Timing

The rain finally came in the past seven days . . . with an onslaught.  In the past seven days I would venture to guess that we have received well over two inches of rain.  Now, I do not want to complain, but after a summer or rainless drought, couldn’t God have timed this a little better?

For the second summer in a row, we Montanans have endured another drought . . . a hot, miserable, rainless drought.  The ground was brick hard . . . the grass wilted and turned brown . . . and, everyone was praying for God to provide some sort of relief.  But, nothing came . . . no rain, and no reduction in our watering or electricity bills.  I, for one, was ready to give up.

Last Sunday afternoon I mowed my grass.  I used the last of the gas I had and mowed what was left of my lawn . . . it was more dust than grass clippings . . . but, I mowed my lawn.  An hour later . . . it rained.  It rained over an inch.  Then this weekend, it rained at least another inch if not more.  The result?  Well, everything that had gone dormant is now growing.  Grass, weeds . . , you name it and it is growing . . . growing like weeds.  Why shouldn’t it be?  After all, God’s water is a heck of a lot better than the water I pay out the nose for when I water my grass . . . more nutrients or something.  All I know, is that I am going to have to mow my grass a couple of more times thanks to all of this rain!

There are days that I wish that God and I could get on the same page.  As I stated above, I had used the last of my gas to mow my yard.  The grass looked like it was finally ready to give up the ghost and go into the dormant stage until next spring.  I figured that this would be the last time that I would have to mow my grass . . . figured that it would snow and cover up the unevenness of my yard.  Snow is the great deceiver of yard care . . . with a couple of inches of snow, everybody’s yard look the same.  But . . . NO!  God was not done . . . God let it rained.

Apparently God and I are not on the same page.  Apparently God and I have not synchronized our watches.  Apparently God really does not care what I think . . . after all, I am just one of billions of God’s creations.  Apparently God does not have time for me and what I would like to see happen.  Apparently our timing is off.

So what is a guy to do?  I really do not think that God sees this as a problem . . . at least not God’s problem.  What sort of baloney is this!  I really did not want to buy more gas for the lawn mower . . . I really did not want to mow the grass again . . . yet, it seems that God is not done with my yard yet.  The grass keeps growing . . . the dogs keep complaining . . . and, I am spending $3.58 a gallon for gas to mow a lawn that in a couple of week will be cover by e equalizing snow.  Why can’t God get with the program?

I imagine that it is built into those of us who consider ourselves human.  Yeah, we read about God taking care of business . . . but, we are human, and as humans we expect the worse . . . and, expecting the worse, we take matters into our own hands.  We water and mow our lawns that God will take care of in the end.  It is human nature to not fully trust God and God’s timing. 

After half a century of life, one would think that I would trust fully in God and God’s timing.  After a week of rain, the yard looks as good as it has ever looked . . . but, here I am complaining that I need to buy gas . . . need to crank up the ol’ lawnmower at least one more time . . . wondering why God can’t get with the program.   

I guess that is the fallacy of my understanding . . . that God and I would be on the same page.  Rarely has that ever happened . . . that God and I were on the same page.  Someone once told me that if that happened the kingdom of God would be realized.  I think both God and I are still waiting.  This really is not God’s problem, but mine.  I think I need a better watch.  Someday, God and I will get it together . . . and, you better watch out,  because if that happens . . . well, it might all be over.  Timing is important . . . watch out!!  In the meantime, I really do appreciate the rain . . . my yard looks wonderful!

Karma Sucks!

The temperature got to 50 degrees by noon . . . by one o’clock it was pouring down torrential rain . . . and by six o’clock it was snowing . . . a whole year of weather in a span of six hours . . . welcome to springtime in Montana!

Karma sucks!

A couple of months ago, I was bemoaning the fact that the eastern parts of the United States were getting all of the snow and storms that typically hit the great state of Montana.  In particular, I was lamenting the lack of snow.  I guess God must have heard my lament and has been sending the Big Sky Country plenty of weather (snow, rain, and ice) like delivering the manna to the children of God in the wilderness . . . it has been happening about as regular as that!  Karma sucks!

