Life-Changing...

The Otter and the Ocean

          One morning, Otter was awakened by the sound of the ocean, so he said to himself for the very first time, "I wonder."

            Later that morning he and his older brother were in the shallows breaking clams open with stones. "Brother," said the younger otter, "have you ever seen the bottom of the ocean?"

         "Of course I have," said his brother. "I know the ocean well."

"What's it like?" asked Otter.

"Oh, it's very deep," said his brother.

"Is it?" asked Otter, and he dropped his clam, half-eaten, in the water.

"Sure. Watch this!" And then Otter's big brother shot out past the sand bar to the middle of the bay. There he lifted himself halfway out of the water, waved, and plunged below. He was gone for less than a minute, but to Otter it seemed much longer. When he finally did break to the surface again, he held up a paw. But Otter could not see that he was holding tiny pebbles and bits of shell until his brother had swum all the way back to the shallow.

"Rocks and shells," said his brother, "as far as you can see."

"Really?" asked Otter.

         "Oh yes, that's what the ocean is like, a floor of sand that goes on and on. But don't worry. You'll see it all some day."

But to Otter's thinking there was nothing mysterious in rocks and shells.   

         That afternoon, he and his father were busy with the work of opening a new den—much higher over the water than their old one—when Otter said, "Father, have you ever seen the bottom of the ocean?"

         "Of course I have," said his father. "I know the ocean well." 

"What's it like?" asked Otter.

"Oh, it's very deep," said his father.

"Is it?" asked Otter, and he stopped his work to listen.

"It is. In fact, it's as deep as a full-grown stalk of kelp, and you know how long those can grow." Then his father took him to the entrance of the den and pointed to the ocean beyond the bay, to where the kelp beds began. "Many times I've had to hunt for clams where the kelp grows from the bottom," his father said with evident pride.  "And it is like swimming through a forest at night." 

"Really?" asked Otter.

"Oh, yes," said his father, "and that's what the ocean is like, a forest of kelp that goes on and on. Some day when you're older you'll find out for yourself."

But again, Otter couldn't help but be disappointed, for he could see nothing more frightening in a stalk of kelp than he could in rocks and shells. 

That evening, Otter was walking alone along a cliff overlooking the bay and the ocean beyond it, thinking of rocks and sand and kelp when he came upon his grandfather. He was sitting on a patch of lichen watching the sun go down. His grandfather was very old, the oldest otter in the colony. The fur around his eyes and mouth was gray, and he let the younger otters gather clams for him now. He was old, but most thought him to be very wise.

Otter sat down next to him. "Grandfather," he said, "have you ever seen the bottom of the ocean?"

His grandfather was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "I'm afraid I know very little about the ocean."

Oliver's shoulders fell at the words, and he rose to his feet to go, but his grandfather kept talking, "When I was young, about your age, I swam to the bottom of the ocean, and it was sandy and flat."

"Really?" said Otter, but if he sounded curious he didn't mean it.

"And when I was older and had cubs of my own," his grandfather continued, "I swam to the bottom of the ocean, and it was like walking through a forest of tall trees at night."

Otter stood quietly and waited for his grandfather to finish.  He was hoping that he might still have time to play in the high tide. 

"But one day, while I floated over the kelp beds preening my fur, a storm came in suddenly and took me far out to sea. I grew hungry, so I dove hoping to find food. I dove so deep that the water grew cold and pressed in on me, but I knew that if I didn't eat, I would die, so I went deeper."

"Deeper?" asked Otter, sitting down again. 

"Finally, I reached bottom."

"And what did you see?" asked Otter.

"I saw the edge of a cliff, like the one we are on now," said his grandfather, and then he peered over the edge, and Otter knew that he was remembering that day.

"And what else?" asked Otter, "What was at the bottom of the cliff?"

His grandfather turned to Otter and shook his head.  "There was no bottom," he said, "just a darkness that went on and on." Then he smiled. "Like I said, I know very little of the ocean."

Otter drew in a deep breath, and then he watched the setting sun until it winked out under a pink and orange sky, for his hopes of playing in the tide had slipped quietly away at the thought of a bottomless ocean.

