Notice

For those of you who enjoy the car posts, take another look at "More On Cars"- new, improved version.

Words

Recently I have been doing some reading in philosophy, especially as it relates to post-modernism. Let me share one of my findings:
"In the naming, the things named are called into their thinging.Thinging, they unfold world, in which things abide and so are abiding ones."
That's Martin Heidegger (born 1889).
It became obvious to me as I read this that I have a long way to go in philosophy. I'm still working on it.
It seems, however, that in the ongoing dialog concerning how we come to know things, that philosophers went from thinking of us as observers who can see things objectively, to participants who can think only in the terms allowed by our language, and from there to "language creates reality" to "there is no shared reality available to us". It seems our isolation is complete- there is no single reference point from which we can all begin to build a concept of reality. You are on your own.
There is a certain logic to this, if you start only with individual persons. This gives a whole new depth to the description of Jesus in I Peter 2:6, "a chosen and precious cornerstone". A cornerstone is the first block laid down; all subsequent measurements in the construction of the building are referenced back to this point.
So Jesus, being very smart, anticipated this problem of knowing, and tells us plainly that He Himself is the one, unmovable point from which we can understand what it is to be human. He said "I am the way (giver of direction ), truth (the ultimate reference point) and life (source) You may say, "Smart, maybe, but not very humble." That would be so if you or I were to make the claim. So- having made the claim, Jesus challenges us with a choice- true, or false? Savior, or charlatan? This is the most important decision you will ever make.

Furnishings

I remember what it was like to be REALLY little.
So, when My daughter-in-law, Yuko, asked me to make a little table and chair for #1 granddaughter Grace, I got on to it (not all that fast, but faster than a lot of projects).
And, here is the result.

Grace seemed to realize they were for her right away, but wasn't sure what to do with them until her father plunked her into the chair and gave her some newspaper to rip up (current favorite pasttime).
I love being a grandpa.

Plans

Today I planned to finish up some projects in my workshop. I did get to them finally, but only after a LONG talk with a young friend who is working through some things in his past.
He was talking about the "information" he was given about relationships and sexuality by his age mates. I was rather taken aback by some of the things he was told were "normal" (he is from overseas, not Japan, though I doubt if he would have fared much better here). As I told him about the Bible's teaching on the subject, he was amazed. Suddenly he realized that there was a reason why he was uncomfortable with the whole idea- he had been told a lot of rubbish. What the Bible has to say sounded a lot more reasonable to him.
For my part, I asked him how many of his friends were happy with their relationships and sex life, and he said- none of them were! It struck me that asking these unhappy people for information was like asking a homeless person for financial and career advice.
Most people's ideas come from the media (Hollywood, famous for successful relationships, right?). They are absorbed, rather than thought through. It seems a lot of people have just about given up on ever having a lasting relationship, but the information is all there, in the Bible. After all, it is the instruction book on life, straight from the Maker. We have a lot of high tech toys, but we aren't any smarter or better than those who came before us. The Bible's information is timeless.
God made one man, then made one woman for him. Marriage is said to be a picture of Christ's relationship to the church- faithful, exclusive, and for life.
In human marriage, sex is a PART of that exclusive, life-long relationship. It is to be intimate- that is, a private act, in a trusting and mutually respectful relationship. Part of it's purpose is fellowship, and part is procreation. To separate it from it's purpose, to make it an end in itself, is to invite disillusionment and disappointment: it becomes an ugly parody of one of God's greatest gifts. This lifetime commitment also provides a stable base for the nurture of children. Sure, sure, you've seen lots of lousy marriages- but you've seen lots of car accidents, too. You don't stop driving, do you? What's needed to prevent disaster in both cases is reponsibility and care
Another common misconception is that marriage is to meet your needs. Really? Are you going to commit to meeting your partner's every need? Don't try it- only God can meet our needs. Our spouse is, rather, a partner in our journey towards God.
I hope you don't think I'm being too "preachy", but if you do, please ask yourself why you don't have the same objection to what you are told on TV.

