Another school year comes to an end...

...and it's time to reflect over the past year :-)
Forgive me if your name is not mentioned - it doesn't mean that I think any less of you & your input in the lessons that I had with you (whoever you are!)...but here are some highlights that come to mind, just glancing at the class lists in front of me...

• Šary's (4A) much-appreciated hug when I'd had some bad news...purely spontaneous - a 'God-moment' for me - He knew I needed that!
• Radek Buriánek arm-wrestling with Maurice (from Kenya) AND winning 2-0! Awesome!
• Staying on the arm-wrestling theme - Soňa Nárožná getting turned over by Adéla Valková!
• Adéla Valková coming to 4B's lesson (Dream Team) on a Friday afternoon, and being prepared to speak to the class (with NO preparation) on 'problems with learning English' - a stunning performance at such short notice! (Marty's famous quote afterwards...Me:"Wasn't she very good?" Marty: "I'm in love...." :-)
• Radek 'Pavlis' Pavlačka - when I asked the class to invent something & present it to the class...and his awesome 'Stargate Beer Maker' invention! :-)
• Honza 'Mr. Gilmour' Krempl's wonderful rendition of 'Whatever Come to Pass' by the Kevin McDermott Orchestra - a great piece of music :-)
• Lukáš 'King Charles' Mazoch dancing with Maurice (sure, Vadim Janovskij & Radek Buriánek did it too, though I wasn't too sure about Vadim...! - but Lukáš was excellent!)
• Aleš Dvořáček's discovery of beer...in the past he'd been a bit of a loner - a quiet guy...then he went out with some classmates & enjoyed some beers...and quickly moved from the name of 'Jimmy Three Beers' through to his current one of 'Jimmy Six Beers'!!
• Dan 'The Butcher's Man' Řezníček - when told to ask Ondra Šulík a question asked: "Are you gay?" Much to the shock of Ondra! :-)
• Roman Vrana's performance in the School Maturita Exam!
• Tereza Zavidilová's performance in the State Maturita Exam!

(more to follow!)

Marriage symbols

Over the past few weeks we have been to two marriages - one in Bratislava & one in the delightful surroundings of the Botanical Gardens in Olomouc. What impressed me were a couple of symbolic activities that emphasied the beauty of the big step that both couples were making...

At the first in Bratislava - Nick & Miska were invited to the front of the church where there was a 3-pronged candle holder, with 3 unlit candles. They were told to each take a candle which was then lit by the pastor, and then they were to light the remaining middle candle with theirs. Having ignited the middle candle, they were then supposed to blow out their candles and put then back in their places. (However, Nick in his zeal managed to blow out ALL of the candles! :-)) The symbolism represents the fact that their two separate lives had now become one - and that marriage is a mutual relationship - living for & encouraging each other both in their relationship and their walk with God.


The second marriage (Lenka & Tomas) in the Gardens was wonderful too, especially as it had to compete with regular cannon blasts (from the nearby war re-enactment camp), and also the musical warm ups of the approaching Beer Fest Rock Concert :-) Getting married outdoors is always something of a risk due to the weather, but thankfully, other than a couple of threatening drops of rain, it remained fine. The symbol this time was a pair of locks - the locks were locked together & given to the couple to represent the fact that 'what God had joined together, let no man separate'...the keys from the locks were then to be tied to a helium-filled balloon and let off to soar into the sky...sadly, the weight of the two keys seemed to be too much for the balloon (perhaps more helium was needed?)...so the keys were cut off (presumably thrown away!) and the balloon was released...and fly away it did!


Even though (funnily enough) both symbolic events were not quite performed as it was hoped they would, for me, they still remain very powerful images - reflecting something of the unity, stability, love, trust, and strength that Christians believe (& hope) that marriage can be. Oswald Chambers once wrote:"Marriage is one of the
mountain peaks on which God s thunder blasts souls to hell or on which His light transfigures human lives in the eternal heavens."

Yes...it is that serious...

On Superheroes...

As a child my hero was Batman. I don’t mean the modern, sombre, mean and moody, leather-bound version, but the original dynamic one; the ‘Caped Crusader’, as personified by the one and only Adam West in the famous sixties television series. I loved it. It was one of the highlights of my week to see Batman and Robin bring those dastardly villains to justice, and with a flourish, punch a gloved fist into the other gloved hand and say, “Holy cow!” Among so-called 'Superheroes' Batman was unique in that he was a superhero without any obvious natural super powers. He didn’t have x-ray vision, possessed no superhuman strength, no stretch-ability, couldn’t turn invisible, and wasn’t given to moments of spontaneous combustion. He was an ordinary guy (albeit a millionaire) doing good in his local community. But he was also highly intelligent and clever, and used some very sophisticated gimmicks. And I loved gimmicks!

