How is that for an encouraging and TRUE compliment toward you in Jesus Christ?!

I can imagine that there are some few of us who believe that a statement like that is true of us because we have prayed, gone to church, been baptized, do good works and share in other religious things. However, the bible is clear, no one is good except ONE, the Father, Son and Spirit! Psalm 14:3, Romans 3:12, Mark 10:18!

I can imagine a larger set of you struggling to believe a compliment like this because, in all honesty, you can pile up the evidence (beginning with something you have done or thought in the last hour!), that PROVES beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are NOT good with Jesus' goodness! For you, I have nothing less than the stunningly beautiful words of the Gospel from the Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:

"27 God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you [emphasis mine]; therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message."

So, we are all in somewhat of a dilemma, aren't we? On the one hand, to be embarrassingly honest, no matter how righteous we claim to be, there are bad things we think and do that we want no one else to see or know about!! Good Gravy - I KNOW that is true of me!! Yikes! This is a confirmation on how even our good is still tainted with things that aren't so good! This is what Paul was wrestling with in his argument in Romans 7:14-25!

On the other hand, we and others CAN observe good things going on with each other and there has to be an explanation for that, too! The explanation for all of this is the Gospel, or the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Because Jesus Christ is good, and he created and sustains everything and everyone, AND he entered our humanity in a special and mysterious way 2000 years ago, whatever happens to him, happens to you! This is why Paul says that when Jesus died, everyone died! 2 Corinthians 5:14! This is also why he says that when Jesus rose, everyone rose with him in the Father's grace! Ephesians 1:1-10! Do you notice in this passage how everything is given to us soley by God's grace, for free?! Even the faith to believe this is true is given to us freely through Jesus!!!

SOOOOOOO....Jesus is good, because he is God, and Jesus mysteriously lives in everyone. This is the Gospel! Therefore, everyone has REAL good in them because Jesus, Who is the ONLY source of Good, lives in them and shares his goodness with them! Therefore, YOU and I ARE FUNDAMENTALLY GOOD with the Goodness of Jesus, no matter what we think about it!!!

All of this was brought home to me recently in a powerful way! I was dating my two daughters a few weeks ago. We decided to go out to a local Chili's restaurant and have at it! I ordered one of my favorites, sizzlin' fajitas, and both girls ordered their hearts desire - a huge hamburger and some hot, hot, hot wings! Oh how delicious the food AND conversation was!

I asked them of them about their hopes and dreams! I looked them in the eye and told them that I loved and liked them - yet again! I told them that they were good and I was proud of them, and that I was proud to be their father! I told them that I appreciated that they were also good students because I had been a poor one early in life. I prayed before they were born that they would not inherit that poorness from me! The Father was gracious enough to answer that prayer by making sure I married a woman whose genes would have more influence over them in that area! :-)

I told them that the reason we were dating and sharing like we were was because my dad had passed this tradition on to me and my 4 brothers and I had loved every minute of it! I was determined to share this with my wife and children and pass it on (yes, Donna and I still date, too, after 17 years of marriage!) This got us on the subject of my father who had died 4 years ago, in February of 2004.

I asked each of the girls, starting with Jocelyn, the oldest, what they remembered most about him. Jocelyn, my very thoughtful child, searched her memories carefully and then stated, VERY ACCURATELY, "I remember bouncing on a mini-trampoline and paw-paw coming up to me and shadow boxing in front of my face! I also remember that he could quote a bible verse on any subject, at anytime, at will, and always did!!"  Ha-Ha!! How true! He was always known for 2 things: God and Boxing...and he could wear most people out with both!! :-) Just "Google": Rufus Brassell!

I then turned to my youngest daughter, Autumn, and asked the same thing. She thought for a moment and then uttered these words that put me in my personal dilemma on this subject, "I remember that he was as good and loving as you are!" Honest - I could NOT take those words in at first and thought I had misunderstood! I was almost afraid to ask for clarity but finally did. I said, incredulously, "What did you say?!" She then repeated just as firm and sincere, "Paw-Paw was as good and loving as you are!"

Well, I have never ever felt so GOOD and BAD at the same time in all of my entire life!! Ha-Ha! Understatement! Didn't Autumn know me after all of these 11 years, and how much improvement I needed to be a truly good and loving father? I am SURE she and Jocelyn both could dredge up a negative list a mile long about how truly bad I am, and I would have to agree! Sheeesh! There was no way she could have just said that! I had a hard time receiving it!

