I Like My Slushies in a Cup...

The temps are increasing and the ice is melting. Walking in to work from my car was like taking a hike thru a field of slushies. Yikes! Oh well, at least the ice is gone. I am a bit sad that the snow is gone though. I love snow. Here in Seattle, when it snows, it gets messy and the snow just isn't that pretty. We live in an apartment on a busy intersection so there are no picturesque vistas to view the snow. I miss living in a place where there's a yard or a field that gets covered in snow and no one walks on it. Just pure snowfall. There's nothing like it.

Dave Cockrum: 1943 - 2006

Dave Cockrum helped bring the flagging X-Men comic back to life in the 70's. Relaunching the franchise as The New X-Men, he introduced characters created by him (Storm, Nightcrawler, Mystique, Colossus) that are known the world over today.
I discovered the X-Men during John Byrne's run on the comic but eventually had to go back and read all the Cockrum books leading up to Byrne taking over. This was the Golden Age for the X-Men. The best bar none. You young whippersnappers can stop trying now.
In my opinion, there are 3 guys that are responsible for the popularity of the X-Men today. Those 3 guys are Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Dave Cockrum.
If you'd like to read more about Cockrum, go here.
If Wolverine were to deliver the eulogy, it would go a little something like this: "Rest in peace, bub."

Have An Ice Day!

Well, the ice and snow saga of Seattle continues. Everything is still frozen and there's more snow on the way. The good news is that it's supposed to turn into rain late tonight and start warming up tomorrow. I love snow but ice is another puppy altogether. I walked to work today and I had to take major baby steps to get here. It is so slick in places. Main roads are pretty good but side roads and parking lots are still ice rinks.
So, it's been quite the post Thanksgiving adventure here in Seattle and winter hasn't officially begun yet. I look forward to what's in store. Woo-hoo!

Smashing Pumpkins

Actually, it's more like rotting. Sarah and I have a new tradition (since last year) of carving our pumpkins at Halloween and then letting them rot until Thanksgiving. I like seeing the changes that the Jack O'Lantern face goes thru. This year was rough for old Jack. With all the rain we've had, the rot set in quick and the poor guys just melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.
What's bad is that they are still sitting out on our balcony. We've been so busy that it's been difficult to find a time to scoop up the pieces and take them to the trash. I wouldn't mind just dumping them over the side accompanied by an easily heard "oops" but I don't think my bride would take kindly to that. She keeps my mischievous ways in check these days. Translation: I don't get to have fun anymore.
If you want to take a look at a before shot, go here.

Snow Business

Seattle is an icy mess right now. North of here is much worse. I walked to work this morning thru ice approaching an inch thick in some places. It was so quiet since there's not much traffic on the road. I slipped a couple of times which didn't help my back (pulled a muscle on Sunday...been laid up on the couch ever since). The forecast calls for temps to stay low meaning that the ice will remain and more snow is a possibility.
Our rehearsal for A Christmas Carol was cancelled last night. Our performance is supposed to be tonight. I rather doubt it will happen...which doesn't break my heart. We're not ready and, to be honest, some of the folks wouldn't be ready if we worked on it for a year. It's been a frustrating process for me and, as I understand it, for the director as well. There was no screening process for the actors so we have folks with lots of experience and ability and some with virtually none. It makes for a shaky production. My heart is not in it and I have not given 100% and I feel bad about that. I hope we don't have to cancel tonight for other folks sake...but for my sake...cancel away!
The Christmas production at church is coming along nicely. Sunday was a good rehearsal with some fine performances already peeking thru the rough edges. My part is small but I want it to shine. I don't feel like I'm there yet. I believe Jeff (writer/director) and I are going out for coffee sometime this week so I'm hoping to pick his brain about how to improve what I'm doing.
So, a week of snow and ice for Seattle. It's too bad it's not this quiet more often. I miss the quiet.

