The Innkeeper Gets a Bad Rap

Years ago, I heard a Paul Harvey story of this theme. I found this narrative in several newsgroups online and copied it to my blog.  It appears Robert Schuller first gave this point of view.

If you are the original source for this narrative,  please understand that I don't profit from its sharing.

The Bethlehem innkeeper has been getting a bum rap.
          
Christmas seasons, and sometimes in between, pulpits are aflame with righteous wrath over the story of Jesus being born in a manger.
          
The very idea that men had waited through 20 centuries of darkness for the long-sought light to enter the world through the window of a stable.
          
Prophets of the Old Testament had told them where to expect the baby and approximately when---yet the innkeeper did not even reserve a room.
 
Hold the phone!  The innkeeper has been getting a bum rap.
          
If Robert Schuller was not the first to remind us, he was certainly the most eloquent, when once upon a Christmas time he re-recited the Bethlehem story and protested that the innkeeper had become the victim of cheap shots by preachers, teachers and pageant writers.
          
The Bible does not accuse the innkeeper.  Joseph did not complain to the innkeeper.  Mary did not complain.
          
Actually, the stable was a cave in a hillside where cattle lived.  It had many advantages over a room at the inn.
          
The Inn of Bethlehem was no Marriott Hotel.  It was a place where the masses collected ---ruffians, thieves, heavy drinkers and rowdy men.

In the inn, there would have been no soft straw bed.  Mary would have had to lie on a hard floor.
          
The inn was jam-packed at tax-paying time.  The groans and natural screams of a teen-age mother delivering her first child would have been overheard in other rooms.
          
In the stable was privacy, where none would overhear her labor.  No leering eyes would peer upon a woman giving birth.  The stable was safe, secure and warmer than the inn.  The inn was without heat.

No furnaces.  No more than one lobby fireplace.
          
But the wide nostrils of cattle, exhaling steam, breathing in the cold air and breathing out the warm air warmed the stable.

What might Joseph have done to protect his tax money against the thieves and ruffians in the inn?
          
In the safety of the stable, there was no fear of a knife at one’s throat in the night.
          
So God and the innkeeper cooperated to provide a perfect place for Jesus to be born --- a safe, quiet, soft, warm, perfect place.

And besides, the much maligned innkeeper of Bethlehem had given the best that he had ---and that is all that is asked for of any of us.

Enjoying the Journey: Why Teaching Is So Doggone Hard

I discovered this entry by a fellow colleague. I don't know this lady, but as a teacher, I consider her and any teacher a fellow colleague.
Please enjoy her own words.
Merle

Enjoying the Journey: Why Teaching Is So Doggone Hard: It’s almost here, fellow teachers.  Like it or not, we will wake up Monday morning much earlier than our summer sleep schedules are acc...

Night

I'm subbing in an English class and the lead teacher is teaching the novel, Night by Elie Weisel.
This must never happen again.

UCM Baseball 3/7/13

Sports.UCMO.edu
#5 Mules Baseball (10-1, 7-0 MIAA) beats Truman St 17-2 in game 1 of MIAA DH. Grieshaber had a HR and 5 RBI, Cross a HR and 3 RBI.

Alice L. Bowers 3/14/31-2/25/83

In all the excitement of the snow, I had forgot that 30 years ago Monday, my mother passed away.
It seems so long ago, but so recent.
I do enjoy the stories you all share about her and would invite those anytime. She would have loved FaceBook and would have been getting herself in trouble often with her opinions.
I remember her letters to the editor, especially one that stood up for her fellow teachers after an editor of a local paper had criticized them in an editorial. I remember her sitting down at her typwriter and writing it in a heated manner. Without the benefit of spell check, she made a couple of errors. The editor of the local printed her letter with all of it's errors noted and made some comment about a teacher not being able to write.
You never got the jump on Mom. The next week she paid for an ad in that paper in the Help Wanted section, something to the effect of: Proofreader needed for local letter writer, must be able to correct grammar and spelling errors of a 2nd grade teacher. Game, set, match Alice Bowers!
The week before she passed we set a standing appointment to play scrabble on the next snow day. We were never able to meet for that game and I remember that to this day.