BUT, because of the Goodness of the Father, Son and Spirit, and their passion and insistence to share the Gospel with me REGULARLY, and Their helping me to share it with others, I was able to REPENT AND BELIEVE THIS GOOD NEWS quite quickly and say "Thank You!" The Father was so passionate to flood me with His encouragement that he inspired my eldest daughter, Jocelyn, to put an exclamation point on it all by saying "That's True!!"

We concluded our fellowship in the restaurant by ordering ONE huge dessert that we shared as THREE persons. :-) As we ate, I couldn't help but think again of our One God in Three Persons Who had graciously included me and Jocelyn, and Autumn, (AND DONNA, my wife, and THE WHOLE WORLD), in their Shared Relationship.

God was certainly at Chili's in a special way that day and, even though the dessert was admittedly good and sweet, I have to admit that receiving the Good News of Jesus' Goodness and Love in ME was even better and MUCH sweeter!!! I hope you eat plenty, too!! I promise there's nothing better!!

Trip to Vancouver

The trip I took to Vancouver was all about family. Now that it's over I'm wondering if I made the best use of the time there. I'm currently somewhere around 30,000 feet. Writing to pass the time on an airplane.

So in the beginning things were calm and slowly, I found out that my grandmother is tough as nails despite being 81 years old. My cousin and her husband were both there. There were a lot of people. It was hard to get used to, being an only child, but I made it and think I am all the better for it.

Vancouver itself was really beautiful. The roughly 10 of us (give or take) stayed in a three-bedroom apartment in Richmond. The place overlooked the inlet water and the airport. You could even see planes taking of in the water. It was a spectacular view most of the time as the clouds changed and the sunlight flitted through the clouds late into the evening, as far north as we were.

The cast of characters, for review, included, and I hope I didn't miss anybody:

* Me
* My parents (2)
* My cousin and her husband
* My cousin's offspring (2)
* My other cousin
* My grandma
* My aunt

After all of the usual preflight checks and procedures, we made our call to Van Nuys ground and began our taxi to hold short of 16R. There was a slight wind coming from the East but it didn't affect takeoff too much. We made our right crosswind departure over Warner Center and I learned a little more about using the Nav when my instructor set a heading for Fillmore. We followed the heading but stopped at our usual training spot above Simi Valley.

We did a lot of review work but I was happy to do so because I want to make sure my maneuvers are as close to perfect as possible. Today I actually felt my steep turns getting better and I was able to rely more on visuals and keep my eyes off the instruments. I still need work on maintaining altitude while doing a steep turn but I am sure that will come with practice.

The next thing we did was some more stalls. Again, this is something else I feel myself getting a bit more confident with. I am able to keep a heading more accurately while maintaining proper airspeed. We followed the stalls up with some slow flight for a bit then gained some airspeed and altitude for some ground reference maneuvers.

We started our ground reference training with turns around a point in which we used an overpass on the 118 freeway as our marker. After a couple of passes we used that point to begin our rectangular course. We followed the surface streets below us to fly rectangular patterns and after doing that a couple of times we used the 118 freeway as our reference and finished up our lesson with some S-turns.

We made our way towards the Santa Susana Pass and after getting information from ATIS, we made a call to Van Nuys tower for landing. Keeping our eyes open for some traffic that the ATC mentioned, we made our approach and landed on 16R.

I logged another 1.1 hours and am amazed how fast my training seems to be going. I started the week I graduated college and already have 9.9 hours (and will most likely be at 11 hours by next week). A lot of the articles I read, whether online or in the AOPA magazine, mention that an airport is not jst a place to fly but a place to network with other pilots. After my lesson I stuck around for a bit talking to my instructor and to a couple of other PPL students and sometimes that can be a learning process all in itself.

I want to thank Charles for all the photos he took.

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Caution: These activities could give flight delay a whole new meaning—plus ruin your vacation. These are things you should never do, not even aspire to do. But, alas, some of them have already been done. Here are the tried and tested dumbest ways to get in trouble at an airport. Read the whole story (and see photos) at U.S.News

Sadly, all this convenience and speed comes at a high cost. Here are some facts provided by Friends of the Earth on the impact of aviation:

“It currently represents 6.4 per cent of UK carbon dioxide emissions or 13 per cent of total climate damage. A study by the respected and independent Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in 2005 found that - even allowing for technological improvements - if current growth continues, aviation could use up the UK's entire carbon `allowance' by 2050. Departing flights from Heathrow alone are responsible for 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year or 3.1per cent of total UK emissions.”

