End of the Garden Year 2013

 

     It actually happened around the 4th of October (that’s when the frost hit the plants), but I haven’t taken the time to sit down and assess the gardening this year.  But, I figure I can take the time now, after all the plants were pulled, the ground tilled (yes, I’m in at least good enough condition to till – with lots of breaks) and I can start thinking about next year.

     As far as the plants grown from seeds, they were overall a success.  We were able to get green beans, peas, and carrots to use as fresh vegetables or to can.  We still have some pints of canned green beans and there are still some peas in the freezer.  We didn’t get quite as much as I might have hoped or wanted, but it was better than getting nothing.

     The plants did not do quite as well.  The green peppers just did not ever get going.  I think it was probably their placement, as they didn’t get quite enough sun to truly produce fruit.  The weather may have also played a factor.  The tomatoes weren’t too bad, we were able to get some for salads, but I didn’t get them caged or staked and the two plants we had fell over.  They still continued to produce fruit after falling over, but I didn’t get them off the plant before the frost hit.  Lost some, but not too many. 

     The cucumbers did OK, we got a couple that we could use in salads, but not enough to consider pickling.  The zucchini did not do very well.  We only got one or two small fruit, and there were quite a few others that spoiled on the plant.  We didn’t get any squash either.  Again, that might have been placement, as I don’t think I gave the plants enough room to spread out.

     So, how am I going to fix this for next year?  I’m certainly not planning to cut down on plants, so the only choice in the matter was to expand.  I decided to mark out where I wanted the garden for next year and ‘busted’ the sod.  I didn’t have enough time or energy to rake the area out, but I’m hoping that will make it easier come next spring.  I’ll also try and have more assistance when I actually start preparing the area.

     The bottom line for this year:  It was a definite learning experience, and there were enough good results for me not to be discouraged.  Next spring I intend to be back at it with an even bigger plot to work with.

Just a rant

 

     OK, this idiocy categorized as the government shutdown has been going on for almost two weeks now.  There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight, and when there might be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be a freight train attempting to run us (the country collectively) over.  Both parties in power have barely moved from their starting positions.  If someone isn’t careful, or some sense of agreement doesn’t start showing, this country is in serious danger of going down in pyrrhic glory.  I’m not in as bad of shape as some, as I was one of the ‘lucky people’ to get to go back to work, but there’s no longer any guarantee of anything at this point, so that is definitely coloring my perspective.

     I thought we elected people to represent us.  Is this situation really what we wanted the people to represent us to give us?  Now that I think about it, when you look at the perspectives being expounded by those on the left and the right on the internet and across the radio and TV, maybe it is.  People want what they want, and to hell with everyone else.  Apparently we are no longer a ‘society’ but rather a group of individuals who happen to inhabit the same geographical area.

     I thought the Constitution was designed at least in part to protect its people.  Allowing things to continue like this is not protecting people.  The shutdown and the resulting furloughs, park closures, etc., seem to be designed to cause maximum harm.  And the government we have in place (and I am including all branches of the government in this)appears to be incapable of protecting us anymore.  What does that say about this country and the people we have running it?

     For those who are of the opinion that ‘the government shutdown/impending debt ceiling fight is a good thing’, take a look around when you are out and about.  The people you see are being affected by this, whether directly or indirectly.  I ask you to think about what that says about you, if you are willing to inflict suffering on other people in such a seemingly callous manner?

     You’re upset about how much the government has influence on our lives?  Fortunately or unfortunately this is how our government and society is set up today.  Want to go back to how the government ran when this country started?  That is not realistically possible.  In other words, that horse has left the barn.  Our government and society has evolved and changed due to the different incidents and philosophies that have come and gone over the years, for better or worse. 

     Yeah, Ook has really come out swinging this time.  He’s howling and banging his club.

Well, this is unfortunate

(Image Credit artofmanliness.com)

     What do I mean by unfortunate?  Well, those who know me will know that I am an employee of the U.S. Government.  That means on October 1st, because the President and the Congress could not reach an agreement to fund the government either through continuing resolution or annual budget (I know, haven’t seen one of those for a while but they are supposed to be done), then non-essential portions of the government ‘shut down’ until the situation is resolved.  I was one of those considered ‘non-essential’ and was sent home after setting up my out of office for my work email (not with the snarky comment I wanted) and ensuring there were no ‘loose ends’ to be dealt with by the military personnel who now have to do their work and the civilians.

