Wk 04*** Evening Embers

On a clear autumn evening just after the sun had set, two teenage boys steal past the closed gate of the Hilton Avenue entrance of the Patapsco State Park. They had planned to arrive earlier, but had failed to allow time for a one mile hike to reach the gate. The original plan was simple: drive to the park and watch the sun set. But, at the gate they remembered that the park closes at dusk, and they were afraid the car might get locked inside. A simple solution would be to park along the road outside the gate; however, the last mile or so of roadway was marked with signs: No Parking. They decide to hide the car in a small community about a mile away and to run back to the park. They arrive a second time, the railroad-crossing style gate now horizontal across the entrance. The park ranger must still be inside, as the boys had not passed him on the road. In a whisper, one of the boys reads a sign he always knew to be there: No Trespassing After Dark.

Darkness was not far off. And neither was the ranger. In the distance the ranger’s utility truck is spied cruising along the left half of the park access road. The road makes a large circle around four pavilions and some wooded picnic areas. Marked trails begin at several locations outside the circle. The boys quickly, and quietly, take off up the right side of the circle, avoiding the ranger and disappearing down the trail to Lookout Point. Reaching the lookout a few minutes later, they are out of breath and struggling to muffle a fit of hysterical laughter. The sun has already gone from view and by the time they catch their breath, only glowing embers can be seen in the west. They should head back home now, before the dark of night covers the forest trails.

The lookout deck protrudes from a break in the trees on the east wall of the Patapsco River Valley about a mile south of Ellicott City. It is about 800 to 1000 feet above the river. A full moon lights the treetops in the valley from behind the east rise. Amazed by the brightness of the night, the boys decide to venture down the hillside into the valley. 50 to 100 buried railroad ties form an irregular stairway down the near vertical drop. A ridge, or plateau, three quarters of the way down has been carved into the side of the mountain and holds a single lane of railroad track. Below the track, the path on the hillside is completely washed out, and the boys slide on the seat of their pants to reach the foot path below. The river is another 50 to 100 yards beyond the path.

The narrow ledge of the railroad track and the strolling waters of the river are exposed to the decorative light of the moon. Between the track and the river the boys have tumbled into a corridor of old wooded forest land. A heavy blanket of pine tree branches and a thick covering of oak tree limbs makes a solid canopy above the path. The moonlight cannot penetrate the canopy. The path is quiet and soft with moss, and totally dark like a forest should be at night. The boys stand quiet for a few minutes and the forest begins to come alive. It is written: “You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.” [1]

The sound of an approaching train is heard on the tracks overhead. Oddly, it is a quiet sound that does not scare the crickets. Its gentle rolling rhythmic tap compliments the sound of the babbling river and the chorus of the forest wildlife. But wait … the train is slowing; rolling without breaks, but gradually slowing. Slowing. Slowing. … Stops. The boys are frozen on the path below. Could the engineers be looking for trespassers? They hold their breath in absolute silence. The crickets hold still and all the beasts of the forest disappear. Even the river stops flowing. The silence is deafening.

Suddenly a mega-loud sound explodes from the tracks. It is the sound of the crack of a bullwhip, only a billion times louder. This bullwhip is made of a hundred boxcars. The hollow boxcars amplify the sound of metal train couplings snapping tight against each other. Beginning somewhere in Ellicott City, each boxcar in turn explodes as the chain of cars is drawn tight. The result is a wall of sound that crashes through the valley like a tidal wave. In a flash, the entire night forest is blown away.

After experiencing the extreme terror of the unexpected sound wave, and after seeing their entire lives flash before their eyes, the boys find themselves at the river’s edge. Involuntary panic had moved them off the path and through 50 yards of underbrush. The night was darker than ever and virtually all sound was gone. Maybe they were dead. No. …There is sound. The pounding of their hearts is the closest sound. Far off is the sound of a train disappearing. And the sound of rolling water must have been there all along. It kept them from falling in the river. The moon is still shining overhead and gently reflecting off the water. And the forest once again comes to life. This adventure is over. It really is time to go home.

[1] Psalm 104:20, NIV.

Wk 04b*** Another View

Sometimes a person’s life gets turned upside down. Spectacular things happen as if they were happening to someone else. Events alien to your experience cause you to reevaluate your perception of reality. Things are not as they appear. For a moment, maybe longer, you are not yourself. Such was the case in the story above, Evening Embers.

I was one of the teenage boys adventuring out that night. It was not even an adventure; my friend and I just wanted to watch the sun set. We both were Creationist advocates. For us the setting sun proved the existence of God. When we arrived at the park something clicked in my brain. At first it was the fear of illegal parking. This fear was probably due to me driving my dad’s car. I never wanted to do anything that would get me in trouble with my dad.

