They have thought us easy-going. We've been that beyond a doubt. Now they'll learn, since they've attacked us, thick or thin, we stick it out.
They have thought us money-grubbers and have sneered at us for that,
But they'll change their minds about us when it comes our turn to bat.
They have said we loved our comforts far too much to want to fight;
That we planned for peace and friendship, and in saying that were right,
For until that fatal morning, when behind our backs they struck,
We had wanted no occasion to display our brand of pluck.
What kind of people are we? Let us answer one and all;
The kind of people willing to respond to duty's call,
The kind that hates injustice and will battle hard and long
To smash all evil forces and make right what's plainly wrong.
They have sneered at us for sleeping when we should have been awake.
They have jeered at us for keeping all the promises make.
Well, we’ve promised all deliverance from the vicious tyrant hordes,
And until we've kept that promise we shall never sheath our swords.
Let us shout it to their faces, they shall sneer at us no more.
We shall tack them down the oceans and shall dog them on the shore,
Wheresoe’er they slink for safety, we shall follow day and night
Until men are freed forever from the tyranny of might.
-Edgar A. Guest
This is a World War Two poem. Can we still say this about ourselves and today's war?
Thursday, November 30, 2006
A bit of the arts
I just read a book by Louis Untermeyer that was basically just little limericks and poems like this:
Wouldn't we have the nicest pets
If trout jumped out of the stream,
And hens gave little omlets,
And cows all gave ice cream!
Water has no color.
Snow is purest white.
I wonder where
The white all went
From the melting snow
Last night.
More seriously:
Meg Merrilies, a poem by John Keats.
Real artists paint classical:
Olga's Gallery-one of the better online collections of the old master's artwork.
And check out Pluggedin's review of
"The Nativity Story"
Who's going to see it?
Wouldn't we have the nicest pets
If trout jumped out of the stream,
And hens gave little omlets,
And cows all gave ice cream!
Water has no color.
Snow is purest white.
I wonder where
The white all went
From the melting snow
Last night.
More seriously:
Meg Merrilies, a poem by John Keats.
Real artists paint classical:
Olga's Gallery-one of the better online collections of the old master's artwork.
And check out Pluggedin's review of
"The Nativity Story"
Who's going to see it?
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Abnormal
The morning started off with a temp. of 14 degrees F and strong north winds. I had a caramel apple for breakfast, this being only the second caramel apple I've had in my lifetime. And for breakfast! Then Dad left for his business trip to that liberal country of Denmark. When Mom left for work, we kids decided to get out the Christmas decorations and put them up. Then we started getting calls from United Airlines about Dad's flight being canceled, and that's still not cleared up. Hopefully it won't get to stressful for Dad. After lunch I stepped on a piece of glass and cut my foot. The boys thought the blood was nauseating. Now Jeremy is down for his nap and I am working on painting bits of broken china plates that I use for decorations. What a strange day!
Update: It turns out Dad didn't go to Denmark at all. All of today's flights to Chicago were full, and Dad decided it wasn't worth it to go for such a short time. Well! I know God has a good reason for this, but now I won't get any birthday presents from Denmark!
Update: It turns out Dad didn't go to Denmark at all. All of today's flights to Chicago were full, and Dad decided it wasn't worth it to go for such a short time. Well! I know God has a good reason for this, but now I won't get any birthday presents from Denmark!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
For your enjoyment
New links in my favorites:
Here is a link to a blog about Cinematography. No, I don't understand it all, really, but the movie this young man is making is just plain neat. I think it's cute, my brothers would think it's cool, and Dad would call it clever, and that is high praise. Check it out!
My new Canadian friend, who I met in Iowa, also has a blog which I have added to my blogroll. She has many pictures of our time in Iowa posted there.
Home school Alumni- there's more of us then you might think. Check out the online gathering place for HS grads here.
Dominion Covenant Church- you don't have to live in Nebraska to enjoy it! Listen to the sermons online.
Here is a link to a blog about Cinematography. No, I don't understand it all, really, but the movie this young man is making is just plain neat. I think it's cute, my brothers would think it's cool, and Dad would call it clever, and that is high praise. Check it out!
My new Canadian friend, who I met in Iowa, also has a blog which I have added to my blogroll. She has many pictures of our time in Iowa posted there.
Home school Alumni- there's more of us then you might think. Check out the online gathering place for HS grads here.