So while it might sometimes, and I stress sometimes, be a quicker to take a short flight, if we’re serious about tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions then we need to reconsider our options. Short flights are particularly bad for carbon emissions per mile because such huge amounts of fuel are burnt during take off and landing.

If you’re going to France or Belgium (or indeed any Western European country if you’re really committed) then the Eurostar really does offer a great alternative to flying and in many ways is a more attractive option for several reasons:

1. Time - Though aeroplanes obviously travel much faster than even high-speed trains, the overall journey time can be massively lengthened by the hassle that flying can involve.

Time to get to the airport (usually well outside urban areas). Time queuing to check in. Time queuing to get through security (airlines now advise leaving two hours for this). Time waiting for a runway slot. Time waiting for the bad weather to clear. Time listening to the safety instructions (though you’ve heard them 100 times before). Time waiting for your bags on a lazy carousel. Time catching another taxi back into your destination city.

The London-Paris route on the Eurostar is completed in a mere two hours. You only need get to the station 30 minutes before departure and you arrive in the centre of the French capital with its great public transport system and further rail links to the rest of Europe. Plus 93 percent of Eurostar trains were on time last year.

Of course getting to London isn’t a speedy process for many Brits and the further into France you’re going, the longer the trip will take. However Eurostar has now joined forces with the UK’s train operators to build complete journeys from locations outside of the capital. It’s always worth remembering that your flight time doesn’t by any means reflect the journey time and the Eurostar could be a quicker option than it at first seems.

2. Ease – “So does this train go underwater?” Forcing myself not to burst out into hysterical laughter at this question from an American teenage tourist was about the most difficult part of my Eurostar trip. In fact, getting the train to Paris was one of the easiest journeys I’ve ever made that didn’t involve a car.

We booked online, collected our tickets from a machine at the station, passed straight through customs and security without fuss and boarded. There was little queuing, no navigating through a labyrinth of duty free shops and I could take shampoo and tweezers with me. My bags were in sight at all time and there was no chance of them ending up in Peru or being subjected to the busy hands of bored airline staff. I had room to stretch my entire six foot two frame and to walk up and down the aisle to my heart’s content.

Ok so there was no entertainment system but it seems like most people have iPods now anyway and most films you watch on a plane are rubbish anyway. There’s always a good old-fashioned book. Or try reclaiming the lost art of conversation. Plus there was no painful ear popping, no nauseating turbulence and no one trying to show me how to pull a cord and blow into a whistle. Just a pleasant ride through verdant English and French countryside with a long tunnel in the middle.

3. Cost – Budget airlines present a major challenge to climate campaigners and have helped make short-haul flights an everyday part of life. With some journeys even given away for £0 (plus tax and fees) it seems difficult to see how the Eurostar could compete with no-frills companies. However, with a little planning, taking the train could be the cheaper as well as the greener option.

You can book a seat on the Eurostar up to three months in advance and the sooner you buy your tickets the cheaper they are likely to be – return tickets start at just £55 and even less if you’re under 26.

The cheapest flights are increasingly hard to find as aviation taxes and fuel bills rise and you’ll often be asked to pay for what many would see as basic services such as baggage handling. With the Eurostar there are no extra luggage or check-in fees, no additional tax, no hidden insurance charges, just a straight-up ticket price.

Ultimately we are still faced with a system that allows air travel to be potentially cheaper than taking the train. However, the Eurostar does offer a reasonably priced, more environmentally friendly alternative to a method of transport that produces excessive amounts of CO2. Eurostar even include a carbon offset scheme in the price of the ticket meaning journeys are (theoretically anyway) carbon neutral.

Willpower to resist temptation has to play a part too but there are so many advantages to taking the tunnel that the extra cost is often worth it.

Eurostar journeys can now be booked to travel from over 100 UK stations to destinations all over France, Belgium, the Netherlands and even Germany. Visit www.eurostar.com for details.

Jim Kirchherr attends a gathering of the Thermal Airs, a group that builds and flies model airplanes. Most of its members are in their 70s and 80s and are considered part of the Lindbergh generation. They get together to fly planes that are powered by everything from slingshots and rubber bands to motors and remote controls.

Then check out bargains hotels which specialises in hotel rooms worldwide at bargain prices.

Part 1
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It came to this Bastard reporter’s attention, while sitting in first class aboard Delta Flight 123, sipping an iced tea and reading the day’s news on my laptop as I casually glanced out the window from time to time, that we were in fact about to collide with another airplane.

As I braced for the impact and tried my damnedest to keep from pissing myself, I only had one thought on my mind:  ‘How can this happen?’

