This was shortly before Lori threw flour in the general direction of the photographer. She doesn't encourage my skills.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Cookie pics
I forgot to post the above pictures of our cookie baking party at the McCrary house prior to Christmas. In this picture, Marissa, Trey, and Kassady do their part. Actually, Kassady was more of an obstacle in the whole baking process. Her destructive force dealt an extreme blow to the creative touches that Marissa and Trey were trying to bring to the table. The cookies ended up resembling small pieces of shrapnel with icing on them. They tasted good, though.
Great stuff...
We just welcomed our interim pastor and his wife, Dr. James and Sue Keaton, to Nampa. Last night we dined at the greatest culinary establishment our town has to offer, Red Robin. Well that's not totally true. The Mona Lisa, owned by good friends Dustin and Angie Mori, would be the finest place to catch a meal in town. I just couldn't afford it last evening.
Anyway, we went to the Red Robin where I feasted on the Whiskey River Barbeque Chicken Burger, truly the finest sandwich you will find on the menu. The Keatons each opted for the Royal Red Robin which is a burger with an egg on top. It also has bacon and all the fixings. A great time was had by all.
Many of my friends back east haven't discovered the delights of Red Robin. To find out if there's a restaurant near you, visit http://www.redrobin.com/flash.html. Cincinnati residents can enjoy the restaurants located in Milford or West Chester.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Open up the archives...it's Tuesday
This picture was taken in the summer of 1998 in Ochelata, OK. Check out how skinny we were! I actually had some hair. Nick Pop, Aaron Herring, and I were traveling with Assurance Quartet from God's Bible School and College and were spending the week at Ochelata Youth Camp. OYC is operated by the Bible Holiness denomination (formerly Fire Baptized). We had just finished an afternoon of sports and were headed for some ice cream. The main thing I remember from Ochelata is playing softball in 108 degree weather. I remember hitting the ball out to the fence and stopping at second base, simply because my legs shut down on me. There was no air conditioning in the dorm rooms. We took a temperature reading in the dorm and at one point it was 110 degrees. Our representative, Mark Stetler, was put in a room with a dinky little air conditioner, so we all crowded in there with him trying to enjoy a little bit of coolness.
I directed the choir at Ochelata that year. The tabernacle was open, so it was just as hot inside as it was outside. After finishing the choir songs, I began to hyperventilate. I made it to the kitchen, went over to the ice chest, and grabbed a bunch of crushed ice to pour over myself. It took me nearly 10 minutes to get my breathing under control. Great memories! Ochelata was, in spite of the heat, one of our favorite destinations. There's a lot of good people out there.
As promised, snowmobiling pics
You will notice that these shots are posed. There are no action shots of me on the sled, thank God. If my knees are a little blurry it's because of the rapid knocking they were doing. OK, it really wasn't that bad. These pics were taken near the summit of Packer John mountain near Cascade/Banks. You could see for miles from up there.
John, who is standing next to me in the top picture (Marc is in the botom pic), knows the area pretty well and he identified several of the mountain ranges that surrounded us. It was an incredible sight.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Check out this group
I just stumbled across the website of a brand-new group, Second Mile. I've been familiar with most of the group members and followed their careers the last few years. Donnie Henderson traveled for a little while with Poet Voices, while Buddy Mullins was the lead vocalist for the Mullins, Mullins & Co., and the Gaither Vocal Band. Buddy's wife, Kerrie, joins the group on vocals. The newest member of the group is keyboardist extrodinaire, Channing Eleton, most recently with Gold City. I'm looking forward to what they have to offer. They are currently putting the finishing touches on their first full-length studio album. Second Mile has a fresh, progressive sound. If Southern Gospel ever intersected with the Praise and Worship genre the result would resemble Second Mile's sound. Check out the group and see what you think: www.secondmileonline.com.
Snowmobiling
On Thursday of last week I went snowmobiling up in the mountains near Cascade, ID. I had a great time in spite of nearly killing myself. The last time I clambered up on a snowmobile was about 14 years ago in Lafayette, IN. I rode with great distinction and adroitness, priding myself on my skillful handling of the 240 cc machine (yes, for you snowmobiling addicts out there, 240 cc)...in a cornfield. I quickly learned Thursday morning that my perceived competence was severely overrated in the mountains of Idaho. I had upgraded to a 600 cc snow machine, capable of climbing great heights and achieving glory, depending upon its rider. Now, you have to understand that we weren't trekking across a particularly dangerous section of terrain. In fact, John Mullins, who so kindly and patiently guided me through the day, commented gaily about how easy of a ride this was. Yeah right! Not for a rookie.
