What's Important Now

Football coach Lou Holtz used to focus on something he called "What's Important Now?" I use it, not as often as i should but occasionally, witness this recent column:

I was planning to write a column about the $787 billion federal economic stimulus program, and how it doesn't appear to have stimulated much of anything, with the nation stuck at 9 percent unemployment, and underemployment running well over that.

I was going to say that the only way to create permanent, worthwhile jobs is to incentivize businesses to invest, by government creating a political and economic climate in which businesspeople can be reasonably confident about their future in the next few years.

I was going to say that I laughed out loud the other day when I recalled that Vice President Joe Biden was put in charge of implementing the stimulus program.What a joke. Joe Biden may be good for many things, but I wouldn't put him in charge of monitoring and managing the myriad details of a huge project.

I was going to write that it's a shame that, because of our government's spending jag, we are enriching the Chinese and slowly impoverishing ourselves: we now borrow 40 percent of what we spend, and China is and has been investing heavily in our treasury securities.

I worry about China's motives, and jeopardizing our liberty when I think about the Chinese slowly gaining control of us, a nation that for years has enslaved its own citizens. How, pray tell, would they treat us?

But, as I sit in church having just received communion, there are more important things than worrying over the future of our country.

There are my personal, peaceful, thoughtful reflections after receiving communion.There is my wife to my right, praying, hard, intently. Her lips are moving, and I know she's praying for me, for us, and I'm glad for that.

She received a phone call the other night about a person in trouble. I can't recall exactly what it was about. But she was offering to pray for the person, and she was prepared to call on added resources if needs be - call out the troops, as it were.

She promised the caller, "I can have 450 nuns on their knees tonight," she said, referring to the religious order of which Ashley Loyer is now a part.

It sounds arrogant, doesn't it? It suggests ego, power, pride. But it's not. It's an offer borne by faith and by love, and a sure knowledge that, if a soul is in trouble and needs spiritual help, help awaits. All you need to do is ask.

As I watch my wife to my right, her eyes closed and lips still moving, I see two young girls preparing to leave church after receiving communion.They are dressed in the same type of t-shirt in day-glow green, with large numbers on their backs.

And behind them is an adult man, maybe in his late 30's, clad in an identical shirt.And as I look at the ponytails on the girls, it all becomes so familiar, and it brings me back to the days when my children were younger, and their mom and I were deeply involved in their activities.Those were good days, I think, as these are. The essence, the fabric of America has not changed, not fundamentally. We are the same people, and we'll find a way out. Count on it.

Gerald LaVaute is a staff writer for Heritage Newspapers. He can be reached at glavaute@heritage.com or call 1-734-429-7380. Check out our staff blog at courierviewnews.blogspot.com.

It's a good thing, being a dad and a granddad

Pundits and politicians like to say that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.Amen to that. That's the point of culture, right? You move civilization forward using what's been learned, examining the current situation in the larger context of the past, and fix what's wrong, or could be improved.

Tis is especially true for the responsibility of parenting.A good parent wants to raise children who add to the texture of daily life, in ways personal and social.

And, to my son, Matthew, as I think about this coming Father's Day, I am heartened and proud to think as your dad that I can claim some share of the credit for your being a truly remarkable dad to Noah, your 1-year-old son.

Even at an early age, some kids can have agendas, personal issues that get in the way of their and others' happiness.But not Noah. Quite simply, he's happy.

nd as I watched my grandson grow this year, I found him extraordinary.His perception is keen and his curiosity limitless. It's fascinating to watch him solve a problem requiring motor skills that he's still developing, using reasoning culled from a very limited experience base.

I'm proud and impressed that my son takes care of Noah a couple days each week.I'm proud that he changed careers recently, giving up a good salary as a mortgage banker, to return to school to become a nurse.

He has his mother's natural compassion for others, so I think it's a great career choice.The proof is in the pudding, and I see this in Noah as my wife and I baby-sit for him once each week, thanks to Jan's prescience.

It's clear to me that I raised a fine young man who in turn is doing the same with his own son.Stand on my shoulders, Matthew. Happy Father's Day. I love you.