An Ounce - For Your Consideration

James Harrison had been doing it for over 60 years. In that time, he has done it over eleven hundred times. And on the 11th of May 2018, at age 81, he did it for the last time. 

What did he do? It was no big deal, he just quietly saved over 2.4 million lives. And then he stopped. Hang on to the end to find out why he stopped executing his live saving sideline. 

This is the story of how it started - and ended. 

Ever had one of those mornings when you just didn’t want to get out of bed? 

Ever felt like you’d like to just lie down and sleep for a few days? 

Ever had to face a tough situation and wished you could just go take a nice nap and not wake up until the issue has passed? 

I would have to say yes to all three – Sleep is one of the best ways I know to end a busy day. And it can be such a wonderful escape. Not only that, sleep is necessary for humans. Good sleep promotes healing and recovery for the body. Often it can give us a place to retreat from stress, and it allows our brain to reset. Good and regular sleep helps reduce of depression and lowers the risk of suicide. And how often have you gone to bed with a puzzling problem on your mind, and awakened in the morning with a fresh perspective, and a solution. 

But there was an unusual event that began on a very cold day in Sweden, in 1876. It was the evening of February 22, A young lady fell asleep – ok falling asleep is not that remarkable – but this girl stayed asleep for 32 years! She started her epic nap when she was 14 years old. It ended 32 years later, when a startled and confused 46-year-old woman woke up. 

To help direct his boys' attention during church services, his dad gave him some paper, and a few crayons, and encouraged him to create a picture. 

The boy did his best. But still, he wiggled and squirmed and just kept talking – as quietly as he could - to the characters he was placing on the paper - and his dad, who watched patently over him. Apparently whispering was not something the boy was familiar with. 

When the picture was finished, he excitedly showed it to his father, and pointed out the characters and other things he had made with the crayons. Then he began to note the colors he had used. It was surprising how well he spoke considering his age. 

But then, he paused a little, and then said, “... and this is yeh-woah. I know that’s not how you say it, I’m trying, but it’s as good I can do it." 

This is when the lesson starts.

You’ve heard of the ‘Butterfly Effect'. That suggestion that proposes that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Colorado in just the right way, at just the right moment, it sets off a potential set of subtle events – a chain reaction if you will, that causes a hurricane to blow ashore in Georgia a month later. 

Annie Oakley experienced one of those butterfly effect incidents. It happened in a fraction of a second, she made a perfect rick shot that everyone walk safely away from. But if she had missed her target, there are 2 world wars that might not have happened.

 Seems nostalgic for some, outright joyful for others, but for a few – it is a time of overwhelming stress and foreboding. Not for everyone, mind you, but for some, the fear is real – but not for the reason you might think. 

The fear – it comes from having to engage in… Dare I say it? … Calculus. 

That’s right, I said it, Calculus. 

So some of you will be dealing with the logic of ill-logical-ness (did I just make up a word there?) That’s right – you're going to be grappling with Binomial Theorem, and Cavalieri’s principle – in 3 dimensions! So get your polynomials lined up, because no simple imaginary number will suffice – unless it is the solution. 

But did you know that a simple monk almost destroyed calculus before it had a chance to sprain your brains? 

 It was October 1962 and the world was on edge. The US military was on high alert, everyone thought nuclear annihilation could happen at any moment. Schools were teaching children to ‘Duck and Cover’ under their desks in the event of an atomic blast. People were digging holes, and pouring concrete in their backyards. Not to build pools, but instead to build a personal fallout shelters - and then quickly filling them with survival supplies. 

It was the Height of the ‘Cuban Missal Crisis’. US President John F. Kennedy and Russian Premier Nakita Khruschev were at odds over the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba – just a few miles off the coast of Florida. 

There is in Wisconsin an Air National Guard Base, Volk Field, with a 9,000-foot-long runway. What does this have to do with the Cuban Missal Crisis? Listen and find out!

We live in an amazing time of electric cars, space travel for tourists, telephones in everyone pocket with which we instantaneously speak to some on the other side of the world, satellite navigation that can brings us within inches of any point on the globe, instant access to a volume of information even the Great Library of Alexandria would be envious of. 

Notice I said information – didn’t identify that information as factual or true. And, yes, we are talking about the internet, the World Wide Web, the miraculous digital information superhighway. 

According to a reference I found on the internet, Mark Twain once wrote, “In the vast realm of information on the World Wide Web, fact and fiction doth dance together, much like a pair of mischievous pickpockets.”

And though he never said this – he is right. How can you know if something is factual? What is true? What is good?

The Career of Staff Sergeant Reckless with the United States Marines Corps began in 1952. This soldiers' heritage went back to an unlikely origin – Mongolia. 

A bit smaller than most but smart, tough, and fast. Sgt Reckless was proven in battle during the Korean War. 

Reckless was assigned to a Recoilless Rifle Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, in the fifth Marine Regiment, and took on responsibilities in what we now call “logistics”. The Sgt moved supplies and ammunition to the front and evacuated casualties. 

In March 1953, Sgt Reckless preformed outstandingly well during the battle for outpost Vegas and was promoted to Corporal. 

During that battle, Reckless Made 50 trips to the front carrying critically needed supplies in, and wounded men out.  During the battle for outpost Vegas, fighting was so fierce that only two men made it out alive and without wounds. Reckless was wounded twice – but kept going. 

I had the privilege of listening to a few of the experiences and insights of an extraordinary man. A man whom most are probably not very familiar with. His Name is Raja Dhaliwal. 

10 years or so ago, Raj was a taxi driver. He was working long hours in a one of the larger cities in Canada, hauling folk to and from the airport. Raj is generally quiet, very respectful, and kind. 

Raj was not born in Canada – he emigrated there to find a better life. 

Raj has olive skin, a long full beard, and he also wears a turban. And, he is most concerned with how he feels in his heart than how he looks to you. 

I heard him speak a year or so ago to a packed house – Tens of thousands of people. His English was not perfect – but he was very conversant and clear. But, communicating with people is something he does quite well – in at least 4 languages. 

What did this simple cab driver have to say that was so appreciated by those tens of thousands who were there to listen to them? 

Ever heard of the element Iruim? 

Sounds kind of dangerous, right? Like uranium, plutonium, and other radioactive stuff. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that Irium is most definitely a thing, or at least it was when it was introduced about 100 years ago – but - not a real thing. 

Back in the early part of the ‘Atomic Age’ folks were impressed by the thought of a gently glowing substance filled with an innate energy all its own. Radioactive materials began finding their way into all kinds of things – from pills, to pain reliving pads, tonics, and skin treatments and cosmetics. Folks didn’t know any better – and many of the powers that be insisted radiation was not at all dangerous. 

Well - until somebody jaw fell off – but that’s a whole 'nother story 

The belief in radioactivity as a miracle cure-all gave rise to the super-ingredient Irium. This seemingly magic element apparently had the power to make your teeth clean and white, and it could fight tooth decay too - like nothing else ever discovered. And, it was found in, and only in, Pepsodent toothpaste.