The Whiz And Wheeze Kids

 

Shibe Park
Home of the Whiz Kids

        I guess I have been a Phillies fan most of my life, both in their very  few good years and even in their many, many lean years.  I can recall listening to them on the radio before the time that broadcasts were live.  Instead of the noise of the crowd, you'd hear the noise of the teletype running in the background.  A local announcer would do the "play-by-play" by reading what was on the teletype.  In those days it was all that you had.

          Now while I have enjoyed their great success in a few recent years, my favorite team was the 1950 team whose nickname was The Whiz Kids.  In sharp contrast to the present Wheeze Kids, their average age was only 26.4 years of age.  It was a team built on bonus babies and they were exciting to listen to.  And they won the National League pennant during that season.

          I had all of their baseball cards and their yearbook and many of their autographed pictures. It's too bad that I don't still have them today.  My favorite players were Robin Roberts, Del Ennis, Curt Simmons, Richie Ashburn and Willie Jones.  But I also loved Granny Hamner, Eddie Waitkus, Andy Seminick, Stan Lopata, Jim Konstanty, and Dick Sisler.  Some of these were among the best ever to play for the Phillies.

          Unfortunately, all sorts of problems came their way late in the 1950 season and the league championship came down to the final series against the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers.  The final game pitted the Opening Day starting pitchers, right-handers Robin Roberts and Don Newcombe, against one another. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers in extra innings in the final game on a three-run home run by Dick Sisler in the top of the tenth inning.  But going into the World Series, their first since 1915, the Whiz Kids were hurting and missing several key players.  Pitcher Bob Miller, who injured his back slipping on wet stairs, outfielder Bill Nicholson who was diagnosed with diabetes and out for the remainder of the season,  rookie pitcher Bubba Church, who had been hit in the eye with a line drive,and star pitcher Curt Simmons, who was activated into military service on September 10.  They were so short of pitching that they had to use reliever Jim Konstanty to start the first game. And, with typical Phillie luck, the Whiz Kids were swept by the New York Yankees who won the second of five consecutive World Series championships. 

          With such young players, most thought that a new dynasty had begun. But the team finished with a 73–81 record in 1951, and, except for second place tie in 1964, did not finish higher than third place again until 1975.  I didn't realize the following until a few days ago, but their failure has been attributed to multiple theories, the most prominent of which is owner Carpenter's unwillingness to integrate his team after winning a pennant with an all-white team.  The Phillies did not integrate until 1957, a decade after Jackie Robinson's entry.  And maybe this is why the Phillies have generally been mediocre at best.  So sad.

          Now that brings us to 2014, most likely another mediocre season.  Instead of being young, they are loaded with older veterans in the final years of their careers. Most are past their peaks and are declining in performance. They are burdened with many high salaries and have ruined their farm system over the past few years attempting to win one more championship.  And so, unless there is a miracle, the Wheeze Kids are probably destined to trying to stay out of last place for the next decade.

         Will I still be a fan?   Probably.  We have gotten used to it and we still hope for miracles.  And after decades, it is hard to change your allegiance.  I guess some of us are just slow learners.  But I do miss the Whiz Kids!

Easter Memories

        "He is risen, He is risen indeed!"  And this is the vital, life changing message of Easter Day, the most important day in the life of a Christian.  I hope that today you've taken time to worship and celebrate the risen Lord.

          On Good Friday I was reading some messages on a special Facebook website which highlights the history of Lititz, my hometown.  Reading these messages brought back many of my interesting memories of the Easter season in Lititz.  It also made me realize how society has changed and how politically incorrect it has become to even talk about or celebrate the true meaning of this holiday.  For many it has been replaced by Spring Holidays with bunnies and candy as the focus.

          The discussion began with memories of days when elementary students were taken to local churches for special services on Good Friday.  I remember those days when we marched across the street from Lititz Elementary to participate in a service at the Evangelical Congregational Church.  Others remembered going down the street to the local Lutheran Church.  I don't recall ever being given an option, it was just part of our schedule and we attended.

          And during those years all the stores closed from noon to 3 pm so that employees could attend services.  At least that was the case in Lititz as well as in Sunbury where my wife lived.  In fact, during those hours her employer, a local bank, actually held a required service in the bank for its employees.  All were expected to attend.  As I said, times have changed.

          For us, Easter day itself was a very full day of both worship and time with our family.  We would generally attend special morning services in our church in Lancaster.  Our kids usually participated by saying pieces. Then we would drive to Lititz where the entire family would gather for a special Easter dinner prepared by my mother.  I don't know how she was able to pull all of this off, but somehow mothers do.  

           In the afternoon we usually had an Easter egg hunt for the kids in the backyard.  How well we remember the Easter that my brother-in-law cut his chin while trying to hide an egg on top of a pole.  He needed several stitches.When the weather was nice I would always love to take an afternoon walk around Lititz.  It is an amazing town to walk in and I really miss being able to do this.  

          Then we would have a quick evening meal which always included mother's delicious macaroni salad.  Since her death, nobody has ever been able to recreate this special treat that we all loved.  Many have tried, but all have failed.  Then we would rush back to church in Lancaster for our annual Easter cantata that most of us were involved in.  And that would wrap up an exciting but very busy day.

          But most things change.  Mother and dad and my brother now enjoy Easter in heaven.  We don't do cantatas or have evening services anymore.  I don't take my afternoon walk in Lititz.  Now we usually have our children and grandchildren at our house for dinner. My wife has replaced mother. We have an egg hunt.  Then everyone heads home.  And mother's macaroni salad is just a memory.

