The Wright Patterson Air Force Marathon and Half-Marathon

I love it when history turns on its head and becomes a bit ironic. If you read my post of May 5, 2012 (A Marathon in View of the Nashville Parthenon) in which the annual County Music Marathon is run in view of the Parthenon, and for which the Apostle Paul eluded to the Panhellenic Games in his letters to the church in Corinth. I thought it was a bit prophetic in a way that a modern-day marathon was being run in view of a replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

So, recently I did a half-marathon in Dayton, Ohio. The half-marathon was one of several events at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Because of the location I witnessed a B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover, and a memorial sculpture to the Wright Brothers. Both were memorable and both occurred within the first 30 minutes of beginning my “run” or more accurately walk. For me it was another sort of ironic twist of events since I was walking and no one had Wings even though it was being held at an Air Force base.

This time I was “running” with my son, Chad. He previously ran a half-marathon in April in Nashville.

The start time of our event was 8:30 am but we arrived just before sunrise as we were advised. Since the Start line and Finish were only 100 yards or so apart (but separated by 13.1 miles), we were able to park near the National Air Force Museum. It was a beautiful, brisk morning. I was able to capture the sunrise on my small camera.

And so we walked. The B-2 fly-over and Memorial to the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilber, came pretty early. There were also water stations and well-spaced banks of potties. These are things that can be pretty important to a runner.



At 6 miles a couple of folks walking and jogging the half-marathon suggested that they were on pace to do it in 3 hours. That was a bit inspiring. Initially, I might do it in 3 and a half hours, figuring I would fall off my planned pace of 15-minute miles. But after hearing these the two, more fit runners just in front of me I thought I might do better than my original thought of 3 and a-half hours. I picked up my pace. Maybe I could do it in 3 hours.

Well, I did not finish my half-marathon in just over 2 and one-half hours as Chad did in April. I did, however, manage to walk thirteen (13) fifteen-minute miles, walking the 13.1 miles in just under 3 hours and ten minutes. My son beat me by 3 seconds. He said, “I couldn’t let my dad beat me.”

We had a great time. This is why; when we began our “Half” was pretty focused on finishing the run. You know the bit, “I just wanted to finish the same day I started.” I didn’t want to embarrass myself. The fact of the matter was I didn’t. And the bonus was God awed us by giving us a beautiful and wonderful day. Like the runners a few strides ahead of us (set to do 3-hour Half) I was inspired to do His will. Sometimes the rewards are greater than the goals we set out to achieve.

Another bonus came after I had finished the race. I saw a Wright-B Flyer in the air. It was very nice.

It only took a few days for my knee to feel better. Things do have a price.

Scripture:

2 Chronicles 20.4 – Seeing the army against them was overwhelming, they came together to seek help from the Lord.

Isaiah 40.31 – Those who hope in the Lord will gain new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Acts 20.24 – What is important is finishing the course that God gave me (to preach the message of God’s grace).

1 Corinthians 9.24 – Runners in a race complete that they may win.

2 Corinthians 12.10 – I delight in my weaknesses and difficulties, because when I am weak, I find strength in Him.

Galatians 2.2 – Paul writes, “I did not want to run in vain.”

2 Timothy 4.7 – Paul writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.”

Hebrews 12.1 – “Run with endurance the race that is before us, keeping your eyes on Jesus.”

James 5.11- Like Job, blessed are those who preserver.

Kamp Keck, 2012

Memories


Five pounds of freshly purchased hot dogs stands out in my mind when I think back to when I was a teenager and spent several weeks on my grandparents’ farm in East Tennessee with cousins. It was the early 1960s. My grandparents loved their grandchildren in sacrificial ways. They had little to share but opened up their small house to those who came. The girls slept in the spare bedroom and the boys in the living room. There was no air conditioning, except for what came through the screen doors and windows. They didn’t even have a vinyl swimming pool. Food and snacks weren’t extravagant. But they did want to please us. Hot dogs were the avenue to achieving it to my grandmother. She usually didn’t buy them. Entertainment consisted of nightly trips to revival services at a little country church, playing “Old Maid” with my grandmother, picking green beans as if we were contestants, salvaging tobacco after a hail-storm, “slopping” the hogs first thing in the morning, coon hunts in the dark, stalking crows and trips to town where we spent any earned money buying chocolate milkshakes at a little diner. Memories like this are precious and holdup for years. Memories, loyalties and love are the glue that hold a family together.


Back to the hot dogs, my grandmother was surprised we didn’t eat all of the hot dogs in one meal. It took a huge pot. Finding one big enough was a dilemma in itself. Maybe that is why it was all sort of fun. Grandparents can certainly open the eyes of a kid.


Purpose

Time travel forward 50-plus years. Circumstances have changed somewhat. I am now a grandparent, Saundria, my wife, and I have decided to host “Camp” for our grandchildren. Our children’s families live 300 or so miles apart. The children don’t get to spend concentrated time together so a cousin’s camp just makes sense. In fact, we can’t think of a better way to strengthen the relationships they have to one another and to us? I can’t begin to tell you how excited we were about what we had planned.

Because times have changed, this week was different than when I grew up. Then, little was planned. Activities emerged naturally, on a day-to-day basis. You know, you can’t predict a hailstorm.


Now, everything is planned. Then, I was a young teenager. Today, the campers are young school-age and pre-school age children. No comparison. Back then, electronics consisted of an electrical light switch and maybe a television. Today, we are competing with DVDs, electronic tablets and cell phones.


