Last week, during our Thanksgiving Break, I took Mulken to Urgent Care to have an x-ray taken from his hand. He had twisted it awkwardly and then fallen on top of it during PE. Well, not technically DURING gym class but while he sitting on the floor goofing around before the teacher was ready to begin. Earlier this year Ty broke his arm at school during Sports Club. Well, not DURING sports club. It was while goofing around in line after sports club. Huh, a pattern?
Anyway, it was a rainy morning and I was supposed to drop the girls off at the horse farm for a lesson and then take Muluken to the doctor. But because the rain wouldn't relent I wound up sitting in the tiny waiting room with both Muluken and the girls. Waiting. And waiting. If our kids were allowed to carry around electronics during every part of the day they would have had their faces buried in Instagram posts or Mine Craft. Probably, this would have made the waiting room more bearable.
As it was the only thing we had to distract ourselves was a rack of magazines and a really loud television blaring down at us from above. I wanted to choose the magazines, I really did. But I saw the 700 Club was on and having seen it just a few months ago in another waiting room (Jiffy Lube's) I couldn't resist an opportunity to sit and become annoyed by the farce that is Pat Robertson. Why do we voluntarily do this to ourselves?
I squirmed. I sighed. I asked out loud to anyone who would listen, "Is Urgent Care a religious organization?" A few people met my gaze but no one responded. I sighed again and slouched in my chair. Looking over I saw that all three of my kids were watching me. And Harper was smirking.
"What?" I asked. "Why would they put this on in a waiting room?"
Harper and I are religious opposites. She goes to church every Sunday morning and most weeks she attends a Wednesday night youth group. I on the other hand...well, I don't. So I'm careful in how I relate my discomfort with some actions of organized religion. I want Harper to consider multiple perspectives on religion yet still feel supported in making her own decisions. As for me, I appreciate that people feel so fulfilled by their convictions and beliefs. I don't necessarily appreciate when they use those same beliefs to try to coerce (with sponsored charity), guilt (with conditional acceptance or love), or threaten (with condemnation) non-believers or those of other religions.
Guess who does coerce and condemn? A lot? I mean....a whole, whole lot?
Pat Robertson.
In our half hour of sitting there Pat Robertson showed us how God and the 700 Club helps poor black kids. "What's wrong with that?" Muluken asked. "Nothing is wrong with helping others," I responded. "But before this commercial how many other black people have we seen on this channel? You know, other than the ones that are poor and need to be supported? Yes, we need to help those in need. But how is this show and all it's commericals for other programs on this channel portraying black people?"
In our time there Pat Robertson and his co-host jointed hands, squinted their eyes shut real tight, and prayed for God to heal their viewers of headaches and stomach aches. This was followed by a short testimonial from a woman who had been to numerous doctors for stomach pain. She had nearly missed Thanksgiving as she sat on her couch in great discomfort. But then Pat Robertson had led a prayer through the television and she felt God reach down and take away her pain. Thanksgiving was saved. The kids really enjoyed watching me during this segment. "What?" I blurted out. "Stop staring at me." "Dad," Harper said, "The look on your face is hilarious!" "Well," I answered, "this is ridiculous. Really, he's healing people through the television. I guess none of us even needed to come to Urgent Care today. We just needed to watch the 700 Club. And I love that he's helping God do this. Would God need his help, really? And why is it only headaches and stomach aches? Why not kids with cancer? Surely they deserve it the most. And why don't they share the stories of the thousands who might watch this show and NOT be healed. Although my experience is that headaches and stomach aches ALWAYS go away so I guess he's pretty smart to do this. Right? He's preying on people." They all just smiled back at me.
In our time there Pat Robertson played many commercials selling various DVDs designed to make our lives better. He was featured in each and every DVD and surely makes a nice profit - both for himself and his church. It's a business.
Finally, Muluken looked over at me and asked why I disliked this program so much.
"Because this guy's evil!" I said. "There are many people out there who are guided to do and say loving things in the name of their religion. He is not one of them. He spews hatred, intolerance, and fear about people who are not just like him - namely, white, male, and Christian."
