Thoughts and Musings on Faith, Music, Family, Life

I SO want to stick the letter "O" at the end...

Church marquee down the street from us.

A Day on the Dan

I'm thankful for good friends who, with a little resistance on my part, nevertheless talked me into taking a day off from work and joining them on the Dan River for a day. It's been a while since I've done some semi-serious canoeing and kayaking, so I was ready for it.  And given that temps in northwestern North Carolina were soaring into the high 90's, there really wasn't a better place to be.

Many thanks to Jeff E., Jeff P. and Delane for a great time this past Wednesday, as you'll see in the video below (click HERE if you don't see it).

(P.S. Not only is Delane the king kayaker, but also a pretty decent videographer!)

Hey, we're all friends here...

Don't usually blog more than once a day, but had to pass this along.

My lovely town of Mount Airy (a.k.a. Mayberry) is one of six finalists in the running for the "Friendliest City in America," in a contest sponsored by Rand McNally and USA Today.  This past weekend, Jason and Nikki Wynn came to check us out.  As you'll see from the video, they got a royal treatment and a pretty good sampling of what life in our town is like.  You may also recognize a gigging pastor briefly playing a Jack Johnson tune at the 6:40 mark ;-)

Thanks to Mayor Deborah Cochran and all the folks who helped make their stay an enjoyable one. The winner will be announced sometime in July - keep your fingers crossed!

Best of the Road Mt. Airy NC from Gone With the Wynns on Vimeo.

Yet another reason why I love this town.

Kudos to the Mount Airy Fire and Police Departments.

http://mtairynews.com/view/full_story/13887600/article-Little-boy-8217-s-big-dream-comes-true

Close call

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  This one only needs seventeen:

A tree fell in our yard yesterday.
It barely missed our car.
It demolished our basketball goal.

It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that we are most grateful that the car was spared.  If it looks like the tree fell just to the side of the car, that's exactly what it did.  There was literally no space between the tree and the side of the bumper.  The car did get nicked up a bit, but nothing any more serious than someone opening another car door into its side.  This "branch" that fell is part of a huge Bradford Pear in our yard (the rest of which will be coming down soon, I can assure you), and with its size and dense heavy wood it easily weighs over a thousand pounds.  Six inches more to the right and it would've crushed our little hybrid. 

That's the story this picture tells.  But what I'm even more grateful for is the story this picture doesn’t tell.

About 15-20 minutes before this happened, my eldest son and I were heading out the door to take our dog for a walk.  Our youngest asked me to move the car so he could play basketball.  In a moment of lazy parenting I said no, for no other reason than the keys were upstairs in my bedroom and I didn't want to go get them.  I asked him to join us instead, not sure if he would.  Somewhat surprisingly, he did.

We were getting ready to turn the bend in the road to come home when we heard the horrible "cracking" sound.  I knew it was either a tree in the woods across from us or one in our yard.  Turned out to be the latter.  As I ran up and surveyed the scene, it didn't take long for me to realize that, had I moved the car as my son requested to shoot baskets, he would've been right underneath it when it fell.

We're bummed about the basketball goal, but honestly, it needed to be replaced anyway.  And we're thankful that the car got out of all of this relatively scot-free.  But we're obviously most thankful that my son was walking with me and not shooting baskets. Perhaps I should try to be a lazy parent more often.

Speaking out for curbside recycling

This evening my family and I attended a public hearing held by our city commissioners.  The topic: curbside recycling.  Our wonderful little town of "Mayberry" doesn't have it, and after years of egging our community leaders on, they finally scheduled this forum.  Strange as it is to say, this has been a contentious issue in our community, as there are some who are vehemently opposed to the idea for a number of reasons.  Cost is one of them (and a reasonable one, I confess); but a significant group who view such an initiative as "government intrusion" and even those who see curbside recycling as a not-so-veiled form of socialism (as I highlighted in this previous blog post).

The forum lasted just under two hours.  Those who spoke were overwhelmingly in favor of curbside recycling.  I didn't keep track, but I would guess that for every one person opposed, four or five were in favor.  A lot of the vitriol that had surfaced over the past few weeks in the social media world over this topic was nonexistent.

