How Do I Hug Thee? Let Me Count The Ways

            How often do you  hug your family?

 

          You see, I have seen this tender communication of unconditional love cheapened.

 

          It has evolved into the new handshake.

 

          When the Knicks  got over-Heated by Miami the other night, the opponents met at half court to exchange postgame hugs.

 

          No one seemed too happy to be hugging  250 pounds of exhausted Lebron as he dispensed 6 quarts of hot sweat to each hugger.

 

          Yecchhh!

 

          These pro sports hugs have all the sincerity of an apology from John Edwards.

 

Teens, meanwhile, have turned the hug into the common greeting between acquaintances.

 

According to a recent survey, hugging is creeping into the business world.

 

Here's the problem: Outside the home, the hug is gaining.

 

          Inside the home, the hug is fading.

 

And it's inside the home that it is most needed.

 

The hug you give your son, daughter, spouse, parent, or sibling is silent therapy.

 

Your eyes closed, arms tightly around her.

 

          Time stops.

 

          Something powerful flows through you.

 

 You are momentarily safe from all threats, removed from whatever's bothering you.

 

In the loving hug, you're like a baby in the arms of her mother.

                   

Isn't it strange that the act that says the most to us about love is without words?

 

          My dog Marby doesn't do much from a practical standpoint other than bark at strangers and the mailman.

 

          But she makes us feel so loved with her form of hugs.

 

She wants to touch us: chin on my knee, sleeping on my wife's foot, or leaning against me just watching TV together.

 

          She somehow knows that physical closeness is therapeutic for her and for me.

 

          There is an Indian mystic called "The Hugging Saint" .

 

        Her name is Amma.

 

          People all over the world line up by the tens of thousands just to get a hug.

 

Most leave in tears, some kind of dam broken to release pent-up emotion.

 

          My dad's  hugs were of the big bear variety, bristly whiskers  scratching my cheeks, old spice filling my nostrils.

 

          Mom gently enveloped us kids in an overstuffed comforter kind of hug, so soothing you could fall asleep mid-hug, faint traces of her delicate "White Shoulders" perfume left on my face.

 

          In a couple of days, my daughter is headed off to an Asian trip.

 

Won't see her again until January.

 

I'll take her to the airport and just before she heads down Concourse A, she and I will pause.

 

         

           I won't be able to talk.

 

Tears.

 

We will hug.

 

The universe, just for a few seconds, will consist of her and me and an unbreakable bond of love.

 

          In your family, delete the words for just a minute.

 

          Nothing is as articulate as the loving soliloquy you deliver with your arms bent around those you love.

 

          So hug your family.

 

          Shock the heck out of them.  

 

          You won't be embarrassed.

 

You'll be invigorated.

 

          Shut your mouth and open your arms.

 

          Let two hearts connect.

 

          If you don't, l'll make you hug Lebron.

 

          Yecchhh!

Mr. President, Let Me introduce You To A Real Community Organizer

        His family was beaten daily while armed guards surrounded the rundown hovel the government forced him to call home.

 

        What a bleak existence.    

 

        This unlikely freedom fighter, Chen Guangcheng by name, is the most famous lawyer in China.

 

 Whoever thought this blind 41-year-old self-taught attorney would ever overcome his handicap to challenge the most powerful dictatorship on earth?

 

        How did Chen get here?

 

        With the same relentless determination he used to overcome society's attitude toward the sightless, Chen initiated legal actions to protect farmers stripped of their land by the greedy government.

 

        Chen then went after China's holy cow: forced abortions.

 

        He said it out loud: no moral authority should kidnap pregnant women to bloody their wombs with the atrocity of "pregnancy terminations" conducted at gunpoint.

 

 Corpses of the tiny pre-born  accumulate in Chinese solid waste facilities.

 

        Chen forced the government to listen to him.

 

And to the unheard voices of over 400 million children ripped from their mothers strapped to a gurney.

 

        Mengele-esque.

 

        So Chen, the prisoner under house arrest, hatched a  plan.

 

        He pretended to be ill for six weeks.

 

        The guards became lax.

 

        How closely must you watch a blind man riddled with infirmity?

 

        He snuck out of his room late at night.

 

        A garden wall was his challenge.

 

        Summoning all his strength, he scaled the wall like Spiderman, landing on the other side, snapping his ankle bone.

