Sky Lanterns

Article published in the January 17, 2013 issue of The Mena Star

After being rained out in December, the Relay For Life Sky Lanterns event was held Tuesday evening outside Rich Mountain Community College.  The sky lanterns serve as both a fundraiser for Relay For Life, but also a special opportunity to honor friends, family, and loved  ones who have battled cancer.



On the evening, 51 sky lanterns were purchased and launched into the night sky, glowing as they rose and floated out of sight.  The evening also served as the 2013 Relay Kick-Off event.  The event raised over $1,200 for the Relay For Life Polk County organization.

Pay It Forward Weekend

I have pledged to participate in the Pay It Forward Weekend. During the weekend of Friday Jan. 18 through Sunday Jan. 20, we are encouraging everyone to "Pay It Forward". We are asking everyone to do at least one random act of kindness (more than one is even better). All you have to do is do something for someone or some organization without expecting anything in return. Pay for a strangers meal, send someone a card, volunteer some time. The ideas are endless. All it takes is a spark to get a fire going. By taking part, you can make a difference and who knows, maybe change someone's life. Get on board, and let's see if we can change someone's world this weekend. Who knows, it might be your life that gets changed. Remember, it doesn't take people doing a lot, just a lot of people doing a little. WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!


My wife's cousin, Jerry Patton, spent 37 years as the second tenor of The King's Heralds Quartet, the oldest continuous gospel quartet in America.


One of my favorite songs that he sang was titled One Little Candle. The lyrics are great.

It's better to light just one little candle
Than to stumble in the dark
Better far that you light just one little candle
All you need's a tiny spark

If we'd all say a prayer that the world would be free
The wonderful dawn of the new day we'll see
And if everyone lit just one little candle
What a bright world this would be

Will you pledge to participate in the Pay It Forward Weekend with me? We can light a candle and make the world a better place. If you are on Facebook please consider going to the "Pay It Forward" Weekend.  Over 2,000 people already have!

A is for ADRA

The ABC Wednesday Meme starts it's 12th round  this week.  Since it is the start of a new round, the letter this week is A.  I would like to spotlight the organization known as ADRA.  ADRA is one of the charities that I support on a regular basis.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency, ADRA, was started by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a way to follow Christ’s example of serving and caring for those in need. Put simply, ADRA improves the lives of people around the world. The agency searches out deprivation, social injustice, and need—then works to eliminate them.  ADRA has projects in more than 120 countries

ADRA is lowering the incidence of horrific diseases by promoting health and wellness. And by improving sanitation and access to clean water, ADRA helps prevent many of the common medical problems that plague communities.

One of the ways that ADRA raises money for these projects is through the ADRA Gift Catalog.  On the ADRA Gift Catalog website you can browse projects and donate to whatever projects you would like.

Because my daughter has started raising chickens, the last project that I chose to support from the gift catalog was #12, Give Chickens to Orphan Caregivers in Tanzania.  Many widows and grandmothers are caring for orphans, often several at a time. Feeding and educating these children is very difficult. ADRA will provide each household with 10 hens, one rooster, training in poultry production, and tools—everything needed to sell eggs and become self-sufficient.

By providing food and water and the ability for families to grow their own, ADRA gives people the nutrition they need to not just survive, but to thrive.

In the wake of emergencies such as famines, floods, or earthquakes there are often thousands of people needing basic necessities. ADRA works to get them back on their feet again by not only responding quickly, but following up with long-term support.

ADRA is currently one of the leading non-governmental relief organizations in the world. In 1997 the agency was granted General Consultative Status by the United Nations, a unique opportunity giving ADRA added voice in the international community. Last year ADRA assisted nearly 24 million people with more than US$159 million in aid. More than 4,000 ADRA staff members currently work in 125 countries. As new challenges and needs arise, ADRA continues to strive to realize its mission of reflecting God's love through compassionate acts of humanitarian service.

A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall

In 1962 Bob Dylan wrote one of his most famous protest songs, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall.  A few lines of the song are;

I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded in hatred,
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

The song is full of dense imagery that suggests injustice, suffering, pollution and warfare.  Some have suggested that the refrain of the song refers to nuclear fallout, however Dylan said "No, it's not atomic rain, it's just a hard rain. It isn't the fallout rain. I mean some sort of end that's just gotta happen".



Yesterday this song came to mind as we were experiencing extremely heavy rain here in Mena, Arkansas.  We have lived in this house for almost twenty years now, and in all that time I have never seen as much water as I did yesterday.



The official rainfall totals were 3.5 inches, but most of it came in a short period of time.  Water was running across the yard in front of the house and along the side of the house.  The neighbors front yard and side yard were under water.  Fortunately our house is built up a couple of feet off of the ground.











When the heaviest rains had passed I drove around the neighborhood and took a few photos.









Fortunately the hard rains diminished before there was any lasting damage in our area.


And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
And what'll you do now my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest dark forest
Where the people are a many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I'll tell it and speak it and think it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'
But I'll know my songs well before I start singin'
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Danger!

Although it is definitely not the kind of thing that I normally do at my business, a while back I painted a Bandit Wood Chipper. Wood chippers have powerful feed systems with large chipper openings that allow you to break down limbs and branches. One of the things that had to be done was the removal of all of the decals and stickers before painting. So that we would know where to put the new decals when we finished painting, I took pictures of all the decals and locations for reference.

Wood chippers are very dangerous machines. I have never used one, but after reading all of the warning decals I have new found respect for the dangers involved.



