Rest in Peace Tony. A truly honourable journalist and that's is saying a lot today.

A great loss !!!

I was always impressed by his intelligence, wit and grasp of the issues as he performed an intensely challenging job.

Can't help but feel a sense of loss when a man of his integrity and character, gentle good humour, as well as great looks, passes away too early. A terrible loss for his family.
God bless you, Tony. Thanks for the example you set for all of us more mean-spirited creatures.

He will be missed, both as a journalist and as the President's press secretary. He clearly loved his country deeply, and made no apologies for that fact. We need many more like him.

Thinking back over the years since circa '72, I cannot come up with a better WH press secretary than Mr. Snow was. RIP.

There really does seem to be some truth to the adage: The good die young.

In just the past month: Tim Russert, Oliver Schroer (Canadian fiddler extraordinaire), and now, Tony Snow.

RIP, all three, and condolences to your families and friends.

There really does seem to be some truth to the adage: The good die young.

In just the past month: Tim Russert, Oliver Schroer (Canadian fiddler extraordinaire), and now, Tony Snow.

RIP, all three, and condolences to your families and friends.

Sorry for the double post. 'Am not getting the indicator I used to, to show that my comment is posting. 'Guess I just need to be more patient and wait a little longer...

I hope George Carlin trips him on the way in.

RoC, why am I not surprised by your comments.

Having seen Mr Snow more often than most Canadians by virtue of living down south, I have to agree with most here. He was a patriotic, intelligent person with integrity, honesty and an easy going style that brought out his true character. He will be sorely missed. Condolances to his family.

A kind thoughtful bright light among us has gone out. A good man that Tony Snow. Rest in Peace.

CBC comment section is full of rot, distaste and disrespect - disgusting.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/07/12/snow-obit.html#socialcomments

He had a great skill for handling media manipulators at press conferences.

The CBC website is filled with a bunch of snotty nosed adolescences who have been brain-washed by CBCPravda that anything right of Fidel Castro is wrong and should be condemned and perscuted even in death. Civility is not something evident today as it once was. But hey, they are progressive. Is this where we want to go.

You must think I care what you think Texas Canuck and you are full of it with your holier than thou attitude. You dont know me at all.

I really dont have a bad opinion of Snow I just wanted peole to see how foolish it looks when kate was happy with Kennedy's tumour and Carlin's death.

"tasteless smear job", as opposed to the MSM's disgusting uncritical *ss-kissing of Hussein Obama or Rodham Clinton (or, come to think about it, any liberal).

RoC - not the place, not the time.
Takes good breeding to know the difference.

RoC, I really don't want to know you at all. Maybe you should be posting over at the CBC as they seem to have a whole bunch of hate spewing 'tards writing over there.

You should also look in the archives as to the comments on the previous items you mentioned.

Unless you are talking about truly evil people like Hitler, Mao, Stalin or the like, dissing the dead is truly tacky.

Tony Snow was cut down in his prime by a disease that doesn't discriminate by political views, race, religion or family status. Cancer doesn't care about that. It is a time to reflect on things and to express our condolances to the Snow family.

Did Carlin and Kennedy get the same respect that Snow has gotten from some posters?

Like I said I have no ill will toward Snow but if some posters only think respect should be shown to people they like are they any better?

To be fair Texas you were a fan of Carlin and never said anything bad you were just the first to point out what I am doing is wrong so I lept at the chance to make a point.

Tony Snow was a class act whether hosting Rush's show, White house PS or anywhere else he was. In this world of hate 24/7 from the "tolerant ones" the leftards it is not surprizing the comments at CBC, but the losers over there all know in their little pea size brains they couldn't pack this mans lunch. Rest in peace Tony, you were a great journalist.

Tony Snow. Thanks for your time & talents sharing this lifes journey with us all. Its made it that much better by your integrity, if not deportment.

Right of centre:

You make a good point. I'm a fan and a supporter of this web site. However, I did not read the comments when Carlin died or when Kennedy was diagnosed with cancer.

