Twofer Time: Update To Good Neighbor Meals & Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Fun Fest

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I wanted to post something else here today, but I’m still waiting for a response from a corporation. I thought it only fair to give them a chance to throw their two cents in before I post my story.

So, today, we plug favorite activities!

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My church, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, is having a fun fest on July 26th. It has two things I like most: music and food trucks. For the kids there are climbing walls, bouncy houses. For the adults and kids we have fire trucks and classic cars. Every hour, on the hour, there will be a musical performance or a drill team. Best of all, Taco Bell is sponsoring a Zumba class and it’s followed up with breakfast sandwiches. That one starts at 0930.

So, now that I’ve got your attention with the waffle tacos, the music is going to be great. There are some classic gospel choirs coming. Not the 15 elderly women in your choir, but a vibrant bunch of great voices lifted in praise. I can’t wait – kind of giddy just thinking about it!

All the fun starts at 10 (unless you’re a Zumba type) and runs until 4 pm. We’ll be at 501 Lawson in Saint Paul. Lots of different stuff to eat, activities for the kids (did I mention a petting zoo?) and fire trucks. Great paint jobs on Saint Paul trucks, so it’s a must see. Drop on by (no admission fee) and join the fun. We hope to have a great turnout and you’re a part of that plan. 501 W. Lawson, Saint Paul, MN from 10-4.

Next item: The Good Neighbor Meal. We’re doing it again on August 9th. I know a lot of you have asked how to participate in the comments (I don’t publish those, it’ kind of off topic…) Here’s the scoop: We’d love to have your help, but even better yet how about you come and see what we do and then bring a report back to your church, community service organization, scout troop, bowling team, youth league, etc. We’d love to show you what we do and then guide you in setting up your own turn at the Good Neighbor Meal. Just leave a comment for me and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Leave your phone number and I’ll call you (I won’t publish your number.)

The basic cost ranges from around $450 to whatever you want to spend. I suspect New York Strips would be a bit over the top, and hard to cook for 150 on a timely basis, but there are a lot of great meals we can turn out in the kitchen we use. I’d be more than happy to sit down with you and talk over menu planning and how to make it all happen. We still have a few gaps in the schedule and would love some new talent.

You can do it if I can. I surely had no super powers in doing this event. I listened to the advice of others, got my friends to help, and learned the ropes. The biggest part of it is simply making the decision to move forward.

Do it today. I’d love to help you serve the poor among us.

Bacon Cheeseburgers From God.

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My friend Charles Short hosts a weekly flash fiction contest on his blog. A few weeks ago the contest was to write a short fiction piece using Hebrews 13:2 NIV as your base: Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

This video, and what I did on Saturday, both put me in mind of that caution on a regular basis.

Post by Impressive Things.

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This past year has been a tough one in many regards. We’ve dealt with illness in our household and some of the effects of aging much sooner than I would have liked. My life is upside down with the 800,000 projects and plans I’m engaged in, including starting some new novels. As a result we haven’t made a missions trip this year. Instead, we’re carrying out our mission here locally.

We participate in The Good Neighbor Meal program. This year we will sponsor four different meals. Each time we sponsor we pick up the tab for the food, organize (more-or-less) the kitchen brigade, and do the cooking. Saturday we had 100 guests, which is way down from our usual 150. And, we were a bit light on volunteers, but with such a short summer in Minnesota even the volunteers blow town.

The cast and crew were the usual stalwarts, and some friends from KTIS, mission trips, my church, friends from the navy, and friends of friends. I’m so honored that they all showed up to make it happen. I even had an indentured minion – Al. Al was there doing community service for the Boy Scouts and brought a friend with him. Nothing finer than having two that can’t run away. They helped me crank out the burgers, do pots and pans, dishes, haul trash, etc. Hard workers and nice to kid about the work. They may not have realized it at the time, but I was trying to show them the value of these skills. While it’s nice to be a computer geek and author, I’ve paid more than a few bills mowing lawns, digging graves, cleaning warehouses, shoveling snow, and doing dishes. Those base skills allowed me to move up the ladder to where I am today – two rungs from the bottom!

