I got the call last Wednesday night. My sister-in-law found Dad on the bathroom floor, confused and dehydrated. Tests at the hospital revealed kidney failure. The doctor spoke in terms of days and urged, “Tell your family to come.” Continue reading “Hanging out with Dad”
Category: Life
I’m being watched
My phone buzzed, I glanced down and saw this text: “Why did you give money to that man?”
It was a text from one of the young people from our church who had seen me hand four quarters to a man on the other side of the Kangaroo station gas pump. I had just finished filling up when I heard him ask, “Sir, can you add anything to this dollar?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I don’t have anything.” I rarely carry cash. But when I got in the car, I saw four quarters in the cup holder, left over from when I put some air in the tires. Not much, but what the heck. I got out and handed the man what I had, apologizing, “It’s not much, but here’s a few quarters.” That’s when I got the text.
She was in the car with her grandmother on the other side of the parking lot. I texted back and explained what had happened. She came back, “Ohh…you did a good deed.”
“Yep. Jesus said helping others is like helping him.” Plus a lot more, apparently. Because you never know who’s watching (and in these times someone is always watching). Something like this, which I did without even thinking, made a difference in more lives than I realized.
I’ve been in lots of discussions about who we should help and who we shouldn’t. We get frustrated when we’re taken advantage of, or when someone isn’t grateful, or by the sheer number of people who need our help. It’s good to have these discussions. But it’s also important to remember who’s watching. Like our kids. Or our friends. Or someone we didn’t see.
No shocks today
I took one of our cars in for some routine maintenance today, and to replace the rear shocks. I dropped it off took at the dealer where we always get good service, and walked up the street to get a cup of coffee and do little reading.
A little later I got a call from the service rep. They had a little problem with the repair. The replacement shocks were bent, and they had to order more from California. When I got back to the dealership, I asked, “How often does something like that happen? Did you have the car up on the rack when you noticed the parts were damaged?” I can just imagine having everything apart, you reach for the new part, and discover you can’t use it! You’d have a few choice words to say at that moment! Fortunately for the tech, the parts guy stopped him before he got too far into the job.
This doesn’t happen very often, and you can’t just run over to AutoZone or Napa to grab a new pair of shocks. My model is manufactured in Japan and the parts are model specific. They did find a set at another dealer in Atlanta, but I can’t go back till next week to get it taken care of.
Shocks are the Achilles heel of this model of car, of which I own two. I’ve hardly ever had to replace shocks on other cars I’ve owned, but these will be the second and third replaced in under 70,000 miles.
I find it interesting that many car parts are very make and model specific. That reality alone means jobs for lots and lots of folks.
Eye doc
I went in for my annual eye exam today. I’ve been doing this since I was ten years old, when I first discovered I was near-sighted and got my first pair of glasses. Today I was again impressed at the expertise of my optometrist, who from my vague comments was able to tweak my vision correction and improve my eyesight.
My visits are a lot more complex nowadays, having gotten much more near-sighted, requiring reading glasses wearing contact lenses, and having been through repairs for a torn retina. With correction, my left eye is cool: 20-20 or better. Right eye (the one frozen and lasered) is fuzzy, cloudy, and out of alignment. That eye isn’t going to improve, will quickly develop a cataract, and will need a procedure for that in the near future.
But for now, it needs some assistance, and the doctor gets to work. Holding a card in my hand, I read the smallest line I can. Not too bad. Looking at the wall, though, I can only see the largest and next-to-largest letters. I used to laugh at the chart. Who wouldn’t be able to see those monster-sized letters? Looking through holes in a mask-like device, the doctor changes lenses and asks, “Which is better — number 1 or number 2?” In a few minutes he has determined the correction for near and far, astigmatism, and the prism to align the images from each eye. All from my comment, “Well, it’s a little fuzzy and not lined up.” To me, it’s a miracle.
After he checks the pressure in my eyes (I aced that test!) he steps out of the room for a minute and returns with a new pair of contact lenses. He pops them in and immediately I can see better. Those little, fragile, kind of pricey pieces of hydrophilic whatever bring my world back into sharp focus. I never cease to be amazed. After I test drive them for a few days, I’ll order a few boxes of multi-focal (like bifocals) lenses. That technology boggles my mind. Additional amazement.
I only wear glasses first thing in the morning and at night, so I haven’t gotten a new pair for a while. Insurance pays for part of new ones each two years, so a nice young lady helped me pick out a new pair. When you wear glasses or contacts getting a new pair is exhilarating!
I’m giving God thanks tonight for a really great optometrist, contact lenses, glasses and the gift of sight,
Black Mouth Cur
Since the day we brought him home, we wondered what kind of dog Samson was. We were originally told he was a mix of shepherd and lab and whatever. Friends would look at him and see boxer and ridgeback. We often asked him, but he never even gave us hint. Our vet simply called him a Florida Brown Dog, and we pretty much stuck with that.
Today at the farmer’s market, a woman who I believe works at the humane society asked, “Is that a Black Mouth Cur?” I replied, “I have no idea.” She continued, “I think he’s a Black Mouth Cur. They are great dogs. In fact we have a waiting list for them. They are really good with wounded veterans and work well with those who have PTSD.”
