Rocky Mountain High?

I was lucky enough to have been raised in a home where politics were not only openly discussed, but we were engaged in conversation over issues and even asked our little points of view. However, this memory might be slightly skewed as my sister probably would remember that I was just blurting out my platform while she sat quietly wondering if anyone had actually asked for my opinion. I can remember my mom relaying stories to us about what it felt like when she heard that President Kennedy had been shot.."like innocence was gone forever and the whole world was crashing." I've heard my dad tell stories about how he was awed in Atlanta, while he was a young pastor, listening to Martin Luther King jr. deliver speeches of a new dream for our nation. I was taken to hear pre-Monica Bill Clinton speak at the Soulard Market and was mesmerized by the rhythms and patterns of how he up-and-down sewed together his message of hope. I've heard pre-Captain Planet Al Gore speak at a downtown mall and Bob and Liddy Dole deliver their stump speeches under the St. Louis arch. Last night however, I found myself so completely engaged as an adult as I watched a landmark event in American history. I've had so much fun over the last several years watching Barack Obama go from the dynamic speaker at the 2004 DNC to a slightly bumbling candidate in the early presidential debates, where I cheered him on like a kid in a little league soccer game, to the honest "every man" with Rick Warren earlier this month, to a decisive, dynamic leader and astute orator. Now let me interject that I have not taken the Obama "happy pill" that conservatives feel is being sold at a very reasonable price online or at your local msnbc or cnn superstore. I do disagree with the man's stance on some things, namely abortion. I understand that electing someone with little global experience is both a risk and an investment. As well, I think John McCain is a fine candidate and would do a passable job leading our country. Although, I was just struck today with how excited I am when a conservative friend at work forwarded me this message..which I must admit is terribly creative and far more saavy than anything I've written in this post: "Our Obama, who art in Denver, hollowed be thy change. Thy kingdom come, thy socialization of medicine be done, now as it is in Europe." Despite, the satire above, I am excited to watch if this time of great potential comes to fruition. Sure, some promises won't be kept, some ideas will fall by the wayside, but why not dream of a country where we insure the "least of these" with good health care, ensure that through alternative sources of energy our kids might have a country as beautiful as the one that we currently live in, and repair broken ties with neighbors all over the world? I doubt that in 8 years, little more than a dent will be made in the direction of these lofty goals, but isn't it amazing to watch someone who dreams big dreams and has the intellect to make these dreams measurable?

Savior: Souvlaki or Spaghetti?

My Wednesday morning started like every good Wednesday morning has started over the last few months since I discovered WRVU-Vanderbilt Radio's morning programming.  I find myself excited when I wake up on Wednesday's because I know I will soon have 20 minutes of peaceful liturgical chants delivered by Father Parthenios on his radio show, "Sacred Hymns."  Its a unit of time I've set away in my life for quiet reflection and a strong attempt to swallow my contempt for my 8-5 job.  Often I have no idea what's being sung, but usually some form of "Jesus" or "Christ" finds its way to my ear in a foreign tongue and I understand enough to know that we are certainly playing for the same team.  Its a quiet reverence that I miss in the modern day Christian church.  It throws me back to growing up in the Catholic church, being sprayed with water from a tree branch by the priest (for who knows what reason..but it was kind of like catching beads at Mardi Gras..you figured you must be doing something right if you ended up with a drop of water running down your forehead), incense being swung and confessing your sins to a complete stranger.  So maybe those weren't the best examples of peace and reverence, but you'll have to take my word for it that the Catholic church has a knack for acknowledging God's presence in both the room and within the individual.  This morning Father Parthenios prayed for there to be a peace and unity between the Eastern Greek Orthodox Church and the Western Roman Catholic Church.  This threw me right out of my Christian zen state and I began to listen as he described the two as necessary for the other.  I had no idea there was this conflict or rift between these two bodies of believers.  It turns out its been around for hundreds or thousands of years, but it was new to my ears.  Father prayed that just as we require two legs to stand on (don't tell that to Natalie Du Toit..amazing) may these two branches of the church come together and carry the church into the future.  When I got to my cubicle at work, I was eager to know more.  This was to take definite precedence over "selling the total solution."  It turns out that each body of believers believe they belong to the "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" and they are a part of the church that was originally established by Christ and the Apostles....yeah..trouble.  It turns out that the capture and sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 is what really pissed everyone off and they headed for the big "D" and they don't mean Damascus.  All of this just brought to my attention again what a sad fragmented church we are as Christians.  Does it matter if I am a descendant of the true "first church?" It seems to me that Christ came to put an end to this kind of thought process.  I think if Christ and the Apostles had anything to say about all this it would go something like:

Christ: "Where is your heart?  Is it with me and the Father or is it with this meaningless hierarchy of believers you've created?"

Apostles: "oooo...burn...burnn"

Hair Update:  Today I was called "Ronaldo"..it just keeps getting better..watch your back Beckham..watch it.

One Eyed Jack

Hair Update: From "dyke" to "artsy" in 24 hours..its a step in the right direction. I can hang with Edward Hopper, Ralph Waldo Emerson or Fela Kuti, I'm sure we would have a fabulous lunch with wonderfully artsy conversation. Ellen Degeneres, Martina Navartilova, Sophie B. Hawkins..it might be slightly more awkward...On that note I happened to be looking at the Lonely Planet entry for Nashville today online. I was just curious if after living here for 11 years I had missed some substantial landmark that maybe Rebecca and I could visit over the weekend. No luck, we've seen them all. All but one. They recommended "Tribe" as a great "restaurant/bar." This is a thumpin, strobe light flashing gay bar on a strip of gay clubs. The interesting thing is that there was no description other than bar/club. I thought of how wonderfully awkward this would be for countless single men wondering why Nashville was so full of "dancing dudes."

I talked to my grand father this evening for close to an hour..I just call him Jack. We talked about everything from Fats Waller's, "Honeysuckle Rose" to the Democratic Convention (that he watches for pure entertainment as he is voting for the man that "deserves the job.". What struck me most as I talked to him is his reasons for getting up in the morning. His voice lifted as he talked about his relationships with the greeters at Wal-Mart and the store manager who he is "real buds with," the great deal he got on his new '99 Toyota Camry from his friend at the used car lot, the conversations he has with long lost friends from highschool who live thousands of miles away. All of this joy from relationships was followed with him telling me that he has now completely gone blind in one eye and his second is fading fast. Yet, he continues to establish and maintain casual friendships with a true concern for the details of others lives. I couldn't help but think that this is what Christ has called us to do. .beyond our circumstances, investing in others and loving each person that we meet with the heart of Jesus. After I hung up the phone, I covered my left eye and thought "this completely sucks." He, a recent widower with one eye ,tells me its "all about attitude and how you approach your day."