We started across some groomed trails and about a mile or two up the road found a meadow to play around in. The other member of our party was Marc Taylor and as we got to the meadow he tore off across the field. I had been trying to feel out the machine, and having already succeeded in burying it in a snowbank while attempting to climb a rather steep incline, knew that I had everything under control. I didn't.
As I raced after Marc, my depth perception failed to kick in, so I totally missed the fact that there was a large dip ahead of me. I didn't slow down a bit and I hit that dip full force. The snowmobile went up into the air and came down forcefully before I ever had an idea that something was wrong. Fortunately I was wearing a helmet because my face made impact with the windshield, causing my ears to ring. I don't quite remember how it happened, but I found myself in the snow, short of breath, looking woozily at the snowmobile.
After that, I took it easy. Nothing major going on here. We climbed Packer John, a mountain of about 7,000 feet, taking an ungroomed trail up to the summit. I'll have a few pictures in a day or so. When we got up to the top, the sight was worth the trip. It was awesome!
We spent the rest of the day, traversing the mountain. There was one more scary moment for me. I've always heard the expression "I tasted fear" used, but always pegged it as an exaggerated statement. I am hear to tell you that it is not exaggerated, that I tasted fear Thursday.
As we had made our way up the mountain, we had gone over a tree that had fallen across the path. The tree was mostly covered with snow, but there were a few branches sticking up, so I took my time crossing it. Well, on the way down, I'm trying to take it easy, to not push anything. I'm doing 25 or 30 mph as we followed the curvy trail down the mountainside. I came around a corner and saw a short straightaway, so I opened it up and took off. I was thinking that the downed tree was across another section of the trail. It wasn't. It was on this straightaway that I was racing down. On my left was a drop-off of about 600 feet and the only way to make it across the tree was to go to the left. I didn't have time to slow down and hit that tree going way too fast. The snowmobile leaped up into the air, sparks flying, and all I could do was jerk my weight to the right of the machine. It was one of those moments when time stands still, when everything goes into slow motion. The snowmobile landed sideways on the trail, none the worse for wear, and I continued on my way. However, I tasted fear. It was a bitter taste in my mouth that stayed for a couple of miles down the trail. My heart rate increased dramatically.
It was definitely an exciting day for me. It was a learning experience. I got stuck probably 5 or 6 times before lunch. By the afternoon, though, I learned how to shift my weight around and managed to stay out of trouble. It was great!
It scared me to death, but I'll do it again. You gotta keep pushing those comfort zones.
We started across some groomed trails and about a mile or two up the road found a meadow to play around in. The other member of our party was Marc Taylor and as we got to the meadow he tore off across the field. I had been trying to feel out the machine, and having already succeeded in burying it in a snowbank while attempting to climb a rather steep incline, knew that I had everything under control. I didn't.
As I raced after Marc, my depth perception failed to kick in, so I totally missed the fact that there was a large dip ahead of me. I didn't slow down a bit and I hit that dip full force. The snowmobile went up into the air and came down forcefully before I ever had an idea that something was wrong. Fortunately I was wearing a helmet because my face made impact with the windshield, causing my ears to ring. I don't quite remember how it happened, but I found myself in the snow, short of breath, looking woozily at the snowmobile.
After that, I took it easy. Nothing major going on here. We climbed Packer John, a mountain of about 7,000 feet, taking an ungroomed trail up to the summit. I'll have a few pictures in a day or so. When we got up to the top, the sight was worth the trip. It was awesome!
We spent the rest of the day, traversing the mountain. There was one more scary moment for me. I've always heard the expression "I tasted fear" used, but always pegged it as an exaggerated statement. I am hear to tell you that it is not exaggerated, that I tasted fear Thursday.
