Journal Entry -- October 20, 2006

This whole week has been a miserable blur, for which my daughter rightly dubbed me “sunshine” because of my less then charming demeanor. There was a reason. Over the course of eight days wherein I traveled in the tight confines of a crowded passenger jet to and from California, spoke and shook many hands at a well attended conference, and then attended a crowded, outdoor festival soon after returning, I managed to protract a nasty bout of the flu. You know the type I am talking about . . . never ending waves of body chills and aches -- a pounding, dizzying headache -- a nasty, thick cough -- burning eyes -- debilitating lethargy -- all coupled with an intense mental fog and the distinct feeling that a Mack truck is parked on your back. By God’s grace I think I might have finally made it over the hump, and in this case a steep hill, though rebounds are noted with this type of influenza. Even now, I sense what little strength and mental clarity I awoke with this morning is rapidly waning into an early bedtime, which, no doubt, is the right thing to do, though I do not relish it, as I am a get-up-and-go type of guy. My problem is that I often go until the candles at both ends are small stubs. With all of the hats I wear, it’s hard to avoid. I suspect that this flu was God’s sovereign way to get me to stop and sleep, which I have considerably . . . thank the Lord. So if this post is raddled with misspeelings and grammatical hairs, you will understood why.

One thing that has really helped are the daily body rubs my wife graciously gives me using a concoction of essential oils she developed over the years. It is comprised of 50% olive oil, 25% eucalyptus oil, 25% lavender oil, mixed with several drops of oregano oil. Keeping the blend at a minimum of 50% olive oil helps prevent any irritations occurring from the other oils, which are quite potent. The Scriptures speak of healing balms (Jer. 46:11), ointments (Isa. 1:6), and oils (Mark 6:13, Luke 10:34) and I am quite sure the oil the Good Samaritan used was not Wal-mart’s generic brand of processed Canola oil. Medicinal oils were used in the time of Christ, an art form that was maintained, though in diminishing circles, until about 200 years ago when the industrial revolution first began to take the world. I believe that the Lord in His merciful foreknowledge developed within His creation various plants vital for mankind’s health and healing, provided he also fear God and keep His commandments, which if he doesn’t no magic diet, pill, or technology will save him, for it is God Who ultimately heals, and not autonomous man. “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you” (Exo. 15:26).

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When I wobbled out into the backyard this morning to feed the dogs, as I was in need of some warm fresh air, I discovered the remaining 2 foot tip of a large tree branch impaled in the ground . . . right in the path to the dogs.



The branch measured over 15 feet and was fairly heavy, enough that it sufficiently drove in the tip that when the branch snapped, the tip remained like a vertical sentinel, a reminder that falling tree limbs can be fatal, which is why they are grimly named “widow makers” by loggers. It had fallen quite a distance from the top of one of our very large soft maple trees. I do not believe this was a mere coincidence, the chaotic result of a chance wind, but a Heaven sent reminder from the Lord that He is our protection and wisdom. As Missouri Woods gears up for winter logging, which is soon to happen, we have been looking at safety procedures and equipment quite closely. Getting hit by falling debris is a big cause of logging accidents, something we intend by God’s grace to avoid. One has to slow down and make every step of tree felling an intentionally safe one, as much as possible, with the Lord’s blessing and guidance. That said, He is ever merciful with our human weaknesses, shortcomings, and blindness.

There are a number of items we are acquiring to meet these concerns – safety helmets with ear protection and face shields, kevlar gloves, chain saw chaps and vests, and steeled toed logging boots, to name a few, which are a definite must when a group of green horns start working around heavy mules, big logs, and powerful chain saws. The boots are where I run into a real problem, however, one caused by our wonderful global economy and the fact that I wear a size 14 4E. Now the size 14 is not the problem, but the 4E width is, which translates within the shoe industry as ridiculously wide and, therefore, not “profitable.”

