text:
Our House
"We'll build a household of faith
That together we can make
And when the strong winds blow it won't fall down
As one in Him we'll grow and the whole world will know
We are a household of faith."
Shall we speak a moment on our home?
A home can be a lot of things. Barring some unforeseen turn in our fortunes, it will probably have humble beginnings, although I have no small measure of confidence that you can make the best of it.
But eventually, I want a big house. Do you suppose it wrong or vain to want that? I do. I'd like to earn a big fine house, something not unlike a Victorian semi-mansion, with a whitewashed stone or brick exterior, lit up on the outside, with a roundabout drive and immaculate white pillared columns, or perhaps a front porch going all the way around. I'd like to have Christmas decorations every year that people come from miles around to see.
Inside, I'd like wide open rooms, vaulted ceilings and a fireplace you could walk into. I would adore a room big enough for parties and balls, not the drinking kind, but the genuine old-fashioned balls whereupon we can teach young men how to be gentlemen, and girls to be ladies. I would love to have Christmas balls and harvest dances, with classes a few weeks in advance to teach people how. We might, perhaps, perform the duties of matchmaking which, to date, no one has successfully performed for us!
I should like very much to have a library, and peaceful grounds with plentiful acreage for you and I to get lost in. And we should have a panic room installed.
Of course, this sounds like living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. I have often wondered if God has in mind to bestow both, not (as I've said before) an end, but a means to one.
I would like that our home, in whatever form it takes, be a shelter and haven for those who have none. Women who have fallen prey to violence or trafficking, orphans, homeless, veterans. This sounds like a lot, and really, I don't intend that you should be mistress and overseer of all these things. I'm merely saying that such a home as I envision should be a vessel through which we can show God's goodness to the world.
But more important than cosmetics and details, what is the spirit and idea of our house? We'll have children of course, and we'll have to try to raise them as best we know how, with order and discipline and love. I visited a friend of mine this evening, and as well as dining with him and his pregnant wife, played with his daughter of not more than four years old. She was bright-eyed and precocious, just starting to become well-versed in putting words together for sentences of meaning. She giggled and presented me invisible gifts, paraded her Cinderella dress for me, and jumped in my lap. And thoughts of us and our future, never far beneath the surface, extended a few years beyond, into our children. Postpone it as we might, the day will come.
We must, first and foremost, have a home of stability and love amongst each other. We will have to communicate with each other, support each other, and try as best as two failing humans can to understand, work with and love each other. There can't be any drinking or swearing, we can't lose our tempers or lash out physically. We must make time for prayer and Scripture, and as the head of the family, I take full responsibility for that, relying on you for support.
For our children, we have to do everything as nearest to the Lord's will as we can, with discipline and love, setting order and rules. We must never argue in front of them if we can help it, nor disagree on parenting or contradict each other when that correction is being handed down. We have to remember to act with grace, and at times, with mercy undeserved. (Oh how I remember the time my brother and I once wantonly disobeyed my parents, and how we were given reprieve from the discipline we knew we deserved, and feared!)
It is my desire that we school them at home as much as we can, since to place them in public schools is nothing short of turning them loose to the wolf-pack, trained and commissioned by the devil himself. It is ours to shield them from the harms of the world as long as we can, without raising them to be sheltered or shy. Learning should be structured, but it can happen anywhere. We should both try to teach them the skills that we already have, and learn new ones together. I also desire that by no means should we both work to their neglect. I'm not so adamant as to oppose you working if we can manage it, though my intention is to be a sufficient provider that you will never be obligated.
We should try to give them gifts and luxuries, while teaching them to be healthy and active and to work for what they get.
Darling, if at the end of the day we both accomplish much for the kingdom of God, yet our children do not follow His way, I will have serious concerns about my success as a father.
My first ambition, my greatest obligation is to further the kingdom of God and its testimony. My second is to love you and for us together to raise our children to be happy, useful and willing servants of the Lord.
If we can say, through failure but through Christ, that we achieved that, then I think I will die a happy man.
Yours ever,
Sleepless Sundry Thoughts
Congratulations. Even separated by time and chance, you are keeping me up nights. I suppose the fact I slept in altogether too late has some small fault in the matter; my sleep schedule is a little messed up anyway, alternating between night and day labors. Did you know, in addressing you about them the other night, I hesitated to refer to them as shifts? I thought the word might seem too menial to you, to term my work as too diminutive. I suppose to some, it is. It is quite humble work, I won't lie. But I know it will lead to better things, and I can take some pride in knowing I turned down some things which the world deems greater in order to pursue something higher. In recognizing my own propensity towards pride, I have often been grateful for the opportunities God has all-too-amply provided to remind me to be humble. In allowing me to be featured in the New York Times and USA Today, He has also granted my day labor consist of the sick and dying.
So! Since sleep eludes, what shall I tell you?
Shall I contemplate how you and I, on some sleepless night after we're married, both have trouble sleeping, and elect instead to elope like the crazy young lovers we are, finding haven and communion under the stars? Shall I share with you the rapid dissemination of thoughts prompted merely by falling in behind a jogger whose scented perfume lingered? Shall I share with you why I chose the name Beren Estel as the pen name for your bridegroom? Shall I share how you will one day be irreplaceable, or how I realized that to love is to fear? Shall I share with you a list of the preparations about which I'm set about to better ready myself for your arrival, or the travel plans to which I am given?
All of them, you say? A tall order at four in the morning, but I will strive to oblige you.
First; today is the second day I have not worked. Fresh off some travel and much work, you would think I would be gratified for these two days, particularly when it affords the chance to do some writing and interviews, which pay ever so much better than my day jobs. Instead, I was restless and squirrely and bored. So I took my roommate's dog to the park, the better for us both to get out and enjoy the weather. I happened to cross paths with the wake of a jogger whose perfume made me instantly think not of her but of you. (Unless, of course, that was by some peculiar chance you.)
I thought about how you will meet, fulfill, overpower and satisfy every one of of my senses. I am blessed to yet be in possession of all five; taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell. To touch you…an honor beyond imagining. To see you…for surely in my eyes, if not in the eyes of all who see you, you will be the handsomest and most desirable of all women. To hear you…the joy of hearing your thoughts, your corrections, your affections, your laughter and singing and tears. To smell your perfume, your shampoos and conditioners and whatever other cosmetic products whose use you require. To taste your skin, your lips, the salt of your tears. To these contemplations the mind ventured, and then soared.
Second; why the name of Beren Estel? It is some time now I have been enthralled with the mythological works of Tolkien, and from his earlier works I have lifted the name. Far from the bizarre derivative fantasy worlds of today, Tolkien invented not a story but an entire world, with many volumes of back-history, and several languages based on his study of linguistics. To these volumes I owe as much as any my learning of poetry, writing and of dreaming. Beren means brave, and in falling in love with the elf-maid Luthien Tinúviel, princess of her kind and fairest of all, he fought through fire, water, battle and death to both save her and win her hand. She too strove at his side to help him in his labors, and healed him when his mortality overcame him. Her name means daughter of flowers. Estel simply means hope. And yet, there is a deeper concept imbued in its meaning, one of faith and trust. It is the idea that hope, or faith, "is not defeated by the ways of the world, for it does not come from experience, but from our nature and first being. If we are indeed the Eruchin, the Children of the One, then He will not suffer Himself to be deprived of His own, not by any Enemy, not even by ourselves."
So you see, my darling, that these names were not idly chosen, to deem you the princess of your people, the daughter of flowers and twilight, the fairest of all, and I assuming the mantle and responsibilities of the brave and faithful, who will fight as long as God gives breath in my lungs and you by my side.
Thirdly; Do you know what that means to be irreplaceable? We are likely both irreplaceable in some aspects of our lives, or at least to our families and friends. Were we to depart this world, there would be some aspects of our existence which could not wholly be healed or replaced. Yet when you become mine, and I yours, do you appreciate the significance of the fact that you will be utterly irreplaceable to me? Do you understand that this means no one else can ever, ever do what you do, or be what you be? One day, beyond the wildest of my dreams, you will tell me you love me. If that can be believed, then it must surely flatter and please you to inhabit the one form and existence without which I cannot live. The sum total of earthly desire and mortal longing, wrapped in skin and cloth and loveliness, surnamed Luthien, and one day bearing my last name. None other in the country, the world, the galaxy, the universe, has been created to be mine, or will be capable of bestowing or receiving the loving graces of my heart, to be needed and loved for no other reason than that I need you and love you. Though I yet know little of love, I know that it asks no permission of the heart, nor requires excuse or justification. I know that it is simply because it is.
Surely my love is a trifle and a pittance when weighed on this scale.
Fourthly, and in supplement to the previous; Surely to love is to fear! To love is to allow a portion of your essence and fulfillment to dwell outside of you. Life is no longer all or nothing; part of your heart resides with another, one who thinks, acts and chooses differently than you. The power to make them heal is also the power that can make them hurt you. To unite is to divide; to partake in the oneness of your soul with another, your world is split and a part of you is now in their keeping. Part of you can now be killed while you yet survive. I anticipate the mutual instruction of this fear!
Fifthly, owing almost exclusively to the providence of our good and gracious Lord, I have found several ways to travel quite cheaply to several nice locations. To Florida I return within days, and upon returning, I intend car trips both to the north and the south, as well as one more potential journey far to the west. A colleague recently shared with me the cheaper expense of travel by rail (wouldn't that be fun?) and I recently uncovered opportunities both to Costa Rica and Hawaii for cheaper than most would make them out. Yet why should I go to Hawaii or Costa Rica? I have already discovered travel means less without you, and only makes me long for the days when you will join me.
And finally love, you will have to wait to hear my thoughts on the preparations for your arrival, but one more vision will I share with you before trying to sleep. My mind's eye saw you again as I sat propped up in bed with a book in my lap. I saw you enter the room and regard my reading with some pleasure, while I regarded you and your entry with even greater pleasure. Your wordless approach, your wry and inviting smile as you wordlessly draw me in for a kiss, and more, reinforced my incredulity that you actually want to be closer to me. Far be it from me to deny the desires of my heart's other half, but forgive me if I turn over the thought in my mind!
Here imagination must draw the curtain…but not forever. No indeed, not forever.
Love always,
Sundry Thoughts for the End of May
"Golden haze; another morning feels like yesterday.
The end of may…and now you're gone and there's still bills to pay.
And you know it doesn't help to make believe, you're sitting next to me.
It doesn't help, to make believe that you are right behind me
Saying 'it's okay'…"
Dear Darling,