That’s the history/background of how we do it all. Why is another question. The quote from Hebrews is part of it, the other part is Jesus made it pretty clear that we would be judged on how we handled our brothers and sisters in need. There’s another piece of the puzzle: it’s a blessing to serve. I don’t do it because God might stick me in a fiery pit. I do it because I can sit at the table, drenched in sweat from manning that grill for 4 hours, and have the nice woman next to me talk about the meal in glowing terms, not knowing I was the cook. The thing that touched me the most was that she delighted in the fact that we all talked to her.

I can’t imagine having 150 guests come by and not talking to them. We are acting as the hands and feet of Jesus when we make those meals. That blessing rains down on our heads each time. Would Jesus just slap down plates and not share some time with the people? I rather doubt it – nope, no way. So we try very hard to be good hosts. We prepare a top shelf meal and do it right. Saturday we made Bacon Cheeseburgers, baked beans with bacon, potato chips, cake, and an assortment of beverages. I’m proud to say we used more bacon for that one meal than most diners go through in a weekend.

Bacon is wonderful

Bacon is wonderful

We loaded up our cooking with seasoning, prayed over the results (not needed – I hope, but because it was the right thing to do…) and served it on china.

As always, people marveled about how we did all of this and had it all go so well with unpaid volunteers. It really is easy. All you need is helping hands and some basic guidance. For those of you in the Twin Cities, I’d be delighted to help your group sponsor a meal and learn the ropes. I will provide you with all sorts of help including a menu, timing plan, and my smiling (but beard-guarded) face hovering over the stove. Yes, I will cook if you do all the rest. (Assuming I’m available that weekend!) Use the comments to contact me, and I’ll gladly discuss the possibilities with you on the phone. You cannot imagine how wonderfully blessed you will be until you spend a Saturday feeding your brothers and sisters in need.

Blog Hopping – It’s The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.

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I know some really cool people. One of the best is Michelle Lim. Today Michelle has engaged me in a blog-hopping exercise between writers. We all have different ways of approaching the craft, and we want to share that with other writers and our readers. I liked the questions, and I’m going to hit them with full disclosure. Or, perhaps, such clever lies that you’ll never know the difference.

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About me as a writer?

My writing process leans heavily on the abuse of my sleeping time and consumption of vast quantities of pretzel rods, licorice, and Nerds. If I don’t have junk-food, the keys don’t click very much. I can budget time all I want, but that just means I find excuses not to sit here and write. When the muse sings out, I have been known to lock down for days, pausing just long enough to hose off in the yard while watering the rhubarb.

As to critique partners, I abuse my friends and family. Coworkers are especially handy for reading my work and letting me know what is working and what is failing. I truly appreciate their input.

What am I currently working on?

In the last two weeks I’ve put aside my sequel (Jessica, I’m just kidding. I’m still working on the sequel like you told me to do, and I promise you, my beloved agent, that it will be done very soon) and have started a new book. My first book was really one of those “God told me to do this” kinds of book that writers dream about – wrote itself. (And, reads that way sometimes – needs editing.) The new book is similar in that it poured into my head over the space of a few hours. It’s fun to write and it will be very different from Assault On Saint Agnes, my second book. (Nope, none yet published, but Jessica is working hard on changing that in the near future.)

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I’ve done most of the things in my books up to this point. Granted, I’ve never done the specifics, but I’ve had the life experiences of the characters and that makes it easier to write the scenes. There is a dimension of reality to the work that a lot of authors lack. It’s not that they aren’t good writers, but that nifty noise that the bullet smacking into the back of your car makes is not something you can research and know about at a gut level.

Why do I write what I do?

The first book I wrote was an inspired work. Yeah, that makes me nuts to some secular writers, but when God gives you a great story to write you write it all down and pray for guidance. The other books I’ve written/am working on are all subjects that fascinate me, or have great potential for excitement based on my experience. I know that the market for male writers of Christian fiction is smaller, but that can change. I look at guys like James L. Rubart, James Scott Bell, and Frank Peretti and know that the market is just on the edge of exploding for men. I want to be there when it happens.

There is another aspect that doesn’t always get touched upon: I want to bring the word to people. I know that I can tell stories that touch hearts and open them to God. I love that aspect of the mission.

How does my writing process work?

1. Have brilliant idea just as I’m falling asleep.

2. Forget brilliant idea for 3 weeks.

3. Go insane writing down all the details I can remember along with a story arc and some plot devices (usually takes two weeks.)

