Random thoughts

This morning, in the elevator at our hotel, I had an opportunity to meet a gentleman who was staying at the University Hotel. In our short trip from the 8th floor to the lobby and then from the lobby to the parking garage I was able to glean a nugget from this man.

In the course of 3-5 minutes a lesson was learned.

We entered the elevator at the same time. It was about 6:30 am. It was still dark outside. I was carrying my backpack, my suitcase, my college computer bag and my binder that had my brand new, special tie (another story at another time). He entered the elevator empty handed. Indianapolis is hosting the NCAA Midwest Regional Final and my assumption was that he was here for the occasion. I asked if that may be the occasion of his being at the hotel. His words were kind, perhaps a little wistful. He let me know that he would love to attend the games. He had been a teacher and coached basketball for 25 years. He wasn't there at that time for that reason.



A lesson learned.

This gentleman then told me the reason why he was there. His wife has been through a lot in

their years of marriage. She had struggled and lived through breast cancer, had a heart attack and survived, and also had a stroke and continued on. Now she had a new challenge to battle. She had been diagnosed with a frontal lobe dementia of some type. It was a disease that was causing her frontal lobe to shrink, causing dementia. They were at the University Place Hotel because IU Med School had her in a study. The school was footing the bill for them to stay there. Here was a man who has seen his best friend's health diminish over time and was still, on that early Friday morning, cheerful and willing to share with a complete stranger.

I was amazed at the courage of not only him but also his wife. Some could say that they are grasping at straws- hoping, by being part of the study, that additional time could be squeezed out allowing them to be together- "till death do us part."I saw a man, probably, who had seen his wife go through labor pains in bringing forth children and in doing so standing by, wringing his hands knowing all he could do was give support. Here he was, again, in a similar situation, wishing, perhaps, it was he going through the pain. Hoping to understand, if just a little, what his wife was going through. I didn't see a man desperate- I saw a man with hope, grateful that his best friend was courageous enough to share her condition with the medical community with the hope that by learning from her others may not have to suffer the same as what they were suffering. Here was a man who had hope.

3-5 minutes. A lesson learned. A man who was still a teacher in an elevator in Indianapolis...jsf

The difference of one letter

We live in some exciting times.

For the better part of this week I have been absorbed in thought, pondering the events that have occurred. I have been trying to determine how to phrase the thoughts that are racing through my mind. Harnessing those thoughts and placing them here in a logical, non-confrontational format is my challenge.

The difference is the letter "e". A vowel which stands in position 5 in the English alphabet. It doesn't stand out as some of the other letters- like z or w. It isn't even a "sometimes" like in "...a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y". None threatening just "e".

Vigilant. Dictionary.com defines it as thus: 1) keenly watchful to detect danger; wary or 2) ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful.

Over the past month or so our congress has passed a bill that was pushed through congress with little thought as to what was in the final version. It was a bill that was over a 1,000 pages long. No one read through it completely. The people that we elected to be vigilant, those that we hire every two and six years, failed in being vigilant. They did not do there jobs. So what did they do?

One letter- the letter "e".

Vigilante- noun- 1) a member of a vigilance committee or 2) any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a crime. Adjective- 3) done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures. (Dictionary.com)

Knowing that our representatives are not watching out for our best interest what are they doing? At the beginning of this week the headlines have been blaring about AIG and bonuses that were going to be given or already given. Congress, the media, the White House, everyone was jumping on the bandwagon.

Legal contracts were in place and congress, in their vigilante mentality, were trying in some manner to get that money back.... but they do so with the possibility of violating the constitutions that they swore to uphold. For those of us who may have forgotten what that is just a small reminder. Article 1 Section 9 of the United States Constitution states "No bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." In other words laws can not be passed specifically to attack something that has already occurred. These are contracts that are legal and binding. It is a precedent that should not be set.



A bandwagon that could become extremely large as they create a net that could bring in many others as well...for example....(end of part 1)jsf

Realizing the blessings we have...

Yesterdays announcement of the tragic accident of Natasha Richardson and her current status struck home yesterday...struck home hard. For those who may have not heard Natasha Richardson is an actress who was in the remake of "Parent Trap" with Lindsay Lohan back in the late '90s. She was well known in New York for her stage work and won a Tony for her work in Caberet.

What happened? She was learning how to ski in Canada. During the course of the lesson she had an accident of some type and appeared ok. An hour later she started to complain about not feeling well. Her conditioned worsened, tragically.

Why do I bring this up? Last Novemeber my bride was involved in a serious car accident. She was at a traffic light, completely stopped, when a car slammed into the back of her car. The driver of the other car had been distracted and because of that did not attempt to slow down. It is estimated that the person who hit Marcia was doing 50-60 mph. Since she didn't use her brakes the car behind her then hit her and Marcia's car was hit again.

My bride doesn't remember that night. Fortunately angels watch over her and a dear friend called her as she was driving home. He was able to recognize that something wasn't right and stayed on the phone until she made it home. Marcia doesn't remember much of the next few months...Christmas came and went, children home for the holidays- it was a blur.

Months lost... but not my wife. For that I thank God...

For Natasha Richardson's family...remember her and them in your prayers...jsf

(The announcement of Natasha Richardson's passing away happened after my initial post- may the family realize that it is only a moment- there are opportunities for reunion- http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/ remember them in your prayers...jsf)

It is St. Patrick's Day

It is a celebration of who you are...it is nice to celebrate that with out the worry of others judging who you are might be.

It is the one day where every one has found a bit o' the Irish in them... it is only a day.

Today I have promised myself to be upbeat and remember that it is a joyous day--- so with that I will...jsf