          But one thing does stay the same - the power of the Resurrection!

Hurry Up And Wait - ER #2

In my last blog I shared my recent experience in the ER.  I've had another interesting one several years ago.  Here is what happened that time. 
"I think my throat is closing!"  These were the words that I mumbled to Dianne at about 7 a.m.  We were in a Reading motel room, and I had been having trouble getting saliva and swallowing since about 3:30 a.m.  And, it seemed like my problem was getting worse.   Jim Herrold, my former college roommate, was getting remarried that morning in a nearby town at 11 a.m.  I was to be the best man and we needed to leave by 10 a.m. to get to the wedding in time.  We had come for practice the night before and after a practice dinner we had returned to the motel to avoid the trip home.  Aware of my concern and discomfort, Dianne helped me quickly pack our belongings.  We decided to dress for the wedding, check out and head to the closest emergency room.

  We arrived at the emergency room before 8 a.m. and shared not only my physical problem but also our need to leave by 10 a.m. to drive to the wedding. While I was having difficulty talking at that point they seemed to understand and appreciate my situation.  They assured me that getting help in time would not be a problem since it was early Saturday morning and only one person was ahead of me.  So we waited … and we waited … and 45 minutes later I was taken to an observation room where two ladies began to ask me a battery of questions.  They took all sorts of tests, but never even looked at my throat.  I had hoped that one was a doctor but it turned out that they were both nurses. They kept assuring me, however, that I would be out in time to participate in the wedding.

  After this battery of questions they decided I needed an EKG and I had to take off my wedding clothing to have this done.  With this accomplished, they then put me into a wheelchair and wheeled me to another observation room where a doctor was supposed to finally see me.  By then it was already 9:30 and we had just 30 minutes before we had to leave.   Finally another young lady appeared in the new room and again went over my history and problem.  She never looked at my throat either, but she informed me that it was probably mucous caught behind my tonsils.  She said this often happens.  She seemed surprised when I told her that this would be unusual since my tonsils were removed years ago.  She then told me that a doctor would soon be in to see me … she wasn't a doctor either.  I told her that I only had 30 minutes until I had to leave and asked her if I'd get to see a doctor in that time.  Her reply?  "Probably not, and if you really have to leave just let me know."

  Incidentally, that was the last time I saw her.  And, 30 minutes later I went out to the desk and told them I had to leave.  At first they thought I'd have to sign a form but then they decided that since I hadn't seen a doctor I could just leave.  They suggested that I come back after the wedding.  We had waited there for two hours and had seen three nurses, but nobody had even looked at my throat.  They had to be kidding!   Why would I ever return there?   Someone volunteered to show us how to get out and we left – hopefully never to return.   Incidentally, the longer we were out of the motel room, the better my throat became.  I really believe that it was either something in the room or the air conditioning or something I ate the night before.

  On Monday I tried to make an appointment with my throat specialist at home.  I told her receptionist that I had been to the emergency room and needed a follow up visit.  The first appointment they could give me was three weeks later.  So I guess the Lord knew I had to learn the lesson "hurry up and wait"!   Do you find it hard to wait?  I do.  We all want instant answers and instant help.  But sometimes the Lord requires that we wait until He is ready, in His perfect timing, to answer and direct us.  So at times we must learn in our spiritual walk to wait and to trust Him fully.  And, He never will leave us down.   The Psalmist must have realized this when he penned the words of Psalm 27:13,14.  "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:  wait, I say, on the Lord."  And waiting on Him is always the best choice.

  Oh yes, we arrived at the wedding on time and we had a wonderful experience at a Christ honoring ceremony.  I was fully able to participate and to even enjoy the great food at the reception.   And one final observation. … the hospital never took my address or my insurance information.  So while I don't know the results of my EKG and other tests, they didn't know how or where to bill me and they never did.   It was an "interesting" way to spend a morning!

