Month: June 2021

My Thoughts on The Chosen TV Series

On June 28, 2021

This week I am taking a side trip with my blog. Instead of focusing on Bailey or my family or my journey to become an author, I want to talk about an amazing television series, The Chosen. ( Click here: The Chosen TV Series (angelstudios.com)) The series created by Dallas Jenkins focuses on the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of those who knew him. It is said to be the largest crowdfunded media project of all time, and currently has two full seasons available for streaming with additional seasons planned.

I am not a film or media critic by any means, nor am I a biblical scholar, but I have been a Christian for most of my life and have read through the Bible several times. My personal belief is the scriptures were written as a tool for each of us to understand God’s will for mankind. This means we don’t have to have a degree in theology or require a professional theologian’s interpretation to understand the Bible. At various times in my life, I have taught Sunday School and led different church ministries. So from this background, I want to offer my endorsement of The Chosen television series.

Several months ago my wife and I watched season one. We typically would watch it on Sunday evening and go through two to four episodes at a time. We were very disappointed when the channel we were using did not have the second season available, though it was complete. We learned from a friend that she was able to watch the second season so I did a search on my Roku device to see if it was available. It was and I added the channel so we could watch season two which we started last night with the first three episodes. I find the program emotionally moving in its representation of Jesus and those around him. It is, of course, a work of fiction providing fictional back stories to the characters from the gospels. What I like most about these back stories it they present the characters in a truly believable and appropriate manner. There is resentment among the disciples especially against Matthew, the tax collector, whom some of the Jewish disciples view as a traitor. Their expectations of the Messiah don’t agree with the truth of His mission and they don’t always understand His willingness to accept and associate with Samaritans or even Pharisees. Even small things, like the women followers having to fix the meals for the rest of the disciples, lend to the believability of the program. It also seems scripturally accurate in the events and words of Jesus, and a familiarity with the gospels will add to the enjoyment of the program. I highly recommend the series to every Christian, especially those who, like me, struggle with much of the mainstream media’s politically correct representation of Christian values. If you click on the link above to find The Chosen, there will be a tab to Pay It Forward, where you can contribute to the crowd funding effort for future seasons.

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Father’s Day Fish Stories

By Charles Jones

On June 22, 2021

In Uncategorized

In honor of Father’s Day, I thought I would write something about my father like I did on Memorial Day. My brother and I were lucky enough to have a father who was always there and took an interest in us. Though I don’t remember him every saying, “I love you.” He showed his love through his actions. He took us fishing and camping, coached our little league baseball team, and was the leader of our Cub Scout troop. He worked hard to support our family, and I think one of the best gifts he gave me is a strong work ethic. Unfortunately, my father died of cancer in 1992 just before his sixty-second birthday. One of the hardest days I have ever experienced was when he sat with me and my brother and asked us to take care of my mom when he was gone. (I am trying to write this with tears in my eyes.) But, I do not want to focus on the sadness of losing him. I want to focus on the happiness of spending time with my father.

My parents were from Missouri and almost every year we would load up the car and make the thirteen-hour trip from Colorado to Missouri. We would often spend the evening at my aunt and uncle’s house with others from my dad’s side of the family, and they would all reminisce with a lot of fish stories. Even though they told the same stories every year, I never got tired of hearing them. As I got older and spent more time fishing with my dad, and uncle when we were in Missouri, I experienced my own fish stories. Some of these are told occasionally at my own family’s gatherings. One of my favorites occurred when my father and I were fishing a small lake on the eastern plains of Colorado with a couple of his buddies. I don’t even remember how many fish we caught that day. The lake was shallow and my dad waded out in front of the rock face of the earthen dam to get his line into deeper water. When he was done there he turned and started wading back to the bank but stopped because he saw a snake coiled up in the rocks where he planned to get out. He could not tell if the coiled snake was a rattlesnake or a bull snake so he poked the snake with the end of his eight-foot fishing rod. The snake turned out to be a bull snake which can be very cantankerous. Dad’s poking infuriated the snake that came out of the rock swimming after my dad. It was hilarious for us watching my dad trying to wade backward in the thigh-deep water thrashing at the pursuing snake. Of course, the snake was only around three feet from him and he had an eight-foot-long fishing pole so he didn’t have much luck actually striking the snake, but did do a good job of keeping it angry. He was eventually able to wade back to the bank where the unfortunate bull snake met his demise.

Another favorite, though not funny, was April Fool’s Day in 1967. My dad and I went fishing one of our favorite sections on the Platte River, Eleven Mile Canyon. After I got old enough to drive we would often ‘tag team’ with one of us getting out to fish and the other driving the truck down to the next pull out. When the one that was let out got to the truck, he would drive it down to the next spot, and we would go down the length of the canyon. On this particular day, I was let out and was fishing down. When I got near where I thought the truck would be parked I looked up and saw a lot of cars parked there with people standing on the side of the road. I climbed up to the road and as I walked down around a curve in the road I heard a yell and looked across the river to see my dad holding a huge trout. It was an eleven pound six pounce brown trout that my dad had mounted. It still hangs on my home office wall along with the smaller rainbow trout I caught a couple years later. These are only a couple of the myriad of stories but I hope they give you a sense of joy I got fishing with my dad.

