Some Memories

I have been reflecting on quite a few things these last few weeks.  Quite a few I have shared with my family, especially with my kids.  One of the big things that I have shared with them are the cartoons that I grew up with.  Unfortunately, though, some of them are harder to find than others.

There are several cartoons that I have shared with my kids that I have been able to find.  One of them being ‘Garfield and Friends.’  It was a show that I enjoyed as in my teens and early adulthood.  In fact, I still enjoy watching Garfield cartoons (including modern ones), and rereading some of the older cartoon strips.

Another show that I have shared with my kids, but they have not taken too much of an interest in, is in Magnum PI.  I have at least 4 seasons on DVD and still enjoy many of the episodes.  Just like with the current series that my family enjoys watching, CSI, Magnum PI lasted for many seasons because of their rich combination of actors that complimented each other extremely well, and some really good writers.

There are several shows that I have not been able to find on YouTube, though.  The version of Superfriends that I grew up with is one.  Not the one with ‘Wonderdog,’ but the one with the ‘Wonder Twins’ who could ‘activate’ their superpowers via verbal command while physically contacting each other.  (This was usually done via touching their index fingers, though other ways were done, too.)  It was a show that I grew up with in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  Another one during this time was ‘Thundarr, the Barbarian.’  With this particular show, I can find the opening credits and several commentaries on the different episodes, but not the episodes themselves.  Though ‘Thundarr’ was not my favorite cartoon growing up, it was one that I did enjoy a lot.

Some other memories that I have shared with my family and on this blog are my memories of traveling, especially in Europe.  Though I have traveled to many places throughout the United States and have very treasured memories from those travels, I more often talk about my travels to Europe.  Why?  Good question…

There are two reasons that I can come up with off the top of my head that I will share hear.  One of them is because of who much my experiences in Europe have impacted my life.  Let me start off with sharing one of my more humorous moments!

My parents had already visited Europe, primarily in Germany, because my Dad loves genealogy and his family comes from Germany.  While I was about 7 years old, and while we were living in Kansas, my parents started taking German at a night class.  My Mom eventually stopped going, but my Dad continued to attend.  While I had not interested in learning the language per se, I did enjoy learning some words and phrases over the years.  Basic questions, how to count, etc.

Fast forward to age 14, and I finally was able to visit Europe with my parents.  Needless to say, I was extremely excited!  My Dad had suggested to me that I sleep on the plan instead of staying up and watching the movies and eating the meals.  Being the typical teenager, I elected to stay up.  Needless to say, the consequence of that decision was being extremely tired upon our arrived in Germany.  So, I slept for a while in the car.

When we stopped later that afternoon at the hotel that we were going be staying, we decided to have lunch.  There were at least 6 or seven of us at the time (several friends and classmates of my dad traveled together), so we had one menu for every two people.  A friend of the family, Sandy, initially received a menu.  Being the hungry teen that I was, I snatched the menu from her had so that I could order something to eat.  I looked at it, but then angrily slapped the menu onto the table and said, “I can’t read this!”  It was, of course, in German!  Talking about culture shock! 

But, I overcame this experience within a day or two and was able to greatly enjoy my time there.  In fact, it was because of these experiences, falling in love with the food, the culture, the food, the landscape, the food, the history, the food, the castles…  Did I mention, ‘the food?’  Because of all that, I was inspired to learn the language with the intent of learning it so that I could work in Germany or travel there frequently for my work.  In fact, I went so far as to majoring in German (language, culture, history, etc.) while at Centre College.

We all memories for our experiences.  Some of them entertaining, some of them are awe inspiring, others are sad and/or painful.  But, these memories help mold us into the person that we are today.  How often do we share these memories and experiences with others to help them learn and grow?  I would encourage you to think about that.

RC

Ministering to a Divided Nation

References:

•           ESSENTIAL CIVIL WAR CURRICULUM Chaplains in the Civil War, by Richard G. Williams, Jr. (http://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/chaplains-in-the-civil-war.html)
•          Faith on the Firing Line, Army Chaplains in the Civil War (https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/spring/chaplains.html)

·         Article with numerous pictures from The Chaplain Kit (https://thechaplainkit.com/chaplains/19th-century-wars/civil-war/)

·         Jewish Chaplains in the Civil War (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-chaplains-in-the-civil-war/)

·         Site from Find A Grave where you can learn more about the different Chaplains in the Union Army (https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/100961)

Thoughts and Reflections…

While watching Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, I was a bit surprised to hear him talking about the various pastors and Chaplains who served in both the Union and the Confederate armies.  Although the Christian faith, both for justifying slavery in the South and for justifying abolitionism in the North have often been referenced, the fact that there were Chaplains serving in both armies was a bit of a surprise.  So, I decided to do a little bit of research on my own of this particular topic, and was surprised by how much I found.  Above are just a few of the articles that I came across in a short period of time.  And, I am quite intrigued by this.

