I restarted my blog when I found out that I had cancer. According to the Doctor it is incurable cancer. I felt like this was the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Sharon and Doug Baskin. This chapter began in June. It has been three months since this chapter began and I felt that it might be a good time to share with you the status or an update on where we are in this chapter.
Three months ago I had to have a waste basket near me at all times because I was coughing up blood. I could not safely drive because I might experience a coughing fit and find myself unable to control a car. I could not attend church services or even my small group gatherings because of the coughing fits and pain from the cancer. I tried to work but could not last more than an hour due to fatigue. I was either in bed or my recliner 24/7. Most of the time it was the bed so I could use my cpap machine to aid my breathing. I could not walk up the stairs from the basement without stopping to catch my breath. I walked around the house in order to have the shortest incline to traverse to get into the house. I had only certain foods that I could tolerate and my cravings were for some very strange dishes. Now I don't know of any food that I can't tolerate and the quantities and frequency of my partaking of these dishes has increased. My weight dropped from about 220 to 178 three months ago. At my height the 178 was more desirable but the means to drop the weight is not for the best. My weight today was 194. I can almost comfortably wear my old slacks today. My left lung was full of fluid and today none exists. Three months ago we could not think about going to a restaurant to eat and now we eat out three times a week or more with no problem. I had hair three months ago and now I barely have any.....but I can live with that as my hair was not one of my better features.
My doctor was ecstatic about my progress the past two visits and while he did not comment on my prognosis he was very pleased with the impact the chemo had on my cancer. He also credited the Good Lord for His part in my progress. This all leads me to where my mind has been this week. For the past few weeks I have been so excited about my improved condition. I was able to work full days and just really have been feeling great. I would find that I could forget about the cancer for hours each day at work. I found that I would be planning for events months out as if I knew I would be able to participate. I was living my life as if the cancer did not exist and I could do about what I wanted and not worry about any limitations the disease might present.
Yesterday I began to have a reality check. My mind was full of negative thoughts about my disease and my prognosis. Who was I kidding?? At any moment this cancer was going to rear it's ugly head and end my euphoric feelings. I had a struggle all day at work..(somehow I was able to function pretty good despite these intervening thoughts) with where I was and what I would be facing in the future. Fear entered the thought process and I began to worry about the unknown things I would face in the days ahead. It took a lot of soul searching and deep thinking to settle this issue I was battling.
I realized that my disease is incurable by modern medical means. Any progress I experienced was a combination of medical treatment (as my Dr. said) and the Good Lord having His hand on my shoulder. The lady I work with pointed out to me today that we are all terminal and it is just a matter of when and by what means we will leave this world. All of us will not live to be full of years and die a peaceful death. Some will die young, some will die by means we deem to be unfair...the point being we all will die, but we do not know when. As a man of faith I am told in the Bible that it is better to die and be with Jesus than to live on this earth. I am also told that I have a purpose and I will not leave this world until that purpose is accomplished. If I desire to not fulfill my purpose for this life then perhaps I will end my time on earth prematurely? I don't know all the answers but I know my days are numbered as are yours. Each of us has an appointed time to die and we cannot control this time. To believe otherwise is to believe that we all live and die by chance. We live longer if we are very careful and don't put ourselves in risky situations (why then do we drive cars?).
So where am I today after all this deep thinking, etc. I went to the Doctor today and he insisted that I attend a cancer support gathering tomorrow to be attended by many survivors and many battling the disease today. He said that I should go if for no other reason than to give others hope because of my progress. He kind of planted a seed in my mind that this may be my purpose in having this disease. To help others who are fighting cancer and to give them hope. The Bible tells us that we may suffer so that we can help others later on who suffer from the same malady. I have always believed this. I have known people who lost a spouse at an early age who later helped others through this same tragedy. I also know that I have heard from people everywhere about my disease and how I am doing etc. and I have blown their minds with my faith and attitude about where I am in this journey. Most are surprised that I am not camped out at the Mayo Clinic or M.D. Anderson in order to get cutting edge medical treatment. I answer them with the fact that I had a peace about my great Doctors and Nurses at Longstreet Clinic and feel they are giving me the best treatment. This peace came from my Father in Heaven who directs my steps and leads me down the path He chooses. My strength and my improvement comes from God. He may use my Doctors and the meds to aid in this, but it is His choice that I have improved. My purpose is to tell others what is happening and to maintain my optimism and my faith even if things turn for the worst.
The bottom line is I really don't know what will happen tomorrow or next week. It truly is a one day at a time situation. I must rejoice each day that I can get up and feel pretty good. I must thank Him that I can go to work and play a meaningful role in our business and be of service to those I work with and for. I should have praise always on the tip of my tongue that I can drive to work and go to a restaurant when I desire...that I can attend church and gather with my friends. I should overflow with happiness that I have been able to spend quality time with my family the past few weeks. As I consider my blessings the fact that I can sit and write this blog (of great length) should bring joy to my being. God has blessed this old man, riddled with cancer and not given a great prognosis. I have been blessed beyond measure. If I should leave this world next week, I can say that I have seen the Lord do a mighty work in my life during this new chapter.
As many have said in the past..."Cancer is the worst thing that has ever happened to my but it is the best thing that has ever happened to me." I can truly say this though I am not sure I would want to face this disease if I had a choice. I can truly say the past three months of this new chapter have been full of a variety of emotions, of discouragement and more importantly it has been full of victories. I say thank you first to the Lord for His hand on me through this ordeal. I thank my family (especially Sharon) for being there for me each moment. For my friends as you have been a great encouragement to me and especially for your prayers that go up for us each day. I thank my employer for standing by us through this time and all those I work with for taking up the slack in my absence and finally to the Doctors and Nurses at Longstreet clinic for caring for me and doing all they can to make me comfortable and give us hope. It will be interesting to see an update three months from now. I have no idea where I will be or how I will be but I think I can say that I will be where God chooses and I will know that it is His will and I will be satisfied that I am doing what I should be to fulfill my purpose for the rest of my days.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Another Hero: Coach Mark Richt
Well I am writing again about one of my passions; college football. I am also writing about one of my favorite coaches; Coach Mark Richt of the Georgia Bulldogs. I have classified Coach Richt as a hero because he understands what is most important in life. He has put Christ first, family second and his career as a coach third. This does not mean that he does a bad job in his career, he does it with excellence, having produced an average of ten wins per year for the past several years.
It is difficult for me to believe but there are some folks here in Georgia that are ready to show him the door because he has not produced a national champion and probably because last year produced only eight wins. I can tell you there are many college teams that would love to have the Bulldogs record the past ten years. Many even blame his devotion to God and family as part of the problem. God help us if we start selecting leaders and don't consider these qualities as extremely important in choosing who will lead us and our families. I think this may have happened in the 08 presidential election and we can see the results of using the wrong criteria to make a crucial decision.
I can tell you that my favorite team (the Arkansas Razorbacks) won only national championship in football (1964), one in basketball (1994) and more that any other team in track and field but I do not live and die by this being the measure of a successful team or coach. I guess I may be archaic in my beliefs, but I want to see what kind of citizens the coach helped produce via his influence. It breaks my heart when I hear of student athletes being arrested. At one time in Arkansas we had so many arrested for shoplifting or theft that it was rumored that the University had purchased a 7-11 for the sole purpose of allowing the athletes a way to legally shoplift merchandise....thankfully this was only a rumor and not true. The point is what the coach does with the young person and what kind of people they are when they leave school are the most important factors when evaluating a coach. Now I will say that if the coach is not capable of getting maximum effort from the players and does not have the skills to effectively coach, then as in any job he should be released.
Now back to Coach Richt; I have lived in Georgia since 2004 and I have come to truly appreciate the Coach of the Bulldogs. I have recently been reading about his family and how they came together and it is an inspiring story. Two of the Richt children are adopted from the Ukraine. The young girl they adopted had a facial birth defect that really effects her appearance. The Richts said that her parents dropped her at an orphanage because of the defect, possible because they could not afford the cost of medical treatment for her condition. The Richt's have helped provide numerous surgeries for this little girl. Coach does not toot his own horn but thankfully others have noted the sacrifice made by this family. They are doing what is right in raising their children and Coach is doing what is best for the young men he coaches.
While it is true that my favorite team are the Razorbacks, you can guarantee when the Georgia Bulldogs are playing anyone else I am a supporter of the Dogs and Coach Richt and his family. I invite you to see the two attached videos about the Richt family. Forgive me for the commercials that may be attached to the videos. I hope you are fired up about the football season (starts Sept 2) as I am.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2008/10/25/mark-richt-family-and-adoption/
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/at-home-with-mark-richt-family/12m40thk
It is difficult for me to believe but there are some folks here in Georgia that are ready to show him the door because he has not produced a national champion and probably because last year produced only eight wins. I can tell you there are many college teams that would love to have the Bulldogs record the past ten years. Many even blame his devotion to God and family as part of the problem. God help us if we start selecting leaders and don't consider these qualities as extremely important in choosing who will lead us and our families. I think this may have happened in the 08 presidential election and we can see the results of using the wrong criteria to make a crucial decision.
