The Garden
What a beautiful day. I could see that it was clear out and our teacher Mr. Moss had the windows in our class room open. It was 6th hour and I couldn’t wait for the final bell. Jimmy and I had made plans to head to his house and shoot some hoops. It had been a long winter and we were both ready to spend time outside. The 1st day of spring was right around the corner. When the final bell sounded Jimmy and I headed to his house. He only lived about 5 blocks from school which was a little over a quarter mile. When we got to his house I phoned my mom and asked if I could hang out at Jimmy’s. Mom asked if I had any homework and I told her her about 1/2 hour worth as we has a test in science the next day, and I needed a good grade on the test hold my B average. We played a few games of horse and then just tried to see who could make the longest hook shot. Time flew and before we knew it Jimmy’s mom was inviting me to stay for dinner. I phoned home again and asked mom’s permission to stay and eat with them. Mom reminded me of my homework and said it was okay but she wanted me home by 7:45. Dinner was excellent as Jimmy’s mom cooked her famous pot roast. After dinner we sat and just talked about the Summer. Jimmy’s dad asked if I had any plans and if I was still going to mow lawns as I had last year. Jimmy dad worked at a car dealership and he usually got Jimmy to help wash the cars on the lot. After stuffing myself at dinner it felt good to just relax and let the food settle. We both wanted to shoot a few more shots but were to full. At some point I happened to glance up at clock and gasp, it was 7:30. I jumped up and thanked Jimmy’s mom for a great dinner and explained I needed to be home in 15 minutes. Jimmy’s dad mentioned that there was a short cut to my house which was a good 25 minutes. That was with me running part of the way. As he gave me directions he mentioned that part of the short cut was going through an old garden area. He explained that when he was a kid it was a neat area about the length of 2 blocks. It had a little paved walkway that had a few benches to sit and there were wild flowers and bushes. He said he wasn’t sure who maintained it but it was always a nice little stroll. He said if I took that short cut it could save about 10 minutes. It sounded perfect. I thanked Jimmy’s parents again and told him I would see him in school tomorrow. I followed Jimmy’s dad directions and sure enough I found about a 3’wide pave walk that led me into this area of trees and bushes. It was dusk out and seemed to be getting darker by the minute. I reminded myself that we lived in a good area and that I should not be afraid. Just as I was starting to feel a little brave I noticed a figure up ahead. It looked liked someone was bent over squatting on the ground. As I got closer it appeared to be a woman with shoulder length hair, kneeling, bent at the waist, sobbing and shaking. Every instinct in my body said I should keep moving, but I couldn’t. Standing beside her I asked if she was okay, as she turned her head towards me I realized it was a man. He had a beard with a face covered in sweat. His eyes were swollen from what I assumed was crying. I had a little flashlight in my pocket which was attached to my house key. I shined the light on the ground as I thought he was hurt. He was kneeling on area covered with small stones. Some of the stoned directly in from of him were red. It was then I realized it must be wine and this man had been drinking and was drunk, spilling his wine. I ran the dim flash light around the area looking for the bottle from the wine. To my amazement there was no bottle. The man then spoke and in a soft voice said “ will you please stay with me a while”. At this point I wasn’t sure what to do, again my instinct said leave, but I couldn’t. There was something different about this man. Instead of being afraid and thinking about me getting home late, I had a feeling of comfort. I asked if there was anything I could do to help. He responded and told me that he was going to undergo a horrific test and that were so, so many people depending on Him, and he didn’t want to let his Father down. As I was trying to make sense of this I noticed he was dressed in a gown or cloak. I also noticed that the area of red stones in front of him had grown. With the light of my flashlight starting to fade I shown it onto his face and realized that it wasn’t sweat all over his face it was blood. I said Mister I need to go get help. He said “thank you Tommy for staying with me, 86” As I ran to get help I was puzzled as I didn’t remember telling him my name. Also what was 86. As I exited the garden there was a couple out for a night walk. I explained what was happening and led them to the area where the man was. To my surprise he was gone no one was there. I apologized to the couple for bothering them and asked what time it was. They said just before 9:00. Oh boy was I in trouble. I don’t remember running faster than I did that night. Upon entering my house I found my parents in the living room saying a rosary. I apologized and tried to explain my story, only hoping they would believe me. My mom said that she had received a call from Jimmy’s mom that I might be a few minutes late. She also informed me that Jimmy’s dad had told you about the shortcut and going through the garden. I looked over and noticed my dad had starting crying. He told me to sit down for a minute. He reminded me that he ran cross country in school. He went on to say he had a favorite 3 mile route he would run to train. The route included going through that garden area. He said it was in the middle of route and how he loved that part. Early one evening as he entered the garden he saw a figure kneeling on the ground bent over. As he recounted his experience I realized it mirrored mine. He then told me that experience happened 22 years ago to the day. When we heard from Jimmy’s mom and she mentioned the short cut, knowing this date very well, I told your mom we needed to say the rosary. Specifically the sorrowful mysteries. I wasn’t very familiar with the rosary, let alone what the sorrowful mysteries were. My dad went onto to say that the first of the five sorrowful mysteries were “Agony in the Garden”. The one thing he couldn’t explain was the number 86 that the Man said. By now it was late and I was exhausted. I don’t remember much of school the next day and was reluctant to tell anyone about my experience. On my way home I wanted to go back through the garden area. Now that it was daylight, certainly there would be more that would help me to understand. There was no one present at the area but to my astonishment there were 2 concave impressions in the ground about the size of a small plate. Just in front of them were a group of red roses where I had seen the red stones. I wasn’t sure how these roses were growing amongst the stones. It was the weekend and I sure needed the days to gather my thoughts. Monday at school started out as any other school day. It was when I was handed back my graded science test I had taken. In red across the top of my test was wrote 86 thank you for spending time with Me.
