An Unexpected Movie

I took my 8 year old son to see The Hobbit tonight for his birthday. Truth in advertising should have required some kind of warning like "very loosely based on the novel by JRR Tolkien". I was willing to suspend judgement and let it go where it would for the sake of artistic license, but the "art" was incredibly sparse, replaced instead by an unbelievable amount of unnecessary and over the top filler that made it look like a clone of The Lord of the Rings movies and distorted the original story almost beyond recognition. I say this because the kind of movie making Peter Jackson does well, IMO, is a closer fit to LOTR than The Hobbit. Those who have read both The Hobbit and LOTR books are aware that the tone of each is very different and within this difference of tone is a consistent story that is true to its respective tone.

In this context it seems to me that The Hobbit movie has been (Peter Jackson) LOTR-ized to the point I recognized very little of the original book in it. There are whole elements in the movie that do not even exist in the book and distort the characters, disconnecting them from themselves and their place in Tolkien's overall story. I found myself liking many of them simply because I associate them with their vastly superior brethren in the book. This was most true for me in regards to Gandalf who I feel is sacrosanct in Tolkien's books and I was saddened to see him acting very unGandalf-ish at times. His interactions with the Goblin King were particularly troubling to me. The only scene that I felt was done extremely well (ie, in the full spirit of the book) was the song of the dwarves in Bilbo's hobbit hole. The riddle game with Gollum was probably the second best, but was changed somewhat from the book in a way that I felt was unnecessary.

Another criticism I have is that many elements from the book were sensationalized to the point of being utterly ridiculous. One of many examples is when the protagonists are treed by the wargs after escaping from the Goblin Kingdom. They are not just trapped in trees, but they are trapped in trees that are precariously growing on a precipice, and as if that were not enough each tree ends up falling into the next such that they leap from one to the next until all are on the one tree that happens to be at the very tip of the precipice, but it is not enough that it is on the tip of a (overhanging!) precipice but it must fall too, except it stops just where the ground would be if it weren't at the edge of a cliff so that they are all dangling out in space. It reminded me of the Scooby Doo cartoons my son loves to watch. Unfortunately there were many more scenes like this one that stretched the suspension of disbelief well beyond any reasonable breaking point.

So, if you loved what Peter Jackson did with LOTR you may very well enjoy this one as well. There are many of the same cinemagraphic techniques used to keep the heart racing and make you feel like you're on a roller coaster ride, but if you want the profound story telling of Tolkien's beloved book I'm afraid you will likely be disappointed.

A Christmas Miracle

Peace in a Box® (detail), a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

A peculiar memory found me today and I wanted to write it down before it left again. In college I had a Serbian American friend who I first met at the local Orthodox Mission. I had only just become Orthodox and was enjoying making friends with students from Greece, Russia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East among other places. This Serbian American girl was shy, soft spoken, and of very few words. It was at least a few months before I figured out she spoke perfect English and had actually lived in American since she was a young child. She did not appear to be particularly pious and did not commune at our parish when she visited off and on the first several months. This perspective had more to do with my own misguided piety and knee jerk judgmentalism than the state of this sweet girl's soul.

As I got to know her better we became friends and I met some of her family members. Her parents spoke with a heavy accent and had grown up in Communist Yugoslavia before immigrating to the United States. My friend told me that growing up they would go to church on Pascha and on St. Sava's Day, that most famous and popular of Serbian saints, but not much else besides. My experience was so very different in that my father was a Protestant minister and we attended church up to three times a week every week for as far back as I could remember. She was very gracious in our conversations about faith which was in stark contrast to my own more obnoxious approach fueled by a convert's zeal. Over the course of time she began participating more fully in her Orthodox faith, probably in spite of my influence if I am to be painfully honest.

It was within this context that she shared with me a story her father told her when she was home over Christmas Break. He was aware of her burgeoning interest though he was not a very religiously minded person himself having grown up in a country where such things were actively discouraged. What he shared surprised her because it was not like anything he'd ever talked about before. The story was about something remarkable that had happened in their village in Serbia when he was a young man.

During the course of a cold and dreary winter day someone in that village noticed something peculiar about the frost that had formed on a window near the center of town. Upon closer inspection they were shocked to find the image of the Theotokos and Christ Child (as depicted in icons) distinctly formed in the ice crystals. Word spread quickly and a large crowd grew around the window. My friend's father pushed his way to the front to get a look for himself. It was something inexplicable but undeniable. It didn't take long for the local authorities to catch wind about what was happening but they did not know what to do about it at first, not wanting to get the villagers too upset. After just a few days too many people were coming to see and venerate this miraculous image and so they were forced to act. Soldiers came and broke the window.

