Just another TheoBloggers Online Community weblog

This morning one of our members had a hypo-glycemic episode. His blood sugar had plunged to 36 which is low. I was called by a family member to the house to help. Several minutes later Houston Fire Department Paramedics arrived and took over the scene. I have always been a fan of paramedics. At one point while working for a local volunteer fire department I took EMT training. Its a unique experience to work in emergency medical services.
Paramedics are highly skilled young men and women who are able to shave minutes off of getting care to the sick and injured. In paramedic lingo it is called the “Golden Hour”. The basis of the Golden Hour is “the sooner you can get a person treated the more likely they are to survive.”.
Kudos to the Houston Fire Department for their professional and skillful treatment of this one patient. I know each day there are hundreds maybe thousands who are the reciepents of their care. Keep up the good work.

Allan

In October of 1994 I traveled to Russia on a church mission trip. We spent 14 days in the City of UFA which is in the state of Baskuria. All my life I heard of communist Russia and the Iron Curtian and the Cold War. Our media labeled us the good guys and they the bad guys. The anticipation for the trip was great on my part.
Nothing prepares you for what you see and experience when in Russia. It is an adventure in history but also the human condition. Communism created a black hole in the country and the lives of the people. Even though communism per say was dead it was still alive in many ways. Food supplies were short, infrastructure such as electricity and water were unreliable and pollution was terrible. The one thing unheard off was good healthcare. We encountered an army surgeon in our nightly studies. He told us stories of low medical supplies such a medicine and band aids, limited anesthesia for surgery. Long waiting lines were the norm for health care. It wasn’t a pretty sight according to his testimony.
When I landed in America I was very thankful for the society I lived in and the advanced systems we had. One of these advanced systems is health care. It is a blessing to have such great care and it isn’t cheap but we could be on the edge of a downfall. Everything seems to be going backward from the economy to the number of jobs available in the U.S. Will health care start to go backwards also?

Allan Jenkins

Cekebrities woes are in the headlines more and more each day. It has become so common it is impossible to remember all celebrities involved. There are two who are forever in the media’s mind. Those are Michael Vick and Dante Stallworth.
Michael Vicks sin is well known. He had a dog fighting business but denied it again and again until he finally gets caught. He loses millions, gets cut from the Falcons and spends 18 months in a federal prison. Today he signed a two year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He will make a few million over the next two years.
Danti Stallworth has a great night partying in Miami. He gets rather sloshed and decides to drive a car. While driving he hits and kills a pedestrian. This pedestrain is a father and husband. When all is said and done he loses a million or so dollars in settlements and lawyers fees, gets a brief jail sentence and loses one year in the NFL. He is in limbo.
From the Laws perspective I know that each case has it’s own merits and contigencies but the meaning of justice seems a big warped from the outcome of these two cases. When it is all said and done when did a dogs life count more than a human life?. When did the punishment for dog fighting become more serious than the punishment for manslaughter? Don’t get me wrong I love dogs and adore my own pet.
IF we reason this from a creationist view and the many dimensions of creation man is the highest being God made. Only man was created in God’s image. This is not said about any other animals created in Genesis one. From a justice point of view people get penalized more for cruelty to animals than to humans.

Allan Jenkins

My occupation takes me to some interesting places at times. One of those places is the cemetery. Many times after I perform the service I walk around and read some of the markers on the graves. Grave markers can be interesting reading. They tell somewhat a story of life. Some markers are plain with just their name, birthdate and date of death. Some have simple epitaphs such as “Beloved” or “Loving Mother”. One I read yesterday said “A man loved by All”. A few say U.S. Army Korea or U.S. Navy WW1 or WWII.
As I walked further one marker caught my attention. It just read “Friend”. The marker had no name, birthdate or date of death. It made me wonder who was laid to rest in that spot. Was it a John Doe or Jane Doe. Really that marker was a testimony to someone’s generosity. Graves in this cemetary aren’t cheap. It was a fairly new marker. Someone at one point in time though enough of someone to provide a place for their eternal rest.

Allan Jenkins

This morning my son in law boarded a plane in Chattanooga Tennessee bound for Fort Dix, New Jersey and then to Iraq. He is deploying for one year. He is attached to the Army National Guard 252 MP company. This unit will be helping train the Iraqi police force.
Even though you know soemthing like this is coming nothing prepares you for it. You can’t be prepared because it is a leap into the unknown. An unknown place, a unknown people, an unknown enemy. When you face the unknown it produces worry and fear. The level of worry is deep because it involves the life of someone you love and admire dearly. It is a precious life put constantly in harms way.
As a Christian I know that faith is a key element when you face the unknown. Even though it is difficult to put the worry aside faith brings a calm and peace. Faith enables one to live and take one day at a time. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount-”Why worry about tommorrow. each day has enough worry of it’s own”.

Allan Jenkins

This isn’t a blog about Broadway musicals or famous actresses like Julie Andews. It is a about young people who participate in an activity called Drum Corp International. Drum Corp is composed off 22 world cass units from every corner of the United States. There home bases are places like Concord Cal, Allentown Penn, Jacksonville, Ala and Madison Wis. Each Drum Corps in their present form consist of 60 or 70 horn players. They play Soprano, Baritone, Mellaphone and Contra-Bass voiced instruments. Along with the brass players are percussion, battery members and color guard. Give or take a few each group totals about 150 people. These young men and women work from December to May perfecting an 12 minute show. During June and July they tour the United States competing against other drum and bugle corps. There are around a hundred shows nationwide each summer. It all ends up in Indianapolis the first week in August with the DCI World Championships.
I have been attending DCI shows since 1976. The first major corp I saw were the Blue Stars form LaCrosse Wis. Elaine and I went to a DCI show in Little Rock Arkansas on our honeymoon. (thats a loving wife). Very few summers have passed when I didn’t see a show. I have even been to the world championships when they were held in Orlando, Florida.
When the corp show begins and its leads into their fanfare and the horns begin to play a shiver goes down you spine. There is nothing like it in the world. The DCI fever is contagious. Once you get it you will be hooked.