The World of
Grandpa Don
A work in progress - complete
but not finished
What's New
In the life of Grandpa Don
On this page I have
recorded what I found significant during the past week as well as my
thoughts about those events and other reflections. I started doing
this before the practice became popular on the internet
This is my diary, written a little each day and published weekly.
At times I may seem to
pontificate on a subject that comes to mind during the week. I do
not intend it as a demand or even a suggestion that everyone should
think or act as I do. It is rather, intended to let you know what
goes on in my mind ... how I am motivated to live as I do.
If The World of Grandpa Don
appeals to you,
you are free to join me in it. Be warned, however, it is not always what
some would call "The Real World".
Week Ending
Friday March 14, 2008
Go to the Current Event
for ..
Archive
Or to learn more of Grandpa Don and his
remarkable family ...
In
the
Electronic
Spotlight
A Letter to the Editor
The Raindrops
on Your Old Tin Hat
Packard Family Mysteries
A
Thought ...
The one thing that unites all human
beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic
background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average
drivers.
The
Prayer Corner
Visit
the On-Line Chapel
www.stjulie.org
Post your prayer requests there.
Before I presume to pray ...
for my offenses against God
and everyone else, I ask pardon.
I invite you
to
Pray with me
...
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Many of the quotes found on
this page are from the daily messages I receive from
Covenant House
Bono
Vince Malum
Overcome Evil with Good
Knight Grand Officer
Chev. Donald J Plefka, KGOStI,
OMStlAt-Large Priory Commander
Order of
Merit III
It is Official! Winter will be over next week.
The sign is posted on 159th St. and it reads:
"Road Construction resumes on
March 17. - Expect Delays."
It is said that we have two seasons in
the Chicago area, Winter and Road Construction. I remember the days when, if
we were on one of the rare four lane streets, my dad would never use the
left lane because we would always have to wait for the left turners at the
traffic signals. Then, because in America, the car is king, they widened the
intersections and added left turn lanes. Now they have destroyed buildings
if necessary and at the intersections there are two, and sometimes three
"thru" lanes, a right turn lane and two left turn lanes. All to make way for
the big American car and its impatient driver..
There is something else that the sign
tells us. "- Expect
Delays." This is an effort
to disarm "road rage", in effect, by preparing drivers so they will be calm
while navigating the construction area. Great idea! Maybe there should
be a big sign in hospital delivery rooms that say, "Entering life - Expect
Adversity". Well. ... OK, that won't work. New born babies can't read. But
as soon as they begin to understand, children should be informed in the most
emphatic way possible that they will not have their own way all the time, or
even most of the time and they must be prepared for it. They must be
informed that they may perceive an unfairness in life but that life is that
way and it is not a time to fly into a rage but simply to consider our
alternatives in a calm and thoughtful manner. They must be educated to know
that revenge is never the answer to a perceived hurt because revenge breeds
retaliation. This education must be started at the earliest possible time in
the child's development and reinforced at every opportunity. It is obvious
that many of our school children do not understand this. A recent news
report stated that there have been 18 school children shot and killed in
Chicago from January 1st to March 7 this year. It may be safer to go to
school in Bagdad.
We are not alone here. We must learn to
share our world with the many others who are here with us. We do not need to
agree with everybody else on everything but we can learn to disagree
agreeably. Attitude makes all the difference and attitude can be trained.
When in grade school the nuns taught us that we must develop a
good conscience and avoid the occasion (or place) of sin. This is much
the same. In this civilization of ours we must be trained to be civil to
each other. Being offended is not an occasion to get a gun and start
shooting. The reason for the road construction is to improve the quantity
and quality of traffic flow , to make things better. The reason for living
is to make things better. This is a good analogy between road construction
and life. But as in any analogy, using two very different things to make a
point, there is a major difference. In road construction we are exposed to
the effects of the activity but profit from the results. In life we are
expected to contribute to making it better so we along with others who
follow will profit from the improvement.
For those of us who are adults, it will
be more difficult to change the "It has to be MY way"
mind set. It is not just the children who don't realize how life actually
works. We have parents killing children and each other because they can't
deal with adversity. We have students killing students, and people in
general resorting to violence because things are not done the way they think
they should. Everyone should have a big sign where they can see it when they
get out of bed in the morning:
Good Morning
You are Entering Life Again Today
Expect Adversity
Have a
good day.
This does not mean we must live in
fear all the time. A positive outlook in the face of adversity can be
cultivated and that is the goal here. When people say, "Have a good
day", I reply, "That's the plan" and by that, I mean that I intend to
make it a good day no matter what happens. We can not control what others do,
but we can, and must, control ourselves and how we react to adversity.
It is up to each of us to make our day a Good day and hopefully help
make it a good day for others as well. And ... when you do have a day
with little or no adversity, say "Thank you" and consider it a bonus
day, not an entitlement.
