April 22 '00
Volume 203
First
Easter Was It A Morning Like This
Transitioning from winter to
spring
is no easy task for Nature or at least it isn't for Nature in North Mississippi.
Come April, the weather one day will be mild and warm, the next may send
chills resonating from one's head to one's toes. It is as though winter is
a romance gone bad. Instead of quietly leaving, winter refuses to admit defeat
and chooses to beat down doors long since closed to its welcome. Today, 4/08,
is overcast and cool, with mid-fifties expected for the highs, whereas yesterday,
I wore a sweatband around my head while cutting the grass at our house for
sale on 8th Street, as temperatures neared eighty.
A distinct fragrance of springtime swirled about me yesterday morning, as
I stepped outside our residence in Greenville, MS. A strong breeze out of
the south mixed a variety of odors to tease my olfactory sensors. Various
flowers (wildflower varieties planted by a previous owner) were blooming
in a nearby bed. Azaleas bordering the drive and side entrance to the house
may have provided the strongest aroma, but I could not discount the Bounce
fabric softener sheet tumbling in the clothes dryer, as a contender, since
the exit vent for the dryer is on the same side of the house. Nor could I
discount, as insignificant, the smells associated with grass clippings, flowering
trees, and other odors contributed by the awakening of springtime.
So pleasant was the experience that I paused to reflect upon Resurrection
Morning and wondered as the songwriter and countless others, "Was it a morning
like this?"
Exactly, what sort of spring morning did Jesus, The Savior of the World,
step into as he demonstrated his victory over death? Sorry, I cannot answer
that one, and the writers of the New Testament did not record the temperature
and humidity of that glorious day. Neither are we told whether the day was
partly cloudy or partly sunny. It could have been a drizzly, rainy morning,
but I choose to believe it was a brilliantly sunshiny morning, not a cloud
to be found in the sky. Yet, it wouldn't really matter what sort of weather
occurred, for such would be a temporal bit of trivia. Only the events of
eternal significance matter here.
New Testament writers were careful to document the day of the year for us.
Resurrection Morning, our first Easter corresponded to the Sunday that followed
the Saturday of the celebration of Passover. Passover is a Jewish holiday
that occurs on the 14th day of Nisan (April) on the Jewish calendar.
Unfortunately, Easter is not celebrated as most of our holidays, that is,
Easter does not fit into the calendar like Christmas or New Years Day which
always falls on a particular day of the year. Instead Easter is traditionally
celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox
(first day of spring). I suppose Memorial Day is about as close to an irregular
holiday as I can associate with Easter. However, Memorial Day always falls
near the end of May, varying as little as one week, whereas Easter varies
between March 22 and April 25.
Jesus, at the insistence of Jewish leaders, had been put to death by the
Roman authorities on Friday before Passover. He, who claimed to be the Son
of God, died within a matter of a few hours, after being nailed to a wooden
cross. He, whose followers numbered into the thousands died virtually alone,
deserted by all but his mother, a few other women, and a lone disciple. He,
whose lifestyle included teaching spiritual truths as well as healing persons
afflicted with various maladies, would die a death reserved for persons found
guilty of crimes against the Roman government, a death considered so atrocious
that Roman citizens were spared its pangs and its shame. He, whose life
exemplified sinless perfection, would be crucified between two criminals,
and in his death would himself become a sacrifice for the sins of everyone.
How ironic, that one considered blameless, would bear the blame for all!
Were the death of Jesus the end of the story, Jesus would only be another
just man whose life was unjustly taken. His principles for godly living would
only allow him to be numbered among the great teachers of the world. He would,
perhaps, be recognized as a physician possessing great healing powers and
renowned in his day, but not the Great Physician. He would be among a lengthy
list of individuals to die before their career had hardly begun. He would
also be counted among those martyred for their beliefs. Surely, the world
would have appreciated him for his humanitarian effort and for his ability
to perform supernatural works, but had Jesus died and, in his dying, his
works died with him, he would have been just another marvelous philosopher,
healer, teacher, or leader.
Yet, because Jesus was more than a man, because he was God, the Creator of
the universe, made flesh, because he dwelt among us as one of us, because
he was fully man and fully God, because even death could not bind him to
a grave or tomb, he arose. He arose! He AROSE!. He did not lapse into a type
of coma only to regain consciousness, he actually died.
His disciples did not overpower the Roman guards stationed outside his tomb
and steal his body in order to perpetuate their belief that Jesus was God's
son. Instead, his disciples were hiding in fear. Only a couple (possibly
three) of women had the courage to venture into the early morning darkness
to seek permission to finalize the burial process left incomplete two days
earlier. For those individuals closest to Jesus, the events of that first
Easter morning were practically unbelievable.
