Don Lockwood

It rained on Wednesday.














I would have gotten some flower pictures, but I didn't want to get muddy since I was due in Beaverdale in a half hour.

The Land Awakens

I thought I would share a few pictures of the action that is going on in my backyard. I still don't really know what some/most of this stuff is going to turn out to be, so if you know, don't be afraid to shout out the answer.



The best guess somebody has given me is grapes.



The best guess somebody has given me is some kind of herb, but it is probably a weed.



One of my gardening experts told me that this was a magnolia tree. It definitely is not a magnolia tree. I'm still holding out hope for cherry tree, but it is probably a crab apple tree.




Raspberries. I've been told most likely black.



When I sent this picture to Shannon, she told me that it was concerning. Apparently it is bad for rhubarb to re-seed itself in the spring. Luckily I sprung into action (after being told what to do) and the rhubarb emergency was avoided, for now. Although I have some rhubarb that is so large that I worry that it is a super species of rhubarb that will one day grow out of my control and try to take over the world. The only other option is that this rhubarb is going end up in a very heavenly pie.



Some flower.



The super rhubarb. Don't look at it too closely. Its hypnotic powers will bend you to its will.



Some more flowers that I can't identify.



Same flowers, still no identification.



The mystery tree blooms.

It seems like every other day there is a new discovery in my backyard.

Cardinalidae

Last Friday was a busy night for me. I spent the beginning of the evening at a Super Secret Session of FNSC. I can't really tell you what happened there, because it is a secret.

After our session concluded in a secret manner I made my way over to Terra's house to celebrate the birth of Geri D.

Her party consisted of much merriment and my complete and total domination of a game called "Apples to Apples". Maybe that was the name of the game. Either way, the name is secondary to my thorough domination.

When I got home around 1 am I noticed that my garage door was wide open. It is not uncommon for me to leave my garage door open, so I must have done it. But at the time I wondered who had been in my garage. It was a silly thought, considering my nephew Johnathan is the only other soul that knows the security code to get into my garage.

I pulled my car into the garage and got out of my car.

There was a fluttering above my head.

I was excited. I thought I might have a bat in my garage. I like bats. In fact, I wanted to buy a bathouse or two to put up in the yard.

I looked around the garage and finally found the culprit. It was a female cardinal. She was perched on top of my garage door opener.

I was tired, but I made a game effort to shoo her out of the garage, but she wasn't interested in leaving the garage. So I decided to leave the garage door open for the night.

Sleep came fast on that night and that was a good thing. I had an 8:45 am appointment at Beyer Hall with Baier, Russell and Andree. I was giving them free basketball lessons. They had expressed some interest in knowing how the game is properly played. As their friend, it was my duty to provide such a service.

I overslept on Saturday morning. I barely managed to find basketball clothes and shoes. I put them on and headed out the door.

When I got to the garage I looked around for the bird. I didn't see her at first, but when I turned around to get into the car I saw her. She was lying dead on top of the old washing machine that I'm storing in the garage.

Since I was already late I decided to deal with the dead bird later.

Basketball went as expected. Admittedly there was a surprise at the beginning. A team of Andree/Russell did shock the team of Baier and I in the first game, but I finished the rest of the day undefeated.

When I got home later in the day, I discovered that I don't actually own a shovel. So I waited until Sunday to bury the bird.

I dug a hole and threw the bird in it. Then I put an Easter Lily over the top of it.

Now it rained all day Sunday. I was digging a hole and burying a bird in the middle of the night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Jay thought that this must have looked like the beginning of a cheesy horror movie to an outside observer.

All I know is that the bird is buried and the lily is still kicking.













If you need to bury a dead bird, I recommend the middle of a thunderstorm. The ground is nice and wet and the ambiance can't be beat.

Better than Work

I took Wednesday off to go down to Tom Harkin's office with Jesse to meet with one of Tom Harkin's assistants to discuss the situation in Uganda.

If you are not familiar with what is going on in Uganda, I would suggest you check out a video put together by a group called Invisible Children.

I posted it in a blog a long time ago:


Invisible Children Video


The meeting went well, but it was to be expected. Who is going to come out and support child soldiers?

