Received a letter yesterday from a relative.

It was an apology for something that happened over 25 years ago. It wasn’t any kind of abusive situation, just about the way I was treated during a particular event.

My reaction was twofold.

First, the letter brought back long forgotten memories of what happened, and I was angry and sad.

Second, the letter comes at a time when my respect for some relatives is at a real low point. I’m suspicious of the true intent, and yet my inclination is to take it at face value.

The letter expresses the hope of going on from this point with a new and improved relationship.

Forgiveness doesn’t necessarily include a new and improved relationship.

Update

I haven’t had much time to reflect and be introspective these days, and I think that can be a good thing. Too much navel gazing can lead to depression and guilt. Troy Foster complained about me not updating enough…so here goes:

Digestive Track Issues:
You’ll find that I wrote about colon and digestive track issues starting back in February. These never really got resolved except that as I’ve lost weight the discomfort has decreased. I’m eating somewhat what I want now, but I still need to be very careful. The doctors were completely unhelpful, and I have little or no regard for the Three Rivers Health System anymore. If I have significant recurrence, I’m going to go to Kalamazoo.

Church Issues:
Our pastor had to go back to Canada because of immigration issues, and I don’t know if he’ll be back or not. We’ve heard all kinds of things from different attorneys, but in the mean time he’s on leave until Aug. 31. We have in interim pastor who is fulfilling the Sunday duties at this time. I need to step up and schedule more family visits.

Work Issues:
We’re on track this year to do two to three times as much business as ever before. The hard parts are managing growth and finances (inventory and cash flow) as well as adding personnel who reflect our commitment to service. I have certain goals for the company, and we’ll see if they can be achieved. No one dominates this market area as some have in the past, and I want to be the next. I know that sounds majestic, but as long as we simply take care of people and have “friends” rather than customers I think we can do well.

Jennifer:
Jen is off of school teaching for the summer, and she is taking 4 classes at Western Michigan University. She’s taking her last two now. This fall she’ll have a seminar and capstone and be done with her Education Administration degree. She’s currently working very part time at Piasano’s Bar and Grill down the street from our apartment. It’s about a block away and lets her meet a lot of local people.

Hope this gets everyone up to speed.

Mihills System

I sold this towable center pivot to Norm Mihills. It ran well this year so far, and hopefully he'll get a good crop of wheat off this field.

Flower in Scidmore Park Again

I really like this picture of a flower... The lens I used has a focal point of something like 10 inches.

Red Flower in Scidmore Park

Took this a couple of weeks back with my Nikon D80.