Creativity

Oxford Dictionaries - Creative: Relating to or involving the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something. Would you describe God as being creative? 

Each light is an entire galaxy

The Guardian

I’m okay now and feel a sense of peace but three days ago on Tuesday night, I was in a pity pot and feeling depressed. But later at ten that  night our hot water heater started leaking. I had to spring into action to cut off the gas and drain that sucker with a water hose before it emptied  water all over the laundry room and kitchen floor.  It was a around twelve a.m. before I could get to  bed but the pity pot was gone for good. The following morning on a Wednesday, I went out early to Home Depot to look into buying a new gas hot water heater to replace our old one.  I wasn't able to get the problem fixed that day but nevertheless my day went fine. That same evening, I went for a walk on a walking trail near my home at around six o’clock p.m. to get some exercise. I hardly ever walk in the evening, I much prefer to walk in the morning but the water heater problem took up my morning. As I walked down my usual trail and reached my turn around point, I started back down the other way. It was then that I noticed  a woman and her child riding their bikes towards me on the trail. Nothing much seemed to be amiss  except that the little girl who looked to be about seven years old, was riding a bit wobbly on her bike. Just when we closed the distance between us, the young girl fell over on her bike right in front of me.  Then her mother who was following close behind her ran over her little girl’s back with her front wheel and then also fell over. The mother ended up with her bike resting in a tangled mess right on top of her child who was face down on the ground.  I immediately ran over to them and grabbed both wheels on the mother’s bike and lifted it off the child.   After she was freed from being pinned under her mother's bike the little girl got to her feet. Her mother also got up,  hugged her daughter  and said in disbelief, “I ran over you!”  Then she looked right at me and said, “You were right on time!” I couldn't help but smile and said, “I know, right? Which was all that I could think of to say at that moment because in wonder, I realized that no one else would have been in just the right place and at just the right time to help them!" Had I not changed my walking routine to go in the evening instead of that morning, I would not have been there. A few  long moments later a jogger ran past us but he would have been too late to be of much help. It’s not that I think that this mother and child couldn't have gotten up without my help; but I am certain that it would have been much more difficult. Without help, I believe that it would have been a much more traumatizing experience to them both, I just know it.

Now it's Thursday September 26, 2019 and although progress has been made on our hot water heater project it’s still not fixed. No big deal, although we had to shut off all the water in the house.  Fortunately, we have some bottled water to drink and a couple of buckets of water that I filed up for flushing toilets.  Tonight, though we’re going over to my brother’s house to take showers and we will let tomorrow take care of itself. Now going back to Tuesday, when I started this narrative what was my pity pot all about? Nothing really, I can't even remember why I was feeling down. I am prone to occasional bouts of self-pity. I've known about this tendency for self pity for years and I also know how to combat against it. I simply must do a quick prayer and harness spiritual power to change how I feel. However, sometimes I forget to use this power, you know what I mean?

This brings me now to the title to this piece, The Guardian.  You see, for the past ten years or so, I’ve been inwardly referring to myself as a "Guardian." I'm not a part of the Guardian Angels organization that I admire; that sport jaunty red berets on their heads, it's just me. I started calling myself a Guardian in jest because I've had to intervene to help people facing physical danger on several occasions. For example, I once helped a man who fell over backwards in his chair at a restaurant and needed help getting up. Another time, I pulled a teenaged girl out of an overturned car that had crashed right in front of me while I was walking on a trail.  On another occasion I pulled two women out of their car that was stuck on a train track, just moments before a train smashed into it. The train plowed into their car and completely obliterated it but the two women were safe. Also, I once got a little girl down off of a cruise ship railing while at sea.  I don't know what I would've done had she fallen overboard into the sea -but I think I know. Then there's this current incident with the young girl and her mom falling off of their bikes.  

It is my conviction that I have a duty to intervene when something bad happens right in my path. I believe that when I am out and about  I am on my watch, and on my watch I am going to do something to help anyone that needs help. I'll of course also call the police or the fire department depending upon the circumstances. You probably think that maybe I should wear a red beret hat right? I do like hats. Maybe a t-shirt too with a G on it. Helping others also has it's rewards. It make me feel good about others and about myself too.  Also it gives me a feeling of gratitude to God who allowed me to help some others. This Guardian thing I've done is partly the reason why I work out as much as I do for four or five times a week split between walking and going to the gym. I believe that I should stay in good shape in case I have to spring into action should I be called upon.

There is another aspect to all of this. On occasion I'll encounter someone in public that seems wary of me because I'm black. I've prayed not to mind their caution and yes their fear. When I sense someone's unease, I'll try to telegraph a positive vibe towards them that communicates  something like the vibe in the Doobie Brothers Takin' It To The Streets song, (click on the link). Their song with the lyrics that say; “You don't know me, but I'm your Brother."   