People have asked, “What did you do everyday for a week?” And “How did you pull off a week with four little children?” Understanding that we are in our sixties and not thirties and we had our hands full with only two children then. This blog posting provides an overview of the week, complete with photos. In the last section of this posting I will make some practical grandfather suggestions (I am not a professional child-development specialist, though I have learned some things because I know one or two) as to how to plan a kid’s camp.


Day-By-Day Activities As Originally Planned

I will begin with our “plan” and comment on what actually happened from time to time to let you know “things happen” and that you have to be flexible because of changing circumstances, like rain, heat, facility conditions, health, etc.


Here is what was planned and what actually happened:


Monday

· Ask children to share a memory from last year’s camp

· Read/Tell the “In The Beginning” (The Creation Story in “Remember, and Don’t Forget: Bible Stories for Mom and Me”)

· Art/Craft: Children work on a Sea Mural-Collage (with fish, jelly-fish, sponges, star fish, whales, dolphins, octopuses, and other sea life)

· Water Play (Possibilities: Vinyl Play Pool, Slip and Slide, water guns and/or balloons)

· Lunch (either at house or Chuck E. Cheese)

· Chuck E Cheese (riding horses, helicopters and fighters planes, Skee-Ball, and other skill games). We do this just for fun on a hot day.

· We then have dinner at Leeanne’s (our daughter), where she prepared a meatloaf. Prior to the meal being ready, the kids ride every “riding toy” imaginable (bicycles, big-wheel tri-cycles, kick scooters, wagons, etc.)


It was interesting to hear from our grandchildren what they remembered from last year. One of the children remembered the police whistle I used to summon them on occasion.)


Water play this day was confined to the vinyl play pool. We wanted to save some options for another day.

We ate lunch at our house before going to Chuck E Cheese.


Since two of our grandchildren live nearby, many riding toys were available for all of the grandchildren to use.

Tuesday

· Read/Tell the “Two by Two” (The Story of Noah in “Remember, and Don’t Forget: Bible Stories for Mom and Me”). Bible story charades.

· Go to The Treehouses at Cheekwood (a Botanical Gardens in Nashville). This special exhibit featured 7 books. Treehouses included “The Jolly Roger” (Peter and Wendy), “The Conch House” (Lord of the Flies), “The Rainbow Fish” (The Rainbow Fish), “Walden Treehouse” (Walden), “The Giver” (The Giver), “Ocean of Notions” (Haroun and the Sea of Stories) and “Up and Down Again” (The Hobbit).

· Paint Rainbow Rocks and Make Collages with paint chips (from paint store).

· Water play

· Work with clay

Many of the treehouses at Cheekwood involved water in some way. The Rainbow Fish especially tied in with the story of Noah. After lunch the children painted “rainbow” rocks (obtained from a local landscaping firm prior to camp and washed) with tempra paints. We told their parents the rocks would look good in a flower bed or alone their front walk. The Up and Down Again Treehouse may have been 3 of our grandchildren’s favorite structures because they enjoyed the long slide. One liked the Jolly Roger because he is into boats.

The most interesting project made from clay was the hot dog in a bun one of my grandsons made. Another child made a volcano and later painted the top of the cone red.


Wednesday

· Read/Tell “A Little Girl Helps an Important Man” (The Story of Naaman, a man with a terrible skin disease in “Remember, and Don’t Forget: Bible Stories for Mom and Me”)

· Slip & Slide in the backyard

· Mud pies and dirt play

· Nashville Adventure Science Center

· Face and arm painting (each one had a skin-wound painted on their arm also, reminding them of Naaman’s diseased skin)

Getting wet and playing in a small pile of dirt just seemed right for our grandchildren. After making mud cakes and pies one of our granddaughters simply lathered-up in mud so to speak. By comparison Naaman would have looked well before he was healed by God.

Thursday

· Read/Tell Story “Breakfast on the Beach” (The Story of Jesus and his disciples eating breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after a night of fishing in “Remember, and Don’t Forget: Bible Stories for Mom and Me”)

· Breakfast on the Shore

· Park shore on Percy Priest Lake

· Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen for lunch

· Paint stumps with tempra paints.

Although we were in the middle of a drought, it was a cooler, rainy day. Breakfast on the lakeshore was in our plan. Instead, after breakfast at the house, we traveled to the park, observed the boats and imagined a campfire on the shore and had a snack. After an enjoyable time throwing stones into the water, we drove back to Franklin and ate seafood at Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen. One of our grandchildren loves going to this restaurant. It wasn’t exactly fish cooked on a campfire, but it did include fish.


After returning home, the guys painted some log-sections (I had cut a tree down a year or so ago and had 4 or 5 sectioned logs) with tempra paint. They enjoyed pounding nails into the logs afterward. It looked like so much fun the girls joined in later. While the guys were doing “guy” things, the girls were inside working on the sea mural. Although it was a rain-day, it did not rain continuously, allowing the kids to work/play outside in the afternoon.

Friday

· Read/Tell “When Jesus Said ‘Shhh’” (The Story of Jesus Quieting the Sea” (from “Remember, and Don’t Forget: Bible Stories for Mom and Me”)

· Chick-fil-A (dress up like a cow) and enjoy a free lunch for Cow Appreciation Day

· Monkey Joe’s (an indoor play center featuring inflatable jump, slide and bounce structures)

· Water Balloons, Toy Fish frozen in ice-blocks, Squirt guns, Swimming Pool and Creative Truck Play.

