Wise Counsel

My cousins and siblings will be burying our grandmother's ashes in Crest Lawn Cemetery on Jan 31st – the 30th anniversary of her death. Trying to work out the details, which is like a joint session of Congress.

Small group last night was good. Interesting that we're studying Genesis chapter 23, where Abraham sought a place to bury his 127 year old wife Sarah. My grandmother lived at the corner of Peachtree and Stratford, and like Sarah was born just about 127 years ago. Tuesday night I had trouble sleeping, caught up in thought about this. Received wise counsel from the guys and prayed over an important decision I have to make regarding my grandmother's burial. I've discussed it with eight people, and they all say the same thing. Pretty clear.

Should my grandmother's ashes be buried without a marker? Like a homeless person? What would my mother want? Why pay all the other cemetery fees to bury ashes if there's not going to be a marker? The marker is expensive, but my siblings and I can use a mere quarter of one percent of our parent's money to pay for the marker – (1) something our parents should have done years ago, so (2) we'll be righting a wrong, (3) it'll be a "generous" gesture for our cash-strapped cousins, (4) it really won't cost us much in the grand scheme of things – and (5) it's the right thing to do. So exhausting to have to deal with.

It's understandable that when kids are brought up by Depression-era parents who sat around in the dark to save on the power bill, generosity can be a foreign concept. I still struggle with this. But when you have the chance to right a wrong without making a huge personal sacrifice, you'd think it would be an easy decision. But Satan has hardened the hearts of some, who'd rather cut off their nose than save face. What could be a good time of coming together with cousins we rarely see, turns in to just another squabble about finances.

It's been a struggle for me to overcome the indoctrination I received from my parents. I've been working on this for almost 50 years now. Taken decades to even realize some of the ingrained behaviors. One of the reasons I write these things, to help figure things out. You should see some of the stuff I don't post. Got to keep praying for my enemies.

Monday: watched the Manningcast. Dolphins @ Steelers. Guests Lainey Wilson and Michael Keaton, both Steelers fans. Keaton pointed out Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith, a Pittsburgh treasure - and my friend from North Myrtle Beach. They showed Smith on the sidelines, right after a poor special teams play by the Steelers. Smith was not happy.   

Finally got our Christmas cards ordered. Didn't ask for expedited shipping, so no telling when they will arrive. Delivering Christmas cards after the 25th is like showing up late for work. We've only received one Christmas letter so far. I finally wrote ours. Perhaps my best one yet. 

Tuesday: fried chicken, French fries, and spinach for supper. Also cole slaw. Watched The Voice finale, and an episode of The Man on the Inside. 

PAUL MOLITOR  [SABR Bio] had the longest hitting streak in 1987. "The Molly Watch" followed Molitor's climb until he reached 37 consecutive games with a hit, a streak now 7th on the all-time list. Benito Santiago set a record for the most consecutive games with a hit by a catcher, by a Padre, and by a rookie, with a 34 game streak. Molitor has 3319 hits in the AL to go with his 39-game streak in 1997. Only Ty Cobb had more: a 40-game streak to go with his 4189 hits. Molitor was the first player to hit a triple for his 3,000th hit, on 09-Sep-1996 off The Royals' Jose Rosado. It was Molitor's 8th triple of the year. He had a total of 114 triples.

The Scottish scientist and evangelist Henry Drummond observed: "Willpower does not change men. Time does not change men. Christ does."