Love always...

And so for some, you will have received this in hard-copy already - well with one minor modification - Joy felt the reference to "annus horribilis" was out of place.  I'm OK with that - it's a part of my colonial heritage I suppose.  But this is my blog so the original version gets a run - for good or ill.  And being a blog, I get to toss in a few extra pictures.

Seems late the day before Christmas Eve to begin writing our family Christmas letter, but our fabulous family photographer and friend will be home from Oman right after Christmas and so we decided to send out New Years greetings.  If you are not used to the Christensen family doing things differently, then why the heck are you receiving this – you obviously are not that familiar with us.

 I’ve been mulling what to say for a few days, and to be honest, it’s been hard.  The many tragic events in the US and wider world this year, especially with one so close to Christmas have torn at me.  I’ve written about them elsewhere so won’t dwell on them or my feelings about them here – a Christmas/New Years epistle seems after all not the place – unless of course you are the Queen.  But that notwithstanding, this year I go a different way…

For this year has not been “annus horribilis”.  From the prologue of Love Actually, one of our favorite Christmas movies:

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around.

In the times we’ve spent with family and friends there has been a lot of love AND a lot to love for us this year.  These things give us hope and joy.  Our girls have had continued to amaze us as they have grown. 

Mallory graduated after an amazing four years of high school and has not missed a beat in the transition to university.  Overnight, a year of lasts turned into a year of firsts.  As always her life is full of great people and so while she is sorely missed around the house she is making her way in the world as we have always wish for and known she would.  Nonetheless, there are days we will always remember; senior prom, graduation ceremony and backyard party, and that sad/happy day she walked off through security on her way to university.

Jillian also continues to grow and find her voice.  She loves life and somehow finds time to balance hanging out with friends, sport and schoolwork.  Being Jillian, she still enjoys a little down time in the quiet coziness of her own room also, although that space has expanded some having commandeered most of Mallory’s room and closet space.  Sport remains one of her passions with the thrill we all got to share in as she and her very young hockey teammates made a statement going undefeated and taking the Colorado high school state 

championship in the fall.         

Joy and I continue to marvel at all the events in our lives and the great friends we get to share them with.  Of course we miss the dear friends we have made in other places we have lived, but are enjoying life and this season here in Colorado.  I think we both can relate to Mary in the Christmas narrative by Luke:

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Our love to you, and lifes blessings also for 2013.

Fireworks on the ground

I believe you see things that no one else has seen.  I  mean that figuratively as no two people looking at the exact same thing see it exactly the same.  But the fireworks on the ground last night I’m pretty sure was a physical show no one else has ever seen, nor will ever see again.

As I sat gazing out the window of my flight out of Dallas-Fort Worth, waiting somewhat impatiently for the announcement we could turn on electronic devices, I became transfixed.  The announcement I had been waiting for came and went eventually, but I could not stop gazing at the most amazing light show.  Sometimes laptops and the work they contain must wait.

We flew to the north from DFW with the almost full moon, the snow moon, high above us to the east, which by good fortune was the side of the plane I was sitting on.  Once clear of the lights of the metro area, I noticed some flashes of light on the ground.  Very quickly I realized it was the reflection of the moon off various bodies of water, chasing me by the beauty of geometry (confessions – I’m a recovering math nerd).  There were electric lights here and there, but they were dull in comparison, which is pretty impressive given the light of the moon itself is a reflection of rays of light that originated some 150 million (give or take) kilometers away.  The electric lights were also very still.

The reflection of the waters though was dazzling, intoxicating even.  I could not tear my eyes away for more than a moment.  I wondered, perhaps feared a little that if I did so, I might not find this fireworks show dancing across the northern Texas ground.  Then I did – to test it – maybe I cheated and didn’t look away long enough, but when I looked back, there it was again.  

Teasing with momentary flickers on either small ponds or through windows in trees, like the fireflies fleeting momentarily here and there on a war Texas evening.  At other times, racing as though quicksilver spilling around the jagged fingers of one of the surprisingly many lakes.  And then the artillery shells, huge explosions of light on large surfaces of water, which faded gradually into darkness but remained etched in my consciousness.

I don’t know how many people have gazed at a show like that; no doubt I’m not the first.  But there has never been and will never be again a show quite the same.  The position of the moon and flight path, the atmospheric conditions, the condition of the surface of the water, all collided to make that unique show.  I’m glad I looked down.

A good day to stay inside

So I just learned that today (Jan 19) is National Gun Appreciation Day here in the USA.  Well that is nice – after all there is a lot to appreciate on that subject here in the US.  Now I know a lot of folk out rallying today for what they believe (I would suggest incorrectly) is an inalienable right are good law abiding people, the simple fact of the matter is, a lot of them will legally have a CCW (that’s Concealed Carry Weapon – I had to look it up to be certain) on their person.  

Now given the arguments by a lot of the extreme and even not so extreme gun lobby that if only someone in the theater here in Colorado had been armed, that tragedy would have been averted, the chances for a good old shoot out at the OK corral are much increased today.  On the theater tragedy I’ve expressed my opinion on how well that might have worked before – but for those who may not have heard my take – imagine now the bad guy and at least one (maybe more) people blazing away at each other in a dark, crowded, panic filled room.  Yes - crossfire – that likely could have been an even bigger tragedy.   Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but sadly Dirty Harry and all the other good guys in the movies and on television are not real – chances are high they will NOT hit the bad guy with a single well aimed shot.