     The bottom line of this impasse (for lack of a better term) is:  the House of Representatives (controlled by one party) is holding funding for the government hostage in order to change a previously enacted law through ‘defunding’.  The Senate and President (the other party obviously) will not let the funding pass with the defunding legislation attached.  They ‘passed’ funding bills back and forth, with the only difference being the defunding legislation.  At this point, no one is talking, the fingers are pointing, and there appears to be no end in the immediate future.  Ideological purity has taken the place of governing, and apparently every issue is a ‘hill to die on’.  Everything is a fight instead of a negotiation.  The process of lawmaking no longer fits the ‘sausage making’ metaphor.  It better fits the ‘death matches’ of the Roman Coliseum, with the fervent party supporters playing the part of Caesar, determining the fate of the combatants.  Well, if you’ll excuse me I don’t want to have the gladiators, I’d rather have the governors.

     Now, as much as that law is based on good intentions (we all know where that leads), it is really the height of arrogance to think you can hold the government or the country hostage in order to change the law.  Last time I checked, that was what the legislative and judicial branches are for.  But hey, we can just throw everything out the window I guess.  Personally, I really do not care what political party or persuasion you are. If you cannot do what is necessary in order to ensure the government functions as smoothly as possible, then you do not deserve to be in office.I know I am taking this very personally, but I think I’m allowed.

Decided to Change Things Up

 

And update the theme on my blog.  I don’t know whether or not I’m going to keep it this way or perhaps change it again or even change it back.  Maybe the lighter, happier colors will bring happier thoughts.  One can hope, anyway.

Canning

 

Growing up, I assisted my parents for many years canning green beans, wax beans, carrots, tomatoes, applesauce, and pickles.  One of my prevalent childhood memories is sitting in the dining room many evenings during the summer and early fall with the canner steaming and rattling.  The pressure canner we had used specific weights (5 pound, 10 pound, 15 pound) you would put on a steam vent to build the pressure for canning. 

I mentioned a little while ago that I was going to can the green beans I picked from our garden.  We finally processed them the other day.  This was the first time I had ever tried canning on my own.  Finding the pressure canner, jars and lids was not difficult.  The pressure canner we picked up is different from the one I remember growing up is there only one weight (15 pounds) with a pressure gauge to measure the pounds of pressure inside of the canner.  You can still pick up pint and quart jars in stores, as well as lids and canning salt (you don’t use table salt because the minerals will end up as sediment in the bottom of the jar).

For this first go round, we only did 3 1/2 pints of green beans (that was all we had).  It was really weird to do that.  I was always in the cutting and filling of pints and quarts with the different fruits and vegetables we grew.  To actually be the person putting the water in, running the canner and getting them through the process was completely different.

 

We’re hoping to get more green beans (we even picked some up from the local farmers’ market to get additional pints) and carrots (store bought again at this point since my carrots are not yet ready).  To be able to have processed green beans and carrots without so much salt will help us as we try to change our diet.

Wasn’t paying attention

 

 

And I just completely blew past post 100.  This will be post number 102.  Oh well, I guess it’s better late than never.  In honor of the occasion, I post a picture of me with a cabbage leaf on my head.  Why?  No reason, it just seemed like a good idea.  Per unanimous family vote, they say I look better with the beard and without the cabbage leaf.

There are some times I wondered if I would get to something like this.  Other times, well I just seemed to have a lot to say.  It took over four years to get to that magical number (February 2009 was the first post – and July 2013 is when number 100 occurred). 

Looking through the posts over the years, the topics have run the gamut from politics to religion and recipes to gardening.  Some personal items and some out in the public forum. 

One thing I’ve noticed though:  I still seem to have a little bit of a ‘censor’ when I put my posts out, it’s kept me from putting some of the more outrageous thoughts and ideas out there.  Oh well, if they can’t find it then they can’t prove it.

We’ll see if it takes another four plus years to get to number 200 (we’ll see how much fodder our betters give me).  Glad you’ve followed along so far, and look forward to the future.

First Cardiology appointment

 

Usually, when I talk about cardiology appointments, It’s in reference to my daughter.  She has hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), with multiple open heart procedures as well as catheterizations and other procedures under her belt.  This time the cardiology appointment in question is mine.  I was originally supposed to see a cardiologist much sooner than this last week, but they had scheduling issues, and because I said I was doing ok, more time than what is normal for new heart attack patients passed before I could get in.

The appointment itself went fine.  After getting the usual vital statistics, I was brought into a small room (this is a very large practice so there are a lot of patients and doctors involved).  The nurse got my list of medications, asked a few questions about my overall condition, verified my medications (I brought them in rather than try to remember each one), and then went to get the doctor.  The doctor came in and went through the history of what happened (with the heart attack, tests, and hospitalization) and how I have been since then. 

One question was about my medications.  In the hospital I had originally been on a vasodilator (opening of blood vessels) but was taken off because I was dizzy.  Since then, I continued to have dizziness issues and actually needed to reduced the dose of the beta blocker (helps keep the pulse rate down and increases efficiency of the heart), so we decided to go back on the vasodilator (brand name Imdur).  Starting with half dose for four days and then go to full dose as long as I can tolerate it.

