"I See His Blood Upon The Rose"

I see His blood upon the rose,
and in the stars the glory of His eyes.
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see His face in every flower;
the thunder and the singing of the birds are but His voice---
and carven by His power, rocks are His written words.
All pathways by His feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever beating sea.
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

Joseph Plunkett

Little Eva-- AMDG

Little Eva got a great report from the oncologist. The surgeon was able to remove 98% of the tumor and the markers indicate that she does not need chemo or radiation. Just a CT every three months for two years. Needless to say, we are absolutely thrilled at the great miracle God has wrought...thanks to the prayers of so many people and, of course, the skill of the surgeons, doctors and nurses at Medical City Hospital in Dallas. "AMDG" is the motto of the Benedictine order of monks: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam---To (for) the greater glory of God. May it be our motto as well, so that in all things, He may be honored and glorified.

10,000 BC-a review

I did it again. Two movies in one month. And during Lent, mind you. ( Well, Sunday is not considered Lent.. but still..) My daughter Mary B was in town and with Ben and some of his Buds, I went to see 10,000 BC. Save your money, folks. BC stands for "Be Careful" or "Beware, Chump." Even if you can get a cheap, old person, reduced price ticket like I get, it's too painful to watch. Great computer graphics, I admit, but that can't sustain you for 1:45 minutes. The acting is so bad that it is laughable. Well, let's just say I would have probably felt better watching an afternoon episode of Oprah. Why do I think that a movie of this genre is going to be any less wretched than all of the rest I have seen that totally rely on graphics? OK. I've really learned this time. From now on it is just me, Turner Classic Movie Channel and a micro waveable 3.5 oz bag of Orville Reddenbacher.

People, who need people

Yes, it was a sappy Streisand song. But I want to rise above that fact to cite the obvious: Yes. We are people...who need other people. This has become so clear to me over the last few days as we dealt with the cancer surgery of my granddaughter, Little Eva. (You can read about Little Eva at my daughter's blog: www.goodnightmom.blogspot.com )
If you have read any of my blogs, I tend to be a loner of sorts. Self-sufficient. Ever eager to help...but most reluctant to admit I need any. I have needed plenty over this last week. And it has come. From so many places: family members, bloggers, ticket clerks at airline counters, the Dallas police, physicians and nursing staff, even a restaurant chef in full regalia at Magiano's. The details of the encounters would be too much to write. Suffice it to say, that God has used this situation to break down some of the barriers I have put up within myself..some of the biases I have nursed unknowingly.

Much fruit will come from this situation with Little Eva. Miracles have, are and will continue to happen. Perhaps one of the small ones was unexpected and happened in me: Yes I knew I needed Jesus. But He does not come alone. He brings a retinue of His friends to help in His work. For by God's design, we are People...who need People.

Kick the Bucket List

My loving spouse, St. Eva the Good and I, broke down and invested the princely sum of $30 to see The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The $30 included two senior admissions, two diet cokes and one bucket of popcorn. I only eat popcorn popped on-site; none of that stuff that is popped in Pittsburgh and shipped by UPS to theaters around the globe. And it must be popped in that special palm oil that clogs the arteries and shaves at least 30 minutes off your life span. I am very particular about my popcorn. But I digress.

The premise of the movie is a great one. Two men, perfect strangers, find themselves in the same hospital room sharing a diagnosis of terminal cancer. It was the Freeman character who began the "bucket list" -- a compilation of things he would like to do before he kicks the proverbial bucket. One reviewer wrote that the movie dies before the characters. That is a bit too harsh. Yes, it is a sappy movie and yes, I was unable to read the final credits because my eyes were a bit filled.

But as is my wont, I am always looking for the philosophical underpinnings of the plot. And there is plenty to chew on in this flick. Nicholson and Freeman are excellent. ( Have either of them ever made a bad movie?) And so I am inspired to compile my own list. Not that I am anticipating a premature demise...unless that palm oil does its heinous work in rapid fashion.

What amazed me as I tried to begin this enterprise was the realization that I really couldn't think of anything to put down. I am still thinking...still contemplating...there must be something to put on this d%$# list. No inspiration as yet. But stay tuned, Bloggers. Something will surface...maybe.

The Other Shoe

"Ah, you are just a crepe hanger," my mother once said to me. " "You always dwell on the negative side of things. There is also a positive side in all circumstances. You need to see the glass half-full instead of half-empty..." Easy for her to say. My Mom was a perennial optimist. Always joyful..effervescent..the "lampshade on the head" person at the party. In fact she would be invited to parties just for the entertainment value she'd provide. This ever joylful part of her nature drove me absolutely crazy!!

It is hard to believe that I was not the result of an accidental switch in the OB-GYN nursery at DePaul Hospital when I arrived on Feb. 5, 1942. How could I have come from such an amazing personality only to wind up a composite of Norman Vincent Peale and Ebenezer Scrooge? Nontheless, that is what happened.

