God Bless Bangor, Maine

I recently returned from a deployment to the Middle Eastin support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  For deployed service members, travel days are typically very long days that involve much waiting around and this proved true for my group.  We departed the Middle East with two programmed stops in Europe and one stop in the U.S.before we reached home.  At the first stop, we stayed on the aircraft without getting a chance to even stretch our legs.  At our second stop in Shannon Ireland, everybody deplaned, got a bite to eat and did some quick shopping at the duty free store.  Our visit in Shannon was less than an hour - a very unremarkable stop. Weary from hours on our jet, we all wanted to just knock out our last stop and get home to our families.

As we arrived in Bangor Maine, customs officials met us at the plane and processed us through customs in the most efficient and polite manner you could imagine.  We all then deplaned and made our way into the airport.  When we reached the walkway to the main terminal, we could see dozens of people waving flags and cheering.  This town named for an Irish hymn appeared to be celebrating something at the airport, and none of us knew what.  As the first member of our party reached the celebrants, they began to shake hands and thank, and in some cases embrace, each military member for their service.  Did they have us mistaken for somebody else?  How did they even know that we were coming in to that airport?  These questions and many emotions raced through my mind as I descended the ramp toward the group.  I had thought of nothing but seeing my family for the past twenty four hours and it never once crossed my mind that anybody outside of my family and closest friends had the least bit of interest in my return.  Though I had served proudly during my short time in the Middle East, I also felt that I did not deserve this kind of hero’s welcome and was overcome with emotion.  Bangor did not give me a vote on what kind of welcome I received.  They made sure each service member who passed through their town had a memorable return to the United States. 

Besides the cheers and hugs and waving flags, the veterans and citizens who greeted us had also set up a hospitality room.  The room included refreshments and dozens of cell phones to call family and confirm our arrival time at our final destination.  These great people thought of every practical way to boost our spirits.  Our whole group buzzed around in the hospitality room suddenly enjoying the long trip home.  Young people asked each of us to sign T-shirts that commemorated our brief stop in this town as if we were celebrities.  President Bush, who won re-election the day we set down in Bangor, had recently visited Bangor and I was sure that our welcome had rivaled even his.  Come to find out, President Bush had actually participated in welcoming troops back to the U.S during his visit.  I am sure the troops returning that day saw as we did, an island of red in a sea of blue welcoming them back home in what has to be one of the most Patriotic communities in our country.

As we visited and enjoyed the hospitality showered upon us, we learned a few facts about Bangor and the people who met us.  Bangor was once considered the lumber capital of the world and is the birthplace of the legendary Paul Bunyan.  I do not know for sure that any of the folks we met were Paul’s descendants, but the size of their hearts indicated that they all were.  These people arrange to meet every scheduled plane load of service members returning to the states.  Many who greeted us were veterans, with each conflict back to World War II represented in the cheering crowd.  I truly felt that I should be celebrating these people instead of vice versa.  True to the nature of heroes, none of them checked to see how long we were gone or how much action we saw or whether our service was equal to theirs before they came out – they believed and acted on the premise that every service member who returns to the United States deserves that kind of welcome.  That tells me everything I need to know about them and their town. 

As I stood signing a young man’s T-shirt as if I were a rock star or the President himself, let me share with you all an overwhelmed boy from Alabama could think to write above his name.

God Bless Bangor, Maine!

 

Major Jason Benefield

US Army

Running: A Spiritual Metaphor

Here are some things about running that may help us understand our spiritual fitness as well.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

• Running is habit forming and becomes a way of life.<o:p></o:p>
• You must run often to be any good at it.<o:p></o:p>
• Running requires preparation – for the long haul and for each run – you must have the right equipment and a route to run each time.<o:p></o:p>
• Your ability to complete each run is the result of the cumulative preparation of all past runs.<o:p></o:p>
• The conditions in which you run will determine how difficult the run is.  Running in the snow in the mountains is more difficult than running on a clear day on flat ground.  Running is the desert, though different from the mountains, is equally difficult.<o:p></o:p>
• Running by yourself is usually more difficult than running with a group.<o:p></o:p>
• If you run with a group – <o:p></o:p>
• If you are a weak runner, run with a group that will help you improve<o:p></o:p>
• If you are a really strong runner, run with a group that you can help to improve<o:p></o:p>
• The first part of each run will be painful – your flesh may resist.<o:p></o:p>
• After you beat your body into submission, the middle of the run will be almost effortless.<o:p></o:p>
• If you run farther than you are trained for, you will get tired, but you will also be prepared to run farther next time.<o:p></o:p>
• If you run much farther than you are trained for, you will experience pain, but can quickly recover with a little rest.<o:p></o:p>
• If you run farther than you are physically capable, you will be injured – physically damaged – and will be unable to run for a long time.<o:p></o:p>
• It is possible to stumble at any point on the run, but your personal strength and awareness of the situation can prevent a stumble from leading to injury.<o:p></o:p>
• In order to avoid stumbles all together, it is strongly advised to avoid darkness and run where there is light.<o:p></o:p>
• You can’t win the race if you don’t run!<o:p></o:p>

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1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. <o:p></o:p>

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Was President Reagan Your President?

If you have trouble remembering President Reagan or what he stood for - if that is causing you to question whether he really impacted you as a person and as an American - if you wonder how you should feel upon his passing, I would like to share with you how I feel about it.

