A DAY TO REMEMBER

Seven years ago today on 09/11/2001, this nation was attacked by terroist. A day that changed the lives of families across this great land. This attack cost a great number of our people their lives without warning. We can not and probably never will understand why. However, we do know for a fact that there are those in the world who wish to destroy this great nation and are still out there looking for an opportunity to strike again.

Today, our hearts go out to those families that lost loved ones and our prayers are for their continued healing process. Just this year I met Deena Burnett whose husband Tom was on flight 93 that went down in Pennsylvania. Tom, along with others became heroes that day by preventing this flight from hitting the White House. Deena lives in Little Rock with her three daughters, Haley, Madison and Anne Clare.

I keep a picture of the twin towers in my home office area for a special reason. In 1986 prior to my retirement, the company took me to dinner on the very top floor of one of the towers. I don't recall which one but the memory of that event is the important one to me. I suppose remembering the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and this attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 will always be a day to remember for me. Probably being able to see this latest event occuring as it happened with todays technology will always be the most vivid in my mind.

Lets not forget those who died and their families although we may not know who they were, nor forget those brave men who sacrificed their lives to save as many as possible. Above all, lets remember those tonight that are still out there trying to rid this world of those who would and possibly will strike again. They need our prayers.

IT'S WHO WE ARE

Thinking about whats going on today in our nation my mind quickly returns to the principles this great nation was founded upon. We seem to continually drift from being a unified people to being a devisive nation where some will stoop to anything to reek havoc on others. I suppose one of the factors that reminds me of this is the demonstrations just this week at the RNC. I have ideas about this situation but hesitate to mention them on this post. Furthermore, those involved are no different from those who sought to bring this nation to it's knees on September 11th, 2001. As we approach the anniversary of this tragic event, God help us to understand that we as a nation are still under that threat and that there are those among us who seek to destroy us.

In a recent issue of the American Legion Magazine i received there is a song written by Michael Peterson titled, "Its Who We Are." It is a tribute to those who have served this nation.

When Grand Dad used to say "Grandma, I'm headed to the Legion Hall"
I thought the Legion Hall was just some place he went
to have a beer and play some cards with all his buddies at the bar
But I didn't know what being in the Legion meant...
to him and all his friends
Until I stood by Grand Dad's grave
said my "gone for good goodbye"..
I swore I wouldn't cry
But one by one nearly two hundred men stepped up
saluted him and then
they stood there at attention till everyone
was through
I stopped one just to ask him "Sir, is that what
you always do?" He said...
It's not just something we do... It's who we are
WE proudly wore the uniform and we
still do our part
Because our love for country lives not just on our lips
but deep in our hearts...
It's not just something that we do.. it's who we are
Just before he turned to leave
He shook my hand, I grabbed his sleeve and said,
"I wish there was a lot more folks like you"
He smiled at me and said, "but unless you
look real hard chances are you'll seldom see us in the news"
"But all across this great nation there are those great
patriots in civilian clothes
who've paid a great price for freedom because we still
believe
the freedom our forefathers left isn't an entitlement
but it's our sacred duty to protect and serve
this land
I said, "I wish I could do something"
He said, "we are all Americans and...
It's not just something we do..it's who we are
We don't have to be in uniform to do our part
When our love for country lives not just on our lips
but deep in our hearts It's not just something we do.. it's who we are
From old brown shoes to desert boots
the future counts on me and you
and who we are.

As I sit the other night and listened with tears in my eyes to Fred Thompson tell of the torture that John McCain went through at the Hanoi Hilton, it caused me to wonder why some really don't care. I suppose it's because of who they are.

Freeman Family.

The early part of this week I journed back to Southern Mississippi to visit my old home place and the community where I was born. My daughter Cindy wanted to see that area and to have some knowledge of where I formally lived. Since my Dad died when I was only a year old, we left that area when I was about 6 years old. However, I remember the old house we lived in during my early years prior to moving to Louisana. I felt that at this point in my life that this would be my last trip to that area due to my age. I have never known too much of my Fathers family but I do know there are those still living in that general area that are my relatives. There are those also on my mother's side that are still there and live on Freeman road. After visiting my Father's grave it needs some leveling done on the grave marker so therefore Cindy and I will take one more journey there to take care of that. Anyway at least someone in my family will have some knowledge of where I came from.

According to some information that I have, the Freemans were first found in county Cork and were granted lands after the invasion of Ireland in 1172. Early immigration and passenger list have shown many Irish people bearing the name Freeman: Ralph Freeman who settled in Virginia in 1622; along with Thomas, Bennett, Bridget, Francis, James, Jane, Richard, Thomas, and William Freeman, who all settled in Virginia between 1630 and 1670. I wonder if for some reason I was named James Douglas because of James and Douglas Southall Freeman, (a well known American editor, writer and historian) after these men. Just speculation on my part. This information is taken from information available on the internet. All research that has been done in the past has revealed that my fathers records were burned years ago in a court house fire. Hopefully, there is someone out there that would have some knowledge of Ivy Ransom Freeman who was born in Norfield, Miss. in 1887. Since I have never even seen a picture of him, I cannot imagine how he may have looked. I am now the only remaining one in the entire family of my parents and six siblings. My father was only 41 years of age when he died. My mother lived just ten days short of being 75. I only write this in case some of my immediate family might be intrested in this bit of info.