· Camp Awards (trophies and attribute rocks)


After reading our story, we spend a fair amount of time creating cow costumes for our lunch outing. It was free lunch day at Chick-fil-A for those wearing a cow costume. Grandparents had help from the grandchildren in making their costumes.

After lunch, we went to Monkey Joe’s. It wasn’t the best of days there inasmuch as the children’s play center had two busloads of older children and they were a bit intimidating. If we ever do that sort of thing again, if we see two buses in the parking lot we will substitute some other activity for it. It is wise to have alternative activities as back-ups. We left early from Monkey Joe’s and actually do something they enjoy immensely more, squirt-guns, thawing toy fish frozen in large blocks of ice and playing creatively in the back of Poppa’s truck.


I especially enjoyed watching their imaginative play in the bed of the truck. They played with noodles and rope and hauled “fish” from out of their boat into the boat with the use of the rope. Shoes and booster seats were favorite “fish.”

 

After dinner that evening, Mimi presented trophies to each camp participant. The youngest child was so proud of his accomplishment. He had a trophy! We also presented each grandchild with a smaller, attribute rock. Each rock had the name of a grandchild, an attribute we would like to see develop in their lives and a Bible verse characterizing that attribute. The notion is that we need to we encourage each one to focus on a characteristic and observe it in their lives.

Saturday

Travel Day – Meet the mother of two of our grandchildren in Louisville, Kentucky (half-way from our house and their home).


Camp was over and Saturday was spent taking two of our four children to meet a parent. For us it meant driving to Louisville, Kentucky. We stopped frequently for potty breaks, drinks and planned to meet their mother for lunch. Unfortunately rain and a traffic accident prevented their mother from meeting us at the designated hour and so we played checkers and bought ice cream and drove around a bit until she was able to arrive.


Notes:

Prerequisites (understand ages of children, age-appropriate activities, simple & fun, be flexible to weather and other changing conditions. Move activities to another day if necessary. Plan additional art projects and games (indoor and outdoor) to use if necessary. Be ready to think on your feet, if something doesn’t seem to be working. And don’t be surprised if something planned energizes into something big, bold and wonderful or fizzles because of some lack of interest. Last year art was given a lot of attention by campers; this year it wasn’t a very big deal. At the end of the week the wall of art in our house was half of what last year’s gallery contained.


“Remember and Don’t Forget: Bible Stories for Mom and Me” is age and developmentally appropriate for children ages 3 to 8. It paraphrases scripture relating a Biblical truth that children can understand. Stories are not above the heads of children. The way I think of it is: We don’t expect children to do calculus, repair refrigerators, or compete in the Olympics. Children are concrete thinkers. The stories in this book help young children understand that God loves them. Isn’t that why Christ came? It’s foundational to our faith.


The book “Raising Boys and Girls, The Art of Understanding Their Differences” by Sissy Goff, David Thomas and Melissa Trevathan is another resource you may want to utilize. Boys and girls are different in the way they view and act on things during the various stages of development. Saundria and I try to take those differences into account when we read or tell stories and plan activities that complement those stories.


The week you plan needs to take into account the number, gender and ages of your grandchildren. Older children can help younger children. Sleeping arrangements, schedules and menus need to recognize allergies, likes and dislikes, preparation requirements and finances. You may or may not have access to a vehicle or vehicles to transport all of your grandchildren. In our case, our daughter lives nearby and assisted us with two meals. Our youngest camper also went home with her each night because he hadn’t spent that many nights away from home and needed just a little more rest than the others. She was also a part of some activities as her schedule allowed. One day an older neighborhood girl joined our camp and helped manage activities.


Back in my day, “Camp” wasn’t even called camp. And it wasn’t perfect, but it did happen. My memories, loyalties and love for my cousins remain.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6.7 – As you go, teach your children that God is good.

Deuteronomy 6. 20 – When your son or daughter asks you, you can say what the Lord has done for you.

Psalm 78.4 – Tell the next generation what God has done, His power and wonders.

Psalm 79.13 – God’s people will praise Him and from generation to generation they will recount it.

Psalm 145.4 – One generation will commend God’s works to another.

Ecclesiastes 11.9 – Enjoy your youth within God’s boundaries.

Our Nation’s Journey from Abusive King to Political Experiment an Exercise of Faith

After 9 years of war with France, England had huge debt and needed money to pay for the war. England’s King George III levied taxes on whatever he could and because the American colonies were part of the British Empire they too had to pay. For the American colonists it became a difficult burden, to support and to pay for a war and a monarchy that ruled from the other side of the ocean. Worst of all they were treated like second-class citizens. They didn’t even enjoy all the freedoms that existed in England. It seemed unfair to pay for a war that wasn’t yours (The French and Indian War). It was the British who wanted to defend the Ohio Valley against the French. The taxes and other acts were imposed without political representation from those who had to live with them. One was the Stamp Act of 1765, requiring colonists to purchase and affix stamps on legal documents, newspapers, and even playing cards. Other acts followed along with the Tea Act of 1773. The Boston Tea Party and other terrorist actions took place and then the colonists boycotted everything English. Their response hurt themselves. Times were difficult.

Politically, a Royal Governor ruled the colonists and increasingly, the British were at odds the local legislative bodies. There was a growing disconnect between the British and colonists. The British authorities grew insensitive and corrupt. They had their cronies, who were also corrupt. They knew little of the lives of those they governed. They lived lives that were lavish. Like Governor Tyron in North Carolina, who built a most remarkable mansion in New Bern, they were out of touch with those they governed. The British in each of the colonies represented a failing nation.