I had a close friend and spiritual advisor who was concerned about my prayer life. I like to pray alone...the more alone the better. Except for Holy Mass, I do not like being in a large crowd. And I like to pray the Liturgy of the Hours (the Office.) Although I do have a spontaneous side, I prefer a written and formalized prayer regimen. So this guy was concerned about me. He gave me a Myers-Briggs personality test. I came out an ISFJ. I'll not go into each of them, but the " I" stands for "introvert." In fact, he told me that in his 30 years of adminstering the test, he had never had a candidate score 27 out of the 28 questions that indicate introversion. So now I know why I like to pray alone! and so what, says I.

So when am I going to get to the title of this missive: The Other Shoe..
Perhaps you can guess based on what I told you about my somewhat pessimistic nature. You've all heard the adage about waiting for the "other shoe to drop.." well, that is how I live my life. I was an Economics teacher. They don't call that the "Dismal Science" for nothing. I loved Economics and is it any wonder? It fit my personality perfectly. How many jolly and optimistic economists do you know? Especially today.

And with the dire economic future that now awaits us, I close this post. We are hearing talk of stimulus packages, sub-prime mortgage crises, the plumeting value of the dollar. Everyone is looking to the Fed..to poor Ben Bernanke...like he can fix the mess. He wants to pump more money and more credit into the mix. That's like giving a child who has a stomach ache from too much ice-cream a bit of chocolate cake to cure his ill. No, Mr. Ben cannot stem the tide of adjustment that Mr. Market needs to make. "More Money...more credit," they shout...Ah, the sound of the other shoe.

Choosing THE Private School for Your Child

This is an article that I wrote for Bink's newspaper, North Texas Kids. It appeared in the November 2007 edition.

Having spent more than thirty years in private school education, both as a teacher and administrator, I know all too well the dilemma that parents face when they begin the process of selecting THE school for their child. I had one parent call me from the hospital delivery room to inquire about the process for placing his newborn on our school's waiting list! Now, that is an extreme case, but it is illustrative of the pressures parents are under.

On the other hand, I could never understand why some parents would not flinch at the prospect of spending $40,000 to $50,000 annually at an Ivy League university but go through excruciating agony while contemplating a $5,000 tuition investment in their local parochial school. It would seem to be self-evident that the child's early formation is the most critical.

Since my whole career was at the primary and secondary level, I know there is great wisdom in Robert Fulghum's premise that everything he ever needed to know, he learned in kindergarten. And so before a parent wonders if little Johnny can make it at MIT, he needs to evaluate little Johnny's possible prospects at the local Montesorri.

Selecting the correct school for your child is not an easy matter, but can be most successful if two things are evaluated and developed beforehand:
1. What are the values of the parent?
2. What are the abilities of the student?
Now these seem to be too obvious to be profound, but the honest answers to these two questions will go a long way in assuring a good choice for the student. As to values, do I want a religious or secular environment? Is community status or the schooling of the parent coloring the choice? What about the financial component and possible budgetary sacrifices? For what period of time can I commit? PreK through 12th grade? Perhaps just early formation?

Measuring and assessing the ability and capacity of the child is the toughest of all and demands the most candid appraisal. Psychological evaluation is helpful and most every private school does some preliminary evaluation to measure the social and intellectual potential of a candidate. But frequently a parent does not want to hear the truth. As my daughter once told me, 'de-nile ain't only a river in Egypt.' To be completely fair to the child, the best scholastic environment is at the confluence of the two rivers of Parent Values and Student Abilities.

In the Dallas metropolitan area there are private schools to meet the needs of most every child. Parents need to perform 'due diligence' in their search for the ones that meet the criteria they have developed. This involves site visits, review of curricula, interviews with faculty who would be teaching the student, or perhaps even contact with existing parents.

While not an infallible guide, I always could tell a great deal about a school by walking across the campus and strolling the halls. (With approval, of course) Each one has its own uniqueness, ambience and ethos. Such variety is among the 'charms' of private schools compared to the oft-times unfortunate uniformity of government institutions. I realize that a school is much more than bricks and mortar but one can learn a great deal by paying close attention to the use, management and condition of its physical plant and grounds.

However, after selecting what one has hoped to be THE best choice, the ongoing evaluation should not cease. Nothing is more unfortunate for the child than to have an unsuccessful school experience, and yet be forced to remain due to parental pressure. Even the best professional football team has to 'drop-back and punt.' Keep searching until the right fit is found. Your child will be happier and so will you.

But in the final analysis, it must be realized that the school is meant only to reinforce the healthy social, intellectual and ethical formation that begins in the home. The Latin root for the word 'education' means to bring forth what is within. The school only polishes the marble that has been carefully chiseled by the parent artisans. It is unreasonable to expect otherwise. Parents are and must always remain the first teachers...the best teachers.

By-line: Gordon is a retired school administrator. After choosing THE right school for each of his eight children, he is quite the 'expert.' He often writes about these and other experiences in his blog, www.dad2eight.blogspot.com