Building an ark

Felt as tho we might need one today. We had to leave the house so prospective buyers could come through, and of course a few minutes before we had to leave, today's massive downpour started. We drove to get dinner, and the streets were so flooded that we saw a lady in a Saturn stranded in a lane, with water rushing by that was about halfway up her car door. It's amazing how the flooding comes so quickly around here.

So, we got home and it appeared that the "interested parties" didn't even come by. Maybe they got stranded in the floods, or didn't want to risk it, but sheesh, at least give us a call and tell us you're not coming... that's just wrong!

On the "home" news front, we have an offer on the table for our home, but not only do the people want a discount of about $13,000, they also want my surround sound system (yeah, right!), our big backyard swingset (take it for all I care), and our two daughters! I think in our counter-offer we will definitely keep my surround system and at least one of the girls... we're debating which one to give them, should they accept.

Milk, again...

Holy cow... (ha ha ha) I just came across an article about milk that sounds almost as if I wrote it. Check it here: http://www.mercola.com/article/milk/no_milk.htm - and here is a quote:

"In general, most animals are exclusively breast-fed until they have tripled their birth weight, which in human infants occurs around the age of one year. In no mammalian species, except for the human (and domestic cat) is milk consumption continued after the weaning period. Calves thrive on cow milk. Cow's milk is designed for calves."

Wow - didn't I say that? Did you read my last post (if not, hurry and read it - now!)? Stop drinking milk! Stop making your children drink milk! Water! Cookies and water! Cake and water! Water, water, water!

Here's a link about soda, if you're ready for that: http://www.mercola.com/2001/mar/10/soda_pop_dangers.htm. Remember when people used to go to a restaurant and order a burger and a soda, and the soda was an 8- or 12-oz. drink? Well, 7-11 started the "Big Gulp" phenomenon, and the battle for bigger soft drinks began! Here are a couple of (scary) quotes from 7-11's web site:

"Beverages – biggest & best: 7-Eleven was the first retailer to introduce self-serve fountain drinks. When the 32-ounce Big Gulp was introduced in 1980, it was the biggest cup on the market. In 1988, 7-Eleven introduced the giant 64-ounce Double Gulp®, the biggest soft drink on the market.

Last year 7-Eleven stores sold almost 33 million gallons of fountain drinks – enough to fill 75 Olympic-size swimming pools."

Again, wow... we're KILLING ourselves with this crap, and they're getting rich! Oh, I need to quit before this gets any longer.

Milk

My mom is always sending me clippings from magazines, newspapers, etc. About half of them are about milk. When she's here, she gets mad at me for not giving my children more milk to drink. "You used to drink milk every night with dinner, and look how nice your bones are," she usually says (or something similar). "Milk is the perfect drink."

"Perfect if you're a baby cow," I invariably reply. Then comes my main argument: human beings are the only "mammals" who drink milk after they're weaned from their mother's breast. Even baby cows don't continue to drink cow's milk later in life. Milk doesn't give us anything we can't get from other sources, and with the hormones and other chemicals given to modern livestock, God only knows what milk REALLY contains these days.

Humans eat food to provide nourishment for our bodies. Why do we need drink? To keep our bodies hydrated. What is the best way to hydrate your body? Water. So, in my (admittedly uneducated) opinion, water is really the only drink our bodies NEED. That's why God put so much of it here. I'm not saying one should only drink water, and I certainly don't only drink water, but logic dictates that water is really the only "perfect drink." Oh, and coffee.

Thinking too much

I'm not sure why I feel like writing this... perhaps when I'm done I'll read it and just delete it, we'll see.

I've been thinking about why our world is so messed up. I think it can be simplified to one Biblical concept. Jesus said that there is no commandment greater than these: 1. Love God with your entire being; and 2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Mark 12:28-31).

Why is our environment (which God made perfectly suitable for us) full of things that are making us sick? Because the heads of industry care more about themselves and making money than the well-being of the rest of us. Why is our food unhealthy? Because the greedy few, in their quest for higher profits, don't care what measures they have to go to in order to pump out more product faster. Why are American soldiers and innocent people dying every day in a war on the other side of the world? Greed. Hatred. It's a sickness.

If people lived by the creed to love our neighbors, the world would sure be a different place.

And yes, we need the first commandment also... to love our God. Why? Why can't we be good people who love our neighbors, without "God"? Because without God, there is no real "love." In a God-less world, self becomes all-important. Lack of faith creates a mindset that you're only on this world for a short time, then it's all over, so may as well get what you can while you're here and enjoy your life without fear of how others might be affected.

When you add God into the equation, and He gives you the ability to love in a truly selfless way, then it becomes possible to be more concerned about others than yourself. Therefore, thinking back to my original concept, there is really only one key to saving ourselves and our Earth - love!

Lot's O' News

Well, there's really a lot going on right now... we just got back from Northern California, visiting my mom and her friend Marion. Marion has a beautiful house in Pleasant Hill, surrounded by trees and woodsy creatures. While there, I took the family to see my first drum corps show in 15 years! Went to the Pacific Procession in San Jose. It wasn't exactly the greatest show, out of about 10 corps, only two were really worth seeing, Phantom Regiment and Santa Clara Vanguard. But, seeing SCV perform "Russian Christmas Music" live was incredible. They performed that piece in 1987 when I was in the Blue Knights, and that show has always been my favorite. When they played it last week in San Jose I got goosebumps - Patti said I was grinning like a little kid. I think the girls enjoyed it, too. They got Phantom Regiment T-shirts.

Patti and I have been doing some reading and studying about "healthy" living, and are trying to make some positive changes in our diets. I have been concerned for a long time about the toxicity of our food and environment, and Patti, since losing her mom to cancer recently, has become increasingly aware of these same issues.

So, we decided to make a gradual switch to a more "organic" diet. A trip to Trader Joe's the other day proved one thing: eating "better" is expensive! Oh, and another thing... kids are less receptive to healthier eating, especially after being innundated with sugars and chemicals since birth. The girls requested a "healthy" peanut butter cereal, and Hannah hated it. Eva, a bagel lover, took one bite of a sprouted wheat cinnamon/raisin bagel (with organic cream cheese) and complained about all the "nuts and stuff" in the bread. Ah well... I guess these things are an aquired taste.

Welcome to Rob's Blog

Ok, I've finally caved in and joined the "blog" community. It's too late to write anything now, and besides, this is more of a "test" post, but maybe tomorrow I will jot a few thoughts down.