Under Who?

In a recent federal court ruling in California it was determined that the words “under God” made the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. Therefore, at least in the context of this case, children in the district in question would no longer be required to recite the Pledge in school. This is merely one small skirmish in a larger battle. Now I’m personally fond of the words “under God” and would like them to remain included because I feel that they accurately represent the feelings and intentions of our founding fathers. However, I also understand that those particular words were actually added in the 1950’s. It reflected the national sentiments at the time and probably was also intended to align us with God politically, in juxtaposition to the evil threat of a Godless and rapidly spreading communism. I appreciate that sentiment, but am also willing to concede that “under God” was an add-on phrase and did not exist in the original text. That certainly makes it harder to defend in this case.

The larger problem, however, is a determined offensive by the left to completely secularize our government, and even our nation as a whole. This is a battle we can scarcely afford to lose in the long run and is entirely incompatible with the spirit of our foundational documents, as well as those who drafted them. Many of those who first immigrated to North America did so, at least in part, in order to flee various forms of religious persecution. They had experienced the restrictions imposed by the Church of England and the Holy Roman Empire, wherein the official state religion held sway over citizens through the authority of the government. Against this backdrop, our founding fathers sought to ensure that no state religion could be declared and that American citizens would always have the right to free exercise of their faith. Our forefathers never denied the existence of God, rather quite to the contrary they wrote often of their faith and the part it played in formation of this new nation. Their intention was merely to protect us from power hungry men who might wield religion politically, as had been done in Europe and the middle east through all the centuries of recent history. They were clearly men of faith and acted to preserve the free and unrestricted practice thereof for all posterity. They were, therefore, not against God, but merely the abuse of state authority exercised in the name of God.

In this day and age, as the ACLU and other liberal groups work to eradicate any reference to God from our public domain, one must consider the larger picture or end game in the process. It would be difficult to deny that the entire basis for our traditional moral values comes from the Judeo Christian system, beginning with the Ten Commandments and other Hebrew laws. The left wants desperately to separate us, as a nation, from this moral foundation because it contains something they consider very unnerving and dangerous … absolute morality and responsibility to a Creator. They want to decide what is right and wrong and be sure that it conforms to their social agenda. The battle to secularize society is really a battle for moral relativity. Once you throw out God and that pesky bible, then people can run the world … essentially, people can be God. Then homosexuality can be acceptable. The lives of whales and cats can be as precious as those of unborn human babies. The preeminence of marriage can be dismantled. It will be ok to exterminate Jews or Kurds or Serbs or substitute chemistry teachers, so long as it fits someone’s social agenda. The list goes on and on. Indeed, I propose that if there is no absolute morality, no religiously based morality, then there is no morality whatsoever.

This all brings us back to the whole “under God” problem. If you extract God and the bible (or Torah) from society, we lose our compass and the moral heritage upon which our nation was founded. It doesn’t take an astrophysicist to figure out that the universe doesn’t revolve around man. We are a part of it, but there are certain natural laws which transcend our existence and, without which, we could not even exist. I believe there are also certain moral and spiritual laws which transcend our existence as well. In the end, you could no more remove God from morality than you could pass a referendum outlaw gravity. When one considers such things, one nation “under God” may not be such a bad idea. The wording of the Pledge, however, isn’t really my issue. Yet, if that’s the direction we’re headed and we’re not under God, then at some point responsible people must ask themselves one final question: “Under who?”

You Alone

Sometimes life can feel overwhelming. Things might not be going well, relationships become strained, we fall short of expectations or fall prey to moral dilemmas. Whatever the cause, we seem to feel out of control and that can lead to depression … and loneliness. Our first conditioned response to pain of any kind is to draw back. That is how we keep from getting burned or experiencing more pain, either physically or emotionally. It’s probably a good initial response. However, we sometimes stay too long in our shell and isolation can tend to exacerbate the problem. Isolation leads to loneliness and loneliness can lead to hopelessness. When we begin to feel that no one cares or understands it warps our perspective and we often fail to even look for the help that may be available to us. What must be remembered, however, is that we are never truly alone. There is a God who loves us, who knows us by name and understands our deepest thoughts and fears. He proved His love by sacrificing His Son, Jesus, so that we might overcome all of our fears and failures. God’s love is unfailing and He is truly a friend to the broken hearted. So even when we feel completely alone, we can rest assured that God is still on our side and that He remains ever near at hand. He alone knows our heart of hearts and shall never forsake us, even our darkest hours. And what could be more comforting?

You Alone
You alone know my heart, oh Lord
You alone hear my cries
You alone see the tears I shed
And the emptiness in my eyes
You alone know the fear in me
Which consumes my waking hours
You alone feel my hopelessness
The way my joy withers and sours
You alone know my weariness
You alone know my pain
The defeats and the disappointments
That crush me time and again
You alone know the people, Lord
Whom I’ve failed and who failed me
You alone know the scars they’ve left
None but You alone see
You alone know the lonely days
And nights when my despair
Smothered the good things in my life
Until I was too weak to care
You alone know how lost I am
At work, and even at home
How even with friends and family
I feel as if I’m alone
You alone know my sorrow, Lord
And I know, at least, You alone care
Enough that no matter where I am
At least, You alone will be there
So I ask You, Lord, to shine Your light
Through the darkness my life has become
And melt the ice within my heart
Before it grows any more numb
You alone know each last detail
Of what I am going through
So I place my trust in You alone
For I am never alone with You
By Frank Carpenter ©

All is Well

At this moment I sit in a comfortable porch chair looking out across the very meadows described in the poem below. The late afternoon sun is drifting towards the nearby mountaintops, yet still offers plenty of light to paint the world a radiant autumn gold. This is perhaps my favorite time of the day, when all of nature seems most eager and alive. The wonder of an Indian summer clings doggedly to the hills and valleys, bracing against each evening’s frost and striving every afternoon to stand its ground. The bugs and the birds still sing their merry songs as the grasses dance in the last of the warm September sunlight. While they know that this time must end and give way to the cold of winter there is still a feeling of hope pulsing through all such valleys as this. I am reminded just now of our own spiritual condition. We live all our lives with the winter of death just around the corner. However, those who have a saving faith in Jesus Christ can live cheerfully in the hope of a springtime of resurrection. We have no fear of death because we understand the seasons of our lives and the promise of a better life yet to come. Thus, we can look out across our own meadows, wherever we may dwell, and say as I have this late afternoon, “All is well.”

