It's easy to sit and complain about the state of the nation these days. So when something good takes place, I find it's great to write about it.
The highlight of my week is attending church on Sunday, followed by a meal with my wife, and then a relaxing motorcycle ride home on the beautiful back roads of North Florida. This past week, during the meal portion is when I learned of the something good taking place. I'm a creature of habit… when I find something I like, I tend to stay with it. I also appreciate people that are good at what they do. We found a favorite restaurant for Sunday morning, and at the restaurant eventually a favorite waitress. A couple of decades of police work has given me the ability to subconsciously abbreviate things in acronyms. For those that can follow them, she quickly ascended to MFW status… just like the Most Favored Nation status America gives to some trading partners, I found a Most Favored Waitress. Her name is Victoria, and I'd estimate she's in her early twenties, one of many college kids in a college town. As with everything in this life, things do not remain the same. A few months back, we were saddened to hear that she was returning home out-of-state over 1,000 miles away due to her dad being ill.
We check with her former roommate, another waitress, from time to time to see how things are going. This week we were happy to hear Victoria's dad was doing much better. The roommate told us Victoria was working three jobs to help her mom get by while her mom cared for her husband.
This got me to thinking. In most things, there is an easy way to go and a more difficult way. One of my favorite Pastors gave me a truism several years ago that has held true:
A difficult decision, once made, only makes things easier. Taking the easy way out only makes things more difficult.
In this case, the easy way would be to ask the government for help, such as going on unemployment to get by while helping her mom, or to seek a government program for help.
The difficult path would be to work three jobs, giving up on your plans in Florida in order to help your parents… your family. When asked about health insurance recently, Dr. Ron Paul cited who used to help us when we had a need: Our friends, our family, our neighbors. He then correctly observed that we turned it over to the government, who created a bureaucracy, and the cost went up.
In Exodus 20, God gave Moses some instructions for life we call the Ten Commandments. One of these was Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
I have no idea if Victoria is a Christian, as I never discussed politics or religion with her other than sharing some of a sermon or two on occasion. What I do know is she is a great daughter and an example for others to follow. She's also evidence that there is indeed hope in our younger generation. We just don't seem to hear about things like this very much.
About Paul Henry
Paul has a law enforcement background, having served as a Florida Deputy Sheriff and State Trooper for over 25 years until he retired. He worked many levels and positions within the FHP, from road patrol trooper to lieutenant in criminal investigations, where he investigated numerous criminal cases. After retirement, Paul wished to pursue his automotive hobby and be left alone, but saw an increasing amount of waste in government as well as the government's increasing involvement in our private lives and liberty, so he became politically active. Paul is the founder of the non-partisan citizen's group Floridians Against REAL ID, and authored two bills for the 2012 Florida legislative session: REAL ID partial repeal and Motorist Rights (red light cameras). Paul is the 2013 Legislative Action Committee Chair for The Tea Party Network, a network for constitutional and Tea Party groups to do more than just complain about issues. Paul works as the Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the Florida Campaign for Liberty and lives in the Tallahassee, Florida area.
Found: The American Work Ethic
It's easy to sit and complain about the state of the nation these days. So when something good takes place, I find it's great to write about it.
The highlight of my week is attending church on Sunday, followed by a meal with my wife, and then a relaxing motorcycle ride home on the beautiful back roads of North Florida. This past week, during the meal portion is when I learned of the something good taking place. I'm a creature of habit… when I find something I like, I tend to stay with it. I also appreciate people that are good at what they do. We found a favorite restaurant for Sunday morning, and at the restaurant eventually a favorite waitress. A couple of decades of police work has given me the ability to subconsciously abbreviate things in acronyms. For those that can follow them, she quickly ascended to MFW status… just like the Most Favored Nation status America gives to some trading partners, I found a Most Favored Waitress. Her name is Victoria, and I'd estimate she's in her early twenties, one of many college kids in a college town. As with everything in this life, things do not remain the same. A few months back, we were saddened to hear that she was returning home out-of-state over 1,000 miles away due to her dad being ill.
We check with her former roommate, another waitress, from time to time to see how things are going. This week we were happy to hear Victoria's dad was doing much better. The roommate told us Victoria was working three jobs to help her mom get by while her mom cared for her husband.
This got me to thinking. In most things, there is an easy way to go and a more difficult way. One of my favorite Pastors gave me a truism several years ago that has held true:
A difficult decision, once made, only makes things easier. Taking the easy way out only makes things more difficult.
In this case, the easy way would be to ask the government for help, such as going on unemployment to get by while helping her mom, or to seek a government program for help.
The difficult path would be to work three jobs, giving up on your plans in Florida in order to help your parents… your family. When asked about health insurance recently, Dr. Ron Paul cited who used to help us when we had a need: Our friends, our family, our neighbors. He then correctly observed that we turned it over to the government, who created a bureaucracy, and the cost went up.
In Exodus 20, God gave Moses some instructions for life we call the Ten Commandments. One of these was Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
I have no idea if Victoria is a Christian, as I never discussed politics or religion with her other than sharing some of a sermon or two on occasion. What I do know is she is a great daughter and an example for others to follow. She's also evidence that there is indeed hope in our younger generation. We just don't seem to hear about things like this very much.
About Paul Henry
Paul has a law enforcement background, having served as a Florida Deputy Sheriff and State Trooper for over 25 years until he retired. He worked many levels and positions within the FHP, from road patrol trooper to lieutenant in criminal investigations, where he investigated numerous criminal cases. After retirement, Paul wished to pursue his automotive hobby and be left alone, but saw an increasing amount of waste in government as well as the government's increasing involvement in our private lives and liberty, so he became politically active. Paul is the founder of the non-partisan citizen's group Floridians Against REAL ID, and authored two bills for the 2012 Florida legislative session: REAL ID partial repeal and Motorist Rights (red light cameras). Paul is the 2013 Legislative Action Committee Chair for The Tea Party Network, a network for constitutional and Tea Party groups to do more than just complain about issues. Paul works as the Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the Florida Campaign for Liberty and lives in the Tallahassee, Florida area.