Were people posting equally inappropriate comments because they happened to be someone they didn't like?

Tony Snow was a good man. Tim Rusert was a good man.
It is just that those that were at the top of what they were doing, they for some reason went on to another dimension, one would think, just slightly ahead of their time.
The two of them were very unique in that, that they did not spin, did their research and gave you the goods or bads as it were.
As it is, now, there seems to be a vacuum in the area of good journalism. There, no doubt will be others that will come up, with any good luck, sometime soon.
There are those that would appear to be as good, though they lack certain quality that made Snow and Rusert stand out and above the crowd.
For all anybody can tell, they are free, maybe here and there checking the crowds.
If there are gates of heaven, they have a better chance to get in than most.

Rest in peace, Mr. Snow. I rather suspect you a have earned a "well done, thou good and faithful servant".

As for those who cannot distinguish between a righteous man and an evil one, and for some perverse reason wish both to be accorded the honours of the upright and faithful...

...words fail.

Tony Snow was a great press secretary. He was a great father and a great husband.

As for the CBC, it's only a matter of time ?

Just remember: some day, all the neocons will be dead.*

Just remember: some day, all the neocons will be dead.

My condolences to Mr. Snow's family, should they ever read this.

Tony Snow was one of my favorite people on TV. He was a class act. Hiring Tony Snow as press secretary was possibly the smartest thing George Bush did in his whole first term.

I will miss seeing him on Fox and listening to him fill in for Rush Limbaugh. In fact, since he hasn't been on Fox I hardly ever tune in there any more.

"My condolences to Mr. Snow's family, should they ever read this."

Dear Mr Phantom,

Thank you so much for your kind words about my late husband. I cannot express just how much your personal condolences mean to my family and I, especially coming as they do from an anonymous blog reader with a superhero nickname.

Yours truly,
Jill

If so QE, who's going to save your sorry ass from the Kim Jong Ils of this world, hm?

In response to RoC's tasteless mention of Ted Kennedy and George Carlin, I can only say that while I disagreed with Mr. Carlin's politics (strongly!), he seemed a pretty cool guy and I liked his comedy. Ted Kennedy on the other hand is unfit to shine the shoes of a guy like Tony Snow, OR George Carlin.

Poor guy
what is important majority of cancer in north America is becuase men and woman go to beaches and dress the way with naked body in sun they will end up getting cancer or they have too much sreach and not eating well end up getting cancer people who were young not take care like smoke cigar tehy may get cancer and people face when they wna to die it show up how human can change from good look to dead face before die

but he has smile all the time means he was brave
any more than I do not know this guy in detail but he look kind man

do not go naked in beaches sun can kill you look at number of cancer

To the above, why don't you go and suck a lemon.

Jesus H Christ, will you please go away roger,new,haye.

I have to side with RoC on this one. Nobody here knew this guy any more than they knew George Carlin. So why no smart-ass remarks, like another one bites the dust?

It's a shame to see someone that young pass on. Cancer doesn't seem to judge people on their merits. Nor does it take mercy on people who live right.

"Poor guy
what is important majority of cancer in north America is becuase men and woman go to beaches and dress the way with naked body in sun they will end up getting cancer or they have too much sreach and not eating well end up getting cancer people who were young not take care like smoke cigar tehy may get cancer and people face when they wna to die it show up how human can change from good look to dead face before die

but he has smile all the time means he was brave
any more than I do not know this guy in detail but he look kind man

do not go naked in beaches sun can kill you look at number of cancer
"

I think this a perfect example of "Canadian multiculturalism". Good english, no?

Its nice to see the Left maintaining their high moral standards and respect for humanity in this thread, meant to acknowledge the untimely death of a good and talented man who left a wife and three children behind.

You people ever wonder why you get mocked and vilified, this here is the reason. To a Conservative, some occasions are not opportunities for cheap political shots. I have yet to see the Left show similar restraint.

The dead are gone on to their reward, and are beyond the reach of your spite. How about showing some respect for the living, eh? You can take cheap shots anytime, holding fire for a day or two isn't going to kill you.