President Reagan took office when I was ten years old.  Prior to his taking office, I had heard for most of my life about Watergate and what a crook President Nixon was, but did not really understand Watergate or why President Nixon was a crook.  I knew what stagflation and the misery index were from seeing them explained on the news, but I had no appreciation for the impact they had on the American people. I knew President Carter was a peanut farmer from Georgia and that he gave away the Panama Canal, but I had no idea how he had become our president – were there really Americans who would elect somebody to give away the Panama Canal?

Prior to President Reagan’s election, I did not know anybody on active duty in the armed forces.  This was probably because there just weren’t that many people on active duty in the armed forces by the time President Reagan took office.  If you talk to anybody who served through the Reagan years, they will quickly let you know that he was their commander in chief of choice. 

Though I had a deep love of country by age ten, I also had developed a deep cynicism about politics and politicians based on the adult conversations I had heard all my life.  Strangely enough, I did not see President Reagan as a politician; though I was glad he defeated that politician from Georgia who gave away the Panama Canal.  It was strangely American that I would identify more closely with a candidate from the opposite side of the country more than the incumbent president from just next door in Georgia.

President Reagan quickly became my president.  I grew up while he served his term and learned from him what a president should do and how he should carry himself.  He embodied the office of President like Bear Bryant embodied Alabama football – and for those of you who do not know Alabama football, there is no higher compliment.  I respected President Reagan and thus grew to respect the office of President of the  United States, though I still could not figure out how that Carter character had snuck in there.  Though I would have not admitted it to my friends, I actually enjoyed those nights when President Reagan was on all three channels of my TV talking to the American people.  When something bad happened, I wanted to hear what President Reagan had to say about it.  If I did not understand an issue or I heard if some world events report on television that troubled me, I wanted to hear what President Reagan had to say about it.  No matter how grim Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather or 60 Minutes could make things seem, President Reagan could reassure us in just a few words.  After five minutes with the Gipper in our living rooms, we all knew that there was no challenge Americans could not meet. 

What are some of the issues that President Reagan clarified for me?  Though I had heard it discussed in school and even sometimes at church, I never understood exactly what abortion was until I heard President Reagan clearly state that it was the practice of killing babies.

I knew growing up that the USSR opposed us and was constantly taught that war with them was inevitable and virtually un-winnable.  I heard many say that President Reagan was recklessly speeding up the process.  I began to understand why the USSR opposed us when President Reagan described them as the Evil Empire and went on to describe  America as a Shining City on a Hill.  He made it clear to me that we were the good guys and they were the bad guys.  As for the conflict being un-winnable for the United States, how about victory without firing a shot!  Left by Mr. Reagan with no other choice, Mr. Gorbachev did tear down that wall!  People my age had lived all their lives with that wall, but Mr. Reagan knew it could come down.

Growing up, it took me a while to realize that what I was taught in church about Jesus being the answer to life’s problems was different from what I was hearing in school, where I heard quite often that government was the answer.  When were we to turnto God and when were we to turn to government?  President Reagan cleared that up, too.  He let us know that he believed government needed to get off the backs of the American people.  He actually said he was most proud of the fact that his administration had turned the government back over to the people.  He proved this when he did what most adults I knew considered the impossible by cutting taxes in the face of a Congress controlled by the big government Democrats.  He believed that was the people’s money, not the government’s money and it should be returned to its rightful owner.  After cutting taxes, I fully expected him to do something about death, too.  Though he may have been our greatest President and the Great Communicator, President Reagan was still just a man with no power over death.  He did, however, have a lot of influence over many, many lives (as of Friday, June 11, 2004, we are still counting the lives he touched).  

Unlike most politicians of both parties today, President Reagan did not believe in government, but he did believe in God.  He spoke with God and he spoke about God very often.  Before Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life, Ronald Reagan lived The Purpose Driven Life. He believed the goodness of the American people came from their belief in God and I know today that he was absolutely right.  When teachers and government kicked God out of school and replaced him with Darwin kids started bringing guns to school to speed up the false doctrine of natural selection.  When government began replacing God in families, hope was replaced by mind altering drugs (some of which are proscribed by doctors) and “family counselors”.  Now that government has effectively undermined the traditional family, it is beginning to redefine the family despite the grave consequences that will have for future generations.  President Reagan spoke often of honoring God and limiting government and today his wisdom is becoming more and more evident. 

The older I got, the more I realized that President Reagan was my president.  He was the one who expressed the ideas that formed my political, religious, and moral positions.  He knew good from evil, knew who to pray to, what to pray for, and made a conscious decision to expect the best of people.  If President Reagan had only been my neighbor, he would have probably had the same impact on me.  Thank God, he was my President and he had a similar impact on millions.

In a few months, we are going to get another chance to select a President.  Though we elected the right man for the job when we elected President Reagan, that has not been true for every election.  What will people twelve years my junior say about President Clinton’s influence on their character?  This year, let us select a President who will embrace optimism – who can recognize good and evil – a president who knows who to pray to and who to pray for – a president who trusts the American people.  When you go to vote, ask yourself these questions or people twenty-eight years from now may be asking, “How did that Kerry character sneak into office?”

