Memorial Day '14

  Reading Noah Adams'  "Far Appalachia" had me spellbound and riding down the New River right alongside the author.  Full of anecdotes and side stories about the Scotch Irish folk inhabiting the hill  and mountain country that the New RIver navigates through. I could have well been right there in the canoe and later on, in the raft paddlling the stream and rapids.
     Inspirational for me and I can but hope that I find the guts to pursue the calling this body of water and this pastime has for me.
   Memorial Day a bitter sweet one for me, finding myself the only immeidate family member to have served in any war that I know of.  Pride doesn't fit but I do feel something that I need to flesh out and articulate; a goal for future blogs, I would say. 

Ukelele, bycycle, hello Hannah

Families are so important to all of us. And so when daughter Hannah arrives for a visit of little over a week's stay, we celebrate our love and what binds us together and we marvel at new directions and differences in lifestyles. These can be compatible, they can coalesce, they must coalesce. But the family can still rejoice and savor the differences and how much we mean to each other in our own differences. Maybe I'll fortify myself and articulate and flesh out some of these differences, since our habitual thoughts dwell on those more than not. It's all part of who we are and who God calls us to be. After all, we're "created in God's image"!

a place in time

Here we go, another choir story! Singing Evensong at Christ Church, Lexington was a pretty amazing experience for me. I mean, first of all, the church is a living and breathing sanctuary not only of the the American Episcopal Church but to Ky and American History. There's Henry Clay's memorial plaque mounted on the south wall of the Nave, among others. The choir pews reminded me of my childhood days at St Marks with the stall pews in the chancel just to the West of the altar rail and Altar. Another thrill being part of CCC's choir and soaking in the whole adrenalin rush experience. I had to rein in my emotions and my excitement at the experience as my body and visceral energy tried to take over as we sang the Magnificat. But I somehow got control of myself in the process.
The people were truly friendly and welcoming, so, all in all, it was a uplifting Sunday spent on I-64 and just a block or so from Gratz Park in Lexington! It was just a quaint experience in addition to being musically fulfilling!

sing that Sweet Honey in the Rock Song!

Here we go, again, counting down til Sunday morning and hey, it's the real deal. Can't believe that us whitebread choristers at Christ Church Cathedral on 2nd St. in Louisville will be rocking to "We are...". A fitting anthem with three baptisms including Robert and Raj's child, Raphael. I could feel the emotion and anticipation Wednesday at rehearsal. Robert was pumped! and it was infectious for all of us there. Isn't it amazing what two people in the name of love can do and how all of us present can also enjoy and ride those endorphinal uplifting moments.
I can only share the feelings and joy that I feel but I know that this represents the best we can offer as two or three are gathered together!

walking, dancing, engaging

The Grande Masquerade Damien Center fund-raiser has become a fall tradition and fun event meeting new friends, re-connecting with old friends, and enjoying beautiful sun-splashed weather in downtown Indy once again. The mile plus walk from the Omni to Carl and Jeff's Mass Ave condo began yesterday's event for me. Down Meridian around the East side of Monument Circle and then East on Ohio St to Alabama jagging through the Marsh Market parking lot and finally up Mass Ave to the West Loft Condo. The event this year was at the Marriott just north of Maryland St. Great evening, great fun, mixing with a wonderful group of people and dancing the night away in a mixed group on the dance floor. Shutting the party down at Midnight and returning for short six hour sleep before a 6:00am wakeup and return drive to be back at CCC for Sunday morning's service and singing in the choir, which is the love of my life right now. A good Saturday pm/Sunday am combination any way you reckon it. Watching the sunrise across the southeast sky as I drove south on I-65 was a real treat for me with fall reds, oranges, and a light mist affording me all of the fall color and ambiance that I might desire!

Matthew Shepard, the Laramie Project, and Bob Edwards

Wow, if sensory overload was a possibility it would be here and now. ATL's Laramie Project 10th anniversary performed Monday was a moving and inspirational piece beginning with Matthew's mothers' testimonial. I hope the project continues to be recognized, revised, updated, since ignorance, hate, and insensitivity seem infectious in today's world. The ATL audience was predictably like "singing to the choir", so the task and challenge remain.
Segway to Bob Edwards and "This I believe" session at Bellarmine's Wyatt Hall this past Thursday evening. If Laramie Project left doubts and looked for anwers, the This I Believe segments brought hope and inspiration to the forefront in a world filled with war, ethnic strife, and racism. These issues and more were part of the stories but the overriding theme was one of hope, survival, and looking for a better day. Molly Bingham's opening sentences set the tone for her in person "this I believe" segment when she spoke of sitting in an Abu Gharab prison cubicle and how that experience motivated her initial thoughts.
I am challenged and want to do whatever to facilitate the dialogue and take action when possible. God help us!

insufferable love

There is something in the air and in my heart and mind that perplexes and challenges my senses. We can only hope for a change or a new burst of energy to bring clarity and focus where before there was uncertainty and unrest. Maybe there is a way to move beyond the doldrums or move beyond the angst. There is energy and desire but the focus is lost and uncertain.