Like most Montanans . . . I dress for the weather.  I layer it on for the weather . . . from the cold to the hot, I put my layers on.  It is better to be safe than sorry.  Since last Monday we have had seven inches of snow (gone within 24 hours), near monsoon-like rains, and now more snow.  Of course, the ski slopes closed last weekend . . . but, we are handling it.  Some of us better than others.

I might be in that “other” group as I am tired of the snow and ice . . . tired of scraping my car off . . . tired of driving slowly down the highway . . . tired of the crap game God is playing with the weather!  This is life in the springtime in Big Sky Country.  As they say, if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!  This is the “thanks” I get for griping about the weather in January . . . it is all my fault.  I brought this all on the great state of Montana . . . karma bites us all in the butt thanks to my biblical lament about the great weather we had been having!

At the same time, I should not complain.  The area of Montana I live in is within the area that the federal government declared drought-stricken, and is to receive financial assistance to help recoup the losses caused by the lack of moisture.  The assistance is great, but what most of us really want is the moisture . . . and, lately, God has been coming through in that department.  I want to “thank” God for that assistance . . . it will go a lot farther than any money ever will.  For that, we are all thankful.

In the meantime, I will endure scraping the windshields (for the millionth time) . . . I will watch son number two shovel the walk and drive (encouraging him the whole time, of course) . . . walking through the mud . . . and, encouraging our newest addition (Lucy the Dachshund, who hates the cold) to go out and take a break.  In the future, I will watch what I complain about . . . karma sucks! 

A Little Potpourri

"A miscellaneous collection."

Maybe we have crossed that imaginary line with the weather here in Montana--at least in the lower elevations.  This morning began with a rain storm.  That was all . . . just rain.  There was no snow mixed into the rain.  There was no snow that turned over to rain later in the day.  It was just plain old rain.  Oh, I am sure the mountains picked up some snow and that is not unusual in Montana where it can snow during any month of the year.  But today was different . . . it was just rain.  The earth around here loved it.  The grass greened up, the leaves began to sprout, and there was mud.  Everyone and everything sucked it in.  This was a spring rain.  Maybe, just maybe, we have crossed over that imaginary line that separates winter from spring.  If so, we had better enjoy it while it lasts!  

Plus, if we have really crossed over that imaginary line not only does new growth signify a new season, but it also signifies the changing of the tools.  Gone are the snow shovels, snow tires, sand bags in the back of the trucks . . . and out comes the lawn mower, the rakes and shovels, all the lawn care stuff.  With that stuff also comes the annual yard care lament as I mow the grass, weed the gardens, fight the dandelions, and attempt to keep everything green.  This is not work that I enjoy doing . . . it is a part of the contract I agreed to when I got married.  I should have read the fine print . . .

Spoke to a neighbor this evening and learned that his son, who lives next door to him, got a fine for his dog peeing on a bush in his father's yard.  The dog was basically on his own property (the houses have adjoining yards) when he needed to take a leak.  So the bush got baptized.  Somehow the local law enforcement officer, driving down from the school, decided that the dog was roaming the streets and was a hazard to the community.  So the officer stopped, fined the man, and drove off.  Thirty dollars for the dog watering a bush on its own property.  To say the least this did not sit well with the son.  I was flabbergasted at the story--especially since the dog was on its own property and peeing on its own tree.  But, no, said the officer, the dog was running in and out of the street.  Now I am afraid to let my dogs go out into the front yard--they might get caught peeing.  The headlines would be terrible: "Local Pastor's Dogs Run Rampant--Peeing on Trees!"  

I guess it must have been a slow day for the officer as our little community of 600 rural people have such a high crime rate.  The officer had nothing better to do than to write a ticket for a dog taking a leak on its own property.  Then he had the audacity to fine the leaky pup thirty dollars.  I guess that was better than him using his one city-issued bullet to shoot the poor dog for taking an illegal leak.  I don't blame the dog.  I think that when Mother Nature calls that is one call we all ought to answer.  It just doesn't seem fair that it cost the dog thirty dollars.  I wonder that the fine would have been if this had happened:

 Book him, Dano!

