Two Final Things to Share – countdown days to go

Here we are, just days away from what will no doubt be in some way or another a historic presidential election. I had hoped to write about it more – the issues which are ripping us apart, the issues which should be bringing us together, how the whole voting process even works (ie the electoral college) – but here we are.

Two things I need to share. First, please click on this link and read the article. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/29/928791633/guns-protests-and-elections-do-not-mix-conflict-experts-see-rising-warning-signs

 I’ve been concerned about that very thing for months and with each passing day, my concerns lean more towards outright worry.

Second thing is a story about the integrity of one man and the power of those political parties.  

My father-in-law was Lloyd Kincaid, a former state senator and assemblyman, from the early seventies to the early nineties. Fairly early on in his career, a bill came up which would adversely affect the people of his district. He represented small rural communities in northern Wisconsin, and this bill was designed to help residents of the larger cities at a cost to towns like his.

When his political party found out that he intended to vote against this bill, the leaders of his party told him that if he didn’t vote for it, that they would find someone else from the party to run against him in the next election and they would be sure that person would win.

He would have nothing to do with it. He talked to the leaders of the other political party and they told him they would always support him. So, he switched parties. (And just to be clear, in case you research this and discover which party is which in this story, either one of them would have done the same thing. And neither party really supported him to the end.)

Moral of that story is that political parties have wielded this kind of control for decades. Reminds me of the movie “Mr. Smith Goes toWashington”. If the television networks weren’t already run by one party or the other, they would be playing that movie incessantly right about now.

But the other thing to remember is that there have been men and women in office who have had integrity, who were committed to the voters who elected them and not to a political machine which is running rampant throughout this country. We need to seek out fresh individuals who are willing to stand up for what is right and good, and serve their constituents instead of some political party.

That’s all I have for this week. May God be with you all in the coming weeks. I will be praying for us all.

Chris 

 

Two Waterfalls This Time – blog post #3 from the family vacation

Back to family vacation at the cabin up north. Last Wednesday, I only got through a few hours of Sunday morning – one scenic overlook, a river crossing and one waterfalls. Man, I could be blogging about this trip until Christmas!

After we had seen all we wanted to at Foster Falls, we drove the few miles to Wren Falls. Another spectacular place to visit.

I’d been to Wren Falls before too, years ago. I always find it so amazing that here in northern Wisconsin, just two hours from where I live, that there are these impressive waterfalls that I picture seeing in the Alps.

You don’t even realize you are that high up and the river is that far below until you are standing on the edge of a cliff, going holy cow, that’s a lot of water running way down there.

Such is Wren Falls. You think of a wren as a little bird, like this will be a little waterfall. No, not so much. My waterfalls book claims the falls is 15 feet. It seems much taller than that, probably because the river roars through a tight canyon at that point.

Very scenic spot. We hiked a way past the falls to a nice new bridge. It was part of a hiking trail and if I remember right, it led to a camping spot which was under development. No idea how anyone gets equipment back there to develop anything though.

After eating lunch in the parking lot, we headed out to find the next waterfalls in the book, Rouse Falls. I don’t know if that rhymes with grouse, but here was one crossing the road.

I’d never heard of this falls before, and the directions made it look like this one would be a challenge, but off we went anyway.

Once we got there, I was like – this really was not hard to find at all.

Rouse Falls could be one of my favorite new waterfalls. Well, it was for that day, anyway; little did I know where my son would take us the next day.

But that’s for another blog. Here is more of Rouse Falls. 

The dogs really liked it, too. 

A great day. And it wasn't over yet. 

Having Hope

 I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18, Good News Translation

 I didn’t get around to writing my Sunday blog post last night, so when I couldn’t sleep at one am, I got up and thought I’d work on it. The only thing that came to me was “hope”.

It’s been a rough ten months for most of us. Not just with the pandemic. A lot of people I know have suffered in other ways this year – deaths, surgeries, cancer, natural disasters, unnatural disasters. You name it, a whole set of adversity has befallen us all this year.  