On our way to the meeting, we walked by an advertisement. I don't think that there is anything in the world that could have encapsulated what is wrong with our country more.



Ugly America


When the meeting started, Tom Harkin's assistant presented us with a letter showing both his support for ending the civil war in Uganda and his (staff's) ability to use Wikipedia.





To see the letter in full size, click the link below:

Tom Harkin Letter




Jesse in front of the Federal Building


After the meeting, we met up with Sara and hit both Ted's Coney Island and Snookie's.











It was truly a great impromptu lunch. Including when Sara called nursing homes: "Purgatory with crafts."

Spring Game

I've put up a bunch of pictures from the Spring Game for your perusal.





Click on the link below:

ISU Spring Game


For reasons I can't quite figure out yet, the album seems to include random pictures of me and other people. I might need to take a closer look at my database.

Life, Partly

There is an old Oscar Wilde quote that goes, "True friends stab you in the front." This has and always will be the friendship philosophy of Christopher D. Bennett. But there is a better quote by a different writer that best encapsulates what happened to me on a morning a few weeks back:

"Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose."

Tennessee Williams

I have a few rituals I perform every morning when I get to work. But the most important is when I walk past Corey Schmidt.

I stop and I say, "Good morning friend."

He answers back, "Good morning friend."

I have to admit that this simple act of acknowledging a friend has made some people confused, angered and jealous.

Steve for example is jealous that I do not stop by him every morning to say those 3 simple words. I have pointed out to him that I always stab him in the front, but that wasn't enough for him. So now I make time during his lunch break to listen to him regale me with stories from the old country (Mason City).

For example, he told me the story of when his dad took him to visit his grandpa at work. Only it isn't a heartwarming story. His grandpa worked on the kill line in a slaughterhouse. You can imagine what watching cattle get strung upside down and having their throat cut can do to a small child's psyche. It is why Steve is the way that he is.

But this isn't a tale of jealous or killing floors. This a tale of friendship.

One morning I came into work and stopped and said, "Good morning friend."

Corey retorted back, "I have something for you." Then he handed me a grocery bag.





It was no longer a good morning. It was a great morning!

Happy Birthday Faust

Happy Birthday Mr. Faust!





To view a few more images of Mr. Faust, click on the link below.


Corey Faust

Jesus Christ Pose

Last night was Good Friday. At the conclusion of our church service the congregation walks by a simulation of the crucifixion.

I'm not going to pretend that this is one of my favorite things that my church does, but I took a few pictures since Logan played Christ.









I guess you will have to pretend that Jeff was a roman centurion, that invented glasses.









Putting on garbage bags for the ride home.


I think they got a bit carried away with the fake blood. At least I know that Logan would be able to get a job on the special effects crew of the next Rob Zombie film if need be.

Prayer, Reflection, Horseradish & Jumpshot

Last night my church had a fairly unique service. A woman from Jews for Jesus came and gave a presentation on the traditional Jewish Passover feast.

She explained the meaning of each cup, prayer, tradition and food item. The presentation was interactive, so we sampled many of the foods. Most of them were not tasty, including dipping parsley in salt water. But the worst by far was the horseradish.

I only had a small amount of the horseradish, but it was more than enough. This is followed by something sweet. We had an apple to represent the sweet. I can tell you that this was by far the best apple I have ever had in my life.

It was very educational. I learned a ton.

After the service I headed over to the Gorshe home to shoot some hoops on their new basketball hoop.



Derrick's Perfect Form.



I don't know, I just like this picture.


I look forward to many a game of basketball on their new hoop and court.

Mandatum

Today is Maundy Thursday. I have been asked a few times lately about Maundy Thursday, so I will give everybody a small succinct answer about what Maundy Thursday means. At least if you are a Methodist. It has slightly different meanings for other denominations.

Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday, is a service to commemorate Jesus' Last Supper and the beginning of our Sacrament, the Lord's Supper. At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them.

John 13:34-35

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Perhaps you aren't down with NIV and prefer The Message:

Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how every one will recognize that you are my disciples-when they see the love you have for each other.

