Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Till there was you...a great cinematic love song
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Skiing at Deer Valley was a great experience
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go skiing one more time this season. I had never gone skiing this late in the year. My lift pass, thanks to my son Sam who acquired a free pass for me, was to Deer Valley. I had also never been to Deer Valley and had no idea where anything was, nor what to expect once there.
I got to the parking lot and asked directions from the attendant. A few minutes later, I was exchanging my voucher for a ski pass and heading up for my first run.
It was crowded with a bunch of kids taking lessons. As I swept down the first run, I found myself narrowly avoiding people because there were so many. I thought it odd, considering it was a school day. The days had been warm in the past week and the snow had melted then refrozen in some places, making those places a bit treacherous.
As the day warmed up. the icy places diminished and the snow got better. I found myself riding the list with three kids, probably aged 9-13. We began talking and I found out they were from Manhattan, here for a two week vacation. They marveled when I told them I didn't ski more than 3-4 times per year. One of them told me he had season ticket to the Knicks, Jets, and Rangers.
On another ride up, I sat with two parents and a young teenager. They were involved in their own little world, talking amongst themselves, although the woman did say "hi" to me as we boarded the lift. The guy was talking to her about this huge deal that he had just received a confirmation on on his phone. It was some kind of huge trade and it was one of his account that someone had completed in his absence.
Clearly Deer Valley is a ski resort for the wealthy.
I stopped for a rest at about 11:30, then at noon I started again, this time figuring out that if I worked my way around the resort, further away from the original lift, the crowds were quite a bit smaller and there weren't any kids taking lessons (most of them were skiing better than I was, btw). I stayed in the lesser used areas for a few runs, then began to work my way back.
As the day wore on, the snow began to deteriorate again and in some places became so slushy that it was tough to ski through. I was getting worn out at around 2:00 so I decided to leave. All in all, I really enjoyed my day skiing. The only thing that would've made it much better would have been to have someone along to enjoy it with me.
I got to the parking lot and asked directions from the attendant. A few minutes later, I was exchanging my voucher for a ski pass and heading up for my first run.
It was crowded with a bunch of kids taking lessons. As I swept down the first run, I found myself narrowly avoiding people because there were so many. I thought it odd, considering it was a school day. The days had been warm in the past week and the snow had melted then refrozen in some places, making those places a bit treacherous.
As the day warmed up. the icy places diminished and the snow got better. I found myself riding the list with three kids, probably aged 9-13. We began talking and I found out they were from Manhattan, here for a two week vacation. They marveled when I told them I didn't ski more than 3-4 times per year. One of them told me he had season ticket to the Knicks, Jets, and Rangers.
On another ride up, I sat with two parents and a young teenager. They were involved in their own little world, talking amongst themselves, although the woman did say "hi" to me as we boarded the lift. The guy was talking to her about this huge deal that he had just received a confirmation on on his phone. It was some kind of huge trade and it was one of his account that someone had completed in his absence.
Clearly Deer Valley is a ski resort for the wealthy.
I stopped for a rest at about 11:30, then at noon I started again, this time figuring out that if I worked my way around the resort, further away from the original lift, the crowds were quite a bit smaller and there weren't any kids taking lessons (most of them were skiing better than I was, btw). I stayed in the lesser used areas for a few runs, then began to work my way back.
As the day wore on, the snow began to deteriorate again and in some places became so slushy that it was tough to ski through. I was getting worn out at around 2:00 so I decided to leave. All in all, I really enjoyed my day skiing. The only thing that would've made it much better would have been to have someone along to enjoy it with me.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Trying something new: a bad reason to vote for Sanders or Trump
While we know that our world is being turned topsy-turvy by the things that are happening in it, it can be instructive to look at each of our personal lives before deciding that what we have isn't working.
I hear all the time that what we have isn't working and that it's time to "try something new". Pundits from all avenues in the media do their best in their own gripping way, to convince us that the world is falling apart. In many ways, it is, but one way to look at things has always been the world's effect on one's own life. Take the time to introspect and say, "Is my life going worse now than it was ten or twenty years ago?" In many cases, we are better off than we were years ago. In some things, not so much.
I would say that our freedoms have been reduced in the past couple of decades. I would put the responsibility for that reduction in liberty squarely on those who believe that more government involvement in our every day lives is good. While it may have led to safer playground equipment at elementary schools, it has also led to intrusion into individuals and family's lives that wasn't there in the 1950s, for example.
Those on the left claim that they are worse off, that poverty is worse, that racism is increasing, and that curtailing certain industries in America will affect the world climate enough to reverse climate change and will be worth the vast toll it takes on the economy. The facts don't bear this out. Poverty may be on the rise, but it is a general poverty of a nation that because of intrusive over-regulation, is moving slowly out of first world status. Racism, despite what you hear from the race-baiters and the media, despite what you hear from Black Lives Matter, isn't worsening and has instead seen vast positive changes since the days of Martin Luther King Jr. Climate change cannot be appreciably fixed by the U.S. stopping it's coal production and other extreme measures. These measures are designed to make people feel good about what they're doing and have virtually no impact on world climate.
People have this insane desire to "try something new" when what they have had, has largely been working. On the left, people want to vote for Bernie Sanders because he represents a change. He also represents a profound detachment from reality when it comes to advocating free this and free that, with no money to pay for it. Electing Hillary Clinton for no other reason that because she is female is an idiotic reason to elect someone. People voted for Obama because he would be the first black president, and that was equally stupid.