Even though road construction is set
to resume shortly, mother nature, who doesn't pay attention to our
plans, dumped a big storm on the East last weekend while she gave us a
dusting of snow. Even with the air temperature in the 20's all the snow
melted by mid afternoon. But while the lake effect snow came down Saturday morning
alternating and sometimes even combining with brilliant sunshine I was
getting my daily diet of C. S. Lewis. He touched on the subject of
economics, a rarity for him. Admitting that the economy is not his
field he remarked that our ancient forbearers, the Greek sages, the
Hebrews of old, and more recently, the Christians of the "dark" ages
forbad the practice of lending money for interest. This "evil" practice
was called "usury". In our time, our entire economy is based on
this practice. He just left it at that suggesting that maybe we should
think about it..
Indeed, mayhap we should think about
it. Look at today's economy. Relying on credit cards, people spend their
anticipated future earnings because they can't wait to have what they
perceive to need. People are eager to believe the hucksters who lend
them money to buy an overvalued house for which they can pay, only at an
interest rate that is unrealistically low. The huckster then resells the
loan ( and gets his money back) to others who know the interest rate can
be raised and who hope (gamble) that the home buyer can pay it.
Business attract people and other institutions to give them money so
they can build their business on the promise of "possible" profits and
increase in value. They are borrowing on the expectation of being able
to pay their expenses and return a profit. Investors gamble on the
company's ability to do that. To exasperate the situation, stock
speculators buy and sell shares in corporations based on anticipated
future value creating an artificial value of the company not related to
actual worth. It all works well when everything goes as expected but
then our nemesis appears. You know, the one called adversity. People and
businesses borrow more than they, for whatever reason, can repay. The
mythical perpetual motion machine breaks down resulting in recession or
depression ( a matter of degree). Companies downsize, if their
management is smart, or fail completely. Jobs are lost. People can not
pay their credit card bills or mortgages.
I doubt if we could go back to a
"cash on the barrel head" economy even though it would be a more simple
life. It would be simple in many ways. Too many ways, I am afraid. But
there are ways to live within the present system and survive, and even
thrive. The way to do it is to use the same tools that we use when we
encounter adversity, patience and restraint. Anne was the great
economist in our family. We shared responsibilities in that I made the
money and she spent it. Hers was the more difficult part in that she had
limited resources but she managed them like a pro. When we bought our
homes she knew exactly how much money was available to make payments and
we also invested in a good attorney to make sure there were no pitfalls
or surprises in what we were committing ourselves. I still have a
mortgage which I could pay off today, but to do so would require that I
take the cash from my IRA, depriving me of it's generous earnings and
incurring a hefty tax payment. Besides we always considered our mortgage
interest as tax deductable rent. I have credit cards, but following Anne's
lead, never is more spent than I can afford, and I get a month's "float" on
paying for my purchases. I always pay the entire amount before it is
due ... never paying interest. In addition, they pay me for using their
cards. I also took advantage of the system by investing through my IRA
account. While the stock market was in its rapid rise a few years back
most of my IRA was in stocks which appreciated in value at a very good
pace. I knew (God whispered to me?) that the pace couldn't continue and
I moved a major portion to individual corporate bonds, laddered to
mature well into the future with very attractive interest rates. (Much
better than now available but the companies are still obligated to pay
the old rates.)
So, you can exist and, indeed thrive,
within the system but only by anticipating adversity and exercising
patience and restraint. We must learn that you need to work for what you
want, live within your means, and not take more than what you
honestly earn.
Faith is
the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see.
~ William Newton Clark
After the 3:00 game on Saturday the boys bus headed
North. In the mean time Cleveland closed. The snow buried most of Ohio.
After returning from church Sunday I had a lite lunch and called my
sister Rita. We had a very pleasant conversation that covered the
miserable weather they have been having, her husbands slow recovery form
bypass surgery and stories of our father. When I spoke of adversity I
was primarily thinking of conflicts with people. On the road it is other
drivers and mistakes being made by them. I was also thinking of
conflicts with people at play and work and in our daily contacts
including family members, But there are many other adversities in life.
John had been in the nursing home for rehab from his by-pass surgery but
a blood clot in his leg caused a return to the hospital. He is now back
in the nursing home, They take him to another place for dialysis. Rita
is upset over the fact that the people in these places are not
knowledgeable in the treatment of diabetes and his glucose is very
poorly controlled which is exasperating his condition. He is also
subject to gall bladder problems which can not be treated due to his
other conditions. She can not get to see him because of the snow and
medical problems of her own. That is another kind of adversity with
which we face. In spite of these things, Rita reports that John is in
good spirits. And, ... as I said, we had a very pleasant conversation. I
am encouraged by the fact that Rita and John are dealing with adverse
health problems in a positive manner. I promised I would ask God to help
and give them strength. Please join me. .
St Patrick's celebrations arrived early this
year. Due to Easter being extremely early this year, the annual South
Side Irish parade was held last Sunday. It of, course could not be held
on Easter or Palm Sunday but at the same time it could not be canceled.
