THE PRICELESS CHRISTMAS BOX

 

Roi Tan Cigar Box, Emporia, KS

There’s a lot of wonderful children’s books to read to our kids during the holidays like the classic Christmas story of Jesus’ birth and childhood movies to watch like Toy Story 3.  The classic book about the Littlest Angel got my attention years ago and on the surface it’s a nice story about simple childhood treasures, love and sharing.  I do object to the notion that children die because God needs another little angel in heaven and I don’t believe we’re converted into angels, although many saints reside there. 

When the Son of God was born in Bethlehem and heavenly hosts were bringing elaborate gifts, God chooses the little boy’s earthly box because it contained his wonderful collection of a butterfly with golden wings, a sky-blue egg, two white stones and a leather collar that had belonged to his dog that had lived in absolute love and infinite devotion.  And His son was born to be king of both men and earth.

The Christmas box and the assortment of toys that the older boy was leaving behind in Toy Story 3 as he left for college reminded me of my grandfather’s cigar box that is still in my possession which contains the remnants of my own boyhood.  The sandbox my father made for me one Christmas was the scene of endless adventures for the cowboys, Indians, knights in shining armor and soldiers that I spent endless hours entertaining.  The skate key, birthday card signed “Mom and Grandpa”, arrowhead, model airplane alligator clips, game die, cat’s eye marbles, sand dollar and sea shells evoked precious memories.  The worn 1951 dog tag was given to me when my dad announced that our loyal family dog Patches had succumbed to being hit by a passing automobile.  That was my first encounter with death and losing a loved one—and the beginning of lost innocence.

I’d like to think that the contents of my priceless cigar box would be a good example of every earth boy’s Christmas toy story and a gift fit for a king who would be their savior!

INNOCENCE, DEATH AND DYING

Patches, Emporia, KS

MEMORIAL DAY 2021, MONDAY, MAY 31

This is not a fanciful or inviting subject matter for discussion in a youth-oriented culture, but one that needs to see the light of day on occasion.  And on the occasion of the hopeful decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s appropriate to reflect on lessons learned from any milestone event in our lives.  Vaccinations in America are beginning to control the viral spread here, but other areas of the world that are not so fortunate like India are experiencing record infections and deaths.  The gift of life is fragile and we should be appreciative on every waking day.  Over three million deaths worldwide have now been recorded.

Death comes calling quickly for some of these unfortunate people and has a long and anguished protraction for others.  I recently reflected that my father and grandfather Davis died within seven months of each other and my mother and wife also died within seven months.  My grandfather and mother had immediate heart failure while my father and wife had longer challenges with cancer.

I wrote a blog ten years ago about my loss of innocence when I was a child and experienced the death of our family dog, Patches, after he was hit by a passing car.  That was my first personal understanding of the reality that our mortal life has both a beginning and an ending.  That concept is quite sobering.  Later in life, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to take two of our family dogs to the vet to end their lives, since they both had terminal issues.  I did find solace in the swift and gentle process.  In the past few months, friends and family have had to do the same.  The passage of time can’t ever erase the precious memory of any sentient being in this life that has deeply touched our hearts or minimize their eternal influence which has been indelibly inscribed on our soul.  In his passing, Patches had assisted in the preparation for the life ahead of me.   

When my daughter and son-in-law drove to pick up my four-year old grandson from school, they had to gently tell him that they were sad because their family dog of ten years had died at the vets.  His innocent reply was “I’m not sad, she was sick.”  Later after more discussion, he came to the realization of a mortal life’s ending.  When quality of life and suffering has occurred, we can do the humane thing and end life with compassion for our animals.  The majority of our culture still values human life so that we issue pain meds until there is a natural ending. 

Our family pets wake up every morning only taking life as it’s presented.  They don’t have the gift and sometimes the curse of a frontal lobe that enables us human beings to know that life has an end game.  But that final evolution of our brain also enables us to prepare for it.    We know going in that we will probably outlive our animal companions.  Our comfort is knowing we had a good life together while they were here.  A Day Lily thrives only one day, but that is time enough for them. 