Once we passed the other airplane, that I later found out was Comair Flight 1520, and I had managed to control my bodily functions long enough for the plane to land so I could race to the in-flight restroom, I went directly to the Captain and Copilot for answers.

The conversation went as such:

“What the hell was that all about?,” I yelled at the Captain.

He turned around in his seat, glass in his hand, alcohol on his breath, and asked me, “Have you ever seen a grown man naked?”

Not knowing how to respond to that, and recalling this very airplane scene, I simply departed the plane and went in search of the nearest Delta Customer Service counter.

The answer I got from the off duty sloshed pilots at the counter chilled me to the bone.

They simply slurred at me that pilots are overworked and overstressed and need to blow off a little steam now and again.

This leads to games of ‘chicken’ on the runway!

As I was told:

The crew of one airplane drinks as many in house alcoholic beverages as they can and radios other planes in their vicinity.

The crew of the second plane gets shit faced as well and the game of chicken is then on.

When I asked about the lives of the passengers aboard, I was told that I ask way too many questions and that hardly anyone ever gets killed doing it.

And should anyone die during a game of ‘chicken’, that’s what the Federal Aviation Administration is for:  To keep the game under wraps and delude the public.

Needless to say, this Bastard reporter will be keeping both feet on the ground from now on.

When we get there I see an Indian couple, a 10 yr old girl from China who's visiting her cousins and says she's gonna be a famous ice skater and artist one day, Jonas Brothers and Beyonce. I'm stunned. "What are you two doing here?" I ask the Jonas Brothers and Beyonce. They say they're doing a concert and if I wanna come they can get me in free. I say yes, but add in if we can ever catch a plane. We just sort of sit on our luggage since chairs are taken up until we hear a new plane is ready. "Let's go!" the person says, they're the leader-and I think its a boy now that I think bout it. The boy motions us to follow him, we run as fast as we can out a back door to where the plane is. "We're gonna get in trouble!" the girl says. "Just follow me and hurry!" the boy replies. We sneak to where the luggage goes and I hold my breath. The boy got in the luggage place or w/e (LOL idk this stuff obviously cuz i've never flown b4 and its a dream-bear with me!) Everyone gets on and I'm bout to till the plane starts to go down the runway thing. I panick and one of the Jonas Brothers reaches out his hand and tells me to grab on. I do and for a second I'm about 4 feet in the air dangling down till I get on all the way. The boy closes the door and we switch on a light and we all talk and look out the little window.

The Indian couple don't know english and talk with themselves, the 10 year old talks with the Jonas Brothers and I talk with the boy and Beyonce, till we all talk to each other at once. Suddenly the plane stops and we hear voices coming towards the door. "What do we do?" I ask Beyonce in fear. Beyonce suggests that we hide under the luggage while the 10 yr old girl hides in a small compartment the Indian couple found. A person finds their luggage and voices are heard till they close the door and the plane starts back up. We get up and keep talking about life, music and all this stuff till the plane lands and we somehow get off the plane b4 everyone else. By the end of the flight we've had a good conversation and say bye. Beyonce tells me to come to the concert and she'll get a backstage pass for me too. We all take pictures together and decide that we'll tell the news about how we were able to somehow get on a plane and fly over here [but not say we snuck on]and how the people on the island need help so they can get off the island. We also wonder why the island looks just like a place that it isn't. We go our separate ways till the concert starts.

So yeah, just another weird dream...the usual! :)

This comes in response to a previous post "How to Find the Best Seat on the Airplane", which generated a lot of questions from readers. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

• How do I choose my seat on a plane in such a way I end up with an empty seat next to me?

Choosing a seat so that you end up with an empty seat next to you is the Holy Grail of seat selection. It's even better if you score an exit row seat, so you end up with extra leg and elbow room. But with many airlines cutting flights to save costs, airplanes are typically more crowded these days and often oversold. On many popular flights during peak seasons, you're lucky to even get a seat assignment. So flying with an empty seat next to you is becoming ever more rare. Despite this, there are some strategies that you can use to increase your chances.