When the women arrived at the tomb, the stone that had been set in place
to seal the grave was rolled aside, the guards were gone, and to their surprise,
so was the body whose interment they had come ready to complete. Days, even
weeks would pass before they and other followers fully understood all they
had seen and heard on that first Easter.
Jesus' triumph over death and the grave gives all mankind hope for life
everlasting. Jesus died, but he arose from death to live forever. Those who
believe in their hearts that Jesus is God's son and trust him to secure their
salvation believe their bodies shall also be resurrected from death, one
day. Such folks call themselves Christians a term meaning "little Christs."
Followers of the great religions of the world, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism,
and other faiths, may be able to point to a grave or marker and proclaim
the final resting place of the founder of their religion, and it is within
this context that Christianity becomes distinctive. Only Christians can point
to an empty tomb and say, "He lives!"
Jews continue to await their Messiah, but for Christains, Jesus is the "one
promised," the one rejected by the nation of Israel.
He is expected to return any day now. However, serious Christians don't concern
themselves with when that time will be, rather they chose to live as if it
might be today.
On what sort of morning did Jesus' arise? Was it a morning like this?
When Jesus returns, what sort of day will it be? Perhaps, it will be a day
very much like today.
Tax Relief
Problems Beset Efforts
Is anything truer than the adage, "The only thing certain in life is death
and taxes?" The sage was dead on target, was he not? It is a part of the
natural order, God's creation, for there to be life followed by death. It
is a part of the governmental order, Uncle Sam's, for there to be earnings
followed by taxes. We are predisposed to celebrate life and earnings and
to abhor death and taxes. While I may one day look forward to death, I seriously
doubt I shall ever look forward to taxes.
Taxation has been a vexation for people through out history. The Jews hated
the Romans for taxing them, but kings and rulers have always taxed their
subjects or excised tribute from a neighbor. The upstarts of Boston, of Colonial
America, despised a tax imposed on imported tea, rioted, and called the result
a tea party. For almost a hundred years, our great nation has mandated an
income tax on the working class. It is about as inequitable as anything you
will find imposed upon members of a democratic society. Married couples are
penalized for being married through an unfair income tax allocation. The
very wealthy and the very poor have a tax advantage not enjoyed by those
whose earnings fall in the middle income category. Congress continually dickers
with income tax reform but even Republicans fall short when it comes to giving
tax relief.
For more years than I care to remember, I have paid into the U.S. Treasury
above the amounts withheld by my employer. I don't care to elect to have
more taken out of my earnings than the law requires. I believe I should have
the use of my money for the greater part of the year and figure the shortfall
is the fault of the IRS for not building the withholding tables to accommodate
double-income marriages. Thus, I routinely wait until April 15th
to settle up with the government.
When Barbara was self-employed, we began using a Certified Public Accountant
to do our tax returns. At the time, it seemed a wise decision. Yet, several
years later, when we both were gainfully employed and with our tax filing
far less complicated, we continued using a CPA. After weighing the costs
of computer software to compute taxes versus the cost of using the CPA, we
elected to purchase the software and do our own taxes. That was two years
ago. While the decision saved a few bucks up front, it increased my "tax
time" stress at least a hundred fold, and if tax time is as stressful next
year as it was this year, we'll be going back to a professional, if not a
CPA, then a psychologist.
Ah…where to begin? The computer at our Greenville residence, on which
Barbara surfs the 'Net,' emails, and posts her checkbook entries into
Quicken, has had its share of troubles in recent weeks. Barbara was
scheduled to be away from home the entire week I had chosen to work on taxes.
When I asked Barbara for her charitable, medical, and other deductible
expenditures, before she left for the week, she was unable to produce the
needed reports, because of a corrupt software program. Furthermore, the tax
program I was using, TurboTax, would not read the data I had stored
a few days before. Thankfully, after a panicky evening of repairing computer
files, the data was restored.
However, on Wednesday, prior to the next Monday's filing deadline, it did
not look as though we would have all of the deductible expenditures from
Barbara's checkbook software. I knew we could eventually get the reports,
unless her backup data file was corrupt and not the software program itself.
Yet, I also knew time was not on our side. I would have only one more night
in Greenville to work on the program problem before heading to Pontotoc for
the weekend, for what was already a full weekend of activity. Plus, with
a dental appointment on Monday (filing deadline) in Tupelo, I was worried
about getting back to Greenville in time to finish the taxes.
After leaving Port Gibson, I stopped at Office Max in Vicksburg Thursday
afternoon, to purchase some office supplies, and while there, decided to
purchase the newest version of Quicken. Once back in Greenville, the
new software did the trick, and I quickly printed the reports needed. I was
then in a race with the clock, as there was dinner to prepare (I have to
eat), clothes and dishes to wash and dry (though, not together), just the
usual things that Barbara manages to take care of when she's around.
