Camp Pictures

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Another Great Week at Camp

Well, it was a pretty good week. Since I last posted, I've been up to music camp up at Camp Mingus.

Getting there was somewhat touch and go. When I last posted, I was getting over an apparent intestinal virus that had really kept me down. I was supposed to be up at camp on Sunday afternoon, but I just didn't feel well enough. I finally managed to get packed on Sunday night and drove up early Monday to arrive in time for breakfast and the staff meeting. And as it turned out - healthwise - I really and truly was just fine.

The boys in my cabin were a pretty good bunch. There were no major discipline problems at all this year - pretty much just the usual squirrelliness you'd expect from seventeen junior high boys.

At this year's camp, the kids wrote their musical based on C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. As usual, they did a pretty good job, despite this being a rather complex storyline.

As usual, it was fun seeing old friends and making new ones. One little girl in particular happens to go to my church - I know her grandma, but I didn't know her very well - until this last week at camp. It was very touching to see how much she was enjoying herself. And this morning at church, she thanked the church for sending her to camp - and let them know that our new pastor (who starts in two weeks) is really teriffic!

Cats Rule!

This was an awesome and cute story. Turns out that Jack, a seemingly innocent little orange-and-white tabby cat, chased a black bear up a tree. Poor bear couldn't even get down until Jack's owners called him back inside. Cats rule!

A Large Piece of Scum Scraped Off the Earth

Today came the announcement of a rather large piece of scum being scraped off of our planet - namely Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. As leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, this miserable excuse for a pig was personally responsible for many murders. Although claiming to be some sort of freedom fighter, this manifestation of evil was no more than a serial killer.

So what's next on al-Zarqawi's agenda? Perhaps dinner with Hitler.

Addie, 1993-2006

It is a sad day in our household today; after struggling for a couple of years with the ravages of old age, we said our goodbyes and had Addie, our 13-year-old standard poodle, put to sleep.

Addie was born Memorial Day weekend in 1993 and was given to us as a gift just prior to our wedding the following August. Actually, it was on the insistance of one of our daughters that we get this puppy. And you know how kids are, always promising to take care of the [insert species here]. Of course, we ended up taking care of Addie - along with Snoopy, Midnight, Crystal - and later, Aries (Princess doesn't count - she was adopted by two consenting adults). Since then, the kids have grown and moved out (and returned, and left again), but Aries actually moved out. And of course, we gladly have taken care of all these pets over the years.

As a mere puppy, Addie was joining into a newly blended family of three cats (two of S's, and one mine). Naturally, the two alpha cats made it very clear who was boss. That still didn't dissuade Addie from trying to play the cats. We used to be entertained nightly watching Addie and Snoopy playing "patty-cake" (we haven't seen that for a few years).

Aries came along briefly for a few years and moved out with one of the children's roommates. We lost Midnight and Crystal. And suddenly, it was just Snoopy and Addie. At last, Addie was top dog again.

Addie developed low thyroid which slowed her down somewhat until it was diagnosed and treated. But by the time Princess came along last year, it was becoming evident that Addie was declining - and didn't mind too much that we had a new alpha dog in the house (even as tiny as she is).

Over the past year, Addie had weakened considerably and had difficulty walking. She just layed around all the time. She used to sleep in our bedroom at night, but that stopped about a year ago - just too much effort. During the past few weeks, her breathing has become quite labored. Her muscles had wasted away considerably. And so S and I made the difficult decision to have her put to sleep.

We took one last ride in the car together with her in the front seat next to me. Regretfully, she was too weak to take advantage of the rolled down window. We took one last walk to together as I led her to her destiny. Then I think she may have sensed what was about to happen. She couldn't walk anymore; I carried her the rest of the way - amazed at how light she had become.

It is said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." Despite her poor health, Addie had a lot of fight in her to the end. She is already missed.

I truly believe that God puts pets in our lives to demonstrate his unconditional love. The leash and empty collar in the front seat of my car represent the pain and anguish I feel from losing this member of our family. But the time we had with Addie was a wonderful time, providing cherished memories for a lifetime.

