Paul Asay

A group of  16 students and 2 chaperons from ISU spent a week in Panama as an Alternative Spring Break (ASB).  ASB offers students a chance to spend spring break doing service projects.   What follows is more notes from the trip rather than a story, but if your curious about Panama, or an Alternative Spring Break trip you might find it interesting: We stayed in a guest house in Paraiso owned by a nonprofit Christian organization.  They work with SCORE Missions all the time.  Had a nice upstairs we stayed at with bunk beds on each end, and a common area in the middle.  Food was served downstairs just below I another common area with a kitchen.  Another group from a church was there, but maybe 8 or so. David, Mariaanella Bueno, and their boys Danny and Ezekiel were out hosts/tour guides for the trip.  Both from Uruguay, and had worked there with SCORE for around 6 years.  David was a professional soccer player before becoming a m...

So we decide to go on vacation to the beach with my wife’s family including my mother in-law who doesn’t like the beach.  One particularly beautiful beach day my mother in-law decided she wants everyone to go shop for antiques.  I don’t like antiques.  I’m told me I need to leave the beach right this minute and go spend it in at the antique shop a two hour drive away. Walk into the large antique shop just livid that I’m missing my swim and spending it here.  I lean up against a table, knock over an oil lamp and accidentally set the store on fire.  The place is full of smoke and everyone runs out.  They had a sleeping cat appropriately named Smokey that comes running out last with his hair half singed off.   Picture of the cat goes viral. Needless to say a lawsuit ensued and sure enough I go before a judge name Judy, same name as my mother in-law.  The judge, also a cat lover, sees Smokey with half his hair singed off and was e...

On the last day of a medical team trip to Mountain Top Ministries in Haiti we had the privilege of visiting a school they built near the village of Dumay.  The school itself stood out with its modern structure and brightly colored paint.  Yet it sits on the edge of a large industrial gravel pit with a serious dust problem back in the village.  Just a foot out the door of the van we were greeted by a swarm of preschoolers.  Want to feel like a rock star, come for a visit.  If only I was this popular in high school.   The work being done here is nothing short of amazing.  These people have zero creature comforts, little to eat and numerous other problems, yet hope and joy was abundant.  Mountain Top Ministries is doing a serious good work here. After a good 30 minutes of hugging kids we finally were freed up as the kids returned to class.  We then got the tour of the complete facility.  Several co-workers from the ISU Library, ...

You're 75, had 2 bouts with cancer, been through an aortic arch aneurysm and dealing with some arthritis.  What kind of goal do you set for yourself?  If you’re Al Lucas you sign up for an Ironman, and not just any will do. You sign up for the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii.  A legend even among hardened triathletes.  The distance: 2.4 mile ocean swim, 112 mile bike ride through the lava fields, and 26.2 mile run finishing back at the beach where it all began. As with any great story this one begins long ago, and with a family that is deeply involved.  Al’s son Greg started this with the first entry into Ironman Hawaii in 1986.  Not long after, in 1988 Al’s daughter Julie also entered the race.  Al began racing triathlons himself at age 43 with more of a background in traditional Indiana sports like basketball and baseball.  With the Hawaii Ironman embedded in family lore, Al made his initial attempt at the race in 1...

This past weekend was my second Zombie run, but first time as a runner, and not a Zombie chaser. The event was a 5k at Fowler Park featuring several obstacles, lots of hills, and of course numerous Zombies trying to chase you down. You wore a belt like flag football with 3 flags. Kind of like flag football over a 5k in the woods. The event started at the covered bridge, you had to climb a 6 foot wall, and then the first set of zombies were waiting just on the other side. Tip Number 1: Run with a group to keep the Zombies at bay The second obstacle was a 12 foot wall, but thankfully it had a rope (actually a rubber hose) to make the climb, and descent on the other side. Tip Number 2 : Wear shoes with particularly good traction Tip Number 3: Wear light gloves for the climbing After the second obstacle we proceed into the first wooded section where you guessed it, several more zombies awaited. Here is where I made the crazy move of going out on my own. A couple of ...

If J R R Tolkien wrote a triathlon race report it might go something like this ... It was still dark night when I set off to tackle the beast known as Monster Man.  My trusty steed ShadowFelt loaded and ready for battle.  We set off only to be greeted by a blinding rain, a storm of epic proportion. Undeterred we persevered till dawn finally broke.   Now within the sight of the battlefield the gray clouds appeared in place of a rising sun.  A light mist filled the air as thick as the apprehension in my inmost being. The quest began with a swim of 750 meters across the lake deep in the valley through depths unknown.  With this complete I quickly acquired my mount on ShadowFelt and set off up the misty mountain in search of this Monster Man foe. Climbing higher and higher we ascended.  Now as the terrain freed of climb we headed out full stride.  Faster and faster we went as ShadowFelt gave its best. Descending and ascending ...

Just in the last couple of weeks I started reading a column by Rob Dreher.  Most of his articles of late has to do with how to live an “orthodox Christian” life in the modern world.  Today’s article was related, but a bit different.  This one is on a 9 foot tall   statue  of   Satan  unveiled in   Detroit this past weekend.  Rob mentions specifically his previous cab rides with native Haitian drivers who brought up the very real threat of the occult in the form of Voodoo in Haiti.  Having experience Haiti on a number of occasions, and seen the effects of voodoo myself, I know exactly of what he speaks. Here is a link to the Rob’s article www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/devil-statue-is-no-joke All I can say is I feel for the innocent people of Detroit who have put up with way too many bad things in the last decade.  If this is a harbinger of Detroit’s future even worse days are ahead. If you want to witness a ...