Presidential Character Traits and the Fruit of the Spirit

Recently, I dropped in on a friend of mine at work.  This friend is the Priest at the local Episcopal Church.  While there, I noticed a framed print of Galatians 5:22-23.  These are the verses that describe the "Fruit of the Spirit".  

For those not familiar with these passages, I would like to share them and then ask a question in relation to our last few Presidents.  There will be no right answer to this question as we are all spectators of observation when it comes to our Presidents.  We can only know their personal persona as provided by what they say or write, what the media reports and the policies that they put into place.  We may have to guess, speculate or wait until they leave office to know what an individual is truly like.  

The scripture that I am asking about in relation to our past Presidents reads as follows:  

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.

A couple of weeks ago, I finished a book entitled, "Team of Five, The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump.  The book was very interesting and took a look at the Presidents that were alive when Trump became President (Jimmy Carter, the late George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama).  These men arguably are members of the most elite fraternity in the world with each having assumed the responsibilities of the Presidency and moved on into private life.  

The author, Kate Andersen Brower, looks into the different relationships the Presidents have with one another (some very surprising) and how they have lived their post-Presidential lives.  It speculates if and how Donald Trump might fit into this "Team" as he has been most critical of all the surviving Presidents.  Interviewed for the book, Trump himself states that he does not see himself being a member of the team.    

A very interesting section of the book comes from those who worked in the White House residence and what it was like to work for the different Presidents and First Ladies.   

The following is my task for you:  Based on what you know about Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, give them a pass or fail grade on the following character traits:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.  

Give one point for a pass and zero for a fail and total the score.  It will be interesting to see how each President rates on the "Fruit of the Spirit" scale.  Feel free to share you opinion/score with me.  This should be interesting. 

God Bless America and the Whole World

It has been almost a week since President Trump ordered a military strike on Syria.  As I watched the news that night, Trump stepped to the podium and in a very un-Trump like manner began to read a scripted speech on what had happened that evening.  At the very end of the speech, Trump said, "God bless America and the whole world."

Over the decades, I have heard Presidents say, "God bless America" or "God bless the USA" but never have I heard a President end a speech asking for God to bless the whole world.  I am sure that the speech was scripted but even so, this was a bold and perhaps very telling way to end a speech concerning a bombing prompted by the use of chemical weapons on innocent civilians and children.

Looking up the oddity of Trump's wish for God to bless the whole world, I only found one article in Politico, written by Matthew Nussbaum, entitled: Trump Breaks Precedent by Blessing the Whole World. According to Nussbaum's article, asking for God's blessing on the USA began with Richard Nixon and became a common theme for Reagan and those that followed him.

Trump who campaigned on an "America First" theme would seem to be the last President one would expect to ask for God's blessings on the whole world but President Trump continues to surprise.  In this instance, Trump's choice of words was on point with perhaps the most famous verse in the New Testament, John 3:16, which begins: "For God so loved the world".

God bless America and the whole world.

Mississippi Artist Trying to Save Swamp

What kind of person falls in love with a swamp?  Robin Whitfield, that's who.

Robin Whitfield inside the Chakchiuma Swamp

I have known Robin Whitfield since 1989.  She was an early teenager but seemed much older than her actual age.  She seemed mysterious and grown up to me.  A teen-aged girl that wore peasant skirts and vintage clothing before vintage clothing was cool.  Later, Robin would go to Delta State University and graduate with an Art degree.

Immediately after college, work placed Whitfield in Grenada, MS and before long the Clinton, MS native began to put down roots and call Grenada home.  She opened an art studio in downtown Grenada and began to discover her surroundings even more. In doing so, she discovered the Chakchiuma Swamp.  This swamp located near downtown Grenada was being abused by the general public and instead of being appreciated, many simply used it as a dumping ground and a place for high school students to drink beer leaving the empties behind.  Robin helped to call attention to this problem and the need of preserving the swamp.  In doing so, she helped to rescue and rehabilitate the swamp.

Her involvement and concern for the Chakchiuma Swamp helped to create interest within the school district and with civic groups around town.  Throughout the year, there are educational programs, cleanup and conservation efforts, kayaking, fishing and bird watching   The swamp, now known as the Chakchiuma Swamp Natural Area is touted as: A community Outdoor Recreation & Wildlife Conservation Area in downtown Grenada.   

