Hard to Believe

Hard to Believe

I realize that title would be a good choice for many of my stories. Let me just take this opportunity to tell you everything you read here is true. As much as I’d like to, I don’t tell other peoples’ stories. They aren’t mine to tell. My stories are mine to tell and some of them I have chosen to share here with you. I hope you have enjoyed one or two. That is usually the goal. If you happen to learn something or if the story happens to have a moral, well, there’s no harm in that.

I don’t think this story has a moral. I do find it amusing though.

A friend called us and asked us to do him a favor. He knew we had had a lot of girls from far away places live with us here from time to time over the years. Would we, as a favor to him, consider hosting a young lady from China? She was in America at a boarding school and they all seemed to think she would do much better in a home environment. We talked it over and decided we could help this girl out.

The first sign that all was not as it seemed was when a representative from the organization who brought this child to the USA called us to explain in depth what culture shock was and how it would look on a girl raised like this one. This was also the phone call in which we found out that she was the only child of a very high ranking Chinese official. The things I get us into never cease to amaze me.

Our friend dropped the girl off at our house one Sunday afternoon. We introduced ourselves and then we took her on a tour of the house. After the tour we sat down and told her a little about ourselves and then we invited her to come and live with us for a time. She sat on our ottoman in our living room and in her heavily accented English told us she had one problem with our offer.

“You Amehicans…you go to chuch…too much.” Well, yes, we do go to church a lot. She did not want to go. In my kind but direct manner I told her I could understand that and maybe when we knew each other better then she could stay in our home by herself. But at this point, I was just not comfortable leaving her, whom I did not know, alone in my home while we were all away. She did not like that, but I assured her she did not have to go sit in church with us. She could sit in the hall and read a book. I was fine with that. She persisted in expressing her desire not to go to my church and not to believe in my God. She had lived for a time with another family and they had tried to shove this God down her throat.

I hated hearing that. I told her that in my experience God was a gentleman and did not force himself on those who had no interest in Him. He calls, yes, but he does not just barge in where He is not invited. How can I be any different? If you want to go to church with us, fine. If not, so be it. That is a choice each of us has to make for themselves. But I am not going to leave a stranger in my house when I am not home. You can sit outside till we get home or you can go with us. That has nothing to do with religion. That just has to do with it’s my house and I get to make the decision about who stays and who does not. Just because some Bible beater was mean to you does not mean that I, as a Bible believer, have to be your doormat.

She condescended to stay with us. She would sit in the hall and read while we had church and Sunday school. Fine.

We went and gathered up her gear and moved her into our home. We quickly learned several things about this girl. She was a screamer. Like a screamer in a horror movie. She saw our dog through a window and screamed bloody murder. She is afraid of dogs. Even friendly ones who are outside and not doing anything more threatening than drooling and tail wagging. She came upstairs talking, or more accurately shrieking, into our cordless phone in Chinese. I was wondering if maybe she should have asked first and if maybe this was costing me a fortune when she stomped into the kitchen where Mrs. Hat was cooking dinner, threw open the freezer door and screamed into the air “I need ice cream!” in very clear English. I looked at Mrs. Hat and thought “Little girl, you might really need ice cream because you may be on soft foods for a while.”

This girl had very little concern for the belongings of others. She shared a bathroom with my daughter and my daughter came and told me that this girl had emptied all of my daughter’s bathroom vanity drawers and put her stuff in the drawers. This girl asked to borrow Mrs. Hat’s computer. No problem. Mrs. Hat is a world class stamp collector. This girl shoved a bunch of stamps from the 1800s out of the way with her forearm so that she could more conveniently download Chinese viruses onto Mrs. Hat’s computer. Just as a couple of for instances.

