He Made His Last Jump Today

November 30, 2007
Robert Craig Knievel - age 69, known as Evel Knievel died today. Okay... so that slipped by you with little fanfare or commentary in your life. But to me - a legend died. One long-time friend of his said, "You knew it was coming, but Superman just doesn't die, right?" Why is Evel Knievel's death worth marking? I guess it goes back to his jumps on Wild World of Sports. I was around 12 years old. The fashion was to have a 57 inch bike, ballon tires, a seat off a ten-speed bike (very small) and you could buy bent motorcycle handlebars from the Yamaha shop for $5. Of course the serious 'biker' would strip the chain guard (those are for sissys), fenders (you looked cool with a streak of mud/water or anything else you ran through going up the back of your shirt), and of course, the kick-stand. I was able to jump 8-10 feet off a homemade ramp down my street. Evel Knievel taught me that when you ate pavement after a fall... you get up and walk off. You may cry when you get inside the house - but in front of your friends/fans, you hang tough.

I dreamed of owning a Harley - and that dream became a reality for a time in my life. Evel Knievel; showman, dare-devil, stuntman, movie star, sports figure...... Superman. He made his last jump today. In a time when the cartoon character, Captain America has been lampooned - when we need a hero to show what is good about life in America - Evel Knievel will be missed. It makes me want to go get a bike and ride around the neighborhood.

Christmas Thoughts

In reading a blog from a friend of mine, I was prompted to put a few thoughts on the screen about Christmas - and our propensity to buy gifts for ourselves and others. I used the analogy of going to a birthday party for someone else, and buying a gift that is for you... or someone who is not even at the birthday party. That seems strange doesn't it? But we do that very thing when we 'celebrate' Jesus' birthday - we buy gifts for ourselves or others and say, "Christmas is about giving gifts!" BULL HOCKEY! Christmas is not about gifts! It is about the Savior of the World, God Himself coming to live among us - in order that we might be saved.

Is that a gift? Oh you know it is. Does it resemble anything that we make Christmas to be? Oh you know it is not!. Now I'm not a Scrooge - far from it. Several years ago while in seminary, a family sent us money to use for our Christmas. Without it, we would not have had a Christmas at all. That same year, someone sent us a card saying that 4 goats, 2 rabbits and a gaggle of geese had been sent to a family through Heifer International in our name. My kids can not tell you one gift they received that year from 'Santa'.... but boy howdy - they still talk about the goats, rabbits and geese. So, which gift honored Jesus the most?

I don't mean we should boycott all stores and gift buying - I'm a little consumer oriented (especially when it comes to hunting stuff), but what if we spent 1/2 the amount of money on ministries such as Heifer International, Fair Trade Coffee, or a host of other avenues?

Oh wait... the Neiman Marcus catalogue just came in the mail today.... got to go flip through and make my list.