As for the leaking hot water heater at home, a friend who is a plumber replaced it for me on Friday with a brand new one. All is well again with our hot water heater.

Who's Father

Who’s Father?

Our Father! The God we pray to has the name and the heart of a father and we find rest in his love. If you believe that God is our Father then understand that he is also the Father of all men. The Lord’s Prayer does not teach us to pray to My Father, it teaches us to pray to Our Father, Matthew 6:9. The next time you encounter someone racially, socially, culturally or economically different, ask yourself this question; who’s their Father? The answer should be Our Father. It is through this revelation that we can be set free from feeling fear, envy, pride or even hatred towards different people. It's because of Him, the Lord Jesus that we can feel a sense of brotherhood with all men.

S.U.V.

By Alex Hammond - 2003

My brand new SUV. When most people think about SUV's they probably imagine a big shiny new 

Expedition or 4Runner. But when I think of SUV, I think of my not so shiny sport utility van. That is my father's silly attempt at a positive connotation for the minivan. I later grew to loath that term. That's right, I drove a minivan as my first car my junior year of high school. This is a story of the emotional damage of my first car and how I managed to overcome it and actually become a better person. My junior year is the kind of year that would drive any kid into developing a great relationship with their counselor and I don't mean schedule changes.

Imagine a suburban school where the student parking lot looks more like Bill Gates's private collection compared to the teacher parking lot. These kids drive cars that can make any working adult jealous and to tell you the truth, I haven't seen too many teachers hanging around the student parking lot. Now imagine a 1993 green Dodge Caravan Sport. To be honest I really would like to know what “sport” they had in mind when Dodge named that car because it doesn't look sporty to me and I don't play badminton. It had a stylish crack in the window complementing the futuristic box approach that was only a mere shell to the luxuries within. The words“ no a/c” is worth thousands of degrees I mean, words. This particular van was also complemented with the sweet sound of squeaky brakes that could be heard for a two-mile radius. Please try not to drool on my essay I worked hard on it.

But I have to say it; this car is a masterpiece of degradation. It is a true spawn of evil, cursing each occupier with relentless shame and headaches. To shed some light on the situation, it originally came with tinted windows. Tinted windows would have been a blessing, but remember this car is a curse. The tint was peeling and eventually stripped prior to my ownership. Oh yeah, you’re going to love this one; it had an alarm! I can swear that I could take this “SUV” or opportunity cost, as some junkyards would call it, to the most criminally infested area in the world, and I could just leave it there overnight. On top of that, I could leave the keys in the ignition with all the doors wide open with the title taped onto the window next to a note that says “please steal me” and that curse would still be there in the morning, waiting to infect me or it's next victim with its' venomous reputation killing disease. 

Which brings me to my most embarrassing moment. Of course, the alarm has to fail at the worst time possible, keeping in the spirit of the curse. Now I have to open the car in the middle of the school parking lot and manually disarm the alarm, which goes off as soon as I open the door. Which is exactly what I least wanted, to attract attention to myself. So of course, everyone looks and sees me trying to turn off my alarm as I'm ducking trying not to be seen breaking into my own car. Much worse, that car out of all the cars in the parking lot, I had to be breaking into that atrocity. At this point the kid who rides his sisters’ bike to school has more dignity than I do. Oh yeah, and you know how the common myth of high school is that riding the bus is the most undesirable way of getting to school. Oh, how I envied those lucky kids on the bus at that moment.

Driving that monstrosity to school can only compare to one of those low points in one's life where there is nowhere to go but up. Which leads me to part of the story where I succeed and overcome this evil force clinging to my back, holding me down and cramping my style. The only way out is to get rid of it and that I did. I can recall many a time where I left the doors unlocked praying for some angel of peace and resolution (car thief) to steal my car, but no such luck. But during the summer after my junior year I took the initiative and sold my car for $660 more than what I had originally calculated its' total worth. This came out to be a total of $-10 dollars, thus ending the evil curse and relieving the young prince of the dreaded humiliation off of his shoulders. But only getting that eye sore out of my sight is not the way to success. Coming to terms and really being grateful for what I have is the real achievement. Being in that humble position is something that will always constantly remind me to be grateful and not to worry so much about image, which is sort of all you have in high school as sad as it sounds. That is how I overcame my junior year of high school. I learned some important lifelong character lessons; thus, improving my overall quality of life and taking one more significant stride towards self-actualization.

"Everything that happens, happens for a reason” someone once said. Through all the embarrassment and all the indignity the whole experience was worthwhile. One could even go, as far as to say, it was a blessing in disguise. Whatever you call it, it must have something to do with heredity, because my fathers' first car was a station wagon. Now as fate would have it; I am only continuing the family tradition. So someday I can only hope to tell my son when he gets his first car, about the important lesson I learned while driving my very first car, an SUV.