My friend was taken aback by how matter-of-factly he told the story, a story he had never shared with her before. It was like the miracle had a second run in their home in the retelling, a shared moment between father and daughter.

Tai Chi for Sixty Plus

shadow of a man, a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

The poster caught my attention as I prepared to enter the elevator after a workout at the fitness center: "Tai Chi: moving for better balance". It included a blurb from the CDC which asserted that it was an "evidence-based fall prevention program that helps participants aged sixty and older to improve functional balance and physical performance." My interest was piqued because I'd been thinking of taking a Tai Chi class in the community for quite some time but never seemed to have the time or money to make it happen. As a member of the fitness center I could take this biweekly three month course for free during my lunch hour.

I wondered about the "sixty and older" part though. I'm a forty three year old father of two and husband of one in relatively good health if you don't count an intermittently bum knee that I got when deployed to Iraq six years ago. My enthusiasm for Tai Chi actually came from my time in Iraq. While living on a base outside of Tikrit I participated in some Tai Chi classes at night in the inner courtyard of a building located about a mile from our clinic. It was a winding path mostly traveled in near pitch blackness with stars shining hard and cold overhead. I learned the path at night and probably could not have found it in the daytime.

I only learned the first ten of the sixty plus moves but it was enough in repetition to find a source of solace and stress relief in the flowing motions. Our rustic clinic building had its own internal courtyard that was open to the sky, a common feature in the Middle East. A wide ladder-like structure made out of metal tubing slanted up one side of it and allowed access to the roof. When possible I'd clamber up it and onto the roof as the sun was setting and go through my movements facing the breathtaking spectacle of a desert horizon exploding with color. I don't know that I've ever experienced anything quite like that before or since, like getting a taste of some exquisite and exotic dish with flavors never before imagined.

So, by the time I'd gotten back to my office from the fitness center I decided to go back and see if the "sixty and older" thing was a deal breaker. I talked with one of the managers who was quite sure I could participate and she put me on the list and took my number if that was to change. I felt well on my way to inner peace even with the start date still 2 weeks away, a kind of placebo effect.

On the way back to my office I had a Walter Mitty moment imagining a scenario where a purse snatcher was running towards me from behind, purse in hand, leaving a little old lady crying and purseless on the ground. Before I could turn to see what all the hubbub was about he would slam into me. As I fell forward my training would kick in with the swan-dives-for-bread-crumb move*. Quickly regaining my feet I would swiftly transition into the sweeping-bug-under-the-rug move* ending with the purse snatcher falling flat out on his back and staring up at me stunned. Standing over him and with a bit of swagger I'd say, "Just be glad I'm not over sixty, 'cause then I'd have a cane."


*These are not the names of any actual Tai Chi moves that I know of but a product of my fevered imagination.

The Little Man

__________________________

He is staring at the wall mounted TV when I enter the hospital room and it is not clear to me that he knows I'm there.

"Hello, Mr. Smith.  I'm Dr. Haney."

His head slowly swivels in my direction and nods.  "Hi."

"How are you feeling today?"

A pause, "OK."

"What brings you to the hospital, Mr. Smith?"

A long pause, "A stroke?"

A question from a question.

I see many people with cognitive deficits in my line of work.  It could be dementia or delirium, psychosis or stroke, intoxication or withdrawal.  Mr. Smith is typical, that is to say he is elderly with multiple medical problems and on multiple medications.  He doesn't fully hear, see, or understand what is going on around him, yet there he is, talking to me in his own limited way.

Looking at him and allowing my mind to wander a bit (he doesn't seem to notice or care) I imagine there's a little man inside his head.  He sits in a little chair somewhere just back from the eyes and maybe in line with the ears.  It is dark all around him but to the front some light gets in through the eye holes.  Sounds come to him from a distance, muted, like in a heavy fog at night.  If too much sensory information reaches the little man he becomes overwhelmed and confused.  He is tiny after all.

The scene repeats itself, but now I am able to share the little man's perceptions as he sits there patiently in the dark.

A shadow passes the eye holes but is ignored.  Then a sound comes slow and low like speech in a slow-mo reel.  The little man leans forward to see what is making the noise.  Out of the corner of the eye hole something is blocking the light from the window.  The head rotates and he can see someone standing there.  "Hi."

Now that he sees it is a person next to him he leans towards that ear.  "How are you feeling today?" the shadow person asks.  His answer is automatic, socially conditioned, short, but it still takes some time to be expressed, "OK." 

