Five o'clock came early this morning, but something occurred that I hope that I won't soon forget.
I was awaken by a dream of my grandfather, who passed away nearly six years ago.
He was full in the face, which would have been back at a time after he had retired from the railroad and weighed more than I ever remember, and there were two things that I distinctly remembered him saying.
Two things that were so juxtaposed on the surface, but they made sense.
He asked emphatically how Waverly was doing, as if he hadn't seen or heard from her in awhile. Ok, that didn't make sense, because I think he generally knew at most times how she was doing.
However, in the latter stages of his life, he didn't say it often, but he expressed a desire to die.
It was similar to one time when I was home visiting that he looked at me in the eye from the other end of the table and clearly mouthed to me those words. He was in radio and taught me about enunciating my words to speak clearly and lower my voice so there was never any chance then that I misunderstood him, but in the dream it was audible.
I was thankful for the memory. I miss both of my grandparents and I'm glad that neither of them were burdened with what we're experiencing in these times currently.
Quiet day for the most part. Work and in between I walked four miles in the neighborhood, while breaking up the day a little bit, and I got listed all of the covers of all of the old Sport Magazines that I still possess. Still being an operative word.
There are some 25 years' worth of magazines. If you have a favorite athlete that you collect memorabilia of and may wish to have the copy of the magazine that I do, please let me know and we can talk. I don't know that I'm looking to sell them, but I may be in the process of looking to move some of them.
They can be found here:
Oh, on the first mile of the four, I walked by a car parked on the street. The inspection/registration sticker read "03 17". That's right, the car hasn't been inspected in three years!
At about noon today, I listened in on a webinar that the multinational company that I work for had regarding the COVID-19 crisis. It was good. At times, I've heard lots of negative things about my company, but what I heard I thought was wise and truthful.
An hour of so later, I also joined in on another good webinar.
This one was from the CDC and it was for clinicians entitled, "Underlying Medical Conditions and People at Higher Risk for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)".
Nothing really new that was earth-shattering, but just to reiterate that age and underlying medical conditions should cause clinicians more concern for their patients.
One of the individuals that read my blog post yesterday decided to take it to heart and actually reached out and called me on the phone today.
We attended the same church for many years, shared an apartment for almost a year (I don't think we managed dishes too well or maybe that was just me then) and was a best man in my wedding in 1991. It was good to hear from him and when we're allowed to unsocial distance again we plan to grab some Mexican food. I'm sure there will be a few that'll be glad to have us.
So what have I been reading?
Here's three articles online regarding the virus situation -- one positive and two are of some concern, but written by organizations that wouldn't ever be accused of doing the administration's work for them.
In Texas, a midnight run across the Mexican border gets masks for doctors
They Didn’t Have Coronavirus Symptoms Until After They Gave Birth. Then They Tested Positive.
Mystery In Wuhan: Recovered Coronavirus Patients Test Negative ... Then Positive
One sports-related article regarding the postponement of the Olympics and how running influenced it.
How Running Led the Charge to Postpone the Olympics
You know things are bad when the athletes and USATF are on the same page
I found the following to be encouraging:
The first is written by The Woodlands' Bret Strong, one of the most notable lawyers in Montgomery County and The Woodlands, who is a man of faith with a beautiful family and a strong business, The Strong Firm. He wrote something worth reading I thought (even if he might have taken issue with my use of "unprecedented"). :-)
What Does “Community” Look Like During Social Distancing?
The next is from one of the private and parochial schools we support and promote:
Need A Life Raft (in the Coronavirus Ocean)? Be encouraged here (from our friends at Trinity School of Midland) and grab a book.
And, of course, always uplifting is the great Dolly Parton.
Check out her minute long video on Facebook here.
I may lose a reader or two on the following item, although I think most that follow me on social media think similarly.
I would consider, after the passing of Billy Graham recently, that Dr. Charles Stanley is probably now one of the country's most loved and respected ministers.
I found the entire podcast, if you will, entitled "Coronavirus: An Interview with Dr. Stanley" to be especially uplifting.
He thought that the crisis at hand is for us to see that "We recognize we need God."
The interviewer said that, "One of the children in our church sent a very thoughtful question - for a child - and I want to share it with you, "Could this virus be God's way of making us turn from our sin and follow his command."
"Absolutely yes," Stanley responded.
She quickly asked, "How?"
He said, "Because first of all we have a need that we don't have an answer for. We have to look for God. We have needs that we just can't purchase the answer for. We have needs that we're not sure what exaclty it is going to take. People are dying. People are getting sick. The whole atmosphere has totally changed. And what's the answer at this point? Nobody has the answer but God. He's getting our attention."
She recognized that one of Stanley's strength is his prayer life and she asked him how he is currently praying. He responded with the following four items:
+ For God to "show us what you're saying to us." That's the most important thing. Not just get everybody healed.
+ For God to "be merciful to us. Be merciful to us for people who don't know you."
+ For God to "use this to bring many people - multitudes of people - to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior."
+ So "your people will be faithful in these days as a demonstration to the unbeliever that God is faithful to his word. He keeps us in his promises."
I also read a sad article in the January | February 2020 edition of the Texas Observer called "The Prison Inside Prison", which talked about Texas' use of solitary confinement, which currently has 18 inmates, according to the article, in "restrictive housing" for 30 or more years. Amazing.
And after dinner, I went to Springwoods Village to walk another 3.66 miles. 7.66 for the day and 3.66 miles running and 14.07 miles walking the last three.
Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up.
Have a great weekend!
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