Lemonade from Lemons

For the first time in many years, I went through the application and interview process for a new job. I have a pretty good job, but the demands are increasingly difficult for a 'baby boomer" to handle. In addition to at least 40 hours a week in the office, I spend 30-40 hours a week travelling throughout the state to give presentations.

The position I applied for was located right in my hometown. It seemed to be a good match for my experience and skills. Fortunately, I was one of a handful of people that was invited for an interview. I handled the difficult interview process very well and thought that I had a good chance of being one of the two finalists called for a second and final interview.

Three days after my interview, the phone rang. Caller ID indicated that it was the individual in charge of the recruitment process for the position. I was very please that they the person was calling - I had kept the date for the second interview open. Tons of disappointment came crushing down on me when the individual stated that I was not selected to continue in the interview process. While I was stunned, I politely thanked him and the other people involved in the process for giving me the consideration they did and wished them the best in their recruitment efforts.

I felt sick for about a day. I did not think I had the job wrapped up, but I thought I would be one of the two finalists. Some friends knew that I was applying for the position and offered some support. After a day, I felt much better and had the belief that the people in the interview felt that, while my skills and experience may have been strong, I was not the best match for the position. A couple of days later, a couple of people with knowledge of the entity shared some insights with me that confirmed, from my perspective, that I would not have been the right match for the position.

So, all turns out well. Perhaps a guardian angel, with much more comprensive vision than I have, is keeping an eye on me.

The Place Between a Rock and a Hard Place

A couple of weeks ago, I read about a legislator that was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Fortunately, his injuries are healing well. Ironically, his accident happened while he was riding his motorcycle back from a rally against mandatory motorcycle helmet laws. Of course, he was not wearing a helmet when he was struck by another vehicle. After the accident, the legislator vowed to maintain his strong opposition to mandatory helmet laws. All I can say is this: Some people have more to protect than others.

Ironic situations such as this sometimes get me thinking in very imaginative ways. Given the irony of the legislator's accident while coming from an anti-helmet rally, I tried to imagine situations that might be more ironic. Here is one I came up with - and it is a bit disturbing. Imagine that there is a huge pro-life event of some type. Some kook wants to get some publicity and storms the event and kills several of the participants. He then shoots himself. Will anyone connected to the victims of such a tragic event wish that this kook was aborted? This situation demonstrates how easy it is for events that are beyond our control to transpire that place us on very ethically slippery slopes.

Just Say No

Media outlets in the U.S. have had virtually no coverage of a major incident that took place in late summer. U.S. Secretary of State made a request to the Vatican to meet personally with Pope Benedict XVI. She claimed to have an urgent need to speak with him prior to her meeting with officials regarding the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The Vatican replied to her request with a resounding NO. Secretary Rice did have the chance to speak with Cardinal Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State.

Several European media outlets have given extensive coverage of the Vatican's refusal to arrange a meeting between Secretary Rice and Pope Benedict. Most of the coverage portrays the refusal as a flat out snub. The reports insinuate that the Vatican remains furious with the U.S. for ignoring pleas to not invade Iraq and to reassess it's strong support for Israel in the Middle East conflicts.

Make no mistake - this is a big deal. Given the reach of the Roman Catholic Church throughout most of the world, the Vatican may very well be the most influential entity in the world when it comes to diplomacy. Strong speculation was that Pope Benedict spent about 30 minutes chiding President Bush for U.S. policies in Iraq and the Middle East when the two met at the Vatican earlier in the summer.

No means no!

It's Just Lunch

Every so often, a talk-show host like Larry King will ask a guest, "Who is the one person in history that you would really like to talk with over lunch?" Some of the guests, usually ones that wear their Christianity on their sleeve, reply that they would like to meet with Jesus.

I would argue that such a response indicates that the person is a Christian in name only and not in the way they live their life. Those who claim to be fundamentalist Christians will say that Jesus should be the focus of their lives. Those who don't must repent and develop a personal relationship with our Savior or risk eternal damnation. Well, if these people have a personal relationship with Jesus, why would they need to meet with Him over lunch?

"Nature Boy" - A Model Christian

One of my very few vices in the past was a love for professional wrestling. I don't follow it too much anymore since I don't find it very entertaining.

I liked wrestling for what it is - a soap opera in a ring. While the current storylines last about 5 minutes, sorylines in the past were developed and played out over months. I have seen hundreds of live matches and thousands more on television. I have seen thousands of wrestlers. The best wrestler in my mind is Ric Flair.

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair attended my alma mater, the University of Minnesota. Yes, he was a member of the wrestling team. He was noticed by Verne Gagne, one of the most famous amateur and professional wrestlers of all-time and owner of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association, a professional wrestling company.

