The World of Grandpa Don  

 Just wanted to let you know, the Marist swim team participated in the Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference yesterday. There were four new team records set by the Marist squad - and 3 of those belong to your granddaughters.

Caitlin set a new team record in the 100-yd. and 200-yd. freestyle events and Kelly set a new team record in the 500-yd. freestyle. Kelly dropped over 12 seconds off her personal best in the 500!

We have one more meet on 11/15 at Sandburg for sectionals and Caitlin is still just short of her personal goal to break the minute for the 100-yd. freestyle. Her time on Sunday was a 1:00.18 so it is just a 'blink' off.

Congratulations to our girls. That is splendiferous! Are those parents proud? You betcha!  Grandpa too.

Tuesday was a carbon copy of Monday. Some time was invested in the parish website in the morning and although I intended to vote after lunch, the spirit moved me and I left the house at 10:55 to beat the lunch crowd at the poles. I was back home on the swing in the yard at 11:20. My votes were cast for the candidates of my choice and I was satisfied that I did what I could to put people in office who would be (in my opinion) best for the country, state and county. Now it is up to them, hopefully, not so much to do the will of the people but to lead the people in peace, justice and prosperity. We hope they don't take on the roll of gods in the sense that they abuse the power we give them but maybe they will, like God, have the wisdom to give us what we need, not what we ask for.

After lunch I went around turning off some valves and turning others on to shut down my lawn sprinkler system. That done, I coiled up the garden hose in preparation for storage. My intent was to start to put the patio furniture in the shed but the previous tasks had left me winded so I just sat in the sun on the swing as Mikey sniffed through the leaves. I had done enough for the day.

Early in the evening I watched an episode of Eli Stone that I had recorded and then went to the election coverage. It was quite obvious that Barak Obama was going to win early on. Mixed emotions! He was not my choice due to his views on abortion and the Democratic party's tendencies toward socialism as well as their apparent plan to remove our forces from Iraq prematurely. And yet it was a historical event and, assuming he will make good and wise decisions, an assumption for which I ardently pray, his election could be a step toward making this nation even better than it is in our search for justice and equality for all mankind. There are those among us who actually believe you must be Caucasian in order to be intelligent. Obama could go a long way in convincing them they are not correct.

As we stumble through life, succeeding here and failing there each of us is judged on our choices ... individuals as well as governments. Neither is perfect and neither has all the answers.  Barak Obama is the President Elect. I will pray for him ... that God will guide him ... and that he will accept God's guidance. I will also give him the respect that is due to him as man and president. Judgment is in the future and not in my hands.

 I firmly believe that morality can not be legislated and abortion is a moral issue. At the same time I believe that there is no one more disadvantaged and in need of protection than an unborn child. The argument is made that we do not know at what point human life begins. To me, there is little difference between life and the potential for life and it is in this matter I would rather err on the side of safety. It is on this subject that I question Mr. Obama's judgment the most. Maybe he will change or if not, maybe he will not have the opportunity to influence the matter in any way. In the matter of socialism, I feel that the goals are good and noble but it's application should be in the hands of the individual in the form of stewardship of God's gifts and not in the often wasteful and often misguided hands of government. My fervent hope is that there remains enough balance in the legislature in both parties so that drastic and permanent damage can be avoided. In the mater of Iraq, again it is my hope that wisdom will prevail. I think it can. Yes I will pray for our President elect. I will pray that he will be the greatest president we ever had, for his sake, yes, but more for the sake of this nation.  I will pray that I have been wrong in my evaluation of him, for this is another instance when it would be better for me to be wrong.  

My morning reflections were delayed on Wednesday. As I was about to begin, Anthony arrived. He had taken his mom to the train and then drove Joe to school. He had planned to stay here and after Joe's last class, bring him here to move the patio furniture into the shed but wondered if he could do some of it without Joe. Sure he could. I showed him how to use my two wheel dolly to move the glass table and in no time everything was put away. Thank you Anthony. We had time to sit and talk before he left to look at cars at the nearby dealers. He is afraid that his will not make it through the winter.

After lunch I sat in the gazebo for a while on the "winter chairs" that I leave there for exceptional days. It was about 70 degrees but too windy for comfort, When I came in I brought the wind chimes in with me and then rolled the propane grill into the garage. The patio is now naked save for the leaves that have collected there. Two of the maple trees are almost naked as well. A short trip was made to the nearby Home Depot Store and a six moth supply of furnace filters purchased. I use a premium filter supposedly good for 90 days but since I run my furnace fan continuously it is black in a month and in need of replacement. But the air is constantly filtered and circulated making for a healthy house. Better to get those filters on this day than wait until it snows. 

Thursday morning I should have gone to Bible Study but I just wasn't up to it. Not that I was sick but I did not want to cut short my morning reflections. The time to leave the house came and went while I thought of the passage for the day in the C. S. Lewis book and I remembered family, friends both near and far as well as life in general. For that morning and that time it was the most important thing for me to do.

The day was invested in reading. In the afternoon I got a call from Deacon Mike who was trying to email information about a new ministry at the parish so that a web page could be created. We solved the problem and soon I was working on it. I invite you to visit "Feed My Sheep". .The pages are not difficult to build. I simply use an existing page as a starting point giving me all the "boiler plate"' then replace the details with the new information and select a new graphic. Then the main pages for the ministry group, in this case, "Human Concerns" needed to have a link to the new page added. A link was also added from the main  "Our Faith" page. The new page along with the revised pages were uploaded to the server and it was done. And email was then sent to Mike to let him know it was done and also to Liz to let her know to add it to the "Spotlight" section of the web site's home page to bring it to the attention to our parishioners.

This morning, reflecting on the election, it occurred to me that there is an area in which I whole heartedly agree with our President Elect. We should be talking with those with whom we do not agree. At the very least, if we are talking, we are not fighting. In addition, an exchange of ideas can often lead to understanding. We can understand another's motivations without agreeing with them on all things and in doing so we can come to compromise on some issues without giving away the store.

Governments and their leaders should be concerned with peace and justice, not just for their own people but for all people. Prosperity for me is not justice if it means poverty for you. Neither is the opposite. Opportunity for me is not justice if it means despair for you. Our constitution speaks of "Liberty and Justice for all". I take that not to refer to 'all Americans' but for all mankind.

My daily prayer includes ... "I pray for all leaders who work for peace and justice, and all those who should."

We will have a new president and I pray for him. I pray that the Ego that I perceive him to have is controllable, or that my perception is wrong. (There are times when I need to be wrong)  I pray that he rises to the occasion with the wisdom of Solomon and none of his faults. I pray that we will have learned from past mistakes and that our leaders make prudent choices. And, in my opinion, that means being real leaders and doing what is prudent and right, not what they think the people want. We too often pander to our own egos and forget the message of Jesus.

For my part ... I am ...