Faith Like Potatoes

Spousal Unit and I watched a Netflix movie last night, "Faith Like Potatoes".

The story is about a South African farmer during the '70s, and how he struggles mightily to make his farm work, and is met with failure and difficulty all around. Against his wishes and out of step with the dress code, he finds himself somewhat angrily at a church meeting, where he hears the gospel preached by a fellow farmer. He realizes that despite his almost heroic work ethic and diligence, he cannot make everything turn out right, and that the results are in the hands of the Lord. He is convicted, turns his life over to Christ, and his life changes. I could identify with the farmer and his fits of temper. But God works on him, and over time he has less fire for his temper, and more fire for God.

Another aspect of the movie that I liked was that the object of Christianity was presented as Christ, rather than the watered-down generic "God" of typical movies. Faith had a definite object, rather than as a vague gooey feeling.

The story isn't over, as there are still many obstacles and burdens. There is one scene that is telegraphed right away, and almost impossible to watch.

Wear your eye-glasses, as there is some Zulu spoken, and you need to be able to see the subtitles in those portions of the movie.

Looks like the real deal

Nothing really matters.....

Vivid Vivid dreams

I often have vivid, wild dreams. These dreams are usually filled with details. If I think about the dream when I awaken, I can remember it. But if I don’t think about the dream at that point, I forget the dream.

Most dreams have many elements that don’t make sense, and aren’t true to life. I often travel to places that I revisit in many subsequent dreams, such as the place where we all canoe and kayak in a cave, another place near that one where you can kayak in a circle and it the river is always going clockwise and meets up with itself again. There is another place where driving near Auburn, I always get lost in the same little almost deserted one or two red-light town, where none of the inhabitants seems to know how to leave.

There are also many freight train riding adventures between here and Birmingham, and in these particular dreams, Birmingham has a giant river that has to be crossed before going into town (approaching from the North), somewhat like Decatur or Montgomery do, only bigger. And the Dream Birmingham has a very big freight yard that is all underground. Sometimes on these freight train rides, we get caught, sometimes we sneak by. Sometimes we are going north but usually south. In these adventures we are riding various types of railcar, and sometimes, we climb on top of the boxcars or flatbeds and sneak into a passenger car, always being careful to avoid the “yard dick”. Then there are the sword fighting adventures, which oddly are usually in black-and-white. These dreams are incredibly packed with visual detail.

Last night I had a peculiar dream. My friend Glenn and his wife Gail were up for a funeral of some kind, and everyone was very sad. I then got to meet Glenn’s sister. This is of course very odd, since he doesn’t have a sister, but no more strange than whitewater rivers that go in a circle. Glenn tells me she is an atheist, and somehow she and I get into a conversation. I then proceed to give her a full presentation of the Gospel, in detail, with specific points right off the top of my head. I told her about how there is personal, transcendent God, who made everything that is, and in a special act, created us. How, through our own choice we are all in rebellion against Him, and His authority, how he has chosen some from among all nations to show mercy. This mercy is shown by providing his Son, a person of his own Godhead to take on manhood, and to live a perfect life, and to be sacrificed unto death, and triumphantly rising from the dead in order that we may be reconciled with God. In this dream, she listened as though she had heard parts of it, but not the whole story, and she had a couple of questions that I could answer. I then pulled out a Gideon’s NT bible kit. I say kit, because it was an unassembled red Gideon’s NT, so I glued the pages together, along with the book spine and cover and gave it to her. I told her she might want to start in the book of John, followed by Romans and Hebrews, and restart by reading Matthew through Revelations. I also told her she might want to get a complete Bible at that point because the OT provides history and context for the NT. She accepted it, but gave me the look that said she wouldn’t soon follow my suggestions. But as she left I felt she would try John sometime, perhaps years later. And that was the end of my dream.

So, lets pretend you are Joseph (Gen. 40:8), how would you interpret this dream?




My Daddy's pocket bible, from Franklin D. Roosevelt, given to him during WWII and to all the armed forces of the United States and commended for reading.

What we can all look forward to:

Doggie Greeting

#52 has a career like mine in football

...and then the light bulb went off.....

Do Candy-Eating Kids Become Criminal Adults?

Do Candy-Eating Kids Become Criminal Adults?


Cause and effect are often confused by our press. Could it be that parents who indiscriminately give their children a lot of candy are statistically poor parents to begin with? Nah, that couldn't be it.

Torrent Rolling lessons -

Nice Brace!

Riveting commentary by Mrs. Pie

The Nantahala can be Tricky

I have found that the Nantahala can be really tricky at high water levels.

Watch how I disappear at the bottom of the falls.

It had been raining for several days, and rained all day on this trip, causing some REALLY tricky conditions.

Another Direct Edit

The Last Batch

Here are the last photos from the trip that I will bore you with.



Matt almost succeeds in his disappearing act.


Ken tries to obtain optimum position on the tongue of water leading to the best spot to cross the bottom of the falls.


Ryan takes a few moments from his orange kayak to take the Torrent down the waterfall.


Amy and Daniel take the bumpy route and sail right through. Except for the

MONEY SHOT!



Daniel is all about celebrating the success, but Amy seems to be saying, "Hey, that wasn't supposed to happen!"

(as usual, click on the pictures for a bigger, better view.

I Love Camping

I love camping. Not as much as I like Kayaking and Canoeing, but I love it.




