Update:
I had a wonderful time on vacation visiting my brother, various
cousins, and some of my best friends from high school over the last ten
days. Three things that I am very
thankful for as I returned home. #1—Wisconsin
weather: While I was in St. Louis
the weather hovered in the upper 90’s with high humidity most days. Even early in the morning it would be in the
mid to upper 80’s. What a relief to come
home to temperatures in the 70’s. #2—My bathroom: Although my bathroom at home is small, it
works well for me. I stayed in three
different homes while I was gone and none of them had doors wide enough for me
to get my wheelchair into the bathroom.
For the first few days I was wheelchair bound, so it was very inconvenient. I eventually used my walker; but that wasn’t
without risk and difficulties as well. I
fell once at my brother’s home and had several other close calls. It is so nice to be home where I have grab
bars, a tall toilet with side rails, and a bathroom door wide enough for me to
roll in close enough to everything I need.
So I’ve gained a greater appreciation for what I’ve got. #3—My
wife: she stayed home so I missed not having breakfast with her every
morning and seeing her each day. I had a
great time in MO but I’m glad to be back to see her!
When I visited my Creel cousin’s I stayed at Rick and Marcy’s
home. They have a couple of smaller dogs
who were VERY interested in sniffing my prosthesis, my wheelchair, etc. When it was time for bed, I pulled my
prosthesis off, and rolled the silicone liner off my leg and at that point the
dogs rushed into the room. The terrier
rushed up to sniff my bare left leg. It made an awful face and backed away
quickly, shaking its head and sneezing trying to get rid of my scent. I believe it was thinking, “Eww!
Gross!” When dogs think you don’t smell
good I guess that’s a good reason for me to wash my leg every night! This was also the first visit that I’ve ever
made to see my cousins outside of family funerals in over 20 years. I figured since I was coming to visit, they
were wondering, “Who died?”
My brother has a membership at a local gym, although he hasn’t been consistently
going recently. He got a temporary
membership for me. Almost every day, I went and worked out for about an hour
and forty minutes. The first few days I
was still confined to my wheelchair, so I would roll up to a machine and then
transfer over and then back when I was finished. After I could wear my prosthesis again, it
made using the equipment much easier. I
enjoyed working some muscles that I really cannot do effectively at home. The variety in my routine was greatly
appreciated. I’ve decided to check out
the local gyms here in Eau Claire and see what they have to offer. If I find one that will meet my needs, I hope
to get a membership here.
At the gym, three times I had different guys come up to me and tell me
that I was an inspiration to them (I felt all hot and sweaty so I figured I
would be a perspiration to them--LOL). I
guess to them my level of desperation and determination to get fit are more
rarely seen—too many people give up and make excuses why they cannot do
something rather than choose to figure out how they can get it done. I usually replied that “Although I haven’t
been working out all that long that part of my body had already responded to
the exercise.” At that point I would rap on my prosthesis and say, “See, this
is rock solid!” That usually produced some good laughs. My brother bought me a shirt to wear at the
gym that says, “Freak Show.” I found it
very funny and proudly wore it working out.
I got to visit the Bergbrader family while I was in the St. Louis
area. Jeff was the youth pastor at my
church in Fall Creek for many years and we were good friends and hunting
partners. He and his family moved back
to St. Louis three years ago to be closer to their families. It was really good to reconnect with them and
see everybody, including Jeff’s mom, Janna & Derek Herbison (and Emma), and
the boyfriends of the girls.
I reconnected with some of my best friends from high school. We figured out that we haven’t seen each
other since 1977 or 1978. Wow! Time flies!
Usually I went home for a short period and just spent time with my
immediate family. This time I What I
found interesting is that even after so long of separation, I felt like I still
knew them because their personalities hadn’t changed. I knew exactly what buttons to push to tease
them—which probably indicates that my personality hasn’t changed in all these
years either. Gulp!
Thought for the Day:
I traveled through Ferguson, MO on the interstate to get to my brother’s
home. He lives about 20 miles away. Just before I came down from WI, a Ferguson
police officer shot and killed a teenager.
It quickly was turned into a race issue and there was rioting and rowdy public
demonstrations while I was in the area. The
Governor sent in the State Highway Patrol and the National Guard to help
control the situation and restore the peace.
Lots of people were arrested, tear gas was used, etc. It was ugly; but it could have ended up being
much worse. 
Needless to say, everyone in the area watched the news closely to see
what would develop. Sadly, most of the
news reports were slanted toward presenting the issues in the worst possible
light stirring up more emotions than to help bring calm to the situation.
I saw an interview with the teen’s parents who were asked “What will it
take to bring peace back to the community?”
His mother’s response was, “When the police officer who murdered my son
is convicted and locked away in prison for the rest of his life!” I know she was speaking partially out of her
grief; but do you see the problem with that attitude? Without regards to the facts and evidence
that makes a conviction a questionable possibility, the Grand Jury won’t even
reach a conclusion until mid-October; and that is just to determine whether the
officer should stand trial or not. I
would guess that if the case goes to trial, it will take a year or two before a
verdict is reached and the officer is sentenced. So the mother was declaring that peace could
not be reached in the community for another couple of years. Therefore the rioting, looting, destruction
of property, throwing of Molotov cocktails was acceptable behavior until the
people got what they wanted.
From what I saw, there was enough evidence to suggest that the shooting
was justifiable; but I don’t know.
Wouldn’t it be better to say something like, “when all the facts are
known and the evidence is presented, I hope that justice is served”? But until that time, people need to remain
calm and don’t assume the worst. The
public in the community and the news media seem to believe that the shooting
was racially motivated and have ignored a number of facts of the case.
What I find sad is the rush to judgment and the assumption that the
officer is guilty; that the only acceptable verdict is guilty; and that
peoples’ anger over this apparent injustice gives them license to destroy other
people’s property and attack the authorities.
It is sad to see a breakdown in their view of the impartiality of law
enforcement officials and the court system. It does seem normal for grieving
people to lash out in anger and frustration at someone over their loss. I feel for the parents who have lost the
future with their son. Death is such a
final thing. We often take life so
lightly and assume that it will just keep rolling on no matter what we do. It is a harsh reality when we are personally
faced with death’s consequences.
I think it is important for all of us to see that we cannot allow our
happiness in life be determined by forces outside of our control. Many people declare that if a situation
changed or someone treated them differently, then they would be happy. Since you cannot control other people or what
happens in life; you are destined to remain unhappy. You must choose to be happy (or content or
satisfied) in yourself, despite your circumstances. Work for change or for
justice wherever and whenever it’s possible; but don’t pin your happiness upon
those things happening because they may not; and you will have succeeded
control of your happiness to someone else.
Proverbs
31:8-9 “Speak up for those
who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights
of the poor and needy.”
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