It's been a busy month, and I haven't devoted any significant time to my blog. Fortunately I now have a few days off to relax and think. Earlier in the month, I read an interesting opinion piece about the newest direction of the 'Occupy' movement. The author of the CNN article called it "Occupy foreclosed homes". Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in droves in East New York early in December to take back a foreclosed home for a homeless family of four. I chuckled at the brashness of this protest when I heard about it, but it does make two very salient points. Foreclosure has … [Read more...]
Florida Vacation
August 7, 2011 by
Alright. It's been a while since the actual vacation, and I've had the photos posted on Smugmug for weeks. I did want to place the blog link though. Clearwater is a wonderful place to vacation even in the heat of the summer. The hotel (Homewood Suites Clearwater) was awesome. They upgraded us for free to a two bedroom suite. That made the stay all that much more luxurious. We visited St. Petersburg (Holocaust Museum, Pier, Sunken Garden), Clearwater Beach and Busch Gardens. I would recommend spending two or three days at Busch Gardens though. Trying to see the entire park and do everything we … [Read more...]
Patriots Point
April 20, 2011 by
I am once again gracing the web page with some weekend pictures. These were taken in early April at Patriots Point. I will confess that I've lived in the low country since I was a year old, and this was my first visit. It was well worth it to visit the naval museum. It did take me several hours to do all the tours on the Yorktown, and there were a couple I just ran through without taking the time to fully absorb what I was seeing. A simple lesson I took away from the afternoon is that serving on an aircraft carrier isn't a job for the claustrophobic. It's amazing how many things they can … [Read more...]
Jeff Lank, 90th President of the US Junior Chamber
December 5, 2010 by
Another highlight of the 3rd Quarter Convention was Jeff Lank. Jeff is the 90th President of the US Junior Chamber. His speech centered around encouragement, and he managed to work in an interesting story about geese. Take a few minutes to listen, and plan on getting out to a convention next year. … [Read more...]
Attending Jaycee Conventions
December 5, 2010 by
I've been a Jaycee for a few years, and I miss a lot of events because of work and other responsibilities. I think every Jaycee should take the time to attend at least one Jaycee convention. One of the highlights I find in attending a quarterly convention is hearing Norman McGee talk about Camp Hope. This year in addition to his normal talk about camp, he played a recording from a mother of two Camp Hope campers. Her sons had attended the summer program for decades, and she shared what it meant to her. There were more than a few tears in the audience after the recording stopped. I invite … [Read more...]
Jaycees Bachelor Bid Bash
August 16, 2010 by
I attended the 3rd Annual Bachelor Bid Bash on August 7th. It was a charity auction to benefit Camp Hope. You can hear a podcast snippet from the event that describes the mission of Camp Hope. … [Read more...]
Shattered and waiting to be put back together
July 27, 2010 by
My mother's side of the family had their family reunion this last weekend (July 23-25). We have many noticeable patterns for the Montgomery family reunion. We have a picnic on the first night, a banquet on the second night, and a worship service on the last day. This year the planning committee decided to make some pretty big changes. We moved the reunion from Manning, SC to Myrtle Beach. Since no family members lived in Myrtle Beach, we planned our own praise service for Sunday morning. The family asked me to speak. Ok...the planning committee asked my mother to find a speaker, and she … [Read more...]
No one was left to speak up
June 22, 2010 by
They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up. -Pastor Martin Niemoller A few weeks ago while I was on vacation in Florida, I decided to go see the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg. The museum was haunting and honest in its portrayal of the horrors humans will inflict upon one another and our ability to … [Read more...]
Carrying his cross
June 20, 2010 by
"And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." --Luke 14:27 This last Saturday I was on Montague Avenue in North Charleston heading to the Panera Bread. For the second time this year, I drove past a man walking down the sidewalk with a cross over his shoulder. I wasn't in a hurry so I turned around to get some pictures. I was close enough when I took the second picture for the man to notice me. He waved as I drove past. While this is something of an odd occurrence, it's not as outlandish as it seems. My own church carries a cross through the city of … [Read more...]
Reflections Photobook
May 31, 2010 by
I just created a new photobook based on my photography for the last year. The first copy is on order and in my hands by mid-June. Reflections by Derik Pack | Make Your Own Book … [Read more...]