The Blog of Bob Baril

2:59:10 PM EDT
Feeling Quiet

I put out this e-mail to my "address book" yesterday.  I thought I would share it with my blog readers as well.  Here is what I wrote in my e-mail:
<<Hi,

Just so "y'all"  know, my wife and I will be going on vacation to Pennsylvania from Wednesday July 23 through Sunday 27.  Mary Ann will probably have her laptop with her;  It's possible I'll go on-line once or twice with WiFi  but I just want to let you know to try to NOT send me any e-mails between Wed. July 23 and Sunday, July 27.

Thanks,
BOB BARIL>>

And, now I'll add to my blog readers, if we have any criminal types reading this, I have two young adult offspring of mine who will be at the house while I am away and both the house and church facility will be carefully watched, so if you have any ideas about illegal activity, don't even THINK about it!

I've frankly had a tough day today (Tuesday), one of those kind of days in which you're dealing with one really stupid thing after another.  I feel exhausted and annoyed, and it probably means I really do need a vacation!


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5:12:54 PM EDT
Feeling Indifferent

"And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man." (Acts 12:22)

Around 1:30 p.m. today, I stopped by the Framingham Coperative Bank/Dunkin' Donuts 
parking lot on Concord St. in downtown Framingham as I wanted to cash a check and 
pick up our church's night deposit bag.

There was a green panel truck in the parking lot with a big DAWN HARKNESS 
sign.  She is what Howie Carr calls a "Moon Bat" (a MoveOn.Org type).   There was 
a crowd around the truck...enough people that it was hard to get into the 
parking lot.  I thought, "Is DAWN HARKNESS attracting this much of a crowd in the 
middle of the day?!"  THEN I saw a bunch of John Kerry signs.  I thought, 
"Aren't they left over from 2004?!"  Suddenly I saw that John Kerry was 
addressing the crowd.

I just plain got out of there and drove over to pick up some things at 
Staples on Route 9.  I came back and the Harkness vehicle was gone.   In the bank, a 
bunch of cameras were ready and everybody looked like they were about to 
audition for American Idol.  One teller excitedly told me that John Kerry was 
about to come into the bank at any time.  I told them I'd be voting Repblican, 
and another told me "you can keep that to yourself".

I left the bank and proceeded to go over to Dunkin' Donuts for an ice coffee. 
 I realized Kerry was in there having some sort of Town Meeting or something, 
so I gave up  and drove to Dunkin' Donuts on Franklin Street.  THERE, I ran 
into the new directors of the Framingham Salvation Army (whom I recognized from
a recent newspaper article) which was more exciting and meaningful to me.
Incidentally, one of the infamous Rizoli brothers of Framingham was across the street from 
Concord St. Dunkin' Donuts holding a protest sign.

All this, just from trying to do a simple errand at the Framingham Cooperative Bank!

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11:47:03 AM EDT
Feeling Surprised

This was originally posted on July 8 and at that time caused the layout of the blog
to get all messed up (see "Thank You Dave and Jon" for an explanation).  I have
decided to try to repost it today.  Phoebe, like me, described herself as 
ECCENTRIC".  I think she would have gotten a laugh about all the problems she
caused me with my blog layout.  So here is what I originally posted on July 8:

"I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which 
is at Cenchrea:" (Romans 16:1)

In my entire life I think I've only known ONE Phoebe.  (Well, there WAS a 
character named Phoebe on a soap opera I used to watch in the 1970s, but 
somehow 
I don't think that counts!)  The one Phoebe I've known was Phoebe Yphantis.  
(Yphantis is a Greek last name.  She pronounced it "Yee-FAN-tis").

To the best of my knowledge, Phoebe Yphantis never set foot in our church 
building, but in many respects she considered First Assembly of God of Framingham 
HER church.  My first contact with Phoebe was about ten years ago.  In those 
days, we had a weekly radio program on (now defunct) J-Light Christian Radio 
AND I was a frequent guest on J-Light's morning drive program.  Phoebe began 
regularly telephoning our church, sending in financial contributions to our 
church, and praying for our church.  

