The American Spectator

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Maybe it's acid reflux triggering asthma, allergies and asthma -- similar triggers... the acid reflux mimics and masks many cardio symptoms.
-- Ken

Reading Ben Stein's diary is always such a blessing and a solid reminder that we all should count simple blessings with great gratitude. For whatever our lot and path in life is, we all need to greet and end each day with gratitude.

Having just returned from another week's stay at the western ranch caring for parents, I drove home a few days ago. A "norther" was bearing down on Texas giving the stirrings of rain, low pressure gradients which make us who have had broken bones or other injuries feel decades older, and a preview of the coming winter as Canadian air bore down upon us. It brought with it reminders of stories told by my father and grandfather of "blue northers", as they were called, back then, which bore down suddenly, unpredictably, and froze cattle standing in pastures. My Dad used to say that there was nothing between us and Canada but a few barbed wire fences!

Life on our ranches has a familiar and beloved routine of seasons and scheduled practices that, after years of performing dutifully, brings a feeling of duty and expectancy, as calves are born and raised and shuttled to and from pastures for grazing and growing, then to market for sale. We walk the pecan orchard, new to us as a crop, and determine that another 2 to 3 weeks is needed for maturity, then we can delight ourselves with the abundance of pecans for pies, cakes, and pralines by Christmas. The thought of that alone makes me smile, as my Daddy loves nothing more that good pecan pralines and has promised to use his now idle hands, to shell me as many pounds as I desire.

Around us all we see such great confusion and uncertainty in our nation, coming from leaders who throw chaos, communistic leanings, and tax threats, with great increase and daily regularity. Yet, it is in finding gratitude in the simple and routine, as in our family's life, or the more privileged, as in Mr. Stein's case, that anchors us to that which is both welcomed and familiar. How blessed we all are and, as my Dad says, no one can take gratitude away from you. It is worth cultivating and maintaining.

Before I left I read the Psalms to my Dad. It is uniquely our ritual and he asks me to "surprise" him and read one of my choosing. It matters not which chapter I choose, Dad always says it is his favorite. The exception is the 23rd Psalms and when I read that tears run down his weak and color faded eyes and he repeats it with me. His love of God and God's word has been the compass of his life and he has passed that to me.

Joy and grace and blessing are the hallmarks of folks to whom gratitude is a natural part of. We love and identify with Ben Stein's diaries because we know he loves his family, that he so appreciates freedom and those who fight to keep his freedom, and that whether he is doing something great or simple, Ben loves this life to its fullest and more importantly takes nothing for granted. I find, as the mother of an officer serving our country, that I am grateful for Mr. Stein's acknowledgement that it is the soldier's sacrifice that gives each of us this normality of life. Absent that and all our lives become uncertain.

A Stetson hat tip to you, Mr. Stein, and may we all find blessings to count each and every day and make our lives count, so that those who have sacrificed, have not done so needlessly.
-- Bev Gunn
East Texas Rancher