The Phantom: "You people ever wonder why you get mocked and vilified, this here is the reason. To a Conservative, some occasions are not opportunities for cheap political shots. I have yet to see the Left show similar restraint. The dead are gone on to their reward, and are beyond the reach of your spite. How about showing some respect for the living, eh? You can take cheap shots anytime, holding fire for a day or two isn't going to kill you."

Please refer to this SDA thread, and then spare us your tired sanctimony in the future, unless you're also willing to aim your latest comment above directly at Kate as well.

The Phantom: "You people ever wonder why you get mocked and vilified, this here is the reason. To a Conservative, some occasions are not opportunities for cheap political shots. I have yet to see the Left show similar restraint. The dead are gone on to their reward, and are beyond the reach of your spite. How about showing some respect for the living, eh? You can take cheap shots anytime, holding fire for a day or two isn't going to kill you."

Please refer to Kate's 23 June post about George Carlin's death ("Another one bites the dust"), and then try to spare us your tired sanctimony in the future, unless you're also willing to aim your latest comment above directly at Kate as well.

The Phantom: "You people ever wonder why you get mocked and vilified, this here is the reason. To a Conservative, some occasions are not opportunities for cheap political shots. I have yet to see the Left show similar restraint. The dead are gone on to their reward, and are beyond the reach of your spite. How about showing some respect for the living, eh? You can take cheap shots anytime, holding fire for a day or two isn't going to kill you."

Please refer to Kate's 23 June post about George Carlin's death ("Another one bites the dust"), and then try to spare us your tired sanctimony in the future, unless you're also willing to aim your latest comment above directly at Kate as well.

QE, I think if you look back to that post you'll seem my comments don't agree with Kate's on the subject of Mr. Carlin.

Besides, the bad behavior of others doesn't excuse YOURS, does it?

i don't have time for people like qe but i will say that tony snow seemed to be a good man as opposed to being an ideologue. i watched many of his broadcasts and listened to him on the radio and always had the impression he knew what he was talking about.

"Did Carlin and Kennedy get the same respect that Snow has gotten from some posters?"

Did they EARN the same respect? Or is respect something you believe is an "entitlement"?

"if some posters only think respect should be shown to people they like are they any better?"

Of course you should only respect those you like. Why on earth would I respect a bad person? When did exercising judgment become a bad thing? You don't sound very right of centre to me.

A new definition of Canadian: someone willing to shake hands with the devil. Ask Romeo Dallaire how that goes. The devil loves some Canada.

Tony Snow ... good man, and I heard he was a pretty good bass player too. He will be missed.

Regarding the issues here with Carlin. I didn't agree with his politics, but on many occasions he make me laugh really hard. I like him for that. Politics isn't everything.

Regarding Ted Kennedy ... He is a very bad man and has done a lot of bad things. I don't like him at all. I wouldn't dance of his grave, but I sure wouldn't miss him. I'll bet Mary Jo trips him on his way to hell.

By the way, Mark Steyn hosted Rush's show on Friday and it was great.

The Phantom: QE, I think if you look back to that post you'll seem my comments don't agree with Kate's on the subject of Mr. Carlin.

You mean this post -
smalldeadanimals.com/archives/008959.html? The one in which you don't make any comment at all?

Here's what I think happened: you read that 23 June post, recalled that funny George Carlin special you watched on the Comedy Network a few years back, realized you disagreed with Kate on this one, but then decided that you could never bring yourself to publicly admonish her ("Hey Kate, the dead are gone on to their reward, and are beyond the reach of your spite. How about showing some respect for the living, eh? You can take cheap shots anytime, holding fire for a day or two isn't going to kill you."), and so you held your tongue like the good little foot soldier that you are.