On the right, people would elect Trump because they are sick of the "establishment" not doing what it was elected to do. Never mind that from all indications, Trump is the kind of man who would be dictator if he could (not unlike Obama), and who has misrepresented himself on many fronts. Trump truly does not represent conservative values, which is another topic in and of itself.
The bottom line is, change for the sake of change, just to "try something new" is a poor reason to vote for someone who will likely make life worse for most people. Though our current system has produced some bad results lately, it is a system that largely has worked throughout American history. Would it not be better to try and find better candidates and encourage statesmanship than to throw out the baby with the bathwater? I'm thinking it would, but then again, I'm more optimistic than some.
I hear all the time that what we have isn't working and that it's time to "try something new". Pundits from all avenues in the media do their best in their own gripping way, to convince us that the world is falling apart. In many ways, it is, but one way to look at things has always been the world's effect on one's own life. Take the time to introspect and say, "Is my life going worse now than it was ten or twenty years ago?" In many cases, we are better off than we were years ago. In some things, not so much.
I would say that our freedoms have been reduced in the past couple of decades. I would put the responsibility for that reduction in liberty squarely on those who believe that more government involvement in our every day lives is good. While it may have led to safer playground equipment at elementary schools, it has also led to intrusion into individuals and family's lives that wasn't there in the 1950s, for example.
Those on the left claim that they are worse off, that poverty is worse, that racism is increasing, and that curtailing certain industries in America will affect the world climate enough to reverse climate change and will be worth the vast toll it takes on the economy. The facts don't bear this out. Poverty may be on the rise, but it is a general poverty of a nation that because of intrusive over-regulation, is moving slowly out of first world status. Racism, despite what you hear from the race-baiters and the media, despite what you hear from Black Lives Matter, isn't worsening and has instead seen vast positive changes since the days of Martin Luther King Jr. Climate change cannot be appreciably fixed by the U.S. stopping it's coal production and other extreme measures. These measures are designed to make people feel good about what they're doing and have virtually no impact on world climate.
People have this insane desire to "try something new" when what they have had, has largely been working. On the left, people want to vote for Bernie Sanders because he represents a change. He also represents a profound detachment from reality when it comes to advocating free this and free that, with no money to pay for it. Electing Hillary Clinton for no other reason that because she is female is an idiotic reason to elect someone. People voted for Obama because he would be the first black president, and that was equally stupid.
On the right, people would elect Trump because they are sick of the "establishment" not doing what it was elected to do. Never mind that from all indications, Trump is the kind of man who would be dictator if he could (not unlike Obama), and who has misrepresented himself on many fronts. Trump truly does not represent conservative values, which is another topic in and of itself.
The bottom line is, change for the sake of change, just to "try something new" is a poor reason to vote for someone who will likely make life worse for most people. Though our current system has produced some bad results lately, it is a system that largely has worked throughout American history. Would it not be better to try and find better candidates and encourage statesmanship than to throw out the baby with the bathwater? I'm thinking it would, but then again, I'm more optimistic than some.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
You're the Only Woman
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Amidst all the mayhem...
This world is crazy. The political and social situation in America is unreal. Times seem tough. And it's just these kinds of times that we should sit back, take some time, and ponder an amazing sunrise. This is today's sunrise.
If that doesn't make you feel good, very little else will. God is still out there.
Sunday, March 06, 2016
Rainy Sunday mornings are awesome!
When I walked outside this morning to go to church, the first thing I noticed was the strong wind pushing north. The skies were gray and I could tell that a storm is out there, waiting to pounce. It began sprinkling as I parked and headed into the church building. The smell coming from the rain on the nearby farms, carried on the wind, caressed my nose and it was wonderful. There's nothing like the smell of rain, and nothing like the feel of it on your skin. I looked toward the Wasatch Mountains and the clouds lowering around them made me want to be up in the peaks, playing, waiting for the rains and possibly damp, heavy, snow to come down. But I couldn't just go up there right then. Commitments sometimes keep us from enjoying God's blessings of the scent of rain, and the feel and sound of the wind. It's okay though. I can thank Him for them now, and go out and play in them later.
Just thinking about the great things the Lord has done for us is enough to keep one humble. We cannot fathom all that has been done on our behalf. I know some of you don't believe in God. For me, I cannot go through a single day of my life without having his presence manifested. And for that, I can offer nothing but praise and a heart that yearns to do His will, but can never fully do so. I am, after all, a mortal and sinful man. It's not an excuse, but a fact. I will rely upon the strength of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, to see me through. He died that I might live, and for that, I praise his name forever.
Just thinking about the great things the Lord has done for us is enough to keep one humble. We cannot fathom all that has been done on our behalf. I know some of you don't believe in God. For me, I cannot go through a single day of my life without having his presence manifested. And for that, I can offer nothing but praise and a heart that yearns to do His will, but can never fully do so. I am, after all, a mortal and sinful man. It's not an excuse, but a fact. I will rely upon the strength of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, to see me through. He died that I might live, and for that, I praise his name forever.
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
Time in a bottle
This song, by the late Jim Croce, who died well before his time, is a timeless classic. February is over, but there are more great songs out there then there are days in a year. Enjoy this great one!
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