The official Chicago St Patrick's parade will be Saturday, but the South
Side Irish parade has become the Mardi Gras of
Chicago with an Irish theme and family participation. The event has
gained international fame, growing from a modest local event many years
ago. We didn't go to the parade but Dominick bought a huge corn beef and
Anne Marie prepared it to perfection along with the (American) tradition
of cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Marc had been to the parade and come
home with a friend just in time to join us for dinner. It was great!
As I was getting ready to leave, Anthony called from the bus. He and Joe
were about a half hour away and Dom prepared to pick them up from the
school. Marc and Jason were off to continue their Irish celebration at
the now famous Bourbon Street 115th, a nearby watering hole. Anne Marie
prepared to feed Anthony and Joe with the (American) Irish dinner.
I returned home in the daylight, a bonus of the
return to Standard time and enjoyed an uplifting episode of Extreme
makeover, Home Edition followed by an equally uplifting showing of The
Big Give. Both show not just depicting people helping people but
actually help people beset with adversity. Before going to bed I checked
my email to find a message from my sister Marilyn, Besides a plea to
stop sending snow to Cleveland and a few other things she told me of the
house fire experienced by my niece Judi and her family. That is
adversity!. I sent an email off to Jack and Judi and retired early.
Mikey got me up at 7:30 on Monday. He has not reset
his clock yet so it is a bonus to me. Even with the good sleep during
the night, a nap took me as I attempted to meditate in the living room.
I was having a weird dream with a strange mechanical bug reaching up to
my knees when I discovered it was Mikey with his paws on my knees trying
to wake me. Back at the computer I found a reply from Jack Woodards. He
said that he is telling people that the fire was a "controlled burn" in
anticipation for remodeling. He also said,
"...It really lets you know God is in our lives as we all have
seen the stories that don’t end so well."
Now that is the way to treat adversity!
I think in terms of
the day’s resolutions,
not the year’s.
~ Henry Moore
I may be missing out and I hope I am not offending
anyone. I have mentioned before that when I receive an email that says
"Someone" has sent an E-card I delete it immediately. The name "someone"
just isn't good enough for me to invite a computer disaster by
exposing it to a possible virus or worm. This week I got a couple such
messages, this time identified as a Hallmark E-card complete with their
logo. But ... "Someone" still isn't a good enough identification since
anyone can copy their logo and create an official looking email. They
are deleted! I do not invite possible adversity to my world. I do
open e-cards that identify the sender.
Adversities come in all types and sizes and there are
as many ways to deal with them without resorting to rudeness or causing
harm to others or yourself. My father encountered an adverse situation
and recognized it as a chronic problem. His reaction was to write
A Letter
to the Editor . It is the second of his
writings that graces the "My Father Wrote ..." section of this web site.
I mentioned previously that I had a similar experience to his when I was
in the service. I also took particular notice that in his final
paragraph he suggested "returning good for evil". Did I get my love of
the Order of St Isidore motto, "Bono Vince Malum" , "Overcome Evil with
Good" by inheritance?. He and I thought very much alike. As an
introduction do his poetry I present to you
The Raindrops on Your
Old Tin Hat .
The original was not signed or dated but was most likely written in
either in Arizona in 1919 or Hawaii in 1920. It is significant to note
that he places himself in the shoes of his fellow soldiers. His own
mother died 11 days after his birth and he was raised by his
grandparents. As for himself ... He is simply "Doing what your supposed
to do". I like his attitude. When in the Military there is probably more
adversity than encountered by the average civilian. If you treat it as
just "Doing what your supposed to do" you can not only survive,
but thrive and yes, those at home who love and care about you have the
roughest time, not knowing what is happening to you.
Tuesday was a very busy day for me. The member of our
parish web team who normally takes care of the "Parish Spotlight"
feature was out of town so I had to fill in for her. It also happened to
be a time when there were several changes to be made. It makes one
really appreciate the help that is normally there. There was also some
business to take care of with The Order of St Isidore. The post of Prior
at Large to which I had been elevated required, I felt, that I deal with
a "situation", an adversity, if you will, and it had been put off for
what reason I do not know. Well, yes I do. It was a "sticky issue"
that could get downright mucky. After some contemplation I dealt with it
honestly but politely with good results. The issue seems to be settled
and I am relieved. I am not a person who needs all the pomp and what
sometimes appears to me a snobbishness of orders of knighthood. Yet, I
admire the ideals they espouse and would promote the noble cause even
among the most common among us. Obviously, you don't get any more common
than me. I do not understand the rules of heraldry, it presents a big
mystery to me, but I do know the value of loyalty to a flag and having a
flag which represents country, family, and organization. The important
thing, I think, is that in any organization, titles and authority are to
be earned and are not yours unless they are "awarded" as a result of
unselfish actions on the part of the recipient. They are not to be
collected as trophies and sought after or purchased for the sake of
pride or snobbishness. After all, it is written, "He who exalts himself
will be humbled".
If the only prayer
you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would
suffice.