Now I have carried such a weapon once outside of a firing range – I was out hunting bear with a friend - using bow and arrow, so yes, there are some non-murder related purposes other than target shooting, but fundamentally, you (as a private citizen) own a CCW, i.e. a handgun for one reason and one reason only, to shoot and most likely kill another person.  Frankly, if you own it for any other reason, you really shouldn’t be carrying it in the first place.  A hand gun is not a threat for self-protection if you are not actually prepared to use it – more than likely, it will end up getting used on you if that is the case.  I will probably get misunderstood for this, and I am NOT suggesting this at all but simply making a point: if everybody who has rushed out to buy a handgun since Newtown was made to shoot a puppy to see what a handgun actually does and is 100% convinced they will do that to another person before completing the purchase, one wonders how many sales would go through…

Now I didn’t set out to write a long piece today so let’s stick with that.  The article I was reading led me to an interesting page which is shown on the image should you want to go there.  I can’t tell you for sure whether the Annenberg Public Policy Center is right or left leaning – or as some rare think tanks are, centrist, but I do like that they actually document the sources for what they claim are the facts so you can drill deeper should you choose.

The point I wanted to make was this:

Many I’ve had reasoned discussions with (and many more who simply spout off things they see other people post and have no idea) believe that the widespread elimination of gun ownership in Australia (and a few other countries) has been an abject failure.

I can’t speak as well to the other countries but I do know a little about Australia.  And I was a gun owner in that country, although not living there at the time the “gun ban” was instituted.  The facts are clear despite NRA and the like memes say that crime in general, crime with guns, murder rates overall and murder with guns involved have decreased steadily since the gun ban became effective in 1998.  If you want to check that out, I refer you to base data at the Australian Bureau of Statistics - I hope we can agree, a non-interested party and probably bout as unbiased as you could hope to get.

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4510.0Main+Features12004?OpenDocument

(Past and Future Releases tab has all the data you could possibly want if you are so inclined)

A report sponsored by gun rights folk in Australia argues that these trends would have happened anyway.  I have not made a study to determine if that is true or not, but what I did learn is that following the tragedy of Port Arthur (1996) and the gun ban that becoming effective in 1998, there have been almost no mass shootings, whereas they had been quite prevalent in the ten or so years before Port Arthur. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_mass_murders)

So what would suggest we do know from this is that while it is not reasonable to pretend all the guns are gone in Australia, clearly significantly reducing gun ownership and placing very strict requirements on gun ownership (yes you can still own a gun in Australia) has made it a lot safer.  I’ve even had folk sure (because they have been told it is so) that non gun crime has increased in Australia.  In part, I assumed this was possibly correct as you were hearing a lot about the rise in home invasions and such as of course there was no longer any fear of an armed home owner.  Turns out that is not the case either.

In short, not having guns readily available makes it a lot harder to have these tragic mass murders.  It also seems to have a positive impact on crime in general.  But that is not a discussion many in this country are willing to even start having.  The answer according to the extreme gun lobby (and many people who probably are not really that extreme seem to be voting with their feet if gun and ammunition sales which are through the roof are any indicator) is MORE guns. 

What absolute nonsense.  Closing then by going back to the information above, because having reviewed the Aussie data a few weeks ago, these numbers really stood out.  The 2010 US gun murder rate is 3.6 (per 100,000 people).  The comparable figure for Australia in 0.2.  Yes, there probably is something to the lame excuse “why get rid of guns, people will just use something else”, as for sure the total Australian murder rate is 1.0 compared to the US total rate of 4.8 (or 20% of Australian murders involve guns compared to 75% in the US).  But let’s get real – yes you can kill one person with a knife, maybe even 2 or three, but twelve, or worse yet, over twenty at Newtown?

Now I know better than most that you can’t simply translate what was done in Australia or other places to the USA.  But what is so frustrating is the head in the sand attitude that says it won’t change anything, so why bother.  Which is tantamount to saying, we are OK if another shooting in a school or other public place resulted in the deaths of multiple children and teachers.  As an organization that wants my wife, a teacher, to carry a gun proudly says on its web site, NO COMPROMISE. 

Listening to a different voice… Russell Means

And so most of the lists are in; the best and worst of the year as it fades.  Best songs, worst dressed celebrities, most spectacular sporting moments, most memorable moments and on it goes.  Of course some will be more daring declarations also; the absolute number one, Time’s person of the year for example.

I don’t know why, but I think the lists that I pay the most attention to are those whose passing warrants a mention because of something noteworthy in their lives.  I find it interesting to think of the difference each person mentioned made, mostly for good, and sometimes for bad.  I also ponder the names that didn’t make it and think of why not.

And so this brief note is to reflect on a person who while not mentioned on many of the lists, left an important legacy in this country.  Of all the incredible people mentioned, and there are many, Russell Means is the one I keep gravitating back to.  If you haven’t heard of Means, then perhaps that makes sense in the sad light of one major US television network presenting a list of no less than 140 people (and a dog), but no mention of Means.

An Oglala Lakota (Sioux), Means was an incredibly complex person.  I will not impose my meager words on his life, his memory or his legacy, except to say he was polarizing and often controversial.  He was a pivotal figure in many public confrontations bringing the plight of the American Indian to the attention of an American and sometimes world audience that were neither aware nor sympathetic to.  Perhaps the most famous such incident was the occupation and subsequent two and a half month siege by US authorities at Wounded Knee.  

I encourage you to visit perhaps his own web sites or read some of his obituaries.  As little as he respected the written word over oral tradition, read… learn to listen as you read.

"To the Lakota, to the Indian, when you listen, you're praying. That's a form of prayer, when you listen."

http://www.russellmeans.com/

http://www.russellmeansfreedom.com/

Perhaps he foretold his own path as is fitting for dead warriors in his role of Chingachgook in the early 90’s version of “Last of the Mohicans”… that he would fly towards his ancestors like a swift arrow into the sun.