Very early in his professional wrestling career, Ric Flair was critically injured in the crash of a small plane. Several other people in the plane died in the crash. Perhaps that incident helped Ric put some important things in perspective.

Ric Flair worked very hard to get back to professional wrestling. He was a pretty good athlete. However, he was an excellent entertainer that knew how to connect with fans. He could be an effective fan favorite or fan enemy. He knew how to "play" the fans. Eventually, the leaders of the wrestling promotions knew that they would make the most money by having Ric Flair as their champion.

So, where does Christianity fit in? Professional wrestling is a very selfish enterprise full of politics. Wrestlers will take steroids and other drugs, marry the boss' daughter, sleep with whomever, etc. in an effort to maintain their top position in the company. Ric Flair was different. At one point near the peak of his career, the company he wrestled for at the time wanted Ric to wrestle on the same day his son was in a championship amateur wrestling match. Ric chose to attend his son's match. As a result, Ric was stripped of his championship and effectively banished from the wrestling company.

Also, no other wrestler has given so many boosts to young wrestlers. Ric Flair is a master of ring tactics and fan psychology. Whenever a wrestling company had a young wrestler with a ton of potential that they wanted to push to the next level, they put that young wrester in a big match with the champion Ric Flair. Where other wrestling "superstars" would make sure that the young wrestler was forced to pay his dues, Ric Flair would go out of his way to make a nervous young wrestler look like a world beater in the ring. Ric Flair had a near magical way of making an unathletic and undynamic young man look like a true superstar in the wrestlign ring. Many of these young stars have gone on to huge careers thanks to Ric Flair's unselfishness.

Ric Flair is no longer the wrestler he once was - he is about 60 years old. He doesn't have the golden mane of hair or the fairly athletic body that he had in his peak during the 80s and early 90s. Still, he is the person that has had the biggest impact on professional wrestling in the past 30 years because of his willingness to share the spotlight with young stars with huge potential.

Why I Am a Vatican Geek

I was crestfallen when I recently learned that Archbishop Piero Marini is moving on to a new position.

Who is Archbishop Marini? You would probably recognize him. He served as master of ceremonies and Papal liturgist for Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. If you saw the Pope at Mass, you saw Archbishop Marini. He is the priest that was always at the Pope's right hand at every official liturgical function.

As a church musician with an interest in liturgical functions and protocals, I was almost as excited to see Archbishop Marini as I was to see Pope Benedict XVI when I was in Rome this past summer.

Well, Archbishop Marini is now President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses - whatever that office is. The Pope named a successor to Archbishop Marini - some young whippersnapper of a priest. I suppose I'll give him a chance, but he has some bigh shoes to fill.

Am I a total Vatican geek or what?

A Golden Oldie

I always marvel at the many conspiracy theories that surround the murder of President Kennedy. I have seen many shows and read many books that promote various plots to kill the President: the Mafia did it, the CIA did it, etc. Some of the theories seem to have a fairly sound basis and claim that there were numerous shooters (e.g. "the grassy knoll" theory).

However, I remain a believer that there was a single killer and that killer was Lee Harvey Oswald. My belief is based on the fact that, after over 40 years, not one person involved in any of the theories has come forward. Whenever a crime is committed and the criminal is at large, it is usually only a manner of time until the criminal and/or someone with knowledge of the criminal and the crime talks about the crime. The may think they are talking in confidence. However, the person they talk to will talk to others. Eventually, someone in law enforcement gets word and a suspect is identified.

Let's apply this situation to the Catholic Church. It has been around for about 2000 years. It has been the subject of persecution by civil authorities. It has been a persecutor (the Crusades). It has survived the Reformation (albeit not unchanged). After 2000 years, the Catholic Church, for good or for bad, remains on of the strongest institutions and influences in the world.

Something that has survived that long cannot be completely wrong.

Viral Infections

Well, it finally happened. A computer virus appeared on my home PC. Fortunately, it didn't do much damage. However, it was incredibly irritating! Every 5 seconds or so, a screen would pop up stating that there was a particular program that had to close. In order to continue working, that pop-up screen had to be closed. You can imagine how difficult it was to type a sentence. After consulting with family members with some knowledge of computers, I figured out that the virus' home was in the anti-virus software that is provided free of charge from my internet service provider! Once I removed that software, the problems went away. I did have to install another anti-virus software program.

I am no expert in infectious disease. Still, it seems odd that as soon as the virus left my computer, I came down with a fever, cough and congestion! Could it be that a computer virus can be transmitted to a human?

Now that my computer is functioning properly, I will get back to posting a new blog on a daily basis.