~ Meister Eckhart
When I finished my usual
routine Wednesday the email was quickly scanned. The usual Wednesday
announcement from Bob was there so I knew the parish web pages were
updated and on line. There were no urgent emails and the routine stuff
was left for later perusal while the junk was deleted. The next order of
business was to compose and send the parish newsletter to "Include-Me"
members. That being completed the routine email was revisited and
digested. There is always the reports from Google Analytic telling me
which pages of this web site and the parish web site had been visited
the previous day. Sometimes that generates a repair to a page
description or some such action but not that day. There is also the
daily inspirational quote from Covenant House which is copied and pasted
to this page. A couple emails warranted brief replies and then I was
able to turn to this page to share with you.
A message came from the Roman
Catholic Web Author's Group informing members that the Beta version of
the next issue of Internet Explorer will soon be available and that it
will be in strict compliance with W3C internet protocols. This is a
first for Microsoft in that they always felt the others should go by
Microsoft methods. We were advised to be sure that our web pages were
designed in strict compliance with these rules or the pages, or parts of
them would not display properly on the computers using the new IE
version. Current internet browsers, the software you use to view web
pages, are built to tolerate variances in web site construction but that
makes them more complex to design. These pages are assembled using
Microsoft's FrontPage as is the parish web pages and FrontPage is
notoriously non-compliant with Internet standards. I have purchased the
new Microsoft web building tool, "Expression Web" which they tout as
being in compliance with industry standards but I have not yet had the
GUTS to start using it. It will make my updates slower to do until I get
acclimated to it but my greatest fear is that my pages will BOMB if I
try to update them with the new program. "The greatest fear is fear
itself" and I know I should just get on with it. At the same time we
hesitate to leave our comfort zone.
One of the biggest factors in
success is the courage to undertake something.
~ James A. Worsham
OK, I left my zone of comfort summoning the courage to undertake a
challenge and am now working in Expression Web. I
have made a copy of my website in a new folder so I can't destroy
anything. The encouraging thing is that nothing blew up! The screen
layout is different and I have more "tools" available to me. More tools
means better control, as soon as I learn to use them. But, I have
already begun to do so. My first challenge was to rearrange the layout
of the items near the top of the page. After a couple stumbles, I am
satisfied with the results. This will be interesting.
Thursday started in confusion but I didn't know it. It was 9 AM when I
realized it wasn't Wednesday. Mikey should have already been at Touch of
Class and I would be late for Bible study. I got my little friend to his
appointment, tardy, but eager for his bath and trim. I arrived just in
time for the opening prayer so all was well. Upon my return home I
noticed that there was an advertisement on the Kitchen counter that
wasn't there before. A quick glance at the back yard revealed an obvious
cleanup. One or more of my grandsons had made a visit and Mikey's
deposits of the winter were gone. It was like magic! Thanks go to the
brave souls who were responsible for this major undertaking. (I later
found out who the "poop pixie" was ... Thanks Marc.)
Soon a phone call from Paula announced that Mikey was ready to come home
and so I was on my way again. After retrieving him I put a portion of
soup in the microwave but before it was heated I got another phone call.
My caller ID said it was an "Illinois Call" and I almost let it go to
the answering machine but instead, picked it up. My caller ID had lied.
The caller was my cousin Dick Simousek calling from Arizona. I had not
seen Dick since the death of his mother many years ago. I had written to
him but there was no response. They had moved and apparently my letter
was not forwarded or returned. We spoke for some time. Neither Dick or
his wife use computers so he was unaware of my "new" family. He is
recovering from bypass surgery and doing well. I had also tried to reach
his brother George without success and Dick informed me that he has
divorced and remarried so that explains it. His present home has room
for it and he is seriously thinking of setting up the Lionel train set
he has been moving around with him since the 1940's. We promised to keep
in better touch. He asked that I say hello to the Snyder cousins,
so Gert, please pass on the cousin's "HI".
After re-warming my soup and mulling over the surprise call, I went out
to the yard. I wanted to straighten up a couple decorative solar
lanterns but found the ground to be frozen solid. I did ignite and burn
the dried foliage of some decorative grasses and daylilies in the
garden. This "controlled burn" is a quick and easy way to make way for
the spring growth and eliminates the disposal problem while the ash
enriches the soil. Last year I had waited too long and there were
already new green sprouts when I did it.
I didn’t know I’d have to be torn down
before I could be built up.
~ Anonymous
The remainder of Thursday was invested with these pages and a bit of
reading. The National Geographic magazine still is one of my favorites
with articles of interest regarding the workings of not only the planet
and the universe but social issues and scientific discoveries as well.
There are always new things discovered but there are also misconceptions
reviled. We keep finding that things we thought we knew to be written in
stone, so to speak, were not quite what we thought them to be. It is
indeed a fact that the more we know, the more we discover that we don't
know.
There are also lessons that we must keep relearning or reinforcing. I
know that I should not delay doing things because the outcome is unknown
or at the least, unfamiliar to me. I have now been working on this
page using Expression Web for a couple days. I have had the program
loaded on my computer for many months and I have studied a large book on
its use yet, fear kept me from using it. Like most fear it was totally
unfounded. .