From time to time, I'd visit Phoebe with Claire Grimes, an older woman from 
our church.  Phoebe lived in a small apartment in a complex for the elderly and 
disabled in Wayland.  She was heavy-set.  She wasn't much to look it.  Well, 
she wasn't ugly or anything, but she was not the kind of woman that guys would 
even remotely feel physically attracted to.  When we were first visiting her, 
she was in her early 60s.  Over the years, I learned that Phoebe had been the 
daughter of a minister.  I also learned she'd attended Lexington Christian 
High School with Paul Hubley, who I know.  (Paul was pastor of "Chapel of the 
Cross" - a Baptist church in Southborough- in the 1990s.)  I learned she had a 
sister in Tennessee and a brother in western Massachusetts who was financially 
comfortable but had pretty much walked away from the Christianity of his 
youth.  

Phoebe called on the phone quite a bit, and she could talk for at least 
thirty minutes at a time.  Sometimes that got kind of taxing, but I did feel sorry 
for her.  She DID make fairly regular financial contributions to the church.  
Phoebe was poor.   The checks were mostly small, but I'd say over the past ten 
years she gave at least $1000. to our little church.  In September of 2002, 
we held a special outreach to the children and families of our church's 
neighborhood which we called,"Fun Fiesta:.  For us it was a huge undertaking.  
Phoebe made "Fun Fiesta" a huge prayer matter and prayed a LOT for it.  It was a 
very successful event.  My wife Mary Ann made Phoebe a photo album about "Fun 
Fiesta" as a thank you to her.

About eighteen months ago, Phoebe Yphantis moved from the apartment complex 
in Wayland to a nursing home in Sudbury.  I sent her regular newsletters, and 
she phoned me probably about once every two weeks or so.  On Saturday, I 
received a blunt phone call from the nursing home asking me to stop sending mail 
to Phoebe as she is no longer a resident.

"Did she pass away?"  I asked.

The called somewhat reluctantly told me she'd passed away a couple of weeks 
ago.

I thought about the last phone call I had with her which was about four or 
five weeks ago.  She was having a lot of health issues and I made it a point to 
pray for her before I hung up.  

"Stay in touch," I encouraged her.

I did an on-line search for Phoebe Yphantis.  I could not find an Obituary, a 
Death Notice, or ANYTHING.  I wonder if her family just had the body 
cremated, or quickly buried.  Come to think of it, I think she MAY have had her 
body donated to science. 

Yes, sometimes Phoebe's phone calls could be kind of long and feel a bit 
intrusive, but, I'm going to miss them...

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9:46:52 PM EDT
Feeling Relieved
You'd have to be quite a geek to notice this, but the entry "Phoebe" is gone and the blog looks more "normal".  This was somehow due to getting the new iMac computer and my first posting done on the new iMac on July 8 through "Firefox" but it caused the whole layout of the blog to change....to be very wide and big and difficult to read.

Dave a personal friend and regular blog reader e-mailed me about the problem today.

After extensive troubleshooting, my son found that something went crazy when I posted the July 8 posting entitled "Phoebe".  Jon found that when "Phoebe" became an "archieve" the blog would correct itself and look normal....OR I could just delete the posting. 

Since I started the blog in Feb. of 2006, I don't think I've ever deleted ANY posting, but I deleted "Phoebe" and everything went back to normal.

This reminds me of a teaching I heard many years ago from Denny Seler who is a mutual friend of Dave and me.  Denny said nobody is truly "independent"; rather a mature person recognizes that he or she is INTERDEPENDENT.  I needed Dave's feedback, and I needed Jon's help to get the blog layout back the way it's supposed to be!

Sorry, Phoebe, but your memorial posting just had to go!