It's been unseasonably chilly the past few days. Low-40's as May draws to a close is highly unusual, and given my recent switch to working a few overnights, I've felt the sharpest of the chill's edge. Working overnights provides a different outlook on the world. The streets normally teeming with traffic are abandoned. You leave at last light and return after the first. And really, I've been surprised at my own adaptability to it. Never fear, I wouldn't plan to work the night hours once I find you, but until then it's an interesting experience.
Today I was required to work during sunlight hours. It was a heavy day, but that is so any time you stand as silent participant and comforter in the observance of a soul sundering from the flesh and passing from the world.
Nor indeed is it often (though not unheard-of) to offer counsel and consolation to a friend whose husband abruptly left her.
Meanwhile, another friend had gotten engaged, and my colleague of the day's labors was a woman lately married to a friend I've mentioned before.
So I arrived home with marriage, death and divorce on my mind, having asked God to turn my head from thoughts of bitterness or pettiness.
I concocted an intriguing recipe of my own design involving chicken cubes, orange juice, maple syrup, apples, bananas and pepper which I shall delight in sharing with you some fine day. By necessity, your Beren is finding himself nearly equal to the task of cooking!
Outside, the night air is finally behaving like late spring. I step out the front door and the night smells like adventure. It's the kind of night I would endeavor outside to walk alone. But alas, I'm now firmly ensconced in the city, with horrid lights and houses and neighbors. There is little to offer in the way of nighttime excursions, and I am confined to my dishes, my reading and my letters.
Oh yes, I've taken up reading again. This past year afforded almost no time for it and now I've resumed it.
And Darling, you may as well know, I am being taught a rather painful lesson on dealing with failure. It has set me back some months and some expense, and carries with it a frustration and a stigma that I find challenging. Perhaps I should be grateful the rest of the world is less judgmental than I, for if anyone else were to tell me they had failed, I would presume shoddy workmanship and lackluster effort. Yet here I know my effort was nothing less than my best, and yet it wasn't enough. (Perhaps that is but one of the lessons I'm being asked to internalize.) The problem lies, I think, in suffering from an overabundance of critical thought rather than a deficit. And although only failures bother to offer excuses, it is my firm belief my work actually ought to have been deemed sufficient, for multiple reasons not up for dispute. Regardless, it has offered a stern check on my life and ambitions, and left me struggling to master a concoction of feelings such as jealousy, anger, shame, embarrassment and insufficiency.
Such is often my lot, to spin my many-splendored blessings into an unfortuitous tale.
Darling, here I must pause to ask you if you might consider this request, that when you must rebuke me, do it gently. We will fight, of course, and exchange heated words of anger. That's not what I'm talking about. I mean that at times, people don't understand me. With my blend of sarcasm and kindness, a sort-of weight in the heart from being alone and a buoyancy of spirit, people have been known to misinterpret me as haughty, bitter or mean. These people are then given to rebuking me in a manner not even fitting the notion of "wounds from a friend." If…if you might just try being gentle in proposing an alternate means by which to draw my attention to my mistakes in this regard, I should be greatly in your debt.
I suppose, more than anything else, I just need to know I have value, that my efforts and contributions have value. I need to hear it from someone else.
Most of all again, my dear, I wish you to know how very greatly you are missed. There are very random and sporadic moments of availability that I find in myself, coupled with the fact that I dislike being on my own and unoccupied. I'll have sudden urges to go see movies, meet for dinner or go for a drive. None of these desires are met with companionable responses. I am minded to embark on a fitness regimen this summer, and I don't have anyone to do it with. All you'd have had to say is "please?" for me to pick you up, drive us both downtown and walk around the city park at midnight. (Maybe I'll take myself there tomorrow.)
I've been blessed with another opportunity to travel on a low budget, and I'd love to share it with you.
As I mentioned, engagements continue to plague my circle of acquaintances, bringing out all that's worst and petty in me. I'm beginning to feel quite the relic, and wishing I could have warned myself this phase of life would come!
Know that you are missed, loved and prayed for, my dearest.
"A cardiac vortex of endless desire
Unquenchably craving as oft lovers do
A gnawing, imploring, unquenchable fire
Would virgin heart scold that I burn for you?
Tormented ignition of premature thirsting
Greater than voices of warning construe
Falling and soaring, converging and bursting
Oh bride of my future, I burn for you!
Lofty the promises, churlish and fleeting
Spoken so rashly from imprudent youth
For flesh and flesh only, in wickedness cheating
They burn for themselves; I only for you
What woman of virtue, fair maiden abiding
With basest of passions in barest of view
Could meet not accepting, rejecting or chiding
This gravest confession, my burning for you?
For long are the hours of fleshly endurance
Ravenous, pleading, voracious, taboo
Through veins flows the fire of turbulent currents
My dear, condemn not that I'm burning for you!
And long is the battle, temptation's entreatment
Craving, despising its wanton pursuit
Unslaked and unsated, demanding beseechment
Allayed with conviction, I burn just for you.
Yet, fettered and shackled, with mastery claiming
Twice-bound and thrice-locked and enshrouded from view
Sanity grasped through true Master's naming
Barely abated, my burning for you
Compliance unyielding, remorseless, nor shamed
In innocent pining, chaste, virtuous, true
By future enthralled, by enchantment inflamed
In boldness and pureness I'm burning for you.
Dear, when nuptial longing meets nuptial blisses
When lock is laid bare and the key has turned
Remember my darling, commencing with kisses
That long for this day, through the ages, I've burned!"
(Yes Darling…I wrote it.)
"No joy for which thy hungering heart has panted,
No hope it cherishes through waiting years,
But if thou dost deserve it, shall be granted —
For with each passionate wish the blessing nears.
Tune up the fine, strong instrument of thy being
To chord with thy dear hope, and do not tire.
When both in key and rhythm are agreeing,
Lo! thou shalt kiss the lips of thy desire.
The thing thou cravest so waits in the distance,
Wrapt in the silences, unseen and dumb:
Essential to thy soul and thy existence —
Live worthy of it – call, and it shall come."
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Wide Awake
Dear Darling,
It's known as the Is-Ought fallacy; confusing what ought to be with what is. And how fitting to recall it to mind. I'm wide awake at two in the morning. I've been laying on this air mattress pursuing sleep, and fighting a cloud of thoughts swarming thicker than these southern flies.
I ought to be having fun by the acre and bushel, visiting the destination some call the Happiest Place on Earth. Many would be (and are) jealous of my opportunity to be here, at the behest of my family, and I should be enjoying myself. I'm not. I never want to be so grown-up that I can't be like a child again, but alas, Pooh Corner no longer thrills this Christopher Robin. It's all fake, pretend and make-believe. It's all a facade everyone knows isn't real, and I'm just too old too accept it anymore. I wouldn't dare tell my family this, but I crave something real and genuine and meaningful. I want hiking, running, lifting, flying, rafting…not complex video simulation but the real thing.
I should be getting along splendidly with my family. I should feel free to be myself around them, and they should recognize I am fully adult, competent, capable and trustworthy. Instead, there are domestic spats and squabbles, with a maddening parental prejudice towards the younger ones which makes me fear for their upbringing, so different it is from the discipline and correction I was given growing up.
I should be deeper in God's word right now, and more reliant on Him. I should give up the church shift in order to pursue true spiritual nourishment.
I should be able to find peers my own age, people equally inclusive and reasonably "normal" that can come alongside me and support me just as I can do to them.
I shouldn't miss so terribly a soul I have never met…my soul shouldn't be so barren and incomplete, reliant on the very thing withheld from my reach.
I shouldn't have aspired to be so much, only to become so asynchronous with the world around me because I chose right and they chose wrong. I shouldn't feel so keenly the failures of others, burning like a fiery anvil of iron down deep in my core, simply because they simultaneously attracted and disappointed me.
I shouldn't be writing this on my phone in the dark, sitting in the corner of a cheap condominium after two in the morning, and eagerly anticipating my return trip.
I should want children as soon as possible, but instead I want a few years to savor one joyfully cataclysmic change of our fates before we welcome another. But Darling, the years drag on. Life is long and love is bitter…and who can tell when the twain ends of our timelines will bind? In some ways, even in years most still consider tender, I feel I've already missed the spring. Would we be risking our heritage by waiting?
Left behind. That is the floor on which so many of my thoughts rest tonight. I was left behind by an older sibling, who shrank rather than grew to fulfill his aspirations. I am left behind by a culture no longer interested in the strong and unwithered things of old, hymns of worship, poems of beauty, virtue of adament. I am left behind by brothers and sisters of the faith, once comrades of arms, who find their place in the world by letting the world find its place in them, casting aside virtue, bartering innocence for the grown-up wings they think they need. I am left behind by those whom I, in turn, left behind, sparking unreasonable jealousy because they found their waiting arms and happiness ahead of me. I'm left behind by a cadre of fellow pupils whose memorizations are textbook even if their application is poor. I'm left behind by a world gone astray, making peace with their regrets, isolating one who bears few such regrets and thus feels…well, left behind.
I should simply be your man, darling, who takes it on the chin and keeps rolling, not miserably tapping out his dismay during wee hours and dark watches. And I promise you, I am and will be resilient. None guess this percolating undertow now, and only in placing these burdens before you, the very entrails and essence of my heart, even the parts of my soul less attractive, do I show my faith in you, my trust that you will try to understand, to take pity on a soul misunderstood by some and poorly understood by most.
I'm much too young and blessed to be this world-weary…but much too old and grounded to lack the basic and common fundamentals of life like peace, love or fellowship.
These things oughtn't be. But they are.
I love you, my dearest bride. One day, one bright and shimmering day, when skies smile and sunshine falls fair, you will hear those words from my own lips. And I will here them from yours. And we'll be home.
Until then, my love.
I woke up this morning wanting to kiss you.
Sundry Thoughts for May, Pt. 2
"The road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the road has gone
And I must follow if I can."
My Darling,
2am seems hardly the time or place to be walking the deserted country roads, but if you'd had eyes to see, that is where you would have found me. For tonight, sky and cloud have traded places; the stars clearly visible and a heavy fog has descended. The trees are quietly dripping, lights are muffled and sounds dimmed. It's a glorious stillness. No one is on these roads, of course, so I pray my way out the driveway and onto the road.
Funny how you have to wait until night to decide how your day was.
1) I'm back at the old homestead tonight; the family is traveling. In a way, I don't know what to do with myself. Once again I reach the end of a finish line and, having known nothing but running for the last ten months, I want to keep running. I feel a little lost.
2) Tonight I made a batch of oatmeal cookies to accompany the grilled chicken in my own custom honey mustard sauce, with carrots, peaches and a salad, and I thought about how you and I could have had fun this weekend, and how one day we will find fun in these moments. I try to follow a principle not to be alone behind closed doors with any woman (the better not to rely on my strength to guard against weakness) but how fun it would have been to invite you over for us to bake cookies together, and dinner, and then to watch a movie. Or when we're married…to sit on the porch in the cool of the evening and I can read to you. I bought a book of Shakespeare's sonnets that would be perfect for the situation. To be truthful, some of them I find difficult to interpret; I think he outsmarted himself with his fluency of language. But reading them in a poet's voice would be romantic, don't you think?
Or you could have joined me for the walk. I would have been honored.