I called the lady from the organization that brought this girl to the states and told her we were having some issues. Her counsel was to take the girl to China town in Dallas. My first thought was that since we weren’t getting along in a great big house, how exactly is being crammed into a small hotel room going to help? But we went. We actually had a pretty good time. It was there that one of the two (of only two) funny things that ever happened in our time together.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and told Chen she could pick the place we ate lunch. We drove slowly by every restaurant in the area so she could read the signs. I could not read any of them so we were totally trusting this screaming, inconsiderate girl to choose our lunch location for us. I thought of it as our gift to her. It was also a chance for her to battle her culture shock by regaining some control in a more familiar environment. It seemed like good advice and I had the best of intentions. I was also very hungry by now. I started asking “what about there? Or there?” She always had some haughty reason for not deigning to eat there. I asked about a place that looked like a lunch counter. She said, and I quote, “NO. Not thaht place. They only sehrve snakes and cookies.” My kids all screamed in grossed out unison “You eat snakes?!” J

She looked at me and said confusedly “what is snakes?” I demonstrated what a snake looks like with my hand and even she managed to look grossed out. “No. Not snakes. What you say for cookies, cakes?” That would be snacks. “Ah!”

That was funny.

We ended up having a really great meal. It was served family style. There was a big lazy Susan in the middle of the table and the dishes were brought in big bowls. You could spin the lazy Susan and help yourself. Chen ordered one of every thing on the humongous menu. She ordered it from the waitress in Chinese so I had no idea what I was even going to be eating. I could read the prices though and even if she had ordered the cheap stuff this was going to kill our eating out budget for the year. It turns out though, that if you order in the waitresses native tongue the prices go way, way down. It was good, too.

The waitress sat a platter down near one of my sons and told him it was shrimp balls. He just looked at me. I embarrassed him when I said “Bigger than you’d expect them to be, aren’t they?” Hahaha. I crack me up.

Are you bored yet or shall I continue?

Old Hat

Currently Songs About Jane By Maroon 5 Harder to breathe see related

Just So You Know

Just So You Know

If we are driving down the road and I interrupt you by loudly yelling “Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!” That actually means “Look! There is a white tail deer running across the road!”

Just so you know.

If we are driving down the road and I interrupt you by loudly yelling “Look up!” That does not mean you should look directly up. It most likely means that there is a falcon on a telephone pole in our immediate vicinity.

Just so you know.

I am becoming one of those camera people. I’m not one yet, but I am headed that way. You know what I mean. About fifty times per day I say something like “Oh, cool. I wish I had my camera with me.” A review of what I searched for on Google on any given day would likely reveal a listing of cool lenses or pointers on how to shoot something particular.

Just so you know.

I absolutely love popping bubble wrap. Especially the small ones.

Just so you know.

I am considering switching to Mozilla Firefox. I am still on MSIE 6 because I am out of room on my laptop. And when I say out of room…I deleted a bunch of email yesterday …and it helped. I think I would like Firefox just fine, but it is probably more of a hassle than I want it to be and I see no reason to be hassled when I am about to have to upgrade my computer anyway. And by upgrade I mean buy a new one. One made in this century. Oh my goodness, I just realized I am typing this on a computer from the previous millennium! I am so retro it hurts.

Just so you know.

My hair is longer than it has ever been in my life. I am become the long haired country boy. I used to be a stickler about hair length for boys and men. I am from the flat top generation, I guess. Now my attitude has changed. I think you should play with it while you have some. It probably won’t last forever. J You won’t see me coloring mine and I can’t risk a Mohawk at this late date, but I might just have a ponytail if this keeps up. Mrs. Hat would love that.

Just so you know.

Back when I first started travelling a lot, and by a lot I mean flying several times each week, I missed my girl something fierce. We had never been apart before. I swiped an old pink hairbrush that she had used as a young girl. She wasn’t using it anymore and whenever I went to shave there it would be and I would smile. Then on one trip I lost my comb. Standard black old fogey pocket comb. I started using that little pink hair brush. I’ve used it for years now and I smile every time. Well, now that my hair has grown long and shaggy, I had to go get a new comb. If I use her little pink hair brush on my head now I quickly end up looking like Bozo the clown. And it does not make me smile.

Just so you know.