As we had made our way up the mountain, we had gone over a tree that had fallen across the path. The tree was mostly covered with snow, but there were a few branches sticking up, so I took my time crossing it. Well, on the way down, I'm trying to take it easy, to not push anything. I'm doing 25 or 30 mph as we followed the curvy trail down the mountainside. I came around a corner and saw a short straightaway, so I opened it up and took off. I was thinking that the downed tree was across another section of the trail. It wasn't. It was on this straightaway that I was racing down. On my left was a drop-off of about 600 feet and the only way to make it across the tree was to go to the left. I didn't have time to slow down and hit that tree going way too fast. The snowmobile leaped up into the air, sparks flying, and all I could do was jerk my weight to the right of the machine. It was one of those moments when time stands still, when everything goes into slow motion. The snowmobile landed sideways on the trail, none the worse for wear, and I continued on my way. However, I tasted fear. It was a bitter taste in my mouth that stayed for a couple of miles down the trail. My heart rate increased dramatically.
It was definitely an exciting day for me. It was a learning experience. I got stuck probably 5 or 6 times before lunch. By the afternoon, though, I learned how to shift my weight around and managed to stay out of trouble. It was great!
It scared me to death, but I'll do it again. You gotta keep pushing those comfort zones.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Grace pictures, coming up...
I know that there are a lot of people that read this blog that aren't remotely connected with Grace Bible Church. So, I'm just letting you know that the next few pics deal specifically with our church. Diane so kindly provided me with pics of Ray's last Sunday here at Grace, so I thought I would share them with you.
The Farewell
Ray, I'm gonna miss you buddy. You're a great friend, pastor, teacher, mentor, not to mention cousin. Just do me a favor and don't try to get into plumbing or anything like that. You'd never make it. Stick to being a pastor. You're the best! See you, man.
The church gave one of the coolest going-away presents that you could think of to Ray and Lenea. Sue Davenport had all of the ladies contribute to a massive scrapbook full of pictures and memories commemorating their time here. Sue presented the book to Ray and Lenea during the morning service, prefacing the presentation with an overview of the last 7 years. Talk about a tear-jerking moment!
I have this thing for showing up early. When you're moving someone, that means that you get to move the heavy stuff, like the piano. They had several boxes out in the garage ready to go. That empty trailer that you see in the top picture was filled to overflowing by the time we were done. I feel sorry for the poor sap on the unloading crew who eagerly runs forward to open the door. The mental picture that comes to mind is that of Fibber McGee's closet.
Monday, January 09, 2006
A tribute
Yesterday was the last Sunday for my pastor, Ray McCrary. Ray, Lenea, Rachelle, Tosha, and Marissa are moving to a new pastorate in the great Hoosier State, Indiana. They have accepted the position of senior pastor at the Church of the Nazarene in Centerville, IN. While I am excited for the new door of ministry that has opened for Ray, I have to tell you I hate to see him go.
Ray and I have become as close as brothers over the last year and a half as I have worked beside him as associate pastor. While we have always been close because of our familial relationship, our friendship has deepened as I have ministered with him at Grace Bible Church.
You learn a lot about a person behind the scenes. I think that anyone who is involved in ministry, especially a ministry that involves being in front of a congregation, would admit that there are those times when you go to the platform masking your personal life with a smile, intentionally choosing to focus on the needs and hurts of others instead of dwelling on yours. You pour your life out in ministry, but rarely have the chance to step back and allow others to minister to you. I've seen different individuals in ministry respond in a variety of ways to their own problems and burdens. Unfortunately, I've witnessed many ministry casualties over the years.
I've watched Ray walk through what has been a painful and difficult valley to traverse and observed his reactions and heard his words. I've learned that the true character of a man isn't measured by what is said as much as by what isn't said. Ray has handled everything that has happened with class, dignity, restraint, and grace. I've been privileged to walk beside him and prop him up, many times after he was wounded deeply, but yet never hear him say an acrimonious word about anyone. I have seen holiness lived.
Many people like to debate and preach about the theological implications to the doctrine of holiness. However, I learn much more from a life lived holy. Ray has not only preached entire sanctification, he has lived it.
While there have been a lot of battles we've fought together, we have also witnessed God move in extraordinary ways over the last few months. There have been plenty of mountaintops! God has blessed Ray's ministry in so many ways. You can look around our church and witness the lives changed through his ministry, the people touched by his compassion, and the progress we've made in the seven and a half years that he has been here.
I have to admit I'm going to miss his corny humor, our sometimes inane banter, and our meals at Red Robin. He's been the ultimate leader and teammate, valuing what I bring to the table while at the same time pushing me to take it to the next level. Hopefully, I've been able to be the same to him.
