Styling, Flooring, Retiring (no, not me) and the Meaning of Words

Rachel has a camping/hiking trip with 4 other friends to Isle Royale planned for later this month. They intend to hike nearly 50 miles in the week they'll be on the island. She injured her back a few days ago at work while trying to lift a patient so I'm a little concerned that she'll be doing all those miles carrying a 30-pound pack. The last thing she or anyone in her group needs is a back injury.

I met her in Minneapolis (near where she works) at Midwest Mountaineering a couple days ago and got her an early birthday gift. She did her research and with the help of one of the workers there the previous week, she chose the best backpack I've ever seen. She was showing me all of its features. It's a quality piece of gear that she'll use for years to come.

I liked that she wanted to buy the pack at the store that gave her so much help in making the selection rather than taking that information to Amazon and saving $20 or however much. And it wasn't just because we were getting it for her because our offer was something we suggested after she'd decided where to purchase it.

I mentioned a few posts ago about the tile floor in our sunporch and how it's failing. Joe is insistent that the structure hasn't moved and Brian is just as insistent that there's been no product failure of his work. Neither of them cuts corners and even though they're no longer working together because of a falling out, they're still both complimentary of the other.

It puts us in a tough spot, trying to get both of them talking with one another with hopes of coming up with a solution that will work for all of us. Brian will be at our home one week from this coming Monday to carefully remove the tile while trying to not disturb the self-leveling compound and heating element beneath it.

Joe will be doing any repairs to the trim and such. We don't want to be difficult with Joe and Brian about this but when it comes down to it, this shouldn't cost us anything to fix, yet I just paid $3600 for new flooring. We're actually willing to help with some of the costs but not this much.

I emailed Joe on Wednesday night with our concerns and he met me out at our home the next day to discuss the matter. He understands the position we're in. He said he's never had an issue of this magnitude in the nearly 3 decades he's been in business. We all hope to have a better idea of why the floor failed once the tile is removed and we can get a better look at what's underneath it. He promised me that once the job is wrapped up we'll sit down and discuss what's fair for all involved. I'm actually okay with that although I'm guessing most people wouldn't be.

Bob Claymore, Kristi Bipes and Brian Siemens all retired this week. I don't know that we'll see many more retirements before the end of the year but it's certainly possible. There are lots of eligible controllers just waiting to pick their moment to leave. Also, Joel Clay retired this past week as well. He had taken a managerial position in Hawaii a year ago with what I thought were intentions to stay out there for a few years. I was a little surprised to see him leave when he did.

I got sucked into a Facebook discussion a few days ago (after saying in my last post that I was going to avoid such foolishness) about gays and Christianity. The discussion played out on the page of a fundamentalist Christian friend. It was a very lopsided debate but I did my best to try and help others in the discussion see the world from the perspective of those they were castigating. I don't think I was the least bit successful. They all stayed on message (that being that acting on homosexual feelings is far worse than any sin in their own lives) and at one point I was referred to as the devil for planting seeds of doubt in peoples' minds. They didn't want anybody getting in the way of their disgust is all I can figure.

The discussion prompted me to post this to my wall: "This thing we call Christianity...is it? What happened?"

I asked that because I so often feel that the word "Christian" or "Christianity" is losing its meaning. In the 1300s the original meaning of the word "awful" meant "inspiring wonder" and was a short version of "full of awe". But now the word has a purely negative connotation. Will the word "Christian" someday reflect the opposite of what it once meant? I think it may well be on its way because to be a Christian today does not at all mean that one is acting in a Christ-like way, at least not in my view. To be a Christian today likely means you're part of a very judgemental and unbending mindset that doesn't appear to embrace any of the teachings of Jesus, namely forgiveness and love.

As I said in my Facebook post: "I can't imagine Jesus returning to earth and pointing to the average Christian and saying 'these people make me proud'. And no, I'm not saying he'd look at me and think any better. Yet, all throughout our churches today there's scorn and judgment for anybody identifying as GLBTQ who haven't turned from their special sort of "sin". I don't recall Jesus having much scorn for anyone while he was here other than for those who thought they were better than others."

I shut my computer down feeling disappointed that all of my efforts appeared to be for naught. Perhaps a few of the seeds Jesus had me plant in their hearts will take root. I can dream big, can't I?

And then I got on my bike and I rode out to Murphy feeling so glad that I was no longer a part of that ideology and that I'd broken free. So free!