This past Friday my wife Becka, our daughter Nora, and I headed north for Cincinnati, Ohio, after my last class ended. Our older daughter Megan, our son-in-law Jim, and our grandson Drew headed south for Cincinnati and arrived earlier in the evening than we did. We all thoroughly enjoyed our quiet weekend together. One of our activities on Saturday was to go to the Pumpkin Patch at Blooms and Berries Farm Market in Loveland, Ohio. We did not do all the activities available there since several members of our party were not feeling their best with colds. We did enjoy seeing all sorts of fall produce on display and for sale and a hayride which included a stop at their pumpkin patch. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon there.

On the way up to Cincinnati and back we saw a number of questionable drivers and interestingly loaded vehicles. Some people did not let having no truck keep them from hauling whatever it was they wanted to transport. This practice is known all over the world, though, as the following pictures readily testify to what people will do when they have no truck.

During our summers in Asia we saw similar scenes, to our amazement! I am very thankful for my little pickup truck which has come in very handy for hauling all sorts of things.

Even though I have a truck, there are some things with which I have “no truck.” Having no truck comes from the French verb “troquer” which means swap, trade, barter. So when someone says he “has no truck with something,” it means he refuses to have dealings with something. For instance, I have no truck with the Marxist ideal of “redistributing wealth.” I also have no truck with abortion.

On purpose, I try to steer clear of politics on this blog, since the answer to mankind’s problems is the Lord, not politicians. I have to say that I am not wildly enthusiastic about either of the two major candidates in the presidential race, so please do not misconstrue what I’m saying as tacit approval of either candidate. Once again this election year, I will have to plug my nose and vote for one person mainly as a vote against the other person. As much as a third party vote would make me feel good, I need to be able to sleep at night.

This past Friday two young pastors whose blogs I follow both did a blog post which I feel compelled to pass on to my readers in light of our elections in two short weeks. I would really like to urge you to check out these two posts, which I pass on without comment - one on a blog called Pensées and another on a blog called My Two Cents.

I would appreciate your comments on our weekend, the people with no truck, and the matters with which I have no truck. I’ve added a new poll question in the sidebar about your predictions concerning the outcome of the presidential election.

quotation…

“God’s plans will not fail to be accomplished.” - Dr. Drew Conley

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Rob

He who runs behind truck is exhausted. He who runs in front of truck is tired.

Have you ever visited the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio? This past Friday my wife and I were finally able to, and it is well worth the trip! We had heard good things from many who have visited, and our expectations were exceeded. It was really exciting to see something so well done that glorifies the Creator God of the Bible. There are so many forces at work in today’s world trying to tear down faith in the Bible and the God of the Bible. It’s a huge blessing to find a place whose goal is just the opposite of that. If you have never visited, we strongly recommend it.

Here’s a picture of the display that showed how Noah’s ark may have looked during construction.

Thinking about Noah’s ark made me think of something I’ve been wanting to post.

Could Noah build his ark today?

If Noah lived in the United States today, the story may have gone something like this:

And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, “In one year, I am going to make it rain and cover the whole earth with water until all flesh is destroyed. But I want you to save the righteous people and two of every kind of living thing on the earth. Therefore, I am commanding you to build an ark.”

God delivered the specifications for the ark. With fear and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the ark.

“Remember” said the Lord, “You must complete the ark and bring everything aboard in one year.”

Exactly one year later, fierce storm clouds covered the earth and all the seas of the earth went into a tumult.

The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard weeping.

“Noah,” He said. “Where is the ark?”

“Lord, please forgive me!” cried Noah. “I did my best, but there were big problems. First, I had to get a permit for construction and your plans did not meet the codes. I had to hire an engineering firm and redraw the plans. Then I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not the ark needed a fire sprinkler system and flotation devices.

“Then my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission.

“Then I had problems getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to protect the Spotted Owl. I finally convinced the U.S. Forest Service that I needed the wood to save the owls. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won’t let me catch any owls. So, no owls.

“The carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or a hammer. Now I have 16 carpenters on the ark, but still no owls.

“When I started rounding up the other animals, I got sued by an animal rights group. They objected to me only taking two of each kind aboard. Just when I got the suit dismissed, the EPA notified me that I could not complete the ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. They didn’t take very kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the universe.

“Then the Army Engineers demanded a map of the proposed new flood plain. I sent them a map.

“Right now, I am trying to resolve a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that I am practicing discrimination by not taking godless, unbelieving people aboard.

“The IRS has seized my assets, claiming that I’m building the ark in preparation to flee the country to avoid paying taxes.