I'm even going to miss Lenea (you never thought you would hear me say that did you)! Lenea and I love to "dis" each other. She is way too easy to pick on, let me tell you! She has contributed greatly to our worship program with her piano and vocal artistry. I've worked with many accompanists when leading worship, and I'll put Lenea up there with anyone. God has blessed her with a gift for ministry.
And, Marissa. Who can ever forget Marissa? What a girl! Trey is taking this one pretty hard. He can't understand why Marissa has to move. "But, Dad, she's my friend! She can't go!" We'll miss you girl.
Of course, our teen program has taken a major blow with the departure of Chelle and Tosh. They have been leaders and vital to our youth ministry. It's been awesome to witness what God has done for them over the last few months. I've been privileged to be a part of their lives. I'm looking forward, though, to what God is going to do through their lives.
God puts people in our lives for a purpose, and I know that in my life, McCrarys were put there to encourage me in my walk with God, to prepare me for a greater ministry, and to provide a deep friendship that will be for a lifetime. I wish them the best in their new pastorate. Our loss is Centerville's gain.
More is coming...I promise
I have been extremely lax the last month about updating the blog, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to a semi-regular schedule soon.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Breaking News!!!
I have just signed a contract as the new tenor with Liberty Quartet (www.libertyquartet.com). Liberty, a traditional Southern Gospel quartet, is a professional group based on the West Coast (Boise, ID) with a full-time concert schedule. The members of Liberty are Royce Mitchell, bass; Dan Gilbert, lead; Doran Ritchey, baritone/piano; and now, yours truly, tenor. Liberty averages 50-70,000 miles a year ministering in approximately 200 performances for church services, large conventions including the Great Western Quartet Convention and the Gospel Music Fan Festival in Canada, nursing homes, prisons, and other ministries. Liberty goes wherever the Lord directs.
The guys of Liberty are committed Christians as well as excellent musicians. I'm excited about this new avenue for ministry. I begin traveling with the group in February.
I will be stepping down from the pastoral staff at Grace Bible Church in February. This was a difficult decision to make. Lori and I have been blessed to minister to one of the finest church congregations in the world. We love our church family and have appreciated all that they have done for us. The beauty of this transition is that we are still going to be able to stay connected with Grace. Lori will still be working for Grace Christian Academy and I will, for at least the time being, remain as the youth pastor. Liberty travels primarily on the weekends, so that leaves Wednesday evening (Grace Teens night) open for me. I will be able to be at church at least one Sunday a month, as well.
Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support as we walk through this open door, continuing to follow God on this great adventure of life.
Be sure to stay in touch. I love hearing about what’s going on in your world. I’m finding out that it’s easy to become disconnected from friends (especially in the wilderness of the northwest!), if you don’t intentionally make contact.
We love you guys! Continue to check back here for more pictures and info about what's going on in our lives.
God bless,
Keith, Lori, Trey, and Kassady
The guys of Liberty are committed Christians as well as excellent musicians. I'm excited about this new avenue for ministry. I begin traveling with the group in February.
I will be stepping down from the pastoral staff at Grace Bible Church in February. This was a difficult decision to make. Lori and I have been blessed to minister to one of the finest church congregations in the world. We love our church family and have appreciated all that they have done for us. The beauty of this transition is that we are still going to be able to stay connected with Grace. Lori will still be working for Grace Christian Academy and I will, for at least the time being, remain as the youth pastor. Liberty travels primarily on the weekends, so that leaves Wednesday evening (Grace Teens night) open for me. I will be able to be at church at least one Sunday a month, as well.
Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support as we walk through this open door, continuing to follow God on this great adventure of life.
Be sure to stay in touch. I love hearing about what’s going on in your world. I’m finding out that it’s easy to become disconnected from friends (especially in the wilderness of the northwest!), if you don’t intentionally make contact.
We love you guys! Continue to check back here for more pictures and info about what's going on in our lives.
God bless,
Keith, Lori, Trey, and Kassady
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Update
It will be a while before I get back to the blog. This is a busy week for our school and church. We have 3 different Christmas programs going on this week, so the next few days are going to be a blur of rehearsals, construction, and putting on those final touches.
Hopefully, I will have pics up on Monday. Stay tuned.
Hopefully, I will have pics up on Monday. Stay tuned.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
The Good Ol' Days
Kevin and I have patched up our fractured friendship. We are back to the days of yore when the amiable interaction between Kevin and I included the production of award-winning multimedia presentations. Well, actually Kevin produced them, I just stood around and attempted to offer insightful commentary such as, "Stand here and make sure you talk directly into the mic".