You wake up in the morning full of energy, having slept peacefully the night before in the quiet solitude and in the soft comfort of the sleeping-bag and the tender embrace of the ground.


And there are the gourmet treats of camping cuisine, delicious meals timely prepared with only a small set of modest utensils.




Sitting around the cozy campfire provides an opportunity to hear stories from uncles that would otherwise be lost, like the one "Scooter Johnson, Rush Chairman, glad to meet you...."



Young couples have the opportunity for an intimate togetherness reinforced by the close quarters, not to mention the opportunity for the odd basketball game inside the modest tent.




Then, there is all the camping apparel, and the almost limitless opportunity to sport the latest fashions and show off your own personal sense of style.





But probably the best thing, is the chance to visit with loved ones that you rarely see or have an opportunity to otherwise spend time with.

Lets do it again real soon!

In God's Outdoor Cathedral

I cant help but everytime I spend time in a kayak or canoe, looking at creation, thinking about how God had created this cathedral for Himself and for our enjoyment.

This section of the Hiwassee River is protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers act. As you can see, it is scenic, and is a marvelous display of God's handiwork.



I just happened to catch a moment when the inflatable isnt under mere Scooterpower.

Frances shows her moves.

Angelia and Rebecca follow my trail down the shallow rapids. The hard part is picking a good line, and not getting stuck.

There is always the prep work

Preparation seems to take a long time, especially considering how long you are actually on the water. But, it is worth it.

Here, the Friday group prepares for launching the kayaks.

More Floaters

Floaters #1

Ronald Reagan

Savannah part 3

Brother Wesley has a spot of honor along the Upper lane of River Walk along Bay Street.


The old part of town is quite lovely in the evening lights.

Tinkering with my wide-angle lense, I catch the municipal building at dusk. I like the colors.

Savannah part 2

Someone was in a good mood, and posed.

Readers of The Harnation may recognize this shot. The couple is a little more experienced in the ways of the world than in the other version.

The historic homestead of Noble Jones is Wormsloe. Looking roughly South from near the abandoned Jones home site is this cedar tree, reaching out over the tidal marshes.
Click on the pictures for a larger more detailed view.

Savannah part one

Fort Jackson - guarding the river approach to Savannah from the Atlantic, was started during the Revolutionary War. It was rebuilt and refined in the years prior to the War of Unwarranted Northern Aggression. Its construction was at one time supervised by a young engineer named Robert E. Lee. My sister says we are kin to him. You can see the National flag of 1861 flying above the main building. Confederate National flag, that is. As Sherman approached Ft. Jackson, it was abandoned, as the lesson of Ft. Pulaski down the river was taken to heart. Ft. Pulaski was pulverized by a new weapon, rifled cannon, and these forts became instantly obsolete.

Here is the lighthouse on Tybee Island, just outside Savannah. They have kept it up fairly well. Behind the photographer is the beach and another type of fort that became obsolete soon before WWII, and was left unfinished for that reason.

Click on the pictures for bigger views.

Even more shots of Beaufort

The last three of Beaufort:


I like pictures with bridges for some reason, and this bridge was purty. After taking this shot, we watched as a sailboat went under, and the center span pivoted. They dont make cool bridges like this anymore.

Frances shows how she earned her way through college. There were several of these mermaid statues around Beaufort, and each one painted differently.

I wonder if they give a family discount...

Views of Beaufort

Walking around Beaufort, it was noticiable that it wasnt much in the way of a fort, but it was quite Beau.


There were many Many Many old homes in the Beaufort historic district. Too many even to photograph. There is some serious money there.

The marina downtown has several nice boats.

On Emerald Island, Julia took me to see some egret rookeries, and above you see a cormorant, or something similar. Below are the almost ready egrets.

Paukie Island, South Carolina

From the back porch, you can see the sun setting and why their email name [was] MarshView.



On my first ever shrimp fishing expedition, Uncle Billy shows how to throw the net. We didnt catch much, but we did get a flounder. And then we ate it.

Christian Defense of Capitalism

Meanwhile, back at the Fortress of Solitude....

Superman checks the weather on the web....

And searches for Kryptonite on Ebay.

Three on a night in Osaka - From the Archives

This was taken on our last evening in the Umeda area of downtown Osaka. It is a very Japanese place, with plenty of neon, tall buildings and pretty girls.

Bathing Beauties - From the Archives....

They show their best side! (click on picture for bigger version)

Now you know how they developed their appreciation for Curly, Larry, and Moe.

Three stair steps. You can see there are just two bricks between them.

Time for another rinse in the patio pool!

How could you not love them?

Worth the tuition?

I hope my girls got more for the tuition paid!

Water Dances - From the Archives

(click on the pictures to see a larger, more detailed version)

Amy displays how "Slip Sliding Away". Amy was not that white, even in April. I overexposed the shot. Amy's sliding spot is about 30 yards upstream from a 35 foot waterfall, but safe enough.

Amanda shows the Sipsey locals all about the "Twist" not quite walking on water. The locals look on admiringly.

These are also from the archives, April, 1998.

Backpacking in the Wilderness - From the Archives

Amy, Amanda and Rebecca didn't always wish to go backpacking with their parents in 1998, but they were mostly good sports about it. The Sipsey is a beatiful place, especially in April. There are lots of trees, streams, trails, rocks, and waterfalls. And in April, not so much poison ivy.