“I just got a notice from the state that I owe them some kind of user tax and failed to register the ark as a “recreational watercraft.

“Finally, the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the ark, saying that since God is flooding the earth, it is a religious event and therefore unconstitutional. I really don’t think I can finish the ark for another five or six years!” Noah wailed.

The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine and the seas began to calm. A rainbow arched across the sky.

Noah looked up hopefully. “You mean You are not going to destroy the earth, Lord?”

“No,” said the Lord. “I don’t have to. The government is already doing the destruction.”

My wife Becka and I are spending this week at the home of our daughter Megan, son-in-law Jim, and grandson Drew. Grandma and I took Drew for a walk this evening to a nearby park where he enjoyed swinging. Here’s a picture of him clapping to show his enjoyment.

I’m confident we’ll have more pictures to share later this week.

poll question update…

I’ve put out a new poll question about how you will celebrate the 4th of July. One of our activities that day will be celebrating my wife’s birthday.

I’ve set up a page where you can view the results of closed polls. This is available through the polls (past) tab at the top of the blog.

quotation…

“Evolution is a philosophy, not science.” - Dr. Drew Conley

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Rob

Did Noah keep his bees in archives?

This past weekend Becka and I drove up to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the wedding of our nephew Matt, the son of Becka’s sister Pam and brother-in-law Jim. We left right after my last class on Friday and arrived in Cinti six and a half hours later. The travel conditions were basically perfect, much to our delight. Megan, Jim, and Drew drove down from Detroit on Saturday. While waiting for them to arrive in time for the wedding at 1:00 p.m., Becka and I had Saturday morning to explore a little.

We decided that the hotel where we stayed could be where we’d like to retire to some day. It reminded us of the iv in my archives called no nursing home for me where you learn that it would be cheaper to live in a hotel than to go to a nursing home. That was the case with our hotel, a Comfort Inn very close to Kings Island amusement park. With our discount with the BJU Alumni Association, our room was under $50 a night. This included free cable TV (which we don’t even have at home!), free high speed internet, and a nice continental breakfast. A one-minute walk from the front door is a White Castle hamburger joint. (no thanks!) But also within easy walking distance are McDonald’s, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, and many, many more.

We had long heard of Cincinnati chili, but we got to experience it for lunch on Saturday at Skyline Chili. We each got a 5-way chili on spaghetti, and WOW! What a treat! The young people working in there told us two of the secret ingredients that they knew of in the chili sauce - cinnamon and chocolate. It sounds potentially ghastly, but it was really good! Becka had actually guessed cinnamon when she tasted it, but the chocolate was a surprise.

We had hoped to try Graeter’s ice cream, another Cincinnati legend and supposedly the best ice cream in the world, while in town, but we didn’t get a chance. Next time….

We really enjoyed getting to be at the wedding and seeing Pam, Jim, and their family. Here’s a shot of all of our nephew Matthew’s side of the family who were at the wedding…

And of course, we thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Jim, Meg, and Drew and get another “grandparent fix.” Though the wedding reception was lively and fun, Drew found it tiring…

Saturday evening the parents of our new niece Katy, Matt’s bride, invited all family members to come to their house for dinner. It was good to get to know some of Katy’s family and to spend some time with our own family too.

Here’s a picture of Becka and her sister Pam with their grandsons…

Here’s a picture of our niece Shannon, our daughter Megan and their sons…

That evening back at the hotel, Becka and I enjoyed giving Drew a bath in our sink. Here’s our little bathing beauty…

After spending Sunday morning together, we had to go our separate ways. Alas! Becka and I drove back to Greenville, and Megan, Jim, and Drew took in Drew’s first baseball game. Here’s a picture of them before rain ended their fun in the 5th inning and sent them on their drive back to Detroit…

Since Cincinnati is on the Ohio River, there are several bridges joining the Ohio and Kentucky parts of the city. This weekend I received an e-mail about a bridge incident that seemed like the perfect thing to share in this blog post about our weekend in Cincinnati.

Engineering Question of the Day

Q: How much does a house weigh?

A: Just a tad more than a rural two-lane bridge can hold, apparently.

So would this be accident be covered by house insurance, car insurance, or would it fall under roadside assistance?

And how in the world would you get the house picked up without ruining it?

Carolina chickadee update…

Here’s a picture of the babies this afternoon, five days after the last picture I posted…

quotation…

“Be a good commercial for God with your body.” - Dr. Daniel Borkert

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Rob

If all those psychics know the winning lottery numbers, why are they all still working?