Another question makes its way through the cognitive ether and he's prepared to give it his full attention this time.  "What brings you to the hospital, Mr. Smith?"  When it finally gets to him sitting in his little chair it requires some sifting through recent memories.  They're jumbled and not well organized, like things accumulated pell mell over the years and stored in the attic.  The lights of an ambulance flash in the darkness around him as a result of his search and he answers unsure of what he's found, "A stroke?"

I bring myself back into my own present reality and am relieved to find I am inhabiting my body fully and to its extremes.  The muddle and delay are gone, my senses are sharp and the grasp of my situation is immediate once again.  I realize my mind and body may very well be burdened with these limitations in the future, but instead of becoming somber or morose about it I remember my grandma's voice from childhood saying, "How's my little man?"

______________________________

Published as “The Little Man: Through the Cognitive Ether” Psychiatric Times, March 2013.

Love is Timeless

love is timeless
but also placeless
from a time outside of time
and a place outside of place
the energy from which
our world sprung
a spinning dynamo
of three persons
sharing one substance
a never ending hug
an eternal embrace

***

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

"Bad News", a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

feet not firmly
on the ground
swing like a
small child's
waiting for the doctor
after a routine
check up

he appears brusquely
lab results in hand
a part of
my anatomy
has decided
to change
into something else

not only that
but has decided
to do it
at a hectic pace
that I'm told
is unhealthy
and unsustainable

feet not firmly
on the ground
stop swinging
the small child
of infinite days
snuffed out
the doctor asks

"Are you OK?
You look pale."
I have the aching
feeling of wanting
to see my wife
and kids as soon
as humanly possible

more tests are
going to be
necessary he says
I wander out
of the office
feet still not firmly
on the ground
______________________

Just to clarify, I do not have cancer.  This is a photo I took of myself at the doctor's office while waiting to get my flu shot this past week.  But after downloading it and looking at it more closely a deep feeling of melancholy was triggered and I was reminded of two recent deaths of men my age who have faced such a terrible thing.

The 5th Beatle

The last time I'd glanced at the clock on the mantel it had been after 11 pm.  Greta, my beloved black & white Springer Spaniel, had fallen asleep with her muzzle on my slippers just out of my line of sight, nestled between the couch and floor.  I was watching  a documentary on PBS about John Lennon that had piqued my interest.  In my younger years, when my glasses were round and my hair was long, I was sometimes told I looked like him.  The early parts of the documentary focussed on his time with the Beatles and when the musical clips came up I couldn't resist participating in some late night karaoke.  Greta's head would pop up above the cushions and look me in the eye.

"It's OK, girl.  Daddy's just singin' along with the TV. "  I rubbed the full white mane on her chest until she calmed and laid back down.

It was both fascinating and heartwarming to see this man's transition from egotistical pop-star to doting father and all around Mr. Mom once Sean was born.  I was transfixed watching him romp in the YMCA pool with the small boy, feed him in a high chair, and chase him around their apartment while Yoko dutifully took care of the business side of things at the dining room table.  I found John's comment, "It was the happiest time of my life" endearing to say the least.

The documentary was winding its way towards tragedy when I found myself beginning to nod off.  On some subconscious level I could not bear to see that man and boy separated.  The remote control lay loose in my hand and my awareness seemed to be hovering a bit above the scene.  Somewhere in my half asleep mind I knew that Lawrence Welk was soon to make an appearance and I needed to move my thumb only an inch to the left to turn the TV off before he a-one-and-a-two'ed.

***

The screen suddenly collapsed into a small dazzling white spot, like a star in the blackness of space.  A thin glowing line shot out above and below the spot splitting the TV into equal halves.  I'd seen this phenomenon before on older TV sets when I was younger, but I didn't remember shutting it off and the glowing vertical line was not fading.  I felt myself lean forward to get a closer look and it appeared the glowing line was growing longer in the darkness of my living room, extending beyond the borders of the TV screen.  At this peculiar sight I stood up and discovered Greta was no longer on my feet.  The darkness was complete except for the glowing line which now stretched from floor to ceiling.

Out of curiosity I stepped forward to approach it and found I was wearing a suit which in the faint glow appeared to be completely white.  Another step forward and the line began to thicken and I heard a faint strand of familiar music.  I started walking towards it and felt a hand grasp the inside of my right forearm and was startled to find a stunning woman walking beside me.  She didn't seem to notice my surprise but instead kept looking straight ahead with a playful smile on her lips.  She had full wavy black hair that cascaded down her back and was wearing a shimmering gown that was white in the front but black on the sides and back.  Around her neck and flowing down over her chest was a white feather boa.  Her overall appearance was so very familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

We continued to walk as the light ahead continued to broaden.  I cleared my throat, "Excuse me.  Do I know you?"

