Tragic beyond words

Until his murder earlier this week, I had never heard of Charlie Kirk. You could have put me under a heat lamp, and I could not have told you who he was, or what he stood for. His name was not even familiar. 

Of course, now I know who he was and what he stood for. 

From what I have read and heard, it is clear he and I would not have agreed on much. He was an ally of the sitting president, for whom I have no respect, and a darling of the president's group of supporters commonly known as the MAGA crowd. 

But he was a husband. A father. A son. A friend. 

And he was gunned down in broad daylight. 

At the time he was shot and killed, he was exercising his First Amendment rights in a peaceable manner, no less (and no more) than I am doing as I type this. 

For all of that, I grieve his passing. 

I grieve the increasing loss of the ability to have civil disagreements. 

I grieve for a country in which more and more, resorting to violence becomes a way to express an opposing view. This is but one example. 

Mr. Kirk's political and philosophical leanings, no matter how they may have differed from my own, have no bearing whatsoever on how I, a fellow human being and, according to what my faith teaches me, a fellow image bearer of God, feel about what happened to him. 

It is, simply speaking, an unspeakable tragedy. 

Changing seasons, but not yet

It is the last day of August, and we are now two-thirds of the way through 2025. 

It's very cliche-ish to exclaim, "how has this year gone by so quickly?!" or some such thing. The fact is, time flies (how's that for a tired cliche?), pure and simple. I don't know anyone in my age group who would argue with that. 

To be sure, there are days when time seems to crawl. Those early days with babies getting adjusted to life outside the womb, particularly with regard to sleep, come to mind. Wife and I experienced that three times, and although I well remember each of those times, they are but distant memories. 

I have remembered them well enough to be able to tell each of my children, as they became parents themselves, that "this too shall pass." And with each of my six grandchildren, it did.  

Speaking of the end of August, and moving into September and the fall season (still officially three weeks away), I always find it fascinating how we tend to rush things here in the U.S. For at least two weeks, in the high heat of August, Halloween costumes and decorations have been taking center stage. I will qualify this by saying I'm not much of a shopper, but I have been in the grocery store a time or two over the past 15 days, and I went into a Target store a few days ago. Halloween, pumpkins and fall foliage are alive and well at all of these establishments. 

And in my online popups, everything imaginable with pumpkins appears before my eyes, specifically pumpkin spice lattes and Oktoberfest beer. I am not a coffee drinker, so the PSLs hold no interest for me anyway. The Oktoberfest beer? Maybe, but not yet. 

In the South, I guess we are so exhausted by the heat when mid-August arrives, we subconsciously believe if we start with the fall optics, the weather will turn cool, and summer will be in our collective rearview mirror. 

And maybe it even works sometimes. For the past few days, we have enjoyed a nice break from the heat, and I am writing this outside on my back porch. 

But as much as I have enjoyed it, I know it will not last. I have no doubt we will be back in the 90s before summer breathes its last around here. 

So, for now I'll pass on the Oktoberfest brews and reach for a Miller Lite should I need a refreshment break. 

But I better not let too much time pass if I don't want to miss the Oktoberfest offerings altogether. By the end of September, it will be all about the winter ales. 

Summertime, and the living is easy?

I don't recall when school started when I was an elementary, junior high or high school student, but I know it was not as early as it starts around here today, which is the first week in August. 

We might have started the week before Labor Day, or maybe the day after Labor Day, but I believe it was right around that. I always thought of the school year running from Labor Day to Memorial Day, with three months off in the summer. Breaks during the year consisted of a couple of days at Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas and a week in the spring. Maybe a day or two at Easter. 

As I recall, even spring break was not a thing until I was in high school. 

When my children were in school, things got started more around mid-August. When my last two were still in school, after my oldest had graduated, the school district proposed a more balanced calendar, with school starting earlier, maybe even late July, with more breaks during the year. 

I joined with other parents in vigorously opposing it, and at the time, we prevailed. Over time, however, those who favor an earlier start date have gotten their way. 

I always liked summers with my kids, and two months just seemed like such a short time. 

But today, school starts the first week of August. Summer break is two months instead of three. There are all kinds of breaks, including a weeklong fall break and a full week at Thanksgiving, and other days here and there. I suppose parents have become accustomed to this type of calendar and schedule. 

With so many families having both parents working, those breaks during the year must present challenges. Being long removed from it, although I would still favor a three-month summer break, I don't get worked up over it anymore. (But if I had a vote, it would be for a later start date.)

My grandchildren who are in school, in Alabama and Georgia, respectively, all started back this week as evidenced by the adorable pictures below.  It seems the earlier start date is a thing around the South. 

Summer is an interesting season in that even other institutions seem to take breaks. (Although not in banking, the industry I have worked in for more than a quarter-century.) Our church's regular pastors take a rest from the pulpit for a couple of months. We go to two services instead of three because more people seem to be traveling, not in town for church. 

People will say, "how is your summer going?" I don't recall being asked that about fall, winter or spring. 

There is some assumption, even if I don't have children at home and I'm not going by a school calendar, I am enjoying some kind of relaxed schedule. 

When I think back on this summer, I will, of course, think of my knee replacement surgery, which was seven weeks ago now. Recovery and rehabilitation continue, and I am doing well. 

But I wouldn't call it relaxing.