When I first got my sat radio in 2004, the "Tony Snow Show" was one of the first U.S. talk radio programs that I listened to. I listened to him every morning from then until he signed-on as G.W.'s Press Secretary. Like Morpheus offering the pill, Tony Snow was responsible in a large part of waking me up to the real world. Though I didn't always agree with some of his points, I had never heard such an affable, open, honest radio show host before. Nor have I since. He was a family man who would have given every thing for his children. You could hear it in his voice when he talked about them. He was also a musician. I remember him talking about how he loved how Jethro Tull incorporated the flute into their music. My heartfelt condolences go out to Mr. Snow's family. He'll be missed.

Uh huh QE, whatever you like. As it happens I've always liked George Carlin, and think a lot of the stuff he made fun of deserved it. Kate didn't like him, that's her problem. This is her blog, if I have nothing nice to say about her post I generally say nothing.

Its called manners, QE. Something you may have heard of but don't have yourself, seemingly.

At any rate, me being a good foot soldier or maybe just a well mannered guest does nothing to excuse -you-, my friend. Not only are you crapping on the carpet at somebody else's place, you're speaking ill of the honored dead for no good reason.

If you had even a tiny pinch of respect for your fellow man you'd tell Kate off direct and leave Tony Snow and his family out of it. As you have chosen not to, it appears you have no respect at all. Just bile. Go look in the mirror, see if you still like what you're looking at.

Tony's mother died when he was 17, from colon cancer and according to reports he lived his live taking every precaution, eating right, regular check ups etc. I remember him hosting for Rush years ago, and watching FNS for years. The very sad thing is that 2 political journalistis giants have died, without knowing the results of next Nov. Will we get balanced coverage from now till Nov., I doubt it. But several of the talk shows today had some not nice things to say about the big O. The actually said he was flipflopping.
To Tony's family, condolences and he will be missed. I do think the media learned from the overthetop coverge of Tim's death and were more respectful this time.

I looked at the AP 'tasteless smear job'.

Actually it was a balanced look at Snow's tenure as press secretary. I guess you dudes have been in the bunker so long that the simple statement of fact constitutes a 'tastless smear job.'

Snow sat in as host for bilious hate-spewing gas bag Limbaugh? That's all we need to know right there.

As for 'tastless smear jobs', check out Kate's entries on Kennedy's brain tumour and her moving remembrance of George Carlin.

Carlin wasn't even a political figure! All he had to was *look like* a hippie to get smacked down upon his death.

But hate junkies must have their fix.

I believe most blogs are not say things because they hate or like or dislike the person they are talking about

she may has character that explain each people with past of whay did that person did wrong becaue if person was right , mostpeople are not interesed but if person did wrong made peopel to read blog and open that weakness of person is that weakness was correct or not and what people think about weakness of that person

most blogs and newspaper editor use this tactic to attaract reader some times may hurt and some times what cost may nobody care but some times may use like defame the person by use wrong information escially dead people

all peopel who die back to god while all of us will go nobody knows when the clock of our life stop but we all go the same road rich and poor bad and good we have to ask forgiveness for god for his fault that is all need to do for dead people but still later not the same day after dead tiem may be a month after reveiw and anlyse his or her mistake after death not right in the same day

rpall said "...bilious hate-spewing gas bag Limbaugh..."

Tells me all I need to know about you, buddy.

The Phantom: "Go look in the mirror, see if you still like what you're looking at."

[Sniff, sniff.] You're so right, Phantom. I hate the person staring back at me in the mirror. It hurts sooo much inside. We should all aspire to be better, to be more like you. Thank you--thank you--for showing me the light!

Tax hike. Now please. Biiiiig tax hike.

Yeah, Phantom

Limbaugh's popular with your type because he's a spewer of peace, love and forgiveness.

just like Coulter and Glenn Beck.

No - they're spewers of hate for hate junkies.

And it's A-OK 'cause they're on 'your side'.

I guess hate pays big bucks, any of you anti Rush guys read his latest contract. The fact he riles so many posting here must mean he is hitting your sore spot, you can't handle the truth. He always calls himself an entertainer. Re the M. Fox coverage, read all of it, he just hates victims trying to make political points, and even M. Fox admitted that he sometimes deliberately missed his meds so his symptoms were more noticeable. Rush called him on it. And of course you all know that he was encouraging voters to vote for Hillory. Wonder how many of you have ever heard his program, instead of repeated what others have told you about it.