What I believe

I believe George Bush.  He has never lied to us and those who say he has are lying to us.   I believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and we will one day find them.   I believe the people who are disputing this now will one day eat crow and I pray it won't be on a day America is attacked.   I believe the President's service in the military was honorable (if you disagree, please tell me what jobs in the military today are not honorable).   I believe John Kerry's three months in Vietnam were honorable, but his conduct toward his country and his comrades following was disgraceful.   I believe we are winning the war on terror because of George Bush and many Americans are not paying attention.  Maybe he should rip Condoleezza Rice's shirt off during a press conference on our successes against terror to make people pay attention.   I believe that if you told Americans on SEPT 12, 2001, that we would not have been attacked again in the next three years, that would not have believed you.   I believe that people who talk about the deficit and do not mention it as a percentage of the GDP or mention the increased revenues that tax cuts generated are duplicitous.   I believe George Bush is hated because of his Faith and convictions.   I believe George Bush is successful because of his Faith and convictions.   I believe that terrorists everywhere fear George Bush.   I believe terrorists everywhere want John Kerry to defeat George Bush.   I can tell you that I would want George Bush in the foxhole next to me today over John Kerry.  John Kerry might save my life, but what would that be worth if he told lies that ruined my reputation after the fact.  George Bush might save my life and nobody would believe it, but he would still do it.   I can tell you that I want George Bush in the White House over John Kerry.  I know what Bush stands for and I agree with it.  I can't find many issues that Kerry has not taken multiple positions on - the White House is not the place to find yourself.

Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Quality of Life

1. Pray more.
2. Read your Bible every day - it will give you new perspective.
3. Teach your children something everyday (maybe refer to the book you are reading)
4. Spend more quality time with your family.
5. Help somebody in some small way.
6. Spend your money more wisely - its just like giving yourself a raise in pay.
7. Watch less television (and play fewer video games)
8. Read a book a month - you'll be surprised what you learn.
9. Run thirty minutes a day (if you don't think you can do that, buy a mean dog and put a pork chop in your back pocket, but run, walk, exercise some how or another.)
10. Eat less sugar - sugar makes people fat and sluggish - low carb diets, duh - that's not a new thing.

Benefields' Easter

Friends,   Here is a quick report from our trip to the Macon Mall and a picture of the Benefield kids.  We loaded up the whole Hee-haw gang to go to Macon for pictures with the Easter Bunny.  When we arrived, Easter B was on a 45 minute smoke break while kids and cranky parents lined up down the mall waiting to pay too much for a picture of questionable quality.  After a fifty minute wait, Carlie and Jay Allen crawled in the Easter Bunny's lap and were perfect -- for about 20 seconds.  But, as luck would have it, the photographer was not ready and Carlie made the mistake of looking into the Easter Bunny's mouth.  It scared her (and if you look closely at the picture attached, you can understand why) and she was ready to leave.  I tried to talk her into staying in the bunny fit for Halloween's lap, but she would have none of it.  I was a bit bent out of shape with the Bunny photography team for not being ready when the kids were set, but I did not make a scene - I just gathered my children and left in a somewhat foul mood.  Carlie was disappointed about the whole ordeal because she had been so looking forward to seeing the Easter Bunny.  About the time we made it to the 2nd floor Food Court, Carlie told me she wanted to go back and have her picture taken with Easter B.  After promises that she would not be afraid of him this time, we dutifully rolled back across the mall and headed back to the get pictures taken.  I didn't actually see a clown car, but one had clearly unloaded and all the people it disgorged had gotten in line to see the Easter Bunny. Only twenty-five minutes after we got back in line, we were at the Easter Bunny's lap again.  To the Bunny photography team's credit, they were very efficient this time around.  Package chosen, kids seated, camera ready in ten seconds.  To the kid's credit, they both were very patient while the photographers sought the perfect picture, even though the smiles faded before the picture was actually taken and Jay Allen's hair went into a high hover from the fan blowing right on the Bunny. After the whole picture adventure was over, we moved back to the food court for a bite of dinner when Carlie spotted the merry-go-round.  She and Jay Allen paid to ride one time and then won unlimited free rides that were in the middle of the Easter Eggs they were giving away.  I finally fibbed to her that the last "Free Ride" she won was only good for her next visit to the mall -- amazingly, she bought that one and was ready for dinner.  If you ever eat at the Macon Mall, you should know that the Cajun restaurant is run by Chinese people.  Normally, this kind of ethnic discrepancy would not be relevant -- like in the case of the African Americans who run the Italian restaurant -- they serve Italian food  (and it ain't half bad - that's what we had for dinner).  In the case of the Cajun restaurant, they serve Chinese food, but they give the food Cajun names -- like the General Tso's Chicken that is mysteriously named "Louisiana Chicken" at their restaurant.  It is pretty humorous, but a little disappointing if you are hungry for some good Cajun food. We finished dinner and had an uneventful ride home to Warner Robins - all in all, a good time. That is a day in the life of the Benefields - hope you are all doing well! 

About the Passion

I believe the Bible is the Word of God.

I believe Jesus is the Word, the Truth, and the Life.

I believe the movie represents the words of Bible accurately. 

People who have a problem with the movie have a problem with the Word.

The Word teaches love and forgiveness, not hate.

