dual personalities

February 27, 2026

Beautiful Country.

by marycompton

Happy Friday! As my mother mentioned, I traveled out west this week—three days of travel for one day of work. Oof. The operation I was visiting was in Northern Arizona, about 30 minutes from Monument Valley. As you’ll recall, my parents and I visited Monument Valley about 18 months ago. It was strange to be back—but also exciting to see it again from a different vantage point.

This operation was receiving a National award for excellence in reclamation. It was a significant honor and something the employees who work there care deeply about.

Most people do not realize that coal mines must return the land to equal or better condition at the conclusion of mining.

Do spot the tiny (but really very large) bulldozer beginning to fill in this pit?

The reclamation process takes many years—pits are filled in, earth is graded, land forms are created to match the landscape, top soil is replaced, seeds are planted, and over time you can no longer tell a coal mine used to be there. Extensive pre and post-mining planning is involved.

At this former operation, some of this reclaimed land is being used for grazing by residents of the local community.

I spy some sheep!

At other operations, like those in Indiana, a subdivision has been built on reclaimed land. Other land is even being used for solar fields.

It was impressive to see the full process—but work travel is so exhausting. By the time I got to my hotel room at night (it’s so glamorous traveling to remote locations where your only option with WiFi is the Hampton Inn), it was time for bed!

I was glad to get home—after an hour delay and getting to experience the new Southwest boarding process (a major downgrade)—and reunite with Mr. Smith. Thank you to my mother for dropping him off and picking him from the kennel. Neither of us is (too) offended by his excitement to visit Silver Maple.

I hope you get to relax and enjoy the weekend. We have both unseasonably high temps and chances of snow this weekend. Ahhh the Midwest.

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February 26, 2026

Plans change

by chuckofish

Everybody has had the flu and now daughter #2 is sick, so our plan to go to the prairie this weekend is cancelled. The three kids were scheduled to be baptized on Sunday, but that will have to be re-scheduled. C’est la vie.

Well, I am nothing if not flexible, so we’ll see how things go.

Here’s a poem about “Disappointment” by Jane Taylor (1783-1824):

(Jane Taylor was an English poet and novelist best known for the lyrics of the widely known “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. )

Meanwhile daughter #1 returned from her successful business strip to Arizona and I picked up Mr. Smith from the kennel where he had a wonderful time and ate all his food like a champ. All is well.

2 Comments
February 25, 2026

Joy comes in the morning

by chuckofish

Yesterday’s psalm (in my Bible reading plan) was Psalm 30:

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
    and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
    you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.[a]

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.[b]
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.[c]
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
    you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
    and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,[d]
    if I go down to the pit?[e]
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

It is a psalm about answered prayer. Speaking for myself, I do not give enough time to contemplating answered prayer. It is good to remember the 10,000 things God is doing for you every day.

I’ve read quite a bit about former senator Ben Sasse and his terminal cancer recently. Here’s a good one.

Sad to see that actor Robert Carradine has died by his own hand. Kind of what Carl Trueman was talking about here.

And the boy came over and changed my lamp post light bulb! It’s real handy to be 6’2″ sometimes.

It’s okay to ask for help if you need it–from your own son or from God. Never grow weary of crying out, “Be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

1 Comment
February 24, 2026

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue

by chuckofish

Well, I successfully dropped off Mr. Smith at the kennel, which is saying something, since he was insane with excitement. He loves doggie daycare and hanging with his boyz. I guess. Granted it is pretty boring staying with Mamu, but he is like two different dogs.

In other news, the 2026 Olympics are over. I didn’t watch much, including the final men’s hockey game, but I have to say I am happy we beat those Canadians! And you gotta love all the memes…

‘Merica!

I did make it down to the Link Auction House to pick up my stuff yesterday. One of the objects d’art was MUCH bigger than anticipated (oops!), but one of the guys managed to jam fit it into the speedwagon, so all is well. They are gifts, so I can’t really go into detail here, but one small ($20) table works well in my office. I love recycling!

