Continuing the tradition - Burns Night

 

The Tam O'Shanter Restaurant in Los Angeles has been serving wonderful meals for their patrons for one hundred years. For the last forty two of them Dr. Neil McLeod has been "Slaying the Haggis" in style with a blade named Haggis Slayer, that must have slain more Haggis than any other blade in Chistendom, although the Guiness Book of World Records declined to print it. With pipes and drum and a dancer the the diners are regaled with Robert Burns' Address To A Haggis in taditional Scots style.  The proof of it is here in the video so click away.

Earlier slayings can be evidenced here: https://www.losfelizledger.com/article/a-good-auld-time-burns-night-at-the-tam-oshanter/  

and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCWY33-trEY

and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX3Z09bcluw

Los Angeles Daily News: https://www.dailynews.com/2018/01/24/why-the-hottest-party-in-l-a-celebrated-a-long-gone-scottish-poet/

La Weekly : https://www.laweekly.com/burns-supper-celebrating-a-scottish-poetry-legend-with-whisky-and-sheep-innards/

Ngong the Giant

 The best news this Christmas season is from my dear friend Jim Covell who has been working on the soundtrack for our latest collaboration "The Legend of the Giant Ngong".  He has finished the album and it is being released on cdbaby and will be on iTunes and Amazon. The book that accompanies is beautifully illustrated by Sue Hooper-Laurie and is available on Amazon and elsewhere.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0icnuiMDXExpj4Zb2sMx8P?si=Qa3dMGZ_QEiak8zNlgCXHA&nd=1

The book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Ngong-Giant-Maasai-Tale/dp/1500737615?

L.A. Blue - new poems

Nothing to do with Covid, this new book of poems is all about Los Angeles as it was, and hopefully will be again.  Filled with little nuances which you may not have known about or even thought about, these poems tell little secrects about the city of angles. Los Angeles will change you forever, you may not notice it at first, but one's perspective is altered. Here are some things to think about!

If you want to know how Farmers Market got started, or what the Hollywood sign used to say then you should take a peek inside.  There is even an explanatin of how Forest Lawn became a funeral park.

It was a busy year trying to make use of the openings in my practice schedule which seemed like Swiss cheese.  But working with Sue Hooper Lawrie really moved the writing schedule forwards. The idea of a book of poems just about LA began a long time ago, but finally there was enough material to pull together so here it is:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=LA+Blue+poems+by+Neil+Stewart+McLeod&ref=nb_sb_noss 

Blue sky every day

In sunny Los Angeles

An endless summer

At the Huntington Library
 

Paul Washer and Men Of The Word

 

Last night, April 21st, at Grace Community Church, 815 men sat under the instruction of our guest speaker, Paul Washer when he taught from 1st Corrinthians. His subject was God's call to young men, who need to "act like Men".  The discussion afterwards with Dr Brad Klassen (left) and Paul Washer (right) was moderated by Josh Petras(our high school pastor).

Men from seven to ninty four attended and were exaulted to take the lead and follow their God given responsibility to lead heir families inspite of fear.

The discussion will be continued when at the men's event this coming Saturday morning, April 24th, we expect 2000 men to attend when our subject will be "Not of This World"

The event is free, is at 8:00 a.m. and we invite all men to join us for a time of exhortaion, admonition and encouragement.

You can reserve a space here https://www.gracechurch.org/forms/829

Not of This World

When challenged about the world’s influence in our lives, most of us respond dismissively. We are quick to denounce the perverted trends of the culture and highlight our participation in the church. We may even sport a bumper sticker that declares, “not of this world.”

Yet worldliness is far more subtle than we often recognize, and this is precisely what makes it so dangerous. It thrives among those ignorant of its threats and naïve about its schemes, who think worldliness can be identified merely by sight, or mortified by a simple list of “dos and don'ts"—or the display of a bumper sticker.

The gravity of this problem is illustrated in the commands given by the writers of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul had to urge the believers in Rome to “not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). He exhorted the Colossian church to set their minds “on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2) and reminded the Philippian believers that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). John stated it bluntly, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

The very fact that the writers of the New Testament address the topic of worldliness with reminders and warnings illustrates that even saints are prone to love the world. If this was a problem in their day, it is no less a problem in ours. As much as ever, we are in need of biblical reminders and warnings. We cannot afford to be ignorant. Therefore, this year’s Men of the Word event will focus on the problem of worldliness: how to identify its subtle features, how to mortify it, and how to cultivate tis antithesis—a life resolutely focused on Christ.