An Unexpected Visit

It was not an experience that I looked forward to or would ever want to repeat.  It began early Friday afternoon when symptoms of a heart attack began.  I tried to ignore them, especially since we had tickets for my granddaughter's play that evening.  Then my blood pressure began to go up much higher than usual.  Late in the afternoon I finally told my wife that we needed to make the trip to the ER.  I assumed that at supper time the ER would not be very full.  Wrong, very wrong!
         When we arrived there was only one parking space left in the ER parking lot.  Then we found out that there was standing room only in the large waiting room.  When we signed in they gave me a wheelchair but Dianne had to stand.  It was a terrible place to be. Several folks were vomiting.  Many were moaning.  Babies were crying.  You had the bad feeling that you might leave being more ill than when you arrived.  The staff seemed efficient and positive, but definitely overwhelmed.  One told us that when the rain ended everyone suddenly appeared.
          I did have an EKG in about 20 minutes and within an hour later I also had blood work and a chest x-ray done.  But then we waited and waited and waited. About three hours after arriving I was finally taken back and placed in a hall because no rooms were available in the ER.  Thirty minutes later I finally saw a doctor who quickly told me that because I was diabetic they would probably keep me overnight for observation.  Almost an hour later a physician's assistant finally confirmed this decision and I was taken to a room.
          My two nurses, Kara and Crystal, and other staff members in 6W were excellent and made me feel comfortable and at ease. By that time I was feeling normal once again. Two hours later I had another EKG and more blood work.  Then at 2:30 in the morning I was taken for an MRI of my brain and cervical spine.  A planned echocardiogram was canceled.  That was the end of the testing except for regular blood pressure and blood tests.
          About 7:30 in the morning nurse Kara told me that she expected I would be released as soon as the doctor came to see me.  I never saw a doctor but about 9:30 a physician's assistant appeared and explained that they felt my heart was fine, PTL, but that there were problems with my spine.  I knew that but I guess they must have gotten worse.  She said I would be discharged as soon as she met with the doctor.  Fortunately I made one good choice and I ordered lunch, even though I thought I wouldn't be there to eat it.  But I was, and the lunch, like breakfast, was excellent.  Discharge finally came about 1 in the afternoon ending a 20 hour experience.
          There were several good things about the experience.  The staff members were all so friendly and kind.  The food and my room were excellent.  But there were some disappointing things like the conditions in the ER waiting room and the amount of time it took to be seen.  But, in all fairness, they were overloaded.  I would have liked to have talked to a regular doctor. Did they really give attention to my situation or did they just pass me off to stay overnight so they could deal with others? And everybody kept saying that I had chest pain, which I never did.  And despite correcting each of them, that still appeared on my discharge report.  And there was a mistake concerning my medicine on my discharge report.  But I have learned to take care of myself and keep my own records.  It is easy to become just a number in today's healthcare system. I just hope that in the future I can avoid needing the ER.  It's not a fun experience.  Actually, if you have a choice, you are much better off going in the ambulance and avoiding the waiting rooms.
           Now I have already followed up and seen a neurosurgeon who has ordered more tests. So the journey is not over and it will probably lead to surgery.  But God is good, all the time and our ways are in His hands.  
         

Prime Time!

          I think today is a good time to give you a math challenge.  It's my birthday gift to you. Now please don't leave yet because this challenge really isn't too difficult.
This is a great day!  It's not really my birthday, it is the anniversary of my birth.  X number of years ago I was born in a hospital in Sunbury. My father was able to watch my appearance, something I never had the opportunity to do with the birth of my three sons. But sometime after my birth they tore down the hospital and moved it to another location.  I wonder if my birth had anything to do with that decision.  They never even asked me if they could do it.  But they did build a new junior high in that location so my wife could attend it more than a decade later.
But it is a great day because today I am "back in my prime" once again.  This the 21st time in my life that I have been "in my prime".  Actually I was "in my prime" just two years ago.  But last year I was just a composite.  Now what is special about this year is that if you reverse the digits of this 21st prime (my age) you get the 12th prime.  And I enjoy discovering patterns like that.  Now here is one to give it away.  Find the factors, other than 21 and 1, of 21 and that will give you the digits of my age.  Hint, choose the larger number that you can form.  At times I may wish that I were the smaller number that you can form, but I'll never come close to that age again.
          Actually, my age, X, is the same as the atomic number of tantalum. Tantalum is a greyish silver, heavy, and very hard metal. When pure, it is ductile and can be drawn into fine wire, which can be used as a filament for evaporating metals such as aluminium. Tantalum is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150°C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulphur trioxide. The element has a melting point exceeded only by tungsten and rhenium. Now there is a chemistry lesson given to you free of charge.  That may make your day!
  Now I really feel old when I tell you that I am actually 1001001 (a palindrome) expressed as a binary number.  Wow, that really is old.  And the sum of the first X odd primes is actually divisible by X.  Now there is a pattern for you.  And one last challenge for you.  Take the word NUMBER and to each letter in the word assign its position number in the alphabet.  Hint - N would be 14.  Then total the six numbers and you have X.  Try it, it's fun.
  So do you have it?  Now don't tell me you were never good in math.  I really am disappointed when somebody says that.  What you should say instead is something like "I never had a good math teacher".  And maybe you didn't and that is sad.  Math should be interesting and fun and anybody should be able to do it, at least the fundamentals.  Somehow it is socially acceptable today to say "I never was good at math", but you never hear anybody say " I was never good at reading".  It is a disgrace to admit you are bad at reading, but acceptable to say you are bad at math.  Go figure!
Oh yes, in case you didn't yet find the value of X, it is actually LXXIII.  Well I better start enjoying the next 12 months, because when they end it will be another six years until I am again prime!

He Has Placed A Song In My Heart

          Recently somebody posted a blog on Facebook that caught my eye.  It was entitled "Why Men Have Stopped Singing in Church", by a David Murrow.  I have never copied another person's blog before, but I found this one interesting enough to do so.   I may add a few personal comments at the end.  Here goes.
          "It happened again yesterday. I was attending one of those hip, contemporary churches — and almost no one sang. Worshippers stood obediently as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed. Lyrics were projected on the screen, but almost no one sang them. A few women were trying, but I saw only one male (other than the worship leader) making the attempt.
          A few months ago I blogged, "Have Christians Stopped Singing?" I did some research, and learned that congregational singing has ebbed and flowed over the centuries. It reached a high tide when I was a young man – but that tide may be going out again. And that could be bad news for men.
          First, a very quick history of congregational singing.  Before the Reformation, laypersons were not allowed to sing in church. They were expected to stand mute as sacred music was performed by professionals (priests and cantors), played on complex instruments (pipe organs), and sung in an obscure language (Latin).  Reformers gave worship back to the people in the form of congregational singing. They composed simple tunes that were easy to sing, and mated them with theologically rich lyrics. Since most people were illiterate in the 16th century, singing became an effective form of catechism. Congregants learned about God as they sang about God.  A technological advance – the printing press – led to an explosion of congregational singing. The first hymnal was printed in 1532, and soon a few dozen hymns became standards across Christendom. Hymnals slowly grew over the next four centuries. By the mid 20th century every Protestant church had a hymnal of about 1000 songs, 250 of which were regularly sung. In the church of my youth, everyone picked up a hymnal and sang every verse of every song.