The next point of discussion was what I had and hadn’t had done for tests.  Other than the ekgs, angiogram, and blood tests immediately related to the heart attack, I hadn’t had any other tests done.  So, now I get my blood drawn for tests related to medication and cholesterol in the next few weeks (not sure when that will be – question for this week), and I go in for an echocardiogram this next week.  Once those are done, I get to sit down with the cardiologist and discuss the results.  From there, I’ll continue seeing the cardiologist fairly frequently until I prove to be stable.

This was just another reminder that something significant happened to me.  There are times I feel like it was minor and insignificant, so maybe I need the reminders to help keep things in perspective.

Continuing down the garden path

 

Well, I’ve given up trying to comment on current events.  I’ve determined I’m either going to say something to offend everyone (shock the room as it were), or work myself into such a frenzy that it’s akin to wrestling a pig (we know how that goes).  So, I’m going to turn back to my continuing ‘experiment’ of the garden.

Right now, the peas appear to be on their last legs (most recent picking was only about a dozen or so pods), so I think we got all we’re going to get from them.  We were able to use them in some salads as well as to a couple of main dishes (stir fry).  We’ve got 3-4 meals worth frozen for later.  All in all, a decent showing.

What is really coming into play now are the green beans.  Here is a picture of the second and most recent picking (not a lot but looks like about 2 quarts worth if I can believe the line on the bowl):

So, what to do with those?  Can them, of course.  We picked up a pressure cooker/canner and some pint jars.  We got 4 pints (3 full and one 1/2 to 3/4 full) so far, and should be able to get some more as we go on. They definitely have potential.

What about the rest?  The carrots are continuing on, but I’m not completely sure how long I need to leave them in the ground – I remember leaving them till about labor day but that was when we were planting around memorial day.  These were planted at least a month earlier.  Tomatoes?  We seem to be getting some, and will have at least enough to accompany a meal, but not much else.  I think the pepper plants are just for show, as they don’t seem to be doing anything other than existing.  The cucumbers are starting to produce as well as the zucchini (why do I keep hearing the theme from ‘Jaws’ every time I mention zucchini?).

Of course I will give a final account once everything is in or done, but as of right now things are going at least as well if not better than I expected for a first year garden.

More adjustments

 

I do have some ideas moving around my head about current events, honest.  I think I just have to sit and write them down so they can be coherent.  The biggest thing rolling around my head is a growing sense of disappointment in my fellow man (the species not the gender, although sometimes it’s the gender too).  Ignorant, complacent, and way too quick to hurt others physically and mentally.  Anyway, that wasn’t the reason for my writing.  I have more adjustments to my new reality to talk about.

I finally had to get my medications adjusted.  My blood pressure was staying too high (130s and 140s over 80s and 90s), and when I’d rest (sitting or lying down) then my pulse would drop to the upper 50s.  I could tell something wasn’t quite right as I couldn’t stand up or bend over without dizzy spells.  So, a discussion with my regular doctor later, and I’ve added a med and cut the dose of another in half.  I’m doing better so far, but I’m sure there will be other adjustments that need to be made.

Being on a low sodium diet for over a month now, when I happen to eat something processed or, for lack of a better term ‘normal’ for an American diet, I cant’ help noticing how salty it tastes.  It really doesn’t take long for your tastes to adjust.  Even some things homemade are going to have to be adjusted going forward, if for no other reason than they are now too salty for me in taste to enjoy.

I am starting to be able to do more physically.  Which has been nice, since the peas are starting to come in and I am able to do pickings.  I can also continue to check plants and even pull a few weeds as necessary.  I do try to keep in mind that I’m not back to normal, but sometimes it’s difficult.  Mentally?  I’m not sure where I’m at.  Am I still trying to adjust, to deal with what has happened?  Has it not really sunk in?  Sometimes I wonder.

One month

 

It really didn’t dawn on me until a couple of hours ago that one month ago today I had my heart attack.  Of course I’m not much better than I was late last week physically (sometimes it actually seems worse with the heat, I’m not tolerating it well) and mentally I’m still trying to adjust.

The number and rate of changes that have occurred are still mind boggling to a degree.  That, and trying not to terrified every time I sneeze or have to bend over.  There are times I wish this whole thing didn’t happen, but obviously that’s not an option.  It’s strange how some dates and other things can trigger ideas and feelings within you and you don’t even realize it.

Gardening update (of sorts)

 

I decided I will continue talking about things other than politics and current issues (go ahead, talk about politics, I dare you.  I don’t give a flying flip at this point) and talk more about the garden I have going this year.  I think it makes a much better topic. 

