Andrew's View of the Week

The Words

Posted on 05/31/2020 by Andrew Reynolds

I was going to write a different post today.

But there are no right words for a world that is descending into injustice where the rule of law and decency is ignored from street level to the highest offices.

There are no words when we judge based on skin and not on the character of a heart.

When we reject seeing the divine in each of God’s people, we start the downward cycle of rejecting compassion and spinning into the abyss of hatred and violence.

There are no words for times like these. Some rage, some cry, and some wonder why.

And as I sit down to write my city has joined in announcing a curfew – hoping that more enforcement can contain a world primed with fear and hate.

I don’t have an answer or the right words.

But I can’t help but think that we would do better as a nation if we listened more and tried to heal divisions.

I did see an interesting sign of hope. A FaceBook friend reposted a picture the Santa Cruz Police Chief kneeling with the other peaceful protesters in his city. See:

https://patch.com/california/santacruz/santa-cruz-police-chief-kneels-alongside-peaceful-protesters

The only thing I know for sure is that healing begins with listening and the willingness to embrace change within ourselves.

Posted in General | Tagged change, hope, Peace | 26 Comments

Friday Wisdom – Cars

Posted on 05/29/2020 by Andrew Reynolds

I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather.. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

With the rise of self-driving vehicles, sooner or later we’ll get a country song where a guy’s truck leaves him too.

A dad is washing the car with his son. After awhile, the son asks, “Do you think we could use a sponge instead?”

I gave up my seat to a blind person in the bus. That is how I lost my job as a bus driver.

What’s worse than raining cats and dogs? Hailing Taxi.

The worst thing about parallel parking is witnesses.

Posted in wisdom | Tagged humor, wisdom | 16 Comments

In this pandemic world we seem to be increasingly focusing inward – the risk to us, the inconvenience, the job losses, and annoying rules. It’s a strange time as the world adopts new habits – new ways of thinking. The narrative is shifting.

But there are things I hope we never lose. Monday Memorial Day. Many Americans just treat it as a day off. This year it means I won’t be logging into the office so it will seem odd to have a holiday.

Sadly, I’m not seeing many people discussing Memorial Day. Our usual activities won’t be happening. There will be no gathering at the cemeteries, no bands, no flags, and I fear no remembrance of the price paid by so many of our sons and daughters.

My father served in WWII as did many others. He never saw combat and lived well into his 70’s. When he died at the VA, they sent me an American Flag that has sat in a case on my bookshelf for 19 years. Monday my thoughts will be for all those families who only have a flag left.

A conversation on a company chat this week reminded me of a trip I took in 1982 to Washington D.C. I’d gone back to hear Issac Asimov speak (I wrote about it a few years ago see: Memorial Day Remembering The Vietnam Veterans Memorial ). My coworkers were impressed that I’d had a chance to hear Dr. Asimov, but the strongest memory I have of that trip was going to see the Tomb of the Unknown and seeing the Vietnam Memorial just after it opened.

I’ve been to the Arlington National Cemetery three times.

Three times I’ve watch the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown.

Once I stood looking at the Korean War Memorial at night, in a light snow. Spot lights casting a ghostly shadow across the steel statues – a ghost platoon wearing ponchos crossing a field in the cold night.

How easy it is for us to forget the price of war.

How easy it is for us to fall into the trap of only thinking of our own comfort and forgetting the price of battle.

On Monday, for just one day, let’s set aside the virus and remember those who traded their life for a flag.