I agreed to go to my business associate’s church. We arrived about 10 o’clock, one Sunday morning in September. There were about 500 people in this church. Everyone seemed friendly. I shook hands with several members before the services started. It was wall to wall people. I don’t think they could have put any more people in this church. The service began. Everyone began to sing songs led by a group on the stage. I started looking around at all the people. It was interesting that everyone was paying attention as the songs were sung. I have heard people sing songs in my church. But I never saw so much intensity or I should say sincerity. No one was interested in what the person next to them thought. They were singing to God and to Him alone. When the singing stopped, everyone sat down in silence. The preacher came up to the podium and made some announcements. Then he began to preach. I watch the people as he preached. I wanted to see if it was real. I wasn’t going to commit myself to anything that was real. I was so tired of fake messiahs. They had drained the life out of me long enough. As I watched the people, the preacher stop in the middle of his sermon and said, hello. I used this expression and never heard anyone else use this term. I turned toward the preacher and heard out loud, what more do you what. I looked around to see who was talking to me. And no one was even looking at me. From that point on, I know that my prayers were answered. I had found what was real. I also found the peace of knowing that I had been looking for all of my life. My friend asked if I wanted to go up to meet the preacher after the service. I said yes and my world change forever.

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Before I knew who I was, I stumbled around this world like a drunk man. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing. And of course, I had no peace of mind. It almost drove me crazy. The worse of it all was the loneliness. Because I didn’t know who I was, no one wanted to know me or be around me. This led to a lot of anger and bitterness. That was one reason why people didn’t want to be around me. But as I moved forward everything accumulated into a big mess. I don’t know if they just took pity on me or what. But 2 men invited my brother and I to join their business. One of them was a manager of a local cafeteria. We would meet every weekday morning about 1 hour before the business opened. We would have coffee and talk. I would usually arrive before my brother. When I got a cup of coffee, I would sit and listen. These 2 men would talk to each other about what Jesus was doing in their lives. They never directed their testimonies at me. But they spoke about God for me. I listen for almost 3 months. Then they asked me one day if I would go to church with them. I said yes. I wanted to see for myself what was going on. Their church was about 500 people. Everybody was polite and shook my hand. I wanted to know if this was really real. Or was all these claims just smoke and mirrors. I kept my mouth shut and listen and looked. It was the strangest church I had ever been in. But that wasn’t going to stop me from finding out. And boy did I find out.

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Before I knew who I was, I stumbled around this world like a drunk man. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing. And of course, I had no peace of mind. It almost drove me crazy. The worse of it all was the loneliness. Because I didn’t know who I was, no one wanted to know me or be around me. This led to a lot of anger and bitterness. That was one reason why people didn’t want to be around me. But as I moved forward everything accumulated into a big mess. I don’t know if they just took pity on me or what. But 2 men invited my brother and I to join their business. One of them was a manager of a local cafeteria. We would meet every weekday morning about 1 hour before the business opened. We would have coffee and talk. I would usually arrive before my brother. When I got a cup of coffee, I would sit and listen. These 2 men would talk to each other about what Jesus was doing in their lives. They never directed their testimonies at me. But they spoke about God for me. I listen for almost 3 months. Then they asked me one day if I would go to church with them. I said yes. I wanted to see for myself what was going on. Their church was about 500 people. Everybody was polite and shook my hand. I wanted to know if this was really real. Or was all these claims just smoke and mirrors. I kept my mouth shut and listen and looked. It was the strangest church I had ever been in. But that wasn’t going to stop me from finding out. And boy did I find out.

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Shakespeare’s famous quote from Hamlet was “This above all, to thine own self be true.” What was Shakespeare talking about? And why be true to yourself?  We have all known people who have lived a lie. It is a sad situation where they believe how they are living is the truth. But it really isn’t. Everything they are doing is a lie. You want to shake them up and show them that they need to wake up. But they are deceived and believe the deception. For the most part people are the same. They may have different backgrounds. But people are basically the same. We were born with parents. We need to be reared and taught how to live. We learn a skill or job to be able to eat, clothe ourselves and have a home. We learn the language of our parents. And if we are fortunate, we learn other languages. We do so to go out into this world and communicate with others. When we do we find that people have different beliefs than we do. It seems that their truths aren’t the same as ours. If we don’t have strong belief system, things can become complicated. I have seen people switch their beliefs to other cultures. I don’t have to defend myself. I know who I am and where I am going. I know where I will end up. I am being true to myself. Because 35 years ago, I was drifting through time. I had no anchor and didn’t belong anywhere. Now I have a worldwide family and I belong. To Thine Own Self Be True.

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I have heard many saying in my life time. Some of them have been real and some fiction. But all have been believe for a while most times because they were said often. People were repeating the sayings so they took on a life of its own. Then when the saying was proved wrong or a new saying came along, people believed the new saying. It seems that people get bored easily. This is an unfortunate state of matter. There is too much information being passed around. Oh yes, we are in the age of information where everything is known instantly. I am not faultless in this matter. I have been sucked into this bubble too. But what I have found is that truth doesn’t have the same impact anymore. This doesn’t affect me like they used too. And that is disturbing. How can you tell what is real or what is fiction? What is the yardstick to use to tell the difference? I have found that people want what is real rather than fiction. Many times their own lives depend on the truth. And the opposite is just as true. I have seen people in lala land, because they don’t want to face the truth. The truth is what we need to live our lives to the fullest. And the truth isn’t relative. When you die it is a truth. It is nonnegotiable. Getting old is a truth. It seems silly to me how people will spend all of their money to try and stop aging. And companies cater to this obsession. Again, you have only so much time. You can only spend your time in this world. Then what are you going to do?