I then pulled out my own electronic (as an adult I"m allowed to bring mine along). I used my phone to search Pat Robertson on Google and share a few quotes he has made over the past couple of years. Here they are.
On accepting and loving gays and lesbians, namely the photos they post on Facebook of embraces or kisses...
"You've got a couple of same-sex guys kissing, do you like that? Well that makes me want to throw up. To me I would punch "Vomit' not 'Like.' But they don't give you that option on Facebook."
On men who cheat, and the women who are to blame for this...
"Males have a tendency to wander a little bit. And what [women] want to do is make a home so wonderful he doesn't want to wander."
On men whose wives have been stricken with Alzheimers...
"I know it sounds cruel, but if he is going to do something he should divorce her and start all over again, but to make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her. [Alzheimers is] a kind of death."
On the role of the male...
"I know this is painful for the ladies to hear but if you get married you've accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household, and the husband is the head of the wife. That's just the way it is. Period."
On gays and lesbians...
"Many of those people involved in Adolf Hitler were Satanists. Many were homosexuals. The two things seem to go together."
On the tornadoes in the Midwest that killed so many...
"If enough people were praying [God] would have intervened. You could pray. Jesus stilled the storm. You can still storms."
There were also things about the Haitians getting what they deserved. And strokes being a divine act of God on those who do not toe the line. And mass murders being a morality check.
Tricia eventually came to pick the girls up leaving me and Muluken to spend another few hours waiting. When I got home Tricia said "I heard you had a good time watching the 700 Club."
"Dad, you were HILARIOUS," Harper laughed. "You're face just kept getting all twisted up!"
I can only wonder what we'll see next time we're at Urgent Care (and believe me, there will be a next time). If they enjoyed my reactions to Pat Robertson they might really love Fox News.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Beginning Anew
So, I've been MIA from the bloggerverse over the past couple of months. That's a really long time. I could blame in on the demands of teaching and parenting. I could shuffle my feet and mumble something about being so tired lately. I could probably think of a thousand excuses. If I had to.
In reality I've just been distracted by other things. While I have been awfully busy planning, grading, playing, cleaning, and driving the kids around, there has been time left for blogging. However, I've used these moments doing other things. Because things generally settle down and all work gets pushed aside around 9:00 in the evening, I've been watching television with Tricia until 10 and then going off to bed where I pull out my laptop to keep up with the trail journals of many of the hikers finishing their AT thru-hikes. Day by day I've been following along on their 2,180 mile trek from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. The only hikers left out there now are those who are walking south. Some started in Maine last summer and will soon finish on Springer Mountain. A few others have flip-flopped, having already walked the top of the trail as north bounders and are now finishing the southern states as south bounders.
Over the past few weeks I've been dropping in on a few random people. However, of those left out on the trail the only journal I've consistently kept up with is a young girl who calls herself Lost N Found. Her journey has been unique. Just a month or so ago she stopped her hike to work on a sustainable farm she happened across while on the trail. Her short apprenticeship offered her the opportunity to learn about sustainable farming while also offering new possibilities for what she will make of her life when she returns to the real world.
I checked her journal just a few minutes ago only to find she is about to make another choice that is quite unique within this community - she is going to stop journaling. This means with only 100 miles left she won't share her final few days or the thrill of finishing with those of us who have followed along for so long. However, to hear her explain why she has made this choice leaves me feeling more fulfilled than seeing that final summit pic ever could have. Here it is...
Today, I am thankful.
To be honest, I have had some difficulty writing lately, and even communicating with those at home. The journey is winding down, with a mere 100 miles remaining, and yet seems to be at it's peak. My feeble attempts to convey the richness of the experience seemed cheap and are thwarted by the limits of my vocabulary. The details of daily life, the distances, heights of mountains, size of hail, temperatures- these are all but menial. The aches, pains, and hunger fade into the background (well, not so much the hunger, that stays pretty relevant), and the rest goes ignored in the light of what cannot be put into words.