If you recall, I tilled up a section of our back yard which was a garden at some point prior to plant some small items.  It ended up being peas, beans and carrots.  There are also tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and peppers.  Here is a picture of what it looked like once the seeds started growing and the plants were in:

 

Now?  While the carrots (which weren’t really in when the first picture were taken), are now in ( and recently thinned, although you can’t tell|).  I know, there are quite a few weeds, but I’m going to blame my heart attack for that.

The beans are now starting to sport some beginnings of actual beans:

And the peas?  I now have plants that are sporting quite a few pods.  We’re going to have to start harvesting those soon.

The other plants are continuing to grow, but it seems to be a little early yet for things to be coming from them.

Overall, things are going well.  I was worried the wet spring had drowned out the plants, but they weathered it well and are now growing nicely since the weather has turned sunny and warm.

Recent reflections

 

Given recent events, I suppose I could take some time and comment on them and maybe even provide some witty commentary.  But I’m just too selfish, or self-centered at this point, so I’m going to write about my continuing recovery from my heart attack.  I’m still recovering physically, so where I am at now isn’t ‘normal’ for me yet (at least I hope).  There have been some recurring themes and ideas these past few weeks (it’s been almost four weeks), so here we go.

In order to better take care of myself and improving overall nutrition, I had to adjust what I eat.  Cholesterol, fats, and sodium must be taken into account and scrupulously watched.  When you have to do this, or if you just want to do this (it’s not a bad idea you know), one tool that is very useful is the nutrition labels on foods you buy.  At the same time, this tool is becoming somewhat of a thorn in my side.  A bane of my existence if you will.  There have been a number of times when I’ve had to stop myself and adjust what I would eat because of what the nutrition label said the food contained.  Either the sodium was too high, or something else was out of whack.  Now of course some of the biggest culprits are those items euphemistically labeled as ‘convenience foods’.  I tell you what, it’s certainly not a convenience to me to get my entire daily allowance of sodium and fat in a single sitting (I may be exaggerating, but only by half at best).

As I am still recovering, I am still having to remind myself that I am not yet whole.  My activities are still somewhat limited.  There have been a few occasions where I have had to stop what I was doing and sit down because I could tell the exertion was ‘too much’.  There is an element of frustration, as I feel like my body has ‘betrayed me’.  There are things I was able to do not that long ago, but I can’t at the moment because a ‘twinge’ or dizzy spell will come on and I need to stop.  I certainly hope this will go away soon, and it’s difficult to have to wait for that time to arrive.

As a final note, I have been personally overwhelmed to see and hear the amount of prayers, well wishes, and expressions of concern these past few weeks by friends and family.  There are times when you wonder whether your presence is noticed or has an effect on others.  This showed me I do have an effect and presence.

A difficult post

 

Admittedly, this is a difficult post for me to write.  Having just experienced it, I felt it necessary to put this down as a reminder and perhaps a cautionary tale.

The drama started officially on Sunday.  I say officially because when I look back, the warning signs of something about to happen were there.  I got the last ‘warning’ the day before, and if I had been paying attention I would have done something then.  But I could excuse them all away.  I was getting older, I was out of shape, and so forth.  The last one I really couldn’t excuse away, but I told myself I would be okay, and besides I didn’t have time to stop and deal with health issues.  Forces outside myself decided I didn’t get a vote in the matter.

Anyway, I woke up a 4 am to my chest hurting.  As I said before, this wasn’t the first time it had done this.  I could tell immediately the pain was different from previous times.  I was up and down for almost three hours, trying to get it to go away.  It wouldn’t.  Not when changing position, not when taking an antacid, not by drinking water.  I tried to deny what my fears were telling me, I was having a heart attack or some other cardiac issue.  I then tried to get ready for the day (going to church) and trying to say to myself ‘if it doesn’t stop by this point, then I’ll go in to get checked out’.  Finally, by 8:30 I couldn’t tolerate the discomfort or deny there was something significant going on.  I told my wife about the pain.  At that point I started having cold sweats and when she touched my hands they were cold and clammy.  The only question in her mind was ‘ambulance or drive ourselves in’.  We dropped our children off at church so they could be with friends afterwards and drove to the emergency room.  I could have called for an ambulance, but I was still fighting some denial about what was truly going on.

Once we arrived at the ER, the drama was sidelined for a moment by a small comedy of errors.  My given first name can be used for either gender, but for whatever reason, registration marked me down as ‘female’.  After a few questions and reassurances that I was what I said I was, we got the registration straightened out and settled in.  Then the tests and questions began.  As they went through my symptoms, the doctors and nurses couldn’t say for sure what was going on.  Cardiac issue?  Possibly.  There were other items to consider as well.  We do the first EKG.  Comes back ‘normal’.  OK, let’s do blood tests to confirm, but it’s probably not as bad as we were thinking.  So, in case it was stomach acid related, they gave me a strong antacid.  The antacid did nothing for the pain, so the fears were starting to return.  We started talking about whether this was angina and how I would go home that day and follow up with a cardiologist. 