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Cindy and Jesse
As this hug of Jesse would suggest, Cindy Sheehan has finally gone over the cliff of sanity, free-falling into the cavernous depths of the Democratic Party's madness. She joins fellow radicals Harry Reid, Michael Moore, Charles Schumer, and Joe Biden in the desolate desert of insignificance and irrelevance.
This is one news story that the media is running into the ground.
NEWSFLASH: Waggoner offers public apology
NAMPA, Idaho (AP) -- At a press conference just minutes ago, Keith Waggoner formerly apologized to Kevin Moser for what were perceived to be damaging and derogatory remarks about Mr. Moser's former design work.
Keith Waggoner in a post uploaded yesterday to the wildly popular blog site www.keithinside.blogspot.com said "Kevin Moser, who is one of the most gifted graphic designers that I know, usually hit a home run when it came to designing posters for the groups. He struck out on this one. Not that we gave him much to work with."
Mr. Moser found this post to be blatantly disrespectful of his creation and responded by posting a defense of his former work (this article can be found in its entirety by visiting www.keithinside.blogspot.com or you can simply scroll down) which implicates Mr. Waggoner in a scheme to undermine his reputation.
In Mr. Waggoner's press release, he said:
"After evaluating my hasty comments concerning my dear friend Mr. Moser, I have decided to publicly apologize for my poor choice of words. While Mr. Moser clearly overlooked my compliment in which I stated that he 'is one of the most gifted graphic designers I know', I can see how he could have taken offense at my posted statement. I wish to say that Kevin can make more of nothing than anyone else that I know of. Mr. Moser has been and continues to be the foremost graphic arts expert in the Ohio Valley. While I will not withdraw my opinion that the poster was less than perfect, I acknowledge that Kevin produced a work far superior to anything else being produced during that era. It is my hope that Mr. Moser will bury the hatchet and continue to collaborate with me in creating inspiration for the masses. Thank you."
Immediately following the press conference, Mr. Waggoner was escorted to a waiting motorcade. Mr. Moser was unavailable for further comment.
Keith Waggoner in a post uploaded yesterday to the wildly popular blog site www.keithinside.blogspot.com said "Kevin Moser, who is one of the most gifted graphic designers that I know, usually hit a home run when it came to designing posters for the groups. He struck out on this one. Not that we gave him much to work with."
Mr. Moser found this post to be blatantly disrespectful of his creation and responded by posting a defense of his former work (this article can be found in its entirety by visiting www.keithinside.blogspot.com or you can simply scroll down) which implicates Mr. Waggoner in a scheme to undermine his reputation.
In Mr. Waggoner's press release, he said:
"After evaluating my hasty comments concerning my dear friend Mr. Moser, I have decided to publicly apologize for my poor choice of words. While Mr. Moser clearly overlooked my compliment in which I stated that he 'is one of the most gifted graphic designers I know', I can see how he could have taken offense at my posted statement. I wish to say that Kevin can make more of nothing than anyone else that I know of. Mr. Moser has been and continues to be the foremost graphic arts expert in the Ohio Valley. While I will not withdraw my opinion that the poster was less than perfect, I acknowledge that Kevin produced a work far superior to anything else being produced during that era. It is my hope that Mr. Moser will bury the hatchet and continue to collaborate with me in creating inspiration for the masses. Thank you."
Immediately following the press conference, Mr. Waggoner was escorted to a waiting motorcade. Mr. Moser was unavailable for further comment.
Everyone gets a fair hearing on keithinside.blogspot.com: Kevin Moser
For those of you who may have not read the comments listed underneath yesterday's archive item, I want to make sure that Kevin has a chance to defend himself. Kevin, go ahead:
Hey, Keith. Before you publicly criticize your humble former graphic designer, you should first walk a mile in his computer! (Thank you, Charlotte Frederick, for tipping me off to this blatant disrespect!)
When I inherited the graphic design position at GBS circa 1994, it was with the title "interim" because I had no experience and no training, other than two weeks of crash-course instruction from departing designer Rob Scott.
My computer was an Apple IIci. Let me refresh your memory as to its incredible power and versatility.
Its original price was $8800! Its computing speed was a lightning-fast 25 MHz! It came with a 40 MB hard drive, which we upgraded to the maximum 80 MB! It came with 1 MB of RAM, which we upgraded to 4 or 8 MB!
