The first Saturday in October 2008, I had visited one of the two days in the year that the Trinity Site was opened up to the public. I wrote about the experience and had it published in the article below:
The Trinity Site: Where the First Atomic Bomb was Exploded - click here
This July 16, 2010 is the 65th anniversary of the explosion of the first atomic bomb. The video clip below shows that event.
Throughout the years, the splitting of the atom has sparked a firestorm of controversy and soul searching as this powerful genie was unleashed upon humanity. One thing it did do. It ended World War Two - the most deadly war to date - whose death toll was mounting up between 62 to 78 million.
Who saw this coming? Perhaps 1900 years ago, St. Peter saw an awesome day of destruction when he penned these words:
"You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat." 2 Peter 3:11-12 (New International Version)
That day has not come yet - we are still here. But in an obscure place in the desert of New Mexico, a small piece of the elements melted away with heat 65 years ago.
The following statistics reveal these grim figures of a child's life without a father.
Children from fatherless homes are:
* 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide,
* 6.6 times to become teenaged mothers (if they are girls, of course),
* 24.3 times more likely to run away,
* 15.3 times more likely to have behavioral disorders,
* 6.3 times more likely to be in a state-operated institutions,
* 10.8 times more likely to commit rape,
* 6.6 times more likely to drop out of school,
* 15.3 times more likely to end up in prison while a teenager.
A father's positive influence in the family is very important for the well being of children and society. For the fathers - and those who are a father to the fatherless - who care in numerous ways for the kids in your life, you well deserve our thanks and respect for soldiering on.
On a lighter note, this commercial honoring a dad's life (as well as selling soap), played during Super Bowl XLIV.
First Verse Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Second Verse On the shore dimly seen, thro' the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines in the stream; 'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner, Oh long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Third Verse And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Fourth Verse Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto, "In God is our trust" And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
----------------------------------------------------------
For timeline of the Star Spangled Banner: click here
The Star Spangled Banner was born in the crucible of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, in which we fought the British. Since then, the United States and the United Kingdom have become strong allies.
Almost 200 years after the War of 1812, after the 2001 attack of 9-11, the British gave this moving tribute, playing the Star Spangled Banner at Buckingham Palace:
In June of 1944, the World War II Allies launched the Invasion of Normandy, then the largest amphibious invasion of all time, which commenced on a day we know as D-Day.
Many great movies have been made about D-Day or have included it in their larger story. Among them:
"Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. You are about to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you." (from Department of Defense, The Passing of the Torch)
So on the beaches of Normandy, France, more than 100,000 soldiers began the march across Europe to fight Nazi Germany. And this was over 60 years ago.
As we remember Memorial Day this weekend, let's not forget the deadliest war in American history - the Civil War. Both sides, both Americans suffered great loses.
As a civilian, I can't fathom the depths of which many of our veterans have suffered, especially those who were POWs - Prisoners of War.
This George Root (1820 - 1895) Civil War song, Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!, of a Union prisoner does give a glimpse into the angish of a soldier's soul as well as the hope of being released by his comrades in arms.
The video clip below is sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and is one of the most moving renditions of this song.
In the prison cell I sit,
Thinking Mother dear of you,
And our bright and happy home so far away,
And the tears they fill my eyes
Spite of all that I can do
Though I try to cheer my comrades
and be gay.
Chorus:
Tramp! tramp! tramp!
The boys are marching
Cheer up comrades,
They will come.
And beneath the starry flag
We shall breathe the air again
Of the free land in our own beloved home.
In the battle front we stood
When their fiercest charge they made,
And they swept us off a hundred men or more;
But before we reached their lines
They were beaten back, dismayed,
And we heard the cry of vict'ry o'er and o'er.
So within the prison cell
We are waiting for the day
That shall come to open wide the iron door;
And the hollow eye grows bright
And the poor heart almost gay
As we think of seeing home and friends once more.
"The Doctor," a Time Lord, regularly regenerates into different incarnations as he travels through time and space, usually with a mortal female companion. His vehicle, the TARDIS, resembles an old fashioned British Police Box, which is bigger on the inside that the outside. Oh, the marvels of science fiction.
The Doctor and Rose encounter a young woman, Nancy, who recently lost a close member of her family. Scavenging for food during the air raids, while most Londoners are in their bomb shelters, Nancy cares for many children, left orphans by the war.
In this following scene from "The Empty Child," the Doctor commends Nancy for their tenacity, during a time which Sir Winston Churchill had described as "their finest hour."
In this following clip of the second part, "The Doctor Dances," Rose, who as a time traveller knows that VE Day is coming, offers Nancy encouragement.
In these episode clips, I saw a Christian allegory for our present times.
We feel the fury of the enemy dropping bombs of cruel hate all about to dishearten us, defeat us, demoralize us, and destroy everything that is good in this life. At times, there appears no deliverance or escape from the evil in this world and no end to the assaults of the enemy.
But we know Someone greater than a fictional Time Lord - the Lord of time and space, Creator of the universe. And He has already written the future:
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Isaiah 46:9,10 (King James Version)
He is engaged in this long war between good and evil in human history. And to encourage us, He tells us how it will all end - He wins!
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25:8, 9 (King James Version)
His VE Day - Victory over Everything - is coming when -
Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. Hebrews 2:8 (King James Version)
As we endure the Blitz of these present spiritual battles and tribulations in this world, may His finest hour be lived through us by the power of His Spirit.