3) As I reach the end of the driveway, I'm asking God what He wants me to do. This is the question I must always remember to ask, because seeking God's will must always be my — our — first ambition. I squat down and touch the road. How funny to think that if I only knew where you were, this same road is the place where my journey to you would begin. I would banish slumber and go tonight if I could…no doubt met, at this late hour, with silence, aggression and perhaps arrest. So, I content myself to stroll slowly up and down the road.
4) I'm reflecting on people again…on human nature. In particular, a young lady with whom I became friends, the one who said thank you, who I had great professional respect for and had worked with to accomplish a mission. Indeed, the two of us strove for a cause on one side, while the Vice-President of the nation personally strove for the opposite side. I had occasion to meet her during my trip, and she treated me poorly. I would like to believe I have a measure of grace and patience for everyone, and she quickly exhausted it. Yet when I became the one to end interactions by leaving, only then did she want me to stay. I can't understand where that came from. She is either conflicted or playing a game, and I think I inadvertently played it back and won. There are some who advise this as a way of life…not to respond to texts too quickly, not to be too available. In short, playing "hard to get." Darling…that's just not me. It's dishonest. I don't play games. If I'm by the phone and you messaged me, I'd respond. In a sense, it's all or nothing. When we both realize we are interested in each other, or that I'm interested in you, you will know. Whether by action or word, it shouldn't be ambiguous. And I can't see myself withholding attention out of some misguided principle that I am dangling myself just out of your reach, the better to make you want me. I certainly hope you would place yourself above that too?
5) I've also recognized, with age brings another realization; in becoming the grown-up, suddenly there are people who are too young for me. It may seem a small and obvious conclusion to you, but it's a little new to me, looking at someone and seeing them as immature, realizing the years have indeed taught their lessons and pulled you into a different stage, one which is incompatible with some less advanced.
6) I enjoyed working a night shift, and it afforded me the possibility of getting some other work done as well. It certainly plays merry havoc with your circadian rhythms, but there you have it.
7) Healing heals me. I've spent a lot of time with patients the last year or two. Remember how I told you it's been my goal to be useful, the man never caught unawares, who was prepared to respond in dire situations? Healing is part of that complex. It makes me feel utilized, fulfilled and useful. It's part of who I was meant to be. And it's interesting to recognize that at times, giving of myself in this way seems to recharge me rather than drain me.
And tonight, as the third watch draws to a close, I find myself both recharged and drained, and just wanting you.
Sundry Thoughts for May
"Love, love changes everything
Hands and faces, earth and sky
Love, love changes everything
How you live and how you die
Love, love can make the summer fly
Or a night seem like a lifetime
Yes love, love changes everything."
Dear Darling,
The mists are still clearing as the sun rises on an early morning. It's been raining, and there's a scent on the air that is damp but clean, cool, fresh and earthy. There are birds chirruping a greeting to the cloudy sunlight. As much as I love the times of stillness and peace, I never get up early enough to enjoy them. Today, I'm just back from a night shift. I let the dogs out for a run and settle down with a bite of breakfast (yogurt, granola and eggs if you must know) to mull over my thoughts and see if I can craft any of them into something legible. I've been writing thoughts for the past week or two, but I've had little time to write them, breathlessly hastening to finish exams, brimming with handfuls of postponed ideas, half-finished thoughts and incomplete musings.
I'm facing some uncertain times again, Love. The good times and bad kind of cascade in at once, and it's a wash; I don't know which side comes out on top.
I'm just back from another trip. I think I need to stop traveling alone. Some people seem to have the capacity to be entirely content and sufficient in themselves when they travel, or even at home. They seem satisfied in things, and experiences and possessions. I'm not. I need people, even if they are a pain sometimes.
It's been an intense and arduous past few weeks. And months. And the last year. Truthfully the last few years have been pretty up-and-down! But the past is all prologue, and here I am, poised on the edge of wrapping up one of my first real years of purpose, asking myself if it was all worth it, if it could be.
A more chilling April I cannot recall, and am reminded that the difference is sometimes significant between the first day of spring, and the first spring day. I expect this to be quite a summer, and I anticipate a lot of work, a lot of working out, and as I mentioned, some travel. Of course, with April and May comes the season for weddings. There are people I know getting married. One young lady with whom I even shared an outing. I'm afraid your future husband has been a participant in more funerals than I have weddings, but it's still a curious study in distance, acceptance and wistfulness. I am once again experiencing "nonbuyers' remorse"…the feeling you get when someone you did not want to pursue finds bliss and love elsewhere. Of course in our age, profile social sites tell all, and the happy faces, sparkling rings and heads touched together once again hold back the veil on lives of joy, freedom and excitement which continually exclude me.
As I think about these changes, and how quickly I adapt to them, I think about love's eternal change coming ever-steadily to meet me. I've been so lonely all my life. I've spent most of it alone and away from you, and it's still a difficult thing to picture, the ultimate turning point. A stark and splendorous bifurcation of our personal timelines, silent years broken at last, shattered into a million glittering pieces and it all becomes real. It's a game-changer. Nothing will ever, ever be the same afterward.
How does one wait patiently for that?
But I'm still preparing for your arrival, Darling, still waiting. I'd like to think you'd be proud of me and the changes I've been making. I've been running and working out more. I've been listening to the Word being preached as I shower and eat. I've been cooking a fair amount for myself, and I usually sing a few soft songs to myself as I clean up afterward. It's a new season for me, and overall I think you'd be pleased, even though time for writing has been scarcer.
I was confiding a few of these burdens to a friend, as she made note of her marriage and how she intentionally prioritized it and recognized the need to work at it. "I can't wait to meet the woman God has for you," she told me.
Being a spouse or significant other is a position. You don't meet too many people anymore who think of it that way…who think about qualifying for the position or enhancing their resume. "He'll want me to be able to cook, I'd better learn how!" or "She'll want me to be a good listener, I'd better practice." People get so wrapped up in accepting people as who they are that they don't try anymore. They don't evaluate themselves, try to enhance their deficiencies, learn new things, acquire new skills. They don't view friendship or a relationship as having duties to perform, expectations to meet, focusing on someone else's needs. They don't know how to be unselfish. They don't think about working at it. So wrapped up in the concept of loving someone "just the way they are" they decline opportunities to better themselves.
I'm not going to lie, Darling…I hope when I find you that you'll be someone to make them all jealous.
Does it please you to be needed this way? Do you find joy in knowing that your husband is out here, wanting to find you and make you his own, to take care of you? Do you even grasp the concept of how much I need you or how empty and hollow it feels not to know who you are, to laud you in ignorance, for never having heard your face, seen your eyes or touched your hair? Could it possibly be that you're out there wandering around in this dark and feeble world blissfully unaware that a love with the strength of a thousand suns burns just beyond your hemisphere?
I can't even truly compliment you because I don't know you. I can offer educated vagaries because I know we will each appeal to the other, but I can't tell you how I admire your face, your eyes or how perfect your teeth are (or aren't!). I can't touch your shoulder or play with your hair. I can't capture one of your heartbeats for remembrance, or give you one of mine to safeguard. That's hard.
One more thing, Darling, and then a daytime slumber awaits. You know the National Day of Prayer was just the other day. I want you to know I prayed specifically for you. Not just my daily prayer that God would be with you, walk with you and bless you, but for your family, your friends, your hurts, your regrets. I prayed for your trials and challenges, your dreams and your desires. I prayed for your future and ours.
Much more to come my love. God bless.
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You might as well put a saddle on old Ken Ham these days. That poor old dinosaur is getting ridden constantly. Every time someone bothers to write about his Creation "Museum," they come away with the same basic reaction: "Oh, the Creation … 'Museum.'" It is important to make a full, and distinct, "airquotes" motion with your hands, because someday in the future, it will be the gold standard for denoting sarcasm.
This time, it is A.A. Gil from Vanity Fair who gets the sour taste of Ken Ham's "museum" (Ken Ham will be alright though, most of his audience isn't allowed to read a sinful thing like Vanity Affair).
What is truly awe-inspiring about the museum is the task it sets itself: to rationalize a story, written 3,000 years ago, without allowing for any metaphoric or symbolic wiggle room. There's no poetic license. This is a no-parable zone. It starts with the definitive answer, and all the questions have to be made to fit under it. That's tough.
Ahh, so true. It reminds me again of what Fred Clark has pointed out — these people are living with a serious false dichotomy. It is a sad thing to have people living with rigid minded thinking taken to its very limit — the impossible is true, or nothing is true. After writing my previous post on Ken Ham, I poked around Answers in Genesis a little, and came across this gem. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Dr. Jason Lisle:
Materialistic atheism is one of the easiest worldviews to refute. A materialistic atheist believes that nature is all that there is. He believes that there is no transcendent God who oversees and maintains creation. Many atheists believe that their worldview is rational—and scientific. However, by embracing materialism, the atheist has destroyed the possibility of knowledge, as well as science and technology. In other words, if atheism were true, it would be impossible to prove anything!
Oh snap! I was about to get popcorn but it looks like my frail worldview is about to get face-fucked by god again! Alright, I can take it, whip it out Jason!
Laws of logic are God's standard for thinking. Since God is an unchanging, sovereign, immaterial Being, the laws of logic are abstract, universal, invariant entities. In other words, they are not made of matter—they apply everywhere and at all times. Laws of logic are contingent upon God's unchanging nature. And they are necessary for logical reasoning. Thus, rational reasoning would be impossible without the biblical God.
The materialistic atheist can't have laws of logic. He believes that everything that exists is material—part of the physical world. But laws of logic are not physical. You can't stub your toe on a law of logic. Laws of logic cannot exist in the atheist's world, yet he uses them to try to reason. This is inconsistent. He is borrowing from the Christian worldview to argue against the Christian worldview. The atheist's view cannot be rational because he uses things (laws of logic) that cannot exist according to his profession.
Boom! GG fellow atheists, the jig is up. We cannot be rational because you can't stub your toe on logic. With logic like that, who needs faith? The good doctor has just explained to us, (in so many words) that the god of the bible is literally true, or else there could be no such thing as ideas. And you certainly don't think that there aren't no ideas right? So God exists! GG again, thieving atheists. And to think all this time I thought logic proved god wrong, I was just proving *I* was wrong, because logic proves god! Bam! Dr. Jason Lisle continues on like this, even bringing up the smelly old arguing about the existence of air bit. Such thin gas, but so foul. QualiaSoup (from youtube) has several excellent videos that discuss this kind of flawed thinking quite well.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
It is a bad place for a person to be. Unfortunately, this is the place that millions of Americans are, and where people like Ken Ham are trying to keep them. Getting them to move away from that place is going to be a lot harder than it is to make fun of Ken Ham.
Tags: atheism, bible, Christian, Circus, Creationism, Disgrace, Humor, Ken Ham, logic, materialism, Museum, proven wrong, religion, science, young earth