Alice L. Bowers

Jim Rohn Quote, Do You Recognize?

"If we do this thing right, we will make our fortunes and take a lot of good people with us!"

I heard him do a whole speech on this quote. It was my favorite tape of his and I no longer have a copy. Does anyone out there have a tape or CD of this talk? If not, do you recognize it or know where to find it?

BTW, that is Rohn, not Rome.

Thanks,
Merle

Largest Prime Number Discovered by University of Central Missouri Professor

Congratulations Dr. Curtis Cooper!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/largest-known-prime-number-math_n_2623640.html

Contingency Planning by Nixon

While touring the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Museum this weekend with the Scouts, I was reminded of seeing this story.

William Safire wrote a speech for Richard Nixon to be used in the event that Armstrong and Aldrin were unable to lift off from the moon.

Here is a link to that speech and the backstory.
Merle

The Moon Landing: An Undelivered Nixon Speech

Customer Service on the way to Mission Texas

Many who know me have heard my stories I like to tell about customer service, both good and bad. When I get "out of this world" service either way, I share those examples. It may be the way a customer is treated by a worker, it may be the way an employee is treated by an employer. I do enjoy shining a light on the simple examples of human kindness that are seen in our businesses and institutions.

Our family was traveling to Mission Texas for Christmas, a trip we have taken semi-annually since 2000. It is a two-day drive, normally involving a one night stop over in Dallas or thereabouts. This year, we were unable to leave until 2ish on Friday 12/21/12. Fortunately the Mayan Calendar was in accurate and were still around to make this trip.

Four hours into the journey while entering the town of Pryor OK, I heard a sound from the left rear that you normally don't hear from the left rear of a car. Thinking it was a tire, I pulled into what appeared to be a tire store/garage. (those who know me are also aware that I am not a "car guy." I know where to put the gas and I know where to check the oil and replace that vital fluid, beyond that, I must consult the owner's manual.)

After safely parking at the garage, I got out, expecting to see a flat tire. I was relieved to see it wasn't flat because that would have meant unloading the back end to get the jack and spare. To play it safe, I looked underneath. Even with my limited car knowledge, I knew the shock absorber was supposed to be attached to that little "peg thingy" and not hanging free. This upset me with only 4 hours of our journey complete.

I told my wife and she kept a smile on and entertained the boys while I went in Hooks Convenience Store. I asked the lady behind the counter if there was a garage open in town, knowing there may be one that would be open for another 20 minutes. She started giving me numbers to call. Meanwhile a customer called a friend who was able to help a little. He said he was only a tow truck driver, but his garage could fix it in the morning. I really didn't want to stay overnight, but this was looking like our only recourse.

When I got back out to the parking lot, a customer of Hooks, asked if there was a problem. I told him the shock had come off of the peg thingy, he got under the car and in less than a minute, said in essence, it was back on the "peg thingy." He directed me to an auto parts store down the road that was open until 10. They were not able to help, but said that Wayne at Tractor Supply would be able to help.

Seeing Wayne, I explained my dilemma. Wayne took about an hour of his time, trying different bolts until he found one that would fit and keep the shock on the "peg thingy." He also recommended I wrap duct tape around the bolt and "peg thingy" just to be sure it didn't slip out. For his hour+ of help, Wayne charged me 22 cents for parts and 9 bucks for a roll of duct tape. On the way back, we dropped off a bag of Texas oranges to him for his trouble. Thank you very much Wayne.

My knowledge of cars is perhaps only overshadowed by my knowledge of video games. With all of the shopping that my wife did for Christmas, my job was to get a specific game for each of the boys to play on the Wii. I didn't know that WiiU was a different system. On Christmas morning I discovered this fact and had two disappointed boys. When I took receipt and games back to Best Buy in McAllen, TX the day after Christmas, I was greeted with a line that extended to out of Mission TX. By this point, I was in no mood to wait in that line. I just knew I would get to the end and be told that software that was open could not be exchanged. I talked to a young man at the front of the store and explained my predicament. He said, "we have been charged to take care of any issue since it is Christmas." He exchanged one game for the correct format and let me have a refund for the other, since it was not available in the correct format. He thanked me for shopping Best Buy and was happy to help.

