Monthly Archives: July 2009

Woodworking

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Doc Arnett

Knowing that Dad has been lingering on death’s threshold for over a week, we’ve put in long hours each day, hoping to have the casket finished by the time it was needed.
Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Death & Dying, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged carpentry, casket, craft, Dad, death, dying, father, honor, remembering, tribute, woodworking | Comments Off

Breakfast on the Porch

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Doc Arnett

I sit for a few minutes longer,
indulging in this lavish beginning
of the day the Lord has made. Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged day, flowers, lingering, nature, Poetry, reflection, time | Comments Off

Patterns

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Doc Arnett

Either we teach our children and ourselves that love is unconditional or we teach them that it is earned and subject to change without notice. Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged forgiveness, grace, kindness, mercy, philosophy, retaliation, treatment, vengeance | Comments Off

“Hey, little fellow,” I greeted it, with no thought as to whether or not any neighbors might be witnessing a middle-aged professor attempting to have a conversation with an mentally impaired bird. No response. So, I reached down gently and nudged it slightly with the back of my finger. Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged birds, comfort, danger, nature, sparrow | Comments Off

The Noise of Wings

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Doc Arnett

Fervent in preaching, devout in belief and constant in showing care to neighbors and church members, Dad has walked all but his last few steps upon this earth. He will leave the legacy of many good men: his virtues well known and his faults mostly private. Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged aging, comfort, death, dying, faith, legacy, letting go, parents, preaching, rest | Comments Off

Faux Painting

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Doc Arnett

Somewhere between wallpaper and the Ralph Lauren faux paint center at Home Depot, Randa and I decided to have a go at some non-traditional painting techniques and figured that our small bathroom would be just the place to practice. Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Remodeling/Construction, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged mistakes, practice, remodeling, responsibility | Comments Off

A Fine Memory

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Doc Arnett

It would be good, I think, to make some positive, fine association with the memory of a young person. To have some good thing so firmly entrenched in their mind that the decades of life could not undo it. To be stirred in memory from time to time with such fine associations. Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged Ernest McElwain, influence, memory, singing, songs, young people | Comments Off

Turning Point

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Doc Arnett

His mind comes and goes. One moment he will be talking in complete awareness, fully comprehending and making sense and in the next he’s going to milk the cows he hasn’t been around in over forty years or drive the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged aging, independence, pride | Comments Off

A Good Example

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Doc Arnett

The neighbor rides just about every day. Some days, he only does forty miles or so. Others, he’ll go for sixty. So, he’s in pretty good shape. His body fat proportion is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of point-oh-eight or something like that. Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Contemplation | Comments Off

Still Back on the Road Again-Part II