Booklist

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue - "Inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem that tempts a child from home to the waters and the wild, The Stolen Child is a modern fairy tale narrated by the child Henry Day and his double.On a summer night, Henry Day runs away from home and hides in a hollow tree. There he is taken by the changelings—an unaging tribe of wild children who live in darkness and in secret. They spirit him away, name him Aniday, and make him one of their own. Stuck forever as a child, Aniday grows in spirit, struggling to remember the life and family he left behind. He also seeks to understand and fit in this shadow land, as modern life encroaches upon both myth and nature.In his place, the changelings leave a double, a boy who steals Henry’s life in the world. This new Henry Day must adjust to a modern culture while hiding his true identity from the Day family. But he can’t hide his extraordinary talent for the piano (a skill the true Henry never displayed), and his dazzling performances prompt his father to suspect that the son he has raised is an imposter. As he ages the new Henry Day becomes haunted by vague but persistent memories of life in another time and place, of a German piano teacher and his prodigy. Of a time when he, too, had been a stolen child. Both Henry and Aniday obsessively search for who they once were before they changed places in the world.The Stolen Child is a classic tale of leaving childhood and the search for identity. With just the right mix of fantasy and realism, Keith Donohue has created a bedtime story for adults and a literary fable of remarkable depth and strange delights." (from the book jacket)

Although a bit slow in the middle, I enjoyed this book on it's ends. There are many submerged themes in the book that I failed to examine. I was just reading it as a story. The themes of loss and identity play a big part in the plot. It truly is an updated faery tale for adults.

Snow!

What started as a slushy, no stick mess this morning has turned into a respectable bit of snow...for Seattle that is. The forecast calls for flurries and such over the next few days. After a long day of church and rehearsals, I am home. Sarah, however, is in Tacoma for rehearsals for The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at the Tacoma Actors Guild. I hope they will knock off and come home early. It's going to get icy as the temperature drops. I'm so glad tomorrow is my day off. I wonder how this will affect the performance class rehearsal on Monday night and the performance on Tuesday? Only time will tell.
For now, I will curl up on the couch with a movie and wait for Sarah to call. I'll post pics tomorrow if there's anything worth photographing.

Zuzu's Petals

Last night was the opening night of Taproot's It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. The production stars Grant Goodeve, famous for his role as David Bradley in the 70's dramedy Eight is Enough. To celebrate the opening, Karolyn Grimes, the actress that played Zuzu in the movie, made an appearance at the theatre. After the show, she fielded questions from the audience and posed for pics in the lobby. It seems she's quite busy during the holiday season. You can check out what she's up to at her website here.
I thought it was very cool that I got to see Zuzu in the flesh. Now, if only Clarence would pay me a visit.

Thunder, Lightning and Hail...Oh My!

Yesterday marked one of the few times I've witnessed this type of weather out here. We just don't get this stuff in Seattle. The hail was tiny and the clamour over it made me laugh. I remember the time in Texas my car got pelted by hail so big it left 1/2 inch deep dents in my car. Others lost windshields. I don't think I've ever experienced stranger weather than I did in Texas.
Anywho...isn't this a cool pic of lightning striking the Space Needle there in the distance? Glad I wasn't up there for that.

Chuck Close Quotes

Chuck Close recently sat on a panel for the Global Creative Leadership Summit. Here are a few nice quotes from the full article found here.

“artists are notoriously poor organizers; we normally don’t join groups, and when we do, it’s a disaster. We work alone in our studios. The stand-in for an organization for us is the [artistic] community: We send what we produce into the world and that’s how we exchange ideas with other artists.”

“I try to remove anxiety. It’s almost like raking gravel in a Zen monastery—when I commit to a painting, I know it’s a four-month project, and I tell myself, today I’m going to do what I did yesterday and tomorrow I’m going to do what I did today. ... You have to back yourself into a corner where you are asking questions that no one else has asked, so no one else but you has the answers. That forces you to be more creative.”

“a contrarian attitude is key to rising to the top. If money is your end [goal], you’ll make all the wrong decisions; you’re doomed to failure.” Close continued that if money had been his aim, “I wouldn’t have painted a nine-foot painting of someone else; I would have painted CEOs or college presidents, at a size that fits over the couch. If I’d done anything [career-wise] that made ‘good sense,’ I wouldn’t be sitting here.” The irony, Close concluded, “I don’t care about money and [that’s why] I’ve made a whole hell of a lot of it.”

Close...also stressed that creative success often depends on having the right mentors, especially in school. He noted that schools need to add a fourth “R” to reading, writing and ’rithmetic: art. He observed that only art had made him feel special growing up in a “poor, white trash town” and that art had made the difference between his “going to Yale and going to jail.”

“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up.”

