"I Will Praise Him, Hallelujah!" Played by Helen Kreps

Passion

“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age”.. (James Joyce) I’ve often been accused of being too passionate, of caring too much about certain things. But I believe that passion, also defined as fervor or zeal, is one of the essential core values of human life, along with the Apostle Paul’s Biblical list of the virtues of faith, hope and charity. Passionate people have strong opinions and usually articulate them very well. We are also perfectionists, and we don’t handle incompetence in the public arena very well, all of which tend to preclude us from being the most popular person in the room. I long ago accepted the fact that I won’t have the largest funeral in Lebanon, nor will my obituary make the front page. But not everyone seems to care that much about anything other than their own lives. T.S. Eliot once said, “It is obvious that we can no more explain pas...

COMMUNION ON THE MOON

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie) Americans need a day dedicated to gratitude. I have noticed that in the lineup of most of our holidays that Thanksgiving is perhaps the one least given over to secularism - the one we still observe in a traditional fashion. We need it to keep our focus clear and to teach our children what it means to be thankful for family, friendship and faith. We need a time to gather around the table with extended family and enjoy turkey and dressing and gravy, two kinds of potatoes, cranberries, hot rolls, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. We need it, not for the calories, but to create an awareness that there are those who don’t have those blessings, because in the hectic pace of our everyday lives we tend to forget those in need. Family and food are important, but above all else, Americans need a rededication to our faith. Faith brought the pilgrims to the ne...

GOLDFIRE MILITARY EXERCISES

How many of you remember the Gold Fire military exercises which took place in Lebanon and surrounding counties in the fall of 1964? Sometimes vague memories like this just kind of creep out of the mists of my memory from time to time. I don’t know what triggered it this time, but I was curious enough to follow through with some research. I went to the Facebook group page which houses a lot of school and area memories because it is written by Lebanon school alumni who are close to my age. I brought up the subject there, and thought I would share some of their memories with you in this column. Milan and I lived in a little house on North Adams and occasionally would see one of the soldiers running through the yard but apparently they were much more visible out in the county. Gold Fire was a simulated battle exercise between the Ozark and Sioux forces during U.S. Strike Command’s Joint Exercise held in Southern Missouri in November 1964. It appears fro...

Straight From The Hart

Search This Blog