Unexpected Drama

Lately my wife and I have been watching wrecker/recovery businesses at work, on YouTube It,s more technical and high cost than you might think. Semi recoveries often run $ 10,000.00. Just the cost alone is often life changing!
Take the independent trucker, already burdened with truck payments and diesel fuel at $2.85 per gallon and since he feels that he is a good driver has cut back on insurance to the bare minimum and then hits an iced over bridge and the truck jackknives with 20 tons on the back of expensive merchandise. The big wrecker comes that cost the wrecker company, 3/4 million and the costs shoot up, up and up.
State and federal laws kick in, one lane of traffic must be kept open to keep from backing traffic up for miles and possibly causing other wrecks. The ambulance crew and the fire department are first to work the scene and then the recovery people must figure out how to extract the vehicle without doing further damage.
Every move can rip a brake line, rupture a fuel tank, or puncture a $ 1,000.00 radiator.
Now days recovery personnel have video cameras that record every move they make to protect themselves from errors and omissions and to justify their charges. It's a dangerous job and is often in a hard place to work. Cold and/or heat, rain or snow goes with the job. Yet it's hard to imagine a more important job. Just think that if the recovery people went off the job for even one week it would tie up the highway system and make the roadways a junk yard. 

How did Cats and Dogs survive as a species?

HOW DID THEY MAKE IT?This week as I have taken care of our pets, I wondered how they as a species have made it down through the centuries. First there is the pet section in the grocery store. A whole isle on both sides is loaded with choice after choice; there is at least a hundred choices for our cat. Time after time again we have struct up conversations with other cat owners over which cat food to buy. Which brand does your cat like? Are they picky like ours is? I have threatened to bring Kaya to the store with us and let her see how hard it is to make a choice.

Back to the question; how did our cats and dogs get by before the modern era? We love them and don't mind taking care of them but Coley likes to take a walk, he want's to say hello to the other dogs in the neighborhood. I can't walk much any more so I put him in the van and with the window down drive him around the neighborhood, he barks at all the dogs and at the kids playing in the street.

Kaya is an indoor and an outdoor cat so we get our exorcise getting up and letting her out and in. Think of all the veterinarian clinics around the area and our town just opened a dog park.

So how did cats and dogs get by and survive as a species before we took it upon ourselves to be their guardian?

Overwhelmed by Chaos

Teachers Giving Up

Sunday's paper reported that 32 teachers have already resigned from their contract with the Hamilton County School system. That's double the number from one year ago. But Why? The salary is above average for most of the workers in the Chattanooga area. Insurance, retirement ( especially early retirement) is better than most occupations and job security is good; so why the drop out?
Could it be that there is a feeling of chaos in the class room? Teachers by the very nature of their work need control and discipline in the class room environment. Having 15 to 22 kids who come from undisciplined homes leaves a teacher feeling overwhelmed. In some class rooms, where there is enough funding to support an assistant, that person can keep order while the teacher works with children to actually get their school work done.
Where there is no way to keep order the teacher feels more and more helpless. Of course children coming from undisciplined or malfunctioning homes bring their wildness and their lack of respect for authority to school with them.
So what is the instructor to do? First try to get some perspective by looking at many other occupations. A book I once read was entitled; How to manage Chaos. In short the writer said that you can never be chaos free. It keeps breaking out, in industry, in law enforcement, in military activities, in dealing with animals Etc..
You can still accomplish good things even though you will never obtain the order that you desire. No teacher expects to see more than a little improvement as students pass through their class rooms on the way to the next class. What students are picking up is invisible and in rowdy classrooms it is even harder to detect but hang in there, chances are that nobody could do it better. Chances are that your students are learning more than you think. Many people exist and even prosper in the midst of chaos to have everything quiet and orderly would seem strange to them. To the average teacher chaos is anathema but remember you are doing God's work. He worked to bring order out of chaos and He's still working at it. Continue to be his helpers.

Taut Truth Disguised in Rhythm

This week I got a new book on how to read and enjoy poetry. I have always been intrigued by poetry but never thought I understood most of it. Here are few of his suggestions. I. Read it slow and with a dictionary. 2. Poetry is high voltage and should not be read like you would a newspaper. 3. Poetry usually is not trying to get you believe something but rather is to share an experience. 3. You must bring your intelligence, senses, emotions and imagination to it. 5. Expect to find imagery, metaphor, symbol and paradox in good poetry.
For he that is a super realist,
must learn to perceive taut truth.