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The bible says not to make a vow lightly. It says that if you make a vow and don’t keep it you are worse than a heathen. It also says a good name is worth more than riches. The bible also says in James 5:12 “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” What the bible is talking about is being honorable. It is showing us that we should live this way for our own conscience sake. How many times have you taken short cuts to achieve your goals? And those short cuts made you feel bad about what you were doing. That is your conscience hurting. Any person can destroy their own consciousness. Usually it gets cut up a little piece at a time. So you don’t see all of it at once. But when you do see it, it can grieve your soul unto death. I have seen people get sick and die because of this. People who are not religious do live honorable. Because it is satisfying to your being. I have always said you do what is right because it is right and not because it is convenient. This is living honorably. I also found that the weight of not living honorably can crush you like a boulder. It happen to me. So I find that you can’t live without honor.

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Everybody is out of school, both high school and college. When I graduated from high school, my parents were going on a trip to California for 2 weeks. I thought I was to grown-up to go on a trip with my parents. My 2 younger brothers went and had a great time. I missed a trip of a lifetime. I still have never made it to California. It is funny that works. My wife and I have gone on several summer trips with my family. I wanted my sons to enjoy traveling as much as I do. My parent believed that traveling was as good an education as school. They took us everywhere on trips. I tried to do the same for my children. Traveling exposes you to different kinds of people. I remember some were good and some not. But all the people we met gave me a unique perspective. One summer my third son, between his junior and senior year, told me that he was going to lay around the house and watch TV. I told him that he had to get a job. He found a job as a camp counselor. It was one of the best summers he spent. Summer vacation never lasts as long as we want. But if you plan it right it can be productive. I have always hear people talk about having school 12 months a year. But no one have ever done it. Summertime can be a wonderful time for Parents and children. All you have to do is invest yourself in your children’s lives. And you will reap the rewards.

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My father went into Normandy on D-Day +1. He was a combat engineer. He followed the troops all the way to Germany. He had a picture of himself and his brother looking out the window at Berchtesgaden. My dad fought in the battle for Alaska first. Then fought in North Africa. And finally landed in Normandy at D-Day+1. When he came home, he never wanted to talk about his time in the army. He had seen too much. He wouldn’t even allow guns in the house. When he came home, his old employer offered him a job in Bermuda. Mom said she wanted to go. But dad said he had traveled the world and seen enough for a life time. Dad wanted to go to college to be an engineer. He started but his first son came along. He left college and began to work to support his family. Even though his dream was college and career as an engineer, he never went back. He worked in the Post Office until he retired. Then mom and dad began traveling around the country in their motorhome. Mom and dad both believed that traveling gave you an education. The kind that you couldn’t get anywhere else. When we were all at home we would travel across the country every summer. I never saw my father complain about not getting his way in life. He lived his life for his family and did what was necessary. I did see him get on his knees every night and pray. Often when I would look at the newspaper after my father read it, there would be engineering problem worked out on the pages. Honor and Integrity can’t be taught like math or science. It has to be learned by example. My father was that example to me.

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Calvin and Luther Blanchard, Massachusetts Minute-Men, 1775.

Thomas Blanchard, North Carolina Militia, 1776.

Thomas Newton, Commissioner, US Navy, 1776.

Thomas O. Blanchard, War of 1812.

Albert G. Blanchard, Maj. General, 9^th Louisiana, 1861.

Carey Edward Blanchard, 17^th Texas Brigade, 1864.

William P. Blanchard, 71^st Inf., 1941.

Neal Blanchard, Doctor, US Army, 1941.

Dyer Blanchard, US Navy, 1941.

Hal McGown, Lt. General US Army, Korea and Vietnam, 1948.

Felix Castille, 1^st Marines, Korea, 1951.

My older brother was a Physician’s Assistant in US Army during the Vietnam War. I served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. Three of my sons and two of my nephews serve in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since my grandfather came to this country in 1637, our family has defended it. My family are patriots. There are a lot of people who have served our country and I am thankful for it. We are blessed by God with a good land to live in. And it is worth defending our country, no matter how bad it seems to be. I just want to thank the men and women who have served our country in the military. It is right to honor them. Have a blessed and safe Memorial Day.

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This time of the year is graduation time. Many young people are graduating from high school or college. I went to a graduation party yesterday for a young friend. She was all excited at the prospect of her new life. She had chosen a university to go to but not a field to enter. I told her about when I graduated from high school. When my ceremony was over and we were walking down from the platform, I had a frown on my face. My mother tried to get me to smile, but at that point I came to a realization. My life was going to change. I was no longer a child living at home. My life was before me and I had to make a choice on what to do. It scared me. I was moving into the unknown. Change can be a scary thing for any one. Change is something that happens to everyone. It is the only constant thing in this entire universe. We change on a daily basis, even if we don’t see or understand it. It is always better to understand and embrace change, but time will tell. Have you figured out your end game yet? In what direction are you going in? Is your direction worth going in? These are questions you will ask yourself almost every day. My older brother told me about a plan for his life. He said to figure out a 1 year plan. To see where you will be in 1 year. Then you figure out a 5 year plan. I wanted more than that in my life. I wanted my life to be all inclusive. Then I met the person who worked out my life in the right direction. Then He showed me the path to take. I looked at what it would cost and figured out that it would be a very good choice. From that time on I was never afraid of the life I chose. Because I choose the life that gave me peace. You see that person is Jesus Christ.

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