1. When selecting your seat, consider how close you are to departure and how full the flight is at the moment. If you are months away from your flight, the plane will likely look empty, and you'll probably score a good seat (sites like seatguru.com and seatexpert.com can help you figure out which of the available seats are the best). At this point, you have to plan on the reality that the plan will fill up. So choose your seat accordingly.
2. Two-seat rows almost always fill up, but middle seats in three-seat rows are the last to go. If you want to press your luck for an empty seat next to you, grab an aisle seat in a three-seat row *if* there is already someone sitting in the other aisle seat. Do not choose a three-seat row that is empty because a couple will probably take the other two seats.
3. If you don't have a tight connection, choose seats further in the back of the plane. Most people like to be in front, and the airlines typically assign seats front to back. So if there is an empty seat, it's most likely in the back.
4. As you get closer to the flight (or book within two weeks of departure), chances are the plane is already full or very close to capacity. Check the your seat selection again on the airline's map and see if someone is next to you. You might be able to shuffle into a three-seat row with only one other person.

• Does it mean that I should choose the least desirable seat, or sit next to the least desirable seat?

This is definitely one strategy that works, but I wouldn't use it straightaway because, afterall, you'll end up sitting in that crappy seat. Would you rather be able to recline or have elbow room? You make the call.

• Do I choose a flight near capacity? Is 2/3 on average the near capacity ratio?

These days, planes typically fly at 80-90% of capacity. More expensive fuel and other costs means airlines are cutting the number of planes to keep capacity high. If you can be flexible with your choice of flight, this is a great way to increase your chances of scoring an empty seat next to you. Often airlines offer discounted fares on several flights the same day, but certain flights fill up faster.

Consider your routing. For example, if you're flying from ORD to BOS, chances are the morning flights will be packed to the gills with business travelers trying to make meetings. If you can take an afternoon flight, you are more likely to score some elbow room.

• Are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the best day to fly?

In most US markets, Mondays (except holiday weekends), Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to fly. Saturdays have become filled with families traveling over weekends (think lots of people gate checking baby strollers). Use kayak.com and farewatch.com to compare the days and find the best price. Then consider the cities your flying between to pick the least trafficked times of days.

• Are late night or early, early morning vs. late morning or mid day/mid-evening the best time to fly?

Again, this really depends on the cities. Certain airports, like LGA and JFK, run so behind that unless you get an early morning flight, you'll never make your connection (and you're still likely to experience a 45-minute delay sitting on the runway waiting for take off). So at those airports, what's most important is just getting out in any seat. The later in the day you fly, the more backed up they become.

But other airports have better on-time records so flights later in the day are typically less crowded. Again this is market specific. For business hubs like Dallas, Denver, and Los Angeles, it is generally true that flights later in the day are less crowded.

Holiday destinations are different. Consider Honolulu. Nearly all flights to the Mainland leave at night (the red-eyes) so people can make morning connections on the West Coast to the East Coast. Nearly all evening and nights flights out of Hawaii are packed.

Flights earlier in the day are typically less crowded for several reasons: (1) Most people want to maximize their time in Hawaii and prefer to leave as late as possible (think one more round of cocktails at sunset); (2) The kids will sleep on the plane on a night flight; and (3) Most people don't want to pay for an extra hotel night at a connecting airport. You're most likely to score extra elbow room flying during the day from Hawaii to the Mainland.

Airports with predictable, extreme weather also follow their own patterns. Consider San Francisco. When the fog rolls in, it typically happens as the day heats up. So flights taking off (or landing) in the late afternoon or evening are usually delayed. This is an example of another airport where morning flights are most reliable, even though you'll compete with business travelers. In this case, you may want to consider using another airport in the area, like San Jose or Oakland, that don't typically have weather issues.

Method of Last Resort to Get an Empty Seat Next to You on the Plane

Finally, if all of that planning and strategizing still does not score an empty seat next to you on plane, the method of last resort is to sit where you are assigned until all passengers have boarded. Once everyone is in their seats, look around for the empty row. There is a very small window between when the airplane door closes and when the plane pushes back from the gate that you can quickly switch seats. Just make sure you're seated with your seat belt on before anyone notices.

Honda thrive on their reliable image built up from years of good solid car making worldwide since the seventies and have now built on that, focussing on Design, Creativity, Performance and their stellar work in developing new hydrogen cars.

Here is a short selection of some of our favourite Honda commercials from past years that we loved;

After World War II, Great Britain developed a trio of jet bombers called the V-bombers. The Vickers Valiant, the Handley Page Victor, and the Avro Vulcan. First flights for these planes were in 1951 and 1952, and in 1964 the Royal Air Force fielded nearly 160 modern jet bombers. The Valiant served from 1955 until 1964, when the last of the 107 hulls built type was retired to Cosford, where it resides today. The Victor entered service in 1958 until 1993, and the last of the 86 Victors, configured as a bomber and not as a tanker, can be found in Duxford.

