First of all I am not “The Heath” in today’s Huffington Post and literary people will know the origin of the name together with the family crest and not be confused. But apart from the English heath and references to Shakespeare, and I must say very far apart, listening to some people talk about my old hometown here in Kern County you might be led to believe they think it would have been a nice touch in “The Shadow” when Lamont Cranston asks “Am I in hell?” had the Tulku answered, “No; you’re in Bakersfield.”

It is really sad to see Btown vying with L. A. to become like that cesspool of a third world city, but I have fond memories going back to the 30s and 40s of what Bakersfield used to be, which is why it is the focal point of my novel “Donnie and Jean,” and all the legitimate criticism of the town of that era justified as it is will not detract from the good things I recall and wrote about as it was back then.

But I grant it was the good people I knew and equate with Bakersfield back then that casts an oft time azure tint to my memories, especially those of the churches like that of my maternal grandparents and great-grandmother. Grandad being a preacher most of my childhood associations were related to this social function and the various churches throughout Bakersfield. And perhaps this is the reason I can appreciate really fine pulpit oratory, having been raised to it.

Michelle Malkin whom I highly regard mirrored my own reaction to Obama’s excruciatingly embarrassing attempt to disown Wright as a performance of someone having an “out-of-body experience.” And to think there have been those in the MSM calling Obama a “gifted orator.” He is as I correctly pointed out from the beginning at best sophomoric and hardly anything approaching a gifted orator. By now, anyone calling him a gifted orator ought to be looking for somewhere to hide. But can you imagine how well Obama might be faring if he had Jeremiah Wright’s genuine gift of oratory and showmanship?

Alas, it isn’t often gifted pulpit orators like Wright make it as big time politicians. In many cases such as his there is a restraining influence they seem to confuse with the spirit of God, and in this confusion they remain in their pulpits rather than “soiling” themselves in politics. After all, despite the confusion few are so confused they do not recognize politicians as being among the least admired, at the most charitable, of the human species.

But no matter one’s opinion of Wright there is no discounting his genuine gift of oration, though many of us can be excused for wishing it were put to better use. And too, there is this matter of conscience that in many cases proves to be a restraining influence even in people like Jeremiah Wright, something largely lacking in politicians. However, few of us would want to be judged by the conscience of another since in too many cases conscience seems often a victim of both common sense and vagaries of the human condition. Take Tony Blair for example:

Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer. April 30, 2008: LONDON — A cathedral is an odd place for a coming-out party. But not, as it turns out, if you're a former prime minister of Britain and you're preparing to tell the world that God was one of your senior advisors during your 10 years in power. Speaking one recent evening under the lofty Byzantine vaults of Westminster Cathedral, Tony Blair ended his self-imposed silence on the subject, declaring that his faith has formed the essential backdrop to much of his political life…

Blair goes on to say that his “coming out” as a man of faith is a matter of conscience. However, given his performance while in office most of us would question how reliable his conscience has been in matters like the Iraq war, etc. For my part, I would not want to be subject to his judgment in matters of conscience. That he has a conscience I do not doubt, but I do not trust his conscience.

When it comes to matters of faith the Apostle Paul points out in I Corinthians 10:29: “Why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?” Ah, dear brothers and sisters, Paul puts his finger on the problem with conscience. It can be a most unreliable source when dictating conduct whether that of the individual or that of others. Some of the most barbaric and savage crimes against humankind have been committed as a matter of “conscience,” many times a religious conscience. For this reason a legal system of laws is needed by all civilized nations so “crimes of conscience” are not excused, crimes such as those perpetrated by monsters attempting to excuse their crimes in the names of their peculiar deities and in the guise of “freedom of religion.”

Over the decades of my life, my religious beliefs have followed a very circuitous route rather than anything approaching a “systematic theology.” But if there has been any one thing above others that has proven to be systematic it has been the gospel songs I learned as a child. Among my most precious possessions is the Latter Rain Revival hymnbook my grandparents used in our Little Oklahoma church in which is one old favorite of mine still sung in some churches today: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” As I read those lines “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms… safe and secure from all alarms” I’m transported to that time of childhood when these words were such a secure comfort to my soul. And even today what comfort there is to be found in the song Haven of Rest: “My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea, So burdened with sin and distressed, Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, Make Me your choice; And I entered the Haven of Rest…”

Most people know the mood altering power of music whether for good or ill. In my opinion, the old gospel songs I learned as a child are unsurpassed and did more to form the character of children than anything they have today. Those old gospel songs were not so much theological as they were lilting, uplifting and comforting. I find myself asking what would D. L. Moody have been without Ira Sanky and his “Kist o’ whistles,” or Billy Graham without George Beverly Shea?

I think it is unfortunate so many church leaders seem to believe they “glorify” God in song in great cathedrals and seem to have forgotten the simplicity of the Gospel itself so well exemplified by the songs in the Latter Rain Revival hymnbook. When I think back to that time of the simple faith of the folks in Little Oklahoma and so many others in Bakersfield in those far off days it was the music that meant so much to us, and often more than the sermons expressed that simple faith.

As I said I appreciate fine pulpit oratory. However, while I may have forgotten even the best of sermons I heard as a boy and even as an adult I still recall the songs. The message to me brothers and sisters is that while people are joined in song they are not being divided by sermons. At least it seems that is what I was learning in our little church from the songs we used to sing way back then.

As a preacher I would try to reassure folks I had read the last chapter in the Bible and everything turns out well in the end. But there is this caveat that things are going to go to hell in a basket before this happens. It is during this interim that I would sometimes leave off preachin’ and go to meddlin’. The Weedpatch Gazette is just an extension of such “meddlin’."

Maybe America isn’t the “Babylon” of the End Times in Revelation chapters 17 and 18 as per my opinion, but it sure seems our leaders are intent on our nation being so and are bent on national suicide aided by the MSM, the universities, TV and Hollywood. Whether or not, it just seems the Devil is calling the shots for now rather than any of the “good guys.” But then again, where are the good guys? Well, I expect Satan to get his comeuppance as per Scripture however things are not going to get any easier till then.

It seems one of those unrelenting truisms of life that small-minded persons given a little authority will generally abuse that authority. The worst of these too often become politicians, university professors, school administrators, and preachers. There is a very good reason Scripture declares not many mighty or noble, not many “successful” by the standards of this world are called in the service of the Lord, but the truly humble seem in short supply when it comes to some of the “servants of the Lord.”

Seems to me the last thing God needs is more bad press by those like Jeremiah Wright, et al. wallowing in wealth while professing to represent the Almighty. At the height of his multi-million dollar empire and popularity when Jimmy Swaggart preached his sermon “Fields White Unto Harvest” years ago and claimed God had told him he was the only preacher the Lord could depend on to save the world I knew Jimmy was doomed! I was dumbfounded! Didn’t Jimmy realize he had just declared war on every other TV evangelist at that very moment by such a stark statement attacking their relationship with God!