At the same time I realize that fear can be a valuable emotion. It
prevents us from doing things that are beyond our capabilities at times.
Even at times when our moral resolve may be weak, fear of the outcome or
fear of shame or even punishment may save us from foolish actions.
Even fear is good in moderation. We keep asking God for good health,
good jobs, good relationships and many other things. We are told that
God gave Solomon the thing he desired above all else, Wisdom. The wisdom
to make the right choices in life is by far the most valuable gift we
can receive. We constantly arrive at forks in the road and the path we
chose to take effects everything that happens beyond that point for
ourselves and everyone it effects. Nothing is insignificant
Nothing, once done or said, can be undone in its entirety. For that
reason each of us as an individual is an important cog in the wheel of
life. For that reason every life is an important part of creation.
Let us pray for wisdom.
:The name Shepardsfield may have some
significance as the possible origin of our ancestor's first name.
.
Grandpa Don Plefka
Links of the
Week
Following the link is ...
the name of the person who led me to it.
Understanding Islam and Muslims
Anne
wanted everyone to be 'Nice'.
This button was in one of her dresser
drawers I cleaned out in August of 2004
Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source
|
A work in progress - complete but not finished |
What's New In the life of Grandpa Don On this page I have recorded what I found significant during the past week as well as my thoughts about those events and other reflections. I started doing this before the practice became popular on the internet This is my diary, written a little each day and published weekly. At times I may seem to pontificate on a subject that comes to mind during the week. I do not intend it as a demand or even a suggestion that everyone should think or act as I do. It is rather, intended to let you know what goes on in my mind ... how I am motivated to live as I do.
If The World of Grandpa Don
appeals to you, |
Week Ending Friday March 14, 2008 |
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"Road Construction resumes on March 17. - Expect Delays." It is said that we have two seasons in the Chicago area, Winter and Road Construction. I remember the days when, if we were on one of the rare four lane streets, my dad would never use the left lane because we would always have to wait for the left turners at the traffic signals. Then, because in America, the car is king, they widened the intersections and added left turn lanes. Now they have destroyed buildings if necessary and at the intersections there are two, and sometimes three "thru" lanes, a right turn lane and two left turn lanes. All to make way for the big American car and its impatient driver.. There is something else that the sign tells us. "- Expect Delays." This is an effort to disarm "road rage", in effect, by preparing drivers so they will be calm while navigating the construction area. Great idea! Maybe there should be a big sign in hospital delivery rooms that say, "Entering life - Expect Adversity". Well. ... OK, that won't work. New born babies can't read. But as soon as they begin to understand, children should be informed in the most emphatic way possible that they will not have their own way all the time, or even most of the time and they must be prepared for it. They must be informed that they may perceive an unfairness in life but that life is that way and it is not a time to fly into a rage but simply to consider our alternatives in a calm and thoughtful manner. They must be educated to know that revenge is never the answer to a perceived hurt because revenge breeds retaliation. This education must be started at the earliest possible time in the child's development and reinforced at every opportunity. It is obvious that many of our school children do not understand this. A recent news report stated that there have been 18 school children shot and killed in Chicago from January 1st to March 7 this year. It may be safer to go to school in Bagdad. We are not alone here. We must learn to share our world with the many others who are here with us. We do not need to agree with everybody else on everything but we can learn to disagree agreeably. Attitude makes all the difference and attitude can be trained. When in grade school the nuns taught us that we must develop a good conscience and avoid the occasion (or place) of sin. This is much the same. In this civilization of ours we must be trained to be civil to each other. Being offended is not an occasion to get a gun and start shooting. The reason for the road construction is to improve the quantity and quality of traffic flow , to make things better. The reason for living is to make things better. This is a good analogy between road construction and life. But as in any analogy, using two very different things to make a point, there is a major difference. In road construction we are exposed to the effects of the activity but profit from the results. In life we are expected to contribute to making it better so we along with others who follow will profit from the improvement. For those of us who are adults, it will be more difficult to change the "It has to be MY way" mind set. It is not just the children who don't realize how life actually works. We have parents killing children and each other because they can't deal with adversity. We have students killing students, and people in general resorting to violence because things are not done the way they think they should. Everyone should have a big sign where they can see it when they get out of bed in the morning:
This does not mean we must live in fear all the time. A positive outlook in the face of adversity can be cultivated and that is the goal here. When people say, "Have a good day", I reply, "That's the plan" and by that, I mean that I intend to make it a good day no matter what happens. We can not control what others do, but we can, and must, control ourselves and how we react to adversity. It is up to each of us to make our day a Good day and hopefully help make it a good day for others as well. And ... when you do have a day with little or no adversity, say "Thank you" and consider it a bonus day, not an entitlement. Even though road construction is set to resume shortly, mother nature, who doesn't pay attention to our plans, dumped a big storm on the East last weekend while she gave us a dusting of snow. Even with the air temperature in the 20's all the snow melted by mid afternoon. But while the lake effect snow came down Saturday morning alternating and sometimes even combining with brilliant sunshine I was getting my daily diet of C. S. Lewis. He touched on the subject of economics, a rarity for him. Admitting that the economy is not his field he remarked that our ancient forbearers, the Greek sages, the Hebrews of old, and more recently, the Christians of the "dark" ages forbad the practice of lending money for interest. This "evil" practice was called "usury". In our time, our entire economy is based on this practice. He just left it at that suggesting that maybe we should think about it.. Indeed, mayhap we should think about it. Look at today's economy. Relying on credit cards, people spend their anticipated future earnings because they can't wait to have what they