Lord, I thank you for bringing Addie into our lives and providing us another vessel for your love to flow from. Thank you for providing Addie with a good, long life, and for bringing peace and an end to her pain. While some would debate whether animals have souls or not, let alone a place in heaven, it is my hope that you are now leading Addie to a nice grassy field in the sun where she can run and jump with all the other dogs there. Assauge our grief and remind us of the many good times we had. Amen,

Times to Look Forward To

Despite the dark place we've been, we are now looking forward to things in our near future.

My wife, who has been working since getting out of the hospital, is looking forward to Thursday of this week - the last day of the school year.

This Saturday, our church organist will be getting married. And the wedding will be a musical extravaganza to say the least - we will be singing ten pieces. And although they are quite lovely pieces, some are vocally challenging (especially for this first tenor). But I think it will go well.

Then in another week after that, I get to serve at music camp. Even as I write this, I'm making preperations for that week.

Last year I took a CD player. This year I've got speakers to which I can hook up my mp3 player - and I'm bringing lots of music for these kids!

Anyhow, things are certainly looking up.

Somewhat of a Dark Place

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may have noted I haven't written here for quite a while. My last post came as the Phoenix Suns finished off the L.A. Lakers in seven games. Since then, it took the Suns another seven games to finish off the Clippers; now they're facing a challenge in the Western Conference Finals with the Dallas Mavericks.

Since my last post, the baby owls of Mayo Clinic have since left the nest. Unfortunately, it took my wife a bit longer to leave Mayo Clinic. She finally got released on Mothers' Day.

With S's health concerns and no paycheck (she's out of sick time for the year) and trying to make ends meet, it's been a little rougher than normal. With the lack of concentration and interest in many things, you could say I've been in a bluesy, dark place. In fact, I wonder if I've been truly depressed.

Yet, as I drove to church yesterday, I was feeling pretty good about myself and things in general. It's not typical of depression to "just snap out of it." But I've done just that. So who knows?

I guess one thing I can attribute to my good feeling is that I was able to get together with my Emmaus group on Saturday for the first time in four weeks. I think that just being in the presence of these friends brought healing to my emotions and my spirit. Just as a dying ember grows cold, it is rekindled when brought back into the fire. That's how I feel now.

Why Nash is MVP - And Kobe is Not

The Lakers were so looking forward to the "hallway series" against the Clippers. But alas, that was not to be. The Suns, springing back from a 3-game-to-1 defecit, put the Lakers away last night in the seventh game of their first-round playoff series by a score of 121-90 [recap], thus earning the right to advance to the semi-final round.

Credit Steve Nash, who has just picked up his second consecutive MVP award. Nash is a class act. He not only plays the game well, but encourages his teammates to do the same. He knows that his team's success depends on team effort.

Then there's the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, constantly throwing elbows at his opponents and complaining every time he gets caught - which is not as often as it should be. It's unfortunate that Raja Bell had to serve a one-game suspension for clotheslining Bryant in game 5; the NBA was certainly within their rights to impose that. However many NBA fans (especially here in Phoenix) believe Kobe got what he deserved. To put it bluntly, Kobe is a dirty player. That's why he doesn't win the MVP, regardless of his awesome play on the court.

After a hard-fought series, it's not uncommon for members of the losing team to go and congratulate the winning team. Many of the Lakers players simply went into the locker room. That's just poor sportsmanship. Maybe they should take lessons from Steve Nash, a true team player - and two-time MVP!

The Owls of Mayo Clinic

I had actually heard about these owls on a Paul Harvey broadcast several weeks ago, and I hear they make the news in other cities on a slow news day.

During construction of the new addition to the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Scottsdale, a couple of owls showed up and built their nest, and then had two babies. Construction on the new cafeteria expansion was halted until these babies can get out on their own. They're about as big as mom now, but still have their baby down feathers. Within a few weeks they should be mature enough to actually fly. But for now, they sit in the nest all day while mom watches over them, as well as people on the cafeteria patio. Then in the evening, dad will come back with a nice dinner, and mom can go out and hunt for her own dinner.

My wife ended up having to go to Mayo on Thursday. A real bummer. But these fascinating animals have been a wonderful diversion.