All is Well
Almost dusk in Genesee Valley
With barely a whisper of breeze
The autumn sun is nearly gone
As it slants through the western trees
A trickle of water near at hand
Dances merrily on its way
Somewhere the cry of a blue jay
Squawks his farewell to the day
I can just make out the distant song
Which rises from Grizzly Creek
Unheeded by a pair of squirrels
Busy with games of hide and seek
Before me a meadow of harvest gold
Behind me a veil of cedar and pine
About me peacefulness is draped
Embracing me in the divine
I hardly dare to speak or breathe
For fear I’ll break the spell
Which quiets my heart and stirs my soul
It is evening, and all is well
By Frank Carpenter ©

Gems

We live in a world obsessed with movie stars and shiny cars and outward appearances. Let's face it, no matter what we say we are all too concerned with external beauty. To make matters worse, the ever ubiquitous media constantly bombards us with supposedly ideal images which encourage folks to accept clearly unrealistic expectations as the "norm" in many areas of our lives. We're told that real men and women should look like this and cars and houses and clothing should look like that. Then before we know it, we end up with a whole society suffering from an inferiority complex. In point of fact, however, external beauty does not make people happier. It doesn't make their marriages last longer. Nor does it prevent them from having eating disorders, overdosing on drugs or committing suicide. Indeed, if Hollywood or the world of overpaid professional athletes is any indicator, the effect of physical perfection and opulent living may be just the opposite. It sounds cliché, but real beauty is actually to be found on the inside. A beautiful heart and soul are what endear us to others in the long run. Those are the qualities that don't age or wear out. And in the end, those are the traits which endear us to God as well. Let us, therefore, be careful of our judgment based upon external beauty, which has a tendency to blind us to many of the more important traits in our fellow human beings. Worse yet, we are our own worst critics and often judge ourselves even more harshly than others. Yet, we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves for the mirror is a cruel friend and knows nothing of one’s heart or character. Many an amazing person appears as a diamond in the rough and wise is the man or woman who looks to the true gems hidden within ... where real and lasting beauty may be discovered by those who seek it.

Gems
In each of us there is a light
A spark divine and true
Trapped within our selfish lives
Just waiting to shine through
Like the priceless diamond hidden in
The stone beneath the earth
Which needs the miner and the cutter
To orchestrate it's birth
So it is with inner beauty
It lies waiting deep within
Like the diamond it stays trapped
Beneath our selfishness and sin
And no amount of exercise
Or cash or seminars
Can pierce the veil or change
The person who we really are
Real beauty can't be painted on
Or purchased or injected
And all our vain attempts, alas
Are lost and misdirected
For only God, who made us
Holds the power to unearth
The priceless gem within each soul
Waiting patiently for rebirth
But like a master diamond cutter
God takes each heart in the rough
Transforming it into a flawless gem
For He alone cares enough
To see the potential of our lives
In the light of eternity
God sees the masterpiece in each heart
And knows how to set it free
And once God uncovers the gems in us
We humbly realize
That the inner beauty was always there
God's love simply opened our eyes
By Frank Carpenter ©

The Star Spangled Banner

Today, a little glimpse back at an important moment in American history. The day was September 13, 1814 … 191 years ago today. Great Britain wasn’t always our staunchest ally and, at the time, America was locked in the war of 1812 with our now beloved parent country. During that long night, as the British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry during the battle of Baltimore, 35 year old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key observed from a small ship offshore. He had sailed out to the British fleet to negotiate the release of American prisoners and, from his vantage point, the disposition of the American fort and the outcome of the battle seemed unclear until morning light showed that the Stars and Stripes were still flying. The events of that night inspired him to pen the now famous words of the Star Spangled Banner. His thoughts were, “Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart spoke. Does not such a country, and such defenders of their country, deserve a song?” In fact, he wrote the lyrics in meter to match, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a popular song of English origin.

The song gained popularity throughout the 19th century. On July 26, 1889, Secretary of the Navy B F Tracy signed General Order No 374 making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official tune to be played at the raising of the flag. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. Two years later, in 1918, the song was first played at a baseball game; in the World Series, the band started an impromptu performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the seventh-inning stretch. The players and spectators stood at attention, took off their hats, and sang, giving rise to a tradition that is repeated at almost every professional baseball game in United States today, though it is now performed prior to the first pitch. Eventually, a concerted public relations effort was made to make the song the country's national anthem (there had until that time been no official anthem). In 1931, John Philip Sousa published his opinion in favor, stating that "it is the spirit of the music that inspires" as much as it is Key's "soul-stirring" words. By Congressional resolution signed by President Herbert Hoover, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the national anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931.

Well, that’s the story of the Star Spangled Banner and how it came into being, 191 years ago today. I encourage you to read over all four verses, which I have pasted below, and share them with others. In this world of complicated international relations, partisan politics and natural disasters, sometimes we simply need to pause and read some inspiring words from our rich patriotic heritage. In closing, all I can say is, “long may it wave!”