It is the sound of leaves dying and falling from trees, the harsh sting of wind on flesh, the way the rain smells before it even begins. It is sitting together in comfortable silence, observing and absorbing beauty without a need to explain or document it. It is learning how to feel, how to be. It is having the freedom to bare one's soul and essence in a pure, almost childlike way, without the societal confines that dictate what characteristics are acceptable or attractive. It is facing the good, the bad, and ugly within yourself and others. It is humbling, it is painful, it is raw. And can be frightening. But it is also rewarding and can bring peace and contentment, and the ability to find those things in unideal situations.
There is a quiet intensity in this blatant, intentional way of life and interacting. I am acutely aware of the passing of time, and in that awareness, face both great anticipation and deep sadness. Yet in both of those I find that I wish to neither hasten nor slow time's passage. No matter how beautiful or precious a moment, it cannot be held forever. Things cannot go back to the way they once were, nor can I go back to the way I was before.
I share this not in an attempt to elicit understanding, as I know that would be impossible, just as
I know this may all be perceived as the idealistic ramblings of one who has lived too long in the woods. That is ok, though I assure you the transformation is real, and ongoing (I certainly still have much to learn). Instead I share it for the following reasons: First, to encourage you to continuously try to discover and pursue the things that are most important in your life and relationships, and find what speaks to your heart. And second, to ask that you please be gracious with me as I return to your world, to drop any expectations you may have of the girl that left you and embrace the one that returns in her place.
This will likely be my last entry as there is little left to say but this: there is so much more to living than being alive. Happy trails!
-Lost N Found
In reality I've just been distracted by other things. While I have been awfully busy planning, grading, playing, cleaning, and driving the kids around, there has been time left for blogging. However, I've used these moments doing other things. Because things generally settle down and all work gets pushed aside around 9:00 in the evening, I've been watching television with Tricia until 10 and then going off to bed where I pull out my laptop to keep up with the trail journals of many of the hikers finishing their AT thru-hikes. Day by day I've been following along on their 2,180 mile trek from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. The only hikers left out there now are those who are walking south. Some started in Maine last summer and will soon finish on Springer Mountain. A few others have flip-flopped, having already walked the top of the trail as north bounders and are now finishing the southern states as south bounders.
Over the past few weeks I've been dropping in on a few random people. However, of those left out on the trail the only journal I've consistently kept up with is a young girl who calls herself Lost N Found. Her journey has been unique. Just a month or so ago she stopped her hike to work on a sustainable farm she happened across while on the trail. Her short apprenticeship offered her the opportunity to learn about sustainable farming while also offering new possibilities for what she will make of her life when she returns to the real world.
I checked her journal just a few minutes ago only to find she is about to make another choice that is quite unique within this community - she is going to stop journaling. This means with only 100 miles left she won't share her final few days or the thrill of finishing with those of us who have followed along for so long. However, to hear her explain why she has made this choice leaves me feeling more fulfilled than seeing that final summit pic ever could have. Here it is...
Today, I am thankful.
To be honest, I have had some difficulty writing lately, and even communicating with those at home. The journey is winding down, with a mere 100 miles remaining, and yet seems to be at it's peak. My feeble attempts to convey the richness of the experience seemed cheap and are thwarted by the limits of my vocabulary. The details of daily life, the distances, heights of mountains, size of hail, temperatures- these are all but menial. The aches, pains, and hunger fade into the background (well, not so much the hunger, that stays pretty relevant), and the rest goes ignored in the light of what cannot be put into words.
It is the sound of leaves dying and falling from trees, the harsh sting of wind on flesh, the way the rain smells before it even begins. It is sitting together in comfortable silence, observing and absorbing beauty without a need to explain or document it. It is learning how to feel, how to be. It is having the freedom to bare one's soul and essence in a pure, almost childlike way, without the societal confines that dictate what characteristics are acceptable or attractive. It is facing the good, the bad, and ugly within yourself and others. It is humbling, it is painful, it is raw. And can be frightening. But it is also rewarding and can bring peace and contentment, and the ability to find those things in unideal situations.