She was now the one who looked at me with surprise.  "Really, Winston.  Ten years together, are you joking?"

The sparkle in her eye triggered a feeling of familiarity that was almost maddening in its intensity.  My brain rifled through any number of possibilities without success, but when I dipped into my heart the truth hit like a thunderclap.  "Greta?  It's you, isn't it?  My god!  You're my dog!"

She pretended to pout and appear hurt, insisting I pipe down before I got bit.  "We've a wonderful evening ahead.  Don't ruin it by calling me a dog, Dear."

"No, no, of course not," I stammered.  It all made perfect sense while at the same time making no sense at all.

The light had now widened out to the point I was able to recognize it for what it was, double doors were opening at the end of a dark hallway.  Two doormen in coattails bowed on either side of us as we stepped through.  Their free arms were extended in perfect symmetry towards the room beckoning us to enter.  Greta pulled closer to me with both of her hands now grasping my arm as we entered what appeared to be a grand ballroom.

***

The music immediately washed over us in lovely waves.  The ceiling was almost too high to see and shimmering chandeliers floated above us refracting light in countless crystal shards.  The people in this immense room were dressed in formal attire, the men in tuxedos and the women in opulent gowns.  Our entrance did not go unnoticed.  In almost a choreographed motion everyone turned our way and fixed their gaze upon us.  I felt extremely uncomfortable but Greta leaned close to my ear without turning in my direction and whispered, "Just smile, Dear."  

I forced the corners of my mouth upward and lifted my hand to chest level and gave a little wave.  As if a signal had been given, several of the people broke away from the crowd and rushed towards us.  We were quickly surrounded and everyone was talking at once, "Winston... how are you Winston... jolly good to see you old boy... you look fabulous tonight Winston.." and so on.  The women were giving Greta the once over.  

I blinked hard a few times and then offered a simple, "I'm fine".

"He's fine... of course he's fine... a fine fellow indeed... a witty soul, that one..."  The words and looks were intensely fawning and I didn't quite understand what was going on.  My ear picked up the music once again and I looked about the ballroom to see where it was coming from.  The melody was a beautifully melancholic one and was being performed by a string quartet that I spotted off to the side on a small raised platform.  It started bringing words to mind and I began singing softly to myself, "Aaaah, look at all the lonely people."  Of course, it was Eleanor Rigby.

The group surrounding me was still trying to gain my attention but I was too busy exploring the room with my eyes trying to get my bearings.  I noticed that there were at least four other large clumps of people in the room surrounding four other men in white suits.  I caught the eye of the similarly dressed man closest to me and he nodded in recognition.  He placed his forefinger on his forehead and then whipped it up and away towards me in a kind of salute.  His hair was long and he was sporting a thick mustache.  I instantly recognized him as George Harrison of the Beatles.  I quickly looked to another clump of people and saw Ringo double pump his eyebrows and give me a wry grin.  The third clump nestled Paul in its center. He was too busy sharing a funny story to notice me and was jumping up and down like an overly excited little boy in its telling.  That left one more to find.  I spotted his circular wire rimmed glasses and knowing look amongst those in the fourth group.

The mathematics of my situation brought on a strange epiphany; the inescapable conclusion that I was, in fact, the fifth Beatle. 

***

It should have been a thrilling discovery, but all I could think about was John.  My senses became fixed on him and I felt a tingling sensation throughout my entire body.  The noise in the room became muffled as I stood there transfixed.  I watched him intently, his every gesture and facial expression.  Somewhere in the back recesses of my mind I knew he was either dead or going to die and so I was afraid of taking my eyes off of him, afraid he might disappear.  Greta noticed my intense stillness and asked if I was alright.  I looked at her as if in a daze and then gently took her hand and began leading her through the crowd towards John.  

My heart and thoughts were racing as I shortened the distance between us.  I did not know what I was going to do once I got to him.  All I did know was that he was my friend and I had to do something.  The crowd parted for me as I pulled Greta in my wake.  When I finally got to him I dropped her hand and placed my right hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye.  He had a bemused grin on his face as he placed his right hand on my shoulder as well.  "Well Winston, here we are," he playfully offered in response to my silence.  Deep in those eyes I saw that he knew the gravity of his situation but it didn't seem to bother him.  I pulled him into a tight embrace  and whispered in his ear, "It's going to be alright, John."   

***

The music from the string quartet transformed into an annoying jingle.  I found myself clutching a couch cushion with a feeling of wetness on my cheeks.  An infomercial was touting something for "only $19.95!" and I realized I was back in my living room and had fallen asleep.  I sniffed up some snot and Greta's head popped up from my feet and looked at me with concern.  I leaned forward and gave her a hug while rubbing her belly.  "You looked wonderful tonight".