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6:28:38 PM EDT
Feeling Happy
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11)

I LOVE old-fashioned (dare I say it) “Black” Gospel songs.  I’m nervous because I don’t want to sound like a racist, and I’m NOT a racist.  But, one time after a special community service which had featured a dynamic Black Gospel choir, I commented to my clergy colleague The Rev. Ellen Tatreau (a white, American Baptist) “I love a good Black Gospel choir!” She immediately (with political correctness) turned to me and said, “No, you love a GOSPEL choir!”  Well; I love a Black Gospel choir!  It’s the experience of slavery, racism, “Jim Crow”, etc. that gives the music it’s “soul” and very few, if any, whites can really grab hold of that.  

I LOVE the Black Gospel song that radio talk show host Jimmy Myers uses to open his program every Sunday afternoon on 96.9 WTKK.  It’s called “Somebody Ought to Testify”.  It’s fast, and “cool” and soulful, and I could listen to it all day.  Sorry, Jimmy Myers, but I’m going to steal it and make it MY theme song for THIS posting!

What a GREAT day I had on this past Thursday!  

A few weeks ago, I was asked to host a meeting of mostly Protestant Massachusetts Prison Chaplains.  All I had to do was provide the meeting place, which was our church facility.  Since our church building is small and not handicapped accessible (ssshhhhh, don’t remind the Town about that!) I don’t get to host many special events, so this was an honor.  I was actually even a little bit nervous about it.

When I was asked to host the meeting,  I was also asked to share a 15-20 minute devotional (short sermon)  from the Bible.

Until Wednesday,  I did not know what I was going to share, but yesterday I
felt strongly impressed from the Lord to share a "Readers' Digest  condensed version" of
last Sunday's Isaiah 6 sermon.   I don’t have the space here on the blog to write all there is to write about last Sunday’s sermon.  I have pastored First Assembly of God of Framingham for twenty-one years.  This was the finest and most powerful and most anointed sermon I’ve preached in twenty-one years; no thanks to me, but thanks to GOD!

I had not told anyone at the chaplain’s meeting what I was speaking about.  When the "leader" Mark Henenway opened the meeting he quoted from Isaiah 6 about the Seraphim saying "Holy, Holy, Holy".  I was so moved I literally almost started crying.  When I shared the devotional there was a heavy anointing on it, just like Sunday. The chaplains were all moved by the devotional.  One said, "This is the best kept secret in Massachusetts! (meaning our church)  If I lived nearer, I'd come to church here and I'd encourage others to come!"  Another said it was very anointed and that "God is about to do a great work here".   Another requested I be called forward and special prayer be prayed over me.   It was very powerful.  One prophecy was given about the church and two prophetic words were given to me, personally.

As far as next Sunday's sermons and a bunch of other stuff I had to do and still have to do, I got absolutely nothing done on Thursday morning, but I know I was supposed to be in this
chaplains’ meeting and I just have to trust God I'm going to get all that stuff done before Sunday morning.

I don’t know how many of you can appreciate what I’ve written here.
Some may think I’m crazy.
Some may think it’s no big deal.
It is.

And, I JUST HAD TO TESTIFY!

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5:40:41 AM EDT
Feeling Pleased
“And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:” (Luke 15:23)

In the past, I’ve mentioned on this blog that I tend to be a workaholic.  My “to do” lists are unbelievably long.  The amount of “blue collar” and “white collar” tasks I have to accomplish before Thanksgiving Day 2008 is so overwhelming, that sometimes it drives me to staring vacantly and sadly into space for 10-15 minutes and wondering if there’s any way to clone several more Bob Barils and/or instantly produce $10,000 to hire people to do some of it.

Despite my workaholism and despite the overwhelming tasks I really DO still face for 2008, once in awhile somebody kind of makes a way for me to have a, “Ferris Buheler’s Day Off” and that was the case with Tuesday, July 15.  My 21-year-old daughter Rachel loves Rockport, MA and desperately wanted to spend a day there this summer, but she did not want to go there alone, and she has NO sense of direction.  SO, a few weeks ago, Rachel asked me if I’d consider taking a Tuesday (my day off) and going with her to Rockport.  I agreed.  She got July 15 off from work, and we had our version of “Ferris Buheler’s Day Off” .