Perhaps you don't dig The Message and like things Amplified:

I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you to should love one another. By this all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if keep on showing love among yourselves].

Perhaps you only like things New and American and Standardized:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for another.

Perhaps you like crusty old monarchs:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.

Regardless of which version of the Bible you dig, that is what Maundy Thursday means to a Methodist.

The term Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum which means commandment. It comes from the Latin version of John 13:34:

Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos.

Enjoy your Maundy Thursday and love one another already!

Doing a Brother a Solid

Sometimes you think you know a guy and then something comes out of his mouth that makes you wonder if you know that guy at all.

I had one of those moments on Monday night. I was hosting an NCAA Championship game watch when a commercial for Hardee's came on.

At the conclusion of the commercial one of my compatriots announced that he had gotten in trouble with his wife for watching that commercial.

It is a strange concept for me to think of somebody getting in trouble for watching a commercial, no matter how over the top the sexuality of the commercial. But putting that small tidbit aside, what came out of his mouth next was the truly shocking part.

"I just wanted to see the commercial to see what was on the burger."

With all due apologies (and I've never doubted the veracity of this man's statements in the past) but that is the equivalent of "I only get Playboy to read the articles." Of course, that is still an improvement on subscribing to Playboy and telling your mom that your friends got you the subscription. Yes, I'm still bitter about that.

But because my friend can't watch this commercial in the privacy of his own home to figure out what is on the burger, I am posting the extended cut of the commercial below so that he can at least solve this burger conundrum in the privacy of his cubicle at work. I just hope I don't get ratted out to his wife.




If you subscribe to this blog vie email or RSS feed, you will have to actually go to the website to watch the video.

Big Empty

Too much walkin', shoes worn thin
Too much trippin' and my soul's worn thin
Time to catch a ride it leaves today
Her name is what it means

I'd say that there is a fair chance that when the Stone Temple Pilots recorded the song Big Empty, they were not thinking about how I feel the day after college basketball season ends. But it will pass as a close approximation.

The end of the season means the coronation of a new King of the Brackets in my pool of friends. This year the person that displayed the most prescience was again Mark Wolfram.

Roundball Oracles 2009 Final Standings
1. Mark Wolfram - Taiwan Hoops - 135 Points
2. Jason Baier - Mcdermite - 133 Points
3. Frank Meiners - Frank Meiners - 131 Points
4. Russell Kennerly - thefightingmattfortes - 128 Points
5. Dan Dill - dandydanl - 126 Points
6. Christopher D. Bennett - The Future - 124 Points
7. Nate Buckingham - Wade Lookingbill Allstar picks - 91 Points
8. Corey Faust - Tubbyville - 82 Points
9. Toby Sebring - Car Ramrod - 79 Points
10. Jesse Howard - Goldies Dance Card - 73 Points
11. Robert Henning - Fill It Up - 69 Points
12. Nader Parsaei - Charlie Chaplin - 45 Points
13. Lowell Davis - Waiting For Baseball Season - 0 Points

Past Champions
2005 - William McAlpine
2006 - William McAlpine
2007 - Tim Peterson
2008 - Mark Wolfram

It is admittedly slightly embarrassing that a dude living in Taiwan has won our NCAA tourney pool back to back years.

Taiwan Times - March 2009 Issue

Mark's March Newsletter.

The Taiwan Times
By Mark Wolfram
Reporting on God’s mission in Taiwan
March 2009

Exciting News!

Greetings to everyone. I would like to open this newsletter by informing everybody that I have decided to extend my service in Taiwan for another year. After much prayerful consideration, I feel that God is calling me back to serve here at Concordia Middle School. There are many exciting ministries and activities that I am part of, and my teaching is always a joy.

Another piece of exciting news is that Pastor Alex is now officially serving at Salvation Lutheran Church. This past Friday I was given the keys to open up the church for Friday Night Bible Study, and I arrived expecting the church to be locked and dark. When I pulled up on my scooter, I was surprised to find the church wide open with the lights on. To my delight, I was greeted by Pastor Alex. I had completely forgotten that he would be there, but rejoiced to see him smiling and welcoming me.