If you find yourself traveling south of Dallas and you pass the town of West,  Texas, you must stop at the Czech Stop. In addition to some great deli sandwiches and other items you normally find at a highway gas station, their specialty is baked goods, particularly kolaches. Customers wait in a line that weaves around the store. The topic of conversation in the line is whether this is normal or not. Many have been here before and they assure me that this is normal. When ordering, imagine if you would that you could order from Baskin Robbins and be able to keep what you purchase frozen for several days. You would buy a scoop of this, a scoop of that. At the Czech Bakery, you need to first get a box, not a bag. Get a pumpkin cheese, berry cheese, apricot cheese, pecan roll, cinnamon roll just to start. They keep a couple of days. They may keep for more, but I've never gotten them to last. They put your name on the box, hand it down to the cashier and in a matter of minutes you are back in your car and on the way.

Just a warning, though, about the exit to West Texas. If you are arriving from Dallas and traveling south, expect to exit early, they are doing construction. We missed our stop on the way down because we missed the exit. We didn't make that mistake on the way back. We took an outer road from Austin, just to be sure.

I look  forward to hearing your stories of customer service. I like to keep them positive. I try to operate from the premise that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

Have a Happy New Year, and I look forward to sharing more with you folks.

Merle

The weekly baking supplies for Czech Stop

What do you get?

What do you get when you cross an “underground bituminous coal mine maintenance manager,” a retired school teacher, a “hazardous waste consultant,” and a couple of former cruise ship performers? Wait, do you give up? You get a rock jam session at the Bentsen Grove Retirement Resort of Mission Texas.

Last Wednesday night while visiting my wife’s folks at their retirement resort in Mission Texas, my family and I were treated to a jam session of several talented musicians from around the US. Grandma had told the kids that they would be playing rock music, but I’m sure the boys had the impression they were in for an evening of Lawrence Welk, although they had never heard Welk, you get the point. They were reluctant to say the least. I reminded them that Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney would be old enough to live in this resort and that helped a little.

Shortly after arriving at the jam session, the performers entertained with “Saw Her Standing There,” by the Beatles. This was followed by “Wipe Out,” “Kansas City,” “China Grove,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and many other favorites. Being from the Kansas City area, we especially enjoyed "Kansas City." 

The two hours went quickly and my family enjoyed the music.

Afterward, I was able to learn that the leader of this group is Larry Christiansen, the hazardous waste consultant from Eagan Minnesota. Larry has played guitar since he was 15 and has performed in other groups. He got together with Brad Piovesen, the “underground bituminous coal mine maintenance manager” and Lee Kusserow, the bass player yet to arrive. This gathering leads them to answer an ad from another musician, also seeking a group to perform.

Along the way the group picks up Jim Demers, a piano player; Rich and Jill Rohrback; and Larry and Melissa Beahm, the cruise performers.

It appeared with each song, Jill would play a different instrument and afterward, it was learned she could play 35. She had been a math teacher and volleyball coach in a previous life and seemed to enjoy music and performing. Her husband Rich played the guitar and provided the vocals on several of the favorites.

The cruise performers, Melissa and Larry Beahm had stopped in to join the session for the evening, but already keep a busy schedule of performances as “One More Time.” I was hoping to hear Larry sing a little Johnny Cash, but perhaps that will get me back to hear them next year.

A group may form out this jam session, as of Wednesday night, they didn’t have a name yet. I hope they do and look forward to hearing more. Even if they don’t, for 2 hours last Wednesday night, these musicians shared their talent and entertained a crowd of folks from ages 11 to, let’s say over 50.

Bravo!

Smuggling Big Gulps!

A political cartoon drawn by my nephew Spencer Bowers, @doodleboy93. 

Warrior Coach

Warrior Coach, Dwight Richins, Head Coach of Shelley (ID) Russets

From my other blog, West Mo Sports

Snow Day

My neighbor boy Brandon Gregory clears my drive.

I woke up on a Thursday morning and it was sunnier than it had been before on previous school days. Walking into the living room, I noticed her watching television and drinking her morning coffee. No, it was not my wife, but my mother, the late Alice Bowers, and I was a second grade student at Miller Park Elementary on January 26, 1967.

