New Day Dawning

This is a picture of a new dawn at the start of a new day. Abba had a song "I have a dream a song to sing to help me cope with everything........" I long to live in America , it keeps coming back and coming back like a call .Jack London wrote the wonderful Classic "The Call of the Wild". America is like a call to the heart. As a foreigner I have the luxury of looking in .You as Americans understand all the political goings on. Though as an outsider I do not understand why the government feels it is unable to live by the rules it asks the people to live by?
I have to separate America form its government and think of the country and the people. The people are one of America's great strengths. They are the kind of people you can get along side. Yes there are bad guys and girls and whackos but the real American is inspirational, they love their land and when there is danger close ranks .It does not seem to matter whether you are Black, White, Hispanic Chinese - you are American no matter how diverse the background ."My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty of thee I sing ...let freedom ring." Now I LOVE freedom. Yes there are differences but not irreconcilable differences. You can still be Americans while sorting these out. The pride of statehood is also good , Texan, Virginian, Alaskan, Iowan. Okay sometimes you think the civil war is still going on in more than books . I did a version of Pickett's Charge from Gettysburg in one of my novel  The Scent of Home but even in writing that the sense of both sides trying to fight for what was right caught me up and I had to restrain my hero from joining one of Pickett's brigades. I dedicated the book to their memory.
I want to get a house in America and try and contribute to the community into which God leads us. You may say "He doesn't know the reality he is idealistic." Wait wasn't America built by idealists and people of vision ,something to believe in? These Visionaries were able to pass it on to the next generation .This caused people to move out from the original 13 colonies to right across the land as far as California and Hawaii and Alaska. If I am an idealist I will be in good company.
 My stepson Major Luke Parker USMC inspired me by his faith and character - now there is a guy I would have followed into battle. My Lord, Luke loved his country .I have had some good examples of Americans -yes the other kind exist but if you find a mouldy loaf in a bakery do you throw out the contents of the whole shop?
 One day I will die and be buried I hope it is in America and I hope it is in an America that I have helped support and build and backed -then I can get to Heaven knowing that I have done what God put in my heart to do - I wonder if basic training for the Marines in Heaven is as tough as it is down here -I have this picture of A marine drill Sgt with Angels wings - now if that is not idealism I do not know what is.

   

Christmas Dream

I must have fallen asleep. One of those dreams where you are not sure if you are awake or asleep ;and where you don't want to wake up.
The Christmas tree shone with lights and decorations, stars with Jesus Name hung down from the branches and lights changed colour changing the room to a different mood.
"Come on sleepy" she said "how about a nice mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows -your favourite"
Thank you I replied and smiled at her. My wife
"Libby and Luke will be here soon,they travelled back from college just to spend Christmas with mum and dad."
I must have looked surprised.
"Your children" she said
"But er but"
"Too late now you can't send them back -shop won't take them." She took my hands "and you big brave hero were there at the births. Now come and help me in the kitchen if everybody wants to eat."
She left and returned with my hot chocolate .It tasted real and delicious. It was neither too hot nor too cold.
Libby and Luke I thought. "I wonder what they look like. When you do not remember having children you do wonder what they looked like even in dreams,if this was a dream. I dreamed my way through food preparation until it was done .
"No ....Stephs voice came to me -"you were going to put chocolate sauce in the potatoes."
I smiled "but I thought innovation was part of cooking, culinary adventures and all that."
The door bell played Dixie and I went to answer it .
Carrying three bags and a guitar was a young man of over six feet tall.
"Dad ,you not recognise me ?" His broad smile and wide blue eyes welcomed me."
"You've grown" I said trying to sound parental or fatherly.
He gave me a big hug -"Love ya dad ."
"Love you too Luke" I replied and then I thought 'how did I father such a fine boy'
"I'll go and look for Mom."
I watched him go and thought dreams were such good things.
The house was lovely, beautifully decorated it encapsulated love from the harsh world outside.
I thought I had better no interrupt mother and son .
In my day dreaming in my dream the door bell went again,
I opened the door
"Hello daddy."
It must be Libby . Her green eyes sparkled with joy and a lock of red hair worked its way down over her forehead .This was December and the other part of summer had arrived. Next thing I knew her arms were round my neck and I was getting just the best hug ever. Sometimes love doesn't need to speak words . How could I have fathered someone so beautiful .Yet what shone from Libby also came from the inside as well as the out .
"Come in Sweetheart Luke's here thanks for coming for Christmas."
As she walked past me I could scent the beauty of flowers and her laughter was like a stream running over stones.
Heaven must have given her a day off.
We ate and I could taste everything. We walked together. First with Luke and he told me how he was doing and I think with every word I would have been honoured to have a son like that not just in a dream.
Then Libby threw snowballs at me and each one that landed was like a kiss. "Remember me she said
I live in your heart and we will meet for real one day. It works two ways you are the only daddy I have and I am proud of you."
I could feel her hand,it was so real and warm.
"I never had a dream like this before. "I told her
"You never loved like you do now she replied " We walked on
"I wonder what kind of a father I would have made?"
The same kind of a daughter I would have made. When you get to heaven and you see a carroty haired angel step out lets go for a walk in the hills and you can tell me all the things you would have if you had been my real father.
I took her hand and my heart in my dream filled with such happiness.
When we got to the house I sat down and felt sleepy and the last thing I heard was Libby's voice
"I love you -don't forget me."
Then I was back home and I heard the voice of the wife I love- maybe we both agreed the best is yet to come