I can tell you that my favorite team (the Arkansas Razorbacks) won only national championship in football (1964), one in basketball (1994) and more that any other team in track and field but I do not live and die by this being the measure of a successful team or coach. I guess I may be archaic in my beliefs, but I want to see what kind of citizens the coach helped produce via his influence. It breaks my heart when I hear of student athletes being arrested. At one time in Arkansas we had so many arrested for shoplifting or theft that it was rumored that the University had purchased a 7-11 for the sole purpose of allowing the athletes a way to legally shoplift merchandise....thankfully this was only a rumor and not true. The point is what the coach does with the young person and what kind of people they are when they leave school are the most important factors when evaluating a coach. Now I will say that if the coach is not capable of getting maximum effort from the players and does not have the skills to effectively coach, then as in any job he should be released.
Now back to Coach Richt; I have lived in Georgia since 2004 and I have come to truly appreciate the Coach of the Bulldogs. I have recently been reading about his family and how they came together and it is an inspiring story. Two of the Richt children are adopted from the Ukraine. The young girl they adopted had a facial birth defect that really effects her appearance. The Richts said that her parents dropped her at an orphanage because of the defect, possible because they could not afford the cost of medical treatment for her condition. The Richt's have helped provide numerous surgeries for this little girl. Coach does not toot his own horn but thankfully others have noted the sacrifice made by this family. They are doing what is right in raising their children and Coach is doing what is best for the young men he coaches.
While it is true that my favorite team are the Razorbacks, you can guarantee when the Georgia Bulldogs are playing anyone else I am a supporter of the Dogs and Coach Richt and his family. I invite you to see the two attached videos about the Richt family. Forgive me for the commercials that may be attached to the videos. I hope you are fired up about the football season (starts Sept 2) as I am.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2008/10/25/mark-richt-family-and-adoption/
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/at-home-with-mark-richt-family/12m40thk
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Deer
I have titled this post "The Deer". The primary reason is that I had been pursuing this deer for over twenty five years. Over the years beginning at about age thirty-five I have enjoyed the pursuit of the trophy deer. I did not grow up hunting though I had a grandfather who supplied meat for his family during the 1930's to 1940's and perhaps I inherited my love for hunting from him? I do owe many hunters over the years a debt of gratitude for working with me on how to hunt and even how to dress a deer. How else could one learn the correct way to hunt unless he has teachers and I was blessed with many. Perhaps the one I remember most was a gentleman from Sonora, TX named George Washington Parks or G.W. to his friends. He was in his seventies when he taught me most of what I know about hunting and I am forever grateful.
Now to the hunt. I was on a company outing with customers from the poultry industry hunting with us in Midway, AL. We hunted a plantation known as "Paco Plantation". Midway is south of Union Springs if that helps you any. The weekend we went it was the peak of the "Rut" but it was also the peak of winter in South Alabama. I would never believe it could get that cold in the south, but believe me with a twenty mile per hour north wind and temps from 10 to 20 degrees F, it can be unbearable. It was my first time to ever hunt with a heater in my shooting house and I have hunted in Northern Arkansas and probably I had better sense when the weather got that cold and we also did not have shooting houses. We hunted Friday evening, Saturday morning and evening and Sunday morning. There were eight hunters on the trip including the owner of our company, Tommy Bagwell and his son Leland. The trip was organized by Fred Cespedes, the best organizer I have met in all my years. I will always be thankful that we were able to make this hunt.
To get to the story now, I mentioned that cold temps. Most of us just hung on for dear life in our stands due to the high winds. No one saw any shooter buck on Friday or Saturday morning. Fast Forward to about 4:00 PM on Saturday evening and the wind stopped blowing and the temperature was bearable. As I recall one of the guys on our hunt had an eight pointer before he could get in his stand. Another was taken shortly thereafter. A total of five hunters had shooter bucks harvested by 5:00 PM or so. One of the guys had a fourteen pointer. My deer was officially an eleven pointer though many have looked at the mount and think it was a twelve or thirteen pointer. We had the greatest one hour of hunting I have ever experienced. I have hunted in Texas on several occasions and while we took several deer we never had the quality we had on this hunt. I do not have a quality photo of all the deer but believe me, five bucks eight point or larger in one hour is unheard of and we were all blessed to have been a part of the hunt.
An interesting thing about my deer is (you may not believe what I am about to share) that the night before I had a dream and the very situation was in my dream. The deer came out of the woods one hundred fifty yards away and you did not need binoculars to know if he was a shooter. I did not do a lot other than be at the right place at the right time. I harvested this deer with one shot (I'll admit not exactly where I aimed). I shot this deer with an my first deer rifle (a 300 Savage saddle gun). This gun is an old gun with lever action. It is the same gun my son and I both used to take our first deer. I had a 7 mm magnum that would have perhaps been a better gun for this situation, but I felt the one I used was very appropriate as it could be my last deer I will take. Needless to say it was quite a few minutes before I could even move or go to the deer. My heart was beating non-stop and it was one of the thrills of my lifetime.
Another interesting fact is that this deer was probably only three and one-half years old according to the taxidermist (more about him later). Kind of in the prime of his life. Believe it or not at age 58 when I harvested this deer, I felt like I was also in the prime of my life. It was as if we were brought together for this event. Looking back I had some symptoms of my disease even then and my doctor confirmed this during a visit recently.
I felt a real kinship with this deer and felt that God was truly in this situation and I thank Him for caring so much about me that He helped me fulfill one of my life's goals. When I picked up the mount, the taxidermist, Chris Fortner of Fortner Taxidermy 770-480-5241 or fortnertaxidermy.com and I had a great visit. I had called him earlier and told him my health situation and told him that he might want to get the mount done pretty quickly. When I met Chris his work was tremendous. He was a great Christian guy and he said his prayer was that I would be back again this year with another deer for mounting and he genuinely meant what he said. We had a great visit and again I think God ordained our meeting.
I have spent way too much time on this story but it was one of the really important events of my life...almost up there with my children's birth's etc. (just kidding). I have tried to include a photo of the mount and I urge you to use Chris if the need arises. I also want to thank all the guys on the hunt and the folks at Paco for making us all comfortable during the tough weather. I must not fail to mention that Paco has nice rooms, great food service and plenty of deer. The ladies who prepared our meals knew how to cook deer meat. It was the best venison this old hunter ever tasted and I have tasted a lot. The owners are right there with you and are great people. You can google Paco Plantation for more info. If you made it all the way to the end, God bless you as I know it must have been a chore. I can't seem to finish a good story.
Doug
Now to the hunt. I was on a company outing with customers from the poultry industry hunting with us in Midway, AL. We hunted a plantation known as "Paco Plantation". Midway is south of Union Springs if that helps you any. The weekend we went it was the peak of the "Rut" but it was also the peak of winter in South Alabama. I would never believe it could get that cold in the south, but believe me with a twenty mile per hour north wind and temps from 10 to 20 degrees F, it can be unbearable. It was my first time to ever hunt with a heater in my shooting house and I have hunted in Northern Arkansas and probably I had better sense when the weather got that cold and we also did not have shooting houses. We hunted Friday evening, Saturday morning and evening and Sunday morning. There were eight hunters on the trip including the owner of our company, Tommy Bagwell and his son Leland. The trip was organized by Fred Cespedes, the best organizer I have met in all my years. I will always be thankful that we were able to make this hunt.
To get to the story now, I mentioned that cold temps. Most of us just hung on for dear life in our stands due to the high winds. No one saw any shooter buck on Friday or Saturday morning. Fast Forward to about 4:00 PM on Saturday evening and the wind stopped blowing and the temperature was bearable. As I recall one of the guys on our hunt had an eight pointer before he could get in his stand. Another was taken shortly thereafter. A total of five hunters had shooter bucks harvested by 5:00 PM or so. One of the guys had a fourteen pointer. My deer was officially an eleven pointer though many have looked at the mount and think it was a twelve or thirteen pointer. We had the greatest one hour of hunting I have ever experienced. I have hunted in Texas on several occasions and while we took several deer we never had the quality we had on this hunt. I do not have a quality photo of all the deer but believe me, five bucks eight point or larger in one hour is unheard of and we were all blessed to have been a part of the hunt.
An interesting thing about my deer is (you may not believe what I am about to share) that the night before I had a dream and the very situation was in my dream. The deer came out of the woods one hundred fifty yards away and you did not need binoculars to know if he was a shooter. I did not do a lot other than be at the right place at the right time. I harvested this deer with one shot (I'll admit not exactly where I aimed). I shot this deer with an my first deer rifle (a 300 Savage saddle gun). This gun is an old gun with lever action. It is the same gun my son and I both used to take our first deer. I had a 7 mm magnum that would have perhaps been a better gun for this situation, but I felt the one I used was very appropriate as it could be my last deer I will take. Needless to say it was quite a few minutes before I could even move or go to the deer. My heart was beating non-stop and it was one of the thrills of my lifetime.
