Jack

"I hope it is true that a man can die and yet not only live in others but give them life, and not only life but that great consciousness of life."

"... the only ones for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

"I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another until I drop.  This is the night, what it does to you.  I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion."

Confucius says...

OK, so maybe fortunes don't hold quite that much weight, but I sure love the little cookies' revelations.  Some of my favorites include:

"You will attract cultured and artistic people to your home." (A compliment to you all who have had the pleasure of an 811 visit)

"You will have a bright future." (I am sure I am the only one who has received this fortune)

"Today you will find something you have been looking for." (Can you technically find something if you don't realize you have done so?)

"You have an ambitious nature and will make a name for yourself." (Let's hope...)

"Stop searching forever, happiness is just next to you." (I think I got this one when I was spooning Cole)

Burberry burka, anyone??

Today, while walking home from the market with Cole, I noticed a woman wearing a hajib coming toward us.  As we began to cross the intersection, I remembered that many traditional Muslims believe dogs are unclean, and I swung wide as a courteous attempt at avoiding a friendly greeting by Cole.  But, as she got closer, I heard her speaking Arabic, and then closer, I noticed her Bluetooth headset sticking out from the fabric.  It reminded me of the large Philadelphia ladies cloaked in burkas, carrying fake Coach bags, "Louis Vuitton" shoes poking out from under the dark cloth with each step.

Oh, globalization...

"There are stories...

And then there are stories.  The ones that come vibrantly alive, carrying you so entirely to other places in time that you feel compelled to tell them all again as if you were there.  Of course, each time you do, you add something, embellish something else.  You make them yours.  And you're not the only one.  These same stories are spreading, changing, and growing, telling themselves through others all the time.  Because they have a life of their own."

A new year, a new president, a new future.  Imagine the stories to come...

some things are better left unsaid

Today, instead of coffee and cupcakes, my date with Blake turned into yet another trip to the clinic and a few more stitches (this time, in his thumb).  

But, one of the more memorable parts of the visit involved a certain P.I.B. (that's [Park] City talk for "person in black," a.k.a. painfully annoying invader from L.A., no thanks to Sundance) talking loudly on her cell phone about the friend she was accompanying.  

"I guess they said she has a pelvic infection due to an STD.  She is moaning in pain, pooping and peeing and puking, too.  They said it is going to be $800, and she doesn't have it, so we can't leave."  

I couldn't decide if she didn't realize how terribly uncomfortable everyone else in the waiting room was during her tale, or if she just didn't care.  I don't know which is worse.  Thankfully, a health care assistant ushered her back into the confines of the billing room, sparing us from any further fearful details. 

But, it made me sad, on many accounts.  On the fore of my mind, especially as I prepare to write a paper on Obama's proposed health care amendments, is how awful it was that a grown adult, capable of getting herself into this trouble (and, P.I.D. is definitely that), was funding Park City playtime but had no means by which to pay for this predicament.  

Then, I felt for this femme whose so-called friend was airing her business to anyone unfortunate enough to be seated in the anteroom.  I would hope that someone you'd trust to travel with would care enough about you to maintain some dignity on your behalf.  

But I really sunk when I thought about how little privacy there is "these days."  You can't breathe in this town without your co-worker's neighbor's mom's ice cream man knowing.  What happened to good, ol' secrets?  To a bit of mystery?  What would the world look like if we chose to file away dishonoring details and smile, laugh, trust, and offer redemption rather than gossip?  An interesting idea to ponder...

the silliest question...

... is, "Can I kiss you?"  

If you don't know the answer and feel inclined to ask, maybe you should wait.  Or, maybe not.  Maybe you should stick your neck out there (quite literally), and go for it.  ("Freedom lies in begin bold." -Robert Frost)  Nothing takes the romance out of the moment like asking permission.  If you want to be kissed, it disturbs the spontaneity.  If you don't want to be kissed, you don't say "no" anyway (except for this one time, I did, and that may have actually been the moment I most desired the liplock...  long story).  Plus, you always have the head-turn on reserve, and that can't be much worse than saying "no."  And, why would you do that, anyway?

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous." - Ingrid Bergman

God & Politics

While you may not be able to talk about them in restaurants and cubicles, these topics are the subject of much thought, and the combination of the two is all the more puzzling.  

Below are excerpts from an interesting article I read this fall about the (then) upcoming election in a liberal-leaning Christian magazine.  Just food for thought.

"One of the things that's so troubling when Christianity and America become fused together is that what becomes at stake when things like Iraq happen is not just the reputation of America, but the reputation of what it means to be Christian, because it's been totally baptized in Christian language and the blessing of God.  I certainly learned that when I was in Iraq.  One woman said, 'Your government is creating tremendous bloodshed and asking God's blessing.  It's the same thing my government is doing.  But what kind of God would bless this?  What happened to the God of love and Prince of Peace?' 

"On many issues, there is no partisan answer.  Christians should seek an entirely different path on issues like abortion and the war in Iraq.  'The Republicans want to overthrow Roe v. Wade, and the pro-life side would cheer that.  The other side of the story is this: 70% of the abortions in this country are presently driven by economic forces.  You have an 18-year-old woman who works at Wal-Mart at minimum wage- she has no hospitalization, she has no opportunity for maternity leave, she has no access to daycare when the baby is born, she's in dire straits.  If you are going to be pro-life, you cannot only be concerned about the unborn; you have to be concerned about after they're born.  Are we going to have universal health care so she doesn't have to worry about paying her hospital bill?  Are we going to raise the minimum wage, because presently that woman cannot pay for her rent, let alone take care of herself and a child?  Are we going to provide daycare for her, so she can continue to be employed?  Are you willing to give her a maternity leave so that she doesn't have to either lose her job or have an abortion?'

"You can work for the Kingdom of God and align yourself with whatever seems to move us closer to that.  It's possible to interrupt with grace and humility whatever seems to be standing in the way of the reign of God.  One way of looking at voting is that it's damage control, voting against whatever is going to do the most damage.

"What is more important than how we vote on Nov. 4 is how we live on Nov. 3 and Nov. 5.  We must realize that we are already voting through the way we choose to live.  'We vote every day with our feet, our hands, our lips and our wallets.  We vote for the poor.  We vote for the peacemakers.  We vote for the marginalized, the oppressed, the most vulnerable of our society.  Ultimate change does not just happen one day every four years.' "