As many of you might know, I have been in the Army (Active Duty and Nebraska National Guard) for over 17 years now.  However, something I do not recall sharing yet is the fact that I have tried to become a Chaplain with the US Army Nebraska National Guard.  Although I have always wanted to become a church pastor, there has always been a problem with becoming ordained.  Back in 2010 or so, I attempted to become ordained via a different route, via the Army Chaplain Corps.  Unfortunately, though, that did not work out, either.  However, that has not stopped God from using me on many occasions during my deployments, especially my third (2010-11) and fourth (2015) deployments.

Ever since I joined my current unit, the 192^nd Military Police Law and Order Detachment, I have often served as an ‘unofficial Chaplain’ to the other members of the unit.  There have been many occasions where a fellow Soldier has come to me for emotional and spiritual guidance.  On many occasions I have been asked to do the blessings before an event like a picnic or holiday meal.  While deployed, the Chaplains where I located gave me permission to teach a volunteer Bible Study and even assist them with leading worship.  This even happened one time while I was with the 82^nd Airborne Division.

Sometime between 2003-04, myself and several other members of B Company, 313^th Military Intelligence Battalion, were finishing our pre-jump exercises.  As per tradition, one of the Jump Masters asked if there was a Chaplain in the group of Soldiers who could lead us in a moment of prayer.  This was one of the few times where there wasn’t one.  However, somebody who knew me said, “Underwood here went to seminary!  He’s basically a Chaplain!”  So, I was invited to say a prayer, which I did, asking God for us to have a safe jump.  We loaded the ‘bird’ (airplane, probably a C-130) and took off.  And, we did have a ‘safe jump’ because it ended up being scratched!

When I first started researching this topic this past weekend, I learned that there have been Chaplains in the US Army ever since the Revolutionary War.  In fact, according to the Army History site (https://armyhistory.org/u-s-army-chaplain-corps/):

The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps is one of the oldest and smallest branches of the Army.  The Chaplain Corps dates back to 29 July 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized one chaplain for each regiment of the Continental Army, with pay equaling that of a captain.  In addition to chaplains serving in Continental regiments, many militia regiments counted chaplains among their ranks.

Personally, I find this incredibly fascinating.  From the very beginning, the spiritual well-being of Soldiers has always been a priority!

One of the biggest surprises that I have had in regards to learning more about the Civil War was something I found at Essential Civil War Curriculum site.  About half way down the page, I read about how one of the units in the Confederacy broke new ground concerning the role of the Chaplain.  According to the article, Company M, 7th Tennessee Cavalry was without a Chaplain.  However, there was a slave, nicknamed ‘Uncle Lewis’ who was considered very devout.  They decided to allow him to preach once, and they were so impressed with him that Uncle Lewis (full name was Louis Napoleon Nelson) became the unit’s Chaplain from the spring of 1862 until the close of the Civil War.  How is that for surprising!

This particular subject is something that I will probably try to find a book or two on because of my personal interest in it.  If it’s something that you might have some interested in, I encourage you to do your own research on it.  You may be surprised at what you learn.

The Civil War saw many innovations in the realm of warfare, how we live, economics, etc.  It was a very bloody affair, extremely brutal and horrific.  However, I am finding more and more things about the Civil War that I can learn from.  Although many are military related, not all of them are.

RC

Vacation Time

I know that I have not been very regular with my writings these last few months. In fact, it is now April and I have only made two prior blog entries. Unfortunately, I have had many other obligations to take care of. Since I blog on the side as a creative outlet, things like my job, my Nebraska National Guard obligations, family, etc., all have to come first.

As you can see from this title of this blog entry, I am currently on vacation. Last week, my family and I spent time at Walt Disney World. We left on April 6th and returned this past Sunday, April 15th. It was a great vacation, though there were quite a few ‘challenges’ along the way.

