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.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Independence Day Weekend Plans

Since we have plans to be out of town this weekend, I thought I would post first and then experience things, instead of the other way around. With it being a holiday weekend, I thought I would get the jump on celebrating with a patriotic song that I heard.

First of all, for those who like The Battle Hymn of the Republic, I will give you a link to a rendition that I thought was beautiful when I heard it for the first time this morning. I was listening to a local talk show and at the close-out of his show he played the song done by three sisters in a group by the name of SheDaisy.

Their rendition is pretty much a cappella and it is done beautifully. (I seem to really have a preference for a cappella singing, especially with songs of a religious nature. The human voices not being drowned out by musical instruments are really beautiful.) They were a country group some years back and when I went to try to find the song online I found out that they have a new internet website under construction. Maybe with a little luck, they will go back to singing again.

The best I could do in finding the song is at the following link and one has to go down a ways on the page to find a link that will let one play the audio clip. Check it out:

http://new.music.yahoo.com/shedaisy/albums/battle-hymn-of-the-republic--22240766

Our weekend plans are kind of varied. On Saturday, we will get together with our family for an outing to MacDonald’s. Ordinarily, you couldn’t get me into a MacDonald’s if there was any other choice whatsoever. However, since we are linking up with our oldest son and his family (including the grandkids) and our youngest son, they tend to take the kids to where they want to go. (I think I need to find a way to have the grandkids so I can teach them about other places to eat.)

Then on Sunday, we will leave OKC about 9:00am or so to drive to Tulsa to see Jo’s middle sister and spend the night over there. Oh, does anyone remember me talking about how I’m ticked at my in-laws because they are moving to Colorado and being further away? Well, Jo’s sister is planning on retiring next April and guess where she is going to move. Yep…Colorado. (Dang in-laws.)

But, at least when things get to where we will be traveling, both of her sisters will be in the same state, making it easier for us to see both of them. Plus, since one is going to be living in Canon City and one near Fort Collins, it will let us see more of central and northern Colorado. In the past, we‘ve pretty much limited ourselves to mostly southern Colorado because of it being closer to Oklahoma.

With little else to say tonight that would be “on topic”, I’ll simply close out with a short posting and wish everyone a safe and Happy Independence Day. As a part of your celebration, take a moment and give thanks and a prayer for our military personnel and our veterans.

God bless you all and keep you safe.

Eagle and Flag

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