 

        Almost one thousand  yards away, a car waited.

 

He hobble-sprinted to the automobile and the escapee's chauffeur, another young dissident, put the pedal to the metal.

 

        In no time, several hundreds of miles later, Chen's chariot of freedom pulled into sanctuary: the American Embassy!

 

        The outraged Chinese government decried the meddling by the Americans.

 

        Meanwhile, the world beheld the  breathless daring of this new international hero.

 

His ever-present sunglasses gave him a certain cachet.

 

        Not since Lech Walessa challenged the Polish Politburo has one man so galvanized millions across the globe.

 

        James Bond was a fiction.

 

Chen is the real deal.

 

        How will the drama and?

 

        Not well, if our president continues to sit on his hands.

 

        Obama has been no-commenting his way through this saga of courage since it began.

 

        After the State Department announced that it had negotiated Chen's safe exit from the embassy into a police infested Chinese hospital, the Chinese government said nothing had been negotiated with anyone.

 

 So today Chen lives in the medical facility converted into a militarized holding cell to keep Chen under wraps.

 

        A congressional committee talked to Chen live over a cell phone during a committee hearing Thursday.

 

It was riveting.

 

        Chen pled for help for himself and for his family.

 

Will it come?

 

I pray that it does.

 

        Does Secretary of State Hillary Clinton share my prayer?

 

        Does she really want Planned Parenthood to see her assist the world's greatest pro-life activist?

 

        Does President Obama want to help the Communist Party's biggest critic when the White House is hawking American debt in Beijing?

 

        Don't let Chen's story die off.

 

The speedy driver who took him to the United States Embassy has disappeared, Mafia style.

 

 This is a moment in history, Mr. President.

 

        Seize this moment.

 

        Be like the president who intoned, " Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

 

        Stare down the Red Dragon: Don't pet him while you feed him treats of American jobs and American real estate.

 

You and Walmart are slowly bringing that Dragon to American shores.

 

Stop it now and use  this opportunity to force the Dragon into the bright light of public scrutiny.

 

        Then perhaps the Red Dragon will face the same fate as the Russian Bear: ultimate extinction.

 

        Let's secure freedom for Chen.

 

        And for the world.

 

        Don your sunglasses, Americans.

 

Pray for presidential courage.  

 

And for a gutsy  blind lawyer who hopes the bald eagle will carry him off to freedom for himself and for a  world holding its breath.

 

 

Lip Locked Ladies Assault Our Values

      Here's another story torn from the pages of  "Boiled Frog Misses Slow Incremental Water Temperature Increase".

 

        We are the boiled frog, every day assaulted by the modern culture.

 

        The new Urban Outfitters catalog has found its way into your child's mailbox.

 

        And they waste no time.

 

        Page two contains a photograph of two beautiful teenage girls.

 

        One girl is wearing a beige ankle-length sundress with flats.

 

        The other girl is wearing a knee-length aquamarine and white cocktail dress with platform shoes.

 

        The picture helps display the "Kaleidoscope" dress collection.

 

        So far so good.  

 

        The two girls are kissing.

 

        Full lips-on-lips kissing, with ankle-length embracing knee-length, the young lady on the left holding the other one's head in her hands just like Clark Gable and in Vivian Leigh in Gone With The Wind.

 

 

Urban Outfitters focuses its marketing energies on teenagers.

 

        Young teenagers.

 

        Do you care?

 

Or do we just let the cook turn up the flame one degree higher on the stove?

 

Believe it or not there are people who do care.

 

 An organization called One Million Moms dedicates itself to stamping out exploitation of children in  the media.

 

 

They have asked Americans to call Urban Outfitters at 1–800–282–2200 to  record their objection and to cancel their catalog subscription.

 

In this world in which Ellen Degeneres and Rosie O'Donnell offer friendly peeks into their modern lifestyle, it is politically incorrect to criticize the promotion of lesbianism.

 

One Million Moms is being accused of hate speech because of their courageous position.

 

Thank goodness free speech is still protected by the by those few remaining threads left in the fabric of the First Amendment.

 

        It is possible to be a loving and compassionate person who honestly believes that homosexuality is unhealthy and dare I say it, sinful and wrong.

 

Of course we must love others, including those with gay and lesbian tendencies and attractions.