          About 20 years ago a new technological advance – the computer controlled projection screen – entered America's sanctuaries. Suddenly churches could project song lyrics for all to see. Hymnals became obsolete. No longer were Christians limited to 1,000 songs handed down by our elders.
          At first, churches simply projected the songs everyone knew – hymns and a few simple praise songs that had come out of the Jesus Movement. People sang robustly.  But that began to change about ten years ago. Worship leaders realized they could project anything on that screen. So they brought in new songs each week. They drew from the radio, the Internet, and Worship conferences. Some began composing their own songs, performing them during worship, and selling them on CD after church.  In short order we went from 250 songs everyone knows to 250,000+ songs nobody knows.
          Years ago, worship leaders used to prepare their flocks when introducing a new song. "We're going to do a new song for you now," they would say. "We'll go through it twice, and then we invite you to join in."  That kind of coaching is rare today. Songs get switched out so frequently that it's impossible to learn them. People can't sing songs they've never heard. And with no musical notes to follow, how is a person supposed to pick up the tune?  And so the church has returned to the 14th century. Worshippers stand mute as professional-caliber musicians play complex instruments, sung in an obscure language. Martin Luther is turning over in his grave.
          What does this mean for men? On the positive side, men no longer feel pressure to sing in church. Men who are poor readers or poor singers no longer have to fumble through hymnals, sing archaic lyrics or read a musical staff.  But the negatives are huge. Men are doers, and singing was one of the things we used to do together in church. It was a chance to participate. Now, with congregational singing going away, and communion no longer a weekly ordinance, there's only one avenue left for men to participate in the service – the offering. Is this really the message we want to send to men? Sit there, be quiet, and enjoy the show. And don't forget to give us money.  There's nothing wrong with professionalism and quality in church music. The problem isn't the rock band, or the lights, or the smoke machine. The key is familiarity. People enjoy singing songs they know.

          How do I know? When that super-hip band performed a hymn, the crowd responded with gusto. People sang. Even the men."
          Now my reason for sharing this is not meant as an attack on praise choruses.  I love many of them and many of them have wonderful words and thoughts.  My reason for sharing this opinion is just to stir up some thinking.  I do have two concerns about the praise chorus movement.  The first is that I think they fall short in two key themes - the blood of Jesus Christ and the return of Jesus Christ.  Second, they are usually sung for a month or two and then forgotten. New ones are then introduced. They aren't given a chance to penetrate our minds and hearts so that they could return to us years from now to encourage and help us when we need them.  How many praise choruses do you now sing that you sang last year, or two years ago or three years ago?   How many of those do you even remember anymore.  Probably very few.
          Hymns and praise choruses both have their place in worship today.  They should enhance our worship by allowing us to praise God for who He is and also allow us to testify of what He has done for us in the past and what He has planned for us in the future.  God is good.

Really?

We live in a society where it is difficult to trust anyone.  It is so easy to get out of a situation by telling a lie.  Usually it is done on purpose.  Sometimes it is done just out of habit.  Listed below are a few that come to my mind.  You are welcome to add some others that you experience by using the comment section for this blog. 
*  I promise to pay you back on my next paycheck.
*  You made it yourself? I never would have guessed.
*  This will only take a few minutes.
*  We'll only have an inch or two of snow.
*  The check is in the mail.
*  We'll get back to you.
*  I'm praying for you.
*  If I can help you, just let me know.
*  I understand just how you feel.
*  This won't hurt very much.
*  Your hair looks just fine.
*  You look as though you are losing weight.
*  Go ahead and tell me; I won't tell another soul.
*  The doctor will call you right back.
*  Your baby is just beautiful.
*  I gave at the office.
*  I doubt that I can do it, but I will pray about it.
*  Sorry, he's not here right now.
*  Put the map away. I know where we are.
*  Having a great time. Wish you were here.
*  I wish I could help, but my schedule is full that day.
*  It will be a mild winter with above average temperatures.
*  I'm glad I read this blog.