The Star Spangled Banner
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
By Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

September 11 Again

Well, here we are at September 11 again. It has now been four years since that fateful morning when the terrorist attacks on America changed the course of modern world history. I actually wrote about this subject recently, but after viewing some of those frightening images on television again this afternoon I felt compelled to comment once again. We, as a nation, had become complacent during the previous decade, but September 11 awoke something within our national spirit which put us clearly on the offensive in the war against international terrorism. Although the path ahead remains unclear, we remain on the offensive … as I believe we must. Terrorism has been on the rise in recent decades, primarily from violent Islamic fundamentalist groups. When they brought it home to us in New York, Washington and Virginia, they made it a real and more tangible war. Now we mustn’t give in, we must not back down. A sleeping giant truly has been awakened, such as the world had not known since WWII, and we can only hope that our leaders will have the wisdom and fortitude to continue the battle until we achieve a clear victory. May God bless America and watch over our men and women in uniform.

The Heart of Freedom
Beware, you foes of freedom
Who dare to maim and kill
Who, by force, would stand against us
You have galvanized our will
You have struck the heart of freedom
Spilled sacred blood upon our soil
Stung the bastions of democracy
Yet, though we may recoil
Be it known, we shall not falter
In the midst of travesty
A sleeping giant has awakened
Which will rise from the debris
With a resolve and with a fury
Such as you have rarely known
Freedom’s mettle has been tested
And now its true strength shall be shown
By Frank Carpenter ©

Let it Begin

Some folks spend much of their lives just waiting for God to do something in their lives. Even professed believers seem to simply tread water, spiritually, without getting around to actually living the life God has for them, even when they seem sure it’s out there. We basically understand who God is. We seem to know what to do. Yet we do nothing, or at least very little. Therefore, our spiritual lives always seem to feel “almost” or “not quite” and we settle for that compromise. But we know He’s out there and that He has something better for us if we were just willing to take that extra step of faith. This is my reminder to all of us that we need to take that fateful step. If you’re one of those people who have been nodding your head as you read these words, right now might just be the time to get started. I wrote this little prayer of revelation and submission recently and you are welcome to claim it as your own. Don’t hold back. That better life with God is just around the corner and it begins with a few simple words: “Lord, let my life begin in earnest today.” Let it begin!

Let it Begin
There was a moment late this morning
It came upon me without warning
When I heard God’s voice and felt His mighty hand
In that moment, in that hour
As He revealed His love and power
I knew we had to draw a line there in the sand
And these are the words that I prayed:
“Lord, let my life begin in earnest today”
There wasn’t smoke, there wasn’t mirrors
There were no witnesses or hearers
But when I opened up my eyes just then I knew
That it was time I started living
The life that God was freely giving
The one I’d waited long enough to get ‘round to
And these are the words that I prayed:
“Lord, let my life begin in earnest today”
I had all the information
And it was just procrastination
Which had kept me from the life I’d been called to
So I pledge my heart and soul now
To follow Jesus daily somehow
To live each moment just as He would have me do
And these are the words that I prayed:
“Lord, let my life begin in earnest today”
By Frank Carpenter ©

We Shall Never Forget

Last Friday New York City officials, in response to a lawsuit brought by survivors, released 12,000 pages of transcripts related to the morning of September 11th. Those transcripts included text from police and fire department radio calls from that morning, as well as interviews of firefighters in the days immediately following the events of that fateful day. As I read some of the quotes I simply began to cry, remembering how I felt as I drove to work and heard the story unfolding on the news. When we watched the towers crumble, live, for the first time I was overcome with grief and rage. Worse yet for me, I was on the brink of a serious and as yet undiagnosed coronary blockage which caused my anguish to make me physically ill due to a lack of oxygen. What amazed me most these last days, as I have relived some of those moments, is how quickly we have forgotten the emotions of September 11. For days and weeks and months afterwards our national mantra became, “we shall never forget.” We did. We have forgotten our grief, our anger, our anguish, our patriotism … and our resolve. We have forgotten the images of the planes crashing into the towers, of desperate citizens jumping to their deaths rather than being burned alive, of the two towers toppling down. On that day we all swore that the world would never be the same, that we would never be the same. Are we? To refresh our memories I wanted to share a few things. First, here are two comments made by firefighters over their radios which I believe are especially poignant:

“Send every available ambulance, everything you got to the World Trade Center,” a firefighter calls from engine 1. “Now!”

“Just at that point, my radio came clear as day, ‘Imminent collapse. This was a terrorist attack. Evacuate.’”

Also, let’s review the casualty statistics once again. Here are how many people we lost at each attack venue:
In the Twin Towers 2595
Flight 11 92
Flight 175 65
In the Pentagon 125
Flight 77 64
Shanksville
Flight 93 45

A total of 2, 986 people lost their lives that day. Yet, that is only part of the story. Based upon that unthinkable number, consider how many widows, orphans and widowers were left, along with how many people must have lost sons, daughers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and so forth. The impact to families, congregations, corporate staffs, neighborhoods and the like makes for a staggering set of permutations, not to mention the emotional effect on the rest of us all these thousands of miles away. As we digest those numbers, let us remember that more Americans were killed on September 11th than we have lost in three years of armed conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. As an additional point of reference, only 2, 403 Americans were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. However, in stark contrast, the victims of the attacks on September 11th were all civilians, which makes their mass murder all the more heinous. No, we really should never forget.

I point all the above facts out not only in memory of those lost, but also that we, as a people, may keep our eyes on the ball as we continue to combat this elusive enemy across the globe. For the self same Islamic fanatics, related to the Al-Qaeda network, were not only responsible for September 11, they are behind many of the American casualties we are currently experiencing in Iraq. They were behind the Madrid bombing and the most recent bombings in England. These people aren’t satisfied with military targets. They are after you and me and our children and our very way of life. We really cannot afford to forget.

Four years down the road, we’ve made a great deal of progress, but the London bombings should serve as a reminder that what began on September 11th is still far from over. Our enemy is still at the gates, more likely right amongst us. I encourage you to go back and review some of the quotes and images from that dreadful morning so that the nature of our enemy may remain in the forefront of your thought as you discuss war and civil liberties and prisoner treatment and troop reductions and all those other related issues which flood our current events.
… and never forget.