We invite all men to recognize the clear and present danger and join us on Saturday morning, April 24, for a time of exhortation, admonition, and encouragement.

Livestream of the event will be available at gracechurch.org/live.

An Easter Poem - The triumphal Entry

The Folded Palm

from the book "When The Spirit Moves"

John 12 ,“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming sitting on a donkey’s colt.”  Dr. William Varner who teaches at The master's University contends that it was on a Monday that the Lord entered into Jerusalem, not a Sunday

I keep a palm leaf in my bible

It’s folded and plaited and dry,

It reminds me of when the palm fronds waved

In profusion as Jesus rode by.

It reminds me of that fateful day

When the fickle crowd faltered and failed

Turning from frantic welcomes

To denials, in the court where they railed.

“Hosanna”, they called as He rode in

“Hosanna” they cried out with zeal,

“Blessed is He that comes in the name

Of the Lord, King of Israel”.

How quickly their attitude altered,

As the Pharisees looked on with scorn.

How deep and complete their denials

When the trials were done with the dawn.

The Pharisees saw as He rode in

On a donkey, the Scripture fulfilled,

And they plotted within their jealous hearts

How the Son of Man would be killed.

How sad Jesus was when He saw them,

For He knew every thought, every plan.

He could see how the crowd would reject Him,

And desert Him to a man.

I ask myself if I’d deny Him

Had I been in the crowd long ago.

For even Peter who loved Him,

Denied Him, three times in a row.

He rode through the crowds on a donkey,

Anointed, the Paschal Lamb

He gave His life so that I might live

 - Sinner that I am.

So I keep a palm leaf in my bible.

It’s folded and plaited and dry.

It reminds me of when the palm fronds waved

In profusion as Jesus rode by.

It reminds me that He died for me

That He came to atone for our sin,

So that my poor soul might be saved

And on the last day welcomed in. 

 

A recording of this poem with music by James Covell is available on Spotify and iTunes

https://music.apple.com/us/album/when-the-spirit-moves/1411054434

Out On A Limb: Building a Tree House

 In 2003 a start was made finding a way build a tree house in the stone pine on the hill in our garden.  It took eleven months. It is hard to imagine that anyone would not want to have a tree house in their back yard if they had the chance. It would be a place for children to get out of the house, a quiet hideaway to sit and write a poem, or extra sleeping quarters for stay-over guests who want to try hammocks. Perhaps even a sweet heart get away where you could tell someone you love them.

Here with sequential photographs is a record of how our tree house was built, set out in a way that is instructive and easy to understand. After sixteen years the structure has stood the test of time.

The book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1496158814?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

A Traditional American Thanksgiving Poem

 

It is with great joy that I write to tell you that the Thanksgiving poem have been illustrated by Sue Hooper-Lawrie and is now available in the stores in time for the holiday.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HQ6DX7B?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Please write a review!

Take a look at a few of her wonderfully colorful drawings, and share them with the family and your friends.

Giving Thanks!

Welcoming the Wampanoags!

Saying farewell to the "Mayflower"

A Shell In My Pocket

 People tell me stories, I like that!  Every now and then I am so struck by the tale that I have to write it down and take, you might even say steal, the idea and after juggling with the notions a poem appears. “The Licorice Store”, “Maddie’s Ring” and “The Stamp On The Cow” are good examples.  None of us write in isolation, we are dependent upon others, so many others. This anthology of new poems is dedicated to all those people whose stories are captured on these pages.  It contains stories that I struggled to write over many years but lacked the inspiration.  The longer poems like “Eric and The Wolves” , “After The Storm” and the “Saga of Harald Hardrada” fall into this category.

The book is available on Amazon, and I hope to make an album with James Covell.

Take a look on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HP6VVQ9?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 

Here is the cover title:

A Shell In My Pocket

I went down to the sea today

To the ceaseless sea and the sand,

Where waves churned out across the shore

And its breath poured out on the land.