Probably the biggest challenge that I am still facing is an inner ear infection that I picked up a week ago. When I was a kid, I would occasionally get a bad ear ache. I remember laying in bed, crying, because of the pain. Usually it was one ear or the other. But, at least on two different occasions, I had an ear infection in both ears at the same time. Needless to say, that was a very miserable week or so. Although I had a lot of pain, I did not have any major problems with vertigo along with my ear aches. However, this time, it has been a major problem for the first few days. Since Friday, vertigo has not been nearly as big of an issue. However, the first few days…

The ear ache asides, it was a very enjoyable trip all together. It was definitely wonderful getting away from my full-time job at the prison. And, it is always nice being able to spend time with the family ‘making magical memories.’ There are several things that really stand out in my mind that were memorable. Of course, my wife and two kids may not agree with my choices.

One of the perks with being in the Military are the discounts that it opens for us. Because of this, and the fact that my wife is very good at finding deals, we were able to enjoy a lot of things that were within our budget. One splurge that we did indulge in was staying at the Yachtclub Resort. Because we were both celebrating a birthday this month, and because we will be celebrating 10 years or marriage later this year. At, let me tell you what, it was definitely worth it! What a wonderful, and roomy, corner room we had! Although we didn’t have the pull-out bed that we were hoping for, the extra room was definitely appreciated. That was a real highlight for the trip!

Top on my list, and probably also for my wife, was having dinner together sans (without) kids. We did this on Wednesday at the Yachtsman’s Steakhouse. This was very fine dining, indeed! Our waiter was a gentleman from Haiti, and he really went out of his way to make our meal very memorable! We each received a complimentary glass of champagne in celebration of our 10 Year Anniversary. We also received an anniversary version of the menu that we could keep, which he rolled up and tied with a bow.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was ‘touring the nations’ at Epcot and having snacks from ‘around the world’ for supper. Some of the meals we enjoyed more, others not so much. But, it was a real learning experience tasting different kinds of foods from different countries. Unfortunately, by nightfall, my ear was starting to really hurt, so I returned to the room early while my wife and kids stayed for the fireworks.

As a high sensing introvert, I kind of struggled at times with being at Walt Disney World in October of 2016. I pretty much felt overwhelmed every day at some point. Although that did detract a bit from enjoying the vacation, my wife worked with me. At one point, she utilized one of my skills of maneuvering quickly through a crowd. As an INFJ, one of the more unique things that I can do is judge spaces and who people are moving in a crowd pretty well. Because of this, I was able to guide us from the middle of Magic Kingdom to a ride on the far end in a fairly short amount of time. If memory serves, this enable use to enjoy a ride twice. Once, because the lines was short at the moment, and once with a Fast Pass.

This time, I tried something a little different in order to make the times at the parks more enjoyable for me. Because of my love for writing, I decided to do a journal of our trip. It was of things that I experienced, so things that my wife and kids did might not have been included. Because my wife is very extroverted, and we have two young kids, she planned things out so that we were very busy throughout four of the 5 ½ days at the parks (including half a day at Disney Springs). So, I often found myself writing while in line, sometimes while actually walking. So, some of my writings are quite readable, and some of them not-so-much. There were times, though, where I was able to write fairly well even though I was walking. But, this was an exception, not the rule. But, it did serve its purpose. Not only was I able to document a lot of the things that we did, when we did it, and how well we liked it, but also was able to get some ‘introvert-time’ in. In fact, it worked so well that I did not fell very drained at all during the trip. My only regret was not being able to have more time to write my reflections.

One of the new rides at Animal Kingdom was the Pandora ‘Flight of Passage.’ We did that Monday afternoon and it was greatly loved by all! If you have not watched the movie Avatar, it might be hard to understand. In a nutshell, you are able to ride a flying creature called a banshee as it flies around the jungles of their world. It is 3D, and exceptionally well done! Both my wife and I watched several videos on this particular ride, either people talking about their experiences or someone actually doing the ride. We both agree that the videos that we watched *do not* do that experience justice!

I could write pages and pages and pages of our experiences, but I think I will hold off for now. It was a really wonderful time, in spite of the challenges. Speaking of challenges… As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog entry, I started having a really bad earache during this trip. In fact, I am still suffering from it. Although the pain has mostly subsided, unless it is getting close to my next round of ear drops, I still cannot hear well out of my left ear. And, when you ear is ‘stuffy’ and you have tinnitus, the ringing becomes more than just a little noticeable. Thankfully, I have a follow-up appointment with our family doctor tomorrow about it. The sooner I can get it healed up, the better.

I hope that this entry finds all of you doing well. I have quite a few things saved for blogging on. Although I have many other things that I have to do, I hope to do at least one more blog this week. If not this week, hopefully next week.