My sister Carolyn sent a yellowing Ann Landers column which concluded, “And, my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going.  I am not having any fun.  Please see to it that my life is taken gently.  I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.”

RIP Rosemary, Jenny-Wren, Lucy, Sonny, Mason and Daisy   

 

 

REDISCOVERING LIFE

Spring Rain into the Gutter, Jamestown, NC

There are people who really didn’t have much of a childhood due to a variety of factors and there are those of us seniors that simply have a hard time remembering back that far.  But like all things in life there can be second chances, especially if you are fortunate to rediscover life through the lens of a child.  And one of the many positive experiences that can come out of this social isolation for those who take the time to reflect is spending more time with the inquisitive children that make up the fabric of our lives.

Jesus was often criticized for spending too much time with human beings such as children and sinners instead of important leaders of the time.  But he famously rebuked his disciples when he told them to ” let the little children come to me” for they haven’t yet acquired all the filters and baggage of seeing the world through the biased eyes of us adults.

Yesterday my grandson was outside walking the rain-soaked streets of Chicago with his parents.  He was quick to discover two common earth worms that had come topside because of the saturated ground.  It was a sight that most of us adults would have easily passed over with indifference.  Then on today’s walk he discovered that one had been trampled and the other was missing.  He understood that the first worm had lost its life on the busy path but the other must surely have escaped into the rushing waters of the gutter and down into the drains.  

When I was a child growing up in central Kansas before the loss of innocence, I remember that we children loved to stay close to the curbing after a Spring rain.  Once the flow slowed, it became great sport to build small mud dams and capture the runoff as it meandered down to the gutters.  Of course, we were barefoot and carefree in those days and I don’t recall finding any earth worms.  But if we did, I’m pretty confident in those innocent times that we would have let them pass onto freedom.  The Carolina rains today prompted me to recall those idyllic days and venture outside in the rain to capture a meaningful photograph of those childhood memories.

Life can be fragile, especially in dire times of a worldwide pandemic, but it can also be introspective for those who are paying attention.  And it can teach those of us who are willing to learn the lesson.

WINDOW-ON-THE-WORLD

Moving Van, Chicago, IL

While staying with my one-year old grandson during the day recently, I realized how out of touch I had become when it comes to having the curiosity and imagination of a child.  Jesus remarked in Matthew 18:3-4 “Truly I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  We adults have lived long enough to have accumulated and be blinded by all the biases and lenses through which we filter the world around us.  It was a renewal of spirit to once again see the world through the lens of a little child.

We literally spent off and on hours with two cut-out books that had successively larger holes for truck wheels and fish.  The Zoom truck book has already received so much attention that the spine has separated from its moorings.  But that wasn’t a result of repeated readings.  No, this spineless book has been through an unlimited number of passing’s of small trucks through the one page where cutout wheels are big enough for the drill.  Of course, that’s not the book’s intended purpose, but one that has already claimed its destiny in this life.

And just when you think that the game is over, a screeching ambulance, a large white delivery truck, a noisy sports car, or a bright yellow school bus interrupts the silence of the third-floor unit in the Chicago Greystone and we rush to our window-on-the-world just in time to catch a glimpse of the passing vehicle below amid the wondrous verbalizing of the language of a young child’s “Oooooooo’s”.  That reality sparks renewed interest in once again passing the miniature trucks through the magical portals to a new dimension!  These traits will serve him well as his window-on-the-world begins to expand exponentially.

Soon a moving van realizes that it has just entered a one-way street going the wrong way.  So, it turns into the alley below and maneuvers around as electronic back up signals sound the alarm.  The urgent sound immediately brings us back to the window sill so that the entire episode can be absorbed.  And then just as the street traffic seems to settle down, a city trash truck can be heard digesting the cast-off waste of the big city dwellers before it continues on its never-ending mission to our eternal childlike delight.