Trudging through tragedy……

I had a pastor that used to say “Every one is either just coming out of a crisis, in a crisis, or about to enter into a crisis.”  I used to think to myself that was bold and blanketing statement. First, to think that we all must have some kind of crisis or tragedy in our life is a very grim take on life. What gives someone the authority to say I will must go through crisis? Can I not roll the dice and skip the crisis by way of choice and planning?  Secondly, you superimpose your reaction to perceived crisis on to me. In other words, I must call an event in my life a crisis because of how the world perceives it, ie. a broken arm, a broken car, a lost cat, a lost loved one. I know you rarely find someone willing to say “Boy it was a good thing I broke my arm when luckily the car broke down when I was looking for my dead grandma’s cat. I sure am glad grandma’s cat waited till after she died to run away.”  But even still, is it fair for another to tell me how I must react to something they can’t deal with? Not to mention, my wife and I made a keen observation: It seemed that the more “crisis” (drama) a family had, the higher up the food chain they climbed, in our church. It was like a popularity contest of devastations! And we were happy to be in the “out” crowd!! Even when “tragedy # 1″ happened in our life, we maintained that we did not want the pseudo-sympathy, the attention, or the “drama”. That was December 2003……….enjoy the ride.

p.s. I still love that pastor to this day, but he forgot to mention; sometimes those crisis run back-to-back, non-stop.

The Law is the Law……………

I read this article from Denver. It appears that helping the little old lady across the street is both hazerdous to your health and your record! Some one warn the Boy Scouts!

DENVER – A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket.
Family members said 58-year-old bus driver Jim Moffett and another man were helping two elderly women cross a busy Denver street in a snowstorm when he was hit Friday night.
Moffett suffered bleeding in the brain, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and a possible ruptured spleen. He was in serious but stable condition Wednesday.
The Colorado State Patrol issued the citation. Trooper Ryan Sullivan said that despite Moffett’s intentions, jaywalking contributed to the accident.
Moffett had been driving his bus when the two women got off. In the interest of safety, he got out and, together with another passenger, helped the ladies cross.
Moffett’s stepson, Ken McDonald, said the driver of the pickup plowed into his stepfather, but not before Moffett pushed the two women out of the way.
When he awoke in intensive care, he learned of the ticket. “His reaction was dazed and confused. I was a little angry,” said McDonald.
The other man also was cited for jaywalking, while the pickup driver was cited with careless driving that led to injury. Sullivan said the two elderly women haven’t been cited but the investigation is ongoing.

Intreresting how the CHP cites that it was Jaywalking that contributed to the accident. How about it was “we are in such a hurry even in the snow we are too stupid to see a bus stopped and 4 people in the middle of the road and we are going to fast for the conditions to slow down!” I can almost guarantee that the pickup was not just going to fast for the conditions, but too fast period. Sorry, just my rant.