Shortly before 9:00 p.m., the last entry was made in the tax program, and
the bad news (amount of Federal tax due) popped up on the computer's monitor,
along with the good news that we were actually due a refund from the state.
Minutes later, the documents to be filed had been printed, and all that remained
would be to sign them over the weekend and mail them.
A flood of relief swept over me, and as I stood up to assemble all the paperwork,
I felt a bit lightheaded, almost euphoric. It was as though the tension was
being released through the pores of my skin. It was then that I realized
I had just experienced the best form of tax relief I would ever see.
Four-Way Fools
Intersection Madness
It could be due simply to a greater number of motorists, and it could be
an emerging tendency toward grumpiness. Either way, I have become more aware
of persons violating the right-of-way rules at a four-way stop. I tend to
forget whether the rule I learned forty years ago states, "yield to the driver
on your left," or whether it is "driver on the left is to yield," when two
motorists approach a four-way stop at the same time, but I believe it is
the former.
It is as hard for me to get out of the town where I often work, without going
through a four-way stop as it is for me to drive into Pontotoc without being
troubled by a four-way stop. Though Indianola has numerous four-way stops
inside the city, it does not have but one four-way stop on a major highway.
Pontotoc has fewer such stops in the residential district, but has two four-way
stops on state highways. I should also mention that a motorist traveling
to Indianola from Greenville must pass through a four-way stop in Leland.
Therefore, I do not suffer from a lack of exposure to the most confusing
traffic control measure short of the on-ramp merge lane. Actually, neither
one is all that confusing, but when courtesy flies out the window, conditions
are ripe for frustration and "flip-off's."
A four-way stop at the juncture of two two-lanes is inconvenient. The same
is true for a four-way stop at a pair of four-lanes or of a two-lane intersecting
with a four-lane. If left turn lanes are included in the scenario of four-lanes
intersecting, as many as twelve vehicles may be vying at any given time for
first jump off the starting blocks. In such a situation, only the most flagrant
violations deserve mention.
I don't have a problem with two vehicles slipping alongside an eighteen-wheeler
simultaneously, instead of the second vehicle waiting its turn, because when
an eighteen-wheeler lumbers across the highway, everyone else will be happy
to wait. However, I do have a gripe with motorists, who, trailing closely
behind the car ahead of them, speed through the intersection without waiting
their turn.
Being something of a numbers' guy, I meant to start logging the violations
this year. The tally would be up around a dozen or more had I kept a record.
Most folks still stop for the stop sign, but exceptions are noted. Yet, those
noting are usually other motorists like me, not a city policeman or highway
patrolman.
There are better traffic control methods for busy intersections. They just
are not as inexpensive as stop signs. Traffic lights are not cheap, neither
are they foolproof. Fools will run through a light as quickly as a four-way
stop. Meanwhile, be on guard for the four-way fools.
Bodock Beau
Courses For Men
Beau claims the following courses were dreamed up by some man-hating feminist,
but did agree several titles had merit.
Training Courses Now Available for Men
1. Introduction to Common Household Objects I: The Mop
2. Dressing Up: Beyond the Funeral and the Wedding
3. Refrigerator Forensics: Identifying and Removing the Dead
4. Design Pattern or Splatter Stain on the Linoleum? You CAN Tell the
Difference!
5. Accepting Loss I: If It's Empty, You Can Throw It Away
6. Accepting Loss II: If the Milk Expired Three Weeks Ago, Keeping It
In the Refrigerator Won't Bring It Back
7. Going to the Supermarket: It's Not Just for Women Anymore!
8. Recycling Skills I: Boxes that the Electronics Came In
9. Recycling Skills II: Styrofoam that Came in the Boxes that the Electronics
Came In
10. Bathroom Etiquette I: How to Remove Beard Clippings from the Sink
11. Bathroom Etiquette II: Five Easy Ways to Tell When You're About to
Run Out of Toilet Paper!
12. No, The Dishes Won't Wash Themselves: Knowing the Limitations of Your
Kitchenware
13. Romance: More Than a Cable Channel!
14. Strange But True!: She Really May NOT Care What "Fourth Down and Ten"
Means
15. Going Out to Dinner: Beyond the Pizza Hut
16. Expand Your Entertainment Options: Renting Movies outside of the
"Action/Adventure" Category
17. Yours, Mine, and Ours: Sharing the Remote
18. Why Women Laugh: "I Could Have Played a Better Game Than That!"
19. Adventures in Housekeeping I: Let's Clean the Closet
20. "I Don't Know": Be the First Man to Say It!
21. The Gas Gauge in Your Car: Sometimes Empty MEANS Empty
22. Directions: It's Okay to Ask for Them
23. Listening: It's Not Just Something You Do During Half-time and
Commercials
24. Accepting Your Limitations: Just Because You Have Power Tools Doesn't
Mean You Can Fix It
Contributed by Lisa B. Rolik
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