“Scientists can detect drought patterns within moisture sensitive trees such as the Ponderosa pine and the Douglas fir because their rings can reflect stream flow within any given year. We to can reflect personal droughts within our own lives, and like the Ponderosa we will capture within our cores the pains as well as the joys just like the rings of a tree. These layers build over time to reflect our ever-changing environment whether good or bad and will in the early stages of adulthood begin the solidification of our worldview. I had a tree in my backyard that from all outside appearances seemed fine, but within its center was rotten through and through. Not until a windstorm did we know the depth of its rottenness. We discovered that the tree was virtually hollow within a six to eight foot section once it was fallen.”

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When I was young, my favorite show was Little House on the Prairie starring Michael Landon. His character was such that he could cry with his children and then, if he had too, rip your face off. What I liked about him was that he was sensitive to the issues surrounding his family, his friends, and his town.  He always got involved and he always kept his word.

One of my all time favorite episodes was when they first moved to the prairie and “Charles” made a deal with a local feed store owner who immigrated from Ireland to the prairie. He would put a new roof on his building and stack his grain in payment for seed and some equipment. He then promised completion on a particular date. He later breaks his ribs, but still keeps his end of the bargain to the point of collapsing while stacking the grain. This was when the town joins in and finishes his job, plows his fields and welcomes him to town with a giant picnic. 

It was his faithfulness to the towns folk and his character that ultimately created a sense of unity among all who knew him. There aren’t many “Charles’” left these days who can effectively balance family, friends, and duty as he did. Do yourself a favor and rent some old “Little House” dvd’s and take a few lessons in true manhood 101.

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If you don’t know what you are doing, stay the “H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks” away from it.

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