The fountain of youth

I had the excellent privilege of meeting with a large group of past high school classmates yesterday evening. What a delightful experience. A class reunion, in my opinion is the closest we'll ever come to the long sought fountain of youth. When I first walked in my first thought was "What have I gotten myself into?" My memory of names connected to faces is almost non-existent, especially given the changes we all go through as the years pass. However, there was someone that looked across the room and called out, "Joe, I'm glad you could make it!" followed by a rush through the crowd to give me a friendly handshake saying, "I'm '''''', do you remember me?" Yes, I did and suddenly I was in a friendly group of schoolmates once again with a steady stream of acquaintances busily catching up on the happenings in our lives. Within fifteen minutes we were all 18 again.

When we were all in school together it was a slightly different story. I, for my part scurried back and forth from class to class as if I was on a mission. However, being a friendly albeit sort of goofy young guy full of energy, growth spurts and extremely high expectations was finding it difficult to make time work for me very well almost to the point of appearing rude or unfriendly. I was sent to the principal or counselors office over 80 times in high school. Most were for running in the hallways between classes and a couple for being late for a class. Nothing real bad though. I worked before school, after school and on the weekends. After school activities were extremely limited and social activities almost unknown to me. The surprising thing to me is that so many of those kids that I sped so quickly by in the hallways spoke to me of the good times and fond memories they have about me. I left that social event feeling real good about myself. I felt forgiven for being a goofy kid. I brought up a few good stories of my own.

I have learned very much over my lifetime. One of the most important things is that we were all kids once. New to the world and learning the rules as we went along. In our own ways we were all sort of goofy kids. It's a pretty good group of people to belong to and be welcomed by. I couldn't help but say an immature goofy thing or two just to let them know that some things never change. None of us ever lost the love of laughter. We all need that from time to time don't we? It helps us maintain our youth.............Joe

Almost laughable

If this wasn't such a divisive subject, this Koran (Quran) burning by the pastor of a small church would be almost laughable. He's got the right, in this country anyway to express his views in a non-violent way with the beliefs as set forth in the Muslim holy book. Burning a book is one way to do that even though it's just a book. Kind of like when we kick the door when it hits us on the nose or the flat tire on a car. Yeah right, the fault lies completely with the inanimate object doesn't it? The door did it on purpose. The tire was simply waiting it's chance to go flat. Now we have a pastor burning a book to teach it a lesson about what, I'm sure I don't quite know.

Now, front and center comes an imam who says a mosque won't be built near ground zero if the book isn't burned, then the pastor says he won't burn the book. Then some other imam says the mosque will be built anyway and the whole thing starts over again and the pastor's little firestorm is back on. The pastor says what the book teaches is evil. The imam says his religion is a religion of peace. The pastor is going to burn the book peacefully. An imam will call for a peaceful holy war. The Muslims that want to build a mosque near ground zero say the pastor is being insensitive. The pastor says look who's talking.

I think they all ought to sit down and have a beer as one local elected official did with two other people that disagreed. Once again the words of folk hero Rodney King ring out, "Can't we all just get along?" Yup! If this wasn't so serious a subject it just might be laughable...............Joe

Burning the Koran

This preacher in the South is intent on making a huge deal about burning the Muslim holy book. In this country he has the right to do that. In some Muslim countries, becoming a Christian or other non-Muslim is a crime punishable by death, perhaps stoning or be-heading. Is this preacher right? It depends on your point of view. What will be the repercussions? There is an author who offended the Muslims a couple decades ago and they ordered his death, he's still in hiding most of the time. Sometimes making a point is worth dying for. All sorts of political and military leaders are saying that if this preacher burns the Koran he will be putting our people and soldiers in danger. As much as I disagree with burning that book in such a public fashion, I believe that if a group of people, religious or otherwise impose their will through threats, murder, holy wars and terrorism we are all already in danger. The preacher was asked what he thought Jesus would do. I'm thinking he better think long and hard about what Jesus did then and the instructions he gave us for the future. I don't believe I read anything about seeking publicity.

May September marriage

He's 70, she's 55. He's retired, she's in the middle of her career climb. He's a little flabby, she's tight as a drum. She wants him to shape up a bit so they go to a spa/gym and work out four times a week. He drives a deluxe minivan, she drives an Audi A8. He wants to live on a hobby horse farm somewhere in the rural countryside. She wants to buy a condo in an exclusive downtown high rise with all the amenities near theatres and museums and the arts. He likes barn dances, she likes ballroom dancing. They were married a few days ago and are now on a two month honeymoon. One month in Europe, one month in the Australian outback. They are finding a way to put their lives together in the best possible way by sharing each others likes and dislikes to find a happy medium. They feel they were made for each other.

The kicker is this. It's actually her that is 70, he is that 55. He likes the city, she is a country girl. They met at her daughter's wedding and have been almost inseparable over the past year and a half so they decided to tie the knot for ever and ever. An enjoyable couple to know. So upbeat and adventurous. The reception was held in a barn with two bands, one a little bit country and the other dealt out a steady stream of chamber music. I guess we can all learn something from them. Time will tell just what it is. Just thought I'd share their situation with you. We all live in our own situations with little hurdles to overcome. Sometimes it breaks the mold to hear about others doesn't it? Kind of like a minny mental vacation from ourselves...........Joe

(I wonder if they plan on starting a family?)