The dissatisfaction of the people grew ever greater over the years. It paralleled the abuses of government officials and the abuses became more obvious and despicable.

Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, George Wythe, James Madison, George Mason and others spoke to the issues of the time: Governance and Human Rights. The passions of people were being fanned.

It appeared to the colonists that England’s governance was collapsing, at least good governance. Loyal British colonists were becoming disillusioned. The King’s rule was obviously flawed. His wisdom not so wise. And so, what does “Dieu et mon droit“ mean?

A few weeks ago, while in Williamsburg I noticed this motto at a number places. It was displayed in the Palace of the Governor. It was on the sign at the King’s Tavern. It was probably displayed at a number of places I didn’t even notice. It was only later that I realized the shield that often accompanied the motto included a unicorn (a single horn horse) and a red lion. The Royal Coat of Arms has been in use since 1198 by King Richard I. It is in French because it was actually the primary language of the ruling classes following the rule of William the Conqueror of Normandy. The use of English by the ruling classes is more recent.

I asked the docent about the motto. He said it literally translates “God and My Right.” In other words, “the Monarch (King or Queen) has the divine right to rule.” Any attempt to diminish the Monarch’s powers would be contrary to the will of God. It seemed a bit arrogant, which was exactly the problem experienced by the colonists.

Why is the king’s presumptive right to rule an important fact? After two hundred and fifty years of thought Americans might easily ask, “What has God to do with an authoritative and abusive government?”

The right of a monarch to rule was not a foreign concept to the American colonists. It was fundamentally understood by everyone. It was built-in. To keep faith and government separate as we do was not common to our ancestors. For them it was wrong-headed. The throne was appointed by God to lead.

You know how you had learned facts in school and could spit them back on a test and make a decent grade and then one day, something comes along and illustrates the fact taught in school. You know, like a spiritual truth you hear in a sermon and then one day the reality of that truth hits you hard because you experience it. That is what the English motto did for me.

The colonists were tired of government abuses, especially taxes and corruption in government. Government officials played favorites and most of the colonists were being governed with little say. They essentially were being told that the King at the top was divinely appointed. He was in effect doing God’s bidding. He was God’s chosen to do God’s work. The fact of the matter was the colonists were working under a hardship. How could this be God’s representative? Does God embrace abuse, if not corruption? The colonists thought, “We could do better than this.”

So the rule of the king, at least in the eyes of many colonists, was being questioned. It was a huge leap. That leap doesn’t exist for us. The king is not king by divine appointment. We elect representatives every two years, Senators and a President every four. The king is not divinely appointed, at least in the sense they thought it to mean.

The faith of the crown was increasingly seen as fallible. Many of those who came to the American colonies came because they sought freedom to worship as their conscious dictated. The colonies were removed from the mainland. They were living in a sense in a distant field, plowed, cultivated and seeded with those who did not accept the fact that the Crown was the authority of the faith. Why even King Henry VIII (ruling from 1509-1547) had planted that seed. He had rejected the Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope. It was a time when the rule of the king was subject to God was already being questioned.



You may recall that Thomas Jefferson had a quirky spiritual faith. He desired freedom to believe as one desired, not as some State Church dictated. Nor did he believe people should be taxed or required to support an official state church financially, as it is in England. Yes, he was considered by many to be a heretic, yet Quakers, Baptists, Presbyterians, and others supported him in his appeals for religious freedom. Thomas Jefferson and George Mason were questioning a pivotal truth, whether the Church of England (the State’s Religion under the head of the King) was really the true and accurate faith. In England, the Monarch gives subjects freedoms, they are not guaranteed by a Constitution. Freedom of religion was an important tenet to Jefferson.

Building a democratic government involves tireless work. It disenfranchises those who broker in power and favoritism. It weeds out corruption. It strives for fairness, justice and equality. If a government does not serve and protect its citizens they will not vigorously defend or support her when she is attacked and she will fall. We must carefully tend to these disciplines.

So for people like Jefferson, the call for independence and to build a nation was a rejection of the belief that the King ruled under God’s authority, that he was divinely appointed. It is like being told that the world is a sphere and that it revolves around the sun and not a flat tabletop with the sun rising on its eastern edge and setting on its west edge. But you were taught the world was flat.

Our story as a nation is twofold: It is the story of a collapsing government while almost simultaneously inspired to build a new nation. It is built on the notion that a King is not God’s appointed ruler. It is in fact a principle of faith. We have freedom of religion.

Given this background, it begins to make sense that the founding fathers of this nation built into the American Constitution a fragmented basis for authority and power, consisting of three branches, an Executive, a Legislative and Judicial branch and that we have a Bill of Rights, guaranteeing every person certain freedoms, among them the Freedom of Religion. It seems these provisions and protections emerged in an almost perverse way from the notion, “God and My Right.” The experiment is that equal and ordinary people can govern themselves.

At the end of the constitution convention someone asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government the framers had given us. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” And so we are.

If you are planning to visit Williamsburg, take note of the number of times and places you encounter the royal motto and the associated symbols in the Royal Coat of Arms that are included in the shield. It was deeply embedded in that belief system.

Scripture

Deuteronomy 1.13 – Appoint leaders for yourselves who are wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes.

Joshua 24.15 – Choose the one whom you will worship and serve; I will serve God.

I Samuel 8.5-7 – Give us a king to judge us.

Matthew 22.21 – Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.

Romans 13.1-3 – Submit to governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and those that exist are instituted by God.

I Peter 2.13-14 – Submit to every human institution because of God.

