To my little grandson, Elijah--from Pops!

July 15, 2008 10 p.m. Eastern Time, Orlando, Florida

Dear Little Elijah,

It has now been six months that you have been here, and we have yet to meet since you came into this crazy world. But your mommy and daddy have kept me and the rest of your extended family aware of your growing, as well as the happiness of your little life. Even though I have yet to meet you personally, I feel like I know you already. I carry your smiley picture on my cell phone and show it to people all the time. And I’m sure that your big brother, Nehemiah, and your cousin, Eden have told you all about their Pops! I can’t imagine they haven't yet.

You might wonder why I’m writing you when you can’t even read yet. This is becoming something of a tradition for me, to write to my grandchildren when you are very small. Some day you will be able to read this letter. I hope that it will be one of the special things you will own—not worth very much materially, but perhaps worth something to you.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts with you about things that you might like to know, but maybe haven’t been told yet by anyone else. Some of these things, I'm sure you have because they are important. Other things, probably not, because most people don't think little kids understand such things. But I disagree. Little children start realizing things right away. People probably don’t say things very profound to you too often, though they should because as far as I can tell, you are a very bright young man. You are always happy, at least as far as I have been able to perceive, which means you must realize that this big world is a pretty cool place to be! Especially where you are in Colorado, there are beautiful, big, colorful, fresh and clean feeling things all around you like mountains, trees, brooks, fields, wild animals, birds, creepy crawly things, and lots of other stuff that little boys just love to learn about as they grow up. At night, you should be able to see way up into the dark sky filled with awesome stars that are really galaxies—billions of them out there along with the planets and the moon, when it is there. God made a wonderful universe for you to explore as you grow up. I’m sure that you and your big brother are going to have a blast learning about things around where you live. I know your dad and mom love to go and see what’s out there. I’m sure you are going to grow up to learn lots of cool stuff.

As you grow up, don’t forget that this world is made for you, so enjoy it. Your loving God wants you to appreciate it and learn how to be a part of it. Your parents want to teach you about Him too, and especially about Jesus who is the Son of God and King of the Earth and Heaven above, which you will get to see plenty of as you grow up. You will learn that He has done a lot for you and all of us to make our lives happier than it all would have been if He hadn’t done what He has done for us. What did He do? Well, first He made this world. Then He made us people to live on it and be His friends. We did some things that we shouldn’t have in the past and hurt Him. But He didn’t take it too personally. In fact, He figured out how to do something to fix the mess that we made. He became one of us so that He could take the burden of our badness and turn it into goodness, and joy, and hope, and happiness. I think that is why you are so happy—because your parents know all about this. And they help you to be filled with happiness every day. And you have reasons to be so, because Jesus Christ has made a way for you, me, and everyone else to be happy by loving Him. I’m sure you will learn all about this as you grow up.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about me, since we haven’t met yet. I’m a little bit shorter than your dad and a little bit taller than your mom. I have a pretty big mouth that gets me in trouble a lot. I sometimes do crazy things that get me into trouble too, and sometimes I don’t know enough to stop when others don’t agree with what I do. But I can tell you that I try to live in such a way that God is pleased with me, even when people don’t think I am doing that. That is one of the things that you will learn in life, Elijah. Sometimes people can misunderstand your intentions. Sometimes even when your motives are good as far as you can do them, and you know you did things for the right reasons, others may not understand. That happened to Jesus, you know. Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that we make perfect choices like Jesus did, even when we think we are doing that. But I’m saying that we are obligated by God to do our best to do that. He sees our innermost motives and understands our hearts. This is what He will judge us by—not by the appearances on the outside that people see. If it wasn’t for that simple truth, I don’t know what I would do. There are a lot of things on the outside that don’t look really good in my personal situation at the present time. But I know that in my heart, I’m doing what I know is right, and God sees that. I know by that how He thinks of me. That is one of the things we can know—what God thinks of us. You will have to learn that as you grow up. It is an issue of faith—of trusting God that you will learn, if you are a seeker after God as you grow.

I hope to get out to Colorado Springs sometime really soon, so I can meet you, little kid. I want to give you a big hug and tell you that I love you very much. You have a very special family who loves you and cares for you and wants to help you grow up to be a great man some day. Listen to your dad and mom all the time. Follow their example of love and faith and trust in Jesus. Those are good things.

As I close, I want to share something with you that I taught your daddy and your Aunt Bekah, and the rest of your aunts and uncles who are my children. I even teach it to the kids that I have in public schools because it is a set of truths that really help us understand what life is about a little bit. Just this week, I was able to share this with a security guard here at the place where I’m working. He thought it was so good that he asked me to write it down for him. I did; and he thanked me for it when I gave it to him. Pretty cool, huh?