Then, the blood tests came back.  Elevated enzymes showed I was having a heart attack.  They immediately started me on heparin (a blood thinner) and gave me a large dose of nitroglycerin under the tongue.  Almost as soon as it dissolved, my pain went away and I was relieved (at least the pain had stopped).  But, I had to make life interesting.  My blood pressure fell and I was starting to pass out.  In comes the crash cart, and out go the visitors (a priest from my church was there by this time).  Fortunately the cart was not needed, and my blood pressure returned to a somewhat normal number.  Then they did EKG number two with some of the leads on the back.  Still normal. 

At this point, they moved me to the Cardiac ICU and wait there for the catheterization team to arrive.  The doctors decided a heart catheterization was needed to determine the cause.  I couldn’t tell you if it was a short or long session, since I’ve never been on this side of it before.  I’ve been on the outside, waiting for the results to come through.  I was also trying to focus on that moment, being on the table and trying to regain some sense of ‘normal’. 

The results?  Two of my coronary arteries are narrowed about 40%.  The official diagnosis is ‘coronary artery disease’.  The narrowing is not so significant as to require surgical intervention like a stent or bypass.  At this point, we are going to try and deal with the situation through medication and see if that will ‘right the ship’.  The good news in all of this?  The current theory is I had a clot that partially blocked the coronary artery, the official term is ‘Non-ST segment Elevated Myocardial Infarction’ (NSTEMI).  That, and the fact I came in fairly early on in the process meant the damage to my heart was minimal.

So, after a two-day hospital stay (needed primarily to ensure I wasn’t having issues with my new medications), I am now home to deal with this new time in my life.  I have kidded with my wife for years that I was ‘indestructible’ and to a certain degree I think I believed it.  Now I have had this happen and I know my life can end at any time.  But with the right combination of diet, exercise, and medication, I can push that time off for quite a while.

What moves us

 

     Sometimes I wonder about our society.  Whether you get your news from the internet, TV, radio, or newspaper (yeah, they still exist), if you take even a cursory look at the headlines the majority of them are speculative or controversial (and some may even be both).  If you can get past the headlines (and that can be difficult) the body of the story is no better.  Speculation and controversial statements abound, but facts are in short supply.  The truly sad part about it is, you can’t point at just one news company or outlet.  Every single one engages in this activity.  Personally, I’m expecting to see and hear stories about aliens next. 

     I remember when I was growing up, my father and I would chuckle while going through the grocery store checkout lines and seeing ‘the National Enquirer’ or ‘Weekly World News’ with their breathless headlines about some movie star’s ‘secret love child’ or ‘aliens meeting with the President’ (those tended to be my favorite if for no other reason than it was so out there and unbelievable).  If you remember not too long ago, the Enquirer actually broke a news story about a politician’s affair and love child (it probably helped the subject of the story was in their wheelhouse).  Can Weekly World News be far behind?

     We have the ability to choose in this country where we get our information.  We can also choose what information is important to us.  Want to know the latest sports scores or news?  Then you can go watch any (or all) of the ESPN channels or any of the other myriad of sports networks out there (to show my age, I remember when the first ESPN channel came out, and they weren’t sure it would catch on because the concept of a channel showing ‘only sports’ was unheard of).  Maybe you want to know the latest gossip about actors or other celebrities?  You’re definitely in luck there.  Between blogs and entertainment sites your head can be full of that kind of stuff in seconds.  But what about straight-up news?  The Joe Friday ‘just the facts’ type of thing?  They do exist, but you have to be ‘vewwy, vewwy careful’, to paraphrase Elmer Fudd.  The latin phrase ‘caveat emptor’ (let the buyer beware) is an understatement at best.  Biases, agendas, and who knows what else can lurk just below the surface of any site proclaiming to provide you ‘the news’.    And those not careful end up hearing the agenda rather than the information.

     I know the media companies are a business.  And businesses exist to profit their owners and shareholders.  Any benefit we as the consumer get is secondary at best (I know, I know, I’m being overly generous).  When you look at how much of each different information category is out there, it’s sad.  Apparently we find it infinitely more important to know the latest rumors about entertainers and politicians than to know the facts about issues and be able to be informed.  You can scream all you want about how the government, secret cabals, etc., are using media and information to ‘dumb us down’ and ‘make us their slaves’, but I ask you to think about it.  The sites and information is out there because WE as a society asked for it.  WE asked to hear/see about these things.  Maybe WE need to figure out why we say these things are so important.  Then maybe WE can change what is presented to us and how.