The Fall

Almost 10 years ago this Fall I learned that the bishop over my former parish where I'd first become Orthodox had been removed from his duties and put into alcohol treatment, among other things.  I spent a lot of time walking and lost in thought that day, feeling it was terribly sad, but not without meaning somehow.  After returning home from the park I wrote this poem as a kind of therapy and search for healing.

_______________________________

I read about the fall of a bishop today.
It makes me sad and prone to wander.
I took my dog to the park and let her run.

He was my first Archpastor in a new-found Faith.
He is a lonely old man with an alcohol problem.
I imagine he’s been feeling pretty small these days.

I hear a voice pick up the leaves like wind and say,
“Bless God for the coming of a fall…”

Why do I use such shoddy materials to build a life?
I build indiscriminately, pell mell, without much thought.
It is a poor strategy, short-sighted, a flim flam thing.

How long does it take for something so precarious to topple?
I need something to come and shake it daily, a test.
Otherwise its collapse becomes inevitable, a matter of time.

I hear a voice pick up the leaves like wind and say,
“Bless God for the coming of a fall…”

I think of a story of the foolish building on sand.
Of a myth where a boulder need continually be pushed up a hill.
Of the Golden Mouth praying for help to make a good beginning.

The Sacraments as stones and the Spirit as mortar.
My structure shaken without bringing despair.
The grace of God to start again, more humble, obedient, and careful.

And I hear a voice pick up the leaves like wind and say,
“Bless God for the coming of a fall…”

***

Election Day Blues

Untitled, a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

My alarm clock went off an hour earlier than usual this morning to account for a side trip to vote at our local Rec Center before work. It was one of those odd experiences of being somewhere and somewhen that is completely outside of a well oiled routine, not unlike the feeling when I was a kid and an evening school Open House found me in my classroom with my parents at night.

Walking into the building I followed the "vote today" arrows which quickly brought me to a line of my neighbors, many of whom I recognized from our recent block party. We nodded at each other as eye contact was made and faces were recognized and maybe even a "good morning" exchanged but mostly we just stood there waiting our turn to sign in and vote in silence. Maybe something solemn was taking place, maybe it was just too darn early.

From where I stood I could see through a large glass window into a gym where women were doing some kind of an aerobics workout together. In another instance of odd out-of-placeness I recognized the leader as an exercise physiologist at the hospital exercise facility where I work out during my lunch hour. She was doing what I frequently see her doing at the hospital but at a place I've never seen her do it before.

When it was my time to sign in a gruff gentleman next to me said to one of the workers, "May I ask a question?" When he was encouraged to do so he began complaining that ID wasn't asked for at another voting place in the city and "shouldn't everyone follow the same set of rules?" The worker stammered a bit and said that he didn't make the rules. It was more of a rhetorical question anyway and had more to do with a busybody's need to impose their will on the universe. And why had he been at another voting place anyway?!

Upon leaving the premises I ran into a neighbor who we have not had the best relations with over the past year or two. He is normally quiet and somber but this morning he greeted me with a hearty "Hi, how are ya?" and seemed very excited to be there. Maybe voting jazzes him, who knows?

My mind then started to imagine a "what if" scenario that was in line with my own feelings of being out of place and off balance. I saw in my mind's eye someone in a tweed jacket with slacks and a stylish t-shirt wearing a rubber Barack Obama mask entering the building and approaching people, shaking their hands, and simply saying each time, "I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message." What possible motive could there be for such a thing? A prank? Mental illness? Bath salts? Whatever the motive it would probably unnerve some and tickle others. The front desk staff would likely call the police who would then explain to them that nothing illegal was being perpetrated, but if he pulls out a weapon of any kind to let them know.

My overall experience this morning is what happens when you go to vote and you don't have anyone you want to vote for. It's a sad, strange, experience that is hard to explain.

I Was Your Friend

Today is the 15th anniversary of the death of singer-songwriter and all around ragamuffin Rich Mullins.  His music was a touchstone for me in my college days and I consider his album "A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band" a bright star from my past that continues to cast light forward into my 40's.  His lyrics were penetrating, honest, and beautifully sculpted.  The music he set them to was of a quality I'd not hither-to known possible in what has been called "Contemporary Christian Music".  I don't want to disparage other artists in that genre, but for me Rich was a singular artist and a profound human being whose influence moved well beyond his music making.

