LIGHT YEARS FROM SAINT FRANCIS

By Peter Vuono

   Eight hundred and six years ago a wolf terrorized Gubbio, Italy. the wolf stole and ate pets and livestock in addition to attacking people. When he arrived from an excursion, Francis of Assisi declared that he would confront the animal. He sought out it's lair as bystanders stood terrorized behind him. He shouted out,"Brother wolf".

   The wolf appeared actually looking contrite. Francis reprimanded him and demanded that he kill no more in exchange for food from the towns people. It became so docile that it roamed the streets as if it were everyone's pet and actually became beloved. When the church was renovated, workers found a wolf skeleton properly buried beneath the church.

   Recently, in Topanga California, police were summoned to a woman's apartment who neighbors thought was being assaulted. She was merely celebrating the Knicks win and when police arrived, her small, mixed breed dog, dressed in a Knicks shirt, got out. The police ordered her to contain the dog. Once inside the apartment,  the dog escaped again. As it approached a policeman, he chose to draw his firearm, killing the dog. The sight of the woman caressing her murdered companion was perhaps as horrifying as any horror movie that this author has ever seen.

  Los Angeles Police officers are issued, in addition to a firearm, a baton, pepper spray and a Taser. The person who shot the dog chose the deadliest weapon he had on him. Years ago, this author heard something purported to be the Shaolin Creed. It went like this: "Avoid rather than check. Check rather than injure. Injure rather than maim. Maim rather than kill." Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with the Shaolin but it certainly makes a lot of sense if we have the   means to act differently.

  When I was teaching, from Sept 94 to Oct 95, I got involved in 10 fights in 11 school months. My trump card was that I was a powerlifter and in 93 deadlifted 560lbs. I never once hit a student or kicked a student. I used everything I had to stop violence. The Chinese Characters for martial arts- Zhi Ge Wei Wu are translated as  "To stop the spear is true strength". Note that it does NOT say to kill the person throwing the spear is true strength, In this author's opinion, a baton in the face or pepper spray would have thwarted an animal of that size. When I walk my dog, I carry two- non-lethal and legal weapons with me. It is my intention to protect my dog but not kill an aggressor. "Injure rather than maim. Maim rather than kill!" I pray that Saint Roch, the patron saint of dogs comforts this woman and I pray that the person who killed the dog, repents to his God.

  In 2016 a presidential candidate said that he could"Shoot a man in the middle of 5th Ave. and get away with it". He's right; we're moving as a race more toward the darkness. We may be 806 years after Saint Francis but we are light years behind his teaching.

"Not to hurt our humble brethren, the animals, is our first duty to them"- Saint Francis

 

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JON

By Peter Vuono

  December and January were tough months for me; or so I thought. I contracted a sinus infection for the entire month of December and ended the month by falling down the stairs on 12/27 in our first snow storm shoveling snow. I had been trying to train around this for a powerlifting meet I was going to enter on 1/10.Little did I know, that the chemistry of the infection would render me powerless.

  Infections cause an increase of cortisol; a hormone that shuts down the HPTA- or the hypothalamic, pituitary testes axis. This is the testosterone making process of the body. I went from a total testosterone of 640 ng/dl to 482 ng/dl. Needles to say, I bombed at the contest missing ALL my attempts. I started feeling sorry for myself and my daughter Amy even contacted wrestler Jake Roberts to send a video to cheer me up! However, I finally became "woke" when I looked down at the shirt I was wearing that my friend Jon gave me. It had on it praying hands with the inscription "I'm blessed" on it. On the hand was a tattoo of the word, "iron". Jon got it from the famed Iron Addicts Gym of Long Beach.

 Jon is a bit of a renaissance man as he's a great football player, a bodybuilder, a dog lover, an ordained minister, a doting dad and grandfather and he is to computers what Barry Kasparov is to chess!! The first thing I could think of  as I looked down at it was the famous quote from Jonathan Swift's book- Friendly Conversations". It read, "There's none so blind as those that will not see". It's true; I couldn't see the forest for the trees!

  I survived a heart attack, open heart surgery, a knee replacement and two other surgeries only to go to and compete in no fewer than 9 power meets in 3 leagues after all the surgeries. I have a wonderful wife of 47 years, two wonderful kids, a magnificent and loving rescue pug, a roof over my head and heat. I had no right to feel sorry for myself because among the abovementioned blessings I also had my faith.

 So my message to you today is that you should try to contemplate the blessings that you do have when things get rough. If you do, you'll spend more time on the needs of others rather than on yourself. So take a look at this shirt and try your best to remember the Gospel according to Jon.

 IT WON'T BE LONG, WE'LL MEET AGAIN!

Story By Peter Vuono

Title by Howard Jones and Adam Dutkiewicz

   Recently, my friend Colleen passed away after having valiantly battled cancer. Whenever I think of Colleen, the poetess Maya Angelou always comes to mind. Angelou once said, "You may never remember what someone said, and you may never remember what someone did, but you'll always remember how someone made you feel ."  Colleen was the epitome of encouragement. Every time I saw her, she'd say something so very complimentary.

   In July we were in a park together. As Diane and I walked ahead of her, I could hear Colleen comment to her husband, Frankie," Look at the two of them; they look like two high school kids". About ten years ago, at one of her husband Frankie's weightlifting contest, my son and I did  an impromptu exhibition of Kenpo for Colleen. She was delighted and talked about it many times through the years. The irony, here is that Colleen had the kinds of qualities that would deserve constant accolades.

   She was a loyal and hard working daughter, mom and wife.She'd sacrifice anything for her loved ones.She actually competed in a national championship weightlifting contest. She delighted and made happy hundreds of people by raising and selling bulldogs. When I visited her home, I couldn't wait to be greeted by her two personal dogs, Zeus and Smooch. She was able to drive and commandeer gigantic dump trucks which would scare to death a common guy like me!

  She wasn't afraid to stand up for herself with firmness and class. She and her husband had a rude and antagonistic neighbor. Colleen confronted the man, stood her ground and was never bothered again. When Bruce Lee said, "Be soft, yet not yielding, be firm, yet not hard", he must have been thinking of Colleen.

  One of my and my son's favorite songs is called, "The Rose of Sharon". There's a special refrain in the song that reminds me so much of Colleen and so many of my friends who have left before me. It goes, "It won't be long, we'll meet again. Your memory is never passing. It won't be long, we'll meet again. My love for you is everlasting".

  Certainly her memory will never pass away to those that love her. However, it's the beginning of the refrain that is so very important for us to listen to. If we believe in the resurrection, it won't be long and we will meet Colleen and all our other loved ones again in the folded arms, the love and the eternity of Christ.