subset: commoncrawl


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With his first novel, Peeper, out in the big bad world, we thought it would be a good time to ask S.J. Smith a few questions. Here's what he had to say 🙂
What inspired you to start writing and how long have you been a writer?
I always wrote stories, from being a kid, but it's only comparatively recently I tried to get anything published with any seriousness. I'm still learning about what it is to be a professional writer, rather than a hobby writer.
How are you feeling about the release of your novel Peeper?
I'm completely blown away by it all. The idea of a book existing that I wrote is a lifelong dream.
Most people see erotica as female orientated. How did you start writing erotica and have you written in any other genre?
I don't know why, but whatever I do normally ends up turning dirty. I learned how to use Photoshop by making pornographic birthday cards for my friends and knocking up fake web adverts for genital hygiene products. It's the same with the writing – it always ends up going off at a sexual tangent. I used to worry that putting sex in my stories would cheapen them, so I tended to write it humorously with a sarcastic slant. Then I came up with the idea to embrace the dirtiness, rather than try to disguise it, and write stories that are unashamedly proud to be dirty. There's still an element of humour in there, but my characters are allowed to have enjoyable sex nowadays without me inflicting some embarrassment or catastrophe on them.
We all know that writers spend a lot of time either on the computer or inside their own heads. How does your wife cope with being married to an author?
She's a creative person herself, so she understands what it is to get totally ravelled up in something. Nowadays I do try to put a limit on the amount of time I spend pacing around the house, scowling and muttering to myself while I try to work out some element of a plot. I've figured out I can do it just as well lying on the sofa with my eyes closed, and now I'm almost a proper writer I have the added luxury of being able to claim I'm "working" when I'm in fact doing fuck all.
What are you currently working on?
Right at this moment I'm too excited about Peeper to do much writing. I've got a couple of novels on the back burner that I need to get on with, plus about a million other things to do. The next book I'm hoping to be able to get in good enough shape to submit to a publisher is a sort of dirty odyssey through the afterlife. It's like a cross between Dungeons and Dragons, Tron and Ass Worship 3.
Where do you see your writing career in ten years from now?
I'm hoping I'll get to have a career in writing – getting paid for making up stories is about as good as it gets. I'll happily swap being a minimum wage writer for being a minimum wage support worker any day of the week.
Peeper is the type of novel that would generally be labelled 'men's erotica' but it's also had a very positive reaction from its female readers. Why do you think that is, and was its readership something you were conscious of while writing it?
The book is told from a man's point of view, but it's really a story about two women. Jenks bounces between them and reacts to all the craziness they put him through, but the focus is all on the girls. I suppose I was conscious of that while I was writing the book in so much as I didn't really bother with too much of Jenks' backstory – I removed a lot of detail about him from the first draft as I wanted him to be more like a camera whose eyes you were looking through, rather than the star of the show. The whole narrative is essentially him seeing stuff and reacting to it.
Is there anything about Peeper people should know before buying it?
It's very dirty. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Is there any sexual subject you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to write about?
I'm really not into the idea of women getting hurt, so a lot of the BDSM stuff is out as far as I'm concerned. The odd spank of a bare bott is all well and good, but a lady getting off on being slugged in the chops wouldn't be something I'd write about. I'll leave that sort of novel to ladies who enjoy participating in it, as I reckon they'd have a far better understanding of it than I would.
Jenks is such a wonderful character. What are the chances of us seeing more of him in the future?
I tend to base a lot of stories in the same imaginary towns and villages, so characters do occasionally overlap. There's a good chance of Jenks popping up somewhere else, but I don't feel any great desire to write Peeper 2.
Do you have any other books available to buy?
I have another novel entitled 'Leisure' due to come out in the autumn through MuseitHot. It's a lot dafter than Peeper, and is about a woman going to work in the world's most fucked up leisure centre and the cast of bizarre characters she encounters there. There are also a couple of my short stories available – 'The Dark Months' and 'Christmas with Virginia May' in their own right, and 'Filthy Mary' is included in the Mammoth Book of Uniform Erotica.
You can find S.J. Smith on facebook and Twitter
And Peeper is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US


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text: A few weeks ago, Sally Massagee told CNN's Anderson Cooper about how it was for her during the time in which she was had a mysterious disease. For four years, she did not know what was wrong with her body or if she would ever recover from the disease. Sally sought treatment from many doctors at Duke University Medical Center before she was accepted at the National Institutes of Health Unexplained Disease Program. She went through yet another week of testing, but this time it was not in vain. The doctors found that there were abnormal proteins in her body that were triggering her muscles grow uncontrollably. Sally's tremendous overgrowth of muscle made it extremely difficult for her to even move her arms. Dr. Sanjay Gupta added that the muscle overgrowth could have eventually crushed her ribcage and organs. More


