A New Agenda

The dust in the Oval Office hadn’t even settled yet and already there is a stir being created from the man now holding the highest office in the land.  Pres. Obama has issued his agenda on the White House website…one of which is the expansion of the Hate Crimes Law.  Some will recall that there was some opposition to this law because of the impact it could have on the religious community.  Well, it appears that opposition has been voted out of office.    The following link is a memo from the Liberty Council outlining the dangers of such legislation and why America doesn’t need such legislation. (http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/hatecrimes.pdf).  Be forewarned, it is a lengthy document.  It was written by lawyers, so I guess being wordy is kind of a prerequisite.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not for denying a person their basic human rights.  However, the fear I have is one that is discussed in great detail in the Liberty Council memo.  That fear is this law that is intended for good could very likely be used to quiet the preachers or cause them to water down their message regarding what the biblical definition of a family is and why homosexuality is wrong.  As it is written, if a person listening to a sermon about the wrongs of the homosexual lifestyle goes out and commits a crime against a person based upon their sexual orientation, the pastor could be charged with the crime as well if it can be proven that the action of one who committed the crime was a foreseeable result of the message.  If it can be proven that while the message was misunderstood the consequence was foreseeable (i.e. “We must stand strong as Christians against the homosexual agenda no matter the cost” could be easily tied to a crime committed by a confused and hateful person if he/she were present in a service to hear such a statement), the pastor could face a number of years in prison for promoting hate crimes.

Now, to end on a bit of a lighter note.  Included in Pres. Obama’s agenda is the expansion of the equal opportunity laws within the employment arena for gays, lesbians, bi-sexual, and CROSS DRESSING individuals.  My question (although not a serious one, I’ll admit) is how will any company establish a dress code if this passes?  What about the military?  Will guys be wearing the skirts of the females?  Boy, won’t that be a fierce military?!!?  “Stop or we’ll scratch your eyes out.”  Just something to consider.

Genghis Grill

Following the lead of my mentor, Mr.  Jeff Wheeler, I have decided to write about a place we recently ate that I think many of you may enjoy.  As indicated by the title, the name of the place is Genghis Grill.  You can find one of them on 1st Ave where Sienna Park used to be and the other is off Edgewood in the same plaza as Gander Mtn. 

The layout can be confusing at first, but rest assured it is a fairly simple process once you’ve gone through it once.  When you are seated, a metal bowl is placed on your table.  Rest assured that is NOT the bowl you will eat from.  You take that bowl to Khan’s Kitchen (a buffet type setup w/ uncooked meat and vegetables) and fill it with whatever meats you want first.  A few of the meats to choose from are chicken, beef, steak, ham, shrimp, and pepperoni to name a few.  You can have any or all of them.  Next, you add the seasoning.  I chose a Cajun spice for my steak and chicken.  Looking back, I wished I had also added some cayenne seasoning.  Next, you move to the vegetable area.  I added the mongo mix (a mixture of red & green peppers along with onions), potatoes, and broccoli.  There are so many more vegetables to choose from.  I’m just letting you know what I chose.  Finally, you must add the sauce.  I added the dragon sauce.  The dragon sauce could best be described as sweet & sour sauce w/ a kick.  Lastly, you tell the man at the grill whether you want noodles or rice.  If you want rice, you have your choice of brown, white, or fried rice.  Lastly, you wait for YOUR creation to be completed.  My entire family loved the food, the quiet atmosphere (until we arrived with Carsyn and Olivia), and the reasonable price.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this to everyone.  Even the vegetarians among us can eat there and still maintain a clear conscience.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Today, I had the opportunity to sit down by myself for lunch.  It was fairly nice.  First, I got to actually eat lunch.  Second, I was left alone.  Now, those who know me know that I’m not antisocial by any means.  However, there are times when I like to just sit and think.  Admittedly, I do not do this enough.

During the quiet moments when I’m reflecting on my life, my family always surfaces to the forefront.  Almost without exception, I begin a self assessment of sorts right off the bat.  My biggest questions are how am I doing as a father and how am I doing as a husband.  I suppose the one I think of most often between those two is how am I doing as a father.  The reason for that is because Carsyn and Olivia are still very young and extremely impressionable.  My actions today shape who they will become tomorrow. 

Children are so enjoyable.  As a parent, you see snapshots of your own life when you watch your children.  Some of what you see makes you smile, and some of what you see makes you cringe w/ embarassment.  As I contemplated my effect on my children, I wondered one big question.  If Carsyn and Olivia could articulate (based upon their observation of me) how a father is supposed to behave, what would they say?  As far as any kid is concerned, their own father is the standard to which all other fathers are measured against.  So, what would my kids say?  The questions I’m most curious about are: “How is a dad supposed to react when you do something bad?” “How often are dad’s supposed to show you he loves you (using my actions as the standard)?” “How important is giving supposed to be in your life (if they are trying to be like me)?” and “How much of a role does God play in making decisions in our family?”  These are questions I feel would define me not only as a father but as a person.  How horrible would I feel if the answer to the first question was “You are supposed to yell at that person” or the second was “when you do something good?”