My mind was filled with the thrill of the call

Of memories endless rhyme,

And all I need is the song on the air

And a shell in my pocket and time.

The sound of each wave pouring in

As the last wave whispers away,

Produces the music on the air

An unending sibilant sway,

And the smell and the sound and the sight of the sea

Stretching out to the edge of the sky,

And its breath on my skin is all I need

As time goes silently by.

The shell in my pocket reminds me when

I stooped on the shore and the sand,

Of a time gone by like an ebbing tide

When I plucked it up with my hand,

And the sun in the sky when its arc was high

Before tumbling down to the west,

And the hours that have flown like the life I’ve known

When the shell in my pocket is pressed.

The Names of the Days

 Sue Hooper Lawrie and I have been busy, and here is our new collaboration. Available on Amazon our book about how the names for the weekdays got the names we call them is out for you to enjoy. Take a look and if you like what you se please go to the link and write us a nice review, please!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1511593970?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

The drawings are delightful and have a memorable quality which will help us to recall the story behind each name. The sorrowful Friyja seen here gives her name to Friday.

As do a number of Norse deities for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Only Saturday retains the original Latin name.

The Legend of The Giant Ngong

At last this story which was started when we were camping with our children in Yosemite has been completed, and with the help of Sue Hooper-Lawrie whose exquisite illustrations really bring the tale to life, the book is now available on Amazon.

Here is an East African tale in the traditional style which explains the appearance of Lake Victoria, the Rift Valley, and how the Ngong Hills were thrown up to contour the landscape when a giant fell to earth.

Just take a look at Sue's drawings

Making Professional Presentations

If you want to make more interesting PowerPoint presentations take a look at the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V49VxSflCo

New Christmas Poetry

Of Christmas and the winter festivals it was Sir Walter Scott who famously wrote:

'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;

A Christmas gambol oft would cheer

A poor man's heart through half the year.

It is as true today as it was then and in the olden times  which he described. There is no doubt that a good winter tale steals the attention and the hearts of its audience.  Every writer has to at some point envy the work of their preceding contemporaries and wish that a favorite winter story had flowed from the nib of their pen. Should they live and compose long enough they might eventually have a Christmas tale to their credit.

The story at the center of all these tales is the greatest ever told.  It is the fulfillment of the most complex prophecy, and we are all here because of it, and share in the celebration as Christians have world wide since Christ’s birth.

From Koru on the west facing slope of the Rift Valley in Kenya, to Oxford with its colleges in the center of England, to the United States with its cold northern lake side cities and on to California with its endless summer, and far off in Australia where the seasons are reversed, Christmas is kept and stories are told. From all of them inspiration has been gathered to fill out these pages and help us to see the reason for the poems.

Available on Amazon here is my latest collection ready for the coming winter season!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981471855/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1528662227&sr=1-2&refinements=p_27%3ANeil+Stewart+McLeod

An Editor's Corner

For two years, from 2015 - 2017, I have had the privilege of serving as “editor” of  Explorer, the newsletter for the Los Angeles Dental Society. I put the word editor it in quotation marks because the real work of overseeing the production and conning through the content fell on the shoulders of Teresa Chien, the Executive Director, and her staff.  My task was to come up with something interesting and pithy that was topical that might catch the reader’s attention, and try to do as good a job as my predecessors like Dr. Kenneth Jacobs.  Running through these short articles is an appeal to our profession to keep up to date and yet exercise caution as we do so.  We have an amazing history being responsible for the introduction of fine miniaturized drills, anesthesia implantology and exquisite ceramic prosthetic replacements. Here then are the eleven articles that were published as the Editor’s Corner.  The opportunity to expand content and add a poem was irresistible.

This book is available on Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1720369291/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1528578728&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3ANeil+Stewart+McLeod 

Should you get a chance to read it please write a review for me.

Thank you!

Upon Reflection now in print

The selected poems has now gone to press.  It has taken twenty readers twenty months to get the project completed and we are pleased with the result.  There is a budget edition out for $15 which can't be beaten.  Should you have the chance to read it please write a review on Amazon :https://www.amazon.com/Upon-Reflection-Selected-Stewart-McLeod/dp/1984392859/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517547136&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3ANeil+Stewart+McLeod

This book contains all the favorite classics, The First Thanksgiving, The Wristwatch... , The Silver Box and Come Uppance.   Get a copy for yourself and write a review on line.