Before I could inquire of the circumstances, my mother explained, "No school because of the snow." I didn't understand this; they had never done this before in my years of attending R-7 schools.

"The buses can't get out and they called off school. Go back to bed or fix a bowl of cereal and enjoy your day off." As many in my neighborhood did, I bundled up and was sliding down our dead-end street that sloped down from our house. What a day!

Fifteen years and as my memory serves me, not that many snow days later ("If Dr. Campbell can see out of his second floor window, R-7 is going to have school!" I often heard my mother say.) I woke up in that same bedroom, noticeably colder than normal, to a phone call. This time I was not a student, but a teacher. It was my principal from Grain Valley calling to say there was no school that day. Seeing no snow on the ground, I asked him why it was called off and he explained due to the severe cold. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, like many times in my childhood, I enjoyed the unexpected day off.

Through the years, I would always hear reasons that school was called off for snow or severe cold. I can remember times I would receive the call just as I was leaving the house. I remember going to bed anticipating a snow day only to wake up to nothing on the ground and having to go to school. It wasn't until I was retired and forced to spend my snow day with several restless kids that I wanted to get the facts. I am fortunate that I don't have to find child care at the last minute, but I am sympathetic with friends who do.

Linda Thompson, Director of Transportation Services for the R-7 School District, explained to me, "The district is responsible for transporting 12,500 students to and from school each day, another 5000 either walk or have their parents bring them."

"These students are transported 12,000 miles daily over the streets of not only Lee's Summit, but Greenwood, Lake Winnebago, Lake Lotawana and Kansas City, including many rural one-lane county roads."

Thompson explained that she gets up at 3 a.m. in her Pleasant Hill home and drives to Lee's Summit to check many of the bus routes before making her report to Dr. Tom Kurucz, Deputy Superintendent for Operations. This dispels the rumor that previously Dr. Campbell and now Dr. David McGehee, looks out their window from the warmth of their bed to make the call.

I asked Thompson about the times that school is called off for severe cold or when a storm is anticipated. "In a perfect world, we like to wait until there is snow coming down before making the decision. However there are many factors that are considered when calling off in anticipation of a storm. We like to let parents know ahead of time so they can make plans, but sometimes we end up calling off and nothing happens." In the case of severe cold, "There is no temperature benchmark. Student safety is first and foremost. When you are running diesel buses, you don't want kids waiting on a cold bus or at a bus stop for a replacement bus."

Dr. McGehee stresses that, "We like to make a decision by 5:30 a.m., but Mother Nature does not always cooperate. We do consult with area schools to be sure we are not missing information they are getting, or that they are not missing information we have."

Unlike my childhood, I now have a driveway that slopes toward my house and before my kids or I get anywhere to enjoy this snow day, I need to go sweet talk the neighbor boy into clearing my driveway. I hope you are hanging in there during this lovely winter weather that we are experiencing.

Tom Landry

Tom Landry's bio on the Mission Texas website.

He Wanted to be a Music Teacher

When he was young, Al Bodenlos of Strongsville Ohio, wanted to be a music teacher or band director. Growing up in the small town south of Cleveland during the Great Depression, he was unable to find the funds to attend college to pursue his dream. Instead he enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 804^th Aviation Battalion, 7^th Air Corps stationed at Pearl Harbor in the early 1940s. Because of his love of music, he helped start a drum and bugle corps in his unit.

While stationed at Pearl Harbor, on the evening of December 6, 1941, Al attended a concert with his fellow soldiers. He relates that he stuck around after the concert to visit with the musicians. On his way back to the base the next morning, he saw smoke rising from the base. His first thought was that the Navy must be having some realistic maneuvers. When he returned to his post, he learned that the Japanese were attacking. His assignment was to deliver news and orders to the other surrounding bases. The chain of events that began on that morning, would lead him back to this place sixty-nine years later.

After the Japanese attack, Al was assigned to an engineer group that assisted in "island hopping" across the Pacific. His service found its way to Okinawa where he joined several of his fellow GIs at this and other locations in training for the eventual invasion of Japan. While on Okinawa, Al and his brother soldiers heard the news of the U. S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending the war. "That bombing, saved lives. An estimated 3 million would have perished had the U.S. invaded Japan," Bodenlos expressed.