Taut Truth-- look up the word TAUT

Learn to Listen

The purpose of a sermon: A sermon can have many purposes but I like to keep in mind that it is used to repair souls. Each week when they gather, some just need a wash job, others need an oil change, some have malfunctions in their computer system. This often takes specialized knowledge and is delicate.

What we must remember is that a sermon can do as much damage as it can do good. Sometimes a doctor does as much damage as he or she does good. So if you are preaching Sunday, remember that a lot of responsibility lies in your hands. Pray for the right insight and the right attitude. If you are a listen be gracious and charitable; getting it right in the pulpit is one of the toughest jobs going!

More Of the Same !

Time Magazine came today but I find that I am reluctant to read it. I understand that professional Journalists have been working for days if not weeks and yes some have even risked their lives to bring me information about the world, still based upon what I've read in Time in recent months it will only bring me pain.

Every week there are reports of great hordes of people having to leave their homes on short notice. This week the fires in California are forcing them out.Last week it was a hurricane. Last week it was the Hispanics from South America still trying to get into the U.S., this week the Curds are being forced out. It seem like their destiny has been determined by the President of Turkey and the President of the United States. Both countries purport to believe in freedom and yet they are taking away the freedom of the Curds. So its little wonder that I am hesitant to open Time Magazine again this week.     

THEY ARE NOT CRAZY

Now that I have grown up ( 85 qualifies ) I see a much larger problem in the field of mental illness. This week a new report says that eleven million Americans are so mentally ill that they cannot fit into normal life.
Lets put that into perspective: the Southern Baptist Convention has about eleven million members. The United Methodist about eight million members and eleven million is more than all the charismatic movements put together.
Another way to think about this widespread illness is to realize that almost every congregation has someone who is suffering from a mental condition. To narrow in down even further; few families have escaped some form of mental illness.
Trouble is, the problem is getting worst! There are many reasons for this. There are more people in the world. Life is more complicated. Many people have failed to find a deep faith that brings peace of mind. This same faith believes that life has a purpose even when they can't see that purpose.
It's true that eleven million represents only about one percent of the population but that brings to mind the parable that Jesus told about leaving the ninety nine behind and searching for the one lost sheep. As Americans we should give far more attention to these one percenters. To create a safe loving environment should be our goal and it is possible. Just because the problem is difficult doesn't mean we should avoid it. 

Peeking At the Rich

INSIDE BILL's BRAIN
The last two evenings I have watched the Netflix special on Bill Gates. Now that he has stepped down as head of Microsoft he has focused his attention on how to solve three of the worlds biggest problems. Each of us would be wise to study his approach to problem solving and adapt what we could to our own lives.
True he has lots of resources including many well to do friends to help brain storm. You and I will probably not have those kind of resources but there's no harm of getting some of his advice free.
First he tries to find the real problem, the one that caused the difficulty to begin with. If we don't have the patience and or the courage to go back to that we will just be putting band aids on the surface.
Next he goes through a process of putting the possible answers on a board and evaluates their strength and weaknesses: will it take to long, will it cost to much,
will the public misunderstand and thus put up road blocks? In our personal life it may mean that our spouse will not understand or approve. In our work life it often takes awhile to bring the troupes on board.
Of course Gates has an extreme amount of resources but even so he must find something once established that will duplicate, something the community can continue to use.
Right now there is a need for large numbers of people who agree on the problems that we face and at least fall in line to support those who are hard at work trying to bring about a solution.

Home Town Road

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

Many many years ago when I was studying psychology, there was a phase when I looked into what makes a song popular. Why do some songs that seem to make no sense become hits and sell in the millions? There were those that caught the mood of the day and others that had certain vowel sounds which many people like to hear.

This year a song that stayed at the top of the charts for six months is; " Old Town Road." Written and sung by Lil Nas X, a name he gave himself, he's a young 20 year old black man and is already a multi millionaire.

But how and why has it become so popular? It does have those vowel sounds and a beat that is easy to dance too. ( I tried to show my guest how to dance to that beat but I fell on the couch. Need to practice more.)