 

        But it is far from loving to get swept up in the wave of  I'm-ok-you're-ok thinking that makes good people feel guilty about criticizing behavior which can only lead to ruin for the most innocent among us: our children.

 

        So hats off to One Million Moms.

 

The pornography and immorality that passes itself off as advertising these days does not fly completely under the radar.

 

        There are those that are willing to stand up and be counted.

 

        Are you among them?

 

Or are you sitting in the pot not noticing that the one cooked by the cook is you.

 

        Make your voice heard.

 

If you get cooked, who will  protect  your children and grandchildren?

       

 

       

Demolition Can't Destroy True Spirit of Peace

            The second largest nation in the world, India, proclaims its national motto proudly.

 

          "Truth Alone Triumphs"

 

          Unfortunately, sometimes whole nations fall short of this professed ambition.

 

          Recent news from Allahabad, India, tells a disturbing story.

 

          A peaceful ashram in this city of over one million  has had the unmitigated gall to refuse to pay the expected freight: bribes.

 

          The Kriyayoga Institute has for many years been an oasis for those dedicated to the Gandhian principles of nonviolence.

 

Citizens of the USA, Canada, Brazil, and many others join native Indians in quiet meditation.

 

 All religions are welcome.

 

 Christians, Hindus,  and Muslims share their quiet dedication together.

 

          The lion lays down with the lamb.

 

          Until the corrupt local police and their bulldozer arrive.

 

          Because this small compound refuses to pay the  graft, an entire building was destroyed by an armed mob who crashed the gates and destroyed  the structure housing disabled pilgrims.

 

          Local police led the attackers, despite a court order issued to stop such horrors.

 

If you can stomach it, watch the YouTube video that captures the callous  crooks of local government in India.

 

Go to YouTube and type in "India attacked by India".

 

          Women and children are forcibly removed by the corrupt officials. An American doctor from Florida suffers injuries at the hands of the determined thugs.

 

The rubble that remains at the site of the residence hall designed for the  wheelchair bound is all that is left of the building constructed without the payment of bribes.

 

          This modern Mafia story could come from the pen of the Godfather's Mario Puzo, but it is all too true.

 

We in America treasure our land as one in which our Constitution guarantees the Rule of Law.

 

Unfortunately, local life in India is highlighted by  a culture of corruption which must be embraced  even if you seek something as noble as a respite for the physically challenged.

 

          This occurs on a scale that would make Jimmy DiMora seem like a piker.

 

          Fellow Americans, our brothers and sisters in India are part of our human family.

 

Will you help?

 

          Send an e-mail to the Indian Prime Minister at manmohan@sansad.nic.in.

 

          Ask him to refer this matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (the CBI, India's equivalent of our FBI) for a full inquiry.
        

 

          Let him know that we embrace justice everywhere and that the carnage in Allahabad  must stop.

 

Friends, I stayed at this ashram during my recent Indian excursion.

 

          I am shaken.

 

          Please join me in this international effort.

 

Peace doesn't just mean the absence of war.

 

          It also means defending truth and encouraging compassion.

 

          "Truth Alone Triumphs"

 

          Shame on you, Allahabad  Development Authority.

 

          Truth has not triumphed.

 

It has been destroyed by a bulldozer.

 

          Let's rebuild it.

Don't cry for them, Argentina: Say Thank You

This true story is gripping and it happened just last week.

 

In the City of Resistencia, Argentina, the humid tropical air makes for sticky summer days and winters that are short and only somewhat cooler.

 

Developed in the late 1800's,  this town has grown up, transforming itself from an agricultural to a service economy, the population just a tad smaller than Cleveland, Ohio.

 

As a result, Resistencia, like Cleveland, has developed as a first-rate medical center where the doctors are top-notch.

 

That's why Analia Bouter and her husband Fabian resigned themselves to accept God's will.

 

The outstanding obstetrics staff did all they could but sadly, the little baby girl didn't make it.

 

One of the greatest medical teams in the world tried its best but that tiny sweet face belonged to a corpse, stillborn.

 

Mom and dad finally left the hospital, toting an empty car seat, brokenhearted.

 

Red-eyed, grief stricken.

 

The time passed slowly at home, but that delicate countenance wouldn't leave their hearts.

 

Sleep would not come, the vivid image of their dead daughter haunting them both.

 

Finally, 12 hours after the doctors signed the death certificate, they could take no more.