Once a Marine; Always a Marine

Robert Russell Hammond, my “Uncle Bobby” was the son of  a U.S. Army Calvary “Buffalo Soldier.” Uncle Bobby entered the U.S. Marine Corps as one of nearly 20,0000 African-Americans who broke the color barrier during World War II. His boot camp was at MonfortPoint Camp, Jacksonville, North Carolina.  By May 1943 Bobby found himself in action in the Pacific until the war’s end when he returned to civilian life.  However, in 1948 Bobby was called back to active duty for the United Nations peacekeeping action known as the Korean War.  

After Korea he continued his military career  by engaging in three combat tours in Vietnam.  Bobby retired from active duty in August of 1975 as a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps. In June 2012, Master Gunnery Sergeant/Sergeant Major Robert R. Hammond received the Congressional Gold Medal.  Uncle Bobby passed away on May 26, 2016 and was buried with full military honors (including a 21 gun salute) at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery in Cheltenham, Maryland. 

Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful. The U.S. Marine Corps’ motto sums up the life of Robert Russell Hammond, my “Uncle Bobby” and all Marines who make the commitment on  a daily basis to protect our country by land, sea and air.

Once a Marine, Always a Marine. Uncle Bobby in Vietnam 2^nd from left

Up in the mountains

We use to meet from time to time up in the mountains. Let us return up high to where the air is so clear that we can send a clear transmission. Vader would agree (click).  

Lex Talionis

The Code of Hamurabi the kings law from around 1754 BC predates the Hebrew Bible with it's Lex Talionis "An eye for an eye," doctrine. My interpretation of this principle of law is to insist on adequate monetary compensation for the victims of tort cases that I may represent in my work. 

Laugh and cry

Last night I dreamed I was on  a high tower looking down on people going about their lives below me. Then someone who appeared to be a man climbed up and joined me and asked me, "why are you here?"  I said to him,  "I want to see as many people as possible live out their lives."  "When you go back down," he said, "what will you do for them?" Right then I awoke from my dream and lay awake thinking that I should write down my  thoughts, but I had no writing materials. Instead I grabbed my phone and sent myself an e-mail with some of my thoughts and recollections from my dream. The next morning as I read my e-mail I realized that what I wrote was more like a prayer. A prayer that went something like; "Help me Lord to treat every person I encounter as someone to laugh with or to cry with." "Let me express to each person I find in my path, that they’re funny and that I enjoy laughing with them. But if they are going through something sad, let me walk with them for part of their journey and pray with them to be alright."  

I know that it sounds overly simple and very impractical because some of the people that we meet are either going to be hostile towards us or afraid of us, if not both. Yet, something tells me that this won't be too much of a problem. That's because most of the people we meet on a day to day basis are people just like us who are living out their lives. They are the people I saw from high up on that tower I dreamed of.

Let my record show

Let my record show, that ever since I made Jesus Lord my life has changed.

I was sick now I’m well

I was blind now I see

I was deaf now I hear

I was lame now I run
I was a slave now I'm free

I was dead now I’m alive

I’m not so proud anymore

I still have selfish wants, but now I let go and let God. 

I’m still a sinner, but now I have His power to throw off sin more quickly.  
I had a guilty conscience but now my conscious is clear.

What I received one day was grace and absolution along with healing and this was nothing short of a miracle. 
There is nothing special about me. I did not earn or deserve this grace but the beautiful thing is is that you can have this miracle too by stepping towards God. He will meet you more than halfway there. 

More:

Read Matthew 11:1-6 and enjoy Anointed I Adore You an uplifting music video.

The Great Migration

Europeans migrated to North America (The New World) 400 years ago in great numbers, they often came violently and were unstoppable.  Now the descendants of native Americans come in ever increasing numbers from Mexico and from Central and South America and no wall, no political rhetoric or anyone’s going to stop the great migration. Call it Montezuma’s REAL revenge if you will.  I believe that our pre-historic human migrations, the European migration and today’s world wide migrations of peoples are all natural occurrences in nature. Migrations have always existed just like the ocean tides have always existed because of the gravitational attractions of the sun and the moon on the oceans of the Earth. 

Maybe our efforts as a species would be better spent not fighting these migrations, but in finding new places for people to migrate to. Aside from the Earth's land mass there are also even larger areas right on the surface of our oceans and also under them that people can inhabit. But the ultimate dream would be to travel outwards to new worlds among the stars. I sure hope that we won't find a wall blocking us from where we need to go. But if we do encounter one I'm sure that we’ll find a way past it; it’s in our human nature to overcome obstacles.