What are the odds?
We live in a society that encourages betting. Betting on just about anything you can imagine. There are lots of betting sites easily accessible. 20-25 years ago you could bet on who would win the game, if the total points scored in a game were over or under, and how much each team would score, again selecting over or under a total number. Today’s betting includes in addition to the older categories personal player’s performance right down to how many yards they may gain to how many 3 pointers they will make and miss. Scoring is broken down to the period or quarter, it’s s never ending. Betting for poker or other card games could include a modest bet, a large get, or the ever popular “all in”. “All in” typically would signal a “pat hand”, or a sure thing. To help prepare you for your picks are the “odds”. The odds help in making your selection by showing us what might be the best choice. For sports, horse racing, cards and many more events or activities the odds are most generally based off of prior performances, weather, how teams have performed in certain conditions, what teams are in the middle of Controversy, who’s hurt, how they perform in big events. The list goes on and compiling all the data and information can lead to a overload. In the end the decision is made by the you. What team, what horse, what score, what person will you choose. People have lost tremendous amounts of money, cars, homes, their families and friends, jobs. Don’t get me wrong people have won as well and have been very successful. I would say that winning is the minority. In the spirit of the day we live in, let me layout a different kind of betting opportunity for you. In this bet you can win or lose. The winning and losing will be much more costly than outlined above. After you have made your choice, you will have to live with that choice for eternity. Let me start by giving a definition of prophecy. To predict or foretell of future events, often with implications of future events, mystical knowledge or spiritual insight. It involves speaking forth a message or promise. To predict or forecast, simply saying that something will happen in the future. Such as “He prophesied a change in leadership. The Old Testament of the Bible is full of prophecy by many different prophets. One mention of it is in the New Testament the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 verse 17. Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Can you imagine making a choice on a game and having the gift of prophecy. That would certainly improve the odds of winning. Having confidence in your choice. So here’s the bet. Let me 1st tell you the prophesies and odds. Jesus systematically fulfilled centuries old prophesies. In his life Christ fulfilled 332 distinct prophesies in the Old Testament. Most of those during his passion. What are the mathematical possibilities of all these prophesies being fulfilled in the life of one man. 840, followed by 97 zeros. That’s right 97. Here it is “Is Jesus the Christ, Savior, Redeemer the Son of God? Remember that you will never play for higher stakes, your soul, and where you will spend eternity. “Place your bet” As for me it’s a definite yes, in fact I’m “All In”..
What Did He Say?
One of the toughest challenges we will meet as Christian’s is giving forgiveness, either forgiving others or forgiving ourselves. It is a prerequisite to the second most important guideline that God gives us, with love the Lord our God with all our hearts, mind, strength and soul being the top requirement. While forgiveness is not a specific commandment, it does play into love they neighbor which is the second one. It would be easier if it continued to say love the neighbors we like. Besides who can love someone who has been mean and nasty to us, lied to us, sold us down the river, hurt our family, or spread terrible rumors and lies about us? Or worse would be the disbelief of having someone you trust, love and think they feel the same about us, turn their back, reject us and then to top it off do that in public in front of others. How can we work through that pain and resentment? I suppose it started many years ago, there existed a group of people from different beliefs, backgrounds, trades, etc. The one thing they had in common I suppose is they had no anchor in their life, a group of men that had no connection to each other at first but eventually share quite a bit in common. One by one they were hand picked to be part of a group, twelve in all. At the time I guess you could have called them the dirty dozen. The went on to be called the twelve Apostles. For three years they followed their teacher who had chosen them. He was someone who loved them for who they were with all their flaws. He gave them a love, tenderness, compassion, honesty and loyalty which they had never had in their lives. He taught them about his Father, a God they had only heard of. He called them all friends and gave them his all, while only getting back what little they were capable to give. One night he was the master of ceremonies at a great feast to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover. The one were the Israelites spread the blood of a one year old none blemished lamb over their doorway so the Angel of death would not come to their house. Little did they know that the master of ceremonies was the new lamb and the life he would save would be theirs and ours. A strange series of events that unfolded that evening included the teacher washing their feet. Now remember they wore no shoes, only sandals and their were no paved roads only dirt and dust. It was the dirtiest part of their body. It was all down hill from there as he then told them that one of them would betray him. I can only imagine the questions they had in their hearts hoping it wouldn’t be them. Betray him? What did that mean? Some boasted that they would protect him even if they had to die. They then went to a familiar garden where they sang hymns, something they had done before, hoping things would settle down and become normal. He went ahead of them on his own and became extremely sorrowful, pounding on the ground. What was going on? As we discussed amongst ourselves what was happening a mob showed up with clubs. I was sure they had the wrong place until the teacher asked them who