Tampa airport

Let me just start out by saying this is the best airport. Quick and easy entry and movement from checkout to gates. That is a must.

But free internet and great workstations that makes it the best. Very very nice.

I went to bed last night at 3 AM. That has been normal for this convention. I'm talking EST now. I never did switch my watch to Eastern time. So I have to do the mental calculation. It's not always easy. We leave for the Convention Center, here called The Forum at 4:30 PM. That with traffic and time for loading close to 600 people means we get there pretty close to 7 PM, the time the convention starts.

Then we get done at 11 PM. What with getting out, getting on buses, switching to new buses at the football stadium, Raymond James Stadium, and a 40 miles trip back to Saddlebrook Resort we get back between 1 AM and 3 AM. Each of the three nights the setup was different. Last night we rushed out, thinking we have figured out their loading system to get on as quickly as possible, only to find they have changed their pattern again. Tonight the stadium was pretty much filled, this was the big night. There were close to 20,000 people to move out. Switching at Raymond James, after the first night, was not as bad. The walk was significant but I can handle that. Our buses were easy to find and we got off pretty quickly.

But now I am exhausted. I do not feel like I even slept. I have been getting to bed around 3 AM. It takes me a while to get settled. I do check the mail and see what's on the channels, really nothing. Last night I quickly packed, never made a mess, everything was pretty orderly and my bag is still big. I had to get up at 6 AM to get to a 7 PM Supershuttle ride to the airport. I set my alarm clock twice, for 5:50 AM and 6:15 AM. It never went off. Yes I should have gotten a wake up call on my phone. But as usual, God was good. He woke me up just in time to make the shuttle. Officially I was 4 minutes late since I had to rush in and check out. But I missed cooking my last breakfast on the apartment stove. I had enough time to pack my computer and do so last minute things. I did a quick double check. I still don't think I left anything. I did not even get any milk. I wonder if my roommate will take any of the food we have left over. I have taken some of it (tuna fish) but did leave a few things I wanted, potatoes maybe. I also packed myself a lunch from the leftovers last night.

I said I'm in a great airport. But the bad news is that I have a 3 hour layover in Miami before embarking for home. My experience is that Miami is a contrast, the worst airport in the world. Lots of walking, less than friendly staff. I will not have as much baggage as last time so the walking will not be as bothersome.

I am taking American today. like United each checked bag is $30 and over 50 pounds is $100. On the way over I had to take out a few books to get under 50 pounds. Today my bag weighs 66 pounds. I cannot take enough out to get down to 50. The check in lady clearly explains they can put extra in a box and I save $70. Two bags costs $60. One overweight bag costs $130. So I find enough to fill a 6 cu. ft. box. She wraps it up and I'm all set. Aside from the cost, pretty painless. Then a quick tram shuttle to Terminal F and I am now waiting for my plane to leave. I have about two hours to wait here. Yes there are seven terminals but each one has fewer gates so less walking once you get there.

Last Day of Convention

I am not a great speech or variety show junkie so often the presentation put me to sleep or made me bored. But there people were nice. There were some good conversations. The books I read could not keep my interest. I did finish a couple of books but ended up just hanging out or napping.

My roommate was very nice. He knew a lot of people and inside information. He ate lunch out a lot, presumable finding out more inside information. I feel much more informed.

Mitt Romney was not my first choice and I wondered why people voted for him. After this convention I think I know. He was certainly the most qualified candidate running, having run a state, several successful businesses, and turned around the almost failed Salt Lake City winter Olympics. It's on a bigger scale but he will have a similar task if he should win. This country has run away spending going on. Obama does not even pretend to have a budget. And I think a lot of it is because Obama is trying to repay cronies.

Romney is most qualified to take on this task having turned around several entities int the past. I wonder if the population of this country is willing to allow a government to make the tough decisions necessary to lower spending. As a group we see what we what and figure someone else can pay for it. A lot of people want to believe Obama's divisive rhetoric. That way we can justify taxing them more. We are a tough group to govern.

golfing attire at Saddlebrook Resort, Tampa

Oh yes, at the entrance to Saddlebrook resort are a couple of driving ranges and putting greens. Almost everyone is suitably attired.

The shirts were day-glow colors. Wow! There were a couple of day-glow yellow shirts and three very bright orange shirts. Also bright white. Then the pants tended to be just as white from bright blue to white. There was some green. I don't remember pink. The women tended to have the green shirts.

There were a few people in dark pants. But I did not see any dark shirts.

shallow impressions of Tampa

Quickly I have to get out to the bus.

I have seen waterless urinals. I knew they were possible. I had thought of it. But now I've seen them. I don't know how they work. I really never stuck around to see.

The homes on the fairways of this golf resort have screened in back yard. I guess it keeps out golf balls and especially mosquitoes. Cool. We are pretty much as humid in Houston, but I have never seen screened in back yards. Some of the large twenty foot high screened backyards include swimming pools.

I walked just off the premises. It's about two miles from our resort hotel to the front entrance. I found that just next to us is a pretty large orchard. They seem to be oranges. Several have died from lack of water it seems. But most are doing well with a lot of almost ripe fruit on them.