I wondered at the time what could have possessed Jimmy to make such an outrageous statement? But not only was it never repeated, I concluded this was one of those moments of hysteria where Jimmy had gotten carried away “in the spirit,” but it was only a short time after this Jimmy “fell from grace” and I knew this was no coincidence, that there would be people “gunning” for him as a result of his unbelievably outrageous and conceited presumptuousness hysterical or not. Not a few like Jimmy have been brought low through believing their own press, becoming puffed up over worldly success despite implicit warnings in the Scriptures about the deceitfulness of riches.

Rex Humbard’s wife had doomed their “ministry” by the People Magazine interview in which she boasted of her collection of diamonds, declaring “God had nothing against her having diamonds.” The fall from grace of the Bakker’s because of an opulent lifestyle, his sexual escapades and their air-conditioned dog house and a little getaway “shack” in Palm Springs, etc. was widely publicized. God was going to kill Oral Roberts if people didn’t give millions to save him, and for the most part it seemed if one were to judge by their lifestyles the Lord was disposed to shower wealth on TV evangelists if you were to believe them to be the true prophets of God.

You may wonder why I was watching Jimmy Swaggart those years ago when he made that startling pronouncement that in my opinion sealed his fate. Truth is I enjoyed Jimmy’s enthusiastic preaching as “theater,” and most of all I enjoyed the music. It is my opinion he should have left off preaching and stuck to his real gift of music, which is the reason I continue to listen to my LPs of his music I still have; and only goes to show you can appreciate music despite the character of the artist whether Mozart or Jimmy Swaggart.

I freely admit I thoroughly enjoy the old-time gospel music characteristic of our small church in Little Oklahoma, I enjoy the foot-tapping, hand-clapping kind of music like When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, Come and Dine, Beulah Land, I liked grandad’s preaching punctuated with “Amen” and “Hallelujah” from those in the congregation, I enjoyed the fellowship of good people, the friends and neighbors of our community. One of the songs we used to sing was titled If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again. I wonder if that song is sung anywhere now?

Somehow I seemed to have escaped those parts of college and university education and sophistication that are designed to remove the “rough bark” of humble origins from so many. But then I have met many of these “sophisticates” that seemed to spend a lot of their energy denying the things they believed would betray their not being of the “better classes.” Some of these folks struck me as being like the wealthy sister of Mammy Yokum who spent so much or her energy trying to distance herself from the denizens of Dogpatch.

One thing about it though, as I watch and listen to politicians and many preachers on TV II Corinthians 11:13-15 comes readily to mind: For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Well, no need t’ go meddlin’ further; I think y’ all get the message. Besides, while Satan may be successful in his deception of transforming himself into an angel of light to those he deceives who is going to mistake this present bunch parading across TV screens for ministers of righteousness?

As with all things of the supernatural such as ghosts and spirits, Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce, whatever one’s thoughts about Bible prophecies there is a great deal of interest in such things, and it is of personal interest to me that Glenn Beck would be giving so much air time to this subject and so many people are tuning in. His latest guest Joel Rosenberg has a good grasp of the “End Times” doctrine to which most evangelical Christians subscribe, and reminds me of my spiritual mentor Dr. Charles Lee Feinberg who became the Dean of Talbot Theological Seminary where I first met him. Dr. Feinberg published many books of exposition and commentary about the Old Testament prophets, and gave me much personal guidance in my own Biblical studies.

With my background in such studies I find myself in my own element with those like Rosenberg, and understand his position very well. Though there are several forms of “Dispensational” theology, many interpretations of Eschatology, exegesis and hermeneutical viewpoints there is also much agreement concerning what Jesus referred to as the “end of the age” and the apocalyptic visions of Revelation. Rosenberg among others point to some of the “signs of the times” such as Israel once more becoming a nation in order for the end time prophecies to be fulfilled. There are other things like satellite communications enabling the whole world to view the things taking place during the end time.

Some of us believe it is no coincidence that so much TV programming has been given over to doomsday scenarios, many of which fit right in with Biblical prophecies concerning the end of the age, which according to the Bible is not the end of the world but results in a new beginning with a new heaven and earth where there will be no evil. It is my hope this will be the case, since I don’t find much basis for such hope in the works of men and the historical record together with current events doesn’t provide much room for optimism about the future.

Like Henry Thoreau I have always wanted wide latitude for my life, and “hobbles and fences” have never been to my liking either by lifestyle or in my thinking. It is for this reason I refuse to be confined by any doctrines of men whether of theology or science; but neither am I close minded to facts of either discipline. Neither am I close minded to the possibilities that may be in the domain of the supernatural of whatever nature, and I remain of the opinion there are things inexplicable to science that may well remain in the realm of the supernatural.

Now here is something that to my mind, though it be of science has all the signs of the supernatural: Humans Almost Became Extinct 70,000 Years Ago: Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday. The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age. "This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world," he added. "Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA." Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics…

If in fact the human population had been so close to the brink of extinction, one can only guess what saved our species from utter extinction? If we accept such a premise we must also accept, discounting things like extraterrestrial influence, that everything leading to our present condition came from this miniscule number of human beings, and this would include all the myths and legends which this tiny number of humans passed on to future generations, each expanding and elaborating on these to fit their circumstances. At that, there are only educated guesses as to what eventually led to the beginnings of civilization as we know it. The wonder of it all, as the hymn so well expresses, is truly mind-boggling!

There is another wonder, and one which many like Dr. Feinberg pointed out, the fact of Israel becoming a nation. Not only was this thought to be impossible, neither would anyone suppose such a tiny nation could be so prominent in world affairs. Now it seems this tiny nation as per Biblical prophecies concerning the end times is pivotal to the fulfillment of such prophecies. If for no other reason I am willing to credit the truth of the Bible in this, and continue to be grateful I know it so well.

The many forms of religion have served in large measure to deceive and delude; but it is difficult to read the Bible in its entirety without having a sense of the truth of it in many instances, one such truth being that of John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” The righteous enter into life through much tribulation.

As I was discussing this the other day with my good friend Byron, the Episcopal Priest, the point of Jesus concerning the real prophets of God not living luxuriously is one that still separates the wolves from the flock notwithstanding how so many seem to flaunt wealth as a measure of God’s approval. One can only accept those following such “false shepherds” are willingly deceived. And it was this point I emphasized to Byron, that Jesus himself had pointed out very few would be saved.

Whatever one’s thoughts about the subject, I find it of continuing interest. And so long as I remain interested in such things my mind stays active and alert to others and present events, and like most people I have my own thoughts about such things like Biblical prophecies.

Over 150 years ago Emerson wrote: “The appearance strikes the eye everywhere of an aimless society, of aimless nations. Were the ends of nature so great and cogent, as to exact this immense sacrifice of men?”

These words of Emerson are nearly prophetic of the times in which we live. But no, we are not to blame nature for the actions of men intent on making wars for the sake of power and wealth for example, but as Emerson emphasized the delusion of religion is promising a reward for being righteous in the “sweet by and by” all the while refusing to confront evil and make every attempt to overcome it in the present world. However, as the Scripture has it if the righteous scarcely be saved what is to be the end of the unrighteous? In my opinion, we may soon find out. And in my opinion, Glenn Beck believes this as well. The question is why CNN is cooperating with him? In the words of John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come.” Perhaps some at CNN are listening.