And yet, the word “hope” came to me in the night. 

It’s been unseasonably cold and snowy here so far this month. It’s put a damper on quite a few of our fall activities – are those leaves ever going to get raked up?

But that’s why we have hope. Hope that we will still have some warm, autumn days. Hope that we have a mild winter. And if those wishes fail, we are assured that spring will come. Maybe it will be later than sooner, but some day, perhaps many months from now (possibly as many as six!), the sun will come out, the grass will turn green again, flowers will bloom. And we will find the time to gather up those withered leaves.

 Thank You, God, for the seasons and the hope that the weather will turn for the better one day. And thank You for the assurance that Your Son Jesus will return one day as well in all His glory. Amen

.  

United or Divided - Countdown 2 weeks

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately”. Benjamin Franklin

For many months now, as both the pandemic and the presidential election were heating up, I’ve wanted to write a series of blog posts sharing my opinion on the state of affairs. On Friday, September 18, I began the six-week countdown to the election, with a list of six topics I wanted to cover. Then life happened and here we are with only two Fridays left before November 3 and I can see that my time is already up.

What can I say to anyone at this point which will change their minds about their candidate? Is that even something I should do, or want to do? How many Americans have voted already and will their ballots even be counted? Or will millions of missing ballots become a scandal which brings our country to war?

This is how many answers I have to the current state of affairs – zero. I have absolutely not a single idea on how to fix things. And here’s the biggest reality – neither presidential candidate has any idea either. All the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate knows is what their respective party leaders tells them.

Here’s what I want to ask those political party leaders – the people behind the scenes, who have all the power and money, who are calling the shots, but no one quite knows who they are – the people who actually picked the two choices we have for president. Does anyone out there anywhere in the United States really think that these two men are the best options available? That there aren’t at least a thousand small-town mayors, firefighters, physicians or factory workers in these fifty states who are more qualified, more eloquent, more educated and more diplomatic than the two candidates who will get 98% of our votes?

(If you read my October 2 post, you may realize that I abhor the two-party system. There needs to be more options than what has become the far right and the far left.)

I hate sounding like some whack-a-doodle conspiracy theorist. But doesn’t anyone else wonder what is going on in this country? How it started and why? And why our leaders don’t seem to want to fix the problem, but instead just want to make things worse?

I know the quote above by the great Benjamin Franklin was written in a different context, but just think about it. We need to pull it together, come together, work together. And stop pulling ourselves apart.

Because “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” as Abraham Lincoln said before the Civil War.

Or maybe the younger generation rather hear from Albus Dumbledore. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” (J.K. Rowling)

And my final quote, “God bless us, every one.”   

Scenery, Adventure and a Waterfalls – blog post #2 from the family vacation

I can’t believe that here it is nearly the end of October and I haven’t finished blogging about our family vacation the end of last month. Actually, I’ve barely begun blogging about it. 

Sunday, our second full day at the cabin, we started the day with breakfast of scrambled eggs and fried venison sausage, followed by a family photo shoot before Hubby headed home, as he had to work the next day. (The only retired one in the family and he had to work. Go figure.)

Shortly after his departure, we packed up our lunches and headed out for the day.  

First stop was Corrigan’s Outlook, a mere 5.28 miles from the cabin.

The views from the top were absolutely breath-taking.

Another opportunity for a family photo shoot. The dogs were not cooperating though.

To make it even better, we kept hearing coyotes howling in the valley below. Oh, so very cool. Unfortunately, none of our dogs seemed to pay them any mind. I tried videoing the howling, but all I could hear on the video was the wind blowing. I did capture these guys flying by though.

Next, we headed to Foster Falls. The trail head on the east side of the Potato River is adjacent to a small campsite, and when we pulled in, there were three campers camped there with two unfriendly looking dogs. We decided it looked too busy, that those dogs would not get on well with ours, and with some disappointment decided to drive the twelve miles to get to the other side.  