RNC - Tampa Bay

RNC - Tampa I have walked the perimeter of the golf course twice now. The second time I was in what we are getting of the hurricane, sprinkles that sometimes generate into hard sprinkles but often just muggy. Little wind.

< P> I saw a lot of different sea birds: egrets, gulls, herons, even a falcon. That was pretty cool. I got some great pictures.

The delegates have a scavenger hunt which I have joined. I might not be much help.

We had a planned welcome party at the local baseball field, Tropicana last night, Sunday. The lead act was Todd Akin. I hope I have got that name right.

Since the Monday convention was called off due to the hurricane. So instead I guess we have another party to go to.

We got dropped off and saw the demonstrators with what looked like army between them and us. There was as much of the police people as there were demonstrators. But they have discovered several people with guns nearby.

Everything is fenced off with six or seven foot high temporary fencing. I think there is wire on top. The buses have a security guard with an automatic rifle. There are thousands of security of various agencies. At the airport lot of people walked about with shirts saying they were RNC staff. But they did not help us, they must have been a type of security too, though seemingly without weapons.

The locals seem pretty sanguine. I'm a little surprised I don't hear or see more complaining about all the closures.

When we are bused around the police have blocked and stopped traffic. You would think it was a big VIP, the president or something moving in a caravan.

Last night at a party on the bay there were a half a dozen patrol boats with machine guns moving around.

We were at a place called Taylor's (or something) last night for our second party. The first rowdy drunken party at Tropicana Field Sunday was good. I had a good party experience there. I met a lot of interesting people including several media. It was fun to watch the dancing. The act, Chet Akin (?) was pretty good. But the second was too much of a good thing. I laid back on the alcohol this time. I may be repeating myself but Tampa food is none too good. They tout Cuban food. It will never be Tex-Mex.

One party was pretty good. Two in a row is too much. I guess we would not have had the second without the hurricane. The second was sponsored by AT&T who had screens all over with advertising for the company.

Today I am going to a Pro-life convocation at 11 PM before the main meeting calls to order at 2PM. I don't know why I am in such a hurry since I am just an alternate.

Each alternate is paired with a delegate. I can only get on the floor if my delegate expressly allows me to. My delegate is a nice lady, very politically experienced. She only half jokingly said if I wanted to get on the floor I had to kiss her ring. It a big brightly jeweled ring in the shape of Texas. So when I see her I pretend to kiss the ring. Hey why not? It's a good joke.

Luke 21:5-19 persecution

Jesus predicts persecution and links it (somehow) to the end of the world. In the first section he is asked about the temple and he predicts that it will be destroyed. This happened 40 years later. Was this written after the fact and simply put in his mouth to make him look good? I don't think. But this section is only an introduction to the main point. The temple is only the first of the signs.

Then he speaks of false messiahs and terrible events that will make one think the end must be near. We know both of those things have happened. Many times they have happened, haven't they? We have a new one. The Mayan Calendar had an end and it is coming at the time of the Winter Solstice. Some are taking this seriously as an end time prediction. Most of us are planning to have fun with it.

Interesting to me, Jesus says, "These things must take place but the end does not follow IMMEDIATELY. I have never noticed this before. Or it is just underscored to me right now.

Then he speaks of persecution. Jesus predicts the persecution of his followers. He is probably thinking of his own future experience here, that it will be like that for his faithful as well. Later when the disciples think back on his teaching here, they will remember his persecution and death, as well as his resurrection. It will give them hope when they are persecuted.

Jesus speaks of this as an opportunity to testify, to witness, to explain who Jesus is and why they persist despite disapproval and hatred. In verse 15 Jesus assures them that God will give them wisdom that none of their attackers can refute.

No one can refute my experience. I suspect in my children's time persecution in this country will get worse. But in all ages there are things that Christians believe that cause anger and at least mild persecution among average non-Christians.

Today some of those things are monogamy, a mindset that homosexuality is not normal and in fact self destructive, and pro-life (anti-abortion). Not every Christian agrees with all these things but they are obviously the teaching of the Bible and the church since the beginning. Speaking of these things publically can get you ridiculed and increasingly into trouble with the government. But they are definitely time for witnessing.

Other things that some Christians believe I am not so convinced of myself. Perhaps they are right. I could be ridiculing what God loves. So I try to resist the wish to make fun or put down.

Not that long ago there were Christian women who demonstrated about alcohol. This was about 100 years ago. "Demon rum" it was called. Many ridiculed Carrie Nation and her followers. Even today Carrie Nation is a name that brings a titter. Was she following God? She certainly thought so. Yes alcohol can be a demon. Many have been ruined by abusing it. The movement she started later caused us to outlaw alcohol and start the era called Prohibition. We now feel that was an overreaction and are scared to prohibit other addictive substances, such as nicotine. Perhaps PSA's against alcohol and nicotine are the better solution.

The Prohibition movement was certainly a Christian movement. But after it was passed we found out what hypocrites we were. It was a good idea. We just did not have the discipline to keep it.

