James Gordon Pendleton, 1933-2014

Our family circle is a little smaller tonight.  One of the tallest branches of our family tree has fallen, a man who was friend to many, and whose unceasing service to our community has finally come to a close.  But more than just a cousin, he was also a good friend, an adviser, and always an encourager.  He served on the school board for a number of years, and his signature is one among those found on my high school diploma. He never overlooked a single high school graduation within the family, and that meant a lot to all of us traveling toward adulthood.

As a politician, he was fairly low-key.  He didn't spend time crowing about his accomplishments, because in his eyes, that was a look backwards.  He preferred to always look forwards, to envision what could be, what might be, and then to put his efforts toward making those things happen.  A few years back, at a family get-together, he told me where his political philosophy came from.  He said that when he was considering his first foray into politics, he asked his mother what her thoughts were on the subject.  In her homespun way, she told him, "I reckon nobody ever built a statue for a man who never done nothin'."

Instead of saying "It can't be done," his approach was more thoughtful, more on the order of, "And how do you propose to do that?" He was a lifelong Democrat, but he was also a banker.  He knew which side of the ledger the credits went, and which side the debits went.  He voted against the wishes of his party, if those wishes conflicted with his personal values.  He was less about being on the side of the majority, and more about being on the side of progress, and the side of right. In discussions he might play the devil's advocate, in order that all sides might be heard and considered before an issue was brought to a vote.

He was less about tax-and-spend, and more about investing in our community.  He was an early--and continuous--supporter of the YMCA of Harrison County, among many other institutions that enhance our community.  He donated his own funds to many worthwhile organizations and causes in the area, usually without public recognition or fanfare.

He was born in New Middletown, Indiana in 1933, during the very heart of the Great Depression.  He was one of 5 children, so he learned about the value of a dollar from an early age.  He served in the military, and then graduated from college--quite an accomplishment in his generation.  He started as a teacher and a coach, and in many ways he spent all his life teaching and coaching those around him.... especially those of us who were fortunate enough to be part of his extended family.

Yes, the passing of James Gordon Pendleton will leave quite an empty space...in our family, and in the community.  But I'm proud to have known him, and prouder still to have been a relative who benefited from his knowledge and counsel.  He was humble, but he was about the furthest thing from "a man who never done nothin' " I've ever met.  Maybe he didn't change the whole world, but he sure left a set of footprint in this little corner of it that anyone should be proud to walk in..

For Those Discouraging Days

You get up in the morning, you go out and give it your best, and you go to bed. Then you get up and do the same thing over again. Results, and your effectiveness, are going to vary because that's life. But as long as you've given your best, and done all you can do, even if the result is less than you hoped for you can still have a clear conscience about your own actions. We are never going to save all the orphans [including good causes that have been orphaned], or feed all the hungry [including those who hunger for knowledge, truth, and justice], or make a home for all the homeless [remembering that it's love that makes a home, and not just a roof and four walls]. The best thing any of us can do in our lives is to go out every day and, in our own way, try to make a difference in the world.

Because eventually you will make a difference...if only to one person. And it will be worth it.

One More Adventure

Life's an adventure, I tell ya.

About 2 weeks ago, the single-tube 2-foot [0.6096 meters, for my Facebook friend Dave, what with him being over in Germany and all] fluorescent light over the kitchen sink went out. The fixture's hard-wired with a wall switch, and it's the one I installed about 10 years ago. I've owned the house 20 years as of August 2014, so I guess that 10 years must be the life of these lights. But that's not how the adventure started.

It all started when I went to Wally World and bought a replacement tube...which never made it to my car. [I think the checkout girl either just forgot to put it in a bag, or forgot to give me that bag.] So I called the service desk when I got home, and some regional manager named Allison answered the phone. She told me to come get another one, and tell the folks at the service desk when I get there that "Allison said so."

Wellllll.....it was several days before I made it back to Wally World, but when I told the folks at the service desk that "Allison said so," everything suddenly went my way. I reckon if I'd have told 'em to give me all their money 'cause "Allison said so," I'd have walked out of there a rich man that day. So I got my 2-foot tube, and this time I got home with it.

When I installed it...nada. Nada damn thing changed. So I decided that, since the local hardware folks seldom carried the type of stuff I needed , I'd check out either BLowes or Deep Homo my next trip uptown. Well today was that trip. Before I left, I checked the BLowes website, and they not only listed the fixture I wanted, but the website said it was in stock for immediate pick-up. So I drove the 30 miles to the store...to discover that, not only was it NOT in stock, but the sample in their display was marked "N/A"...as in NOT AVAILABLE.

So I left and drove to another past of town to the closest Deep Homo store...the one with the orange buckets and orange aprons. At Deep Homo, I also discovered I was SOL...simply out of luck...if I wanted to use that newly-purchased but once-installed so no longer returnable 2-foot-long [0.6096 meters long] T8 fluorescent tube. [Maybe if "Allison said so," they'd take it back, but I figured I'd already been lucky once.] BUT I was able to find someone for some customer assistance at Deep Homo...something apparently lacking on the day before Labor Day at BLowes. The employee told me that they apparently no longer carried the 2-foot-long [0.6096 meters long] T-8 fixture, but they'd be happy to sell me a 2-foot long [0.6096 meters long] T-5 fixture. The T-8 bulb is about an inch and a half [3.81 cm] in diameter, and the T-5 is about the size of my middle finger.

So, since I had plans to install the light on Labor day, instead of giving the employee at Deep Homo the middle finger [which I have now dubbed "T-5," just because it makes the REST of the people look at me funny], I bought the T-5 fixture, and will give it a go at installation on Labor Day.

Yep, life's an adventure...except when life is a rock, but the radio rolled me.