perceive to need. People are eager to believe the hucksters who lend them money to buy an overvalued house for which they can pay, only at an interest rate that is unrealistically low. The huckster then resells the loan ( and gets his money back) to others who know the interest rate can be raised and who hope (gamble) that the home buyer can pay it. Business attract people and other institutions to give them money so they can build their business on the promise of "possible" profits and increase in value. They are borrowing on the expectation of being able to pay their expenses and return a profit. Investors gamble on the company's ability to do that. To exasperate the situation, stock speculators buy and sell shares in corporations based on anticipated future value creating an artificial value of the company not related to actual worth. It all works well when everything goes as expected but then our nemesis appears. You know, the one called adversity. People and businesses borrow more than they, for whatever reason, can repay. The mythical perpetual motion machine breaks down resulting in recession or depression ( a matter of degree). Companies downsize, if their management is smart, or fail completely. Jobs are lost. People can not pay their credit card bills or mortgages. I doubt if we could go back to a "cash on the barrel head" economy even though it would be a more simple life. It would be simple in many ways. Too many ways, I am afraid. But there are ways to live within the present system and survive, and even thrive. The way to do it is to use the same tools that we use when we encounter adversity, patience and restraint. Anne was the great economist in our family. We shared responsibilities in that I made the money and she spent it. Hers was the more difficult part in that she had limited resources but she managed them like a pro. When we bought our homes she knew exactly how much money was available to make payments and we also invested in a good attorney to make sure there were no pitfalls or surprises in what we were committing ourselves. I still have a mortgage which I could pay off today, but to do so would require that I take the cash from my IRA, depriving me of it's generous earnings and incurring a hefty tax payment. Besides we always considered our mortgage interest as tax deductable rent. I have credit cards, but following Anne's lead, never is more spent than I can afford, and I get a month's "float" on paying for my purchases. I always pay the entire amount before it is due ... never paying interest. In addition, they pay me for using their cards. I also took advantage of the system by investing through my IRA account. While the stock market was in its rapid rise a few years back most of my IRA was in stocks which appreciated in value at a very good pace. I knew (God whispered to me?) that the pace couldn't continue and I moved a major portion to individual corporate bonds, laddered to mature well into the future with very attractive interest rates. (Much better than now available but the companies are still obligated to pay the old rates.) So, you can exist and, indeed thrive, within the system but only by anticipating adversity and exercising patience and restraint. We must learn that you need to work for what you want, live within your means, and not take more than what you honestly earn.
After the 3:00 game on Saturday the boys bus headed North. In the mean time Cleveland closed. The snow buried most of Ohio. After returning from church Sunday I had a lite lunch and called my sister Rita. We had a very pleasant conversation that covered the miserable weather they have been having, her husbands slow recovery form bypass surgery and stories of our father. When I spoke of adversity I was primarily thinking of conflicts with people. On the road it is other drivers and mistakes being made by them. I was also thinking of conflicts with people at play and work and in our daily contacts including family members, But there are many other adversities in life. John had been in the nursing home for rehab from his by-pass surgery but a blood clot in his leg caused a return to the hospital. He is now back in the nursing home, They take him to another place for dialysis. Rita is upset over the fact that the people in these places are not knowledgeable in the treatment of diabetes and his glucose is very poorly controlled which is exasperating his condition. He is also subject to gall bladder problems which can not be treated due to his other conditions. She can not get to see him because of the snow and medical problems of her own. That is another kind of adversity with which we face. In spite of these things, Rita reports that John is in good spirits. And, ... as I said, we had a very pleasant conversation. I am encouraged by the fact that Rita and John are dealing with adverse health problems in a positive manner. I promised I would ask God to help and give them strength. Please join me. . St Patrick's celebrations arrived early this year. Due to Easter being extremely early this year, the annual South Side Irish parade was held last Sunday. It of, course could not be held on Easter or Palm Sunday but at the same time it could not be canceled. The official Chicago St Patrick's parade will be Saturday, but the South Side Irish parade has become the Mardi Gras of Chicago with an Irish theme and family participation. The event has gained international fame, growing from a modest local event many years ago. We didn't go to the parade but Dominick bought a huge corn beef and Anne Marie prepared it to perfection along with the (American) tradition of cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Marc had been to the parade and come home with a friend just in time to join us for dinner. It was great! As I was getting ready to leave, Anthony called from the bus. He and Joe were about a half hour away and Dom prepared to pick them up from the school. Marc and Jason were off to continue their Irish celebration at the now famous Bourbon Street 115th, a nearby watering hole. Anne Marie prepared to feed Anthony and Joe with the (American) Irish dinner. I returned home in the daylight, a bonus of the return to Standard time and enjoyed an uplifting episode of Extreme makeover, Home Edition followed by an equally uplifting showing of The Big Give. Both show not just depicting people helping people but actually help people beset with adversity. Before going to bed I checked my email to find a message from my sister Marilyn, Besides a plea to stop sending snow to Cleveland and a few other things she told me of the house fire experienced by my niece Judi and her family. That is adversity!. I sent an email off to Jack and Judi and retired early. Mikey got me up at 7:30 on Monday. He has not reset his clock yet so it is a bonus to me. Even with the good sleep during the night, a nap took me as I attempted to meditate in the living room. I was having a weird dream with a strange mechanical bug reaching up to my knees when I discovered it was Mikey with his paws on my knees trying to wake me. Back at the computer I found a reply from Jack Woodards. He said that he is telling people that the fire was a "controlled burn" in anticipation for remodeling. He also said, "...It really lets you know God is in our lives as we all have seen the stories that don’t end so well." Now that is the way to treat adversity!