I went to a book sale at the wife's church today--thousands and thousands of books.  It is a really good deal because they sale them for almost nothing and make a ton of money.  Despite being in the land of books I walked away without purchasing one book . . . instead I bought a bunch of vinyl records.  Of course anyone under the age of twenty-five is probably wondering what in the world a vinyl record is, plus how in the world a CD that big would ever fit into a CD player.  Before there were 8-track tapes . . . before there were cassette tapes . . . before there were CDs--there were vinyl records.  And they came in two standard sizes 45s and 38s, but even before that there were 78s.  This was how people listened to music in those prehistoric days.  People would flop one of those on the record player and out would come music.  True, it was a little inconvenient to carry a record player around to take the music with you, but that was the price one paid for good music. 

At the book sale there were vinyl records for sale for twenty-five cents a record.  So I picked up some records.  I got the original soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music--classics that everyone should own.  I picked up the Best of the Bee Gees, Neil Diamond Gold, Carol King's Tapestry, and Linda Ronstadt's Silk Purse.  I also got a copy of the original soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar (recorded by the original London cast--bet you didn't know that it was a major hit in England before it ever got over to the United States).  I got them all for three bucks.  Besides loving the music I was also moved by something else . . . cash signs.  These original records--all in good shape--had to be worth more than the three bucks I paid for them.  I was seeing big bucks in my mind as some of these records went all the way back to the dark ages of 1962.  These weren't just records, these were an investment to retire on.

Pipe dreams at best.  True they were worth more than the three dollars I paid for them, but nothing even close to retiring on.  In fact there wasn't enough there to even fill the tank of the car.  When it was all said and done the value of the records I bought was a whopping thirty dollars--thirty dollars if I could find someone to pay me that.  Oh well, it was worth the three bucks to see the look of joy on the wife's face as she went through each of the record remembering that she used to have most of them.  Plus, after I tried to shove one into the car's CD player, getting it stuck, I figure it will probably take more than thirty dollars to get all the broken pieces out of the player.  Oh well, live and learn!

Tomorrow morning I take the number two son to a doctor appointment in the big city.  Afterwards he wants to do a little shopping for clothes.  He does not like to go shopping with me because we do not see eye-to-eye on the value of things--in particular clothing.  Lets just get it right out in the open--I am cheap.  My children, especially son number two, sees no problem in spending the big bucks for clothing.  I cringe if I have to pay more than twenty bucks for a good pair of painter's pants.  My children see no problem in spending upwards towards a hundred dollars for a pair of jeans (with holes already ripped into them).  Shoot I could save them a lot of money if they would just buy a twenty dollar pair of jeans and let me rip a few holes in them--I'd only charge them five bucks a hole!  We could help each other out in doing this.  Waste good money on holy jeans--shoot the wife and I could bless them (after all we are clergy) and make them holy!

Because I squeak because I am so fiscally tight, I really have a hard time shopping with the children.  They see style, I see waste.  They do not care for my little commentary while they shop--especially now that they are buying their own clothes with their own money.  So I have decided that I will bite the bit and get myself some blinders for tomorrow morning while number two son shops.  Actually, I am going to sit on some bench while he shops and people gaze.  Might be the best money he ever spent because it will be a first--Dad kept his mouth shut!  Mark it in red!

Well, as you probably noticed by now this blog really wasn't about much of anything, but at the same time a lot about a few things . . . things that were not even related to one another.  It was just a bunch of potpourri--a miscellaneous collection.  But isn't that the way most of our days go . . . just a collection of miscellaneous experiences that add up to make one day in our lives.  Nothing too spectacular, nothing too boring.  It is just the way that things are.  What was the potpourri that filled your life today--any tickets for peeing dogs?

