| NHRA 2009 Summer Nationals in Norwalk |
Editorial
9/06/2009
Re: Some pupils won’t hear it by
Lindsey Hilty in the September 5th,
2009 Saturday edition of the
Middletown Journal
I have waited for a very long time to
write, as I have not felt it would be
worth it to add fuel to the editorial
fires. However, after reading Lindsey’s
article about the upcoming speech by
President Obama to our nation’s
schoolchildren, I now feel that the time
has come.
What has indeed become of us?
Since when do we censor our
President? What has happened to the
notion of free speech? When was the
last time the importance of education
was called into question? These are
all rhetorical questions because the
answers are all painfully clear. We
have become a nation that has no
respect for its leaders and no respect
for itself. We are unpatriotic and we
justify it by using political ideology as
an excuse to continue blaming rather
than solving.
I think all schoolchildren should be
required to hear the President
because … he is our President and
deserves our respect, our children
have minds of their own, and we do not
need to be protected from opinions
that we do not agree with. The best
decision is an informed decision. This
applies to any consequential thought
process whether it is civil or spiritual in
nature.
There was a time when we would have
been proud to have listened to our
President, and respected the authority
of the person and of the office. Of
course, there was also a time when we
pledged allegiance to the flag and
prayed out loud without shame or
apology. We are teaching our children
to be narrow, faithless thinkers. Our
television personalities are making
careers out of being politically divisive
entertainers-for-profit rather than
suggesting an attitude of curiosity,
balance and discernment. For all of
the hope in the 2008 election we still
behave as a hopeless people.
Any parent that does not allow his or
her child to listen to this message is
either politically biased or just plain
uncomfortable with the thought of an
opinion that differs from their own. Our
country was not founded on
regimented blind following, but on the
cultivation of leaders with new ideas …
even radical ideas.
The President’s speech is evidently
not intended for the parents, but for
the generation of children they will
depend upon to make informed and
intelligent decisions on their behalf.
Shouldn’t we give our children the
benefit of the doubt before we pass
down our personal brand of prejudice?
By the way, it is obvious that the anti-
American, anti-freedom, partisan
thinking we fought so hard to eradicate
is killing us. There is no need for an
attack from outside … we are dividing
and conquering our own.
Sean Lawrence
1608 Brentwood St.
Middletown, OH 45044
513-423-8640
9/06/2009
Re: Some pupils won’t hear it by
Lindsey Hilty in the September 5th,
2009 Saturday edition of the
Middletown Journal
I have waited for a very long time to
write, as I have not felt it would be
worth it to add fuel to the editorial
fires. However, after reading Lindsey’s
article about the upcoming speech by
President Obama to our nation’s
schoolchildren, I now feel that the time
has come.
What has indeed become of us?
Since when do we censor our
President? What has happened to the
notion of free speech? When was the
last time the importance of education
was called into question? These are
all rhetorical questions because the
answers are all painfully clear. We
have become a nation that has no
respect for its leaders and no respect
for itself. We are unpatriotic and we
justify it by using political ideology as
an excuse to continue blaming rather
than solving.
I think all schoolchildren should be
required to hear the President
because … he is our President and
deserves our respect, our children
have minds of their own, and we do not
need to be protected from opinions
that we do not agree with. The best
decision is an informed decision. This
applies to any consequential thought
process whether it is civil or spiritual in
nature.
There was a time when we would have
been proud to have listened to our
President, and respected the authority
of the person and of the office. Of
course, there was also a time when we
pledged allegiance to the flag and
prayed out loud without shame or
apology. We are teaching our children
to be narrow, faithless thinkers. Our
television personalities are making
careers out of being politically divisive
entertainers-for-profit rather than
suggesting an attitude of curiosity,
balance and discernment. For all of
the hope in the 2008 election we still
behave as a hopeless people.
Any parent that does not allow his or
her child to listen to this message is
either politically biased or just plain
uncomfortable with the thought of an
opinion that differs from their own. Our
country was not founded on
regimented blind following, but on the
cultivation of leaders with new ideas …
even radical ideas.
The President’s speech is evidently
not intended for the parents, but for
the generation of children they will
depend upon to make informed and
intelligent decisions on their behalf.
Shouldn’t we give our children the
benefit of the doubt before we pass
down our personal brand of prejudice?
By the way, it is obvious that the anti-
American, anti-freedom, partisan
thinking we fought so hard to eradicate
is killing us. There is no need for an
attack from outside … we are dividing
and conquering our own.
