Soul and Spirit

Woodburn, Oregon: Black Friday

Thank a law enforcement officer or another first responder...

Updated on Sunday, December 14, 2008 Please scroll to the end for the update.

Though I no longer live there (I don’t live in any town, for that matter), I still think of Woodburn as my home town (although Molalla is closer by four miles or so). Thus, last evening’s events seem particularly close to home.

From The Woodburn Independent:

According to the Oregon State Police a bomb detonated around 5:45 p.m. Friday evening at West Coast Bank, located at 2520 Newberg Hwy. in Woodburn.

The Woodburn Independent has learned through various sources that a Woodburn police officer has been killed and Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell was seriously injured in the bomb blast.

Newer info from The Oregonian:

A bomb exploded Friday at a West Coast Bank branch in Woodburn, killing a Woodburn police officer and an Oregon State Police bomb squad technician, and critically injuring the Woodburn police chief.

The bomb detonated around 5:30 p.m. at the bank in the 2500 block of Oregon 214.

Oregon State Police authorities this morning confirmed the death of its bomb technician. Authorities have not released the names of the officers.

I wonder if the dead Woodburn officer is one of those I have thanked for his service. I’ll try to remember to thank law enforcement folks more often.

To all law enforcement personnel, thanks for your service! Likewise to all other first responders.

And may God be especially near those who have lost a loved one, a friend, a comrade.

And may He grant whole-being healing to the injured.

Original post date (for the above): December 13 at 7:58 am Pacific

Update

The Oregon State Police released biographical information for Sr. Trooper William “Bill” Hakim and Woodburn Police Capt. Tom Tennant, who both died in a bomb explosion at West Coast Bank in Woodburn Friday, and Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell, who is in critical condition at OHSU Hospital.

What I’m interested in here isn’t each one’s bio, but his family.

Oregon State Senior Trooper William “Bill” Hakim (51) is survived by his wife and a 16-year old son and 18-year old daughter. (It had been over seven years since an Oregon State trooper died in the line of duty.)

Woodburn Police Captain Tom Tennant (51) is survived by his wife Mary and three children (Becky, Jennifer, Scott) 24, 22, and 17.

Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell (46) is married and has two daughters, ages 12 and 10.

Oregon State Police: Senior Trooper William 'Bill' Hakim: Killed in the line of duty in a bomb explosion in Woodburn (Oregon) the evening of Friday, December 12, 2008       Woodburn Police Department: Captain Tom Tennant: Killed in the line of duty in a bomb explosion in Woodburn (Oregon) the evening of Friday, December 12, 2008

Update source: The Oregonian

The Meaning of Is

Here’s part of the story:

Flirting goes high-tech with racy photos shared on cellphones, Web

Passing a flirtatious note to get someone’s attention is so yesterday. These days, young people use technology instead.

About a third of young adults 20-26 and 20% of teens say they’ve sent or posted naked or semi-naked photos or videos of themselves, mostly to be “fun or flirtatious,” a survey finds.

A third of teen boys and 40% of young men say they’ve seen nude or semi-nude images sent to someone else; about a quarter of teen girls and young adult women have.

[…]

Most of those surveyed (73%) said they knew sending sexually suggestive content “can have serious negative consequences,” yet 22% said it’s “no big deal.”

Adrift.

And so the moral decline continues.

I’m Not a Winner

At least not when it comes to this kind of stuff:

I'm not a winner...

...at least when it comes to these things!

But since I’m in an adventurous, adventuresome mode, me thinks ah’ll give it a twirl tomorrow. 🙄

Meanwhile, I’m thankful to be cynical about these things.

So much so, that the last time I tried out one of these keys must have been 20-25 years ago.

Skepticism and cynicism generally aren’t good traits to have and nurture. Generally. Surely this kind of stuff is an exception to the general rule.

No?

What Do You Think?

Here’s an interesting piece I read earlier today: Watch Out.