In James Jones’ Pulitzer winning book “WWII” he includes a cartoon of an emaciated Japanese soldier obviously starving to death offering to surrender to some Marines with the caveat “My man are appoint me to offer surrendering—only under one condition—that we are not required to eat admirable American delicacy named spam.”

When it comes to sausage “Don’t ask; enjoy” has always been good advice. Of course, the same thing can be said for many food items and the jokes concerning Spam were legion among troops during WWII. But hunger will drive people to many extremes where even Spam may be considered a delicacy despite the point made in the cartoon, or even to the extremes of “No Blade of Grass” or “Soylent Green.”

Many are the accounts of cannibalism from the most ancient of times, and many such cases were reported in Russia and elsewhere during WWII. Even the Old Testament has a story of people eating their children, and some of the more grim fairytales of witches cooking children come from a background of famine and cannibalism. I have no doubt such things are happening right now, though not making it to the MSM. Such stories would not reflect well on tyrants and dictators in third world nations that are profiting by the food given them from countries like America while their people starve.

There is much to commend a vegetarian diet, and much like Thoreau to whom the eating of animal flesh became more unpleasant to imagination than any dietary concerns I took to a largely vegetarianism a few years ago, though not fanatically so. But with the apocalyptic scenarios playing out on TV such a diet may become more “convenient” to people because of the rising cost of meat. And as the costs escalate for so many things Americans have come to take for granted perhaps it would be of value to share a few memories of mine from that time past when we did not take so much for granted.

Along with our Victory Garden of WWII my grandparents raised rabbits and chickens, so while meat was rationed we ate very well though things like sugar, lard, cooking oil, dairy products, clothes, leather and metal products and many other items required ration stamps. And of course that “A” stamp for gasoline and the unavailability of new tires and spare parts certainly limited travel for many. “Is this Trip Necessary?” signs appeared everywhere in those days.

During WWII there were a great number of activities for those of us on the Home Front by which contributions were made to the war effort giving us the sense of participation, doing things useful in fighting the war. Some of these activities enabled even children to make their contributions, things like peeling foil from gum and cigarette pack wrappers, rolling it in a ball and turning it in to a scrap metal collection center. I would help grandad flatten tin cans with hammer and anvil for the same purpose. Many children were also turning in metal toys for the war effort, most of which would command a very high price today as “collectibles.”

 Few people today would think about wire clothes hangers being hard to come by, but even such a mundane though utilitarian item was scarce at the time, so, grandad made them. Being a jack of all trades, building our house, the church and grocery store in Little Oklahoma (Southeast Bakersfield) there were construction materials around the place before the war, and having a roll of wire on hand grandad fashioned a jig of a board and nails. Then cutting the wire to the proper length he would twist it around the jig and voila; a wire clothes hanger. Grandad was always doing things like this that made him my idol; grandad could do things, really fascinating and useful things, and he took the time to teach me to do things as well.

In so very many ways those of us living the events of WWII were made to feel useful in the war effort; we were making a contribution to defeat the Axis Powers. Rationing was hard on many, but more were making jokes about it than complaining. After all, our boys overseas were fighting and dying; what were the hardships on the home front compared to that, especially when those small flags with gold stars in the windows of homes in the neighborhood reflected the reality of the ultimate price being paid by so many?

You could depend on the funny papers, The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s Magazine having cartoons about rationing; but very little of poking fun in such a way was of “gallows humor.” Most certainly there was no humor to be found in those fighting and dying overseas. Any such attempt at humor would have been met with an army of home front folk bearing tar and feathers.

Even Bill Mauldin was sensitive enough to know better than make light of the actual grim realities of what was happening on the front lines, though we all blessed him for the humor he was able to convey through “Willie and Joe” in the face of such grim realities. Which makes it all the more to be wondered why anyone would attempt “humor” in any fashion concerning 9/11, as some have done?

Much in the way of the preamble to Gone With The Wind, the way of life in the America of my generation of WWII is quickly passing away, perhaps never to be seen again, a time when people believed in virtue, believed crime did not pay, that honesty was the best policy. These values were taught in the homes and schools throughout that America. We trusted our leaders to have the best interests of America in view at all times in making decisions, passing legislation and making policies; it was a time when the courts had more concern for victims than for criminals.

Notwithstanding the legitimate faults and weaknesses that are to be found, my generation was a time reflecting the values of our Founding Fathers, whom we still held in the highest esteem, still reflecting the best of Western Civilization in our schools and society. If times become hard enough once more here in America I wonder how this generation will fare since the foundation of the America we knew, honored, and sacrificed for that sustained us during WWII has been destroyed and this generation is so fragmented and divided?

Today there is going to be a test here in the Kern River Valley of the warning siren to be used if (when) the Isabella Dam should break. But the warning sirens are going off all about us that the “dam” is about to fail in America. Mine was a “Can Do!” generation. This generation is simply not prepared for the dam to break, it is not equipped for “Do with, or do without” as my generation was.

As a matter of fact I would rather live in the land of Everis than Neverwas, though I appreciated the film of the latter title with its remarkable cast. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but when it begins to confuse fantasy with reality there are some obvious problems not compatible with the real world in which we live. And there is no discounting the fact of what is, is.

The Apostle Paul correctly pointed out the things of childhood eventually give way to adulthood, and while parents encourage the best things of childhood they also hope their children will mature and not think or behave childishly when they become adults. But TV and the MSM presents an America of Neverwas as opposed to Everis.

In Everis the realities of life are ever with us and not only has all the memories of the past but builds on these enabling us to live in the present, hour by hour and day by day, the things that enable people to mature in their thoughts and actions. While living in the present, healthy maturation enables us to continue living with the people and memories of the past that mean so much to what we become as adults. And while the very best memories of childhood should remain with us, helping to fashion the best we become as adults being those things of Everis we learn to live with the realities of life in the present. Reverie and nostalgia can be fine things, but the best of these never remove us from Everis; quite the contrary.

Life is not what American TV and the MSM presents, it is not what ordinary Americans live in their every day struggles. In far too many ways TV and the MSM is a land of Neverwas in which, in no way to disparage a fine film, plastic representations of “life” are paraded onscreen and in the MSM as though they were the realities, punctuated here and there with some of the madness in America that is tolerated and becomes “news,” and a generation that has been immersed in this medium that is largely a canard has never matured. And because of this deep and widespread lack of maturity in some ways I see America slipping into the madness of Neverwas, and while some forms of madness may be relatively harmless those that lead away from Everis are leading America into a mad fantasy of which there can be no happy ending.

Who of a sane mind can view the political scene on TV or in the MSM and say this is the product of healthy minds? Rather, it is the worst form of childishness, a fantasy paraded before the entire world, a world that increasingly views these scenes and becomes increasingly concerned that America is in fact a childishly lunatic nation led of childish lunatics, and even worse dangerous, childish lunatics! Believing I am of a sane mind and in full possession of my faculties, I watch what is happening and have to wonder what kind of mental illness may be the driving force in America today that no leader arises to turn our nation away from the increasingly dangerous and consuming madness of it all? But I see none that give me any confidence they are themselves possessed of sane and healthy mind.