This is what I thought up as the three things I hope my children and grandchildren learn from their Pops to take with them through life. I call them the three basic truths of life. They are just some things that might help you and me when things go certain ways, that’s all. Here they are:

1. Life is rude.
2. Ideas have consequences.
3. There is a God who gives us grace and mercy to intersect them both.

I hope you don’t experience too much of the first one. I’m sorry to tell you that you don’t have much choice. Ever since our first father, Adam, did the bad things that he did, the whole world has been filled with rude things. We fall down and skin our knees, or we bump our head, or do something else that we didn't plan to do, or happens to us through no fault of our own. I don’t think that was the way it was at first. Yes, we still might have fallen down, but I think that it would have been a lot harder to get hurt in the Beginning. Something changed, though we only have a glimpse of what was different that we learn through reading a really cool book called the Bible. I know you will be read it a lot as you grow up. Your Grandma and I read it to our kids, and you will read it too, I’m sure. That leads to the second truth. If you listen to your mommy and daddy, and think about what is in that book, the Bible, and the things that Jesus has taught us, you will continue to be happy. I know from the picture that I have of you on my cell phone that you think happy thoughts all the time. Keep that up! Think about the things that are really wonderful. Learn to do right things. Ask God to help you as you grow up. Love others as much as you can even when it causes you harm—God will see that and make a way for you. Try to learn what makes Him happy. And try to love the people around you the best you can. On the other hand, avoid doing mean and bad things to others or to think about things that are not good. That will possibly hurt you. In other words, if we think on good things, good things will follow; if we think on bad things, bad things will follow. That is true a lot. It’s not always the way things work, but generally it is so. Sometimes when we think we are doing the right thing, really bad things happen. Trust me when I say that because I have experienced it personally. But that is okay too. It’s okay because of the third truth which is really the most important of all. When we are hit by the rudeness of life and some of the ideas that we think and do turn out to not go the way we had hoped, God is there to give us His grace and show us His mercy. I can’t explain what it means except that you are able to have peace and strength to work through all of the difficulties. It doesn’t always mean that things are fixed overnight, or even in a few weeks or months, maybe even years. Sometimes things are never the same again. But somehow things work out some day. That is all because God gives us hope! And that is connected to His love for us.

And remember this as well. This is something that came to me just a few weeks ago, but it is becoming something I am going to try to remember every day because it helps me to know a bigger thought—every day we are one day closer to our Ultimate Adventure! For me, the Ultimate Adventure is probably a lot closer than it is for you. But in reality in the grand scheme of things, it is very close to the same time for all of us. That’s because our time here is so short when compared to the Eternity of time ahead of us. We who call ourselves Christians know that this life is just a sliver of what we have ahead of us. So that gives us hope too. That is something you will get to consider as you grow up too.

As I close this note to you, little Elijah, I hope you are having a wonderful day and will have a wonderful day every time you read this letter when you can read it on your own, without your dad or mom or brother or someone else having to read it to you a few years from now. You are lucky to be here because you are surrounded by a whole bunch of people who love you and want to give you hugs and kisses and lots of other good things. Some day those things will not be so important to you, because you are a boy and boys like things that are rough and tough too. That’s okay though; whatever way you decide you want things to be. Just remember this. That your Pops and your Grandma, and your other grandparents on your mommy’s side of the family, and your uncles and aunts and cousins and brother and your parents all love you very much. I will be praying for you many times in your life, like I do your daddy and mommy and brother too. But I want you to know how special I think you are and that there is a place in my heart for you all the time!

I can’t want to see you and hold you and play with you like I do all my grandkids. I hope we will have plenty of time to get to know each other down the road.

I love you, little kid. I hope to see you real soon too.

Your loving grandfather,

David “Pops” Callihan

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Elijah William Callihan

Born January 14, 2008 5:02 am
7lbs 6oz 20"



What an amazing boy already and I think his name suits him - Gram

What a beautiful mommy and baby.

Jo's Band

Wes at Work - Holyland Experience

Christmas in Colorado

Eden's First Birthday!

Pics from Colorado

Christmas at Pagosa Springs

In the intuitive words of John Tesh, "Give memories, not things."

