Archives for February 2020

What Dreams May Come When We Shed This Mortal Coil? – Shakespeare

February 1, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

What Dreams May Come When We Shed This Mortal Coil? – Shakespeare

My friend’s answer to Shakespeare’s question, “What dreams may come when we shed this mortal coil?” follows:

First, we must decide if there is a God.

The majority of people understand that everything comes from something before it. That progeny process leads back to a “Prime Cause”: Something Eternal, with No Beginning Nor End. Further inspection of our universe reveals that it contains irreducible complexity, that require multiple, identifiable, repetitive Laws, that speak of an Eternal, Intelligent Designer.

In addition, the microscopic DNA molecule of hundreds of chains of atoms, each in precise, specific order, all different from each other, resulting in 7 Billion People, all distinct from each other, is evidence of the incredible, unfathomable Power & Wisdom of an Eternal Designer – God.

NOT Random Chance: “God doesn’t roll dice.” – Einstein.

So, then, we must decide if that God cares about His Creation. Or, Is He a “Deus Machina” God, who creates something and walks away?

The Bible states that, “God created men & women in His image & likeness.” The Bible also states that, “God so loved the world that He sent his only Son (to become human and die for the sins of everyone) so that all who believe in Him, shall not perish, but have life every lasting.”

The answer to God’s relationship with His creation depends on whether a person believes that the historical person Jesus Christ was the Son of God?

During his life, Christ performed many miracles, curing hundreds of people, from a variety of illnesses, in a variety of locations. More importantly, Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, after 3 days. Most Important, Christ rose from the dead 3 days after being crucified. The risen Christ was seen by over 500 people, over 40 days.

Christians believe that Christ’s Death & Resurrection was God’s intimate involvement in the relationship between God and His Creation. It was God’s re-grafting of the “Broken Branches” into the “Living Vine”. And after their body’s death, Christians experience, “No more death, nor pain, nor tears.” “For God creates all things new.” It would be an eternity of Peace & Joy in the presence of the companionship of God.

The Above YouTube Music Video Captures the Essence of Our Souls’ Yearning to be Together for Eternity.

However, additional intervening parameters determine our choices:

We have free will. Satan exists. Adam Sinned. And the perfect relationship with God was broken. Adam chose self-reliance & self-gratification over God’s Providence & Guidance. Satan sows seed of discontent between our needs and the expectations of our wants. Our wants are “Plus-One” whatever we have, never fulfilled, always in excess of our daily bread. Satan whispers that only self-reliance can satisfy our wants. Satan’s lies are illusions – Hollowgrams of Happiness – and not the solutions they promise to be.

So, we ignore the Toxins of Sin, because we enjoy its Perfume – Like 99% of Rat Poison is attractive to the rat.

Solomon, who tasted all of life’s pleasures & treasures concluded, “Vanity. All is vanity.” Job lost everything when thieves murdered his sons, burned his barns, and stole whatever they could carry. Job was sitting on a dunghill on the outskirts of town, with dogs licking the open sores on his body, while his wife & friends were mocking him, when Job said, “My Redeemer lives, and God knows me.”

Lives built upon the welcoming embrace of the forgiveness, of the outstretched arms, of Christ’s Redemptive Cross and loving others as Christ loves them, believe in an eternal life with the Companionship of God.

Thus, there are the only 2 choices. There is no middle ground.

Either: A life of self-indulgent gratuitous pleasures now, based on self-reliance, with no life after death. “A life that struts and frets its hour upon the stage to be heard no more.” “A life full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” – Shakespeare
OR: A life based upon loving God and others, now, and then experiencing an eternity of Peace & Joy with the companionship of God.“To sleep.Perchance, to dream.” -Shakespeare.

My friend wishes me “Auf Wiedersehen” – “When we meet again.” He believes that our souls are like a ship that disappears over the horizon, only to see the Forgiveness, of the welcoming embrace of the Redeemer, along with friends & relatives of previous passing, on the other shore.

Above YouTube Music Video expresses the Blog Post Message of the Eternal Companionship.

That sums up “Pascal’s Gamble”: Either choose a life of abundant self-gratuitous pleasures while you live, because their is Nothing after death. Or, spend your life on earth honoring God and loving others, because there is an eternity of Peace & Joy if you do.

