Another Christmas Miracle

                        

On a December night, in a cold place far away, there was another Christmas miracle. It was during the Korean War, 71 years ago.

The Marines who had taken the Chosin Reservoir were now pretty sure that they would be home by Christmas. They had defeated the North Korean Army and had been ordered to hold their ground until new orders could come from Washington, D.C. 

Unfortunately, while we sat during the next two weeks, Chinese forces, who had entered the war, proceeded to completely surround the Marines. Their strong attacks were frequent, beginning at about 4:30 AM each morning. 

The situation was pretty bad. While waiting for orders, our supply line was cut off, our Corpsmen (Marine medics) were running out of blood and morphine and we were running out of ammo. The Air Force kept us going with parachute drops. When the orders finally came, they told us to "leave Korea". Not so easy - because we were surrounded. "Leaving" meant having to fight our way out. 

We began a long 80 mile trek, in below-zero temperatures, to come out of the mountains, heading for our ships at sea. All along the way, there were Chinese roadblocks and many battles still to be fought. 

We were coming out determined to leave nothing and nobody behind. We picked up all of our wounded comrades and those who had been killed. With our vehicles in the center of the road, we walked alongside in single file columns on both sides of the road. The incredible cold and the icy, slippery road made each step a challenge. We kept moving, until we met the next Chinese roadblock. The vehicles would then stop. We would bunch up and engage with the enemy until we could break through.

The vehicles would then begin to move again. We reformed our columns and continued down the mountain. This went on for each of the Chinese roadblocks we encountered (I recall five). The march out was slow and demanding. Our diet of cookies and snow did little to offset the exhaustion we all felt.

Frostbite became a serious problem. We had to keep stomping our feet while we walked. If we didn't the extreme cold would quickly freeze the brine (perspiration) in our boots - a risk we faced every time we had to stop to fight off an attack. 

It snowed most of the time with a sky that was overcast. We kept praying for it to clear up, so that we could get some help from our aircraft. All along the way we put our wounded on the hoods of vehicles to keep them warm and our dead comrades onto trucks. 

On one night, the sky finally began to clear. We were so happy that the snow stopped and the stars became visible again. This was the needed help that we were praying for. Maybe we would really survive this after all, and maybe even make it home for Christmas. 

We contacted our Marine Corsair planes and they helped us destroy the roadblocks ahead of us as we fought the rest of the way down that icy mountain road. 

On that wondrous night and clear sky, there was one star that was shining so much more brightly than all the others. Many of us who saw that star considered it a miracle as it was that night in Bethlehem, long ago. We took it as a sign that we would survive our difficult situation. 

But, there were still so many miles to go until we reached the sea. We would have to board ships that would sail us across the Pacific toward home. It would take a lot of time for all of that. It was becoming clear to us that we would not make it home by Christmas. We plodded on. 

On December 5, about halfway out of the mountains, the war was over for me. When I regained consciousness, I found myself draped over the hood of a Jeep. I knew that meant I had been wounded and not killed. We put our dead  on trucks. I was dropped off at an aid station unaware of what had happened to me.

The corpsmen examined me, put a tag on me and moved me out to be air evacuated, along with many others in an old DC-3 to a Japanese hospital in Itazuki. Time seemed to stand still from then on as I began a flight that would take me halfway around the world. There were hospital stays in Tokyo, Wake Island, Hawaii, Oakland, San Antonio and then my last stop - the Naval Hospital, in my home town of Philadelphia. 

There was a wonderful surprise in store for me. It was about 10 PM as I was taken into the hospital and settled in. I was greeted by many shouts of, "Merry Christmas!". That's when I finally realized that it was Christmas Eve! December 24, 1950. Somehow, I had made it home for Christmas, after all - a true miracle. I was alive, I would heal and I was home. It was the best Christmas ever!

Footnote:

Years later, those of us who saw the bright star that night in Korea formed an organization, "The Chosin Few", for those who had survived the Chosin Reservoir battle. We made the star our symbol.

                    Merry Christmas

America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful

It has been 240 years in the making - the greatest, most powerful and generous nation the world has ever seen - America. Its citizens have fought and died, first for their own freedom - and since then, for the freedom of others.

This wonderful country has proven that its economic system (free market capitalism) has been the engine that drives the entire world. The freedom it provides allows every citizen to pursue his own dream. All can be whoever and whatever they want to become. And if a person gets very wealthy on the way, he will be respected for his success.

Successful people are the fuel that allows America to keep growing stronger. They are able to create jobs for others, they produce goods that are envied by other nations and by being free they are able to bring creative ideas to market - more than any other country.

Now, after 240 years of unequaled economic success, that incredible economic system is under attack. There are those whose desire for power is so great, they would destroy that system, the very basis for America's success and uniqueness.

In this coming election, it appears that in one voting cycle, we could lose America's entire successful record. We could go from free market capitalism to the proven failure called socialism in just one election.