Sitting here writing this I can still feel the exhilaration I experienced when "A Liturgy, a Legacy..." was released in 1993 as I sat in my apartment listening to it for the first time.  At that time I had only recently returned to Indiana Wesleyan University to finish my senior year after having served two years as an infantryman in Korea.  I was starving for some spiritual sustenance and this music was feeding my weary soul.  When it was finished playing I snatched it out of the CD player and sprinted across campus to a friend's house and excitedly told her she *had* to hear it as I stood there panting and out of breath.

Prior to my leaving IWU for my stent in the Army I had attended a concert of his in a small chapel where he played in front of about 50 students.  It was just him and his bestfriend/traveling companion, "Beaker".  Rich rotated from guitar to piano to hammer dulcimer over the course of the concert and afterwards he came to the lobby of our dorm for a small pizza reception.  He looked pretty scraggly and had dirty bare feet.  I talked with him a bit and probably asked him a few questions that I don't remember.  What I do remember is that he was delightfully peculiar and had a loving acceptance that surrounded him like an invisible hug.

Fast forward to 1997.  It was September and I'd just started my first year of Medical School.  I had a one room attic apartment a few blocks from IU's campus and my parents had come for a visit.  We chit chatted for awhile and at some point the conversation kinda died down into silence.  I remember sitting in a green recliner that had been my grandma's while my Dad sat on a metal table chair and my Mom sat on my futon.  Almost as a "by the way" my Mom suddenly remembered something she had wanted to ask me.  "Did you hear about the singer who recently died?  I think he was someone you've talked about before."

I got  a very strange sensation that moved from my head down into my body and back up again.  Just a few days prior in my Infectious Diseases class I had caught a snippet of a conversation between two other students who were talking after class.  The words that had caught my attention along with their tone was "Rich Mullins" but I'd paid no further mind to it.  With a sinking feeling in my gut I asked my Mom in a kind of forced voice, "Was it Rich Mullins?"

"Yes!  That's who it was, Rich Mullins.  He was killed in a car accident."

I put my head down in my hands and felt absolutely numb for a moment or two.  Then I took a deep shuddering breath in and sobs started leaking out.  The more I tried to suppress them the stronger they got.  My parents just sat in silence and let me cry.  It seemed strange that I was feeling such strong and overpowering emotions about someone I'd never really known personally.  It wasn't until that moment that I realized what his life and legacy had meant to me in college and subsequent decisions that had led me down the spiritual path I am now walking.

We were both lost and lonely, looking for something beyond ourselves, wanting to be found by love and in communion with the source of that love.  It brings to mind his song "What Susan Said":

And we both feel lost
But I remember what Susan said
How love is found in the things we've given up
More than in the things that we have kept
And ain't it funny what people say
And ain't it funny what people write
And ain't it funny how it hits you so hard
In the middle of the night
And if your home is just another place where you're a stranger
And far away is just somewhere you've never been
I hope that you'll remember, I was your friend

Shed a Little Light

"Shed a Little Light" is a sermon in a song.  I can think of no other artist that has captivated me for so much of my life as James Taylor.  There has not been a single year gone by since my mid High School years that I have not listened to his music, whether his ubiquitous Greatest Hits, new albums as they've been released, or my treasured 2CD live set.  I was lucky enough to see him in concert with my younger sister during my college years sitting on a blanket in the grassy area of Deer Creek.  Now in my 40's I'm finding his early albums at Half Price Books and sharing them with my children.  I met James, figuratively speaking, in the summer of 1986. 

That summer I spent two weeks on the Indiana State University campus for a Summer Honors Seminar that focussed on Chemistry.  My best friend was also participating and it was nice to have someone along I knew and who I could share the experience with.  When it came to roommate assignments that first day of orientation we were paired up with people we didn't know though we were just down the hall from each other.  My friend wanted to ask our respective roommates if they'd do a switcharoo so we could be together but I convinced him it would be a good way to get to know more people in the two short weeks that we would be there and he agreed to stay put.

Turns out it was much easier for me to remain in place than my friend.  His roommate was a real oddball, obnoxious and frequently inappropriate over a wide range of contexts.  I remembered his name for years afterwards but only now cannot recall it.  I don't know if my friend has ever forgiven me for not making that switch the first day but I can't help but think it was somehow meant to be.  I make this strange assertion because of what happened in my friend's room that first week.  I went down one evening on a study break to see what he was up to.  His roommate was playing a tape on his boom box.

The song I heard was James Taylor's "Carolina on my Mind".  I was completely mesmerized and whatever I'd come down to do or say was forgotten as I simply sat down and listened to it.  It was sweet, heart warming, gentle, soulful, and had a richness about it that transported me to I do not know where.  I just know that I had a hard time coming back to the sweltering evening heat of that college dorm room from my reverie.  It was inexplicable to me how my friend's roommate in all of his vulgar glory could be listening to something so pure and sweet.  It was a mystery and in retrospect a testament to James Taylor's wide ranging appeal as a singer-songwriter.  So...