they were looking for and they said him. He told them he was the one they seemed and to please let all the others go. Let the others go? They did not want any part of it and they ran, they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. I suppose when they were winded they stopped and tried to absorb what had just happened. Bent over, hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath they looked at their feet. The feet that only hours earlier had been washed by the teacher, the one they had just deserted. Over the next twelve hours they would hide and try to be inconspicuous. Some were questioned, only to deny they knew him. They were confused and scared. Curious to find out what was going on but frightened for their own safety. It would continue to go down hill from there as their teacher and master would be sentenced to death. They would continue to hide not wanting to face the same fate. One could only imagine the disbelief, sorrow and guilt that followed. The first and only person they had ever known that loved them for themselves was gone and they had not done a thing to support or protect him. What would they do? How long should they stay hidden consumed with fear and guilt? He was crucified. Three days later, when they thought it could not get any worse, some of the women in their group said they saw him. What kind of sick joke was this? Was the last few days not bad enough? No it seemed that there were those playing with their emotions. Later that night as they sat around filled with guilt, fear and confusion the wind started to pick up outside and the building started to shake. Their teacher appeared and stood amongst them. Oh no it’s true he has come back and yell at us for leaving him. They trembled with fear. What was he going to say? You bums left me high and dry, you bailed on me when I needed you? You sissies could not stand up for me or with me. I gave you three years and loved you with all my heart, teaching you and leading you to my Father. I called you friends, washed your feet, raised your family members, healed your sick and you would do this to me? Then it came and he spoke. I can hear the twelve looking at each other questioning what did he say? I think he said “Peace be with you”. “He said what”? The teacher must repeat it again, “Peace be with you”. How can this be? Then he breathed on them. Giving them His breath could have been characterized as spiritual CPR, giving life to their hearts and creating a spirit, that was part of him. A spirit and a heart that wouldn’t either abandon, deny, betray or be fearful. A spirit and heart so strong that most of them would die for. Die so they could live with him. This is beyond any forgiveness we could imagine. Talk about setting the bar high. I think part of it is about forgiveness, but the main part of it is about love. The depth of the love that God has for us. Is something we can not comprehend. It’s something we can’t get our arms around. You know that His love for us can’t be measured or compared, there are only examples that blow our mind. I suppose if you could measure it, it would be like all our love would fill up a bucket with water or sand. Compared to God’s love for us is like filling up all the oceans and beaches of the world. It is still hard to comprehend Jesus first words when he saw the Apostles. “Peace be with you”. I’m sorry, what did you say Lord, could you please repeat it?unto them, Peace be unto you.
The Lady next door
We lived in a small suburban town near Kansas City. Our neighborhood was a close knit group, one of those where everyone knows each other. We were especially close to the neighbors on either side of us. Mrs. Cornwell who was a widow and lived on the one side was elderly and had become pretty sick. Unfortunately, she passed away and her children put the house up for sale. The home was in good shape, and they listed it at a fair price. The home had been on the market for about three weeks when it was purchased. We were all anxious to see who had purchased the home and to go welcome them to the neighborhood. As the moving truck came, we saw them unloading the normal furniture. Then a car with a woman pulled into the driveway, she appeared to be alone. We waited until the next day to go introduce ourselves. My wife had made her famous chocolate chip cookies which were always a treat. We rang the doorbell and awaited with a big smile to welcome our new neighbor. The door was answered by an attractive middle-aged woman with a big smile. We introduced ourselves and gave her the cookies. She introduced herself as Fisa. I thought that was an unusual name but thought I would have plenty of time to get it right. She was very grateful and asked if we would like to come in. We happily agreed and went in. There were unpacked boxes scattered throughout the room as expected. She was pleased to hear that this was a great neighborhood, and everyone helped each other. She then told us that she was a widow and had come from a small town in which everyone knew each other. It sounded like our area was very similar to where she had lived. As we left, we told her to let us know if she needed any help. She said that she had help coming in the morning but appreciated our offer. The next morning an older van pulled into her driveway, four men jumped out and were met by Fisa in the driveway, she hugged and kissed each of them. At that point I wished I had asked about her family. We didn't want to be too noisy on the 1st visit. Again, I knew there would be time to have those conversations. The van was there for most of the day. I was glad to see she had all that help. Fisa was well received in the neighborhood and the neighbors loved her. After a couple of months, I started to notice a pattern of the same van that had appeared when she moved in, was now showing up at different places on the street. It wasn't anything I was too worried about, but curiosity got the best of me. I started asking a few of the neighbors who had the van parked out front of their house. It turned out that these four men were handymen and could fix anything. The feedback I got was that they were hard workers and worked for basically peanuts. The neighbors said they couldn't understand when they spoke between themselves, but they were always polite and respectful. The following