The founding fathers will see their beautiful America lose its most valuable asset. These men willingly risked their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to establish this most beneficent of nations. Those who followed them have given their lives in so many efforts to keep our nation free and prosperous. Those citizens also fought to keep us from the foreign ideas of fascism and socialism.

I don't know where the majority of this nation's citizens are centered, but I'm sure of how I feel. After 240 successful and unsurpassed years, I'm just not able to stand by and see our country turned into just another European-style socialist nation. 

The oath I once took is still in play - to defend and protect this nation, its flag and its Constitution from all enemies, foreign or domestic.

I've watched as the very foundation of this nation has been removed stone by stone. We've lost the very mention of God in our schools and our daily lives; our flag has lost its well-earned respect and is no longer considered sacred; our brave military is scorned and accused; and most threatening of all, the Constitution itself is in the process of being disregarded and discarded.

All of this has been accomplished even while we are being threatened by enemies bent on our destruction. With "useful idiots" around the world to help them, a weakened America will be an easy conquest for those enemies. And yet, there are those who do not see this threat. They are so blinded by apathy. They don't read, don't hear and don't recall the many American lives that have been taken by these fanatics. How can they pretend that we were not attacked, that thousands of innocent Americans were not murdered. 

Voting used to be an opportunity to pick the person we like to be the leader we want. This time there is so much more hanging on your vote. Do we want to hold on to the nation we have always been, the country we love, or will we watch it torn away from its proud history? Do we want America to continue its promise that our rights are God-given? 

This time it's not about which candidate we like or dislike – it’s about the policies they represent. It’s about protecting our nation's original values and saving America the beautiful. 

Dear God, before they vote, please help the American people to see and understand what is really at stake in that voting booth.

A Matter of Time

     This morning on the beach, I saw a very proud Dad taking snapshots of his wife and little daughter. There at the water's edge, a flood of thoughts and memories came over me. I found myself thinking that it seemed like only a few years ago that I was that Dad. A lot of time has gone by since those snapshots were mounted in scrapbooks and put away. The years have gone by and those little daughters have grown older, as have the photos. The images in my mind, however, seem as fresh as the day they were taken. The wonderful miracle of memory makes the intervening years seem like only hours have passed. Time is strange, isn't it?

    The concept of time has always fascinated me.  I remember learning that time had to be created by man so that things wouldn't all happen at once.  We use clocks, mechanical or electrical means of measuring the passage of time, but the existence of time itself is more difficult to get a handle on. 

    When Einstein indicated that time (and space) can bend, it was intriguing to me. His findings seemed to justify all the novelists' stories of time travel. Astronauts actually were able to measure that a clock will slow down in space due to the curvature that Einstein spoke of. Is time something you can catch up with? He said, "Yes" - if you can go fast enough. Now that's a concept of time worth considering.

     We have so many different experiences with time. So much of what we think is the passage of time, is really the impression we give it through our minds. When we are expectant, anxious or suffering with pain, minutes can seem like hours. If we are experiencing joy, hours seem like only minutes. For those who look forward to being in Heaven, after their death. I wonder how the time will pass in Eternity? Will it be "timeless"?

     During several of my morning runs, induced by the rhythmic sound of my shoes, I have experienced almost trance-like meditative states. In those periods, it seemed like time had stood still. When the mind "goes away", as it does in meditation, there is no sense of time. It proves to me that it is the mind that is participating in this thing we call, "time". When coming out of my meditative state, my first thought was of how much time had elapsed. I would calculate how much, then I would decide whether that was a "long" or a "short" time. There would be no concept of time, or its duration, without my mind first constructing it. Many scholars have observed, time is an illusion. 

This concept is not embraced by everyone. In Judeo-Christian theology, time remains a linear concept, like a story, with a beginning, and an end. Their religions are based on time behaving in that way. In Hindu belief, a single Brahma day is made up of a thousand mahayugas, each lasting 4 billion years! That's a lot of time!

As humans we consider a lifetime of 90 - 100 years as a long life. It brings to mind, the entire life span of the Mayfly. It lives about 18 hours. In that period of time, it manages its purpose on earth. Not unlike our own, it is born, matures, reproduces and dies. I wonder if it thinks about its time on earth as being short?

     I remember an interview by a network anchor with the Finance Minister of Japan.  It was in the early 80's when there were difficulties between our countries regarding our trade deficit. In a philosophical moment, the American asked, "Will our countries ever understand each other?". The minister responded, "Maybe in 200 years". A little surprised, the anchor said, "You think it will take that long?". The Japanese minister, also somewhat surprised, said, "I think that is a very short time".  So in addition to scientific and perceptual differences in time, we have here the addition of even cultural differences.