The next thing I know, I am trespassing and running from the law. How crazy is that for two guys who normally fear the Lord too much to break the law? The attraction to God was too great. We had to watch His sun set. And it had to be in His beautiful park. A park ranger, civil servant of the State, would never understand such devotion. Neither would my dad.

Missing the sun set was a major disappointment. I cannot stress this point enough. It is the very reason we had to go into the valley that night. God had disappeared into the darkness of the forest. I knew we could find Him. I just did not foresee how. But typical of God who can do all things, be all things, He came out of nowhere. And He was bigger than night. It is no surprise He knocked us both on our butts; after all, we were trespassing. I am sure that is why He taught us to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses.”[1]

[1] Matthew 6:12, Old Catholic Translation
Best used in Matthew 6:14 and Mark 11:15 - “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."

Wk 03*** Theo + dore = God's Gift

Someone once asked: "What's in a name?" I wonder how many people know what is in their name, or what is the meaning of their name. Even more so, I wonder how much of a person’s name is in the person!? I wonder how many names have lost their meaning, or how many people have lost their purpose. I believe that my name, Theodore Anthony XXXX, Jr., its full meaning and related history, defines who I am and what my purpose is. I bear my father’s full name, so I am a junior; and I believe I bear my father’s image and likeness, as well as my mother’s image and likeness, and so, part of whom I am is who my parents are.

“Theodore” means “gift of God” and I believe I was God’s gift to my parents. “Anthony” means “flower” and I believe Anthony is an attractive compliment to Theodore. I believe Anthony also bears the fruit and seed of my attractive parents. I believe my Catholic parents inspired me to become like my patron saint, Anthony, who was known as the finder of lost articles. I believe that when I found Jesus, I found the gift of God which had been lost to me, and to many.

I believe Jesus Christ is the gift of God to His Heavenly Father and to His Holy Creation, Mother Earth. I believe Jesus is fully God, Theos Himself, and not the junior of Father Theos. I believe His Holy Spirit is also fully Theos, God, and fully One with the Father and with the Son, Jesus. I believe the Name of Jesus attracts people to the attractiveness of God, to the Glory of Theos. I believe there are great mysteries in the Creation of Theos, and I believe I have found the keys to unlocking these mysteries. I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the keys to understanding these mysteries, and to understanding all mysteries.

I believe the Holy Spirit has given many gifts to His People. I believe many people have lost the gifts that God, Theos, has given them. I believe I have been called to help people find their lost gifts. I believe that without these gifts of Theos, people have also lost their way. I believe I can find their gifts and show them the Way. I believe the greatest gift is Love, followed by Faith and Hope. I believe all things are gifts of God. I believe God is Love, abundant Love. I believe I can help people find the Faith, Hope and abundant Love that they have lost.

There are many other things I believe. I believe people everywhere have to eat. I believe corporations everywhere need people. I believe all the corporate rich should feed all the hungry people. I believe corporations need not understand all the mysteries of Life, or of Theos, to know that people that do not consume food, are not long consumers. I believe, whether or not you love Jesus, you should feed His sheep. I believe that everyone who feeds God’s sheep will be blessed in abundance. I believe all people are God’s sheep. I believe many sheep are lost and need to be found.

I believe my name, Theodore Anthony XXXX, Jr., tells everything about who I am. I believe the online nickname I have chosen, TedtheRabbi (Rabbi means teacher), tells everything about what I do in the Name of God, Theos. I believe people everywhere recognize me by my name. I believe people know by my name that I can teach them everything about God. I believe people everywhere want to know about Theos, especially about the attractive glorious gifts of God, the Holy Spirit, the Jesus Christ, the Almighty Theos God; and especially people want to know about the wonderful things of Theos they have lost.

1 From http://www.behindthename.com/
2 Ditto
3 From www.Catholic.org/Saints

Wk 02*** Light (ers) of Christian Royalty

T. W. Christian, Jr., known as Pop Pop by his grandchildren, passed away when I was ten years old. He was my favorite of four grandparents, and I am sure he was the favorite of my thirteen cousins, five sisters and two brothers. Pop Pop’s children, who are my mother, my two aunts and my uncle, also loved him very much. He was very popular in his generation as well, and many important people came to pay their respects at the funeral home. In the weeks and months that followed his death, my parents, aunts and uncles would meet at Pop Pop's house to settle his estate.

One day we had a family reunion of sorts, with all of my aunts and uncles and all of my cousins and siblings meeting at Pop Pop's house for the purpose of dividing up his stuff. Pop Pop’s four children had already claimed the larger items of the estate; now twenty-one grandchildren where given an opportunity to select smaller keepsake items, things that would keep our memory of Pop Pop fresh for years to come. Sixty three such items, or groups of items, were arranged throughout the house for viewing and for selection bidding. Starting with the oldest child from each of the four families, selections were made until each grandchild had one item, then the process was repeated until all items were chosen. It was a fair distribution of the full collection of all the memories of Pop Pop.