Returning to the earth

 

Today the weather was wonderful.  Mid-60s and sunny.  Not a lot of wind.  I decided to finally begin a task my wife and I have been talking about for a number of years.  I pulled out my electric tiller, and proceeded to ‘break ground’ and prepare it for a small garden.  When I started the tiller and began the process of breaking through the grass and moss, I was no longer a 41 year old but a 16 year old tilling the family garden. 

Growing up, my family was part of a co-op of sorts.  There were 3-4 families who all worked together on the garden.  Over the years, the other families stopped but my family continued on.  The warm weather was a signal to us to go out to where the garden was (it was on the property of one of the other co-op families.  They continued to let us garden there after they stopped actively working the garden in return for a small amount of produce) and begin preparing the ground for another season.  We would till and rake the ground.  We would then come out later and begin the planting.  We would grow green beans, peas, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchinis, carrots, and beets.  After planting (in northern Minnesota that would be Memorial Day weekend), we would go out every two to three days to check progress, weed, and when the time was right to harvest.  The season would end with another tilling, to prepare for the next year.

This process was much more exhausting, even though the area worked was significantly smaller.  Part of this of course is due to age.  Part of this was no doubt due to the fact that the electric tiller is smaller and less effective than the gas tiller I used growing up.  The other part if it was I had never done an actual breaking of ground like that before.  The years gardening growing up I was always working on land already broken.  This spot (you can see tires in the front – it was a garden at some point) has been overgrown with grass since we moved in twelve years ago (has it been that long already?).

I have hopes for this area.  The soil is darker and appears to be richer than what I grew up with, and it’s early in the growing season.  I know since this is the first year it’s tilled for growing it’s going to be difficult.  We’ll see how it goes.

One of these verses is not like others

 

     One thing I mentioned in my last post was that I thought about doing a blog post dealing more in the theological realm.  The reason is Theology and Religion are two things I find very interesting.  For me, it’s not just the idea of looking at/reading/hearing what someone believes, but also the foundation for that belief.  For example, if you believe in a literal 6 day creation, what you use to prove that can be more important than the belief itself.  For those whose basis of life and everything else is only the Bible, it may be comforting to point to something solid as your basis.  The comfort level can go down considerably when you begin to consider the many versions/translations/variations of the Bible currently in print (and online).

     Certain denominations may choose one version over the other (There are ‘King James only’ groups as an example).  If you dare go poking around the different corners of the internet (they’re not dark or bad corners, they just may not be very heavily traveled), there are websites whose sole purpose is upholding or putting down different versions/translations of the Bible.  Apparently, the ‘bad’ version(s) don’t support one or more of their particular theological positions.  How do you view the Bible?  Is it the sole source of your theology?  Or is it a single supporting part of a greater system?

     Why are there so many different versions of the Bible (especially in English)?  One of the simplest explanations is that each version uses a different Greek and/or Hebrew text as the basis of their translation.  Another reason is translating a Greek or Hebrew word differently into English.  Sometimes the difference is a small as an article (‘a’ or ‘an’ instead of ‘the’), or it may be a different word (‘maiden’ instead of ‘virgin’).  Each difference can cause significant theological upheavals, because as we are often told, ‘words matter’.

     Anyway, as an Orthodox Christian, the version of the Old Testament we use is called the Septuagint.  For those who do not know, the Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek.  The oldest version found is from the late second century BCE (BC).  This is the text used during Christ’s time.  Most Bibles today use the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament.  This is a Hebrew text of which the oldest is from the sixth century CE (AD).  You can find a number of websites discussing (in great detail) the differences between the Septuagint and the Masoretic text.  There are many who do not use or trust the Septuagint because it is ‘a translation of a translation’.  I’m not a textual critic, so I’m not going to try and defend or attack one school of thought or another. 

     I have found in reading through the Septuagint Old Testament that the differences from the Masoretic text bring entirely new meanings to passages.  There are also times when the Septuagint Old Testament doesn’t match the Masoretic Old Testament.  Sometimes, the Septuagint version has additional text in the verse.  Other times, the verse is completely different.  One interesting difference I found recently has to do with a well known verse in Proverbs.  The verse in question was Proverbs 22:6.  The Masoretic text version has ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.' (King James Version).  The Septuagint version (from the Orthodox Study Bible) has the following for Proverbs 22:6 ‘The rich will rule over the poor.  And servants will lend to their own masters.’  I tried to look through the rest of Proverbs, to see if the verse was in a different place, or perhaps the versions were numbered differently.  I could not find it.