My new book "Nearly Jewish" is out today on Amazon:

I don’t know who said it, but you can go to the four corners of the earth and you will find four things, fleas, cockroaches Jews and Scotsman, and they are running everything.  In today’s emancipated society such a characterization might be considered and exaggeration, and politically if not factually incorrect.  But it is funny, and I, a Scott, surely have been blessed to meet wonderful Jewish people where ever I have been, particularly in London and Los Angeles. They have influenced my life and guided and supported me, and I love them.

Talk with Jewish people for long enough and they will fill your ears with stories, with sorrows and with humor. I have been writing down stories for a long time now, and dotting the pages are references to that influence.  It could not be helped.  Now it is time to acknowledge how strong that effect has been.  So here with out apology for my Goyisha ignorance and errors are my Jewish poems. Oy vey!

With an introduction by Dr. William Varner this is  good quick read  for Jew and gentile alike. He wrote:

 "I hope and pray also that this little treasure will find its way into the hands of many Gentiles, who will gain a new appreciation of “Yiddishkeit” that wonderful Yiddish word that means something like “Jewishness.” I count it a privilege to commend it to readers of all religious persuasions. Be prepared to laugh and to cry – and to come away enriched."

I hope you will take his advice and have a look.

The Last Post

For two years and ten editions I have had the privilege to write the commenting editor's corner for the Los Angeles Dental Society newsletter the "Explorer". It has been a lot of fun!  Now I am moving into the Web presence and marketing side of the Dental Society's administration.

Spots were written about the significance of the dental profession, caution in embracing new technology, how important it is to keep up to date yet being aware of marketing pressures, and reviewing the digital changes that are affecting dentistry.  When new technical advice revealed that we should not brush immediately after meals, an exposé was made, and when public broad casters drew into question the value of flossing a condemnation was launched criticizing their foolishness. The importance of oral health in maintaining a healthy brain and heart rounded out the physiology, and a final slam was made against the sadness of consumer demands causing favorite treatment adjuncts to disappear from the market-place, and simply no longer be available. That "End of An Era" is copied below.

“Sorry we don’t carry that any more!”  said our representative at Patterson Dental. That was the answer that really got my attention.  Suddenly I was rummaging around in the jumble of files which so untidily fill up my mind remembering Tempak, the best temporary filling material ever, and the daisy cup for Vacu Rinse which replaced my cuspidor in 1976. “We don’t have hydrocolloid impression material any more, we can’t get it.”  What they meant was, “nobody orders that any more Doctor McLeod, you are an old dinosaur!”  I called Dux and was informed that they had four boxes of heavy bodied tubes and a few hundred cartriloids left, and would I like them. After that it would be over.

Hydrocolloid impression material has been the gold standard for restorative dentistry since Morris Thompson consolidated the technique in the 1950's. By 1974 when I entered USC dental school it was the material of choice for anyone wanting to get really accurate impressions for fine restorations, particularly in gold. Subsequently we as a profession embraced rubber-base and then the new poly vinyl siloxane materials which moved forward in preeminence and slowly superceded the use of hydrocolloid by all but a small cadre of enthusiasts.  Now the demand for the seaweed agar is so small that it is being dropped from the catalogues.

Overshadowing all of this is the pressure to use digital light impression technology. Even the bite registration can now be indexed using an algorithm that manipulates the data from the light impression files. Today nearly every porcelain or zirconium crown has a base that is carved by a CADCAM system which means that even if you are taking a physical impression it is at least one step removed from the original. So we are actually being forced to change yet again.  This discontinuation of agar comes hand in hand with the introduction of optical impressions. One might compare this with the introduction of digital photography and x-ray imaging.  How many of us now still use photographic emulsion for pictures or x-rays?  The answer will be the same about impression materials all too soon.  My question is are we exchanging quality for convenience?

For answers to these and other conundrums remember we are here for you at the Los Angeles Dental Society.

Wedding Poem

Do you recall my darling
  before my hair turned grey,
We each made a promise
  to honor and obey.
You with stephanotis
  for your bride’s bouquet,
I am thinking of that now -
  our son is married today.

