MORGAN'S MOMENT...
Dated…
      a word I heard twice
      just last week.

The painter looked over our house…
     while scheming his estimate…
     “Dated,” he said.

Next came a lighting professional
     summarizing in a word…
     “Dated.

I translated the word…
     “dated” means “old
    and “old” means “replace.

In my inner voice I said
     “Am I dated because I’m old?
      Do I need to be replaced?”

Defensive thoughts continued…
      “Don’t you realize that it’s taken us
      ‘40 years to make this place ‘dated’?

Then comes the promise of a fix…
      like being born again…
      called “up-dating.

Whole industries exist
      because we’re told
      that “dated” is a bad thing.

Why am I reluctant to give in…
      to cast out things I value
      for being diagnosed as dated.

— Art Morgan 

BOOK CORNER
“The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman is the current book for discussion by our book club. The author leads us through the changes that will likely occur in fairly short order should our species depart the planet. Those
who fear that we are ruining things for all time by our assault on nature may find comfort in knowing that life on earth will continue without us. Our carelessness with nature may hasten our departure from the planet. Life was here before us and will be here in some form after.


MOMENT MINISTRIES
– October 24, 2008 –
    A MOMENT MINISTRIES production – Art Morgan a-morgan@peak.org

GOTCHA! SEASON
My blue sheet back page on April 22 was called “Gotcha.” I described our election process as boiling down to a game of “gotcha.” We’re in the last few days of this campaign during which the game is in its fullest force. Elections have been tilted by last minute “gotcha’s” that are ultimately unfounded. We’ll see.

COLIN POWELL
Colin Powell spoke wise words to America during his “Meet the Press” interview. Among them was a word in response to the accusation that Senator Obama was a Muslim. Powell said that of course it was not true. Obama is a Christian (in fact, most recently a member of a Congregational (United Church of Christ) church in Chicago. Powell went on to say that it’s too bad that one’s religious connection should make a difference in America with its tradition of freedom of religion. He could also have said “and freedom from religion.” His point was that in America it shouldn’t make a difference whether one is Christian, Jew or Muslim or anything else. He points to a divisive chasm that seems to be widening in our society. He could have suggested that the extreme forms of any religion can be a danger to the world.


MID-VALLEY HOUSING PLUS
This organization tries to provide safe housing for individuals treated for mental illness and trying to make it in the community. Most in our community don’t know about it (including me). Without a resource like this some people end up in jail or the hospital emergency room or other homeless situation. Barbara Ross is working hard to raise the profile of this group in our community. Some in our group will be present at an information and fund raising pie social at the Congregational Church, Sunday November 2 at 2 p.m. It’s another of the important groups that various ones are involved with.


PAUL SINGS AGAIN
The Corvallis Chamber Singers, a new ensemble of the Corvallis Repertory Singers, sings this Sunday at 3:00 p.m.,      October 26 at the Corvallis Presbyterian Church. They will do Handel’s oratorio, “Alexander’s Feast,” accompanied by the chamber orchestra.
Paul says that director Steven Zielke is the finest choral director he has worked with in all his musical years.
(Paul will also be singing the National Anthem at an upcoming Trailblazer’s Game. He loves those standing ovations).


 
                                                                                     (back page)

TEN THINGS TO DO WHILE WAITING FOR THE MARKET TO RISE AGAIN

I’m a DP – that is, I’m a Depression Kid. Naturally, I feel responsible for telling less fortunate people how we survived the GREAT depression.
I thought I could offer 10 things to do while waiting for things to get better. I use the number 10 simply because Moses did it and it worked well for him.
1. Keep a diary. Someday your grandchildren may want to know how you survived the Depression of ’08.
2. Keep up hope. I wasn’t in on the discussion at the time, but my mother told me that my parents probably shouldn’t have let the house go into foreclosure. It was just that they had three little boys and no job and things looked bleak. Folks need to hang on and keep up hope.
3. Keep living. My folks were already acquainted with hard times and hard work. My dad took off his suit and tie and put on rubber boots to work as a laborer in the oyster beds. He also planted a garden and raised some chickens, pigs and a cow. They also married and had all four of us boys in the heart of the Depression.
4. Keep your health. No doubt about it: health is wealth. It’s a good time to take inventory of your body situation. Are your shots up to date? What about mammograms, colonoscopy, PSA test for prostate, dermatology exam, eyes and teeth? It would be a shame if the market survived and we didn’t.
5. Keep track. Lots of folks are in deep trouble with credit debt and mortgage debt because they lost track of their actual financial situation. We can’t spend what we don’t have if we’re going to make it through. Too many have given in to the appealing ads and translated wants into needs when there was not money for it. We have the idea that we can borrow our way into a prosperous life. Financial planners all advise that we start our way out of trouble by simply keeping track of what comes in, what we have, and what we spend.
6. Keep fit and get fit.  I was glad to hear presidential candidates emphasize that the best health care plan possible is personal discipline. If this downturn is to last a year, why not practice the same kind of discipline required for financial recovery? Keep track of things like weight and nutrition. I was sitting with a group of men listening to a nutritionist tell us how to keep from getting cancer or keeping it from recurring. She is an oncology nurse nutritionist who has dealt with thousands of women and men for nearly 20 years. She spoke of unnecessary health costs from people not practicing fitness. We all sucked in our stomachs when she talked of how deadly belly fat is. Why can’t we learn good nutrition rather than giving in to a diet based on how much it tempts us? Start by getting rid of foods with sugar, white flour, fat and high sodium. Heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, strokes and diabetes could be reduced by more than 50%. The dietician had lost 30 pounds during the past year to prove that discipline pays off. It pays off physically, emotionally and financially. We can help the economy by becoming fit. Think how fit you could be becoming while waiting for the market to rise?
7.  Keep generous. During the Great Depression people were generous. They shared. When we had extra vegetables or fruit we shared it. I remember my mother giving a cup of sugar to a lady who knocked on our door one day. People found money to support special needs. There were coins for Sunday School in times we never had money for ice cream. It’s a healthy thing to do. One is never too poor to be generous.
8. Keep up your spirit. It may be true that the world lost more than fiscal and physical discipline over the last number of years. It also let its spiritual and mental level decline as well. I’m thinking of movies we watch, books we read or don’t read, TV programs. What if you regain wealth but lose your soul? It looks like we should have plenty of time in months ahead to work on our spirit side.
9. Keep up your relationships. We want to be sure that when the market rises we are closer to our most precious treasure than ever before. What investment offers a better return?
10 Keep adding to this list. There are lots of investments we can be making during this downturn that will pay tremendous dividends beginning before economic recovery and extending long after.
I notice that each of my 10 “commandments” begins with the word “Keep.” In a time of perceived losses it is a good idea to think of all the things we can keep.
─ Art Morgan, October 24, 2008