Pray for the people who criticize the movie - it is obvious their
hearts are not right with the Word.   All believers should go see this movie.
    Jason Benefield

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Ten Things You Won't Hear from a Democrat

1. Thank God the people of Iraq are free and Saddam is no longer selling weapons to terrorists.
2. I hope we catch Osama Bin Laden before the election.
3. I hope the economy continues to get better this year - my stocks are kicking butt!
4. I sure wish President Clinton had not gutted the CIA, but at least he wasn't in office when we paid the consequences for it.
5. We are going to cut taxes on people who really don't pay taxes and raise taxes on everybody who does pay taxes (so poor people will think that they got a tax cut from us right before their bosses have to lay them because everybody has less money to spend).
6. We are the party of Bill Clinton booty calls! After Al Gore, we will never again nominate a candidate for President who can't score with an intern.
7. All we have to do to reduce the deficit is reduce spending on non-military programs.  Let me give you an example of what I mean by naming all the federal pork programs that come to my home state.
8. It doesn't matter whether an accusation against a Republican is true, only whether the media will cover it.
9. I want you to keep your guns because that's what the Constitution says.
10. I believe in killing terrorists and murderers, not unborn babies.

2003 in Review

January

We visited the Farrisses in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:State></st1:place> and had a great vacation.  We really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful sites.  Highlights of the trip

• We saw the Arizona Memorial
• We saw some Hawaiin gooduns crash the gate of a Navy base
• Carlie celebrated her 2nd birthday
• Cammie broke my nose with a bedpost
• We brought back a very special souvenir

February

We found out that our family was growing in February (remember that special souvenir).  That was enough big news to fill the entire month.

March

Cammie turned 30 and I was promoted to major in the month of March.  We threw a party for ourselves in our hometown of Heflin so our oldest and dearest friends could help us celebrate.  It turned out that some of our friends are so old that they forgot about the party, but we had a great time celebrating with the ones who still have their memory.  It was an 80s themed party and some folks really went all out.   I was also pleasantly surprised to receive a great gag gift in the form of a picture of one of my high school teachers – the one who said I would never amount to anything.  I will withhold the name of the presenter in order to protect that person’s identity (that person is still scared of that mean old teacher).

Another significant event was Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Many of our military friends were deployed to support this operation, so we followed every development very closely.

April

US Soldiers rescued Jessica Lynch on the first day of April and saw the end of major combat operations in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place> (which President Bush announced the first day of May).  An unprecedented military victory – all who deployed in support of this operation had plenty to be proud of. 

At the Benefield house, Carlie achieved a big milestone in April.  On Easter Day, the Easter Bunny took Carlie’s paggie (passifier) to a little baby who needed it – he took it gone, gone, bye, bye.  There was one dramatic night of crying and a couple of expeditions into the pine straw where the paggie was left, but Carlie made the adjustment very quickly.

May

I ran my first half - ironman triathlon in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Hiawassee</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">GA</st1:State></st1:place> on 30 May.  I finished the race, made many new friends and helped catch a famous fugitive. Here’s the short version -

During the bike portion, one aggressive driver gave us the one finger salute, questioned our sexual orientation and threatened to come back and beat us within an inch of lives.  He infuriated me to the point that I reported him to the deputies that were controlling traffic for us.  To my surprise, when I finished describing this guy and telling the deputy which direction he was heading in (he was heading into the town of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Murphy</st1:City></st1:place>), the deputy jumped in his car and turned on his lights and went after him immediately.  I thought that Clay County, NC was the most bicycle friendly county in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1:place> when that happened.  It was only later that day when I turned on the news that I figured out the reason that deputy sped away like a bat out of Boaz was that the bird shooter was actually Eric Robert Rudolph (well, not actually, but that is the way I told it since he was caught along our race route on the day of the race). <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

June

June was the month we started buying blue.  We found out that Carlie was going to have a brother and we were all very excited.  I also had another birthday, but who’s counting at this point.

July

July was the month we received orders for Robins AFB.  We were excited about the move, but we knew it was going to be a very hectic time.

Carlie also achieved a milestone in July and became fully potty trained.  I wish all parents would have as easy a time with potty training as we had with Carlie.  It was mission complete in two days.

July was also the month that Steven and Matthew came to see us and attended the Rangers in action demonstration.  Matthew seemed ready to enlist on the spot, but he was short a few birthdays.

August

We can’t remember what the heck was going on in August, but it was hot at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Fort</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Benning</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>!

September

September was the final approach for our new addition.  Cammie was getting very ready to have that baby and starting to stress about our move.  We had two yard sales to reduce our inventory of household goods and made enough money to – hey, wait a minute, what did Cammie do with that money? 

October

Oh, happy day, Jay Allen Benefield was born.  On 13 October, he entered the world in grand fashion.  I was afraid to let <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">CSM Lane</st1:address></st1:Street> see him because he was born needing a haircut, but other than that, he was a perfect little man. 

We had lots of visitors and lots of people who helped us out.  We began to feel guilty about how much others were doing for us.  Actually, I was feeling guilty and fat – people brought us so many meals (with desert), that I don’t think we went to the commissary for three weeks.

November

November was a time of adjustment as we settled into a routine with Jay Allen and prepared to move. 

December

December has been a great month with many highlights (and we have a few hours left). 

