Morning Moments

I ditched the previous blog I prepared for today. I only get comments when I right something sweet and soothing anyway. So here goes -

I have a friend who is 92 years old and can still kick high and make trips and drive wherever he wants to go. It is remarkable and he will probably outlive me. He is very careful with his diet, eats fruit and vegetables in moderation - a little fruit and nuts late in the afternoon and nothing just before bedtime. His mind is clearer than mine, and he has such a heart for God and others.

Every year he brings my wife and me roasted peanuts, already shelled and the husks removed. Once in awhile he brings homemade sweets, but not often. You should hear the stories he tells about all he has seen in his lifetime. A friend of mine is now recording some of those things for posterity sake. Imagine going from travel by horse and buggy to space travel. What a journey!

The "end of this man shall be peace". He didn't marry until he was in his 50s and he adores his wife. I only wish children could come from all over and sit at his feet and learn of days gone by with love and care of neighbors and the respect for human life, regardless of age or stage.

There were no nursing homes, so families took care of their own until death came. There was no TV, so familes did things together and talked and shared experiences of the day, along with hopes and dreams for each other. Everybody had guns at home, but they were for hunting for food, and there was always a family garden without pesticides, insectacides and the like.

The stories are amazing and they take us back in time to a gentle, caring, compassionate, hard working society that never sacrificed love for lust, discipline for desire, or virtue for vengence. Most had few possessions but prized what they had as gifts from God to be used prudently and purposefully.

Where are the days now without violence and viciousness? Where are the days now with selfishness and slander? Where are the days now when good news far outweighs bad news, and when bad news appears everybody pitches in to help? Where are the days now when politicians are statesmen, gentlemen are gentlemen, ladies are ladies and conducted themselves in such a way that demands honor and respect?

Hmmm! I think I know now why they were called "the good old days", but those who remember them are fading fast and where the garden of peace once grew weeds of wickness have now taken over. The world today is a chaotic one; the world then was a calm one. I have never been one to look back, but when my precious brother talks I do look back and like what I see. Then I wonder - what will my grandchildren see when they look back.

SHALOM!