  

Remembering the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth and My Friend Joyce

On June 2, 1953, when I was 7 years old, Princess Elizabeth became Queen of England. She was married to Prince Philip and was only 25 years old. Her father, King George VI died the previous year on February 6, 1952. So this year, 2012 is being celebrated throughout the world as the Diamond Jubilee.

The Official Website of the British Monarchy

http://www.royal.gov.uk/hmthequeen/accessioncoronation/accessionandcoronation.aspx

I was in first grade, and although I don’t remember many events or much anything else at that time, I do recall this event. It was at the end of the school year, one of the last days. Near the end of the school day, my teacher gathered a number of us students together and we walked a few blocks to someone’s house where we watched the coronation on television. The TV was not a big screen affair like media screens today. It may have been as large as 10 or 12 inches in size. Images were in black and white. Color TV had not been invented. In fact, at that time not every family had a television set. We watched horse drawn carriages, heard a lot of talking, and saw a lot of curtseying, and that sort of thing. There was a good bit of “shushing” by adults and I guess some disorder among the first graders gathered in that living room. Most everyone was focused on what was happening on that small screen. It was quite evident that something very important was going on.

It was in fact a very big deal. To me, and I suppose to the other children it was happening “real time” as they say today. And in a sense it was, but not without tremendous effort by the British. After the death of King George, they had spent a year preparing for this coronation. In England there was a lot of debate about televising such a sacred event.


The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) took the entire year to organize its television coverage of the event. It included multiple cameras in Westminster Abbey and cameras at over twenty sites along the Queen’s procession route. The live footage, from inside the Abbey was complemented by commentators stationed outside the Abbey, who described the event. The event was viewed live in Britain, France, Holland and West Germany.


The ceremony was watched by millions of people in Canada and the United States courtesy of the BBC who recorded the event and with the aid of the Royal Air Force (RAF) flew the recordings to Canada in three stages throughout the day in an arrangement called “Operation Pony Express.” The film was flown across the Atlantic in three Canberra jet bombers, and broadcast by television stations in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. NBC and ABC linked to the Canadian stations to provide coverage in the US, while CBS broadcast it’s own recording of the event flown by RAF jets to Boston. Each jet took a little over five hours. TV coverage in the United States began at 4:15 pm.


I suppose I remember the occasion, because so many grown-ups were making a point to watch the event. They were aware of the investment of time and resources to make this possible. It was in ways unprecedented. So, adults were watching the event intently, and the fact they had gathered us together to also witness the event suggested to us that it was a very important event.


Reflecting back on that day, I can also say that my view of England as an important county had been firmly established. In War World II, England was an important ally and everyone spoke favorably of England. The reality of it all is that she is Queen of the United Kingdom, which includes the country of England, as well as the countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others.


Our neighbors to the rear of us, the Fukos were somehow related to the English. My friend Joyce’s grandmother lived in England and while we were neighbors had visited here once or twice. I spend an hour or so in her presence and of course she insisted on drinking hot tea. As I recall, they used a big, shiny chrome coffee pot to make her tea. She liked cookies too. Joyce, my brother and I spent a lot of time in a sandbox partially under the cantilevered kitchen of our house. Maybe this association had something to do with my recollection of the Queen’s coronation.

So, here we are, nearly 60 years later, celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Yes, sixty years and a lot of history later. She had a son, Charles born prior to her becoming queen in November 1948, who throughout my life I assumed would become King of England someday. She also had other children: Anne, Edward and Andrew. Prince Charles married Princess Diana on July 29, 1981. Princess Diana had two children, William in June 1982 and Harry in September 1984, who are now adults. She and Charles divorced in 1996, and on August 31, 1997 she died in Paris, France as a result of a car crash. There was also the Suez Crisis in mid-1950s, the Falklands War in April 1982 and numerous military actions in what was Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo). The Brits have also been our allies in Kuwait and Iraq. And Queen Elizabeth remains, much older, but in some sense unchanged, steady and dependable. She is now in her eighties.


In the intervening years, my family moved away from the neighborhood where Joyce lived. She too moved. I last saw her when she turned 12 or 13 and somehow found myself at a birthday party for her held in a large neighborhood community center. We danced “The Stroll,” a sort of line dance affair. That was the last I saw of her.


And so, here we are 60 years later. It is hard to believe all the history that has passed since I was 7 years old and that I remember that event, not like it was yesterday, but more like a recollection that has become foggy and somewhat vague because of time. I suppose that is the most troubling part of the story.


I am trying to remember more of the details of the events surrounding the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Why do some things fade and yet some things are retained? Why did this event make such an impression on me? Is it because some events are built up by others and we “experience” the moment? Were the multiple sensory inputs (auditory, visual, and other senses, including experiential) important to the creation of this memory? What roles do preparation, expectation, photographs taken during the event, travel logs, collected mementos, associated music, retellings and revisits to memorable sites play? Can we facilitate our memories and the memories of our children to recall the important events and lessons in life? I think the sages of “old” believe so.


Scripture:

Exodus 20.8 – Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.

Exodus 40.9 – Take anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it.

Deuteronomy 4.12 - Tell them how the Lord spoke to you from the fire, how you heard him speaking but did not see him in any form at all. Remember today and never forget: the Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

Joshua 1.8 – Meditate on the law day and night.

Joshua 4.6-7 – Stack these stones as a reminder to the people of what happened here.

2 Chronicles 7.16 – I have consecrated this temple so my name may be associated with it (make special, set aside).

Psalm 39.3 – My heart grew hot as I meditated.