“I was the third boy in line. Once everyone was in place he started going through the pockets of every boy, and he found the watch in mine. I had been hoping against hope that he wouldn’t find it, as I planned to return it to Naftali after school. However, now the rebbi had the culprit. I was shaking as I waited for him to shout at me, or express glee that he found it.

“Instead he continued checking every single boy! When he finished searching the last boy, he said, ‘You all can go back to your seats. I have the watch.’

“As I walked back to my seat I had to hold myself back from crying. I understood what the rebbi did and how he saved me from being embarrassed. He had continued the search so no one could figure out who had taken the watch. As we sat down he didn’t even look my way so no one could possibly have any inkling who the guilty party was. He resumed teaching. I decided then and there that someday I would like to be like him.”

What do you think of the rebbi’s approach?

Morning News

Three stories: New Bionic Arms for Wounded Soldiers, Trimming Words Out of a Dictionary, and “Tell Me How to Do It.”

New Bionic Arms for Wounded Soldiers

The Luke Arm has four fingers and an opposable thumb, and was designed to be controlled by muscular movement in the wearer’s remaining limbs.

But thanks to neurological advances in “targeted renervation” by Dr. Todd Kuiken of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the Luke Arm can now connect directly to motor nerves, meaning it can be controlled purely by thought alone.

And the nerve connections are two-way: The wearer gets “force feedback” about his own grip and movements, allowing him to pick up an empty water bottle without crushing it.

Many cheers for Dean Kamen and Dr. Todd Kuiken and the Department of Defense.

Trimming Words Out of a Dictionary

Oxford University Press has removed words like “aisle”, “bishop”, “chapel”, “empire” and “monarch” from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like “blog”, “broadband” and “celebrity”. Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.

The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society.

But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain’s heritage.

“We have a certain Christian narrative which has given meaning to us over the last 2,000 years. To say it is all relative and replaceable is questionable,” said Professor Alan Smithers, the director of the centre for education and employment at Buckingham University. “The word selections are a very interesting reflection of the way childhood is going, moving away from our spiritual background and the natural world and towards the world that information technology creates for us.”

[…]

Words taken out:

Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe

Dwarf, elf, goblin

Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar

Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade

adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.

Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

Some of those deletions are astounding!

Then again, how would you keep a dictionary from becoming thicker and thicker?

Even so, jeers not cheers for that dictionary and its publisher?

“Tell Me How to Do It”

A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family’s house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived.

“Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident,” a distraught Dong Yun Yoon told reporters gathered near the site of Monday’s crash of an F/A-18D jet in San Diego’s University City community.

“He is one of our treasures for the country,” Yoon said in accented English punctuated by long pauses while he tried to maintain his composure.

“I don’t blame him. I don’t have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could,” said Yoon, flanked by members of San Diego’s Korean community, relatives and members from the family’s church.

[…]

“I know there are many people who have experienced more terrible things,” Yoon said. “But, please, tell me how to do it. I don’t know what to do.”

He doesn’t blame the pilot?!

He wants you to pray that the pilot wouldn’t suffer?!

He considers the pilot a national treasure?!

He knows others have suffered greater tragedy?!

Mr. Yoon, you are quite the man!

(Dare I say he’s obviously not a “typical” home-grown American?)

May God sustain Mr. Yoon and the young pilot.

(And keep the lawyers and “suers” away from Mr. Yoon, please. Thanks.)

Does the Golden Rule Apply?

Suppose I’m at WalMart and see an item with a price that’s so “too good to be true” that it must be a mistake. Say a normally $300 digital camera for $30. So I attempt to purchase it for $30…and succeed.

What should I do in such a case?

  1. Tell the store management about the matter.
  2. Tell family and friends about the “great deal that’s surely a mistake so you’d better buy a camera before they discover and rectify the mistake.”
  3. Blog about it here so you can “check your local WalMart for the same or similar goofs.”
  4. Buy as many of those cameras as I can so I can resell them at a profit.

What say you?

And why?

Above all, love God!