UGA Iron Horse in Greene County

I had to drive close to four hours on New Years Day to pick up one of my son's friends in Watkinsville GA. We had lived in the Greensboro/ Madison area a couple of years ago, and still have many wonderful friends from that region. And there are LOTS of wonderful characters and stories from the area that we still enjoy.

Do you know about the Abbott Pattison Iron Horse?

It sits in a field just off Highway 15, just across the Oconee River yet inside the Greene County area just before you cross into Oconee County. In the winter it is relatively easy to see. In the late summer it is a fun challenge to find as the farm usually has tall corn in the field where the horse stays.

Originally the horse sat on the UGA campus in the mid '50's, but the students didn't treat the horse well. So, it was moved rather quickly after it's debut at UGA, and by the late '50's found its home on the farm of a UGA professor. Check out that picture again. Can you believe this thing was THAT controversial?! If I think much about the 1950's in Georgia and the world I realize there may have been any number of more important happenings to engage our energy and emotion.

I've always been curious about this sculpture/relic of a different time. Was it really just a few drunk fraternity boys that caused the trouble or more of a mob mentality against the horse? Was this merely a common ignorance of that time and place, or more about the ignorance of the sculptor as to how his art would be received by the locals? And to make this a more current discussion, are we any different today?! Are there Iron Horses today that consume our energy and emotion, yet which in retrospect will seem a rather ridiculous waste of energy. Even in 2009 I suspect there may be some Iron Horses among us.

I'm curious what you make of this odd story from the recent past. I'm curious if you see any Iron Horses in our world today?

Find the whole story at http://excursia.com/destinations/USA/GA/athens/stories/20010406/att_ironhorse.shtml

Many Opportunities in a New Year

My college student friends I've gotten to know through campus ministry started posting their resolutions about a week ago. The Facebook approach of swapping ideas with notes is to share info with a number of friends (even realizing more friends can look in and comment on your note) & then asking for their thoughts, ideas, encouragement. "Am I honest and real with this?" and "What do you think?" are the common questions to end the notes.

They are a challenging, trouble making bunch! I say that because I've tended not to think much about the new year, much less assess my life, or consider how I need to set goals or take steps forward. And they add a whole new wrinkle to this as they don't merely keep their resolutions personal but make it a communal activity. Now that's brave and has potential for real action and change.

So, I thank them for sharing their lives and thoughts with me, and for getting me better prepared for 2009. After struggling with this for a few days I shared the following note in return with my college friends. Now comes the work!

The “experts” always warn about not creating too many unrealistic, “undoable,” resolutions, but to have a smaller focus and to create a plan. I think time management might be the overarching theme for me though these are the life issues I need to focus on in the new year. These thoughts will be good to keep on my calendar, in my computer, and maybe for some of you to reinforce with me.

1) Allow my life to be renewed and change more as I keep the balance between serving/doing & replenishing my body/soul/life—fuel the fire and act on what I know/sense to do each day.

2) Step up—now is the time for social and community change--transform my church, transform Augusta, transform my denomination, in general build a bridge to a better future through my life and profession.

3) Do more writing—make the time to pull the articles & book/s together. Perhaps this really is just on Facebook and blogging, but creating the bridge (#2) takes time for dialogue and communication. Continue to learn and grow in this by listening to those around me, especially college students and friends outside the church.

3) Spend more time making the biggest difference for people at just the right time. Make sure we launch the medical clinic, help the community development take stronger shape, work to establish mission camps in Augusta, etc.

4) Get more creative- nurture and grow my artistic interests. Flee the computer or TV and spend more time with a paint brush, pencil, pen, etc. and grow the spirit of visual creativity and expression.

5) Spend less time with work and more time at being a better husband and dad. Take the family fishing, go to the beach, escape to the mountains, take a vacation, and in addition to the planned options work on being more spontaneous.

6) Personally, I need to get into an exercise routine. In college and grad school I biked a lot. I think I’d like to do that and need to get into the routine. Somewhat related as a lifestyle issue, I also enjoy gardening and growing heirloom food. That’s the old vegetables and flowers before hybrids. I’ll definitely stay active in the yard with that and produces some different items plus spend time with my family while providing quality food.

Hmm, ambitious but achievable I think.

How about you? What's God calling you/ pulling you/ dragging you toward this year? I hope we all live up to those dreams and take our next steps of faith. The year and our world await our response.

Mahlangu Hand Washer

Mahlangu Hand-Washer
By ALICE RAWSTHORN

Irene van Peer is a Dutch designer who, with a group of colleagues, has devised a clever method for turning empty plastic beverage bottles into hand-washing devices to help prevent the spread of disease in Africa. Van Peer realized the need for such a device while working on sanitation projects in South African townships; many of the township residents have difficulty washing their hands because they lack easy access to water. Van Peer and her colleagues began by having conversations about the idea with people, mostly women, in the townships. “For me it was important to listen to their problems and to come back with a solution they could make themselves,” she says.

Eventually, van Peer and her colleagues hit upon an ingenious design. It involves converting the cap of an empty bottle into a homemade tap. The cap is pierced and then a long, skinny cone made from a readily available material like cork is inserted. One end of a length of wire is pushed through the cone, and the other is wound around a weight, like a stone, to nestle in the palm of the hand. The bottle is held above the hand facing downward, and when the weight is pushed up, the water is released and trickles down the wire toward the weight. Used carefully, a one-liter bottle can perform up to 60 hand-washes.

After showing people in the townships how to use it, van Peer also left instructions to be passed on from person to person. She named it the Mahlangu after Johanna Mahlangu, a woman who told her she planned to make the hand-washers for her day care center for disabled children.

From- http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/12/14/magazine/2008_IDEAS.html