Both my wife and 8-year old son spoke, as did I.  In my comments I approached things from both a pastoral/spiritual angle, as well as a city resident and taxpayer.  Below is what I said. 

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My friends – tonight I come in two capacities to express my support for curbside recycling – as a pastor and a resident of this wonderful town.  As pastor, I come not representing the church I serve, but representing many people of many faiths who understand that the call to take care of God’s earth comes first and foremost from this – the scriptures.  In the book of Genesis, which serves as the foundation for some 2.2 billion Christians and Jews worldwide, the scripture says this:

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, and over the earth itself.

Sadly, over the years that word “dominion” has been misconstrued to mean “do with the world as you wish.”  When in fact, the Hebrew here actually describes a scenario where a servant is entrusted with the care of their master’s possessions.  So the world does not belong to us – it belongs to God.  Like the Psalmist says in Psalm 24:1: The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.

People of faith all over the world understand God’s mandate to care for creation – including many here in our community, represented in these signed petitions, stating that curbside recycling is not only a civic calling but a spiritual one as well.  I submit these to you for public record on their behalf.

The second capacity in which I come tonight is as a citizen of this town – a citizen who recognizes that waste disposal comes at a cost to the taxpayer, no matter how we go about doing it.  We can either continue purchasing additional land for the landfill – land which will eventually fill up and cause us to purchase more land – or we can enact a curbside recycling program that, in the long run, will cost the taxpayer less.  If we are going to talk about cost in this discussion, as some people are so eager to do, then let us be open and honest about all costs involved.

It’s become apparent that, if curbside recycling is going to happen in Mount Airy, it’s going to require some "forward-thinking" on behalf of you, our city commissioners.  Which is why I’m grateful that this is something you all have demonstrated in the past.  Five or six years ago, you will recall, Reeves Community Center was in danger of shutting its doors.  It would've been easy for you, our elected officials, to have said, "We can't afford to get involved." Instead, you wisely recognized that you couldn't afford NOT to.  So you chose to take over Reeves and keep that vital community resource intact.

And, you know, it strikes me that the city didn’t have to hold a public forum back then to discuss this, even though it came at an additional cost to the taxpayer.  So why is this issue so much more contentious?  The real reason, I would submit, is not about money.  The real reason is about doing something new and different; something we’ve never had before.  It’s about change.  And as creatures of habit, we humans are not very fond of change.  But sometimes doing the right thing, doing the smart and sensible thing, doing the economically viable thing, requires that we do something we’ve never done before.

On a personal note: I’ve had the honor of getting to know each of you on a number of levels.  I’ve served with you in Rotary and in ministry.  I’ve shared the stage with you for shows you were running sound for.  I’ve coached your children in swimming, taught them at the college, officiated your daughter’s weddings.  I know you love this town and want very much to do the right thing.  My friends, this is the right thing!  And, contrary to our local newspaper’s editorial yesterday, this is also very much the right time.  I implore you, as a fellow citizen and colleague and friend, to once again engage in “forward-thinking” and bring curbside recycling to Mount Airy.   Thank you!

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I welcome all comments and thoughts, both those who agree with me and those who don't.  Here's the deal - this is my blog, so I reserve the right to delete comments that do one of two things: 1) engage in namecalling, belittling, excessive vitriol or other such nonsense, and/or 2) do not contribute to the dialogue in a meaningful way. If you don't feel you can abide by either of these stipulations, you probably don't need to comment (or just don't get all bent out of shape when I delete it).  If you can abide by it, please, comment away.

Telling only one side of the story

There are many, many things I love about the small town my family and I live in.

And then there is this.

Where to start?  Obviously the guy is entitled to his opinion, although it certainly is based on hearsay and lines drawn with the most random of connections.  Without diving into a full-on political debate, I simply cannot understand how someone could equate "socialism" with "sustainable living" so completely.  Nevertheless, he is entitled to his opinion.