Another interesting fact is that this deer was probably only three and one-half years old according to the taxidermist (more about him later). Kind of in the prime of his life. Believe it or not at age 58 when I harvested this deer, I felt like I was also in the prime of my life. It was as if we were brought together for this event. Looking back I had some symptoms of my disease even then and my doctor confirmed this during a visit recently.
I felt a real kinship with this deer and felt that God was truly in this situation and I thank Him for caring so much about me that He helped me fulfill one of my life's goals. When I picked up the mount, the taxidermist, Chris Fortner of Fortner Taxidermy 770-480-5241 or fortnertaxidermy.com and I had a great visit. I had called him earlier and told him my health situation and told him that he might want to get the mount done pretty quickly. When I met Chris his work was tremendous. He was a great Christian guy and he said his prayer was that I would be back again this year with another deer for mounting and he genuinely meant what he said. We had a great visit and again I think God ordained our meeting.
I have spent way too much time on this story but it was one of the really important events of my life...almost up there with my children's birth's etc. (just kidding). I have tried to include a photo of the mount and I urge you to use Chris if the need arises. I also want to thank all the guys on the hunt and the folks at Paco for making us all comfortable during the tough weather. I must not fail to mention that Paco has nice rooms, great food service and plenty of deer. The ladies who prepared our meals knew how to cook deer meat. It was the best venison this old hunter ever tasted and I have tasted a lot. The owners are right there with you and are great people. You can google Paco Plantation for more info. If you made it all the way to the end, God bless you as I know it must have been a chore. I can't seem to finish a good story.
Doug
Friday, August 13, 2010
RANDOM QUOTES.....
I have been thinking about how to share some of the riches I have enjoyed over the years. One of the things I have always tried to do is to record great quotes when I hear them. I have written many of these down in my old Bible and thankfully can share them with you. I have given credit when I knew the author. I hope you enjoy.
- Peace is not the absence of problems, but the presence of the power of God. Rev. H.D. McCarty, Fayetteville, Ark. Note: I was fortunate to take two classes under him at Quachita Baptist University.
- Nothing is as bad as it seems....we tend to overestimate our problems and underestimate our King. Mickey Bonner.
- Grace: God gives us grace though we don't deserve it. Mercy: God lovingly doesn't give us what we do deserve.
- How to focus on being Christlike in all phases of my life:
Everyday worship begins in Solitude (time with God.
is in service to others
is in struggles
is in sacrifice
- Attributes of successful people:
- Successful people have high energy levels
- Success God's way is a life of stewardship (Joseph a great example)
- A life of success is one that prepares for the future
- Adversity comes because:
- It is common among people
- As a consequence of sin
- Because as Christians we should expect trials and tribulations
- Adversity causes us to come to God alone
- Sin may separate you from God....circumstances cannot!
- Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hate you for wronging me
- Weak people don't forgive
- Our view of God determines how we live...idolatry is saying to God..you're not enough
- Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3. One verse I struggle to live by..but I have a great desire to do so. Funny note: my current boss has made it his life's work to humble me and he has done a pretty decent job of it.
- Never trust how things look or feel
- Prayerlessness always keeps us from hearing God
- It's never too late to be used of God
- God can turn a curse into a blessing
- The closer we get to God....the tougher the battle
- We need to totally defeat sin in our lives, wherever we find it.
- When we do battle with Satan we need to come from prayer first!
- Whatever battle you fight, God will meet your needs (note: even when it seems the battle is lost, God has a plan and a benefit to the one who puts Him first and at the forefront of the battle)
- You discover a person's greatness by what it takes to discourage him
- Vision is seeing God's plan in spite of the obstacles
- It's ok to ask God for big dreams, if you are willing to step out with single mindedness to reach it. If you are open to obstacles, if we are sure God wants us to have it, if we have been obedient in other areas of our lives.
- You are as young as your faith and as old as your fears. God gives us what we are prepared to receive.
- May the rest of my years be the best of my years (based upon Joshua 14:10.
- Walk with God today not from yesterday.
- Power from God today comes from purity with God today.
- The size of our circumstances are in direct proportion to the size of your God
- Doing business with God: Basis 2 Chronicles 7:14: Humble yourself, humility is honest recognition that I need God, Pray: prayer is a relationship not a religious activity or formula, Seek His face, Turn from your wicked ways (PS 66:18) God says if they will do these things I will meet their needs.
- Trust God no matter what the circumstances (I would add here that we should trust God on the front end of any and all situations...not when we are in the midst of the storm) This quote is mine and I based it on Job 2:10 "Job says shall we accept good from God and not trouble...In all this Job did not sin in what he said."
- My greatest challenge today is to forget yesterday and live for today...to live today and not dwell on tomorrow. I wrote this quote on July 13, 2006 after reading Isaiah 43:18-19" Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!"
- Disobedience:Based upon the book of Jonah. Disobedience is when there is a conflict between God's opinion and yours. You decide to choose your opinion over God's. Disobedience will always take you away from the presence of the Lord. Disobedience leads to dilemma. When you disobey God you invite the storms of life down on you. Delays because of disobedience are always worse than dilemmas.
- No matter what I will rejoice...my joy should not be dependent upon my circumstances. I wrote this on 2/20/07 after reading Habakkuk 3:17-18.
- If God can be trusted for salvation, can't he be trusted for everything else?
- Worry is practical atheism..we are playing God. Worry is unnatural, worry is unhelpful, worry is unchristian, worry is unnecessary, worry is unreasonable, worry= a divided mind, we worry about the wrong things, worry is not trusting God, when we worry we do not understand God.
- Peace is not created....it is found. It has always been and it will always be! I AM is peace personified. "Note I don't know who said this but wish I could have".
- Discipleship is when it is my choice to deny myself and accept God's plan and terms everyday, even when we don't know the plan fully. Based upon Luke 9:23.
- We must die to self to live for Christ: Three things that keep us from dying to self: 1. Affluence 2. Adversity 3. Apathy.
- Do not become so obsessed with His return that you lose sight of the mission.
- God does nothing apart from prayer. "John Wesley"
- A great quote from Randy Pope, pastor of Perimeter Church, Duluth, GA: "you should attempt something so great for God that if He be not in it, it be deemed for failure." my paraphrase.
- We don't always get what we pray for but we get what is best for us.
- There is so little power in the church because there is so little purity in the church.
- When we suffer we must believe in who God is and that I am a part of a bigger story...it's not about me. See PS 16:8-9
- We easily give up because we do not seek the one who is invisible
- Admit your shortcomings....God will help you without finding fault in your inadequacies.
- Live as strangers here...Don't get too comfortable, don't love it here so much you hate to leave...Remember your true home.
- Finally a quote from many people. I could not identify the original author: All people have this in common: they are either in a storm, leaving a storm or about to enter a storm...I even heard Rick Warren use this one recently. I do know this...with the Lord's help you can ride out any storm that may come your way...my quote.
I end my list here....what an exercise. I am sure there are many other quotes I have written in other places but these were written on the pages of my 35 year old Scholfield Study Bible. The Bible was given to me by a dear friend and Pastor, Reverend Stanton Cram in Pea Ridge, Ark. Stanton taught me how to dig into and study the Word and for this I am forever grateful. I hope you enjoy these random quotes and thoughts and don't hold it against me if I failed to give proper credit to the one who gave the quote.
Doug
Monday, August 9, 2010
FAMILY
It seems that we have lately been besieged with birthdays. Birthdays are good in that we recognize the honoree with a special day or days just for them. This week my son Jason celebrated his thirty-seventh birthday. He was born on August 8th, 1973. Kind of a significant day in that this was the day that one of my favorite Presidents (Richard Millhouse Nixon) was forced to resign during the Watergate scandal. Many of you probably have no idea what I am talking about but it was an interesting era of American history.
Another interesting situation about Jason's birthday was that I was employed by Sears Roebuck and Co. This particular day our staff from the Kansas City office came to the store for a regular review and they were on a head hunting trip. It seemed the new guy in charge of my area (advertising-sales promotion) did not like my work and let the whole group know it. Me being full of pride and not prone to accept a head on attack told the whole group that they could take this job and shove it. I walked out that afternoon and went home. I proceeded to tell Sharon what I had done with no thoughts of ramifications to insurance etc. Well the interesting thing is that Sharon began to have labor pains after hearing the news. I being a detail man began to record every contraction as to when it occurred, how long it lasted and the frequency between pains When I called the Doctor I had a complete history of the pains. He told us to head to the hospital and a few hours later we had our first born son Jason. It was a proud moment for mom and I. The rest of the story is that my boss (Mr. Ken Perkin) called from Sears and said my walking out made a huge impression on the KC staff and they felt their approach was overbearing and somewhat cruel. I was reinstated with no loss of any benefits...pay, insurance, etc.