Psalm 77.11 – I will remember the deeds of God.

Psalm 79.13 – God’s people will praise Him and from generation to generation they will recount it.

Psalm 119.27 – I will meditate on your wonders.

Isaiah 46.8 – Remember this; fix it in your mind. I make know what is still to come.

Luke 22.19 – Do this in remembrance of me.

John 13.15 – Jesus told his disciples, “I have set an example for you.”

Philippians 4.9 – Whatever you have learned from me put it into practice.

A Marathon in View of the Nashville Parthenon

It is an iconic athletic event, 32,000 runners beginning their race in view of the historic Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. The first marathon in Nashville was in April 2000, where approximately 5800 runners competed. The first half-marathon was held in 2002. It seems so fitting this has become an annual event. The Panhellenic Games were held in ancient Greece in the cities of Olympia, Corinth, Delphi and Nemea to honor various gods.

According to legend, the first marathon was run in 490 BC, from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens, Greece. The distance was approximately 26.2 miles. The man who ran it was a Greek soldier named Pheidippides. He reportedly ran into the assembly hall, announced the victory over the Persians, collapsed and died.


The first Olympic Games were reportedly held in Olympia, Greece in 776 BC and were held in honor of Zeus. If this timeline holds, the first Olympic Games predate the first marathon. The origins of the games actually begin in myth and legend. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece was largely completed in 438 BC to honor the virgin goddess Athena and daughter of Zeus.

The Apostle Paul alludes to the Panhellenic Games in his letters to the church in Corinth. His letters were written around 56 AD. The best I can figure, the Isthmian Games were held in Corinth from around 582 BC to approximatley 380 AD.


At first thought, it is obvious that not all of the competitors in the County Music Marathon are that “competitive” in the sense they are all young, fast, strong and athletic. In fact, most have no chance in winning this grueling run of 26.2 miles. But in another sense they are all competitive. They are involved. The have a grasp on life and know that in trying and working hard they “win” in life.


For my son Chad and me the day began at 5 A.M. The alarm went wild and we climbed out of our beds, put on our clothes and did a few other necessities.


We left the house at 5:30 A.M. Breakfast was out of the question for both of us. I did make a pot of coffee for myself to consume on the road.


Logistics were my responsibility, dropping him off as close to the start line as possible and picking him up as close to the finish as possible. Between those two events I would stake myself out at one or two locations, watch for him, root for him and take his picture. The challenge for me was to spot him among the nearly 32,000 runners. I would take related photographs to capture the event and so here is my account.


Because of Interstate and other road closures, I drove Interstate 440 to the west side of Nashville, arriving around 6:05 A.M.. I dropped Chad off near the Outback Steak House on West End, took a photograph in case I never saw him again during the race and drove up the hill behind and to the east of the Parthenon in Centennial Park to park the car. I found a place on Long Boulevard and walked down the hill to the start line.


How do you organize a race with 32,000 runners. Event planners divide runners into “Corrals” of about 1000. Each corral begins one to two minutes behind the one before them. The staggered starts allows for a more orderly and less crowded field of runners. Chad was in Corral 28, near the last. I never saw him although I took a photo of the group at the start line just in case the camera might capture him though my eyes did not. The metadata of the image recorded the time as 7:43 A.M.


The half-marathon would run east down West End Avenue and Broadway, returning west on Demonbreun, then Seventeenth Avenue South and Belmont Boulevard to Clifton Lane, turning north onto Granny White Pike and Twelfth Avenue, taking Wedgewood Avenue back to Sixteenth Avenue South. At the end of Music Row the course turns east onto Division Street, around Alan LeQuire’s Musica Statute (See my September 6, 2009 Blog Entry about this sculpture), then north on Eleventh Avenue to Charlotte Avenue near the State Capitol, but heading around Farmers Market, then taking James Robertson Parkway to Union, and finally running across the Cumberland River to LP Field, home to the Tennessee Titans.

At the start line were announcers, the Mayor of Nashville, Karl Dean, and other dignitaries. Also at the Start was the band, the Greez Monkeez along with news media folks and many, many families, friends and supporters of runners. Many of the runners tried to make themselves distinctive, carrying dragons, women wearing tutus, juggler-runners, runners with headbands exhibiting rabbit ears, and pace runners with little signs reading 2.30, 2.45, etc. Chad wore a rather plain white shirt and black shorts.

After the “Start” I went to a nearby Starbucks to get a coffee and take a restroom break. I walked across Vanderbilt University Campus to Edgehill Avenue and then on to Seventeenth Avenue South, one of the two streets known as “Music Row” to many in the music business. It was approaching the 4-mile point for him. I waited and discovered that if I was going to see him I needed to focus on male runners wearing white. He also wore sunglasses. So as I scanned the thousands of runners that ran and walked toward me, I began to think I missed him. It was nearly an hour after the start and not quite 4 miles on an 11-minute pace I figured he should be there. Then I saw him and he also saw me. I took several photos at 8:34 A.M. He was smiling.

After he ran by, I headed over to Sixteenth Avenue South of the music row pair of streets. There was a good crowd waiting for runners who were in the first corrals released. I heard Music from the Chariots of Fire (a movie from 1981). I heard music from many establishments along the way. Couldn’t help remembering taking him to see that movie when he was 6 years old.


My second waiting point was approximately 8 ½ miles from the start of the half-marathon. I figured I would see him about 9:30 A.M. Of course, I forgot about the remainder of Sixteenth Avenue being uphill and the uphill of Granny White Pike. Both would take steam out of any runner. From where I was standing the downhill grade of Sixteenth gave me and other spectators the false impression that the entire section was a cake-walk. By 9:30 A.M. it was also 79 degrees.