But the psychology of the song is how it catches the nonsense and absurdity of our times. It switches subjects and directions faster than the horse he purports to ride. There is an element of rebellion and of moral looseness. The video captures the spirit of bewilderment and absurdity. And the beat goes on!

It's for the Birds

This week there has been a report that billions of birds have died out in recent years. By that they mean that the earth now has several billion less birds than it did when we were young. For the past 35 years I have been feeding birds and enjoying their presence. But of course have no way of counting them and I think that they mean large flocks of birds they have been scientifically following.

Even so we have to decide if we believe them and if so what does it mean. They say that spraying the crops with poison is a major cause and the gain in human population is another reason.

In the bible it says; who hath believed our report? Rom 10:16, there are a lot of reports but which ones are we to believe? Here in the south there is a tendency not to believe any report that comes from north of the Mason/Dixon line. In the bible it says that we can believe a report if there are two or three witnesses.

I tend to look for motivation; does the reporter have anything to gain? In this case I see no reason to lie and with modern cameras and equipment and record keeping they surely have the ability to count. So what does it mean? Yes it probably is something like the canary in the coal mine. Something is going on and mother earth is in trouble.

The question is; what shall we do about it? In most cases it will require massive effort and action by politicians from many different countries. That means that we should be aware of the problem and encourage our leaders to take whatever action necessary to help preserve our planet for future generations.

Ten Thousand a call

THE BIG SEMI TRAVELLED DOWN AN OFF RAMP AT 70 MPH.

Then left the pavement and plowed through soft rain soaked soil for another 75 yards, where it rammed into a tree and turned over with the driver caught on the lower side. Based on observations I would say he didn't make it.
Several agencies where on scene to do their part of the recovery. The ambulance crew, the fire department, haz-mat to check for fuel spills and to check out the load for hazardous materials, the police were there to slow down traffic and to see that no crimes were being committed during the recovery.
In this case the recovery team had to unload the full trailer by hand and put the load on their roll back trucks, it took several trips to a storage place to safeguard the merchandise.
The Ron Pratt team always film their work, they have cameras mounted on their hats and on the boom and the footage is used later in many ways. For one thing it is used to protect their reputation and to justify their billing. Ron Pratt on U T.

More Than You Think

A HELPING PROFESSION THAT YOU HOPE YOU NEVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH.

Recently I have watched several hours of Youtube videos put up by Ron Pratt.
Ron runs a multi million dollar wrecker/recovery operation in, Scott City, Missouri. He has become rich because of his location. Remember the secret of success for most business is, location, location and location.
Pratt's business is called Midwest Truck and the business site covers many acres.
What is remarkable is that Ron is in his middle forties and goes on most of the recoveries himself. Normally he drives the big 14 wheeler rig that is equipped to handle almost any of recovery.
I estimate this big rig, made by the Miller Century wrecker company of Ootewah, Tn., as costing around a half million dollars. So you know that when this rig is needed large amounts of money turn over.
Tune in for yourself, these videos has all things that make for good watching.

THE AFTERMATH

The Aftermath
Events and tragedies happen so often and in so many places that we don't get the time to really think about the after effects, especially on the minds and spirits of those involved. Sometimes tragedies create other tragedies. Take the horrible storm ( Dorian ) that hit the Bahamas this past week.
The aftermath will affect the government, the victims, the clean up crew as well as the banks, the churches and the tourist industry.
Let's take the clean up crew, working in the hot sun with most of the trees blown over and thus not able to provide shade. Walking among the debris and rubble which can cause injury in itself, they find bloated bodies. The stench itself is enough to stay in their memory for a lifetime. These good souls willing to do what must be done yet altering their lives in several ways, ways they would never have chosen on their own.
Dorian will alter their theology, their finances, their social standing, their health and will cancel out dreams they had of the future. And they are all aware that another storm may hit the island in their lifetime. 

Just relax, breath easy and sip your coffee slowly.

Why One More Blog ?

For one thing only a very few blogs are from people my age. Based upon what I observe only a few people want to hear from an 85 year old. Nevertheless my perspective is unique. Not only can I look a long way into the past but because I have studied several writers who have looked into the future I am able to use their technics and can see a little further than most. I least I won't be guilty of many who are my age, but seem to dwell only in the past.
So pull up a chair, relax and lets do a little thinking together. I will not try to change your thinking or your lifestyle. I respect you to much for that but as you know thinking has it's on way of changing us.