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Burns' collection of short stories has been sitting on my bookshelves for the best part of at least fifteen years. It seems to have always been part of the fabric of my book collection, and a book which has been mentally tagged over time as 'commendable'. This tagging process is a curious one: one of some sort of indelible internal inking; it suggests that the book must have been previously read. That said, on reflection after reading the collection these past few weeks, there's only a faint trace of recall of parts of its contents. Does this suggest that the stories therein just weren't strong enough (or is it more to do with the eroding nature of the passing of time)?
I decided to read 'again' almost on a whim: partly confident that the mental tagging would serve me fine, partly in trepidation that my reading tastes or acuity in analysis weren't once sufficiently developed. What I find is that all of the above is true. About the Body (first published 1988; Sceptre edition 1990) is, for the most part, subtle, well-written, and well-constructed. Certainly in the first half of this collection of fourteen stories Burns delivers precise, cut-glass, clear, clean prose. Hardly anything is wasted in the arrangements of words. Markers are placed early on in stories and economically returned to later. These stories have the feel of care in construction, thought, considerations of structure and texture. There are some slender and beautiful juxtapositions in place. Sometimes it feels as if Burns is crafting a piece, out and out, from a single kernel of an idea or from the delicate arrangement of one notion touched against another.
Embracing the Slaughterer (the first story in the collection, and one of the better pieces therein) builds from a few lines referenced to Marxist German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht. Burns constructs a tale that is both somewhat predictable in direction yet engaging. We soon learn to analyse the probable style of his stories to come, insofar as locking on to the key elements which we suppose Burns to have built out from. Not only does Brecht's three lines from Die Massnahme (The Measures Taken, 1955) form a central spine of Burns' story ('Sink in the dirt, embrace the slaughterer, but change the world; the world needs it'), but succinct lines such as the following, as narrated by the assassin character therein (having a whiff of Plato's Republic, though this is not directly referenced), focus the reader:
Good food and wine, I told him, should not be the province of the merely wealthy, just as high culture must, if it is to survive, be taken up once more by the masses.
John's Return to Liverpool is at first a little odd to fathom, though it soon forms around us like steam in the warmth of the bathroom. Is 'John' the Lennon of Liverpool we automatically concoct in our minds? It isn't immediately clear, but it doesn't need to be: Burns leads us through the story and we see that, yes, here is Lennon, though in a form other than we suppose him to be. Burns seems to be playing with the way we construct connections in our heads. Very deliberate structural arrangements begin to form in stories such as How Things are Put Together, and here Burns explores filmic qualities in his writing. The body of work so far tends towards a complementary, precise and crafted affair. Even the story lengths, as individual pieces, seem honed and clipped — as consistently similar as they are.
Subtle juxtapositions form in stories such as Practical Living: ostensibly about the death of a pet rabbit, this story develops around emotional connections and unspoken difficulties regarding a disabled child. Later, in My Life as an Artist, a man and his wife each can't let go of their separate passions or, rather, that which troubles and forms them: he, a maintenance man/caretaker aspires to be an artist; his wife is in continual grief for their lost baby from many years gone by. Burns shifts the dialogue well, creating a believable pair of gender perspectives, and he manages to blend the sensibilities of the two characters into the whole. In Blue, a man awaits the outcome of an archaeological dig in which it's anticipated that his RAF pilot father will be found, having crash-landed there before the main character was born: Burns plays with the reality/imagined liminal spaces that the emotive connection can blur.
However, from Guido's Castle onwards, at the half-way point of the collection, there's almost a deconstruction taking place: several of Burns' careful connection methods from the earlier part of the book begin to slip into the more exploratory. The aforementioned Guido's Castle builds to a point of empty non-commitment on the part of the writer: why did Guido build the tower at the back of the villa that he and his dying wife share? Burns leads us towards some succinct and teasingly cerebral conclusion, but we discover that the tower is merely folly. Burns means to leave us unsatisfied, but it isn't a taste that is embraced.
A Country Priest and Fogged Plates seem at first to be pieces back in form, but significant twists in each only serve to disturb the reader: the slightest of fictive cheating has taken place. The former, for example, unexpectedly places us in a far more profound scenario than we at first realised; the latter plays with where we are in time. That we gradually work out a time and place in any given story should work as a reward for our reading and connecting the puzzle pieces: when we're shifted from that path, rudely as it were, when we're walking comfortably along in the story's authority, it risks unsettling us.
By the time Burns presents us with Babel, towards the end of the collection, the exploratory is well-bedded in: the result here, however, is somewhat confused in its descriptions, place, time, and reason for being. The very last and longest story, Dealing in Fictions, makes a promising start, concerned as it initially is with a man and his analytical, intellectual partner, and the promise of some great truth playing itself out, as evidenced in the opening line: 'Life always leaves you unfinished.' Burns soon throws us completely with a sudden and unexpected event that rips through the narrative thread. This is not as unbecoming as in previous stories, as noted above, but what transpires thereafter is an eventual petering out of the potential force of the tale, and indeed the collection as a whole.
In Dealing in Fictions, Burns starts to explore (not so subtly this time) the ideas of one of his characters (the Polish literary critic, Zurawski) within the structure of the story itself. Set against the backdrop of Irish terrorist activity in London, Burns explores the story of Peter and Ruth, and of terrorist activists Mary and Tony, through Zurawski's eight hypothesised narrative structures. However, Burns only seems focused on the first of these (the intersecting biographies theme) before losing interest in dwindling word counts towards the rest. Perhaps this is another play on Burns' account, though if it is then it's far too subtle to be appreciated.
Thinking on the collection as a whole, it is appreciated by this reader to be engaged in an English language book that hasn't either been mangled by presumably erroneous translation or which slightly irritates at the edges with its own particular syntax. Burns writes as a British English-speaking native and we must always appreciate that which doesn't slightly buzz at our own ears. That said though, there is a slight irritation in Burns' choices of flat, almost prosaic, character names: Simon, Peter, Mary, Andrew, Neville, Tony, et al. It raises the question that has sometimes formed in my own writerly consideration: should we place our characters so blatantly in their landscapes by such choices, or can we afford to exercise more in the way of flourish and embellishment in this respect? Guido may even also fit into Burns' characterisation structure, fitting neatly into his Italian landscape as he does.
This all said, the mental tagging that first inked itself into my reading perceptions, regarding About the Body, is for the large part still intact: Burns writes here with some efficient, subtle, elegant prose, and for that the ink remains as was. Perhaps his subtleties in the first reading, several years ago (if, in fact, I did at all) were lost to me. My ability to analyse has deepened and broadened, and so Burns' juxtapositional arrangements and structural explorations are now more evident. This said though, I'm left wondering what will remain, internally and indelibly, of Burns' About the Body in another fifteen years' time.


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HOW TO DROP YOUR EXCUSES AND GET SH** DONE!!! Steve Sims | Health | Inspiration | Motivation | Self-Help | Inspire: Steve Sims - Concierge to the Stars on Getting Things Done, Make Things Happen & Achieve Your Wildest Dreams!!! Health | Spiritual | Spirituality | Meditation | Mindfulness | Inspirational | Motivational | Self-Improvement | Self-Help | Inspire
From Inspire Nation Show with Michael Sandler
Length: 66 mins
Read More
If you've ever wanted to drop your excuses and find wild success, then do we have the BlueFishing show for you! Today I'll be talking with Steve Sims, a bricklayer from London, known for high end concierge and getting things done, and the author of one of the most inspirings, scratch that, perhaps the most motivational book for firing you up and getting things done, BlueFishing! And that's what I want to talk with him about today, about the art of making things happen. Bluefishing Self-Improvement and Self-Help Topics Include: What was growing up in East London like? How did Steve Sims become a brick-layer? How'd he find himself working for a bank in Hong Kong – without an education, and what happened??? How'd he become the go to guy for the super rich? What wisdom did his dad give him about water? How did bricklaying help him to get things done? What can we learn from Dan Fitzpatrick at CNBC and singing with Journey What's the importance of asking why three times? Why do wpeople diluate their dreams? Why is passion the secret weapon? How do we delete the words fail and failure from our language? Why is it absolutely critical to learn how to break away from negative places and do something we're passionate about? What's the importance of doing pure fun? What's the definition of ugly and why is it important to do things ulgy? What's the importance of a personal touch? Why is a personal connection so important? What's missing with communication today? What's a self-audit and how do we do one??? What's the chug test, and the hug test??? Why don't we want to waste a minute of our lives? What's the importance of cousing on our strengths and ignoring our weaknesses? What does it mean to audit our lives? What's the importance of learning how not to spend time on things that slow you down? What's the power of small gifts? What's the importance of leading (and listening) to your stomach? For More Info visit: SteveDSims.com Steve Sims - Concierge to the Stars on How to Get Sh** Done, Make Things Happen & Achieve Your Wildest Dreams!!! Health | Spiritual | Spirituality | Meditation | Mindfulness | Inspirational | Motivational | Self-Improvement | Self-Help | Inspire For More Info Visit: www.InspireNationShow.com
- Released:
- Nov 21, 2017
- Format:
- Podcast Episode


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Vibratory Feeder
The Vibratory Feeder is used for the uniform, continuous feeding and conveyance of pourable bulk materials and fine powders. The DR 100 feeds, sample dividers, and particle measuring devices, and it is also suitable for other feeding tasks. Its performance, adaptability and compact design makes this device suitable for a great variety of applications. The DR 100 can also be driven and controlled externally via the built-in interface. Vibratory Feeders guarantee reproducibly exact results and maximize the efficiency of downstream laboratory and testing devices.
Features of Vibratory Feeder


