It is President's Day here in the states of America. We are hard at work again on a day when most of the surrounding population is sleeping late and relaxing on a national holiday that has passed us by at Burns and Wilcox. It seems to me that I pick companies to work for that abhor time off and crack the whip on their employees. It is a quiet day with many chances to get caught up on business without the phone ringing and company insurance personnel actually working and sending faxes and making phone calls. It is a blessing to be working while the bulk of Americans rest and relax. Also on the bright side, it is pouring rain today and I couldn't golf if I wanted to.

We have heard from Jennifer several times this last week. The one unsettling coversation regarded an attack on her camp last week with rocket propelled grenades. Three soldiers were injured and two vehicles destroyed in the nightime attack. One or more Iraqi insurgents lobbed RPGs onto the base camp from several hundred meters away and Jennifer said one of the grenades landed close enough to her that her entire trailer shook on it's foundation. It is war and I can't stress enough the dangers that Jennifer faces every day and night.

I sent a copy of an e-mail to some of you that I received from Jennifer that described one of the sand storms that blew through Baghdad. She said that day turned into night and the sky was a brownish black. In those situations, you simply cover your nose and mouth and wait it out. Jennifer has been able to get some computer access and you can reach her at lyon80@msn.com.

Our weekend was relaxing. I tended the yard on Saturday and put some crabgrass control on the lawn. Saturday night David had his first official date and he did it right, inviting one of the cheerleaders to dinner and then to the dance at school. He went with two of the seniors and their dates and they had a great time. He had to go out after one of his basketball games last week and meet the girl's mother. She wouldn't let her daughter go out with David unless she met him first. Sounds like she's from a good family. I asked how that meeting went and David said, "she bought me a chocolate sundae". The kid is full of details. It is another big step in his life and I'm proud of him. David always handles things with aplomb.

Sunday I cleaned out the pond. The aquatic plants had really taken off and covered about two thirds of the pond surface. Darla was complaining that she couldn't see the fish and that the plants which were mostly dormant looked terrible. I thinned out the plants and tossed about half of the hyacinth and the pond is back to being a serene and more attractive highlight to our back yard.

Darla's Dad, Earl, had surgery on Wednesday for prostate cancer. They removed the growth and he is expected to have a complete recovery. Darla and Alicia are taking their day off today and visiting with him. They wanted to go yesterday with the kids, but he is sleeping most of the day and recovering from invasive surgery. We ended up NOT going and I think it is best for Earl. The last thing he needs right now is to entertain a large group of people. I know Dad went through the same surgery and like Earl, neither of them have ever spent any significant time in the hospital and recuperating is hard on them. Shirley had to sit on Dad to get him to relax and Frances will have to do the same with Earl. Their heater went out just before he went into the hospital and he will be itching to get up and get to Home Depot to buy a new one and get it installed.

Finally, Mel Gibson's new movie, The Passion of the Christ, is due out next week. I urge each of you to not only see it, but to invite one of your non-Christian friends to the movie and use it as an evangelistic tool. The movie is changing lives and really affecting Christians and non-Christians alike. Darla and I will line up to see the movie and look forward to buying it on DVD when it is available.

Our pastor had a good joke on Sunday. A young boy was failing at Math. No matter what the parents tried, tutors, after school counseling, internet classes, etc, would help. Finally, they enrolled him in a Catholic school. He came home every day and studied hard, doing all of his homework and extra credit assignments. He barely watched television and constantly had his math text with him. Finally, when the grades came out, he had an A+. His parents asked him what was the difference, was it the school or the teachers or his fellow students? He said, "No. I realized that this school was really serious about math when I walked in the first day and saw the guy hung up on the plus sign over the chalk board."