Paint the trees a vibrant red, Or yellow, orange or brown, The signs of summer fade away, And fall sings all around.
All posts by Peter
The Tucker
Down a dark trail through deep frozen spruce, The lights peering outward bright halos produce, As we crawl over snow that squeaks under our tread, Pushing farther from home into darkness ahead, Breathing smoke as warm vapors freeze and turn white, Tiny crystals suspended in the breath of the night, Collecting on eyebrows and all sorts of hair, The heater flat failing to warm the harsh air, Our mission's a clearing far out in the wood, Some broken equipment that must be made good, So onward we press 'till the work is complete, And fend off the frostbite that threatens… Read the rest
Kids come pre-configured
About 12 years ago, Kara (one of our friends) had just had a second child and was struggling with the adjustments required to bring a new kid into their home. Their oldest son was a handful to say the least. He was more than normally bright, and exceptionally energetic… a combination that often leads to trouble, and this kid was trouble in so many ways. Kara had been having a hard enough time dealing with this fireball of destructive curiosity and energy, and adding another baby with the additional burdens of postpartum depression and general life difficulties only complicated matters.… Read the rest
Story Time: The in-laws and the magic workbench effect
I honestly have no idea who originally taught me this, but one of the more useful lessons I tried to put into practice while dating was to get in good with my date’s parents. I suspect it was a bit of wisdom from my parents coupled with suggestions from other influential people and a dose of common sense. In any event, I made it a point to do things in such a way that my date’s parents wouldn’t worry about me or my intentions. I tried to make sure to have my dates home early or at least on-time, I … Read the rest
Story Time: The haunted bedroom
The house I grew up in was a little unusual… It was built by the neighborhood developer for his daughter, and was the carpenter’s version of the mechanic’s car. It was the smallest house on the largest lot in the neighborhood, and seemed like it was built using leftovers from the other homes. My parents told stories about the piles of crap they had to haul off when they bought it, and strange behavior of the lady who lived there before them — including letting a Shetland pony wander in and out of the sliding glass door that opened from … Read the rest
A proposal to put myself out of work (part II)
Earlier I wrote a bit about what I would do to cut the Department of Defense down to something more limited in scope and expense. Granted… some of the proposals weren’t strictly Department of Defense, but that’s not particularly important. In that post, I mentioned I might get around to explaining some of my rationale for my recommended changes, and at the moment I have some time, so I’ll start and see how far I get.
1. There are no substantial external threats to the United States
My first, and most important, recommendation was to recognize that there are … Read the rest
Grouchy bear and Clifford Heber
As I sat in church today, two men wove their way through my thoughts in a way they haven’t for years. It happened during a discussion about talents, and using them to further the Lord’s work. It crossed my mind that one talent that has greatly influenced my life was the talent to tolerate young boys.
When I was quite young, I was part of a pack of boys at church. We were what you might label “challenging” to the extent that the church leaders had trouble finding anyone who could put up with us for more than a few … Read the rest
A proposal to put myself out of work
I believe it’s the nature of any bureaucracy or bureaucrat to take whatever territory, responsibility, or power they have and expand it through any means possible. Walking around Washington, DC, there is ample evidence of that trend. If you visit the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall and make your way to one of the corridors you can see a display of two panoramic pictures taken from the top of the castle tower. One of these pictures was taken roughly in 2005, and shows the area as it is now with the exception of a few new buildings. The other … Read the rest
Small Miracles
I am often reminded that the Lord is conscious of, and cares about, even the small things in our lives. Today, I was given another of those reminders.
Before I left to come to DC, I felt impressed to tell Liz that she would be working with the youth of our church. Given the fact that she would be managing the household alone, coupled with other long-standing challenges, this sounded and felt like a rather unusual piece of counsel. She has never worked extensively with the youth, and telling her she would be involved with them while I was gone … Read the rest
Story Time: Butterfield Canyon and Stansbury Island
It’s amazing to me how much confidence can be contained in a young, inexperienced male. I was once afflicted by this malady (okay… maybe I still am). In general, that confidence has enabled me to take on large projects I was probably unqualified for and manage to grow and learn enough in the process to succeed while building new skills and converting what was once unwarranted confidence into surety justified by knowledge. Occasionally, however, that confidence has a way of getting the practitioner of it into trouble.
As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by machinery and vehicles. … Read the rest