     My most significant questions about time, are those raised by various religious sects and their calendars. I am especially intrigued by the doomsday spokespersons who foresee the end of time. I often wonder about the vantage point from which they posit their views? From what moment in time does their countdown begin? They speak of the millennium and it's portent of things to happen. What calendar are they using? Are these events based on the Julian calendar or on the Gregorian calendar? What of the Chinese, Jewish or Islamic calendars? The Chinese began theirs about 2300 B.C. The Gezer calendar, created in Hebrew, started in 1000 B.C. Muslims began counting in 622 A.D.  With all of these different perceptions of time, and with Einstein's Time/Space continuum theory, it would seem that time is a very complex subject. We know that time curves, it can go fast or slow, it can be imagined and we can make it up as we go along! I won't let it be of concern - it's only a matter of time.

Pruning

                                                                        

When I lived in Boca Raton, I would become very apprehensive as March arrived. I really loved my Mango tree, and March was when the brand new little fruit were subjected to the strong Spring winds. I was not willing to lose any of the precious fruit from that tree. The fruit were very vulnerable to those winds because of what I thought was the tree's faulty design - maybe a mistake by God?

Before the fruit even begins to form, there is a lengthening of each placenta. These are long, stems that will hold the hanging fruit (panicles). They can reach a length of nine inches or more, a seemingly too generous dimension. But, as always, what appears to be a "God mistake" is a well designed system able to act with other natural systems in the Universe.

Here's the way it works, and what I learned from watching this incredible life cycle develop. In February, the blossoms appear on the ends  of these long extensions. Bees and birds provide the required pollination. As the fruit develop, they appear as a small pea on the tip of each whip-like placenta. During the remainder of February and into March, the size and weight of these small fruits increases. When they have grown to about one or two inches in diameter, they are have become heavy enough to pull at the placenta so that it hangs straight down. 
The tree, at this point looks like a Christmas tree adorned with pretty little green balls, all hanging from a long string. That's when I would begin to look forward to the very large harvest I would be enjoying in July. It was so exciting to anticipate the hundreds of delicious mangoes that I was going to enjoy giving away and eating. Before that pleasure, I first had to learn a major lesson - about mango trees, about the Universal plan and about life itself. 

When the March winds arrived, the small fruits were subjected to an awful whipping action caused by the design of that lengthy placenta. It seemed so unfortunate to me that just as those fruits were so vulnerable, that they should be confronted with such a challenge. I felt helpless as the uncaring, unfeeling wind began to strip the small, helpless fruit from the ends of those placentas. So many would be lost and my dream of an enormous harvest would become dimmer. I noticed that the long placentas themselves were able to remain intact. They were strong enough to survive the strongest gusts. The still undeveloped fruit, however, were pulled away from their flailing tips. How could a tree be so poorly designed?  To have to face those harsh March winds hanging from a long whip-like tail seemed to doom all of the fruit to certain abortion.

Having to face those harsh March winds hanging from a long whip-like tail seemed to doom all of the fruit to certain abortion. Eventually, I was able to understand that I'd been witnessing another one of Nature's incredible miracles. The tree's design was perfect for facing those March winds. 

The tree "knew" about those winds. It could anticipate it's own future. It knew that at full growth, each of its fruits would weigh a pound or more.  It knew to make the placentas long enough to whip off only those fruits it "knew" would not survive development. The placentas were made strong enough to survive any gust so that they would remain able to hold and nourish the fully developed, heavy fruit. 

This whole process is part of  the tree's purpose.  It was part of a controlled environment that would allow the healthy fruit to survive. At the same time, it was conserving its strength by eliminating those fruits that were weak. It had to maintain its own strength for its own survival - the very purpose of life itself.

     What a design! The tree, the fruit, the birds, the bees, the wind knew about their role and what they had to do. They were all in on the same process. They new all about it, even before there were any blossoms. 

A similar process of pruning like this, takes place in all living things.  It is not just about evolution or the, "strong surviving". Even Darwin would have preferred, "The elimination of those unable to survive." But there is more to it than that. 

There is something more to the plan, something more spiritual, a truly "Grand Design". It's the fulfilling of a promise that there will always be trees, so that they can interact with the birds, the bees, the wind and me.  

Pruning is a natural and important part of our human growth and development. I believe that in order to fulfill our promise to life, we must learn to improve ourselves, to develop as a person and to survive. I believe this to be our entire purpose for being alive. 

Where does our pruning occur? What are our March winds? It is in our minds. Throughout our lives, we accumulate an abundance of irrational thoughts and ideas. Many of these do not serve us well. The way we think and what we come to believe creates most of our reality. Our "March winds" are the trials and the crises we will face while we are alive. Some of those ideas and beliefs will not survive the test of a particular crisis. As they are stripped away, we are able to choose healthier thoughts. These will allow us to grow stronger and help us to survive. 

It is the life crises we face that become the catalysts for our growth and development. They are the life storms that, at the time, seem so harsh, so uncaring, yet are also part of a larger plan.

Like the March winds testing the Mango tree, we are tested through many "Springs", as well. Eventually, we understand the incredible miracle of life that we are living - we submit ourselves to the plan - and we grow.