While all of this seems to be a nice story, the problem is this; Grenada, as is the case with many small cities throughout the U.S. finds themselves short of money.  The city is considering a selective cutting of the timber within the swamp which would bring in some of the dollars needed by the city.  

Earlier this year, Robin with support from the local Garden Club and other organizations persuaded the city to look elsewhere for money and to save the swamp.  Since that time, a new City Manager has been hired and the destruction of the swamp is back on the table.  A one-time infusion of money (approximately $200,000) could leave behind a swamp that most likely will be destroyed for decades.  While I am not a "tree hugger", this truly seems a shame and is an example of where our smaller rural cities are today, choosing between the long-term good of the community and short term fixes.

This is a story of a special place that has the potential of being endangered and of an artist who loves that place and the City of Grenada, a city that has to make hard decisions on how to solve their economic problems.  Whitfield uses much of what she finds within the swamp for her paintings, not only the subject matter but the soil, leaves and bark wind up on her canvas.  Whitfield regards her work as visual poetry in the language of color and shape. 

In dealing with the city of Grenada, Whitfield has asked the city if she could raise the money from a large number of people offering a "buy a tree" program letting the swamp stay as it is. The city is agreeable to this program but is asking for the money by mid-March 2017.  The choice for the city is to collect $200,000 from Whitfield who will keep the swamp in place or from the timber harvester who will most likely destroy the swamp.

Robin Whitfield needs your help.

A gofundme page was started: https://www.gofundme.com/friendsofcsna to help Whitfield with the purchase of trees within the swamp to help hold off the City of Grenada.  I hope that you will consider donating and that you will help to spread this blog.

Below are two YouTube stories from the past concerning the swamp and Robin Whitfield.  This will give you an idea of what a prize Grenada has right within its downtown area.  I hope you can help Robin to save the swamp and help Grenada to be able to maintain a natural prize that many small cities would love to have.

CHAKCHIUMA SWAMP w ROBIN WHITFIELD (please watch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNEZ01c7d94

A PAINTER'S PASSAGE (please watch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6awzkInZX8

SWAMP GRENADA

https://swampgrenada.wordpress.com/concept-plans/

ROBIN WHIFIELD STUDIO, GRENADA, MS

http://www.robinwhitfield.com/

A Hidden Gem: The Abita Springs Opry

Last Saturday, my wife and I along with M.D. and Marijane Whitfield left Clinton headed south.  Our destination was the Covington/Abita Springs area.  The ultimate purpose of our journey was to see and hear the Abita Springs Opry.  Abita Springs is right beside Covington, LA on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and right across the lake from New Orleans.  For those in search of day trip or an overnight stay in the New Orleans area before the heat and humidity of summer completely sets in, I would recommend a fun trip to the Abita Springs Opry.

Abita Springs Town Hall, hoe of the Abita Springs Opry

The show is held in the Abita Springs Town Hall.  The old town hall is set up to hold about 400 people in white plastic folding chairs.  There is a "concession stand" behind and to the side of the stage that serves soft drinks, water, gumbo and what I am told  is an amazing bread pudding.  If you eat before going to the Abita Springs Opry, save room for the bread pudding.

The Opry starts promptly at 7pm and ends promptly at 9pm.  I think there is a broadcast of some sort that is involved with the Opry and that is why it is on such a strict schedule.  Each band will play between 5 - 7 songs and you will get a good taste of their style, talent and music.  On the night that we went the show it ended with three strong groups.  Perhaps the one with the most personality was a group called Chrispin Schroeder who was lead by a local pastor named none other than Chrispin Schroeder.  The next group, The Deslondes was kind of like a modern day "'O Brother Where Art Thou".  They fused New Orleans Rhythm and Blues, Country and a twist of Jazz and Gospel.  The last and perhaps most talented group was Tuba Skinny.  who played a traditional bluesy New Orelans Jazz with a wonderful trumpet and clarinet as well as a talented vocalist.

The Deslondes

The term "Opry" is often linked to the Grand Ole Opry and country music.  That is not the case with the Abita Springs Opry.   The Abita Springs Opry hosts "Louisiana Roots Music" which can be anything from bluegrass, jazz,  zydeco, gospel or busker (New Orleans street performer) music.