I often give myself over to whimsy; I am fascinated by ancient Egypt and things both supernatural and scientific but I retain a firm grip on reality and the present in which I live; and doing so I do not become lost in a world of Neverwas but live in the world of Everis. I’m among the last to find fault with the legends and myths of antiquity, with the wonderful fantasies of Hollywood like the great musicals of the past, but I have never allowed these to cloud my mind from the real world in which I live.

Life is not a game and I have no use for those that perversely “game” other people, like politicians seeking some kind of advantage whether it is to feed the conceit of an unhealthy mind or materially. I can abide a “Walter Mitty” so long as he remains in his own world without impacting mine or others adversely, I could wish I had my own “Harvey” but I don’t confuse the wish with reality. Even as I believe the spirits of loved ones and friends remain with me, they are a part of Everis rather than any apparitions of the past, and at that I do not insist any share my belief.

I’m surrounded by the mementos of the past such as pictures and letters of loved ones and friends who have gone on before me. But I don’t live in the past; I live in the present and these loved ones and friends remain with me in Everis. However, unlike Neverwas, Everis remains my hope of immortality and is itself I believe immortal since it never passes away, but like a circle without beginning or end simply Everis.

It would at least prove interesting if Ms. Clinton should be elected, Israel was attacked by Iran and she fulfilled her campaign promise to turn that rogue Muslim nation into glass. Well, just on the basis of either her or Obama being elected is enough for some to start parading with placards proclaiming “The End is Near!”

From childhood I’ve been familiar with the cartoons that show up occasionally of some fellow with a long beard wearing a robe and sandals carrying a sign with the words The End Is Near! Here lately what with the growing prospect of world famine of Biblical proportions and earthquakes in divers places like Illinois and Indiana it may be that cartoon if not the actual characters will once more be popping up with regularity. But I would like to figure out something a little different.

That’s a funny scene in “Forrest Gump” where the guy is splattered with mud and it results in the bright idea for the “Happy Face.” Granted starving to death or dying in an earthquake is nothing to joke about but I was thinking of something similar to the Happy Face for The End Is Near! But try as I might there is just no putting a happy face to the dangers and human suffering we are being confronted with on a daily basis.

Some TV evangelists preach about the “End Times” with glee, as though they were actually enjoying preaching apocalyptic sermons filled with the horrors described in Biblical texts of how the world is going to end. And in many cases it is patently obvious some of these preachers actually do take great delight in calling on the Almighty to bring down the fire of judgment against a “wicked and perverse generation.”

However, going back to Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” preached in 1741 I don’t doubt there was some satisfaction on the part of Edwards lashing out at his congregation, and the preaching of such “terror sermons” has a very long history including some of the Old Testament prophets. But for real hellfire, brimstone and damnation preaching there is material enough in the New Testament to satisfy any “latter day prophet.”

Trouble is, despite the many religious charlatans there is no way of mistaking the many texts of the Bible that fit too well into the kind of doomsday scenario of events plaguing our world today. I can easily dismiss those dressed in their fine clothing, living in kings' palaces and preaching in cathedrals but the very words of Scripture pointing to the “end of the age” Jesus and others spoke of are not so easily dismissed.

Behind every inequity, inequality, and injustice to be found in America you will find a corrupt and self-serving politician. Behind such things throughout the world you will find some equally corrupt tyrant or despot, and it is useless to expect third world nations like Mexico or those of Africa and elsewhere to operate any differently. Muslim nations will continue as they are being led of religious zealots or corrupt politicians and no amount of American troops thrown into Iraq or Afghanistan will change this.

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Well, the robber barons of the “Gilded Age” certainly didn’t take much thought for the matter as natural resources were raped heedless of any damage being done to earth, air or water. Further gilding of the lily with wasteful extravagance characterizing stages of excessive wealth and affluence only considered the weather when not cooperating with those raping our natural resources and polluting America.

So now we have an “Earth Day” and the weather has become of “concern” to many people decrying the fouling of our nest, this planet that has suffered so much at the hands of those that continue to profit from the rape of our Earth. But whether of solar flares, naturally occurring conditions changing the climate or manmade the one thing that might help is contraception, something the more civilized and educated of the world practice but cannot dictate to third world nations that are most in need of birth control.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are among grim reminders there are some things beyond any science or technology to control. But it is within the realm of possibility to control excess population; however the means to do so would be at the very least Draconian. Survival of the fittest has not yet seen its “finest hour” despite Darwinian Theology and the many attempts at ethnic cleansing but if global famine actually does threaten entire nations, if the rationing we knew during WWII should once more occur here in America the circumstances much like the inevitability of evil by the machinations of the Devil or men will dictate the outcome.

I know the Bible very well through and through, and it is easy for me to see America as the “Babylon” of Revelation. I don’t doubt there is a conspiracy of evil, but I believe it is one born of Satan rather than the “Illuminati,” though I don’t discount such a thing as an instrument of the Devil and I believe Dan Brown to be more correct than wrong. But as I have said many times, whether a Devil or not it seems our species is bent on its own destruction.

An Earth Day though well intended seems a mockery in the face of the facts that dictate what would be needed to save our species and our planet apart from those things over which we have no control. If conditions worsen whether of globally catastrophic weather phenomena, global famine, pestilence, or nuclear terrorism national priorities throughout the world will change in an instant.

We went to bed the night of December 6, 1941 in the belief the war was far away being fought on foreign soil. But we were met the following day with news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now the war was real, brought to our very doorstep in an unforgettable moment of time and during the following years we were sacrificing to win that war against the Axis Powers. But we had an advantage at the time, a face had been put to our enemies and they were properly demonized. What face do we put to the enemies now threatening our planet? Who of us are confident any of the contenders for president are capable of even putting a face to the enemies of America? On the contrary they reflect the robber barons of the Gilded Age and are “talking about the weather,” but few of us have any confidence they will do anything about it. Well, unless Ms. Clinton is elected and Iran attacks Israel.

It’s the refrain from a song I recall, “this world is not my home, I’m just a’ passing through.” One of the things that brings this to mind is I hear more and more people even younger than I am are wishing for the past, for things that gave some assurance things were good and would get better, hope for the future rather than the chaotic dangers and aimlessness in the face of so much uncertainty today. And there are no leaders on the horizon that give us any assurance they are capable of dealing with these dangers and are anything other than aimless themselves apart from feathering their own nests and “the public be damned!” no matter what.

Think life wasn’t simpler in the 30s and 40s? Then watch some of the films of those times. Think we weren’t optimistic about life and a future here in America back in the 50s? Watch some of the films of that era. And no, not the noir films but the ones that were upbeat and positive.

My greatest advantage at my age is being able to remember back far enough and to have experienced enough of good and loving people in my life to be able to recall the good times I have enjoyed in the past, a past that included being taught good manners and respect for my elders, Bible instruction and the basic principles of doing right rather than choosing to do wrong. I had good people serving as moral mentors as a child, people that lived what they taught me as a child encouraging the nurture of a tender conscience.

