I know you've experienced it. Let's call it consumer frustration or customer frustration. Maybe it's all about a bill you believe there's a mistake on, or a problem with your phone or some other service, or maybe it's a store policy that seems to have you going in circles trying to find an answer. You've talked yourself blue in the face, trying to get some resolution from this salesperson or this customer rep. Then it dawns on you - this person doesn't have any authority to make any difference in this situation. They're just reading from the company script. So what do you do? You ask for the boss, the manager, the owner. That's where I usually get an answer, because they've got the authority to do something!
One of the first clues that something was wrong with little Ashlyn showed up when her baby teeth were coming in. She would chew her lips bloody in her sleep and bite through her tongue while she was eating. When she was three, she laid her hand on a hot pressure washer in the back yard. She didn't cry; she just stared bewildered at the red blister in her palm. Ashlyn was diagnosed with a rare condition that makes her unable to feel pain. She gulps down scalding hot food with no internal warning that she's hurting herself. One child with this same condition had appendicitis that went untreated until her appendix burst - no pain. Ashlyn's five now and her inability to feel pain is downright scary.
They call them the chain gang. They wear stripes, but they're not prison inmates. They're football officials, and they carry this chain that measures whether or not a team has made a first down. Now not everyone is a football fan, so let me explain this. A team has four tries to move the ball ten yards. If they succeed, they get a "first down" and they get four more plays. If they fail, they have to turn the ball over to the other team at that point on the field. Many times it's impossible to tell with the naked eye if the ball has made it those ten yards, because it's very close. So they call out the chain gang. They come trotting out, they extend the chain to its full length, and then they set it down. If it extends beyond the ball, the team falls short. If it falls short, the team has succeeded. And as many who have played or watched football know, winning or losing a game can, in moments like those, literally be a matter of inches no matter how far you've brought the ball.
I'm told that many new babies actually lose a little weight between the time they're born and the checkup they have two weeks later. Oh, not when our little granddaughter was new! No! No! And we know why. She was extremely dedicated to eating often and eating a lot. Her mother's milk obviously agreed with her. She had been one happy little girl, until it was time to eat again. At which point she would crank it up and let us know in no uncertain terms that "I'm hungry and I will not be delayed and I will not be denied!" I think that's what she said.
One of life's great treats is pumpkin pie with some Cool Whip on it. That's what I was after when I went to my son's refrigerator. I had cut my piece of pie, and all it was missing was that little white topping of Cool Whip. I foraged around in the fridge until I saw that familiar plastic container with a picture of exactly what I wanted my pumpkin pie to look like. Somewhat mindlessly, I opened that container, stuck my spoon in there, and then pulled out the contents. I was just about to decorate my pie with it when I looked at what was on my spoon. It wasn't Cool Whip. It was gravy, which doesn't do much for pumpkin pie.
America has become a nation of trial junkies. We've got a whole TV channel called "Court TV." Many of us are fascinated with high-profile trials that often headline our news. Legal proceedings seem to grind on for months, if not years, and then weeks of hotly-contested testimony. Then suddenly it's in the hands of the jury, and we check the news to see if the verdict is in. Then, after all those months, it's over. In a moment, the verdict is in. When the verdict is guilty, there is one more decision to be announced - the penalty. In some cases, of course, that penalty is death.
After terrorism on American soil became a reality, there was increased talk about students who are in the United States on temporary visas. Now, the vast majority are simply here to study in this country. I've traveled with one of those temporary visas in other countries, so I know a little bit about that. And it lets officials know that you're in their country for a specific and limited amount of time. And in my case, that's always been just fine. My passport is what tells you where my home really is. If I got knocked out and couldn't remember what country I'm from, my passport would save me. That temporary visa would only tell you where I'm visiting, not where I live.
I guess we'll be reliving for a long time the images of the World Trade Center attacks and the heroic rescue efforts that followed them. One moment that really hit me was this interview with a big guy who was helping the rescuers. He was sitting on a curb at Ground Zero, talking with a reporter from a cable news network. He told how he had been delivering food to the rescuers, and then how he was making his way back through the rubble when he decided to reach into that rubble just on the chance someone might be there. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand grabbing his arm. Immediately, he went and got helpers who pulled a firefighter out of there alive! And then that's when he lost it in the interview as he choked out these words, "He touched me first."
Some dear friends of ours lost their 19-year-old son. Because of the way it happened, his death was really a sudden, gut-wrenching tragedy. But with Jesus as their anchor, even through this, his mom and dad declared that "God wants life to come from his death." One way that's happened is through their decision to donate his organs to help save and improve some other lives. Not long after their son's death, the word came that someone in a neighboring state had received their son's heart. That's been a source of comfort and encouragement to them. As they say, "Our son's heart is giving life to someone else."
Years ago there was a cowboy hero, and a young boy who thought he was a big deal. The boy was me. And my parents bought me this plate with my hero's picture on it and an inscription that said, "That a boy! You cleaned your plate." I wanted his approval very much, so I just kept cleaning my plate - and filling it so I could clean it again. By the time I was in high school, I was 210 pounds. And whose fault was it that I was so heavy? I've told many people - it was the fault of that cowboy hero, of course. At least, I wish I could have blamed him.
Your first clue that something unusual ahead is a sign on the Interstate announcing what they call "the biggest cross in the Western Hemisphere." And, sure enough, as you approach that spot in Texas, you begin to see a large white cross on the horizon. Actually, it doesn't look all that large from a distance. Then, as you drive that direction, it looks more and more impressive. Until you are coming up on it; (or especially when you do what I did), you stop and you stand at the foot of it - that cross is huge!