During the preview of the items, I saw what I wanted, and it was the only thing I wanted: a dozen cigarette lighters and a few fountain pens neatly stored in a cardboard cigar box. Most of the lighters were in the original boxes and had never been used. However, one lighter was special enough to save with the rest even though it was completely worn out and broken. This one was a tarnished silver Zippo pocket lighter with the name T. W. Christian, Jr. inscribed across the front to look like an autograph. The lighters and pens had been given to my grandfather by corporate executives who desired to do business with the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. Pop Pop had worked for BG&E for fifty years, and had retired as head of their purchasing department.

I was the tenth child in line to select a keepsake from Pop Pop’s estate, with four boys and five girls making selections ahead of me. I had little hope of the lighters being passed up by my older male cousins and even less hope of my parents allowing me to select a treasure that seemed more suitable for an adult. Plus, at age ten, I had already been punished a number of times for playing with matches, and my parents were surely concerned I was becoming a pyromaniac. Never the less, the treasure of cigarette lighters became my inheritance. I think the cigar box was small in comparison to the other items available and my cousins went for the larger items first. There was no lighter fluid to make the lighters work, so I couldn’t start any fires. But most important, I think it was obvious that this keepsake was best kept new in the box, the value of these collectable items already evident.

Thirty years later I moved to the country and discovered yard sales, flea markets and estate auctions. I became a collector of collectables. First and foremost, I became a collector of cigarette lighters. In the last twelve years, I have added over seven hundred lighters to my original twelve, with the majority bringing new memories of the era when Pop Pop was most famous. Now part of American history, the names and logos of major corporations grace the fronts of my cigarette lighters. The value of my collection is somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 thousand dollars. The memory of T. W. Christian, Jr. has not passed away with an old broken cigarette lighter, but instead his memory has grown to shed rich new light on the Corporate America of yesterday and the royal era of my grandfather and his cigarette lighters.

Wk 01*** Sound of God

When I was a young child, I heard a sound. I did not recognize the sound, or understand the sound, or even know what made the sound. Sometimes I was frightened by the sound, and at other times I found it peaceful. The sound I heard was the sound of God, “Om”, which when chanted sounds like “Ooaaammm”. “Om is the universal name of the Lord.” (See http://www.saranam.com/). I didn’t know it was the sound of God until I was seventeen years old and I read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, a book recommended by my Hippie friends. To learn more about God, my friends and I would visit a local commune of Hari Krishna’s and we would join in the practice of Transcendental Meditation, sitting in a full lotus position and chanting Om.

In the commune I recognized the name of Om, and His sound, from my childhood. My father had been desperate to teach me everything about Om in hope I would grow up to become a master electrician like him. Dad’s Om was spelled “ohm” and had something to do with electricity, or energy, or the transmission of power, or something. Ohm was Dad’s God. Dad had a shop full of electric toys, or tools, that he used to fix televisions, radios, telephones, appliances, air conditioners, motors, Christmas trains and lights, and a whole bunch of other stuff that filled our basement.

My favorite toy was an oscilloscope. Dad’s oscilloscope was built in the 1940’s or 50’s and only slightly resembled the modern one pictured here. His scope had a bunch of glass vacuum tubes in the back that lit up like Christmas lights which hummed the sound of ohm. The scope’s screen displayed an image of ohm, not the oscilloscope’s ohm, but the ohm of whatever broken appliance my dad connected to it. The image of ohm did not make any sound, unless a tube was about to blow, but the image showed what the ohm of the broken appliance looked like. The image represented sine waves, cosine, tangents and other stuff I did not understand. Seeing the image of ohm helped Dad fix the appliance.

The sound of ohm is very familiar. Ohm, or Om, is in everything. You hear Om all the time without noticing it, but when it touches you, or otherwise catches your attention, you recognize it right away; after all, it is the sound of God. It can scare the daylights out of you if you are not expecting its sound. It penetrates your ears and gets into your head. This happened to me almost every time my dad was connecting appliances to the oscilloscope. The sound of ohm would pulse throughout the house, and then all the lights would go out and Dad would yell “God d__n it!”

One time I heard the sound of God up close and personal. I was plugging in the electric motor of an Erector Set for the first time and my fingers made contact with the prongs. Ohm traveled up my arm and towards my heart. I yelled something to God, and His image of sine waves and Christmas lights flashed in my head. His sound rang inside my ears, and I passed out. I never played with the Erector Set again; and I never considered a career in the electrical trade. Sorry, Dad.