I realize my footprints could easily be mistaken for those of Bigfoot, but a 14 4E boot was something I could find fairly easy thirty years ago. Redwing made them in several varieties and styles, but not today. They have expanded into the brighter and bigger horizons of the global market where the average tootsy is apparently much smaller. An off the shelf product made in my size has all but disappeared, save in a few pricey dress, sport, and casual work shoes. There is a pragmatic reason for this. For the global economy to be successful the “consumer” must be continually analyzed and necessarily revised and reduced to a profit making size to insure guaranteed sales. To prevent the problem of unsold products, “oddball” shoe sizes like mine are nixed as unprofitable. It’s not quite as bad for shirts and pants, which are made in tall and big man sizes, but socks are still a nightmare. Though the package clearly states “mens extra large,” the socks within fit nothing but men with slender, Cinderella feet and toothpick legs. I have rather large calves, so finding a sock that will go over them without working as a successful tourniquet is very hard.

I found a rare deal on Ebay four years ago for a truly “large” sock – a thick, American made Merino wool/cotton blend in a true extra large, over-the-calf size for $8 a pair, “new in the package.” Without hesitation I purchased 12 pair and have been wearing them year round since then with great comfort and pleasure. They are the cat’s meow for sustained foot comfort. Now if I could only find the right size kilt, one made for a true Scotsman and not the wee ones sized for global profits.

Maybe I was spoiled thirty years ago when the economy was geared more towards Americans (imagine that!), who tend to be larger, but I am now required as an obedient global consumer to submit to the shrinking confines of a multicultural melting pot of gender blending products and sizes. With most everything, global profits take the front seat while cultural accommodation takes the back, except in cases where exploiting the “cultural ticket” means big money. The other day I borrowed a recently manufactured minivan, foreign made but supposedly for “Americans,” that was so cramped that even with the seat all the way back my legs were mashed against the dash while driving it, which is nearly identical to the cattle car seating provided by the airline industries of today’s global friendly skies. It has become a challenge to keep my peace on an expensive flight, especially a long one, when I am offered crackers and pop while painfully crammed into a profit sized seat with the safety belt “securely fastened” to the airline's liking. This, of course, is after I am thoroughly searched and frisked as a potential terrorist, because I wear suspenders that beep when I pass through the metal detectors before boarding the plane. I simply refuse to take them off, as they recommend, since they are an integral part of my clothing -- thank you! -- without which I would spend a great deal of time pulling my pants up.

Yet, with so many people subsidized these days for their “challenges” such as the economically challenged, gender challenged, mentally challenged, etc., perhaps a class action lawsuit could be started for the “foot” challenged people of the world. I can read the banners of the thousands of limping protestors marching on Washington DC, “Workers with strange size feet, unite!” Being forced by the newly enacted Bigfoot Antidiscrimination Act, stores everywhere in complying with its very costly regulations would be forced to provide every size shoe and sock under the sun, which translates into higher prices for everyone, which is only their reasonable duty as consumer patriots of the world corporate order. NAH!, the manufacturing world would just produce more junk and at much higher prices, besides creating a whole plethora of new bureaucratic agencies that would take more of our taxes to enforce "the rights of this newly designated minority."

I thank God, however, that I managed to find a boot company in Spokane that produces top of the line, custom logging boots . . . at $350 to $450 a pair, which seems reasonable to me given their high quality materials and workmanship, not to mention that they like all small businesses are beleaguered by the “unseen” inflation factor of our rapidly expanding dollar and growing regulatory demands. We all know from experience that in the Wal-mart economy of today, one gets what one pays for, which at “everyday low prices” is nearly always dispo-junk from China that falls apart, nearly as soon as one uses it. No, I have learned that true bargains come from high, lasting quality and skilled workmanship, something rare in the all-you-can-eat buffet of the global economy. I long for the local economy of the local community, where the tailor and cobbler are not antiquated storybook characters, but valuable producers in a biblically agrarian culture blessed of God. --- The Missouri Rev