Possessions You Need Not Give Up

September SEAHA note from the editor

The preacher’s sermon last Sunday discussed our attempts to find happiness in material things. Humans cannot fulfill their needs with possessions, he explained. I don’t see myself fixated on possessions, but after some introspection, maybe I am. At work we’re getting new furniture to replace the WWII era desks in my office. Those were the haze gray, metal types, with genuine asbestos-reinforced Formica tops. Time for an upgrade, but with the furniture comes a remodeling. I’ll have to move a few feet away from my rare window, the first I’ve had in a 25-year string of jobs in classified environments. For the past year natural lighting and a view of the weather have become a daily joy and something I need more than a fancy new desk with a decal of wood stuck to it. But in the name of ergonomic progress that’s what I’m getting.
I’m a career technologist, but avocational luddite. The nostalgic in me needs old-fashioned pursuits. Historic hobbies help me connect with the past. Why else would someone who has developed training for the Stealth Fighter ride mules? I love watching animals as they try to understand our directions, or try to avoid them as the case may be. I’m sure a lot of you agree it’s the relationship with the animal we enjoy, not that equines are a gas-saving and efficient mode of transportation. Another throwback is acoustic music. Enjoying music and now learning to make it with my family is high on my hierarchy of needs. Sarah says she’s going to hide my mandolin and Nathan’s guitar because we pick them up any time there is work to be done. A feeble ploy, there’re more instruments where those two came from! The family collection includes two guitars, two mandolins, a banjo and a fiddle; we can find something with strings to hack on.
My friend Tony recently surprised me by saying his most prized possession was his double-sided ax that he bought as a young man in Wyoming. It’s not the tool, but the memories of its usefulness that he remembers. So that’s another one, memories. My memories are of family and childhood explorations on the now far side of the Appalachian range. Then I recall remote Pacific ports and friends who left by fair winds and following seas. And finally there are the memories that are built daily with my family and current circle of friends. A window view, nostalgia, companionship with friends and creatures, and pleasant memories are not possessions. I don’t think we need to give up these intangible things that He provided.

But it's a Peaceful Religion

Britain has finally turned the corner and is deporting inflammatory Islamic leaders. This morning I heard on NPR some are calling for an Islamic reformation, revising the belief to not be so vengeful and intolerant. That movement, of course, would have to come from within, not the British government. If American pundits are right; that “most Muslims don’t believe in terror”, that could occur. Personally I doubt it. What have these soon to be evicted “preachers” been doing? Indoctrinating their massed believers. They're not just chatting among themselves. What does their sacred text say? When will America wake up? Read this very interesting story on a recently released video, where terrorists in training "...kneel in prayer under the open skies, then duck into a makeshift classroom where an instructor outlines the coming "Operation to Defeat the Crucifix."