Learning a new language

In just over a year we are going to visit the folks in Alabama and Texas .I have become conscious that I need to watch my spelling 'cause y'all spell things differently from us
The last letter in the English Alphabet is Zed to Brits and Zee to Americans -this is confusing
You have lines -these are punishment exercises we got at school for some misdemeanour to us. Imagine my surprise when I found they were what you waited in in a shop. We call these Queues and Brits are good at forming orderly queues. You have Gas we have petrol .I went into a petrol station in Alabama and asked to pay the petrol -the guy behind the counter looked at me as if I had Tamales growing out my ears .When I said Gas his face brightened with understanding. The station was BP (British Petroleum) I thought he would understand. I might as well have been up to the knees in Brandywine Creek .
You take tea cold -we take tea hot but at least we have in common that neither like warm tea .I now drink my tea as iced tea even in winter- my countrymen think I mad. "I like iced tea" I say  and they say to me "but you are not in Texas now." I reply but I need to keep my hand in at iced tea drinking should I move back there,
You have funny cookies  which we call biscuits .What y'all call biscuits we call scones. How on earth did ALUMINIUM (AL-U-MIN-IUM) become ALOOMINUM ? I doubt even if Ben Franklin could explain that . I walk on the pavement which you call side walk and I put things in the rear of my car which we call boot and you call trunk and the front of the car we call bonnet (as in Easter) you call it hood which to us is a gangster. The engine is in the gangster the luggage is in the trunk which itself can be luggage.
You have a Senate, which over here is the governing body of a university. You do have hot dogs and hamburgers . Now we too have these .We get ours in tins and jars and they are American because they have the "Stars and Stripes" on the jar or tin. We have Grits and Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Fish and Chips.
When I get to USA my first buy will be a Dictionary by Merrriam Webster. I do not know who he was but I guess he must have disliked the Brits intensely to make so many differences . I am working hard at adjusting to color instead of colour and many other things. I shall persevere but the trouble is "you can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." or as John Paul Jones said when he was doing his memoirs
"I have not yet begun to write - remember he came from Scotland so there is hope for me yet.

I'm here

This has been a hard year for us and for many. Hurt loss pain and economic pressure while politicians seem to spend money like water. People go hungry and many suffered horrors like the Philippines. Terrorism stalks the land under the guise of peace and sometimes you feel like screaming "Is anybody listening ????"
Then at Christmas time we have the reminder that One did listen, that God did care because the angels came to announce "Luke 2v10 Behold I bring you news of great joy which shall be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord .The Son of God is here -Immanuel -God with us. Knowing this and holding to this it is like Jesus saying "I'm here." When Luke my stepson died at 37, it was the reassurance that Jesus is with us that helped us in our tears and what my wife Luke's mother felt I cannot begin to guess, Jesus was saying 'I'm here' and something would happen that would lift us. Even in the midst of  the stupid behaviour of politicians or the scare tactics of terror. Jesus says 'I'm here, peace be still" My God holds His people by love not by fear. I hope you hear his still small voice in your fear or worry or loss ."Peace I 'm here" and somehow He works as only Christ can .Broken hearts take time to mend and while others talk about methods of doing that, the Lord goes ahead and actually does something - sometimes you don't want words just a hug. All our hope centres on Jesus Christ but Christmas tells us "I'm here "and that light of the World that was born in the stable in Bethlehem has come into the darkness and not all the death ,terrorism, fear ,bullying or anything else will ever be able to put it out .Jsus says this Christmas
Don't be afraid I'M HERE ,trust me