Another advantage I have at my age is being able to accept those things I am powerless to change, and being able to speak my mind heedless of those that disagree. You see, I’m no longer in the business of youth attempting to persuade anyone of my point of view. I’ve reached that happy state of the aged where live and let live suits me just fine. Sure I will continue to voice my disgust with politicians and others that are so obviously selfish they will lie, cheat, and steal at every opportunity, but I no longer do so in the hope it will cause the leopard to change its spots.

The few dear friends I have permit my crotchets even as I do theirs, and we often agree to disagree about some issues. But a seemingly curious thing seems to come with our advancing years, and that is our willingness to admit of some things we used to leave in some hidden drawer of our minds but are now willing to share with one another openly. One thing those my age confront is the looming fact of our mortality, and in doing so things of the hereafter become of increasing interest to us.

Take the subject of ghosts and spirits. If God is a spirit then that is as real as it gets; and if true, while we can’t see God this means the things most real and powerful are unseen. For example, I recognize when something is either dead or alive but I can’t see what it is that makes the difference, nor does anything in science provide an answer to this.

But those that dismiss God and angels are really missing something good in my opinion. While I say I live with ghosts this lacks any possible definition since it is the spirits that may manifest themselves in some way as to be visible to our limited ability to see what is beyond our physical capacity to see, and it is these manifestations that have led to so many ghost stories. And while the spirits of loved ones and friends do not make themselves visible to me I have no doubt they remain with me; so it is that while I say I live with ghosts it is actually their spirits I live with. But as with God, that which is spirit and unseen is more real and powerful than anything we have the ability to see limited by these bodies of clay.

However, even as Timothy I was taught in the Scriptures as a child and learned it is the spirit that quickens, that gives life; that the flesh profits nothing, and faith remains the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. A very large part of living by faith rather than sight is this hope I have of my loved ones and friends being with me, that they have never really left at all but are with me in spirit which is far more real than the things I can see.

But of course, if we accept the spirits of God and loved ones being with us, if we accept unseen angels being about us we might accept the Devil and fallen angels, the unclean spirits and demons being quite real as well; and this only makes sense, given the history of humankind that seems plagued by these.

The teachings in the Bible concerning the things unseen have a lot of credibility in my opinion; especially those of Jesus. He must have had a lot of insight into such matters and I credit many of the things he taught about these, not only because of Jesus but because of the things I have experienced of a similar nature, things that I must credit to the workings of God and the Devil, of angels and demons, things otherwise inexplicable.

You know folks the more I think about it the more I’m convinced the Bible has it right about the “end of the age” Jesus and others spoke of, a time when men’s hearts will fail because of fear, a time of great evil such as the world has never known, even of earthquakes and pestilence unknown in the past, a time when the earth itself in bondage to corruption is said to groan and travail in pain waiting upon God to be delivered. That last easily equates with what is happening to our planet right now.

While I expect to “awaken” in the presence of God, of loved ones and friends I can’t help but feel sorry for those without such a hope, without any such anchor of the soul that will see them through the time of trouble they and this old world is in for.

Of course, the things that sustain me, things like continued communion with God, with loved ones and friends, the belief in angels and things unseen may only be the product of my own imagination and beliefs. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t trade them for anything this world has to offer. After all, “this world is not my home, I’m just a’ passing through.” And the “treasures” the song speaks of “laid up beyond the blue” are the loved ones and friends I hope to see once more “in that great, gettin’ up mornin’, in that great, gettin’ up day.”

“Once upon a time…” It isn’t at all unusual for a writer, meaning those compelled to write, to begin a story without knowing how it will end. The way the world is going brought this to mind, especially since the history of our species seems to be more of a Rube Goldberg approach than anything well planned, let alone anything approaching the principle of parsimony. As a professional writer I have experienced the 1,200 pages of manuscript I have written that eventually turns into a 500 page book. In some cases this is somewhat like a Rube Goldberg machine, but one in which all that proved unnecessary, did not fit the purpose or was found to be superfluous to eventually be winnowed out. But I have also experienced beginning a story that seems to take on a life of its own, and one that compels me to continue writing just to see how the story will end. And I ask myself whether God may have done the same thing?

There are many my age that recognize the destructive forces at work changing our planet for the worse, able to compare the present course of events and these forces with what happened in time past and the quality of life that once defined Norman Rockwell’s America. But most of us realize there is no turning back to that era and can only recall it with a melancholy nostalgia. Those quick to disparage that era choosing to emphasize the inequalities and inequities seem unaware of the things that made America great, a nation the envy of the world and in fact saved the world from the Axis threat. Even now the detractors of America choose to ignore the distinction between how many want into America compared with how many want out.

But I have thought about the many inequalities and inequities of our species throughout human history and speculated while acknowledging the good points the Creation Research Society and Ben Stein make the gods are given to a Rube Goldberg approach to the workings of the universe, of our planet and our species, putting together enormously over-complicated machines that could be simplified in many ways. Who decided the dinosaurs, lions, tigers, bears, sharks, venomous insects and reptiles, foxtails were a good idea? Then too, perhaps such things were decided in a “council of the gods” much in the way of Congressional committees; in which case we could easily understand the Rube Goldberg approach to the way things have happened and the direction of destruction in which we seem to be headed.

Thoreau wrote of the “machinery of government,” that we seem to need to hear the whir and clank of this machinery though most of it is far from being either efficient or even serving the basic needs of people. And in this age of electronics and computers, the whir and clank of the machinery of government is taking on an ominous sound to our ears as it takes on a life of its own defying any human intervention in the best interests of either our planet or our species. It is as though some malevolent force has invaded the machines that govern our lives and that of our planet, one against which we poor mortals are at a loss to circumvent, one against which we seem powerless to provide the necessary friction Thoreau mentioned in order to frustrate its malevolent purpose.

If we were to consider all the SciFi scenarios, all the Frankenstein experiments, all the unintended consequences of our scientific and technological accomplishments and lump them together it is a worst case portent for our planet and our species. It may turn out the best of science and technology cannot save us, but on the contrary the worst consequences of these may doom us. And if we question why we could not simply have the best of these things without their being turned against us we are left without an explanation other than perhaps the author began a story without knowing what the ending would be, but kept pressing on to see how the story would end.

Scheherazade kept the stories going in order to stave off calamity, and in the end she triumphed having educated the King and won him over. But her life depended on making the stories so interesting to the King that he continued to spare her. Our species may be a continuing story of interest to the “King,” but what if he becomes bored or angry?

Margaret Mitchell had no idea “Gone With The Wind” would be successful and Harper Lee had no idea whether anyone would want to read “To Kill A Mockingbird.” A whimsical thought has occurred to me whether the “author” of our species just might have the same reservations? But I hold on to the hope that despite any reservations on the part of the author we may yet prove a worthy effort and our story one of continuing interest and well worth reading. And after all, even Rube Goldberg machines though not designed for efficiency hold and invite much interest and eventually succeed in completing the assigned task.

Many of us enjoy ghost stories, and though I’ve never seen a ghost I believe I live with them and won’t dismiss the possibility there are such beings. After all, what we can actually see with our unaided eyes of the visible spectrum is only the tiniest fraction of what there is to be seen through various scientific instruments; and even the most sophisticated of these do not see all that is to be seen.

