Gene's Blog

A bit of an interruption to God’s continuing civics lesson :^)

March 12th, 2008 | by gene |

Is going to continue but I have to do two other things first. Jenna has had this song in my head all day long, I Want To Know What Love Is, a wonderful song from 1984, George Orwell’s year. I like their vision of 1984 much better.

I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when Im older

Now this mountain I must climb
Feels like a world upon my shoulders
I through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder

In my life theres been heartache and pain
I dont know if I can face it again
Cant stop now, Ive traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

Im gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
Ive got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me

In my life theres been heartache and pain
I dont know if I can face it again
I cant stop now, Ive traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is
And I know, I know you can show me

Lets talk about love
I wanna know what love is, the love that you feel inside
I want you to show me, and Im feeling so much love
I wanna feel what love is, no, you just cannot hide
I know you can show me, yeah

I wanna know what love is, lets talk about love
I want you to show me, I wanna feel it too
I wanna feel what love is, I want to feel it too
And I know and I know, I know you can show me
Show me love is real, yeah
I wanna know what love is…

I think it is time we began showing the world what love is. All of us. It isn’t what we read in the papers, see on television news or reality shows, it is what we see in our daily lives. The opening, or holding of a door for someone, the secret smile given to a complete stranger, the small kindnesses we perform each and every day. And in how formulate the policies that will lead us into a new generation of peace. The elections of 2008 are important. I hope we choose wisely.

Now I want to share two little stories from Steve Goodier, then, we’ll go back to our talk of governance. :^)

THERE IS MORE IN YOU THAN YOU KNOW

Not many people realize that U. S. President Calvin Coolidge did not
always live in the White House. As Vice-President, he became
President upon the death of Warren G. Harding. Mrs. Harding continued to live
in the White House for a time, so the Coolidges remained where they had
been living – in the third-floor suite of nearby Willard Hotel.

Once in the middle of the night, the new President awoke to see an
intruder going through his clothes. He watched as the thief first
removed a wallet, then unhooked a watch chain. Coolidge calmly spoke
up from the darkness: “About that watch, I wish you wouldn’t take
that.”

The startled man, gaining his voice, asked, “Why?”

Coolidge answered, “I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm.
I’m very fond of that charm. It means a great deal to me. Take it near
the window and read what is engraved on the back of it.”

The burglar read: “Presented to Calvin Coolidge, Speaker of the House,
by the Massachusetts General Court.” And now he was more surprised!

“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked. He evidently did not think
he’d find the President sleeping in a hotel!

“Yes, I am, and I don’t want you to take that charm,” he said. Then he
asked, “Why, Son, are you doing this?”

The young man explained that he and a friend traveled to Washington
during their college break. They spent all of their money and had no
money to pay the hotel bill or pay for train passage back to school.
“If you don’t mind,” he said, “I’ll just take the wallet.”

Coolidge did mind. He knew he had about $80 in his wallet. So he
said, “How much will it take to pay your hotel bill and get you and
your friend back to the campus? Sit down and let’s talk this over.”

Coolidge added up the room rate and two rail tickets. It came to $32.
That may not sound like much now, but it was a considerable sum then.
“I’ll give you the $32 as a loan,” the President said, “and I expect
you to pay me back.”

The youth thanked him. Coolidge then advised him to leave by the same
window he used to enter the room, as secret service agents were sure
to be patrolling the hallway. As the young man climbed out, Coolidge
left him with this admonition: “Son, you’re a nice boy. You are better
than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just
remember who you are.”

It wasn’t until after the death of Mrs. Coolidge in 1957 that this
story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the “Los
Angeles Times.” And most interesting of all is that the President’s
notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting.
He repaid the $32 loan in full.

Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound, said this: “There is more in
us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of
our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.”

And, this, which to me speaks of the elections of 2008 and what we Americans (with apologies to any foreign readers) will choose this fall. I think we tried the first time to plant this seed more than 20 years ago, in 1992, the second best time to plant it is now.

THE SECOND BEST TIME TO BEGIN

Philosopher and economist Friedrich Engels said, “An ounce of action
is worth a ton of theory.” Perhaps it is easier to talk about what to
do than to do it.

U.S. District court judge Woodrow Seal was active in a philanthropic
organization known as The Society of St. Stephen. It is an
internationally recognized organization with the sole purpose of
helping people in need.

One day a church invited Mr. Seal to speak to their congregation and
explain to them how they might begin a Society of St. Stephen. The
plan was for the him to speak on the various programs of the society,
then follow up with a time for discussion.

The people took their seat and the minister introduced the featured
speaker. The judge helped himself to cookies and poured a cup of
coffee. When the introduction was completed, Judge Seal walked over to
the piano, put his coffee cup on top of it, and began to fumble in his
coat pockets. Finally, he pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper and
from it read the name of a mother and her four children, including
their ages and clothing sizes.

He noted several other unmet needs of the family and mentioned that
their address was on the paper which he carefully laid on top of the
piano. The judge then said, “If you want to start a Society of St.
Stephen, then you should contact this woman by 11:30 tomorrow morning.
If you are not able to help her, don’t worry, I’ll be in contact with
her tomorrow and I’ll get her help by mid-afternoon. ”

With that, the judge turned to leave. “Now, forgive me,” he said, “but
I really must be going. Thank you for inviting me and for the coffee
and the cookies.”

Before anyone could respond he walked out the door. It all took less
than five minutes.

Here was a group of people who thought they were going to spend an
hour listening to a program on how to help others in need, and maybe
discuss its merits for a while. Instead they spent an hour deciding
how to help one family – and the next day they did it.

Judge Seal wasn’t content to sit around helplessly waiting for people
to make a decision. The problem for most of us is not lack of
knowledge but lack of action. When all is said and done…more will
have been said than done. But like the Chinese proverb teaches, “The
best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time
is now.”

What are you trying to plant? The second best time to do it is now.

— Steve Goodier