I have desperately wanted a sunny dry day to do some prepping for outdoor painting.  YES, our house is covered with what Jay Severin calls “cheap, plastic junk” (that more sensitive people call “vinyl siding”)  but I still have a porch and railings that get painted, and they look terrible.  It was a bit hard to give up a sunny dry day of working at the parsonage, but I honestly needed this fun trip to Rockport!  The weather could not have been better.  We left around 8:45 a.m. and and arrived in Rockport around 10.  Honestly, I think tourism has GOT to be done this year.  Yes, there were crowds of tourists in Rockport, but I’d say only about half the number of people you’d typically have seen in past years.  We easily found an on-street parking place.  I was surprised that you can feed the meter to park up to 5 hours!  I think there was a 2-3 hours limit in the past.  We did feed it so it would allow us 5 hours of visiting the town, and we walked the 10-15 minutes to Bearskin Neck.  Rockport reminds me a lot of Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  It’s not quite as nice as Boothbay Harbor, but it IS almost as good.  There’s a sense in which it’s nicer than just about anything on Cape Cod, (and I love Cape Cod).  Bearskin Neck is quaint and touristy.  It’s filled with art galleries, restaurants, and gift shops.  We looked around a few art galleries which was fun.  At the end of Bearskin Neck is a “jetty”.  I think most of you know a jetty is a pile of rocks in a row that jut out into the water.  Rachel really wanted to walk out to the end of the jetty.  It was REALLY rugged, and I had to stop and sit down about a fourth of the way out, but she made it to the end and I snapped her picture a number of times.

For lunch, we ate at Portside Chowder House right on Bearskin Neck.  Although SOME of the items on the menu were a little pricey, the place was pretty much “family style” and most of the prices were reasonable.  I had a cup of clam chowder which was really good and a huge steak and cheese sub which was filling and delicious.  Rachel had chicken fingers and fries which she could not finish.  The service was good.  The best part was we were seated at a window looking right out on the water!  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE PORTSIDE CHOWDER HOUSE.

Later, we went to the Bearskin Neck Ice Cream Store and each got frappes.  For those of you from outside New England, a “frappe” is a New England milk shake.  There’s something about a frappe...a generous amount of ice cream, milk and syrup, that just doesn’t compare with the “shakes” you get in the rest of the country.  The frappes were outstanding!  I also highly recommend this place!

One of the shops we stopped in was Bearskin Neck Leathers.  I couldn’t imagine I’d buy anything in there, but I did!  My cell phone holder broke some time ago.  If you go to buy a new one at the cell phone store, they’re pricey and not that great.  I’d had my cell phone on my belt in a goofy oversized holder.  There was a PERFECT leather cell phone holder which I bought for just 8 bucks!  I was delighted!  We also stopped in a candy/gift shop in the downtown for some souvenir magnets, and Rachel bought a tee shirt.

We did NOT come prepared for swimming, but we DID take a five minute stroll across the public beach.  Rachel noticed that across the street from the beach was a public park called “Millbrook Meadow”, and we decided to walk over and check it out.  What a WONDERFUL place Millbrook Meadow is!  We had a blast walking through it...green and picturesque with a bubbling brook running through it.  There was a huge snapping turtle in the brook! There’s a path leading uphill from the meadow to a very old burial ground.  From the burial ground you can look across to the ocean.  What a spectacular view!

Have I whet your appetite for Rockport?  I hope so!  My wife and I are seriously considering spending an overnight there before the end of 2008.

Yes, I’ve got an overwhelming amount of work to do, but sometimes you DO have to take a “Ferris Buheler’s Day Off” or I guess I’ll call it a “Bob Baril’s Day Off”!

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6:13:28 AM EDT
Feeling Irritated
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them:  for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

Sometime ago on her blog (http://rev-o-lution.blogspot.com ) , my clergy friend and colleague, The Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell, wrote a piece entitled, “Be the Buddah of the Road”.  I’d have preferred, “Be the Jesus of the Road,” but I got her point.  