Jason has grown up to be a fine young man. He was always a great child. I can honestly say that he has never gave his mom and I any problems while growing up. We were never in a hurry to get him graduated and out of the house. We loved having him around. I was there when he shot his first buck (a seven point at 300 steps up a mesa in West Texas. I was playing golf on a different team during our club championship in Clarksville, Arkansas when he recorded a hole-in-one on a par 3 of over 200 yards. He got to buy the drinks and since he was a young teenager a coke was the strongest drink he could by. Jason excelled on the golf course all the way through high school and participated in the state tournament four years in a row. Now he is just like dad in that he works all the time and does not have time to play golf.
Jason married Jama in June of 2000 so they have been married ten years. They both graduated from the University of Arkansas. Their union has produced two lovely daughters, Reagan and Avery, ages 7 and 6 respectively. These little girls are absolutely brilliant and they are loved so much by Sharon and I and their families. We hope to see them here in GA over labor day. I will tell more about them as birthdays, etc occur. We also hope to post more recent pics of them on the website.
Jason is doing well in his career with Home Depot. He stuck it out during their long training period and was recently promoted to an assistant manager position. He will work in this role for a couple of years and hopefully continue to progress in his career. My main worry for Jason is that he watched his dad (me) work endless hours and spend days traveling away from my family. I did not have my priorities in order and hopefully he will not make the same mistakes. He is blessed with his wife Jama in that she makes sure the girls always have opportunities to participate in a variety of activities and always has meal time together etc. The family always manages to take neat vacations together each year. Jason and Jama are blessed with Jama's family being located close to their home in Edmond, OK. My advice to Jason or any dad is quite simple...Put God first in all things, your family second and your work third. If you follow this simple plan, your life will be in order. Needless to say I am proud to call Jason my son.
Finally I want to talk about our other birthday girl. Holly's eldest daughter, Ellie. Ellie celebrated her fifth birthday on August 5th. She was born in Charlottsville, Virginia. Ellie and her parents soon came to live with us temporarily here in Georgia when Mike was searching for a new church to serve. So I guess I got to know her probably better than my other grandchildren. I taught her how to dunk chocolate chip cookies in my milk while sitting in my lap and watching TV together. She learned how not to spill a drop. She and I really got to know one another during this year or so together. I remember her falling down a flight of fourteen steps to our basement...very scary. Another time she fell into our pool, fully clothed, long before the water was ready for swimming..scared me to death. She is a very loving child and she can melt my heart with a simple "I love you Papa". Ellie is so realistic about her relationship with God. She believes as a simple child that God can do anything. She is not shy to ask Him for what ever her little heart desires or her family needs. I know that her parents Mike and Holly spend a lot of time every night reading scriptures to her and her sisters and in prayer.
The bad thing about writing about particular loved ones is that the others may feel left out but all would agree the story would be too long if I tried to include a story about each one so the best way is to recognize them on birthdays or other special occasions.
I will close out today's post by saying that this past weekend was a wonderful time for Sharon and I. We were able to spend Sunday with our best friends in the world. Our small group from our church were all able to attend church together, shared lunch at Ted's and then regathered Sunday evening for a time of sweet fellowship including Bible Study, Prayer and of course some great food. These special friends have been beside us all the way through this cancer. They have brought meals, moved furniture, run errands, driven me to clinics but most importantly they have prayed without ceasing for this old man and my lovely bride. They are always there lifting prayers to heaven for us and for this we are eternally grateful. I would like to recognize them though many of you will not know their names. They are as follows: Rollie and Merlyn Bevers, Paul and Marcy Kreager, Joe and Laura Lynn Swafford, Steve and Dawn Renee Flynt, Jim and Kathy Stewart and of course Sharon and I. We along with these couples have been doing life together for over a year and we have become as close as a family. We have spent many hours learning together as we pour over God's Word. We have prayed for one another and our families. We have spent much time weeping together during trials and tests and also from joy of answered prayers. God truly brought us together for such as time as this and I know that with my Cancer that God had a plan long before my diagnosis that these folks would be there for Sharon and I.
My quiver is full and my heart bursts with love for all of you. How can we ever truly thank you all for your love and caring.
Doug
Another interesting situation about Jason's birthday was that I was employed by Sears Roebuck and Co. This particular day our staff from the Kansas City office came to the store for a regular review and they were on a head hunting trip. It seemed the new guy in charge of my area (advertising-sales promotion) did not like my work and let the whole group know it. Me being full of pride and not prone to accept a head on attack told the whole group that they could take this job and shove it. I walked out that afternoon and went home. I proceeded to tell Sharon what I had done with no thoughts of ramifications to insurance etc. Well the interesting thing is that Sharon began to have labor pains after hearing the news. I being a detail man began to record every contraction as to when it occurred, how long it lasted and the frequency between pains When I called the Doctor I had a complete history of the pains. He told us to head to the hospital and a few hours later we had our first born son Jason. It was a proud moment for mom and I. The rest of the story is that my boss (Mr. Ken Perkin) called from Sears and said my walking out made a huge impression on the KC staff and they felt their approach was overbearing and somewhat cruel. I was reinstated with no loss of any benefits...pay, insurance, etc.
Jason has grown up to be a fine young man. He was always a great child. I can honestly say that he has never gave his mom and I any problems while growing up. We were never in a hurry to get him graduated and out of the house. We loved having him around. I was there when he shot his first buck (a seven point at 300 steps up a mesa in West Texas. I was playing golf on a different team during our club championship in Clarksville, Arkansas when he recorded a hole-in-one on a par 3 of over 200 yards. He got to buy the drinks and since he was a young teenager a coke was the strongest drink he could by. Jason excelled on the golf course all the way through high school and participated in the state tournament four years in a row. Now he is just like dad in that he works all the time and does not have time to play golf.
Jason married Jama in June of 2000 so they have been married ten years. They both graduated from the University of Arkansas. Their union has produced two lovely daughters, Reagan and Avery, ages 7 and 6 respectively. These little girls are absolutely brilliant and they are loved so much by Sharon and I and their families. We hope to see them here in GA over labor day. I will tell more about them as birthdays, etc occur. We also hope to post more recent pics of them on the website.
Jason is doing well in his career with Home Depot. He stuck it out during their long training period and was recently promoted to an assistant manager position. He will work in this role for a couple of years and hopefully continue to progress in his career. My main worry for Jason is that he watched his dad (me) work endless hours and spend days traveling away from my family. I did not have my priorities in order and hopefully he will not make the same mistakes. He is blessed with his wife Jama in that she makes sure the girls always have opportunities to participate in a variety of activities and always has meal time together etc. The family always manages to take neat vacations together each year. Jason and Jama are blessed with Jama's family being located close to their home in Edmond, OK. My advice to Jason or any dad is quite simple...Put God first in all things, your family second and your work third. If you follow this simple plan, your life will be in order. Needless to say I am proud to call Jason my son.
Finally I want to talk about our other birthday girl. Holly's eldest daughter, Ellie. Ellie celebrated her fifth birthday on August 5th. She was born in Charlottsville, Virginia. Ellie and her parents soon came to live with us temporarily here in Georgia when Mike was searching for a new church to serve. So I guess I got to know her probably better than my other grandchildren. I taught her how to dunk chocolate chip cookies in my milk while sitting in my lap and watching TV together. She learned how not to spill a drop. She and I really got to know one another during this year or so together. I remember her falling down a flight of fourteen steps to our basement...very scary. Another time she fell into our pool, fully clothed, long before the water was ready for swimming..scared me to death. She is a very loving child and she can melt my heart with a simple "I love you Papa". Ellie is so realistic about her relationship with God. She believes as a simple child that God can do anything. She is not shy to ask Him for what ever her little heart desires or her family needs. I know that her parents Mike and Holly spend a lot of time every night reading scriptures to her and her sisters and in prayer.
The bad thing about writing about particular loved ones is that the others may feel left out but all would agree the story would be too long if I tried to include a story about each one so the best way is to recognize them on birthdays or other special occasions.
I will close out today's post by saying that this past weekend was a wonderful time for Sharon and I. We were able to spend Sunday with our best friends in the world. Our small group from our church were all able to attend church together, shared lunch at Ted's and then regathered Sunday evening for a time of sweet fellowship including Bible Study, Prayer and of course some great food. These special friends have been beside us all the way through this cancer. They have brought meals, moved furniture, run errands, driven me to clinics but most importantly they have prayed without ceasing for this old man and my lovely bride. They are always there lifting prayers to heaven for us and for this we are eternally grateful. I would like to recognize them though many of you will not know their names. They are as follows: Rollie and Merlyn Bevers, Paul and Marcy Kreager, Joe and Laura Lynn Swafford, Steve and Dawn Renee Flynt, Jim and Kathy Stewart and of course Sharon and I. We along with these couples have been doing life together for over a year and we have become as close as a family. We have spent many hours learning together as we pour over God's Word. We have prayed for one another and our families. We have spent much time weeping together during trials and tests and also from joy of answered prayers. God truly brought us together for such as time as this and I know that with my Cancer that God had a plan long before my diagnosis that these folks would be there for Sharon and I.