     Why is there the difference between the texts?  Why was the version regarding child training added (or removed depending on your perspective)?  I really don’t have an answer for that.  And I don’t really need to have an answer, as the Bible for me is a single part of a greater theological whole.  These things may pique my interest, and cause me to consider the deeper meanings of the passage, but they do not ‘shake’ my faith, or cause me to doubt what I believe.

Not Just Reading, but Understanding is Fundamental

 

Oh my. What an interesting time we seem to be living in. There appear to be a recent proliferation of concerns about a number of different issues (gun violence/control and economy/taxation are a couple of examples). One thing I have noticed while perusing the many different opinions is the use of the word ‘fundamental’. Whether it’s a fundamental right, or a fundamental liberty, it’s used as part of an argument to bolster an individual’s assertion or position. Maybe it’s just me, but simply describing something as fundamental doesn’t immediately or automatically make it so.  I guess people presume you’ve done the research because they don’t back up this assertion with any evidence.  I may not be from Missouri, but I do tend to follow the state’s motto ‘show me’.

A very recent example of this use of fundamental is the to a certain degree implied argument that people around the world have a fundamental right to homeschool (my children are homeschooled, and I greatly value the opportunity given – full disclosure). I’ve looked at the situation which brought this out. To (greatly) summarize the situation:  a German family began homeschooling their children in 2006, in violation of German law. After being fined (and nothing I found says they paid the fines), and having German authorities come to their house and take their children to public school, they were asked by Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) to move to the United States in 2008.  Once they arrived they applied for asylum (they had other countries in Europe they could have chosen). The basis of their asylum application was they were being persecuted for homeschooling in accordance with their religious beliefs. The asylum case is now in front of a federal circuit court. An immigration judge in January 2010 granted them asylum, an immigration appeals court judge denied it in May of 2012.  The case is currently in front of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals with oral arguments in April 2013. The United States government is arguing against granting asylum. The government’s argument is: the family isn’t being persecuted or singled out for their religious beliefs by the law, as Germany does not allow anyone to homeschool their children. HSLDA is providing legal representation for the family and puts forward the following counterargument: the family is being persecuted because homeschooling is a matter of individual liberty and is therefore a ‘fundamental right’. Now, I’m no lawyer (and I don’t play one on TV), but the issue here is the application of the asylum law. In short, people are granted asylum if they can demonstrate they are being persecuted for religious reasons or because they belong to a particular social group.

Now, please keep in mind I am a homeschooling father so I am approaching this from a pro-homeschooling perspective. Here is how I see homeschooling involved in this situation: Both the United States and Germany (as well as a number of other countries) have addressed the issue of homeschooing in their laws. The United States allows it, with each individual state applying its own requirements. Germany (I know the German homeschooling law was made in 1938, so please don’t use the Hitler argument. Please?) forbids it. I know the law in my state, and I follow it. Maybe I disagree with it, but I still follow it. I have difficulty believing one of the rights upon which all other rights are built (which is one of the definitions of fundamental) is to homeschool. There may be (I can’t think of any off the top of my head) countries where there is no educational system whatsoever (there are most certainly communities where this is the case).  Are we to provide those communities with homeschooling curriculum, because it’s a fundamental right? That might be akin to that community being Eve, and we are the serpent providing them with the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It’s an application of our culture and beliefs without consideration of their culture.

Another argument is that homeschooling is essential to freedom of thought. This argument assumes the parents cannot tell their children what the school is teaching them goes against their religious beliefs. I cannot count the number of times my wife or I have commented to our children (either during an event or after) we did not believe something presented because of our religion. We also explained to our children WHY we didn’t believe that idea or concept. Yes, it’s work. It can be difficult. But sooner or later, our children leave us and they will encounter these things through their interactions in society. When we take the time to explain why we disagree with something, we are teaching our children freedom of thought. We are also teaching them logic and apologetics.

Since religion has been introduced as an issue, let me put this forward.  From a religious perspective, the imperative to ‘be subject to the governing authorities’ stated in Romans 13:1 appears to be ignored in this situation. Not paying the fines levied (bad law or not) is not being subject to the governing authorities.  Not only this, but we are to live peaceably with our neighbors.  How peaceable were they being towards their neighbors when they brought the authorities into their neighborhood?  Or with the media attention they brought in with their cause celebre? Before you respond, I know the counterargument is from Acts chapter 5 where Peter tells the Jews they must obey God rather than men.  I haven’t found a passage in the Bible where it commands us to homeschool our children. 