• We started an internet business (email me later for detailsJ)
• We moved to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Warner Robins</st1:City></st1:place>
• Jay Allen’s first Christmas and visit with Santa
• Carlie received her first hot pink bicycle for Christmas and has started training for her first triathlon
• Carlie also received her first computer and has learned how to use it (somewhat)
• Cammie and I celebrated eleven years of marriage

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I apologize that this year’s review is not as entertaining as some past editions, but I still wanted to share some of the major events in our lives with all of our friends (all who read their email, anyway).  I hope all of you have a great 2004.  I love all of the Christmas letters that you guys send and encourage the rest of you to do a short letter to let us catch up with you.  For those of you with kids, please send pictures (email or paper is fine)– I can’t tell you how excited all of us get to see how much they have grown – especially Carlie.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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The Benefields

Jason

Cammie

Carlie

Jay Allen

Pile and Charlie

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About Bill Zinn

In browsing the Anniston Star, I have run across quite a few articles by Bill Zinn.  I do not know why anybody in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Calhoun</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> would read an article by Bill Zinn, but I can tell why I always stop to read it. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

Mr. Zinn was my history and speech teacher at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Cleburne</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">High School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.  The stories that he writes today are equal in entertainment value to the ones he used to tell years ago in order to educate us.  I know it is going to shock all of you folks in <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Calhoun</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>, but for many years, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Cleburne</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">High School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> had the finest collection of teachers anywhere in the state.  Those fine teachers, including Mr. Zinn, are the prime reasons that folks from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Cleburne</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> are so much smarter and better educated than everybody else (at least in my humble opinion).  It is no coincidence that so many of his former students (like Debbie that he mentioned in an article last year)are now teachers.  Mr. Zinn shared much more with us than his broad knowledge of history, English, and French.  He also took time to humble us in Trivial Pursuit, which was an awakening for teenagers who knew everything.   He risked his career to take a bunch of rowdy kids to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Williamsburg</st1:place></st1:City>.  I was not one of those rowdy kids because I could not afford to go at the time, but not wanting to see “any child left behind,” Mr. Zinn offered to loan me the money for the trip.  I declined his offer for fear of not being able to repay him, but it was not until I was an adult paying my own bills that I fully appreciated this act of kindness. Mr. Zinn also, as none of us will ever forget, took time to demonstrate to us his lung capacity.  After returning from lunch one day, Hope Harlan and Jaynath Hayes borrowed the lung capacity test from one of our other teachers.  They explained to Mr. Zinn that the machine measured his fitness and lung capacity by allowing him to blow into a straw at the base of the machine in order to turn a small wheel at the top of the machine.  Each unsuccessful attempt to turn the wheel would require the straw to be moved up one level.  I will never forget Hope explaining to Mr. Zinn, “Now, close your eyes and give it all you’ve got.”  And I will definitely never forget his response, “I can give it all I’ve got with my eyes open.”  And he did.  And flour flew out of the bogus lung capacity machine into Mr. Zinn’s eyes and all over his face and clothes.  He looked like a ghost from a bad B movie and he was mad.  He threw off his jacket and stormed out of the class, leaving us a bit bewildered.  To be sure that we received no satisfaction from this prank, another teacher came into our classroom to tell us how worthless we were for doing this to Mr. Zinn.  Without using as many words, we got the same message from our principal, Mr. Robert Morton, who simply opened the classroom door and said, “You people are really funny.”  I was scared to death at that point and don’t remember another word Mr. Morton said.  We were on egg shells with Mr. Zinn for a couple of days, but things eventually got back to normal.  We knew for sure that he did not hold that joke against us when, two days later, we asked him if he had our tests graded.  He responded, “I didn’t get your tests graded because I was up all night rolling the dough out of my eyes.”<o:p></o:p>

That is one of my two most memorable moments involving Bill Zinn.  The other came at our senior year awards day ceremony.  In a move that surprised nobody but him, our class dedicated our annual to Mr. Zinn.  When he moved to the podium to acknowledge the dedication, I noticed that his eyes were once again red and puffy and I was sure that Hope had gotten him with that lung capacity machine again.  That was not the case, but instead Mr. Zinn was sincerely and deeply appreciative of our gesture of affection.  His remarks were short, but have stuck with me ever since.  He told our class that we did not know it then, but we were a special group of people who would individually and as a group, do great things.  I believed those words and it changed my whole life.  Though I was an underachiever all through high school, at that very moment, I began to expect more of myself.  I do not know if his words made as lasting of an impression on my classmates, but I do know that at the time they were delivered, they made all of our eyes red and puffy (I guess that was fair after what we did to him).  <o:p></o:p>

That is why I always stop to read the articles by Bill Zinn.  It should go without saying that I think you should, too.<o:p></o:p>