My quiver is full and my heart bursts with love for all of you. How can we ever truly thank you all for your love and caring.
Doug
Monday, August 2, 2010
JOBS
I awakened thinking about jobs I have had during my life. I have not actually been working now for several weeks due to my illness so I have created a new job that I am now doing. I am monitoring old TV series now shown on TV Land network. One show in particular is the Andy Griffith show. As many of you did I grew up watching this show weekly. I have watched thirty or more of the old reruns and discovered something I must have missed while watching this show growing up. There was evidently a time when Andy did not have a deputy? It must have happened after Barney left the show and the new deputy came on board. I have watched several shows lately with no deputy and they have used Goober, Floyd, Howard and other characters more to take up the slack. I have noted several other interesting points about the show that I will try to share later. One thing I will share with you is the target audience for these shows. It seems to be immobile senior adults. The scooter store is the main sponsor along with life alert. Not sure I am ready for this group but it's all a part of my new job.
Now to talk about jobs I have held in my lifetime. I believe that God puts us in situations or jobs that help build us into the people we become as we grow older. The experience of each job contributes to our ability to do the job that is really the one we are called to do. So I count each experience or job as a great benefit to my skills and ability. I will list the jobs as best I can in the order they occurred.
1. Landscape worker: When I was about nine years old I began mowing yards. My dad furnished a lawn boy mower and I entered this business with my uncle. My uncle Duane was the foreman or director of our business. I think because he was older (he was 10) and he had a yazoo mower. Many of you may not even know what a yazoo mower is but it was a heavy duty all steel red lawn mower. Sometimes the mowers were trimmed in yellow. They were manufactured in Yazoo City, Mississippi. They were purchased by those who were serious about mowing and a homeowner would feel very confident if the lawn mowing service had a yazoo. My little lawn boy was more of a finesse mower but did hold up well. Duane as the boss would go to the door to inquire about mowing the yard. I would stay hidden until the transaction was done. We did pretty well as we probably were paid $5 to $10 per yard. We had to push our mower from job to job or maybe ride our bike and pull it by hand. We had no weed eaters, edgers, etc. It was all handwork, no riding equipment, no self propelled etc. The biggest thrill about this job was the cold Mountain Dew you could buy for 5 cents after completing your work. Duane was a good boss and we both worked hard and earned a lot of money for nine or ten year olds.
2. Miscellaneous jobs: All boys my age worked at one time or another hauling hay and that type of summer work. One of the more interesting jobs I had was cleaning bricks. A local man bought an old brick building and wanted to use the old bricks to build a new house. The bricks were caked with mortar that had to be cleaned off. The method used was nails driven through a 2 x 12 board and each cleaner was given a board. We would scrape the bricks across the bed of nails (horrible sound and felt like scratching a blackboard) in order to clean the bricks. We were paid by the brick (about one penny each) so you had to really work to make 50 cents an hour. This job helped after school and Saturdays to earn some extra money.
3. Turkey Catcher: In my teen years, many farms grew turkeys outdoors on the range. We were hired to catch two big Tom Turkeys at a time and hold them by their wing joints and present the breast area to the technicians who blood tested, vaccinated and gave each bird a pill for Cholera. These birds weighed twenty to twenty five pounds each. We also did the same for hens (much smaller) at a later time. This job was a lot of fun after a heavy rain when you had to tromp through mud and manure all day in the heat to do this job. Don't remember what we were paid but it was not enough.
4. One Hour Martinizing: I did janitorial work for a dry cleaner along with waiting on customers after school and even closing the store each evening. I was only around thirteen or fourteen when I received this job. One of the highlights is that a few evenings a week I got to work with older teenage girls. About this time my hormones were in high gear and I did everything possible to steal a kiss from these girls. They finally got tired of my antics and allowed me an occasional kiss, for which I am ever grateful. I think I made 70 cents per hour and worked there for a couple of years.
5. Farm laborer: I began working for Tyson Foods the summer of my sixteenth year. The first day was pretty cool in that we (my good friend Jim Shepherd) and I were allowed to ride horses and round of cattle for vaccination and other medical procedures. I thought we were in heaven. Reality set in a few days later though when we had to haul hay in the daytime. We were paid $1.10 an your as I recall with no overtime, so you really earned your money. Later our real job we were hired for began. We shoveled manure from research houses and worked for a colorful pair of guys. Our foreman was named Glen and his asst. Junior. These guys liked to drive to Tontitown every afternoon and buy some really cheap beer and wine. They would drink all afternoon while Jim and I worked. We shoveled all types of manure including liquid manure from caged layers (really great experience). We also did some fun jobs such as bush hogging various Tyson farms, drove trucks and had a variety of jobs that taught us both how to do many different types of farm work that helped us later in life as we both ended up working in the poultry business.
6. Newspaper proof boy: I began working at the local newspaper running proofs of ads out to all the advertisers to check for errors prior to publication. After the ad ran I would deliver tear sheets (copies of the ads) to the stores to post on windows etc. This was a great job as I got to drive my car (paid me mileage) and run around all over town. This was a lot of freedom and paid me pretty good for a Junior in high school. I kept this job until I graduated from high school.
7. Newspaper Ad Sales: After high school I began calling on customers for the newspapers and was paid a salary plus commission. I was pretty good at this and made some good money at the same time. I was making such good money at an early age that I really did not see any value in attending college. This of course was a mistake but it was my choice. I continued in the newspaper work for several years.
8. Director of Advertising/Sales Promotion for Sears Roebuck: I was hired by the big Sears store in the new Northwest Arkansas Mall to manage all the advertising/marketing for the store. This was a pretty good position. My boss was a guy named Ken Perkin and I owe him a debt of gratitude for teaching me all he did. I worked at this job for about five years when Sears started down sizing and doing away with our positions.
9. Farm Manager: I was hired with no experience to manage a primary breeder farm for Tyson. I owe this job to the fact that I had worked summers in high school for Tyson on the research farms and that my dad worked for Tyson. Dad was in charge of all hatcheries for Tyson, so this opened the door for my. I was twenty-five years old and suddenly managing a fourteen hundred acre farm with sixty chicken houses, a hatchery and about fifty hard nosed mountain folks. Most of the folks were related so when you made one made you had all of them mad at you. My boss was a guy named Ed Rice. Ed was probably the greatest boss I ever had. He would spend hours teaching me about poultry science, husbandry, genetics, how to manage people, etc. I actually became pretty good at this job after a year or so. After seven years I had peaked in this position and Leland Tollett the president of Tyson called with a new challenge.
10. Director of rendering: What in the world is rendering I wondered? I had never heard of this type of plant but Leland had a need for someone to manage this business for Tyson. Rendering is basically taking all the inedible parts of the chicken and cooking (removing water) and producing from this a pet food ingredient. Also we made a liquid fat for livestock feed and feather meal. The job really came down to this: You eat the best and we handled the rest. It was a dirty, stinking job but a highly profitable, capital intense business. It was the most challenging business I had ever been a part of. We had six small plants attached to processing plants. Over the next few years we closed the little plants and build one monster plant, located in Clarksville, Arkansas. I spent the next few years hiring managers, developing new managers and getting this plant built and operational. It is still operating today.
11. Director Tyson Animal Goods Group: This included the rendering business, fresh and frozen pet food ingredients, ingredients for hot dogs/specialty meat products, etc. Anything not a first line poultry product fell into our department. This job included a sales staff, operations, engineering, R&D. It was an integral part of the business at Tyson and I worked in this area until about 1996.
12. Owner/operator of True Value Hardware, Holiday Island, Arkansas: This was a job I always wanted to try. I wanted to work for myself and operate a going business. We build this new store from the ground up and started from scratch. We were doing pretty well the first few years but then 9/11 occurred and our business went into the tank. We lost all our savings in this business and it was a test that Sharon and I lived through but truly challenged us in our faith, etc. We came out with no assets but a much stronger marriage and and stronger faith and belief in God. We had many great experiences during this time that we will never forget.
13. Director of Business Development: I started over in the rendering business in 2003 with American Proteins. We located in Alabama where we stayed about sixteen months and transferred to our current home in Cumming, Georgia. I am in charge of all contracts with poultry companies for rendering services. It really is the job I was created for. I currently am unable to work due to my illness but it has been a great seven years I have spent with the folks at API. I was truly taken in and they have taken care of us. I have learned more about our business than at any time in my career.