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2008

It is said that actions speak louder than words, but I don't know of any action more emphatic than the words that were adopted on this day in 1776, the words known as the Declaration of Independence. Nobody who is called upon to speak on this day can hope to compete with the eloquence, the nobility of purpose, the bravery, or the clarity of the great Declaration. But it is the heritage of every American to be able to speak in freedom every day of the year because of those words of July 4, 1776. Now, as then, we hold certain truths to be self- evident. Now, as of then, we rise to speak our minds.
Truly God has blessed our nation and has been good to us. However, it seems almost fashionable for some to talk about what is wrong with the United States. It seems to come with our Puritan heritage. But today I wish to think about how the God in whom we trust has indeed rewarded that trust. Its sad to think that there are those among us who seek continually to destroy those principles upon which this great nation was founded. May God have pity on their souls.

REFLECTIONS

Do you, like myself stop often and reflect back on the wins and losses in your life? My daughter gave me for Father's Day a book written by Les Steckel who coached the Tennessee Titans. Les talks very candidly about his victories and defeats and how he managed to deal with the situation. In my mind there is a very vast difference in the question of, Have we failed or just been defeated? We all suffer defeats along the way but that does not make us a failure. Its all in how we deal with the situation.
Les, in his book makes this statement, "I think that's why God asked me, Do you have faith? The question is whether I really believe he is in control of everything good and bad--all of it. Can I trust him when I reach the peak of success? Can I trust him when I crash on the rocks? Les's book is titled One Yard Short. I like that title and it reminds me when we come up short in our efforts. I have seen and watched football games when the final play depended on making that one yard. Was it God's fault that the play failed or was it God who made the extra yard for the winning touchdown? No, God did not reach down to run interference so that the goal line was crossed. I do agree with Les Steckel that God cares what happens in a game. I also believe God is very interested in our game of life and wants to be a part of it.
Every aspect of our lives are important to God. Every task we do, he is there with us. He cares deeply about whatever we care deeply about, because he loves us with an everlasting love. Les states; "I believe he is great enough that there are no little things with him, nor any little people.
Les also states; I've heard it said that we learn the greatest lessons through adversity. If thats true, I ought to be a genius by now. I don't know any football coach who has been fired as many times as I have. I expect to be the first inductee in the Pink Slip Hall of Fame, if they ever build one.
Remember, whoever wins or loses in the game, God loves both sides.

GET MOTIVATED

Tuesday, I was priviledged to attend the Get Motivated Seminar held here in North Little Rock at the Alltel Arena. My daughter Cindy gave me a ticket for the Executive section and I really enjoyed the entire day. There were numerous speakers and all did a very good job of presenting some helpful material to challenge a person's thinking. Speakers like Phil Town, Peter Lowe, Krish Dhanam, Rudy Giuliani, Tim Timmons, Ruben Gonzalez, Jeff Taylor, (Monster. Com) James Smith, Brian Tracy, Dr. Robert Schuller. I was disapointed that Zig Zigler could not attend due to medical problems. His daughter was there and informed the audience that Zig had fallen and as a result of the fall had to have a shunt placed to remove fluid from his brain. His Doctors would not permit him to travel. I have been a Zig Zigler fan for years and will always remember his advice on "stinking thinking" and how everyone needs a "check up from the neck up."

I suppose even at my age, everyone like myself needs to stop occasionally and re assess where we have been and where we are headed. No one ever out grows their need for ongoing needs for improving human relations. We often get so steeped in our thinking that we forget about others. One of my first sessions years ago with Zig Zigler, he made this statement. "You can achieve anything you want in this life, if you help others to achieve what they desire." Its a matter of forgetting the "Me" and seeking to help those around us to a better and more fulfilled lifestyle. Of course, this cannot be achieved without our seeking help from our Maker and Lord above.

One thing kept running thru my mind during the day listening to all the success stories was the fact that our accomplishments cannot be done alone. What will others remember you by when your life is past? I wonder about that question myself. What have we accomplished? What will our legacy be? We hear a lot about these days about legacy. Truly, I have no clue as to how others will perceive or remember my accomplishments. One thing I would like to think is that I have always been steadfast, unmovable, always having faith. But who knows? It behooves each of us to really look at our lives and continually strive to be the type people God would have us to be. Always looking ahead to a brighter future of love, dedication and our service to mankind.

Well, its been over a month since I have written anything here. Not so much not wanting to but simply for a lack of anything to say. May has been a month of misery with having two major infections. First, was the asthmatic bronchitis deal along with the lung infection. Just as that was improving then the kidney infection set in. After two ct scans and the x-rays it seems that has also been improved and hopefully June will be much better. My bout with Stenosis is still going on and has greatly affected my left side. I am determined to live with the pain until such time as giving in to the back surgery.
Mom and I have our routine everyday and are going about life as usual as best as we can. Staying busy helps a lot and I have certainly stayed busy at church with the Wal-Mart construction going on. Their grand opening is scheduled for the 11th of June. We have purchased 15 acres of land just north of our property in a prime location. We are looking at two options and will make a final decision prior to the end of the year. The options are to either stay where we are and build all our facilities on the south side of Maryland avenue , or move everything to the new location. The projected traffic flow due to the Wal-Mart situation is 60 to 70.000 cars daily. The unknown at this point is how much will this hinder our church services since we only meet a few hours each week. Another concern is our Christian School that meets in our facilities daily. What ever happens, the school will be taken care of. Second to the church, this is my committment to continue what began 38 years ago.
On a brighter side as I go through my daily routine and despite my aches and pain, there seems to be hope ahead. As I read my mail each day, I know there is a way to get my colon cleaned, get my hair restored, let Oprah help me lose 25 pounds overnight by drinking 6 gallons of green tea, fat burners to get my body,beach ready, with another colon flush lose another 25 pounds, get a degree from Kaplan Univ. in one month, take portable toilets with me, save 80 cents a gallon on gas, another degree in psychology in three weeks, borrow enough money to pay off all my bills and be completely debt free, viagra is the answer to all my other ills, and above all, there is someone looking out for me. Life is great, so why worry when you have yahoo sending you all this info.