year we were excited to send out invitations for our daughter's wedding. She had been dating a very nice young man for two years and my wife and I really liked him. We invited pretty much everyone on our street. Even though everyone was in walking distance we wanted to mail out the invitations. I felt bad in that I had never taken the time to ask Fisa her last name. That afternoon I saw her outside watering the roses in her yard, they were beautiful and she had almost every color I had seen. I went up and told her what I was up to and felt bad that I didn't know her last name. She smiled and said there was no problem. She went into the house and returned with an address label containing her name. Her last name was Revev. To my embarrassment it also had her 1st name which I never got clarity on. Her first name was Tfisa. I wasn't sure what nationality that was but wasn't too worried about it. She was a wonderful neighbor and besides I had to help plan a wedding. Time flew and it was one week before the wedding. Everything had turned out perfect from having a photographer, floral arrangements and a wedding cake in the works. It was an evening wedding, and I was glad we had the morning to button up any loose ends. It was a beautiful mass, and father gave a great homily knowing both families. We were all standing outside the church when my cell phone rang. It was the bakery responsible for the cake. They started by apologizing and said that the oven baking the cake had shorted out and the temperature had cooked the cake at 500 degrees instead of 325. It was overcooked and partially burnt. I stood there in dismay and thought this couldn't be happening. Everything had gone so well up to now. As about 200 family and friends were exiting the church I just stood in disbelief. The reception was at the church hall which was located a stone's throw away. The last thing I wanted to happen was cause panic. I stood with my head down as the crowd awaited the bride and groom exit the church. As we were all squeezing together, I felt a gentle tap on the shoulder. It was my neighbor Tfisa. She asked if everything was alright. Up to this point I had told no one about my call from the bakery. I told her about the call and the mess we were in. She looked at me and said not to worry. It was then I noticed that she was surrounded by the four men that had helped her and the neighbors. I had mentioned on her invitation that she could bring a guest. I'm not sure I noticed them in church, but as far as that goes, the church was packed and I hadn't noticed her. She singled out one of the men that I figured was the leader, or boss. She brought him up-to speed on the situation. She then looked at me and said follow what he tells you, it will be alright. The man looked at me and said, have the bakery deliver the ruined cake and I will stay in the parking lot waiting for them. I struggled to understand him as he had a deep accent, of a language I had never heard. At this point I had no options and was not in a position to question anyone. I made the call to the bakery who thought I was nuts. They had thrown the cake in the trash but would honor my request and bring over what they could dig out. By now the bride and groom had come out of church and everyone was walking to the hall. I tried to position myself in the reception line so I could keep an eye on the parking lot. At some point I noticed the bakery van pull into the parking lot and back up to my neighbor's friend's van. I was unable to see from there. It was time for introductions and toasts. Toasts turn into dinner as my wife and I were receiving many compliments of the celebration. I felt an arm around me and then received a kiss from my daughter. She thanked my wife and I for our support and love. Then she then commented on how the cake was so beautiful. It was then I came back to reality and thought maybe she was being sarcastic. I glanced over to where the cake was to go. I couldn't see the cake as the table was surrounded by people 2-3 deep. I grabbed my daughter's hand and walked over to the table. My knees felt like rubber. I was astounded as the crowd cleared and I could see the cake. It was as beautiful as my daughter had said. I scoured the room to see if I could find Tfisa. When I saw her, she was looking over at us with a smile. The rest of the wedding was awesome, we danced until midnight. My wife told me later while everyone had enjoyed the meal the big hit was the cake. People commented that they had never tasted cake quite like that. The following day I made it over to Tfisa house to thank her along with asking how that friend of hers pulled this off. She answered the door with a smile. I thanked her and then went on to ask how that man was able to produce a beautiful cake out of a burnt mess. She informed me that the man that had directed me was her Son and the three others were His close friends. All She said was that He was one of a kind. I didn't want to pry so I left it at that just being grateful for the help. A few days later I got to thinking about deep accent her son had, and what kind of name was Tfisa. I had a friend who was a professor at a nearby university. I felt pretty confident that he could get me to someone who may be able to tell me what nationality they were. I thought I would start by giving him the address label Tfisa had given me. After a few days my professor friend told me he had handed it off to a language guru Sabrina at the university He said that she came back and asked if you could get Her middle name. She seemed to be in a hurry and almost anxious to find out. I felt that the relationship with Tfisa was strong enough to ask her middle name. I left this up to my wife and they went once a week to yoga. A few days later at dinner my wife said that she was talking with Tfisa on family names and roots and asked her middle name. She told me it was Lele. I confirmed it with my wife and asked her, are you sure it's not Lala? My wife said she did confirm it and it was spelled with an e and not an a. I got the information to my professor friend. A week later he called and said that Sabrina wanted me to come in and meet with her. The following day I went to the university on my lunch to meet her. I was glad she asked to see me as I wanted to thank her for her help. Sabrina