I understand there are those who are concerned that this case shows the U.S. governments ‘anti-homeschooling’ bias and this is a harbinger of coming persecution against American homeschoolers.  As I stated above, the case involves granting asylum, not whether or not one of the questions on a future immigration form will be ‘do you intend to homeschool your children?’ Maybe I’m a Pollyanna, or I’m stupid, but I just don’t see persecution coming because of that particular choice. Maybe because my reason for homeschooling is about the quality of the education my children receive instead of being based on a moral imperative. Please let me reiterate:  I’m thankful for the opportunity and the ability to homeschool, and do not want that taken away.  On the other hand, I’m not going to be a ‘chicken little’ responding with fright just because the government mentions the word ‘education’.  If I did, I will miss situations that are or will be a matter of concern.  But hey, what do I know?

It’s not personal, it’s just politics

 

     It has been over two months since I last put something on this blog.  I wish that I could blame my life and my schedule for my lack of posts, but I can’t.  These two months really been a struggle for me to determine when I should write and what I should write about.  On the one hand, I could go on a somewhat theological tangent.  That would be interesting to me, but I’m not sure anyone else would enjoy it.  On the other hand, I could be like so many other people and rail on about the current state of affairs in this country.  But even with that topic, there are so many possibilities.  One thing that seems to hinder me is:  by the time I finally figure out how I feel and what my true position is about a particular topic or issue (not sure if it’s paralysis by analysis, or truly trying to wade through the nuances), it’s well after the swell of emotion and discussion of that issue, and anything I put together comes off as ‘Johnny come lately’.  But, now I feel called to comment on our current mess dealing  with the economy.  So:  late, early, or on time, here goes nothing (or something, we’ll see when I’m done).  I will be up front and state that I do have a personal stake in this situation, and I am trying to keep the personal out of this post as much as possible.  It is ultimately very difficult, so if I fail at being impartial, you at least know why.

    As I write this, America seems to be on a road similar to what I mentioned with Hostess.  Both sides (and please look it up.  One side may have proposed this madness, but both sides latched on and agreed to it) signed a sort of ‘mutual suicide pact’ for the American economy.  The ‘sequester’ as it has come to be known, was supposed to be something both sides wanted to avoid at all costs.  What we have seen is that this was the case, until both parties saw the opportunity to gain a political advantage.  Now, both side are alternately trying to tell themselves this isn’t as bad as they said, or it is that bad and they’re blaming the other party for the mess.  In the meantime, the rest of the country gets to find out in an ‘up close and personal’ fashion what these arbitrary cuts will mean to both personal and federal/state/local economies (unintended consequences, anyone?) 

     I looked through all this and I have come to the following (somewhat disturbing) conclusion.  This marks (to me and I may be wrong) the first time the politicians and/or government have OVERTLY done something, either through omission or commission, not in the best interest of the country.  It’s finally gotten to the point where scoring political points with their supporters is more important than the good of the country, and they don’t care whether people know it or not.

     I believe this is something we as a country and a society need to ponder.  Now, I will say this is not a ‘throw the bums out’ type of general grumpy comment.  This is more of a ‘wow, have we really gotten/sunk to this point?’ kind of concerned response.  We as a country need to take a serious look at where things are going politically and thoughtfully consider whether or not we like it.  If we don’t, then we need to use the legitimate tools at our disposal to make it known we don’t like where things are and are going.  We also need to start trying to change who we have in government.  Let me state clearly right now, I don’t advocate overthrow or revolution.  I don’t think it’s necessary.

     There, I’ve said my piece.  Now, I’m going to stand back and see what the future holds.

Welcome to 2013!

 

Well, we’ve made it.  The Mayans apparently didn’t think we would.  Or maybe they thought we shouldn’t make it to this point, I don’t know.  For the first time in a long time, I feel like I am in truly uncharted territory, where I don’t know what the future will hold.  Not that I’m overly happy or distressed about this new year, just a feeling of curiosity.  I’m not sure why.  I passed a milestone birthday before this last year, so I don’t think that’s the reason. 

This year there are so many issues sitting and waiting (some not very patiently at all) for attention. The last few years have been so predictable, but now I’m not so sure.  Is it a sense of wonder or curiosity about the ever growing extremism in politics?  Is it a general curiosity about what will happen this year? 

I think it has more to do with where I am mentally.  The last few years, I have been ‘all over the place’ in regards to what I believe and where I stand on many political and social issues.  I think I am finally getting to the point where I am ‘comfortable in my own skin’.  So often, I have been reluctant to say certain things or to even wonder aloud about some ideas/concepts etc. and now I feel somewhat more free to be able to express myself.

I look back at the last year, and in so many ways, it was very forgettable.  So many things went wrong, broke down, and was generally miserable.  Not to say there was nothing redeemable about the year, but it was so often overshadowed by the bad things.  That tends to be what I remember.  Apparently, I can be a prognosticator, as I successfully predicted the presidential election.  I don’t know how much good that will do me, though.

So, all of that just to say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013!  I hope the new year goes well for all of you.