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The Order of the Arrow Mentoring Program is a joint effort of the Boy Scouts of America and the Order of the Arrow. Its purpose is to identify and assist urban and rural Scout troops whose camping and advancement programs are below standard.
- Goals and Functions
- Lodge Responsibilities
- Program Implementation Steps For Lodges
- Burning Issues about the program
- Contacts
- Honor Roll of Lodges
NEW: OA Mentoring Application is available here.
Success Stories
- Mentoring and Nature Quest
Goals and Functions
- To act as a positive influence in the midst of dramatic social, political, economic, and demographic forces affecting urban and rural communities.
- To increase advancement and camping opportunities for Scouts in urban and rural troops whose programs, leadership, and resources are limited.
- To provide additional, positive youth and adult role models for disadvantaged urban and rural Scouts and adult leaders.
- To create a "guided discovery" for Order of the Arrow members to reflect on the ideal of "He alone is worthy to wear the arrow who will continue faithfully to serve his fellow man."
- To fulfill the Order of the Arrow Strategic Plan.
- To create the opportunity for more urban and rural Scouts to become eligible for membership in the Order of the Arrow.
Lodge Responsibilities
It is the overall responsibility of the lodge, with local council and district committee support and approval, to administer the Order of the Arrow Mentoring Program. This works through the lodge service committee. Regardless of the size of the lodge and its internal structure, the lodge service committee has the authority to administer the program. The lodge service committee should request assistance from the council and district commissioner staffs, council professionals, and the council's committee in identifying urban and rural troops whose advancement and camping programs need help.
Other sources within the council where information on a troop's status might be obtained are the record of district and council camping and advancement committees. Therefore, it becomes necessary that the lodge service committee develops a master profile of urban and rural troops in the council that might benefit from the mentoring program. From the master profile, the lodge service committee and district executive will match applicants to selected troops.
The lodge service committee and the district commissioner should exercise great care in matching mentors to troops. Troops whose camping and advancement programs are weakest would require the most assistance. In such cases, two or more mentors might be assigned to a single troop. Keep in mind that matching mentors to troops will vary from unit to unit. Assigning adult and youth Arrowmen to the same troop is the recommended strategy in many communities.
Program Implementation Steps For Lodges
Step One: The council/district mentoring committee contacts the lodge requesting its involvement with the program.
Step Two: After the lodge accepts the responsibility to assist, the lodge chief appoints a youth chair for either a lodge service committee or an OA Mentoring committee to oversee all mentors sponsored by the lodge as well as handle all administrative work for the application and implementation process. Subsequently, the lodge adviser should appoint an adult adviser to assist the new chairman.
Step Three: The lodge service chairman contacts all district executives and their district commissioners requesting a list of applicable units in each district, so that master profile of urban and rural troops can be compiled. (note: Any unit is a potential OA Mentoring unit)
Step Four: Lodge service committee chairman meets with district commissioner to review applications from the district and to match applicants with eligible units. When matching Arrowmen with units, keep in mind distance and travel conditions for the mentors.
Step Five: After mentors have been matched with eligible units, the mentor, unit commissioner, and unit leader should meet to outline a list of items to be organized into an action plan for the mentor's role in the unit.
Step Six: The lodge service committee chairman or a member of his committee should be in periodic contact with both the unit commissioner and the OA mentor to supply them with camp promotion and advancement information.
Step Seven: After all items of the action plan are carried out, the mentor, unit leaders, and unit commissioner should meet to evaluate the mentor's performance and to discuss whether the action plan was fulfilled. The evaluation is required and should not be omitted under any circumstances.
Burning Issues About the OA Mentoring Program
Q: Who is the OA Mentoring Program for?
A: The Order of the Arrow Mentoring program was created to help out any urban or rural troop who's camping and advancement programs need help.
Q: My lodge doesn't have the OA Mentoring Program in place yet. What can I do to help get it started?
A: Talk to your council's committee or district committee, lodge chief, and lodge adviser to get their support and approval on starting the program in your council or district.
Next, organize a lodge service committee to implement the program. Recruit Arrowmen (youth and adults) from your district to be mentors. This can be done best when there is a high concentration of district or chapter members present, such as at district roundtable and other district or chapter events like camporees.
After you have recruited Arrowmen to serve as mentors, you should next work with the district commissioner to match mentors with eligible troops.
Q: My lodge already has the OA Mentoring Program up and running, but how can we make the mentoring program fit into the overall lodge program most effectively?
A: A great way to integrate the OA Mentoring Program into the overall lodge program is to have the mentor serve as an Order of the Arrow representative until he can help facilitate the selection of an Arrowman to fill that role in the troop. After an Arrowman is selected to become the OA Troop/Team Representative, the troop mentor can help train the new representative as well as help him facilitate a link between the lodge and troop.
For more information regarding this program contact your lodge chief or adviser.


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A Podcast All About
Disney Channel Movies
Hello and welcome to Poddin' This Together, the podcast where we guide you through your favorite, or not so favorite Disney Channel Original Movies.
We like to have a great time exploring our old childhood favorite movies from the Disney Channel (and more!). We upload a new episode every Monday. Be sure to subscribe to us on whatever platform you listen to podcasts and you can relive (or ruin) some great times.
Meet The Team
We're an odd bunch of kids who sit around watching Disney Channel movies. We're basically the Breakfast Club.
It actually takes a bit of work to put together this fun podcast about DCOMS. Thank you to everyone who keeps this going, all of our listeners, and all of our guests who have joined us!


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Visit us: http://www.movieglu.com
MovieGlu is a fast and easy way to plan visits to the movie theater. Save yourself time when searching all the films and movie theaters in your area. Simply compare start and end times using our unique timeline display, and then choose the best option for you.
Instead of showing long lists of films and times for each movie theater, we display our search results using a more visual method loosely based on the grid layout of TV guides which show the start and end times of each film.
Users can search for a film and see which movie theaters are showing it locally, or search for a specific movie theater, and see what films are showing.
Movieglu is available in the United States and United Kingdom, with more coming soon.
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- email@example.com


text: Glorious weather! Posted by barmybella on May 24, 2012 Posted in: General chit chat. 1 Comment Barmy bella and Kimmo have been out and about exploring the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. The Peak District is even more beautiful in weather like this 🙂 Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailLike this:Like Loading... Posts navigation ← Blogging is a minefield! My life in Entertainment part 1. →


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**** This job has been archived. ***
Maths Teacher
There are two roles one due to start after Easter and runs until the end of the academic year. and the other is due to start in June and is just for one month
To apply for the role please call or email in the first instance.
Joining Mana couldn't be easier, once we have spoken to you, we book you in for a face to face meeting where we do all the hard work. Its free of charge and we even buy you a cappuccino.
Email:- firstname.lastname@example.com or Telephone 01933 460872
To stay safe in your job search we recommend that you visit SAFERjobs, a non-profit, joint industry and law enforcement organisation working to combat job scams. Visit the SAFERjobs website for information on common scams and to get free, expert advice for a safer job search.
Find supply teacher jobs, substitute teacher jobs, teaching jobs, permanent teaching jobs, permanent teacher jobs here. We cover primary school and all secondary teacher subjects for key stage 1, key stage 2, key stage 3 and key stage 4 pupils. Jobs in maths, english, economics, business studies, chemistry, biology, physics, science, health and social care, humanities, geography, physics, pe teachers, cover supervisors, teaching assistants, dt teacher, food technology, year 1 teacher, year 2 teacher, year 3 teacher, year 4 teacher, year 5 teacher, year 6 teacher, dance, music, drama, SEN, classroom teacher, Spanish, mfl, modern foreign language, classroom ta, teaching assistant jobs, French, support, pastoral support, jobs, vacancies, substitute, supply.


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Global Marketing Internship
Contact an Advisor to Learn about the Program
Let our experienced advisors help you choose the perfect program for your career.
Note: This is a sample internship of a past placement in a Dream Careers Internship Program. Learn more about the internship placement process.
or call
(800) 251-2933
Company Info
Intrepid is a mobile development shop in Cambridge, MA specializing in native iOS and Android applications. We work with a variety of enterprise and post funding startups to develop applications targeted at a variety of verticals (consumer, health, internal enterprise, etc). In just 18 months, Intrepid has grown completely organically from 3 to 17 full time people, and is continuing that trend. As the summer of 2012 approaches, we are seeking to undergo a transformation from a small dev shop into a thou...
Internship DescriptionWe are looking for our first full time marketing person to take lead our social rebranding efforts as well as run certain internal project marketing efforts. We are planning on hiring at least one person full time at the end of the summer.
Disclaimer: This is a sample internship of an opportunity you could secure with the Dream Careers Internship Program. We offer customized internship placement at over 3,500 companies for all program participants and guarantee your placement in your industry or you receive a full-refund of the program tuition. Learn more
The $35 application fee is payable by credit or debit card online. Before you apply, review elibility requirements and ensure you qualify as the application fee is non-refundable.


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2017-7-29: Tuscan Market Open House in Portsmouth, NH
Join Mary Ann Esposito at the Tuscan Market in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on July 29th for a book signing from 12-2PM.
Enjoy food and wine tastings, prizes, giveaways, and more!
Tuscan Market
581 Lafayette Road
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Date and Time:
Sat, July 29, 2017
10:00 AM – 9:00 PM EDT (Book signing 12PM-2PM)
For more information and to RSVP click here.
There are no comments yet.


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Write about the things you love.
I love lying on a blanket in the park, listening to Snow Patrol or other such music, and daydreaming about one of my imaginary boyfriends.
Is that sad? Probably. But it's not like I miss having a boy in real life. I mean, some things I miss, but I don't feel incomplete because I'm single. I kind of like it this way. I like spending time on just myself. On the things that make me happy, make me feel alive.
Like creating art. Is it shoddy art? Sure. But the act of drawing and painting and making something that way makes me feel content. It fills me up. It allows me to be who I am.
I am someone who watches tv-series I love over and over again. I am someone who will cry very easily at the hardships, happiness and sadness of fictional people but who saves the crying in real life only for the big things.
I am also someone who loves her family and friends, but who sometimes needs a little push to pick up the phone. I like spending time with them, or just asking how they're doing. But I can really drop the ball on this, and this is so very, very important. Just know that I am sorry, and I really do care. I love you most of all.


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Fiesta Quinoa Salad
A friend shared this with me and her take on adding quinoa instead of brown rice. I love this option as it is a litter higher in protein and goes great with these flavors. This makes an amount that is perfect for a family get together or just to have an easy option for snacks and light meals. Enjoy!
Fiesta Quinoa salad
2 cups quinoa, cooked and hot
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 can black bean, rinsed and drained
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch salt and pepper
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Heat in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat., and Add corn kernels and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown (about 8-10 minutes). Stir in black beans, remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together lime juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. Stir in quinoa, making sure each grain is coated with the dressing. Add the corn and bean mixture and toss to combine. Let cool to room temperature.
Add bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapeno, red onion and cilantro to the rice mixture and toss well. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately, or refrigerate for later. Bring to room temperature before serving.