_______________________

let us turn our thoughts today

to Martin Luther King

and recognize that there are ties between us

all men and women

living on the Earth

ties of hope and love

sister and brotherhood

That we are bound together

in our desire to see the world become

a place in which our children

can grow free and strong

We are bound together

by the task that stands before us

and the road that lies ahead

We are bound and we are bound

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist

There is a hunger in the center of the chest

There is a passage through the darkness and the mist

And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

(Chorus)

Shed a little light, oh Lord

So that we can see

Just a little light, oh Lord

Wanna stand it on up

Stand it on up, oh Lord

Wanna walk it on down

Shed a little light, oh Lord

Can't get no light from the dollar bill

Don't give me no light from a TV screen

When I open my eyes

I wanna drink my fill

from the well on the hill

(Do you know what I mean?)

- Chorus -

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist

There is a hunger in the center of the chest

There is a passage through the darkness and the mist

And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

Oh, let us turn our thoughts today

to Martin Luther King

and recognize that there are ties between us

all men and women

living on the Earth

ties of hope and love

sister and brotherhood

__________________

Thanks James.  You're a one-of-a-kind gent.

To Simeon and those who love him

Thinking of Little Simeon and his parents this morning., a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

in the secret place
you were stitched
by dark fingers
hidden from light

the thread spun long
but not long enough
leaving my heart
to unravel itself

the Weaver's skill
to mend in love
and communion
we grow together

You are There

I sometimes escape
into the realms
of the fantastical
as refuge from
a troubled reality
I cannot control.

I have accessed
this secret door
off and on
for 40 years
to obtain a
degree of solace.

Some people scoff
"it’s not real"
though they live
a fantasy of
their own making
deceived and deceiving.

I cannot explain
what I find
in imaginary places
but I know
even in the
depths of Sheol

You are there.

_______________________________

__________________________________________

Out of Context

Attending a conference
a straight shot
from the Mid West
to the East Coast
having navigated the mountains
of Pennsylvania and invested
heavily in the turnpike

I am out of context

Each day my schedule is set
the night previous
sitting in my hotel room
unable to sleep
the daytime filled with
meetings and lectures
but afterwards I am lost

and out of context

Wandering the streets
of Philadelphia humming
that Springsteen song
taking pictures
of people and places
eating cheesesteaks and chinese
because taking pictures

gives me context

It makes me feel connected
showing the street vendor
the photo I took of her
in an exploding sun flair
giving the homeless man
a dollar to take his picture
ventriloquist dummy in lap

connections creating context

***

The Road to Damascus

Road to Damascus, a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

I snapped this photo of Anya today while we were playing on her brother’s bed. He has a mobile of the planets suspended above it which fascinates her. At this point she was lying on her back and starting to extend her arm towards it. I saw the gesture, I saw the light, and with only seconds to spare I used my phone to take the shot. Cropping and processing came later and it wasn’t until I posted it online that the significance of the photo hit me.

The photo is divided into three sections by two diagonal lines that are parallel to each other. The first section is Anya’s face. The middle section is the darkened wall and headboard. The third section is the sunlit window. Her arm dramatically cuts across these three sections extending through the darkness and into the light  with her finger pointing the way. Just behind the headboard and partially hidden is a carved cross that’s still there from when her brother had no bed but just a mattress on the floor. To the right of Anya’s arm you can see some paper icons he has in his window sill from Church School. The most noticeable one is in the bottom right hand corner and is of St. Paul. The rest are partially hidden or blown out from the sunlight.

So there it is, the story of “The Road to Damascus” in a photo where Saul-soon-to-be-Paul has fallen to the ground blinded by a great light that  is Christ himself speaking to him. The partially hidden cross represents Christ and St. Paul is there as well in his icon. This is what I love so much about taking pictures. I don’t always know why I take them and oftentimes I don’t consciously think about how to frame the shot, but once in awhile a story sort of forms after the fact and completely surprises me. It is like a little blessing or gift from the “Giver of all good things.”

[fill in the blank] Worldview

Reality floated into view:
an inexplicable undulating mass
pulsing and sparking, 
pregnant with mystery.

Scared out of my mind
I seized upon my stamp
neatly columned and lined
black with ink.

A white surface
flat and featureless
lay beneath it
beckoning for imprint.

At just the right moment
with all my strength
I splattered it flat
trapped and grid-bound.

I scribbled feverishly
filling in the spaces
making sense of it all
in a fool’s scrawl.