I think I quoted him correctly - we were listening to the radio on the way to Christmas Eve service and Jeremiah and I noted this timely sentiment ;-). Anyway - we had already planned our trip to Pagosa Springs with Katie and Shawn as their gift from us. Yes, they were supposed to snowboard as well - and conditions didn't end up being suitable - and yes - sore throats were abundant (but back at the Callihan compound in Co Spngs too) - and yes - we spent several hours with the view shown in the second pic down from here (the truck, etc.) in blowing winds thinking of rationing our one square of chocolate (haha, I had one in my purse guys) and the leftover chili in the trunk from our stop in Del Norte 30 miles back (since the pass and thus the road was closed and we were stuck) - but then take a look at the rest of these pics. By the way they were all taken by Shawn and Kate, and I hope they don't mind me posting them - they do retain copyright ;-) - it was an awesome time at the springs. What a place. And the views on the way there and back - spectacular. Thanks Shawn and Kate for making these memories with us. Love you guys.

The Passing of a "Friend*"

* "A dog is a man's best friend" anonymous --How true it is.

Well kids, here I go with another of my rambling essays. Oh well. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to.

This was a rather sad week for all of us. We had to make a sober decision to end the life of a special part of our family, putting down our first family dog—Babe Pup. On Wednesday, September 24, 2007 at about 11:10 a.m., Babe was given a shot that put her to sleep, and then a few moments later she was given an overdose of barbiturates that stopped her heart. She was a happy dog to the very end. She just went to sleep.

I would be lying if I said that I didn’t bawl like a baby as I said goodbye to our old friend. I think that I can honestly say that at least for the past few years, I had become closer to Babe than most of you, just because I had to take care of her so much of the time. Yes, she was “Katie’s dog” officially, though I think she voluntarily rescinded that ownership, at least in a practical sense, a few years ago. I also would be lying if I didn’t say that in spite of some of her disgusting habits like her grunting, snorting, licking, getting into the trash for something to eat, licking herself, scratching and digging for things on her body especially around her smelly disgusting wax-filled ears and butt, licking everywhere (did I say that one yet), etc., she was a very happy and joyful part of my life.

We always loved to talk about how “stupid” she was. And she really was in many ways.

But Babe was also a very smart animal too. Mom always talks with friends and family about how she actually figured out that not being able to be on the couch in Frankfort was a crock. When the pups were born and started growing, we allowed them to be on the couch. One day, Babe stood there on the floor watching as we let the puppies play and frolic on the couch. You could see her “reasoning” through the incident and thinking, “Hey! What’s the deal here? A double standard if I ever saw one. I’m not allowed on there . . . why are my babies getting special privileges. No way!” And up she jumped right in front of us, looked around to see if anyone was going to contest the injustice that she had uncovered, and laid down in victory that she had finally proven, once again, that she was right. And how can we forget before that change of rules occurred, when we would go somewhere in the van and come home along Higby Road to see Babe watching out the window for any sight of us, and then would jump off the couch so that she wouldn’t be in trouble with us, thinking all along that she had gotten away with something? She wasn’t that dumb, was she?

I remember her mostly as a frolicking, limber dog who would love to just prance around the place, always wanting to be near someone; always wanting to sleep with one of us. Never wanting to be in another room from where the action was at in the family. She loved for us to rub her belly. And she loved to lick our hand, arm, face, or wherever over and over again, letting us know that she loved us. Just this past week, even when she wasn’t able to see me, she licked my arm over and over and over for a number of minutes because that was her way of expressing her love for her master. She loved to lick. I will never forget how she always dropped her head when you went to pet her. Then she would look up affectionately at you.

She was an affectionate and loyal friend to us all. She protected us to her best ability. I know that if ever there would have been a time when one of us was in true danger, Babe would unhesitantly have defended us to her death. We saw this exhibited several times in our life in the crazy incidents of Katie’s “Get away! Get away!” episodes with the boys in their younger years. Babe also protected the property, especially in Frankfort, when anyone attempted to walk by the place along Higby Road. Off she would go to bark out a warning to not come any closer, as if she would do anything except maybe lick that person to death! Or when a car pulled in the driveway in Frankfort, Liverpool, or even Arcadia, she would be yapping in her silly high pitched bark until we either threatened to whack her or that person would present himself or herself to Babe for a sniff to verify that they were friend and not foe.

Babe was careless about what we thought about her too. Did she care that we thought she was uncouth? No. Did it bother her that she would do something dumb like bark out the window at 3 a.m. as if some stranger was prowling about, only to learn that there was nothing there? No. Did Babe ever think about our feelings when she lay on the floor licking her butt and snorting vociferously as she attacked whatever it was that was causing her discomfort? Of course not. She was Babe and that is what Babe did. It was a matter of fact.