The left foot says, "Glory!" The right foot, "Amen."

This is how I want life to go: raise my kids in the fear of God...teach them to plod well...have them close when my end comes. That's what this story is about.

The Left Foot Says, "Glory!"

A man walked to the City of the King. His children, a boy and a girl, walked with him. The road was long, and the entire length of it—in this direction at least—slanted upward toward the city, which sat high on a hill.

One day, where the road was particularly steep, the sky went dark, and it began to rain. 

"Can we stop now, Father?" asked the boy.  "This seems like a good place to stay."

The father answered, "It will rain often on this journey, and the city is still miles and miles ahead." Then the father took the boy's hand in his and said, "Say these words with me as we walk, 'The left foot says, Glory! The right foot, Amen!'"

So the little boy said the words with his father as they walked in step, "The left foot says, Glory! The right foot, Amen!"

Glory!

Amen!

Glory!

Amen!

And soon the boy no longer thought about stopping, and he felt fine with the rain on his face.

Another day, in a place where the road was nearly flat for a stretch, the sky cleared, a breeze blew gently, and the sun shone bright.

"Can we stop now, Father?" asked the girl. "This meadow under the blue sky and bright sun would be a wonderful place to stay."

The father answered, "The sun will shine often on this journey, and there will be many meadows, but the city is still miles and miles ahead." Then the father took the girl's hand in his and said, "Say these words with me as we walk, 'The left foot says, Glory! The right foot, Amen!'"

So the little girl said the words with her father as they walked in step, "The left foot says, Glory! The right foot, Amen!"

Glory!

Amen!

Glory!

Amen!

And soon the girl no longer thought about stopping, and she felt fine with the breeze cool in her hair and the sunshine warm on her skin.

The three walked together for many days, passing under every kind of sky and through every kind of weather. The road was very long. Sometimes it wound, sometimes it stretched out. It was rutty in places, and smooth as still water in others. It rose steeply or gently, but always it rose.

One day, as they were climbing the very steepest part of the road, the sun stood directly over their heads and beat down on them with a fierce heat. There was no breeze, and the dust of the road hung round them like fog.

"Children," said the Father. "Let's stop now. This spot of shade by the road is as good a place to stay as any." 

"But it is summer," said the girl. "There will be many hot days like this."

"And our road is a long one," said the boy.

But the father had grown older on the journey, and he sat down heavily under the shade of an apple tree. 

The girl looked up to where the road seemed to crest at a hilltop. "Let's look," she whispered to her brother.   

The father watched as the two walked to the top of the hill. They stood there for a moment, their backs to him, and then turned and raced back down the hill to where he sat.

"Father!" shouted the girl.

"The City!" shouted the boy.

So the father took a deep breath and stood. Then his children both took one of his hands in theirs. 

"The left foot says, Glory!" said the boy.

"The right foot, Amen!" said the girl.

And the three of them began to march in step up the last steep hill before the City of the King. And as they came over the hilltop and on to the gates of the city, the King himself could hear them shouting,

Glory!

Amen!

Glory!

Amen!

And the father no longer thought about stopping, and he felt more than fine with the King smiling down on his old face. 

You've Been Disconnected

Here's one of MSNBC's lead headlines from today: "GOP Race Shaping up as Two-Man Confrontation." It's about the debate last night, the two men being Romney and Perry.


And here are the results of MSNBC's viewers' poll. 
Ron Paul . . . . . . 52.6% of the votes
Mitt Romney . . . 16.3%
Rick Perry . . . . . 13.6%
Huntsman, Gingrich, Cain, Bachmann, and Santorum . . . all below 7%.


MSNBC ran the debate. 
MSNBC ran the poll when it was done.
MSNBC ran the headline the next day. 


See the disconnect here?


But it's not just on the Left. Oh, no.


Today Sean Hannity tells Romney the debate made it clear that "You and Rick Perry are the frontrunners." Finally, the Right and Left can agree on something.


The disconnect is not between the media and some guy running for Pres. It's between the establishment and the people. The mainstream media are just as much a part of the establishment as any smokey backroom in DC. They're thumbing their nose at us and at the same time sinking deeper into irrelevance.

I love it.