BTW: Homer wrote in the “Odessey”, “The Difficulty is not to Die for a Friend. The Difficulty is to find a Friend Worth Dying For”. (Like in the last line of “The Tale of Two Cities” – when one man switched with his friend bound to Die, saying, “It’s a far, far, better thing that I do, than I’ve ever done before”.)

Christ turned Homer’s & Dicken’s Insight Upside Down: Christ died for the Forgiveness of EVERYONE, “As Is”. No Sin, No Matter How Vile or Frequent, Can Exceed the Forgiveness, of the Welcoming Embrace, of the Out-Stretched Arms, of the Redemptive Cross.

(“Forgiveness is like the fragrance that the violet sheds on the boot that crushed it”. – Twain)

Absolute Certainty is Only Known After Our Last Breath.

God’s Providence Triumphs over Disaster

February 1, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

God’s Providence Triumphs over Disaster

My friend & I were having having a cup of Hazelnut coffee at Panera when he told me about his catastrophic financial loss. Unscrupulous business associates swindled him out of everything he owned, forcing him into bankruptcy and foreclosure of his home. He even lost his so-called friends. Only his wife & children stood by him.

For a few years, my friend lived in his daughter’s home, sleeping in an upstairs’ bedroom and watching TV from a couch in the basement. When his wife got a job as a grade school teacher and he got a job as a Licensed Family Counselor, they were able to move into their own spacious condo. The Condo Development had a pool & a clubhouse with a “Workout Room”.

While their combined current income provided sufficient food, clothing, and shelter, they had little for emergencies or retirement. (My friend lost all their assets during the fraudulent swindle scheme.) He also lost his $900,000 of life insurance because he couldn’t pay the premiums.

One day, my friend got a phone call from his youngest son who had a job at the Life Insurance Company that issued the life insurance policies. His son asked if he still had his actual policies. My friend told him that they were worthless. They expired years ago because of non payment. The son insisted that he look for them. He found them in a box, in the basement, and sent them to his son.

A month later, my friend got a phone call from a lady who said she worked in the “Disability Waiver of Premium” Department. All of the policies that he sent had that disability waiver. She asked him if he had all his medical records involving his permanent leg disability. He found those medical records in a box in the garage, and mailed them to her.

Then she called a month later, asking for his Federal Tax Returns for the 3 years prior to his disability and the 3 years after. Those were easier to find, and he mailed them within a few days.

The Above YouTube Music Video Expresses the Joy of Things Unseen & Unplanned

About a month after all of the requested documentation was sent to the “Disability Waiver of Premium” Department, the lady called and said that she had good news:

The Insurance Company re-instated $800,000 of his Life Insurance policies because his permanent disability occurred BEFORE he stopped paying his premiums.
The “Waiver” required that all those policies should be converted to “Whole Life” policies that have “Cash Surrender Value”, and back-dated 6 years, to the year of reinstatement.
Those conversions resulted in the “creation” of over $100,000 of immediate “Cash Surrender Value”, which would increase every year. (The CSV is now worth over $275,000.)

My friend was mute. He didn’t know what to say or ask. Finally, he asked if she could send him a letter confirming all the things that she told him. She replied that the letter was already in the mail. He got the letter a few days later. It confirmed exactly what she said, only with more details.

My friend’s financial life was restored.:

He could receive the annual increase in Policy “Dividends” (about $4,000 a month), as income to live on
He could receive accumulated “Cash Surrender” funds ($275,000) to be used for emergencies, vacations, a new home, etc.
All of that was in addition to their Joint Pension & Social Security Income of $6,500 a month.

All of this happened without any planning on his part. It was the “Miracle” of God’s Providence. – It was the benefit of the companionship of God.

My friend discovered that God’s Providence trumped all of his self-reliant efforts in the past. Like Solomon discovered that all of his Wealth, Power, and Pleasure was “Vanity. All is vanity” Like Job discovered, in pain & loss, that, “God knows me.” And “My Redeemer lives.”

A relationship with God is NOT “The opium of the masses.” – like Marx said. A relationship with God is like the “Good Shepherd” who lies down in verdant pastures with me, and I shall not want.” God is waiting to be asked to share the Peace & Joy of His companionship.

God s the “Friend” that the singers are singing about. The lyrics describe the “Companionship of God”.