Babe was more like an old lady than an old dog. She didn’t want to be bothered with the pups after they were born, as you may recall. The puppies were a nuisance to her. If we had left her to herself, it is possible that Chunky, Pudgie, Sadie, and Chloe would never have been born. (I wonder if Chloe is still alive. You may recall that we sold her to the Johnston family in Bainbridge, NY, near Oneonta. They had lost their English Springer days before to a truck accident and were so thrilled to get a beautiful replacement from Babe’s litter. See, Babe did give joy to others besides herself, even if she didn’t know she was doing it.)

She had a personality that was stubborn, self-centered, and even obnoxious at times. If she wanted something her way, unless you physically stopped her, she would go for it until she got it. That was just the way Babe was.

My favorite memory of Babe was when we lived on the old farm in Wadsworth. Do you remember that place, after the Bob House, and before Frankfort. I had a tiny office upstairs that I made my phone calls out of. Babe would come upstairs no matter what you kids were doing and crawl under the desk and lie on my feet. She would lay there for hours while I did my work. If you were all gone somewhere when I was at home working, Babe would be right there with me. She always wanted to be around us. She loved us all so much because that is what Babe did.

As I used to always say, she was “a precious puppy!” She was from the day that we brought her home from Naples, New York after driving two hours from Honeoye Falls to pick her out of the litter until this past Wednesday when we took her on her last R-I-D-E in the C-A-R to the vet, where she always hated to go to. (Perhaps she somehow knew that one day that ride would be her last. Probably not, she was too dumb.)

Mom mentioned that we bought her a bag of Twizzlers to eat the night before she died. She loved to eat Twizzlers, didn’t she? She was so happy Thursday night, lying on our bed, unable to see anything, but comfortable and relaxed. She was in pain. But when we put a Twizzler by her nose, nothing else mattered! In those moments of eating those completely non-nutritious candies, Babe was already in doggie heaven! Her pain went away. I was afraid she would get sick from eating so many of them that night. But of course, that was ridiculous. Babe lived to eat. Her life was just like she loved it to be, full of romping in the fields, chasing a cat in the yard, barking at a neighbor driving up to the house, lying on the couch or chair or bed with one of us that she loved so much as only a pup can do, eating the leftovers or a candy or anything. Even on the way to the vet to be put to sleep, she was so happy just eating Twizzlers, as if life would go on like this forever. Oh, that it could! Maybe in the end, it does. (More on that in a moment.)

I am going to miss that stupid old dog so much. you know. You kids probably don’t realize this, but Babe was really my first dog too. Yes, our family had a dog when I was a kid, but she wasn’t really MY dog. I was the youngest in my home and had a twin brother too. Pansy was my older brothers’ dog much more than she was mine. And we only had her about a year, so I really didn’t know her too well. But Babe, she was definitely my dog as much as she was all of ours. She would always come romping to see me when I came home. She would love to be petted and hugged and scratched on the belly by me at any time, anywhere, and as often as I would do it. Up until her final day, she was a loving dog to me, and I know to all of you too!

Let me talk in a poetic sense for a moment. Please don’t take this part literally. I’m just trying to make a point about how Babe’s life might have affected us more than we had thought she could. I think an argument could be made that Babe is proof that there is a God and a heaven at the end of this life. Take a moment and think about her life and the memories that you have of her in your experiences. Those memories make you happy, don’t they? They make you feel like very little else matters in comparison, don’t they? You gain a glimpse of the contentedness, peacefulness, warmth, happiness, joy, kindness, loyalty of friendship, and companionship that God intended to exist in this space-time reality, don’t you? He created pups. If we are right that this existence is not random, arbitrary, or nonsensical events driven by unintelligent and impersonal matter or force, then Babe is a proof that God is good. Her existence reflected the satisfaction of a loyal dog to his master. That is a concept of goodness in a small way.

If God is good then He certainly has included in His infinite plans that one day in the not-too-distant future, we might just see Babe again. She may once again be our happy Babe dog. But the next time we see her, she won’t be covered with tumors, growling lowly with her pain, or having to bump into the walls and chairs, slipping on the floor because her legs are too frail to hold her up. Babe will be rumbling across a field, her ears flopping in the breeze as she “springs” along chasing a bird or buffing at the people in the distance. She will be following one of us around wanting to be petted, held, at our side, giving us a lick and making sure we know that she is there. I don’t think that concept is that far-fetched.