was waiting for me when I arrived. She appeared to be a bit shaken up and nervous. Not knowing her I figured this was just her personality. She started by saying that the name I had given her was Hebrew. I thought that was pretty unusual. The next thing she said shook me to my core. Sabrina said that my neighbors name translates to Immaculate Conception. We both just sat there staring into space. I thanked her and started my drive back to work. I was recounting the relationship we had with Her and the other neighbors, and what about the wedding cake? I called my wife and told her I had news that's incredible but would wait until I got home. I told her to see if Tfisa would like to come over for dinner. When I got home, I expected to see Tfisa and my wife together. That was not the case, my wife said she was unable to get ahold of her. I said I would just go next door and personally invite her. As I went out the front door and headed to her house, I was stopped in my tracks seeing a For Sale sign in her yard. I went and knocked on the door but no answer. I peered in the window only to see an empty house. About a week later we received a letter with no return address. Upon opening the letter, we realized that it was from Tfisa. She went on to say that she was sorry she didn't have a chance to say goodbye, but her son had another town that had requested his help. She signed off with, my Son and I look forward to seeing you soon.
our Family Reunion
Dedicated to my family
June 21st not only meant the start of Summer it meant that the family reunion was around a week away. My family always picked the last Sunday in June. It’s when we would come together at a State Park that was centered between a bunch of us coming from 6 different cities. It was a great time to be had by all and a chance to catch up with everyone. We would all bring a dish to pass and either a snack or dessert, along with whatever kind of refreshments you wanted. My uncle Joey would always get hooked up with a butcher who would cut and trim some great steaks for everyone, usually about 50. We would all pitch in and cover the cost depending on the number of steaks for each family. My cousin Tony and I would get to the park around noon, about an hour early and get the charcoal grills lite. As my wife and I packed the car Saturday night I checked the weather for Sunday. It looked perfect, Sunny in the low 80’s. We always brought any kind of ball you could think of, bats, gloves and of course the bocce set. We were up early and my wife and our 3 kids were on the road about 10. It worked out that we all had about a 2 hour drive. Traffic was good for a Sunday and we arrived a little before noon. Tony was just arriving with his family. After exchanging hugs and kisses we started setting up the grills. Other cousins started showing up including cousin Jason and his family. He made the best homemade bread. By 12:30 half the group had arrived. Joey would show up a little before 1 with the steaks. By then the grills were hot and ready to go. I saw I had missed a call from Uncle Joey, I figured he was giving me an ETA. I phoned him back and when he answered I said boy these grills are anxious to have some good steaks thrown on them. But his tone was not good, hey Emilio I got bad news my car broke down on my way to the butchers. I’ve tried to get help and a wrecker, it just won’t start. I’ve called the butcher and he closed at noon. I’ve tried his number but no answer. I feel terrible and just not sure what to do. I told him not to worry and just take care of his family and be safe, and keep us posted. I found while on my call with Uncle Joey I wander away from our picnic area and had passed a couple of other single families. As I stood looking back at all our family members laughing and having fun together I tried to think of any options. Not being familiar with the area I thought I would ask some of the others I had passed while on the phone with Uncle Joey. The first group was around 10 folks. I tried to identify the dad or grandpa to ask if there were any fast food restaurants in the area. I thought of locating a McDonald’s or Burger King, a place I could purchase a bunch of burgers. The first group was not from the area either but said they has passed a Wendy’s about 8 miles back. I thanked him and went onto the next group. I remembered passing them while on the phone with Uncle Joey, and thinking as this guy was unloading his trunk, who was going to play with all the sports equipment. His trunk was packed. Maybe like us, they had a bunch of family coming. The 3 of them were sitting around a picnic table when I approached and I asked if they knew of any fast food restaurants close by. The Dad looked at me and mentioned the same Wendy’s the previous folks had mentioned. I thanked them and as I was about to move on he said if you don’t mind me asking why I noticed you seem to be a little upset. I explained the situation and said the only option I could think of was trying to buy lots of hamburgers. He looked over at his wife and then son and went onto to tell me that the town of Oxford which they had come from, had a Meat shop that had just closed on Friday. They held a raffle for the community and his family had one the grand prize. A side of beef that had at least 50 steaks. He said he would be happy to share those with us. I congratulated them and said unfortunately I needed them now. Looking at my watch it was just before One. He said he had the steaks with him and would be glad to let us have them. He said they cost him nothing and he wanted to donate them to our family celebration. As I looked back at his vehicle I thought where did he have them. He would have needed 2-3 coolers. We went over to his car and he started to open the trunk. I didn’t want to be rude and say all you have back here are sports equipment. As the trunk opened my chin hit the ground as there were two large coolers full of meat. He counted out 50 steaks and he and his son and I transported them over to where our family was. By then everyone was asking what was going on and why we were carrying this meat. I invited them to join us but they said they needed to head back to Oxford. We got the steaks on the grill and went on to have a great meal and day. Uncle Joey made it around 2:30 as the wrecker had gotten