Source: artinfo.com

Luther Quote

"What is our work in field and garden, in town and house, in battling and in ruling, to God, but the work of his children. Our works are God's mask, behind which He remains hidden, although He does all things." - Martin Luther

Back in the Saddle

This fall finds me "back in the saddle" when it comes to acting/performing. Yesterday, Sarah and I performed a reading in church...a Seussian intro to the sermon. Our pastor has been preaching on Ecclesiastes. Several years ago, I wrote a script based on Ecclesiastes. I thought he might like to read it so I sent it to him. He asked if the first couple of pages could be adapted into a sermon intro. So...it was nice to be doing creative stuff in church again...even if it was on a small scale and it was very well received.
Sarah and I also have small parts in the Christmas play. It's been a great deal of fun, a good way of meeting folks in the church and wonderful working with Jeff Berryman (writer and director).
Lastly, I've been taking a performance class at Taproot. Next Tuesday night we will perform a brief version of A Christmas Carol. This has been the least enjoyable of all the experiences and I will be happy when it's over so I can concentrate on the Christmas play. I had hoped the class might provide more training (which is what I really need) but, alas, that has not been the case.
I talked to Karen (Associate Artistic Director at Taproot) the other day about being available for acting. She told me that they are working toward reviving their church touring and that I could be a part of that. It would be different from the Company in that we would travel but be back to sleep in our own beds at night. (a wonderful thing) Karen's family has been visiting our church of late and she was there to see our reading on Sunday. After church she spoke to me briefly about writing scripts for the new touring group. I sent off samples of my work to her and the director of the touring groups yesterday.
After a long season of no opportunities in the area of acting/writing, I can now see the possibility of more opportunities arising in the future. For me, it's a welcome "light at the end of the tunnel." I hope at least some of these opportunities materialize. It's been a long, frustrating, dark tunnel.

Hard Questions

Questions posed during our NW Arts Ministry discussion.

• If someone says to you that you are called to create truthful works of art, how do you understand this call?
• How do you understand the truth of what you are doing?
• Are you presenting a particular view of the world?
• Are you asking questions?
• Are you communication?
• Are you expressing?
• What is the relationship of fiction to truth?
• What are the standards by which we can judge our work? The work of others?
• Can a piece of work be called Christian and be false?
• What is the difference between what we "like" and what is "good?"
• How do we cultivate spirits that are willing to ask the hard questions about our own work, receiving the criticism that is ultimately necessary?

Last night, after bouncing around in a fog of discussion, Jeff announced that next time we meet we need to tackle the question...

• What is art?

...before we can move on. Well, that should be easy. No problem. The answer I like the best is one that was given by one of my art professors in college. He said,

"Art is a little boy's name."

I know that discussing all of this is good for me but it is painful all at the same time. There are no easy answers and sometimes the thinking makes my head spin. It's like watching a time travel movie where the man goes back in time and fathers the kid who will grow up and save his life...or something like that. These things breed headaches. But they are good headaches and it is good to be stretched and challenged. I suppose I'll just have to stock up on Ibuprofen.

Yancey Quotes

"As I reflected on my pilgrimage, I can see that several barriers kept me away from church. First was hypocrisy. The atheistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzche was once asked what made him so negative toward Christians. He replied, 'I would believe in their salvation if they looked a little more like people who have been saved.'"

"The next hurdle to overcome was cultural in nature. I identified with one of Flannery O'Connor's inlaws, who started attending church because the service was 'so horrible, he knew there must be something else there to make the people come.'"

"O' Connor also said that she took care to be at her writing desk each morning so that, if an idea came, she would be there to receive it...Nancy Mairs writes...that she returned to church in somewhat the same way. Even while uncertain about belief in God, she began attending Mass again to prepare 'a space into which belief could flood.' She learned that one does not always go to church with belief in hand. Rather, one goes with open hands, and sometimes church fills them."

"My identity in Christ is more important than my identity as an American or as a Coloradan or as a white male or as a Protestant. Church is the place where I celebrate that new identity and work it out in the midst of people who have many differences but share this one thing in common."

"The church is composed of equal parts mystery and mess."

"The church is like manure. Pile it together and it stinks up the neighborhood; spread it out and it enriches the world." (summarizing evangelist Luis Palau)

Source: Church: Why Bother? by Philip Yancey

Driscoll Protest News

Even though Driscoll has posted a response (hardly an apology) to the current controversy of his past comments, the protest is still on for Dec. 3. A couple of folks have written open letters to Driscoll and other leaders in the Mars Hill/Acts 29 organization. Here are the links.