I thank God for all the experiences I had in my lifetime. For the great people I came to know I will be forever grateful. Our work is important as it provides for our families but it also brings us into contact with many great people who help us to become who we are. We should value the jobs we have and the people we work with. Hope this was not too boring to the readers today.
Doug
Now to talk about jobs I have held in my lifetime. I believe that God puts us in situations or jobs that help build us into the people we become as we grow older. The experience of each job contributes to our ability to do the job that is really the one we are called to do. So I count each experience or job as a great benefit to my skills and ability. I will list the jobs as best I can in the order they occurred.
1. Landscape worker: When I was about nine years old I began mowing yards. My dad furnished a lawn boy mower and I entered this business with my uncle. My uncle Duane was the foreman or director of our business. I think because he was older (he was 10) and he had a yazoo mower. Many of you may not even know what a yazoo mower is but it was a heavy duty all steel red lawn mower. Sometimes the mowers were trimmed in yellow. They were manufactured in Yazoo City, Mississippi. They were purchased by those who were serious about mowing and a homeowner would feel very confident if the lawn mowing service had a yazoo. My little lawn boy was more of a finesse mower but did hold up well. Duane as the boss would go to the door to inquire about mowing the yard. I would stay hidden until the transaction was done. We did pretty well as we probably were paid $5 to $10 per yard. We had to push our mower from job to job or maybe ride our bike and pull it by hand. We had no weed eaters, edgers, etc. It was all handwork, no riding equipment, no self propelled etc. The biggest thrill about this job was the cold Mountain Dew you could buy for 5 cents after completing your work. Duane was a good boss and we both worked hard and earned a lot of money for nine or ten year olds.
2. Miscellaneous jobs: All boys my age worked at one time or another hauling hay and that type of summer work. One of the more interesting jobs I had was cleaning bricks. A local man bought an old brick building and wanted to use the old bricks to build a new house. The bricks were caked with mortar that had to be cleaned off. The method used was nails driven through a 2 x 12 board and each cleaner was given a board. We would scrape the bricks across the bed of nails (horrible sound and felt like scratching a blackboard) in order to clean the bricks. We were paid by the brick (about one penny each) so you had to really work to make 50 cents an hour. This job helped after school and Saturdays to earn some extra money.
3. Turkey Catcher: In my teen years, many farms grew turkeys outdoors on the range. We were hired to catch two big Tom Turkeys at a time and hold them by their wing joints and present the breast area to the technicians who blood tested, vaccinated and gave each bird a pill for Cholera. These birds weighed twenty to twenty five pounds each. We also did the same for hens (much smaller) at a later time. This job was a lot of fun after a heavy rain when you had to tromp through mud and manure all day in the heat to do this job. Don't remember what we were paid but it was not enough.
4. One Hour Martinizing: I did janitorial work for a dry cleaner along with waiting on customers after school and even closing the store each evening. I was only around thirteen or fourteen when I received this job. One of the highlights is that a few evenings a week I got to work with older teenage girls. About this time my hormones were in high gear and I did everything possible to steal a kiss from these girls. They finally got tired of my antics and allowed me an occasional kiss, for which I am ever grateful. I think I made 70 cents per hour and worked there for a couple of years.
5. Farm laborer: I began working for Tyson Foods the summer of my sixteenth year. The first day was pretty cool in that we (my good friend Jim Shepherd) and I were allowed to ride horses and round of cattle for vaccination and other medical procedures. I thought we were in heaven. Reality set in a few days later though when we had to haul hay in the daytime. We were paid $1.10 an your as I recall with no overtime, so you really earned your money. Later our real job we were hired for began. We shoveled manure from research houses and worked for a colorful pair of guys. Our foreman was named Glen and his asst. Junior. These guys liked to drive to Tontitown every afternoon and buy some really cheap beer and wine. They would drink all afternoon while Jim and I worked. We shoveled all types of manure including liquid manure from caged layers (really great experience). We also did some fun jobs such as bush hogging various Tyson farms, drove trucks and had a variety of jobs that taught us both how to do many different types of farm work that helped us later in life as we both ended up working in the poultry business.
6. Newspaper proof boy: I began working at the local newspaper running proofs of ads out to all the advertisers to check for errors prior to publication. After the ad ran I would deliver tear sheets (copies of the ads) to the stores to post on windows etc. This was a great job as I got to drive my car (paid me mileage) and run around all over town. This was a lot of freedom and paid me pretty good for a Junior in high school. I kept this job until I graduated from high school.
7. Newspaper Ad Sales: After high school I began calling on customers for the newspapers and was paid a salary plus commission. I was pretty good at this and made some good money at the same time. I was making such good money at an early age that I really did not see any value in attending college. This of course was a mistake but it was my choice. I continued in the newspaper work for several years.
8. Director of Advertising/Sales Promotion for Sears Roebuck: I was hired by the big Sears store in the new Northwest Arkansas Mall to manage all the advertising/marketing for the store. This was a pretty good position. My boss was a guy named Ken Perkin and I owe him a debt of gratitude for teaching me all he did. I worked at this job for about five years when Sears started down sizing and doing away with our positions.
9. Farm Manager: I was hired with no experience to manage a primary breeder farm for Tyson. I owe this job to the fact that I had worked summers in high school for Tyson on the research farms and that my dad worked for Tyson. Dad was in charge of all hatcheries for Tyson, so this opened the door for my. I was twenty-five years old and suddenly managing a fourteen hundred acre farm with sixty chicken houses, a hatchery and about fifty hard nosed mountain folks. Most of the folks were related so when you made one made you had all of them mad at you. My boss was a guy named Ed Rice. Ed was probably the greatest boss I ever had. He would spend hours teaching me about poultry science, husbandry, genetics, how to manage people, etc. I actually became pretty good at this job after a year or so. After seven years I had peaked in this position and Leland Tollett the president of Tyson called with a new challenge.
10. Director of rendering: What in the world is rendering I wondered? I had never heard of this type of plant but Leland had a need for someone to manage this business for Tyson. Rendering is basically taking all the inedible parts of the chicken and cooking (removing water) and producing from this a pet food ingredient. Also we made a liquid fat for livestock feed and feather meal. The job really came down to this: You eat the best and we handled the rest. It was a dirty, stinking job but a highly profitable, capital intense business. It was the most challenging business I had ever been a part of. We had six small plants attached to processing plants. Over the next few years we closed the little plants and build one monster plant, located in Clarksville, Arkansas. I spent the next few years hiring managers, developing new managers and getting this plant built and operational. It is still operating today.
11. Director Tyson Animal Goods Group: This included the rendering business, fresh and frozen pet food ingredients, ingredients for hot dogs/specialty meat products, etc. Anything not a first line poultry product fell into our department. This job included a sales staff, operations, engineering, R&D. It was an integral part of the business at Tyson and I worked in this area until about 1996.
12. Owner/operator of True Value Hardware, Holiday Island, Arkansas: This was a job I always wanted to try. I wanted to work for myself and operate a going business. We build this new store from the ground up and started from scratch. We were doing pretty well the first few years but then 9/11 occurred and our business went into the tank. We lost all our savings in this business and it was a test that Sharon and I lived through but truly challenged us in our faith, etc. We came out with no assets but a much stronger marriage and and stronger faith and belief in God. We had many great experiences during this time that we will never forget.
13. Director of Business Development: I started over in the rendering business in 2003 with American Proteins. We located in Alabama where we stayed about sixteen months and transferred to our current home in Cumming, Georgia. I am in charge of all contracts with poultry companies for rendering services. It really is the job I was created for. I currently am unable to work due to my illness but it has been a great seven years I have spent with the folks at API. I was truly taken in and they have taken care of us. I have learned more about our business than at any time in my career.
I thank God for all the experiences I had in my lifetime. For the great people I came to know I will be forever grateful. Our work is important as it provides for our families but it also brings us into contact with many great people who help us to become who we are. We should value the jobs we have and the people we work with. Hope this was not too boring to the readers today.
Doug
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Next Chapter
It has been months since my last blog. I lost interest and became busy with other activities. Now it seems I have a new reason to share my thoughts with you. My wife Sharon and I began seeking a diagnosis for a medical problem I was experiencing in April and May. Finally after many weeks we discovered that I have lung cancer and according to my Doctor it is not curable. That will take the wind out of your sails and turn your life upside down. I will try to tell our story below and where we are today.
