We leave for North Carolina

Jen and I leave Wednesday for North Carolina, arriving around 9 p.m.  We will be on hand to help Oliver Roy celebrate his first birthday Friday, August 31.  It seems like yesterday we visited a the time of his birth. This will be my third trip to North Carolina since Mark and Julie got jobs there and re-located from the Washington D.C. area.  Jen and Josh were there last month helping Jessica move from Baton Rouge to Durham.  Jessica has begun classes at Duke Seminary.

I am looking forward to the visit but I dread the trip, especially changing planes at the Atlanta airport. Even worse is when take-off is delayed for weather or any other reason and you have to sit in the plane not knowing how long you will be required to wait.  As I have emphasized at the time of other trips, passengers should be allowed off the plane and to  wait in the lounge area.

Obama must disavow outlandish attacks

It is unfair to hold a candidate  directly responsible for every  unfair and outlandish remark made by a supporter, but the candidate must repudiate the remarks and the person making them.  In recent days Samuel L. Jackson and Ellen Barkin have made profanity-laced statements wishing that Tropical Storm Isaac would drown the delegates to the Republican convention in Tampa.

Barkin called for Isaac to "wash every pro-life, anti-education, anti-woman xenophobic gay-bashing, racist SOB right into the ocean." Obama would not use those exact words but the tone of his campaign is reflected in them.  Campaigns should be about what you have done to solve problems and  your plan to make things, such as the economy, better.  The Obama campaign, with only failures to run on, has resorted to calling everyone who does not agree Obama's philosophy to be a racist.  Recently, they have added anti-woman to their message.  The national media allows Obama to get by with this.

Was I psychic or psycho?

There I was blindfolded, holding hands with another boy and bumping into desks and walls while students giggled and laughed.  How did I get put in such a situation?  Maybe, I volunteered or maybe I was selected; I don't remember. Out seventh grade teacher, Mr. Trout, was trying to prove something and provide a break from the monotony of studies.

Most people have experienced a feeling that some one was staring at them, turned around and found it was true. Or they have stared at some one  and seen that individual finally look around.  I was blindfolded, an object was placed in full view, and my companion was to keep his eyes glued on that object.  He was not to lead me or steer me in any direction.

After stumbling around, embarrassed and convinced I would never see the object, something happened; I could plainly see the  paddle the teacher loved to wield, and I dashed toward it, supposedly proving  one person could transfer what he saw and concentrated on to another person.

I know this happened.  I tried this with my brothers and sisters but they were usually  too impatient, although I seem to remember it was successful once.

Hellfire sermon called for to warm cold church

My Sundays of wearing short sleeve shirts have ended; I'll have to go back to coat and tie.  I almost froze in church this morning, and I wasn't alone as people moved from pew to pew seeking a warmer place.  I told Tom Howe that if he was going to keep the church so cold he needed to preach hellfire sermons to bring some heat to the church.  Bill Compton said that some churches his group sang in had a pile of blankets for those who got uncomfortably cold.

Jessica's work with homeless told

Jessica completed registration and began classes at Duke this week, beginning a three-year period of  seminary studies.  She had devoted several days to community service and to orientation as she entered the road to becoming a United Methodist pastor.

Meanwhile, her accomplishments at LSU were being recognized.  The LSU Honors College interviewed her at length about her work with the homeless, the research involved and the five short stories she wrote as part of her thesis.

The article can be reached on the internet in several ways, including Helping  the Homeless by Jessica Lowe, or LSU Honors College, Helping the Homeless.

Steve Van Buren dies

I almost never comment on sports on this blog but I do, though infrequently, contribute to Tiger Rant.  Big news today is the death of Steve Van Buren at 91.  Van Buren may be the greatest running back ever for LSU and is considered by some as the greatest running back ever in professional football.  His records and accomplishments are available on the internet.

Van Buren had graduated and was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles when I entered LSU.  People were still talking about him only playing running back one year.  Before that he had played end and blocking back. Most likely had Al Dark not having to enter service, Van Buren would never had had the opportunity to play and show how talented he was.

I went to school with his brother Ebert, who was an average running back who also played pro with the Eagles.

NBC attacks Mormonism

Because they will do almost anything to win, it was to be expected Obama supporters would bring religion into the presidential campaign at a time they think it will hurt Romney.  NBC is running a two-part series on attacking Mormonism and thus Romney. 

Will they be fair and look as deeply into the religious beliefs and actions  of Obama?  Forget that; how about getting Obama to explain his plan for creating jobs, reducing the deficit, and restoring the economy.