When I go to the Ball Park…

..…I love to watch the people.

*I saw a man with loads of tattoos who was wearing a tank top in order to show them off.  The front of the tank top had the message “Tatooed and Employed.”

*Apparently if you get at least 4 beers, you can get a bucket of ice.  I won’t ever know for sure, because I don’t drink even one beer, much less four.  I can’t stand the smell and figure the taste can’t be much better.

*Two generous applications of sunblock make ones arms so slippery that they skid off the chair armrests.

*Some families go to great lengths to include their special needs family members in baseball outings.  I saw two children with Down’s syndrome.  One of them was a toddler and slept in the mother’s arms most of the time.   That little girl had two older sisters.  I wondered if the couple had a third pregnancy hoping for a son.  Instead of a son, they got a special needs daughter.  I wondered how they were coping with this.  Some people who do fine, but others would struggle.

*I also saw a middle-aged man with cerebral palsy and an elderly man who had had a stroke.  Both came in wheelchairs.  I hope the family of the man who had had a stroke had put some sunblock on him before they came, because he had a very fair complexion and it looked to me like the sun was bothering him.  Both of those families ended up leaving early.

*The person who sang the national anthem was a very young girl….I would guess not as old as ten, and she had an amazing voice for a kid. She sang a cappella, and I thought she had pitched the song too high and was never going to make the top notes, but she did.  She did hit a few clunkers and notes she had to slide in to, but she ended in the same key she started in and was pretty impressive.

*The lemonades were huge….probably 32 ounces.  They cost $6 and a refill in the same cup was $3.  I certainly did not expect to need a refill, but we were sitting in the hot Florida sun, and I drained the cup and got a refill.

*In the same category….as a wimpy northern girl who didn’t have a hat along, I purchased a straw hat in the gift shop, and it was worth every penny of the $25.

*The staff at the Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers is extremely congenial.  We didn’t run in to one cranky person.

*We chatted some with a very pleasant young couple from L.A.  She was originally from Minnesota so she was rooting for the Twins.

*There was a guy behind us quoting Donald Trump.  I wanted to turn around and say that I hoped he didn’t believe everything Donald Trump says, but I refrained.

*Two ladies of my vintage were laughing about a woman a few rows ahead of us who stood up and seemed to be adjusting her undies through her dress.  They said she must not know we were all watching her.  I said that I figured she knew and didn’t care….she thought she would never see any of us again anyway.

*In spite of all of these “people watching” observations, I do know that the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Socks 7 to 4 and that this was the last spring training game.  There were some great plays, and also a mess up by the 3^rd base coach who turned a runner back to second believing that a fly ball had been caught….it hadn’t…the ball was caught on a bounce and the runner would have been safe at third. 

*I am not a big baseball fan, but I totally enjoyed myself.

The Spear Hangs Quivering in the Wall

  

             I

Motivated by jealousy or fear,

In a rage, he flung the spear.

The hurled javelin was dodged.

Trembling in the wall it lodged.

So in fear of Saul, the king,

Lest he another missile fling, 

David ran out frightened, shivering,

And the spear hung there quivering.

            II

Motivated by jealousy or fear,

Gossip was flung like a spear.

No thought was given to the hole,

Now gaping in the other’s soul.

Startled by the searing pain,

Dodging it was all in vain.

From the hole, cracks were spread,

Falsehoods were fueled and fed.

            III

Who took Saul’s spear from the wall?

Retrieved and gave it back?

Patched up the gaping hole?

Smoothed out and filled the crack?

Who can undo gossip’s harm?

Remove the stain and scar?

Pour healing balm into the wound,

From love’s redemptive jar?

Look around you…have you seen it?

Heard it whistling past?

Have you done your best to stop it,

The spear that has been cast?

Does it still hang there before you?

A wound in someone’s soul?

Pull out the spear, stop the bleeding,

Patch up and fill the hole.

I Will Celebrate

I love Christmas.

I love the fact that God sent His Son into the world,

That the eternally existent one, stepped into time.

I love the stories of His life,

His great compassion on those in need,

His tenderness with the hurting.

I love His discernment.

He knew their hearts, saw behind their words,

Pierced their thoughts and judged rightly.

I do not love Good Friday.

I know I must remember His sacrifice, but I grieve.

He had to die for my sins.  He had none of His own.

I love Easter morning.

I could not conquer death.  He did it for me.

Because He lives, the pain of sin and death is gone.

I love Him.

I look forward to seeing Him, thanking Him in person,

And celebrating His coming, His Life, His death, His resurrection.

I will celebrate Him eternally.

Growing older is tricky.

Bill and I have been hard workers throughout our lives and more generous than most with our resources.  So, why do I feel self-indulgent spending a month in Florida and walking on the beach daily in my “retirement”….which isn’t even total retirement?

I love being here and being near one of my daughters and her family.  I have not been unproductive here.  I have made drapes for their new house, recovered a chair for one of the girls’ bedrooms, had them over for dinner, worked on the short stories I have been writing, colored eggs with the granddaughters, made peanut butter eggs with them, shown them how to do a craft with beads, helped with their costumes for “Night at the Museum” and dabbled in miscellaneous other things.

But, I have been here three weeks and I am starting to feel like I have withdrawn from my “normal” life and abdicated from some of my usual responsibilities.  I have toyed with the idea of spending more than a month here, but I’m beginning to wonder how I would handle that.  I apparently do not have the correct mental attitude to be a “snow bird.”