Why On Earth Would I Want to Picket a Church?

Open Letter to Mark Driscoll

To be honest, I'm not so much offended by what he's said about women as I am by what he's said about men. Apparently, in his eyes, if you're not a frat boy, sports lovin', spittin', scratchin', cussin', macho he-man, you are not a real man. Well, as an art lovin', sports hatin', theatre attendin', shoppin', singin', bloggin' sensitive man, I take offense. Driscoll's comments are hateful and he needs to be accountable for his words.
C'mon Mark. Take it like a man!

Booklist

A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins - This one requires no synopsis. The title says it all. I've been working on this book for a few months now, reading a page or two during breakfast every morning. This little book has whet my appetite for more history. This one skims over everything pretty fast. The next history book I read will go into more depth. This was good for an introduction though. I wish now that I had taken Church History at seminary. I think it would have been an interesting class.
Since this book is at an end, I'll leave you all with a last post from it.

"And so the varied mission of the church across the world continues into its third millenium, as does its mixed record in getting God's will done on earth as it is in heaven. The church of Jesus has been an affair of genocide and jumble sales; of heroic self-sacrifice and self-defeating hysteria; of holy mysteries; of philosophers and philanthropists; of crusading geese, charismatic animal impressionists and high-rise, maggot-eaten monks; of charity and chastity; and, above all, of men and women - good, bad, indifferent, extremely different, wise, wonderful and simply incomprehensible. And, it is alleged, the house of God. Mysterious ways indeed."*

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs - "...is the beginning of the story of Mercedes Thompson a coyote shapeshifter who is also a pretty decent mechanic. Mercy's world looks a lot like ours except that the Otherworld is begining to be forced out of hiding by our modern technologies. Mercy shares her back fence with the local Alpha werewolf and works evenings on the vampire Stefan's VW bus. She's safe and content -- which doesn't make a very story, does it? So, of course, matters begin to change on the first page. In this book Mercy faces trolls and gremlins, old boyfriends and older vampires. I hope you enjoy her story."**
I've gotten a little tired of the urban fantasy genre but I had reserved this book at the library and it came in so I decided to give it a go. It's pretty good.
I guess I'm getting tired of the genre because the market is flooded with books now. I guess there's only so much you can do with vampires, werewolves and the fae without dealing with a little repetition. I think I'm going to jump into some other genre for a while. Woah. I'm kinda sick of thrillers and urban fantasy. What do I read now?

*Source: A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins
**Source: www.patriciabriggs.com

Down with the Cuteness

My in-laws are downsizing so they've been sending a bunch of stuff to Sarah. This picture (Sarah at 5) came with the latest batch. Isn't she adorable as she stares at you from her cute little block house and thinks, "What the hell are they doing in my house?"

I also like the storybook written by and illustrated by Sarah at age 10. Tales included in the lofty tome are The Enormous Foot, The Mind Reading Berries, and my favorite title, Katrina and the Weasel. Seeing all this evidence, it was inevitable that Sarah would grow up to be a cute and creative adult. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The New Catholicism

"The second Vatican council met in 1962 to deliver the greatest revolution in Roman Catholicism since Luther...The results were extraordinary. The mass was edited (GASP) and translated from Latin into local languages (GET OUT); the priest had to face the congregation (NO WAY) and laypeople were allowed both bread and wine (REALLY?). Catholics were allowed, even encouraged, to read the Bible (WHAT?) in translation (OH), including Protestant versions (YOU'RE KIDDING), and to cooperate in making more (PROTESTANTS OR BIBLES?)...Protestants and Orthodox became 'separated brothers', division a tragedy and a sin (GASP II) that must be ended; their churches are defective (HUH?), but still part of God's plan of salvation (OH OKAY). Even Muslims and Jews became siblings on their way to heaven. (FRIENDS ARE FRIENDS FOREVER...)"

And it only took 2000 years, give or take...

Source: A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins
Parenthetical statements are mine. Duh!