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A Half Ironman Story

Friends,

Saturday (31 May 2003) was a milestone for me as I competed in my first Half-Ironman Distance Triathlon in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Hiawassee</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">GA</st1:State></st1:place> (http://www.gsmtc.com/june.htm). It turned out to be quite an adventure - I hate that none of you were able to join us.
Cammie and I drove to Helen http://www.mindspring.com/~littlestar and checked into our hotel Friday before going on to the race site for a reconnaissance. I had never been to Helen and used the opportunity of this race to take Cammie, who had been to Helen before and wanted to visit this make believe Alpine town again (even the Huddle House is made to look like something from the <st1:place w:st="on">Alps</st1:place>).
On the map, Helen appears to be no more than 15 miles from Hiawassee, which was listed as the town of record for the race, so Helen seemed like a good place to stay the weekend. On the ground, those 15 map miles translated into 25 miles of roller coaster quality mountain highway, but we stuck with our plan of spending Friday night in Helen in spite of the additional travel time.
The packet pickup for the race that Friday was uneventful and it gave us an opportunity to look at the race course and meet some interesting folks who had registered for the race. I didn't catch his name, but there was one guy who was on leave from some sort of observatory in <st1:place w:st="on">Antarctica</st1:place> who had come up for the race. He had a full beard and a complete lack of any tan, so I referred to him during the race as Polar Bear. There was also a midshipman, an Air Force Pilot, a Marine Aviator, a gynecologist, a couple of additional Army officers, a sailor, a CPA, a guy who wore a utility belt like Batman, an eighteen year kid whose biggest concern was where he could find a restaurant open early enough to serve him ham and eggs for breakfast before the race, and some dude with orange hair that surfs full time (I think that is what he said - he was a real friendly guy, anyway). My wife commented to me immediately after the race that this was the most normal bunch of people she had ever met at one of my triathlons - I am still thinking that comment over.
The water we were to swim in was a brisk 72 degrees on Friday (which was also the temperature at race time), but since the air temperature was to be in the low 60s on race day, the water temperature was not a big deal to anybody, well, except for one person. Polar Bear was very anxious about the water temperature. He brought an insulated swim suit with him for the race. He said that he absolutely hated cold water. For the record, the guy from Antarctica swam this race with in a wet suit and yours truly, who has never lived north of Tennessee, swam in the mountain water with a swim cap and some triathlon-biking shorts on - and yes, I finished the swim in front of Polar Bear by several minutes.
The bike route (all 56 miles of it - http://www.gsmtc.com/map%20half%20IM%20run%20bike.htm ) appeared to be a very challenging, but somewhat fast course which ran mainly through the gaps of the mountains. During the recon, I took particular note of the stretch that ran "smack" through Smackass Gap. After the race, I determined from the way that I felt that it was indeed appropriately named.
It took us several hours to drive the bike route that wound through Hiawassee, GA, Ware, NC, Hayesville, NC, Shooting Creek, NC, and within a mile or two of Murphy, NC. As I began to tire just driving my car over this route, I started to fully appreciate what kind of physical effort this race was going to require from me - what had I gotten into?
After our recon was complete, we got on roller coaster 75 and went back to Helen to have dinner. Getting dinner proved to be harder than riding my bike through Smackass Gap. It seems that the smoking section in restaurants in Helen is everywhere except the parking lot. I am not antismoke like some of you are, but I am pro-breathing. We had to change restaurants in order to breathe, but we finally found some really good dinner at the Troll's Tavern (where we sat outside surrounding by five tables of people who lit up cigarettes as soon as we started eating - but it was much easier to handle outside - I told you that I am not antismoke!).
We woke up bright and early Saturday morning and arrived at the race in plenty of time for me to warm up and set up my transition area. I was ready to start racing.
True to my standard race template, I exited the water with the retired people and some of the slower women (there were no children in this race), but well ahead of Polar Bear and slightly ahead of the 21 year old midshipman.
This positioning might sound like a disadvantage, but it sets me up for a tremendous mental advantage during the race. I passed a lot of people during the bike and run who were good swimmers, but who weren't as strong on land. For instance, I passed that eighteen year old who wanted ham and eggs for breakfast during the bike (he never did find a restaurant open that early), and I was finishing the race as he was starting the run.
I actually struck up several interesting conversations during the bike ride. For one ten mile stretch, I talked with the gynecologist about some common interests. Then I talked with a group of guys about when in our lives we wanted to quit exercising and get fat and lazy. I was considering starting that lifestyle change on Sunday during the race, but now that it is done, I have pushed it back to age 70.
At a couple of different points in the race, I would ask my fellow racers, "Do you think that dog is really going to bite us? Do you think you can outrun him?" What I really was wondering was whether I could leave my fellow biker far enough behind so that the dog would eat him and not me. There were a few hairpin turns on the course and I came close to becoming a lawn ornament in one family's yard, but everybody seemed to survive the dogs and turns just fine.
There wasn't a great deal of traffic on the roads that we were racing on, but some of those folks acted as if they had never seen cyclists before. Many of them felt compelled to blow their horns at us and come as close to hitting us as they possibly could. They also had a very efficient manner (as far as finger usage is concerned) of waving at us. One aggressive driver gave us the one finger salute, questioned our sexual orientation and threatened to come back and beat us within an inch of lives. He infuriated me to the point that I reported him to the deputies that were controlling traffic for us. To my surprise, when I finished describing this guy and telling the deputy which direction he was heading in (he was heading into the town of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Murphy</st1:place></st1:City>), the deputy jumped in his car and turned on his lights and went after him immediately. I thought that Clay County, NC was the most bicycle friendly county in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> when that happened. It was only later that day when I turned on the news that I figured out the real reason that deputy sped away like a bat out of Boaz (see timeline at the bottom of the email).
After finishing the bike in much better shape than I expected to be in, I attacked the run with everything I had left. Just in case I had any thoughts of looking tired or week, the race director had strategically placed a pit bull at the 11 mile mark to keep our adrenaline flowing. I had no doubts that I could not outrun the pit bull at this point in the race, so, I quickly developed what seemed at the time to be a brilliant plan. I decided that at the first sign of trouble, I would select the weakest looking runner in the vicinity and run at him while growling like a dog in order to convince the pit bull that I was really on his side. Luckily, I never had to implement this strategy. The last mile of that race was one of the happiest miles I have ever run. I felt a great sense of accomplishment and relief (and that was before I found out that I had helped solve one of the great mysteries of our time). I finished fourth in the military category and felt confident that I had left it all out on the course. When I got home to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Fort</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Benning</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, I discovered that I had really only left my biking helmet and sunglasses on the course, but I am sure that I will recover them eventually.
I want to challenge all of my friends to start training now for next year's edition of this race - it was a great time.