Thinking again I missed him, I looked up and saw him coming my way. He was zoned out. It didn’t matter; I took a second series of photos of him. It was 9:43 A.M. My watch shows 9:44 A.M. He never saw me.

From there I walked down 16th Avenue a few blocks and encountered two individuals being attended by paramedics. I also meet a friend and her son. They attend Belmont Church and while runners stride past the church, they hear a group (The Belmont Worship Band) from the church making live music as only Nashville can do. There were 40 bands and twenty-five stages along the marathon route.


I hustle back to my car. It is probably 1 ½ or two miles back up the hill. I wasn’t as familiar with the area as I might have been and because I wasn’t I had to walk a bit more to find the block where I had deposited my vehicle.


After finding it, I drove back on I-440 to LP Field. It was 10:54 am when I arrived and found a place to park. In fact, I was trying to maneuver my car into a slot when I received a call from Chad. I told him where I was parked and waited for him. He found me at 11:07 A.M. He had his glistening medal around his neck. He was tired but happy.

Later on, thinking about why people run a half-marathon, or a marathon, I asked him, “Why do you run?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself though in a different context. I like to hike. Some folks like to garden and others golf. I waited for his answer.

The local newspaper, The Tennessean reported on that subject that very morning. The folks reported on in the newspaper had very different reasons. His response, “It gives me time to think.” It is similar to the reason I like to hike in the mountains and walk. It will be a good topic in one of my future blog entries. For now though, think about the scriptures listed below.

We met his mother and then ate lunch at Cracker Barrel. Everyone was hungry. I was proud of him. He had made it and I had learned a little about running a half-marathon.

Another by-product of this experience, in view of the Parthenon, I have been inspired to run a half-marathon. Well maybe not run. Probably I will mostly walk. My reasons may be different. I am not running for any prize money or glory. I guess its more about my health, time to meditate and serving my savior and others and to be with my son, who is also running. Well, I expect he will be waiting for me by the end of it.


I assure you, I will not do my half-marathon in just over 2 and one-half hours like the winner in Saturday’s marathon. I just hope to finish the race the same day I start it.


Scripture:

Psalm 19.5 – The sun in the heavens rejoices like an athlete running its course.

Acts 20.24 – What is important is finishing the course that God gave me (to preach the message of God’s grace).

1 Corinthians 9.24 – Runners in a race complete that they may win.

Galatians 2.2 – Paul writes, “I did not want to run in vain.”

2 Timothy 4.7 – Paul writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.”

Hebrews 12.1 – “Run with endurance the race that is before us, keeping your eyes on Jesus.”

The Hunger Games, A Movie Review

I asked my wife, “How did you like the movie?” Her response, “Not so much.” We had just seen The Hunger Games at the Thoroughbred 20 and were now going to dinner. “Why?” I asked. “It was a little too dark for me. There was a lot of dying in it.” Perhaps what gave her the most unsettling of feelings was the fact that in the movie people enjoyed the spectacle of “the games.” How could people enjoy games that resulted in so many young men and women dying? How could they find this entertaining? The fictional Nation of Panem must be deprived. The were sick. How could President Snow (Donald Sutherland), its “wise” leader, engineer these games? But on the other hand, the movie going audience identified with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), the main figure in the story. And the inhabitants, or more accurately, her family who lived in District 12 feared for her. Neither she nor they relished in dying in what were described as “The Hunger Games.”

My wife is right. There was considerable violence and death in the tale and yet on the other hand it was a story of hope and gratitude. Katniss survived against all odds. She was an underdog, representing her district, an uncultured region of the Panem. Yes, others came along side her and were instrumental in her success, but in the long run, she was the one (her and Peeta) that overcame the most. She was from an impoverished area, lacking training, education, skills and wealth. Because of the privileges she lacked, she became the ultimate champion. I could see the “dark” in it and celebrate Katniss and her victory at the same time. I could see it both ways. The Hunger Games was provocative. Is it futuristic?

Reflecting more on the movie, I am reminded of several historical times.

It just so happened that a month or so ago I was in Belize and had gone to the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich. At Xunantunich the site-guide told us about the Mayan Ball games that used to be played on long, narrow courts between walls that sloped inward. The game was played in teams with a rubber ball a little larger than a baseball. Players, without using their hands would try to get the ball through vertical rings (or hoops) hung on the sides of the court above their heads.  Our guide told us the young players were skilled, fit, and perfect in nearly every way. The winners of the games were selected for the honor of being sacrificed to their god. [Note: Some sources believe winners were treated like heros and the losers were sacrificed.] What was significant was that the Mayans believed that such sacrifices were necessary to appease the gods so that they would provide good crops and health to the people.

My thought was, “Why would anyone want to “win” a Mayan ball game?” As with The Hunger Games, the players (or “tributes”) may not have wanted to be their district’s representative. Yes, Katniss volunteered, but only to spare her sister from certain death. (That should get you thinking.)


The fact that the Mayan ball game is thought to have developed before 1400 BCE is notable. This was long before any western influence in the Americas.

Another thought familiar to me is found Jewish and Christian scripture. It celebrates David, the son of Jesse who slayed Goliath, the Philistine giant. It is essentially the story of a young boy, representing the nation of Israel, who volunteers to take on the giant of the Philistines. David, using unconventional means, takes the giant to win the battle for Israel. Of course, it is David’s faith in God that God will take care of him in this battle that sustains him. He becomes a national war hero.