A Monkey's Uncle

Back in the news once more is the old creation versus evolution conflict. Last week President Bush stepped feet first into the debate between Darwinian evolution and “intelligent design,” saying both should be given equal standing in the nation’s science classrooms. Intelligent design is the theory that the development of the natural world has been influenced by a higher being of some sort. This same week, the History Channel began airing “Ape to Man,” a documentary which explores the history of evolutionary theory and those who have sought to prove it. Finally, this morning USA Today ran an article entitled “Intelligent Design Smacks of Creationism by Another Name,” which basically says, like so many other media sources, that evolution is scientific fact and creation is merely religious fiction. In short, neither is a theory. I am certainly no expert in this area, but I would like to make a few comments thereto.

In all fairness I shall begin with full disclosure, admitting up front that I am a supposedly narrow-minded fundamentalist Christian who believes that there is a God. And if there is a God, then He may very likely be able to do all manner of miraculous things … up to and possibly including creation. That being said, lets take a quick look at evolution and a few of it’s unanswered questions. First of all, there are two types of evolution. The first is microevolution, the theory that species make modest adaptations over time in response to environment. The great example, of course, would be someplace like the Galapagos Islands, where isolated animal populations have changed slightly over time. An animal with a sharper beak or the ability to run faster may have a greater survival rate and, therefore, live to pass those traits on. Thusly, desert animals, mountain animals and island animals, etc. may vary somewhat due to their varied environments. That seems to make perfect sense. The problem arises when we begin to consider macroevolution, in which species change entirely over time and new species come into being. Sure, there may be enough fossil evidence to argue that perspective convincingly. What is even more difficult to swallow, however, is how something can come from nothing. In other words, how did we make the jump from no life at all to the complex biological systems we call life? This is where evolution begins to fall apart. Even the dinosaurs had hearts and lungs and brains and stomachs and legs and eyes and ears and the whole host of standard equipment issued to carbon based life forms as we know them. All those systems could not develop by natural selection. A heart without a lung or a lung without a heart, and either without blood or a brain fails instantly. Evolution doesn’t answer that question, dealing only with the chicken and assuming somehow the egg just magically appeared. Come to think of it, there would have to be two chickens ... preceded by at least two eggs, in order for life to be sustained. No offense, but that takes more faith than my creation theory. So modern scientific theory goes something like this:
1. First, there was nothing
2. Then, it exploded
3. Somehow, we got the earth … with water and an atmosphere
4. Then rocks came to life, presumably as a single cell
5. That single cell found a way to eat, breathe and reproduce (on the 1st try)
6. Then there were giant lizards
7. They grew hair and opposable thumbs
8. And became us
Now I’ve left out some details, but either way there are a lot of unexplainable gaps in this evolutionary time line. The universe had to start or become somehow. Life had to originate, in some form, from inanimate matter. That life had to develop into complicated biological systems in order to survive, many of which are interdependent and essential for survival in the first place. Then, even assuming that all of the above could miraculously happen, (and it sure sounds miraculous to me) there are still several gigantic leaps towards life becoming us. The whole situation screams intelligent design to me and I think it takes more faith to trust entirely in evolutionary science for answers to the gaps in scientific theory. Complicated systems tend to atrophy rather than specialize unless energy or guidance is applied from outside those systems. That’s what the 2nd law of thermodynamics is all about. How, then, have things become less random and more ordered over time? Food for thought.

I need to make one final comment. Why is it that the narrow-minded people just want creation or intelligent design taught as an opposing theory along with evolution, while the supposedly open-minded people reject all other theories and want it to be illegal and unconstitutional to teach anything but evolution theory? I find that to be highly hypocritical. Perhaps the underlying issue is that if creation is an option then God is an option … and some folks just don’t want a God meddling in their intellectual universe. For if there is a God, especially a creating and influencing God, then man cannot be God. In the end, perhaps it is merely a matter of pride.
If you have wrestled with someone on this issue, perhaps the following poem would serve as a light hearted ice breaker to reopen the subject. It's also great for sharing with high school biology teachers. Anyway, I respectfully submit the following, which I hope may entertain as well as educate.

A Monkey's Uncle
When it comes to evolution
I'm never sure what I should think
Am I made in the image of the Lord
Or am I a missing link
Is my form, somehow, transitional
From chimps to something grand
Am I a monkey's uncle or
The work of my Creator's hand
Am I here at the top of the food chain
Because a God has willed it so
Or just by natural selection
How's a primate supposed to know
If his species is an accident
That cell mutation caused
Is there meaning, is there purpose
Or are there only Darwin's laws
Am I superior to all the other
Beasts, both deaf and dumb
Or just a talking ape who lucked out
When he grew opposing thumbs
Hey, since I'm the only animal
Who can think the thoughts I do
I'd like to think that there's a God
Who designed both me and you
That we're not just descended
From some egg or worm or spore
That crawled out of a murky ocean
On some ancient, slimy shore
I really hate to be the one
Who chops down the family tree
But someone's always trying
To make a monkey out of me
By Frank Carpenter ©

True North

We live in a complicated world, a world with so many options and even more ways to reach them. However, in such a world, one can easily lose his or her way. Oh, folks are quick to offer directions. The shelves of local bookstores swell with “self help” books. Countless pundits spout their various opinions from every known media, but even those of us who think they know where they are, and where they are heading, often feel like we’re aiming at moving targets. Let us take a lesson from fundamental navigation. In modern times, we use a compass to find our way upon the sea or in the wilderness. A compass simply works by pointing north, thereby offering us a consistent reference point from which to choose our course. The ancients used the stars, which could be counted upon to occupy certain quadrants of the sky during various times of the night or year. While those heavenly bodies all appear to move across the sky, one star, Polaris, appears to remain stationary. We know it as the North Star, and if we are in the northern hemisphere it will always be found in the same place because it is located over the earth’s axis and, therefore, does not “spin” like the rest of its celestial counterparts. Polaris is a consistent beacon, resolutely anchored, as it were, in the northern sky.