I may be missing out and I hope I am not offending anyone. I have mentioned before that when I receive an email that says "Someone" has sent an E-card I delete it immediately. The name "someone" just isn't good enough for me to invite a computer disaster by exposing it to a possible virus or worm. This week I got a couple such messages, this time identified as a Hallmark E-card complete with their logo. But ... "Someone" still isn't a good enough identification since anyone can copy their logo and create an official looking email. They are deleted! I do not invite possible adversity to my world. I do open e-cards that identify the sender. Adversities come in all types and sizes and there are as many ways to deal with them without resorting to rudeness or causing harm to others or yourself. My father encountered an adverse situation and recognized it as a chronic problem. His reaction was to write A Letter to the Editor . It is the second of his writings that graces the "My Father Wrote ..." section of this web site. I mentioned previously that I had a similar experience to his when I was in the service. I also took particular notice that in his final paragraph he suggested "returning good for evil". Did I get my love of the Order of St Isidore motto, "Bono Vince Malum" , "Overcome Evil with Good" by inheritance?. He and I thought very much alike. As an introduction do his poetry I present to you The Raindrops on Your Old Tin Hat . The original was not signed or dated but was most likely written in either in Arizona in 1919 or Hawaii in 1920. It is significant to note that he places himself in the shoes of his fellow soldiers. His own mother died 11 days after his birth and he was raised by his grandparents. As for himself ... He is simply "Doing what your supposed to do". I like his attitude. When in the Military there is probably more adversity than encountered by the average civilian. If you treat it as just "Doing what your supposed to do" you can not only survive, but thrive and yes, those at home who love and care about you have the roughest time, not knowing what is happening to you. Tuesday was a very busy day for me. The member of our parish web team who normally takes care of the "Parish Spotlight" feature was out of town so I had to fill in for her. It also happened to be a time when there were several changes to be made. It makes one really appreciate the help that is normally there. There was also some business to take care of with The Order of St Isidore. The post of Prior at Large to which I had been elevated required, I felt, that I deal with a "situation", an adversity, if you will, and it had been put off for what reason I do not know. Well, yes I do. It was a "sticky issue" that could get downright mucky. After some contemplation I dealt with it honestly but politely with good results. The issue seems to be settled and I am relieved. I am not a person who needs all the pomp and what sometimes appears to me a snobbishness of orders of knighthood. Yet, I admire the ideals they espouse and would promote the noble cause even among the most common among us. Obviously, you don't get any more common than me. I do not understand the rules of heraldry, it presents a big mystery to me, but I do know the value of loyalty to a flag and having a flag which represents country, family, and organization. The important thing, I think, is that in any organization, titles and authority are to be earned and are not yours unless they are "awarded" as a result of unselfish actions on the part of the recipient. They are not to be collected as trophies and sought after or purchased for the sake of pride or snobbishness. After all, it is written, "He who exalts himself will be humbled".
When I finished my usual routine Wednesday the email was quickly scanned. The usual Wednesday announcement from Bob was there so I knew the parish web pages were updated and on line. There were no urgent emails and the routine stuff was left for later perusal while the junk was deleted. The next order of business was to compose and send the parish newsletter to "Include-Me" members. That being completed the routine email was revisited and digested. There is always the reports from Google Analytic telling me which pages of this web site and the parish web site had been visited the previous day. Sometimes that generates a repair to a page description or some such action but not that day. There is also the daily inspirational quote from Covenant House which is copied and pasted to this page. A couple emails warranted brief replies and then I was able to turn to this page to share with you.