I like to read. And by that I mean I read a lot. I read a little bit of everything. I have a tendency, though, to read books with a similar theme once I get started. I recently reread Robinson Crusoe. I love that book. It is the story of one man surviving against all the odds. That started my most recent trend. I have read “Last of the Breed” and “Jubal Sackett” by Louis L’Amour. I read “The clan of the cave bear” by Jane Auel again and “First Blood” by David Morrell.  I just finished “The 100 days of Lt. MacHorton”. I am currently reading “Thunderland” by Dan Parkinson and I figure next I will start on “In the realm of the Wolf” or “Waylander” by David Gemmel. Or “Hondo”. Or maybe “Shibumi” by Trevanian.

Just so you know.

Some of you have been thoughtful and trusting enough to include me on your protected posts. I am often surprised to be included. I am always appreciative of the honor you pay me by allowing me to be a part of your protected thoughts. When I read them I don’t think of them as protected. I think of you having put your post on cowboy lock. J

Just so you know.

I am tired. That seems to be a permanent state for me this year. I am content with that. I am learning to be content in all circumstances. Yet it has been good of you to share in my troubles.

And just so you know?

I am glad you are here.

Old Hat

Currently Mama Tried/Pride in What I Am By Merle Haggard Teach me to forget see related

Numu Parakaa

Numu Parakaa

The Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes 556 official Native American or American Indian tribal organizations. Many of the tribes that are on the list are recognized by names the tribes never called themselves. Most tribes are called by names given to them by Europeans or other Indians who met them and called them by some descriptive term. For instance there are the Ice People, the White Clay people, people of the yellow earth, dwellers of the fish ground, children of the sun, those who have the cup, people of the pine and even people of the (or with) many names.

If you research what most tribes call themselves you will generally find that the name means The People. In some cases it even means People, implying that those from other tribes are less human than themselves. That is the case with the Numu Parakaa. They refer to themselves as People. You know them better as the Comanche.

Comanche was the name given to the tribe by the Ute or Cheyenne. Komantsi means “anyone who wants to fight me all the time”. Which will tell you a bit about the warlike inclinations of my people for I am of that tribe. I have never mentioned the name of my tribe and had to explain who the Comanche were. They are a famous, or perhaps infamous, tribe. Most folks know something of them and most of it is not good. No one, for example thinks of the Comanche when they are looking for a story that explains true love. I understand that. I am content. I know who I am.

I am a descendant of Ten Bears (Parooway Semehno) of the Honey Stealers (Penateka) Band of the Comanche People (Numu Parakaa). There is a story told of Ten Bears that has meant a lot to me through the years. During one of the last great fights of The People, near present day Galveston, a group of warriors was cut off and surrounded. Many of the warriors declared that it was a good day to die and prepared for one last wild charge. Ten Bears is said to have responded “for a warrior any day is a good day to die. But I choose instead to do the hard thing. I choose to live and lead my people.” He did so. It cost him a life of frustration and struggle in a land not his own and not of his choosing. You might call him a patriot of the Comanche nation. He never ceased in his struggle to make the US Government keep the promises made. He never succeeded, but he never stopped trying to better the lives of his people. That, I think, is love.

I am one of the People who now walk the Jesus road. Jesus came to die for us, but before that happened he lived for 30 some years in the very shadow of the cross. He knew what was coming yet he shared more than 3 decades of time with folks like you and me. Can you imagine the burden of that anticipation? That, I think, was love. Laying down a lived life.

We are called to lay down our lives for one another. We are told there is no greater love than giving up one’s life for a friend. And yet… I think the love of daily life is a giving up of life also. Not a sudden martyrdom, but the daily laying down of our own lives for that of another. A mother and child come strongly to mind. All of that laundry and cleaning and cooking? They are expressions of love – a laying down of life. That job that is giving you ulcers but providing shelter and clothing? That is a laying down of life. The time you spend with weeping friends when you have no words of comfort? That is a laying down of your life.

Greater love has no one than the one who lays down their life for another. The sudden martyrdom type of death is seemingly much easier to identify as love. The life given up slowly daily seems much harder to define as love. I wonder why? I think it is by far the harder of the two.

For myself, I choose this day to do the hard thing.

I choose to live and to love.

What will you choose?

