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."