Recently I came across an article concerning theoretical dark matter that tickled my fancy about ghosts: “Dark matter has taunted astronomers and physicists ever since the astronomer Fritz Zwicky of the California Institute of Technology pointed out in the 1930s that clusters of galaxies appear to be missing enough visible matter to hold them together gravitationally. Speculation has centered on the possibility that the dark matter consists of hypothetical elementary particles left over from the Big Bang — so-called WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles, that are immune to most forces of nature and so can pass through us and the Earth like ghosts.”

The funny acronym causes me to wonder if this is more a result of actual humor than scientific serendipity. I love that line from “Men In Black” where Tommy Lee Jones tells the lady “The FBI does not have a sense of humor that I’m aware of.” And while that too often seems to be the opinion concerning scientists, I’ve known a few that had a very fine sense of humor; so I’m more than a little disposed to suspect this regarding “WIMPs” and comparing these with ghosts. But notice the writer says these “can pass through us and the Earth like ghosts.” Like ghosts? That presupposes accepting these as factual, intentional or not.

No, I wouldn’t hold the writer’s feet to the fire on this one. It is far more likely the writer used the phrase as a common perception of ghosts, whether one believes in them or not; still there is that cautionary word of Sam Clemens who confessed he didn’t believe in ghosts, but he was afraid of them. And, despite Casper, I suppose this is the view held by a goodly number of people.

I’m possessed of a pretty good imagination, but not one so active that I believe I’m bumping into ghosts every time I turn around. Still, when I consider what may be unknown about our universe and read about the esoteric scientific speculation concerning dark matter and dark energy it grants my imagination leave to imagine many things, among which are ghosts and spirits. Ghosts have a history as old as humankind itself, and while one must not confess their belief in such beings too openly or adamantly in polite society lest one be branded a kook nevertheless as the old saying goes, where there’s smoke there has to be fire may apply to these beings.

Of course, the “proof” of ghosts has been more along the line of something we “feel in our bones” rather than anything amenable to scientific validation. We have yet to learn of any cooperative ghost lending their presence to a group of scientists interested in manifestations of the departed. But The Witch of Endor was frightened out of her wits at the appearance of Samuel, and I have to wonder how any group of scientists would react to the appearance of Einstein? On the other hand, I don’t know of any group of scientists attempting to conjure Einstein from “the other side.”

Interesting phrase the other side; ever wonder how that became common jargon? Much like the “hereafter, passed on,” and other like euphemisms for death they nevertheless have a singular relevance peculiar to our unwillingness to accept death as nihilistic. There is something within us that refuses death as being the cessation of our being. There is just something about looking up at the stars, a something that seems to tell us this life is only a passing phase, not the end. It is the same something that keeps my hope alive I will rejoin loved ones and friends gone on before me, and even speak peace to my soul when I lay my head on my pillow at night and converse with them in the darkness before falling asleep that they have never really left me at all.

Emerson, Thoreau, even Francis Church in his letter to little Virginia pose the possibility the things unseen may be more real than what our eyes behold in this world. And while science has yet to discover whether dark matter even exists let alone may be the stuff of ghosts, I’m more than a little ready to believe in such a thing. After all, I live with ghosts and am very happy to entertain the notion they are happy to keep me company. There is little I can do to frustrate the evil in this poor, suffering old world, but if I may speak a word of hopeful comfort to fellow pilgrims on their journey through this life it would be to welcome and hold on to the ghosts of your loved ones and friends gone on before you. And who knows but what science may yet prove we are correct in doing so?

“Mulholland Falls” is one of my favorite films, and in my opinion the best role Nick Nolte ever played. But critics are notorious for missing the mark, and many seemed unconscious when it came to reviews of the film. Too many of them did not really live the era of 50s Los Angeles and the early naiveté of the general population of Americans at the time concerning our government, nuclear weapons and research. But the film hit the mark in its appeal to what was needed in many cases for justice to prevail in the face of those with power flaunting the law.

Much in the way audiences cheered Charles Bronson blowing away the bad guys on that subway in “Death Wish,” many of us cheered Nick Nolte and his “Hat Squad” doing what needed doing, even making people “disappear” when necessary with the approval of L.A.P.D. Chief played by Bruce Dern, reminding me of Ed Davis who I knew personally. Vigilante Justice? You bet! And sometimes that is the only justice victims and their survivors can hope to receive.

The point the military scientist made to Nolte was a valid one; that those who accept authority over others assume greater latitude of behavior than those over whom such authority is wielded. In “Some Came Running” Gwen tells her literature class that great writers are not expected to be held to the same standards of behavior as those not so gifted, that they have standards of their own and are to be accorded much greater latitude than the narrower one demanded of ordinary people. The distinction between what may be sacrificed for the sake of science or art may become blurred at times, but few would question greater latitude of behavior is assumed, when not given outright, in both cases.

However, when it comes to keeping the peace how much better a nation of laws where justice prevails without any need of vigilantes. But that presumes those in positions of authority and leadership to enforce the laws are law-abiding themselves and it is not a matter of wealth and power dictating how much justice one can afford, the unhappy state of America today.

But the abuses of law by those of wealth and power are not peculiar to America by any means; this has a long history, one as ancient as humankind. King David, the “sweet singer of Israel,” comes immediately to mind.

When the Lord sent Nathan to confront David, the prophet could have told the king straight out: God is going to bring judgment against you because you committed adultery with another man’s wife, then had her husband killed so you could have her!

But no, that wouldn’t do. Nathan had to first tell David a heart wrenching story about a poor man whose sole possession was a little lamb he loved, but a rich man took it from him and slaughtered it to feed his guests. This so infuriated David he demanded the rich man be executed! Nathan then says to David, “Thou art the man.”

It’s quite a story; that of David and Bathsheba. And including the way Nathan handled it in confronting this great sin of David the story in its entirety lends much credence to the overall impression it is factual, and I have preached a few sermons, usually homiletically, from the text.

How very often does a story preface the point someone wishes to make; and it was a characteristic of Jesus to do this even as others like Nathan. But why did Nathan tell a story about a poor man and his lamb rather than simply confront David with the bald facts of his sin? Ah, it is the way of storytellers to gauge their audience in order to make a point, and Nathan would have David pronounce himself guilty rather than leaving it to others. So Nathan masterfully crafted a story that would not only reach the heart of the king, but cause him to confess being guilty as charged.

The one seeming incongruity noticed is how David could have committed such a great sin and still have a conscience that could react to Nathan’s story? The prophet knew David’s background was that of a shepherd, that he had the heart of a shepherd inclined to protecting the flock and fending off threats from wild animals. But was he more disposed to having a conscience toward a helpless little lamb than people? If so, he wouldn’t be all that unusual, since it is quite common to find people with more sympathy for helpless animals than humans. Fish and game laws in many instances carry harsher penalties than those relating to crimes against people, and in many instances the laws concerning the care of pets carry stiffer penalties for their abuse than the laws concerning child abuse.