Who could ever forget the scene from the original ‘Batman’ film where our hero is hanging on a rope ladder from a helicopter above the sea, suspended from a helicopter with a huge shark, albeit a rather unrealistic looking rubber one, attached to his leg. Robin, who was flying the helicopter, had to climb down the ladder (which begs the question that adults always ask at this point, but NEVER kids: Who was flying the helicopter?!!) and deliver some much needed 'shark repellent' (which just happened to be in the helicopter). A quick spray and the beastly shark disappeared into the sea from whence it came, only to explode. It had been fitted with a bomb by Batman’s enemies, which was intended, of course, for Batman. But even then, Batman had time to express his compassion as he lamented the death of the “poor innocent beast” which had been primed to bring about his doom. (watch it here!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_B_n-Rbros)

My brother and I were hooked on Batman. One Christmas, I was given a Batman outfit and my brother got a Robin one. Robin was Batman’s faithful sidekick – also known as the ‘Boy Wonder’ (or the ‘Boy Blunder’ as the Joker, arch-enemy of Batman, would cruelly call him). I was also kitted out with some much needed accessories, such as the Bat-utility belt, and the Bat-hook, which was used for climbing up the sides of people’s homes. It was with some dismay that I learnt, many years later, that my superheroes didn’t really scale the sides of those big tower blocks… In all reality, they were walking on level ground and bending over, pulling on a rope, and only making it look like they were climbing upwards. So when people poked their heads out of the windows of the tower block, which they were inclined to do sometimes, they were actually standing straight up, with the window above their head. I also made my own Bat-torch which was used for displaying the Bat-sign as a warning to would-be villains, by pasting the figure of a bat over the lens of the torch. It was very effective. And as the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder, my brother and I would roam the streets near our home in Handsworth (Birmingham), meting out justice and doing good to the citizens of the land, in order that all would sleep easy at night, and with much punching of our gloved fists into gloved hands, cries of “Holy cow!” echoed into the night.

Now I'm much older...and hopefully a bit wiser...though there is still a part of me that yearns to 'right the wrongs' that I sometimes see around me. I don't like bullying, for example. As a young boy I was sometime bullied & didn't really stand up for myself. I wasn't Batman when I needed to be :-( But I'm also a believer in Jesus now. That has changed my life immensely...but what kind of a 'hero' is he?! Over the last twenty odd years, Jesus has gradually become my hero. It’s easy to watch great films like ‘Braveheart’ and ‘Gladiator’ and to be inspired by heroes such as William Wallace and Maximus. They are brave. They are heroic. They give their lives that others might taste freedom. They want their followers to really live. They are also very similar to the character of Jesus Christ. If you don’t believe me, try watching Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ without being moved. If it doesn’t move you, then I would seriously question whether you are alive or not! Mel Gibson has captured (and some might think a bit too graphically) very dramatically the pain and suffering that Jesus went through on his journey to death by crucifixion. It is gut-wrenching. Why did he choose to go through such a nightmare scenario? Because he loved each one of us so much. It was his sole motivation. What you see in this film, amongst the blood and the gore of Jesus’ suffering is love in action. Jesus doesn’t just come along with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to show his love for mankind; instead he goes to the cross for us.

But there is another special quality – or superpower – to Jesus, and I was reminded of it when we were in Prague a few years back visiting Petra’s sister, Marta, and her husband, Ondřej, and their two children, Noemi and Daniel. One evening, Noemi and Daniel had fallen out over something, as children do, and Ondřej was attempting to get them to make the peace before the sun went down on their day. Usually, Ondřej could handle it very well, but this evening – well, they were really going for it. He came and asked us to go in with him and to pray for them. I was a bit surprised by his request. I’m not a father, and what do I know about raising children? But we obediently went, and all of us adults were gathered around the two bunk beds where the two protagonists were still whinging and crying and slinging accusations at one another.

As Ondřej began to pray, I stayed with my eyes open, wondering what I was doing there – and then my eyes fell on the little Velcro dartboard, the type that the little Velcro balls stick to…suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration as I was reminded of something that I heard years ago. I asked the children to be quiet, and with Petra translating, I began to speak to them. “None of us like it when people say bad things to us or about us, do we?” They nodded in agreement. “We are like this Velcro board. Things stick to us. Bad words people say to us, or bad things they say about us, even lies; they all stick to us.” I picked up the balls, and with each thing I highlighted, I threw a ball at the board, and it (thankfully) stuck to the board. “But when Jesus came, he asked us to love one another. To try and be kind to one another. He was made of a different kind of Velcro. So different, that bad things couldn’t stick to him.” At this, I picked up some non-stick toys and threw them at the board. They bounced right off the board and fell to the floor. “Jesus tried to teach us that we are only to let good things stick to us, and to also try to throw only good things at one another. The bad things are just to bounce off us, just like those non-stick toys. You can be like Jesus; you don’t have to let these bad things stick to you, and you don’t need to throw them at each other.” I stopped, and I’ll never forget the looks on their faces. It was precious. I’d kept their attention. They’d followed the point all the way to its conclusion, and the penny (or in this case, the haléř) had dropped. They made their peace – at least for that day…