Over the years, I have observed people in retirement years seemingly enjoying being less active and less connected in their lifelong community and establishing a peripheral presence in both that community and one in a more favorable climate.  I must not be suited to peripheral involvement.  When I go to church here and learn of a need, I think to myself, “I could help with that!  Oh, wait a minute, I’m only here for 2 more weeks!”

Of course, there is also the issue that I have had a sense recently from some younger people, that I am “old” and my ideas dated and not worth considering.  Not that anyone has said that in so many words, but a couple of months ago, I made an attempt at a give and take conversation with a younger person and felt like everything I said was dismissed.   Come on!  I’m in my seventies, but my hair isn’t even gray yet!  My brain has not withered up inside my skull.

So, what am I looking at down the road?  Will I be able to remain active and involved and have the blessing of dropping dead in my tracks?  I really don’t want to sit in a rocker in the nursing home lounge staring out the window.  Can I content myself with something in the middle…such as reading writing, and daily walks on the beach?

This growing older thing is tricky!

Pelican

A bird not beautiful,

No flashy colors,

Ungainly appearance.

Waddling along.

But earth is not its element.

It belongs in the sky,

Skimming above the water

Aerodynamically configured.

Who taught it to tuck its head,

Spreading its wings,

Drafting on its mates

Inches above the waves?

We may be awkward

In this world.  Ungainly.

Inarticulate

Plodding along.

But the world is not our element.

We were meant for a better place.

There we will spread our wings,

And be totally fulfilled.

Perfected, we will bow our heads,

Soar with those of like spirit,

Come face to face

With our Creator and Redeemer.

We Need More Jonathans

Saul’s son Jonathan went to David…and helped him find strength in God.  I Samuel 23:16

Saul started out well as the first king of Israel, but eventually he lost the humility and dependency on God he had first exhibited.  He knew that David was admired more by the people than he was.  His son Jonathan, who in Saul’s mind should have succeeded him on the throne, was a very good friend of David, and completely accepting of the fact that it was David who would be the next king.  This infuriated Saul, and he desired to kill David.  David had to go into hiding.

It is in this context that Jonathan came to David and helped him “find strength in God.”  It seems to me that we don’t talk enough about Jonathan.  We hear stories of the great accomplishments of David, and of course, he is the author of many of the Psalms.  He was obviously a very gifted person innately, and also one who relied on God as a source of his creativity and strength in meeting his foes.  But, consider Jonathan!

Jonathan could have been as bitter as Saul.  It would have been in keeping with the cultures of other surrounding people groups that he should become king after his father.  Jonathan did not make this assumption.  His own relationship with God was such that he knew that God had chosen David.  Jonathan was willing to submit to God’s plan without bitterness.  He was even willing to take an active role in protecting and encouraging David.

Saul was searching for David, and Jonathan knew it.  We aren’t told how Jonathan learned of David’s hiding spot, but it is obvious he didn’t let Saul in on the secret.  In keeping with a relationship of absolute trust, Jonathan did not fear that David would kill him or hold him hostage.  David did not fear that Jonathan would reveal his whereabouts to Saul.  They were closer than biological brothers, because they were brothers spiritually.

As Christians, we sometimes refer to other believers as brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am afraid, however, that we often fall short of the relationship that Jonathan and David model for us.  We may help one another “find strength in God” through encouraging words, prayer, and helpful actions.  But, it is pretty rare to find someone who graciously steps aside and promotes someone else above himself.  I have been fortunate to have seen this, but not often enough.

We need more Jonathans! 

I need to be more like Jonathan.

It doesn’t come naturally.

The Knights by Aristophanes

This play centers on Demus, and who controls him, although he is not the character from whom we hear the most.  He is presented as a ruler who is elderly and easily swayed, and it seems that he represents the government or perhaps, the will of the people.  At the beginning of the play, his steward who has enormous influence is Paphlagon, but play-goers at the time would have understood him to be an actual person named Cleon, who was no friend of Aristophanes.

Two servants in the household of Demus, complain about Paphlagon, who is cheating Demus and abusing them and other servants.  They determine that there is a prophecy that he will be ousted and replaced by a Sausage-Seller, and conveniently one appears on the scene.  The Sausage-Seller is an uneducated and coarse fellow, who at first doesn’t believe the prophecy, but is eventually convinced of it.

The Sausage Seller (whose name is revealed in the last scene to be Agoracritus) and Paphlagon engage in all manner of argument and insult hurling.  It is clear that they are both scoundrels.  The chorus, which is comprised of Knights, side with the Sausage Seller, who wants peace, rather than with Paphlagon, who is apparently using his influence to prevent Demus from resolving the current conflict.

Eventually, the argument comes down to each of them seeing who can outdo the other in pampering, flattering and otherwise catering to Demus.  Demus chooses the Sausage-Seller, who “boils him” as he would meat or sausage and in so doing, returns him to a younger and more vigorous state.  He then presents him with two young women, whom he refers to as “peace treaties.”  Paphlagon is sent off to the market (agora) to sell sausage.

Aristophanes was clearly cynical about social conventions and government.  The biggest scoundrel seems to get the upper hand and is only unseated by someone else who is a scoundrel, although maybe a less objectionable one.  It is difficult to understand and interpret what he has written without being steeped in the cultural context, especially when he employs bizarre imagery….such as boiling Demus to make him more youthful and vigorous.

I am amazed at the proficiency of whoever translated this play from Greek into English.  The entire play is formed of rhyming couplets.  Although length and rhythm vary throughout the play, the translator has managed to rhyme in English what was written in Greek.  This must have been a huge challenge.

And the take-away….looking at the current candidates for the US presidency, will the election be won by whomever promises to pamper, flatter and cater the most to the voters?  Aristophanes thinks so.