Bluntly, I don’t know why so many people are in SUCH a HURRY and have SUCH an “ATTITUDE”.  I think the WORST drivers in America are in the New York City area and the second worst are in the immediate vicinity of Providence, Rhode Island, but pretty much anyplace in eastern or central Massachusetts would qualify for the third worst drivers in the country.  Driving is no fun.  And as for the “rules” that I learned in Driver Ed in the early 1970s: WHAT RULES?!  It seems they’ve all vanished!

On Monday morning I was driving in Framingham; specifically I was on Mount Wayte AVE at the intersection with Franklin ST, proceeding south (ultimately heading for the Pond Street, Ashland area).  At that congested intersection, a few cars coming from the opposite direction were turning from Mount Wayte onto Franklin to head towards the Route 9/Famingham Centre area.  A couple of cars were pretty much into the intersection to make their turns anyway, so I stopped and waved them through.  In my rear-view mirror was a disgusted woman (probably late 30s or early 40s) who threw her hands into the air as if to say to me, “You stupid goofy idiot.  Why don’t you let 63,000 people turn in front of us while you’re at it!?”

I think I’ve written about this before, but I HATE the “hands in the air” thing when people are driving.  Honestly, I’d rather have someone give me the finger.  It’s clear. It’s concise.  It’s abrupt.  I don’t like it, but O.K. I get the point; but the hands in the air thing?!  Thirty  or more years agowhen my Dad was with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, he’d stop a driver who gave him a gesture like that and he’d give them a condescending ten minute lecture that would ruin their whole day.  Of course, if they didn’t want the ten minute lecture, he’d just find some excuse to give them a citation and make them come into the old 100 Nashua Street Registry headquarters for a hearing.  Boy, I sometimes wish I had that power that my Dad had!  

As soon as I was able to pull through the intersection, I pulled to the side of the road and dramatically waved Mrs. “Hands in the Air” forward with both arms as if she was the Queen of England or something. Maybe that wasn’t the “Buddah of the Road” thing to do, but it sure felt good!  Ironically, Mrs. “Hands in the Air” made a right turn down that street that goes through the old Cushing Hospital property to Winter Street.  I say ironically, because as she did, a car was in front of HER on that side street “crawling”!  I knew she’d be disgusted and she’d be slowed down.  It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person!

Maybe Mrs. “Hands in the Air” is married to Mr. “Are You With Don?” from the “Raining On My Parade” story.  Wouldn’t THAT be wild?!

My message to all drivers:  Slow down.  Lighten up.  Be courteous.  

One of the many jobs my father had over his years at the Registry of Motor Vehicles was investigating fatal car accidents.  I’ve seen some very gory photos.  I’m tempted to describe one to you, but I honestly might get in trouble with AOL for being too graphic.  We all want to get to Heaven, but do we want to get there THAT quick?!

And, this may offend some of my very strict born-again Christian friends, but a bumper sticker I saw about twenty years ago says it all:  “DRIVE LIKE HELL.  YOU’LL GET THERE!”

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12:53:23 PM EDT
Feeling Nostalgic
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

First of all, I want to make it very clear that this posting is NOT about James “Whitey” Bulger, the notorious Boston criminal who has been hiding from the feds for over twelve years.  This is about a CAR!

Whitey was the name we gave to our 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon.  On Thursday afternoon, Whitey was hauled off to the junk yard.  I know a car is really nothing more than a pile of rubber, steel, plastic, and stainless steel, with oil and gasoline and power steering fluid, brake fluid, and other stuff pumping through its various systems.  But Americans are very personal and emotional about their cars.  Some of you know that I sell various auto collectibles so I find myself at a lot of car shows, and even with the increase in gas prices, car shows are as popular as ever.  There’s something about seeing the ”gull wing” design of a ’59 Chevrolet or the cool, sleek, innovative look of a ’49 Ford coupe that puts many a baby-boomer in a pleasant, nostalgic mood.  Maybe it’s because my father was SUCH a big “car person” that (although I’m not mechanically inclined) I notice cars and I tend to form sentimental attachments to cars.  I was pretty attached to Whitey.

