Five Things I Think I Think

 (With a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. My TV antenna did not work, so I did not get to see the Academy Awards Sunday night. I’m sorry I missed Billy Crystal’s return as host. I read in the paper yesterday that THE MUPPET MOVIE song “Am I a man or a Muppet?” won best song. This delight’s me… that’s a great song, hilariously done in the movie.

            I wish the academy would broadcast the event the next day on HULU or some equivalent. This would be smart on their part.

2. I felt deeply for the family of the firefighter who was killed trying to catch a ball tossed to him by Josh Hamilton, last summer, at a Rangers’ ball game. The father’s son was standing right beside him and witnessed the event.

            I felt equal emotion for Josh Hamilton. Everything I have read on him indicates to me he is a sensitive guy. Putting myself in his place, I would have been crushed. Frankly, I am amazed that Hamilton was able to play as well as he did after the tragedy.

            All of this to say, I cannot help but believe some of this emotional energy lay behind the poor choices Hamilton made during his recent relapse. I hope in the midst of the counseling he is receiving for his interaction with family and for his drug addiction will, with consistency, address the events of last summer.

3. I’m currently on an Andrew Jackson kick listening to an audio copy of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. (Very good so far—I may report on it when I finish.) This prompted me to go online to the KERA-PBS website to watch scenes of their documentary Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency. I have not seen the whole thing, but what I have witnessed has been very good. Martin Sheen narrates; several historians add commentary, including the king of Andrew Jackson scholars—Robert Remini. I read his three-volume work on Andrew Jackson back in 1989—fantastic!

            Incidentally, if you are ever around Nashville, visit Jackson’s home—The Hermitage.

4. Judy and I saw a movie Saturday night that you might enjoy. It was called A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE. Steve Martin is the star and producer. Basically he updated George Eliot’s novel, SILAS MARNER, and made a movie out of it.

            Martin plays a chorale teacher whose wife becomes pregnant with a co-teacher's child. Feeling betrayed and deeply hurt, Martin’s character moves to a small town where he becomes an eccentric miser. Through a simple twist of faith, he ends up adopting an orphan girl. His life then changes for the better.

            The movie is intriguing and sweet. Start it up in your DVD player or on your computer, and it will bewitch you. You will not want to stop the movie.

5. I have a number of books on my shelf that I have not read; one of them was a book by Jonathan Aitken entitled CHARLES W. COLSON A LIFE REDEEMED. Last week, I finally pulled it down and read it.

            Aitken is a Brit, a former Oxford graduate, journalist, British MP, British cabinet member, and convicted perjurer. Aitken’s conversion story after his time in jail in 1999 is quite interesting–and my understanding is he is a faithful believer to this day.

            He is quite open about his experiences. Indeed, the writer’s blurb on the dust jacket–three sentences–included one sentence that stated his service in the Cabinet ended when he “served a seven month prison term for perjury in a civil case.” That wins my vote as the most unique author’s bio on a dust jacket.

            For younger readers, Charles Colson served as one of Richard Nixon's major advisers during his first administration. Colson was known for being a cold-blooded, ruthless practitioner of the art of politics. He was also known for his “dirty tricks.”

            Shortly after he left the Nixon White House, Colson was converted to Christianity. He later was convicted for crimes he committed in the Nixon White House. He then served time in prison for his Watergate crimes.

            After his release, he devoted himself to prison ministry, and founded the organization Prison Fellowship. This commitment to social justice, as well as other ministry engagements, paved the way for Colson to win the prestigious Templeton Prize, presented to him by Prince Philip.

            I have been a Chuck Colson fan for years, going back to the 1980s. While I certainly do not agree with all of his theology and cultural engagement, I have very much admired his ministry.

            Having read BORN AGAIN, Colson's autobiography written in the 1970s, I found Aitkin’s biography broke new ground because of the extensive records he had access to coupled with the immense number of people he interviewed. Furthermore, 40 years after the fact, Aitken’s book offers more perspective on the Watergate years and the Colson’s role in the Nixon White House.

            I appreciated the detail offered concerning Colson's founding of Prison Fellowship, but I especially the fine points offered concerning the ministries spawned out of that ministry. Through Prison Fellowship, Colson received opportunities to study theology with some of the evangelical world’s greatest theologians, write numerous books, and offer radio commentaries on his program—BREAKPOINT. (No, he does not write those commentaries alone, a team prepares them for him, although he has editorial control.)

            I learned personal information. I did not know that Colson almost died from a serious staph infection back in the late 1980s, after he was diagnosed with a stomach tumor. Before surgery, doctors and loved ones feared cancer. After surgery, the greatest concern Colson (and everyone else) had was the infection. It almost proved to be fatal. The infection so overshadowed Colson’s stomach tumor, it was months after the operation before Colson discovered the tumor was benign. No doctor or medical personnel had thought to tell him.

            A LIFE REDEEMED has much more inside information such as I just described. If you like Charles Colson, you will enjoy this book.

Five Things I Think I Think 2/21/12

(with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Have you heard about “Linsanity”? Jeremy Lin, the new hotshot point guard for the NBA New York Knicks has recently taken the basketball world by storm. SNL even did an opening skit on him last week.