My Favorite Volcano

Silence again. Well, it's been busy. I have a polyp on my vocal cord, which intruder is to be removed May 2nd (lots of hospital visits). Also, I was at Takayama (see web
page "Takayama by the Sea") for a committee meeting this week. I stayed to cut up some dead trees and enjoy the scenery, but the only photo I got was of Mount Iwate in Iwate Prefecture, on the way home.

Impressive, especially in the low light. It makes me a little nervous though,, as there has been some activity underneath this gorgeous giant, and it just might pop one of these days. It is over 2000 meters high.

Which makes it 400 meters taller than our local volacno, Mount Iwaki. This photo is from a park near our house. Iwaki may be shorter and less symmetrical than Iwate, but it's ours, and it's my favorite.
And it's not slated to blow for 200 years or so.

Change

Seriously.
I think the stores in this chain get a double take from all English speakers.
This is one of the new chain stores along the bypass near our house. There were no chains stores here 22 years ago, except Raganeau Pastries, which was put out of business by our local baker, the owner of Tatsuya Cake Shop. That is a rare occurance; usually the chains take out the locals. The 2 drug stores owned by our friends, the Kawamuras, are gone. Laurie's English student Yoko went under first, then took a job in a mall near Goshogawara. Her brother died 2 years ago, in a fire in the main store. The other local drug store moved into a place on the bypass, and it remains to be seen if they will make it.
And the Tatsuya Cake Shop? They are expanding into a mini-chain themselves!
On that very topic of "the death of mom-and-pop-stores",we watched the movie "You've Got Mail" tonight with our daughter Anna, who is visiting from Sapporo. She sees a lot of changes around town on her infrequent visits.
The pace varies with the age and the place, but change is a part of life. It's sad to see some things go, but "time and tide wait for no man". I am very greatful for the one great Unchangeable, God the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

More on Cars

While poking around parking lots looking for funny mottos on cars, it occured to me that there are many models here that probably aren't sold overseas. So, I collected a list of names for your reading pleasure:
Acty, Alto, A#, Bistro, Bluebird, Boon, Bongo Friendee, Carol, Cube, Every, Emina, Fit, Gaia, Guppy, Hobia, Joy Pop, Lapin, Life, Logo, Moco, Move (and the custom Latte Move), Neo, Noah, Opti, Patio, Pleo, Pochette, Probox, Spacio, Starlet, Stella, Stepwgn, Tanto, That's, Today, Toppo, Town Bee, Vamos, Vitz, Vivio, Wish, Zest, and, best-for-last....

No guff.

I assume the name refers to the fact that the door hinges and bolt heads are exposed.
So much for sterotypes. If the Japanese are so conformist, why do they have so MANY car models to choose from (this is a tiny fraction of the available models)? And, if they are so unimaginative and copy-catish, why do they have cars with names like that, that look like this:

Many of these are kei (light) cars, with 660 cc engines. They come in all colors and THEN people customize them. They may have to conform at work, but it doesn't mean they are all conformists!

On Returning To Nature

A word of explination for those of you who may have been confused by my "Car Mottos" posting.

This is a (Toyota) Carib.

This is the Carib motto.

This is a car "returning to nature".

If you are a real classic car freak, you may notice that the decomposing vehicle is a Honda S 360, a 354 cc mini car made from 1967 to 1970. However, if you ask me to get you parts from this particular one, I will have to decline. After all, it has been out there under the apple trees for 25 years or so.
There is an awkward time period between "this thing is old and useless" and "this thing is a valuable classic". If only the owner had shoved this little red car into a shed somewhere, it would really be worth something now. Too bad. Perfect hindsight. After all, haven't you discarded an old vehicle at some time? Who has the patience to squirrel something that big away for 30 years? I have squirreled away a lot of little things, but they're not so likely to turn into treasures.
Getting philisophical here, I will speak to my age-mates, and urge you to hang on to the good things you are doing. Much of what we do takes time to age into a treasure. If you abandon your worthwhile efforts too soon, being discouraged by seemingly small returns, you may loose a real treasure. This goes for study, jobs, child-rearing and, especially, marriage.
Hang in there.