We asked God together
 for blessing and for grace,
Left the church and climbed the hill
 to reach this very place.
With gathered friends and family
 we shared a fine soiree -
I am thinking of that as
 our son is married today.

The years have come and gone so fast
 the children came and grew,
Each in their turn will forge a path
 to make a life that’s new.
Amazed we gaze contented
 So what is there left to say
But thank God for His blessings as
 our son is married today.

There I see the family of
 my son’s bonnie bride
Who’ve traveled far to be with us
 and stand there by her side.
Here we are bound for ever
 in harmony we pray
United by our children
 who are married here today.

And you our guests who witness
 their nuptial array
We thank you all for being here
 and ask you to portray
In unison your fond support
 together as we pray
That we will long remember
 for our son is married today.

For Roddy and Bilyana who were married on May 27th 2017

Another Cuppa - New Poems

My eleventh book of original poetry just written has gone to press and it available from Amazon.  The introduction was written by our pastor and friend John MacArthur.  and the volume contains the Christmas poem "Roi's Tale" which is the traditional story from the shepherd's perspective, and also "Happy In America", "Winter Coming On", "Spinario" and "The View" , so it will make a nice Christmas gift.  I hope you will enjoy this latest effort and comment on it so others my hear of it.

Mount Pleasant Community Church, Oregon

The Mount Pleasant Community Church

If you are looking for a traditional Christian American "early church" experience, and you are in the Salem, Oregon area, look no further than the Mount Pleasant Community Church. Sound biblical preaching from Pastor Richard Neely is proclaimed at a simple rustic pulpit in the most charming little church. Founded in 1854 the pews hold just forty worshipers, and the aisle has the original bare wooden floor with a runner woven from soldiers uniforms. Standing the test of time it is the oldest building of its kind and was the subject of an article by in the Statesman's Journal.
Sunday service at 10.00 a.m.
Call (503) 859-4457

Where it is!

Listen for a moment to the congregation singing the old Scottish hymn "Abide With Me"

Pastor Richard Neely

Pulling Together - A rowing tale

Pulling Together On The River - Neil McLeod

I used to row at Guy's Hospital in the early 70's, and the premature demise of a colleague and fellow member of the Beverly Hills Academy of Dentistry, who rowed for Cornell, caused me to reflect on his exemplary life and what it takes to be a good oarsman.


Pulling Together
for Eric Loberg

Guy's Hospital Rowing Club

There’s flashing of oars in the water 
When the sunlight shines back off each blade, 
And the image below is reflected
As a perfect picture is made.

Watchers on shore at the bank-side
Repine and in their hearts say,
In a lost misty-eyed contemplation,
“Oh, I’ll be an oarsman one day!”

We are all going down to the boathouse,
We cannot be turning up late
Together we’ll reach in and toss the shell
We don’t want to make others wait.

We’ll walk the shell down to the dockside,
Step to and lower it with care
Gently down into the water,
For that we need every one there.

Commitment is needed to be in a crew,
To bend your back to the oar,
To lean in time and draw it through
When the coxswain’s demanding more. 

Control is essential to follow the stroke,
To feather your blade on return,
Then do it again and again and again,
When a smile is all you will earn.

It takes grit to turn up at the dockside
On a day when you’re facing a race,
Giving your all when the flag goes down
Responding, (if beaten), with grace.

But the art is to love being part of a team,
Pulling together in time,
When muscles and sinews comply with your will
In tune with the rhythm and rhyme.

There’s flashing of oars in the water 
When the sunlight shines back off each blade, 
So rejoice in the feat of a race well run
And the perfect picture it made. 

As the blades feather out at the surface
The water just closes again,
Like the life of a loved one vanished away
Only ripples and memories remain.

Eric Loberg

Dr. Eric Lewis Loberg, 69, passed away March 15, 2016, at UCLA Medical Center following complications from lymphoma. He was a longtime resident of Westwood, and an avid Bruin fan. A past president of Westwood Village Rotary Club, Dr. Loberg was also an eight-time US National Rowing Champion and seven-time Canadian National Rowing Champion. As he used to say, "I'm just a simple country boy from upstate New York trying to make it here in Tinseltown."