The Beamer Center at Wheaton College is a somber reminder of 9/11

Ten years ago
four planes went down.
Two towers fell
at Zero Ground.
And one young man
who cried “Let’s roll!”
gave bravery a face.

Todd Beamer
(on Flight 93)
defended
faith and liberty
as he lived-out
what he’d been taught
and died without regrets.

At home
and at Jon Blanchard’s school,
Todd learned
that no one is a fool
who gives away
what he can’t keep
to gain what he can’t lose.

At Wheaton
Beamer Center stands
reminding us
to serve God’s plans
across the street
or ’round the world
or on a hijacked plane.

So on this anniversary
as we recall that dreadful day,
let’s thank the Lord
for those who died
that we might freely live.

* http://www.wheaton.edu/Student-Life/Activities/Beamer-Center

** Todd Beamer’s godly mother spoke truth into the young patriot’s life before it was prematurely concluded http://www.crosswalk.com/11622565/

*** http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110906/news/709069751/

The county fair campaigning has begun; Obama’s Big Black Bus

And They’re Off!
The county fair campaigning has begun

Back in Iowa they’re running
and much like an old sack race,
they are clumsy and off-balance.
Each one falls flat on his face.

It’s a dirty, bloody contest
as they scrap to take the lead
with the campaign soon approaching
and tea party-ers to heed.

Yes, the White House run is brutal
as the candidates well know.
County fairs aren’t 4-H friendly
where they judge the “best-of-show.”

It’s an up-for-grabs beginning
and there’re twelve more months to gauge
who’ll survive and still be standing
having shown they’ve come of age.

Obama’s Big Black Bus
What’s wrong with this picture?

So have you heard about “the bus?”
I call it Ground Farce One.
It is Barack’s Campaign Trail-ways.
It’s really kinda dumb.

Obama’s big dark bus might hint
that Johnny Cash is back.
A country band would love his “ride.”
The White House man in black.

This Presidential Greyhound is
a hearse-like waste of funds.
Why is our President on tour?
Is his debt homework all done?

His re-election chances might
pick up and start to grow
if he stayed home to find some jobs
instead of hit the road.

Are we on the road to recovery?; A Hatfield Who was the Real McCoy

There’s a Detour on Wall Street
Are we on the road to recovery?

As we lose our credit rating
finding countless warning signs
and the roadwork back on Wall Street slows us down,
we’d do well to brace for potholes
and the blowouts yet to come
as we reconsider where it is we’re bound.

Detours loom when there’s construction.
Wall Street will be closed to some.
Will it be the road less taken in the end?
Or will Main Street claim more traffic?
Will we shift what drives our aims?
Will we change the fuels in which we’ve put our stock?

Realignment’s in our future.
What we’ve always done won’t work.
We Americans must tweak our age-old dream.
Owning homes and grand vacations
aren’t a given anymore.
The fatted calf we kill will be quite lean.
 

A Hatfield Who was the Real McCoy
Remembering an Oregon Senator

Mark Hatfield was the real McCoy.
Since I was but a little boy,
I watched this Oregonian
display integrity.
 
Between a rock and a hard place,
he found a way to make his case
in spite of pressures to conform
or take the easy road.
 
Professor and then Governor
and then a U. S. Senator,
he left his mark in every place
his God led him to serve.
 
A moderate Republican
he crossed the aisle (unlike some)
and let his dove-like ways be known
when hawks would win the day.
 
And through it all Mark helped us see
that compromise and decency
can bring about what you believe
our nation truly needs.
 
Where are the Hatfields of our day
who read God’s Word and daily pray,
but will not use their faith to judge
their colleagues on The Hill?