It is often a case of skewed priorities when it comes to matters of conscience. God knows I would not want to be held to account by the conscience of another; and David’s case is an excellent example of this. Legal systems are designed around laws that describe certain rights, crimes and their punishment or penalties. And while some may be based on matters relating to conscience, most laws are designed for the practical working of a society gained by consensus, civilized nations agreeing for the most part on the general themes.

However, no system of laws is any better than those sworn to uphold and enforce such laws fulfilling their duty to do so. And while David could be confronted with an appeal to conscience, as skewed as it was, I wonder what story might reach the consciences of those in positions of authority and leadership here in America today?

While David repented in sackcloth and ashes he could not contravene the judgment of God and the sword never departed his house. But we have no Nathan to confront our leaders, there is no story to make an appeal to their consciences, and I can’t see any of them repenting of their wickedness in sackcloth and ashes. In the meantime we have the stories and the films, though they never find their mark in those without conscience, such leaders not even having the redeeming qualities of the scientist or artist by which society might grant them wider latitude of behavior.

It’s all but official the “Big One” is going to hit SoCal within 30 years. My having been at the epicenter of three major earthquakes I know there is little to be done when they hit but hope you come through alive and wonder if California may become the new “Atlantis” under the Pacific Ocean and the deserts beachfront property? As it is, those of us here in the Kern River Valley know it won’t take a big one to cause the Isabella Dam to break wiping out the town of Isabella and giving a large portion of Bakersfield a good soaking, which makes it a little difficult for those living immediately below the dam here to enjoy real peace of mind about the situation.

But on the political Richter Scale this is still registering a big one: “And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." This is not even a well-crafted lie!

If you break it you bought it applies to the lying Mr. Obama ever as much as it does to the lying Ms. Clinton; and Lou Dobbs and quite a few others have done yeoman’s work in pointing out Americans are not anti-immigrant but are anti-illegal alien. I have to wonder if Obama would class those of us incensed at what is happing in Texas and elsewhere with perverts “marrying” young children in “spiritual” ceremonies as an excuse for raping children at taxpayer expense through welfare as having antipathy to people who aren’t like us?

Obama following Jimmy Carter’s lead purposely refuses the distinction of illegal aliens, aided by political correctness that would magically transform all illegal aliens into “immigrants” despite the legal definition of such. Americans are not anti-trade as Obama falsely accuses us but we want a level playing field, not the one our “leaders” like Clinton and Bush have foisted off on us and Obama would doubtless continue to encourage.

Nothing has happened to change my mind since I first pointed out neither Clinton nor Obama are electable; quite the contrary. As things stand, McCain is bound to win by default and we can only hope his choice of a running mate will reassure us. It was so improbable a woman would be electable, especially in these perilous times, and especially Ms. Clinton, I have to wonder what gods were implored, incense burned and entrails examined to ever plant such a cockamamie idea in the minds with money behind such a disaster? The same can be said about Mr. Obama, but he was toast immediately his relationship to Jeremiah Wright was exposed and the MSM had to furiously start reorganizing from their groupie mentality toward their “darling.” But then none of us familiar with the way the universities operate is surprised Bill Ayers found a home there, or that the MSM would paint Obama as a political “messiah.”

Pat Buchanan: “It was said behind closed doors to the chablis-and-brie set of San Francisco, in response to a question as to why he was not doing better in that benighted and barbarous land they call Pennsylvania. Like Dr. Schweitzer, home from Africa to address the Royal Society on the customs of the upper Zambezi, Barack described Pennsylvanians in their native habitats of Atloona, Alquippa, Johnstown and McKeesport. ‘You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and ... the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.’ This is the pitch-perfect Hollywood-Harvard stereotype of the white working class, the caricature of the urban ethnic -- as seen from the San Francisco point of view. As Linus clung to his security blanket, Barack is saying, out-state Pennsylvanians, bitter at the world that has passed them by, cling to their Bibles and guns and naturally revert to ancestral bigotries against ‘people who aren't like them’ -- blacks, gays and immigrants…”

No amount of attempting to “explain” his remarks will save Obama any more than Bill’s attempts to “explain” the lies of his wife. Thoreau as with Jesus quite rightly pointed out only the truth serves well, and We the People are suffering from the lies of politicians and others in authority on every hand. It has been my misfortune to know some pathological liars, those that lie when the truth would serve them better; and in too many cases politicians fall into this category. But it isn’t just politicians given to lying that pose a risk; liars are also found in academia and the sciences, as I have often pointed out.

April 15, 2008. Gauging a Collider’s Odds of Creating a Black Hole. By Dennis Overbye: In Walker Percy’s “Love in the Ruins,” the protagonist, a doctor and an inventor, recites what he calls the scientist’s prayer. It goes like this: “Lord, grant that my work increase knowledge and help other men. Failing that, Lord, grant that it will not lead to man’s destruction. Failing that, Lord, grant that my article in Brain be published before the destruction takes place.” Today we require more than prayers that a scientific experiment will not lead to the end of the world. We demand hard-headed calculations. But whom can we trust to do them? That question has been raised by the impending startup of the Large Hadron Collider. It starts smashing protons together this summer at the European Center for Nuclear Research, or CERN, outside Geneva, in hopes of grabbing a piece of the primordial fire, forces and particles that may have existed a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. Critics have contended that the machine could produce a black hole that could eat the Earth or something equally catastrophic. To most physicists, this fear is more science fiction than science fact. At a recent open house weekend, 73,000 visitors, without pitchforks or torches, toured the collider without incident. Nevertheless, some experts say too much hype and not enough candor on the part of scientists about the promises and perils of what they do could boomerang into a public relations disaster for science, opening the door for charlatans and demagogues…

Those interested in the subject of CERN and the LHC and have kept track are aware the dangers being suggested are miniscule, “but not zero.” However, the language Overbye uses in his essay cannot but remind me of that being used by supporters of Obama. They would have those of us resenting his elitism as ignorant peasants from the scene in “Frankenstein” bearing pitchforks and torches storming the castle, failing to recognize “too much hype and not enough candor” is what We the People actually resent!

In his essay Overbye writes concerning the LHC: “One popular option to determine acceptable risk is to demand that the chance of a man-made disaster be kept below the chance of a natural disaster like being obliterated by an asteroid. Astronomers estimate that chance as one in 50 million in any given year.” Considering the odds against winning the lottery, people continue to buy tickets with the mentality “Someone has to win, why not me?” and “If you don’t play you can’t win.” But when it comes to politics We the People should be given better odds of picking a winner than what is being offered.

As a writer, a lover of literature and language I appreciate prose; but when hype and a lack of candor attempts to pass as “prose,” especially by those whose egos have given them the mistaken impression they know how to write, I take vehement exception! Like Sam Clemens I appreciate a well-crafted lie, but sophomoric attempts to cast lies as prose whether spoken or written is something I very much resent! Even though we are not being offered a winning ticket or even odds better than an asteroid strike or winning the lottery I can’t help wishing there was at least a better crop of truly gifted liars to choose from.