         

They had to see her again.

 

One last time.

 

Analia brought her camera.

 

Maybe a snapshot would help preserve the memory that would be all they would have left of the little girl they had named Luciana Abigail.

 

In silence, they drove to the morgue.

 

The attendant led them to a room full of little drawers designed for infants who never saw their first steps.

 

          Never shook their first rattle.

 

As the drawer slid open, Analia reached to open the cover of the little coffin.

 

          She heard something.

 

It startled her.

 

A whimper. Crying.

 

She's alive!

 

The attendant called 911 and the ambulance raced to that same hospital, the parents singing God's praises.

 

Incredible miracle.

 

The parents changed the child's name to Luz Milagros, which translates to "Miracle Light".

 

The Argentine government has initiated a full investigation of the hospital staff.

 

The team in the delivery room has been suspended.

 

"They will have to answer for this",  said Rafael Sabatinelli, Undersecretary of health for the Argentine Ministry.

 

The parents aren't looking to blame anyone.

 

Why?

 

They know that talented doctors gave their very best effort.

 

They just happened to receive the gift of a miracle.

         

Are we so jaded that when a baby becomes Lazarus, we can't just accept it?

 

What about you?

 

Are you open to the possibility?

 

I hope so.

 

Be like these parents and not like the bureaucrats.

 

Miracles do happen and no one's to blame.

 

Well, there is someone to blame: God.

 

If you look hard enough, you might find some miracles in your own life.

 

The marriage that's survived challenges.

 

A son who has defeated addiction.

 

 A life prolonged despite a deadly diagnosis years ago.

 

A daughter who has forgiven a flawed parent.

 

Don't look for someone to blame. Look for someone to thank.

 

The same someone who gave the world Luz Milagros.

 

Peace.

What's On Tap for the Anti-Christian Culture

Lately, our culture has  become so crass that examples of abject spit-in-your-face disrespect for people of faith just scroll past our lives almost unnoticed.

 

It's  like that irritating crawl  moving from left to right at the bottom of the screen during a cable news broadcast.

 

Sometimes you have to look at it and realize what's really happening.

 

I found this one to be outrageous so let's see what you think.

 

          A few months ago a beer company called Stella Artois began to run a series of commercials supplemented by billboards with the following slogan: "It's a Chalice, not a glass."

 

          The television spots feature a glass goblet treated with deep respect because of the golden liquid it contains when the Stella Artois light lager is poured.

 

          For Christians, the word "Chalice"  refers to that which holds the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

 

          The Holy Grail referred to the original vessel shared by the Son of Man with his disciples at the Last Supper.

 

          I'm offended.

 

These advertisements border on blasphemy as they conclude with the so-called "chalice"  presented to young men and women at a bar.

 

Sacrilegious.

 

Can the Madison Avenue crowd be so insensitive that they are willing to demean one of the most important symbols in all of Christendom?

 

There are different versions of this commercial and some even go further.

 

In one edition, the viewer is instructed regarding the proper method of pouring the Stella Artois into the "Chalice".

 

One step is called the "purification", a clear reference to Catholic ritual.

 

          Unbelievably, the consumer  in the next phase is asked to honor the "sacrifice"  in serving this beverage.

 

I also do not believe it was a coincidence that this advertising campaign was released almost simultaneous to the Pope's new directive substituting the word "Chalice" for the word  "cup" in the new Catholic Missal.

 

So what can you do about it?

 

For those that care, I offer some marching orders.

 

First of all, boycott the product and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

         

Our values don't mean very much if we protect them for ourselves but allow others to stomp all over them in some kind of wild dance where the dancers wear stilettos and penny loafers, barely able to stay on their feet in an alcohol-induced stupor.

 

Secondly, use the commercial as a valuable teaching tool.

 

 Give others the knowledge of your faith by explaining the eternal value of that which is contained in the Chalice  held high by the priest in that most solemn moment  re-enacting the events of Holy Thursday.

 

Third, communicate with the folks at Stella Artois and let them know you're feelings.

 

 Believe it or not e-mails and especially handwritten letters are important to the public relations department. You can bring about change.

 

          I cherish what a real chalice symbolizes.

 

Stella Artois doesn't.

 

          Mr. Bartender, make mine a Bud.

 

          Beer lovers should not stand for such an outrage.

 

          Will you?