Sean Lawrence
1608 Brentwood St.
Middletown, OH 45044
513-423-8640
| this is what happened after the first night of storms. beautiful from south of Toledo |
So what is the connection
between this lily and a
dragster?
we remember Scott Kalitta
between this lily and a
dragster?
we remember Scott Kalitta
Sarge takes to the track in customary
flame-throwing drama.
flame-throwing drama.
morning day one ... and it's already
hot! track temp? a little over
ninety.
hot! track temp? a little over
ninety.
It is off to a slow start
as the track is warm,
and to make it worse,
it had been
resurfaced less than a
week before the race.
no one had any idea
that the build up of
rubber would make
the track so greasy so
early.
no information, no way
to foresee the track
conditions, as I
believe this was the
first resurfacing effort
since Norwalk opened
an a sanctioned NHRA
venue.
as the track is warm,
and to make it worse,
it had been
resurfaced less than a
week before the race.
no one had any idea
that the build up of
rubber would make
the track so greasy so
early.
no information, no way
to foresee the track
conditions, as I
believe this was the
first resurfacing effort
since Norwalk opened
an a sanctioned NHRA
venue.
| Fun for the entire family, especially if you like noise and speed, and your races up close and personal. |
I like Thursdays because the street stuff is there,
you can wander to the opposite side of the track,
and it isn't very crowded. Only the truly devoted
are in the park.
you can wander to the opposite side of the track,
and it isn't very crowded. Only the truly devoted
are in the park.
The colors, the burnt rubber and
the power. Can a Christ-follower
go to the races and have fun? the
answer is an unequivocal YES!!
the power. Can a Christ-follower
go to the races and have fun? the
answer is an unequivocal YES!!
because my seat was on the west side
of the strip i spent time Thursday on
the other side (of the track) ha! ha!
of the strip i spent time Thursday on
the other side (of the track) ha! ha!
| this is where i want to be someday! |
the photos have the necessary resolution, but
am concerned that they might need some
increased saturation to really pop! we'll see
on a different monitor. what about that
Challenger? nice ...
am concerned that they might need some
increased saturation to really pop! we'll see
on a different monitor. what about that
Challenger? nice ...
This was a beautiful day ... very sunny
with plenty of low lying fog ... and guess
how many geckos are in the box!
with plenty of low lying fog ... and guess
how many geckos are in the box!
Matco
Tools =
Antron
Brown.
It's about
the
people,
really.
Amen!
Tools =
Antron
Brown.
It's about
the
people,
really.
Amen!
This mom
had a great
travel
method ...
just put the
girls on and
go see dad.
I imagine her
hubby was a
driver or
crew
member.
Isn't the child
on front a
real peach!
had a great
travel
method ...
just put the
girls on and
go see dad.
I imagine her
hubby was a
driver or
crew
member.
Isn't the child
on front a
real peach!
| below are tents for V.I.P.'s and autograph signing, I believe. |
Group 2 photos which loosely
conforms to day number two.
conforms to day number two.
Above, you'll notice that
Racers for Christ (RFC) is
plastered all over the
place ... and it was a
really strong worship
experience. It was in the
Matco & Canidae tents on
the main walkway, and
was attended by drivers,
crew and fans. What a
neat Christ-centered
experience!.
Racers for Christ (RFC) is
plastered all over the
place ... and it was a
really strong worship
experience. It was in the
Matco & Canidae tents on
the main walkway, and
was attended by drivers,
crew and fans. What a
neat Christ-centered
experience!.
People
Very nice shot of the lady who opened the weekend with a rendering of our National Anthem.
doing what they do ...
2 Corinthians: wealth & poverty
2Corinthians 8:8-9 I am not saying
this as a command. Rather, by means
of the diligence of others, I am
testing the genuineness of your
love. For you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ: although He was
rich, for your sake He became poor,
so that by His poverty you might
become rich.
We are not really wealthy people even if
we have what is considered an “affluent
lifestyle” by most standards around the
world. Are we not as poor as any
laborer in light of the fact that what we
have accumulated can be taken away at
any time should we fall behind in our
earning potential? Of course, we are
certainly not destitute, but we are by no
means financially sound.
Poverty in spirit, i.e. not knowing who we
are, is a symptom of not knowing Whose
we are: a truly impoverished condition.
I believe that Jesus came to us that He
might better understand our condition
and how to grow us beyond it.
Jesus left His home, His Father, and
unlimited resources, that He might
confine Himself to us for a time. Notice
that He never asked anyone to give up a
possession or a comfort that He had not
already forsaken. Jesus became poor
so that He could die among us; He was
fully aware of what it meant to feel the
pain of our existence. (21B;pg 2098)
Dying in poverty was no longer an
abstract concept for Christ as a man. He
knew that we are, by definition, in a state
of poverty because of our distance from
God. That distance we experience is our
sin, and make no mistake, we do choose
our existence. The insane thing is that
we are often more poverty-stricken as
we accumulate wealth than if we had less
to distract us.