I find my analogy today in the way of faith in Jesus Christ. There are countless “stars” on the horizon of human existence and, for various reasons, folks seem to pick them at random to chase after. Consequently, many people seem to have lost their way in life because they have discovered nothing reliable to steer by. They need a true north. I have found that Jesus, like Polaris, is just such a beacon. With the bible as a chart and Jesus as our true north we can find our way across the tempestuous oceans of life without running aground. When you look into the night time sky you can always find Polaris right up there between the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia. All the other constellations are restless wanderers, but the North Star remains true. If you have grown weary of wandering or have otherwise lost your way, search for Jesus in the darkness of your life and He can help to guide you. He is the only true north.

Polaris
All the constellations have
Their seasons and their places
Each dances through the heavens
In the gentle arc it traces
Restless nomads are the stars
Which never tarry long
As they spiral ever onward
Amidst the great celestial throng
They might visit for an evening
Or a month upon their way
Yet, in time, they always move along
Without the will to stay
But there is one which never waivers
One star, never out of place
A faint, but steady beacon
In the vast array of space
I am speaking of Polaris
The star which rules the northern skies
The rest meander on their journey
Yet, Polaris never lies
We know it as the North Star
Sometimes, no other star will do
When we need a light to guide us
Polaris shines forever true
By Frank Carpenter

One Giant Leap

For most Americans of the time, it probably all began in 1957 when the first artificial satellite, Russia’s Sputnik I, soared through the nighttime skies and initiated the “space race” in earnest. It was the technological embodiment of the cold war: who could get to space first and who could go the farthest. Perhaps, for the first time, space caught the imagination of the American public and our dreams turned skywards. In 1962 John Stewart, of the Kingston Trio, penned and sang the following lyrics which were representative of that new American dream:
“Some to the rivers and some to the sea
Some to the soil that our fathers made free
Then on to the stars in the heavens for to see
This is the new frontier, this is the new frontier.”
Then on July 20, 1969, thirty-six years ago this week, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon and uttered those now famous words, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Indeed, it was a giant leap. Several other missions followed and then we simply stopped going to the moon. It was too far, too dangerous, and the technology didn’t yet exist to remain there for extended time periods. We moved into the “shuttle” phase of space history, manning Skylab for a time and now the International Space Station. However, the NASA space shuttle program has suffered two huge setbacks, most recently in the loss the shuttle Columbia. The launch of the new shuttle, Discovery, has been plagued by numerous delays, but hopefully it will finally depart next week on July 26th. We haven’t been to the moon since the 1970’s, nor has there been much talk of visiting Mars anymore. So the “new frontier,” which seemed utterly within our grasp such a short time ago, looks as if it will remain an unexplored frontier, at least from the standpoint of human visitation. For the time being, we simply lack the political will and funding to pursue those dreams of space beyond the orbit of the International Space Station. Yet, I believe our younger generation needs to see men walking on the moon again. That amazing moment in 1969 represents, in my opinion, one of the greatest human achievements. Young people deserve that kind of emotional and technological victory because, three decades later, moon travel just seems like another scene from a movie, and an old movie at that. True, the cold war and space race are over, but I say we must go back … because mankind could use another giant leap just now.

Crossing Over

Why is it that so many people, even professing believers of various faiths, always feel as if they can’t quite make it to the life God desires for them? When Israel was wandering in the wilderness after the exodus God led them to the Jordan River, and there bid them to enter the promised land. What went wrong? After all they had been through, they lacked the faith to take that final step. These were the people who had experienced the miracle of the exodus, crossed the Red Sea, followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and eaten manna every day. What more did they need to believe that their God would see them through? After witnessing so much of God’s power and protection they were still unwilling to trust Him. It’s a familiar story because we are much the same as them today. We have not only their example, bolstered by the priceless wisdom of hindsight and historical knowledge, but also the testament of our own life experiences. Yet, we shy away from the final step. Like stubborn mules or frightened children, we remain unwilling to put a single toe into the Jordan Rivers of our own lives. God offers us peace and rest and relationship and protection … and we turn our backs on Him. Over and over, we choose the wilderness instead of the lives we were actually created for. But why? Yes, there’s fear and faithlessness and a host of other issues, but in the end it really only boils down to one thing: pride. We are simply unwilling to relinquish control of our lives to God. Worst of all, by doing so we technically make ourselves out to be God, at least functionally, by choosing our will over His. And let’s face it, we know that life could be way better if we lived it on His plan. A little scary perhaps, but deeper and better. I’m guessing that, just like me, you will reach the edge of the Jordan again sometime today or this week. The water may look too cold or too rough or too deep, or whatever, but we’ve simply got to take a step out into the stream and see what happens. That better life awaits us right there on the farther shore, but we must trust Him enough to cross over. Take a good hard look at life, especially in the eternal perspective, and consider if another forty years in the wilderness is really what you want. Then let’s take the plunge together.

