Number One in TX

And the Number One Thing in Texas Is ...

Airman First Class John

I am very proud of you, Airman.

And I am very proud of your choice to serve your country.

You are the light of my life and all I could have hoped for in a son and a man.

You make me proud to be called "Mum."

U2,

Mum

TX Superlatives Awarded

Today I want to share four of my top five superlatives for TX. Tomorrow I will show you number one.

5. Best billboard:
For electrolysis, call
215- R - U - HAIRY

4. Fastest drivers:
Anyone in Louisana

3. Most intriguing purchase (possibly -- I am still working on Don)
Small manufactured palm tree with pink fronds and spotlights for cocoanuts. Gotta have one!

2. Best hotel surprise:
Renting a room online for $69, getting it for $59 and it has a Jacuzzi!

Stay tuned for number one!

An Olive Branch

Dear New Jersey,

Been a while since you heard from me, I know. However, since we broke up, I haven't been eager to mend fences. Until today. Today I learned that you are not the worse place in the world to drive. I know; last time we met I told you that you had poor customer service, your roads were badly marked and poorly maintained. And, I vowed to never drive through you ever again. Today, I apologize. Houston is the worst place in the world to drive.

After sitting in traffic for nearly an hour, I discovered the lane was marked incorrectly and I had to move over three lanes in stopped traffic. Folks here are nice, granted, but the stress lead to a disturbing display of temper that I am ashamed to admit to here. Don slouched into the floor when I opened the window and shouted to all of Houston: "Why do you live here? What sense does it make to have a city where people cannot get home in a decent amount of time? Why do you people put up with this? Who is in charge of this mess? Fire 'em!" I confess, I don't even remember everything I said, but I know that folks were more than eager to let me cross traffic. They understood.

And, so, New Jersey, I'd like to be your, er, well-wishing friend. This means that we don't have to exchange birthday cards or even go to the same parties. We shall just not wish each other any harm. Please do not think, though, that I will drive your roads again. Frankly, you have moved to number two on my list of places I will never drive again. Houston has taken your place at number one.

Don't look so smug, New York. You are still in the top five.

Wishing you well,

Matty

First Day Musings -- Happy Easter!

Easter wings

Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poore:
With thee
Oh let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.

My tender age in sorrow did beginne:
And still with sicknesses and shame
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine
And feel this day thy victorie:
For, if I imp my wing on thine
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.

-- George Herbert (1593-1633)

This is a shape poem, which means that if you turn it on its side, you will see a pair of wings. George Herbert was a priest and poet. He used the shape poem to reflect the subject of his poem. Recalling man's lapsarian (fallen) state, Herbert's poem focuses not on the fallen man, but on the redeemed man, made possible through Christ's "victorie."

This is one of my favorite Easter poems because of the simplicity of the story -- man fell, God lifted us. Herbert reminds us that by joined our will with God's we, too, shall "advance in flight" and be raised from our natural state to His heavenly one.

Happy Easter!

Pied Beauty

Pied Beauty

GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

----- Gerard Manley Hopkins (1944-89)

As I worked yesterday, this poem kept running through my mind. The images of the day, tilled earth, burned debris, and changing landscape from brown to green, made me think on Hopkins and his eye for the beauty in this natural world. As a Jesuit priest, Hopkins choose the most austere and depressing cloister. However, he celebrated the natural world and used his poetry to celebrate his love for God.

Looking at the words above, while I hear the sprung rhythm, I am more struck by the gentle tension of the contrasts observed by the poet. When I consider this, I realize the life is filled with contrasts -- life, death, good, evil, kind, cruel. And, in each of these, we must have sampled the darker to appreciate the brighter. These past days, I have been consumed with the darker; however, being out in the sun, working with mud and dirt under my nails, has cured my darkness.

I know why our First Parents were gardeners. It is like being pregnant. Planting seeds is the only other time one can truly partner with God to bring something beautiful from something so small. It dawned on me yesterday that while I want to farm, God can only do so much. He provided the land and my well-being and ability to do it. However, unless I make the commitment to partner with Him in the work, my land will be as He created it. Only when I join Him can my dreams be completely fulfilled. What a fitting thought for Easter.

Praise him.

Spring Chores

Would you like to have a little tour of the doings at Lazy Bee Farm today? It has been nearly 80-degrees and we have had a wonderful day working on the farm. I love spring, don't you??

First, Mr. Moose is much improved, thank you!

While you cannot see it in the picture,

his back left leg is shaved where he had been injured.

He is much better and back to being a naughty puppy by chasing cars again.

Sigh.

We are getting ready to burn a lot of debris from clearing pastures

and taking down the old fence. It had seen better days.

We have a tremendous fire going right now.

I slipped in to share the day with you quickly!

More of these to come.

This is a two year old blueberry bush. I have been clearing around them,

putting organic acidic fertilizer on them, trimming the dead canes, and

getting them ready for pine mulch later this week. I have

twenty more bushes to work on and I am ready for mulch! Hooray!

Annabelle is showing you the lovely rib for the greenhouse.

It should be partially up tomorrow.

Plowed and ready for tilling and planting!

Waldo has a mouse under the bush hog.

We are so glad you dropped by today! Won't you come by tomorrow for a glass of sweet tea, a slice of chocolate cake, and a sit on the porch? We'll be watching for you!

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Have you ever walked out of a meeting?

This seems to be my modus operandi these days. Twice in one week I have gotten up and walked out of meetings. The first time was when a colleague was telling a lie and I knew it was a lie. It was about someone I care about. I had been given the back story, so I knew this person was lying. If I hadn't left, I would have been even more unprofessional. I think standing up and shouting, "You Lie!" a la "Princess Bride" Miracle Max and wife would not be appropriate behavior, do you? It might feel good, but it would cause a stink. Walking out was the best plan.

The other walk out was yesterday from a training meeting. I was two minutes late because the meeting was scheduled right up against the last class period. Students wanted to talk with me and, so, I hung around a did that. They are more important. When I arrived, I was not brought up to speed on the web site we were working from. I asked twice for the address and twice was blown off with a partial address. It didn't work. After the second try, I was told, "Well, move! No one else is having trouble." Read: You are so stupid maybe if you try again on another computer you might get it. Nevermind. I just gathered my goodies, got up, and left without saying a word. Done. Thanks.

As a Quaker, I truly try to avoid confrontations that can get ugly. This means I walk off, but it also means I stew. I think of all the things I could have said, but didn't. I fuss. I clean. I stomp. I say words that my Mother would box my ears over and then make me write 1000 times "I must not say ...." as she did when I was a child. (Never mind that I learned to swear from her!) In short, the anger stays until I wear it out with wrestling.

How do you handle situations where you know you might lose your cool at work??