Even in this life, she will always be there from now on, in our memories. A remnant in our minds of the happiness of a dumb old dog in a family that has struggled at times, had difficulties and pains, but one that to this day is full of love and hope because of what Christ does to unite us in our times of disconnections.

Our loss of Babe is symbolic and real at the same time. It is symbolic of the fact that “life is rude.” Yeah, I know, you’re sick of hearing that one. Paul told us that the creation groans continuously as it waits for the redemption of the sons of God. Babe’s groaning and whining when she didn’t get her way will always be there in my mind. I still hear her little yap when she is left outside or in another room and can’t get to us. That was her way of reminding us of the rudeness she felt too. The last couple of days she was here, she would once in a while growl in a very low tone because of her pain. That is why I decided it was time. The fact that this loving animal had to be put down illustrates it as well in reality. She’s gone now from this life. We will never see her again on Earth. Life is rude. But it’s also symbolic of the fact that there is a God of grace and mercy who does intersect the rudeness in that He promises that one day there will be no more crying, or tears, or rudeness. There will be a resurrection one day. I’m looking forward to that day. Christ will be there to govern us. He will give us all responsibilities to oversee in His Kingdom. And there will be Babe, and Chunky, and Pudgie, and Serif, and McKinsey and Chai, and everyone we love in this family all together at the marriage supper of the Lamb. I can see the dogs eating the crumbs under the table. Jesus even found this analogy appropriate to leave in perpetuity. It wouldn’t surprise me if they turned out to be our dogs. And Babe will be right there, I’m sure. I know it because where there was food, there was Babe! Am I right? She has got to be there! I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she’s there to get the stuff that falls on the floor.

So be at peace that we will get to see that old stupid dog again some day. Maybe she won’t be quite so stupid the next time. Or maybe she will, because that is why she was such a perfect dog. She didn’t listen well to commands. She did what she wanted to do most of her life. And that was what made her so great. She was “The Babe.” And we loved her for being that, didn’t we?

I used to have a couple of silly songs about Babe. Let me share them once more with you:

(This first one I would sing as I was patting her on the head)
It’s a Babe; it’s a boob; it’s a mabe; it’s a moob;
It’s a beep-bape-bope-boop-bupp;
It’s a puppy, such a puppy; yeseree-yeseroo-yeserup!
And I love her, stand above her;
And I bleetty, blatty, bloaty, blooty, blup!
. . . Babe Pup!

(She loved that song! Here’s the other one . . .)

Oh Babe, you are such a precious puppy!
Oh Babe, you are such a Babe pup.
Oh Babe, I love you, yeserruppy;
Oh Babe, I love you, yes I dup!

I can remember so many times just scratching her ears as I sang that song to her. She would be so happy that she would groan while I scratched her ears.

Thanks for letting me share all of this. I need the catharsis. I didn’t realize how much her loss would affect me. I know that theologically I am probably way out of line. Biblically we know dogs don’t have a soul like we have. They have no spirit like Man does. Or at least that is what theologians say. But I still believe that God is greater than all of this. That dog loved. She loved the David and Laurie Callihan family. She was OUR dog. In the eternal scheme of things, I don’t think it is unreasonable that Jesus Christ will make sure we are able to enjoy that Truth forever. The reason that I believe it is because my Christ is a personal Messiah. He cares for me and you infinitely; and He gave us Babe and the other dogs in our lives, not by accident or unintentionally, but in reality and actually. If the lion will lie down with the lamb some day, why would it be far fetched to think that Babe will lie down next to us again? Huh? That is what faith is all about. God is good. Babe was a good dog. I just think that it once again points to His character that the story isn’t over yet; Heaven will one day write the final chapter. I just think it is reasonable to see Babe in that Heaven, that’s all.

What’s the point? Even a dumb dog is significant in the grand scheme of things. Earlier this year I was reading a book written by a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church. This is one of the oldest Christian faiths in history. Their position is that we shouldn’t have pets believe it or not. They think that because pets don’t have souls, we shouldn’t become attached to them because we will get a false impression of spirituality in some way. I say, “Nonsense.” God did not make man for animals, but animals for man, to slightly adjust a phrase. These animals have personalities because it is part of His intention to allow us to enjoy the Creation He made. Babe pointed us to our Maker. That is what He planned all along. We enjoyed having Babe because she was made to be enjoyed by one small family in the billions on Earth. And that we certainly did, didn’t we? Once again, it all makes us worship the Lord and thank Him for the good things He has made, even Babe. She was a great dog! That’s the point.

And I really miss her already, don’t you? Things won’t be the same without her.

I love you all. See you again soon, Babe!

Pops