4. Write the rough draft, revise approximately 20 times, give to wife and wince when she hands back the bloody tatters of my soul.

5. Revise several more times, hand out to friends and coworkers to suffer through the mess, collect copies and read all comments. If only one person complains about something, I think about it a bit. If two people complain, I revise it for sure. If three or more lambaste that item, it’s out.

6. Have professional editor work it over.

7. Take those revisions, and revise approximately five more times.

Thanks Michelle Lim, for inviting me to the blog hop. Next week, on Monday, my esteemed colleague Brandy Vallance will be the subject.

Brandy Vallance’s blog for our next stop a week from today. Brandy was the winner of the Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel for 2013. Her award winning book, The Covered Deep, is set to publish on October 14th. I had the joy of getting to know her at the conference. She’s funny, smart, and I can’t wait to read the book. Also, she’s a Godly woman with some serious smiles. Does it get better? She is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Mangement.

Brandy Vallance

Brandy Vallance

I’ve stolen her bio right from her website:

“A completely incurable romantic, Brandy Vallance adores history and frequently has to be told at museums that it’s closing time. She loves to travel, plays the cello, and thinks all teacups should be bottomless. In 2011, she fulfilled a lifelong dream and went to England, Scotland, and Wales. Being a complete Anglophile, it was difficult to bring her home. Bribes may have been involved.”

What is your writing process like?

I Bet A Cartoon Can Make You Cry Without A Single Drawing.

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The power of imagination is startling. We layer item upon item in our mind until a base is formed for a concept, a personality, or a story. After a time, if we’re blessed, that becomes a vision of something that evokes feelings and a bit of love, or hate, in our hearts.

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Calvin and Hobbes has always been that way for me. From the first time I saw the comic strip I was an enthusiastic reader. I’m not going to post my favorite strip, nor will I put up a picture. Bill Watterson, the man behind Calvin And Hobbes, never licensed the images and would not approve. I have to respect that from an artist. I hope people don’t reprint my books without my permission (assuming they ever get printed, etc.)

When he packed it in almost two decades ago I was sad to see him go. But he went out at the peak, he said what he’d wanted to say, and he’d done it better than most in this life. Over the years I’ve seen “new” Calvin And Hobbes art – most of it vulgar, trite, and demeaning to the characters. Fan art often devolves in that fashion. Bill Watterson remained silent about the whole thing: he’s a recluse. By fighting it, suing people, or even engaging in the discussion, he’d have to come out and discuss his creation. He’s chosen not to do that. Cool.

This morning I was clicking through Facebook with my morning coffee close at hand – it’s taken the place of the morning paper for me. Right there, about five minutes into the day’s surfing, was a link that I almost ignored. The source made me ponder it: it was an old Navy friend who doesn’t post unless it’s pretty good stuff. So I clicked the link.

If you loved Calvin And Hobbes, you should click the link as well. Just make sure you have a few moments of privacy to do so, or you will have to explain to your children, your coworkers, or your spouse, why you are crying at the computer. It could be touchy. This is well written. It is an example of how to say a lot in a very few words.

My hat’s off to the writer, who is anonymous/hiding behind an avatar. I hope you’re a fan as well and can enjoy this post.

I’ll be back later this week. Take care, and don’t leave any tuna fish sandwiches sitting about – they attract tigers.

Education Time: CHP Beating Video Reveals Reasonable Force Likely Used On Grandmother.

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I love the sound of heads exploding, and I’m sure that headline did it for more than a few hundred of my readers. Now, if you’d like to see this video from another side, stick around for a few minutes and you may benefit from the experience.

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Let me start out with a simple statement: I’m opposed to police brutality. It’s wrong, and it undermines the public’s confidence in our law enforcement officers. I’m also opposed to the militarization of police forces. I think that’s exactly what the founders were concerned with when they talked about a standing army presenting a threat to our rights. I’m all about our rights. And that includes the rights and life of the officer involved in this struggle.

It’s important before you judge the video that you understand the following:

1. What it is you are watching.
2. What is actually happening.
3. What people are doing in the video and who the actors are in the video.
4. What the consequences are of not taking the actions the officer did in subduing the subject.

Item 1: You are seeing the end of the confrontation. We are not witnesses to what happened before the camera started rolling. We only see a woman (touted as a grandmother, but a grandmother might be as young as 30 years of age) walking on to the freeway and the officer trying to restrain her before she resists. (More on that in a minute.)

