And it begins

Now that I am officially an elected official (albeit at the lowest level possible, precinct committeman) we can say it is all downhill from here. Let the corruption, kickbacks and shady deals begin.

Tightrope

A poem written by my wife back when our son was going through cancer treatment. Brought back as discussion of Sen. Kennedy's tumor reminded me of watching a loved one go through treatment. Hang on, this one isn't for the faint of heart.

Tightrope

The hour is getting late.
Finally I’m relieved.
I get to go home,
And have some time at ease.

A hallway dimly lit.
A mother badly shaken,
Surrounded by a
Closely gathered few,
To help her in her stress…

Her hand starts to shake
As if in hypothermic cold;
She tries to pour a beverage
Over ice,
Gripping for a steady hold.

“I can see something’s the matter;”
I don’t ask her how she is.
“Is your daughter done with treatment soon?”
She whispered, “Yah, we’re done.”
Her words
Like a bombshell hit.

I stood there in a daze.

There is nothing more to do
For her precious little one;
“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.”
I gave her a short hug.

They wheeled her little girl by
It’s time to pull out the tubes
Take her home
Love her as she dies.

“We are still fighting!”
My inner voice cries.
It gave me a lot to think about
On the road home that night.

This tightrope we’re all walking
At times makes you hold your breath,
As you place one foot in front of the other
And then with pressure
Let it rest.

Keep looking straight ahead,
Never, never, down
Stay focused, very focused.

Why do these children suffer so?
No answers I have yet.
Too many we’ve seen die.
No answers will I get.

Courageous battles fought by two
With never a complaint;
And suffer…
How they suffered,
Their pains made me go faint.

The agony and length of time
They endured their cards so dealt,
Yet always asking and concerned
About how others felt.

If you want to know the secret
Of our strength while on this rope,
Look into our children’s eyes
Just once…
For life with courage
How they fight!
How can we be weak?
When for such little comforts
They come to us,
It’s our eyes and hearts
They search and seek.

Our strength is not from us
When our souls cry out in pain.
They scream and twist with colors vivid,
But you see outward silence
Still remains.

We don’t share the aches
Like lead weighing in our hearts.
It’d be too much to bear,
Too much to think about…

We come to Jesus broken
Lay our burdens at his feet
When times are at their worst
A word we cannot utter
We cannot take another step
Our balance sure to falter
We come to the altar.

He touches us in ways,
Others can hardly imagine.
Giving Him the load is freeing…
More than most will ever imagine.

It doesn’t mean it’s easy
Losing their babies one by one,
But there’s a prayer
A silent hope
That when their battle is done…
They’ll find the peace the Savior grants
He will somehow let them know…
Their baby is loved, safe, and warm
Smiling down from heaven’s glow.

And as for us still walking
The tightrope of our lives,
Lord, grant us strength, faith, & courage
That our child may survive.

Interesting tidbit on money

As a father of a blind son, I can concur that paper money is difficult for him. He has a little braille device just for labeling bills. But he has to know what they are first and that involves asking.

Court says money discriminates against blind people

The U.S. acknowledges that the design hinders blind people but it argued they had adapted _some relied on store clerks for help, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish the bills.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.

As much as I disagree with the over-reaching aspects of the disability act, that second paragraph is on the money (puns always are intended here). For the government (or Federal Reserve which really is a private corporation) to suggest relying on others to be honest to a helpless, in the realm of paper money, individual is rather ironic. Considering the "Always think forfeiture" slogan of the ATF, would one expect even a government agency to follow that childish advice?

And considering how often the money has been revamped lately, their "undue burden" claim should fall on deaf ears.

Both ways

The question for Obama, does it work both ways? As Obama tells Tenn.'s GOP: 'Lay off my wife', will he pull her off the campaign stumps? Yeah, it is sort of weak going after the spouse of the candidate, but if she is out there campaigning, why can't she be held accountable for it? When she speaks well, is the press and Democrats going to "lay off" those comments?

Yeah it sounds noble to defend his wife's honor, but perhaps she shouldn't be out there on the front lines.

Answers to questions nobody thought to ask

It's one of those things that having kids brings up. I now know why God didn't give mammary glands to the male sex.

Picture 5 boys talking about having milk producing glands. Now combine that with the concept of a farmer squirting milk into the mouth of a waiting cat. Stir with imagination, and that was our supper conversation.

Thank God for his wisdom in creating us.

Desiring holiness

No really. I do desire to be holy. This can only help.

Catholics like sex. Go ahead and read it. It is clean. And very good. Just one more reason to like my wife. Thanks IC.

All your aliens are belong to ... God?

A bit behind the curve on this story, but as one Catholic middle school teacher said, how cool is it to be Catholic? He said he was gonna stir the pot and talk aliens in class that day.Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens - Yahoo! News

VATICAN CITY - Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.
...

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

Leaves in the wind

So is the faith of many scattered about when a modest breeze scatters them.

Autumn Kelly's cavalier conversion

article
The usual manner of leaving the Catholic Church is to drift away, without making any public pronouncement of it.

So it is noteworthy when it happens, and more so if one does it in order to conform with the constitution of Canada.

As Fr. de Souza aptly points out, why even bother if one's faith means so little.

Affirmation

For those veterans of the liturgy wars, y'all might enjoy Maureen Martin's latest at Stuff Catholics Like

Laypeople like affirmation

Eloquence

Right down to the last line. Here is an excerpt on what the Democrats don't understand about the small town "fly over" country. (I might add, most Republicans have forgotten this also.)

From thestironline.com
You’re wrong about why small-town Americans don’t vote for Democrats.

We don’t vote for Democrats because we’re self-reliant so we don’t like the government trying to “solve” everything for us. And because you tell your rich friends in San Francisco that we’re dumb. And because, each election, whichever one of you is running for president traipses all over the country telling us you have all the answers, that you’re the one on our side, that you respect our way of life. But each time, a little bit here and there slips out — and by the end of the campaign, we can tell what you think about us. And we manage to learn who you really are.

Go ahead, read the whole thing.

Followup story

A follow up story on my little Benedict. A just heard this from my wife and didn't witness it, but ya gotta love cute kid stories.

He managed to grab a hot cocoa package at coffee and donuts after Mass. Father was there and playfully asked him, "who said you can have that?" Being 3, he was taken aback until Father relented and told him it was okay. So when he gets to the table, mom asks him the same question, "who said you can have that?" His sheepish reply, "God did."

33 Benedicts

I can't find the article on their website, but we made the print version of the National Catholic Register. By we, of course I mean our son Benedict got his picture along with 31 other little boys and Pope Benedict XVI. It is on the front page of the Culture of Life section.

Sweet!

Improving the neighborhood

Based on my (limited) knowledge of the differences of these two bishops, I would say the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis should get ready for some positive changes.

Pope Benedict accepts resignation of St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishop

Minneapolis, May 2, 2008 / 11:03 am (CNA).- Today the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Archbishop Harry J. Flynn from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota. He will be succeeded by Archbishop John C. Neinstedt.

Saints among us

Some interesting photos I took at the Falls Park in Post Falls, Idaho. Above is the coat of arms from Herborn Germany. Herborn was the birthplace of Post Falls founder, Frederick Post.

Notice St. Peter with the keys in the center.

Who knew this little town in Idaho had Catholic ties from the beginning?