My best friend kindly rebuked me for my absence of propriety in discussing issues sensitive to race. He is correct. But, it is a hard balance. Any political commentary against the reigning Führer is deemed to be racial, as evidenced by Jimmy Carters‘ comment about Wilson’s inappropriate (though true) epithet in the joint (congress).
As Pat Buchanan said regarding Carter’s comment, “Carter’s contribution to the national debate represents a truly rare blend of malevolence, ignorance and moral arrogance.” (click here for reference)… Unfortunately, race is being used as a witch-hunt accusation against anybody who seems to be strongly opinionated in a non-liberal fashion. Similar accusations happened recently with sexual orientation. I can’t wait until we get a cross-dressing gay/lesbian for president—my comments will then be delivered in an unrestrained though personally detrimental fashion.
ObamaCare!!!!. . . I would really like to obtain a Medizinmann outfit like Obama is wearing as pictured above. Maybe I’ll be able to purchase one while in Cameroon. I think that my patients would love that. We must not act judgmentally against those who hate the AMA/Big Pharma/Medical Industrial complex. After all, there is a dominant role for the chiropractic, naturopathic, transcendental meditation, Christian Science practitioner, Voodoo, alternative medicine, Medizinmann health care provider within general medical practice. Just ask my brother Dennis!
We reflect back on the Obamaphilia the nation experienced a half year ago. Schoolchildren sang in solemn reverential worship about Obama. People displayed their ecstasy over Obama now being able to rescue their bank accounts, put food on the table, clothe them and give them comfortable shelter, regardless of their ability or desire to work for those things. He was even likened to a saint that we could pray to.
He may not have come through yet with providing those material items of sustenance, yet, like God in heaven, he watches over our very thoughts, and will hold us accountable if we rise in rebellion against him. Thus, we are no longer policed just for our actions, but also what we might perhaps, perchance, vielleicht, peut-être, possibly, could have been thinking.
In terms of commenting on the virtues and failures of ObamaCare, I believe that I have said more than enough. So, now I’ll tell you what I really think of Obama. He is a corrupt, dishonest racial bigot hell-bent on an agenda that is polar opposites of the beliefs and philosophies of the founding fathers of America. He is a traitor to the state that has doubtful constitutional credentials to serve as our president, speaks with forked-tongue, smooth and slick, yet works toward philosophic ends that when embraced by other nations has always led to their inevitable ruin. Though he shows signs of intelligence, he lacks any sort of true wisdom to adequately guide a nation, and instead will dupe the masses with his worm-wooded tongue. In spite of that, the masses voted him into office, and they deserve what they will get, so I wish Obama total success with two to four or more terms in office as president. The only regret is for those who wish to maintain honest quiet lives with a separate morality from our Obamination-in-chief, like my children and grandchildren. So, to our new national anthem, needing just a few substitutions of words….
The Mickey Mouse Club March
Enough of that! The last month was quite event-filled. Most of it was filled with bicycling and reading. I attempted to backpack the Wonderland Trail for a second time, with Jon and Russ, but was heavily rained out the first night. We drove home, dried out, and headed down to Crater Lake for two fantastic rides. The weather has remained quite desultory, with rain constantly threatening, but with weather breaks leaving us wishing that we were in the mountains.
Other events… Alex, Rachel’s fiancé, came to visit. I was able to take him around Mt. Rainier. It was nice having him here, and I am very proud to be able to call him a son-in-law. The wedding is on 02JAN10.
I learned to do Panorama shots, using a tripod and then stitching together various panned shots using photoshop. Here is a view of Rainier that I did on top of the first Burroughs Mountain Summit…
This photo can be blown up to a huge photo, since it is about 7 photographs put together, with 12 megaPx definitions, taken on a tripod, so it is a sharp image even at huge magnifications.
With Diane’s help, we also mastered the art of making Pico de Gallo. Here is the top secret recipe…
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2-3 Jalapeno peppers
1-2 Serrano peppers
1 Green pepper
8 cloves garlic
Clean them all out, wash out the seeds, and chop them VERY fine in a food processor. Add…
1-large Walla Walla sweet onion
1 large bunch of fresh Cilantro, with the stems, removed
This time, chop them moderately fine in the food processor. Then, remove all the ingredients from the food processor, and add the juice of two fresh limes, and two tbsp. of salt. Finally, take 12 Roma tomatoes, wash out the juicy innards, chop by hand modestly fine, and fold into the pepper concoction. This makes a great Pico de Gallo, that is not too spicy. Please do not give away this recipe to anybody, as it is TOP SECRET!!!!! It is the mixture of the various types of peppers with lots of lime juice that creates a pleasant taste. But, beware when cleaning the peppers, as they are highly toxic!
Liam was baptized, our fourth grandchild. That was a wonderful experience, and Pastor Scott did a nice job of officiating the event. That same day in the evening, Resurrection Presbyterian church became a real church, losing its mission status. Thus, we elected elders and had Pastor Scott appointed as the official minister. I feel very good about both the choice of elders and David Scott’s ability to serve as a pastor. Scott seems to have grown in pastoral skills by leaps and bounds since we first met several years ago, and we have deeply appreciated his ministry in Puyallup.
As you can see, we had the kids over for ice cream afterward. They also got to experience our new deck, built since the old deck was rotting out and actually becoming dangerous. We found a carpenter with a good price, and so was able to follow up on a project that I started 10 years ago. It seemed like forever to finish this deck. Here are some photos, though it is not quite finished, including getting a roof on the gazebo…
I was able to do one last bicycle ride with Russ. We rode from the top of Chinook Pass down 27+ miles, and then back. Later, we stopped at our favorite ice cream stop, Wapiti Woolies, famous, since they make the cap that every great contemporary climber from the US has worn in the Himalaya expeditions, including Ed Viesturs… They have photos from a smorgasbord of the hall of fame of American climbers on their wall, showing themselves on the Summit of Everest or Annapurna or wherever in Wapiti Woolie hats…
The last photo is Russ on the right with Bob, who owns Wapiti Woolies.
Meanwhile, we need to pack for Cameroon. We leave on the 26th of September and will be in Cameroon for two months. I must learn French. I prefer to talk German as my second language. French has too many silly grammar rules. French used to be the language of the self-acclaimed intellectual snobs in college. I took Russian instead. I tried to talk Russian with a German accent. My Russian teacher always needed to correct me. Except for the articles, German seems the closest of any foreign language to English. I’ve finished Part I of French in Action, which is the most entertaining language program I know, but I still feel most comfortable sitting down and listening to a German podcast or reading Der Spiegel online. German just kind of clicks in my brain, even though I don’t understand all of what is being said. I’ve also just finished a book written by a missionary surgeon in Nepal titled “Don’t Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees”. It was an enjoyable read and certainly seemed to reflect what I’ve seen in Bangladesh more than any other book that I’ve read so far. You can see the full review in the books section.
Unless the internet connection in Cameroon is fantastic, you will probably not see any more posts on this site until we return to the US, which is thanksgiving time. Expect to see a lengthy post at that time. Remember to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we serve in Cameroon, and e-mail us if you think of it. We fly into N’Djamena, Chad, and travel to the Maroua, Cameroon area, where we will be staying.