Item 2: There are multiple lanes of traffic. Every one of those cars will crush a human instantly. A car striking a pedestrian is not only going to seriously injure her or kill her, but it will likely result in additional accidents putting an unknown number of people in jeopardy. The officer has an obligation to stop her from doing harm to herself and others – it’s his sworn duty.

Item 3: There is a police officer (California Highway Patrol) and an unknown subject. He hasn’t had time to take her life history. All he knows is that she’s about to enter the traffic stream and create a lot of chaos and bloodshed. Her grandchildren’s pictures are not on display. See also item 1, we don’t know what she was doing prior to this footage.

Item 4: The consequences of letting her into traffic have already been noted. The real question is what is reasonable force and did the officer escalate as appropriate? Go full screen on the video and look for the following items:

The officer attempts to verbally wrangle the subject based on the body language. The subject then continues into the roadway. The officer grabs the subject and turns her around, attempting to bring her off the road. She drops to her knees and throws a punch at the officer’s face. She is also attempting to knee him in the crotch, and grabs at his uniform shirt near his face. The two are just a few feet from the traffic stream at this point. If they roll around on the ground while he attempts to wrestle her into a submission hold, they might very well wind up in traffic, crushed under a vehicle. She continues to grab at his throat/face and he strikes her until she curls into a fetal position. At that point an off-duty police officer comes to his aid and they cuff the subject. End of violence.

I’ve been in this fight. I’ve been trained for this fight. I nearly lost my life in this fight on my very first night out of the police academy. I have to tell you, when someone is trying to gouge your eyes, grab your gun, knee you in the crotch, and continues to resist, you are fighting for your life. If your response is that she’s a small black woman with no weapon and he’s a big white cop with mace, tasers, batons, and training I’d like to ask the following question: Would you allow this woman just 10 seconds to do as much damage as she could before you responded with the lowest level of force available? Because that’s what he does. He gave her a chance to quit before it escalated. He gave her a full 10 seconds of all-star wrestling next to the traffic lane before he threw a single punch.

In those ten seconds she could gouge your eyes out, grab your gun and shoot you, or incapacitate you with a knee to the groin. One good punch to the throat (lucky or not) and you can no longer breathe. Three seconds is an eternity, ten seconds is unimaginable if you haven’t been involved in this kind of thing. The entire take down sequence in this video takes twenty seconds. During that time the officer lands eleven blows that I counted. He stops part way through to assess the situation, and the subject continues to resist, grabbing at his face. Eye gouges hurt, blind, leave you defenseless. He lands another series of punches until she quits resisting. He never goes full combat mode, he holds her with one hand trying to restrain her, ready to stop when she quits fighting. And that’s what he does. If he was trying to really mess her up, he’d let go with both fists and it would be a much shorter video.

Yes, he’s much bigger. For those of you with children and grand children can you remember a surprise blow from that child when you were messing around that left you stunned? I thought so – that’s what a 40 pound child can do, can you imagine an adult of unknown background who might have training? You don’t know what your adversary can do when you enter the situation as a law enforcement officer. Your adversary is not a cuddly toddler with no malice. You have a subject who’s in a highly dangerous situation and they’re trying to inflict pain on you.

So, what should the CHP do? They should review the video in light of their use of force policy. If the officer acted within guidelines, thank him for saving her life and keeping her out of traffic. If he violated policy in an accidental fashion, retrain him on that subject. If he maliciously beat the woman (and it doesn’t look that way to me) terminate and prosecute him.

You see, these videos show only a portion of the action. They don’t give much room for analysis if you aren’t trained in the use of deadly force and non-lethal force. But when you’ve been there and done that, it’s a different video. Kind of like when I watch movies about the NSA and submarines – I bring a little something to the table.

Will I sit in judgement of the officer? No, that’s his department’s job. I just hope they base it on the facts, not the fear of publicity and charges of brutality coupled with threats of a lawsuit. I hope you will watch the video and think about it in light of what I’ve talked about today. If you can do that, congratulations – we’re all one step further along in understanding what really happened on that freeway.

Oh, and just for clarity, it was a trio of scrawny white people who nearly ended my life on that night 30 years ago. No race card available. Nor was there one here if you want to be objective about the circumstances.