Jason Benefield

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,88269,00.html


Key dates in the hunt for Eric Rudolph:

July 27, 1996 -- Bombing of Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park (search) kills a woman and injures 111 other people.

Jan. 16, 1997 -- Two bombs explode at an office building in the <st1:City w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:City> suburb of <st1:place w:st="on">Sandy Springs</st1:place>, injuring six. An abortion clinic in the building is believed to be the target.

Feb. 21, 1997 -- Nail-laden device explodes at the Otherside Lounge (search), a gay and lesbian nightclub in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:City>. Five people are injured.

Jan. 29, 1998 -- Explosion kills a policeman and maims a nurse at an abortion clinic in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ala.</st1:State></st1:place>

Jan. 30, 1998 -- Rudolph stocks up on supplies in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">North Carolina</st1:place></st1:State> and vanishes.

Feb. 14, 1998 -- Rudolph is charged in the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alabama</st1:place></st1:State> abortion clinic bombing.

March 17, 1998 -- Task force investigating the <st1:City w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City> bombing is formally merged with a task force investigating the three bombings in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:City>.

May 5, 1998 -- The FBI (search) adds Rudolph to its 10 Most Wanted list and offers a $1 million reward.

July 1998 -- Health food store owner in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">North Carolina</st1:place></st1:State> tells authorities Rudolph took six months' worth of food and supplies and a pickup truck from his home, leaving five $100 bills as payment.

Oct. 14, 1998 -- Rudolph is charged with the Olympic bombing and the two other attacks in the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:City> area.

May 31, 2003 -- Rudolph gives triathletes the bird during the Hiawassee Half Ironman.

May 31, 2003 -- After more than five years on the run, Rudolph is captured when police spot him near a trash bin in Murphy, N.C., apparently scavenging for a blunt instrument to assault triathletes with.

June 2, 2003 -- Authorities announce Rudolph is to be tried first in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:City>. Rudolph makes initial court appearance in <st1:City w:st="on">Asheville</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">N.C.</st1:State>, and is then flown to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:City>.

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More than Friends

Written 06 May 2004. As I sit and watch the farewell hoopla for the Friends sitcom, I cannot help but think how blessed I have been.  Though I am and have been a viewer of this must-see TV for several years, I will not miss this group of pretend people whose greatest value as human beings is entertainment.  I feel sad for the cast of this show, not because tonight is their final episode, but because the crowning achievement to this point in their real lives has been the pretend lives of television characters of dubious moral character, even if they are somewhat lovable. In real life, I have been blessed to meet and serve in the military with some of the most admirable people that have ever walked the Earth.  Real people. These people chose to dedicate a large portion of their lives to serving their country by working long hours, accepting low pay and agreeing to risk their lives just because they believe it is the right thing to do.  We call these people soldiers and many of them are true heroes.  None of them expect to be famous and none of them will get rich by serving -- most make much less as soldiers than they would in any other pursuit.  Pat Tillman is the latest most famous example.  He was not an NFL player who joined the Army - HE WAS A SOLDIER WHO ONCE PLAYED IN THE NFL.  His sacrifice made him unique among professional athletes, but made him one of many among soldiers. A privileged few of us get to serve in one of those special units whose members bond together for life after serving together for only a short while.  When those special units break up, there are no network cameras present and no appearances on Leno or Letterman.  When it is your time to leave, you know to have your office cleared out quickly because there is somebody new in the unit ready to take your job.  You try hard to explain to your replacement how lucky he is to serve in a unit full of what you honestly believe to be the World's Greatest Soldiers, but no words can instill in him what years of camaraderie instilled in you. Before you understand how precious the life of each soldier and friend is, you will eventually experience the loss of one.  When somebody in real life dies, it takes more than thirty minutes to grieve the loss.  There is a real family left behind with real needs and the unit, no matter how much they miss their fallen comrade or how much they want to comfort his family, has to continue the mission.  At some point, mission permitting, the unit will organize a memorial service for the dead and expect all the soldiers to bring closure to the loss of a lifelong friend in a thirty minute service.  It takes more than thirty minutes to grieve the loss. The Bible says, John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. So far, 767 Americans have fulfilled this scripture and several thousand more stand ready to if necessary.  None of them are on NBC tonight.  Remember the soldiers in harm's way in your prayers and remember their families who are praying for their soldier's safe return.

Was President Reagan your President?