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[Speaking Truth To Power]
The University of the West Indies is in the process of conceiving how best to deliver a major conference on the theme Rethinking And Rebuilding Haiti.
I am very keen to provide an input into this exercise because for too long there has been a popular perception that somehow the Haitian nation-building project, launched on January 1, 1804, has failed on account of mismanagement, ineptitude, corruption.
Buried beneath the rubble of imperial propaganda, out of both Western Europe and the United States, is the evidence which shows that Haiti's independence was defeated by an aggressive North-Atlantic alliance that could not imagine their world inhabited by a free regime of Africans as representatives of the newly emerging democracy.
The evidence is striking, especially in the context of France. The Haitians fought for their freedom and won, as did the Americans fifty years earlier. The Americans declared their independence and crafted an extraordinary constitution that set out a clear message about the value of humanity and the right to freedom, justice, and liberty.
In the midst of this brilliant discourse, they chose to retain slavery as the basis of the new nation state. The founding fathers therefore could not see beyond race, as the free state was built on a slavery foundation.
The water was poisoned in the well; the Americans went back to the battlefield a century later to resolve the fact that slavery and freedom could not comfortably co-exist in the same place. The French, also, declared "freedom, fraternity and equality" as the new philosophies of their national transformation and gave the modern world a tremendous progressive boost by so doing.
They abolished slavery, but Napoleon Bonaparte could not imagine the republic without slavery and targeted the Haitians for a new, more intense regime of slavery.
The British agreed, as did the Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese. All were linked in communion over the 500, 000 Blacks in Haiti, the most populous and prosperous Caribbean colony.
As the jewel of the Caribbean, they all wanted to get their hands on it. With a massive slave base, the English, French and Dutch salivated over owning it - and the people.
The people won a ten-year war, the bloodiest in modern history, and declared their independence. Every other country in the Americas was based on slavery.
Haiti was freedom, and proceeded to place in its 1805 Independence Constitution that any person of African descent who arrived on its shores would be declared free, and a citizen of the republic.
For the first time since slavery had commenced, Blacks were the subjects of mass freedom and citizenship in a nation.
The Frenchrefused to recognize Haiti's independence and declared it an illegal pariah state. The Americans, whom the Haitians looked to in solidarity as their mentor in independence, refused to recognize them, and offered solidarity instead to the French.
The British, who were negotiating with the French to obtain the ownership title to Haiti, also moved in solidarity, as did every other nation-state the Western world.
Haiti was isolated at birth - ostracized and denied access to world trade, finance, and institutional development. It was the most vicious example of national strangulation recorded in modern history.
The Cubans, at least, have had Russia, China, and Vietnam. The Haitians were alone from inception. The crumbling began.
Then came 1825; the moment of full truth. The republic is celebrating its 21st anniversary. There is national euphoria in the streets of Port-au-Prince.
The economy is bankrupt; the political leadership isolated. The cabinet took the decision that the state of affairs could not continue. The country had to find a way to be inserted back into the world economy. The French government was invited to a summit.
Officials arrived and told the Haitian government that they were willing to recognize the country as a sovereign nation but it would have to pay compensation and reparation in exchange. The Haitians, with backs to the wall, agreed to pay the
The French government sent a team of accountants and actuaries into Haiti in order to place a value on all lands, all physical assets, the 500, 000 citizens were who formerly enslaved, animals, and all other commercial properties and services.
The sums amounted to 150 million gold francs. Haiti was told to pay this reparation to France in return for national recognition.
The Haitian government agreed; payments began immediately. Members of the Cabinet were also valued because they had been enslaved people before independence.
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Black Star News has been producing stellar investigative journalism since 1997, including focusing on police brutality and other abuses targeting marginalized communities. We have broken several major stories. We welcome news tips to firstname.lastname@example.com and email@example.com
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Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard
Chassagne-Montrachet "Vergers"
1er Cru White 750 ml
Score: 90
Tasted: Jun 10, 2019
Drink: 2025+
Issue: 75
Producer note: Richard Fontaine's daughter Céline, who is progressively taking over the domaine, described the 2017 growing season as one where we were "incredibly fortunate not to have suffered frost damage again because everything was in place for another catastrophe. In the end though, there was a bit less humidity and some wind, both of which were critical in avoiding damage other than a bit in the pinot vines in our parcel of Bourgogne. Otherwise we had an excellent, mostly stress-free growing season with an early bud break, good flowering and a fine fruit set. The summer was very warm and relatively dry which meant we had no disease threats and the fruit rapidly ripened. We began picking on the 3rd of September and brought in generous yields in both colors. Moreover the fruit was clean and ripe with potential alcohols that ranged from 12.5 to 13%. Interestingly, despite the higher yields we obtained very good densities. In fact the maturities were about what we obtained in 2015 though the wines themselves are notably more elegant. I love the style as they're classic, refreshing, and beautifully transparent. In sum, I think of the 2017 vintage as a very pleasant surprise as it gave us both quality and quantity." I found the quality of the Fontaine 2017s to be quite good and while there was some variability, overall the performance was impressive. Fontaine also noted that the whites were bottled in August 2018. (JAO Wine Imports, www.jaowineimports.com, VA, Polaner Selections, www.polanerselections.com, NY, Los Angeles Wine Company, www.lawineco.com, CA, all USA; Diva Beaune S.A.S., www.divawine.com, Beaune, France; John Armit Wines, www.armit.co.uk, Decorum Vintners, www.decvin.com, Bibendum Wine Ltd., www.bibendum-wine.co.uk, Lay & Wheeler, www.laywheeler.com, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, Private Cellar Ltd., www.privatecellar.co.uk, Howard Ripley, www.howardripley.com, Laytons, www.laytons.co.uk, O.W. Loeb, www.owloeb.com, Private Cellar Ltd., www.privatecellar.co.uk and Majestic Wine Warehouses, www.majestic.co.uk, all UK).
Tasting note: There is a curious hint of apple cider to the lemon zest, essence of white orchard fruit and matchstick nuances. The medium-bodied flavors possess even better intensity thanks to the citrus-tinged acidity shaping the bone dry and somewhat lean finish. This moderately persistent effort definitely needs at least a few years of bottle age to better flesh out.


text: The site sits on a steeply inclined hill overlooking the valley of eastern Caracas and the Avila Mountain to the north. The site has an existing house the new owners wished to remodel to accomodate their needs as empty nest parents. Atention focused on an enclosed garage, the entrance foyer, a new terrace roof with vegetation and exercise areas, new interior spaces and finishes, a new facade and landscaping. It incorporates sustainable design concepts such as rainwater retention and reuse for garden irrigation, recycled and low energy emitting materials for exterior surfaces


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WABAM is the local IAM RoadSmart affiliated bike group that covers Bath, Swindon and Salisbury post code areas.
We're a mixed bunch of people, but with one shared passion – riding bikes – all sorts of bikes – sports, customs, nakeds, scooters, trailies and tourers.
WaBAM has over 35 qualified trainers who operate all year round. So if you want to ride through the winter, it's not a problem. Although we draw the line at ice or snow!!
The whole idea is to pass on the essential skills needed to make safe, smooth progress in all road conditions, and help you to avoid common mistakes and bad habits.
The riders we work with have a first time sucess rate of over 96% when taking the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Motorcycle Test (which increases to 100% if a retest is required).
WABAM is a registered charity: everyone of us is a volunteer and an enthusiast.
WABAM also has an active social calendar, including monthly group rides and evening meets. Some members organise trips, both in the UK and abroad, whilst others get involved in running the group and attending local events.
There is always a friendly atmosphere and we work on the basis that there's always something new to learn, and we enjoy riding bikes!


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Anyone have any info on x-country from Buena Vista Lake to Lower Merced Pass Lake?
Had a trip planned for later this week around Vogelsang area, but with the latest weather changes we're opting for some lower elevation hiking to try and avoid frigid temps at night.
Looking at a loop trip Ostrander Lake, to Buena Vista Lake, then cross country to Lower Merced Pass Lake, then down Illiloutte and out Mono Meadow. Going up to Ottaway for a day hike.
Any input/comments/advice welcomed...
Route here:


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Do you want to be the best YOU you can be for 2014?
NO, losing weight isn't easy. YES you WILL succeed.. YOU must be determined!! There is no easy way to lose weight; diet pills, crash diets, and temporary solutions always result in gaining the weight back, if not more than you started with!
You don't need a DIET, you need a LIFESTYLE CHANGE! If you're ready to be in control of your weight and learn fitness and nutrition the RIGHT WAY.. then this is for you!
I've learned from experience that you DO NOT need to cheat yourself by purchasing diet pills, shakes or the newest weight loss gimmick. You need a proper diet and exercise. More importantly, all you need is someone there to coach you along.
I'm here to coach you. I'm so tired of people falling for all these gimmicks. You don't need them.
6 Weeks of Personal Health Coaching for only $60 – After the 6 weeks, we'll talk!!!
What's involved? 6 weeks of meal planning, motivation and support. An effective home workout program that is FUN for you and will give you results.
You'll receive motivational emails, delicious recipes straight to your inbox and of course you have ME cheering you on… knowing YOU CAN do this!
Coaching available in person and online!
I have two years experience in the weight loss industry and I'm currently studying Fitness and Nutrition!
Also, the thing is… I KNOW how hard weight loss can be. I KNOW what it takes to lose the weight – I lost 100lbs in one year!! I KNOW that you CAN do this. You're worth it. I genuinely care about what I do.. I CARE about your success.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Just fill out the form below to get more information!! I look forward to hearing from you!