Crossing Over
Over and over, we come to the Jordan
To the brink of comfort and rest
We pause to gaze into the promised land
Then turn back to the wilderness
Unwilling to claim the promise
We thought we were living for
We turn, as to an empty ocean
From the long awaited shore
Why won’t we cross over and go in?
Why won’t we accept the life?
That God intends for us each to live
We turn from His peace to strife
What is it that keeps us from crossing?
At last, to the promised land
To the place we know is better
For which we prayed and planned
One thing bars our way across
Not wood nor steel nor stone
A barrier more impenetrable
Stands between us and God’s throne
Each of us understands the way
To cross to the other side
Yet the monster blocking our path to peace
Is our own unquenchable pride
What is it about the wilderness
That we should turn from the promised land
To this world of pain and worry
And away from God’s outstretched hand
Crossing over to God is but to yield
And place our trust in His worthiness
God waits for us with open arms
But we must accept His rest
By Frank Carpenter ©

An Epilogue

I have not posted an entry these past five days because I have been off on a fishing trip. In my previous offering, just prior to my departure, I wrote of going off to fish with my father’s equipment for the first time since his passing. In addition to the great satisfaction of being immersed in the beauty of creation with several fine friends, I also had that long-anticipated opportunity to simply wander the shores of several trout streams and cast my father’s fly rod. (Yes, I actually caught many fish as well.) By passing the time with his own favorite pastime I discovered some more of him in myself. And what could honor or esteem his memory more than such an activity? It is now late, and my day of travel long, but I offer the following poem as an epilogue to my previous entry. I hope you may find such peace in the quiet waters of your own memory.

Casting for Memories
Standing here, in mid stream
With Dad’s fly rod in my hand
I feel a kinship with him
And I better understand
Why he loved so being out here
Away from all the noise
Just standing in a river
In the mountains with the boys
This takes me back to other rivers
Other days from long gone years
Though I fished with him so rarely
What I’d give to have him here
Yet, all I have is memories
So I must cherish those
As they drift through my mind
Much the way this river flows
So cool and refreshing
While marching ever on
Reminding me that every day
Must be cherished ‘ere it’s gone
For now, there’s ample satisfaction
In this river where I stand
Casting … and reminiscing
With Dad’s old fly rod in my hand
By Frank Carpenter ©

Casting for Memories

I am about to depart upon a fly fishing trip in the mountains. Lacking appropriate fishing gear of my own for such an activity, last week I began sorting through my recently departed father’s equipment in order to come up with what I needed. He loved fly fishing and it has been nostalgic sorting through his rods, reels, flies, line and other such trappings, of which there is a great quantity. When you tinker with the remnants of another man’s passion, it reaches across the years and you sometimes begin to feel as if he’s right there with you. All the more so in the case of my father, who was always eager to share his skill and knowledge in this area. I was generally an eager pupil, but rarely could translate his tutelage into the catching of many fish. The fact is that I really haven’t the temperament or the passion for fishing. Consequently, I tend to cast for a while and then, like Ferdinand the Bull, wander off to the welcoming shade of a nearby tree to write poetry or otherwise daydream. Such activity is extremely satisfying for me, yet of but little use to one who is eager to advance the numbers of his catch or fill the evening’s frying pan. My father and I well understood one another’s priorities and struck upon a mutually agreeable compromise in our fishing ventures. He caught the fish and I told the story. Now, having not fished since his passing, and armed with his old equipment, once again I venture out into the wilderness with the hope of catching a few wild trout … and perhaps more than a few poignant memories as well. An important step in the process of dealing with loss is when move from actively mourning someone to honoring and cherishing their memory. Nothing could honor dad more than my standing in a mountain stream, casting with his rod, and thinking fondly of him. And that I shall.

Today’s poem comes from a trip to the same area in 2001 and is based upon the experience of the Patton brothers, who have fished that same little corner of the Sierras since the days of youth with their own departed father. I offer it in their honor and take the liberty of now claiming a portion of their emotions for myself. If you’ve still got your dad, give him a call today. Better yet, take him fishing.

These Mountains We Shared
When I look back across the years
at the good times that I’ve had
I think the ones I cherish most
were up here, with my dad
Those were the best vacations
we were always eager to go
Camping and fishing and hiking
in the mountains he loved so
And I’m still coming up here
after thirty years and more
Still fishing in the same old creek
still camping like before
Still doing all the things he loved
and taught me to enjoy
In the happy summers of my youth
when I was just a boy
So many things remind me of him
when I’m up here, even now
It’s almost like he’s here with me
at least it feels that way somehow
In the dusty talk along the trail
and the whisper of the breeze
In the laughter at the campfire
and such simple things as these
Sleeping underneath the stars
and camping ‘neath the trees
Remind me of the part of him
that’s such a part of me
It makes me proud to be his son
and sad that he is gone
But in these mountains that we shared
... his memory lives on
By Frank Carpenter ©

Another Attack on Freedom

This very morning, only one day after London was chosen as the site for 2012 Summer Olympics, a terror attack occurred in that fair city. Four explosions went off within an hour, all striking transit targets during their busy morning rush hour. At the present time, at least 50 people are known to be dead and some seven hundred more injured, making this essentially the worst attack on London since WWII. Already a branch of al-Qaida has claimed responsibility, the same branch of the terror network responsible for the bombings in Spain. There are those who would say that the England and the U.S. have brought this problem upon themselves by invading Iraq. However, the attacks on September 11th 2001 were the result of al-Qaida already having declared war on us prior to campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are those who claim that our invasion of Iraq had no link to al-Qaida and was, therefore, unjustified. The very fact that al-Qaida is now active in the violent Iraqi insurgency, while continuing to attack nations like Great Britain in response to their involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, is evidence that we are probably taking the war on terror to exactly the right place. If Iraq has become a haven for terrorists, then I say at least it’s better to fight an “away game” for this particular battle in the war on terror. We clearly are at war, not with a particular nation or religion, but against an ideology of violence and fanaticism worldwide. Great Britain and the United States do more to help people worldwide than anyone else. We provide more aid, we import more goods and we are the first to fight for the rights and freedoms of other nations and people … and yet they hate us. Yes, we are at war and that war has been brought to our own doorsteps, to our very backyards, by these crazy, suicidal fanatics. If that’s what they want, then I say “bring it!” We cannot back down because they are bent upon our destruction, which means we have no choice but to destroy them. There are those in our country who would protest against our military actions abroad. However, I have yet to see any of those people protest against al-Qaida, Hamas or the previous government of Iraq for their reigns of terror in this modern world. To those people, I implore them to take a second look at the forty families who lost their innocent loved ones in London this morning. When a murder occurs, the guilty party is the one who pulls the trigger.