When Jesus came, he upset a lot of the religious leaders of his day. He was made of a very different kind of Velcro to them. He could love unconditionally. He could forgive sins. He could heal the sick and raise the dead too. He had compassion on the poor and those in need. He was even willing to die for his friends. And now, he invites us to be like him and to do the same. But in order to do this we need to put on a new type of clothing, the kind of clothing that only he can provide. I’m almost certain that this clothing is made of some kind of heavenly Velcro. Of course, it only works when we ask Jesus for it and put it on. It will help us to love those who hate us. To be kind to those who swear at us, say bad things to us or about us, or who cheat on us. To give to those who ask of us. To forgive those who do the dirty against us. To do good to those who hassle us. This Velcro only lets the good things of God stick to us. It won’t allow the bad stuff to stick at all. It will all just fall away, or bounce harmlessly off us. However, this clothing is only for would-be superheroes, for in my opinion, it is given by the greatest superhero of all - Jesus.

It sure beats my old Batman outfit... :-)

An episode from Dr. House?

Last Tuesday I was not feeling well. As the day progressed I experienced some dizziness, and when I got home I discovered that I was also feeling nauseous...I couldn't even manage my afternoon snack! Wow, believe me, it was THAT serious! :-o Somehow I made it through the day...however, the next morning I awoke to something I can only describe as a 'fog in my head'...it was hard to think, let alone concentrate. The nausea was still present & when I got up I still felt dizzy. Not good. I couldn't even face breakfast until a couple of hours later when I forced something down. I was due to teach a couple of lessons but my wife assured me that I should come to the doctors surgery and take it from there...
In view of my bike accident from last week, the doctor was rightly concerned that I might be suffering from some kind of delayed reaction, such as concussion...so, she advised me to go to the main hospital (with Petra, who she excused from work - my own personal nurse to assist me!) to have it checked out.
For the next four hours (4!) I had a blood test, an ECG, a CT-Scan, and 3 X-rays (head, neck & spine) - all of which were interspersed with copious amounts of waiting...I realised, having seen a few episodes of Dr. House, that other than a lumber puncture, I had undergone most of what a 'typical House patient' goes through...I wonder...'Did I have Lupus?' I thought to myself... :-)
Waiting for anything is never a pleasant experience...if you're waiting for something good, well, you just CAN'T wait...can you?? :-) And if you're waiting for something bad? The sooner it's over, the better...Hospitals can be such depressing places to wait...but also inspiring...Realising that there are actually people who are suffering from far worse things than yourself is quite a humbling thing. You begin to 'look out' rather than 'look in'. Perhaps it's not such a bad thing to wait sometimes...
Finally, the doctor called us in & told me that the tests showed that all was well with my head and my brain - no sign of any problems...however, my blood tests did show that my 'natrium levels' were very low. Natrium? What on earth was that? 'Salt', Petra told me. My body was lacking in salt.
The doctor wanted to send me for further tests, but we agreed that 4 hours was enough for one day. In the car on the way to dropping Petra off to a seminar, we discussed the results. The only conclusion was that during the weekend, we had gone to the family cottage to help Maminka & also do some bird watching. I had been mowing the grass in the heat of the day, in direct sunlight (even though my head was covered)...and therefore I must have sweated out a lot of salt...
I got home & inspired by this revelation I took a handful of peanuts...and you know what? I felt surprisingly good later! I also had a surf on the internet for 'natrium deficiency symptoms' and was amazed to find that they corresponded exactly to what I'd been experiencing! It really is wonderful what information you can find on the net these days! :-) It appears that even though I drank a lot of water during the weekend, it still didn't compensate for my sodium/salt loss, which needed a bit more time to be replenished.
As Chief Inspector Clouseau would say: 'The Cas is Sol-ved' :-)

Not as sweet as it looks...

In the summer of 1980, my friend and I worked as kitchen porters and barmen in a hotel in the centre of the main promenade in Douglas on the Isle of Man. Our duties involved assisting the chef or cook with making the main meals, dishing up, and also with the washing up. We were kitchen porters ‘extraordinaire’. One day, the boss of the hotel, who fancied himself as a bit of a cook, covered for the main chef and decided to do his legendary apple pie for dessert. It was the height of summer and the hotel was full, which meant that we had about two hundred guests. He took unashamed pride in his apple pie, and the truth is it did look delicious. He served up and then the waitresses took it out to the expectant guests…but as quickly as they went out the one door, they returned in the other; back with a tray full of partially nibbled pies! Guests were complaining that it tasted awful. This was a mystery to us all. Such a slur on the boss’ famous apple pie surely could not be true. He investigated it immediately. It tasted salty. We all had a go and agreed – yes, it was salty.