The “Pot-of Gold” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is actually God’s Providence overflowing with God’s Grace, if we only Believe…and Ask.

“I Found One Love”

February 1, 2020 by admin 1 Comment

“I Found One Love”

It all began on New Year’s Eve 1970. My friend’s best friend, John, was dating Mary Jude. Mary Jude’s best friend & college roommate was Jane. John & Mary Jude arranged a blind, dinner-date for their friends, Paul & Jane, on New Year’s Eve.

When my friend, Paul, saw Jane sitting at the table, clearly, she was the most beautiful woman in the room. My friend can’t recall anything about that dinner date, except that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jane.

Jane was reluctant to ever see Paul again. She was dating a guy who happened to be out of town.And there were plenty of other Stud Muffins willing to take that guy’s place. Paul’s relentless pursuit wore Jane down.

Eventually, Jane’s reluctance became tolerance, then affection until she was dating Paul exclusively. Perhaps, Paul’s driving Jane to Chicago in his Mercedes Benz 280 SL, 2 seat convertible to see a play at the Schubert Theatre, with dinner & dancing at the Palmer House’s Mezzanine Ballroom, to a 9-piece band. And then returning to Paul’s 6th floor, professionally furnished apartment, with a Baby Grand Piano in the corner, overlooking Lake Michigan, may have enhanced their relationship.

Jane’ affection was increasing without limit, until Aug. 1971, when she moved to Ponte Vedra, FL (Jane’s favorite place on earth). Jane and Mary Jude accepted an offer to teach school in Jacksonville, FL. The separation of 1,200 miles was No Deterrent to my friend. He flew down to see Jane once a month, on weekends.

Paul needed Jane’s love. He hungered for her touch. Paul prayed, “For God to speed her love to me.” “I need your love. Are you still mine?'” Jane replied, “Oh, My Love. My Darling. I’ll be coming home. Wait for me.”

He would follow-up his visits with daily phone calls and weekly letters, which included Shakespearean sonnets. He had to separate himself from the herd of hard-body, beach boys, swirling around Jane. My friend reminded Jane “To Save the Last Dance” for him.

During those monthly visits and weekly phone calls & letters, Jane “Saved the Last Dance” for my friend.

When his apartment lease expired, my friend bought a 2-story, 3-bedroom, brick home, with a natural fireplace, plaster walls, and a finished downstairs “Rec Room”, without consulting Jane. He sent Jane pictures & room descriptions. Jane’s Uncle Bob & Aunt Joan, along with Mary Jude, told Jane that this guy is serious, or crazy.

Jane returned home in December for Christmas. My friend offered to take Jane from the airport to her parent’s home, an hour out of town.When he saw Jane exit the airplane ramp, Paul had a major out of-body experience.He was oblivious to everything. He heard sounds, not words.

A “Pretty Woman” will do that to a man:

When they were walking in the concourse to the baggage area, my friend felt a ring-box in his pocket. (He got it after work that day). My friend had planned a wonderful engagement proposal for the Sunday before Christmas, at the Les Cargot restaurant, where they first met. Jane loved their Sunday Brunch, Eggs Benedict. The morning sunlight would be glistening atop the Lake Michigan waves. You could gaze beyond the horizon and dream, dreams.

When brunch was nearly over, my friend would stand up to his then, 6’ 3 “- 205 lbs. frame, and kneel down on one knee next to Jane’s chair. When presenting her with an exquisite, dazzling ring, he would say, “Jane, would you give me the best Christmas gift now, and for the rest of my life, by marrying me?” If Jane said, “Yes”, they would kiss, to a roomful of brunch patron’s applause.

(Paul would softly sing that song into Jane’s ear when they danced.)

That romantic scene evaporated at the airport. Instead, he shoved his hand with the ring-box in front of Jane, and said, “Here”. The next thing he knew, is that they were sitting in Jane’s parent’s living room, with Jane showing them the sparkling ring on her finger, saying, “We’re engaged”.

Paul could not help falling in Love with Jane – wanting to give her his Whole Life, too.

On May 6^th 1972, they vowed, “To love each other for the rest of their lives.”

