607 N. Main Normal Illinois
Reunion. Jeny and I are in for a special treat.
Fifty years ago, we moved into a three-story home on Main Street in Normal Illinois. (Yes, I was a psychologist living on Main Street in a town called Normal.) I was teaching at Illinois State University.
The picture is a current picture. I assure you it was not that nice when we bought it. We will get to see all of the improvements because a tour has been arranged.
The house was built in the 1850s. It was the original farm house for the area. It sat on the highest point in Normal. The foundation was field stone. The beams were heart of pine lumber so tough that driving nails into them was very difficult.
We had students live with us. We had fellowship activities. Most of the participants had attended Young Life clubs either in the Peoria area or Chicago suburbs. It was a special time for our family.
The former students have planned a reunion next week. Over 35 people are coming from locations around the United States. Jeny and I are excited to see everyone. We expect a great time.
We are driving. We are going to take several days, and be rested and be careful. We will visit family and friends along the way.
Due to our travels, I will not post a blog for the next two weeks. I plan to return.
I am not a King. The two conservative voices I miss the most are the psychiatrist-commentator Charles Krauthammer and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia. I found both to be brilliant, clear and consistent in their beliefs, and civil in their presentation of their ideas.
Anthony Scalia famously said that if it were up to him, he would jail “every sandal-wearing, scruffy-bearded weirdo who burns the American flag,” But he noted, the Constitution protects flag-burning as a form of free speech. And he very importantly noted: “I am not a king who can outlaw the act single-handedly.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that mandates prosecution of those caught burning the American flag as a form of intimidation, a practice described by the White House as “uniquely offensive and provocative.”
“My Administration will act to restore respect and sanctity to the American Flag and prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws while desecrating this symbol of our country, to the fullest extent permissible under any available authority.”
A careful reading of the executive order says flag burning to incite violence, not simply flag burning. I would like to be able to hear Scalia’s opinion of the latest “single-handed “executive order and our Constitution.
https://www.alternet.org/trump-flag-burning/os
Incredible Healing. I have shared some of this before. In light of our current political scene, I believe it bears repeating.
Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after 27 years under apartheid and was elected President of South Africa. With the help of Bishop Tutu, he began the truth and reconciliation commission (TRC).
The rules were simple: if a white policeman or army officer voluntarily faced his accusers, confessed his crime and fully acknowledged his guilt he could not be tried and punished for the crime.
During one incredible hearing, a policeman named van de Broeck confessed he and other policemen shot and killed an 18-year-old boy and burned his body. Eight years later he returned to the same house and forced the wife to watch her husband be tied up, gas poured on him and set afire.
The judge asked the elderly woman who lost her son and husband what she wanted.
She first asked van de Broeck to go to the place they burned her husband, sweep up the dust and ashes so she could give him a decent burial. He agreed to do that.
Then, she added, I lost a lot but I still have a lot of love to give. I would like Mr. van de Broeck to come to my house in the ghetto twice a month and spend a day with me so I can be a mother to him. I want to embrace him so he will know I forgive him and so does God.
The hymn Amazing Grace broke out in the court room. Mr. van de Broeck was overwhelmed and fainted.
That day was an amazing example of good overcoming evil.
I much prefer these actions of faith over revenge.
This and That
Interesting article about the size of government.
But even before these cuts, the federal workforce had not kept pace with the growth of the nation. The workforce when Trump took office in 2025 was about 2.4 million people, roughly the same number of government workers the nation had in 1969. As Bill Chappell of NPR reported in March, in 1969 the U.S. population was about 202.5 million. Now it is about 341.1 million.
How the U.S. federal workforce differs from those in other countries : NPR
Good News
Great example of good policing
‘We’re Supposed To Be Good Men’: Police Officer Buys Ticket For Stranded Deaf Traveler
Building good relationships between the community and police
Omaha Rallies Behind Local Chef, Turning His Food Truck Dream Into Reality
Heartwarming
This Mom’s Cookie Business Is Changing Lives For Adults With Autism
Be Back in two weeks
Peace
Jerry
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