Now you need to know that the salt and the sugar were both kept in large disinfected dustbins, and were both clearly labelled ‘salt’ and ‘sugar’. He tested them both and they seemed to be OK. But as he dug a little deeper into the sugar one, the unmistakable taste of salt greeted his unwelcoming taste buds! It looked like someone had mistakenly put the wrong condiments into the wrong dustbins. The boss took immediate action to try and remedy the situation, and so it was all hands on deck as we opened copious tins of fruit cocktail.

Meanwhile, outside at the dinner tables, the unfortunate recipients of the now infamous apple pie were longing to get rid of the horrible salty taste in their mouths… “Ah! Deep joy! Here comes the cavalry…” - the waitresses were bringing tea and coffee to the tables… “And perhaps an extra spoon of sugar will help to get rid of that disgusting taste…? Yes, something really sweet…” And so, the spoon delved into the sugar bowl…and into the cup…and it was given a good stir…and… “Yuck!” That was when we realised the full extent of the damage and just how widespread this disaster was. There wasn’t a sugar bowl on any of the tables that hadn’t been salted!

The epilogue to this story is that months after this event we found out that the bosses’ son had been responsible for this dirty deed. Having a grudge against us, he maliciously connived to get us the sack by doing such a prank. Thankfully, the boss didn’t fall for it...

Cycling...

It is only two years ago that I started to cycle - seriously...As a boy, it was something that never caught on with me - my balance has never been so good! When we moved to Czech Republic in 2001, a couple of times Petra tried to convince me of the 'joys' of cycling - and a couple of times on her 2-3 gear old bike failed to do that, especially up the hills!
But about 3 years ago, a visit to the doctors finally managed to convince me that cycling might actually be healthy for me...after all, my footballing days were coming to an end (no pace, dodgy knees) and much as I loved walking, I needed to do something more. A friend's brother (who is really into cycling) helped choose a bike for me (based on my size, weight etc) and that summer I took to the roads & cycle tracks...and have never looked back since (other than to check traffic, of course! :-))...Indeed, my wife reminds me that I was the man who said "I will NEVER go cycling!" (She still lives in hope that I'll go swimming...but that is as likely as Villa winning the European Cup!)
In fact, I have to say that I really enjoy cycling & have been eagerly awaiting some exercise after recovering from my gall bladder operation...It has surprised me how much I have missed something that I used to loathe...I am setting myself challenges - one of my dreams is to cycle from the family cottage (in Vysocina) back to Velka Bystrice - around 110 kms...(my record distance so far is 77 kms, last summer).
Over the last couple of weeks, I have taken to cycling to school...and yesterday I had my first ever cycling accident... :-o
I was coming from the school at Pasteurova and had the plan to come along to Zizkove Namesti, to turn left & go along the cycle path towards Novy Svet, and then in a roundabout way (via Velky Tynec) to VB...as I came down the road I checked behind me for traffic (all was clear) and then turned my head forward & got ready to indicate left...when to my horror I discovered that my wheels had unerringly wandered into the tram lines! It's hard to remember exactly what happened next - shock and panic were fighting for attention - but I think I fell on my right-hand side - HARD! Like a collapsing pack of cards. I remember my head hitting the floor violently. I was stunned. I'm not sure what happened next, but then there were 2 guys helping me - a middle-aged one & a younger one. The younger one talked with me - he was keen on knowing that my brain was working ok, which it seemed to be...it turned out he used to be a student at Pasteurova 12 years ago! :-) I took off my helmet and noticed 3 obvious cracks on the right hand side - he commented that it had almost certainly saved me from a serious injury. I also had grazes on my elbow, shoulder, and scratches on my knee...and incredibly, the bike looked fine - just a slight scratch on the frame! I definitely got the worst of it! I took about 5-10 mins to rest & get myself together. I declined a trip to the hospital & (perhaps foolishly) continued on my journey. By the time I got home I was hot, tired and very achy!

On reflection - I am so thankful to God that there was no traffic (cars or trams) when I went over...had there been, well, I might not be typing this now...I am also thankful for the invention of the cycling helmet! If you don't use one, PLEASE do so! And I am also very thankful that a complete stranger will stop to help & check that I'm ok, out of genuine concern, and no other motives. (Indeed, the young man contacted me on Facebook today to check that I was ok!)

Today is a new day - I am here to enjoy it...and I'm a little bit wiser about bikes & tram lines...sometimes, it seems in life that you have to learn the lesson practically (and not just in theory)...it's a painful lesson, but a worthy one.
Happy cycling!