Pleasure Crafts

Dear Folks,

Church:

We have been to the same Baptist church for the past three Sundays. We did three Sundays in a row before that, and though Ashley was developing friendships at another church, my wife decided we should try the one closer to our home. She relishes these aspects in descending order of priority:

1. Proximity: It is close to our home, 2 or 3 miles.

2. Children's program: It has a great program for children and youth, and our children like it.

3. No Screaming: The preacher does not scream so he is easier to understand for a second language user of English. He is reasonable and hence even easier to understand.

4. Less pretense among the fellow worshipers. It seems more obvious that the congregants are there to worship and not so concerned about pretense, or their appearances. My wife senses this and feels that this particular church has a more genuine atmosphere. We call that "The Genuine Article to a T."

Park:

We have not been to the park near our home in a long time. It is odd that we live so close, and thought we would go there often once we moved here. Maybe we will after we get moved in more fully.

Busy At Our New Home:

We have been busy organizing our new home, planting trees and shrubs. My wife badly wants a border along the road on the side of our home to give us some privacy. She is less concerned with the front side of our humble abode, content to allow people to view the home from that perspective.

I suppose the back yard is for airing one's laundry. Too, one day, we hope to get a dog, and in this subdivision, we are neither allowed to let dogs run free nor to have the kept on a chain. They must be free to run, either indoors or outdoors in an enclosed area.

Visiting My Mother:

On the first weekend of August, we will be visiting my sister, brother and mother in Virginia. My older sister has a birthday on the same day in August as my 7-year-old. We will celebrate together even though it is not the exact day. My mother is 82 now. She seems to be handling ageing OK, actually relaxing and enjoying life more. She seems to have a better sense of humor. I hope I enjoy my old age as much as she has been enjoying hers.

Visiting Jim Keaton and Kurt Barkley:

This next weekend, I will entertain an old childhood friend who will be travelling in from Washington State. He will bring his three boys and wife. We used to be training partners for long distance running, a few decades ago. I have not seen him in 15 years.

The next day, the 29th, I will go to visit another training old partner from my youth. He has four children, three boys and a girl, and lives in North Carolina. We will go to sleep at his home and swim in his backyard pool, maybe even get to go out in his boat and ski. These are all things my family has a never done before. In South Korea, it is rare that a family would own a pleasure craft such as a boat, and go skiing. I knew of no one who had such in our neighborhood. It would have been truly odd.

It is not that they do not have lakes, nor is it illegal, per se ... it is just that they do not think that way. They are focused on survival economics. Money seems to override many other decisions such that they miss out on understanding the purpose of life. The highest educational goal is for their children to earn much money.

In Christ, Nathaniel