the tindog coffeehouse

My grandfather, Cleo Richards, was inducted into the United States Army on October 16, 1942, and would become a radio operator in the 96th Signal Corp, part of the 96th Infantry Division. He was one of over 100,000 U.S. troops to fight in the battle of Leyte Island in the Philippines during World War II, and it was there that he nearly lost his life.

In his memoirs, he wrote:

On October 20, 1944, we invaded Leyte Island, which was part of the Philippine Islands. The Navy and Air Force bombarded the shore of the island for three days prior to landing. The purpose was to drive the Japs inland so we could land with a minimum of casualties. After three days, troops began to land. Our company was among the first to leave the troop ship and head for land.  … When we reached shore, the front end of the landing boat was loaded, and we were ready to hit the beach. It was a gruesome sight and a weird feeling. Dead Japs were scattered around as a result of the shelling of the area prior to our landing. My job was to go inland 200-300 yards and find a spot that would be adequate to set up our command post. I was to set up my sending and receiving set and send a message to headquarters, which was still aboard ship, notifying them that we had landed. …

I was on duty all that day, all night and until about noon the next day. When I was finally relieved, I went to a nearby tree, sat down, leaned against the tree trunk and tried to pull myself together and relax. That didn’t last long because all of a sudden a very large shell landed right in the middle of our command post. It was so powerful it blew a hole in the ground large enough to drive a semi-truck in. The explosion sent chunks of shrapnel every direction. When I heard the explosion, I immediately headed for a foxhole and dove in head first. After the situation settled down a bit, I raised my head to look things over and noticed blood on the ground where my head had been lying. Then I noticed my face was bleeding. I didn’t realize I had been hit. I was sent to the first-aid station for treatment, but they were not equipped to remove the object from my face. It entered my face about two inches below my eye. All they could do was put a patch on it. By that time, the whole side of my face was badly swollen, and my eye was almost swollen shut. Since there was nothing else they could do for me, they put me back aboard ship.

My grandfather was lucky enough to survive his injury, but over 3,500 U.S. troops who fought to recapture Leyte Island were not.

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It’s official: Washington has no idea what it’s doing.

This is a video of Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) questioning Treasury Secretary (and tax cheat) Timothy Geithner over the $700,000,000,000 bailout rescue plan (aka TARP).

Now, there’s a couple of parts to this video.

First, Sen. DeMint asks Geithner about the repayment of the bailout money. If a bank pays the government back $50 billion, he wonders, would that money go back into the general fund to be used elsewhere, or would it be re-loaned to other banks? Geithner says both.

Huh?

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The past few weeks have been pretty stressful for me. I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say, I really needed to read this article that I came across in Relevant Magazine last week:

True freedom is being liberated from our misplaced dependencies for life, love, worth, significance, peace and fulfillment. I’ve discovered my most significant needs in life correspond with a deeper need that only God Himself can satisfy. … Most people want to feel their lives matter and set out to make their mark in the world. But if you look to the world to tell you who you are, you’re in for one wild and painful ride. Do well, and you’re a hero; screw up, and you’re a zero.

Paul’s word content seems a little weak, but it actually describes a very powerful freedom. What if we were content (satisfied and fulfilled) with God’s perfect love and were free to give love, rather than constantly maneuvering to get it? Or what if we were content with our identity in God and were free to serve the world, rather than trying to prove we have a right to exist in it. Geez, all this time I’ve been seeking life, love, worth out there somewhere only to find that the source of all of these was inside me all the time through the risen Christ. No person, endeavor, thrill, formula or achievement is capable of delivering what we all crave deep within. There’s always something that could go better, but the peace and joy God provides go with you … even if life throws you overboard. That’s freedom!

I love eating dinner at the table with my kids. You never know what they’re going to talk about. Last night while we were eating, Megan said out of the blue, “Don’t you think life is better now?”

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. Better than when?

“Better than when Grampa was a kid.”

I have no idea what prompted her question, but for an 8-year-old, Megan can be a pretty deep thinker sometimes. So why is life better now than when Grampa was a kid?

“Because back then, they didn’t have the stuff we do. Girls had to straighten their hair with an iron.”

Again, I’m not sure why she would be thinking about straightening hair with an iron and then somehow bring her grandfather’s name up, but it was still an interesting observation. Her point was that the things we have today that make life more convenient make it better.

Is that true?

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Today is the National Day of Prayer, an annual event dating back to 1952, and this year’s observance will be much different than those of the past 8 years. That’s because Barack Obama is now in the White House.

Prior to George W. Bush, most presidents honored the day with proclamations or other low-key events. But President Bush went further during his administration, inviting Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House for a more formal observance. President Obama, however, is not continuing his predecessor’s tradition, instead opting for a proclamation and nothing more.

Does that matter?

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