            I must admit, I grew tired in a hurry listening about him on the radio. Then at the end of last week, I encountered an article in WOLRD ON CAMPUS entitled, “Jeremy Lin's Sustaining Faith.” That caught my attention!

            Come to find out, Jeremy Lin gladly confesses to being a Christian. Reading some of his journal entries, he is clearly a deeply spiritual young man, who seeks above all to glorify Christ.

            Here is a link to that article: http://www.worldoncampus.com/2012/02/jeremy_lin_s_sustaining_faith

2. I finished Geoffrey Perret’s biography EISENHOWER this week. It is a good one-volume treatment of the great man’s life.

            Stephen Ambrose’s first volume on Eisenhower does a better job telling about his WWII years. His second volume on Eisenhower’s presidency, along with Jim Newton’s recent book EISENHOWER: THE HOUSE YEARS go into more detail concerning his presidency.

            Having said that, Perret’s work, written in 1999, does break some new ground from my perspective. For example, Perret offers details concerning Eisenhower’s heart attack and surgery for ileitis, which I had not encountered.

            On the other hand, for some strange reason, Perret only mentions Eisenhower’s stroke in passing. This event was a traumatic moment in his presidency. To say this was an egregious error would but be too strong, but it was definitely poor biographical form to not include an account of that episode—especially after offering fresh details of the Eisenhower’s heart attack and bout with ileitis. It was as if Perret had to meet a deadline and finished the book before addressing issues he had surely researched.

            If you only read one author’s work on Eisenhower, I would recommend Stephen Ambrose’s two-volume biography. If you have time to read only a one-volume biography, I would recommend Perret’s tome.

3. I still cannot believe Whitney Houston passed away. My oldest daughter texted me with the news on Saturday, February 11, shortly after the death was announced.

            I enjoyed Houston’s music dating back to her hit, “How Will I Know?” I still remember watching her sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl 25 during the first Gulf War in 1991. We were living in Argentina at the time. Without a doubt, that was the best rendition ever of the song.

            I always felt Houston made a tragic mistake marrying Bobby Brown, who got her off track. I now read that she married Bobby Brown because she was more like him than most people knew. Evidently, they were tragically correct.

4. I don’t know who the big OSCAR winners will be, but I’m pulling for Brad Pitt for best actor for his role in MONEYBALL.

5. The ETCA girls lost their playoff game in overtime on Saturday. It was a heartbreaker, but they played well.

            With this loss, my daughter Abby’s cheerleading season is definitively over. She says she does not want to cheer next year.

            I have mixed feelings about that. I want her to be as content as possible while maturing as a person, so whatever decision helps that process I am for. I must confess I did not want her to cheer her freshman year when she announced her intentions to try out. But I have been very pleased with her experiences over the past two years, and I believe she has learned much. I am proud of her.

Five Things I Think I Think

(With a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I watched the SUPER BOWL a second time last week while on the treadmill. Seeing the commercials again, I was forced to ask the existential question: are there any commercials on TV that are smuttier than the GoDaddy.com commercials? I try to avoid blasting people of the world, but each year “GoDaddy” offers advertisements that are devoid of taste—and that’s putting it mildly.

2. Judy, Annie, Timothy and I saw DOLPHIN TALE last weekend on DVD. It was a sweet movie, good for the entire family. The cast includes Harry Connick, Jr., Morgan Freeman, and Ashley Judd. Based on a true story, the movie told of a dolphin that washed to the Florida shore having lost his tail due to a crab net. The movie centered on various individuals who sought to help the dolphin learn to survive without the tail. He survived, and he thrived. This movie—and I mean this in a respectful way—reminds me of SOUL SURFER, except in DOLPHIN’s case, it is an aquatic animal instead of an aquatic human, who is attempting to learn to thrive after tragedy strikes in the sea. Both are fine movies.

3. I finished Bowden: How Bobby Bowden Forged a Football Dynasty, written by sportswriter Mike Freeman. Freeman, who extensively interviewed family members and was granted unprecedented access to Bowden, offers the most objective account of Bowden that I’ve yet encountered. Bowden comes across as an excellent coach and CEO, but also as man of uncommon integrity and a decent human being. Bowden’s renowned faith strikes me as being more personal than communal; he evidently has little or no involvement in local a congregation (although that may have changed after his retirement.) BOWDEN was written in 2008; still, it holds up well—even without an account of Bowden’s forced retirement crises, which occurred after the book was completed.

4. Saturday night at the breakfast table, I made a statement to my daughter, Annie. She clearly did not believe me. I asked her why. She said, "Because Daddy, you're always lying to me. Isn't that right mommy?"

            My wife, Judy, then had the temerity to say to me, "That is true, sweetheart."

            I could not believe it! Judy went on to explain that-sometimes-when I kid or am attempting to share my amazing wit, I say things with such a straight face, it looks like I'm telling the truth.            

            Today, more than ever, wit is unappreciated.

5. Congratulations to the ETCA boys’ basketball team on their very successful year. Likewise, kudos are in order to the ETCA girls’ basketball team, who won their playoff game last night and will play round two this weekend.