Up In Smoke

          At times I don't know whether to be angry with their actions or to just pity them.  They are rude and inconsiderate.  They are dirty.  They often don't pay attention to regulations.  They burn their money.  They are addicted. They ruin their health and sometimes even the health of others.  They often stink.   And they may be headed to a terrible physical death and possibly even a worse spiritual end.
          Cigarette smoking has gone through many changes during my lifetime.  Growing up it was widely accepted and advertised freely.  I heard that the government even provided them for soldiers during war time.  Folks, especially men, smoked openly at work, at play, in restaurants and everywhere.  When i began teaching I disliked going into the faculty room to get my mail because it was filled with smokers.  Second hand smoke could not be avoided.
          During those years it seemed like the only folks who didn't smoke were Christians who felt their bodies were the temples of God and wanted to keep them clean.  I never smoked - I think my parents might have disowned me if I did.  However, one time I came close.  I was with a few of my friends on a bus trip with the Lititz Hot Stove League to see a Phillies game.  Almost everyone on the bus was smoking, including my friends.  When we stropped at a Howard Johnson's to eat, I approached the cigarette vending machine and was considering the possible choices.  After all, who would know.  Suddenly someone said, "Hi Barry, what are you doing here?"  It was our Sunday School Superintendent who knew our family well.  And with that unexpected event, my desire to try a smoke ended.  Today I thank the Lord for that intervention.
           Over the years I learned to speak up to inconsiderate smokers.  My wife couldn't stand smoke, maybe because as she was growing up her father was a smoker.  He later came to know the Lord and gave up the habit.  But twice, once at a Phillies game and once on a tour bus in Washington D.C., when we were surrounded by smokers, I spoke up and said that we didn't care if they exercised their right to smoke but they should know that my wife might throw up.  In both cases the smoking suddenly ceased.
          Recently I heard that there are 500,000 deaths a year due to smoking in this country.  Experts say that while 50 years ago it was finally proven that smoking causes lung cancer, now it is known to cause at least 13 different cancers.  It also can lead to blindness, liver and kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis, infertility, and other diseases.  Teen smoking is increasing and experts predict that 1 in 13 children will die from the effects of smoking if it continues to increase.  And today 18% of the public still smoke.
           But, fortunately, with the revelations of the health effects of smoking, no smoking areas have become common in restaurants, work places, schools, athletic competitions and most public places.  Berkeley, California, has even banned smoking outdoors in commercial districts, in parks and at bus stops.  They are considering expanding that to multiunit buildings and even single-family homes.  But with all of that I find it so sad to see the number of women, and especially young girls, who now smoke openly.  Is that a result of women's lib?  I guess the girls now have the same right to ruin their health by smoking.  And I guess they also have the right to spend huge amounts of money to maintain their habit.  Maybe it helps the economy.
          Now what upsets me about smokers?   I hate when they throw their butts on the street in front of my house or on my driveway.  I hate when a smoker litters by throwing a butt out of the car window on the public streets.  I often feel like picking it up and returning it to them, but with road rage I might get run over or attacked.  I hate going into Park City where the signs say no smoking within 50 feet of the entrance, but folks still stand or sit at the doors smoking away.  Then we need to walk through their smoke to enter.  I hate seeing drivers, usually females, driving with their cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I hate seeing small children in an enclosed car with adults smoking away.  I hate when smokers use public bathrooms to sneak a smoke.  I think that if they are caught they should be required to do 50 hours of community service caring for folks who are suffering from lung diseases or even with throat and lung cancer because of their smoking habits.  But I don't know that even that would make a difference.  Young people just don't think it will ever happen to them.  And for many others, especially the insecure, it becomes a crutch.

          I guess the bottom line is that you just can't legislate good health practices.  People will just do what they want anyway.  And that is a sad commentary on today's society.

Field Goal!

We had just completed an administrative staff meeting when my assistant superintendent, Jerry Brooks, received a telephone call telling him that he needed a timer for a district basketball doubleheader that was to begin in a few hours at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg.  Jerry was chairman of the District 3 of the PIAA and he served as game manager for many district and regional play-off games. He was in a pinch and asked me if I could run the clock.  Now I had been involved for many years writing, coaching, scoring and keeping statistics for basketball games so I figured why not try running the clock.  And so that night I joined a team of five Penn Manor administrators who worked the district doubleheader.  And this was the start of an interesting 30 years of working at district and state basketball play-off games.
For many years we worked doubleheaders, triple headers and on Saturdays two sets of doubleheaders at the Arena, commonly called the "barn".  Some nights were very long, especially when we had girls games.  Those were the years before girls basketball became exciting.  In those days the games were slow with loads of walking calls, jump balls and fouls.  The games never seemed to end and I often had trouble keeping awake.  But the boys games were different - often fast and furious.  I had no trouble keeping awake for those.  And I had the fun of watching the great Carlisle and York Catholic teams work their way to several state championships.  And the extra pay was good.
I also had a chance to serve as scorer for a few play-off games at other locations when the regular scorer couldn't be there.  One of my interesting experiences came in an eastern semifinal game.  Before the game the official asked me if I knew that with two technicals you would be ejected.  I had never heard of that rule and had never been at a game where somebody had two technicals.  But I guess the official suspected that this might happen.  At that time hanging on the rim was a technical foul.  The game featured Lebanon and their future 7 foot NBA star, Sam Bowie.  And would you believe that Bowie hung on the rim twice resulting in two technicals and I had to inform the officials that he was to be ejected.  The crowd was incensed and we were pelted with trash and even soft drinks.  Fortunately, Lebanon played a better game without him and went on to win.  That satisfied the crowd and nothing more came of their anger towards us.
I did have another very difficult experience in a district elimination game between Steel High and Dallastown.  Steel High was always very good and always  brought a very large vocal and involved crowd with them.  It was a close game and Steel High was up by one point in the final seconds when they fouled a Dallastown player as the final buzzer sounded.  Now most of the time good officials quickly determine whether or not the game was over and if they thought it was, they quickly disappeared to the locker room.  But these guys huddled and weren't sure, so they came over to me to make the final decision.  I told them that I thought the foul was called before I could react and snap the clock off.  So, based on my decision, they sent the player to the foul line for a one and one situation. And he calmly sank both shots to win the game and end Steel High's season.  The crowd went wild and I was escorted out of the arena by a policeman.  But the next day, the Harrisburg newspaper reported that I had made the decision and gave my name and where I lived.  I was prepared for the worse, but fortunately it never happened.
But in making that decision I did impress one person, the head of the PIAA.  A few days later he came to me and invited me to become the official statistician for the eight state finals at Hershey.  He said that I could choose somebody to work as my assistant.  So for 25 years I kept the stats for the finals with the help of one of my sons, usually Craig.  The work was always very stressful, but I loved it and couldn't wait each year to return.  We saw great basketball.  We saw many well know college coaches who were there to recruit.  We saw future college and NBA stars, such as Kobie Bryant, Sam Bowie and Billy Owens.   We were on television and we had special privileges.  We were treated royally by Hershey and by the PIAA.  Great, great memories.
But as is usually true in life, things change and come to an end.  When Hershey added the Giant Center, the old "barn" at Harrisburg was no longer used for basketball games.  And so I was "retired" as timer.  That was fine because I still had the exciting state finals.  But then, about five years ago, Penn State lobbied to have the finals at State College and the PIAA moved them there.  I was no longer needed and I never got an explanation or an invitation to return.  And that's the way life often is - 25 years and you just aren't invited back.  Not even thanks for 25 years of service - nothing.  Things didn't work out for the PIAA at Penn State, as I anticipated, and they've now moved back to Hershey.  But I'm no longer needed.  So now I watch the games on television.  While I was very disappointed about not even receiving a response or a thank you when they made the move to State College, I'm glad I wasn't asked back when they returned.  While it was fun, I am getting too old for the fast pace and all the pressure and stress.  It was probably time to "retire".