And the Water Came

Little did I fathom that when I left for work in the big city on Wednesday morning that there was going to be any problems in the community of Joliet where our home is.  Approximately an hour and a half after I left the town was hit with a flood from Rock Creek flooding about two-thirds of the community--mostly everything to the south of Highway 212.  This flood was due to uncontrollable circumstances that combined to make the water miss a curve in the creek and head straight down the highway.  Though there is considerable debate on whether or not the flooding could have been avoided, it flooded.  Highway 212 from Rockvale to Red Lodge was closed down as the community was slowly inundated with water--LOTS OF WATER!  The pictures above are looking towards Main Street approximately twelve hours after the water flooded the community--it was slowly going down.

Both the wife and I had been at our places of employment in the big city when we began receiving inquiries about the flood in Joliet.  My first reaction was--what flood?  At first I did not believe those who were asking the questions, but it was soon on the local radio stations that Highway 212 was closed due to a major flood in Joliet.  Talk about turning a day into a bummer!  From that moment on my only concern was what was happening in the town I call home--was my house flooding?  Was the church I serve flooding?  What about the people who attend the church--were they safe?  My son--who was at home--safe?  A million scenarios flashed through my mind.  It was difficult to concentrate on work the whole day as I kept getting various reports about the situation.  I was pretty edgy by quitting time rolled around.

Making me even more edgy was the fact that the road to Joliet was still closed come quitting time.  The wife assured me that local traffic could go into Joliet, but that did nothing to ease my anxiousness.  We met at the daughter's house to decide what we were doing--were we going to go home, or were we going to spend the night in the big city?  Basically we had a nice visit with the daughter, youngest son, and our two furry grandchildren, had a little pizza, and decided to take the adventure and return home.  Of course this was only after getting some reassurance from a member of the church that it was safe to come home.  Thus the adventure was on!

I was not prepared for the scene that I encountered once I arrived in Joliet.  The highway looked like a river.  water was everywhere.  Pumps were humming all around town in a noisy chorus.  Rubber-neckers were driving all over town taking in the flood.  We both had to take a haphazardly way to get to the house to avoid the water, but thankfully the north side of the highway avoided the brunt of the flooding.  It was a mess.

With the high water and the fast flow we were pretty much stuck on our side of the highway when we got home.  My concern for the church was abated some when I was told that the flood water never crested over the curb and into the church.  That was later squashed when a member of the church called to say that the church basement had about ten inches of water in the basement.  My heart sunk.  From a distance the church looked safe from our side of the street--images can be deceiving.

The amount of water that flooded the community was more than its antiquated sewer system could handle the result was a double dose of flooding.  A lot of the flooding came through the sewer system speeding up the amount of time that it took to fill the community's many basements.  That was the cause of the flooding in the church basement.  It was not a mere ten inches of water in the basement, it was closer to twenty inches at 6:30AM this morning.  The pictures below are of the two entrances into our basement.

As you can see there is a lot of water!  The church family had five families with flooded basements.  The town had its only grocery store flooded.  Two-thirds of the homes in the community were flooded.  But we are not the only ones who have been affected by the nine inches of rain received in the past seven days--there are many communities that have been flooded.  One of the hardest and poorest areas of Montana to be flooded was the Crow Reservation south of the big city.  The flooding was so bad through that area that Interstate 90, from Hardin to the Wyoming state line was closed for several days.  And, the flooding is probably not over as more rain is predicted this Memorial Day Weekend, plus the warmer temperatures and rain is accelerating the snow melt creating even more water down the waterways of the state.  Creeks and rivers already at flood stage are expected to flood again next week.  Who would have imagined this in a hundred years?  I guess that is why they call it a "hundred year" flood.

So it is that the community has banded together to help one another out.  The pumps are humming.  Sandbags are being filled and placed.  People are reaching out to one another--taking care of one another.  Joliet is being a community--people with a common union, even if it is a flood that binds them together.  In the days to come please keep the people of flood ravaged Montana in your prayers--we just ain't used to all of this water!  After years of drought we appreciate the water, but enough is enough! 

A Musical Tribute to Rain

"Rain, rain, go away

and come again another day."