Time Travel Tram

Steph and I went to the Transport Museum in Glasgow and there much to my surprise was a Number 3 Tramcar. I used to go to school in this. From age 7-12 this was my daily mode of transport across the city . A walk to the stop and a walk back .We are talking 1957-1962 . I always went upstairs for the view was better .Until the day a drunk man came upstairs and assaulted me by hitting me across the face several times. I started to cry and it stirred four Glasgow wifies into action. Glasgow wifies in the 1950/60s were formidable if they were angered and hitting a child was a way of doing that. They did not dial 911. They also carried umbrellas -pointed 12 bore umbrellas which they used to great effect. They stabbed him as hard as they could -back legs neck, ears. There were cries of "ye dirty big scunner.ye drunken pig and the rest I will spare you .His feet did not touch the steps on the way down .The driver stopped the tram and they threw the guy off .The conductor or driver were not going to argue with fired up Glasgow wifies. Had any of them been facing him I could hazard a guess as to where the umbrellas would have been poked . My father was told and he would have killed the guy if he had found him. . These wifies were the match for the Marines or Spetznaz forces .
This was the first time I had been back on a tram in 52 years and it may have been that very
tram Don't let one bad incident in your life spoil the view God is capable of bringing good out of bad
 in ways we cannot imagine.There is no excuse for hitting 8 year old children round the face but back in those days justice was done quicker than it is now and hey no lawyers involved.
 

"Funny how time slips away"- Willie Nelson

I asked a friend if I could borrow his projector to photograph old slides and put them on the wall. I was excited at seeing events and places in my life from 20-40 years ago but what I had forgotten, slides deteriorate. The colours fade and what was sharp vibrant colour at the time, seems so bland and empty now. The sparkle the colour had gone, things had moved on "funny how time slips away."
I took the photo of Charles Lindbergh's 'Spirit of St Louis' in 1992 .I can still see it in the Smithsonian in Washington .It was a great achievement and in the film James Stewart gave a good performance of trying to stay awake. That was a long time ago and my photo of the plane had gone the way of the others.
In my time travel books The Scent of Time and The Scent of Home, the characters travel in time.
They go back to Gettysburg in 1863 when it was all too vibrant and Virginia in 1759 where it looks as though they might be stuck there . I some times think it would be nice to go with them.
As much as I enjoy time travel and writing about it and I hope people enjoy reading about it .You cannot live in the past .It is a shadow because God is not there.  He has left and when He leaves there is only the shadow of what was. He also lives in the present because He helps us to get to the future.. Maybe it would have been nice to live in 1759 -till the first time you needed a dentist .Or live in 1863 till you found you had diabetes. Lo said Jesus I am with you always even unto the end of the age. "Funny how time slips away."   

The Eye of the Beholder

 

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet how often do we miss what is beautiful around us? We look at the pictures of film stars, perfectly exposed and air brushed -yet in real life they look a lot rougher than they appear in their perfect photographs. Maybe the exception to that rule was the late Audrey Hepburn, witness her popularity on fashion accessories even today.
How often do we miss what is before us because we have become used to it?
I spent 11 years in a beautiful glen in Perthshire called Glenshee .It was stunning scenery but by 11 years we had got used to it.
Then we moved to my next parish and when we got to the manse there, there were boards over the window to protect the glass. We looked through cracks and at the time on the TV there were scenes from Kosovo with houses boarded up just like ours. Day after day we thought of the lovely walk in the hills we had left and the scenery, to move to this? In the end we were able to see the beauty in our new place, a lot of which was in the people and the joy of it having a cricket team.
The picture above is like something out of the Beatles Sgt Pepper Album in fact it is oil on a pavement but if it is dealt with the right way and caught in the right light it can turn into something beautiful - bit like the way God looks at us.