Perhaps the notion where individuals would confront wild animals, criminals and the socially marginalized for the entertainment of audiences came at the height of the Roman Empire. In these games Gladiators would show audiences how to fight and die well. The so-called gladiator games reached their peak between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. It is this aspect depicted in The Hunger Audiences I suspect is the most deplorable. To enjoy such cruelty and call it “sport” epitomizes depravity.


The notion that some group, tribe or national representative becomes that group’s “champion” is not recent. In fact, it has been around a long, long time, and was/is common in many cultures.


The tradition of a champion, or a national representative occurs throughout history. War in this day and time has an element of that notion. Young men and women go to war, representing their district or homeland. They serve and honor us. They defend us in that way. They are our best and finest. Because they are our people we do not take delight in their deaths.


In reviewing history you may have concluded that the tradition of sacrifices has taken many forms. In some cultures, to use the term employed in The Hunger Games, the “tribute,” or representative dies because they have to satisfy or appease the demands of the tribe, the district, the nation or god. In others, the tribute is the victor, over-coming everything against all odds.


This is the most interesting of weeks. For believing Christians it is called “Passion Week.” Emotions are mixed. Should we celebrate the victory that is ours because our Champion overcomes death? Or should we mourn the one who suffered and died for us? He didn’t want to die and didn’t deserve it. Like The Hunger Games, we may be confused in our response.


The people of District 12 were proud. Katniss, their tribute had triumphed over huge odds. She was the victor. The 74th Hunger Games gave remembrance to the cruelty of war while at the same time celebrated it’s final triumph.


Is it a great movie? It appears to me the movie hopes we think our society’s future with respect to how we deal with human conflict and the solutions we pursue as we move forward. Strategic solutions work a bit like Congress, both parties parlaying empty positions to achieve a different result, and then surprised by what’s obtained. In other words, the future with respect to conflict resolution is uncertain. That said, we must be careful to respect and honor life.


Perhaps the larger question for us, “Has God already won the battle and the choice of our future is ours to be made?”

Scripture:

I Samuel 17.4-10 – David, Son of Jesse became the Champion of Israel and defeated Goliath, the Philistine giant.

Isaiah 53.5 – The Old Testament Isaiah wrote even before Christ was born that the wounds suffered by God’s servant would lead to the healing that we today serve Him and have life.

Luke 2.11 – Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord.

Matthew 26. 2 – The Son of Man will be crucified (for the sins of us all).

Luke 21.19 – This is my body given for you.

Luke 23.13-24 – The people demanded that Jesus be killed.

Mark 15.34 – In agony Jesus cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” He was to die a horrible, lonely death.

Romans 4.25 – Jesus was delivered to die for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Ephesians 5. 23 – Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

Colossians 1.27-29 – Christ (his transforming power) is in us and is our hope of glory.

Remember Pearl Harbor! December 7, 1941

In the minds of older Americans December 7, 1941 is as powerful as September 11, 2001 to most Americans today. Although I wasn’t alive in 1941, it grew to be significant because of what it meant to my parents and how it determined the direction of their lives. It remained so until the Vietnam War.

A generation has passed, and now, most Americans today were not even alive when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It is an event we need to remember, because our parents and grandparents where a part of it and there is a lesson in it. It is important because we have seen events that were similar to it. It was, in effect, a call to arms for Americans to enter World War II. Like the terrorists attacks on American ships, airplanes, military bases and embassies that preceded the attack on the World Trade Center, people could see what was coming. They tried to dismiss it. They didn't want war, but it came anyway. Sometimes it takes a moment for everything to become clear, to come to grips with what needs to be done. And so you do. And we remember it today.

Seventy years ago, my mother had just celebrated her 15th birthday two weeks earlier. The attack began just before 8 in the morning in Hawaii. Had she heard about the attack at the instant it occurred it would have been early afternoon. For her a few minutes before 1 pm. The attack took place over 2 and a-half hours. By eleven the Japanese had finished their attack and were heading home. By the time my mother heard about the bombing of our fleet and air stations in Hawaii it was a late Sunday afternoon. She was at a Christmas program rehearsal. The rehearsal went on though their hearts weren’t in it.

When my parents spoke of Hawaii, their mind-set of Hawaii was not of a state, but as the Territory of Hawaii. Hawaii would not become a state until August 21, 1959. Alaska had just become a state on January 3, 1959. The flag we had long saluted in school was being changed to accommodate yet another state and would begin to refer to the familiar 48 states as the “Continental” US. It seems strange now to think in those terms.

At the time of the attack, my father was 18 working different jobs and eventually in a steel mill. He enlisted in the United States Navy 9 months after the attack. He went to boot camp and aviator radioman school and then to Hawaii. He spent a considerable amount of time in TH (the Territory of Hawaii). He was stationed on both the islands of Oahu and Maui. He saw the Arizona and the other ships in the harbor before they became part of a memorial.

Included as part of this entry are photos of World War II era Japanese dive bombers (Dayton Air Show), a relief map of Pearl Harbor, the Arizona Memorial and an American B-17 Flying Fortress. The B-17 is in the United State Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

I encourage you to google “Pearl Harbor” and review the details of the attack. You will find additional maps, photos, timelines and other accounts. Let me know why the B-17 Flying Fortresses were of significance to the story of Pearl Harbor on that particular day.

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 10.3 - Though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does.

Ephesians 6.12 - Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Put on the armor of God: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith and prayer.

Romans 13.14 - Clothe and arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.