But I do have great memories.  And I really do miss the excitement.  Those were special times and I am glad to have had these extra special opportunities. And during those challenging years of raising a family on one income, the extra pay went a long way in helping to pay the bills. It was another example of the Lord allowing me to be at the right place at the right time when the right opportunity developed.  And I thank Him for that.  But now it is just a good memory.

Memories

         I've been blogging quite a bit lately about getting old, and I guess I am facing the fact that I am.  I can recall when I thought somebody who was 70 was ancient, and maybe we are.  But now that age seems relatively young.  I am continually amazed at how so much has changed in my lifetime and how little many folks know about what we've experienced - we who were born before computers, cell phones, television, jet planes, GPS's, microwaves, credit cards, a cure for polio, and even snow blowers.
          These thoughts hit me again when somebody recently sent me the following story - The boys had been up in the attic together helping with some cleaning. The kids uncovered an old manual typewriter and asked her, "Hey Mom, what's this?" "Oh, that's an old typewriter," she answered, thinking that would satisfy their curiosity. "Well, what does it do?" they queried. "I'll show you," she said and returned with a blank piece of paper. She rolled the paper into the typewriter and began striking the keys, leaving black letters of print on the page. "WOW!" they exclaimed, "That's really cool. But how does it work like that? Where do you plug it in?" "There is no plug," she answered. "It doesn't need a plug." "Then where do you put the batteries?" they persisted. "It doesn't need batteries either," she continued. "Wow! This is so cool!" they exclaimed. "Someone should have invented this a long time ago!"
         About 20 years ago I was amazed when one of the bright, young math teachers that I had hired asked me what a sliderule was.  She had never seen or heard of one.  She missed all of those "fun" years when we used this amazing tool and log tables to do all of our advanced calculations - multiplication and division.  We spent weeks in algebra II teaching students how to use logs to do calculations - do you remember interpolation? I also recall the summers working on my master's degree in math at Bucknell when we just had a "juiced up adding machine" to do our work.  Then a few years later, when I studied at Florida State, I was introduced to their "modern" mainframe computer which filled a large room.  We had to input our data on punched cards.  Oh how times have changed.
         The younger generations have missed so much - some of it good, some not so good - such as Blackjack chewing gum, wax coke shaped bottles with colored sugar water, soda machines that dispensed bottles and not cans, table side jukeboxes, home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers, party phone lines, butch wax, telephone numbers with a word prefix (MAdison - 8356), peashooters, Howdy Doody, 45 RPM records - or any kind of records for that matter,  S&H green stamps, metal ice trays with levers, home ice delivery for refrigerators, mimeograph paper with that interesting smell, blue flashbulbs, roller skate keys, cork popguns, drive-ins, Studebakers and Edsels, wash tub wringers, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, automobile headlight dimmer switches on the floor, listening to radio announcers report baseball games play by play by reading the teletype, atom bomb drills, and dial telephones.
         Well those are enough memories for one blog from an oldtimer.  Guess I'll go heat some tea in the microwave, do a little surfing on the internet, send some e-mails and then watch some programs on our hi-def television. If you want to give me a call, you can try my cell phone - I haven't yet graduated to a smart phone.