A few weeks ago we were given the news by our Doctor and you wonder how you will react? Sharon and I had that peace that passes all understanding encompass us in that office and we walked out together with a purpose to live for. The first thing I wanted to do was visit the local Barnes and Noble and buy a new Bible for this next chapter in our lives. My favorite Bible has been with me for over thirty years and is worn, coffee and tear stained and written in to the point that it can be difficult to read. I chose a Max Lucado study Bible that is broken down with daily readings and study notes. The very first day I began to read this Bible was July 10th. That day's reading included 1 Chronicles 16:12. This verse says "In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa got a disease in his feet. Though this disease was very bad, he did not ask for help from the Lord, but only from the doctors. Then Asa died in the forty-first year of his rule." As has happened many times to me over the years I was blown away by this message from God. Of course Sharon and I and our friends visited with the Lord long before we talked with the doctors. We continue to seek His wisdom in all things and we know that our situation is in His hands.
I want to say that this trusting in God happened long before my cancer. I made up my mind many years ago that no matter what the situation I would trust God. This give us much comfort for what lies ahead. I will tell you that a million questions go through your mind as the news sinks in. The unknown can be scary, but I really wonder what I would do without the Lord Jesus sitting beside me holding me up. That would be very scary to face this situation without His strength.
I am very early in this journey and I know that unless the Lord intervenes there are some tough days ahead for us. Where I am trying to get to is the place where I value each and every day and utilize each day to it's fullest. The physical limitations are there but I am praying for strength to overcome these.
There are always more people to thank for help and you don't want to leave any out, but I especially want to thank Sharon for standing by me and also my family for always being there. Our friends at Church have been wonderful and we don't know how we would have made it without them. Finally the folks I work with have been there for us and we thank you and want you to know that we love you very much. As strength allows I will try to update this blog with any new thoughts or insights.
A few weeks ago we were given the news by our Doctor and you wonder how you will react? Sharon and I had that peace that passes all understanding encompass us in that office and we walked out together with a purpose to live for. The first thing I wanted to do was visit the local Barnes and Noble and buy a new Bible for this next chapter in our lives. My favorite Bible has been with me for over thirty years and is worn, coffee and tear stained and written in to the point that it can be difficult to read. I chose a Max Lucado study Bible that is broken down with daily readings and study notes. The very first day I began to read this Bible was July 10th. That day's reading included 1 Chronicles 16:12. This verse says "In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa got a disease in his feet. Though this disease was very bad, he did not ask for help from the Lord, but only from the doctors. Then Asa died in the forty-first year of his rule." As has happened many times to me over the years I was blown away by this message from God. Of course Sharon and I and our friends visited with the Lord long before we talked with the doctors. We continue to seek His wisdom in all things and we know that our situation is in His hands.
I want to say that this trusting in God happened long before my cancer. I made up my mind many years ago that no matter what the situation I would trust God. This give us much comfort for what lies ahead. I will tell you that a million questions go through your mind as the news sinks in. The unknown can be scary, but I really wonder what I would do without the Lord Jesus sitting beside me holding me up. That would be very scary to face this situation without His strength.
I am very early in this journey and I know that unless the Lord intervenes there are some tough days ahead for us. Where I am trying to get to is the place where I value each and every day and utilize each day to it's fullest. The physical limitations are there but I am praying for strength to overcome these.
There are always more people to thank for help and you don't want to leave any out, but I especially want to thank Sharon for standing by me and also my family for always being there. Our friends at Church have been wonderful and we don't know how we would have made it without them. Finally the folks I work with have been there for us and we thank you and want you to know that we love you very much. As strength allows I will try to update this blog with any new thoughts or insights.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A Century Turns
Hello to my friends. Once again my busy life has consumed much of my free time. I have been blessed with two trips with customers on a quail hunt in South Georgia. Hunting quail in a southern pine Forest is a wonderful experience. The beauty of massive oaks draped in Spanish moss is something you don't see every day. In the midst of this traveling I completed reading a new book by William (Bill) Bennett, titled "A Century Turns".
This book is a true history book. While I must admit that I don't spend a lot of time delving in historical writing. This book however is a history of our country through the Bush One presidency all the way to our present leader Barrack Obama. I truly can say that each day I looked forward to my time with this book. I learned many things about the nineties that slipped by me when I was living during this time. Each presidency was analyzed with insights that few of us have the opportunity to hear during the actual time in which they take place.
I learned that I truly liked the Bush One presidency far more than I realized. President Bush made decisions that were right for our country and for this he was relegated to only one term. I also learned that Bush Two was not quite the man his father was. Perhaps it was the situations that he found himself in that caused some decisions that were not the best for the country. Each President during the nineties and the turn of the century are looked at from a historical perspective. It is also interesting how decisions made in early 2000 to 2008 will affect each of us for years to come.
I felt that Bennett writes from an unbiased viewpoint and really tells the story of a twenty year period of turmoil, terrorist attacks, economic disaster, social ills and all the good bad and ugly of our country during this time. His book will be used as a source of history recorded during these turbulent years. He also tells of where we are today and the challenges we face.
Did the book encourage me as an American for the days that lie ahead? I am not sure as I write this review that I know the answer to this question. He did help me understand how some decisions, good and bad are made during times of crisis. Mr. Bennett served during the Reagan and Bush One presidencies and has enjoyed a seat near great men who served our country. He writes from a perspective that few have experienced.
I think anyone that will take the time to read this book will walk away with a better understanding of where we have been as a country and where we are heading. I think that any serious student of history should read this book and even the person with a casual interest will find this book rewarding and enlightening. It is well worth the time spent and the person will be rewarded with much knowledge of our history and the future.
This book is a true history book. While I must admit that I don't spend a lot of time delving in historical writing. This book however is a history of our country through the Bush One presidency all the way to our present leader Barrack Obama. I truly can say that each day I looked forward to my time with this book. I learned many things about the nineties that slipped by me when I was living during this time. Each presidency was analyzed with insights that few of us have the opportunity to hear during the actual time in which they take place.
I learned that I truly liked the Bush One presidency far more than I realized. President Bush made decisions that were right for our country and for this he was relegated to only one term. I also learned that Bush Two was not quite the man his father was. Perhaps it was the situations that he found himself in that caused some decisions that were not the best for the country. Each President during the nineties and the turn of the century are looked at from a historical perspective. It is also interesting how decisions made in early 2000 to 2008 will affect each of us for years to come.
I felt that Bennett writes from an unbiased viewpoint and really tells the story of a twenty year period of turmoil, terrorist attacks, economic disaster, social ills and all the good bad and ugly of our country during this time. His book will be used as a source of history recorded during these turbulent years. He also tells of where we are today and the challenges we face.
Did the book encourage me as an American for the days that lie ahead? I am not sure as I write this review that I know the answer to this question. He did help me understand how some decisions, good and bad are made during times of crisis. Mr. Bennett served during the Reagan and Bush One presidencies and has enjoyed a seat near great men who served our country. He writes from a perspective that few have experienced.
I think anyone that will take the time to read this book will walk away with a better understanding of where we have been as a country and where we are heading. I think that any serious student of history should read this book and even the person with a casual interest will find this book rewarding and enlightening. It is well worth the time spent and the person will be rewarded with much knowledge of our history and the future.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
I just finished a new book by Donald Miller. The title is "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." The author said this book is about what he learned while editing his life. The book describes a situation where a company was making a movie about the author's life. The author realized early on that his life was not worthy of writing a book about or making a movie. He realized luckily at a young age (mid-thirties) that he was not writing a very good story about his life. He did something about it and began to take on various challenges, such as climbing mountains in Peru and riding cross country from Los Angeles to the East Coast ( a two month bide ride). He also begain his greatest work....starting a mentoring program for fatherless children.
Miller points out that we all have a story to tell. Some are exciting some rather bland. He describes in the book that "a story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it." He goes on to say "if I have a hope, it's that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically into the story, and put us with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.
This book is not an action packed adventure, but a man pouring out his heart about his place in this life and the story his life will tell. Yet I found myself unable to put the book down. I read this book in a few nights and know that I must reread it for all the nuggets hidden in it's pages. While this is the first book I have read by this author I know that I will read his other works.
Now to my problem with applying this book. The author as stated is in his mid to late thirties. I am in my late fifties. Am I too late to edit my story and make it an exciting life? I believe that God writes a story for each of us. The question is do we live the story? Or do we live aimless lives, rolling with the flow and taking life as it comes? Can we make our latter years more exciting than our early years? My faith tells me that we can start where we are, today. We can make the most of the time God has given us.
I can say unequivocally.....buy this book....buy it today. It will change your outlook. It will change your life. I believe with all my heart that God ordains books such as this in the hopes that His children will live their stories as he wrote them. It is never too late to start. Today is the first day of the rest of your lives. Again the book is titled....A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.
Miller points out that we all have a story to tell. Some are exciting some rather bland. He describes in the book that "a story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it." He goes on to say "if I have a hope, it's that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically into the story, and put us with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.
This book is not an action packed adventure, but a man pouring out his heart about his place in this life and the story his life will tell. Yet I found myself unable to put the book down. I read this book in a few nights and know that I must reread it for all the nuggets hidden in it's pages. While this is the first book I have read by this author I know that I will read his other works.