That evening, he and his wife, Ruth, helped at our study. I taught the Junior High Class. We were teaching the Easter lesson. We looked at the idea of surprises and what kind of surprises the students get. Of course we talked about how Easter is God’s big surprise, and how that is so important for our lives now and for eternity.

At the end one of the 9th grade students who frequently attends FNBS asked a very good question. He asked why God needed to punish Jesus and why people had to believe in Jesus. I discussed a little about how sin needs to be punished and that we can choose to take the punishment ourselves or give it to Jesus.

The student was not totally satisfied with the answer, so he pursued his line of questioning. He surmised that if God was so powerful, He ought to just forgive everyone, regardless of what they do. At this point, Ruth jumped into help answer. She talked about how God is righteous also. It would be against his nature to not do what is right and punish sin. But because of Easter, we have great news. We don’t have to take the punishment. We can let Jesus take it.

The student did not pursue the answer further. I am not sure if the student believed or not, but he heard the message and will be able to think about. I pray that God will continue to work on his heart. I am thankful for the chance to share this news and to have the help of Ruth in witnessing the love of Jesus.

Want to support the ministry?

Because I am extending for another year of service, I will once again need to raise funds to be able to stay here in Taiwan. This year, the total sum has increased significantly. I need to raise $8,820.00 to continue my service. Now this higher goal is due to some changes in LCMS World Mission policy for my position. I am now classified as full-time employee of LCMS World Mission, as opposed to a volunteer. The practical result of this is that I now have extensive American health insurance and retirement. These are two things that I did not have in the past, as I had emergency insurance while in the US and relied on the Taiwanese health care system.

This new policy is exciting as long term missionary, but it does mean an increase in fundraising. As always, I ask that you prayerfully consider if you would like to help financially support this mission. Even if you cannot, prayer support is always important as well. I am just so blessed to have so many supporters back home, making this mission possible.

If you would like to support me, you can send a check to the following address:

Missionary Support
LCMS World Mission
1333 S. Kirkwood Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63122

On the memo line for the check please write “Mark Wolfram account #50152”.

It’s Prayer Time!

1. Please pray for Pastor Alex and Ruth as they begin service at Salvation Lutheran Church. Ask that God would bless them and help all of us members to support them in the ministry. Praise God for the answered prayer that Salvation now has a pastor.
2. Please pray for my friend Doug Larson and his sons, Jacob and Caleb, who will be coming this week to minister to students here in Taiwan for 2 weeks. Pray that God will bless their travels, adjustment and ministry.
3. Pray for my students that they would be open to hearing the Gospel and that God would use me to share the love of Christ with them in word and deed.

God’s peace to you all, and have a blessed Easter!

Mark

Saturday's Accomplishment

On Saturday, Jason and I got the garage opener put on the garage door. This makes parking in the garage a lot easier. This was a good thing, because when I looked out my back door on Sunday after I got home from church I saw the following:





Thanks to that garage, I didn't have to clean off my car. I just backed the car out of the garage and onto the street and I was off to Ames.

Once in Ames, I picked up Nader so that we could check out Adventureland.





Maybe you can't tell from that picture, but he was complaining about the weather. Despite my best efforts over the years, I fear that I have failed to man that guy up.

Adventureland turned out to be a fair movie. It does have an incredible 80s soundtrack and a great performance by Kristen Stewart, but I found the movie to have more ambitions than it could deliver on.

After the movie I took Nader to Super Wal-Mart to buy groceries. I found something very disturbing in the frozen food aisle.





Excuse the crude cell phone picture, but that is the best I could do under the circumstances.

My favorite captain from Deadliest Catch is hawking his own brand of frozen fish products?!?! Captain Sig has become Captain Sellout. Oh the humanity!

Saturday Ames Tribune

In case you didn't look through your Ames Tribune on Saturday, I would like to draw you attention to an advertisement.





I can say that I gave a small bit of help with this advertisement and if you still haven't switched over from the evil corporate soap monopolies to a high quality soap product, I recommend that you give Little White Lye Soap a try.

Any time that you are in my humble abode you can take it for a test run in both my bathroom and kitchen. In the kitchen you can even try one of their high quality crochet washcloths.