A Puzzling Hobby

          Many people who retire love to travel, play golf, play table games or go out and take advantage of early bird dinner specials at expensive restaurants.  For many reasons, including the costs, we have not been big travelers.  My back problems prevent me from playing golf, and we really don't care for expensive restaurants.  Now my wife loves to play table games, but, unfortunately, I really don't.  I'm tempted to use the words 'hate' when I discuss table games, but I tried to teach my boys not to use that word so I should set an example.  
         However, there are a few things that we have enjoyed doing together. We have enjoyed serving together in Awana and in our local voting precinct.  Music is one of our key loves - conducting hymn sings, preparing visuals for my wife's piano offertories, listening to good music, etc.  Another thing we really enjoy is doing jigsaw puzzles.  There is almost always one being done out on our enclosed porch and we complete one every week or two.  Maybe that is something that I inherited since my father always had one going, even when he was 90.  And my sister usually has one in the process.
          My wife and I enjoy the companionship of working together and our skills complement each other so well with the puzzles.  She is so good at seeing different shades and matching pieces that way.  She doesn't look at the picture on the box.  On the other hand, I look at the picture and then find the shapes and marks on the pieces to put them together.  Contrasting styles, but both important.
          Now some people probably think we are crazy spending so much time doing puzzles.  But there are some real benefits. There have been several studies, like the MacArthur Study, that have found that people who have been used to doing jigsaw puzzles as well as cross words and were fully active, stood to gain a longer life span and also had lesser chances of falling prey to Alzheimer's, memory loss, dementia and other old age problems. The brain produces a chemical known as dopamine that is chiefly responsible for learning and memory. The production of this chemical increases in the brain at the time when it is engaged in solving the jigsaw puzzle.
         We believe that working on puzzles and solving them provides us with many helpful benefits. First of all, it helps make us alert, increases our concentration, expands our creativity. Looking at the images constantly helps us practice visualization, which is again a good aid for any physical activity that requires mental activity. Experts say that it  also affects our physical health by lowering our breath rate, reducing heart rate and blood pressure too.  At least some puzzles do that - others sometimes may have the opposite effect.
         No matter what age you are, puzzles are very good for your brain.  Putting a puzzle together calls upon many cognitive skills, providing you with a great brain work out.  Here are some more things that experts say that it helps.

Visual Perception:  As you work to match shape, color and design, you are giving your Occipital Lobe a workout.  As you search through all of the pieces to find the correct ones you are strengthening your visual scanning abilities.  It's also great for spatial reasoning.  Now I have no idea what my Occipital Lobe is, but I guess giving it a workout must be a good thing.  Gotta keep that Occipital Lobe in shape!
Coordination:  Putting puzzles together hones hand-eye coordination and can strengthen and improve fine motor skills and dexterity in young and old hands.  I guess it also helps when we must pick up some pieces that fell on the floor.  And when we get down we "coordinate" our efforts by looking around to see if there is anything else that we can do  before we get back up.  At our age you dare not waste a trip to the floor.

Critical Thinking:  The steps it takes to complete a puzzle incorporate elements of sequencing, planning, logic, strategy and problem solving skills.  These skills require the work of your prefrontal cortex located in the frontal lobe.  Oh yes, we need to remember to exercise that prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe!

Memory:  You may not realize it but puzzles exercise your short term and visual memory.  These memory components are used regularly while you put a puzzle together.  Now let's see, what were we talking about?  Oh yes, benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles.

Accomplishment:   Many people find puzzles relaxing and they can provide you with a sense of accomplishment which releases dopamine in the brain.   And any time we spend focusing on one activity helps improve our ever-waning attention spans.   On the other hand, at our age, anything we can still successfully complete gives a sense of accomplishment - like getting out of bed in the morning or remembering your name or where you parked your car.
          But seriously, you do get many benefits out of doing puzzles on a daily basis, including that sense of accomplishment when you are finished.  That is especially true if it is a very challenging puzzle which at times has made you feel like giving up.  Just persevere!
          Now did I sell you on the value and benefits of this hobby?  We will be glad to share any of our puzzles with you after we complete them since we always try to pass them on to others.  Just ask us.  If we can remember who you are or where we put them, we'll be glad to give a few to you.  Wow, it looks like I better get back to doing one to try and sharpen my memory once some more.  On the other hand just thinking of all the benefits has made me tired.  Maybe a nap would be better.  I think my Occipital Lobe and my prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe may need some rest.

Tragedy

        Tragedy - we don't know when it will happen and it comes when we least expect it.  We pray that it will never happen to us.  We fear that telephone call or notification that changes our lives forever.  But tragedy does happen ... hopefully to somebody else.

          Tragedy affected our life this past week when we received word that the son of a good missionary  friend of ours was killed in a horrendous auto accident.  Many of you know the details.  Josh Allen, a thirty year old pastor from New Mexico, was on his way to the airport to pick up his twin brother.  A 24 year old male driver, going 90 mph in the wrong lane, hit Josh head on, killing him instantly.  At home, waiting for his return was his wife and nine month old son.  They had planned to celebrate his wife's birthday the next day.  Josh had no life insurance.  This tragedy has impacted and changed the lives of his family and child, as well as the small growing church which he served.

          The stunned reaction to this tragedy is to question God.  Why would a loving God allow this to happen to a fine young man who was serving Him.   Some would also blame God for this tragedy.  And such questions are normal and expected.  Even the Psalmist often questioned God.  And the truth is, we will never know the answers this side of heaven.  God's ways can be mysterious and unknown to we humans.  And, as hard as it often is, we need to claim God's promises, such as "all things work together for good to those who love God".  We need to believe that God is good, all the time, even when our world is falling apart.
         Several of our close friends have also had similar tragedies involving family members. I, too, have experienced such an event.  I will never forget receiving the telephone call from my son telling me that my parents were in an accident and my mother was killed.  Those are moments you never forget.  Our lives were changed forever.  But God did give us incredible peace during those days.  And, looking back now, we realize that this accident did save mother from the possibility of years of suffering and possible stays in hard places like nursing homes.  It is so sad to see older folks suffer in their senior years, especially when things like dementia kick in.  Mother never had to go through those years.  Instantly absent from this world and present with the Lord.
        Now one of the problems we face when friends go through tragedy is how to respond.  It upset me when people said things like "she's better off".  That was certainly true, but nothing I wanted to hear at that time.  And what really bothered me were those who quoted scripture such as there is "rejoicing in heaven".  At that time I didn't care at all about rejoicing there when we were grieving here.  I hoped that those who said they were praying for us really were and not just using that as a "Christian" greeting. Then there were those who said "if we can be of any help, please call us".   To me that was a cop out.  They didn't really want to do anything and they knew we wouldn't call them.  They were off the hook.  We started responding that  if they really wanted to do something they should take dad out to eat sometime.  A few did, the vast majority did not.  