The Above Music Video Expresses this Blog Post’s Message about: Paul & Jane’s Love

Post Script

Unknown to Jane, my friend made 3 additional, silent vows on their wedding day:

He vowed to find a place where she’d be safe, where nothing & no one could harm her.
He vowed to make her life breathe easier, because she chose him.
He prayed for God to hold her in the palm of God’s hand.

But Time changes everything. During the inevitable: “For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health”, one thing remained the same: Jane Loved Paul. Jane’s heart & soul were even more spectacular than her physical beauty.

So, my friend’s toast at their 45^th Wedding Anniversary was: “In this lonely world, I found One Love. I have always loved you, Jane. And always will. Happy Anniversary.” (Kiss)

Paul & Jane just celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary…and counting.

Punching a Corporate Bully in the Nose

February 1, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Punching a Corporate Bully in the Nose

*Above YouTube Video Enhances the Blog Post Message Below

My friend, his wife, and 12-year old son had Just enjoyed a two-week vacation in London and Scotland.

In London, they stayed at his wife’s cousin’s home, which allowed them ample opportunity to experience all the usual tourist attractions and then some: Parliament & Big Ben, Westminster Abby, the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, along with country visits to Winsor Palace, Hampton Court, and Winston Churchills’ home, Chartwell. In between were lunches at Pubs, shopping at Harrods and exquisite stores, and ending the day with dinners at amazing restaurants. It was awesome.

In Scotland, they stayed at the luxurious Turnbury Hotel. From there, my friend played 2 British Open golf courses, Turnbury & Troon. His wife & son went horseback riding on the beach, along with visiting quaint shoppes, and touring historic churches & castles. Dinners were enjoyed in the Hotel’s magnificent dining room, overlooking the sea.

My friend made the necessary confirmations with British Airways for their return flight home as required: 24 hours in advance of departure. They arrived at Heathrow Airport one hour before the mandatory 2-hour pre-boarding (this was before the increased security check-in procedures). When he went to the counter to get his Boarding Pass & seat assignments, the BA Rep said that the computer gave away his reserved NON-Smoking seats, and that he & his family would HAVE to sit in the Smoking Area for the 8-hour flight.

My friend told the BA Rep that his option was unacceptable and that his explanation was a lie and demeaning. My friend had complied with ALL of BA pre-flight requirements. He said,

“The computer DID NOT give away our seats. An incompetent BA Employee gave away our seats. Now, some BA Rep, obtuse to customer service and the health & well-being of my family, summarily dismisses our contractual rights, and must take it or leave it. NO!

My family will not suffer BA’s Bad Faith, unreasonable resolution, bordering on depraved indifference, as a result of BA’s gross negligence and contempt for their contractual obligation. I am seeking neither undue enrichment, nor punitive remedy. I simply expect Equity – The restoration of our 3 Non-Smoking seats. (My friend cobbled together every Legal Tort Term he could muster.)

That scenario was repeated several times, with escalating voice and demand, for clarity & emphasis.

The BA Rep responded that he didn’t have the authority to do that. My friend replied that he would simply wait at the counter until the BA Rep found someone in authority who could remedy the situation. My friend wouldn’t budge, until BA moved to restore his family’s 3 Non-Smoking seats. The Rep relented.

The Rep relayed the situation to someone on the phone, and instructed my friend to meet a BA Supervisor at the Departure Gate. When my friend, wife, and son arrived at the gate, my friend repeated the statements he made at the check-in counter, to the BA Supervisor, in the same assertive tone. The BA Supervisor told my friend to sit on a bench behind the flight check-in kiosk.

His wife & son drifted away, down the Concourse. They felt that they were being kicked off the flight.

After all the other passengers were processed and boarded the plane, my friend also thought that they were kicked off the flight. The BA Supervisor approached him, and told him to get his wife & son, ASAP. He signaled and shouted for them to come back to the Departure Gate. Without an explanation, the BA supervisor handed them their Boarding Passes & seat assignments.

When my friend handed their Barding Passes to the Stewardess at the plane’s door, she escorted his family past 1st Class, to the Business Class Non-Smoking Section, with ultra-wide reclining seats. For 8 hours, they were pampered with warm, moist towels for their faces, soft blankets for their naps, and delectable food & drink served on china plates, with silver utensils and crystal goblets. It was their most luxurious experience on a vacation of luxurious experiences.

Perhaps, sometimes you just need to punch a bully in the nose.