Autumn

Cool clear nights
The evening beckons
Silence prevails
not quite

A leaf falls
Click and clacking
then silence again
not quite

A breeze stirs
a stampede of clicker-clatter
leafs tumble by, but
not quite

It's dark now
and days are shorter
Almost winter
but not quite

Another day in Dortmund

Day ??

I lost track of where I was in our travels. Over the several days that we were in Dortmund, my dad showed us the place where the house stood that he grew up in – both places. When he was small, he lived in Niederaden. The house had fallen into disrepair and was taken down. There was a tavern about a kilometer away where his father would send him for beer. He’d take a bucket and get the beer, then bring it home for his father and his father’s friends. Later, he moved to Eving. When he was twelve, he stared working in the coal mines. It was hard work but they didn’t give children work that was too difficult and that needed skilled hands to do. When he was fourteen his father, who also worked in the coal mines, told him of an opening in the laboratory for an apprentice chemist. The position would mean that he could stay above ground and get away from the dust and goo that is common in the mines. That was in 1934.

The Allies had another idea – destroy the energy supply system for Germany and humiliate the population through carpet bombing. It was hoped that the population would rise up and overthrow the government like what happened in Italy. The only problem was that there was no résistance in Germany like there was in Italy and the people had no power whatsoever to overthrow anything. One day, while at work in the lab, the air raid siren screamed. He took shelter in the mine. Deep underground was considered much safer that on the surface. When he rose to the surface again, the city was in ruin. He took his bicycle, which was miraculously spared and headed home – some 5 – 7 kilometers away. The going was difficult because buildings had collapsed in to the streets and many were on fire.

Arriving at the street to his home he met a barricade. The local official had closed the street because it was too dangerous due to the collapsed buildings and fire. Ducking back down a side street and cutting between houses he got back to the street where he hoped to find family and friends. His brother was away, working in a neighboring town. Both parents were at home as his father worked nights in the mine at that time.

The house that he lived in was one that was two stories taller with a livable attic (like the one in the picture on teh left). It was more of an apartment with different families living in the same building. When he finally got to where he could see the house, it wasn’t there. A bomb had made a direct hit. All that was left was smoking rubble. Nobody in the house survived. The house in the center of the picture is where it stood. For some time all he could do was sit, stare and sob. Then, his father placed a hand on his shoulder. He had been working in the woods with several men preparing a bomb shelter for the neighborhood. His mother was there as well. She was on her way to the woods with lunch for her husband when the air raid started. Miraculously, the whole family had survived.

A year later, just one day before his 15th birthday, Germany surrendered. They had spent it living n a corner of an attic with another family, in a room in another apartment with another family before deciding that it was time to leave.

It brought goose bumps visiting the places where all this happened and seeing the buildings that remained. The stories were more alive than before. And, I began to realize afresh what I already knew – my dad was very special. He had seen a lot, endured much and grew all the more wise because of it.

End of the World?

In an article on the Live Science web site (see link) the assertion is made that the world is not ending. Whew! That’s a load off my mind!

The article was written as a response to a comment by Pat Robertson in which he said that the signs are all pointing to the End Times. The earthquakes, war and pestilence (I love that word – nobody ever uses it any more but it’s still a good word) are indicators that the events leading up to the end are at hand. In the article the scientists refute the statements saying that the earth is in a cycle and that “these things happen.” Alright, we have a theological comment with a secular response. It’s sort of like answering a question with a question – “Why are all these bad things happening” – “Why do you worry?”

A fresh approach: suppose that Pat’s right. Suppose that the signs are correct and that the threatened pandemic of bird flu opens another seal and we’re all soon to be eradicated. Or are we? There are two theological points of view on the end of times – a pre-tribulation rapture (those that are true disciples are caught up to be with God before it gets really bad. It makes for great stories and book series) and the post tribulation gathering (we all get to share in the misery of those terrible days through which the wheat and chaff are separated. Wheat gets gathered, chaff gets burned). It really doesn’t matter. From a scriptural perspective the result is the same. The good guys in the white hats are in the good place and the bad people in the other place (let’s not go there – literally).

So why argue who’s right? Everyone wants to think that they have the “key” to this whole faith thing. Both are positions that hold Jesus as the messiah, that His death and resurrection hold the answer to salvation, and that His words hold the promise of tomorrow. What is the promise of tomorrow? That we will be with Him after passing through death. Well, both positions hold to the same thing! Amazing! And if I know what’s to come and it is the end what’s the response? It should be no different than it is everyday – that we love one another as He first loved us – that we share His word to the World around us – and that we live in Peace as much as is possible.

So the answer isn’t in whether the world is ending or not – nor is it the question. The question is whether or not those who claim to have faith in Jesus as the Christ are living in the manner in which He said “until the day of His coming.” And, should the scientists be right and the end isn’t happening in the next few weeks (darn it) will those who are “called by His name” continue to act as the light to the world? The answer? Well, that’s personal isn’t it. But I guess you know my answer already.

Sorry, I've been away

Last Monday I left the office and got on a plane for Detroit. There, along with a thousand of my closest friends, I participated in the International Code Council (ICC) code change hearings. It was an interesting time but a long one.

All kidding aside, it was good to see my friends and get an opportunity to sit down, enjoy a drink and/or dinner together, and participate in the process. Although drinks and dinner were the exception to the rule, the participation was not. Hearings started at 8 in the morning and usually lasted until after 10 pm. Those were long days. Nonetheless, it is an effort to shape the building and fire codes that are adopted in this country and tweak the little things atht need fixing so that they make sense.

Much about what is written about fire safety has to do with what the fire department does – their fire prevention and awareness programs and the significant fire fighting that we see on the news. There is, however, a lot more that goes on. There are all those buildings that are used day to day where people work and live; and, where things go right – day after day after day. That’s what’s right about the effort. And, when you see things on the news about a night club fire or building collapse you can go back and see that; yes, it was one of the older building stock – built before the codes were adopted that would have prevented the tragedy or which could have prevented it if the codes would have been properly enforced.

The ICC has a term for the people who do that sort of work as representatives of their local government - silent defenders. The fire service received lots of attention. They should. They do a tremendous job. But the people who inspect the buildings and review new construction plans, the ones who make sure that the proper connections are in place so that nobody gets electrocuted – those are the heroes of the lived-in infrastructure.

Me? No, I’m a consultant. My job is to assist developers and architects work their way through the codes and find the safe and inexpensive way to build. There are those who demeaningly refer to what I do as being a “code whore” because I look for what the codes will allow and use that to the advantage of my client. I can honestly say, however, that I do not tolerate those who would seek to place people in an unsafe condition by bending the rules. Nonetheless, it is important, like everything else in life, to have balance. Too little water and you die of thirst. Too much – you drown. The same is true for rules and regulations. Too little and people get hurt. Too much and nobody can afford to build the buildings we need to live and work in.

Balance. Like life – balance.