So we went over to a bench and looked up the breed online and sure enough, Samson fit the breed’s description and looked like all the pictures. He’s got a shepherd-ish tail, but there plenty of variation allowed for in the breed. Black Mouth Curs are not among those breeds listed with the AKC, but there’s plenty of information about them available. And plenty more pics at Samdog.
More reflections on being a grandfather (part 2)
Eight months ago, I jotted down a few thoughts about being a grandfather. It’s time to share some more reflections.
Eden is 1-1/2 years old; Elijah is about 8-1/2 months.I got to see Eden between Christmas and New Years while she and her parents visited, and I see Elijah several times a week since he lives nearby. Eden is running around, Elijah’s learned how to crawl (kind of). She’s grown quite a head of hair; he’s only sporting some peach fuzz.
The best part of a visit with them is when they see me, recognize me, and break into a big smile. That moment makes the rest of the day, no matter how good or bad, seem unimportant. When Elijah sees me at church, he either gives me the “Grandpa, what are you doing here?” look, or a quick, silly, “Ha!”
The second-best part is making them laugh. And I know just how to do it. Having ticklish whiskers helps, but I also know what silly sounds will get the belly laughs going, the wonderful sound of unrestrained squeals and giggles.
And how about little naked people scooting around the house before bath time? That never gets old and always makes me laugh!
Those are some more of my favorite grandfather things.
There’s a corpse sitting here.
I got the call about 11 am. Her sister had walked into the house and discovered her father, seated in his chair, without his oxygen tube, TV blaring, dead. He had struggled with health issues for years, but none of us expected this. In fact, I had just given him a ride home from the hospital a few days before, and he was doing better each day.
It took me about an hour and a half to get home, cleaned up and over to the house. He was still sitting there in the chair as I talked with his daughter and a hospice nurse finished up some paperwork. In some ways, it felt just like the times I went to visit, except he was unusually quiet. He usually did most of the talking. More than once I thought to myself, “You know, there’s a corpse sitting here!” But He looked peaceful, so I waited with his daughter until the staff from the funeral home arrived.
We sat and talked about family, the in-and-out of the hospital routine of the past year, his many friends in the neighborhood and the only thing he really ever wanted to do: go fishing.
Actually, I’ve been in similar situations before. A number of times I’ve stayed with a family member until the staff from a funeral home arrived to take the body of a parent or spouse away. Just part of the job, I guess. It never really bothered me. Though the body was there, the soul had gone to be with the Lord, and that is a very reassuring thing to know.
Posted with BlogsyA hard question
“So, how’s the church doing?”
That’s a hard question to answer. Maybe the hardest.
That question comes up often at this time of the year, because many of our seasonal visitors are here to escape the harsh winters of the north in the pleasant climate of Florida. Their question is sincere, they care about the church where they worship while away from home and they are part of our church family. Continue reading “A hard question”
A trip to Alpha Pregnancy Center
Today’s guest post was contributed by my grandson Elijah David Kendall.
My mom took me to the Alpha Pregnancy Center in Palm Coast, FL today. I have to confess, I dozed off during the ride over, even though it was only a few minutes from my house. I awoke to the bright afternoon sun when my grandpa lifted me out of my mom’s car. Who would have suspected that such a wonderful place would be tucked in behind some storage units and a strip mall!
When grandpa pushed a call button and announced our arrival, a very nice lady welcomed us at the door. I knew in a moment this was a place where moms and babies were VIPs. The walls were covered with baby pictures and I saw piles of blankets for babies. There were so excited that we had brought with us a car load of diapers and baby wipes that were donated during last week’s Vacation Bible School. I met a very nice woman named Jessica in the reception area, and then Martha, the director, came around the corner and greeted us. I recognized her voice, for she had come to speak at our church few months ago before my birthday. But it was even better to see her in person. She was so happy to see me, too.
Martha gave us a tour of their building. I got to see the counseling area, a classroom filled with resources, and a room filled with baby clothes. So many people had donated so much for babies that hadn’t even been born yet! I felt pretty important and very, very loved. Do you know that people from my church fill up baby bottles with change to help moms take care of their babies? Someday I’m gong to do that, too. Over sixty moms come in every month for support, encouragement and direction.
After our tour, grandpa talked with Martha about Child Evangelism Fellowship and the Good News Clubs. I wanted to say, “Sign me up!” but I think I’m a little too young. So I just politely listened. Afterwards, we went to Panera to hang out. Mom and Grandpa had some iced coffee and a snack. At first, I was a little grumpy because they didn’t order anything for me. But it turns out Mom had a snack for me, so I felt better. In fact, I felt so good, I even smiled for a few pictures.
I am so glad I got to go to Alpha today. I think everyone should go there at least once. I know I’m a little prejudiced, but I think babies are pretty important. Jesus did, too. As soon as I figure out how to fold my hands, I’ll be praying for moms and babies, too, thanking God for the gift of life!
Elijah is two months old and lives in Ormond Beach, FL.
Waite for it... 