What got me thinking about this today was my remembering the problems we were having with Carsyn last night as she did not want to listen to mommy or daddy.  I remembered how frustrated I got with her and then began thinking how much more frustrated God must get with me as I routinely do exactly the same thing.  That thought then prodded me to think about my reaction to Carsyn’s misbehavior.  Did I handle it the right way?  What did Carsyn see in and through me as a result of my behavior?  God is a God of love and mercy.  At the end of the discipline process, does Carsyn see me as a loving dad or does she see a disciplinarian who is unyielding in his standards?  I remember that the very first illustration of God my children should see is how I deal with them.  They should see a tiny view of how God deals with his children in the way I deal with them.  Do they?  I hope so.  I pray so.

Breaking the code (part I)

Some people make a living out of decoding encrypted messages.  Many of these people serve our government in the Department of Homeland Security.  Unfortunately, for many men this is where the ability to decode messages ends. 

In the world of a guy, communication is fairly black and white.  This is not true for a woman.  Take the following as examples:

When I sit and talk with a friend, I might ask him how a mutual friend is doing.  For me, a simple response of “fine” is acceptable.  To me, this means he is doing the same as the last time I saw him.  We might dive into the topic further for about 30 seconds or so, but that’s it.  However, when a woman asks you how someone is doing the same response of “fine” won’t work.  In fact, prepare for a tongue lashing.  When a woman asks how someone is doing, what they are asking is did anything exciting happen to them recently, if so how did they respond, if not then why not, how is their spouse, how are their kids, why haven’t we seen them lately, how is their work going, when will we see them again, and what did they have to eat last night (just to name a few things).  So, for the unmarried guys (or newly married ones) remember this, if/when your wife/girlfriend (you can only have one…I’m not suggesting you have both) asks you how someone is, spill your guts.  If you know their credit score, tell her that too.  Tell her anything other than “fine.”  Trust me, that is the path of least resistance.

Probably the most significant thing to understand is this:  “Nothing” never means nothing.  Let me elaborate.  Say you violate the previously mentioned “never say fine” rule.  Your significant other sits quietly.  You ask her what’s wrong and she says “nothing.”  DON’T BELIEVE HER!!!!  While she might have verbally said nothing is wrong, what she has really said is, “Boy you just screwed up and you had better start sucking up to me in a hurry or I’ll make your life miserable.”  The absolute worst thing you can do at this point as a guy is continue on with what you were doing because she said nothing is wrong.  You are now entering troubled waters and must proceed with caution. 

A third encrypted code is the line “5 minutes.”  This has a double meaning depending on the context it is used in.  For example, when you ask when she will be ready, her response is “5 minutes.”  15 minutes later you are leaving.  Accepting that 5 minutes is another way of saying “leave me alone, I’ll be ready when I’m ready” will go far in preventing arguments in your relationship.  Now, when you are watching a game and you tell her you’ll be up in 5 minutes, you do not get the same pass.  Don’t believe me?  Try it and see.  I dare say it will only take one time for you to understand.  Under no circumstance are you to bring up this double standard.  If you do, you might as well return to the paragraph above for how to continue forward.

When your wife/girlfriend comments on how good her friend/sister/some random woman looked, this is not an invitation for you to start commenting on how good that person looked.  This is true even if she asks you what you thought.  What she is doing is fishing for a compliment (even if it is on a subconscious level).  The safest approach is to agree w/ her but immediately follow it up w/ a compliment to her that sets her above the woman being discussed.  For example, “Yes, dear, she did look good, BUT I didn’t notice her all that much because I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”  See what happened there?  You acknowledged a stated fact, but made sure you placed your wife/girlfriend above “that other girl.”  Some might tell you to disagree w/ your significant other and make some disparaging remark (like “I think she’s gained weight”), but that gets dangerous.  If that is a close friend of hers you might do more harm than good.  The sure fire way is the way I recommended.  Even if she knows you are lying, she will appreciate the compliment and the attempt at making her feel good.

Seeing as how I’ve already passed the 700 word count, I’ll cut this list off for now.  As indicated, this is merely part one of an ongoing series.  Hope this was entertaining (oh, and Kelly, I always mean it when I say you look better than any woman in the room).

Belated Movie Review

The other week, the family and I went over to the Wheeler’s house for pizza and a movie.  The movie of choice was The Pink Panther.  Now, I must admit I was more than a little sceptical about this movie.  I expected it to be dumb…and not in a good way.  I expected it to be dull and the jokes to fall flat.  However, what I found was nothing shy of cinematic mastery.  Take the following scene:   How can a person sit back and not at least quietly chuckle to themselves?  I don’t care who you are, passing gas is always good for a laugh.  It’s like it’s somehow ingrained in our DNA to laugh at such events.

The whole movie wasn’t just about passing gas.  There was also a wonderful display of team work.  Just watch and see:   Just classic.

In short, I’d highly recommend this movie to anyone and look forward to the release of the next one.  If you are dead set against this movie because you are loyal to the old school version, you are only robbing yourself of pure enjoyment.  It’s an A+  If nothing else, this movie will give you 2 new phrases to arbitrarily say at any point in time (“I’d like to buy a hamburger” said w/ a quasi French accent and “Lovely weather we are having today”…you have to have seen the movie to catch that one).  Lastly, the camouflage scene is classic.  Probably the hardest I’ve laughed in a long time.  I tried to find a clip to attach, but no luck.  Again, if you haven’t seen this movie go watch it.  It’s a MUST SEE.