It does not look good for a 53-year old man to be dancing in the rain and singing the old children's song, "Rain, rain, go away and come again another day!"  The neighbors kind of look at you funny, and besides--it doesn't work.  The stupid song doesn't work.  Never has, but I thought it was worth a try as we are in the third day of a deluge here in Montana.  The forecast through the next week does not give one much hope as rain is forecast for each day.  I hear that the best-selling book over in the big city is Building an Ark for Dummies.  Along with everyone else in Montana I am getting tired of rain . . . and more rain . . . and even more rain!

I decided that since I could not stop the rain by singing and dancing around the yard I would bite the bullet and concede.  Instead of fighting the rain I decided to celebrate the rain by offering a musical tribute.  What follows are a few of the many songs that sing about rain.  I hope that you enjoy this tribute--if you can't beat the rain you might as well join the rain.  Enjoy!

Last week we had a couple of days in which we received about three inches of rain--then we had two nice days before this deluge started.  We all knew it was coming, but that is not going to stop us from complaining.  We should have known.  Here is a song you might remember from a group called the Fortunes:

Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again

I guess putting a peppy tune to a depressing subject like rain might make one bear the weather a little better, but I doubt it.  Waiting for it to rain is no fun and maybe the Eurythmics have a better take it on with their song:

Here Comes the Rain Again

Well, the rain is already here, so we have to make the best of it I suppose.  The Judds found that by sitting in rocking chairs and rocking to its rhythm it wasn't so bad.  Yeah, but they don't have duck floating by with life jackets on either.  You decide if rocking in a rocking chair helps your mood when it rains:

Rockin' With the Rhythm of the Rain

The rocking chairs on our deck are floating right now, so I think rocking to the rhythm of the rain is out of the question.  Those southern girls just don't know when to come in out of the rain.  But, hey, Gene Kelly thinks we ought to sing and dance in the rain:

Singing in the Rain

Again, if I did a musical dance number out on the street of my neighborhood they would call the local cops.  First of all I cannot dance--at least not without a few beers; I cannot sing--except in my truck with the windows rolled up; and, I cannot do either one at the same time.  Neighbors would think I was either drunk or crazy!  Yet, if it keeps raining like this I just might go crazy running down the street laughing!  I don't think that is what Neil Sedaka had in mine when he sang this next song.  I think he was trying to be romantic--now you tell me who is crazy:

Laughter in the Rain

Another romantic take on rain came from a BJ Thomas song that was in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  I loved the movie and still think that it is the best pre-VH1 and MTV video featuring Paul Newman.  I am not really sure what it has to do with rain but the video is fun:

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head 

The problem with this rain is that it has not really stopped--it keeps coming down--all day and all night.  We never get a break!  Maybe if it would just stop during the night, but no!  No it has to keep raining.  Eddie Rabbitt likes rainy nights--what would you expect from a guy with the last name of "Rabbitt":

I Love a Rainy Night

One of my favorite "rain" songs is from Bruce Hornsby.  I loved this song when it first came out years ago and I still like.  I wonder what ever happened to Bruce?  Probably floating down the Yellowstone River with all this rain.  Here is Mandolin Rain:

Mandolin Rain

Sorry about that, I guess I was getting sentimental there for a minute.  Must be my water-logged brain.  I am ready for the rain to stop.  But who will stop the rain?  Like Credence Clearwater Revival all this rain kind of gets a person confused.  First, they want to know if  anyone has seen the rain--duh!  And, then they want to know what we all want to know--who is going to stop it!  Enjoy both of CCR's contributions to the rain tribute:

Have You Seen the Rain

Who'll Stop the Rain

There were a whole lot more songs about rain out there.  Seems everyone who sings has had some sort of an encounter with rain and decided to sing about it.  But that is my musical tribute to rain.  The nice thing about rain is that it does eventually stop--even without singing the children's song.  When it does it will bring out its rainbow, which brings me to my last song as a tribute to rain--Somewhere Over the Rainbow.  For all of you purists out there, I apologize, but I have always loved Jewel's version the best:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

So, what are some of your favorite "rain" songs?  Let me know and maybe the next time it rains I'll put them up.  In the meantime, keep dry!