Wednesday, November 2, 2016

A Song for Cubs Fans Everywhere, But Especially in Chicago Tonight

Homer Jackson was destined to be a baseball fan, with that first name -
sponsoring fast-pitch softball and always backing Cubs baseball.


A Song for Cubs Fans Walking by Wrigley Stadium.
Copyright 2016, Gregory L. Jackson
Apologies to “On the Street Where You Live” – My Fair Lady

I have often gone to Wrigley Stadium
But the critics always
Wondered what the Cubs had done.

All at once am I
Several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where Cubs play.

Is the popcorn fresh
In the North of town?
Can you hear a blast in any other part of town?

Does Budweiser pour
Out of every door?
No, it's just in Chi-town where Cubs play.

And oh, the towering feeling
Just to know the trophy is near,
The overpowering feeling,
That any second the commish will soon appear.

People stop and stare
They don't bother me
For there's no team left on earth
That I would rather see.

Let the Indians sigh
I don't care if I
Can be here on the street where Cubs play.

People stop and stare
They don't bother me
For there's no team left on earth
That I would rather see.

Let the Indians play
I won't care if they
Can drop by on the street where Cubs play.
Let me stay on the street where Cubs play.

 Adam Jones, WQUA, told me about going on the fan-bus with Dad,
from Moline to the Cubs games.

Another Broadside against Lutheran Doctrine - November 7, 2016 Christian News Still in Bed with Church Growth and Universal Salvation without Faith


Northwestern Publishing House is cashing in on the Reformation's 500th Anniversary, with a book filled with Anti-Lutheran, Anti-Christian authors, including retired Rabbi John Brug above.



The Table of Contents says:

  • Preface, Mark G. Schroeder, high school principal turned PR flack for Mark Jeske.
  • In Trembling Hands! - With What Spirit Shall We Celebrate the Reformation?, Mark G. Zarling. Marky Mark thinks UOJ is the Chief Article of Christianity!
  • The Lutheran Reformation, the Conservative Reformation, John M. Brenner. Installed at Mordor after having his doctrinal spine removed.
  • Luther and the Biblical Canon, Joel D. Fredrich. Loves the NIV.
  • Luther on Infant Baptism, Charles L. Cortright. Another Quisling trying to stay alive. 
  • Luther and Fellowship: The Courage to Break and the Courage to Be Patient, John F. Brug. Otten's handler at Mordor. Valleskey's protector. Luther's enemy. 
  • Luther as a Pastor to Pastors, David J. Valleskey. Mr. Fuller Seminary on days when he is honest. The rest of the time - Oh no! UOJ all the way.
  • The Lutheran Influence on Education, Paul T. Prange. Architect of the demise of WELS education. 
  • Matthew Flacius and the Persistence of Genuine Lutheranism, Wade R. Johnston. Former Roman Catholic. Former ELCA, apparently. Finally gets to publish his Central Michigan U. dissertation. 
  • A Lutheran Look at the New Perspective on Paul, Paul O. Wendland. The Church Growther who delivered Mordor to the New NIV. Congratulations.
  • The Enduring Uniqueness of the Lutheran Reformation, Daniel M. Deutschlander. Luther and the Concordists would have been UOJists if they had Daniel's unique insights on doctrine, church history, and tomfoolery.
 Pentecostal Wagner was right about this.
Otten thinks that Fuller Seminary fan Reuel Schulz was the ideal pastor,
even though Reuel praised Wagner in print.
However, WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) agree on one thing,
hating out or excommunicating anyone who criticizes Church Growth.
News note on Wagner - he is finally dead.

Christian News promotes an odd agenda, criticizing ELCA and Missouri for kissing up to the Church of Rome while doing the same Church of Rome in his publications. He seems to be buddy of the Roman conservatives who do not like the homosexual leaders of their church being promoted and protected. But Otten will not hear of that going on in his own corner of Christendom - the LCMS and WELS. When I told the truth about the same hi-jinks in his favorite Lutheran markets, he apologized to WELS, John Brug, and apparently the entirely lavender mafia in Lutherdom. 

The current issue has two uncritical articles about Catholic conservatives, Likoudis and Rueda. Otten has some Vatican news too. 

Cross-dressing and publishing the photos is a thing
at Martin Luther College, WELS.
So many enablers of apostasy in the LCMS and WELS,
so little time to cover them all.



Plants and Trees Sleeping for the Winter - Roses Keep Bloomimg

 California Dreamin' was last year's hope,
this year's show-off.

Yesterday the wind seemed to be blowing in a welcome thunderstorm, but we only had falling leaves and swirling clay dust. The soil is really dry when it turns white, the dogs kick up clouds just by barking and pawing the earth, and the water spigots get turned on again.

I watered for the latest rose harvest, which filled the main rose garden with color and prompted several Mr. Lincoln roses to show off their size and fragrance. I put more water on the backyard roses and plants, because the Butterfly Bushes also appreciate extra water.

Many plants have already started their winter sleep. The Crepe Myrtle bush is now a giant bird feeder, packed with large round seeds the Cardinals love to eat. Maple, Sycamore, and Oak leaves are falling on the gardens.

 I thought I would get $5 roses every year,
like Bride's Dream. But that offer did
not occur again.


The roses are not honoring fall. They love cool weather more than most people realize. That gives them a long season in NW Arkansas. New plants bloom one month after digging the bare root roses into the soil. Many common plants take three years to be productive -

  • Asparagus
  • Gooseberries
  • Trumpet Vine

Roses take one month to flower  - and bloom again several times the first year. Mature roses produce more flowers and better flowers as the plant gets established in the soil.

 Fragrant Cloud fills a room with its
old fashioned rose perfume.


I Almost Watched the Game Last Night.
Chicago Cubs Pay Off the Patience of Their Long-Suffering Fans


Growing up in Illinois, the only baseball team I knew about was the Cubs. My father was the ultimate Cubs fan, always waiting for his team to continue its winning ways through the summer. I went to games as a kid, even though we were on the opposite side of the state. When I served a parish in Sturgis, Michigan, our youth group went to Cubs games.

My favorite moment in baseball was early. I knew very little about it. I asked my father what a grand slam was. He explained the bases loaded and a home run hit. I asked,"Could that happen now? The bases are loaded." He laughed, "That hardly ever happens." As soon as he said it, the player hit a home run and emptied the bases. That story was told around Moline for a long time.

Once the Cubs ran up a three-game deficit, I told Mrs. Ichabod, "One more loss and the Cubs lose the World Series." Instead, the Cubs began winning again. Last night must have been exciting for every Cubs fan in the world. A grand slam almost certified the win early, and the game ended 9-3.

One day more.


Watching baseball at the park is great, but baseball on TV has never intrigued me. I watch interesting games on the computer by calling up the scorecard and refreshing it every so often.

 Dad sponsored fast-pitch softball teams,
and we watched the King and His Court play locally.


My father was born in 1910 and experienced the drought of losses that plagued all Cubs fans. He would have needed to live to 106 to have watched these games. He would have sold his car to be at one of the games - that is certain.

 Cousin Dean posed for this picture.
We had tons of these hats to wear - and had to wear them
for cute calendar poses, no matter how old we were.

 Many years later, those paper hats were still
available for poses. Here is Little Ichabod previewing
how his son would look at the same age.