the car started. As usual I ate way to much, cousin Melissa’s desserts were world famous. On the drive home I couldn’t help but think of the generosity of those people. By the time I remembered it was too late to get there name. I just know the Dad went by Joe. The following Monday at work our family was busy still texting back and forth about how much fun they had. Everyone had also commented on those being the best steaks ever. No offense Uncle Joey. I started thinking about the Meat/Deli that Joe said had closed. Had they moved to a new location or maybe a new name. I looked up the town of Oxford and no Meat or Deli came up. That was strange maybe because they just closed? I searched history back a year, five years, 10 years and still nothing. I then tried their city hall. A very nice elderly lady answered her name was Leona, I asked about any meat or deli shops that had been opened in past years. She went on to say she remembered a Meat shop as a child growing up, I think the name was HF meats, that was about 70 years ago. She went on to reminisce, remember going with her Dad. They were always so nice and they had a young boy about my age. I thought he was so cute. She said the only way to get the history of the town was to come in and go through the old files. I took off Thursday of that week and met Leona at city hall. She brought out some of the books that were 50-75 old from the town. I was impressed with the history and details from them. Most of the businesses back then were family run and had a picture of the family outside. After about 45 minutes a picture caught my eye from 1942. It was Joe, his wife and son standing outside a small building. The thing was they looked the same as they did when we met at the park. How could this be? Above their head was posted the business name, HF Meats and Deli just as Leona had remembered. I must have appeared dumbfounded to her. I asked her if she had any idea what HF stood for. I went on to say that the father in the pictures name was Joe. Maybe his fathers name was Hank or Harold and their last name started with an F. I continued to look through documentation with Leona’s help. We eventually came across a document for business registration from 1942. It included the unabbreviated name. I just stood there and glared at the HF is disbelief reading that it stood for Holy Family.
Grandma's Dresser
When I was growing up one of the things I enjoyed the most were those summer visits to grandma’s house. We would always go the week right after the 4th of July and stay for two weeks. It was a great time as grandma had a big back yard and there was a grape vine that I would always fill my tummy with sweet tasting grapes. Grandma’s house was the coolest, she had a lot of little figurines and pictures around. There wasn’t much open space on the tables and cabinets as things were all over. They were fun to look at, and every year there seemed to be new ones added. I guess I never really noticed, or thought much about it, but she had a large dresser in her bedroom that was empty on top. All the other tables and nightstands in the room were loaded as the other areas in the house. She also had another dresser in her bedroom, and it was packed on top of gadgets and little trinkets. As the years went by, I guess curiosity started to get the best of me. When we would first arrive, I made it my mission to go and peak into her bedroom and expect to see something on top of that dresser, I always found it empty. One year she had let mom and I know that there was going to be a big neighborhood garage sale one of the weeks we were going to be there, and she was needing our help. Mom had to explain to me what a garage sale was. It sounded great and I was looking forward to helping. When we arrived at grandmas I immediately asked if I could watch the money and make change for people As they bought things. Grandma was fine with that. We spent the next two days getting ready and bringing things from the inside of the house into her garage. I asked grandma if we would be taking stuff from her bedroom out to the sale, she commented we would. I took this opportunity to ask about the dresser that had nothing on top to see if the dresser or things stored in the drawers of the dresser would be going into the sale. Grandma said no we won’t be taking anything from that dresser. I asked her why she had not put anything on the top of the dresser, and much to my surprise she said that the dresser was full. So, I smiled and said okay, not really understanding why the dresser top was empty, when every other surface in the house was filled with things. Then it dawned on me that the drawers must have been what she was talking about and that they were more than likely packed to the top. The dresser had three drawers on each side with a cabinet in the middle. The following week was great and I had so much fun making change and seeing how things that we had brought out for the sale could make us money. The first day we made $35.50, I thought we were rich. The next day we were a little slower, at one point I asked if it was alright if I went inside and played with one of the games I had bought. Mom and grandma both said yes, so inside I went. It wasn’t long before I got a great idea. I know how we could put a spark into our sales. I would go through grandma’s dresser and see if there was anything in there that we could sell. I jumped up and went into her bedroom and went right up to her dresser and opened the first drawer. It was empty, puzzled I opened the second drawer, and again was surprised to see it was empty. I found the remaining drawers empty as well. Totally puzzled it dawned on me that the cupboard in the middle must be where everything was. I opened the door and was shocked to see nothing. Why would grandma have told me that it was full when there was nothing in it or on it. Just then I heard a sigh behind me, it was grandma with the sweetest smile on her face. I immediately told her my plan to make more money for the sale and that I was hoping to find something in the dresser we could sell. She said you didn’t find anything did you? And I said no feeling bad, but I had to ask her. Why grandma did you tell me the dresser was full? She said it is full, it’s full of all the things that I can take with me when I go to heaven.