Daughter #1 made it to Phoenix and to Monument Valley…

I am so jealous. But at least I’m not in New York City.

Well, on to the next thing…

(Photo of NYC courtesy of @newyorksocialdiary)

3 Comments
February 23, 2026

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was full of missions and missionaries. It got cold again, but the sun was shining most of the time. Hopefully the daffodils will pull through. I mean, this happens every year, so chances are, all will be well.

There were no good estate sales on Saturday but daughter #1 and I did hit an antique mall and found a couple of odds ‘n ends. I was more successful at the Link online auction on Thursday and Friday. Auctions are fascinating to me. One can usually find a few good bargains (I did) but occasionally there is a real surprise. One such surprise was when a geltone reproduction of Grant Wood’s Midnight Ride of Paul Revere came up.

It was estimated at $50-$100. I was interested in it as I have always liked it and I thought I might get it for $15 or so, but a bidding war took off and it eventually sold for over $800!

Another watercolor painting, estimated at $75-$100…

…went for $1800! Fantastic. Now that’s entertainment!

I hadn’t seen the twins in over a month, so I was glad they were able to make it to church with their Dad on Sunday morning. We heard a good sermon from a visiting missionary to Norway. They couldn’t stay for Sunday School (their Papaw was leaving to go back to Florida) so that meant no Sunny Side diner either. C’est la vie. Life is full of disappointments, right? But we are steadfast.

Daughter #1 came over later in the afternoon in order to bring Mr. Smith who spent the night with me. (I am taking him to the kennel this morning while she heads to Arizona for work.)

Later I will head down to the Link Auction House to pick up my winnings. It’s a new week! Have a good one.

(And here’s a new song I like.)

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February 20, 2026

Tell Woodrow, come a runnin’

by chuckofish

I finished watching Lonesome Dove (1989) and it was so good (and so sad)! I highly recommend watching it again. It is six hours well spent.

Also, the scene where Pea Eye is dehydrated and exhausted crossing the plains to get back to Captain Call and he hallucinates that the dead Deets comes to guide him to Captain Call reminded me, of course, of the scene in 3 Godfathers where John Wayne is at the end of his tether carrying the baby across the desert and the vision of Harry Carey, Jr. and Pedro Armendáriz comes to encourage him to go on. Lots of good movie references for the initiated.

And it was a fitting tribute to ol’ Robert Duvall.

So have a good weekend! I will be attending our Missions dinner at church tonight. I will be sitting at a table with I don’t know who, but I am okay with that.

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February 19, 2026

The obedient lock, the belated notes

by chuckofish

Yesterday it got up to 70 degrees in my flyover town and the sky was blue. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Everyone was out walking their dogs.

I could hear the woodpeckers drilling, but I never saw one.

I went to my local park and walked around the pond, where the water was very low. There were men there fishing however. I saw some big hawks and also my friend Chris, who was walking into the park with his fishing rod (and one granddaughter).

I read this about Jonathan Edwards’ most (in)famous sermon by the much loved former pastor of my church. “God is angry at the lost condition of the world. He is angry at the sin that ruins you. But He is not angry because He is insecure or easily offended. He is angry because He loves you.” Amen.

And a poem by Jorge Luis Borges.

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February 18, 2026

Ten thousand charms

by chuckofish

Have you been watching the Olympics? Me neither. Every night I try, but it is just so uninspiring, and, I’m sorry, I do not want to watch women’s curling! No one does, outside Canada. Ugh. If they showed a replay of the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, I would watch that…or the ones in Lillehammer–they were great! I have no doubt that the ratings would be much better. Well, I’ll just keep watching Lonesome Dove from back in 1989.

Meanwhile I am reading this biography of William Tecumseh Sherman…

It is “popular” history and therefore quite readable, and I am enjoying it. The author understands context and does not judge his subject by 21st century standards. I have always liked Sherman. He hated politicians and journalists and he was fiercely loyal. I can relate to that.

