Ignoring The Barking Dogs: Update on “And Perhaps Then Some”

Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Update on “And Perhaps Then Some”

In the previous posting, the heading includes the above words in the title, and those words were based on the information in the last paragraph or so of the Colton Burpo Part 2 news article. So, let me explain the “update” aspect.

I came home yesterday and spent quite a bit of time trying to find the story or something about the young lady who is an artist and had done an image of Jesus that Colton claimed was closest to what his “Jesus” looked like. Of course, I couldn’t find anything in the archives of Lori Henshey on the Examiner website.

However, her e-mail address was on the Examiner website, so I sent her an e-mail saying something to the effect that I couldn’t find the story and was assuming that perhaps the family of the young girl declined to participate with the story.

Lori Henshey responded this morning that the story needed more research than she thought and that she was still working on the article. She said that she should have it posted in roughly a week to 10 days or so.

She offered to send me a link to the story once it was posted online and I replied saying that I would really appreciate the courtesy. I also jokingly hinted that it would be nice if a copy of the Jesus image could be a part of the story.

I then got another message from her with a link to a gallery of the young lady’s paintings. So, allow me to share it with you as well. But, first, a little information might be in order. The young lady’s name is Akiane and in addition to her painting, she also writes poetry. She began drawing when she was four-years-old and painting at six.

I will give you the homepage of her website so that once you enter, you can learn more about her. From the homepage click on “Enter” and then once in further in the website, there is a link to her Gallery.

Once you are into the gallery, scroll down to the line where it is labeled “Age 8” and the Jesus painting is the second one from the left. Once you arrive at the image, be sure and read the poem to the right of the image. It, too, is a beautiful thing.

Enjoy. I certainly am. Also, once Lori Henshey’s story on Akiane is finished and I receive the link from her, I’ll share that as well.

http://www.artakiane.com/

After further thought, I’ll also put in a link directly to the gallery.

http://www.artakiane.com/gallery