I believe that Jesus had to know who and
what He was dying for. He could not
have allowed the cross if He believed
there was another way out. When He
discovered that redemption could only
be achieved through grace, then Jesus
our Christ understood that we could not
ever make enough sacrifices to qualify
us as righteous under any set of laws.
He understood that poverty was not
solved by financial means, but by loving
unconditionally.
We are absolved of our sin because He
loved, not because we loved.
By His vow of poverty we are rich.
2Corinthians 8:8-9 I am not saying
this as a command. Rather, by means
of the diligence of others, I am
testing the genuineness of your
love. For you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ: although He was
rich, for your sake He became poor,
so that by His poverty you might
become rich.
We are not really wealthy people even if
we have what is considered an “affluent
lifestyle” by most standards around the
world. Are we not as poor as any
laborer in light of the fact that what we
have accumulated can be taken away at
any time should we fall behind in our
earning potential? Of course, we are
certainly not destitute, but we are by no
means financially sound.
Poverty in spirit, i.e. not knowing who we
are, is a symptom of not knowing Whose
we are: a truly impoverished condition.
I believe that Jesus came to us that He
might better understand our condition
and how to grow us beyond it.
Jesus left His home, His Father, and
unlimited resources, that He might
confine Himself to us for a time. Notice
that He never asked anyone to give up a
possession or a comfort that He had not
already forsaken. Jesus became poor
so that He could die among us; He was
fully aware of what it meant to feel the
pain of our existence. (21B;pg 2098)
Dying in poverty was no longer an
abstract concept for Christ as a man. He
knew that we are, by definition, in a state
of poverty because of our distance from
God. That distance we experience is our
sin, and make no mistake, we do choose
our existence. The insane thing is that
we are often more poverty-stricken as
we accumulate wealth than if we had less
to distract us.
I believe that Jesus had to know who and
what He was dying for. He could not
have allowed the cross if He believed
there was another way out. When He
discovered that redemption could only
be achieved through grace, then Jesus
our Christ understood that we could not
ever make enough sacrifices to qualify
us as righteous under any set of laws.
He understood that poverty was not
solved by financial means, but by loving
unconditionally.
We are absolved of our sin because He
loved, not because we loved.
By His vow of poverty we are rich.
the pics below are not just
light, they are exhaust fog
from a synch-up at Force
Racing pits. smell the nitro?
light, they are exhaust fog
from a synch-up at Force
Racing pits. smell the nitro?
Antron Brown doing his own oil
& fluids check. nice
& fluids check. nice
Alcohol funny car stuff
Super Stock class
| the Hartley Racing crew let me back into the pits, which is how i got these pics. what a nice bunch of guys. |
i don't even know all of the names, but i know what i
like to see, and there was just so much fun ... and
so much to look at. the colors were breathtaking.
what about the umbrella guy!!!
like to see, and there was just so much fun ... and
so much to look at. the colors were breathtaking.
what about the umbrella guy!!!
i think the whole
experience is so
much fun that it really
defies words, which
is why photos more
often suffice.
the big guy with the
shades, Sean with
Rum Bum Racing,
Angie with the full
service program of
holding an umbrella
to create a spot of
shade on a blistering
tarmac.
it is all amazing to
behold. i see God in
all of this because
how could such cool
stuff happen
randomly or
circumstantially?
just doesn't compute.
experience is so
much fun that it really
defies words, which
is why photos more
often suffice.
the big guy with the
shades, Sean with
Rum Bum Racing,
Angie with the full
service program of
holding an umbrella
to create a spot of
shade on a blistering
tarmac.
it is all amazing to
behold. i see God in
all of this because
how could such cool
stuff happen
randomly or
circumstantially?
just doesn't compute.
| last couple of days are coming next |
going in
to
Racers
for
Christ
to
Racers
for
Christ
the rain came and
washed it out for a
couple of hours.
washed it out for a
couple of hours.
This is the last blast for 2009. due to the
employment situation i do not know if i will
be back for '10. i will miss it, but can relive
thru the photos of races past. this is great
stuff and i know God's hand is on these
men and women as with all who believe. it
doesn't always protect from physical risk,
but it always protects the soul from the fire
that is unquenchable!
employment situation i do not know if i will
be back for '10. i will miss it, but can relive
thru the photos of races past. this is great
stuff and i know God's hand is on these
men and women as with all who believe. it
doesn't always protect from physical risk,
but it always protects the soul from the fire
that is unquenchable!