As we pulled out of the parking lot road and back onto the road heading away from the river, I looked behind us and saw a pickup with a small camper on it. I couldn’t figure out where it had come from as the road ended at the river just beyond them. I made the mistake of mentioning it to the kids.

They were like, I bet he crossed the river. So, my son and son-in-law jumped out of my son’s Toyota Four-Runner and went to talk to the driver of the camper.

Yup, the driver said he had traversed the river in his truck and if he crossed with no problem, surely, we would be able to as well.  

My son spun around his vehicle and headed to the end of the road, where it disappears into the Potato River to reemerge on the other side.

I do wish I would have videoed it instead of just shooting pictures. That first splash into the river, when the water flew up all the way over the windshield and our lives all flashed before our eyes as my daughter and I screamed and the boys hooted. Crazy. Absolutely crazy! You’d think we were all 22 years old and driving a beat-up Chevy truck, instead of my son’s two-year-old 4-wheel drive

The only loss was the front license plate, which no one realized until the next day, even though I clearly had taken a picture of it.

It was a short walk from there to Foster Falls.

Hubby and I had been to Foster Falls while camping in June, but that was from the other side. I couldn’t imagine him ever fording the river, no matter what he was driving. Even though it was late summer, the water flow was as much as it had been in the spring. (If you want pictures for comparison, click on this link.) 

It was a beautiful day and many more waterfalls were to come, but you’ll have to come back next week to read about that. 

No Title, No Picture

   ‘Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. 

I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, 

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 

 Isaiah 41:10, New King James Version

 When I sat down to write this, and I first found this verse, it crossed my mind to just leave it at that. I don’t really have to write here every Sunday morning, do I? Isn’t it enough to just share a Bible verse? I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before that God’s words are way better than mine any time. 

 

There is such a hodge-podge of thoughts running through my head. Such as, that I should have started with a different verse, one of those that are about being tired and placing your burdens on the Lord and finding rest and all those which I have told you about in the past. I just liked the image of being held up by God’s righteous right hand. 

Coz I really need that. 

Not only the sorrow over my mother-in-law’s death or the stress of supporting my husband in settling her estate or the head-spinning exhaustion from working to clear out her house. True story - I did wake up the other morning so dizzy that I was walking around like a drunken sailor. 

Just add on top of that the pandemic and how badly we all just want to hug again. And I read the reports, both via the news and social media. I see the numbers of COVID cases growing and then I see the names of people I personally know and have cared for. 

It’s been cold and rainy here all week. We try to keep up our spirits, saying, “well, at least it’s not snowing.” Really? Coz it was snowing like crazy here yesterday morning and on the way to town we saw the first winter car-in-the-ditch. 

Has anyone gotten any good news this year? I mean really good news that wasn’t taken down a notch because there was something bad giggling in the background? 

The end of last year, as I was writing my year-end blog posts, I kept tallying up the bad things that had happened and kept wishing for the new year to begin. I have to stop myself from wishing that this year. Coz, holy cow, if 2021 is worse??? 

All I can say, to myself and to you, is to not be afraid, not to despair. Fall into the strong arms of Jesus. Talk about a hug! Can you just imagine that? I know that I do. 

Lord, Jesus, thank You for carrying the weight of our burdens, thank You for offering a sheltering place to rest, thank You for always being our help in times of trouble. Amen.

Good-bye, Trinky

 As you know, if you’ve read Dino’s last two posts, or if you know my family, you know that my mother-in-law passed away last Friday night. Today is her funeral, when we say good-bye. But, I always think of it as only saying good-bye to her body. Her soul and spirit live on, and as Dino wrote on Sunday, we will be together again one day. 

Kathleen Marie Kincaid passed away on Friday October 9th at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rhinelander, WI. Kathleen, known as “Trink” to her friends and family, was a wonderful and loving wife, mother, sister and grandmother who enjoyed her family above all things. Trink spent her time walking, baking, reading and being with her family. She had a strong faith, read her Bible daily and was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Crandon.