None of them have, Mary. If they listened to it they'd have to admit they were wrong. Not going to happen.

Them admitting it, I mean. The being wrong part is pretty much a constant. Like gravity.

"And the trumpets sounded on the other side"!

Here is a beautiful gift, sent to me by an American cousin. (Perhaps it will sweep aside "the banal concerns that occupy our 'normal time.'":

Tony Snow has passed. Below are his words - a gift he left for us a year ago. Today let us all pray for his wife and children - as we remember this good, articulate, likeable, decent and very special man. Jack Tymann

Cancer's Unexpected Blessings - by Tony Snow - July 20,

Blessings arrive in unexpected packages—in my case, cancer.

Those of us with potentially fatal diseases—and there are millions in America today—find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence What It All Means, Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.

The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the why questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.

I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is—a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.

But despite this—because of it—God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.

Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.

To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life—and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many nonbelieving hearts—an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live—fully, richly, exuberantly—no matter how their days may be numbered.

Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see—but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension—and yet don't. By his love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.
'You Have Been Called'

Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet; a loved one holds your hand at the side. "It's cancer," the healer announces.

The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. "Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler." But another voice whispers: "You have been called." Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter—and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our "normal time."

There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived—an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tinny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.

The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing though the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.

There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue—for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.

Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.

We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us—that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us partway there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two people's worries and fears.
Learning How to Live

Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love.

I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was a humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. "I'm going to try to beat [this cancer]," he told me several months before he died. "But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side."

His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity—filled with life and love we cannot comprehend—and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.

Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?

When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it.

It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up—to speak of us!

This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.

What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place—in the hollow of God's hand.

"Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord. And may light perpetual shine upon him." Amen.

Hate may pay big bucks but faith, love, and grace are priceless. This (sorry for the length) was written by Tony Snow a year ago and was sent to me by a friend in the U.S. (Disclaimer: God talk ahead...):

Cancer's Unexpected Blessings - by Tony Snow - July 20, 2007

[begin quote]

Blessings arrive in unexpected packages—in my case, cancer.

Those of us with potentially fatal diseases—and there are millions in America today—find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our
mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence What It All Means,
Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.

The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the why questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.

I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is—a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.

But despite this—because of it—God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now
and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.

Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused
panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.

To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life—and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is
nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many nonbelieving hearts—an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live—fully, richly, exuberantly—no matter how their days may be
numbered.

Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails as far as
the eye can see—but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension—and yet don't. By his love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom
and joy we would not experience otherwise.

'You Have Been Called'

Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet; a loved one holds your
hand at the side. "It's cancer," the healer announces.

The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. "Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler." But another voice whispers: "You have been called." Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter—and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our "normal time."

There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived—an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of
calamity has swept away everything trivial and tinny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.

The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with
thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing though the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but
only about the moment.

There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue—for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.

Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.

We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us—that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us partway there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave
afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two people's worries and fears.

Learning How to Live

Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love.

I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was a humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain
because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. "I'm going to try to beat [this cancer]," he told me several months before he died. "But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side."

His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity—filled with life and love we cannot comprehend—and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.

Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?

When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it.

It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up—to speak of us!

This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.

>> What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter
how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place—in the hollow of God's hand.

[end quote]

LOL, lookout! I wonder if your cousin and my friend live on the same street!!

batb, we'll have to ask them!!

batb and lookout, thank you for that. That's the Tony Snow I remember listening to on Fox and on Rush.

I commend this to the attention of the IDIOT who said: "Snow sat in as host for bilious hate-spewing gas bag Limbaugh? That's all we need to know right there." and those other idiots who agreed with him.

You have no idea what's going on, boys. Time to get out of Mom's basement.

Phantom, you're most welcome.

I'm afraid I never saw or heard Tony Snow, except in the few videos after his death. He seems like an exceptional human being to me.

Thanks for your comments.