I’m actually not a big fan of General Motors cars (with the exception of Saturn cars).  I tend to prefer Ford products, and for minivans, I prefer Chrysler products, but due to the economic situations I’ve found myself in throughout my life, if a car was reasonably priced and in good mechanical condition, I’d buy it despite the make.  I’ve owned an AMC, a couple of Fords, a Plymouth, a Dodge, a couple of Oldsmobiles, and let's not forget my 1989 Volkswagen!  I DO like station wagons very much.  I’m sad that there are fewer and fewer station wagons available today.  They’ve been largely replaced by SUVs, “crossovers”, and minivans.  In 1995, I was junking my 1986 Plymouth Caravelle sedan and I needed a cheap, reliable replacement.  At that time, I bought a dark blue 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon.  I really liked the car.   It was GREAT for the first year that I owned it, but after that I did start having a lot of mechanical problems with it.  In late 1997, the ’85 Oldsmobile was at the stage to be junked, and I did not know what to do.  For those of you who don’t believe in miracles and answers to prayer, I want to testify that in late ’97 I had an answer to prayer and a “sort-of” miracle.  To my total surprise, a guy I know offered to sell me his 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass wagon (book value $5200.) for one dollar.  He had just purchased a new Chevrolet truck, and he just plain wanted to do this to help me out!  I bought “Whitey” (yes the car was WHITE with gray interior) for one 1972 Eisenhower dollar coin.

I did not have any serious problems with Whitey for many years.  In fact, my wife and I owned Whitey for over ten years and six months.  That’s the longest we’ve ever owned any car.  Two of my kids learned to drive on Whitey.  I took my father to a number of doctor appointments in Whitey.  In those days, he was still at home but quite senile.  I remember my daughter Amy and I taking him to the barber shop for a haircut in Whitey.  I was regularly driving Whitey during the crises when each of my parents died.  I could go on and on telling stories about Whitey and boring you.  I do remember the time one of Whitey’s side windows was shot out with a B-B gun.  I was in the church building at the time and the perpetrator was never caught.  I also remember hosing Whitey down one hot day and cracking the windshield in the process.  One of the wheel covers kept falling off, and finally I just kept it off and hung it in our basement where it still hangs to this day.  

In September of 2005, Whitey broke down with my daughter Rachel driving it.  I had AAA haul it to our driveway.  Whitey had several serious problems which I could not afford to fix for quite awhile.  Whitey sat in our driveway from September of 2005 to August of 2006 when it was repaired.  After that, we started down the cycle of some sort of major repair needing to be done about every three to four months.  Rachel had become Whitey’s principal driver and had also become even more emotionally attached to the car than I was.  In early January of 2008, we got the diagnosis that Whitey needed MAJOR work, and a key part would have to be ordered through a General Motors dealership.  Rachel did not take the news well, but I made the decision that Whitey was coming off the road for good.  It took until April for us to find a 2000 Saturn sedan which became Whitey’s replacement.  After Whitey sitting in the driveway for six months, it was time for it to go.  I called a Brazilian guy who hauls away junk cars.  He and his partner came and got it and paid me $200. for  it.

The afternoon before Whitey was hauled away, Rachel posed for a few pictures in front of it.

Yes, it’s the “circle of life” and it was finally time for Whitey to go. 


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5:48:13 AM EDT
Feeling Thoughtful
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4)

At the outset, I’m going to tell you “point blank” that this posting may “come back to bite me”.  It’s likely it will confuse some folks.  It COULD even upset a few people.  I expect at least 25% of those who’ll read it to disagree with what I write here and to not like this posting.  I also expect about 30% of those who read this and who THINK they understand it to in fact NOT understand it at all.  With that disclaimer in mind- if you’re “game”, then keep reading!

