Benonia Jeff Maddox

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Andrew

Last week, Kari and I went to my grandma’s funeral. Benonia Jeff Maddox was 84.

Granddad died 5 years ago, and for all practical purposes Grandma died long ago as well. After he passed, her health faded, leading to a lengthy stay in a nursing home. The talkative and feisty woman we all knew was largely mute over the past few years. We would see glimpses of her former self poke through from time to time, but only a shell remained. In this case, death was easier to experience when done over time.

Benonia Oxford was born in 1926. Her parents both died when she was a kid and was then raised by her sister. Scandalously (at least by today’s standards), my granddad swooped in and married her at the age of 17. They were married for nearly 62 years, and her life was inextricably tied to his. There were things she never did. I don’t think she ever balanced a checkbook.

She was well known for her cooking–I personally remember a great pot roast and green beans that actually tasted good. I think the bacon she used had a lot to do with that. She loved to sing, and she loved Aggie football. Aggie indoctrination was common: 7 of her 10 grandkids graduated from A&M.

Funerals are always a strange thing–they make you reminisce about the good things. I had forgotten the singing. I had forgotten the food.

Her funeral marked the end of a generation, and now, as Kari & I anxiously await Abigail’s arrival, the grandparents are our parents. We’re now one generation farther down the road. To Abby, they will be Grandma and Granddad.

Life moves quickly, and if you’re not careful, the good will fade, only to remembered at the next funeral. May it not be.

Thoughts on Health Care Legislation

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Andrew

The passion exhibited by both sides in the health care debate has been interesting to me for number of reasons.

1. Although the details of the American healthcare system changed yesterday, the basic premise is still true: The American Healthcare System is broken. With private insurers, the system skewed toward organizational greed. With public financing, it will do the same. The fundamental problems remain.

2. Kudos to the Democratic party for trying to do something. At least they looked at how health care worked and saw that something was amiss.

3. And to the Republicans, I haven’t seen this much resolve in a long time. Remember, laws can be changed as easily as they were passed.

4. Why are people so upset that this bill passed? We should all remember that Obama specifically campaigned to change our healthcare system. And last time I remebered, Obama drubbed McCain in 2008, so perhaps that’s the more seminal moment for health care reform.

5. Likewise, why is anyone surprised that the new bill supports abortion? Again, remember Obama campaigned for greater abortion rights.

6. To the American church: why do I hear you criticizing universal health insurance? I understand disagreeing with a governmental approach, but I have yet to hear an alternate plan from the church. Remember, the church was called to love their neighbors.

7. To the Democratic party: if this bill is so good, why was it so hard to pass? With a considerable advantage in both houses, this should have been easy.

8. In sum, our health care tab will go up. Adding millions of eligible people to the health care tab will cost a lot of money and take a lot of extra doctors. Requiring insurance companies to pay for pre-existing conditions will also make our bills go up.

9. Sadly, this bill does not address our shortage of health care professionals. Nor does it address the destructive lifestyles that cause an unnecessary dependency on medical procedures and drugs to fix our problems. This is the most significant issue facing the nation’s health: our insatiable desire for personal satisfaction at all costs.

These are my observations, what do you think?

Competition

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Andrew

This is why competition is good (video below):

Without competition from Apple, Microsoft would still be producing the same sort of software. It would be buggy, people would hate it, but it would still be popular.

Competition forces people and corporations to do better work. As a consumer, this is good for me.

What Would Jesus Say about Haiti?

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Andrew

What do you think he would say? Would he blame global warming like Danny Glover? Would he cite a “pact with the devil” as the spiritual cause? Would Jesus ask for global support and donations? Or would he laud us for our relief efforts?

I think He might chastise us for neglecting our neighbors’ poverty until this cataclysmic event.

People in Haiti already led short, painful, and poor lives. The CIA reported the average Haitian life span barely breached 60 years. The populace lives on an less than $4 a day. Most shockingly, the report indicated:

estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.

Like Matt Chandler said before his recent brain surgery, we all die sooner or later. Sickness or catastrophe do not change the inevitable. Undeniably, the suffering in Haiti is acute today. People are hurting. People have died. But the reality is that people there already suffered and died, we just slept more peacefully at night because we did not see their pain.

We are right to help Haiti through their pain. We were wrong to neglect them for so long, and I think that’s what Jesus would tell us.