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Bailey Almost Dies

By doesbuck

On June 14, 2021

In Uncategorized

When Bailey was almost two years old, she got very sick. She was vomiting and not eating or drinking. She became so lethargic we thought she was dying so we took her to an emergency vet clinic since it was Saturday and our regular vet was closed. The vet examined her and could not find any obvious causes either by physically feeling her abdomen or by looking at her x-ray images. They gave her fluids intravenously and sent her home with some probiotics. On the following Monday, we took her to our regular vet because she was getting worse not eating or drinking. The vet again examined her physically and took X-rays without finding any obvious causes. He wanted to keep her for observation with plans to do an exploratory surgery in a couple of days. Early that afternoon, the vet called to get approval for immediate surgery. He had cleared part of his schedule and thought she was sick enough it would be best to operate sooner rather than later. After the surgery, we were told that Bailey had intussusception in her intestine. The condition is when one section of the intestine telescopes into another section of the intestine causing a blockage. He cut out the affected portion of her intestine and reconnected the remaining sections. The bad portion of the intestine already showed signs of dying and the vet believed if he had waited the planned two days, Bailey would have died. (For more information on intussusception in dogs go to Intussusception In Dogs: Symptoms, Causes, & Treatments – DogTime)

Bailey recovered from her surgery and is a happy healthy dog. But it was not that easy for her. For the next eighteen months or so she would get sick and vomit not eating or drinking. Of course, after our experiences, we took her back to the vet right away. We were in the vet’s office about every six weeks initially. They treated her with anti-nausea medication and we watched her closely. The spells lasted a couple of days, then she would recover. The time between bouts gradually increased and it has been over a year since we last took her to see the vet except for regularly scheduled examinations and shots. Having a vet who is familiar with your dog is very important since they get to know the dog and its behaviors as well as the owner’s concerns.

If you enjoy my blog, please subscribe and comment. Next week I will take a break from Bailey and write something in honor of Father’s Day. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Bailey the Watchdog – German Shepherd/Cattle Dog Mix

By doesbuck

On June 7, 2021

In Uncategorized

I think I have mentioned in previous blogs, that our rescue dog, Bailey, is a German Shepherd – Australian Cattle Dog mix. As a mixed breed, she exhibits characteristics from both, though many of their characteristics are similar. Both breeds tend to be loyal, intelligent, watchful, and territorial to strangers. Bailey exhibits all of these characteristics. Physically she resembles the German Shepherd coloring except for the white blaze down her nose. At 52 pounds she is larger than most cattle dogs and smaller than the GSD. She sheds twice a year, April to October and November to March. (All of the time.) I have never seen a dog shed so much. She also has what I call Teflon fur, it never seems to get dirty or stay dirty unlike some of our previous dogs.

She has a natural herding instinct and will herd smaller dogs, though I have not had a herding instinct test performed. I take her to a local park several times per week, and she has made friends with some of the dogs we have met. Like cattle dogs, she is wary of strangers whether they are dogs or people, especially if they approach too fast. One of her friends is a small mixed breed dog named Millie. Millie looks like she is part Chihuahua and part Dachshund. They have known each other since they were young and will run and play if they are off their leashes. Millie is usually walked by her ‘mother’, but occasionally by her ‘father’. The first time I saw Millie with her ‘father’, they started running and Bailey began herding Millie. Eventually, Millie lay down and submitted. Bailey stood over Millie and put her mouth over Millie’s head. Millie is small enough, her whole head fits in Bailey’s mouth. Millie’s ‘father’ had never met us and I thought, “Oh no! She is going to hurt Millie.” But she did not, she let Millie up and they played some more. Bailey, like cattle dogs who were bred to use their mouths on the wild cattle of Australia, is a mouthy dog, though she has learned excellent bite control.

Bailey watching something out the front window.

Bailey is constantly on the alert. Her two favorite places in the house during the day are on the loveseat looking out the front window, or on the chair in the back room looking out the window for birds and squirrels in the back yard. When she watches out the front window, she will bark at anyone, especially if they have a dog, that walks by the house. I am trying to train her not to bark so much, but it may be a losing battle because of her breeding and her age. Cattle dogs are quick to sound the alarm and can be stubborn, and both cattle dogs and GSDs are protective. In this regard, Bailey is an excellent watchdog. Unfortunately, the postman is a prime target for her barking and protective instincts. I asked the trainer one day about training this out of her and he said it would be difficult. It seems the immediate feedback, of the postman coming to the house and leaving immediately after she barks, reinforces her behavior. She is doing her job by chasing him/her away. Lately, if I am in the room and can talk to her, I can reduce the amount and intensity of her barking whether it is the postman or someone else walking in front of the house, which is progress.

If you enjoy reading about Bailey, please subscribe and comment. I am still trying to figure out how everything works to ensure there are notifications for new posts. My website mentions Christian Science Fiction. I am currently writing my first novel and do not have enough material for writing a blog about that, though I will tell of my writing journey on occasion. Writing the blog is one way to help me improve my writing, and Bailey seems to be the most popular topic. Thank you for taking the time to read this.