Now let's remember the awesome software of that day. Jon was correct that Photoshop did not yet have multiple levels of undo. I could only go back ONE action. Not only that, but my version of Photoshop did not even have LAYERS!! All edits were destructive. I had to plan ahead and know exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it. I had to save multiple copies of the project at different stages in its creation in order to be able to go back to a given point and rework it. But I was limited to how many copies I could save because of the 80 MB limit of the hard drive! Practically every project had to be erased before the next one could commence. Don't forget, the only option for saving a file apart from the internal drive was the massive (ha!ha!ha!) 1.4 MB three-and-a-half inch floppy disk!! There were no recordable CD's and certainly no DVD's.
My Microtek scanner could easily take 45 MINUTES to scan a single color picture! We had no internet. iStock photography was not even imagined and we did not have digital cameras. Any art came from a very limited selection of CD's costing hundreds of dollars or from our Dynamic Graphics Clipper files, which were paper copies that had to be scanned!!
I'm looking at that poster (which you described as a "strike out") and wondering how on earth I was ever able to produce it at all! All of those bevels, embosses, and drop shadows had to be created from scratch! They did not exist as an effect you could choose from a menu.
OK, buddy Keith? Got the picture?!! I'd REALLY like to see what YOU would have produced under the circumstances!!
Still your Friend,
(even while smarting with humiliation from your published abuse)
Kevin
P.S. You're right. That poster was awful!
Hey, Keith. Before you publicly criticize your humble former graphic designer, you should first walk a mile in his computer! (Thank you, Charlotte Frederick, for tipping me off to this blatant disrespect!)
When I inherited the graphic design position at GBS circa 1994, it was with the title "interim" because I had no experience and no training, other than two weeks of crash-course instruction from departing designer Rob Scott.
My computer was an Apple IIci. Let me refresh your memory as to its incredible power and versatility.
Its original price was $8800! Its computing speed was a lightning-fast 25 MHz! It came with a 40 MB hard drive, which we upgraded to the maximum 80 MB! It came with 1 MB of RAM, which we upgraded to 4 or 8 MB!
Now let's remember the awesome software of that day. Jon was correct that Photoshop did not yet have multiple levels of undo. I could only go back ONE action. Not only that, but my version of Photoshop did not even have LAYERS!! All edits were destructive. I had to plan ahead and know exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it. I had to save multiple copies of the project at different stages in its creation in order to be able to go back to a given point and rework it. But I was limited to how many copies I could save because of the 80 MB limit of the hard drive! Practically every project had to be erased before the next one could commence. Don't forget, the only option for saving a file apart from the internal drive was the massive (ha!ha!ha!) 1.4 MB three-and-a-half inch floppy disk!! There were no recordable CD's and certainly no DVD's.
My Microtek scanner could easily take 45 MINUTES to scan a single color picture! We had no internet. iStock photography was not even imagined and we did not have digital cameras. Any art came from a very limited selection of CD's costing hundreds of dollars or from our Dynamic Graphics Clipper files, which were paper copies that had to be scanned!!
I'm looking at that poster (which you described as a "strike out") and wondering how on earth I was ever able to produce it at all! All of those bevels, embosses, and drop shadows had to be created from scratch! They did not exist as an effect you could choose from a menu.
OK, buddy Keith? Got the picture?!! I'd REALLY like to see what YOU would have produced under the circumstances!!
Still your Friend,
(even while smarting with humiliation from your published abuse)
Kevin
P.S. You're right. That poster was awful!
Making the Best of a Bad Situation
For those of you what hate to read this type of stuff, just skip this post:
North Dakota and southwestern Montana got hit with the first blizzard of the season a couple of weeks ago. This after the storm update is from a County Emergency Manager in western North Dakota.
WEATHER BULLETIN UPDATE
Up here in the Northern Plains, we just recovered from a historic event, may I say a weather event of biblical proportions? This historic blizzard arrived with up to 24 inches of snow and winds up to 50 mph. Trees broke in half, hundreds of motorists were stranded in lethal snow banks, all roads were closed, scores of communities were isolated, and power was cut off to tens of thousands. I want you all to know that:
1. President George Bush did not come and was not expected to come.
2. President George Bush did not cause the storm.
3. Global warming did not cause the storm.
4. FEMA staged nothing.
5. No one howled for the government to do something.
6. No one uttered expletives on TV.
7. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
8. No one asked for a FEMA trailer house.
9. No one looted. No one!
10. Phil Cantori of the Weather Channel did not come.
11. Geraldo Rivera did not move in here to be on camera.
No, we just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars and trucks, checked on our neighbors, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Aladdin lamps, and put on an extra layer of clothes. You see, up here, you take care of yourself and others and work or you die. We did not wait for some affirmative action government bureaucrat to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for sit at home checks. Even though a category 5 blizzard of this scale had never occurred this early, we knew it could happen. We also knew how to deal with it ourselves.