Now to my problem with applying this book. The author as stated is in his mid to late thirties. I am in my late fifties. Am I too late to edit my story and make it an exciting life? I believe that God writes a story for each of us. The question is do we live the story? Or do we live aimless lives, rolling with the flow and taking life as it comes? Can we make our latter years more exciting than our early years? My faith tells me that we can start where we are, today. We can make the most of the time God has given us.
I can say unequivocally.....buy this book....buy it today. It will change your outlook. It will change your life. I believe with all my heart that God ordains books such as this in the hopes that His children will live their stories as he wrote them. It is never too late to start. Today is the first day of the rest of your lives. Again the book is titled....A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.
A Boring Life??
Dear friends,
It has been many days since my last post and for this I apologize. It seems that things were so busy for a while that I got out of the habit of writing on a regular basis. I also began thinking that nothing really significant was going on in my life, so why bother with taking your time to read rambling from a boring life. I sat back today and realized that I really have been lazy. It is easier to sit in front of the tube than to share with friends via my blog. I also realized that I have in fact had a rather eventful life for the past 30 days. I will try to recap my life and forgive me if I get a date wrong, etc.
December 22nd: Drove straight through from Cumming, GA to Dallas, Tx to spend the holidays with my family.
December 24th: Witnessed the first white Christmas in Dallas since 1910.
December 25th: Enjoyed Christmas with my daughter and her family. My first Christmas with our newest "Baby Mary".
December 25th: Drove part way to Oklahoma City in slush, ice and snow. We spent the night in Gainesville, Tx. and enjoyed IHOP for dinner. I realized that I had eaten breakfast three meals in a row.
December 26th: Arrived in Oklahoma City. OKC had an all time record snowfall 14". My son's driveway had 4 to 5 ft. snow drifts. Temps were in the teens for a high. We celebrated a late Christmas with my son and his wife Jama and daughters Avery and Reagan. It was a time of joy. My daughter Holly and husband Mike and daughters Mary, Anna and Ellie joined us. It is a rare treat when all my kids and grandchildren are together at one time.
December 27th: My power window became inoperable (in the open position) while paying a toll at the toll booth. Drove around OKC in frigid weather with the windows open.
December 28th: Spent the day trying to get the window fixed. I finally was successful.
December 29th: My sons car had recently been pushing snow during the blizzard and lost a serpentine belt. To get to the belt the bumper had to be removed as well as a front tire and wheel. This was all done in cold temps. We finally decided we did not have the tools to do the job and had to reassemble the bumper and wheel and called a wrecker and paid a mechanic to fix the problem.
December 29th continued: My son's sink stopped up. We crawled on the roof and tried to unstop the vent, then tried to unstop the drain outside (in frigid weather). My son's father-in-law joined the fun and we disassembled the sink trap and unplugged one drain. In the process we broke a compression ring. Luckily there was a spare in the garage. We put it all back together and discovered the same problem with the other sink. Again we broke the compression ring...this time no spare. Drove 25 mile round trip and bought several compression rings and we cleaned the drain, reassembled and all worked well.
December 29th Continued: Celebrated my wife's 60th birthday and daughter-in-law Jama's (not sure how many) birthday at a great restaurant in OKC.
December 30th: during the evening I contracted a stomach virus. We had two rooms at the Hampton Inn in OKC (long story why we had two rooms). My wife and granddaughters were thankfully in one room and I was in the other. I spent six hours on the throne with a trash can in my hands (and read a good book in the midst of this problem). I don't need to describe what was going on but it was not a pleasant experience.
December 31st: We left for Springdale, Arkansas with clear roads to visit my dad and his wife. It was an uneventful trip. We had a nice dinner with dad and my brother and a nice visit with Dad and his wife. We spent the night in the Hampton Inn and were both asleep well before the new year.
January 1st, 2010: We celebrated the new year by driving straight through to our home in Cumming, GA. This was about 800 miles.
January 2nd/3rd: We crashed to get over the trip. Watched a few ballgames and slept.
January 4th: Back to work in order to get some rest and of course to get caught up on projects after being off for two weeks.
January 7th: Off on a deer hunting trip with customers in South Alabama. Up every morning at 4:30 and to bed at 10:00 PM. No deer were present on the 7th or the morning of the 8th.
January 8th: Shot the largest deer in my life. 11 Point buck. The deer had a lot of character. The rack told stories about the battles this buck endured to reach a ripe old age. I actually dreamed the night before about this deer coming out of the woods. The reality was exactly like the dream. I felt a spiritual connection with this animal. It took a couple of hours to regain my composure after taking the deer.
January 9th: Back home again
February 3rd-4th: Preparing to go on an annual Quail Hunt.
Other than all these events it has been kind of boring. Sometimes we need to sit back and think about our lives and how really full they can be. It is a shame that we neglect to tell our stories.
It has been many days since my last post and for this I apologize. It seems that things were so busy for a while that I got out of the habit of writing on a regular basis. I also began thinking that nothing really significant was going on in my life, so why bother with taking your time to read rambling from a boring life. I sat back today and realized that I really have been lazy. It is easier to sit in front of the tube than to share with friends via my blog. I also realized that I have in fact had a rather eventful life for the past 30 days. I will try to recap my life and forgive me if I get a date wrong, etc.
December 22nd: Drove straight through from Cumming, GA to Dallas, Tx to spend the holidays with my family.
December 24th: Witnessed the first white Christmas in Dallas since 1910.
December 25th: Enjoyed Christmas with my daughter and her family. My first Christmas with our newest "Baby Mary".
December 25th: Drove part way to Oklahoma City in slush, ice and snow. We spent the night in Gainesville, Tx. and enjoyed IHOP for dinner. I realized that I had eaten breakfast three meals in a row.
December 26th: Arrived in Oklahoma City. OKC had an all time record snowfall 14". My son's driveway had 4 to 5 ft. snow drifts. Temps were in the teens for a high. We celebrated a late Christmas with my son and his wife Jama and daughters Avery and Reagan. It was a time of joy. My daughter Holly and husband Mike and daughters Mary, Anna and Ellie joined us. It is a rare treat when all my kids and grandchildren are together at one time.
December 27th: My power window became inoperable (in the open position) while paying a toll at the toll booth. Drove around OKC in frigid weather with the windows open.
December 28th: Spent the day trying to get the window fixed. I finally was successful.
December 29th: My sons car had recently been pushing snow during the blizzard and lost a serpentine belt. To get to the belt the bumper had to be removed as well as a front tire and wheel. This was all done in cold temps. We finally decided we did not have the tools to do the job and had to reassemble the bumper and wheel and called a wrecker and paid a mechanic to fix the problem.
December 29th continued: My son's sink stopped up. We crawled on the roof and tried to unstop the vent, then tried to unstop the drain outside (in frigid weather). My son's father-in-law joined the fun and we disassembled the sink trap and unplugged one drain. In the process we broke a compression ring. Luckily there was a spare in the garage. We put it all back together and discovered the same problem with the other sink. Again we broke the compression ring...this time no spare. Drove 25 mile round trip and bought several compression rings and we cleaned the drain, reassembled and all worked well.
December 29th Continued: Celebrated my wife's 60th birthday and daughter-in-law Jama's (not sure how many) birthday at a great restaurant in OKC.
December 30th: during the evening I contracted a stomach virus. We had two rooms at the Hampton Inn in OKC (long story why we had two rooms). My wife and granddaughters were thankfully in one room and I was in the other. I spent six hours on the throne with a trash can in my hands (and read a good book in the midst of this problem). I don't need to describe what was going on but it was not a pleasant experience.
December 31st: We left for Springdale, Arkansas with clear roads to visit my dad and his wife. It was an uneventful trip. We had a nice dinner with dad and my brother and a nice visit with Dad and his wife. We spent the night in the Hampton Inn and were both asleep well before the new year.
January 1st, 2010: We celebrated the new year by driving straight through to our home in Cumming, GA. This was about 800 miles.
January 2nd/3rd: We crashed to get over the trip. Watched a few ballgames and slept.
January 4th: Back to work in order to get some rest and of course to get caught up on projects after being off for two weeks.
January 7th: Off on a deer hunting trip with customers in South Alabama. Up every morning at 4:30 and to bed at 10:00 PM. No deer were present on the 7th or the morning of the 8th.
January 8th: Shot the largest deer in my life. 11 Point buck. The deer had a lot of character. The rack told stories about the battles this buck endured to reach a ripe old age. I actually dreamed the night before about this deer coming out of the woods. The reality was exactly like the dream. I felt a spiritual connection with this animal. It took a couple of hours to regain my composure after taking the deer.
January 9th: Back home again
February 3rd-4th: Preparing to go on an annual Quail Hunt.
Other than all these events it has been kind of boring. Sometimes we need to sit back and think about our lives and how really full they can be. It is a shame that we neglect to tell our stories.
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