Protest of Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill church in Seattle, has recently come under fire for comments he made on his blog after the Ted Haggard situation broke. In particular, folks seem to have a problem with this statement:

"Most pastors I know do not have satisfying, free, sexual conversations and liberties with their wives. At the risk of being even more widely despised than I currently am, I will lean over the plate and take one for the team on this. It is not uncommon to meet pastors’ wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband’s sin, but she may not be helping him either."*

Frankly, Driscoll is known for his fundamental views towards women. In a nutshell, he believes every woman should quit their job, stay home and have babies. Those of you who believe Mars Hill to be an emergent church are sadly mistaken. It's a fundy to be sure.
I understand why people are upset. Sarah and I visited Mars Hill a couple of times and she left feeling as though she had been attacked as a woman. I didn't understand at the time but it's starting to come through loud and clear now.
Well, someone has decided that they are going to protest Mars Hill and Driscoll on Sunday, December 3. Will it do any good? No. Will I be there? I don't know. Originally, it was planned for Nov. 19th but it got moved back. Part of me wants to go and see how it's handled and another part of me wants to stay far away. Anyway, there's alot more to it and, if you're interested, you can read about it for yourself.

Driscoll's comments are here.*

The conversation is here.

Protest links are here and here.

*Source: Resurgence: Mark Driscoll's Blog

Spirit Stuff

I stole these two quotes from God's Artist in Residence. My wife and I both love Philip Yancey's stuff. We have been finding his stuff at thrift stores. We buy them up when we find them. My wife devours them slowly, taking meticulous notes in her journal. I really, really like these quotes and want to preserve them here so I don't forget them.

J.I. Packer chides the church: 'With a perversity as pathetic as it is impoverishing, we have become preoccupied today with the extraordinary, sporadic, non-universal ministries of the Spirit to the neglect of the ordinary, general ones. Thus, we show a great deal more interest in the gifts of healing and tongues- gifts which, as Paul pointed out, not all Christians are meant to partake anyway- than in the spirit's ordinary work of giving peace, joy, hope, and love, through the shedding abroad in our hearts of knowledge of the love of God.'

"The Spirit cannot be kept like a personal pet, living in a small compartment somewhere inside us to be brought out at will. The living presence of God inside us should permeate everything we see and do... The Spirit does not act on us so much as with us, as a part of us- a God of the process, not a God of the gaps."

Source: Reaching for the Invisibile God by Philip Yancey

Join the Tribe

I love this quote that my friend Mark put up on his blog. Go here to read it. It basically says the same things I've been saying about conformity over the years...only better.

The Second World War

"Probably the only person who had any chance of hampering him (Hitler) was the Pope, who had the ear of 40 million German Catholics, but he barely said a word. When German forces occupied Rome, he opened his sanctuaries to give refuge to many thousands of non-Aryans, but he was committed to neutrality in his search for peace and feared provoking Hitler, so he opened not his mouth.
As their armies liberated the death camps of eastern Europe, the allies realised what a good cause they had been fighting in. But the fact that 6 million Jews had been systematically killed left the church with some terrible questions. Where had God been? Can the omnipotent watch the most unthinkable atrocities in the history of inhumanity without lifting a finger? Then again, where had the church been? For all that some individual Christians did, the church as a whole did disgracefully little to stop the Holocaust. In fact, was it not positively responsible?"

Source: A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins

The Pentecostal Explosion

"Charles Parham...was telling his students....about being filled with the Holy Spirit, when it occurred to him that in the book of Acts, those filled with the Spirit at Pentecost all spoke in foreign languages. So he told them this was a sign of being genuinely filled...and encouraged them to ask God for the gift. On the first day of the new century, Agnes Ozman started 'speaking in tongues', and others soon joined in. Parham took his discovery on a nationwide revival tour, sending his students to find out what language they had been given...Unfortunately, their 'tongues' bore no relation to any languages on earth, so they concluded that it was a language of heaven."

"In 1910, the Tennessee Pentecostal George Hensley, preaching on the text 'They shall take up snakes,' ended by grabbing a rattlesnake and commanding his flock to the the same or be 'doomed to eternal hell'. They obeyed. He kept at the snake handling until 1955, when he died of a snake bite. Today, he has 2,500 followers."

"A group of rich American businessmen, dismayed by how many of their ministers had become liberals, printed a twelve-part book, The Fundamentals, and sent out 3 million copies, one to every church employee and theology student in the USA. It outlined the fundamental doctrines of Christianity...The Fundamentals helped evangelicals see themselves as fundamentally anti-liberal, and it gave us the word that dominates twenty-first-century talk of religion, 'fundamentalist', which originally meant 'conservative Protestant' and now, if anything, means 'someone more religious that I approve of'."