In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 45.25 degrees north latitude, 90% of the country's and world's social problems evaporate. Why do you suppose that is?
North Dakota and southwestern Montana got hit with the first blizzard of the season a couple of weeks ago. This after the storm update is from a County Emergency Manager in western North Dakota.
WEATHER BULLETIN UPDATE
Up here in the Northern Plains, we just recovered from a historic event, may I say a weather event of biblical proportions? This historic blizzard arrived with up to 24 inches of snow and winds up to 50 mph. Trees broke in half, hundreds of motorists were stranded in lethal snow banks, all roads were closed, scores of communities were isolated, and power was cut off to tens of thousands. I want you all to know that:
1. President George Bush did not come and was not expected to come.
2. President George Bush did not cause the storm.
3. Global warming did not cause the storm.
4. FEMA staged nothing.
5. No one howled for the government to do something.
6. No one uttered expletives on TV.
7. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
8. No one asked for a FEMA trailer house.
9. No one looted. No one!
10. Phil Cantori of the Weather Channel did not come.
11. Geraldo Rivera did not move in here to be on camera.
No, we just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars and trucks, checked on our neighbors, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Aladdin lamps, and put on an extra layer of clothes. You see, up here, you take care of yourself and others and work or you die. We did not wait for some affirmative action government bureaucrat to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for sit at home checks. Even though a category 5 blizzard of this scale had never occurred this early, we knew it could happen. We also knew how to deal with it ourselves.
In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 45.25 degrees north latitude, 90% of the country's and world's social problems evaporate. Why do you suppose that is?
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Open up the archives
It's Tuesday and time for a trip back to yesteryear. Today, I have chosen a promotional poster for the Harvest Quartet of GBS (circa, 1995) as our highlighted archival photo. Kevin Moser, who is one of the most gifted graphic designers that I know, usually hit a home run when it came to designing posters for the groups. He struck out on this one. Not that we gave him much to work with.
Harvest featured (L-R) Phil Bishop on the piano, Keith Waggoner singing the tenor (yes, that's me hiding behind that hair), Mark Burley on the low end (the picture does him an injustice; he's actually 6'7"), Dave Bittinger as baritone, and Mike Dickinson as lead.
I literally laughed until I cried every time this quartet traveled. Mike Dickinson is probably the funniest guy I have ever been around. His sarcastic comments were hysterical. I would be angry at the guy because he was making fun of me, but still couldn't help laughing.
Mark was probably the best guy for PR GBS ever had on the road. The guy was awesome! He makes friends faster than anyone I know of. He was a fantastic basketball player.
Dave Bittinger, who is exactly 4 hours younger than I am, possessed a fantastic solo voice. One time he made the mistake of telling Mike that he didn't like the way his shoulders were formed, and he never heard the end of it. Every time we would pass a sign that said "Shoulder Work Ahead" Mike had some comment for Dave.
Phil was and is a great pianist. He was also the biggest pest in the world. The guy wouldn't give it up. I remember one trip that we took to Kansas. I was sick before I ever got in the van. We were stopping every few miles for me to throw up. I remember laying in the back seat trying to sleep the flu off, and Phil pestering me. He stopped at a convenience store and got some Cool Ranch Doritos. After eating them, he would turn and blow his awful breath in my face, as I lay there helpless. He bought an ice-cold can of Sprite and instead of drinking it, kept pressing it on my face. It was miserable! And then we would get to the camp or church and the pastor and people would think that he was a little angel. I guess it was because of his cherub face.
This quartet was also known for something else. I'll let you figure it out. But I will say that if you smacked the seat of the van we traveled in up to a couple of years after our tours, the dust that was raised brought with it a dinstintive aroma.
We weren't the best quartet of all time, but I guarantee you we laughed more than any other quartet. Here's to Harvest.