My Tour Guide
There I was about to embark on the tour of tours, the one everyone talked about. I decided to take my entire family as this was a once in a lifetime journey. We arrived at the tour site and were greeted by tons and tons of people. I registered my family and was told to select a group which also included a tour guide. As I overlooked the different groups I was captured by this young man. He was a bit rugged looking, very handsome and you could just tell he had tons of personality and just looked like he knew what he was doing. I have found from taking previous much smaller tours that the tour guide can make or break the tour experience for everyone. My family wasn’t sure what to expect or anticipate on the tour, but as it started out it didn’t take long for us to come to a unique situation that left everyone uncertain of what we would do. “Stay here” said the guide “I will go before you and make sure it’s safe”. We couldn’t see him for a couple of minutes, but he quickly was visible and returned. “Don’t be afraid, follow me”. As we ventured deeper and deeper into the tour, it was one event after another. The Guide would go before us and make sure it was safe. I started to notice that each time he returned that there was something different with the back of his shirt, it seemed to be getting dirtier, I was thinking to myself this guy must be clumsy as he seems to be falling backwards. Then it happened we reached a terrible predicament, one that had us all wondering why we had gone this way, picked this group and decided to follow this clumsy guide. Some of the people bailed and turned back, but me and my family decided to stay. Many felt there was no way we were getting out of this one. Much to our surprise the direction given from the guide was the same, “don’t be afraid, I’ll go before you and make sure it is safe”. Again he returned looking a total mess, you could see that he had definitely fell down, his knees were scuffed and dirty and the palms of his hands looked filthy and the back of his shirt was a total mess. This time though he said, “stay close to me don’t take your eyes off of me, and most importantly don’t be afraid, I’ll make sure that everyone who has taken this tour is safe, I will get you home”. My family was sticking very close to him. I wanted to get close enough to him so I could ask, if he had always been super clumsy, and why was he so dirty? Just as I was about to ask him, the light changed and shown on him just right. It was then I realized that it wasn’t dirt, he was blood stained. The back of his shirt was red, and his hands looked as if he had fallen onto a bed of nails, they even looked as if one of the nails had penetrated and had gone through his hands. I’m not sure how, but he was right, we did make it through to safety, and no one was injured or lost. You see I’m writing this from the tour, as myself and family are still on it. Everyday seems to have those frightful situations, but the direction from the tour guide is still the same. “Don’t be afraid, follow me and stay close, keep your eyes on me, I will provide the light, and get you home”.
My Trial
Tuesday night was just like any other night, I went to bed around 11:00 pm and I don’t remember falling asleep, but this night turned out to be far from normal. I found myself in a courtroom, and quickly realized there was a trial in progress and what’s more was I was the one on trial. As I looked around, I noticed that the courtroom was empty except for the jury, the prosecuting attorney, the judge and sitting next to me was my defense attorney. I must have come in right about the time for the closing statement. It started with the prosecutor, a well dressed man in a pitch black suit with cold dark eyes. As he was addressing the jurors, I noticed that I knew them. They were people that at one point in my life I had done wrong to, mistreated, neglected and rejected. The prosecutor’s voice cut like a knife as he reviewed all the things I had done. I can’t describe the guilt and sadness I felt. He finished by saying that he thought I should serve a life sentence, the jurors head just nodded in agreement. As he went back to his seat, he looked at the judge and then stared at me and I heard him say “you’re going down”. What was going on, where was I, was this real? I hope this is no more than a nightmare. My defense attorney arose, he was dressed in plain pants and a white linen shirt. I thought to myself this guy must have been state appointed, a rookie with a beard and shoulder length hair. Where did they get this guy? This wasn’t fair, no way did I have a chance. A great fear came over me. He started to walk towards the jury then stopped and glanced at them and smiled. When I looked towards the jury to see their reaction, I was shocked. There were different people sitting there. I quickly noticed my parents, aunts and uncles, relatives all who had passed away. There were also people I didn’t know. My defense attorney then looked at the judge and said “your Honor may I approach the bench”? Before the judge could answer the prosecutor objected. The judge then asked that both attorneys approach the bench. You could have heard a pin drop. The prosecution started loudly demanding that I was no good and guilty. At this point I was wishing that my defense attorney would say something, please say something. It was then that He looked up at the judge and said “Dad, I have paid in full for all the things that he has done”. The prosecutor started swearing and throwing his hands up in the air. The Judge picked up the gavel and slammed it down and said in a loud voice “not guilty”. As the prosecutor turned around, he looked at me. If I didn’t know better, I thought I saw fire in his eyes. I can’t tell you the relief I felt. My defense attorney