Now it hangs
limp and lifeless
on my refrigerator door
for reference.


***

In the Garden

Neighbor's Flower Garden, a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

On the way out of the hospital today the Muzak playing overhead caught my attention with a familiar melody that I could not immediately put my finger on. I hummed along a bit as I walked and then a few words popped loose in my memory… “walks with me”… “talks with me”… sounded kinda hymnishhh… Yes! “In the Garden” came full bloom in my mind with its pseudo-romantic lyrics and its plodding waltziness. It was strange enough to hear a hymn amongst the normal overhead fare but stranger still was the fact it was being played by an unaccompanied accordion. I decided it was a sign I should call my mother.

Growing up in Southern Indiana in the 70’s my Dad was a minister and my Mom, well, she was a minister’s wife. She had a magnificent red and white accordion that she would play at church from time to time singing alto to my Dad’s lead. When it was at home she kept it in a large black case with silver snap buckles and a velvet lined interior. I remember pulling it out of their closet one day when they weren’t around and hoisting that fascinating contraption up by its wide leather straps onto my boney shoulders. It was huge and heavy. The bottom of it hit me about mid-shin. The right side was the keyboard and the left side had rows and rows of little red buttons, one of which had what appeared to be a diamond imbedded in it. When you pushed down one button several others would mysteriously and inexplicably depress as well. I was secretly impressed that my Mom could even play such a thing!

Once when my older sister was available we decided to take turns shutting each other in the case. I, with more daring than brains, decided to go first. I got into the case and assumed the fetal position. My sister shut it and then opened it a few times for me to get used to it. I then told her to click the snaps shut which she did, including the middle one with the key hole in it. You’ve probably already guessed where this is going. I stayed in the cramped and pitch blackness for as long as I could stand but then told her I was ready to get out. She couldn’t get the middle snap to unfasten. I remember yelling and beating at the inside lid in mounting panic as she ran off to find Mom. I’ve always been a little claustrophobic about tight places and it can likely be traced back to this incident.

So, I called Mom on the way home and put her on speaker phone. I told her that I’d heard an accordion playing “In the Garden” over the speakers at the hospital and took it as a sign I should call. She told me that that particular song had been very popular at funerals when we were growing up and that they’d sang and played it many a time at such. It then struck me as funny that when a baby is born at our hospital they play a snippet of Brahm’s lullaby. I surmised that maybe someone had died and so they played “In the Garden.” We had a good laugh at that (I mostly get my bent sense of humor from her). It’s been 2 years ago this week that she had her heart attack and we very nearly lost her. It was good to hear her voice and her laughter. As the song says,“And the joy we share as we tarry there...”

Here is Alan Jackson singing the hymn: In the Garden

Another World

Have you ever wondered what goes on in little minds that have not yet developed to the point they can effectively communicate what they are experiencing? It amazes me to think that in those little craniums countless neurons are growing, dividing, branching out, and finding connections to other neurons in neighboring parts of the brain at a dizzying rate. The migration of my neuronal paths ended almost 20 years ago and I have to be content with just the general upkeep of cell turnover and pruning while avoiding brain killing substances or falling on my head from high places.

Where did this sudden curiosity about the brain come from? Well, it came from my 7 year old of course. We were driving over to Great Clips to get his hair cut and passed a McDonalds that has one of those large three leveled indoor playgrounds in front. You know, the ones that kids clamor about until you give in and stop or else forces you to make vile threats to shut them up so you can drive on in peace. This time around he simply directed my attention to it and asked if I remembered when we went to one when he was four years old and we were living in Tennessee. I vaguely remembered it, but then he surprised me with what he remembered about it.

The look on his face was one I’d not seen before, like what he was remembering was new and strange somehow. In retrospect, I imagine it was a matter of him remembering an experience of something that had occurred significantly further up the neuronal pathway. Something experienced by a different kid for all intents and purposes. He said, “I remember standing at the top of the slide and I was really scared.” This was that twisty opaque tunnel slide that is the only way back down from the third level. He said we were standing at the bottom and trying to coax him to go down it. “I was really scared because I thought if I went down that tunnel I would end up in another world where I wouldn’t be able to find you or Mommy”.

What a strange predicament that must have been for the little guy! He had negotiated three levels of obstacles, some of which he could not negotiate backwards, and was now stranded high in the air with Mommy and Daddy so far away trying to convince him the only way back was through this dark hole in front of him, a somewhat counterintuitive notion for his little immature brain I’m sure. Not go back the way I came? Enter this hole and trust it goes to the right place? 7 year old Elias in the front seat of the car gave me a kind of embarrassed smile after he shared that as if to say “wasn’t that silly?”