After the war, Al returned to Ohio, but was unable to find employment. He and a friend moved to San Diego where he re-enlisted and served a tour of duty in Korea. After leaving the Army a second time, he began a career in highway construction. After retiring from construction, Al volunteered at a local veteran's hospital and at the Battleship Midway. By being within three miles of the Pearl Harbor Attack, he qualified for membership in the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "There were sailors who were over 3 miles out at sea who don't qualify for membership."

During the week of Thanksgiving, the Lee's Summit North band, orchestra and choir traveled to Hawaii to participate in many events commemorating the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. While touring the site of the attack, they met a spirited Pearl Harbor Survivor of "90 years, 4 months and 2 days" of age. Al Bodenlos related the above stories and many others to these students. Many of them came back with a greater appreciation of the sacrifice that Al and others of his generation made during World War II.

Al never was able to attain his dream of becoming a music teacher, but for one day, he taught an important lesson to several Lee's Summit North music students. Thank you Master Bugler Allen Bodenlos.

TAKING IT ONE GAME AT A TIME: YES, I LIKE VOLLEYBALL

From a friend and cohort Brian Spano:

TAKING IT ONE GAME AT A TIME: YES, I LIKE VOLLEYBALL: "I recently attended the 2010 NCAA Women’s Division I Volleyball Final Four in Kansas City. Now, I’m nowhere near an expert on the spor..."

The Theory of Butchering by Alec Danforth

It's late, I'm tired, and the words of Walden are still fresh in my mind from reading it this summer. (I came upon it, by chance, in my grandfather's bookcase after he had called me in to talk about my plans for the future; he said, in his scotch parched voice "If you can sift through some of his elitist bullshit, there are a lot of truths in that there book. Something every man should read, that and White Fang") It's been a long day of jumping through the hoops of the modern high school tests, papers, reviews, and working to satisfy the many people at work, in a society where everyone is simply seen as a consumer. I work in one of the few occupations where coming home with blood on your pants isn't cause for alarm and having a steady hand is a must. A butchers shop, it's an odd place to work and it seems that after working in one for over two years, I've learned more with a blade then I have with the pen.

There's something sacred about cutting meat to the men I work with, they've done it for their entire lives and if you ask them about the first time they ever took a cow from hoof to table, they'll tell it with such passion and fervency that it would put any writer to shame. Me, being, the youngest in the shop at eighteen, still know nothing when compared to these juggernauts of flesh, but whenever I have a question on a certain cut or proper knife sharpening etiquette, I'm met with a straightforward answer, one with little to no "BS". The response is always colloquial in nature and told in order to answer the question, not to hold the answerer up on some platform of superiority, which is, I feel, often the case in scholastic settings. To these men, knowledge is only useful if it is to be used, there is no reason in learning the Latin names of all the fauna in the area if this information is to be employed. There is no over thinking in the occupation of butchery, it's simple, a man, a knife, and a bleeding manifestation of pure nature, that's it.

For hundreds of years butchers have been highly revered in almost every culture, there was the mayor, police officer, barkeep, baker, and butcher. These occupations were and still are the basis of all systemized civilizations. As far back as 1271 meat cutters in small English town were creating guilds for this most necessary art. Nowadays one can apprentice under a butcher for three years and then once his debt is paid, he's allowed to take a final test in order to become a "Master Butcher". The task is simple, take a cow, skin, bone, and cut in to quarters. Round, chuck, flank, rump, rib, and flank all into separate lugs. Next, the offal, tongue, liver, and heart, clean and set aside. The final task is to break the primary cuts of beef into more distinguishable sections; turning sirloin into short and tenderloin, flank into London broil, and separating the rib sections for rib lion and prime rib. It's a dirty job but one of complete necessity, more and more the butcher is becoming a dinosaur. With most consumers buying their meat prepackaged, there is little need for the once respected guards of the counter to stand watch over their butchered flock when a person is just as content throwing an air sealed hunk of god knows what into their cart.