I would give the Abita Springs Opry a big thumbs up and recommend it to anyone.  If you like live music then you will really enjoy the Opry.  The next and last performance of the Opry before Fall 2016 is May 21st.  It would be wise to buy tickets in advance.  Tickets are $18 each and the contact number for the Opry is 985-892-0711.  Make sure and check out the website of the Abita Springs Opry for more information: http://www.abitaopry.org/index.html

A Post-Election Observation

A True Story:
Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Mississippi Republican senatorial runoff between Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel, I came upon a situation just west of Mississippi College.  A 60 year old African-American nursing assistant, dressed in nursing scrubs and driving an older model Chevrolet Blazer was on the side of the road, her right rear tire shredded.  Helping her to change the tire was a white male, mid-30's, a McDaniel voter. 

Another white male, mid-50's, a Cochran voter, came upon the scene.  He walked beside the car and offered to help in removing the very tight lug nuts.  As the Cochran voter loosened the lug nuts, the McDaniel voter raised the car on the jack.

At that same time, a white truck with an African-American male, maybe a Democrat, maybe a crossover Cochran voter, drove up behind the disabled vehicle.  He stepped out and walked to the scene, asking the woman if she had a spare.  She replied, "In the back."   He reached into the back of the Blazer and removed the spare tire.  As the bad tire was removed, the spare tire was put in it's place, the driver of the white truck tightening the lug nuts.

Looking back on the scene, it seems to me that the woman on the side of the road with the broken down Blazer is a lot like the state of Mississippi, not the richest with maybe not the best vehicle on the road.

What really struck me was how selflessly the three men helped that woman on a very hot afternoon.

Any one of them could have probably changed the tire by themselves but here they were, three men whose political views were set aside for the greater good of the woman broken down on the side of the road.  Three men whose job was made easier by welcoming one another to the process and each doing their part, working together.

Wouldn't it be refreshing to see this type of cooperation and behavior from our politicians and their supporters.  Our state and country would be better for it.

The True Heroes

Up until this week, we had been hearing much about Syria and chemical weapons and a possible air strike on Syria by the United States.  President Barack Obama, 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been beating the war drums and trying to encourage the American people and our allies of the importance of striking the existing regime in Syria.

Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts" to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. Part of the Nobel Committee's decision was based upon Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a "new climate" in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.  After the last couple of weeks, perhaps Obama should consider giving the Peace Prize back.

Much has been made of Vladimir Putin and the Russians coming to the rescue to help at least temporarily keep America from becoming involved militarily in another country.  While there is some truth to this, I think there are two other true heroes.  They are heroes that stepped up a couple of weeks before the Russians.

The first heroes are the British Parliament. When faced with the opportunity to fight alongside the U.S. in another war in a Middle Eastern country, the British Parliament voted 285-272 against using military force against Syria. This thirteen vote difference kept the British on the sidelines and postponed a strike. 

The second group of heroes was the American people.  Democrats, Republicans and Independents for the most part were all tired of war.  The last poll that I recall reading about before the "Russian Rescue" had only a 29% support level for a strike against Syria.  Predictions by the news media were that both the House and the Senate would vote against military action.

Hopefully, this episode has been a lesson to Obama and to the elected officials that represent us.  We dodged a bullet this time.  Sometimes history works out that way.

A Great Book on Mississippi and Katrina

Last year I shared a number of books that I had read with you.  This year,  I have not read as much but it seems that some of my more favorite books have been written by those who are or have been correspondents/journalists in written or broadcast news.

Perhaps two days after the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the most timely is a book written by former CNN correspondent, Kathleen Koch.  In the book, "Rising From Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered",  Koch, who had two CNN documentaries concerning Hurricane Katrina and the response of the communities of Bay St. Louis and Waveland in the wake of that storm, writes in great detail that which she could not put in a one hour documentary.  Koch, a former resident of Bay St. Louis and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, is able to communicate what so many Mississippians felt after the storm.

There is an unexplainable pride in being a Mississippian.  In a state where you are continually first in every bad category and last in every good category, Mississippians can easily have an inferiority complex.  And yet, for some reason we are a proud and stubborn people.  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi responded well.  Very well.  In that we can be proud.  Koch documents this and the spirit of our people, especially those on the Coast and those from inland Mississippi and other parts of the country who volunteered to help.

I would recommend that you read her book.  As a Mississippian and a former resident of Bay St. Louis, it made me proud.