My heart goes out this morning to those whose lives have been lost and torn apart in London and I offer the following poem, which I wrote on the morning of September 11th, while sitting in my office watching reruns of the Twin Towers collapsing. We must stand together against this injustice.

The Heart of Freedom
Beware, you foes of freedom
Who dare to maim and kill
Who, by force, would stand against us
You have galvanized our will
You have struck the heart of freedom
Spilled sacred blood upon our soil
Stung the bastions of democracy
Yet, though we may recoil
Be it known, we shall not falter
In the midst of travesty
A sleeping giant has awakened
Which will rise from the debris
With a resolve and with a fury
Such as you have rarely known
Freedom’s mettle has been tested
And now its true strength shall be shown
By Frank Carpenter ©

Independence Day

Well, here we are at another 4th of July. Mostly we shall celebrate this holiday with fireworks and the consumption of great quantities of hot dogs and potato salad. Indeed, with all of the activity, it would be easy to forget exactly what this day is really about. However, on that fateful day 229 years ago when members of the continental congress signed the original Declaration of Independence something amazing began. Those delegates of the original thirteen colonies who signed that document might well have been signing their own death warrants for treason against the British crown. Fortunately, they were victorious in their war for independence and their little experiment in democracy is still going strong today. Furthermore, it has become the example of freedom worldwide over these past two centuries. So let us not take too lightly the gift of our own freedom or the price that has been paid to purchase it for us. Enjoy your fireworks and family fun, but pause for a moment sometime during the holiday to remind your friends and loved ones why we are celebrating. There are still many regimes, even in this modern world, which deny basic freedoms to their people. We owe ours to a small group of courageous men who dreamed of a better life and began the revolution that won it for us. We should all thank God for their foresight and wisdom, as well as the precious and sacred blood which was spilled to purchase their vision for all us. Along with my own poem on the subject, I have also included below the text of the Declaration of Independence and I encourage you to read it over and share it with others. We need to remember what we have and what they fought so valiantly for. We are the heirs of liberty and we have an obligation to preserve and protect it. Enjoy your 4th of July and may it also be a day of thanksgiving as well. God bless America … and let freedom ever ring in the hearts of men.

Song of Freedom
Still ringing are the battle cries
Of freedom from the past
Sung out by brave young men who spilled
Their blood and breathed their last
Still waving is the flag
They proudly served and held aloft
Yet, we must be ever wary
Lest our resolve grows dim and soft
Our children need to know the legacy
Of freedom which is theirs
As the gauntlet passes on to them
For they are freedom's heirs
Sons and daughters of a liberty
Which was born of trial and strife
Paid for dearly by the countless men
Who gave both limb and life
We must keep the fire burning
May we never let it die
So our children's children's children
Know the sound of freedom's cry
It's not enough to just be born here
We have to guard our liberty
And pass it on so generations
In the future will be free
By Frank Carpenter ©

And here is the text of the Declaration of Independence:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

… and that’s how it all began, 229 years ago. May we ever let freedom ring.

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Far too often, I believe that we who consider ourselves members of the silent majority prove it by keeping our opinions to ourselves. It should not be so! Each of us has a voice and an obligation to use it. Do you think no one will listen? Maybe. However, you can be absolutely certain that no one will listen if you fail to speak. I believe it was Wayne Gretsky who one said, “you miss one hundred percent of the shots you never take.” Each of us just needs to discover where our voice can be heard. Sometimes, when I am passionate about a political issue, I’ll write to a senator or a congressman. They might not read individual letters, but they do keep a tally of the issues their constituent’s care about. From time to time I even write to the President. I’m absolutely sure that he won’t read my email, but I also know that they keep track of opinions expressed as well. This morning’s resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor got me thinking about some national issues which are dear to my heart so I sat down and wrote an email to our President with my opinion. I have posted the text of that email below. Whether or not you agree with me, I would be happy to dialog with you … and I’d also encourage you to voice your own opinion to the President, or anyone else in our government. Maybe, just maybe, someone will hear you. At least if you speak out you haven’t abdicated your opinion to the countless other squeaky wheels in the citizenship. If you want to write to the president his email address is president@whitehouse.gov. If you wish to engage me, feel free to use the email link to the right or the comments option at the bottom of this posting. Either way, let your voice be heard.

Dear Mr. President,
Only this morning, Justice O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court. As a conservative, I beg you to choose a moral conservative to replace her. What is more, I also urge you to stand your ground in the confirmation process. Many of the bills and issues that you champion, however valuable they are, will get watered down and compromised in the process of passing through both houses. Yet, a Supreme Court Justice provides the last line of defense in the interpretation of the law and our beloved constitution. A more conservative court creates a political legacy which can span 20-30 years, and far beyond that in terms of setting precedent. So, dear President and Commander in Chief, we dare not shy away from this battle. Let us draw the line and stand our ground on this important issue. Let the democrats rant and rave. Let them filibuster. Let them make their speeches ... but let us win the day on your nomination of a new justice. As a conservative Christian, as a blogger and member of the "new" media, as an American citizen, I place my trust in you. My late father, State Senator Dennis Carpenter and then chairman of the California Republican Central Committee, introduced Vice President Spiro Agnew at the 1970 convention the night he coined the phrase, "The nattering nabobs of negativism." All alliteration aside, we continue to grapple with those same folks, and we must not let them have their way. Carry on, sir, and stay true to your heart.