A message came from the Roman
Catholic Web Author's Group informing members that the Beta version of
the next issue of Internet Explorer will soon be available and that it
will be in strict compliance with W3C internet protocols. This is a
first for Microsoft in that they always felt the others should go by
Microsoft methods. We were advised to be sure that our web pages were
designed in strict compliance with these rules or the pages, or parts of
them would not display properly on the computers using the new IE
version. Current internet browsers, the software you use to view web
pages, are built to tolerate variances in web site construction but that
makes them more complex to design. These pages are assembled using
Microsoft's FrontPage as is the parish web pages and FrontPage is
notoriously non-compliant with Internet standards. I have purchased the
new Microsoft web building tool, "Expression Web" which they tout as
being in compliance with industry standards but I have not yet had the
GUTS to start using it. It will make my updates slower to do until I get
acclimated to it but my greatest fear is that my pages will BOMB if I
try to update them with the new program. "The greatest fear is fear
itself" and I know I should just get on with it. At the same time we
hesitate to leave our comfort zone.
One of the biggest factors in
success is the courage to undertake something.
OK, I left my zone of comfort summoning the courage to undertake a
challenge and am now working in Expression Web. I
have made a copy of my website in a new folder so I can't destroy
anything. The encouraging thing is that nothing blew up! The screen
layout is different and I have more "tools" available to me. More tools
means better control, as soon as I learn to use them. But, I have
already begun to do so. My first challenge was to rearrange the layout
of the items near the top of the page. After a couple stumbles, I am
satisfied with the results. This will be interesting.
Thursday started in confusion but I didn't know it. It was 9 AM when I
realized it wasn't Wednesday. Mikey should have already been at Touch of
Class and I would be late for Bible study. I got my little friend to his
appointment, tardy, but eager for his bath and trim. I arrived just in
time for the opening prayer so all was well. Upon my return home I
noticed that there was an advertisement on the Kitchen counter that
wasn't there before. A quick glance at the back yard revealed an obvious
cleanup. One or more of my grandsons had made a visit and Mikey's
deposits of the winter were gone. It was like magic! Thanks go to the
brave souls who were responsible for this major undertaking. (I later
found out who the "poop pixie" was ... Thanks Marc.)
Soon a phone call from Paula announced that Mikey was ready to come home
and so I was on my way again. After retrieving him I put a portion of
soup in the microwave but before it was heated I got another phone call.
My caller ID said it was an "Illinois Call" and I almost let it go to
the answering machine but instead, picked it up. My caller ID had lied.
The caller was my cousin Dick Simousek calling from Arizona. I had not
seen Dick since the death of his mother many years ago. I had written to
him but there was no response. They had moved and apparently my letter
was not forwarded or returned. We spoke for some time. Neither Dick or
his wife use computers so he was unaware of my "new" family. He is
recovering from bypass surgery and doing well. I had also tried to reach
his brother George without success and Dick informed me that he has
divorced and remarried so that explains it. His present home has room
for it and he is seriously thinking of setting up the Lionel train set
he has been moving around with him since the 1940's. We promised to keep
in better touch. He asked that I say hello to the Snyder cousins,
so Gert, please pass on the cousin's "HI".
After re-warming my soup and mulling over the surprise call, I went out
to the yard. I wanted to straighten up a couple decorative solar
lanterns but found the ground to be frozen solid. I did ignite and burn
the dried foliage of some decorative grasses and daylilies in the
garden. This "controlled burn" is a quick and easy way to make way for
the spring growth and eliminates the disposal problem while the ash
enriches the soil. Last year I had waited too long and there were
already new green sprouts when I did it. I didn’t know I’d have to be torn down
The remainder of Thursday was invested with these pages and a bit of
reading. The National Geographic magazine still is one of my favorites
with articles of interest regarding the workings of not only the planet
and the universe but social issues and scientific discoveries as well.
There are always new things discovered but there are also misconceptions
reviled. We keep finding that things we thought we knew to be written in
stone, so to speak, were not quite what we thought them to be. It is
indeed a fact that the more we know, the more we discover that we don't
know.
There are also lessons that we must keep relearning or reinforcing. I
know that I should not delay doing things because the outcome is unknown
or at the least, unfamiliar to me. I have now been working on this
page using Expression Web for a couple days. I have had the program
loaded on my computer for many months and I have studied a large book on
its use yet, fear kept me from using it. Like most fear it was totally
unfounded. .
At the same time I realize that fear can be a valuable emotion. It
prevents us from doing things that are beyond our capabilities at times.
Even at times when our moral resolve may be weak, fear of the outcome or
fear of shame or even punishment may save us from foolish actions.
Even fear is good in moderation. We keep asking God for good health,
good jobs, good relationships and many other things. We are told that
God gave Solomon the thing he desired above all else, Wisdom. The wisdom
to make the right choices in life is by far the most valuable gift we
can receive. We constantly arrive at forks in the road and the path we
chose to take effects everything that happens beyond that point for
ourselves and everyone it effects. Nothing is insignificant
Nothing, once done or said, can be undone in its entirety. For that
reason each of us as an individual is an important cog in the wheel of
life. For that reason every life is an important part of creation.
Let us pray for wisdom. |
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Grandpa Don Plefka |
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Anne
wanted everyone to be 'Nice'. This button was in one of her dresser drawers I cleaned out in August of 2004
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