From the East Wing Fishing with Noah and New Babies in the East Wing

Greetings to all and welcome new friends to the East Wing.

Just a week into the fall season and ya sure can tell the difference. I love changing seasons, and the one I love most is the one I’m in that’s changing at that moment. How ‘bout that frost last Thursday Morning?

Gotta share something that happened last week in my CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) Class at Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church in North Judson Indiana. Now for you non Catholics, CCD is like Sunday School, or bible study for kids.

When I was a little hillbilly boy growing up in Downtown Toto, the Mennonite Church there in Toto had Summer Bible School every year for two weeks during the last part of July. I went every day, not for the bible stuff, I went for the Kool-Aid and the big Oatmeal Raisin Cookies baked fresh every day by Mrs. Hershberger. Sometimes the Kool-Aid was Orange, and sometimes Grape or Strawberry but the cookies were always the same every day, big and good. Back then ya just done what ya had to do to get those big Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Orange Kool-Aid. To this day, I love Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

I teach a combined 4th & 5th grade CCD Class and on the first day of class this year I made a deal with the kids that if we do well in class, no homework. It’s so easy to gain the hearts and minds of Gods precious babies, all ya gotta do is give just a little time, and it’s more fun than most anything ya could do. We do, do well in class.

Now last Sunday we’re learning about Noah and the Ark. We learn about Noah’s sons and their wives and how they all pitched in and helped Noah. How some the neighbors didn’t think it was gona rain and laughed at Noah and his family pretty much all the way up till it started to rain. How Noah and his boys build a boat for all God’s creatures, and God sent the animals and Noah and the boys showed ‘em where to go inside the boat. When all the animals were loaded and it started to rain how they closed the doors and were saved from the flood.

At that point a 4th grader said “Where’re they put the fish?’ I said “they didn’t bring fish” He said “you just said they had two of all the animals, are fish animals?”. I said “fish are animals, they didn’t bring fish.” A 5th grader says “why didn’t Noah just build aquariums in the ark and bring the fish with him”? Another one says “I saw a whale in Florida and the ark can’t be bigger than a whale, so I know why Noah didn’t bring fish, if ya ever see a Killer Whale in Florida you’ll know why Noah didn’t bring the fish too”.

Trying not to laugh out loud, and enjoying every second of the conversation, I suggest that we all just try to think of reasons why Noah didn’t bring the fish into the Ark. The answers were even more heartwarming. If ya ever have an opportunity to talk with 4th and 5th graders at their level, please do so. You’ll remember forever. The reasons why Noah didn’t bring the fish were many, and everybody had a good reason.

“He was afraid that if the fish tank leaked and all the fish water ran out the fish would flop around and the other animals would eat the fish and then we would have no fish today because those two got ate up by bears or something else like that that eats fish. And Noah was not about to have people blaming him for not being able to go fishing after the flood got done ”

“The big fish have to have a lot of room to swim around so if the fish went in the ark somebody would have to not get on the ark, God and Noah wanted everybody to get on the ark so God decided the fish didn’t have to get on the ark if they didn’t want to. And they didn’t want to.”

“God and Noah talked about it and God thought that if it’s going to be a flood anyway why not just leave the fish in the water where they are before the flood. After all a flood is just more water piled on top of your regular water that you already have anyway.”

“Noah told God he didn’t have room for the fish and God told the fish to just follow along under Noah’s Ark during the flood. And go wherever the ark went till Noah told them to stop.”

“Back then when Noah build the ark they didn’t have any fish food like today, so Noah couldn’t bring the fish because he didn’t have anything to feed them. So God told the fish to just stay in the rivers and oceans during the flood but listen to Noah if he wanted them to do something.”

By the end of a most enjoyable class, we all agreed that Noah didn’t need to take the fish. That God took care of the fish during the flood, the same way he took care of all those in the Ark, just the same way he continues to take care of us to this very day.