After thinking about why cutting meat is such a spiritual experience to the few people who still practice it, I began to realize that all the men surrounding me were the type of men I would want to be stranded in the woods or lost on a desert island with. They all seemed to have this sense of "I know what I'm doing. I know what I must do to survive and if met with the need to implement these skills I'll be able to utilize them." Quite frankly, these men are men; they cut meat to transcend civilization, with each slice of the blade they delve deeper into the past, looking and searching for simplicity. For a time and place where each and every man had his own personal Walden to call home, even though I think they know, somewhere inside of them, that no such time has ever or will ever exist. It's simply a romanticized view on country living, brought to life by novelists and painters. The emotions one feels from the scenes and places depicted on their pages and canvases, are impossible to feel in the physical world because the strong sense of serenity and beauty which we perceive from them, are not, in fact, derived from the actual place itself but are involuntarily and intensified dreams of romanticism brought on by the idea of these depictions. Sadly no matter how hard they try, they'll never reach Walden and maybe that's why they keep cutting, I don't know.

I believe that there's something to be said for trying to live a simpler life, whether it be in the woods or behind a meat counter. I can truly admire these men's fight and maybe, in a way, we're all fighting to move backwards, to simplify and revert back to some sort of primal being in a Jack London fashion. It's strange for me to think I've gained more personal truths from working part time in a butchers shop than I have from god, philosophy and school. It seems to be on the same level as what I learn when my Grandfather calls me into his study. Oh well, its even later now and tomorrow is another day of hoops and a full evening of being wrist deep in flesh.

 

Editors Note: I stumbled across this young high school writer and was eager to share this with my readers, or perhaps reader. I do hope you enjoyed Alec's craft. mb

From Facebook to Family: Lee’s Summit West Wins State for Lee’s Summit!

On Friday morning August 27 2010, Lee's Summit West Titan fan Joe Lauber of Lauber Municipal Law LLC, posted on his Facebook page the following:

"Friday...night...lights! Go Titans! The road to the state championship game in St. Louis starts tonight!"

Like many of the Titan's fans in Lee's Summit, Joe does not have children who attend the school. This has not stopped him from being a part of the Titan family and celebrating Friday night, November 26 as the Lee's Summit West Titans defeated nationally ranked Webster Groves 44 to 21 in the MSHSAA Class 5 finals in football. This is the second state title for Lee's Summit West head coach Royce Boehm and his first at Class 5.

Like many in Lee's Summit that night, Joe watched the game on his computer from his hometown in Ohio, while others watched on television or followed Facebook updates.

When asked what made this team different from previous teams he coached, Boehm commented, " this group is very family oriented and very close. When you see one boy from this team, you see 15. These seniors don't care if they are playing next to a sophomore, they just want to play."

The Titans suffered one loss this season and that was to Blue Springs South 41-17 on Sept. 17. After this loss and the next week when they defeated Winnetonka by a score of 30-0, Coach Boehm felt his players were not playing to their potential. He gathered the team and showed the video of Kenny Chesney's "Boys of Fall." Boehm charged his team, "Men, it is time to step up, or quit." The Titans went on to defeat Truman by a score of 42 to 0 on Oct. 1. At this point, Boehm felt this team was going far. This feeling was reinforced, "when we beat Lee's Summit the second time."

Coach Boehm attributes the success of the football program to the general atmosphere of success at Lee's Summit West High School. "This is our 14^th State Title in any sport. These boys this year were the younger kids who saw the success of the 2004-07 teams, including the 2007 State Champions." Plus he appreciates the support of the Lee's Summit community that supports all Titan athletics. "We won this for Lee's Summit, not just Lee's Summit West."

He is aware that the team has a target on their back in the coming season. After giving his players a week off, the boys who are not playing basketball or wrestling, start back on the weights and training to bring home the championship in 2011.

Congratulations Coach Boehm and the Lee's Summit West Titan community.

 

TAKING IT ONE GAME AT A TIME: HOW DID WE GET TO THIS?

TAKING IT ONE GAME AT A TIME: HOW DID WE GET TO THIS?: "Being a sports fan means having a blind and loyal affection for your teams. Whether it’s a pro franchise that represents your city or the t..."

8-Man Football

In doing some research for an article about the MSHSAA Football Championships this weekend, I came across this article from Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star about a quaterback playing 8-man football for Miami High School, Dylan Fink.
The article speaks for itself.
IYDYW