came back to his seat. I was so emotional I hugged him. After we hugged , he took a step back and placed a hand on each of my shoulders. I thanked him through my tears. I had so many questions. He looked into my eyes and just said “I didn’t want to be without you”. Before I could ask him what he meant I heard an annoying buzzer sound. I eventually realized it was my alarm clock. I laid there awake in bed thinking, what just happened, was it a dream, never had I ever experienced anything like that. I had so many questions. How did I pick my defense attorney, and why did he call the Judge Dad, where were the rest of the people in the courtroom, and who was the scary looking prosecutor, etc…? I couldn’t stop thinking about my night for the rest of the week, I found it hard to concentrate at work. A few months later one of my coworkers was retiring. They were having a nice retirement party for them to include a dinner at a country club. I had a favorite olive colored sports coat that I wanted to wear with black pants, it was my go to outfit. The retirement party was very nice, but wasn’t without an awkward moment. While I was filling my plate with shrimp, the person in front of me backed up suddenly and I dropped my plate on me and then the floor. They turned around and apologized and asked me if everything was okay. Feeling quite embarrassed I assured them I was okay. They apologized as they noticed cocktail sauce down the front of my sports coat. I assured them I was fine as I cleaned myself up. The following week I dropped the coat off at the dry cleaners and asked them to clean up all the stains. Three days later I returned to pick up the coat. The dry cleaners informed that they were able to get all the stains out with the exception of the ones on the shoulders. The ones on the shoulder’s I questioned? Thinking most of the cocktail sauce had hit the front. They showed me a single dime size stain on each shoulder. I asked them why they were able to get the cocktail sauce out of the rest of the coat, and not the shoulders. They commented that while they were red they were not cocktail sauce. I tried not to be rude, but insisted that they had to be and asked what else it could be. The young lady behind the counter went on to say that it appeared to be blood stains and that this was not the first piece of clothing that she had seen with the same dime sized spots on the shoulders of coats, blouses, shirts. I took my coat and reluctantly paid. As I drove home, I tried to remember the last time I had worn the coat prior to the retirement party. As I sat at a stop light, I glanced up at a billboard advertising a cruise. Its slogan was “Book with us today we don’t want to depart without you”. It was then I had a flashback to my dream and what the defense attorney had said. I remembered that I had that sports coat on in my dream. I struggled the rest of my drive home, I found it hard to concentrate, just thinking that right before I awoke that morning my attorney had a hand on each shoulder, smiling saying “I don't want to be without you”.
True north
As I glanced up at the clock I couldn’t believe the time, I was running a late for work. To top it off, I had just clumsily spilled coffee down the front of my shirt and pants. Luckily I had another set of clothes to change into, but now I was running even more late.
On the way to work I encountered a detour due to construction. It meant changing my route and taking the long way around. I made to work about ten minutes late, and found out that fortunately the 8:00 meeting was changed to 9:00. I thought I had time to grab a coffee. As I approached the coffee machine there was a sign that said exact change only. Luckily the change machine was working so I was able to make change and get a coffee. I sure needed it after wearing the one at home.
It turned out to be a good day at work, at least for a Monday.
My daughters track meet had been changed from an away meet to a home one, primarily due to the opponents track being partially under water due to the recent storms they had.
I was just happy that I didn’t have to drive that far.
The rest of my week was pretty normal with the exception of going through many policy and personnel changes at work and a few at home, nothing terrible, just loads of changes.
I got to thinking about change and how in today’s world everything is constantly changing. I was reminiscing about how I had taken classes on how to continuously improve, which meant making changes, and how to introduce these improvements at work and home. I honestly felt that most changes are good, however some are not and we don’t realize that until it’s too late.
A few will live in the same house and town their entire life. Some will have the same job at the same company. However many will move to different houses and change jobs throughout their life. Our bodies change, our appetite, intelligence, our families, relationships, clothing styles, vehicles, bed times, friends, food, finances, technology etc. and of course our age.
Throughout our life we are constantly reminded of change.
Over the weekend I asked myself if there was anything that doesn’t change over time. I came up with nothing, everything changes. The more I thought about it I began to wander around the house, there must be something I thought. As we were eating dinner that night I found myself focused on a crucifix in our kitchen.
It seemed to speak to me and say “what about Me”. I was the same yesterday, today, and will be the same tomorrow and forever.
You can count on me and my truths. To always love you no matter what, I will always be with you, always forgive you, always welcome you back when you stray, always freely giving my mercy and grace, always available to listen. “I am” your constant unchanging True North.