This one reads DANGER! STOP TO THINK!! Reaching or kicking into the infeed spout can cause serious injury or death! DO NOT reach with your hand or kick with your foot inside the feed spout. The feedrolls are very powerful. Once your hand or foot is grabbed by the feedrolls, you can be pulled into the chipper. Do not think you will be able to pull yourself out of the feedrolls. They will not let go!



This one reads DANGER! SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH CAN OCCUR! UNLESS THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOLLOWED.

Do you think Bandit Industries Inc. is serious about their warning? Are they plain enough for you to understand? The wood chipper I was working on was literally covered with these warnings. I took 30 pictures of warning labels. The manufacturer wants to make sure that you understand the dangers of working with this machine.







This one is very serious. BRUSH CHIPPERS ARE VERY DANGEROUS MACHINES TO OPERATE! READ AND BELIEVE THIS WARNING DECAL!

One line on this warning decal reads "There have been MANY ACCIDENTS involving the feed rolls, resulting in the amputation of hands, arms, feet, legs and DEATH. DO NOT let this happen to you!

All of these warnings made me think of the Bible, and all of the directions and warnings that God has placed in it.

In Jeremiah 6:10 the Bible says, "Who will listen to me? The people of Israel have closed ears, so they cannot hear my warnings. They don't like the word of the LORD; they don't want to listen to it!"

Why is it that we don't want to listen to the word of the Lord? When I read the warnings on a piece of machinery I take them seriously, but if I read it in the Bible I don't want to listen.

In Romans 6:23 there is a clear warning. As clear as the warning decals on a wood chipper. It says "The wages of sin is death". That is clear. Thankfully the verse doesn't end there. It also says "But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".

The warnings on the wood chipper were not placed there because Bandit Industries Inc. doesn't want you to have any fun. They were not placed there just to restrict the user. They were placed there for the benefit of the user.



God's commandments are like the warnings on the wood chipper. They are not to restrict us, they are for our benefit.

Many times we look at God's law as a jail. We feel that it creates uncomfortable restrictions. We need to ask God to give us a love for his commandments, to instill in us a desire for the peace and safety of His law.

1 John 5:3 tells us "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome".

ABC Wednesday - Z is for Zephyr

I am participating in the ABC Wednesday Round 11 meme.


This week the letter is Z. I am curious to see what everyone posts. Z is a hard letter. My post is Zephyr. In 1936 Lincoln introduced the Zephyr, named and styled after the streamlined Burlington Zephyr express train. Several years ago I spent a lot of time manipulating photos to look like paintings. One of the photo/paintings was of a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr


1939 LINCOLN ZEPHYR

My Daddy has a used car lot, and has always had a number of old cars. That has given me lots of cars to photograph. I have a number of other old car photo/paintings. This one is of a 1942 Desoto. The most distinguishing feature of the 1942 DeSoto was its "Airfoil" headlights. Squarish doors hid the lamps until an underdash lever rotated the covers upward and turned on the lights. Though hidden headlights had been used on 1936-1937 Cords, they were still very much a novel idea in 1942.


1942 DESOTO

The Coupe deVille was introduced by Cadillac late in the 1949 model year. Part of the Cadillac Series 62 line, it was a closed, two-door coupé, Cadillac's first pillarless hardtop. Intended as a prestige model, at $3,497 it was one of the most expensive models of the Series 62 line. It was luxuriously trimmed, with leather upholstery and chrome 'bows' in the headliner to simulate the ribs of a convertible top. The first-year Coupe deVille sold 2,150 units, but 1950 sales were more than double


1950 CADILLAC COUPE DE VILLE

The 1938 Graham was introduced with the slogan "Spirit of Motion". The car looked like it was in motion when standing still. The fenders, wheel openings and grille all appeared to be moving forward. The design was widely praised in the American press and by American designers. It also won the prestigious Concours D'Elegance in Paris, France. Its cut-back grille later gained the car the name "sharknose",


1938 SHARKNOSE GRAHAM

The Edsel is most famous for being a marketing disaster. Indeed, the name Edsel came to be synonymous with commercial failure. The main reason the Edsel's failure is so famous was that it flopped despite Ford’s investment of $400,000,000 in its development. There is no single reason why the Edsel failed, and failed so spectacularly. Popular culture often faults the car’s styling. Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of corporate America’s failure to understand the nature of the American consumer. The Edsel was "the wrong car at the wrong time."


1959 EDSEL

All of these cars belonged to my Daddy and were photographed and digitally manipulated by me.

William Rainey Photography Show

Local Mena photographer, William Rainey, is being featured at the Mena Art Gallery in a photography show from January 2nd - February 1st. My wife and I attended the reception this afternoon.

William specializes in capturing the beautiful Arkansas outdoors.  He says of his passion for photography, “It allows me to capture the natural beauty of Arkansas and share it with others. Now when I go on an outdoor adventure, I can capture what I see and bring it back with me. I don't have to rely on words to tell others what I experienced, I can show them.”

William offers private instruction for photographers as well as guided day trips to scenic spots in the Ouachita Mountains surrounding Mena and the Buffalo River area of northern Arkansas.  For more information on private instruction or guided trips go to www.buffaloriverphotos.com - The website also offers the ability to browse and purchase his photos.

I really enjoyed seeing his photos in such a large format.  They were very striking.  One of William's passions is black and white photography.  Here are a couple of his black and white photos.

If you are interested in photography take a few moments and look through William Rainey's photos and you will be able to see the beauty that is Arkansas through his eyes.