Dominion Covenant Church- you don't have to live in Nebraska to enjoy it! Listen to the sermons online.
Judge Lyle Strom
Back in November one of the issues we Nebraskans voted on was Referendum 422, or LB 126. The idea of the Referendum was to repeal a law passed by our house to dissolve small, grade school-only schools into larger ones. Well, read this:
“The legislature passed it, the voters repealed it, and a judge upheld it. What to do with LB 126 is still in question after U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom dismissed a lawsuit that sought to undo the actions of a state committee that dissolved Class I districts by requiring that they become part of districts offering kindergarten through high school. This means, even though the majority of the voters want the law repealed, it may not happen. Class I supporters must now look to the 2007 Legislature for its decision to reinstitute the 200 Class I schools.”
“The legislature passed it, the voters repealed it, and a judge upheld it. What to do with LB 126 is still in question after U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom dismissed a lawsuit that sought to undo the actions of a state committee that dissolved Class I districts by requiring that they become part of districts offering kindergarten through high school. This means, even though the majority of the voters want the law repealed, it may not happen. Class I supporters must now look to the 2007 Legislature for its decision to reinstitute the 200 Class I schools.”
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
An update on my life
It seems like I am going to spend my holiday week in public service:
1 I am babysitting twice this week for a very active family of four children, all under age six. Basically all they do is wrestle each other. I’ve never seen such active little girls before.
2 I am going to clean an already clean house for a rather old woman-she’s 90- who can’t hear.
3 I will probably have to clean house for guests, if we can get anyone to come over, and also dust off the guest room for Josh, with whom we are determined to spend quality time. We were going to attend the wedding of my cousin, but Mom said Josh needs TLC.
So that’s what our Thanksgiving looks like. I am also working on Operation SOUND’s Christmas boxes, our next GenJ meeting, and my job search. Life is busy!
1 I am babysitting twice this week for a very active family of four children, all under age six. Basically all they do is wrestle each other. I’ve never seen such active little girls before.
2 I am going to clean an already clean house for a rather old woman-she’s 90- who can’t hear.
3 I will probably have to clean house for guests, if we can get anyone to come over, and also dust off the guest room for Josh, with whom we are determined to spend quality time. We were going to attend the wedding of my cousin, but Mom said Josh needs TLC.
So that’s what our Thanksgiving looks like. I am also working on Operation SOUND’s Christmas boxes, our next GenJ meeting, and my job search. Life is busy!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
I’m sick again. Remember I got a cold from that family I was working for? While I was gone in IA, the rest of my family got it, and when I got back from IA, I got it again! What a bummer. I know that it’s partly my fault, though, because I had unhealthy food in IA, like pop, which we NEVER drink at home. I could complain for a whole post, but it will probably be enough to say- I hate my lungs, and I wish I could live without them. Sometimes it feels like I can’t live WITH them. Dust has the same effect on me as a cold. It’s nasty.
I missed posting on the Marines Birthday, and Veteran’s day, so Happy Birthday Marines, and here’s what we did for Veterans day: We kids went to the local vet’s day program at the public school; Caleb and another Civil Air Patrol cadet carried the flags in for the service. The service was short and attendance was sparse- only the vets and the grade school kids (attendance was required) were there. We watched a slide show listing the names of local veterans and the wars they were in. It’s amazing the heroes we have in our town, and we hardly ever realize it. One man was shot down over Europe while flying as a gunner in some sort of airplane; one man was on Iwo Jima; but more and more of our oldest vets are from the Korean War. I have great respect for those men, our local veterans.
Thank God for them!
I missed posting on the Marines Birthday, and Veteran’s day, so Happy Birthday Marines, and here’s what we did for Veterans day: We kids went to the local vet’s day program at the public school; Caleb and another Civil Air Patrol cadet carried the flags in for the service. The service was short and attendance was sparse- only the vets and the grade school kids (attendance was required) were there. We watched a slide show listing the names of local veterans and the wars they were in. It’s amazing the heroes we have in our town, and we hardly ever realize it. One man was shot down over Europe while flying as a gunner in some sort of airplane; one man was on Iwo Jima; but more and more of our oldest vets are from the Korean War. I have great respect for those men, our local veterans.
Thank God for them!
