks this path with me.

Now, that’s the last time I plan to talk about this (with the exception of an occasional Sunday reflection if it’s appropriate) unless something changes.  There’s far more to my life than this cancer and I want to focus on that.

To close, I love this quote:

Every evening I turn my worries over to God.  He's going to be up all night anyway.  ~Mary C. Crowley