Old Hat

Currently Comanche Flute By Doc Tate Nevaquayah see related

Phone a Graph

Phone a Graph

This may astonish you, but I have 602 contacts in my cell phone.  It astonishes me, I must say. I just rechecked. That is just the number of contacts. Not the number of phone numbers, just the contacts. And a lot of those contacts are of the Mr. & Mrs. Variety where it represents two people. That is a lot of people.

Because I am one of your strangest friends, I was wondering what my contacts would look like on a graph. You know what I mean? If you were to make a pie chart of all of my cell phone contacts what would it reveal?

I have long been a believer that if you want to know what is really important to somebody you only have to look at their checkbook register to find out. People tend to spend their money in a revealing way. Mine shows that I am addicted to eating groceries and living indoors. If you looked at my checkbook you might get the impression that I was a huge supporter of Wal-Mart, for instance. J You could also tell that we have had a busy year filled with doctors’ visits and lots of tests. Important stuff.

I guess the two thoughts sort of merged in my heat addled mind at some point today. I wonder if what is important to us is revealed in our cell phone databases in a similar way? Or more simply, just what do our cell phone contacts tell about us? Since I do not have your telephone I have no idea what yours says about you. Mine is more readily available to me. Go figure. So here is a quick and dirty analysis of the contents of my cell phone.

No, of course there is no reason for this. Did you think there would be?

Okay now… let’s see here;

I see a veteran of this current war in Iraq who served with the 101st Airborne Division. I see two veterans of the first Gulf War – one long range recon, one combat medic. I have a few vets from the Viet Nam war. I have one from the Korean War. He spent three years there as a combat medic. He is one of the most fascinating men I have ever known. I see two men who retired from careers in military intelligence, one Navy and one Air Force. I have one retired General in my phone. I see several other veterans of our armed forces and a few still serving from the rank of airman first through full colonel. Good folks all.

Civil servants might also be a category on the pie chart. One judge; a couple of lawyers; several firefighters; a few police officers; one tactical officer/sniper with the SWAT team; one sheriff; one highway patrolman and one border patrol officer. I feel safer already.

Several good doctors (good defined as those who will share their cell phone numbers with you), one good dentist (good defined as having a really cute dental hygienist), two cute dental hygienists, more nurses than I can count covering everything (hospice, ob-gyn, ICU, NICU, oncology, hemotology, hepatology, rehab, orthopedic, etc), two veterinarians and a partridge on a pear tree. Okay. Not really on the partridge.

Dozens of teachers, two principals, one headmaster and several coaches. One university president. That is probably good for my reputation but it is undoubtedly hard on his. J Several preachers and pastors. Several engineers and one gorgeous geologist. Three accountants. Several non profit executives. Four research and development scientists. Five chefs. Quite a few pilots. Four graphic artists. Some really good musicians. Two tae kwon do second degree black belts and one Tae Kwon Do Master. Three hapkido black belts. A ton of sales professionals of things like beef, chicken, pork, sausage, drugs (the legal kinds), insurance, cars, tractors and lawn and garden type things. A motley and varied collection of buyers and brokers spread across three countries.

Ten folks for whom English is a second language.

A rowdy collection of teen agers.

Many family members.

Lots and lots of good friends.

And my best friend. When she calls me the caller ID says Darling. J

I am not entirely sure what all of that says about me.

What does your cell phone contact list say about you?

Old Hat

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Many Thanks

Many Thanks

Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to write to my lovely bride and offer her your encouraging words. I am grateful.

She is too and she says to thank you and she is in the process of writing you back. I can assure you that she has read every letter she has received. Some of them she read out loud to me. Some she just giggled as she read them to herself and would not tell me what they said. But she told me who sent them and I’m keeping my eyes on you people.

Especially you, cousin John.

One thing I can assure you, if you sent her an email you will receive a reply. Some of you already have. If you have not, please be patient. She is working on it. J

If you would like to send her an email, please do. It has kept her mind busy and turned outward during a week that has needed some distractions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

You are a good friend to me.

Old Hat

Currently Thank U By Alanis Morissette see related