My Dad would have liked this place

We took the Drive (about a two hour one) to Ft. Bowie yesterday. It is 1.5 mile hike to the fort from the trail head, so it was a good start of the hiking season for our crew.

Along the way, there are signposts and sites for some of the history that occurred here, including:
the spot where Cochise was captured by and escaped from U.S. troops and the Bascom Affair begun, a Butterfield Stage post, an old miner's cabin, the post cemetery, which, among others, holds the remains of medal of honor winner O.O. Spence, a mock-up of an Apache wikiup, info about the doings of Geronimo in the area, and Apache Springs where California troopers on the way to New Mexico during the Civil War were attacked by Apaches.

We also saw and held a couple of Great Horned Lizard, one of which is blurrily pictured above, saw a dead snake and plenty of wasps, bees and grasshoppers.

But, what everyone, myself included, probably enjoyed the most was blowing the bugle at the visitor center.

Another news article

Well, it was supposed to have video, since it was a tv broadcast, but it doesn't. Click on the picture for the latest news item about our unit.

(the picture is the one from the KVOA website. It shows a couple of our guys at the range.)

Abandon All Hope......

I have recently been studying Dante's Inferno. I previously had what I think are fairly common stereotypes of the work. I thought it was primarily weird images of where different types of sinners spent their time in hell, according to Dante's ideas of justice and punishment. I found something a bit more interesting and engaging.

Dante's journey is an allegory of what unrepentant sin does to a person, to society in general and to the universal Church. He draws heavily on characters from his own time, biblical references and mythological stories, all things people of his time (circa 1300) were familiar with.

Even tho some of the character references are dated, it is easy to recognize their flaws in our own lives. One thing that struck me was the fact that most all of the people in hell passed off responsibility for whatever they had done wrong. It was always the fault of circumstances, other people or other outside influences that they behaved the way they did. A very contemporary problem.

But, for those that do want to see the weird ideas of who is in which level of hell and why, here is a flash site with an overview of each level.

And here is a new movie about the story.

With an Eye to the Future

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. - Zechariah 14:16

Yesterday, we had our lunch under the Sukkah(pronunciation is like soo-kuh, not sucka, as in "I'm gonna get you sucka"). A Sukkah is a temporary shelter that was used during the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. Sukkot is the holiday that God instructed the Israelites to observe to remember the forty years of wandering in the desert after Moses led them out of Egypt.

Sukkot reminds us of both God's provision during the wandering and how man's sinfulness led to the wandering in the first place. According to Zechariah, all the nations that opposed Israel will celebrate this holiday every year in the future.

So it doesn't start until Tuesday, but at the new building they put one up this weekend so everyone could share a meal in the sukkah, since most have jobs and such during the week.

We also built a sukkah for our tortoise. Well, a den, kind of like a hobbit hole. Apparently, they need one to hibernate in the winter.

Another Mistake

Here is a mistake I made and a lesson learned:

When we first started having small groups at our church, Joe (not his real name), took over one of the groups. He was a great guy, committed to the cause, great with people, willing to listen and loved by most everyone.

At one of our leader's meetings, I pointed out a mistake that he had made. Whatever he had done, it really wasn't that big of a deal, it was something that anyone might do. So, I reasoned, all the leaders would benefit from hearing about what had happened and not do it themselves. Unfortunately, I hadn't checked with him about this before I brought it up.

Soon after that, Joe decided that he didn't want to lead a group anymore. He told me that his busy life and such things were interfering with his leading the group. But, I am quite certain that he was embarrassed and deflated by my "public" revelation of his mis-steps.

We missed out on having a great guy lead some of our people and he missed out on the great things that come your way from having a role like this all because I had yet learned the following lesson.

The lesson I learned:

Point out people's mistakes in private ..... if you want to say something about someone in public, make it praise and compliments.

Solar Powered Pizza

Solar power is far from the answer to our collective energy needs. But, apparently in can be usefull and profitable for some businesses.

A favorite pizza place for our family is the Brooklyn Pizza Company. The pizza is tasty New York Style...the thin crust variety....you can watch the daring young men fling the crusts through the air and it is on 4th avenue, so I can carry on the tradition that my Dad taught me of watching the people that are more interesting that you might see elsewhere.

They have recently bought into solar power with the Technicians for Sustainability renewable energy people. According to the company, they can recoup about 75% of the costs in tax credits and energy rebates and significantly lower the regular energy costs. Beyond this, I think it is smart for their business because it helps foster it's hip, caring, we're-concerned-about- the-environment and renewable energy vibe that will cater to the clientèle that frequent the place.

As I mentioned, Solar Energy is not "THE" answer. It is not cost effective for residences, and it has limited output. But, it looks like a local company has figured out how to make it work for some local businesses. More "power" to them.

Look at them beans

Ok, Look at them beans is an old gospel song by Johnny Cash. You don't really have to listen to it.

I have recently rediscovered that I enjoy cooking. Does this seem less than manly?

I figured it out. I like being creative and I like making something that nourishes and brings something that others enjoy. Must be the old preacher in me.

Today I am working on beans. I made some fajita style barbeque pork tacos the other night.

Diane says that she finds my cooking very manly. So, if you have a favorite recipe or two, be sure to send it my way.