I am One; You are, Too.: July 2012

Monday, July 2, 2012

40 years - Wow!

Happy Anniversary!

This past weekend I celebrated 40 years with the love of my life. We were barely adults when we got married half-way through college in 1972, but the Lord has always been so good to us. We finished college, were led to good jobs, raised four great kids, and have owned two homes, among so many other wonderful blessings over these years.
Linda, thank you for saying "yes".

Our friendly B&B

Well, we celebrated with a short trip to a quaint town in southern Michigan. The actor Jeff Daniels was raised in Chelsea, MI, and lives there still. Several years ago he founded a small professional theater there and we've often talked about visiting it - this was our opportunity. We drove to Chelsea Saturday afternoon and checked into a nice B&B, a 130 year old restored Victorian home with very welcoming owners. We strolled around the town (that doesn't take long) and chose a nice Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Linda at the Purple Rose Theater

Returning to our room, we changed into our theater attire and headed just around the block to the Purple Rose Theater, where we enjoyed an intimate performance of "On Golden Pond". I say an intimate performance because the theater has only 175 seats and feels much smaller than that.

That was it. It was nice to get away for a night just to make sure this event didn't get overlooked. Interestingly, there was another couple in the B&B that same night who were also celebrating their 40th anniversary. We had a nice talk with them as we shared breakfast together Sunday morning. Another aspect of the quaint town of Chelsea was the sound of trains going right through town and the clock tower that chimed out every 15 minutes all night long. Rather than being interruptive it was actually quite nice.

Life has been quite a trip and, the Lord willing, we're no where near done. We look forward to sharing many more years together, just like Norman and Ethel Thayer, the characters in our play. Thanks for reading and letting me share my life and thoughts.

Worthy Quotes

"The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion and politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no place in the endeavor of science." - Carl Sagan, Cosmos.

"I found it difficult to imagine that there could be a real conflict between scientific truth and spiritual truth. Truth is truth. Truth cannot disprove truth." - Francis S. Collins, The Language of God

"Everyone is Orthodox to himself." - John Locke speaking of the need to protect each person's religion from government intrusion.

"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel." - Benjamin Netanyahu

What am I reading now?

The Greatest Generation, by Tom Brokaw

Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
The Cosmos refers to Everything -- from the smallest units within cells and atoms, to the furthest reaches of the known universe. This author does a marvelous job of putting these things into language that even I, who never took a Physics or Chemistry course, can follow quite clearly. As humans inhabiting what we call Planet Earth, we are the most minute speck in a universe of limitless forces and variety. Yet we are so very special and unique.

The Future - Six Drivers of Global Change, by Al Gore - This book focuses on the great changes that are occurring in the world today, the speed at which they are happening and their causes. Some of the topics include: global communication via the internet, social media, offshore manufacturing, robotics and job automation, climate change, the middle class.

Catastrophic Care, by David Goldhill - This is a very contemporary and enlightening book about our current healthcare system, why it's so expensive, why it cannot be sustained in its current form and what could be done about it. According to this author, the way we use "insurance" to pay for virtually all our healthcare services is a terrible model. Medicare and Medicaid follow the same system with the government taking the place of the private insurance companies. Obamacare is no better, nor worse, as it simply extends this system to cover more people, at much greater overall expense. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about our future.

I am One; You are, Too.

Monday, July 2, 2012

40 years - Wow!

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