There is a quiet intensity in this blatant, intentional way of life and interacting. I am acutely aware of the passing of time, and in that awareness, face both great anticipation and deep sadness. Yet in both of those I find that I wish to neither hasten nor slow time's passage. No matter how beautiful or precious a moment, it cannot be held forever. Things cannot go back to the way they once were, nor can I go back to the way I was before.
I share this not in an attempt to elicit understanding, as I know that would be impossible, just as
I know this may all be perceived as the idealistic ramblings of one who has lived too long in the woods. That is ok, though I assure you the transformation is real, and ongoing (I certainly still have much to learn). Instead I share it for the following reasons: First, to encourage you to continuously try to discover and pursue the things that are most important in your life and relationships, and find what speaks to your heart. And second, to ask that you please be gracious with me as I return to your world, to drop any expectations you may have of the girl that left you and embrace the one that returns in her place.
This will likely be my last entry as there is little left to say but this: there is so much more to living than being alive. Happy trails!
-Lost N Found
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Cool CSA Video
The past two years our family has been receiving weekly garden boxes from Pinckney Farm. In addition to the standards such as sweet corn, greens, potatoes, broccoli, and pickling cucumbers we have also been introduced (forced, you might say) to eat things we could never have even identified a few years ago. Daikon?
As I was signing up for the fall season I noticed the farm had produced a really cool video showing how their CSA works. I'm not at all posting it as an advertisement. I just think it was beautifully produced and provides a nice push back (no matter how small) to the gigantic farms and the Super Walmarts of the world.
As I was signing up for the fall season I noticed the farm had produced a really cool video showing how their CSA works. I'm not at all posting it as an advertisement. I just think it was beautifully produced and provides a nice push back (no matter how small) to the gigantic farms and the Super Walmarts of the world.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Wyomimg
Six-a-half hour drive today to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We just missed Frontier Days.
We could see forever with only faint mountains in the distance from time to time to break the horizon.
We had lunch in Laramie. Noone said "Howdy, partner" to me. Tricia reminded this is where they killed that boy a number of years ago for being gay. Hopefully, like the new pope, people here are beginning to outgrow their old selves.
Sunday - Monday: Salt Lake City
SLC is a surprisingly cool town. We ate at some fun places, checked out the temple complex, and walked around downtown. There's a lot of cyclist around town. You can even rent "green bikes" to get from one bike station to another.
A number of people have moved there from California. There's also a number of recent immigrants and refugees. For this reason Mormons make up less than half of the population.
A number of people have moved there from California. There's also a number of recent immigrants and refugees. For this reason Mormons make up less than half of the population.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Friday & Saturday - San Francisco
Chilly, foggy, and lots of traffic. Still, San Francisco is an interesting place with an endless supply of great restaurants. We visited the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, and watched a Giants game. Ainsley was so excited about Chinatown. She had been saving her money to buy a dress.
And two videos...
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Friday - Thursday, Hoover Dam/Las Vegas/Yosemite
We've had dead phones and/or no 4G for quite some time (which was not bad at all). I can only post pics taken from my phone, which were not that many.
The high Sierras in Yosemite are amazingly beautiful. We'll go back! Tricia and I talked about hiking the John Muir trail. Mayne for our 50th birthdays?
The kids climbed up to the snow and played in it. They also stripped down to their underwear and jumped in a snow-fed lake at 10,000 feet elevation. I did too. It was FREEZING!
Argh, now i can't seem to transfer most of my pics to Blogger. You'll just have to trust me that they were really very cool!
The high Sierras in Yosemite are amazingly beautiful. We'll go back! Tricia and I talked about hiking the John Muir trail. Mayne for our 50th birthdays?
The kids climbed up to the snow and played in it. They also stripped down to their underwear and jumped in a snow-fed lake at 10,000 feet elevation. I did too. It was FREEZING!
Friday, July 19, 2013
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