On weekends, one of Boston’s PBS television stations (we MAY be the only T.V. market in America that has two PBS television stations!) ran the Tom Hanks film, “Big” with no commercial interruptions. I was glued to it.  I LOVE “Big”!  It’s not my absolute favorite film, but it IS in my top ten.  (My top film is “Field of Dreams” starring Kevin Costner.)  I know that a lot of strict born-again Christians would have a lot of problems and disagreements with each film.  (That’s the kind of thing that drives my 24-year-old son crazy! Jon happens to be an avid film buff AND a committed Christian, and he can’t understand why so many committed evangelicals find that an impossibility!)  We DO need to “lighten up” at times!  These ARE fantasy films which are NOT meant to be taken literally any more than is, “The Wizard of Oz”, and YES I know that some born-again Christian hate THAT film!  In “Big” I don’t like some of the language.  The “F” word is used at least once.  (To my surprise, PBS bleeped that- PBS usually lets ALL language go.)  There are several uses of “G.D.” which PBS did NOT bleep and I find “G.D.” more offensive than “F”.  There are also several other choice words in “Big”.  Had it been up to ME when the film was made, I’d have eliminated all profanities, but you’ve got to understand I actually cannot tell you the last time I uttered a profanity- it was many years ago.  There is pre-marital sex in “Big” - almost nothing is actually shown, but in the film, pre-marital sex is O.K., and I’m well aware that in God’s eyes, it’s NOT O.K.  I also realize that in “Big”, the twelve-year-old kid Josh wishes to be “big” in front of an occultic/demonic wishing machine that looks like something right out of Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” from circa 1960.  (In SOME respects, “Big” IS like a long episode of “The Twilight Zone”.) I know most born-again Christians would prefer he’d have made his wish in front of a friendly stuffed bunny or something, but that’s not the way the film was written, and again, it’s a FANTASY, a STORY;  it’s FICTION, and not meant to be taken literally!

I’m guessing most of my readers have seen “Big”.  For the sake of any who have not seen it, a 12-year-old kid is magically changed into a 30-year-old man, and later magically changed back.  It’s NOT, however, that he’s changed into a 30-year-old man who suddenly thinks, lives, and acts like a 30-year-old man.  Instead, he’s a 12-year-old trapped in a 30-year-old man’s body.  The character Josh ends up going to work for a toy company, and just by being HIMSELF, ends up being promoted to being a Vice-President in charge of toy development. You’d have to SEE the film, and I can’t do it justice on paper, but the film is both funny and sad to watch.  What you realize as you watch it is the world would be a MUCH better place if we were all really just a bunch of 12-year-olds trapped in adult bodies instead of the sophisticated, selfish, manipulative, phonies that at least half of adults become.  Did I really mean that last statement?  Are at least half of adults sophisticated, selfish, manipulative, and phony?  In my life experience, YES.  

One of the reasons I like “Big” and I relate to Josh is that I’m a lot like him.  Back in the 1990s one fellow pastor angrily told me, “Grow UP, man!!”  I’ve faced similar rejections when I just won’t play all the stupid games that so called “grown ups” play.  Ironically, the woman who falls in love with Josh says she falls in love with him because, “He’s a GROWN UP!”  By that, she means, he’s open, and honest, and vulnerable, and genuine.  In the film, many people REJECT Josh, but a minority of people greatly love, respect, and appreciate him.

It’s interesting that Jesus did NOT tell us, “Grow UP, man!!”  Rather, he told us to become as little children!

Now, I realize that there are some NEGATIVES to this “childlike behavior” thing.  Many children TALK way too much.  They babble and babble and babble and tell EVERYBODY, EVERYTHING.  That’s very unwise.  In Matthew 10:16, Jesus DID tell us to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves”.  In the film, Josh ultimately learns to act a little more like an adult.  He stops telling everybody everything, and that helps him.  As much as I tend to be child-LIKE, I have tried to learn to not be child-ISH.  Many times in public meetings, I don’t say a whole lot.  I’ve found the Mark Twain maxim very helpful...you know, the one about, “better to be quiet and thought of as a fool than to speak and to leave no doubt about it”.  That’s TRUE.  One of my instructors at Stonehill College, (Mr. Chamberlain) said it’s always better to be quiet; that people will THINK you know more than you do when you’re quiet, and that people will be more impressed with you.  I’ve found that’s absolutely true.