My concern lies with those who make the agenda for our city commissioners and those who report for our newspapers.  I am friends with a number of city commissioners and individuals at the local newspaper, so I do not say these things lightly. But how this individual got on the docket of our city commissioner's meeting is troubling to me.  Obviously, armed with powerpoints and a formal presentation, this was not something out of the open public forum.  This gentleman was invited to speak.  Fine.  But if you're going to extend him an invitation, you must invite someone from the other side of the argument.  And there are plenty of people in our community who would be more than willing and qualified to do that.  Such as Joe Gardener, a nationally-renowned expert in sustainable gardening and living who lives a mile and a half from the city building where the commissioners meet.  He's an intelligent guy, a good Presbyterian, and he kicks butt on the Stairmaster at the community center.  Someone majorly dropped the ball by not making arrangements for a counterpoint voice to be heard.

But that's not all.  I understand that the reporter's job is to report what happens, and the city commissioners did not give the newspaper a counterpoint to report on.  And I know the print dealine looms large every day and a story must be turned in for publication.  Still, I can't understand why the reporter did not take a few extra minutes to pick up the phone and call any number of people to provide another perspective to balance the article.  Reporting is about sharing what happened, but it is also about striving to present a full picture, especially when the facts presented here are so skewed and one-sided.

I am not a fan of socialism.  I am a fan of sustainable living.  And I cannot see how one could possibly lead to another, unless you succumb to a radical perspective based on something other than just the facts.  Which is why I fear there is more going on here than meets the eye. I've said this before and apparently it bears repeating: when we live by our fears and not by our hopes, when we use scare tactics to get our way rather than presenting a complete picture and the facts at hand, we only hurt ourselves.  And that's not something this small town - or any town - ever needs.

I welcome your thoughtful and respectful comments below, whatever your perspective might be.

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UPDATE: Here's a wonderful letter to the editor from my friend David Petri, who lives in Mount Airy and works with a local company in the area of sustainable living.

Rainbow over Mayberry

The rush-rush of a weekday morning - getting dressed, getting the boys off to school.  And as I pulled into the church parking lot and walked up the handicapped ramp, I turned toward downtown and saw this:

Thanks for the reminder.

http://www.stevelindsley.com

The Lindsley Racers

Younger ran the 1/4 mile Fun Run, Elder ran the half-mile Fun Run.

And a special shout-out to the wife, who ran her very first 5K!

First day, all over again

Things got going a little earlier at the Lindsley house this morning.  Our oldest son came bouncing into our bathroom as I was shaving. He was completely dressed – not uncommon for him, except for the collar shirt he was wearing.  See, it was his first day back at school and he wanted to make a good impression.

We slid into our school morning routines as if we had never left them back in early June.  Breakfast for the boys, feed the cats, give the cat his insulin shot (yes, we have a diabetic cat).  Lunches and book bags were packed.  Teeth were brushed.  Younger brother was heading to Kindergarten this year but wouldn't start for another day – they stagger the little ones. He would have one more day with Mom to himself.  I'm pretty sure this means as much to Mom as it does to him.

We parked the minvan along the road and walked around the corner to the school we've grown to love. You could feel the excitement and energy emanating from the place before you even got there.  Mrs. Johnson was greeting folks at the front door; she was our oldest son's teacher assistant last year.  They couldn't have picked a better, more welcoming person to be in that place on this day.  As with so much about our school, they got it right.  We waved and said hi to teachers, parents, kids all about the place.  Everyone wore smiles.

We got to his classroom – we'd already been there a few days earlier for Open House, so it was familiar.  And yet it was different, too.  Students were already at their desks quietly writing in their notebooks.  Without a hint of hesitation he walked right in, sat down.  We lingered, for just a minute, and then suddenly we knew we shouldn't be there anymore.  This was his time, not ours. We waved and said goodbye.

As we turned the hallway corner I was suddenly hit with a thought that surprised me by how much it surprised me: we were parents of a second grader at a K-2 school.  We were now parents of one of the “old kids;” a primary school “senior.”  Those second graders had always seemed so grown-up, so much older than mine. And yet here he was, one of them.  How did this happen so fast?

Walking back up the hallway – more teachers, more parents and kids.  More smiles.  It had been months, and yet it seemed so familiar.  Because it was.  The school that we love; the people there we love even more.  It was the first day of school, and everything felt right.  Everything was going to be fine.