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Teddy Roosevelt
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
– Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic," speech at the Sorbonne, Paris (April 23, 1910)
Mr. Whalen's speech on Nov. 7th was centered on this quote.
– Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic," speech at the Sorbonne, Paris (April 23, 1910)
Mr. Whalen's speech on Nov. 7th was centered on this quote.
Report
We left for the airport Friday morning, flew all day, and got to Cedar Rapids at dinner time. To get to Cedar Rapids, we had to fly to Chicago and switch flights. Isn’t that silly?
On our second day we went to our HQ, the Scott county Republican center, and were briefed on what we would be doing: Literature drops all day, phone calls at night. We didn’t get started until late that day, so I think we did more phone calls than anything. I would say that 40% of the people we called hung up on us; 40% we had to leave a message on the answering machine, and 20% listened to what we were saying. Going door to door, most people weren’t home, and if they were, they weren’t as mean to our faces as they were on the phone.
We had Sunday morning off and we all went to a local Baptist Church, which was fun. In the afternoon we did lit drops and phone calls. We were mostly campaigning for Jim Nussle for Governor and Mike Whalen for Congress. We got to meet both of those candidates and a few others. That was a lot of fun because they thanked us so profusely for what we were doing.
We worked hard on Monday. Jen was bitten by a loose dog while handing out literature- it wasn’t a bad bite, but she had to get a tetanus shot so her arm was sore. And she got a lot of attention after that.
Tuesday, we were kicked out of HQ by some Scott county volunteers who didn’t like us much, so we didn’t have to work as hard. We did about five hours of sign waving at big intersections during the morning and evening rush hours. Then that night at about 7pm we went to the victory party at one of Mr. Whalen’s restaurants. At about 10:00pm, Mr. Whalen gave his speech. It was one of the most inspirational speeches I've ever heard. Yes, we lost. And when you look at the nationwide election results, it looks like we really really lost. But I'm not worried about it. Mr. Whalen encouraged us to be in the political arena, to work hard, and to be leaders. And we will! It was an honor to work for such a godly man, and we are already looking forward to working in the 2008 elections.
On our second day we went to our HQ, the Scott county Republican center, and were briefed on what we would be doing: Literature drops all day, phone calls at night. We didn’t get started until late that day, so I think we did more phone calls than anything. I would say that 40% of the people we called hung up on us; 40% we had to leave a message on the answering machine, and 20% listened to what we were saying. Going door to door, most people weren’t home, and if they were, they weren’t as mean to our faces as they were on the phone.
We had Sunday morning off and we all went to a local Baptist Church, which was fun. In the afternoon we did lit drops and phone calls. We were mostly campaigning for Jim Nussle for Governor and Mike Whalen for Congress. We got to meet both of those candidates and a few others. That was a lot of fun because they thanked us so profusely for what we were doing.
We worked hard on Monday. Jen was bitten by a loose dog while handing out literature- it wasn’t a bad bite, but she had to get a tetanus shot so her arm was sore. And she got a lot of attention after that.
Tuesday, we were kicked out of HQ by some Scott county volunteers who didn’t like us much, so we didn’t have to work as hard. We did about five hours of sign waving at big intersections during the morning and evening rush hours. Then that night at about 7pm we went to the victory party at one of Mr. Whalen’s restaurants. At about 10:00pm, Mr. Whalen gave his speech. It was one of the most inspirational speeches I've ever heard. Yes, we lost. And when you look at the nationwide election results, it looks like we really really lost. But I'm not worried about it. Mr. Whalen encouraged us to be in the political arena, to work hard, and to be leaders. And we will! It was an honor to work for such a godly man, and we are already looking forward to working in the 2008 elections.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Off to Campaign
Jen and I are leaving tomorrow for our GenJ Student Action Team. I am still working and haven't had time to pack yet; We ladies have to pack more than just our toothbrushes, unlike some men. And we are having a guest for dinner. Life is hectic.
Yesterday Jeremy broke the tip of his finger and I missed it! I hate missing out on my family's life. Well, it's 20 degrees F here and I have to go get the car to start so I can get to work. I promise I will post as soon as I get home, on the 8th.
Yesterday Jeremy broke the tip of his finger and I missed it! I hate missing out on my family's life. Well, it's 20 degrees F here and I have to go get the car to start so I can get to work. I promise I will post as soon as I get home, on the 8th.
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