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SUPER TUESDAY: New Album Releases (Feb. 26)
Posted by Jim Shearer on
It's Tuesday, February 26. Here's what the music gods from above have delivered us today (these aren't in alphabetical order, they're arranged according to my excite-o-meter)…
Erykay Badu, New Amerykah, Pt. 1
From the tracks I've heard, I think I'm going to like this album. I dig the album cover too! (pictured left)
Goldfrapp, Seventh Tree
You'll hear more songs from this album in a W Hotel lobby, than you will a dance club–it's very chill.
Janet Jackson, Discipline
I think Janet actually sings on this album. I can't stand the songs in which she just oohs and aws chorus-type loops for the duration of a track.
Sebastien Tellier, Sexuality
Get your dance on!
Beach House, Devotion
The perfect sountrack for a dream sequence (vaseline around the edges of the lens and all).
Ludo, You're Awful, I Love You
This is what I call "gateway" rock. It could get a pop kid interested in indie-music and vice versa.


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Through land and sea, activities abound
YOU'LL FLY you will take off at Anse-la-Raie, under Hans' expert eye, or in Palmar with Maud and Julien…
YOU'ILL PADDLE in a canoe or a kayak (available at the hotel)…
YOU'LL BOARD an authentic pirogue, exploring Ile d'Ambre's mangrove, with Wesley steering. Carried by the rythms of seggae (a fusion of sega and reggae), it will be an unforgettable immersion across Mauritian nature. Walk on Ile d'Ambre and go beaching on one of the paradise-like beaches of Ilot Bernache where you'll also enjoy a typical creole lunch : a barbecue, followed by flambé bananas, seasons' fruits, drinks at will (punch, beer, wine, water, fizzies).
YOU'LL SAIL sur le lagon jusqu'à l'Ile Plate à bord du Lagoon 440, à bord du magnifique Catamaran privatisable pour 18 personnes.
on the lagoon up to Ile Plate, on board Lagoon 440, magnificent catamaran, which can be hired for a private 18-person group. Your feet in the sand, you'll relish your breakfast, make the best of the islet privacy like a modern day Robinson Crusoe, between farniente and pleasures of the sea… you'll discover the Grand-Baie fishermen grilled fish breakfast.
A memorable outing between land and ocean… Departure at 8.30 am. and return at 5.30 pm.
IT'S BIG GAME… BIG FISH on Aquila, a 53-feet Cabin Cruiser, with two 370 HP Yanmar engines. For you to discover the excitement of big game fishing, in very comfortable conditions.
SWIM WITH DOLPHINS with the Dolswim team.
YOU'LL DIVE AMIDST spotted eagle rays, moray eels, clown fishes and species of multiple colours by the side of Hugues Vitry's reputed team, also with Dave and the Belle-Mare diving centre.


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Foot Lovers Lifestyle
Choky Ice is fortunate to have in Angelica Heart (in the green) and Madison Parker (in the yellow) two young ladies who are ready to fulfill not only all his foot fetish desires but also his vaginal, anal, and oral hungers! Yes, much like a classic New York City diner that offers a gigantic menu of every possible dish you can think of, these two kinky Hungarian hot babes are ready to serve up all possible delights to their stud man--and in fishnet stockings and strappy high heels, no less!!
Plunge into the action with your own prick at the ready as you observe these ladies not only enjoying their own feet, but even giving Choky's a few sucks too! In the whirl of activity, the gals stroke his meat with their fishnet-covered soles, stuff their toes into Choky's lips, and blow his dick of course as this fetish XXX video proceeds at a breathlessly boner-bracing clip, crammed with all the foot fun you could ask for!
There's panty and shoe sniffing, ass-fucking and sole-plowing, as Choky lives the foot lover's lifestyle to the max, and we're there too in a very sense as the girls present their feet to us via the camera even as they're busy doing things like Madison riding his rod with her asshole or Angelica giving him some balls licking satisfaction.
So just as you gotta bring plenty of singles to a tittie bar, bring plenty of sperm when you stop by this action-packed foot worship show!


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We will post events sponsored by NC Stop Human Trafficking as an organization as well as events sponsored by other organizations fighting human trafficking in North Carolina.
Please email firstname.lastname@example.com if you have an event that need to be posted, or if you would like more information on any upcoming event.
Limited tickets for the showing of BARK! to help Hope House
When: Thursday, February 21, 2013
Time: 7:30pm
Where: Asheville Community Theater
BARK! tickets have arrived! Thanks to Charlotte Street Computers we have been given 30 tickets for the showing of BARK! They are $20 each and Hope House keeps 100% of the profit. Please email firstname.lastname@example.com if you want a ticket.
BARK! follows six canine characters for one day at Deena's Doggie Daycare, and the entire show is presented from a dog's point of view. BARK! opened in Los Angeles at The Coast Playhouse in 2004 to rave reviews including Critic's Choice from the Los Angeles Times. The show went on to play for two years becoming the 3rd longest running show in Los Angeles history. The memorable songs and dance of BARK! resulted in nominations for Best Musical Score & Best Choreography from the prestigious LA Critics' Drama Circle Awards.
Email for tickets (as long as they last): http://wp.me/pikPQ-FI
Ignite Justice Conference 2013
When: Friday, January 11, 2013 – Saturday, January 12, 2013
Time: Begins at 8am on Friday (refer to link for full schedule)
Where: Forest Hill Church, 7224 Park Rd, Charlotte, NC 28210
The goal of the conference is to EDUCATE, EMPOWER & ENGAGE the Charlotte region in the fight against injustice. You can learn more about the conference and register at www.IgniteJusticeConference.org
Bianca Olthoff, the Chief Storyteller for The A21 Campaign, will be one of the keynote speakers and there will be many other local and global organizations present that are fighting sex-trafficking including IJM, World Relief, Compassion to Act, Justice Ministries, All We Want is L.O.V.E, Neet's Sweets, Exodus Road and several others. There will also be a break our session with a panel of sex-trafficking experts. As I'm sure you know, January 11th is Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
GROUP DISCOUNTS – Groups of 8 that register together get $25 OFF PER PERSON! The discount will be automatically applied when all participants register together.
YOUTH SESSION – SATURDAY MORNING FROM 9-NOON, $5 fee covers lunch – Registration REQUIRED!
Link for full details: http://wp.me/pikPQ-FG
An Evening of Education
When: Saturday, January 19, 2013
Time: 6:30 – 10:30pm
Where: Blake Hotel, 555 South McDowell Street, Charlotte, NC
An evening gala with a 3 course plated meal, open bar, silent auction, and raffles with education on human trafficking. Come get educated on the 2nd largest illicit business in the world. Want to understand how this industry flourishes? Why is it growing so rapidly? How to identify a victim? We have speakers discussing the ins and outs of the industry and give ways you can help.
For tickets please click on the link below. You can pay securely with PayPal: http://wp.me/pikPQ-Fn
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/429918300390696/


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According to UHC Dynamo General Director Andrei Safronov, in an interview on his club's web site, 23-year old defenseman Pavel Valentenko will return to North America next season.
"In the near future we'll terminate our agreement with the defenseman by mutual consent," Safronov explained. "Valentenko's contract is very large, and we can't afford to pay that player such money."
"According to my information, Valentenko plans to go back overseas," Safronov added.
Valentenko, who created a stir when he split Montreal's farm club to return home to Russia two years ago, has one year remaining on his entry level NHL deal. He's missed most of the two seasons he's spent in Russia with a combination of back and shoulder injuries, and has played only 15 games in the KHL over the past two years.
He became New York Rangers property as part of the deal that sent Scott Gomez to Montreal.
UPDATE 06/18/10: On Friday, Valentenko's Russian agent, Igor Kramarev, told Sports.ru that his client will attend the Rangers Prospect Development Camp later this month: "Pavel has received an invitation to go to the New York Rangers' prospect camp. He decided to take advantage of this invitation."
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Sprinkler Repair in Draper and Sandy
An effective irrigation system is critical to maintain a healthy lawn. This is why each of our teams are trained to recognize sprinkler issues.
The amount of water being dispersed on your property in the correct areas is one of the most important things you can do.
Consistently learning about new technologies and techniques allows us to save you money, save your lawn, and be the envy of the neighborhood.
We are here to make your life easier.
Professional Yard Services readily provides sprinkler repair in Draper, Utah to keep your watering system up-and-running and your lawn, vibrant and healthy. We repair, replace, and maintain sprinklers for Sandy and Draper homeowners.
What Sprinkler Problems Do Homeowners Often Encounter?
Sprinklers are supposed to look after your lawn when you can't. But when they are broken or malfunctioning, your lawn will not get the proper hydration that it needs. The uneven water distribution leads to dry spots and dead grass. Fix this issue before it gets worse and affects the overall health and aesthetic appeal of your lawn.
Come to us for sprinkler replacement that keeps your Sandy, UT yard green and beautiful for a long time.
What Can Clients Expect from Our Sprinkler Repair Team?
As your one-stop shop for lawn care solutions, Professional Yard Services provides efficient sprinkler repair in Sandy, Utah. From valve rebuilds to wiring issues to head replacement and adjustment, our team quickly identifies what is wrong with your sprinkler and finds the best solution for it.
Our sprinkler system experts make your life easier and guarantee client satisfaction. Tell us your concerns now.
Let's Determine Your Sprinkler Issues
Professional Yard Services is proactive in all that we do. When you decide to entrust us with your lawn care needs, you can rest assured that our account managers will keep a close eye on your property and address any issue before it gets worse. Feel free to contact us any time for your sprinkler repair needs in Draper, UT.
Get in touch with us, today.