         Now there were a few things that were done that were really appreciated.  We enjoyed the food donations - we certainly didn't feel like cooking at that time.  Then there was one person who was considered an "outcast" among many of our friends who brought a huge platter of lunch meat and cheese and rolls and spent time talking with us.  Sadly many of our other "friends" did nothing.  Then there was a family, again considered by many as outsiders or different, who unexpectedly showed up at our home and cleaned up all of our November leaves.  Wow, was that an unexpected help that we have never forgotten. That was Christianity in action. And of all the sympathy cards that we received, we especially appreciated those where folks wrote personal notes and shared memories of my mother.  They meant so much more to us than most of the cards which contained nothing more than just a stock message.

          As I began to read the many messages about Pastor Josh Allen on Facebook, many of those memories came back.  Finally, I challenged all of those who were posting to put their words into action and do something practical, such as sending donations to help meet the huge financial needs.  Please don't misunderstand what I am saying, prayer is essential, but sometimes we need to put our prayers into action.  I am hoping that many will respond to the Allens in this practical way in this time of great need.

         I pray that the Lord will give all of the Allen family strength, wisdom, and peace in the midst of this tragedy.  And yes, I have backed up my words with action.

P.S. - For related comments, please go to my hymn blog for March 2 - http://barryshymns.blogspot.com/

An Amazing Project

          For 32 years I have had the honor of serving in Awana. Awana is an amazing program for boys and girls and it is a true joy to be associated with it.  For 30 years I served as the founding Commander at Faith Bible Fellowship and for the past two years I have served as Commander Emeritus.  Over those 32 years we have reached thousands of area boys and girls with the Gospel and helped many grow spiritually.  I can't think of a better way to invest your life.

          Now in my new position I am responsible for handling the finances, ordering materials, training leaders, handling promotion, organizing the Awana store, opening the church each week, and filling in where needed. The only thing I really miss is the presentation of awards to clubbers who have worked hard to earn them.  But it was time to pass the other responsibilities to a new Commander and I have no regrets.

          But there is one more responsibility that I have retained - the annual Awana adopt-a-club project.  This is a program where Awana invites you to adopt a country and for $340 a year you either provide funds for the operating costs of a club in that country or you support the training of leaders in that country.  Awana estimates that every $10 given enables at least one clubber to be involved in Awana.  Awana has clubs in almost every country, even those in very dangerous areas.

          At Faith Bible Fellowship we first adopted clubs 21 years ago.  I think we may have started with four or five clubs.  But over the years as our club grew and interest increased we expanded that to 14 different countries.  Now we have adopted clubs in Brazil, Ghana, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa and Venezuela.  In the past we sponsored clubs in places such as Israel, Jordan, Australia, Haiti, Kazakhstan, and Hungary.

          Now there have been a number of traditions that we have developed over the years in raising money.  For example, clubbers can receive a patch for their uniform for making a donation.  Leaders can earn a series of patches, pins and bookmarks for giving a gift.  But the biggest tradition is that each club is given a goal and if they meet that goal they get to "pie" a leader.  That is a great incentive and lots of fun.  And over the years the Kauffman Family puppets have been a regular feature.  Originally this involved my three sons.  Then we began to use the grandchildren.  And as they grew and schedules got more complicated, their participation had to drop off.  Now we feature Tim and his three children, the three youngest of our grandchildren.  But over the years it has been fun to work at one time with all of my boys and all seven of my grandchildren at various times.  Dianne has also used her vent dummy Grandma several times.  The last two years Awana has actually sent two of their staff from Chicago to speak to our clubbers doing the month-long campaign because they recognize our unusual commitment to this missions project.  And that is a special honor that few Awana clubs ever receive.

          And that finally brings us to this year.  With 14 clubs our annual goal has been $5,040 for the past several years.  And the Lord has allowed us to always reach our goal.  In fact, a few times we have actually hit $6,000.  But this year the Lord really chose to bless our efforts and we raised an amazing $8,100!  Incredible!  And we had decided that if we surpassed our goal, the extra amount would be given to Awana's Philippine Relief Fund.  These funds are being used to help churches, Awana clubs and clubbers and families who lost everything in the recent typhoon.  And we are excited to be able to give $3,060 to that fund.

          Now this project requires much of my time and effort in organizing, counting money, keeping records, presenting awards, organizing the puppets and the pieing, and promoting the project.  But it is a very special privilege to do this so that children all around the world can meet the Lord.  I am blessed to have a small part in this great outreach.  I invite you to join with us in praying for the clubs, leaders and clubbers that we are supporting financially, because that must be a major component of this outreach.  Incidentally, sometimes we place pictures and reports from our clubs on our Facebook page, fbfawana.  We'd love to have you join us there.