With the greatest admiration and respect,
Frank H. Carpenter
Republican, California

Celebrating Friendship

Today, I pause to celebrate the great unsung heroes of everyday life. Friends. This is an area where have been particularly blessed so I speak from the perspective of having had my own life enriched by the many people who have shared my journey. True and honest friends can help to make the worst of times more bearable, while increasing the enjoyment of the better chapters in life as well. Now, I actually include some family in this category because, in my opinion, “the best of friends are family and the best of family are friends.” Some people simply fall into our lives from heaven, which is an especially fine gift. However, there are other friendships which are earned over time. In such cases we may come to admire certain qualities in one another which draw us together, or come to someone’s aid in a difficult situation and a deeper friendship grows out of that interaction. Either way, a true friend is one of those people who we let into our hearts. The world is filled with acquaintances and folks we meet along the way, and many people build a life of relationships on that uncommitted host, only to find that in their hour of greatest need they are all alone … or that their moments of triumph lack a comrade to share in them. My exhortation for today is for each of us to be a friend. That is the secret of building a foundation of friendship in any life. We need to take a proactive approach to people in general and treat them as we would choose to be treated. Like a marriage (which is a friendship of the highest order) or any other relationship, friendship must be cultivated and nurtured and built over time and it will, inevitably, bring the occasional heartache as well. People aren’t perfect and they will definitely let us down, that is the nature of life. We will likely mistreat others as well, or at least have it perceived so. However, time proves out relationships and those which stand that test of time can become a source of boundless joy and encouragement. So take heart, take action … and take a chance, because there’s a whole wide world of friends out there just waiting to be discovered. And the way to find them is to be one.

Celebrating Friendship
There is always cause to celebrate
If one surrounds himself with friends
For the enjoyment of their fellowship
Is a gift which never ends
Through triumph and through tragedy
True friends are always near
To support and offer counsel
And a strength which casts off fear
A friend is there to guide you
Through the dark of blackest night
To offer wisdom when you falter
And to join you in the fight
Yet, when good fortune smiles as well
A friend should also share
In the joy which is compounded
By his simply being there
There is always cause to celebrate
When one is wise enough to see
How much more each moment lived can mean
In a true friend’s company
By Frank Carpenter ©

Passages

As we wander through this world, our lives are in a constant state of transition. Sometimes it may be subtle or imperceptible, like the hands of a clock, but we are all in motion … moving, growing, becoming. Perhaps that process seems more pronounced as this is the season of graduation. At this very moment, many dear friends are sharing the annual ritual of commencement at my own high school alma mater, where I am well-acquainted with several of those graduating today. In honor of those graduates I offer the following poem, which was written as I sat through several such ceremonies over the recent years. My take on the subject is the familiar metaphor of embarking upon an ocean voyage, a fitting perspective for this particular juncture in life. I add, as a point of information, that today marks a year and a half since my father’s passing at the end of 2003. This leaves me a little pensive, as I consider how the course of my own voyage has fared during these last difficult eighteen months. Whatever passage may lay ahead, my wish for you today is fine weather, fair winds and smooth sailing. May ever your course be true.

Passages
Life is filled with passages
Which lead from shore to shore
To islands and to continents
Where we’ve not been before
What the future holds for us
In those ports which lie ahead
Is difficult to see from here
Regardless what is said
However, if your training
Is complete and you prepare
For your passage, and the adventure
Which awaits us all out there
Then your journey, though difficult
Can be a fruitful and wondrous one
As you cross the trackless seas of life
From the rising to setting sun
Each passage begins with departures
When we cast off from the quay
Bidding farewell to things familiar
And choosing to sail away
Yet, we know at journey’s end
Across the expanse of blue
Shrouded in mists of the future
There are landfalls waiting for you
Today, as you stand upon the decks
With the halyards poised in hand
Preparing to leave the harbor’s safety
And bid your adieu to the land
Remember fondly what lies behind
In ports you have thus far known
But boldly turn and canvas raise
Striking out for coasts of your own
Though tempests may besiege you
Before your passage is through
May you sail courageously onward
And may ever your course be true
By Frank Carpenter ©

The Perfect Man

Lights, camera, movie review. Last night I had the opportunity to view an advance screening of “The Perfect Man,” which stars Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear and Chris Noth. Knowing nothing about this movie, I originally ignored the preview invitation as too frivolous. Upon announcing said action at home I was immediately accosted by my wife and daughter with cries of “hey, that’s our kind of movie.” A little homework revealed that it actually looked like a cute flick and I should give it a chance. So, in the immortal words of Stromboli, I proclaimed, “off to the theater.

“The Perfect Man” is the story of a single mom, played by Heather Locklear, struggling to raise two daughters on her own. The catch is that she’s so desperate to find a husband and settle down that she keeps settling for men who end up letting her down. Her quirky coping mechanism is that when those relationships inevitably fail she always moves the family to a new town to start over. In order to avoid the next move her sixteen year old daughter, played by Hilary Duff, invents an imaginary secret admirer, eventually played by Chris Noth, to cheer her mom up and prevent another move. Naturally, one little white lie leads to another until the entire situation gets completely out of hand. Even though Locklear plays the mother Hilary Duff is really the star and handles her role well enough. Yet, the plot is a little contrived at times and there are moments when the quality of dialogue leaves something to be desired. Nonetheless, while “The Perfect Man” isn’t likely to garner any Oscar nominations, it’s still a fun romp and offers the full roller coaster of emotions we’d expect from a good romantic comedy. Note that since the plot tends to focus more on Hilary Duff, the appeal for this particular story leans towards the teen audience. It’s still a great date-night movie and clean enough for the whole family. In fact, there is absolutely no sex, violence or profanity so this one gets the family friendly seal of approval. I believe folks will generally enjoy it and that it will perform well in the rental market once it comes out on video. Again, the Academy won’t take a second look at “The Perfect Man,” but it delivers all the love and laughs that it promises … and that’s perfect enough.
For more info visit www.theperfectmanmovie.com