The idea of Britain producing three such similar aircraft, and of Britain possessing three separate design houses to do this work, is a reminder of how much the world has changed in the last sixty years. (Vickers was one of four firms whose 1960 merger formed the British Aircraft Corporation, which is the genesis of the modern BAE Systems, while Handley Page closed its doors in 1970.)

The third V-bomber is the Avro Vulcan. Design for the Vulcan began in 1947 when the firm was still known as A. V. Roe, and their entrant in the V-bomber competition took wing in 1952. An extremely modern design for its day, it featured an enormous delta-wing with four Bristol Olympus engines buried within the wing roots. Entering service in 1956, the Avro manufactured a total of 136 Vulcans, which served in various capacities until 1986, notably conducting extremely long-range missions as part of the Falklands War. Quite a few Vulcans can be seen, including at Cosford and Duxford with their V-bomber sisters.

Why then am I delivering this musty history lesson about a plane whose career ended twenty-two years ago? The twelfth Vulcan built, which rolled off the line in 1960 and was the last of its type in service, flew to Bruntingthorpe in 1993, where its owners have long hoped to restore it to regular flight. With dedication and substantial funding from many enthusiasts, they did so last October, and now that the summer airshow season is underway, XH558, as she is known, has begun making quite a splash on the English airshow circuit. Its a tremendous credit to Britain and those involved that this piece of their Cold War heritage, representing a different country, a different time, and ultimately a different world, is once again back in the sky where she belongs to remind the people of today of what has come before them. All who see Vulcans in person report it to be an unforgettable sight, and I cannot express how much I wish to see her fly. Someday.

My thanks to a bevy of talented Flickr photographers, who provide the wonderful pictures which follow:

SANTIAGO, KAMIS - Sembilan penumpang pesawat Beechcraft 99A, termasuk seorang anak berusia tiga tahun, tewas ketika pesawat ringan itu jatuh di kota Chile Selatan, Puerto Montt, sekitar 1.000 kilometer sebelah selatan ibukota negara itu, Santiago, Kamis waktu setempat.
       
Kecelakaan itu terjadi beberapa menit setelah pesawat tersebut lepas landasr dari pangkalan udara La Paloma dengan tujuan Pulau Melinka.Pesawat itu jatuh dan terbakar di sebuah daerah tandus, sekitar 500 meter dari daerah kaya Puerto Montt. "Sesuatu mengguncang sayap kiri pesawat tersebut," kata seorang saksi mata, seperti dikutip media Chile. Penyebab kecelakaan itu masih belum diketahui.

ABD

http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/07/11/02552855/kecelakan.pesawat.di.chile.9.tewas

There are pieces of the story that don't belong in this particular post. If I started, I wouldn't finish. So, I'll start by reminding you that I had worked on a month-long project for the production arm of CBN News. A few weeks after that project, I was asked by the bureau chief to do a live audition for their Capitol Hill Correspondent position. I was delighted!

For many weeks prior to 9/11, I had also been teaching part time at Connecticut Schools of Broadcasting, which was located in the basement of a building in Crystal City, Virginia. If you walked to the Pentagon from this building, it would be no further than 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile.

The morning of 9/11 started out differently than most days. A news junkie, I usually had the Today Show on. But I didn't even look in the direction of the TV that morning. I was too busy rehearsing the script I had written for my audition. I distinctly remember the watermelon colored dress, the off-white hose and shoes, and the extra attention I paid to my hair and makeup. I even remember what underwear I had on!

Another oddity for that day is that I drove my car. I rarely did that, except to the grocery store every so often. Much like the TV, I would normally have had the radio on in the car. But I was still rehearsing. I wanted to nail that audition!

My schedule for the morning consisted of me stopping off at the school to give final exams to some of my students. From there, I would head into DC and to the CBN bureau for the audition. So, I parked my car under the building and entered the basement floor. I didn't really notice much going on about me. By this point, I was already focused on the exams.

The students seemed to be milling about, almost nervously. One said, "You better get in RJ's office." (RJ was the Executive Director of the school.)

RJ was at his desk with a phone attached to each of his ears.

"Did you hear what happened?"

I shook my head no and tried to speak in between his conversations with the people on either phone; conversations that seemed panicked.

"A plane crashed into the World Trade Center building," he replied.

Silent from disbelief, I finally responded, "Ok. That's not a very funny joke, but I'll wait for the punchline."

"It's not a joke," he screamed. "I'm on the phone with my brother who was in the other WTC building. I'm trying to get him out of the building but they're saying everyone needs to go back to their desks. I'm also on the phone with his wife. He couldn't get through to her."