Speaking of clinging to guns and religion I was raised with the Bible and guns, and grandad being both a preacher and a Kern County Special Deputy Sheriff my earliest memories of our place on the corner of Cottonwood and Padre include seeing his Bible, Cruden’s Concordance, California Penal Code, gun, sap, and handcuffs occupying the same place together within easy reach on the small table next to his Morris Chair. Little Oklahoma was a pretty rough place in the 30s and 40s, and it took both a Bible and a gun with someone like grandad who knew how to use them both to keep the peace in our neighborhood back then.

No history of the colonization of America and our progress as a nation is complete without describing the earliest settlers and those following with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other. The Founding Fathers understood this, and acted accordingly when putting our government together. And though this earliest of American history is no longer taught in our schools and many are attacking both the Bible and guns, notwithstanding the many abuses of them without the two we would never have become a nation and those attacking these now would not have the freedom to do so.

The tyranny of the universities has been evident since the time of Emerson, that great intellect recognizing as did his disciple Thoreau that the universities dictated the policies of government and society. But increasingly the universities left off any pretense of morality and began the slide into amorality. The result of this can be seen in a failed system of education throughout America today, and a precipitous slide into barbarism and we are without viable choices of moral, virtuous leadership to stem this. And the universities teaching the Bible and guns are anathema to the “well-being” of America have pronounced from the Ivory Tower Americans must give up both.

One of the reasons I tune in to Tyree Toliver of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Bakersfield on Sunday mornings is that old fellow is so genuine and sincere in his simple preaching of a simple Gospel, and he reminds me so very much of grandad and his preaching, and a polar opposite of Jeremiah Wright. Oh, I don’t doubt there are guns to be found among the members of both congregations, but Tyree Toliver preaches the doctrine of community of believers rather than an “Us vs. Them” ideology based on race and represents the best of the “old time religion” with which I was raised. While the music is quite different and I greatly prefer the old Gospel hymns of our Little Oklahoma church, the fellowship of believers is the same, the simple message of “This is right and that is wrong” with sin denounced in no uncertain terms is the same.

When reverie recalls those simple times of simple verities I knew as a child I think of the old Gospel hymns and the hope they inspired in us. One favorite, and one that was sung in the film “Sergeant York,” was When the Roll is Called Up Yonder: “When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”

I don’t know if Stephen Hawking or Michio Kaku speculating about “time” are aware of the Scripture “time shall be no more,” but those of us who know the Bible are certainly aware of it, and those of us steeped in studies of the Bible are more than willing to accord it the truth of the matter on the subject of time. Whether it ceases to be at the sounding of the trumpet of the Lord is a matter of speculation and belief, but there is a great deal of comfort in the message of the old hymn. We use a symbol for infinity in mathematics, but it is a symbol of something far beyond any human comprehension. The old hymn is something most of us can comprehend, though the comprehension is something in our souls rather than our powers of reason.

It is one of the great curiosities of the Bible that it contains so much wisdom despite its manifold faults. Many things appear the inventions of men, but there are many other things that strike me as true, things that my soul if not my reason react to saying “That is so.” But when I turn to things “scientific,” there is cause to wonder whether the best minds of our species are in any better case.

New atom-smasher could fill gaps in scientific knowledge -- or open a black hole. Europe's enormous $8-billion particle accelerator, to be activated as early as this summer, is generating both excitement and fear. By John Johnson Jr., Los Angeles Times Staff Writer: April 13, 2008. GENEVA — Michelangelo L. Mangano, a respected particle physicist who helped discover the top quark in 1995, now spends most days trying to convince people that his new machine won't destroy the world. "If it were just crackpots, we could wave them away," the physicist said in an interview at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym, CERN. "But some are real physicists…"

More and more I am hearing from people saying they don’t know what to think or believe. My detractors are more often those who would like to dismiss me as a “crackpot,” but like Dr. Mangano are forced to concede my academic credentials realizing I can’t be so easily dismissed. When I speak and write of my favoring Intelligent Design for example and cannot accept any more than Ben Stein the premise something can come out of nothing it forces the Darwinists into a corner. Unfortunately for reason and intelligent discussion of the subject, the universities have their “gospel” of evolution allowing only devotees of this gospel admittance to the ranks.

It does seem to me that the soul is a seed. Like the Parable of the Sower some of the seed finds fertile soil, sets its roots and produces. I will always count it a blessing in my life I was born and raised among those who believed the Bible and a gun were both necessary for the soul to accomplish its work in the face of so many obstacles. I could wish the gun was not essential to the purpose, but all about are “ravening wolves” intent on taking by force what they have not earned. But I was also raised in hope of a better world, one in which all tears are wiped away “and time shall be no more; when the roll is called up yonder” and the children of God will find peace, and love for one another will be the sole criteria of family and fellowship. For me this is one of the “ancient landmarks,” one that should not be removed and one that speaks peace to my soul.

None of us wanting peace are going to be quick to pick up a sword, none of us wanting peace are going to live by the sword promoting violence and taking by force what we have not earned. But neither are we so naïve as to believe “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” precludes the necessity of being able to protect ourselves and our loved ones when need arises.

What this poor, suffering old world needs is more preachers like grandad and Tyree Toliver, more people who believe and preach there are standards of morality, there is such a thing as sin and teach without equivocation “This is right and that is wrong.” But as Jesus pointed out, some have ears to hear and some do not. And it was for this reason the history of America shows a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other; but neither grandad nor Tyree Toliver would ever countenance the abuse of using either to further the works of the Devil.

For those old enough to remember full service gas stations you will recall when maps were free at such places. My, those maps were wonderful, and even though as a man I wasn’t reluctant to ask directions more often I would depend on my ability to read a map to get around, especially when traveling “blue roads” off the beaten track.

It may not be another Great Depression (yet) but there is increasing depression among us, and not since WWII do I recall so many people saying they are suffering nightmares. One solution would be not to listen to the news. But that seems impractical since it confronts us everywhere, and though I very much appreciate the Turner Classic Movie channel even that airs some really bad films at times, and really bad sound tracks with things like mind-numbing drumbeating noise in too many cases ruin what might otherwise be of interest to me on TV. Some of these remind me of a fellow I used to know that could never be persuaded an amped up bass guitar was not the lead instrument for C&W; then he would wonder why he didn’t last long anywhere.

But the drugs that often accompany those brainless people with their loud thumping noise from cars and houses these days are only cause for more depression, and are a reminder of why I long ago chose to live in the country giving myself over to solitude and become reclusive as a writer. There seems no way of overcoming people given to such noise, so I’m grateful I could choose to escape from it. And how did I manage to escape? I knew how to read maps.

The noise that blares from cars and houses remind me that if the gods are not crazy, it certainly seems at least some of them really have it in for our species. Just recently a physicist with whom I have shared a close relationship for quite some time responded to a comment when I expressed some doubt the Large Hadron Collider would result in confirming the Higgs boson, but would probably be successful in other ways somewhat less “benign.” She wanted to know how I had come to such a conclusion, and I replied calling her attention to the scene from “Patton” where Omar Bradley tells him “I can read a map.” My friend got a real chuckle out of that and we discreetly went on to other less sensitive subjects, some of a very whimsical nature such as not being certain the stars millions of light years away are even there anymore. Perhaps our solar system is more alone in the universe than many are willing to credit. Once you begin to entertain some thoughts about the inexactness of some of the science