Pharisees and Sadducces - Acts 22:30-23:11

OK I am using this portion of scripture to mainly speak of the world view of Harry Kemelman, who is the author of the "day, the Rabbi " series. The first one is called "Friday the Rabbi Slept Late". These are fun mysteries without lots of sex and violence. My wife and I love them. As a student of cultures and sub-cultures I especially love this series.

Several times in each book there is a scene where the rabbi speaks of what Judaism is and what it is not. By and large I agree with his view. The view is definitely one of the Sadducees.

At the time of Jesus Christ there were two major schools of thought in Judaism: Pharisee and Sadducee. Jesus most definitely fell on the side of the Pharisee. But over time the Pharisee view fell out of favor and has almost died out.

As we read in the Acts scripture Sadducees felt there was no afterlife, no angels, nothing spiritual, which I assume means no healing, no real way of experiencing God, at least spiritually. The Pharisees believed all of those spiritual things were real. God can be experienced. He intervenes into our world.

But the view of the Sadducee is the take that Kemelman's rabbi, Rabbi Small takes. God cannot be known really. Judaism has become a religion of dietary rules and moral laws. Jews follow the laws and obey the moral laws simply because God said so. But there is no expectation that one will receive benefits from all this. The major rites of the Jewish religion occur at home among family, not at church or synagogue.

Speaking my opinion now this change in Judaism is for two major reasons. First the temple was destroyed. It was not rebuilt and likely will never be rebuilt. So the major rites of the Old Testament which involved the temple cannot be done anymore. Our sensibilities have changed much over the centuries. Today one cannot even imagine ritually killing animals in the name of God. We wonder why anyone would do it and what would it prove?

Secondly the hope of a religious savior, however one envisions that, has died. They partially died as a result of the destruction of the temple. But also the time that the savior was to come, according to most views of the prophets, was at the time that Jesus came. Since no other man that the Jews could accept did come and Jesus has been such a world wide success the Jews are left with a big problem. Their leaders quickly closed ranks after Jesus died and reportedly rose from the dead. They decided anyone who believed Jesus was the Jewish messiah would be declared not a Jew. Some were stoned and killed.

As Rabbi Small has said, Judaism is about ritual and laws, not about beliefs. One can be an atheist and still confidently attend services and do the rituals. But he doesn't mention the only exception is one cannot accept Jesus as the Jewish savior. That puts one outside the pale of Jewishness.

But since the Jews had no alternative to put forward as the savior who is definitely predicted in their scriptures they have decided over time that no savior will come. So they have had to redefine what God had meant. Whenever the prophets speak of an individual they have decided this refers to Israel as a group. The talk of a savior is to be "spiritualized". Often it actually works pretty well.

Anyway this is the view of Kemelman's rabbi. He expresses it very well, certainly better than I have.

Life is good

My life is good. I planned it. Now it's by God's grace. Paul criticized some disciples for saying, "I will go to such and such a city and conduct business and make a profit." Rather say, "By God's grace I will go and do such and such."

I am so aware that my planning has come true by God's grace. Nevertheless I did plan this and by and large it has come to pass. I know how tenuous this is. Do not trust in goods that mold can rot. Money can rot quickly because of inflation or several kinds of financial disaster.

It's not quite what I hoped for 20 years ago. But it's pretty close. I had a plan, I worked the plan. Interest rates are sure not what we expected 20 years ago. But these things come it cycles. It's not totally unexpected.

That is why the lack of control on my Israeli trip was so startling. I know God's loves me because he worked to test me about how I would react to situations where I found myself desperately out of control. Would I still trust him and love him? I could have done better. But I knew God's presence in all that.

Part of life is good: I was reading in the WSJ that people are now using public hotel bars as a mobile offices. (Is that what WG does?) Some hotels think this is good for business and actually encourage it. It sets an ambiance that business travelers might see as friendly. These hotels have free wi-fi, great lighting, and sufficient plugs for laptops. If you are making a lot of phone calls you may have to take it outside. But it's a pretty cool idea. I should try the Hilton Americas down the road sometime.

But I have always planned to use my college library like that. It's going full circle. I used to hang out there when I was in high school, before I even matriculated there. Now I am hanging out there in my semi-retirement. I have a desk I always use. There is even a desk drawer. There is free wi-fi and a snack machine close by. But I always bring a lunch and some cold tea. It simulates going to an office to work. It helps to separate oneself from home.

I do some personal business, personal projects, personal reading, check email and Facebook. I don't do much corporate business but I do take some calls and email. More business people know my personal phone number than I'd like. I have no problem keeping busy for eight hours.

Then I might go to the gym on the way home. It's pretty cool.

Man proposes and God disposes. Each breath I take is a gift from God. Yet one still must have a plan. With no plan your plan cannot come true. As plans go my plan was pretty modest. It was a plan for retirement. I know a man from Hawaii who was very public about his plan to retire. He was working the plan while also living his life. His life included exercise for fitness and increasingly for adventure. While hiking a mountain pass he fell to his death. He was with a group. It was dangerous but he felt he had taken every precaution. Yet he died young, early 40's I think.

So one plans but one never knows how it will work out. We remember you RS, rest in peace.