It was the last proclamation made on Noah and the Ark that made me laugh out loud. A 4th grader said “Boy, I bet the happiest ones that the fish didn’t get to go on the Ark was the worms”. I asked why. “For sure if they had brought the fish on the Ark then one of Noah’s boys would’ve wanted to go fishing someday and everybody knows about fishing with worms.”

With that we said our prayer and ended the class for September 27th 2009.

WOW !! The East Wing is full of new baby kittens. So many I can’t count them all on one hand, had to use 20% of the fingers from the other hand just to count ‘em all. Gray Tiger Cats and Whites.

Thursday evening at about 7:00 PM I let Mama Cass come inside the East Wing for dinner. Come 8 o’clock and time to go back outside, I looked out the window.

It was a dark and stormy night. Too dark and too stormy a night for Mama Cass to go outside in her condition. Ya just don’t just shove pregnant ladies out into the storm. And besides she was not going to have babies for a couple more days, when the full moon came by.

It rained most all that night. When I heard the 1wife exclaim “Oh my God” the next morning before I even got out of bed, she didn’t have to say anymore. After the “Oh my God” my only thought was to the count.

The babies were less than two hours old when I first saw ‘em. They’ve not yet seen me, baby cats don’t open their eyes for 7 days. Sometimes I think the world would be better off if certain people just closed their eyes for 7 days.

Speaking of closed eyes reminds me of an old Chinese Proverb “The eyes see and believe, but the ears may hear others and believe.” A lot of in depth wisdom comes from China of old, a lot of crap comes from China to Wal-Mart today, and we bring it home by the car load.

I’m glad the baby cats were born in the East Wing, there is nothing more precious than being given the opportunity to see new born life, any new born life. Baby animals, baby people, baby anything. It makes ya realize how complex this thing we call life really is. How amazing the process from conception to birth is and the fact that we made it to even be here to think about it in the first place just blows me away. Baby cats or baby people, God never made an ugly one.

After hearing my story of the baby kittens being born in the East Wing, there may be someone who would take the position, oh what a mess, I would never allow that in my house. To such thoughts I’d just say:

I didn’t plan for the babies to be born in the East Wing, GOD DID! I’d prepared a place in the stable (my garage) it was not used by this mother in need who was not accompanied by a husband on this dark and stormy night .

Anytime your worldly possessions become more important than the miracle of life itself, you, brother or sister, have lost your way in this world. You’ve become convinced that what you own is what makes you important. It’s not. It’s what you do to others that makes you important in this life. It’s also what you do to others that will be important in your afterlife.

‘Course if ya don’t believe in God and ya already know you’re going to hell anyway, well I guess you’re the kinda person that gona put Mama Cass out in the rain no matter what. But not to worry, cats are tough and she’ll be ok, but cats do remember.

I’m sure ya heard the expression that elephants never forget. Well the elephants learned that trick a long time ago from the cats, back when the cats were worshiped as Gods in ancient Egypt. The cats didn’t forget about that God Worshiping thing either. Sophia tells me they’re working on a comeback.

The crisp evening air of Autumn makes for a tranquil transition as the nighttime has come upon the East Wing. The 2dogs and 1cat are already curled up and asleep.

The moon is so full it looks like a giant yellow plate in the sky. It’ll be up most all night, if ya read this tonight, go out and look at the moon show. A moon so bright you will cast a shadow on the ground. You’ve heard the old saying “Moon so bright ya could read a newspaper”, when ya go out tonight, take the paper and wear a jacket. It’s worth the trip. Didn’t make it Sunday night? That’s ok, go Monday night and still take the paper and jacket.

My, how time flies when you’re having fun, and your visits are always fun. As usual we’re so glad ya came by and look forward to seeing you again in the East Wing.

Stay safe in Baghdad, South Iraq, and Afghanistan

From the East Wing Fishing on the Ark with Noah and new babies in the East Wing
I wish you well,
BobbyRay