I Refuse To Be A Parrot

I find nothing particularly worthy of comment. My views on the Israeli assault on terror are clearly espoused to date. Kofi is making stupid accusations against Israel, which are being disproven promptly. There is even a vicious rumor that Hezbollah was using the bros at the UN encampment as a shield?? Go figure! Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams has described her wish to kill George Bush to school children. Howard Dean is continuing his mouth manure. Mother Cindy continues to be a fat, disruptive nobody. Medea Benjamin joins her and grabs another quick 10 seconds of Left Stream Media spotlight. Condi is hugging everybody in the Middle and Far East and soothing them with "It's Going to be OK Afterall, My Good Friends" on the piano. Iran is sending 'non-official' homicide bombers to join Hezbollah in Lebanon. I'm-The-Man Al Zawahari is announcing the beginning of a worldwide fight between Israel and Islam (news to no one but Liberals, and don't worry... they still won't believe it yet). And Israel has proposed creating a 1.2 mile wide buffer zone along their border purged of terrorists (why even bother?? What will THAT change???) while deciding not to 'expand' their war against Hezbollah and Hamas.


As the mess spirals downward...


I got something much more important to write about today. Today, it's about... making everything you can of the day you have been granted.

I have always said that I have been blessed with more friends than I ever gave the Good Lord solid reason to bestow. Friends, not acquaintances. Yeah, and I said the "Good Lord". Atheists, agnostics and Liberals having a problem with that can leave now... my blog and I don't care.

I have several BEST friends (I am much more fortunate than worthy). One has been very sick this year. I have spent many late night hours worrying and praying for her recovery and well being. Although tougher than granite, she still has her limits and they have been very severely, repeatedly tested. Not having experienced what she has faced, I truly can't fathom how difficult it has been for her, but it makes my caring and concern no less real nor diminished. You don't have to walk the path to grasp the enormity of the task.

She, like me, and like you... we all have today. We all have only today. One of our mutual friends told me "tomorrow never comes", way back when I was just a little boy. It took a long time for the little boy to understand.

We can always make excuses and try to pass them off as reasons. But in doing so we fritter away the seconds God has given us. Our mutual friend also told that little boy "every one you pass up is one you'll never get". It took even longer to catch up with that morsel of wisdom. But what it all amounts to is that our most precious commodity is time. We get a finite quantity of it, unevenly distributed amongst us... some more, some much, some much less. And we never really get to be privy to what our individual allotment is. We just get some. There is no such thing as enough nor tomorrow.

Things can always be worse. As long as we can, we should do, in whatever capacity and form the Lord allows us. For that is living and life is to be lived and cherished. All the seconds... every one of them. You can't stop living until life is done. And we're not done yet.

So here are some images of true, raw beauty from my wonderful wife's gardens... for one of my best friends. It took a few moments to preserve and share these. They were perhaps my best seconds of the entire day.

They are beautiful and loved, just like you. I hope you enjoy them, Mom.

Oh, the puppies are pretty stressed out lately, too... :-)