Mother’s Day each year always leaves me with a lump in my throat. This September will mark 17 years since my mom passed away having lost her battle with leukemia and the effects of chemotherapy. She was 57 years young, just 10 years older than I am now. As in past years at Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas I took flowers to her grave and sat down for a good cry.
Archie Bunker, Cain and Abel, and Diane Feinstein. Really.
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Apr•
21•13
From 1971 thru 1979 CBS television aired “All In The Family” which later became “Archie Bunker’s Place” which aired until 1983. It portrayed the fictional Bunker family from Astoria, New York; and it’s lead character was Archie Bunker played by Carroll O’Connor. It was a controversial show for the time, and I suppose still is, with Archie’s character being seen as a bigot by some and as a man true to his convictions by others. His daughter, Gloria, and her husband, Mike ‘Meathead’, lived with Archie and his wife, Edith. Gloria and Mike were stereotypical of the “hippie generation” and Archie was a product of “The Greatest Generation” that fought the World Wars and Korean War, so household conflict was inevitable.
Are You Ready For The Second Super Bowl Of 2013?
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Mar•
30•13
Not quite two months ago Super Bowl XLVII was played in New Orleans, Louisiana. I don’t understand why they insist on using Roman numerals, the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD, but there it is. On the field were the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49′ers, the game resulted in a win for the Baltimore Ravens. The details and the results are in the history books of the National Football League.
In the Christian world-view we celebrate the Super Bowl of the ages this weekend. It was played out approximately 2014 years ago in Jerusalem, Israel. The results have been forever sealed in the history of time immortal.
Of Discernment
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Jan•
02•13
Have you ever read or seen something and alarm bells went off in your head that something was wrong? Maybe you couldn’t quite put your finger on it, maybe you knew what it was right away; or maybe you knew what it was and needed to ponder it a bit. What you are experiencing is Discernment. Merriam-Webster defines discernment as “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure : skill in discerning”. However in the biblical sense not addressed by Merriam-Webster, it may more aptly be called Wisdom as in 1st Kings 3 where Solomon asks God to give him discernment to lead God’s people.
The Giving Of Presents, and The Giving Of Gifts
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Dec•
24•12
From the outset I will say that much ink has been spilled over the centuries, and many kilobytes of text hammered out in recent decades about what I am prepared to write; but maybe, just maybe I can share this with you in just a little bit different manner.
Every year it seems that Christmas becomes more of a holiday than a holy day. I suppose one should not be surprised as the advertising companies have ever increasing media outlets at their disposal to peddle the offerings of their merchants. (more…)
I’m Not Dead, Yet
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Dec•
18•12
I’m not dead, not yet anyway. I’ve not abandoned putting my thoughts onto digital paper. Sadly life is such that I have taken a second job and cannot play with my electronic toys or put my ponderings out for the world to admire.
Tempered Like Pizza Dough
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Nov•
10•12
I have been a fan of Dr Tony Evans for quite sometime now. Recently I have had to take a second job to make ends meet and to support the millions that are too sorry to work. But that is a different story for a different time with a different message. One of the perks of driving around town at night is that I have the opportunity to listen to Dr Tony Evans, Dr Charles Stanley and other teacher/preachers whose names escape me at the moment, without the distractions I have at my day job. I’m tired from working all the time, but it is somewhat therapeutic.
Recently Dr Evans has been teaching a series about being ‘Single And Satisfied’. It is primarily addressed to unmarried people, but like everything else from God’s word, it applies to all of God’s children.
Ray’s Crippled Crow
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Oct•
25•12
I came downstairs to make some breakfast this morning, and as I turned on the front room light I was instantly greeted by a swarm of little black eyes of a herd of Mickey Mouse wags in the aquarium, a few moments later indoor cat Pixie was yammering, and shortly afterwards, outdoor cat Ginger was mewing in her softer voice. I had the attention of everyone, and they were all waiting to be fed. The thought crossed my mind that I wish I could claim all these hungry mouths as dependents on my taxes. Seems logical to me, they depend on us for their existence.
As this was going through my mind I remembered the true story told to me by Jim, one of my coworkers and co-founder of the business I work at, about Ray’s crippled crow.
Jim previously worked at Triad Auto Specialty in Greensboro, an independent Acura/Honda shop similar to where I work. Some years ago a crippled crow showed up in their parking lot. Ray, one of the owners of Triad Auto, being a great humanitarian took compassion on the crow and began feeding it. At first he gave it some old bread he found in the break room, but soon he was bringing bread in from home and anything else he thought the crow might eat. (more…)
Happy Dance Time! One Milestone Down
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Aug•
22•12
It Could Be Heavenly
Written By: "Richard W. Craver"
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Aug•
12•12
The second weekend in August is the time the Craver and Faw families have their annual reunions. They used to be separate weekends, but the Craver family got spread between North Carolina, California and Pennsylvania in the late 1950′s and 1960′s, and into Ohio in the 1990′s. So somewhere along the line the Cravers began having their reunion on the second Saturday evening in August and the Faws on the next day at lunch. It just seemed practical, and the Cravers are practical folks. It mostly works well.
So this morning I am up at 5:00 AM cutting a pack of bacon in two and frying it on the George Foreman grill before putting it into a baked bean dish. It is an exercise in restraint as I remove the short, five inch strips of bacon to the paper towel lined plate to drain, well… to not just pop them in my mouth on the spot. (more…)