I am also reading this…

…which is also very interesting. The emphasis is on Sarah Edwards, the “godly wife”. By all evidence, Jonathan and Sarah Edwards had a very happy marriage and 11 children, all of whom lived to at least young adulthood–an amazing thing in the early 18th century. Noel Piper wrote this long article about the book and the impressive couple.

I couldn’t have said this better: “The church has always lived in changing times, even if today’s changes might feel more aggressive and chaotic than before. But our hope has never rested in the stability of society. It rests in the stability of God: ‘I the Lord do not change'(Mal. 3:6). The world may reinvent itself every decade, but God does not evolve, and His truth does not expire. It does not need updating. It does not need rebranding. Truth that shifts with the culture isn’t truth at all—it’s marketing.”

And here’s a new rendition of one of my favorite hymns:

Read some history and stand fast.

2 Comments
February 17, 2026

Entertaining a brotherly affection

by chuckofish

Well, the George Washington’s birthday wreath-laying event went off without a hitch. It was a beautiful sunny day and Lafayette Park looked very nice. If you recall, last year it was freeeezing cold and I even wore my fur coat, so 57 degrees felt balmy!

Daughter #1 looked very glam in her red coat.

The SAR color guard remembered their flags.

My reading of Washington’s prayer was a hit with the speaker who also quoted from it.

Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

This is our chapter’s big event of the year so huzzah to daughter #1–you can relax (a little bit) now.

In other news I was sad to hear that Robert Duvall had died, but he was 95. I watched the first episode of Lonesome Dove in his honor.

He is so great in it. When I think of Robert Duvall, I always think of my old friend Art, who went to the Principia with him here in St. Louis and then to college with him at Principia College across the river. They were both Christian Scientists and their fathers, I believe, were both Rear Admirals. Both fine men.

Well, as Augustus would say, “Here’s to the sunny slopes of long ago.”

3 Comments
February 16, 2026

Time starts now

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was very pleasant, although it rained all day Saturday.

Between traveling and work, I had seen very little of daughter #1 over the last few weeks, so it was great to catch up with her…wine time at Glen Echo on Friday, estate sale-ing on Saturday and a late lunch at the Village Bar. All our favorite things. We took Mr. Smith for his weekly shampoo and then had wine time at my house.

We watched Bullitt (1968), which you will recall was the movie the OM and I always watched on Valentine’s Day.

Wasn’t that nice of her?

Of course, the movie was great as always, really cutting edge for 1968. We LOL’d as always during the chase through San Francisco as the Charger and the Mustang race past the slow-moving green VW four times. (Frank Keller won the editing Oscar for this movie!) Another of my favorite scenes is when Bullitt, Bennett, Chalmers, and Baker gather around the telecopier as the passport applications arrive. Only Steve can make watching the fax machine riveting cinema. This time we noticed that frequently during the course of the film Lt. Bullitt is asked a direct question and he gives no response. As daughter #1 commented, “He speaks with his eyeballs.” His lack of response has great effect. When he does respond, major impact–especially when he says, “Bulls–t” to Robert Vaughn’s face toward the denouement of the film. Perhaps this is a good lesson for us all.

I went to church by myself on Sunday (the boy has the flu now) and heard a good sermon on Joshua 5:13-15. Are you for the Lord? Our goal is not to conform God to us, but for us to conform to God. It reminded me of that time during the Civil War President Lincoln was reportedly asked whether God was on the side of the Union. He replied, “My concern is not whether God is on our side,” Lincoln responded. “My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Touché. He was probably thinking of Joshua, because he knew his Bible backwards and forwards.

We finished up our Intro to Covenant class, which I really enjoyed. It never ceases to amaze me how whenever I am sitting alone before class, someone always comes and sits next to me. When I first went to that church I didn’t know a single person there. Now I know lots of people. Praise the Lord.

And I’m with the Madcaps:

Have a good week! There are definite signs of spring if you look!

Daughter #1 has a big DAR event today–our annual George Washington Commemoration Event on President’s Day at Lafayette Park–so keep her in your prayers. I am serving as the chapter chaplain, so I’ll be giving the benediction–there’s a first time for everything!

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