NASCAR & Rednecks

Thanks to Tommy picking up the tab, Tracey and I attended our first ever NASCAR race this past weekend!

It was down right fun! Not that I’ll be doing it again anytime soon though. The whole ordeal of “getting to the race” and then “getting away from the race” just didn’t balance out with the “fun of the race” – if ya know what I mean.

Let me put it another way, I didn’t get to bed till 3:00am and I’m typically asleep between 9:00 and 10:00pm. We have five kids that get up early every morning, ya know?

That being said, I was impressed with the race. It started out when that Jessica girl started singing the National Anthem – and over a hundred thousand folks immediately stopped what they were doing, put their hands over their hearts, and there wasn’t a sound made except her singing.

Then they said, “Let’s Pray” – and the same hundred thousand plus people ripped their hats off their heads, hushed their children, and again – ya coulda’ heard a pin drop if it weren’t for the preacher praying.

Finally, they did that whole – “start yer engines” thing – wow, that’s cool. Everyone needs to go once just to feel the vibrations and experience the sound of all them cars starting up!

Net-net, I think a good time was had by all – but they are going to have a hotel room connected to the racetrack before I go again.

Happy Birthdays

Tracey and Samantha celebrated their birthdays last weekend! Samantha is now fifteen and I believe Tracey is now fifteen with over fifteen years of experience.

Samantha wanted to go to the Melting Pot to celebrate, and so we did! We had a fantastic time as well!

The chocolate was the best part though, I’m still trying to figure out why we don’t go eat (a little) somewhere else and then just hit the Melting Pot for dessert!

Well – Samantha go herself an iPhone for her Birthday, and she’s mighty excited about that. While Tracey scored a couple of them digital picture frames that hold a brazillian photos and cycles through them.

She got a big one for the house and then she obtained a smaller one to sit on her desk at work. I’ve heard rumors that she has suddenly become a lot less effective at work – some people propose that it’s her age, but we all know she’s just sitting at her desk staring at a picture of me … right?

Politics

Well, if you don’t know which way I’m leaning on the issue – then you obviously don’t know me so well. That cartoon of Palin reading the “How to Field Dress a Donkey” manual is my favorite!

One of the questions I often get asked is, “How do you resolve in your conscience the fact that you are voting for an individual who doesn’t share the strength of your religious convections?”

It seems pretty simple to me, the US Government isn’t a religious institution – it’s about as secular as you can get, and always has been – regardless of the religious persuasions of those in office, the institution itself isn’t religious in nature (although to hear some talk you would think it is.)

I expect the Good Lord will put the people in office that He intends to have in office, and that I will have to answer to Him one day with regards to how I cast my vote. So, I check out all the candidates, compare them against my religious convictions, and they all come up short (well, Huckleberry wasn’t too short). So then, I figure out which of the candidates most closely align with my religious convictions – which could be restated as morals and ethics.

I don’t expect them to be perfect, and quite frankly, I don’t really expect them to be Christians – it’s a non-Christian world I live in, and my government won’t be any different.

Some folks have suggested that it’s better to just “not vote”. Now I don’t want to be too harsh – but what a load of malarkey! If you want my theological dissertation on why Christians are called to vote – send me an email and I’ll write it up. In the meantime – here are a few fun political links to go check out!

McCain Palin 2008 – Headquarters

Obama’s 95% Illusion – Wallstreet Journal on Obama’s Tax Plan

CNN Fact Check – CNN on Obama’s Claims Regarding McCain

Are you a Democrat, a Republican, or a Redneck?

The answer can be found by posing the following question:

You’re walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you.

You are carrying a Kimber 1911 cal. 45 ACP, and you are an expert shot.

You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What  do you do?

Democrat’s Answer :

Well, that’s not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?

Could we run away? What does my wife think? What about the kids? Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?

What does the law say about this situation? Does the pistol have appropriate safety built into it? Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?

Is it possible he’d be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me? If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?

Should I call 9-1-1? Why is this street so deserted? We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.

Republican’s Answer:

BANG!

Redneck’s Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!BANG! BANG!

BANG !

Click….. (Sounds of reloading)

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BANG! Click

Samantha: ‘Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hydrashocks?! ‘

Collin: ‘Can I shoot the next one?!’

Tracey: ‘You ain’t taking that to the Taxidermist!’