Again, he started shouting things like, "Get out of the building". "I don't care what they told you." "You're going to be fine. Calm down."

Strangely enough, this Radio and TV broadcasting school didn't have cable so I ran out into the lobby to the McDonald's that had several TV's and satellite access. Dozens of people stood around watching in disbelief. Many whispered that it must have been an accident; a small plane that went off course. But the hole looked too big to be a small plane.

And then we all watched the second plane strike. Gasps filled the silence. People covered their gaping mouths with their hands and cried, "Oh, no."

Someone said, "That wasn't an accident. We're under attack."

Even as I write this... I can see each scene so clearly... as if it were happening again. The pounding in my chest right now reminds me of what I felt that morning.

RJ's brother. Oh no. I ran back into his office.

"He's out. He's out," RJ kept saying. "It's ok. He got out. He's safe."

By this point, it became apparent that exams would have to wait. Too many students wanted to watch these events unfold, and truthfully, so did I. We walked between the McDonald’s TV’s and our class radio for the latest updates. One visit to the TV’s presented the most awful image – in my opinion – of the entire event.

A man and woman were shown (live) jumping from the building to their deaths. My first reaction was to wonder how bad it must have been where they were that they felt jumping was a much better option. I can’t even comprehend it. Then I noticed the look of peace on their faces. His tie floated skyward while he looked down to the ground that would soon greet him. Her skirt ballooned, and secretly I hoped it would save her from a violent death. But I knew better. To this day, I still can’t get that image out of my mind.

Back in the office listening to the radio, reports were rampant about bombings here and there, mostly in New York. Then reports of bombings in the DC area began flooding the airwaves. So many students had so many questions; I decided to try to make some sort of lesson out of this situation. We gathered in the class room to talk about the reality of what had just happened.

“We talked these last weeks about the types of scenes you would encounter as a journalist,” I started. “Obviously, we’ve never seen anything like this but if you ever faced anything like this, as a reporter, you’d have to do your job. Your life could very well be in danger. You’d witness some horrific things like we’ve seen live on TV today. Can you handle that?”

Many said they couldn’t and journalism was no longer an option for them. I didn’t blame them. It wasn’t an option for me anymore either; at least not that type of journalism.

Some of us returned to the radio while others returned to the televisions in the lobby. Soon, we looked at one another before someone broke the silence and said, “What was that sound?”

“I don’t know,” someone else replied.

“I’m going out to look,” yelled a student as he ran out the door.

“Don’t go out there,” I screamed at him only to finish the thought in my head. “You don’t know what’s out there.”

Shortly thereafter the radio confirmed that the Pentagon had been struck, just the same as the WTC buildings. In between the WTC buildings crumbling and the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, many students decided to head back to their homes. There was nothing more to see or do here.

There is so much more from that day but, this post is long enough… and trying enough. I’ll end here for now.

I get a special thrill when my youngest daughter, Autumn, calls me "out of the blue" to ask me when I am coming home and has to know the exact time, place and manner so that she can hold me accountable! On this trip, she got a special chuckle out my response that I would be flying home but that it might take a long, long, time because my arms would get plenty tired, and I would need to make many stops! Oh the genuine and spontaneous laughter of the Holy Spirit expressing itself in a young girl at her father's corny joke! Can there be anything more innocent, refreshing and beautiful?! Hardly! Ha-Ha! :-) I KNOW there is a God who laughs!!

Because of plane delays, more stops than usual, or just plain slowness on my part, I don't always make it home exactly when I say I am going to be there. Autumn will ring my phone often to express her anticipation and sadness, and we are so included in each other in Jesus that I KNOW before looking at the phone that it is her calling me! Talk about being "hooked up"! Even though I am not late on purpose, I have to admit loving her anticipation AND disappointment as both of those emotions scream and shout much love into my soul!! Ha-Ha! Oh, Yes! To be missed and wanted (don't misunderstand, my wife and other child express the same things, but I am trying to get to a special point in this story about Autumn:-) )

On this particular day, I was right on time. On the last phone call before I got on the return flight home, I had told Autumn that I should be home around 7:30pm. As I pulled the van into my neighborhood I saw that I was going to be right on time as promised, and looking back, boy am I glad I was! Just as I expected, and hoped, Autumn was in the yard and the smiles on her face and mine were beaming as bright as the sun! It was what I DIDN'T expect that really thrilled and overwhelmed me! Three of Autumn's neighborhood friends were smiling, clapping, jumping and dancing with her at my return home!