If you have trouble remembering President Reagan or what he stood for - if that is causing you to question whether he really impacted you as a person and as an American - if you wonder how you should feel upon his passing, I would like to share with you how I feel about it.

President Reagan took office when I was ten years old.  Prior to his taking office, I had heard for most of my life about Watergate and what a crook President Nixon was, but did not really understand Watergate or why President Nixon was a crook.  I knew what stagflation and the misery index were from seeing them explained on the news, but I had no appreciation for the impact they had on the American people. I knew President Carter was a peanut farmer from Georgia and that he gave away the Panama Canal, but I had no idea how he had become our president – were there really Americans who would elect somebody to give away the Panama Canal?

Prior to President Reagan’s election, I did not know anybody on active duty in the armed forces.  This was probably because there just weren’t that many people on active duty in the armed forces by the time President Reagan took office.  If you talk to anybody who served through the Reagan years, they will quickly let you know that he was their commander in chief of choice. 

Though I had a deep love of country by age ten, I also had developed a deep cynicism about politics and politicians based on the adult conversations I had heard all my life.  Strangely enough, I did not see President Reagan as a politician; though I was glad he defeated that politician from Georgia who gave away the Panama Canal.  It was strangely American that I would identify more closely with a candidate from the opposite side of the country more than the incumbent president from just next door in Georgia.

President Reagan quickly became my president.  I grew up while he served his term and learned from him what a president should do and how he should carry himself.  He embodied the office of President like Bear Bryant embodied Alabama football – and for those of you who do not know Alabama football, there is no higher compliment.  I respected President Reagan and thus grew to respect the office of President of the  United States, though I still could not figure out how that Carter character had snuck in there.  Though I would have not admitted it to my friends, I actually enjoyed those nights when President Reagan was on all three channels of my TV talking to the American people.  When something bad happened, I wanted to hear what President Reagan had to say about it.  If I did not understand an issue or I heard if some world events report on television that troubled me, I wanted to hear what President Reagan had to say about it.  No matter how grim Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather or 60 Minutes could make things seem, President Reagan could reassure us in just a few words.  After five minutes with the Gipper in our living rooms, we all knew that there was no challenge Americans could not meet. 

What are some of the issues that President Reagan clarified for me?  Though I had heard it discussed in school and even sometimes at church, I never understood exactly what abortion was until I heard President Reagan clearly state that it was the practice of killing babies.

I knew growing up that the USSR opposed us and was constantly taught that war with them was inevitable and virtually un-winnable.  I heard many say that President Reagan was recklessly speeding up the process.  I began to understand why the USSR opposed us when President Reagan described them as the Evil Empire and went on to describe  America as a Shining City on a Hill.  He made it clear to me that we were the good guys and they were the bad guys.  As for the conflict being un-winnable for the United States, how about victory without firing a shot!  Left by Mr. Reagan with no other choice, Mr. Gorbachev did tear down that wall!  People my age had lived all their lives with that wall, but Mr. Reagan knew it could come down.

Growing up, it took me a while to realize that what I was taught in church about Jesus being the answer to life’s problems was different from what I was hearing in school, where I heard quite often that government was the answer.  When were we to turnto God and when were we to turn to government?  President Reagan cleared that up, too.  He let us know that he believed government needed to get off the backs of the American people.  He actually said he was most proud of the fact that his administration had turned the government back over to the people.  He proved this when he did what most adults I knew considered the impossible by cutting taxes in the face of a Congress controlled by the big government Democrats.  He believed that was the people’s money, not the government’s money and it should be returned to its rightful owner.  After cutting taxes, I fully expected him to do something about death, too.  Though he may have been our greatest President and the Great Communicator, President Reagan was still just a man with no power over death.  He did, however, have a lot of influence over many, many lives (as of Friday, June 11, 2004, we are still counting the lives he touched).  

Unlike most politicians of both parties today, President Reagan did not believe in government, but he did believe in God.  He spoke with God and he spoke about God very often.  Before Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life, Ronald Reagan lived The Purpose Driven Life. He believed the goodness of the American people came from their belief in God and I know today that he was absolutely right.  When teachers and government kicked God out of school and replaced him with Darwin kids started bringing guns to school to speed up the false doctrine of natural selection.  When government began replacing God in families, hope was replaced by mind altering drugs (some of which are proscribed by doctors) and “family counselors”.  Now that government has effectively undermined the traditional family, it is beginning to redefine the family despite the grave consequences that will have for future generations.  President Reagan spoke often of honoring God and limiting government and today his wisdom is becoming more and more evident. 

The older I got, the more I realized that President Reagan was my president.  He was the one who expressed the ideas that formed my political, religious, and moral positions.  He knew good from evil, knew who to pray to, what to pray for, and made a conscious decision to expect the best of people.  If President Reagan had only been my neighbor, he would have probably had the same impact on me.  Thank God, he was my President and he had a similar impact on millions.

In a few months, we are going to get another chance to select a President.  Though we elected the right man for the job when we elected President Reagan, that has not been true for every election.  What will people twelve years my junior say about President Clinton’s influence on their character?  This year, let us select a President who will embrace optimism – who can recognize good and evil – a president who knows who to pray to and who to pray for – a president who trusts the American people.  When you go to vote, ask yourself these questions or people twenty-eight years from now may be asking, “How did that Kerry character sneak into office?”