There seems to be something about advancing in years that stirs an inner desire to reconnect with one's past. I am quite certain that is not a revelation for many people but it seems quite strange coming from me. Over the past 30 years, I have returned to my hometown very few times. It never seemed like I had any reason to go back. Following graduation from high school, I drifted away from my classmates. I have not seen many of them since the day we graduated that Sunday after in May so many years ago.
Recently, for some reason which I do not fully understand, a curiosity has driven me to reach out and reconnect with individuals from the past. Of course, whenever you try to reestablish connections, there is always the possibility that it will not be well received. Still, it seems worth the risk. For so many years, it seemed unnecessary to be informed about these individuals' lives or welfare. Over time, I think you begin to realize the importance of the first years of your life and the people that might have been a part of it.
Whether your memories of elementary school and high school are positive or not, those experiences definitely have an influence on the rest of your life. It also happens to be true that over time, the negative memories hopefully fade or no longer seem to be as bad as they once were. Another factor that comes into play is the fact of our own mortality. We realize as we grow older that we are not invincible or indestructible as we perhaps thought we were during high school or youth in general.
Over the years I have missed a number of class reunions. Most of them I avoided on purpose because I was dissatisfied with my own life's achievements. It obviously did not occur to me that others were experiencing their own life struggles, disappointments, failures, rebounds, starting over and all of the other things that happen to human beings during the course of their lives. Reflecting back, I am the one who cheated myself out of the opportunities to stay in touch or reconnect over the years. My next class reunion should be in three years. I, for one, cannot wait to see my classmates who also feel the need to reconnect.
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." [2 Peter 3:8 NIV]
Monday, July 6, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Trashy People (Blog #22)
What a bold title for a blog post, don't you agree? At first glance, you may think that I am about to launch into some sort of scripted tirade about people who may be considered lower class due to economic standing, educational experience or manner of dress. It is even possible that your minds are wandering to families and individuals who, either by choice or circumstance, make their homes in "mobile homes" or "mobile home parks". Of course, in the vernacular, we call them "trailers" and possibly even stoop to calling the people themselves "trailer trash".
That is not the purpose or direction of this blog posting. Instead, I would like to address those individuals who find it acceptable to just throw their trash wherever they seem to be. Just this morning, I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up a few things. The person behind me in line was making his way to his car as I proceeded to back out of the parking stall to leave the parking lot. Prior to entering his car with his purchase, a package of cigars, he unwrapped the cellophane and threw it to the ground. Then, to my amazement, he took the cigars out of the box (they were wrapped individually) and left the box laying on the ground beside his car and got into drive away. I was appalled and angry. This trashy person drove a nice car and was dressed nicely.
This morning's incident reminded me of a company I worked for while living in Dallas, Texas. It was amazing to me that some of the people who worked there did not see an issue with cleaning their vehicles out and leaving the trash laying in the parking lot, as if the trash fairy would suddenly swoop down and clean up the mess. Now considering that this was not a low income job and many of the employees drove SUVs, various models of Lexus and other nice cars, I was shocked the first time I saw all the garbage in the parking lot after work. I also remember that were strategically placed trash containers on either side of the entrance to the building.
Perhaps some brave soul will step up to the plate and inform me that my view of "trashy people" is somewhat skewed. I can't help but wonder if these people show such disrespect for public places and property owned by others, what other forms of disrespect do they show on a more personal level in their private lives. And life goes on!
~ DB Turnmire
This morning's incident reminded me of a company I worked for while living in Dallas, Texas. It was amazing to me that some of the people who worked there did not see an issue with cleaning their vehicles out and leaving the trash laying in the parking lot, as if the trash fairy would suddenly swoop down and clean up the mess. Now considering that this was not a low income job and many of the employees drove SUVs, various models of Lexus and other nice cars, I was shocked the first time I saw all the garbage in the parking lot after work. I also remember that were strategically placed trash containers on either side of the entrance to the building.
Perhaps some brave soul will step up to the plate and inform me that my view of "trashy people" is somewhat skewed. I can't help but wonder if these people show such disrespect for public places and property owned by others, what other forms of disrespect do they show on a more personal level in their private lives. And life goes on!
~ DB Turnmire
Friday, July 3, 2009
Perhaps Silence Really Is Golden (Blog #21)
Have you ever found yourself an eyewitness observer to a situation that you were sure someone else should know about but decided it was easier not to say anything? Or have you ever decided that you would take the initiative and report a situation to a governmental agency and were, in reality, blown off by the agency which "should have cared" about the information you were giving them? Personally, I have found myself in both situations during the course of life.
In the first situation, choosing not to get involved or be concerned about something you know is wrong comes with a personal price tag. Unless someone has no conscience at all, there is bound to be a certain level of guilt that accompanies a decision to remain silent. Such guilt may be rationalized and minimized by telling yourself things like "no one is really getting hurt" or "there really should be more oversight for those programs" or "it really is none of my business".
More often than not, however, I found myself in the second more frustrating situation. It is extremely frustrating to know that when you act upon a decision to be pro-active that you may become more frustrated. How is it possible that we live in a world that would turn a blind eye to fraud as long as no one is being hurt? This is only the latest in a litany of situations which have come to my attention over the course of the years, in ministry and beyond. It amazes me that in a supposedly conservative, "Christian" environment where there is so much concern about preserving the family, values and limiting the rights of some citizens that it is so easy to turn a blind eye to all the other things going on around them.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." [Matthew 7:3-5 NIV] Maybe when those seeking to protect family values and the traditional family get the planks out of their eyes, they will see the decay that really needs to be addressed. Until then, silence will prove to be "golden" for some people.
~ DB Turnmire
In the first situation, choosing not to get involved or be concerned about something you know is wrong comes with a personal price tag. Unless someone has no conscience at all, there is bound to be a certain level of guilt that accompanies a decision to remain silent. Such guilt may be rationalized and minimized by telling yourself things like "no one is really getting hurt" or "there really should be more oversight for those programs" or "it really is none of my business".
More often than not, however, I found myself in the second more frustrating situation. It is extremely frustrating to know that when you act upon a decision to be pro-active that you may become more frustrated. How is it possible that we live in a world that would turn a blind eye to fraud as long as no one is being hurt? This is only the latest in a litany of situations which have come to my attention over the course of the years, in ministry and beyond. It amazes me that in a supposedly conservative, "Christian" environment where there is so much concern about preserving the family, values and limiting the rights of some citizens that it is so easy to turn a blind eye to all the other things going on around them.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." [Matthew 7:3-5 NIV] Maybe when those seeking to protect family values and the traditional family get the planks out of their eyes, they will see the decay that really needs to be addressed. Until then, silence will prove to be "golden" for some people.
~ DB Turnmire
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