She was born on May 27th 1934 in Monico, WI to Frieda and John Collier. Trink was the fourth child of nine. She graduated Salutatorian of her class at Three Lakes High School in 1952 and went on to marry Lloyd H. Kincaid of Crandon, WI in Iron Mountain, MI that same year.

She is survived by three children; Dave (Lora), Jim (Chris) and John (Betsy), eleven grandchildren; Jim, Brian, Brenda, Amber (Jake), Nick, Jacob (Anna), Ann (Joe), Ross (Carley), Val (Kaine), Andi (Brian) and Ben (Luci), four great grandchildren; Payton, Ella, Luke and Klay, siblings; Bill (Pat), Joyce, Louise, Lois (Larry), Suzzie and Linda (Ed) and many nieces and nephews.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, husband, Lloyd (Retired State Senator) brothers, Gerald and Rusty, sister-in-law, Shirley, brothers-in-law, Buck and Chuck, daughter-in-law, Teresa and grandchildren, Angela, Brent and Wendy.

A walk by visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. A private family service will follow at 12:00 p.m. with Pastor Samuel Pappenfuss officiating. Burial to follow at Crandon Lakeside Cemetery.

Many years ago with her husband Lloyd 

With her sons and their wives 

She loved Christmas 

Loved to dance too 

Her first plane ride 

Still loving Christmas 

With her sons 

Her 80th birthday party 

Both my moms. Now they are together in heaven. 

Don't be Sad

 It is the same with you. Now you are sad, but I will see you again and you will be happy, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:22, New Century Version)

Look who’s back? Yes, it’s me, Dino.

So, I was goofing around on Mom’s computer on this place called Bible Gateway and I found these words. I guess people call them Bible verses.

Anyway, it made me think of Mom. And that for a couple mornings in a row, she puts on certain clothes and then she leaves me for the whole entire day. I am so sad the whole day, until suddenly, she comes home again and I am so happy.

Well, we are all sad right now because Dad’s mom died the other day. Everyone misses her, like they won’t ever see her again. But I hope, that if they read those words above, they know that just like when Mom comes home at the end of the day, someday they will see Grandma again too. I think that will be in a place called heaven.

(Mom will be back to blogging as soon as she can. In the meantime, be happy and imagine what life will be like someday for everyone in that place called heaven. It sounds pretty great.)

(Oh, and the picture is from last summer when Mom and Dad took me camping and I was so happy. And then we got to stop and see Grandma too. What a great day that was!)

Message from Dino

   Hi, it’s me, Dino. It has been a long time since I talked with you all. Something came up last night and Mom wasn’t able to write the blog post that she wanted to. So I told her not to worry that I would love to say hi to everyone today.

   Mom wanted to write today some more about the upcoming election. She has so much to say about it. Her and Dad talk about it all the time. Sometimes they disagree, but they never fight about it. They say that the people in government running our country should do the same thing. It’s okay to disagree, but it’s not okay to fight.

   Mom and Dad are feeling pretty good. They haven’t been sick. They don’t have COVID. I thought I should mention that because I don’t want you to worry.

   I guess a lot of people in our town do have COVID. Mom and Dad talk about that a lot too. They are worried about it. They don’t think they will get it, but they are sad that so many people are and that it has changed how we do everything. It has been a bad year.

   The good thing is that Mom and Dad got those kittens two months ago. They keep Mom and Dad busy. But they still make time for me.

   I am getting older and can’t do some of the things I used to do. Sometimes I can’t make it up the stairs. But Mom always helps me. She does get frustrated with me sometimes though because I just want to be with her all the time. So I follow her down the stairs and then can’t get back up on my own.

   I also have to admit that I am very hard of hearing. I will be outside just staring off into the woods pretending I am able to run around like I used to. I turn around and Mom is standing on the deck trying to get my attention. And I think she has been calling me but I couldn’t hear her.

   That is about all I know today. I hope you all have a good day and a good weekend.

   Love, Dino.