This next paragraph may not “go over” with some folks, either, but somebody I’ve admired in life is Larry Glick.  I know, “Larry WHO?!”  Larry Glick retired from being a Boston area radio personality over fifteen years ago.  He is now 86 and lives in South Florida.  I’ve actually spoken to him a few times, both on the air, and in private conversations (though not lately).  Larry Glick is a very childlike guy.  Larry Glick is a “Josh” and a “Bob Baril” kind of person, and he became very successful in life by being himself.  I’m still naive enough (“childlike enough”!) to believe I will be successful in life by being MYself.  Larry Glick may be humorous and childlike, but he’s not some jerk.  Glick fought in World War 2 and was wounded in combat in France.  In the early 1960s after doing various things in radio in both the business management side of radio and the broadcasting performer side of radio, he was not too happy.  Larry Glick was inMiami, Florida doing an issues oriented talk show.  Each night, he argued politics and national issues with callers.  Glick was miserable.  He really didn’t like all the anger and arguing.  One night, he just came in and did a light, fun, and I’ll say it:  “childlike” show.  He had a blast!  He never went back to the confrontational/issues format.  In time, he was hired to return to his hometown of Boston, MA to do a show with his trademark light and entertaining format, and over a twenty-five year period of time he did just that on WMEX, WBZ, and later WHDH.  He was “real”, he was “vulnerable”, he was “childlike”, and he was happy.  The fact that he’s still alive and in reasonably good health at 86 has GOT to say something.

Yes, that character Josh in “Big”- he’s a lot like Bob Baril; or Bob Baril’s a lot like him.  And, despite what a lot of grown-ups may THINK of that, I think it’s a good thing.


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12:28:26 PM EDT
Feeling Hopeful
"...Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them..." (from Matthew 13:30))

I’ve posted this tip on my blog at least once before (quite awhile ago) and I’ve put this information out as mass e-mailings at least twice before, but I thought I’d share it again this year:

This is around the time of year that many of us are bothered with crabgrass, wild grasses, and all sorts of other weeds growing up through cracks in our driveways and walkways or through cracks in the sidewalks and curbing in front of our residences.  Sometimes the weeds can grow a foot or more high or spread out (like crabgrass) all over the place and look TERRIBLE.  If you’ve ever tried digging up and pulling out the weeds you know how frustrating that is, and many times you’ve done further damage to your driveway in the process! My father used to pour gasoline on such growth.  Gasoline kills the weeds but it’s hazardous, and will potentially do damage to asphalt.  There ARE some pretty good weed killers sold at hardware stores.  The problem is, many of them are at least somewhat environmentally hazardous, also, and most of them cost a lot of money.

Seven years ago, my friend Dave Connell gave me a WONDERFUL tip!  He told me the thing to use on that unwanted weed growth in your driveway cracks, walkway cracks, and sidewalks and curbing  is VINEGAR!  That sounded crazy, but I tried it and IT WORKS!  In fact, vinegar works better on those weeds than conventional weed killers do, and vinegar is NOT harmful to the environment!

The thing to do is buy the vinegar in gallon jugs.  You can find vinegar in gallon jugs in the salad dressing aisle in almost any supermarket in America.  Prices do vary widely.  I will say that the place with usually sells it for the lowest price in the Boston area is Market Basket, but I did get some jugs of vinegar on sale a few days ago at Stop & Shop.  I usually buy the white vinegar, but cider vinegar works just the same.  Depending on how much of an area you need to treat, buy two or three or four jugs, and pour vinegar directly on the weeds you want to kill.  Within 24 hours you’ll see them dying and in 3 days they’ll be brown, wilted, and dead! In the past I’ve told people not to do a vinegar application just before the torrential rains of a thunderstorm as that could weaken the effects of the vinegar.  Well, this week, Iappliedthe vinegar just a couple of hours before the torrential rains of a thunderstorm.  The vinegar worked just fine and all that water on top of it seemed to have NO detrimental effects!

I’m so glad Dave Connell gave me this great tip!  Hope you’ll try it and share it with a friend!



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