Source: A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins

Joey "The Lips" Fagan

Last night, Sarah and I went to see Waiting for Godot at the Moore Theater. It was performed by the Gate Theatre from Dublin, Ireland. Neither one of us had ever seen it and we were curious. We knew it was a weird play but we went anyway. We left at intermission.
The night wasn't a total loss for me though because playing one of the characters was Johnny Murphy (the fellow with the mustache) who played Joey "The Lips" Fagan in one of my favorite movies, The Commitments. I love his character in the movie. Although a bit strange and not entirely truthful, Joey's character is the heart and soul of the band. Nice to see that ol' Johnny's still working.

How to Be Creative

Found this over at Gaping Void. I'm just putting the list over here. For the long version, go here.

So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:

1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
24. Don?t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
31. Remain frugal.

The Returning

I found this in one of my old journals today. It was written in October of 2003 on a lonely beach in NC. In reading it, I decided that it had great significance to my present spiritual journey. It seems that even way back then I felt that God's presence had left me. This story was written as a prayer for a returning, a sweet reunion between myself and God. I have given the story a bit of a spruce from its raw form but the spirit is intact. I offer this up as a prayer of hopefulness that this returning, this reunion will occur very soon.
___

I have traveled countless miles across the burning sand trying to find you. My body has begun to consume itself. I am in need of sustenance on many levels. My body needs food and water but my soul needs you. Your absence has taken a toll on me. That is why I seek you out.

After so many days I cannot keep up with them, I see, in the distance, an ancient place of worship. It has been so long since I have been here that I do not recognize it. It lies in ruins, neglected for an amount of time I can no longer recall.

I reach the doors and open them. They part slowly with an ear shattering creak. As I enter the main chamber, I look across and see what must have been the altar of praise on a level rising above the floor. Below that, at floor level, is a fountain. There was once a time when this place was filled with songs and shouts of praise, the fountain filled to overflowing. Now, the fountain is empty, as dry and dusty as the sand caked on my feet.

My body aches from walking and from the emptiness I have lived with for too long. For a time, I am too frightened to move. This ancient place mocks me with the ghosts of the past. But I must shake these apparitions that haunt me and move forward. Slowly, I make my way to the altar.

Climbing the steps, I falter. My knee scrapes the steps, releasing a small amount of blood. I wipe the wound with the rags of my clothing and continue up to the altar. The memories flood my mind. At one time, I stood here. It should be familiar but the familiarity is faint. Overwhelmed, I speak the faintest of words across my cracked lips.

“Where are you?”

The words escape as a dry rasping sound. Vocal cords unfamiliar with speech rebel against the attempt. But once the words are said, others begin to follow. I speak them to you, although there is no evidence that you are here.

“Where are you?

My voice falters and I fall to my knees at the foot of the altar. I am spent and broken. My mind begins to wander and the old doubts begin to fill my mind. Every emotion imaginable is coursing through my veins, begging for some kind of release. If I were not dehydrated, tears might flow but, as it is, my face remains dry.

Suddenly, through the confusion, a song enters my memory. The last thing I feel like doing is singing and yet, there it is. I try to ignore it but it will not be denied. My lips part and the words escape into the air.

“Have mercy on me…”

I laugh as they come out. It has been so long and I am amazed that I remember them. I repeat them to make sure I can do it again.

“Have mercy on me…”

They come easier each time I repeat them. Over and over, I sing them again and again. At first, they come out as barely a whisper. After a few moments, my voice builds strength and the volume grows. Before long I realize that I am not so much singing them as screaming them. I sing until my body has nothing else to offer and I collapse into a heap on the floor.

As I am lying there, feeling like death may overtake me at any moment, I hear a faint sound. At first, I believe my imagination to be playing tricks on me, but no…there it is again. I laugh, thinking this must be the end because I am hallucinating, but my laugh dies as I hear the sound again. It is stronger this time. It is the sound of drops of water hitting stone. With all the strength I can muster, I pull myself to my feet. Peering over the altar, I see that the fountain is filling with water.

Forgetting myself, I race down the steps to the edge of the filling pool. I dip my filthy hands into the water to find that it is real. I put my palms together and fill them the best I can, bringing the water to my dry lips. I drink down the refreshing water and it begins to revive me. The fountain is now beginning to flow like a river. The basin fills quickly and I take delight in plunging my head into its cool embrace. I fill my mouth again and again until I can drink no more. Feeling clean and satisfied, I lie on the floor and stare up at the ceiling. A smile forms on my face as I whisper,

“There you are.”