Snowman Art
The funniest comic strip ever is Calvin and Hobbes. Since their retirement, I don't even visit the comics section of the newspaper. I now own all of the the comic collections of C&H put in book form and have found that it's a great way to relax. Hot chocolate and Calvin and Hobbes.
I found Calvin's snowman sculptures to be hilarious, so when I received an e-mail from Diane with a number of his most popular creations I decided to share it with you. If you click on each individual strip it will enlarge for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
I found Calvin's snowman sculptures to be hilarious, so when I received an e-mail from Diane with a number of his most popular creations I decided to share it with you. If you click on each individual strip it will enlarge for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Winter Wonderland
As promised, here are some of the pictures from our snowfall. Believe it or not, we still have snow in the yard. While the picture would insinuate that I built the snowman with Trey, it was actually Lori who did the work. The eyes were olives, the nose was the traditional carrot, and the crooked grin was made up of raisins. This was a snowman with character. By the time I got home from work, the snowman was beginning to melt and lacked some of his original stature.
Trey eventually beheaded the snowman, enjoying the grim task while the olive eyes looked up at him asking , "Why? Why me?" The executioner just raised his head toward the sky and laughed diabolically. OK, I made that part up, but Trey did enjoy knocking his head off.
Trey enjoyed pelting me with snowballs. In fact, we had nearly an hour-long snowball fight. It was great! I have never got to the point where I'm too mature to pick up snow and test it for "packing" quality. As soon as it snows, I have to check it out. There are few activities that produce a more satisfying result that the resulting "thwack" of a thrown snowball.
We used to have some great snowball battles at Frankfort Covenant Academy back in the day. We had loosely affiliated teams, but it usually resulted in the traitorous act of deluging your teammate with snow. It turned into a survival of the fittest.
One of my favorite memories of an FCA snowball fight included my good friend, Jonathan. Usually, Jonathan and I were on the same team, which didn't always sit well with some of the others, particularly Stacy Griffin. Well, in this battle (which was conducted to the side of the school which didn't have windows; we weren't allowed to have snowball fights) accusations began to fly from the Griffin twins that Jonathan was throwing "iceballs", a blatant violation of the rules of engagement. When a person on one team is accused of cheating, the other team justifies the fact that they should be able to cheat, and it just snowballs from there (I know, that was pretty bad).
Well, Tracy distracted Jon from the front while Stacy came up behind him. I was watching this whole thing play out and for the life of me can't remember why I didn't warn Jonathan. Stacy had a two-foot wide section of ice in her hand that had to be an inch or more thick. She brought that down over the top of Jonathan's head as hard as she could. The sound was sickening. Kids 20 yards away stopped what they were doing, having heard the crack. To his credit, Jonathan handled it well. After screaming violently at Stacy and attempting to plant her face in the blacktop, he ran off to the nearest mirror to see if his head was bleeding.
It ended that snowball fight. As I remember, Stacy was pretty proud of herself. "Well, that'll teach him not to throw iceballs. I'm sick and tired of him always cheating." She threw back her head and marched into the school, as self-justified as you can be.
Great days.
Is there anything more nostalgic than laying down in the snow and making a snow angel? I did after Trey made his and was instantly transported back to the white-covered regions of Frankfort, specifically 2107 W. Green St., where I made my first snow angel.
I was dressed appropriately. My moon boots leaked (yes, I did wear moon boots) so my mom made me wrap my feet in the plastic bags that bread come in. You never can be too careful was Mom's philosophy. She would always say "this is good pneumonia weather", even though she, nor I, nor any distant relative had ever endured this acute or chronic disease marked by inflammation of the lungs and caused by viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms and sometimes by physical and chemical irritants. So, I would wrap myself in Aldi's Foods bread bags (we didn't buy the expensive brands), pull on my leaky boots, tug on my wool gloves that were soggy about 3 seconds after stepping outside, and adjust my ski mask that was pulled down firmly over my glasses making me appear as some mutant aquatic alien creature. Every time I exhaled inside the ski mask it would make my glasses fog up. As a result of that and the bread bags I spent much of my time lumbering awkwardly around the yard and then falling on the ground.
So, when I discovered the snow angel idea, I was like, cool, an activity that starts out with you laying on your back in the snow. It was the beginning of an improving self-esteem. Anytime I fell down, I immediately began waving my arms and legs back and forth, shouting, "Yeah, snow angels. I loooove making snow angels!" I was cool.
I really don't know where all that came from.
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