No kidding! Autumn's friends were as happy as she was! They were jumping up and down so excitedly in the driveway that I had to honk the horn for their safety! They were literally swooping on and around the van as I was still driving! They could not contain their excitement! I am not joking when I say that each one of them were looking at me as if I was their personal daddy coming home from a long trip away, and each shouting as gloriously!! There were quite a few people out in the neighborhood and they could all see and HEAR, if not feel, this overwhelming love and welcome!

I couldn't wait to open the door and especially hug my daughter, but it wasn't to be! Her three girlfriends had beat Autumn to the door, and as I opened it, I got bumrushed with a giggling, neighborly armful of Jesus love in the warm hugs of those young ladies! They were ALL saying things like "Daddy!!" "We Love You!", "We Missed You!!". (Okay. My eyes are watering again - give me  sec. to recoup)! Alright I'm back! :-) Three of the girls had so crowded out the other, and I was so caught up in the inclusive love of Jesus, that I shouted aloud in the Spirit, "Okay, we have to get everyone in the circle this hug to be complete!" (wonder where I get talk like that?! Hmmmm?!) Looking back, I realize that Autumn was not sad at all at being on the far side of the circle, but was thrilled to see her friends sharing in it! I remember this same thing occuring with my dad and others but that will be for another blog post!

Believe me when I say, it had to be Autumn's shared love, COMING FROM JESUS, that was the result of all of this.....because....I hardly know the other three girls at all!!! I mean REALLY KNOW them! They are around often enough for me to know their names, but I honestly do not relate with them even an hour in any given week, and usually I am saying things like, "Time to go home", "Autumn can't come out until she finishes her chores!", "Make sure you all pick up all of those sticks out of the yard when you're done playing with them!", or "Ya'll be quiet down there while I record this commercial, and if you don't quiet down you're going to have to go outside!" It really is the sad truth!

But that is what makes this real life story all the more shocking! With that kind of small interaction, and sometimes negative relationship, what can account for those girls expressing the EXACT same love and sentiment toward me, as Autumn showed? There is only one, fundamental and satisfactory explanation to me. The Father, Son and Spirit love and like me, and each of those children and everyone else! And through the special relationship the Father has with Autumn, in Jesus, she shared in his feelings for me in such a mysterious and inclusive way, that it rubbed off on all of her friends, and ended up as a shower of love on me!!

I am sure that while I was gone, Autumn talked to her friends MUCH about how she missed me, and how long it had been since I had been gone, and her fear that I might not come back home (she's a little RELATIONAL worrier!) She is so in union and open with her friends that I believe they began to feel what she felt until they felt the exact same way after 8 days of my absence. Interestingly, yes, each of these young ladies (except my daughter) lacks a father in the home, so it would have been even easier for them to pick up on and yearn with my daughters exact yearnings for the person they so dearly miss in their own life!

This story has evoked such a permanent and lasting good memory that I long for it to happen again! And right when I began to sit under a cloud of negative thinking, saying, "I'll bet this kind of awesome thing will probably never happen to me again", I remember the last words I heard before I entered the house that day after receiving those hugs. It was uttered by one of the girls who was not my daughter, and she said emphatically and seriously:

"Don't you ever leave us for that long again!!!"

I think she has convinced me that I can look forward to much more of this if I am ever gone that long again! :-)  Thank you for the hope and reality of an eternity of love with you and everyone Jesus!!

Estimation post: click there

1. Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections office "has become a black hole" because paperwork routinely gets lost there.

2. That caused Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, to shout "Excuse me!" before correcting his pigment-deficient colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole." 

3. And that caused Judge Thomas Jones, also black, to demand an apology from whitey Mayfield for his racially insensitive comment.

Seriously people -- this again?!?
I feel a crying jag coming on.

I'll grant you, so far the 2008 Verbal Retardation Award has to go to the Brits who wanted to ban 'brainstorming' in favor of 'thought showering'  -- but these Dallas County Commissioners have definitely earned themselves a most dishonorable mention in the '20 Kinds of Asshatednessly Overboard Responses' subcategory.

What other perfectly legit words and phrases will we next be asked to quit?
Hmmmmmmm .....

God help the environmentalists once the aliens go PC ...

This is the debut trailer of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.  No word yet on a release date.

 Knock the Post to see the Resistance 2 trailers!

Next up, are 2 brand spankin new trailers for Resistance 2, which is scheduled to release November 4, 2008.  You may know the developers, Insomniac Games, from such hits as Rathet and Clank, and Spyro the Dragon.

Go ahead and post your theories as to what these trailers mean, as a comment.

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