© 2006 by Marty Gordon

Booklist

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury - "Dandelion Wine takes us into the summer of 1928, and to all the wondrous and magical events in the life of a 12-year-old Midwestern boy named Douglas Spaulding."*
I grabbed this book from the library thinking it was another coming-of-age story in the tradition of To Kill A Mockingbird. It's actually nothing like Mockingbird but that's okay. This story is simple but the writing is superb. Bradbury's prose is elegant and charming in what has been called "a love letter to his childhood."* In the book, the only thread of a storyline concerns the Spaulding boys and the eldest's desire to record the events of the summer in his notebook. Each chapter deals with a different situation involving the citizens of the town. As the book ends, you find that summer is over and the magic of childhood is about to give way to school and such.
I enjoyed this book although it did take a few pages to get used to Bradbury's style of prose. I guess I read so much "junk" fiction it takes a while to get used to the good writing. I suppose I should pick up the classics more often.
Polly and the Pirates by Ted Naifeh - "Polly is caught between the prim-and-proper boarding school set she's grown-up with and the legendary legacy of the Pirate Queen that she never knew she was a part of! But which is the cruel, cold world and which is the care-free paradise? And does it even matter when there's a dashing pirate prince involved? Hoist the sails and batten the hatches on this brand new adventure!"*
This is a graphic novel I picked up from the library. I had read the first three of Naifeh's Courtney Crumrin books and enjoyed them so I thought I'd give this a try. It's not as good as the Crumrin books but enjoyable all the same. I especially enjoyed the accents employed by certain characters being spelled out phonetically so that you knew exactly what that person sounded like.
I will certainly be on the lookout for more of Naifeh's books. He is a very talented artist who spins a pretty good tale. I must say that I am impressed with the material I've read lately coming out of Oni Press. Not well known but good stuff all the same.

*Source: Amazon

Reaction to a Fallen Preacher

I don't have to tell you the news
Another betrayal amidst the pews
Besmirching Christianity
And lowering it's integrity
When we practice to deceive
It's makes it harder to believe
That God is good and God is kind
When his disciples lose their mind
I know forgiveness is the key
But grace is not so easy for me
So all you pastors, bishops and priests
Treat your calls responsibly
Lest you lead the sheep astray
And watch them swiftly fall away

© 2006 by Marty Gordon

300 Letters to God

"A U.S. man who found 300 letters to God floating in the Atlantic Ocean said on Friday he will donate them to a church instead of selling them on eBay following protests from religious people."

More about this here and here.

Source: Yahoo News

The Moron Church

"Inspired by US camp meetings, Joseph Smith was told by God not to join any existing church but wait for something better. In 1823, he discovered that the native Americans were the lost tribes of Israel who came to America in 600 BC, when one of them, Moroni, returned from the dead in New York to tell him. Moroni told Smith that he had written their history in a mysterious, ancient script on gold plates before their faith died out, that it was the third testament of the Bible and where it was buried. Smith dug them up, and four years later, he was allowed to take them out of the box, whereupon Moroni gave him a pair of magic glasses allowing him to understand the hieroglyphics. Then the Moronial visitations, for want of a better adjective, stopped, and Smith got down to the job of translation and organising his disciples in the Mormon Church."

Why didn't they just call it the Moron Church in honor of Moroni?
What? I'm serious!

*Source: A Short History of Christianity by Steve Tomkins

Trunk or Treat

On Halloween night, Sarah and I participated in Trunk or Treat at our church. As you can see, we chose a pirate theme and having access to a theatre costume shop didn't hurt. It was fun and we got to meet some more folks from the church. Sarah made all the kids say "Arrrr" before she would give them candy.
As the night progressed, we got colder and colder. The boots we had on were very uncomfortable and had no insulation in them. By the time we got home, we were freezing and tired. We're pretty wimpy pirates.
We brainstormed a little with one of the staff members and laid the groundwork for a bigger and better Trunk or Treat next year. We all agreed that the concessions area should be extended to include coffee, hot chocolate and spiced apple cider. Sarah and I will be sure to come up with a theme that requires sitting or at least comfy shoes.